Noodle making machine

Abstract

To provide a noodle making machine that uses gluten-free rice flour as a raw material to make noodle in consideration of properties of the gluten-free rice flour while applying the basic configuration of the conventional extrusion type noodle making machine.SOLUTION: When a mixed material obtained by mixing rice flour and water is fed from a feeding port 7a of a cylindrical casing 7 and pressure-fed inside the casing 7 while being kneaded by a screw 5, a heat medium tank 11 is provided so as to surround peripheral space of the entire central part excluding both end parts of the casing 7, heat medium is introduced into the heat medium tank 11, ambient temperature inside the tank is heated by a sheath heater 13 to keep the casing 7 placed inside the tank at a specified temperature, and the mixed material to be pressure-fed inside the casing 7 while being kneaded by the screw 5 is steamed at this specified temperature while it passes through the casing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an extrusion-type noodle-making machine suitable for producing noodles such as soba, udon, and spaghetti using rice flour instead of wheat flour as a raw material. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, extrusion-type noodle-making machines have been used in which noodle dough, which is made by adding water to and mixing it with wheat flour as a raw material, is fed from a hopper at the inlet of the casing into a screw that is rotatably installed inside a cylindrical casing, and the dough is pressurized and kneaded as the screw rotates to the outlet at the tip of the casing. The noodle dough, which has now been sufficiently kneaded and has become sticky, is then extruded through holes in a die installed at the outlet to produce noodles.

[0003] To make udon, soba, pasta, etc. using this type of noodle-making machine, if an appropriate amount of water is added to udon flour or buckwheat flour made from wheat flour and noodles are made according to the above procedure, considerable pressure is applied when kneading with the rotation of the screw, and if this pressure becomes too high, the temperature of the raw material increases, causing the starch in the raw material to gelatinize, and there are also problems such as damage to the joint between the shaft of the motor that rotates the screw and the shaft of the screw due to the reaction force of the pressure applied to the raw material. Therefore, a noodle-making machine has been proposed to solve these problems (Patent Document 1).

[0004] The noodle-making machine described in Patent Document 1 has a structure in which the motor and screw are fitted together to connect them, and a spiral groove that runs in the opposite direction to the screw spiral is formed to allow the ingredients to escape through this groove if the pressure becomes too high, preventing excessive pressure buildup. However, if the noodle dough that escapes and remains in this groove hardens, it is not easy to remove, and if left unattended, food hygiene concerns arise, so a noodle-making machine has also been proposed that prevents noodle dough from remaining and makes it easy to clean after use (Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3205735 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5839199 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The market for restaurant chains is expanding and the demand for frozen noodles is growing rapidly, so an increasing number of machines are being installed to make noodle dough from wheat flour. As a result, as mentioned above, noodle making machines with various improvements have been proposed in order to mass-produce high-quality noodles without compromising the flavor and texture of the noodle dough.

[0007] Wheat flour is widely used as a raw material for everyday foods such as bread, in addition to the above-mentioned noodles, and its consumption has increased with the Westernization of the diet. However, in recent years, awareness has increased that gluten contained in wheat flour can cause the so-called celiac disease, an autoimmune disease, and there are warnings that the condition is actually on the rise in Japan. For this reason, gluten-free rice flour foods are being reconsidered recently.

[0008] Rice flour is made by milling non-glutinous rice or glutinous rice, and has traditionally been used as an ingredient for dumplings, mochi, and rice crackers, but recently, due to the above-mentioned review, rice flour bread has become popular, and with the consumption of rice itself declining, rice production is also being reviewed as part of the promotion of the sixth industrialization of agriculture. Under these circumstances, there are growing hopes that the demand for rice flour will increase as an alternative ingredient to noodles, which use a large amount of wheat flour.

[0009] However, the above-mentioned noodle-making machines proposed in the past were designed to use wheat flour as a raw material, and could not make noodles when rice flour, which does not contain gluten, was used as a raw material. In other words, wheat flour containing gluten acts as a binder and turns into noodles as is, so extrusion noodle making was possible by kneading the flour with a screw while pumping it. As such, conventional noodle-making machines were designed to use wheat flour as a raw material, and there was a problem that they could not make noodles when rice flour, which does not contain gluten that acts as a binder, was used as a raw material.

