Cooked rice processing apparatus

Abstract

To obtain a cooked rice mound having an excellent texture and measured weight accuracy.SOLUTION: A cooked rice processing apparatus has: a pair of upper-stage rollers 3aa, a pair of middle-stage rollers 3ab and a pair of lower-stage rollers 3ac which are mutually arranged opposite to each other while sandwiching a conveyance space of cooked rice R and convey the cooked rice R downward; a shutter 3b which divides the cooked rice R conveyed from the pair of lower-stage rollers 3ac into a cooked rice mound Rm; and control means C which executes a first step of rotating the pair of upper-stage rollers 3aa and the pair of middle-stage rollers 3ab, and conveying the cooked rice R downward while compressing the rice R in horizontal directions, a second step of rotating the pair of upper-stage rollers 3aa and the pair of middle-stage rollers 3ab, stopping the rotation of the pair of lower-stage rollers 3ac to compress the cooked rice R between the pair of middle-stage rollers 3ab and the pair of lower-stage rollers 3ac in vertical directions, and a third step of rotating the pair of upper-stage rollers 3aa, the pair of middle-stage rollers 3ab and the pair of lower-stage rollers 3ac to divide the cooked rice R conveyed from the pair of lower-stage rollers 3ac by the shutter 3b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooked rice processing apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] The cooked rice processing device is a device that automatically shapes cooked rice chunks such as rice balls and sushi rice balls, and is equipped with a mechanism that compresses cooked rice supplied from a hopper and divides it into predetermined amounts (weights).

[0003] In the feed path for cooked rice, pairs of rollers are arranged in multiple stages along the conveying direction of the cooked rice, with the feed path sandwiched between them. These pairs of rollers can rotate in opposing directions (inward), and are arranged so that the opposing distance between each pair is narrow along the conveying direction of the cooked rice. The cooked rice is sent by the upper pair of rollers, and the cooked rice is consolidated by the speed difference between the upper pair of rollers and the lower pair of rollers. As a result, the cooked rice is gradually compressed by the multiple pairs of rollers and conveyed at a predetermined density, and is divided into predetermined amounts by a shutter (dividing section) to become cooked rice chunks.

[0004] Regarding the compression and conveyance of cooked rice using such a pair of rollers, a technique is known, for example, as described in JP 2015-149937 A. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-149937 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Here, two qualities are required for the cooked rice block divided into a specified amount: texture and weight accuracy. Texture means that the cooked rice block has air and is easy to eat, and weight accuracy means that the difference between the actual amount and the set amount is small while maintaining this texture.

[0007] However, with the roller configuration described above, the cooked rice is gradually compressed to narrow its width and length in accordance with the arrangement intervals of the roller pairs in multiple stages, which results in a poor texture.

[0008] To improve the texture of the cooked rice block, it is necessary to reduce the compression of the cooked rice, but this will result in a coarser density and poorer weight accuracy.On the other hand, to improve the weight accuracy of the cooked rice block, it is necessary to increase the compression of the cooked rice, but this in turn will result in a worse texture.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned technical background, and has an object to provide a cooked rice processing apparatus capable of obtaining cooked rice blocks having excellent texture and weight accuracy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problems, the cooked rice processing device of the present invention described in claim 1 comprises a cooked rice breaking section which breaks up cooked rice and sends it downward, at least one pair of upper rollers, one pair of middle rollers and one pair of lower rollers which are installed vertically below the cooked rice breaking section and are arranged to face each other with a cooked rice transport space in between and transport the cooked rice sent out from the cooked rice breaking section downward by rotational motion, a dividing section which is installed below the pair of lower rollers and divides the cooked rice transported from the pair of lower rollers into cooked rice chunks, and drives the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers to rotate at the same peripheral speed, and drives the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers independently of the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers. The rice feeder has a driving means for rotating the pair of lower rollers at the same peripheral speed as the pair of middle rollers, and a control means for controlling the driving means and the dividing unit to sequentially execute a first step of rotating the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers to compress the cooked rice horizontally while transporting it downward, a second step of rotating the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers and stopping the rotation of the pair of lower rollers to compress the cooked rice between the pair of middle rollers and the pair of lower rollers vertically, and a third step of rotating the pair of upper rollers, the pair of middle rollers, and the pair of lower rollers to divide the cooked rice transported from the pair of lower rollers in the dividing unit.

