Cooked rice mass formation device

Abstract

To provide a cooked rice mass formation device which, while keeping the cooked rice density of a molded cooked rice mass constant, can maintain a fluffy feel and a good texture which the cooked rice normally has.SOLUTION: A cooked rice mass formation device includes: a case part 50 which temporarily reserves cooked rice 2; a pair of left and right pressing members which is provided in the case part 50 and which functions to press the cooked rice 2 supplied to the case part 50 to mold the cooked rice 2 into a predetermined form; a shutter mechanism 52 which is provided openably and closably under the pair of left and right pressing members and which molds the cooked rice 2 along with the pair of left and right pressing members while in a closed state so as to support the cooked rice 2, is made in an open state to send out the molded cooked rice 2, and is made in the closed state again to cut off the sent-out cooked rice 2 into a cooked rice mass 3; and a conveyance part which is provided under the shutter mechanism 52 in such a fashion as to be capable of rising and falling and which receives the cooked rice 2 sent out from the shutter mechanism 52 onto a conveyance surface 53g while the thickness of the cooked rice mass 3 is adjusted with the height of the conveyance surface 53g.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooked rice lump forming device that divides cooked rice into predetermined amounts and sends them out as cooked rice lumps. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is a cooked rice block forming device that divides cooked rice into predetermined amounts and sends out cooked rice blocks for one meal, for example. In this type of device, cooked rice supplied from a storage container such as a hopper that temporarily stores cooked rice is divided into predetermined amounts and placed on a conveying section such as a belt conveyor, and the cooked rice blocks are sent out to a subsequent process by the conveying section.

[0003] Such a cooked rice lump forming device includes a loosening device that loosens cooked rice supplied to a hopper, and a cooked rice measuring and dividing section that adjusts the cooked rice loosened by the loosening device to a predetermined shape, size, hardness, etc. The cooked rice measuring and dividing section has, for example, a housing section that temporarily stores the cooked rice supplied from the hopper. The cooked rice lump forming device is provided with a cooked rice shaping section for the purpose of adjusting the cooked rice stored in the box-shaped housing section to a predetermined shape, size, hardness, etc. (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration including a cooked rice supplying section having a supply hopper that temporarily stores and supplies cooked rice, and a supply tube section having a box-shaped housing section that shapes and adjusts the density of the cooked rice supplied from the cooked rice supplying section. In this configuration, cooked rice fed into the cooked rice supplying section is temporarily stored in the cooked rice supplying section, then dropped into the supply tube section and piled up to a certain height in the supply tube section. As a result, the cooked rice located at the bottom of the supply tube section is pressed by the weight of the other piled cooked rice, thereby adjusting its density. That is, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, the density of the cooked rice to be shaped is adjusted according to the weight of the cooked rice fed into the supply tube section.

[0005] Patent Document 2 describes a configuration including a cooked rice supplying section having a supply hopper that temporarily stores and supplies cooked rice, and a pair of left and right spreading rollers provided below a transport conveyor of the cooked rice supplying section. In this configuration, cooked rice fed from the cooked rice supplying section between the pair of left and right spreading rollers is compressed to a predetermined thickness (density) between the spreading rollers and supplied to the transport conveyor. That is, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 2, the density of the formed cooked rice is adjusted according to the distance between the pair of left and right spreading rollers. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-261240 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2007-74979 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In the above-mentioned conventional configuration with the supply tube, the rice is temporarily filled in the supply tube, and the density of the rice can be adjusted by the weight of the rice filled in the supply tube, but it is difficult to precisely adjust the amount of rice filled in the supply tube, and it is difficult to make the density of the rice mass formed constant. Also, in the conventional configuration, the density of the rice mass is determined according to the total height of the supply tube, so if the total height of the rice mass forming device is increased to increase the density of the rice, the position where the rice is introduced into the rice supply section becomes high, and there is a risk that the workability of forming the rice mass will be deteriorated.

[0008] In addition, in a conventional cooked rice block forming device equipped with a pair of left and right spreading rollers, cooked rice grains pass between the pair of left and right spreading rollers to form a cooked rice sheet, so in order to make the cooked rice grains into a sheet after passing between the spreading rollers, it is necessary to press the cooked rice from both sides more than necessary. In this way, when a cooked rice sheet is formed using a spreading roller, the density of the formed cooked rice sheet increases, and there is a risk that the texture of the rice balls formed using this cooked rice sheet will deteriorate. In addition, since the cooked rice supplied to the spreading rollers is cooked rice grains in a state where each grain is loosened, the density of the formed cooked rice sheet varies, making it difficult to maintain a constant quality.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a cooked rice block forming device that can maintain the cooked rice density of the formed cooked rice block and improve the workability of an operator who forms the cooked rice block while maintaining the good texture, such as the fluffy feel, that cooked rice inherently has. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A first aspect of the present invention is a cooked rice lump forming device that divides cooked rice into predetermined amounts and sends out as cooked rice lump, and is equipped with a cooked rice compression molding unit that temporarily stores the supplied cooked rice and compresses and molds it into a predetermined shape, and the cooked rice compression molding unit is a cooked rice lump forming device having: a case portion that temporarily stores the cooked rice, a pair of left and right pressing members that are provided within the case portion and press the cooked rice supplied to the case portion to mold the cooked rice into a predetermined shape, a shutter mechanism that is provided below the pair of left and right pressing members and can be opened and closed, supports the cooked rice in a closed state and molds the cooked rice together with the pair of left and right pressing members, sends out the molded cooked rice by opening the molded cooked rice, and closes again to separate the delivered cooked rice into cooked rice lump, and a conveying unit that is provided below the shutter mechanism and can be raised and lowered, receives the cooked rice sent out from the shutter mechanism on a conveying surface, and adjusts the thickness of the cooked rice lump depending on the height of the conveying surface.

[0011] A second aspect of the present invention is a cooked rice block forming device, characterized in that the pair of left and right pressing members are a pair of left and right rotating pressing bodies arranged close to each other and whose rotation axis direction is a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying section in a plan view, and the pair of rotating pressing bodies are arranged to act on cooked rice supplied from above into the forming space by rotating in a direction that moves the opposing side of each body downward, with the space between the pair of rotating pressing bodies being a forming space for cooked rice.

[0012] A third aspect of the present invention is a cooked rice lump forming device, characterized in that the rotating presser includes a central pressing part which is a cylindrical part whose rotation axis direction is the central axis direction and has a pressing wall part on its peripheral edge, and a peripheral pressing part which is a truncated cone-shaped part which is provided on both sides of the central axis direction of the central pressing part and gradually increases in diameter from the central pressing part side to the end side in the central axis direction and has a plurality of peripheral cog parts which press cooked rice on its peripheral edge. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, the density of the formed cooked rice block can be made constant, and the good texture such as the fluffy feel that cooked rice inherently has can be maintained while improving the workability of the worker who forms the cooked rice block. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing a cooked rice lump forming device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a cooked rice lump forming device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the movement of cooked rice in the cooked rice lump forming device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a case part of the cooked rice lump forming unit of the cooked rice lump forming device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a case part of the cooked rice lump forming unit of the cooked rice lump forming device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a case part of the cooked rice lump forming unit of the cooked rice lump forming device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing a rotary pressing body according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a rotary pressing body according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an end view taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a rotary pressing body, a lower side surface portion, and a shutter mechanism that constitute the cooked rice block forming unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a rotary pressing body, a lower side surface portion, and a shutter mechanism that constitute the cooked rice block forming unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a procedure for forming a cooked rice lump by the cooked rice lump forming unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a diagram showing how the cooked rice lump is formed by the shutter mechanism and the rotating pressure body, and (b) is a diagram showing the state in which the shutter mechanism is opened and the cooked rice lump is supplied to the conveying section. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a schematic front view showing a procedure for forming a cooked rice block by the cooked rice block forming unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) shows a state in which the shutter mechanism is closed to form a cooked rice block of a predetermined thickness, and (b) shows a state in which the cut cooked rice block is transported in a predetermined direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] In the present invention, in a cooked rice compression molding section which molds supplied cooked rice into a predetermined shape, a pair of rotating pressing bodies on the left and right sides are provided which apply pressure to cooked rice temporarily supported by a shutter mechanism to mold the cooked rice into a predetermined shape, in contrast to a pressing member which compresses and molds the cooked rice supplied from a hopper.This makes it possible to make the density of the molded cooked rice blocks uniform, while maintaining the good texture such as the fluffy feel that cooked rice naturally has, and improves the workability of the worker who molds the cooked rice blocks.

[0016] [Overall configuration of cooked rice lump forming device] First, the overall configuration of the cooked rice lump forming device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 14. In the cooked rice lump forming device 1, the front and rear directions perpendicular to the paper surface of Fig. 2 are respectively defined as the front and rear, and the left and right directions in Fig. 2 are respectively defined as the left and right.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the cooked rice lump forming device 1 according to this embodiment divides cooked rice 2 into predetermined amounts and sends them out as cooked rice lumps 3 (or cooked rice lumps 3X), and includes a cooked rice supplying section 4 that temporarily stores and supplies the supplied cooked rice 2, and a cooked rice compression molding section 5 that sends out the cooked rice supplied from the cooked rice supplying section 4 as cooked rice lumps 3 of a predetermined amount and density. The cooked rice lump forming device 1 also includes an output conveying section 6 that weighs, shapes and conveys the cooked rice lumps 3 sent out from the cooked rice compression molding section 5. The cooked rice lump forming device 1 is installed on a floor surface 7. In addition, in the cooked rice lump forming device 1, the cooked rice supplying section 4 and the cooked rice compression molding section 5 are connected by a sorting conveying section 9.

