Stick-shaped food material cutting device

Abstract

To provide a stick-shaped food material cutting device with excellent operability.SOLUTION: A stick-shaped food material cutting device includes a movable table 5 that is provided in a housing in a manner of making a stick-shaped food material freely reciprocate between a loading position and a take-out position and presses the stick-shaped food material against multiple cutting blades, and cuts the stick-shaped food material into multiple pieces by a pressing motion of the movable table 5 toward the cutting blades. The device further includes: drive means that makes the movable table 5 reciprocate between the loading position and the take-out position; an opening / closing lid 12 that opens and closes a take-out port provided in the housing correspondingly to the take-out position of the movable table 5; a product detection sensor 21 that detects when the stick-shaped food material has moved to the take-out position; and a control unit that drives the movable table 5 to the loading position when the product detection sensor 21 detects that the food material has been taken out from the take-out position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rod-shaped food cutting device for cutting rod-shaped food such as sushi rolls. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a cutting device for cutting products such as nori-maki sushi. This cutting device is equipped with a receiving table that supports and moves the sushi roll, a guide rod that guides the movement of the receiving table, and a blade frame. The receiving table moves back and forth between a loading position where the sushi roll, which is a rod-shaped food ingredient, is loaded, and a removal position where the sushi roll is removed. The sushi roll loaded at the loading position before cutting is pressed against the cutting blade as it moves along the cutting blade by the receiving table, and is cut into multiple pieces and transported to the removal position.

[0003] In order to drive the tray between the loading position and the removal position, a drive mechanism is built into the housing, which includes a drive pulley and a driven pulley rotated by an electric motor, and an endless belt stretched around both pulleys. The endless belt is connected to the tray, and by driving the endless belt with the electric motor, the sushi rolls are transported from the loading position of the tray to the removal position.

[0004] The rod-shaped food cutting device described in Patent Document 2 has a movable table that moves while supporting rod-shaped food such as sushi rolls, a guide rod that guides the movement of the movable table, and a blade frame equipped with multiple cutting blades. The movable table reciprocates between a loading position where the rod-shaped food is loaded and a removal position where the rod-shaped food is removed. The rod-shaped food loaded at the loading position before cutting is pressed against the cutting blade as it moves along the cutting blade by the movable table, cut into multiple pieces, and transported to the removal position. A drive mechanism similar to that in Patent Document 1 is provided within the housing to drive the movable table between the loading position and the removal position.

[0005] In this rod-shaped food cutting device, a cover for opening and closing an outlet for rod-shaped food materials is provided on the housing.

[0006] The food cutting device described in Patent Document 3 has a food platform that supports and moves food, a cam plate with a cam groove that guides the food platform between a supply position and a discharge position, and a cutting blade that cuts the food into round slices. A drive arm driven by an electric motor is provided to reciprocate the food platform between the supply position and the discharge position, and a pin attached to the food platform engages with a long hole formed in the drive arm. The food platform can change from an upward position to a forward tilted position by providing an arc portion in the cam groove. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-212789 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-181646 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2014-24172 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] As described above, in a cutting device in which rod-shaped food such as sushi rolls and nori-maki sushi is loaded onto a movable table and cut during the conveying process from the loading position to the removal position, it is necessary to return the movable table to the loading position after the cut rod-shaped food has been removed. The return movement of the movable table is performed by an operator operating an operation switch, so in actual working conditions, there are cases where the operator forgets to return the movable table.

[0009] For this reason, if the movable table has not returned to the loading position when the user attempts to load a rod-shaped food to be cut onto the movable table, the user must return the rod-shaped food to be loaded and then operate the operation switch to move the movable table to the loading position. Therefore, after the movable table has been moved to the loading position, the user must load the returned rod-shaped food onto the movable table, which is an unnecessary operation, and this creates a problem with operability in conventional cutting devices.

[0010] In order to improve operability, an attempt has been made to provide the cutting device with a product sensor for detecting the rod-shaped food material after it has been transported to the removal position and cut, and to operate the movable table so that when the product sensor detects that the cut rod-shaped food material has been removed from the movable table, the movable table is automatically moved from the removal position to the loading position.