[0011] The rice processing device of the present invention as described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention as described in claim 1, the driving means is composed of a first motor that rotates the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers, and a second motor that rotates the pair of lower rollers.

[0012] The cooked rice processing device of the present invention as described in claim 3 is the invention as described in claim 2, characterized in that the control means controls the transition from the second step to the third step when a predetermined load torque is applied to the first motor due to compression of the cooked rice by the pair of middle rollers in the second step.

[0013] The rice processing device of the present invention as described in claim 4 is characterized in that, in the invention as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the distance between the pair of middle rollers is set narrower than the distance between the pair of upper rollers or the same as the distance between the pair of upper rollers, and the distance between the pair of lower rollers is set narrower than the distance between the pair of middle rollers.

[0014] The cooked rice processing device of the present invention as described in claim 5 is characterized in that, in the invention as described in claim 4, the diameters of the pair of middle rollers and the pair of lower rollers are set smaller than the diameter of the pair of upper rollers. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, the cooked rice is compressed horizontally in the first step, and then compressed vertically in the second step. Therefore, by dividing such cooked rice at the dividing section, it is possible to obtain a block of cooked rice with excellent texture and weight accuracy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view of a cooked rice processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view showing a roller unit constituting the cooked rice processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a front view showing a roller unit constituting the cooked rice processing apparatus of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between an upper roller, a middle roller, and a lower roller that configure the roller unit of FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. [Diagram 5] 4 is a perspective view showing an upper roller which is a component of the roller unit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a perspective view showing a middle roller which is a component of the roller unit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. [Figure 7] 4 is a perspective view showing a lower roller which is a component of the roller unit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. [Figure 8]2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the cooked rice processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 9] 4 is an explanatory diagram showing one step of cooking rice treatment by the roller unit of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. [Figure 10] 9A and 9B are explanatory views showing steps of the cooked rice treatment by the roller unit of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. [Figure 11] 10 in the process of cooking rice by the roller unit of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 12] 12 is an explanatory view showing a process subsequent to FIG. 11 in the cooked rice treatment by the roller unit of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] 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.

[0018] FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a cooked rice processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] The cooked rice processing device 1 of this embodiment is a device for shaping cooked rice chunks (cooked rice blocks) such as sushi rice balls and rice balls, and is equipped with a cooked rice breaking section 2, a cooked rice measuring and dividing section 3 arranged below the cooked rice breaking section 2, and a turntable 4 arranged below the cooked rice breaking section 2.

[0020] The cooked rice loosening section 2 is a mechanism for loosening cooked rice until it becomes soft and sending it downward, and is equipped with a hopper 2a, a cooked rice supply tube 2b arranged below it, and a loosening member 2c installed inside the cooked rice supply tube 2b in a rotatable state.

[0021] The hopper 2a is installed at the top of the cooked rice processing device 1. This hopper 2a has an opening 2aa in the shape of a substantially inverted square pyramid whose area decreases from the top to the bottom, and cooked rice can be placed into the cooked rice processing device 1 through the opening 2aa.

[0022] The cooked rice supply tube 2b is disposed between the hopper 2a and the cooked rice measuring and dividing section 3. The cooked rice supply tube 2b is shaped so that the area decreases from the top to the bottom. The inside of the cooked rice supply tube 2b is a space for softening the cooked rice supplied from the hopper 2a and guiding the softened cooked rice to the cooked rice measuring and dividing section 3.

