Skewered food production apparatus

Abstract

To provide a skewered food production apparatus capable of easily coping with diversification of skewers.SOLUTION: A skewered food production apparatus comprises: a molding device 10 that holds a molded food made of dough at a predetermined skewer insertion position and then moves the molded food from the skewer insertion position; a skewer insertion device 20 which has a skewer insertion unit 27 that inserts a skewer into the molded food held at the skewer insertion position in an assembled state arranged at a predetermined assembly position relative to the skewer insertion position of the molding device 10 and which is provided separately from and is separable from the molding device 10; and a positioning and coupling mechanism 50 which guides and positions the skewer insertion unit 27 at the assembly position, couples the skewer insertion device 20 to the molding device 10, and maintains the assembled state of the skewer insertion unit 27.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a skewered food manufacturing device, and more particularly to a skewered food manufacturing device that enables the automatic skewering and manufacturing of formed foods using dough made from various ingredients such as minced meat, poultry, fish, etc., rice flour material, glutinous rice material, ohagi material, domyoji material, warabimochi material, kudzu material, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] As an example of a conventional skewered food manufacturing device, a dumpling manufacturing machine is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This dumpling manufacturing machine is configured so that dumpling dough made from rice flour or the like is formed into a sheet using a dough supplying device, which is introduced between a pair of forming rolls, the sheet-like dough is formed by a pair of intermittently driven forming rolls, and the formed dumplings are skewered by skewers extruded from a skewer extruding device and discharged. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-74986 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In skewered food production equipment such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a demand for the automatic production of not only dumplings made from rice flour, etc., but also skewered foods using dough made from minced meat, poultry, fish, etc., glutinous rice material, ohagi material, domyoji material, warabi mochi material, kudzu material, etc. As the variety of dough materials increases, the types of skewers used also tend to become more diverse, and a skewer extrusion device with specifications that match the shape of the skewers used is required.

[0005] However, the dumpling making machine disclosed in Patent Document 1 incorporates a skewer extrusion device as part of a forming device that forms the formed food using a forming roll, so it is necessary to prepare multiple types of dumpling making machines to suit the shape of the skewers to be used, or to make major modifications to the dumpling making machine in response to changes in the shape of the skewers to be used.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a skewered food manufacturing device that can easily accommodate a wide variety of skewers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the skewered food manufacturing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention comprises a molded food feeding device that holds a molded food made from dough at a predetermined skewering position and then moves the molded food from the skewering position; a skewering device that has a skewering unit that skewers the molded food held at the skewering position in an assembled state arranged at a predetermined assembly position relative to the skewering position of the molded food feeding device, the skewering device being provided separately from the molded food feeding device and separable from the molded food feeding device; and a positioning and connecting mechanism that guides and positions the skewer unit at the assembled position and connects the skewering device to the molded food feeding device, maintaining the skewer unit in the assembled state.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention is the skewered food manufacturing apparatus of the first aspect, wherein the molded food feeding device comprises a first forming roll having a plurality of first forming grooves formed on its circumferential surface, and a second forming roll having a plurality of second forming grooves formed on its circumferential surface that correspond to the first forming grooves, the first forming roll and the second forming roll being arranged so that their circumferential surfaces are in contact, and as the first and second forming grooves reach the skewering position where the circumferential surfaces of the first forming roll and the second forming roll are in contact, a forming device sandwiches dough between the first forming grooves and the second forming grooves to form a molded food, holds the molded molded food at the skewering position, and then moves the molded food from the skewering position using the first and second forming rolls, and the first and second forming rolls rotate intermittently so that the first and second forming grooves temporarily stop at the skewering position.

[0009] A third aspect of the present invention is a skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the first forming roll is provided with a plurality of first skewer insertion grooves corresponding to the plurality of first forming grooves, and the second forming roll is provided with a plurality of second skewer insertion grooves corresponding to the plurality of second forming grooves, the first skewer insertion grooves and the second skewer insertion grooves define a skewer insertion section at the skewering position, and the skewers pushed out by the skewering unit are inserted into the formed food by passing through the skewer insertion sections.

[0010] A fourth aspect of the present invention is a skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to the second or third aspect, wherein the forming device is divided into a water-permitted area and a water-prohibited area by a water barrier, and the first and second forming rolls are arranged in the water-permitted area.

[0011] A fifth aspect of the present invention is a skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the skewering apparatus comprises a skewer unit support that is placed on a substantially horizontal installation surface and is movable on the installation surface, and a lifting mechanism that is provided between the skewer unit and the skewer unit support and supports the skewer unit so that it can be raised and lowered in a substantially vertical direction.