[0011] However, one product sensor only detects the standard position of the rod-shaped food at the removal position, and it is difficult to detect the entire upper surface of the movable table. Therefore, if a rod-shaped food such as a nori roll is left on the movable table outside the detection range, the product sensor erroneously detects that the rod-shaped food has been removed, and the movable table returns to the loading position with the rod-shaped food still remaining. Therefore, the rod-shaped food must be removed from the loading position after cutting, which reduces the operability of the cutting device.

[0012] The present invention has been made in view of the above technical background, and has an object to provide a rod-shaped food cutting device that is easy to operate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] In order to solve the above problem, the rod-shaped food cutting device of the present invention described in claim 1 is a rod-shaped food cutting device that includes a movable table that is mounted on a housing and can move back and forth between a loading position and a removal position for rod-shaped food, and presses the rod-shaped food against a plurality of cutting blades, and cuts the rod-shaped food into multiple pieces by the pressing action of the movable table against the cutting blades, and is characterized in having a drive means that moves the movable table back and forth between the loading position and the removal position, an opening and closing lid that opens and closes an outlet provided in the housing corresponding to the removal position of the movable table, a product detection sensor that detects that the rod-shaped food has moved to the removal position, and a control unit that drives the movable table to the loading position when the product detection sensor detects the removal of the rod-shaped food from the removal position.

[0014] The rod-shaped food cutting device described in claim 2 is the invention described in claim 1, characterized in that it has an opening / closing detection sensor that detects when the opening / closing lid is closed, and the control unit drives the movable table to the loading position when the product detection sensor detects the removal of the rod-shaped food from the removal position and the opening / closing detection sensor detects the closing of the opening / closing lid.

[0015] The rod-shaped food cutting device of the present invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2 above, a drive lever is provided on the movable table for driving the opening / closing lid to an open position when the movable table moves from the loading position to the removal position.

[0016] The rod-shaped food cutting device of the present invention as described in claim 4 is characterized in that, in the invention as described in claim 3 above, a spring member is provided on the housing which applies a spring force in the closing direction to the opening / closing lid, and a holding member is provided on the housing which holds the opening / closing lid in the open position against the spring force in the closing direction of the spring member when the opening / closing lid is in the open position.

[0017] The rod-shaped food cutting device of the present invention described in claim 5 is the invention described in claim 4, characterized in that the holding member is an electromagnet that attracts a permanent magnet provided on the opening and closing lid.

