Transfer part of rod-like food and rod-like food classifier

Abstract

To provide a rod-like food classifier which removes a non-conforming article appropriately while holding a transfer speed at a relative high speed.SOLUTION: A rod-like food classifier M includes a supply part 1, a transfer part 2, a belt conveyor 3 and a defective article detection part 4. The supply part 1 supplies a rod-like food F laterally to the transfer part 2. The transfer part 2 is arranged on the downstream of the supply part 1, and transfers the rod-like food F laterally while bringing a transfer direction of the rod-like food F from a height direction near to a horizontal direction. The belt conveyor 3 is arranged on the down-stream of the transfer part 2 and transfers the rod-like food F to the defective article detection part 4 laterally.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a stick-shaped food sorting machine that removes defective stick-shaped food products and foreign matter from stick-shaped food products such as somen noodles and pasta, and a stick-shaped food transport unit used in said stick-shaped food sorting machine. [Background technology]

[0002] A sorting machine that removes defective products and foreign objects contained in rod-shaped foods such as somen and pasta is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. This sorting machine is configured to remove defective products and foreign objects from rod-shaped dried noodles such as long pasta, bou-ramen, and somen, and includes a raw material supplying section, a chute, and an optical sorting section. The raw material supplying section has a vibrating feeder that delivers rod-shaped foods to the chute at a predetermined rate. The chute has the vibrating feeder, a fixed chute arranged at a steep incline, and a flow rate regulating plate that can rotate around the upper end. The chute forms a crow's-mouth-shaped transport path with the flow rate regulating plate and the fixed chute, and reduces overlapping of rod-shaped foods by vibration from the vibrating feeder and drops the rod-shaped foods into the optical sorting section while adjusting the transport amount of the rod-shaped foods. Then, when this sorting machine distinguishes between good and defective products using the optical sorting section, it removes the defective products using a rockable rejection plate.

[0003] However, the above-mentioned sorting machine uses a vibrating feeder to reduce overlaps between stick-shaped foods while transporting them to the sorting section, so the transport speed is slow and the throughput is low. In addition, the above-mentioned sorting machine cannot completely remove overlaps and transports stick-shaped foods at high density, which can cause problems such as minute black dots being hidden and not being detectable by a camera, and because stick-shaped foods are transported at high density and defective foods are discharged by a mechanical flap, many good foods are also removed when the defective foods are removed, resulting in a low yield. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6937170 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a rod-shaped food sorting machine that can properly remove defective foods while maintaining a relatively high transport speed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the rod-shaped food sorting machine of the present invention is a rod-shaped food sorting machine equipped with a defective product detection unit that detects defective rod-shaped foods, and further includes a supply unit that supplies rod-shaped foods sideways, a transfer unit that is positioned downstream of the supply unit and transfers the rod-shaped foods sideways while changing the transfer direction of the rod-shaped foods from the height direction to closer to the horizontal direction, and a first belt conveyor that is positioned downstream of the transfer unit and transfers the rod-shaped foods sideways to the defective product detection unit.

[0007] In the rod-shaped food sorting machine, the transport section preferably has a concave curved chute formed in a roughly squared shape when viewed from the side.

[0008] In the rod-shaped food sorting machine, for example, the transport section has a plurality of inclined flat chutes. The plurality of flat chutes are continuous or arranged in a line in the transport direction, and the inclination angle of the plurality of flat chutes is configured to be gentler toward the downstream side.

[0009] In the rod-shaped food sorter, the transport section preferably further includes a plurality of protrusions extending in the transport direction and spaced apart from one another in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction.

[0010] In the rod-shaped food sorter, the transport surface of the transport section preferably has projections and recesses.

[0011] In the rod-shaped food sorter, the end of the transfer section is preferably inclined at an angle of 5° to 40° with respect to the first belt conveyor.

[0012] In the rod-shaped food sorter, for example, the transport section has a plurality of second belt conveyors arranged in a transport direction, and the transport speed of the plurality of second belt conveyors is slower on the downstream side.