[0012] A sixth aspect of the present invention is the skewered food manufacturing apparatus of the fifth aspect, wherein the skewering direction by the skewering unit is approximately horizontal, the positioning and connecting mechanism has a lower engagement part provided on the formed food feeding device, an upper engagement part provided on the skewering unit, and movement restriction means for restricting movement of the upper engagement part relative to the lower engagement part, and the upper engagement part engages with the lower engagement part from above and is supported by the lower engagement part from below as the skewering unit is lowered by the lifting mechanism, and the engagement between the upper engagement part and the lower engagement part is The movement of the upper engagement part relative to the lower engagement part is permitted in the forward / backward direction along the skewering direction, but is prevented from moving in the left / right direction perpendicular to the forward / backward direction. When the upper engagement part and the lower engagement part are engaged, the movement restriction means restricts the forward / backward movement of the upper engagement part relative to the lower engagement part, thereby holding the upper engagement part in a predetermined position. By holding the upper engagement part in the predetermined position, the skewering device is connected to the molded food feeding device, and the assembled state of the skewering unit is maintained.

[0013] A seventh aspect of the present invention is a skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to the sixth aspect, wherein the lower engagement portions are a plurality of shafts extending from the molded food feeding device, the shafts having arc-shaped outer peripheral upper surfaces, and the upper engagement portions having arc-shaped concave surfaces that can engage with the outer peripheral upper surfaces of the shafts from above.

[0014] An eighth aspect of the present invention is the skewered food manufacturing apparatus of the seventh aspect, wherein the positioning and connecting mechanism has a stopper fixed to the base end of the shaft and a slider supported on the tip end of the shaft and movable along the axial direction of the shaft, the upper engagement portion engages with the shaft between the stopper and the slider, the slider moves to the base end of the shaft to abut against the upper engagement portion in the engaged state and move the skewer unit towards the formed food feeding device, the slider is movable to a stopper abutment position where the stopper prevents the upper engagement portion from moving towards the base end of the shaft, the upper engagement portion at the predetermined position is sandwiched between the stopper and the slider at the stopper abutment position, and the movement restricting means holds the upper engagement portion in the predetermined position by restricting the movement of the slider from the stopper abutment position towards the tip end of the shaft.

[0015] A ninth aspect of the present invention is the skewered food manufacturing apparatus of the eighth aspect, wherein the slider has a shaft facing surface portion facing the tip end face of the shaft, and the movement restricting means has a threaded hole portion formed on the end face of the shaft and extending along the axial direction of the shaft, and a bolt member inserted through the shaft facing surface portion and screwed into the threaded hole portion, and the slider is held in the stopper abutment position by tightening the bolt member screwed into the threaded hole portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] The skewered food manufacturing apparatus of the present invention can easily accommodate a variety of skewers. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the skewered food manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the skewered food manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the molding device of FIG. 1. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a front view of the skewering device of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the skewering device of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a side view of the main parts of the forming device and the skewering device of FIG. 2. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 8. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG. 9. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a front view showing the main parts of the skewering device before it is connected. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a front view showing the main parts of the skewering device in the middle of being connected. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a front view showing the main parts of the skewering device in a connected state. [Figure 14] 10 is a side view showing a state before the upper engagement portion is engaged with the lower engagement portion. FIG. [Figure 15] 10 is a side view showing the upper engagement portion being engaged with the lower engagement portion. FIG. [Figure 16] 10 is a side view showing a state in which the upper engagement portion is engaged with the lower engagement portion. FIG. [Figure 17] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the slider is separated rearward from the upper engagement portion. FIG. [Figure 18] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the slider abuts against the upper engagement portion from behind. FIG. [Figure 19] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the slider is pressing and moving the upper engagement portion forward. FIG. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a top view of a skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings attached to the application.

[0019] In the following embodiment, a skewered food manufacturing device using minced chicken meat will be described, but the same configuration can also be used for skewered food manufacturing devices using minced meat such as meat or fish, rice flour material, glutinous rice material, ohagi material, domyoji material, warabimochi material, kudzu material, etc.

[0020] In addition, in the embodiment shown below, a case where a flat skewer is used as the skewer P is shown, but the same configuration can also be used when a skewer P other than a flat skewer, such as a five-sided skewer, a square skewer, a round skewer, or a gun skewer, is used.