[0018] The rod-shaped food cutting device of the present invention as described in claim 6 is characterized in that, in the invention as described in claim 1 above, a lid opening member is provided on the movable table which has a spring member that applies a spring force in a closing direction to the opening / closing lid, drives the opening / closing lid to an open position when the movable table moves from the mounting position to the removal position, and holds the opening / closing lid in the open position against the spring force in the closing direction of the spring member when the opening / closing lid is in the open position, and when the movable table is driven from the removal position to the mounting position by the control unit, the opening / closing lid is released from the hold in the open position by the lid opening member, and moves to the closed position by the spring force of the spring member. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, when a rod-shaped food material is removed from the movable table, the movable table automatically moves from the removal position to the loading position, eliminating the need for the operator to operate an operating switch to return the movable table to the loading position, thereby greatly improving the operability of the rod-shaped food material cutting device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a rolled sushi as a stick-shaped food ingredient is loaded onto a rolled sushi cutting device as a stick-shaped food ingredient cutting device according to one embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective view showing the sushi roll cutting device with the movable table moved to the removal position and the opening / closing lid moved to the open position. FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 is a perspective view showing the sushi roll cutting device with the opening and closing lid closed after the sushi roll has been removed; FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is a perspective view showing the sushi roll cutting device when the opening and closing lid is in the closed position and the movable table has started to move. FIG. [Diagram 5] (A) is a side view showing the movable table and the opening / closing lid when the movable table supporting the sushi rolls is moving toward the removal position, and (B) is a side view showing the movable table and the opening / closing lid when the movable table has moved toward the removal position, causing the opening / closing lid to be driven to the open position. [Figure 6] (A) is a side view showing the movable table and the opening / closing lid when the movable table has moved to the removal position, and (B) is a side view showing the movable table and the opening / closing lid when a rod-shaped food ingredient has been removed from the movable table. [Figure 7] 1A is a side view showing the movable table and the opening / closing lid when power supply to the electromagnet is released and the opening / closing lid is closed by the spring force of the spring member, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing the movable table and the opening / closing lid when the opening / closing detection sensor detects that the movable table has been closed and the movable table is moving from the removal position to the loading position. [Figure 8] 13 is a side view showing the movable table and the opening / closing cover in a state in which the movable table is further moved toward the mounting position. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit in the sushi roll cutting device. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the movable table and the opening and closing lid in a sushi roll cutting device as a rod-shaped food cutting device which is a modified example of the present invention, with the movable table supporting the sushi roll moving from the loading position to the removal position. [Figure 11] 11 is a side view showing the movable table and the opening / closing cover in a state in which the opening / closing cover is driven from the closed position to the open position by the movable table moving toward the removal position from the state shown in FIG. 10. FIG. [Figure 12] 12 is a side view showing the movable table and the opening / closing cover when the movable table has moved to the removal position from the state shown in FIG. 11. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings for explaining the embodiment, the same components are generally designated by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description will be omitted.

[0022] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sushi roll cutting device as a rod-like food cutting device according to one embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a sushi roll as a rod-like food ingredient is placed on a movable table. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the movable table has moved to the take-out position and the opening / closing lid has moved to the open position. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing lid is closed after the sushi roll has been taken out. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing lid is in the closed position and the movable table has started to move.

[0023] Fig. 5(A) is a side view showing the movable table supporting the sushi roll moving toward the take-out position, and Fig. 5(B) is a side view showing the state where the lid is driven to the open position as the movable table moves toward the take-out position. Fig. 6(A) is a side view showing the movable table moving to the take-out position, and Fig. 6(B) is a side view showing the state where the sushi roll is taken out from the movable table. Fig. 7(A) is a side view showing the state where the lid is closed by the spring force of the spring member after the power supply to the electromagnet is released, and Fig. 7(B) is a side view showing the state where the movable table is moving from the take-out position toward the loading position after the opening / closing detection sensor detects that the movable table has been closed. Fig. 8 is a side view showing the state where the movable table is moving further toward the loading position. Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing a control circuit in the sushi roll cutting device.

[0024] The sushi roll cutting device (rod-shaped food cutting device) M of this embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4 is a device used for cutting a sushi roll (rod-shaped food) R, such as a nori roll or egg roll, into multiple pieces at predetermined intervals. The sushi roll cutting device M has a housing 2 with left and right side walls 1a, 1b, and a loading port 3 is provided at the lower front of the housing 2 for loading the sushi roll R to be cut, and a removal port 4 is provided at the upper front of the housing 2 for removing the cut sushi roll R.

[0025] A movable table 5 that can freely move back and forth between a loading position and a removal position is provided inside the housing 2, and the sushi roll R is placed on the movable table 5 at the loading position, and as the movable table 5 moves upward from the loading position to the removal position, the sushi roll R is cut into multiple pieces by multiple cutting blades 9. Fig. 1 shows the movable table 5 in the loading position corresponding to the loading opening 3 of the housing 2, and Fig. 2 shows the movable table 5 in the state where it has risen from the position in Fig. 1 to the removal position corresponding to the removal opening 4 of the housing 2.

