Food forming device

Abstract

The food molding device has two belt conveyors in the conveying device, and only the conveying surface of the first belt conveyor is movable up and down, and the drive of the belt conveyors is controlled independently, allowing molding and conveying to be performed simultaneously. [Solution] A food forming device (1) including a food supply device (3), a cutting device (5), a conveying device (7) and a control device (9) that controls the operation of each of the above devices, wherein the conveying device (7) includes a first belt conveyor (71) and a second belt conveyor (72) arranged downstream of the first belt conveyor (71) in the conveying direction (R) in which the food (23) is conveyed, and the first belt conveyor (71) includes an endless first belt (711) that conveys the food (23), a first control motor (718) that rotates the first belt (711), and an up-and-down moving plate (719) inside the first belt (711) that moves the first belt (711) up and down, and the up-and-down moving plate (719) is arranged below the nozzle member (331).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a food molding apparatus for molding foods such as buns, and more particularly to a conveying apparatus provided in the food molding apparatus for conveying foods.

Background Art

[0002] For example, a bun machine, which is a food molding apparatus for molding foods such as buns, includes hoppers for separately accommodating an inner wrapping material and an outer wrapping material as food ingredients. The food ingredients fed out by screw conveyors provided at the bottoms of the respective hoppers are fed to a polymerization nozzle by a pump. At the polymerization nozzle, a rod-shaped food dough having an outer wrapping material on the circumferential surface of the inner wrapping material is continuously discharged. By cutting this rod-shaped food dough with a cutting apparatus including a shutter mechanism, a coated food (layered food) in which the inner wrapping material is appropriately wrapped with the outer wrapping material is molded. The coated food is received by a conveying apparatus provided below the cutting apparatus so as to be vertically movable, and is intermittently conveyed to the downstream side of the conveyance. The conveying apparatus includes one endless belt and a vertically movable plate that moves the conveying surface of the belt up and down inside the belt (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In addition, another bun machine, which is a food molding apparatus, includes a conveying apparatus for intermittently conveying foods to the downstream side of the conveyance. The conveying apparatus includes one endless belt, a vertically movable plate that moves the belt up and down inside the belt, a conveyor plate that horizontally supports the belt, and a vertically movable roller that moves up and down in conjunction with the vertically movable plate outside the belt. The conveying apparatus is provided with the vertically movable roller below between the vertically movable plate and the conveyor plate, and includes a vertical movement device that moves the vertically movable plate up and down and moves the vertically movable roller up and down so as to discharge and absorb a belt portion that moves up and down in conjunction with the vertical movement of the vertically movable plate at a position below the conveyor plate (for example, Patent Document 2).

[0004] In the food molding apparatus described in Patent Document 2, the conveying device can be divided into a vertical conveying section that moves up and down and a horizontal conveying section that does not move up and down, which prevents food from sliding or tipping over from the conveying device when food is being conveyed by the conveying device. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-263797 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-166614 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] The wrapping machines described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are equipped with a belt conveyor as a conveying device. The conveying device includes one endless belt. The conveying surface of the belt, which moves up and down by an up-and-down plate, rises to a raised position to support the bottom of the rod-shaped food when cutting the wrapped food from the rod-shaped food, and stops conveying. Subsequently, when conveying the cut wrapped food, it lowers to a lowered position, and when the up-and-down plate is stopped in the lowered position, the belt is driven to intermittently convey the wrapped food downstream.

[0007] Therefore, the food molding apparatus described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 has the problem that when the conveying surface of the vertically moving belt supports the bottom of a rod-shaped food, the belt must be stopped, and the conveyance of food that has already been molded and conveyed downstream of the vertically moving plate is also stopped. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is a food molding apparatus comprising: a food supply device for forming a rod-shaped food dough; a cutting device disposed below the food supply device for cutting food from the rod-shaped food dough by reducing the diameter of an opening formed by being surrounded by a plurality of shutter pieces; a conveying device disposed below the cutting device for conveying the food; and a control device for controlling the operation of each of the devices, wherein the conveying device includes a first belt conveyor and a second belt conveyor disposed downstream of the first belt conveyor with respect to the conveying direction for conveying the food, the first belt conveyor includes an endless first belt for conveying the food, a first control motor for rotating the first belt, and an up-and-down moving plate inside the first belt for moving the first belt up and down, and the up-and-down moving plate is disposed below the opening of the cutting device.