[0021] In the following description, the vertical direction is referred to as the up-down direction, the skewering direction along the horizontal direction (the direction in which the skewer P is pushed out) is referred to as the front-to-back direction, and the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and the skewering direction is referred to as the left-to-right direction. In some drawings, one of the front-to-back directions (the skewering direction) is indicated by arrow x, one of the left-to-right directions by arrow y, and one of the up-to-down directions (upward) by arrow z.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of a skewered food manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the skewered food manufacturing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the skewered food manufacturing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the forming device 10 of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a front view of the skewering device 20 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the skewering device 20 of FIG. 5.

[0023] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the skewered food manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is generally composed of a dough supplying device 40, a forming device 10, a skewering device 20, a skewered food conveying device (not shown), and a positioning connecting mechanism 50.

[0024] The dough supplying device 40 is disposed above the forming device 10 and supplies dough made from ground chicken meat to the forming device 10. The forming device 10 forms formed foods from the dough supplied by the dough supplying device 40 and holds the formed formed foods at a predetermined skewering position. The skewering device 20 skewers the formed foods held at the skewering position by the forming device 10 with skewers P. The skewering device 20 is provided separately from the forming device 10 and can be separated from the forming device 10. The skewered food transporting device has a belt conveyor (not shown) that transports skewered formed foods skewered by the skewering device 20 and removed from the forming device 10. The positioning connecting mechanism 50 detachably connects the forming device 10 and the skewering device 20 to prevent relative movement between them. The dough supplying device 40 is not shown in any illustrations except in FIG. 2.

[0025] The dough supply device 40 is configured to include a dough hopper 41 and a screw conveying device 42 having a pair of screws (not shown), and is disposed above the molding device 10. Dough made from ground chicken meat is placed in the dough hopper 41, and the screw conveying device 42 supplies the dough in the dough hopper 41 to the molding device 10.

[0026] The forming device 10 is equipped with a pair of first and second forming rolls 10A and 10B, and forms formed foods by sandwiching dough supplied from the dough supply device 40 between the first and second forming rolls 10A and 10B. The rotation axes of the first and second forming rolls 10A and 10B both extend in the front-to-rear direction. The forming device 10 constitutes a formed food feeder that holds a formed food product made from dough at a predetermined skewering position and then moves the formed food product from the skewering position.

[0027] The main components of the forming apparatus 10 are attached to and supported by a forming frame cart 11. These components include the first and second forming rolls 10A, 10B, a forming roll drive motor (not shown) that rotates the first and second forming rolls 10A, 10B, and a control device (not shown) that controls each operation of the skewered food manufacturing apparatus. The forming apparatus 10 is placed on an installation surface 2 via wheels 12 with stoppers provided at four locations on the bottom of the forming frame cart 11.

[0028] The forming frame cart 11 is provided with a water shielding plate 15 that stands above the forming frame cart 11 and divides the space above the forming frame cart 11 into a water-permitted area 13 and a water-prohibited area 14. The water-permitted area 13 is mainly occupied by parts that come into contact with the food dough and therefore need to be washed with water, such as the first and second forming rolls 10A and 10B. On the other hand, the water-prohibited area 14 is mainly occupied by parts that do not come into contact with the food dough and that should not be exposed to water, such as the forming roll drive motor (not shown) and control device.

[0029] The skewering device 20 is separable from the forming device 10 and is detachably connected to the forming device 10 by the positioning connection mechanism 50, so that the water-permitted area 13 of the forming device 10 can be washed with water while the skewering device 20 is separated from the forming device 10, thereby preventing the skewering device 20 from being accidentally wetted. Furthermore, the water-permitted area 13 and the water-prohibited area 14 are separated by the water shielding plate 15, so that the water-prohibited area 14 can be prevented from being accidentally wetted by the water shielding plate 15.

[0030] The skewering device 20 is generally composed of a skewer hopper 21 into which a large number of skewers P (in this embodiment, a large number of flat skewers) are fed, a skewer alignment roll 22 that takes out the skewers P fed into the skewer hopper 21 one by one and aligns and transports them, a skewer rail 23 (see Figure 7) having a skewer guide groove 24 on its periphery into which the skewers P aligned and transported by the skewer alignment roll 22 fall one by one, and a skewer push-out device 25 that pushes the skewers P that have fallen into the skewer guide groove 24 forward toward the forming device 10. The rotation axis of the skewer alignment roll 22 extends in the front-to-rear direction.

