Seafood moisture removal equipment

Abstract

To provide a water removing device for seafood, removing water from a surface of seafood.SOLUTION: A water removing device for seafood comprises a conveyer mechanism 10 for conveying seafood F1, and an air spray mechanism 80 for blowing off water on a surface of the seafood F1 to be conveyed. The conveyor mechanism 10 comprises a lower conveyor section 10-1 including a lower conveyor belt 11-1 with a plurality of air vents, and an upper conveyor section 10-2 including an upper conveyor belt 11-2 with a plurality of air vents. The air spray mechanism 80 comprises: a lower air spray section 80-1 including a lower air nozzle 81-1 for spraying air from below the seafood F1 via the lower conveyor belt 11-1, and a lower swing mechanism 91-1 for swinging the lower air nozzle 81-1; and an upper air spray section 80-2 including an upper air nozzle 81-2 for blowing air from above the seafood F1 via the upper conveyor belt 11-2, and an upper swing mechanism 91-2 for swinging the upper air nozzle 81-2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seafood moisture removing device that removes moisture adhering to the surface of seafood such as fish and mollusks. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, before a fillet of fish that has been cut into three pieces using a filleting machine is vacuum packaged (vacuum packed) in synthetic resin film, it is necessary to remove moisture (including blood) adhering to the surface of the fillet, for the following reasons: Namely, vacuum packaging is performed by sandwiching the fillet of fish between two sheets of synthetic resin film and sealing the periphery while creating a vacuum between the two films, but if the fillet is vacuum packaged with moisture on its surface, the moisture and blood adhering to the fillet will be drawn out to the area around the fillet where the two films are stuck together, and for example, blood may remain in the wrinkles that occur on the stuck surface, making it look unattractive from the outside, or may hinder the adhesion between the two films, or there is a risk that the moisture and blood remaining on the fillet will have an adverse effect on maintaining freshness.

[0003] For this reason, in the past, the surface of each fish fillet was manually wiped with a cloth or paper towel before it was vacuum packed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-109971 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, manual wiping is inefficient as it limits the number of fillets that can be processed, and labor costs are high.

[0006] Furthermore, if the task of wiping off moisture from the surface of fish fillets is repeated using cloth towels, bacteria on the cloth towels may attach to the fillets, causing hygiene problems, and when the cloth towels become too wet to wipe the fillets, multiple cloth towels are needed to replace them, and the used cloth towels must be washed and dried, which increases the amount of work required. The above hygiene problems must also be resolved in terms of HACCP, which was enacted based on the Food Sanitation Law.

[0007] On the other hand, when using paper towels to wipe off moisture from the surface of fish fillets, a large number of paper towels are required because the paper towels are disposable, which increases costs.

[0008] Therefore, a moisture removal device is used in which the fillets of the fish are placed on a belt conveyor and, while moving the fillets, an air nozzle is used to blow off moisture and the like from the surface of the fillets.