[0009] Furthermore, the food supply device is characterized in that it includes a nozzle member for dispensing the rod-shaped food dough, and the vertically moving plate is positioned below the nozzle member.

[0010] Furthermore, the control device is characterized by having a configuration that controls the drive of the first control motor so as to drive the first belt when the vertically moving plate is located at the lowered end where it stops descending.

[0011] Furthermore, the second belt conveyor includes an endless second belt for transporting the food and a second control motor for rotating the second belt, and the control device is configured to drive the second control motor at least when driving the first control motor.

[0012] Furthermore, the control device is characterized by being configured to control the second control motor to drive continuously.

[0013] Furthermore, the first belt conveyor includes a vertical movement shaft that moves the vertical movement plate up and down, and is characterized by having a spacer that can be attached and detached between the vertical movement plate and the vertical movement shaft.

[0014] Furthermore, the first belt conveyor is characterized by being detachably provided with spacers to be placed on the upper surface of the vertically moving plate.

[0015] Furthermore, the second belt conveyor is characterized by having a conveyor end plate at its upstream end, and the mounting position of the conveyor end plate relative to the main frame of the food molding apparatus being adjustable in the vertical direction.

[0016] Furthermore, the second belt conveyor comprises an endless second belt for transporting the food and a conveyor plate, an outer return roller located below the upstream end of the conveyor plate, and an inner return roller located upstream of the outer return roller, with the outer return roller wrapped around the outside of the second belt and the inner return roller wrapped around the inside of the second belt.

[0017] Furthermore, the second belt conveyor comprises an endless second belt for transporting the food and a conveyor plate, and is equipped with an inner return roller below the upstream end of the conveyor plate and on the upstream side of the transport, and is characterized in that the inner return roller is wrapped around the inside of the second belt.

[0018] Furthermore, the second belt conveyor is characterized in that it is provided with a contact member below the upstream end of the conveyor plate and above the inner return roller, and the contact member is arranged to be in contact with the outside of the second belt.

[0019] Further, the first belt conveyor includes an up-and-down drive motor for driving the up-and-down moving plate up and down, and the control device is configured to control the drive of the up-and-down drive motor so as to adjust the position of the down end where the up-and-down moving plate stops descending.

Advantages of the Invention

[0020] According to the present invention, in a food molding device, a conveying device is provided with two belt conveyors, a first belt conveyor and a second belt conveyor. Only the conveying surface of the first belt conveyor is provided to be movable up and down, and by independently controlling the drives of the first belt conveyor and the second belt conveyor, the conventional problems as described above can be solved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021] [Figure 1] It is a front explanatory view schematically showing a food molding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a front explanatory view schematically showing a food molding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] It is a side explanatory view schematically showing a food molding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] It is a front explanatory view schematically showing a food molding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] It is a front explanatory view schematically showing a food molding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] It is a side explanatory view schematically showing a food molding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] ]>It is a front explanatory view schematically showing a food molding device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] It is a front explanatory view schematically showing a food molding device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] It is a side explanatory view schematically showing a food molding device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10]This is a schematic front diagram showing a food molding apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0022] Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a food molding apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described as a filling machine. The food molding apparatus 1 includes a food supply device 3, a cutting device 5, a conveying device 7, and a control device 9 that controls each device. The food molding apparatus 1 has a box-shaped main frame 13 that is movable via a plurality of casters 11, and the food supply device 3 is provided on the upper part of the main frame 13. The food supply device 3 has a first hopper 31A for containing a first ingredient D and a second hopper 31B for containing a second ingredient F. At the bottom of each hopper 31A and 31B, a pair of screw conveyors (not shown) are provided horizontally and rotatably to feed out the respective ingredients D and F from the hoppers 31A and 31B. Each pair of screw conveyors is connected to and driven by control motors 35A and 35B, respectively.