[0031] The main components of the skewering device 20 that are involved in the skewering operation (such as the skewer hopper 21, skewer alignment roll 22, skewer rail 23, and skewer push-out device 25) are attached to and supported by the skewer frame bottom plate 26. These components and the skewer frame bottom plate 26 collectively constitute a skewer unit 27. When the skewer unit 27 is in an assembled state, in which it is placed at a predetermined assembly position relative to the skewering position of the forming device 10, the skewer push-out device 25 pushes the skewer P forward to skewer the formed food held at the skewering position.

[0032] The skewering frame bottom plate 26 (skewering unit 27) is supported from below by a skewer frame carriage (skewer unit support) 28, and a lifting mechanism 29 is interposed between the skewer unit 27 and the skewer frame carriage 28. The skewering device 20 is placed on a substantially horizontal installation surface 2 via wheels 30 with stoppers provided at four locations on the bottom of the skewer frame carriage 28. The skewering unit 27 is supported by the lifting mechanism 29 so that it can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction.

[0033] The lifting mechanism 29 comprises an operating shaft 34 rotatably supported on the skewer frame cart 28 and extending in the front-to-rear direction, an operating handle 35 fixed to the rear end of the operating shaft 34, a lifting shaft 36 supported on the skewer frame cart 28 so as to be able to rise and fall freely and extending in the vertical direction, the upper end of which supports the skewer frame bottom plate 26 from below, a gear mechanism (not shown) interposed between the front end of the operating shaft 34 and the lifting shaft 36, which converts and transmits the rotation of the operating shaft 34 into lifting and lowering of the lifting shaft 36, and an lifting guide 37 which guides the skewer unit 27 so as to rise and lower while maintaining its posture.

[0034] When the operating handle 35 is turned in one direction, the operating shaft 34 rotates in one direction, causing the lifting shaft 36 to rise, and the skewering unit 27 to rise. When the operating handle 35 is turned in the other direction, the operating shaft 34 rotates in the other direction, causing the lifting shaft 36 to fall, and the skewering unit 27 to fall.

[0035] The positioning and connecting mechanism 50 guides and positions the skewering unit 27 at the assembly position, and also connects the skewering device 20 to the forming device 10, thereby maintaining the skewering unit 27 in an assembled state.

[0036] The skewered food formed by the forming device 10 and skewered at the skewering position of the skewering device 20 is released from the second forming roll 10B of the forming device 10 and falls onto the skewered food conveying device 40 for transport.

[0037] Next, a detailed description will be given of the main parts of the skewering device 20 of the skewered food production apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a side view of the main parts of the forming device 10 and skewering device 20 of the skewered food production apparatus 1.

[0038] 7, the skewers P (flat skewers in this embodiment) used in the skewered food production apparatus 1 of this embodiment are placed into the skewer hopper 21. A pendulum device 61 is provided inside the skewer hopper 21 to level the skewers P and sequentially discharge them from the bottom surface of the skewer hopper 21. The pendulum device 61 is configured with a pendulum member 62 and a pendulum cam 63, and the pendulum member 62 levels the skewers P in the skewer hopper 21 and sequentially discharges them from the bottom surface of the skewer hopper 21.

[0039] The skewers P discharged from the skewer hopper 21 by the pendulum device 61 are guided to a first skewer conveying path 64A that is inclined upward at a predetermined angle. At the lower end of this first skewer conveying path 64A, a skewer feeding blade 65 is provided that carries the skewers P sequentially discharged from the skewer hopper 21 one by one onto the first skewer conveying path 64A.

[0040] Moreover, above the first skewer conveying path 64A, a rotary brush 66 is provided which rotates in a direction returning the skewers P on the first skewer conveying path 64A to align the skewers P on the first skewer conveying path 64A.

[0041] At the upper end of the first skewer conveying path 64A, a second skewer conveying path 64B is provided which is inclined downward at a predetermined angle and conveys downward the skewers P which have reached the upper end of the first skewer conveying path 64A.

[0042] A skewer pressing member 67 is provided above the second skewer conveying path 64B to press down the skewers P being conveyed on the second skewer conveying path 64B from above, and a skewer pressing roll 68 is provided at the tip of the skewer pressing member 67 to press down the skewers P stored in the skewer grooves 31 of the skewer alignment roll 22 from above through the second skewer conveying path 64B.

[0043] The skewer alignment roll 22 of the skewering device 20 is arranged with its outer peripheral surface close to the lower end of the second skewer conveying path 64B, and stores the skewers P conveyed on the second skewer conveying path 64B in the skewer groove 31 and conveys them to a skewer waiting position behind the skewering position of the molded food.

