Rice milling plant system

Abstract

To provide a rice milling plant system in which bugs and the like hardly infest in a rice milling plant while using a conventionally well-known open system apparatus, and in which bugs do not infest in products.SOLUTION: Substantially airtight small rooms R1-R12 are constructed in a rice milling plant P, and apparatuses 103-120 are installed in the small rooms R1-R12, and to the apparatuses 103-120, connection passages 301-315 with a previous process and a post process are connected in a substantially airtight manner. At least a series of apparatuses from a rice milling machine to a packaging machine, it is preferable that they are installed in the plurality of small rooms, and those small rooms are connected by the substantially airtight connection passages.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a rice milling plant system used in a rice milling factory.

Background Art

[0002] As a rice milling plant system in a rice milling factory, a plurality of foreign matter separators are arranged in the incoming yard to separate and remove foreign matter from the incoming paddy rice, and then it is sent to a paddy rice storage yard equipped with a large number of paddy rice tanks, stored and managed in the paddy rice tanks by incoming lot number. A plurality of rice milling machines are arranged in the rice milling yard, the paddy rice sent from the paddy rice tank is milled under predetermined conditions by lot, and a crushed rice separator is arranged at the subsequent stage of each rice milling machine to separate and remove the crushed rice mixed in the milled polished rice, and it is sent to a polished rice storage yard equipped with a large number of polished rice tanks, stored and managed by lot, and a plurality of colored rice separators are arranged in the shipping yard to separate and remove the colored rice mixed in the polished rice, and then it is packaged by a packaging machine and shipped as white rice (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Further, in such a rice milling plant system, conventionally, in addition to various separators and blending devices for the paddy rice from the paddy rice tank and the white rice from the rice milling machine, a large number of chain conveyors and lifts are used for transporting rice between each process. In addition to the problem that such conveyors and the like have a large-sized device and high cost, there is also a problem that rice and bran remain in the gap portion and mold and insects are generated. As a means for solving this problem, a means of generating an air flow in a pipe using a blower or a compressor and air transporting the rice by this air flow has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3).

[0004] However, since each piece of equipment such as rice milling machines, various sorting machines, and packaging machines used in each process is basically an open-type device for reasons such as maintenance, it scatters dust that causes insects in the rice milling factory, and furthermore, there is a risk that insects in the factory will enter the equipment and attach to the rice. Even if air transportation is adopted as described above, ultimately, it is necessary to implement insect prevention measures throughout the factory. Such insect prevention measures cannot use insecticides due to hygiene problems, and even cleaning is extremely difficult and costly. In addition, in many cases, the paddy rice being delivered already has insects attached, and there are certain limitations. Therefore, at present, every rice milling factory is troubled by claims of insect contamination in the products.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Therefore, in view of the above situation, what the present invention aims to solve is to provide a rice milling plant system in which insects and the like are unlikely to emerge in the rice milling factory while using conventionally known open-type equipment, and insects do not attach to the products.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] As a result of intensive studies to solve the above-described problems, the inventor of the present invention has found that by storing each device that may generate dust or allow insects to enter in a small, substantially airtight room and connecting the communication paths between the previous process and the subsequent process to the device in a substantially airtight manner, even if dust is generated, it can be contained within the small room, and conversely, even if there are insects in the factory, their entry into the devices in the small room can be prevented. Compared with implementing insect prevention measures throughout the factory, it is possible to prevent insects from adhering to products at extremely low cost and reliably, and thus the first invention has been completed.

[0008] That is, the first invention provides a rice milling plant system characterized by constructing a substantially airtight small room within a rice milling factory, installing the devices used in the rice milling plant in the small room, and connecting the communication paths between the previous process and the subsequent process to the device in a substantially airtight manner.

[0009] Furthermore, the inventor of the present invention has focused on the fact that even if insects are attached to paddy rice, the insects will be crushed during the process of being kneaded under high pressure by the rice milling machine, and their carcasses will be discharged together with the bran, and the processed white rice will once again be in a state without insects. For at least a series of devices from the rice milling machine to the packaging machine, if they are stored in a small room as described above and connected in a substantially airtight manner by a communication path, it has also been found that it is possible to prevent insects from mixing into the product, and thus the second invention has been completed.

[0010] That is, the second invention also provides a rice milling plant system characterized by constructing a plurality of substantially airtight small rooms within a rice milling factory, installing some or all of the plurality of devices used in a series of rice milling plants from the rice milling machine to the packaging machine in the plurality of small rooms, and connecting the small rooms with each other by a substantially airtight communication path.