[0023] At the bottom of the rice supply cylinder 2b, on both sides, windows on the light emitting side and light receiving side of a sensor (not shown) that detects rice and a window on the reflector side are provided so as to face each other. When rice is detected by this sensor (for example, when rice blocks the detection light from the light emitting part of the sensor), it is determined that there is enough rice, and the delivery of rice is stopped. On the other hand, when rice is not detected by the sensor (for example, when rice does not block the detection light from the light emitting part of the sensor), it is determined that there is not enough rice, and the delivery of rice is resumed.

[0024] The loosening member 2c is a member that stirs and loosens the cooked rice by its rotational action, and sends the loosened cooked rice to the cooked rice measuring and dividing section 3, and is equipped with a rotating shaft 2ca and a plurality of loosening blades 2cb protruding from its outer periphery. The loosening member 2c is supported in a state in which it can rotate around the rotating shaft 2ca, with the rotating shaft 2ca suspended between both side surfaces of the cooked rice supply tube 2b.

[0025] Here, the case where one loosening member 2c is installed in the cooked rice supply tube 2b has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, two or more members may be installed.

[0026] Next, the cooked rice measuring and dividing section 3 is a mechanism that measures and divides the cooked rice supplied from the cooked rice disintegrating section 2 into rice of a predetermined size, shape and weight (quantity), and is equipped with a roller unit 3a and a shutter (dividing section) 3b installed at the bottom of the roller unit 3a.

[0027] The roller unit 3a is installed below the cooked rice supply tube 2b. In Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the roller unit 3a is provided with a roller housing 3a-1 that forms its outer shell. The cooked rice inlet 3a-1a formed at the top of the roller housing 3a-1 coincides with the cooked rice supply tube 2b and is connected in a communicating state. The aforementioned shutter 3b is installed at the cooked rice outlet 3a-1b formed at the bottom of the roller housing 3a-1.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, in the roller housing 3a-1, pairs of rollers 3aa, 3ab, 3ac facing each other across the rice conveying space are installed in three tiers in the vertical direction along the rice conveying direction. That is, a pair of upper rollers 3aa is installed below the rice breaker 2, a pair of middle rollers 3ab is installed below the pair of upper rollers 3aa, and a pair of lower rollers 3ac is installed below the pair of middle rollers 3ab. Each pair of rollers 3aa, 3ab, 3ac is journaled on the inner wall surfaces on the front and back sides of the roller housing 3a-1 in a state in which they can rotate in the opposing direction (inward) with a predetermined interval between them. The rotational motion of these pairs of rollers 3aa, 3ab, 3ac conveys the rice sent out from the rice breaker 2 downward.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 4, the interval between each pair of rollers 3aa, 3ab, 3ac (the interval between the roller shaft of one roller and the roller shaft of the other roller in the pair of rollers) gradually narrows downward. That is, the interval between the pair of middle rollers 3ab (the interval between the roller shaft 3ab-1 of one roller 3ab and the roller shaft 3ab-1 of the other roller 3ab) is set narrower than the interval between the pair of upper rollers 3aa (the interval between the roller shaft 3aa-1 of one roller 3aa and the roller shaft 3aa-1 of the other roller 3aa). Also, the interval between the pair of lower rollers 3ac (the interval between the roller shaft 3ac-1 of one roller 3ac and the roller shaft 3ac-1 of the other roller 3ac) is set narrower than the interval between the pair of middle rollers 3ab (the interval between the roller shaft 3ab-1 of one roller 3ab and the roller shaft 3ab-1 of the other roller 3ab). As a result, the cooked rice is gradually compressed from the lateral direction as it is conveyed downward.