[0044] 7 and 9, a skewer rail 23 having a skewer guide groove 24 is disposed at the skewer waiting position for the molded food product, and the skewer rail 23 has a skewer guide groove 24 that accommodates the skewers P that have fallen from the skewer groove 31 of the skewer alignment roll 22 so that their width direction is vertical. A skewer pusher 25 is provided in the skewer guide groove 24 to push the skewers P toward (forward from) the molded food product formed by the forming rolls 10A and 10B.

[0045] The skewer alignment roll 22 and the skewer extrusion device 25 are driven intermittently in synchronization with the intermittent driving of the first forming roll 10A and the second forming roll 10B. As the first forming roll 10A and the second forming roll 10B rotate, the first forming groove portion 17A and the second forming groove portion 17B reach the position (skewering position) of the skewer rail 23 as shown in Figure 8. When the forming of the molded food is completed, the first forming roll 10A and the second forming roll 10B stop rotating. At this time, the skewer P in the skewer guide groove 24 is pushed out by the skewer extrusion device 25 in the direction (forward) toward the molded food formed by the first forming groove portion 17A and the second forming groove portion 17B, and the molded food is skewered.

[0046] The skewered food skewered by the skewering device 20 leaves the first forming groove 17A of the first forming roll 10A and the second forming groove 17B of the second forming roll 10B, and is carried out by the skewered food transport device.

[0047] 8 is a side view of the main part of the forming device of FIG. 2, FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view of the main part of the forming device of FIG. 2, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the forming device and skewering device of FIG.

[0048] 8 to 10, the skewered food manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is configured with a pair of forming rolls consisting of a first forming roll 10A that is intermittently driven to rotate and a second forming roll 10B that is also intermittently driven to rotate and is positioned diagonally below the first forming roll 10A. The first forming roll 10A and the second forming roll 10B are positioned so that their outer circumferential surfaces are in contact with each other.

[0049] The outer circumferential surface of the first forming roll 10A is formed with a plurality of first forming grooves 17A arranged at regular intervals (spaced apart by a predetermined angle), and the outer circumferential surface of the second forming roll 10B is formed with a plurality of second forming grooves 17B arranged to correspond to the first forming grooves 17A of the first forming roll 10A. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the first forming roll 10A and the outer diameter of the second forming roll 10B are the same (same diameter), and the number of first forming grooves 17A and the number of second forming grooves 17B are the same (same number). The first and second forming grooves 17A, 17B are groove-shaped recessed in an arc shape from the outer circumferential surfaces of the first and second forming rolls 10A, 10B and extend in the front-to-rear direction.

[0050] Dough is inserted between the first forming roll 10A and the second forming roll 10B from a dough supplying device 40, and the supplied dough is clamped between the first forming roll 10A and the second forming roll 10B to form a formed food product. The first and second forming rolls 10A, 10B rotate intermittently so that the first and second forming grooves 17A, 17B temporarily stop at the skewering position.

[0051] In other words, as the first and second forming groove portions 17A, 17B reach the skewering position where the outer peripheral surface of the first forming roll 10A and the outer peripheral surface of the second forming roll 10B meet, the forming device 10 sandwiches the dough between the first forming groove portion 17A and the second forming groove portion 17B to form a formed food product, holds the formed formed food product at the skewering position for a predetermined time, and then moves the formed food product from the skewering position by the first and second forming rolls 10A, 10B.

[0052] The state in which the first and second forming grooves 17A, 17B have reached the skewering position refers to a state in which the center plane 16A of the first forming groove 17A (a plane passing through the deepest position of the first forming groove 17A and the central axis of rotation of the first forming roll 10A) has reached the skewering position, and the center plane 16B of the second forming groove 17B (a plane passing through the deepest position of the second forming groove 17B and the central axis of rotation of the second forming roll 10B) has reached the skewering position. In this state, the center plane 16A of the first forming groove 17A and the center plane 16B of the second forming groove 17B are substantially flush with each other.

[0053] The first forming roll 10A is provided with a plurality of first skewer insertion grooves 32A (the same number as the first forming grooves 17A) corresponding to the plurality of first forming grooves 17A, and the second forming roll 10B is provided with a plurality of second skewer insertion grooves 32B corresponding to the plurality of second forming grooves 17B. In this embodiment, the number of first skewer insertion grooves 32A and the number of second skewer insertion grooves 32B are the same.

[0054] A first roll rear end plate portion 18A and a first roll front end plate portion 19A, which are circular and have approximately the same outer diameter (same diameter) as the first forming roll 10A, are fixedly provided on the rear end surface and the front end surface of the first forming roll 10A, respectively, and a second roll rear end plate portion 18B and a second roll front end plate portion 19B, which are circular and have approximately the same outer diameter (same diameter) as the second forming roll 10B, are fixedly provided on the front end surface and the rear end surface of the second forming roll 10B, respectively.