[0018] The cooked rice block forming device 1 loosens cooked rice 2 supplied in the cooked rice supplying section 4, and supplies the loosened cooked rice 2 to the cooked rice compression molding section 5 via the sorting and conveying section 9. In the cooked rice compression molding section 5, the cooked rice block forming device 1 receives cooked rice 2 supplied from the cooked rice supplying section 4, temporarily stores the cooked rice 2, and transforms it into a predetermined shape while making the density of the cooked rice 2 uniform, and then cuts it to a predetermined thickness to supply the cooked rice block 3 formed therein to the carrying-out and conveying section 6. In the carrying-out and conveying section 6, the cooked rice block forming device 1 weighs the cooked rice block 3 transformed into a predetermined shape in the cooked rice compression molding section 5, and if the predetermined weight is not reached, fills the cooked rice block 3 with the shortage weight as a filler cooked rice 2X, and after filling the filler cooked rice 2X, presses the surface of the cooked rice block 3 to form it into a cooked rice block 3X, and supplies the cooked rice block 3X formed into a predetermined shape and density to the subsequent rice ball forming process. The cooked rice block 3X is a plate-like cooked rice block having a predetermined shape.

[0019] The cooked rice lump forming device 1 includes a control unit 10 (see FIG. 1) that controls each of the above-mentioned units. The control unit 10 includes a CPU, a memory that stores various programs and data, and performs overall control including drive control of various operating units and various drive units of the cooked rice lump forming device 1 based on the outputs of various sensors included in the cooked rice lump forming device 1.

[0020] The cooked rice lump forming device 1 has a housing 8 configured in a box-like external shape. A cooked rice supplying section 4 is provided on the upper side of the housing 8, and a cooked rice compression molding section 5, a carrying-out conveying section 6, and a sorting conveying section 9 are provided on the front side of the housing 8. The carrying-out conveying section 6 and the sorting conveying section 9 are provided extending in the left-right direction from a position in front of the housing 8. The control section 10 is provided, for example, outside the housing 8. However, the control section 10 may be provided inside the housing 8.

[0021] [Composition of cooked rice supply section] The configuration of the cooked rice supplying unit 4 will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 3. The cooked rice supplying unit 4 has a case 11 as a storage unit that temporarily stores cooked rice 2, a belt conveyor 12 as a transport unit provided in the case 11, and a loosening rotor 13 as a loosening member for loosening the cooked rice 2 supplied to the case 11.

[0022] The case 11 has left and right side portions 11a, a rear portion 11b, and a bottom portion 11c, and is configured as a generally box-shaped portion with the front and top open by these sides. The case 11 is a portion that functions as a storage container for storing cooked rice 2, a so-called hopper, and receives cooked rice 2 from the upper open portion.

[0023] The belt conveyor 12 is configured to transport the cooked rice 2 supplied to the case part 11 in a predetermined direction and send it out of the case part 11. The belt conveyor 12 has a transport direction aligned with the front-rear direction, and the transport direction is from the rear side to the front side.

[0024] The belt conveyor 12 has support rollers 14, 15 provided at both the front and rear ends in the conveying direction (hereinafter referred to as the "conveyor conveying direction"), and an endless conveyor belt 16 wound around the support rollers 14, 15, and the conveyor belt 16 forms a substantially horizontal conveying surface 12a. The belt conveyor 12 is disposed in the lower part of the case 11, and is provided so that the conveying surface 12a occupies substantially the entire space in the case 11 in a plan view.

[0025] That is, the width dimension of the conveying surface 12a of the belt conveyor 12 is approximately the same as the distance between the left and right side portions 11a of the case portion 11, and the rear support roller 15 forming the starting end of the belt conveyor 12 is located near the rear portion 11b, and the front support roller 14 forming the terminal end of the belt conveyor 12 is located near the front end position of the bottom portion 11c. The front end of the bottom portion 11c is located near the front portion 8a of the housing 8 in the front-rear direction. The cooked rice 2 put into the case portion 11 is placed on the conveying surface 12a of the belt conveyor 12 and is conveyed forward by the belt conveyor 12.

[0026] The loosening rotor 13 is provided in front of the belt conveyor 12 in the conveyor transport direction, and is a member that provides a loosening action to the cooked rice 2 transported by the belt conveyor 12. The loosening rotor 13 is a rotor whose rotation axis is in a direction perpendicular to the conveyor transport direction in a plan view, i.e., in the left-right direction.

[0027] The loosening rotor 13 includes a rotating shaft portion 13a extending in the direction of the rotation axis of the loosening rotor 13, and a screw body 13b that is spaced a certain distance from the rotating shaft portion 13a of the loosening rotor 13 and spirally surrounds the rotating shaft portion 13a from the left end to the right end of the rotating shaft portion 13a. The loosening rotor 13 is rotatably provided in such a manner that the central axis of the rotating shaft portion 13a coincides with the rotation axis line and is suspended in front of the left and right side surface portions 11a (between the extension portions 11d). The loosening rotor 13 is supported between the left and right side surface portions 11a by the rotating shaft portion 13a.

[0028] The loosening rotor 13 is provided over substantially the entire range between the left and right side surface portions 11a. The loosening rotor 13 rotates in a counterclockwise direction (left-handed direction) when the cooked rice lump forming device 1 is in operation as viewed from the left side (see arrow A1 in FIG. 3).

[0029] The rotating shaft portion 13a of the loosening rotor 13 is a straight rod-like portion having a circular cross section, and has an outer peripheral surface 13c which is an elongated cylindrical surface, with the longitudinal direction aligned with the left-right direction.

[0030] The screw body 13b of the loosening rotor 13 has support portions 13d that protrude from the outer peripheral surface 13c of the loosening rotor 13 from the left end to the right end of the loosening rotor 13, along the radial direction of the rotating shaft portion 13a, that is, along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating shaft portion 13a, support spiral portions 13e connected to the tip portions of each support portion 13d, and protrusion portions 13f that protrude in the radial direction of the support spiral portion 13e so as to follow the support spiral portion 13e.

[0031] The support parts 13d are provided at a plurality of positions at a predetermined interval in the rotation axis direction of the loosening rotor 13. In this embodiment, two support parts 13d are provided at seven positions from the left end to the right end of the rotating shaft part 13a. The two support parts 13d at each position in the axial direction of the rotating shaft part 13a are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft part 13a. In addition, two groups of support parts 13d adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the rotating shaft part 13a are shifted in phase by 60° in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft part 13a when viewed in the central axial direction of the rotating shaft part 13a. Therefore, in the loosening rotor 13, the support parts 13d appear at six positions at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft part 13a when viewed in the rotation axis direction. In addition, groups of support parts 13d in which the phases of the two support parts 13d are the same are alternately provided in the axial direction of the rotating shaft part 13a.

[0032] The loosening rotor 13 has an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the support roller 14 on the front side of the belt conveyor 12. In this embodiment, the entire outer diameter of the loosening rotor 13, including the protrusions 13f, is set to the outer diameter of the loosening rotor 13. However, the relative size of the loosening rotor 13 with respect to the support roller 14 is not limited to this embodiment.

[0033] The loosening rotor 13 is provided so that its lower end position (the lowest end position of the rotation trajectory of the protrusion 13f) is located on approximately the same horizontal plane as the rotation shaft 14a of the support roller 14, and is provided so that there is a gap of about one grain of rice between the tip of the protrusion 13f of the loosening rotor 13 and the conveying surface 12a of the belt conveyor 12. This reduces the risk of the cooked rice 2 being crushed between the tip of the protrusion 13f of the loosening rotor 13 and the conveying surface 12a of the belt conveyor 12.

[0034] A front cover part 20 is provided at the front part of the case part 11, which covers the front and the upper part of the loosening rotor 13. The front cover part 20 has a surface part that follows the shape of the extension part 11d of the side part 11a in a side view.

[0035] Specifically, the front cover part 20 has a front surface part 20a which is a vertical surface part and a top surface part 20b which is an inclined surface part. The front cover part 20 covers the front of the loosening rotor 13 with the front surface part 20a, and covers the upper part of the loosening rotor 13 with the top surface part 20b. The front cover part 20 positions the rear end edge of the top surface part 20b at the terminal part of the belt conveyor 12, i.e., above the front support roller 14.

[0036] In this manner, the extensions 11d of the left and right side surfaces 11a of the case 11 and the front cover 20 form a storage space 21 for the loosening rotor 13. An opening provided on the lower side of the storage space 21 serves as a supply port 19 for the cooked rice 2 from the cooked rice supply unit 4 to the sorting and conveying unit 9.

[0037] As described above, the cooked rice supplying section 4 equipped with the belt conveyor 12 and the loosening rotor 13 inside the case section 11 has a cooked rice holding member 30 for acting on the cooked rice 2 transported forward by the belt conveyor 12 against the loosening rotor 13. The cooked rice holding member 30 is located above the belt conveyor 12 and behind the loosening rotor 13.

[0038] The cooked rice lump forming device 1 of this embodiment has a holding rotor 31 as the cooked rice holding member 30. The holding rotor 31 is provided at the front side in the conveyor transport direction, and rotates in a direction corresponding to the conveyor transport direction with the left-right direction as the rotation axis direction. In other words, the holding rotor 31 rotates in the same direction as the loosening rotor 13 with the left-right direction as the rotation axis direction.

[0039] The holding rotor 31 includes a rotating shaft portion 32 extending in the direction of the rotation axis of the holding rotor 31, and a plurality of rod-shaped pin portions 33 protruding from the rotating shaft portion 32 toward the outside in the radial direction of the holding rotor 31 when viewed in the direction of the rotation axis of the holding rotor 31. The holding rotor 31 is rotatably provided in such a manner that the central axis of the rotating shaft portion 32 coincides with the rotation axis line and is bridged between the front portions of the left and right side surface portions 11a (between the extension portions 11d). The holding rotor 31 is supported between the left and right side surface portions 11a by the rotating shaft portion 32.

[0040] The holding rotor 31, like the loosening rotor 13, is provided over substantially the entire range between the left and right side surface portions 11a in the left-right direction. The holding rotor 31 rotates in a counterclockwise direction (left-handed direction) when the cooked rice lump forming device 1 is in operation (see arrow A2 in FIG. 3). In other words, the holding rotor 31 rotates in the same direction as the loosening rotor 13.

[0041] The rotating shaft portion 32 of the holding rotor 31 is a straight rod-like portion having a circular cross section, and has an outer peripheral surface 32a which is an elongated cylindrical surface, with the longitudinal direction aligned with the left-right direction.