[0010] Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide a noodle-making machine that adopts the basic configuration of a conventional extrusion-type noodle-making machine, while taking into account the characteristics of gluten-free rice flour and being able to make noodles using this as a raw material. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows: That is, the noodle-making machine of the present invention comprises a cylindrical casing having an inlet at the rear side through which a mixed material consisting of raw material flour, water and additives is introduced from above, a rotatably supported screw can be inserted from the rear end opening, and an extrusion nozzle having a through hole of a predetermined shape can be attached to the front end opening, and a drive means for driving the rotation shaft of the screw, wherein the mixed material introduced from the inlet of the casing is pressure-fed to the front end opening side while being kneaded by driving the screw inserted into the casing from the rear end opening by the drive means, and then extruded through a slit hole in the extrusion nozzle attached to the front end opening to obtain raw material noodles, The present invention is characterized in that a heat medium tank is provided which surrounds the outer peripheral space of the entire central part except for both ends of the cylindrical casing, and that a heating means is provided which heats the atmosphere inside the heat medium tank to a predetermined temperature using a heat medium, and a control means is provided which controls the heating means.

[0012] As a result, the temperature inside the heat medium tank can be controlled to a predetermined temperature, and as the mixed materials are kneaded and pressure-fed inside the casing placed at this ambient temperature, they are steamed according to the characteristics of the mixed materials and can be extruded and molded as raw material noodles from the extrusion nozzle.As a result, noodles can be made using rice flour, which was not originally used as a noodle dough material.

[0013] In the past, when the raw material was wheat flour, a problem arose that when the temperature rose due to friction generated between the conveying surface of the screw and between the mixed material and the inner surface of the casing while it was being kneaded and pumped by the screw, this would cause the noodle dough to deteriorate. As a result, measures had been taken to suppress the temperature rise, and a heat transfer tank had not been proactively provided, as in the present invention.

[0014] Furthermore, when making noodles using rice flour as a raw material, the water content can be increased to about 50% to 75%, instead of the 30% to 45% required for wheat flour, and the rice flour is supplied in a highly fluid, gel-like mixture. After being kneaded and pumped in this highly fluid state and steamed to a certain degree at a specified temperature, the rice flour is extruded and molded into noodle dough, resulting in a very smooth texture when eaten. Effect of the Invention

[0015] The noodle making machine of the present invention is based on the basic configuration of a noodle making machine that can make noodles using wheat flour as a raw material, but can also make noodles using rice flour, which does not contain gluten. This makes it possible to provide gluten-free noodles, which can adapt to the current trend toward healthier foods and also has the effect of contributing to the increasing demand for rice. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing the configuration of a noodle making machine according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0018] Similar to conventional extrusion-type noodle-making machines, the noodle-making machine 1 which is an embodiment of the present invention is composed of the following basic elements: an input section for inputting the raw materials, a cylindrical casing section in which the input section is formed, a screw section that is rotatably inserted into the casing, a rotation drive section that drives and rotates the screw section, and a nozzle section with a through-hole provided at the tip of the screw. As shown in Figure 1, the noodle-making machine 1 equipped with these components is placed on top of a rectangular flat base 2, which is supported by legs 2a at the four corners and leg 2b in the center.

[0019] A housing 3 is erected on the platform extending from the center to the rear of the base 2, a drive motor is installed inside the housing 3, and a bearing unit 6 is installed on the housing 3 to cantilever-support the rear end of the rotating shaft of a screw 5, which is rotated by the torque of the motor. Pulleys are attached to the rotating shafts of the drive motor 4 and screw 5, and a belt is looped between them to transmit the torque of the drive motor 4 to the screw 5, forming a rotation drive unit.

[0020] The rear end side of the screw 5 is supported at one end by a bearing part 6 of this rotation drive part, and its front end side is fitted inside a cylindrical casing 7. The casing 7 has an inlet 7a at the rear upper surface side through which material is fed from a hopper 15 into the casing 7, a connecting part 7b is provided at the opening at the rear end to connect with the bearing end protruding forward that supports the screw 5 at one end by the bearing part 6, and an attachment connecting part 7c is provided at the opening at the front end to attach and connect an extrusion nozzle 9 equipped with a die 8.