[0023] To supply the food ingredients D and F, which are sent out from each hopper 31A and 31B by each set of screw conveyors, to the polymerization nozzle 33 located on the front of the main frame 13, a first vane pump 37A and a second vane pump 37B are provided between each hopper 31A and 31B and the polymerization nozzle 33. The first vane pump 37A and the second vane pump 37B are connected to and driven by control motors 39A and 39B, respectively.

[0024] The polymerization nozzle 33 stacks the first food ingredient D and the second food ingredient F in appropriate layers inside the polymerization nozzle 33, and continuously discharges the layered food dough 21 from a nozzle member 331 provided at the lower end of the polymerization nozzle 33 to form a rod shape. Below the polymerization nozzle 33, a cutting device 5 is provided that can move up and down to cut the rod-shaped food dough 21 into food 23 in which the first food ingredient D and the second food ingredient F are stacked in appropriate layers. The cutting device 5 is provided with an opening 52 formed by a plurality of shutter pieces 51 surrounding the opening for cutting the food dough 21, and is also provided to move up and down. The cutting device 5 is connected to and driven by a control motor 53 that opens and closes each shutter piece 51 and a control motor 55 that moves the cutting device 5 up and down.

[0025] Below the cutting device 5 is a conveying device 7 for conveying the food 23 in the conveying direction R. The conveying device 7 comprises a first belt conveyor 71 and a second belt conveyor 72 positioned downstream of the first belt conveyor 71 with respect to the conveying direction R. The first belt conveyor 71 is a belt conveyor equipped with an endless first belt 711 of the required width.

[0026] At the front of the main frame 13 are a conveyor plate 712 that is detachably engaged with mounting shafts 71A and 71B fixed to the front surface of the main frame 13, two drive pulleys 713 and 714 arranged in parallel in the vertical direction below the conveyor plate 712, a return roller 715 that is rotatably mounted on the upstream side of the drive pulley 713, and a tension roller 717 that is rotatably mounted on a swing arm 716 that is swingable relative to the main frame 13. The drive pulleys 713 and 714 are connected to and driven by a first control motor 718 via a gear train (not shown).

[0027] The first belt conveyor 71 includes an up-and-down plate 719 inside the first belt 711, downstream of the conveyor plate 712. The up-and-down plate 719 is positioned below the nozzle member 331 of the polymerization nozzle 33, and further below the expanding and contracting opening 52 of the cutting device 5. A return plate 719B for circling the first belt 711 is attached vertically to the lower surface of the up-and-down plate 719. The up-and-down device 73 for moving the up-and-down plate 719 up and down relative to the main frame 13 includes two up-and-down shafts 731 arranged parallel to each other in the vertical direction, a guide plate 732 that slidably guides the up-and-down shafts 731, and a control motor 734 that moves the up-and-down shafts 731 up and down via a connecting member 733.

[0028] Upstream of the first belt conveyor 71, a powder-sprinkling device 15 for sprinkling powder on the conveying surface of the first belt 711 is attached to the main frame 13. A mounting shaft 71B, located downstream of the drive pulley 713, rotatably mounts a roller 71C. Below the mounting shaft 71B, a scraper 71E is attached to a mounting shaft 71D fixed to the front of the main frame 13, and is adjustable vertically. The scraper 71E scrapes off food residue, powder, and other contaminants adhering to the surface of the first belt 711.

[0029] In the first belt conveyor 71 according to the first embodiment, the first belt 711 is mounted such that a drive pulley 713 and a return roller 715 are routed around the outside of the first belt 711, and a drive pulley 714, tension roller 717, conveyor plate 712, vertical movement plate 719, and return plate 719B are routed around the inside of the first belt 711. The downstream end of the first belt conveyor 71 is formed by the first belt 711 routed around the downstream end of the vertical movement plate 719. The first belt 711 is tensioned on each component so as to maintain appropriate tension at all times due to the weight of the vertically movable tension roller 717. Furthermore, the control device 9 controls the vertical control motor 734 so that the position of the lowered end where the vertical movement plate 719 lowers and stops is such that the conveying surface formed on the upper surface of the first belt 711 is horizontal.