[0013] The stick-shaped food sorting machine is preferably configured such that the transport speed of the stick-shaped food by the first belt conveyor is equal to or lower than the transport speed at the end of the transport section.

[0014] In the stick-shaped food sorter, the supply section preferably has a supply guide that is formed in a generally square shape in a side view and that guides the stick-shaped food toward the transport surface of the transport section.

[0015] In order to solve the above problems, the rod-shaped food transfer section of the present invention is used in a rod-shaped food sorter equipped with a supply section that supplies rod-shaped foods sideways, a defective product detection section that detects defective rod-shaped foods, and a first belt conveyor that transfers the rod-shaped foods sideways to the defective product detection section. The rod-shaped food transfer section has a concave curved chute that is roughly L-shaped in side view, is positioned downstream of the supply section, and transfers the rod-shaped foods sideways to the first belt conveyor while changing the transfer direction of the rod-shaped foods from the height direction to approach the horizontal direction. Effect of the Invention

[0016] The rod-shaped food sorting machine according to the present invention can appropriately remove defective foods while maintaining a relatively high transport speed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view showing an overview of a rod-shaped food sorting machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bar food sorter. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a transfer section and rod-shaped food to be transferred. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another protrusion portion. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing still another protrusion portion. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a side view showing a modified example of the conveying section. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a side view showing another modified example of the conveying section. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the rod-shaped food transport unit and rod-shaped food sorter of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. The rod-shaped food F in this embodiment is somen noodles, but the rod-shaped food according to the present invention is not limited to this. The rod-shaped food according to the present invention may include, for example, dried noodles such as pasta and rod-shaped ramen, or other rod-shaped foods. In the drawings, the double-headed arrow X indicates the horizontal direction, the double-headed arrow Y indicates the left-right direction, and the double-headed arrow Z indicates the up-down direction. Also, the size of the rod-shaped food F in the drawings is exaggerated for the purpose of explanation and differs from the actual size.

[0019] Fig. 1 is a side view showing an overview of a rod-shaped food sorter M according to this embodiment, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the rod-shaped food sorter M. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the rod-shaped food sorter M includes a supply section 1, a transfer section 2, a belt conveyor 3, a defective product detection section 4, an ejector 5, a defective product discharge section 6, and a non-defective product discharge section 7. The belt conveyor 3 corresponds to the "first belt conveyor" of the present invention.

[0020] <Supply section> As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the supply unit 1 has a supply unit main body 10, an inlet 11, a discharge outlet 12, and a supply guide 13.

[0021] The input port 11 is disposed at the top of the feeder main body 10, and the stick-shaped food F is input in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction (hereinafter referred to as “sideways”). The discharge port 12 is disposed downstream of the input port 11.

[0022] The supply unit 1 uses known technology to transfer the rod-shaped food F sideways from the input port 11 to the discharge port 12 at a predetermined amount at a time, and discharges the rod-shaped food F sideways from the discharge port 12. The supply unit 1 may, for example, have a vibration device, and the vibration device may be used to transfer the rod-shaped food F sideways.

[0023] In this embodiment, the supply guide 13 is made of metal, but is not limited to this. The supply guide 13 is formed in a generally squared shape when viewed from the side (in FIG. 1, a generally inverted squared shape). As a result, the supply guide 13 guides the rod-shaped foods F discharged from the discharge port 12 to the transfer surface of the transfer section 2 while accelerating the rod-shaped foods F in a horizontal position. As a result, the rod-shaped food sorter M reduces the difference between the transfer speed of the rod-shaped foods F at the end of the supply guide 13 and the transfer speed at the base end of the transfer section 2, thereby reducing the tendency of the rod-shaped foods F to become vertical when handed over from the supply guide 13 to the transfer section 2.

[0024] <Transfer section> As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer section 2 has a concave curved surface chute 20 and a first side guard 21.

[0025] The concave curved surface chute 20 is made of metal in this embodiment, but is not limited to this. The concave curved surface chute 20 transfers the rod-shaped foods F sideways while changing the transfer direction of the rod-shaped foods F from the height direction to approach the horizontal direction. The concave curved surface chute 20 is configured to accelerate the transfer speed of the rod-shaped foods F by utilizing the gravity of the rod-shaped foods F. The bending radius of the concave curved surface chute 20 may be, for example, R350mm to R600mm.