[0042] The pin portion 33 of the holding rotor 31 is a straight rod-like portion having a circular cross section, and protrudes from the outer circumferential surface 32a of the rotating shaft portion 32 along the radial direction of the rotating shaft portion 32, that is, along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating shaft portion 32. The outer diameter of the pin portion 33 is, for example, about 1 / 5 to 1 / 6 of the outer diameter of the rotating shaft portion 32.

[0043] The pin portions 33 are provided at a plurality of locations at a predetermined interval in the rotation axis direction of the holding rotor 31. In this embodiment, four pin portions 33 are provided at 13 locations from the left end to the right end of the rotating shaft portion 32. The four pin portions 33 at each location in the axial direction of the rotating shaft portion 32 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft portion 32. In addition, adjacent groups of four pin portions 33 in the axial direction of the rotating shaft portion 32 are shifted in phase by 45° in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft portion 32 when viewed in the central axis direction of the rotating shaft portion 32. Therefore, in the holding rotor 31, the pin portions 33 appear at eight locations at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft portion 32 when viewed in the rotation axis direction. In addition, groups of four pin portions 33 with the same phase are alternately provided in the axial direction of the rotating shaft portion 32.

[0044] The holding rotor 31 has an outer shape smaller than the outer diameter of the support roller 14 on the front side of the belt conveyor 12. In this embodiment, the holding rotor 31 is formed so that the overall outer diameter including the pin portion 33 is smaller than the outer diameter of the loosening rotor 13. However, the relative sizes of the holding rotor 31 to the loosening rotor 13 and the support roller 14 are not limited to this embodiment.

[0045] The lower end position of the holding rotor 31 (the lower end position in the rotation trajectory of the pin portion 33) is slightly behind the support roller 14 and is provided with a gap between it and the transport surface 12a of the belt conveyor 12. In addition, the upper end position of the holding rotor 31 is lower than the upper end position of the loosening rotor 13, and the rotation axis of the holding rotor 31 is located at a higher position than the rotation axis of the loosening rotor 13.

[0046] The holding rotor 31 acts from above on the cooked rice 2 being transported forward on the transport surface 12a of the belt conveyor 12, and transports the cooked rice 2 to the loosening rotor 13 while restricting the stack height of the cooked rice 2 on the transport surface 12a. Therefore, the rotation direction of the holding rotor 31 is clockwise when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis of the holding rotor 31, in accordance with the transport direction of the belt conveyor 12.

[0047] The holding rotor 31 provides the cooked rice 2 on the conveying surface 12a with a loosening action and an adjustment action of the stacking height by means of the pin portion 33.

[0048] As described above, the cooked rice supplying unit 4 has two rotors, the loosening rotor 13 and the holding rotor 31, at its front. These two rotors are driven to rotate by receiving a rotational driving force from a driving source such as a motor via a power transmission member such as a gear. The two rotors are driven to rotate by an independent driving source such as a motor, or by a driving source shared between the rotors via a power transmission mechanism such as a gear, chain, and sprocket. The driving source such as a motor and the power transmission mechanism for driving the two rotors to rotate are provided, for example, inside the housing 8.

[0049] Regarding the rotation speed of the two rotors of the cooked rice supply unit 4, the holding rotor 31 rotates at a relatively slow speed that matches the transport speed of the belt conveyor 12. In other words, the holding rotor 31 rotates at approximately the same rotation speed as the rotation speed of the support rollers 14 of the belt conveyor 12. In contrast, the loosening rotor 13 rotates at a faster speed than the holding rotor 31. The loosening rotor 13 rotates at a high speed, for example, such that the cooked rice 2 that comes into contact with it is scattered by its rotational action.

[0050] Specifically, the rotation speed of the holding rotor 31 is, for example, several centimeters per second. In contrast, the rotation speed of the loosening rotor 13 is, for example, about 2 m / s. However, the rotation speeds of these rotors are variable and can be set arbitrarily.

[0051] [Sorting and transport section] The configuration of the sorting and conveying unit 9 will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 4. The sorting and conveying unit 9 is a conveying and sorting unit for sorting the cooked rice 2, which is dropped and supplied from the supply port 19 of the cooked rice supply unit 4, to either the cooked rice compression molding unit 5, which compresses and molds the cooked rice 2 into a predetermined shape, or the carrying-out conveying unit 6, which fills the cooked rice block 3 with the insufficient weight of the cooked rice block 3 compressed and molded in the cooked rice compression molding unit 5 as the supplementary cooked rice 2X. The sorting and conveying unit 9 has a cooked rice flow passage 90 connected to the supply port 19 of the cooked rice supply unit 4, and a sorting conveying path 91 connected to the lower end of the cooked rice flow passage 90 to sort the cooked rice 2, which is dropped and supplied from the cooked rice flow passage 90, to either the cooked rice compression molding unit 5 or the carrying-out conveying unit 6.

[0052] The cooked rice flow passage 90 has left and right side portions 90a, a front portion 90b, and a rear portion 90c, and is configured as a substantially box-shaped portion with the upper and lower sides open by these sides. The cooked rice flow passage 90 is a portion that transports cooked rice 2 supplied from the supply port 19 of the cooked rice supply unit 4 to a predetermined location.

[0053] The cooked rice flow passage 90 is provided in an inclined manner so as to gradually approach each other from the top to the bottom of each surface portion. The left and right side surface portions 90a are provided below the extension portions 11d of each side surface portion 11a with the left and right end positions aligned with the left and right side surface portions 11a of the case portion 11, respectively. In other words, the left and right side surface portions 90a are provided in a manner such that the front portions (extension portions 11d) of the left and right side surface portions 11a are extended downward. The left and right side surface portions 90a are wall-like portions having a roughly right-angled triangular shape when viewed from the front, and have inclined surface portions.

[0054] The front surface portion 90b and the rear surface portion 90c are surface portions that are bridged between the front end surface portions and the rear end surface portions of the left side surface portion 90a and the right side surface portion 90a, and are provided opposite each other in the front-rear direction. The front surface portion 90b is provided below the lower end edge portion of the front surface portion 20a of the front cover portion 20. The rear surface portion 90c is provided so as to be connected to the front end edge portion of the bottom surface portion 11c of the case portion 11. The front surface portion 90b and the rear surface portion 90c are both wall-like portions that are approximately right-angled triangular in side view, and have inclined surface portions for rolling and dropping the cooked rice 2, similar to the left and right side surface portions 11a.

[0055] The cooked rice flow passage 90 is formed as described above, and each surface is provided with an inclined shape that gradually approaches the lower side, thereby preventing the cooked rice 2 dropping from the supply port 19 from being subjected to impact due to the drop. In other words, the cooked rice 2 supplied from the supply port 19 rolls along each inclined surface portion of each surface portion of the cooked rice flow passage 90, and reaches the sorting conveying path 91 without being subjected to impact due to the vertical drop from the supply port 19.

[0056] The sorting conveying path 91 is a sorting and conveying mechanism for sorting the cooked rice 2 supplied from the cooked rice flow passage 90 to either the discharge conveying section 6 or the cooked rice compression molding section 5. The sorting and conveying path 91 has a housing section 92 as a conveying path for conveying the cooked rice 2 to the cooked rice compression molding section 5, a sorting mechanism 93 provided within the housing section 92, a transfer conveyor 94 also provided within the housing section 92, and a rolling rotor 95 and an intermediate loosening rotor 96 provided within the housing section 92 near the right end of the transfer conveyor 94.

[0057] The housing part 92 has a right side wall part 92a, a front wall part 92b, and a rear wall part 92c, and is configured in a box shape with the left side part and the top and bottom parts open by these walls. The upper opening of the housing part 92 is connected to the lower opening of the cooked rice flow passage 90. In addition, the housing part 92 is provided with a sorting mechanism 93 so as to close the open left side part. In other words, the sorting mechanism 93 provided on the left side part of the housing part 92 restricts the cooked rice 2 supplied from the cooked rice flow passage 90 from being discharged to the outside of the housing part 92 from the left side part of the housing part 92.

[0058] The front wall 92b and the rear wall 92c are substantially rectangular in front view and are disposed opposite each other in the front-rear direction. The front wall 92b is disposed below the front surface 20a constituting the front cover 20. The rear wall 92c is located in front of the front surface 8a of the housing 8.

[0059] The right side wall 92a is a surface portion that is bridged between the right edge portions of the front wall 92b and the rear wall 92c, and is provided to the right of the right side surface 11a of the case portion 11. In other words, the center of the housing portion 92 is provided at a position eccentric to the right from the center of the supply port 19 of the case portion 11, and the supply port that supplies cooked rice 2 from the housing portion 92 to the cooked rice compression molding portion 5 is located below the right side surface 11a of the case portion 11.

[0060] The distribution mechanism 93 is a distribution mechanism for distributing the cooked rice 2 supplied from the cooked rice flow passage 90 to a transfer conveyor 94 for transporting the cooked rice 2 supplied from the cooked rice flow passage 90 to the cooked rice compression molding section 5, or a supplementary conveyor 97 for supplying the cooked rice 2 to the supplementary mechanism 62 of the discharge conveying section 6. The distribution mechanism 93 is composed of a flipper body 93a provided rotatably and inclined in the left-right direction near the left end edge of the front wall portion 92b and the rear wall portion 92c. The flipper body 93a is configured so that the inclination angle in a front view is approximately the same as the inclined surface portion of the left side surface portion 90a constituting the cooked rice flow passage 90, and is inclined so as to form approximately the same plane as the inclined surface portion of the left side surface portion 90a before the flipper body 93a rotates.

[0061] The flipper body 93a has a rotation shaft portion 93b extending in the front-rear direction and a flipper portion 93c provided so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction around the rotation shaft portion 93b. The rotation shaft portion 93b is a cylindrical member extending forward from the rear wall portion 92c.