[0026] As shown in Figures 5 to 8, a slide block 6 is attached to the movable table 5, which moves up and down guided by guide members (not shown) provided on the inner surface of each of the side walls 1a, 1b, in the same way as in the sushi roll cutting device described in Patent Document 2. An electric motor for moving the slide block 6 up and down is stored inside the housing 2, and a drive mechanism is built into the housing 2, which includes pulleys provided at the top and bottom and a belt hung around the pulleys to which the slide block 6 is fixed. The electric motor, which serves as the movable table drive means, drives the belt in both forward and reverse directions over a predetermined length, causing the slide block 6 and movable table 5 to move up and down.

[0027] The movable table 5 has a bottom plate 7a and a standing portion 7b bent at approximately 90 degrees from the bottom plate 7a. The standing portion 7b faces the front of the housing 2, and the bottom plate 7a protrudes further forward than the standing portion 7b, allowing the rolled sushi R to be placed on it. The movable table 5 has a number of slits 8. Each slit 8 corresponds to a cutting position for the rolled sushi R, and as the movable table 5 moves upward from the loading position to the removal position, a cutting blade 9 enters the slit 8, cutting the bar-shaped rolled sushi into multiple pieces on the movable table 5. The number of cutting blades 9 corresponding to the number of slits 8 is attached to a cutting frame (not shown). The cutting frame is disposed on the front side of the housing 2 and is covered by a protective cover 10 provided in the center of the front of the housing 2.

[0028] Operating switches 11 are provided at the bottom front of the left and right side walls 1a, 1b and are operated when moving the movable table 5 from the loading position to the removal position, and when the two operating switches 11 are operated simultaneously, the movable table 5 moves upward and cuts the sushi roll R. However, it is also possible to operate only one of the two operating switches 11 to cut the sushi roll.

[0029] An opening / closing lid 12 that opens and closes the outlet 4 is provided on the top of the housing 2, and as shown in Figure 1, the opening / closing lid 12 closes the outlet 4 when the sushi roll cutting device is on standby or when the sushi roll has been placed on the movable table 5. On the other hand, when the operation switch 11 is operated and the movable table 5 moves up from the loading position to the removal position, the opening / closing lid 12 is opened, as shown in Figure 2.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 5, the movable table 5 attached to the sliding block 6 is movable up and down as indicated by the arrow by a guide member (not shown). On the other hand, the opening / closing cover 12 that opens and closes the outlet 4 is attached to a swinging member 14 that is mounted to a support shaft 13 attached to the housing 2 so as to be swingable in the direction of the arrow. A spring member 15 is attached to the swinging member 14, which applies a spring force in the closing direction to move the opening / closing cover 12 to the closed position. This spring member is a tension coil spring.

[0031] A driving lever 17 is attached to a support pin 16 attached to the sliding block 6 so as to be able to swing, in order to drive the opening / closing cover 12 from the closed position to the open position when the movable table 5 moves upward from the loading position to the removal position. The driving lever 17 has a stopper portion 17a that abuts against the sliding block 6, and a driving portion 17b that contacts a protrusion portion 18 provided on the swinging member 14. Therefore, when the driving portion 17b contacts the protrusion portion 18 when the movable table 5 moves upward to the removal position, the stopper portion 17a contacts the sliding block 6, and the clockwise rotation of the driving lever 17 in the figure is restricted. As a result, the swinging member 14 is swung by the driving lever 17 around the support shaft 13 against the spring force of the spring member 15 in the direction in which the opening / closing cover 12 moves from the closed position to the open position.

[0032] A permanent magnet 19 is attached to the opening / closing cover 12, and an electromagnet (holding member) 20 is attached inside the housing 2. When the opening / closing cover 12 is opened to the open position, the permanent magnet 19 faces the electromagnet 20. When the electromagnet 20 is energized in this opposing state, a holding force is applied to the permanent magnet 19 by the electromagnet 20, and the opening / closing cover 12 is held in the open position. The permanent magnet 19 may be attached to the housing 2, and the electromagnet 20 may be attached to the opening / closing cover 12, or a metal piece made of a magnetic material such as iron may be used instead of the permanent magnet 19.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 5, a product detection sensor 21 is attached to one of the side wall panels 1a of the housing 2. The product detection sensor 21 is located at a position that corresponds to the sushi roll R when the movable table 5 supporting the sushi roll R moves to the removal position, which is the upper limit position. In Fig. 2, the product detection sensor 21 attached to one of the side wall panels 1a is shown by a dashed line.