[0026] The frictional force of the surface of the concave curved chute 20 in the acceleration portion of the concave curved chute 20 is adjusted so as to accelerate the transport speed of the stick-shaped food F.

[0027] The surface of the concave curved chute 20 may be subjected to a coating treatment to reduce friction, for example. Also, the surface of the concave curved chute 20 may be subjected to an uneven processing using a surface processing technique to reduce friction.

[0028] The concave curved surface chute 20 may have a plurality of protrusions 20a arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and extending in the conveying direction, as shown in Figures 4 to 6. The protrusions 20a shown in Figure 4 are formed to have a square cross section, the protrusions 20a shown in Figure 5 have chamfered corners, and the surface of the protrusions 20a shown in Figure 6 is formed to have an arcuate cross section. The number of protrusions 20a is not particularly limited.

[0029] The concave curved surface chute 20 having the protruding portions 20a has lower frictional force than a concave curved surface chute 20 composed of a simple flat surface, and can therefore accelerate the stick-shaped foods F more. By accelerating the stick-shaped foods F, the concave curved surface chute 20 separates the stick-shaped foods F from each other in the direction of travel, thereby reducing overlapping of the stick-shaped foods F.

[0030] 1 is configured to have an inclination angle θ of 5° to 40° with respect to the belt conveyor 3, and is preferably configured to have an inclination angle θ of 5° to 25°. In other words, the concave curved surface chute 20 is configured such that the angle difference θ between the side view transfer angle of stick-shaped foods F by the concave curved surface chute 20 (hereinafter simply referred to as the "transfer angle") and the transfer angle by the belt conveyor 3 is between 5° to 40°, thereby further reducing the angle of stick-shaped foods F becoming vertical when transferred to the belt conveyor 3.

[0031] The concave curved chute 20 accelerates the rod-shaped food F by gravity while gradually bringing the transport angle of the rod-shaped food F closer to the transport angle of the belt conveyor 3 (horizontal in this embodiment), thereby further reducing the tendency of the rod-shaped food F to become vertical.

[0032] In addition, since the inclination is gentler at the end of the concave curved surface chute 20 than at the base end, the acceleration of the rod-shaped foods F is lower than at the base end, and the frictional force of the surface of the concave curved surface chute 20 causes the transport speed of the rod-shaped foods F to decrease at the end. Therefore, the concave curved surface chute 20 is configured to leave a sufficient distance between the rod-shaped foods F in the transport direction in the acceleration portion so that the rod-shaped foods F do not overlap even if the transport speed of the rod-shaped foods F decreases at the end. Alternatively, the frictional force of the concave curved surface chute 20 is adjusted so that the transport speed of the rod-shaped foods F does not decrease at the end even if the acceleration decreases. In this way, the concave curved surface chute prevents the rod-shaped foods F from overlapping due to a decrease in the transport speed of the rod-shaped foods F.

[0033] The first side guards 21 are provided on both sides of the concave curved chute 20 to prevent the stick-shaped food F from falling.

[0034] The belt conveyor 3 has a belt 30 and a second side guard 31.

[0035] The belt 30 extends horizontally, is wound around front and rear pulleys (not shown), and rotates in the transport direction by the driving force of a motor (not shown). Because the transport surface of the belt 30 extends horizontally, the belt conveyor 3 can stably transport stick-shaped foods F. That is, if the transport surface were inclined, stick-shaped foods F would slide due to gravity and may overlap with other stick-shaped foods F, but the belt conveyor 3 prevents the stick-shaped foods F from sliding by configuring the transport surface horizontally.