[0030] The interval between each pair of rollers 3aa, 3ab, 3ac does not necessarily have to be as described above, and for example, the interval between the pair of middle rollers 3ab may be set to be the same as the interval between the pair of upper rollers 3aa. However, as described below, there is a process in which the pair of upper rollers 3aa and the pair of middle rollers 3ab are rotated while the pair of lower rollers 3ac is stopped from rotating to compress the cooked rice in the vertical direction, and in order to hold the cooked rice with the pair of lower rollers 3ac in this process (to prevent the cooked rice from spilling out), it is desirable to set the interval between the pair of lower rollers 3ac as narrow as possible.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, the diameter of the pair of middle rollers 3ab (diameter of roller shaft 3ab-1) is set to be the smallest, the diameter of the pair of lower rollers 3ac (diameter of roller shaft 3ac-1) is next small, and the diameter of the pair of upper rollers 3aa (diameter of roller shaft 3aa-1) is set to be the largest. The reason why the diameter of the pair of middle rollers 3ab is set to be smaller than the diameter of the pair of upper rollers 3aa is that if the diameter of the pair of middle rollers 3ab is equal to or larger than the diameter of the pair of upper rollers 3aa, the conveying space of the cooked rice from the pair of upper rollers 3aa to the pair of middle rollers 3ab becomes too wide in the horizontal direction, and the cooked rice compressed in the horizontal direction by the pair of upper rollers 3aa expands in the horizontal direction or the cooked rice deviates from the conveying path before it reaches the pair of middle rollers 3ab. Therefore, if the cooked rice compressed in the horizontal direction by the pair of middle rollers 3ab does not expand in the horizontal direction before it reaches the pair of lower rollers 3ac, the diameters of the pair of middle rollers 3ab and the pair of lower rollers 3ac may be set to be the same.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 5, flanges 3aa-f are formed on both sides of the pair of upper rollers 3aa. In addition, a plurality of protrusions 3aa-p for scraping down cooked rice are formed on the outer periphery of the roller shaft 3aa-1 of the pair of upper rollers 3aa. The protrusions 3aa-p are formed across the entire width of the roller shaft 3aa-1 and form steps along the circumferential direction, and are formed to extend in the circumferential direction so as to be arranged alternately.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 6, flanges 3ab-f are formed on both sides of the pair of middle rollers 3ab. In addition, a plurality of protrusions 3ab-p for scraping down cooked rice are formed on the outer periphery of the roller shaft 3ab-1 of the pair of middle rollers 3ab. These protrusions 3ab-p are formed to extend in the width direction of the roller shaft 3ab-1, and are alternately arranged to form projections and recesses along the circumferential direction of the roller shaft 3ab-1.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 7, flanges 3ac-f are formed on both sides of the pair of lower rollers 3ac. In addition, a plurality of protrusions 3ac-p for scraping down cooked rice are formed on the outer periphery of the roller shaft 3ac-1 of the pair of lower rollers 3ac. The protrusions 3ac-p are formed to extend in the width direction of the roller shaft 3ac-1, and are alternately arranged to form projections and recesses along the circumferential direction of the roller shaft 3ac-1.

[0035] The outer periphery of the roller shaft 3ab-1 of the pair of middle rollers 3ab and the outer periphery of the roller shaft 3ac-1 of the pair of lower rollers 3ac are formed in a roughly elongated arc shape when viewed from above, so that a roughly flattened elliptical space is formed between the opposing surfaces of the pair of rollers 3ab, 3ac.

[0036] The shapes of the protrusions 3aa-p, 3ab-p, and 3ac-p are not limited to those shown in this embodiment, and various shapes can be adopted. Also, each roller 3aa, roller 3ab, and roller 3ac may have a groove instead of a protrusion to scrape down the cooked rice. Furthermore, the flanges 3aa-f, 3ab-f, and 3ac-f formed on each roller 3aa, roller 3ab, and roller 3ac are not essential and may not be formed.

[0037] The shutter 3b has two movable blades 3ba, 3bb (see FIG. 1). The blade tips of the movable blades 3ba, 3bb are formed in a comb-like shape, and are installed so that they can move toward and away from each other with their respective blade tips facing the rice outlet 3a-1b (see FIG. 9 to FIG. 12). The movable blades 3ba, 3bb are installed so as to be almost horizontal to each other when on standby, but when cutting, the movable blades 3ba, 3bb move horizontally toward each other until their respective comb teeth mesh, and then one movable blade 3bb swings downward below the height position of the other movable blade 3ba.

[0038] In addition, both of the movable blades 3ba and 3bb may be configured to swing downward. Furthermore, the shutter 3b may have various shapes capable of dividing cooked rice, such as a plate shape, instead of the comb-tooth shape as in the present embodiment.