[0021] As described above, the rear end of the casing 7 is connected to and supported by the shaft end of the bearing 6 by the connecting portion 7b, while the main body of the casing 7 is fixed and supported by the exterior frame of the heat medium tank 11 so as to penetrate the heat medium tank 11 installed on the housing 10 erected on the front side of the base 2. The heat medium tank 11 is supplied with heat medium from a supply pipe 12 provided at the top thereof, and the heat medium in the tank can be heated by a sheath type heater 13 provided in the tank. In addition, a temperature sensor (not shown) is provided in the tank, and the heating adjustment control of the sheath type heater 13 is performed so that the atmospheric temperature in the tank is set to a predetermined temperature based on the detection data from the temperature sensor. Such heating adjustment control is performed based on an operation command from an operation panel 14 erected at the rear end of the base 2. Since the atmospheric temperature in the heat medium tank 11 can be set to a predetermined temperature in this way, the main body of the casing 7 is placed in an atmosphere at a predetermined temperature.

[0022] As described above, the screw 5 fitted within the casing 7 has its rotating shaft at one end supported by the bearing 6, and the rotational force of the drive motor 4 is transmitted to the end of the shaft to rotate it. The screw blades directly below the inlet 7a of the casing 7 are formed at a constant pitch, but the pitch becomes gradually narrower towards the tip. With this pitch configuration, the blades at a constant pitch rotate with respect to the noodle dough material charged from the inlet 7a, kneading the noodle dough material while pressure-feeding it to the tip, but an extrusion nozzle 9 equipped with a die 8 is disposed at the tip of the casing 7, and the tip protrusion of the screw 5 is fitted and inserted into the central hole of the die 8, so that when the noodle dough material is extruded from the extrusion nozzle 9, the back pressure generated at the tip of the screw 5 is increased, improving the kneading process.

[0023] The noodle-making machine 1 of the present invention is configured as described above, and differs from conventional noodle-making machines in that a heat medium tank 11 is provided and the casing 7 main body into which the screw 5 is fitted is installed and supported within this heat medium tank 11. This configuration makes it possible to easily make, for example, pho noodles, which are commonly eaten in Vietnam and are made from rice flour. The noodle-making process is described below.

[0024] When making noodles using the noodle making machine of this embodiment, first prepare a mixed material for the noodle dough by mixing rice flour as the raw material flour, water, and additives, and feed this from hopper 15. When making noodles using rice flour as the raw material, the water content is about 30% to 45% as in the case of wheat flour, but it can be increased to about 50% to 75%, and the rice flour is supplied in a highly fluid, gel-like mixed state. The appropriate amount of water varies depending on the rice flour raw material, but by increasing the water content, the finished noodles can have a smooth texture like pho noodles.

[0025] When the mixed material is charged into the hopper 15 as described above, the mixed material is temporarily placed in a standby state within the hopper 15, but then a process is started in which the temperature within the heat medium tank 11 is increased by energizing the sheath heater 13 so that the atmospheric temperature within the tank reaches a predetermined temperature, and when the atmospheric temperature within the heat medium tank 11 reaches the predetermined temperature, the drive motor 4 is started to start the rotational drive of the screw 5, the valve 15a of the hopper 15 opens, and the mixed material is charged into the screw 5 from the charging port 7a of the casing 7. This series of processes is automatically performed by setting operations on the operation panel 14.

[0026] The mixed material is kneaded by the screw 5 as it rolls inside the casing 7, and is pumped to the tip of the screw 5. At this time, as described above, the back pressure generated at the tip of the screw 5 is high, so the mixed material is kneaded and pumped while remaining in the casing 7 body against the back pressure, and the kneading condition is improved. In this way, it takes a certain amount of time for the mixed material to pass through the casing 7 body, but the casing 7 body is installed in the heat medium tank 11, and the atmospheric temperature in the heat medium tank 11 has risen to a predetermined temperature, so the casing 7 body is also heated to the same temperature. Therefore, the mixed material being pumped while being kneaded inside the casing 7 body is steamed by the heat from the casing 7 body.

[0027] The steaming conditions of the mixed ingredients are such that if the temperature is too high, the ingredients will be over-steamed, and if the temperature is too low, the noodles will be undercooked, lowering the quality of the finished noodles, so the temperature setting is an important factor. In this embodiment, the atmospheric temperature inside the heat transfer medium tank 11 is controlled to a predetermined temperature (approximately 140°C to 150°C) that is determined to be optimal based on the time required for the mixed ingredients to pass through the casing 7 body while being kneaded and pumped, and the steaming time required from the characteristics of the mixed ingredients. This temperature is calculated based on data obtained through experience in making noodles using various types of rice flour as the raw material, and is within a certain temperature range.