[0036] The transport speed of the rod-shaped food F by the belt conveyor 3 is set to be equal to or lower than the transport speed by the transfer section 2. When the rod-shaped food F lands on the surface of the belt conveyor 3 from the transfer section 2, it will land on either the left or right end of the rod-shaped food F, so if the transport speed of the rod-shaped food F by the belt conveyor 3 is faster than the phase speed of the transfer section 2, the orientation of the rod-shaped food F will be vertical. Therefore, by setting the transport speed of the rod-shaped food F by the belt conveyor 3 to be equal to or lower than the transport speed by the transfer section 2, the orientation of the rod-shaped food F can be kept horizontal, or the orientation of the rod-shaped food F that was vertical can be corrected to horizontal.

[0037] The belt conveyor 3 transports the stick-shaped foods F without changing their orientation due to the frictional force of the transport surface, and can discharge the stick-shaped foods F to the defective food detection section 4 while still facing sideways.

[0038] The second side guards 31 are disposed on the left and right ends of the belt 30 and serve to prevent the stick-shaped food F from falling off.

[0039] <Defective Product Detection Section> The defective product detection unit 4 includes a plurality of light sources 40, a plurality of cameras 41, a background board 42, and an analysis unit (not shown).

[0040] The light sources 40 are arranged above and below the sorting area, and irradiate light toward the rod-shaped food F discharged into the sorting area.

[0041] The cameras 41 are arranged one above the other, and capture images of stick-shaped food F passing between a background plate 42 and the cameras 41 to generate images.

[0042] The analysis unit analyzes the generated images and detects foreign objects and defective products based on the shape and color difference. The rod-shaped food sorting machine M transports rod-shaped foods while appropriately reducing overlaps, so that even minute black spots can be captured by the camera, and as a result, defective products can be appropriately detected.

[0043] Note that the configuration of the defective product detection unit is merely an example, and the configuration of the defective product detection unit according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the defective product detection unit according to the present invention may be composed of a camera and a light source arranged above the belt conveyor 3, and the camera may be configured to capture an image of the rod-shaped food F on the belt conveyor 3.

[0044] <Ejector> The ejector 5 is disposed downstream of the defective product detection unit 4. The ejector 5 injects air toward the foreign objects and defective products detected by the analysis unit, and removes the foreign objects and defective products to the defective product discharge unit 6. This allows the bar-shaped food sorter M to remove defective products more appropriately than defective product removal using mechanical flaps.

[0045] <Defective product ejection section and non-defective product ejection section> The defective product discharge section 6 has a defective product discharge outlet 60, and is disposed below the transfer path. The non-defective product discharge section 7 has a non-defective product discharge outlet 70, and is disposed at the end of the transfer path. Foreign objects and defective products removed by the ejector 5 are discharged from the defective product discharge outlet 60, while non-defective stick food products F not removed by the ejector 5 continue along the transfer path and are discharged from the non-defective product discharge outlet 70. In this way, the stick food sorter M removes foreign objects and defective products from the stick food products F.

[0046] As explained above, the rod-shaped food sorter M transports the rod-shaped foods F while accelerating them with the transport section 2, thereby removing overlaps between the rod-shaped foods F. Furthermore, the rod-shaped food sorter M can properly remove defective foods while maintaining a relatively high transport speed by discharging the rod-shaped foods F into the sorting area while stably transporting the rod-shaped foods F with the belt conveyor 3.

[0047] Although one embodiment of the stick food sorter of the present invention has been described above, the stick food transport unit and stick food sorter of the present invention are not limited to this. For example, the transport unit and stick food sorter of the present invention may be implemented in combination with the following modified examples.

[0048] <Modification> The transfer section 2 may have, for example, a plurality of inclined flat chutes 22 instead of the concave curved chute 20 or together with the concave curved chute 20. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the transfer section 2 configured with a plurality of flat chutes 22 instead of the concave curved chute 20. As shown in FIG. 7, the plurality of flat chutes 22 are formed continuously with each other, and the inclination angle of the plurality of flat chutes 22 is configured to be gentler as the flat chute 22 is located downstream. In addition to the configuration of FIG. 7, the transfer section 2 may be configured by dividing the plurality of flat chutes 22, and the plurality of flat chutes 22 may be configured to be lined up in the transfer direction. The inclination angle θ of the end of the flat chute 22 of the transfer section 2 with respect to the belt conveyor 3 may be 5° to 40°, preferably 5° to 25°, similar to the concave curved chute 20.