[0039] The cooked rice sent from the roller unit 3a is divided by the sliding movement of the movable blades 3ba and 3bb at a timing when the rice reaches a predetermined size, shape and weight. In this cooked rice measuring and dividing section 3, cooked rice can be measured and divided into appropriate amounts to form cooked rice chunks with a simple structure. The cooked rice chunks divided by the shutter 3b are accommodated in the forming holes MH of the turntable 4.

[0040] Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the cooked rice processing device 1 of this embodiment is provided with a driving means M for rotating the pair of upper rollers 3aa, the pair of middle rollers 3ab, and the pair of lower rollers 3ac, and a control means C for controlling the operation of the driving means M and the shutter 3b. As shown in the figure, the driving means M is composed of a first motor M1 for rotating the pair of upper rollers 3aa and the pair of middle rollers 3ab, and a second motor M2 for rotating the pair of lower rollers 3ac. The driving means M drives the pair of upper rollers 3aa and the pair of middle rollers 3ab at the same circumferential speed, and drives the pair of lower rollers 3ac at the same circumferential speed as the pair of upper rollers 3aa and the pair of middle rollers 3ab, independently of the pair of upper rollers 3aa and the pair of middle rollers 3ab. The control means C also monitors the load torque applied to the first motor M1 by the compression of cooked rice by the pair of middle rollers 3ab.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 1, the turntable 4 is formed of, for example, a flat circular plate, and is axially supported on a base 5 in a state in which it can be intermittently rotated by a drive source (not shown) built into the base 5.

[0042] A plurality of forming holes MH are formed near the outer periphery of the turntable 4 at predetermined intervals along the outer periphery, penetrating the upper and lower surfaces of the turntable 4. The forming holes MH are holes for accommodating the cooked rice blocks after they have been weighed and divided, and their planar shape is, for example, elliptical. However, the shape of the forming holes MH is not limited to this and can be changed in various ways, for example, they may be rectangular with rounded corners, triangular with rounded corners, or circular.

[0043] Further, on the outer periphery of the turntable 4, above and downstream of the outlet of the roller unit 3a, a forming upper die 6U of the forming section 6 is installed. The forming section 6 is a device that forms the cooked rice block after weighing and dividing into a product shape (final shape), and includes a forming lower die 6L, a forming upper die 6U, support members 6S, supports 6P, and a driver (not shown) that moves the forming upper die 6U up and down.

[0044] The forming lower die 6L is accommodated in each forming hole MH of the turntable 4. The upper surface of the forming lower die 6L is formed, for example, in a curved shape. Furthermore, a rotating roller (not shown) is rotatably installed on the lower surface side of the forming lower die 6L so that the forming lower die 6L can smoothly move on a lower die rail portion (not shown) provided inside the frame 5 in response to the intermittent rotation of the turntable 4.

[0045] On the other hand, the forming upper die 6U is a member that presses the cooked rice block placed on the upper surface of the forming lower die 6L in the forming hole MH to form the cooked rice block into a predetermined shape, and its pressing surface (lower surface) is formed, for example, in a curved shape that gradually concaves toward the center in the longitudinal direction.

[0046] This forming upper die 6U is joined to a support 6P via a support member 6S and is supported in a state in which it can move up and down (reciprocating between a position where the cooked rice block is formed and a position away from the cooked rice block). A drive body that moves this forming upper die 6U up and down includes, for example, a drive source such as a rotary motor and a mechanism that converts the rotary motion into a linear motion.

[0047] During molding, the forming hole MH containing the cooked rice block after weighing and dividing is positioned on the turntable 4 directly below the pressing surface (lower surface) of the forming upper mold 6U so that the upper surface of the forming lower mold 6L and the pressing surface (lower surface) of the forming upper mold 6U face each other across the cooked rice block, and then the forming upper mold 6U is lowered to press the cooked rice block in the forming hole MH with the forming upper mold 6U to mold it into a predetermined shape.