[0062] The flipper portion 93c is supported by the rotating shaft portion 93b. When viewed from the front, the flipper portion 93c is formed in a generally teardrop shape whose width gradually narrows from the base end side supported by the rotating shaft portion 93b to the tip end side. When viewed in the axial direction of the rotating shaft portion 93b, the flipper portion 93c is provided so as to be rotatable in the left and right directions about the rotating shaft portion 93b. The leftward rotation limit of the flipper portion 93c is a position where the inclined surface portion of the left side surface portion 90a and the inclined surface portion of the flipper portion 93c are flush with each other, and the rightward rotation limit is a position where the angle with respect to the vertical plane is 30 degrees. In this way, the flipper portion 93c is configured to be rotatable in the left-right direction around the pivot shaft portion 93b, so that the cooked rice 2 falling along the inclined surface portion of the left side surface portion 90a is sandwiched between the inclined surface portion of the left side surface portion 90a and the upper end portion of the flipper portion 93c, and the possibility of the cooked rice 2 remaining at the front end portion of the flipper portion 93c is reduced as much as possible. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, when the flipper portion 93c is pivoted to the right around the pivot shaft portion 93b, it opens the left side wall portion of the housing portion 92, and the cooked rice 2 falling along the inclined surface portion of the left side surface portion 90a can be distributed to the supplementary conveyor 97 that supplies the cooked rice 2 to the supplementary mechanism 62 of the discharge conveying portion 6.

[0063] The transfer conveyor 94 is configured to transport the cooked rice 2 dropped and supplied from the supply port 19 to the cooked rice compression molding section 5 and send it out of the housing section 92. The transfer conveyor 94 has a transport direction aligned with the left-right direction, from the left side to the right side (the right direction in FIG. 2).

[0064] The transfer conveyor 94 has support rollers 94a, 94b provided at both the front and rear ends in the transfer direction, and an endless conveyor belt 94c wound around the support rollers 94a, 94b, which form a substantially horizontal transfer surface 94d. The transfer conveyor 94 is disposed in the lower part of the housing part 92, and is provided so that the transfer surface 94d occupies substantially the entire space in the housing part 92 in a plan view.

[0065] That is, the width dimension of the conveying surface 94d of the transfer conveyor 94 is approximately the same as the distance between the front wall 92b and the rear wall 92c of the housing part 92, and the left support roller 94a forming the starting end of the conveyor belt 94c is located near the left end of the front and rear surfaces. The cooked rice 2 put into the transfer conveyor 94 is placed on the conveying surface 94d of the transfer conveyor 94 and is transported to the right by the transfer conveyor 94.

[0066] The intermediate loosening rotor 96 is provided in front of the transfer conveyor 94 in the conveyor transport direction, and is a member that provides a loosening action to the cooked rice 2 transported by the transfer conveyor 94. The intermediate loosening rotor 96 is a rotor that rotates in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the transfer conveyor 94 in a plan view, i.e., in the left-right direction. Note that the intermediate loosening rotor 96 is omitted in FIG. 4.

[0067] The intermediate loosening rotor 96 includes a rotating shaft portion 96a extending in the direction of the rotation axis of the intermediate loosening rotor 96, and a screw body 96b spirally surrounding the rotating shaft portion 96a from the front end to the rear end of the rotating shaft portion 96a at a fixed distance from the rotating shaft portion 96a of the intermediate loosening rotor 96. The intermediate loosening rotor 96 is rotatably provided in a manner in which the central axis of the rotating shaft portion 96a coincides with the rotation axis line and is suspended between the front wall portion 92b and the rear wall portion 92c of the housing portion 92. The intermediate loosening rotor 96 is supported between the front wall portion 92b and the rear wall portion 92c by the rotating shaft portion 96a.

[0068] The intermediate loosening rotor 96 is provided over substantially the entire range between the front wall portion 92b and the rear wall portion 92c in the front-rear direction. The intermediate loosening rotor 96 rotates in a counterclockwise direction (left-handed direction) when the cooked rice lump forming device 1 is in operation (see arrow A3 in FIG. 4).

[0069] The rotation shaft portion 96a of the intermediate loosening rotor 96 is a straight rod-like portion having a circular cross section, with the longitudinal direction aligned with the front-rear direction.

[0070] The screw body 96b of the intermediate loosening rotor 96 has support portions 96c that protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate loosening rotor 96 from the rear end to the front end of the intermediate loosening rotor 96 in the radial direction of the rotating shaft portion 96a, i.e., along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating shaft portion 96a, support spiral portions 96d connected to the tip portions of each support portion 96c, and protrusions 96e that protrude in the radial direction of the support spiral portion 96d in the radial direction along the support spiral portion 96d.

[0071] The support parts 96c are provided at a plurality of positions at a predetermined interval in the rotation axis direction of the intermediate loosening rotor 96. In this embodiment, two support parts 96c are provided at six positions from the rear end to the front end of the rotation shaft part 96a. The two support parts 96c at each position in the axial direction of the rotation shaft part 96a are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotation shaft part 96a. In addition, two groups of support parts 96c adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the rotation shaft part 96a are provided so that the rotation shaft parts 96a overlap each other when viewed in the axial direction of the rotation shaft part 96a. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the support parts 96c extend in two straight lines vertically from the outer circumferential surface of the rotation shaft part 96a when viewed in the axial direction. In addition, a group of support parts 96c is provided in which the phases of the two support parts 96c are the same in the axial direction of the rotation shaft part 96a. That is, the support parts 96c are provided so as to overlap each other when viewed from the front.

[0072] The intermediate loosening rotor 96 has an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the support roller 94b on the front side of the transfer conveyor 94. In this embodiment, the entire outer diameter of the intermediate loosening rotor 96, including the protrusion 96e, is approximately half the outer diameter of the loosening rotor 13. However, the relative size of the intermediate loosening rotor 96 with respect to the support roller 94b is not limited to this embodiment.

[0073] The intermediate loosening rotor 96 is provided so that its lower end position (the position of the lower end of the rotation trajectory of the protrusion 96e) is located on approximately the same horizontal plane as the rotation shaft of the support roller 94b. The intermediate loosening rotor 96 is provided so that the protrusion 96e has a slight gap with respect to the conveying surface 94d.

[0074] The sorting and conveying section 9 of this embodiment has a rolling rotor 95 for controlling the stacking height of the cooked rice 2 stacked on the conveying surface 94d of the transfer conveyor 94. The rolling rotor 95 is provided above the right end of the cooked rice 2 on the transfer conveyor 94, and rotates in a direction conforming to the conveying direction of the transfer conveyor 94, with the rotation axis direction being the front-to-rear direction. In other words, the rolling rotor 95 rotates in the same direction as the intermediate loosening rotor 96 described above, with the rotation axis direction being the front-to-rear direction.

[0075] The rolling rotor 95 has a rotating shaft portion 95a extending in the direction of the rotation axis of the rolling rotor 95, and a main body portion 95b rotatably supported by the rotating shaft portion 95a. The rolling rotor 95 is rotatably provided in such a manner that the central axis of the rotating shaft portion 95a coincides with the rotation axis line and is suspended between the front wall portion 92b and the rear wall portion 92c. The rolling rotor 95 is supported between the front wall portion 92b and the rear wall portion 92c by the rotating shaft portion 95a.

[0076] The rolling rotor 95, like the intermediate loosening rotor 96, is provided over substantially the entire range between the front wall 92b and the rear wall 92c in the front-rear direction. The rolling rotor 95 rotates in a counterclockwise direction (left-handed direction) when the cooked rice lump forming device 1 is in operation, as viewed in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 95a (see arrow A4 in FIG. 4). In other words, the rolling rotor 95 rotates in the same direction as the intermediate loosening rotor 96.

[0077] The rolling roller 95 has a protrusion portion provided on the outer peripheral surface portion of the main body 95b, which is used to adjust the stacking height of the cooked rice 2 stacked on the conveying surface 94d of the transfer conveyor 94 while loosening the cooked rice 2 stacked on the conveying surface 94d, all around the outer peripheral surface portion of the rolling roller 95.

[0078] The rolling roller 95 has approximately the same outer diameter as the support roller 94b on the right side of the transfer conveyor 94. However, the relative sizes of the rolling roller 95 with respect to the intermediate loosening roller 96 and the support roller 94b are not limited to those in this embodiment.

[0079] The rolling rotor 95 acts from above on the cooked rice 2 being placed on the conveying surface 94d of the transfer conveyor 94 and being transferred, and transfers the cooked rice 2 while restricting the stack height of the cooked rice 2 on the conveying surface 94d. Therefore, the rotation direction of the rolling rotor 95 is counterclockwise as viewed in the direction of the rotation axis of the rolling rotor 95, in accordance with the conveying direction of the transfer conveyor 94.

[0080] The rolling roller 95 exerts a loosening action and a stacking height adjustment action on the cooked rice 2 on the conveying surface 94d by using the protrusions.

[0081] As described above, the sorting and conveying section 9 has two rotating bodies, the intermediate loosening rotating body 96 and the rolling rotating body 95, at the front of the transfer conveyor 94 in the conveying direction. These two rotating bodies are driven to rotate by receiving a rotational driving force from a driving source such as a motor via a power transmission member such as a gear. The two rotating bodies are driven to rotate by an independent driving source such as a motor, or by a driving source shared between the rotating bodies via a power transmission mechanism such as a gear, chain, and sprocket. The driving source such as a motor and the power transmission mechanism for driving the two rotating bodies to rotate are provided, for example, inside the housing 8.

[0082] Regarding the rotation speed of the two rotors of the sorting and conveying section 9, the rolling rotor 95 rotates at a relatively slow speed that matches the conveying speed of the transfer conveyor 94. In other words, the rolling rotor 95 rotates at approximately the same rotation speed as the rotation speed of the support rollers 94a, 94b of the transfer conveyor 94. In contrast, the intermediate loosening rotor 96 rotates at a speed faster than the rolling rotor 95. The intermediate loosening rotor 96 rotates at a high speed, for example, such that cooked rice 2 that comes into contact with it is scattered by its rotational action.