[0034] This product detection sensor 21 can be, for example, a type equipped with a light emitting element and a light receiving element, which irradiates light L toward a reflecting mirror provided on the other side wall panel 1b opposite the product detection sensor 21. The product detection sensor 21 and the reflecting mirror are positioned opposite each other across the sushi roll R that has been transported to the position of the take-out outlet.

[0035] Another type of product detection sensor 21 can be one that has one sensor member equipped with a light-emitting element and the other sensor member equipped with a light-receiving element. In that case, both sensor members are placed opposite each other through the sushi roll R that has been transported to the position of the take-out opening 4.

[0036] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5(B), an opening / closing detection sensor 22 for detecting the closing of the opening / closing lid 12 is attached to one side of the side wall plate 1a of the housing 2. The opening / closing detection sensor 22 is, for example, equipped with a light emitting element and a light receiving element, similar to the product detection sensor 21, and can be of a type that irradiates light toward a reflector provided on the other side wall plate 1b side opposite the opening / closing detection sensor 22. As shown in FIG. 5(A), when the opening / closing lid 12 is closed, the light irradiated from the light emitting element is blocked by the swinging member 14. This detects that the opening / closing lid 12 is in the closed position. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5(B), when the opening / closing lid 12 is opened, the swinging member 14 moves away from the position facing the opening / closing detection sensor 22, and the light irradiated from the opening / closing detection sensor 22 is irradiated toward the reflector attached to the side wall plate 1b, and the opening of the opening / closing lid 12 is detected.

[0037] The open / close detection sensor 22 may also be configured with one sensor member provided with a light-emitting element and the other sensor member provided with a light-receiving element, similar to the product detection sensor 21. In that case, both sensor members are made to face each other via the swing member 14 when the open / close lid 12 is in the closed position.

[0038] 9 is a block diagram showing the control circuit in the sushi roll cutting machine, which has a controller 23 to which signals are sent from the above-mentioned operation switch 11, product detection sensor 21, and open / close detection sensor 22. Controller 23 acts as a control section and sends drive signals to movable table driving means 24, which is made up of an electric motor, and to electromagnet 20. Controller 23 has a memory for storing programs and data, and a calculation section that processes signals from sensors etc.

[0039] Next, we will explain the operation of cutting the sushi roll R using the sushi roll cutting device M. As shown in Figure 1, when the movable table 5 is stationary in the loading position, the sushi roll R is loaded onto the movable table 5 through the loading opening 3. When the operator operates both operation switches 11 in this state, power is supplied to the electric motor which is the movable table driving means 24, and the movable table 5 is raised from the loading position to the removal position shown in Figure 2.

[0040] As the movable table 5 reaches the removal position, as shown in Fig. 5, the drive lever 17 attached to the sliding block 6 comes into contact with the protrusion 18 of the swinging member 14. The stopper portion 17a of the drive lever 17 comes into contact with the sliding block 6 and the rotation is restricted, so that the opening / closing cover 12 swings from the closed position to the open position against the spring force of the spring member 15. When the opening / closing cover 12 reaches the open position, the permanent magnet 19 faces the position of the energized electromagnet 20 across a gap, and the magnetic force holds the opening / closing cover 12 in the open position.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 6(A), when the movable table 5 moves to the removal position, the sushi roll R is pressed against a cutting blade 9 built into the housing 2, and the sushi roll R is cut into several pieces. In Figs. 5 to 8, the cutting blade 9 is indicated by a two-dot chain line. The cut sushi roll R is then removed from the movable table 5 by an operator. Fig. 6(B) shows the sushi roll after it has been removed from the movable table 5.