[0048] Next, the process of compressing and dividing cooked rice under the control of the control means to obtain cooked rice chunks in the cooked rice processing device 1 of the present embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration will be described with reference to Figs. 9 to 12.

[0049] In Fig. 9, when the movable blades 3ba, 3bb of the shutter 3b are in a position separated from each other and the cooked rice R sent from the cooked rice loosening section 2 is sent to the cooked rice measuring and dividing section 3 where a pair of upper rollers 3aa, a pair of middle rollers 3ab, and a pair of lower rollers 3ac are rotating at the same peripheral speed, the cooked rice R is first roughly collected in a loosened state by the pair of upper rollers 3aa, and is conveyed downward while being compressed laterally (part of the first process). In addition, by compressing the cooked rice R laterally, the cooked rice grains tend to be arranged in a vertically elongated direction.

[0050] Next, the cooked rice R compressed laterally by the pair of upper rollers 3aa and conveyed downward is conveyed downward while being compressed laterally by the pair of middle rollers 3ab so as to have a width slightly narrower than that of the pair of upper rollers 3aa, as shown in Fig. 10 (another part of the first step). Here again, the cooked rice R is compressed laterally, so that the cooked rice grains tend to be aligned in the vertically elongated direction.

[0051] In this way, in the first step, the cooked rice R is transported downward by the pair of upper rollers 3aa and the pair of middle rollers 3ab, so that the cooked rice R is maintained in a state compressed in the laterally direction, and the density in the laterally direction is stabilized.

[0052] Next, as shown in Fig. 11, the movable blades 3ba and 3bb of the shutter 3b are moved to positions close to each other, the pair of upper rollers 3aa and the pair of middle rollers 3ab are continuously rotated, and the pair of lower rollers 3ac is stopped rotating. The cooked rice R is conveyed downward by the rotation of the pair of middle rollers 3ab, but the cooked rice R is held by the pair of lower rollers 3ac by stopping the rotation of the pair of lower rollers 3ac (so that the cooked rice R does not spill out), and the cooked rice R between the pair of middle rollers 3ab and the pair of lower rollers 3ac is compressed vertically (second step). That is, the cooked rice R compressed horizontally in the first step is compressed vertically in the second step, and the density in the horizontal and vertical directions is stabilized.

[0053] After the cooked rice R is compressed vertically in the second step, the pair of upper rollers 3aa, the pair of middle rollers 3ab, and the pair of lower rollers 3ac are rotated as shown in Fig. 12, and the cooked rice R conveyed from the pair of lower rollers 3ac is divided by the shutter 3b (third step). As a result, the cooked rice R is measured and divided into appropriate amounts to become cooked rice chunks Rm.

[0054] As described above, in the cooked rice processing device 1 of this embodiment, the control means C monitors the load torque applied to the first motor M1 by the compression of the cooked rice R by the pair of middle rollers 3ab. Then, in the second step, if a predetermined load torque is applied to the first motor M1 by the vertical compression of the cooked rice R by the pair of middle rollers 3ab (that is, if the torque applied when the cooked rice R is appropriately compressed in the vertical direction by the pair of middle rollers 3ab is applied to the first motor M1), the second step is shifted to the third step. However, the second step may be shifted to the third step based on the time during which the pair of lower rollers 3ac stop rotating (that is, the time during which the cooked rice R is compressed in the vertical direction).

[0055] Thus, according to the cooked rice processing device 1 of this embodiment, cooked rice R is compressed horizontally in the first step, and then compressed vertically in the second step. In other words, cooked rice R is not gradually compressed horizontally and vertically, but is compressed horizontally and vertically in separate steps. This makes the density of cooked rice R stable in both the horizontal and vertical directions (i.e., the weight accuracy is improved), and cooked rice R contains an appropriate amount of air evenly (i.e., the fluffy feel of cooked rice R can be maintained). Therefore, by dividing such cooked rice R with the shutter 3b, it is possible to obtain cooked rice blocks Rm with excellent texture and weight accuracy.