[0083] Specifically, the rotation speed of the rolling roller 95 is, for example, several centimeters per second. In contrast, the rotation speed of the intermediate loosening roller 96 is, for example, about 2 m / s. However, the rotation speeds of these rollers are variable and can be set arbitrarily.

[0084] [About cooked rice compression molding part 5] The configuration of the cooked rice compression molding unit 5 will be described with reference to Fig. 4 to Fig. 12. The cooked rice compression molding unit 5 is a unit for compressing the cooked rice 2 supplied from the sorting and conveying unit 9 into a predetermined shape to manufacture a cooked rice block 3 molded to a substantially constant density. The cooked rice compression molding unit 5 has a case unit 50 as a storage unit for the cooked rice 2 that temporarily stores the cooked rice 2, a pair of rotary pressers 51 as pressing members provided on the left and right sides that press and mold the cooked rice 2 supplied into the case unit 50 into a predetermined shape, a shutter mechanism 52 that supports the cooked rice 2 supplied into the case unit 50 and cuts the cooked rice 2 to a predetermined thickness to form the cooked rice block 3, and a conveyor 53 as a conveying unit that is provided below the case unit 50 and is configured to be freely raised and lowered in order to adjust the thickness of the cooked rice block 3 to be formed.

[0085] The case section 50 has left and right side sections 50a, a front section 50b, and a rear section 50c, and is configured as a generally box-shaped section with the upper and lower sides open by these sides. The case section 50 is a section that guides the cooked rice 2 that has been loosened and transported by the cooked rice supply section 4 and the sorting and transporting section 9 to a predetermined location, and receives the cooked rice 2 from the supply port of the sorting and transporting section 9.

[0086] Each surface portion constituting the case portion 50 has a plurality of recesses 50d, which are groove-shaped portions along the vertical direction on the inner surface of each surface portion in a plan view and have a semicircular cross-sectional shape. The recesses 50d are provided at regular intervals in the front-rear or left-right direction on each surface portion. For example, the recesses 50d are provided at regular intervals in the left-right direction on the front surface portion 50b and the rear surface portion 50c, and are provided at regular intervals in the front-rear direction on the left and right side surface portions 50a. The recesses 50d are formed in each surface portion over the surface portion through which the cooked rice 2 introduced from the upper side of the case portion 50 passes, and prevent the cooked rice 2 passing through the case portion 50 from adhering to the wall surface of each surface portion. That is, by forming multiple semicircular recesses 50d on the surface portion of the case portion 50 through which the cooked rice 2 passes, the contact area between each surface portion of the case portion 50 and the cooked rice 2 passing through the case portion 50 is reduced, thereby minimizing the risk that the cooked rice 2 passing through the case portion 50 will adhere to the wall surface of each surface portion of the case portion 50 and remain inside the case portion 50. Note that the recesses 50d formed on the front portion 50b and the rear portion 50c have the same shape in a plan view as the recesses 50d provided on the side portion 50a, and therefore are not shown in the drawings.

[0087] The front surface portion 50b and the rear surface portion 50c are substantially rectangular in front view and are disposed opposite each other in the front-rear direction. The front surface portion 50b is disposed below the front end portion of the transfer conveyor 94. The rear surface portion 50c is supported and fixed to the front surface portion 8a of the housing 8.

[0088] The left side surface portion 50a is a surface portion that is provided between the left edge portions of the front surface portion 50b and the rear surface portion 50c, and has a side surface portion main body 50e formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a side view, an upper side surface portion 50f that extends horizontally from the upper end portion of the side surface portion main body 50e toward the opposing right side surface portion 50a, and a lower side surface portion 50g that extends horizontally from the lower end portion of the side surface portion main body 50e toward the opposing right side surface portion 50a. The upper side surface portion 50f and the lower side surface portion 50g of the left side surface portion 50a are provided facing each other in parallel.

[0089] The upper side surface portion 50f has a support portion 50k connected to the side surface portion main body 50e and a tip portion 50m connected to the tip of the support portion 50k. In a plan view, the upper side surface portion 50f is formed into a substantially 'T' shape by the support portion 50k and the tip portion 50m. The support portion 50k is a surface portion formed into a substantially rectangular flat plate shape. The tip portion 50m has a semicircular arc-shaped recess 50d along the up-down direction on the inner wall surface through which the cooked rice 2 passes. The recess 50d is provided at regular intervals in the front-rear direction of the inner wall surface. This prevents the cooked rice 2 passing through the case portion 50 from adhering to the inner wall surface. That is, the upper side surface portion 50f has a semicircular recess 50d on the inner wall surface through which the cooked rice 2 passes, thereby reducing the contact area with the passing cooked rice 2 and minimizing the risk that the cooked rice 2 passing through the inner wall surface of the upper side surface portion 50f will adhere to the inner wall surface and remain in the case portion 50. The recess 50d is formed in a semicircular shape as shown in the plan view of FIG.

[0090] The lower side surface portion 50g is a plate-like portion formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and has a recess 50g1 provided in the center near the front and rear ends, and an inner wall surface portion 50g2 provided at the right end. The recess 50d is formed to follow the outer shape of the rotary pressing body 51 so as not to interfere with the rotary pressing body 51. The inner wall surface portion 50g2 has semicircular recesses 50d along the up-down direction on the inner wall surface through which the cooked rice 2 passes. The recesses 50d are provided at regular intervals in the front-rear direction of the inner wall surface portion 50g2, and prevent the cooked rice 2 passing through the case portion 50 from adhering to the wall surfaces of each surface portion. In other words, the lower side portion 50g has a semicircular recess 50d on the inner wall surface portion 50g2 through which the cooked rice 2 passes, thereby reducing the contact area with the cooked rice 2 passing through the case portion 50 and minimizing the risk of the cooked rice 2 falling near the inner wall surface portion 50g2 of the lower side portion 50g adhering to the inner wall surface portion 50g2 and remaining in the case portion 50.

[0091] The right side portion 50a is provided so as to face the left side portion 50a formed in this way. The right side portion 50a is a surface portion that is bridged between the right end portions of the front portion 50b and the rear portion 50c, and has a side portion main body 50e that is provided in a substantially rectangular shape in a side view, an upper side portion 50f that extends horizontally from the upper end portion of the side portion main body 50e toward the opposing left side portion 50a, and a lower side portion 50g that extends horizontally from the lower end portion of the side portion main body 50e toward the opposing left side portion 50a. Note that the specific aspects of each surface portion are symmetrical to the upper side portion 50f and the lower side portion 50g in the left side portion 50a described above, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0092] In the space surrounded by the side body 50e, the upper side portion 50f, and the lower side portion 50g in the left and right side portions 50a, a pair of left and right rotary pressing bodies 51 are provided as pressing members for pressing the cooked rice 2 put into the case portion 50. As the pair of left and right rotary pressing bodies 51, a first rotary pressing body 51R provided on the right side of the case portion 50 in a front view and a second rotary pressing body 51L provided on the left side are provided. The rotary pressing body 51 has a rotary shaft portion 51a extending in the direction of the rotary shaft of the rotary pressing body 51, a central pressing portion 51b located approximately in the front-rear center of the rotary pressing body 51, and peripheral pressing portions 51c provided on both the front and rear sides of the central pressing portion 51b.

[0093] The rotary pressing body 51 is provided such that the central axis of the rotary shaft portion 51a coincides with the rotation axis line and is bridged between the front surface portion 50b and the rear surface portion 50c of the case portion 50. The rotary pressing body 51 is rotatably supported between the front surface portion 50b and the rear surface portion 50c by the rotary shaft portion 51a.

[0094] The rotary pressing body 51 is provided over a range that covers almost the entire area between the front surface part 50b and the rear surface part 50c in the front-rear direction. The first rotary pressing body 51R rotates in a counterclockwise direction (left-handed direction) when the cooked rice lump forming device 1 is in operation (see arrow A5 in FIG. 4). The second rotary pressing body 51L rotates in a clockwise direction (right-handed direction) when the cooked rice lump forming device 1 is in operation (see arrow A6 in FIG. 4).

[0095] The rotary shaft portion 51a of the rotary pressing body 51 is a straight rod-like portion having a circular cross section, and is formed into an elongated cylindrical shape with its longitudinal direction aligned with the front-rear direction.

[0096] The central pressing part 51b of the rotary pressing body 51 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a central axis extending in the front-rear direction and a cross-sectional shape that is approximately circular. The central pressing part 51b is formed integrally with the rotary shaft part 51a, and has a plurality of cooked rice forming recesses 51d along the outer circumferential surface. The cooked rice forming recesses 51d are longitudinal recesses whose longitudinal direction is the rotary shaft direction (front-rear direction) of the rotary pressing body 51, and are provided at regular intervals over approximately the entire outer circumferential surface of the rotary pressing body 51 so as to be continuous in the circumferential direction of the same.

[0097] As shown in Figs. 8 to 10, the cooked rice forming recess 51d has a flat surface 51g that forms the flat shape of the cooked rice forming recess 51d, and a pressing surface 51e that follows the edge of the rear side in the rotation direction of the rotary pressing body 51. The flat surface 51g is a slope that descends from the front side to the rear side in the rotation direction of the rotary pressing body 51 in the circumferential direction of the central pressing part 51b with respect to the cylindrical surface along which the outer shape of the central pressing part 51b follows. The pressing surface 51e is a step surface where the flat surface 51g descends with respect to the cylindrical surface along which the outer shape of the central pressing part 51b follows. The central pressing part 51b has a configuration in which the cooked rice forming recess 51d formed by the flat surface 51g and the pressing surface 51e is continuously provided in the circumferential direction, and therefore has an uneven shape like a mower blade on the outer periphery in a cross-sectional view.

[0098] The flat portion 51g is formed in a generally semicylindrical shape in a plan view, with the front edge in the rotation direction of the rotary pressing body 51 being a linear front edge 51h along the front-rear direction, and the rear edge in the rotation direction of the rotary pressing body 51 being a rear end 51k having a linear portion along the front-rear direction and curved portions on both sides of the linear portion. In the uneven shape formed by the flat portion 51g and the pressing surface portion 51e, the front edge portion 51h is a ridge portion, and the rear end portion 51k is a valley portion. Therefore, in the cross-sectional view of the central pressing portion 51b shown in FIG. 10, the front edge portion 51h is a peak formed by the flat portion 51g and the pressing surface portion 51e, and the rear end portion 51k is a valley portion formed by the flat portion 51g and the pressing surface portion 51e.