[0030] The second belt conveyor 72 is a belt conveyor equipped with an endless second belt 721 of the required width. In front of the main frame 13 is a conveyor frame 74 that is detachably engaged with mounting shafts 72A and 72B fixed to the front surface of the main frame 13, two drive pulleys 723 and 724 arranged in parallel in the vertical direction below the conveyor frame 74, a return roller 725 that is rotatably mounted on the upstream side of the drive pulley 723, and a tension roller 727 that is rotatably mounted on a swing arm 726 that is swingable relative to the main frame 13. The drive pulleys 723 and 724 are connected to and driven by a second control motor 728 via a gear train (not shown).

[0031] The conveyor frame 74 includes a conveyor plate 741 and a conveyor end plate 743 attached to the upstream end of the conveyor plate 741 via a bracket 742. The conveyor plate 741 is detachably engaged with mounting shafts 72A and 72B fixed to the front of the main frame 13. The bracket 742 is provided so as to be vertically adjustable in its mounting position relative to the conveyor plate 741.

[0032] As an adjustment mechanism, an example can be provided in which multiple holes 744 are provided in the vertical direction on the side surface of the conveyor plate 741, and the bracket 742 is fixed with fixing members such as screws 745 at the appropriate positions of the holes 744. The mounting position of the conveyor end plate 743 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is an example of mounting on the lower side, and the conveying surface, which is the upper surface of the second belt 721, is formed horizontally. Furthermore, a scraper 72E is attached to a mounting shaft 72D fixed to the front surface of the main frame 13 downstream of the drive pulleys 723 and 724 so as to be adjustable vertically.

[0033] In the second belt conveyor 72 according to the first embodiment, the second belt 721 is mounted such that a drive pulley 723 and a return roller 725 are routed around the outside of the second belt 721, and a drive pulley 724, a tension roller 727, and a conveyor frame 74 are routed around the inside of the second belt 721. The upstream end of the second belt conveyor 72 is formed by the second belt 721 routed around the upstream end of the conveyor end plate 743. Furthermore, the second belt 721 is stretched over each component so as to maintain an appropriate tension at all times due to the weight of the tension roller 727, which is mounted to be vertically movable.

[0034] In the above configuration, the manner in which the food 23 formed in the food molding apparatus 1 is transported by the transport apparatus 7 will be described. The first belt 711 of the first belt conveyor 71 rotates when the vertically moving plate 719 is in the lowered position, and stops rotating when the vertically moving plate 719 is moving up and down, so that the transport operation of the food 23 and the transport stop are repeated alternately.

[0035] As the vertically moving plate 719 descends from its highest position, it supports the bottom of the rod-shaped food dough 21 discharged from the nozzle member 331 of the polymerization nozzle 33 via the first belt 711 (see Figure 2). The cutting device 5 closes the opening 52 to cut the food 23 from the food dough 21. The vertically moving plate 719 then descends to a position where its upper surface is at the same height as the upper surface of the conveyor frame 74 of the second belt conveyor 72 (see Figure 1).

[0036] The drive pulleys 713 and 714 are driven to rotate the first belt 711, transporting the food 23 placed on the first belt conveyor 71 in the transport direction R and transferring it to the second belt conveyor 72. In the first embodiment, the second belt conveyor 72 is driven continuously at the required speed. The control device 9 controls the second control motor 728 to drive continuously.

[0037] In the food molding apparatus 1, the conveying device 7 is equipped with two belt conveyors, a first belt conveyor 71 and a second belt conveyor 72. The conveying surface of the first belt conveyor 71 is made vertically movable, and the drives of the first belt conveyor 71 and the second belt conveyor 72 are controlled independently. This prevents the food 23 from sliding or tipping over on the belt when the food 23 is conveyed by the conveying device 7.

[0038] Next, with reference to Figures 4 to 6, a food molding apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same reference numerals are used for components having the same function as the food molding apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, and redundant explanations will be omitted. The food molding apparatus 102 is configured to be suitable for molding a large number of relatively small food products 23 per unit time.