[0011] The "substantially airtight state" in these inventions includes a state in which an insect-proof net that prevents insects from passing through is provided at the open part, or the entry of insects is prevented by an air curtain or the like. In addition, it includes those that are substantially airtight except for the internal spaces of pipes, wiring, and various ducts such as air conditioners for sending rice, crushed grains, bran, etc. to a predetermined place. The substantially airtight communication path also includes those in which a tank is interposed in a substantially airtight manner in the middle.

[0012] Further, a third invention provides a rice milling plant system in which a small room is constructed inside a rice milling factory, equipment used in the rice milling plant is installed in the room, and a temperature raising means for raising the temperature in the small room to a predetermined temperature is provided. Here, it is preferable to use a heat insulating material for part or all of the inner surface of the small room.

[0013] In particular, as the temperature raising means, it is preferable to provide a heater for the equipment arranged in the small room.

[0014] Also, it is preferable to provide the plurality of small rooms at positions gradually lower in the process order.

[0015] Also, it is preferable to provide an air curtain at the discharge port where the rice packaged from the small room where the packaging machine is arranged is discharged. Alternatively, it is preferable to provide a blower provided with an insect-proof net on the wall surface or ceiling of the small room where the packaging machine is arranged, pressurize the inside of the small room, and exhaust from the above discharge port.

Advantages of the Invention

[0016] According to the rice milling plant system of the present invention thus configured, a substantially airtight small room is constructed inside the rice milling factory, and the equipment used in the rice milling plant is installed in the small room. In addition, the communication paths between the previous process and the subsequent process are connected to the equipment in a substantially airtight manner. Therefore, even if dust is emitted from these devices, it can be suppressed within the small rooms. Also, when transferring rice between the front and rear devices, since they are connected in a substantially airtight manner through the communication path, it is possible to prevent dust from being scattered outside the small rooms, and it is possible to prevent the dust that causes the generation of insects from being scattered from these small rooms into the rice milling factory. In addition, the small room can prevent the intrusion of insects and the like from the outside into the equipment, and insects cannot enter the semi-finished products or products. Even if dust is generated in the small room and insects are generated thereby, instead of the entire factory, the small room can be temporarily heated to kill insects, or pest control measures such as cleaning can be taken. Therefore, pest control measures become easier and more reliable, and the cost can also be reduced. In addition, by installing the equipment in the small room in this way, not only can pest control measures be taken with a small amount of human or thermal energy, but it is also possible to finely and optimally manage various environments such as temperature and humidity individually.

[0017] In addition, a plurality of substantially airtight small rooms are constructed inside the rice milling factory, and some or all of the plurality of devices used in a series of rice milling plants from the rice milling machine to the packaging machine are installed in the plurality of small rooms. In addition, the small rooms are connected by a substantially airtight communication path. Therefore, even if dust is emitted from the devices, it can also be suppressed within the small rooms. Also, when transferring rice between the front and rear small rooms, since they are connected in a substantially airtight manner through the communication path, it is possible to prevent dust from being scattered outside the small rooms, and it is possible to prevent the dust that causes the generation of insects from being scattered throughout the rice milling factory.

[0018] In addition, regarding the intrusion of insects or the like from the outside into the equipment, it can be prevented by the small rooms, and insects will not enter the semi-finished products or products. In addition, even if dust is generated in the small room as described above and insects are generated thereby, pest control measures can be taken in the small room instead of the entire factory. Therefore, pest control measures become easier and more reliable, and costs can also be reduced. Further, by installing the equipment in the small rooms in this way, it becomes possible to finely and optimally individually manage various environments such as temperature and humidity. In addition, since the small rooms are connected by a substantially airtight communication path, even if the equipment is not directly connected by the communication path, it is possible to reliably prevent the dust from being scattered in the factory between the small rooms or, conversely, the intrusion of insects or the like.

[0019] According to the present invention, even if there are insects in the brown rice, they are crushed by the rice milling machine, and the corpses are discharged together with the bran. Therefore, the rice processed by the rice milling machine is insect-free. After that, since it is connected to each device through a substantially airtight small room and a communication path until it reaches the packaging machine and is processed, it is possible to reliably prevent insects from attaching to the product (rice). In addition, by taking pest control measures in each small room, the internal equipment can prevent the scattering of dust and the intrusion of insects or the like into the product even in an open system, so the degree of freedom in design increases.

[0020] In addition, a small room is constructed in the rice mill, the equipment used in the rice milling plant is installed in the room, and a temperature raising means for raising the temperature in the small room to a predetermined temperature is provided. Therefore, even if insects or the like invade or are generated in the room, a pest control effect can be obtained with a small amount of energy temporarily. Since it is a limited small room space instead of the entire factory, it is possible to raise the temperature efficiently, the cost is extremely low, it is possible to prevent the workability of the workers in the factory from being adversely affected, and it is also possible to raise the temperature to a high temperature that was impossible for the entire factory, and a high pest control effect can be obtained.