[0099] The pressing wall portion 51e is formed so as to rise substantially vertically from the flat portion 51g along the rear end 51k of the flat portion 51g. That is, the pressing wall portion 51e is formed in a shape that follows the outer peripheral surface of the semi-cylindrical shape in a plan view. The pressing wall portion 51e has a straight portion 51m that is a middle portion in the front-rear direction, and arc portions 51n that extend in an arc shape from the front and rear ends of the straight portion 51m and whose tip portions are respectively connected to the front and rear ends of the front end 51h of the flat portion 51g, and has a shape that follows the shape of the rear end 51k. The arc portions 51n are formed in a substantially quarter-circular shape in a plan view.

[0100] The straight line portion 51m is formed so that the front-rear length is approximately 2 / 3 the front-rear width of the central pressing portion 51b. The pressing wall portion 51e is formed so that the straight line portion 51m has a height approximately equal to the thickness of one grain of rice (approximately 2 mm) from the rear end portion 51k of the flat portion 51g. The height of the pressing wall portion 51e in the straight line portion 51m is the depth of the cooked rice forming recess 51d, and is the length of the pressing wall portion 51e in the cross-sectional view of the central pressing portion 51b shown in FIG. 10. The straight line portion 51m forms a flat rectangular plane with respect to the rotation direction of the rotary pressing body 51. The arc portion 51n is formed so that the height of the pressing wall portion 51e gradually decreases from the front and rear ends of the straight line portion 51m to the front end portion 51h of the flat portion 51g. The peripheral pressing portion 51c is connected to the front and rear ends of the central pressing portion 51b formed in this way.

[0101] As shown in FIG. 9, the peripheral pressing portion 51c is formed in a truncated cone shape with the outer diameter gradually increasing from the base end connected to the central pressing portion 51b to the tip end. Therefore, the rotary pressing body 51 has an overall drum-shaped outer shape due to the central pressing portion 51b, which is a part having a cylindrical outer shape, and the peripheral pressing portions 51c, which are parts having a truncated cone outer shape provided on both sides of the central pressing portion 51b in the central axis direction. The peripheral pressing portion 51c has a number of peripheral cogs 51f extending radially as viewed in the central axis direction of the rotary pressing body 51 so as to follow the conical outer circumferential surface. The peripheral cogs 51f are linear protrusions extending from the end on the narrowed diameter side of the peripheral pressing portion 51c to the end on the enlarged diameter side, and are continuously formed in large numbers around the entire circumference of the peripheral surface of the peripheral pressing portion 51c in the circumferential direction. The peripheral cog portion 51f is substantially trapezoidal in cross section, and is formed so that the surface on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotary presser 51 is a surface substantially perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the rotary shaft portion 51a. This allows the cooked rice 2 put into the case portion 50 and supported by the shutter mechanism 52 (described later) to be pressed by the central pressing portion 51b and the peripheral pressing portion 51c of the rotary presser 51 to form the cooked rice 2 into a constant density.

[0102] To the right of the above-mentioned left rotating press body 51, a right rotating press body 51 is provided symmetrically with respect to a sagittal plane passing through the left-right central part of the case part 50. The left and right rotating press bodies 51 have their rotating shaft parts 51a provided on a common horizontal plane. The left rotating press body 51 (51L) and the right rotating press body 51 (51R) are provided at a certain distance apart with the ends of the enlarged diameter sides of the peripheral pressing parts 51c close to each other. As shown in FIG. 9, a substantially hexagonal space is formed between the left and right rotating press bodies 51 by the outer peripheral surface parts of the rotating shaft parts 51a facing each other in the left-right direction in a plan view and the outer peripheral surface parts of the central pressing parts 51b adjacent to each other in the left-right direction on both sides of the central axis direction of the rotating shaft parts 51a, and this space becomes the molding space 58 for the cooked rice 2. The shape of the forming space 58 between the left and right rotary pressing bodies 51 in a plan view corresponds to the outer shape of the block of cooked rice 3 in a plan view.

[0103] The shutter mechanism 52 is provided below the rotary pressing body 51 and in the vicinity of the lower end of the case part 50. The shutter mechanism 52 is a left-right sliding opening / closing type opening / closing mechanism, and the opening / closing action opens and closes the discharge port 54 provided at the lower end of the case part 50. The shutter mechanisms 52 are provided such that the opposing left and right shutter mechanisms 52 can move close to and away from each other.

[0104] The shutter mechanism 52 has a movement support part 55 that extends horizontally forward from the rear surface part 50c of the case part 50, and a shutter part 56 that extends in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the movement support part 55.

[0105] The movement support part 55 is configured to be movable in the left-right direction by a movement means provided on the back side of the rear part 50c constituting the case part 50, i.e., inside the housing 8. The movement support part 55 has a shutter support part 55a that supports the shutter part 56, and a horizontal maintaining part 55b that protrudes from the tip part of the shutter support part 55a.

[0106] The shutter support part 55a extends from the rear part 50c to the front part 50b of the case part 50 in a plan view, and is formed in a substantially square shape in a cross section. The shutter support part 55a connects the shutter part 56 to the surface facing the other shutter support part 55a. The horizontality maintaining part 55b is formed in a substantially circular shape in a cross section. The tip part of the horizontality maintaining part 55b is inserted into a support recess provided on the back surface of the front part 50b. That is, the moving support part 55 is configured to be movable in the left-right direction while maintaining a horizontal state by connecting the base end part of the shutter support part 55a to the moving means and inserting the horizontality maintaining part 55b at the tip part into the support recess of the front part 50b.

[0107] The shutter section 56 is a member for supporting and cutting the cooked rice 2, which serves to temporarily support the cooked rice 2 that has been dropped into the case section 50, and to cut the cooked rice 2 that has been pressed and molded to a constant density by the left and right rotating pressure bodies 51, to a predetermined thickness.

[0108] The shutter section 56 has a cooked rice supporting section 56a that temporarily supports the cooked rice 2 that has been dropped into the case section 50, and a cutting section 56b that is connected to the tip of the cooked rice supporting section 56a and is used to cut the cooked rice 2 into cooked rice blocks 3 of a certain thickness.

[0109] The rice support parts 56a are provided at regular intervals along the extension direction of the moving support part 55. The rice support parts 56a are cylindrical members extending horizontally along the left-right direction, and have comb-tooth openings 56c between adjacent rice support parts 56a. The comb-tooth openings 56c are set to have a width greater than the front-rear width of the rice support parts 56a in a plan view. In other words, the comb-tooth openings 56c are configured to be a gap that is large enough that a single grain of rice cannot pass through when the rice support parts 56a of the shutter parts 56 arranged opposite each other enter the gap formed between the rice support parts 56a of one moving support part 55 and the rice support parts 56a of the other moving support part 55. As a result, in a state in which the left and right shutter parts 56 close the discharge port 54 of the case part 50, the rice 2 can be supported on the shutter parts 56 without falling downward. A separation portion 56b is extended from the tip of the cooked rice supporting portion 56a.

[0110] The cutting part 56b is formed in a generally truncated cone shape whose outer diameter gradually decreases from the base end connected to the cooked rice support part 56a to the tip, and the tip is formed in a semi-spherical shape. This reduces the risk of the cooked rice 2 grains being cut by the tip of the shutter part 56 as much as possible when the left and right shutter mechanisms 52 approach each other to cut the cooked rice 2 stacked on the transport conveyor 53.

[0111] The shutter section 56 thus formed is provided symmetrically with respect to the sagittal plane of the case section 50. The left and right shutter sections 56 are respectively connected to the moving support section 55 constituting the shutter support section 55a, and the cooked rice support sections 56a are provided alternately so that the left and right shutter sections 56 do not interfere with each other when the moving support section 55 moves to the center of the case section 50. That is, the cooked rice support section 56a is provided so that the cooked rice support section 56a of one side is inserted into the comb-tooth opening 56c of the other cooked rice support section 56a, and the cooked rice support section 56a of the other side is inserted into the comb-tooth opening 56c of the other cooked rice support section 56a. Also, as described above, when comparing the outer diameter of the cooked rice support section 56a of one shutter section 56 with the comb-tooth opening 56c of the other shutter section 56, the comb-tooth opening 56c is formed slightly larger than the cooked rice support section 56a. That is, in a state where the cooked rice support part 56a of one shutter part 56 is inserted into the comb-tooth opening 56c of the other shutter part 56, the gap formed between the one comb-tooth opening 56c and the other cooked rice support part 56a is configured to be smaller than the width of one grain of cooked rice 2. As a result, in a state where the discharge port 54 of the case part 50 is closed by the shutter mechanism 52, the cooked rice 2 is supported in the case part 50 by the left and right shutter parts 56.

[0112] Below the shutter mechanism 52 configured in this manner, a transport conveyor 53 is provided. The transport conveyor 53 is a thickness adjusting transport section for the cooked rice block 3, which divides the cooked rice 2 press-molded to a predetermined density in the case section 50 into a predetermined thickness to form cooked rice blocks 3, and sends the formed cooked rice blocks 3 to the discharge transport section 6. The transport conveyor 53 is oriented so that the transport direction is along the left-right direction, from the right side to the left side.

[0113] The transport conveyor 53 has a support base portion 53a, left and right support rollers 53d, 53e provided at both the left and right ends in the conveyor transport direction and connected to the support base portion 53a, and an endless conveyor belt 53f wound around these support rollers 53d, 53e, and the conveyor belt 53f forms a substantially horizontal transport surface 53g.