[0039] The first belt conveyor 71 of the food molding apparatus 102 has a configuration in which a cylindrical spacer 719C, for example, having a height of 25 mm, is sandwiched between the vertically moving plate 719 and the vertically moving shaft 731, and these are fixed together as a single unit. By bringing the vertically moving plate 719 closer to the cutting device 5, it becomes easier to mold food products 23 that are relatively low in height.

[0040] The second belt conveyor 72 of the food molding apparatus 102 is configured such that the conveyor end plate 743 is attached 25 mm above the conveyor plate 741 by attaching the bracket 742 to the upper hole 744 of the conveyor plate 741. The vertical mounting position can be adjusted by placing the hole 744 of the conveyor plate 741 at an appropriate position. In addition, a spacer 719C for the first belt conveyor 71 can be prepared to match the vertical height.

[0041] The second belt conveyor 72 includes an outer return roller 751 positioned below the upstream end of the conveyor frame 74, and an inner return roller 752 positioned below the outer return roller 751 and on its upstream side. Furthermore, the inner return roller 752 is positioned below and upstream of the scraper 71E of the first belt conveyor 71. The second belt conveyor 72 has the outer return roller 751 wrapped around the outside of the second belt 721, and the inner return roller 752 wrapped around the inside of the second belt 721. At the upstream end of the conveyor frame 74, that is, below the upstream end of the conveyor end plate 743, the second belt conveyor 72 has a powder receiving section 75 that extends from the outer return roller 751 to the inner return roller 752 and extends below the downstream end of the first belt conveyor 71.

[0042] Flour falls into the flour receiving section 75 from the downstream end of the first belt conveyor 71 and from the scraper 71F. This flour is transported upward as the second belt 721 rotates and reaches the conveying surface of the second belt conveyor 72. This prevents the food 23 from sticking to the second belt conveyor 72. Although the flour receiving section 75 has been described as being horizontal, it is not limited to this configuration and may be configured to be inclined within a range that allows it to receive flour.

[0043] In the above configuration, the manner in which the food 23 formed in the food molding apparatus 102 is conveyed by the conveying apparatus 7 will be described. The vertically moving plate 719 on which the food 23 is placed via the first belt 711 lowers until its upper surface is at the same height as the upper surface of the conveyor end plate 743 of the second belt conveyor 72 (see Figure 4). The drive pulleys 713, 714 and drive pulleys 723, 724 are driven simultaneously to rotate the first belt 711 and the second belt 721 at the same speed, transferring the food 23 from the first belt conveyor 71 to the second belt conveyor 72. Then, the drives of the first belt conveyor 71 and the second belt conveyor 72 are stopped simultaneously, and the vertically moving plate 719 begins to rise.

[0044] The control device 9 controls the first control motor 718 and the second control motor 728 to drive and stop simultaneously. As can be understood from the above description, the second belt conveyor 72 only needs to be driven when the first belt conveyor 71 is driven. In other words, the control device 9 only needs to be configured to drive the second control motor 728 when it drives the first control motor 718.

[0045] Next, with reference to Figures 7 to 9, a food molding apparatus 103 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same reference numerals are used for components having the same function as the food molding apparatus 1, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0046] The first belt conveyor 71 of the food molding apparatus 103 has a plate-shaped spacer 719D, for example, with a height of 30 mm, detachably placed on the upper surface of the vertically moving plate 719. Four shafts 719E are vertically mounted on the lower surface of the spacer 719D. The vertically moving plate 719 also has four holes 719F through which the shafts 719E can pass. The downstream end of the first belt conveyor 71 is formed by a first belt 711 that is wrapped around the downstream end of the spacer 719D.

[0047] The conveyor frame 74B of the second belt conveyor 72 includes a conveyor plate 746 and a conveyor end plate 743 at the upstream end of the conveyor plate 746. The conveyor plate 746 is detachably engaged with mounting shafts 72A and 72B fixed to the front surface of the main frame 13. Upper and lower engaging recesses 745A that engage with the engaging groove of the mounting shaft 72A and upper and lower engaging recesses 745B that engage with the engaging groove of the mounting shaft 72B are formed on the side surface of the conveyor plate 746.