[0021] In addition, as the temperature raising means, a heater is provided in the equipment arranged in the small room. Therefore, the power of the equipment itself can be utilized, the cost can be reduced compared to providing separate equipment, and the heat can be transferred through the housing of the equipment or the like to obtain a more direct and high-temperature and effective pest control effect.

[0022] In addition, an air curtain is provided at the discharge port from which the packaged rice is discharged from the small room where the packaging machine is arranged, or the inside of the small room is pressurized and exhausted from the discharge port from which the packaged rice is discharged, so that insects or the like can be prevented from entering the small room from outside the discharge port which is difficult to seal.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, the rice milling plant system S of the present invention constructs substantially airtight small rooms R01 to R12 in a rice milling factory P, installs devices 103 to 120 in the small rooms R01 to R12, and connects communication paths 301 to 315 between the previous process and the subsequent process to the devices 103 to 120 in a substantially airtight manner. Specifically, device 101 is a rough sorter that sorts things slightly larger than rice grains and dust, device 102 is a raw material weigher, and reference numeral 201 is a paddy tank (there may be a plurality). Also, device 103 is a paddy weigher, device 104 is a rice mixer, device 105 is a rice milling machine, device 106 is a grain sorter that sorts crushed grains and the like, device 107 is a metal selector that removes metal attached to a magnet, and reference numeral 202 is a white rice tank.

[0026] Also, device 108 is a grain sorter for sorting chaffy grains, device 109 is a polished rice weigher, device 110 is a machine for processing non-washed rice, device 111 is a stone-removing grain sorter for sorting stones and other substances with a large specific gravity, device 112 is a sorter for sorting substances slightly lighter than rice grains, devices 113 and 114 are glass / color sorters for sorting foreign substances such as colored grains and glass, device 115 is a grain sorter for sorting crushed grains, etc., device 116 is a metal sorter for sorting metals, device 117 is an insect separator for sorting substances with a light specific gravity such as dust and insects, device 118 is a metal selector for removing metals attached to magnets, and reference numeral 203 is a product tank (there may be multiple). Also, device 119 is a weighing and packaging machine, device 120 is a metal detector for detecting metals in bagged products, and device 121 is a palletizer for stacking bagged products onto pallets.

[0027] In addition, the pipes individually connected from these devices, for example, the pipes for sending foreign substances, chaff, crushed grains, chaffy grains, stony rice, colored grains, etc. to predetermined locations are not shown in the figure but can be arbitrarily set. Also, each of the devices 101 to 121 can be widely adopted, including those known in the art. Also, the system is not limited to the system using each device shown in FIG. 1, and systems composed of only some of these devices, for example, a system that does not use a non-washed rice processing machine or a system using other devices, are of course included. Also, other forms are possible for the arrangement of each sorter and detector.

[0028] Small rooms R01 to R12 are small rooms within the space of the floor of the rice milling factory P, having partitions that separately cover the devices in a substantially airtight manner, and are substantially airtight rooms having only the necessary minimum internal space for the storage space and maintenance work space of the devices. However, it is free to reduce the number of small rooms or increase or decrease the number of devices stored in each small room. The present invention does not require all the devices used in the rice milling plant to be installed in the small rooms. Also in this example, devices 101, 102, and 121 are not installed in the small rooms. It is also effective to install only the devices in the processes after the rice milling machine and the devices that are likely to generate dust in the small rooms, and this includes the extreme case where there is only one small room.

[0029] Thus, it is not necessary to install each device individually in a small room. Even in this example, in small rooms R01, R05, R09, R10, R11, and R12, a plurality of devices (two devices in this example, but three or more devices are also acceptable) are installed in the same small room. Among the plurality of devices used in the rice milling plant system, which device to install in a small room, which device to install individually, or which devices to install together in one small room, or which devices to group a large number of devices into a small number of devices and install them in a small number of small rooms, etc. can be appropriately selected according to various conditions such as the suitability, maintainability, conveying efficiency, and temperature control of various devices.

[0030] However, for at least a series of devices from the rice milling machine 105 to the weighing and packaging machine 119 in the subsequent process, it is preferable to install them in a plurality of small rooms R02 to R12 with the minimum necessary number, and connect these small rooms with substantially airtight connecting paths 303 to 314 (a tank may be interposed in between). Even if there were insects in the paddy rice, the rice processed by the rice milling machine would be insect-free, and as long as insect intrusion can be prevented until it is packaged by the packaging machine, it is possible to surely prevent insects from attaching to the product (rice). However, since the discharge port 54 of the small room R12 is open to discharge the packaged rice bags 9, it cannot maintain the airtightness like other small rooms. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, an air curtain 4 for preventing insect intrusion is provided at the discharge port 54 of the small room R12 where the packaging machine 119 is installed, or the inside of the small room R12 is pressurized by a blower (not shown in either case) provided with insect-proof netting on the wall surface or ceiling of the small room R12, so that it exhausts more than the discharge port 54. In any case, the rice bags 9 are conveyed from the discharge port 54 to the external stacking machine 121 while preventing insect intrusion by the internal and external conveyors 8A and 8B.