[0114] The support base 53a has a horizontal portion 53b that is rectangular in plan view, and a vertical portion 53c that is rectangular in front view and bent approximately 90 degrees upward from the rear end of the horizontal portion 53b (see FIG. 3). The support base 53a is formed into an approximately "L" shape in side view by the horizontal portion 53b and the vertical portion 53c. The horizontal portion 53b is connected to lifting rods 57 at two points on the left and right sides of the bottom surface. The lower end of the lifting rod 57 is connected to a lifting means and can be raised and lowered. The support base 53a allows the transport conveyor 53 to be raised and lowered freely while maintaining the horizontal state of the transport surface 53g by the lifting and lowering action of the lifting rod 57.

[0115] A rectangular plate-shaped support (not shown) is connected to the upper end of the vertical portion 53c from the left to right ends of the vertical portion 53c. The left and right support rollers 53d, 53e protrude forward from the front surface of the support provided near the upper end of the vertical portion 53c.

[0116] The transport conveyor 53 thus configured can be raised and lowered by the lifting rod 57, and the space formed between the transport surface 53g of the conveyor belt 53f and the discharge port 54 of the case part 50 when the transport conveyor 53 is raised becomes the thickness of the cooked rice block 3 to be formed. That is, the cooked rice 2 that is supplied by ascending the transport conveyor 53 and dropping downward from the discharge port 54 due to the weight of the cooked rice block 3 and the rotation of the pair of left and right rotating pressure bodies 51 (51R, 51L) is supported by the transport surface 53g of the transport conveyor 53, and the cooked rice 2 stacked on the transport surface 53g is cut by bringing the left and right shutter mechanisms 52 close to each other, thereby forming a cooked rice block 3 having a predetermined thickness and weight.

[0117] The discharge / transport section 6 is provided on the rear side in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 53 thus formed. The discharge / transport section 6 has a weighing section 60 which weighs the cooked rice block 3 formed in the cooked rice compression molding section 5, and a filling / molding section 61 which, when the cooked rice block 3 weighed in the weighing section 60 does not reach a predetermined weight, fills in cooked rice 2 to make up for the shortage and molds again.

[0118] The weighing unit 60 has a weighing conveyor 60a for transporting the cooked rice block 3 in a predetermined direction, and a load cell for weighing the cooked rice block 3 placed on the weighing conveyor 60a. The weighing conveyor 60a has support rollers 60b, 60c provided at both front and rear ends in the transport direction, and an endless conveyor belt 60d provided in a wound state around these support rollers 60b, 60c, and the conveyor belt 60d forms a substantially horizontal transport surface 60e. The weighing conveyor 60a is connected to a load cell as a weighing device for weighing the cooked rice block 3 placed on the transport surface 60e of the conveyor belt 60d at the base end of the support rollers 60b, 60c provided at both front and rear ends in the transport direction. The load of the cooked rice block 3 detected by the load cell is converted into an electric signal and output. The output signal from the load cell is input to the control unit 10. On the conveying surface 60e, information on the weight of the cooked rice 2 obtained by the load cell is used for controlling the operation of the filling and molding section 61.

[0119] The cooked rice block 3 weighed by the weighing conveyor 60a is transferred to the forming conveyor 61a of the filling and forming section 61 by rotating the support rollers 60b, 60c provided at both front and rear ends in the conveying direction to move the conveying surface 60e of the conveyor belt 60d in the conveying direction. The conveying surface 60e of the weighing conveyor 60a is located above the conveying surface 61e of the forming conveyor 61a when viewed from the front. As a result, the cooked rice block 3 after being weighed by the load cell is supplied so as to be horizontally projected from the terminal end of the weighing conveyor 60a to the forming conveyor 61a. Therefore, the cooked rice block 3 is delivered from the weighing conveyor 60a to the forming conveyor 61a without falling into the gap formed between the weighing conveyor 60a and the forming conveyor 61a.

[0120] The filling and forming section 61 has a forming conveyor 61a that intermittently transports the cooked rice block 3 to a predetermined location, a filling mechanism 62 that supplies cooked rice 2 to make up the shortfall in weight when the cooked rice block 3 weighed by the weighing conveyor 60a falls short of a predetermined weight, and a forming mechanism 63 that forms the cooked rice block 3 filled with the cooked rice 2 to make up the shortfall in weight into a cooked rice block 3X of a predetermined shape.

[0121] The forming conveyor 61a has support rollers 61b, 61c provided at both front and rear ends in the conveying direction, and an endless conveyor belt 61d wound around the support rollers 61b, 61c, forming a substantially horizontal conveying surface 61e. A filling mechanism 62 is provided above the front side of the forming conveyor 61a configured in this way in the conveying direction.

[0122] As shown in FIG. 4, the compensation mechanism 62 is provided in front of the housing 8 and to the left of the cooked rice compression molding section 5, and compensates for the insufficient weight of the cooked rice block 3 measured by the weighing conveyor 60a. The compensation mechanism 62 temporarily stores the cooked rice 2 dropped and supplied to the compensation conveyor 97 from the supply port 19 of the case section 11 via the sorting mechanism 93 in the case section 62a, and supplies cooked rice 2 equivalent to the insufficient weight of the cooked rice block 3 measured by the weighing conveyor 60a to make the cooked rice block 3 have a predetermined weight. The compensation mechanism 62 is linked to the control section 10, acquires weight information of the cooked rice block 3 output from the weighing conveyor 60a, compares the measured weight information with preset set weight information, and rotates the supply roller 62b provided at the bottom of the case section 62a of the compensation mechanism 62 according to the difference weight between the set weight information and the measured weight information, thereby supplying the compensated cooked rice 2X equivalent to the difference weight to the cooked rice block 3 after measurement.

[0123] The forming mechanism 63 is a part for forming the cooked rice block 3 having a predetermined weight by the filling mechanism 62 into a cooked rice block 3X having a predetermined shape. The forming mechanism 63 has left and right side pressing bodies 63a for pressing the outer peripheral side surfaces of the cooked rice block 3, and an upper surface pressing body 63b for pressing the upper surface of the cooked rice block 3 from above. The forming mechanism 63 presses the outer peripheral side surfaces of the cooked rice block 3 filled with the filling rice 2X for the deficiency weight by the filling mechanism 62 with the side surface pressing bodies 63a, while pressing the upper surface of the cooked rice block 3 filled with the filling rice 2X with the upper surface pressing body 63b, so that the filling rice 2X filled in the cooked rice block 3 and the cooked rice block 3 become one, and the outer peripheral surface and upper surface of the cooked rice block 3 can be formed into a cooked rice block 3X having a predetermined shape.

[0124] The cooked rice block 3X thus formed to a predetermined weight and shape in the weighing section 60 and filling and forming section 61 of the carry-out / conveying section 6 is transported to the subsequent rice ball manufacturing process and formed into a substantially triangular rice ball.

[0125] [Explanation of the operation of the cooked rice lump forming device] The overall operation of the cooked rice lump forming device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described below. In controlling the operation of the cooked rice lump forming device 1, each part is controlled by the control part 10 of the cooked rice lump forming device 1 so that loosening of cooked rice 2 in the cooked rice supplying part 4, compression molding of cooked rice lump 3 in the cooked rice compression molding part 5, filling and molding of cooked rice lump 3 in the carrying-out conveying part 6, etc. are performed continuously as a series of operations.

[0126] First, for example, freshly cooked rice 2 is automatically fed into the case 11 of the cooked rice supply unit 4 by a feeding device (not shown) provided in the cooked rice lump forming device 1, or manually by an operator. The cooked rice 2 fed into the case 11 is placed on the conveying surface 12a of the belt conveyor 12 and is conveyed forward by the belt conveyor 12 at a relatively slow speed.

[0127] The cooked rice 2 transported by the belt conveyor 12 is sent to the loosening rotor 13 while the stacking height is regulated by the cooked rice holding member 30. In other words, the cooked rice 2 is subjected to the loosening action by the loosening rotor 13 rotating at a relatively high speed while the stacking height of the cooked rice 2 stacked on the belt conveyor 12 is limited by the cooked rice holding member 30.

[0128] The cooked rice 2 loosened by the loosening rotor 13 drops from the supply port 19 and is supplied to the cooked rice flow passage 90 of the sorting and conveying section 9. That is, the cooked rice 2 is loosened sequentially by the conveying action of the belt conveyor 12, the limiting action of the cooked rice holding member 30 to restrict the stacking height, and the loosening action of the loosening rotor 13, and drops to the supply port 19.

[0129] The cooked rice 2 loosened in the cooked rice supply unit 4 and supplied to the sorting and conveying unit 9 is sorted to the filling conveyor 97 leading to the filling mechanism 62 and the transfer conveyor 94 leading to the cooked rice compression molding unit 5 while flowing through the sorting and conveying unit 9. The cooked rice 2 is sorted to the filling mechanism 62 when the accumulated residual amount sensor provided in the case part 62a of the filling mechanism 62 can no longer detect the cooked rice 2 stored in the cooked rice storage part of the filling mechanism 62. In other words, the cooked rice 2 flowing through the sorting and conveying unit 9 is all sorted to the cooked rice compression molding unit 5 while the accumulated residual amount sensor provided in the case part 62a of the filling mechanism 62 detects the supplemented cooked rice 2X.

[0130] The cooked rice 2 dropped from the sorting and conveying section 9 to the cooked rice compression molding section 5 is supported by the cooked rice support section 56a of the shutter mechanism 52 provided below the case section 50 as shown in FIG. 13(a) and stored in a stacked state in the case section 50. When a certain amount of cooked rice 2 supported by the cooked rice support section 56a of the shutter mechanism 52 is stacked in the case section 50, the left and right rotary pressers 51 provided in the case section 50 are rotated a certain amount toward the dropping direction of the cooked rice 2, so that the peripheral portion of the cooked rice 2 is compression molded by the central presser 51b and the front and rear peripheral pressers 51c of the rotary presser 51. Here, the rotary presser 51 compresses the cooked rice 2 by continuously applying the pressing wall surface section 51e of the central presser 51b and the peripheral cog section 51f of the peripheral presser 51c to the cooked rice 2 as it rotates. This allows the cooked rice 2 stacked on the shutter mechanism 52 to be compression molded to a constant density. The center of the cooked rice 2 whose periphery has been compression molded by the rotary presser 51 is pressed by the weight of the other cooked rice 2 stacked in the case part 50. That is, the cooked rice 2 stacked on the shutter mechanism 52 has its periphery pressed by the rotary presser 51 and its center pressed by the weight of the other cooked rice 2, so that the cooked rice 2 stacked at the bottom of the case part 50 is compression molded to a substantially uniform density.