[0056] 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.

[0057] For example, in this embodiment, the pair of upper rollers 3aa is installed in one stage, but they may be installed in multiple stages. That is, the pair of upper rollers 3aa needs to be installed in at least one stage. However, even if the pair of upper rollers 3aa is installed in multiple stages, the pair of middle rollers 3ab and the pair of lower rollers 3ac are each installed in one stage.

[0058] In addition, in this embodiment, the driving means M is composed of a first motor M1 that rotates and drives the pair of upper rollers 3aa and the pair of middle rollers 3ab, and a second motor M2 that rotates and drives the pair of lower rollers 3ac, but it may be composed of a single motor or three motors that rotate and drive each pair of rollers 3aa, 3ab, 3ac, respectively.

[0059] In addition, in this embodiment, the shutter 3b, which is the dividing part, is a movable blade 3ba, 3bb whose cutting edge is formed in a comb-tooth shape, but various shapes can be adopted as long as it is possible to divide the cooked rice, and it may be, for example, a plate shape.

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a turntable is used as the transport means, but this is not limited to this and various modifications are possible. For example, a linear belt conveyor or an endless belt conveyor may be used as the transport means. [Industrial Applicability]

[0061] In the above explanation, the present invention has been described as being applied to the production of cooked rice chunks such as sushi rice balls, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied in various ways, for example, to the production of other food ingredients such as nori rolls and rice balls. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1 Cooked rice processing equipment 2. Rice Breaking Department 2a Hopper 2b Rice supply cylinder 2c Release member 3 Rice measuring division section 3a Roller unit 3a-1 Roller housing 3a-1a entrance 3a-1b exit 3aa Pair of upper rollers 3ab Pair of middle rollers 3ac Pair of lower rollers 3aa-1,3ab-1,3ac-1 Roller shaft 3aa-f,3ab-f,3ac-f flange 3aa-p,3ab-p,3ac-p protrusion 3b Shutter (split section) 3ba,3bb movable blade 4. Turntable 5 Mounting 6 Molding section C. Control Measures M Drive means M1 First motor M2 Second motor R Rice Rm rice lump

Claims

1. A rice breaker that breaks the rice and sends it downward; At least one pair of upper rollers, one pair of middle rollers, and one pair of lower rollers are installed vertically below the cooked rice breaker, and are arranged opposite each other across a cooked rice conveying space, and convey the cooked rice sent out from the cooked rice breaker downward by a rotational motion. A dividing section that is installed below the pair of lower rollers and divides the cooked rice conveyed from the pair of lower rollers into cooked rice chunks; a driving means for driving the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers to rotate at the same peripheral speed, and for driving the pair of lower rollers to rotate at the same peripheral speed as the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers, independent of the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers; a control means for controlling the drive means and the dividing unit to sequentially execute a first step of rotating the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers to compress the cooked rice horizontally while conveying it downward; a second step of rotating the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers and stopping the rotation of the pair of lower rollers to compress the cooked rice between the pair of middle rollers and the pair of lower rollers vertically; and a third step of rotating the pair of upper rollers, the pair of middle rollers, and the pair of lower rollers to divide the cooked rice conveyed from the pair of lower rollers by the dividing unit; A cooked rice processing device comprising:

2. The driving means is a first motor that drives and rotates the pair of upper rollers and the pair of middle rollers; a second motor that rotates and drives the pair of lower rollers; 2. The cooked rice processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The control means performs control to transition from the second step to the third step when a predetermined load torque is applied to the first motor due to compression of the cooked rice by the pair of middle rollers in the second step.

3. The cooked rice processing device according to claim 2.

4. a distance between the pair of middle rollers is set to be narrower than a distance between the pair of upper rollers or equal to a distance between the pair of upper rollers, the gap between the pair of lower rollers is set narrower than the gap between the pair of middle rollers, The cooked rice processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. a diameter of the pair of middle rollers and the pair of lower rollers is set smaller than a diameter of the pair of upper rollers, 5. The cooked rice processing device according to claim 4.

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