[0031] The connecting paths 301 to 315 can use conventionally known semi-closed conveying means such as rice conveying ducts and screw conveyors that can convey rice by, for example, shooting, suction, or pressure feeding air conveyance (such as the above-mentioned Patent Documents 2, 3, JP-A-2005-306514, JP-A-2005-296716, etc.). As shown in FIG. 2, the rice conveying duct itself directly connected to the device (118) can be configured as the connecting path (313), or as shown in FIG. 3, a separate conveying means may be installed inside the connecting path (312) that connects the small rooms (R10, R11) in a semi-closed state. When configuring a separate conveying means as shown in FIG. 3, the conveying means itself can adopt an open type such as a conveyor or an elevator. In addition, for the conveyance of rice between a plurality of devices installed in the same small room, for example, in the example of FIG. 1, between 108 and 109, between 113 and 114, etc., a closed system is preferably used for the rice conveying means, but an open system is of course also acceptable.

[0032] Part or all of the inner surfaces of each of the small rooms R01 to R12 are made of a heat insulating material (not shown), and a temperature raising means (not shown) for raising the internal temperature to a predetermined temperature is provided. For example, an electric heating infrared stove is installed so that the temperature can be raised to about 50°C, which can kill insects even if they appear. In addition, a heater is also provided on the device itself installed inside, so that insect prevention measures can be directly and efficiently implemented through the device housing. These temperature raising means preferably have an automatic temperature control function.

[0033] Although there are many advantages to installing some or all of the equipment in the rice milling factory P in a small room, there is a problem that it is troublesome for workers to open and close the door of the small room every time they operate or sample each piece of equipment. However, as a way to solve this problem, for example, the inside of the rice milling factory may be as follows. That is, in the rice milling factory P, a control room equipped with a control device for remotely controlling the operation of a plurality of devices 101 to 121 is separately provided, and an operator in the control room operates the operation unit of this control device to remotely control each device 101 to 121. In that case, it is desirable that the control room be configured in a substantially airtight manner from the outside, like each small room R01 to R12. And each device 101 to 118 is provided with a sample extraction device that opens and closes by remote operation from the control room, and its opening and closing port and the control room are connected by a rice delivery duct, and an operator in the control room can obtain a small amount of rice samples from an arbitrary device through the rice delivery duct.

[0034] It is desirable that this method of obtaining samples can be taken out in a very short time in real time. Therefore, the rice delivery duct is preferably an air conveyance by a suction method or a pressure conveyance method (for example, the air conveyance methods disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005-306514 and 2005-296716), a chute using free fall from top to bottom, or a combination of these.

[0035] In this way, workers can remotely operate and adjust the equipment from the control room without having to go to each small room where each piece of equipment is installed. Therefore, it is extremely efficient compared to the conventional system, the number of workers can be reduced, the layout of the small rooms R01 to R12 can be freely designed without considering the coming and going of workers, and it is also possible to prevent problems such as dust coming out of the small room when workers enter and leave, insects and the like invading the small room, or the hair of workers getting mixed into the product.

[0036] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such examples, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Symbols

[0037] P Rice Mill R01 - R12 Small Rooms S Rice Milling Plant System 4 Air Curtain 8A, 8B Conveyor 54 Discharge Port 101 - 121 Equipment 201 - 203 Tanks 301 - 315 Connection Routes

Claims

1. The rice milling plant system comprises a small room constructed in a rice milling factory, equipment used in the rice milling plant installed in the room, and a heating means for raising the temperature in the small room to a predetermined temperature.

2. 2. The rice milling plant system according to claim 1, wherein a heat insulating material is used for a part or all of the inner surface of the small chamber.

3. 3. The rice milling plant system according to claim 1, wherein the temperature increasing means comprises a heater provided in the equipment arranged in the small room.

4. The rice milling plant system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of small chambers are provided at positions gradually lower in the order of processes.

5. The rice milling plant system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an air curtain at an outlet through which packaged rice is discharged from the small room in which the packaging machine is disposed.

6. The rice milling plant system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a blower is provided on a wall or ceiling of the small room in which the packaging machine is arranged, which blows outside air into the room through an insect-proof screen, pressurizes the inside of the small room, and exhausts the air from an outlet through which the packaged rice is discharged.

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