[0048] In Figure 7, the lower engaging recesses 745A and 745B are engaged with the mounting shafts 72A and 72B, respectively, and the height of the upper surface of the conveyor end plate 743 is at the same height as the upper surface of the lowered spacer 719D. The vertical mounting position can be adjusted by positioning the engaging recesses of the conveyor plate 746 appropriately. In addition, spacers 719C or 719D of the first belt conveyor 71 can be prepared to match the vertical height.

[0049] The second belt conveyor 72 is equipped with an inner return roller 753 below the upstream end of the conveyor frame 74B and on the upstream side of the conveying, and the inner return roller 753 is wrapped around the inside of the second belt 721. Furthermore, a rod-shaped contact member 754 is provided above the inner return roller 753, extending from the front of the main frame 13, and the contact member 754 is positioned so as to be in contact with the outside of the second belt.

[0050] The second belt conveyor 72 has a powder receiving section 75B that extends from the upstream end of the conveyor frame 74B, that is, from the upstream end of the conveyor end plate 743 to the inner return roller 753, and protrudes below the downstream end of the first belt conveyor 71. The powder receiving section 75B can receive hand flour falling from the downstream end of the first belt conveyor 71, preventing food 23 from sticking to the second belt conveyor 72. Furthermore, if the slope of the powder receiving section 75B is steep, the contact member 754 can block hand flour sliding off the powder receiving section 75B.

[0051] Referring to Figure 10, a food molding apparatus 104 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Note that the same reference numerals are used for components having the same function as those in the food molding apparatus 1, and redundant explanations are omitted. The food molding apparatus 104 includes a food supply device 4 that supplies rod-shaped food dough 21 to a cutting device 5. The food supply device 4 includes a belt conveyor 41, a discharge device 43, and a hoisting device 45. Each component of the food supply device 4 is controlled by a control device 9.

[0052] The belt conveyor 41 transports a continuous strip of first food ingredient D, for example, bread dough, in the transport direction. The discharge device 43 continuously discharges a second food ingredient F, for example, jam, onto the upper surface of the first food ingredient D, near the end in the width direction. The winding device 45 includes a rotating roller 46 that is inclined with respect to the transport direction R. The rotating roller 46 lifts the end of the strip of first food ingredient D upward and wraps the first food ingredient D around the second food ingredient F, thereby forming a rod-shaped food dough 21 in which the second food ingredient F, as an inner filling, is covered in layers with the first food ingredient D, as an outer layer. The food dough 21 hangs down from the downstream end of the belt conveyor 41.

[0053] The food dough 21 passes through the open opening 52 of the cutting device 5 and is supported on the conveying surface of the raised first belt conveyor 71. As the cutting device 5 and the vertically moving plate 719 descend, the shutter piece 51 of the cutting device 5 closes, reducing the diameter of the opening 52 and cutting the food 23 from the food dough 21. Furthermore, the vertically moving plate 719 descends and stops at a position higher than the conveying surface of the second belt conveyor 72. In this way, the control device 9 controls the drive of the vertical control motor 734 and can adjust the position of the lowered end where the vertically moving plate 719 stops descending.

[0054] The first belt conveyor 71 and the second belt conveyor 72 are driven simultaneously at the same speed. The food 23 is inverted by the step between the first belt conveyor 71 and the second belt conveyor 72 and falls onto the conveying surface of the second belt conveyor 72. Due to the inversion, the pointed top of the food 23 becomes the bottom surface, and the top and bottom surfaces of the food 23 are flat. The driving of the first belt conveyor 71 and the second belt conveyor 72 is stopped. Then, the vertical moving plate 719 begins to rise. Note that the second belt conveyor 72 may start driving after the first belt conveyor 71, or it may drive continuously. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1 Food forming equipment 3 Food supply equipment 4 Food supply equipment 5 Cutting device 7. Conveying device 9 Control device 21 Food dough 23 Food 71. First Belt Conveyor 72. Second conveyor belt 74, 74B Conveyor Frame 75, 75B Powder receiving section 102 Food forming equipment 103 Food forming equipment 104 Food forming equipment 331 Nozzle component 711 Belt 1 718 First control motor 719 Vertical movement plate 719C Spacer 719D Spacer 721 Belt 2 728 Second control motor 731 Up-and-down shaft 734 Up / Down Control Motor 751 Outer return roller 752 Inner return roller 753 Inner return roller R Conveying direction