[0042] When the sushi roll R is removed from the movable table 5, the product detection sensor 21 detects the removal of the sushi roll R, and the controller 23 sends a control signal to stop the flow of electricity to the electromagnet 20. This causes the opening / closing lid 12 to close due to the spring force of the spring member 15, as shown in Figure 7(A). Then, when the opening / closing detection sensor 22 detects that the opening / closing lid has been closed, the movable table 5 begins to move downward, as shown in Figure 7(B). Figure 8 shows the movable table 5 having moved further towards the loading position.

[0043] In this way, when the sushi roll R is removed from the movable table 5 and the opening and closing lid 12 is closed, the movable table 5 automatically moves to the loading position, eliminating the need for the operator to operate an operating switch to drive the movable table 5 to the loading position. This greatly improves the operability of the sushi roll cutting device M.

[0044] The invention made by the inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiment, but the embodiment disclosed in this specification is illustrative in all respects and is not limited to the disclosed technology. In other words, the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted restrictively based on the description in the above embodiment, but should be interpreted strictly according to the description in the claims, and includes technologies equivalent to the described technologies in the claims and all modifications that do not deviate from the gist of the claims.

[0045] For example, in this embodiment, an opening / closing detection sensor 22 is provided to detect when the opening / closing lid 12 is closed, and when the product detection sensor 21 detects that the sushi roll R has been removed from the removal position and the opening / closing detection sensor 22 detects that the opening / closing lid 21 is closed, the controller 23 drives the movable table 5 to the loading position; however, a structure without the opening / closing detection sensor 22 is also possible.

[0046] The structure will be described below with reference to Figures 10 to 12. Figure 10 is a side view of a sushi roll cutting device as a rod-shaped food cutting device according to a modified example of the present invention, showing the movable table and the lid when the movable table supporting the sushi roll is moving from the loading position to the removal position, Figure 11 is a side view of the movable table and the lid when the movable table is moving toward the removal position, causing the lid to be driven from the closed position to the open position, and Figure 12 is a side view of the movable table and the lid when the movable table has moved to the removal position. Note that in these drawings, the cutting blade 9 shown in Figures 5 to 8 has been omitted.

[0047] As shown in these drawings, the opening / closing cover 12 is provided with a spring member 15 that applies a spring force in a direction to close the opening / closing cover 12. In addition, a door opening member 26 is provided on the movable table 5. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, this door opening member 26 drives the opening / closing cover 12 to the open position when the movable table 5 moves from the loading position to the removal position. Then, as shown in Figure 12, when the opening / closing cover 12 reaches the open position, the door opening member 26 holds the opening / closing cover 12 in the open position against the spring force of the spring member 15 in the closing direction.

[0048] The swinging member 14 to which the opening / closing lid 12 is attached is formed in a shape that swings about the support shaft 13 by the door opening member 26 to open the opening / closing lid 12.

[0049] As a result, when the movable table 5 is driven by the controller 23 from the removal position to the loading position, the opening / closing lid 12 is released from the open position held by the lid opening member 26 and moves to the closed position by the spring force of the spring member 15.

[0050] Furthermore, with such a structure, not only is the opening / closing detection sensor 22 unnecessary, but since the opening / closing lid 12 is held in the open position by the lid opening member 26, the electromagnet 20, which is a holding member for holding the opening / closing lid 12 in the open position, is also unnecessary.

[0051] Next, in this embodiment, when the product detection sensor 21 detects that the sushi roll R has been removed from the movable table 5 and the opening / closing detection sensor 22 detects that the opening / closing lid 12 has been closed, the movable table 5 moves toward the loading position; however, the opening / closing detection sensor 22 may not be installed and the movable table 5 may move only when it is detected that the sushi roll R has been removed.

[0052] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the outlet 4 is located above the loading opening 3, but as described in Patent Document 3, the outlet 4 may be located below the loading opening 3. In that case, the rolled sushi is cut by moving the movable table 5 downward.

[0053] Furthermore, the opening / closing cover 12 is opened by the movement of the movable table 5 and closed by the spring force of the spring member, but the opening / closing cover 12 may also be opened and closed by an electric motor or a solenoid, that is, an electromagnet.