[0055] The first and second skewer insertion grooves 32A, 32B have arc-shaped recesses that are shallower and smaller than the first and second forming grooves 17A, 17B, and are recessed from the outer circumferential surfaces of the first and second roll rear end plate portions 18A, 18B. The first skewer insertion groove 32A is positioned so that its center plane (a plane passing through the deepest position of the first skewer insertion groove 32A and the central axis of rotation of the first forming roll 10A) substantially coincides with the center plane 16A of the first forming groove 17A. The second skewer insertion groove 32B is positioned so that its center plane (a plane passing through the deepest position of the second skewer insertion groove 32B and the central axis of rotation of the second forming roll 10B) substantially coincides with the center plane 16B of the second forming groove 17B.

[0056] The first skewer insertion groove 32A and the second skewer insertion groove 32B face each other at the skewering position to define the skewer insertion section 33. The skewer P pushed out by the skewering unit 27 moves on the skewer rail 23, passes through the skewer insertion section 33, and is inserted into the molded food product P.

[0057] Next, the positioning and connecting mechanism 50 of the skewered food manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 2 will be described. Fig. 11 is a front view showing the main parts before the skewering devices 20 are connected, Fig. 12 is a front view showing the main parts during the connection of the skewering devices 20, and Fig. 13 is a front view showing the main parts after the skewering devices 20 are connected. Fig. 14 is a side view showing the state before the upper engagement portion 52 engages with the lower engagement portion 51, Fig. 15 is a side view showing the state during the engagement of the upper engagement portion 52 with the lower engagement portion 51, and Fig. 16 is a side view showing the state after the upper engagement portion 52 has engaged with the lower engagement portion 51. Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the slider 54 has moved rearward away from the upper engagement portion 52, Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the slider 54 abuts against the upper engagement portion 52 from behind, and Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the slider 52 is pressing the upper engagement portion 52 forward to move it.

[0058] As shown in FIGS. 11 to 16, the positioning and connecting mechanism 50 includes a pair of left and right shafts (lower engaging portions) 51, a pair of front and rear upper engaging portions 52, a stopper 53, a slider 54, and a bolt member 55.

[0059] The two shafts 51 are arranged substantially parallel to each other and spaced apart in the left-right direction, and each extends linearly forward from the forming device 10. The shaft 51 is a round bar or cylinder having an arc-shaped outer circumferential upper surface, and the front end (base end) of the shaft 51 is fixed to the forming frame carriage 11.

[0060] The stopper 53 is fixed to the front end side (base end side) of the shaft 51 and protrudes radially outward from the outer circumferential surface of the shaft 51 at least at the upper part of the shaft 51. The slider 54 is cylindrical with an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the shaft 51, and the rear end side (tip side) of the shaft 51 is inserted into the inner diameter part of the slider 54. In this way, the slider 54 is supported on the tip side of the shaft 51 and is supported on the tip side of the shaft 51 so as to be movable along the axial direction (front-rear direction) of the shaft 51.

[0061] The two upper engagement parts 52 are arranged approximately parallel to each other and spaced apart in the front-rear direction, and each has a rectangular column shape that extends linearly in the left-right direction. The upper engagement parts 52 are fixed to the underside of the skewer unit 27 (skewer frame bottom plate 26) to reinforce the skewer frame bottom plate 26.

[0062] Arc-shaped concave surfaces 56 that can engage from above with the outer circumferential upper surface of the shaft 51 are formed at two locations on the left and right on the underside of the upper engagement part 52. When the skewering unit 27 is lowered by the lifting mechanism 29, the upper engagement part 52, located above the shaft 51, engages with the shaft 51 from above between the stopper 53 and the slider 54 and is supported by the shaft 51 from below.

[0063] The engagement between the upper engagement part 52 and the shaft 51 allows the upper engagement part 52 to move in the front-to-rear direction along the skewering direction relative to the shaft 51, but prevents it from moving in the left-to-right direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction. In other words, the engagement of the upper engagement part 52 with the shaft 51 determines the height position and left-to-right position of the skewering unit 27 relative to the molding device 10.

[0064] Because the arc-shaped concave surface 56 of the upper engagement part 52 engages with the outer circumferential upper surface of the shaft 51 from above, even if the arc-shaped concave surface 56 is slightly misaligned left or right from directly above the shaft 51 (see FIG. 14), the descending arc-shaped concave surface 56 of the upper engagement part 52 is guided left and right by the outer circumferential upper surface of the shaft 51 and moves reliably to the predetermined engagement position (see FIGS. 15 and 16). Therefore, the skewering unit 27 can be easily and reliably positioned in the height direction and left and right direction relative to the forming device 10.