Claims

1. a food supplying device for forming stick-shaped food dough; a cutting device disposed below the food supply device, which cuts food from the rod-shaped food dough by reducing the diameter of an opening formed by the shutter pieces; a conveying device disposed below the cutting device and configured to convey the food; A food product forming apparatus including a control device for controlling the operation of each of the devices, the conveying device includes a first belt conveyor and a second belt conveyor disposed downstream of the first belt conveyor in a conveying direction in which the food is conveyed; the first belt conveyor includes an endless first belt that transports the food, a first control motor that rotates the first belt, and a vertically moving plate that is disposed inside the first belt and moves the first belt up and down; the vertically movable plate is disposed below the opening of the cutting device; the second belt conveyor includes an endless second belt that transports the food product, and a second control motor that rotates the second belt; a downstream end of the first belt conveyor is formed by the first belt wound around the downstream end of the vertically movable plate or the downstream end of a spacer placed on the vertically movable plate; the second belt conveyor includes a conveyor end plate, and an upstream end of the second belt conveyor is formed by the second belt wound around the upstream end of the conveyor end plate; the position of the lowering end where the vertically movable plate stops lowering is a position where the height of the upper surface of the vertically movable plate or the upper surface of a spacer arranged on the vertically movable plate is the same as the height of the upper surface of the conveyor end plate of the second belt conveyor, The food forming device is characterized in that the second belt conveyor includes a powder receiving portion that protrudes below the downstream end of the first belt conveyor, and the powder receiving portion receives flour that falls from the downstream end of the first belt conveyor.

2. 10. The food product forming apparatus of claim 1, The food forming device is characterized in that the food supply device includes a nozzle member that discharges the rod-shaped food dough, and the vertically movable plate is arranged below the nozzle member.

3. 10. The food product forming apparatus of claim 1, The food forming device is characterized in that the control device is configured to stop the rotation of the first belt when the vertically movable plate is moving up and down, and to control the drive of the first control motor to rotate the first belt when the vertically movable plate stops descending and reaches its lowering end.

4. 4. The food product forming apparatus of claim 3, The food product forming apparatus is characterized in that the control device is configured to control the second control motor to be driven when at least the first control motor is driven.

5. 5. The food product forming apparatus of claim 4, The food product forming apparatus is characterized in that the control device is configured to control the second control motor to be driven continuously.

6. 10. The food product forming apparatus of claim 1, The food product forming apparatus is characterized in that the first belt conveyor includes a vertically movable shaft that moves the vertically movable plate up and down, and a spacer is detachably provided between the vertically movable plate and the vertically movable shaft.

7. 10. The food product forming apparatus of claim 1, The food product forming apparatus is characterized in that the spacer placed on the upper surface of the vertically movable plate is detachable.

8. 10. The food product forming apparatus of claim 1, The food product forming apparatus is characterized in that the attachment position of the conveyor end plate is adjustable in the vertical direction relative to the main body frame of the food product forming apparatus.

9. 10. The food product forming apparatus of claim 1, The second belt conveyor is provided with an outer return roller around which the outer side of the second belt is passed, below the upstream end of the conveyor end plate, and an inner return roller around which the inner side of the second belt is passed, upstream of the outer return roller in the conveying direction, so that the powder receiving portion of the second belt conveyor extends horizontally.

10. 10. The food product forming apparatus of claim 1, The food forming device is characterized in that it has an inner return roller around which the inner side of the second belt is wrapped, below the upstream end of the conveyor end plate and upstream in the conveying direction, so that the powder receiving portion of the second belt conveyor extends in an oblique direction.

11. 11. The food product forming apparatus of claim 10, The food product forming apparatus is characterized in that the second belt conveyor has a contact member that contacts the outer side of the second belt below the upstream end of the conveyor end plate and above the inner return roller.

Images