[0009] However, conventional moisture removal devices have difficulty in blowing air evenly over the fillets, and blowing air evenly over the fillets requires the installation of many air nozzles, which results in a large amount of air being used.Fish fillets come in a variety of sizes, from large to small, and there has been no moisture removal device that can easily blow air in the optimal condition over fillets of such various sizes and thicknesses.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and its object is to provide a seafood moisture removal device that can efficiently and easily remove moisture adhering to the surface of seafood such as fish and mollusks. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The seafood moisture removal device of the present invention comprises a conveyor mechanism for transporting seafood, and an air spray mechanism for blowing air at the seafood transported by the conveyor mechanism to blow off moisture on the surfaces of the seafood, the air spray mechanism comprising: a lower air spray unit having a lower air nozzle that is placed below the seafood transported by the conveyor mechanism and blows air from below at the transported seafood, and a lower swinging mechanism that swings the lower air nozzle in a direction intersecting the direction in which the conveyor mechanism transports the seafood; and an upper air spray unit having an upper air nozzle that is placed above the seafood transported by the conveyor mechanism and blows air from above at the transported seafood, and an upper swinging mechanism that swings the upper air nozzle in a direction intersecting the direction in which the conveyor mechanism transports the seafood, The conveyor mechanism is configured to include a lower conveyor section having a lower conveyor belt that is endless and has many air holes, and on whose upper surface the seafood is placed and transported, and an upper conveyor section having an upper conveyor belt that is endless and has many air holes, and is installed above the lower conveyor belt, the lower surface of which moves in the seafood transport direction, and the lower air nozzle of the air spray mechanism is installed below the lower conveyor belt that moves in the seafood transport direction, and blows air from below while swinging at the seafood placed on the lower conveyor belt and transported, and the upper air nozzle of the air spray mechanism is installed above the upper conveyor belt that moves in the seafood transport direction, and blows air from above while swinging at the seafood placed on the lower conveyor belt and transported. a vertical movement mechanism is provided which blows air onto the fish and shellfish, and makes the volume or force of the air blown from the lower air nozzle greater or stronger than the volume or force of the air blown from the upper air nozzle, and further moves the upper conveyor section up and down to adjust the distance between the opposing upper and lower conveyor belts to a position where the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt is slightly separated from the upper surface of the fish and shellfish placed on the lower conveyor belt, a position where the upper surface of the upper conveyor belt weakly contacts the upper surface of the fish and shellfish placed on the lower conveyor belt, and the vertical movement mechanism has a hanging mechanism which moves the upper conveyor section up and down while suspending it via an elastic body which expands and contracts according to the load, thereby automatically adjusting the pressing force to a constant pressing force when the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt is placed in a position where it contacts the fish and shellfish placed on the lower conveyor belt. It is characterized by the following. The seafood includes various fish and shellfish, such as large and small fish such as yellowtail, bonito, horse mackerel, and sardines, as well as mollusks such as squid and octopus. According to the present invention, the upper and lower air nozzles are oscillated to blow off and remove moisture from the surface of the seafood, so that with a small number of nozzles, air can be sprayed evenly across the entire width of the conveyor mechanism, which intersects with the direction in which the seafood is transported, and thus, with a small number of air nozzles, moisture (including blood) can be evenly and reliably removed (dehydrated) from the surface of any seafood that is positioned at different locations in the width direction. Also, because a small number of air nozzles is required, the amount of air used can be reduced, and the air supply device, such as a compressor, that supplies air can be made smaller.

[0012] According to the present invention, seafood can be transported by being sandwiched between the lower conveyor belt and the upper conveyor belt, so that even in the case of small and light seafood, the seafood can be prevented from being blown away or flopping about by the air blown from the upper and lower air nozzles, and moisture can be removed smoothly. The upper conveyor belt does not necessarily need to be in contact with the top surface of the seafood, and may be placed slightly away from the top surface of the seafood in some cases. For heavy seafood, the upper conveyor belt may be placed away from the seafood since it will not be blown away by the air being sprayed on it. In this case, the upper conveyor belt may be placed away from the seafood, which is more preferable since it will not leave marks on the seafood.

[0013] According to the present invention, the distance between the upper and lower conveyor belts can be adjusted, so that the upper conveyor belt can be moved away from the seafood, or brought into weak or strong contact with the seafood depending on the size, thickness, weight, meat quality, and surface condition (for example, skin side or flesh side) of the seafood.