[0028] In the above embodiment, the predetermined temperature is set by adjusting the heating of the sheath heater 13, but if it is necessary to lower the temperature, the heat medium tank 11 may be made into a jacket structure so that it can be water-cooled. When rice flour, which does not contain texture-forming components such as gluten, is used as the raw material, adjusting the temperature to be steamed at a high temperature in this way makes it easier for the starch components to gelatinize and form a texture. In the case of making noodles with a conventional machine using wheat flour as the raw material, when the material is kneaded and pressure-fed by the screw 5, friction occurs between the conveying surface of the screw 5 and the mixed material and the inner surface of the casing 7, causing a rise in temperature, which causes the noodle dough to deteriorate, so on the contrary, measures are taken to suppress the temperature rise.

[0029] The mixed material that has been pressure-fed while being kneaded to the tip of the screw 5 passes through a die 8 inside an extrusion nozzle 9 attached by a mounting connection part 7c at the front end of the casing 7, and is extruded from a noodle-shaped slit provided at the extrusion opening of the extrusion nozzle 9 to be molded into noodle dough, and the extruded and molded noodle dough is transported by a conveyor belt 16 installed directly below the extrusion opening to the next stage of sterilization, cooling and packaging processing, thereby completing the noodle-making process. Foreign matter can also be removed by adding a filter to the die 8 described above.

[0030] In the above embodiment, the mixed material is fed from the hopper 15 in a batch system, but a mixing section for mixing the mixed material may be provided to continuously transfer the mixed material to form a continuous supply system. In the above embodiment, the rear part of the base 2 may be extended so that the housing 3 in which the drive motor 4 and the bearing section 6 are installed can be moved rearward on the base 2 in an integrated state. In this case, the connection between the bearing section 6 and the casing 7 at the connection section 7b is released, and the extrusion nozzle 9 is removed from the mounting connection section 7c of the casing 7. This rearward movement allows the screw 5 fitted in the casing 7 to be removed, so that the screw 5 can be easily cleaned.

[0031] As described above, according to the noodle making machine of this embodiment, while being based on the basic configuration of a noodle making machine that can make noodles using wheat flour as a raw material, it is now possible to make noodles using rice flour, which does not contain gluten. [Industrial Applicability]

[0032] The noodle-making machine according to the present invention can provide gluten-free noodles using gluten-free rice flour as a raw material, making it possible to carry out food manufacturing in response to the growing trend towards healthy eating. Furthermore, wheat flour, which is used in large quantities as a raw material for noodles, is imported exclusively from abroad, and the amount of imports is easily affected by the world's economic and political situations. Therefore, if noodles can be made using rice flour as a noodle ingredient, it is expected to contribute to increasing the demand for rice in the current situation where domestic rice production and consumption are declining, and the present invention has high applicability from the perspective of increasing rice production in the sixth industry. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1. Noodle making machine 2 Base 3. Chassis 4 Drive motor 5 Screw 6 Bearing section 7 Casing 8 Dice 9 Extrusion Nozzle 10. Chassis 11 Heat medium tank 13 Thief-type heater 14 Control panel 15 Hopper

Claims

[Claim 1] The casing is provided with a cylindrical shape, an inlet for feeding a mixed material, which is a mixture of raw material powder, water and additives, from the top, at the rear side, a screw supported rotatably can be inserted from the rear end opening, and a die having a through hole of a predetermined shape can be attached to the front end opening; and a drive means for driving the rotation shaft of the screw; In this noodle-making machine, the mixed material fed from the feeding port of the casing is kneaded by rotating a screw inserted into the casing from the rear end opening of the casing, and is pressure-fed toward the front end opening while being extruded through a slit hole in an extrusion nozzle attached to the front end opening, thereby obtaining raw material noodles, This noodle making machine is characterized in that it comprises a heat medium tank surrounding the entire outer peripheral space of the central part excluding both ends of the cylindrical casing, a heating means for heating the atmosphere inside the heat medium tank to a predetermined temperature by a heat medium, and a control means for controlling the heating means.

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