[0054] In addition, photoelectric sensors equipped with a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are used for the product detection sensor 21 and the opening / closing detection sensor 22, but sensors other than photoelectric sensors may also be used, such as a proximity sensor that detects changes in capacitance that occur between the object to be detected (the sushi roll R, the opening / closing lid 12) and the sensor.

[0055] Furthermore, in this embodiment, an electromagnet 20 is used as a holding member for holding the opening / closing lid 12 in the open position, but this is not limited to this, and various members can be used as long as they can hold the opening / closing lid 12 in the open position. [Industrial Applicability]

[0056] In the above explanation, the rod-shaped food cutting device of the present invention is applied to a sushi roll cutting device for cutting sushi rolls, but the cutting target is not limited to sushi rolls, and various rod-shaped food can be cut. Examples of rod-shaped food include sushi rolls such as norimaki and tamagomaki, which uses a sheet-like tamagoyaki instead of nori, as well as datemaki, fish paste formed into a rod shape (kamaboko, satsuma-age, etc.), thick omelet, meat products cut into rod shapes, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1a, 1b side wall plate 2. Chassis 3 Loading port 4 Outlet 5 Movable table 6 Sliding block 7a Bottom plate part 7b Standing part 8 Slit 9 cutting blade 10 Protective cover 11 Operation switch 12 Opening and closing lid 13 Support shaft 14 Swinging member 15 Spring material 16 Support pin 17 Drive lever 17a Stopper part 17b Drive unit 18 Protrusion 19 Permanent magnets 20 Electromagnet (holding member) 21 Product detection sensor 22 Open / close detection sensor 23 Controller (control unit) 24 Movable table driving means 26 Door opening parts L light M Sushi roll cutting device (rod-shaped food cutting device) R Sushi rolls (stick-shaped food)

Claims

1. A rod-shaped food cutting device comprising: a movable table that is provided in a housing and can move freely between a loading position and a removal position for loading rod-shaped food and that presses rod-shaped food against a plurality of cutting blades, and the rod-shaped food is cut into a plurality of pieces by the pressing action of the movable table against the cutting blades, a driving means for reciprocating the movable table between the loading position and the unloading position; an opening / closing cover for opening and closing an outlet provided in the housing in correspondence with the removal position of the movable table; a product detection sensor that detects that the rod-shaped food material has moved to the removal position; a control unit that drives the movable table to the loading position when the product detection sensor detects the removal of the rod-shaped food material from the removal position; A rod-shaped food cutting device comprising:

2. An opening / closing detection sensor is provided to detect whether the opening / closing cover is closed, the control unit drives the movable table to the loading position when the product detection sensor detects the removal of the rod-shaped food material from the removal position and the opening / closing detection sensor detects the closing of the opening / closing lid.

2. The rod-shaped food cutting device according to claim 1.

3. a drive lever is provided on the movable table for driving the opening / closing cover to an open position when the movable table moves from the loading position to the removal position; 3. The rod-shaped food cutting device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A spring member is provided to apply a spring force to the opening / closing cover in a closing direction, a holding member is provided on the housing to hold the opening / closing cover in the open position against the spring force of the spring member in the closing direction when the opening / closing cover is in the open position; 4. The rod-shaped food cutting device according to claim 3.

5. The holding member is an electromagnet that attracts a permanent magnet provided on the opening / closing cover.

5. The rod-shaped food cutting device according to claim 4.

6. A spring member is provided to apply a spring force to the opening / closing cover in a closing direction, a lid opening member is provided on the movable table, the lid opening member drives the lid to an open position when the movable table moves from the loading position to the removal position, and when the lid is in the open position, holds the lid in the open position against the spring force of the spring member in the closing direction, When the movable table is driven from the removal position to the loading position by the control unit, the opening / closing lid is released from the open position by the lid opening member, and moves to the closed position by the spring force of the spring member.

2. The rod-shaped food cutting device according to claim 1.

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