[0131] Thereafter, the conveyor 53 is raised to a position where the space between the conveying surface 53g of the conveyor 53 and the cooked rice support part 56a of the shutter mechanism 52 becomes the thickness of the cooked rice block 3, and the left and right moving support parts 55 of the shutter mechanism 52 are moved in directions away from each other to open the discharge port 54 of the case part 50, and the block of cooked rice 2 is dropped and supplied onto the conveying surface 53g of the conveyor 53 (see FIG. 13(b)). At this time, the cooked rice block 3 falls downward due to its own weight and the rotational action of the pair of left and right rotating pressure bodies 51 (51R, 51L).

[0132] The left and right moving support parts 55 constituting the shutter mechanism 52 are moved in directions approaching each other, so that the cutting part 56b of the shutter mechanism 52 is inserted into the lump of cooked rice 2 from the left and right directions, and the lump of cooked rice 2 is cut off to a predetermined thickness to form a lump of cooked rice 3. At this time, in the process of cutting off the lump of cooked rice 3 from the lump of cooked rice 2, the upper surface of the lump of cooked rice 3 can be reliably cut off from the lower end of the lump of cooked rice 2 by rotating one of the shutter parts 56 of the left and right shutter mechanisms 52 downward around the moving support part 55 while descending the transport conveyor 53 (see FIG. 14(a)).

[0133] The transport conveyor 53, which has been lowered in accordance with the downward displacement of the lifting rod 57, rotates the front and rear support rollers 53d, 53e around which the conveyor belt 53f is wound, thereby delivering the cooked rice block 3 to the discharge transport section 6 located to the left of the conveyor belt 53f (see Figure 14 (b)).

[0134] The cooked rice block 3 supplied from the transport conveyor 53 is placed on the weighing conveyor 60a of the discharge conveying section 6, and its weight is measured by a load cell. Weight information of the cooked rice block 3 measured by the weighing conveyor 60a is converted into an electric signal by the load cell and transmitted to the control section 10.

[0135] The cooked rice block 3 weighed by the weighing conveyor 60a is dropped onto the forming conveyor 61a by rotating the conveyor belt 60d of the weighing conveyor 60a. If the cooked rice block 3 dropped onto the forming conveyor 61a does not reach a predetermined weight based on the weight information measured by the weighing conveyor 60a, the supply roller 62b of the compensation mechanism 62 is rotated to drop and supply cooked rice equivalent to the shortage weight onto the upper surface of the cooked rice block 3 as compensation cooked rice 2X.

[0136] The cooked rice block 3, which has reached a predetermined weight by being supplemented with the supplementary cooked rice 2X, is pressed on its outer peripheral side and upper surface by the forming mechanism 63 to be formed into a predetermined shape and density into a cooked rice block 3X. The cooked rice block 3X formed into a predetermined shape and density by the forming mechanism 63 is transported to a predetermined location by the transport conveyor C located to the left of the discharge transport section 6. The cooked rice block 3X is used, for example, as cooked rice for lunch boxes, and is packed into lunch boxes automatically by a predetermined supply device or manually by an operator. Alternatively, the cooked rice block 3X is automatically formed into a triangular rice ball by a rice ball manufacturing device, wrapped in a predetermined wrapping film, and packed into a food box as a triangular rice ball.

[0137] The cooked rice block forming device 1 of this embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration can provide a sufficient loosening action to the cooked rice 2, reducing damage to the cooked rice 2 and forming the cooked rice block 3 into a predetermined shape, density and weight.

[0138] That is, the cooked rice lump forming device 1 according to this embodiment has a cooked rice holding member 30 between the belt conveyor 12 and the loosening rotor 13 of the cooked rice supplying section 4 for adjusting the stacking height of the cooked rice 2 relative to the loosening rotor 13. As a result, the stacking height of the cooked rice 2 transported by the belt conveyor 12 is adjusted by the cooked rice holding member 30, and the cooked rice 2 transported by the belt conveyor 12 reliably comes into contact with the loosening rotor 13, allowing the loosening action of the loosening rotor 13 to be sufficiently imparted.

[0139] Moreover, the cooked rice lump forming device 1 according to this embodiment has a rolling rotor 95 and an intermediate loosening rotor 96 in the sorting and conveying section 9. With this configuration, the cooked rice 2 dropped into the sorting and conveying section 9 from the supply port 19 of the cooked rice supply section 4 rolls and descends along the inclined surface of the cooked rice flow passage 90, and can be supplied to the sorting and conveying path 91 while reducing the drop impact.

[0140] Further, the sorting conveying path 91 has a rolling rotor 95 and an intermediate loosening rotor 96. With this configuration, the rolling rotor 95 limits the stack height of the cooked rice 2 stacked on the transfer conveyor 94, and the cooked rice 2 transported by the transfer conveyor 94 can be reliably brought into contact with the intermediate loosening rotor 96. As a result, the cooked rice 2 transported by the transfer conveyor 94 is sufficiently loosened by the intermediate loosening rotor 96.

[0141] Moreover, the cooked rice lump forming device 1 according to this embodiment has a rotating presser 51 having a central pressing part 51b and a peripheral pressing part 51c, and a shutter mechanism 52 having a moving support part 55 and a shutter part 56 in the cooked rice compression molding part 5. According to this configuration, the cooked rice 2 supported by the shutter mechanism 52 is pressed by the rotation of the rotating presser 51. As a result, the peripheral part of the cooked rice 2 is compressed and molded to a certain density. In addition, since the cooked rice 2 can be compressed and molded by the rotating presser 51 and the shutter mechanism 52, the overall height of the cooked rice lump forming device 1 can be lowered to make the entire device compact. In addition, by lowering the overall height of the cooked rice lump forming device 1, the position of the cooked rice supply part 4 into which the cooked cooked rice 2 is introduced can be set lower, thereby improving the workability of the cooked rice lump 3 by the operator.

[0142] Moreover, the cooked rice block forming device 1 according to this embodiment has a transport conveyor 53 that can be raised and lowered below the shutter mechanism 52 in the cooked rice compression molding section 5. With this configuration, the thickness of the cooked rice block 3 can be adjusted according to the raised position of the transport conveyor 53. That is, for example, by raising the transport conveyor 53 so as to approach the discharge port 54 of the case section 50, the thickness of the cooked rice block 3 can be made thin, and by raising the transport conveyor 53 to a position spaced a certain distance from the discharge port 54 of the case section 50, the thickness of the cooked rice block 3 can be made thick. This makes it possible to easily adjust the thickness and weight of the formed cooked rice block 3 according to the raised position of the transport conveyor 53. Furthermore, by bringing the transport surface 53g of the transport conveyor 53 close to the discharge port 54 of the case section 50, the falling distance of the cooked rice 2 from the discharge port 54 is shortened, and the falling impact on the cooked rice 2 is reduced, reducing the risk of the cooked rice 2 being crushed, while maintaining the density of the compressed cooked rice 2.

[0143] Moreover, the cooked rice lump forming device 1 according to this embodiment has a measuring section 60 and a filling and forming section 61 in the carrying-out and conveying section 6. According to this configuration, the cooked rice lump 3 measured in the measuring section 60 is filled with cooked rice 2 in an amount corresponding to a shortage weight with respect to a predetermined weight by the filling mechanism 62, and then, is formed again by the forming mechanism 63, thereby forming a cooked rice lump 3X having a predetermined shape, weight and density.

[0144] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described, the above description is merely an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Therefore, even if the embodiment is different from the above-described embodiment, various modifications can be made depending on the design, etc., as long as they do not deviate from the technical concept of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0145] 1 Rice lump forming device 2 Rice 3 Rice blocks 4 Rice supply department 5. Rice Compression Molding Section 50 Case part 51 Rotating pressure body 51b Central pressing part 51c Peripheral pressing part 51d Recess 51e Pressing wall part 51f peripheral cog part 52 Shutter mechanism 53 Conveyor 6. Unloading and transport section 9. Sorting and transport section

Claims

1. A cooked rice lump forming device that divides cooked rice into predetermined amounts and sends them out as cooked rice lumps, A cooked rice compression molding unit is provided which temporarily stores the cooked rice and compresses and molds it into a predetermined shape. The cooked rice compression molding unit is A case for temporarily storing cooked rice; A pair of left and right pressing members provided in the case portion to press the cooked rice supplied to the case portion to form the cooked rice into a predetermined shape; A shutter mechanism that is provided below the pair of left and right pressing members so as to be openable and closable, supports cooked rice in a closed state, shapes the cooked rice together with the pair of left and right pressing members, opens the shaped cooked rice to feed the cooked rice, and closes again to separate the fed cooked rice into a cooked rice lump; A conveying section that is provided below the shutter mechanism and can be raised and lowered, receives cooked rice sent out from the shutter mechanism on a conveying surface, and adjusts the thickness of the cooked rice block by changing the height of the conveying surface; A cooked rice lump forming device having the same.

2. the pair of left and right pressing members are a pair of left and right rotary pressing bodies arranged close to each other and having a rotation axis that is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying section in a plan view, The pair of rotary press bodies are provided so that the space between them is a forming space for cooked rice, and they rotate in a direction to move the opposing sides downward, thereby acting on cooked rice supplied from above into the forming space. The cooked rice lump forming device according to claim 1 .

3. The rotary pressing body is a central pressing portion having a cylindrical shape with a central axis direction being a rotation axis direction and having a plurality of pressing wall portions on a peripheral edge portion; A peripheral pressing part is provided on both sides of the central pressing part in the central axis direction, and is a truncated cone-shaped part whose diameter gradually increases from the central pressing part side to the end side in the central axis direction, and has a plurality of peripheral cog parts that press cooked rice on the peripheral part; The cooked rice lump forming device according to claim 2, further comprising:

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