[0049] The transfer section 2 may be configured with, for example, a plurality of inclined belt conveyors (corresponding to the "second belt conveyor" of the present invention) instead of the concave curved chute 20, or together with the concave curved chute 20 and the flat chute 22. FIG. 8 is a side view of the transfer section 2 configured with a plate-shaped flat chute 23 and a plurality of belt conveyors 24. As shown in FIG. 8, the plurality of belt conveyors 24 are configured to be inclined more gently toward the downstream side. Also, the plurality of belt conveyors 24 may be configured to have a slower transfer speed toward the downstream side. Furthermore, the transfer speed of the most downstream belt conveyor 24 may be configured to be faster than the transfer speed of the belt conveyor 3. In this way, the transfer section 2 reduces the tendency of the stick-shaped food F to be oriented vertically when transferring the stick-shaped food F between the belt conveyors 24 and when transferring the stick-shaped food F from one belt conveyor 3 to another. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] M Bar-shaped food sorter F Bar food 1 Supply section 10 Supply unit main body 11 Inlet 12 Outlet 13 Supply Guide 2 Transfer section 20 Concave curved chute 20a Projection part 21 First Side Guard 22 Plane shot 23 Flat chute (plate type) 24 Belt conveyor (second belt conveyor) 3 Belt conveyor (first belt conveyor) 30 Belt 31 Second Side Guard 4. Defective Product Detection Section 40 light source 41 Camera 42 Background board 5 Ejector 6 Defective product discharge section 60 Defective product outlet 7 Good product discharge section 70 Good product outlet

Claims

1. A stick-shaped food sorting machine equipped with a defective food detection unit that detects defective stick-shaped food, A supply unit that supplies the rod-shaped food horizontally; a transfer section disposed downstream of the supply section and configured to transfer the rod-shaped food sideways while changing a transfer direction of the rod-shaped food from a height direction to a horizontal direction; The stick-shaped food sorting machine further comprises a first belt conveyor arranged downstream of the transfer section and configured to transfer the stick-shaped food horizontally to the defective food detection section.

2. The rod-shaped food sorting machine according to claim 1 , wherein the transport section has a concave curved chute formed in a generally square shape when viewed from the side.

3. The transfer section has a plurality of inclined planar chutes, The plurality of planar chutes are successively arranged or aligned in a conveying direction, 2. The rod-shaped food sorting machine according to claim 1, wherein the inclination angles of the flat chutes are configured to be gradually greater toward the downstream side of the flat chutes.

4. 4. The rod-shaped food sorter according to claim 2, wherein the transport section further comprises a plurality of protrusions arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction and extending in the transport direction.

5. The stick-shaped food sorter according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the transport surface of the transport section has projections and recesses.

6. 4. The rod-shaped food sorting machine according to claim 2, wherein an inclination angle of the terminal end of the transfer section with respect to the first belt conveyor is between 5° and 40°.

7. The transfer section has a plurality of second belt conveyors arranged in a transfer direction, The rod-shaped food sorting machine according to claim 1 , wherein the second belt conveyors have a slower transport speed toward the downstream side.

8. 2. The stick-shaped food sorting machine according to claim 1, wherein a transport speed of the stick-shaped food by the first belt conveyor is configured to be equal to or lower than a transport speed at a terminal end of the transport section.

9. The rod-shaped food sorting machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the supply section has a supply guide formed in a roughly square shape in a side view and guiding the rod-shaped food toward the transport surface of the transport section.

10. A rod-shaped food transport unit used in a rod-shaped food sorting machine including a supply unit that supplies rod-shaped food horizontally, a defective product detection unit that detects defective rod-shaped food, and a first belt conveyor that transports the rod-shaped food horizontally to the defective product detection unit, The rod-shaped food transfer section has a concave curved chute formed in an approximately L-shape when viewed from the side, is positioned downstream of the supply section, and transfers the rod-shaped food sideways to the first belt conveyor while changing the transfer direction of the rod-shaped food from the vertical direction to closer to the horizontal direction.

Images