[0065] The slider 54 has a shaft-facing surface portion 57 that faces the end surface on the tip side of the shaft 51. When the slider 54 moves toward the base end of the shaft 51, it comes into contact with the upper engagement portion 52 that is engaged with the shaft 51, and when the slider 54 moves further toward the base end, it moves the skewering unit 27 toward the molding device 10 (forward).

[0066] The slider 54 can move up to a stopper abutment position where the movement of the upper engagement portion 52 toward the base end of the shaft 51 (movement of the front upper engagement portion 52) is prevented by the stopper 53. The upper engagement portion 52, sandwiched between the stopper 53 and the slider 54 at the stopper abutment position, is positioned at a predetermined position in the front-rear direction relative to the molding device 10, and the front-rear position of the skewering unit 27 relative to the molding device 10 is determined. Therefore, the front-rear positioning of the skewering unit 27 relative to the molding device 10 can be easily and reliably performed.

[0067] A threaded hole 58 extending along the axial direction (front-rear direction) of the shaft 51 is formed in the end face on the tip side of the shaft 51. The bolt member 55 is inserted through a shaft-opposing surface 57 of the shaft 51 and threaded into the threaded hole 58 from behind, and a bolt head 59 of the bolt member 55 does not pass through the shaft-opposing surface 57. The slider 54 is held in the stopper abutting position by tightening the bolt member 55 threaded into the threaded hole 58.

[0068] That is, the bolt member 55 and the screw hole portion 58 constitute a movement restriction means that restricts the movement of the upper engaging portion 52 in the front-to-rear direction relative to the shaft 51 (movement of the slider 54 from the stopper abutment position toward the tip of the shaft 51) when the upper engaging portion 52 is in an engaged state with the shaft 51, thereby holding the upper engaging portion 52 in a predetermined position. By holding the upper engaging portion 52 in a predetermined position, the skewering device 20 is connected to the forming device 10, and the assembled state of the skewering unit 27 (a state in which the skewering unit 27 is arranged in a predetermined assembled position relative to the skewering position of the forming device 10) is maintained.

[0069] According to this embodiment, the skewering device 20 is separable from the forming device 10 and is detachably connected to the forming device 10 by the positioning connection mechanism 50. Therefore, when changing the type of skewer P to be used, the forming device 10 can be used as a common device, and only the skewering device 20 connected to the forming device 10 needs to be changed depending on the type of skewer P. Therefore, it is possible to easily accommodate a wide variety of skewers P.

[0070] In the above-described embodiment, the molding device 10 is used as an example of the molded food feeding device, but the molded food feeding device is not limited to the molding device 10 and may take other forms. For example, as shown in Figure 20, the present invention can also be applied to a molded food feeding device 70 in which multiple lower molds 71 ​​are lined up like a conveyor and move from upstream to downstream, a molded food that has been manually formed in advance is placed on the upstream lower mold 71, the molded food is sandwiched and held between the upper mold (not shown) and the lower mold 71 at an intermediate skewering position, the molded food is skewered in this state by the skewering device 20, and the skewered food is transported downstream from the skewering position by the lower mold 71.

[0071] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which have been described as examples, and various modifications can be made depending on the design, etc., even if they are other than the above-described embodiments, as long as they do not deviate from the technical idea of ​​the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1: Skewered food manufacturing equipment 2: Installation surface 10: Molding device (molded food feeding device) 10A: First forming roll 10B: Second forming roll 13: Allowable water exposure area 14: Water prohibited area 15: Water barrier 17A: First molding groove portion 17B: Second molding groove portion 20: Skewering device 25: Skewer extrusion device 26: Skewer frame bottom plate 27: Skewer Unit 28: Skewer frame cart (skewer unit support) 29: Lifting mechanism 32A: First skewer insertion groove 32B: Second skewer insertion groove 33: Shaft insertion part 40: Dough supply device 50: Positioning linkage mechanism 51: Shaft (lower engagement part) 52: Upper engagement part 53: Stopper 54: Slider 55: Bolt material 56: Arc-shaped concave surface 57: Shaft facing surface 58: Screw hole 59: Bolt head 70:Formed food feeder P:Skewer

Claims

1. a molded food feeder that holds a molded food using dough at a predetermined skewering position and then moves the molded food from the skewering position; a skewering device that has a skewering unit that is disposed at a predetermined assembly position relative to the skewering position of the formed food feeding device and that skewers formed foods held at the skewering position in an assembled state, the skewering device being provided separately from the formed food feeding device and separable from the formed food feeding device; a positioning and connecting mechanism that guides and positions the skewer unit at the assembly position, connects the skewer device to the formed food feed device, and maintains the skewer unit in the assembled state. A skewered food manufacturing device characterized by the above.

2. The shaped food feeder has a first shaping roll having a plurality of first shaping grooves formed on its circumferential surface, and a second shaping roll having a plurality of second shaping grooves formed on its circumferential surface corresponding to the first shaping grooves, the first shaping roll and the second shaping roll being arranged so that their circumferential surfaces are in contact with each other, and as the first and second shaping grooves reach the skewering position where the circumferential surfaces of the first shaping roll and the second shaping roll are in contact, a shaping device sandwiches dough between the first shaping grooves and the second shaping grooves to shape the shaped food, holds the shaped shaped food at the skewering position, and then moves the shaped food from the skewering position using the first and second shaping rolls. The first and second forming rolls rotate intermittently so that the first and second forming groove portions temporarily stop at the skewering positions.

2. The skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The first forming roll is provided with a plurality of first skewer insertion grooves corresponding to the plurality of first forming grooves, The second forming roll is provided with a plurality of second skewer insertion grooves corresponding to the plurality of second forming grooves, the first skewer insertion groove portion and the second skewer insertion groove portion define a skewer insertion portion at the skewer insertion position, The skewer pushed out by the skewering unit is inserted into the molded food product through the skewer insertion portion.

3. The skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The molding device is divided into a water-permitted area and a water-prohibited area by a water shielding plate, The first and second forming rolls are disposed in the water-permitted region.

4. The skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The skewering device has a skewer unit support that is placed on a substantially horizontal installation surface and is movable on the installation surface, and a lifting mechanism that is provided between the skewer unit and the skewer unit support and supports the skewer unit so that it can be raised and lowered in a substantially vertical direction.

2. The skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1.

6. The skewering direction by the skewering unit is approximately horizontal, the positioning and connecting mechanism has a lower engaging portion provided on the shaped food feeding device, an upper engaging portion provided on the skewer unit, and a movement restricting means for restricting movement of the upper engaging portion relative to the lower engaging portion; When the skewering unit is lowered by the lifting mechanism, the upper engagement portion engages with the lower engagement portion from above and is supported by the lower engagement portion from below, The engagement between the upper engagement portion and the lower engagement portion allows movement of the upper engagement portion relative to the lower engagement portion in the front-to-rear direction along the skewering direction, and prevents movement in the left-to-right direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction, the movement restricting means restricts movement of the upper engagement portion relative to the lower engagement portion in the front-rear direction when the upper engagement portion and the lower engagement portion are engaged with each other, thereby holding the upper engagement portion at a predetermined position; The movement restricting means holds the upper engaging portion at the predetermined position, thereby connecting the skewering device to the formed food feeding device and maintaining the assembled state of the skewering unit.

6. The skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5.

7. The lower engagement portion is a plurality of shafts extending from the formed food feed device; The shaft has an arcuate outer circumferential upper surface, The upper engagement portion has an arc-shaped concave surface that can engage with the outer circumferential upper surface of the shaft from above.

7. The skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6.

8. the positioning and connecting mechanism includes a stopper fixed to a base end side of the shaft, and a slider supported on a tip end side of the shaft and movable along the axial direction of the shaft, the upper engagement portion engages with the shaft between the stopper and the slider, The slider moves toward the base end of the shaft, contacting the upper engaging portion in the engaged state and moving the skewer unit toward the shaped food feeding device. the slider is movable to a stopper abutment position where the stopper prevents the upper engagement portion from moving toward the base end side of the shaft, the upper engagement portion at the predetermined position is sandwiched between the stopper and the slider at the stopper abutment position, The movement restricting means restricts movement of the slider from the stopper abutment position toward the tip end of the shaft, thereby holding the upper engaging portion at a predetermined position.

8. The skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7.

9. the slider has a shaft-facing surface portion that faces the tip-end side end surface of the shaft, the movement restricting means includes a threaded hole portion formed on the end surface of the shaft and extending along the axial direction of the shaft, and a bolt member inserted through the shaft opposing surface portion and screwed into the threaded hole portion, The slider is held at the stopper abutment position by tightening the bolt member threaded into the screw hole.

9. The skewered food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8.

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