[0014] According to the present invention, an elastic body is provided on the upper conveyor section, so that the pressing force when the upper conveyor belt contacts and transports the seafood can be automatically adjusted to a constant pressing force, allowing the seafood to be clamped and transported without damaging its surface. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, moisture adhering to the surface of seafood can be removed efficiently, easily, reliably and evenly. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a seafood moisture removal device 1-1. [Diagram 2] 13 is an explanatory diagram of the swinging operation of the lower air nozzle 80-1 (upper air nozzle 80-2). FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the seafood moisture removing device 1-1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of the seafood moisture removal device 1-1 shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a lower air spraying section 80-1. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of an upper air spraying unit 80-2 (however, the illustration of a motor 98-2 is omitted). [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram (operation explanatory diagram) of a seafood moisture removal device 1-2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a seafood moisture removal device 1-1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the seafood moisture removal device 1-1 is equipped with a conveyor mechanism 10 (lower conveyor section 10-1 and upper conveyor section 10-2) that transports seafood, and an air spray mechanism 80 (lower air spray section 80-1 and upper air spray section 80-2) that blows air onto the seafood transported by the conveyor mechanism 10 to blow off moisture from the surface of the seafood. In the following description, "upper" refers to the direction in which the upper conveyor section 10-2 is viewed from the lower conveyor section 10-1, and "lower" refers to the opposite direction.

[0018] The conveyor mechanism 10 includes a lower conveyor belt 11-1, which is an endless belt having many ventilation holes and on which the seafood is placed and transported, a lower conveyor section 10-1 having a lower drive mechanism 21-1 that drives the upper surface of the lower mesh conveyor belt 11-1 in the transport direction of the seafood, an upper conveyor belt 11-2, which is an endless belt having many ventilation holes and is installed on the upper part of the lower conveyor belt 11-1, and an upper conveyor section 10-2 having an upper drive mechanism 21-2 that drives the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt 11-2 in the transport direction of the seafood. In this embodiment, mesh conveyor belts are used as the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11-2.

[0019] The air spray mechanism 80 is configured to have a lower air spray section 80-1 installed on the lower conveyor section 10-1 side, and an upper air spray section 80-2 installed on the upper conveyor section 10-2 side.

[0020] The lower air spray section 80-1 has a lower air nozzle 81-1 that is placed below the seafood transported by the upper surface of the lower conveyor section 10-1 and blows air from below onto the transported seafood via the lower conveyor belt 11-1 (its upper surface), and a lower swinging mechanism 91-1 that swings the lower air nozzle 81-1 in a direction intersecting the direction in which the seafood is transported.

[0021] The upper air spray section 80-2 has an upper air nozzle 81-2 that is placed above the seafood being transported and sprays air from above onto the seafood being transported via the upper conveyor belt 11-2 (its underside), and an upper swinging mechanism 91-2 that swings the upper air nozzle 81-2 in a direction intersecting the direction in which the seafood is being transported.

[0022] The lower air nozzle 81-1 (upper air nozzle 81-2) is oscillated by the lower oscillation mechanism 91-1 (upper oscillation mechanism 91-2) so that the lower air nozzle 81-1 (upper air nozzle 81-2) oscillates in the width direction of the upper surface of the lower conveyor belt 11-1 (lower surface of the upper conveyor belt 11-2) as shown in FIG. 2.

[0023] 1, the upper conveyor section 10-2 is provided with a vertical movement mechanism 15 that moves the upper conveyor section 10-2 up and down to adjust the distance between the opposing surfaces of the upper conveyor belt 11-2 and the lower conveyor belt 11-1. The vertical movement mechanism 15 has a suspension mechanism 19 that moves the upper conveyor section 10-2 up and down by suspending it via an elastic body (a coil spring in this embodiment) 17 that expands and contracts according to the load.

[0024] Next, the operation of the seafood moisture removing device 1-1 will be described. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the seafood moisture removing device 1-1. As shown in the figure, first, the upper conveyor section 10-2 is lowered to a predetermined position by the vertical movement mechanism 15, and the gap between the opposing lower conveyor belt 11-1 and upper conveyor belt 11-2 is set to a position where the seafood F1 from which moisture is to be removed can be clamped with a desired force.

[0025] Then, both the lower drive mechanism 21-1 and the upper drive mechanism 21-2 are driven, thereby driving the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11-2 at the same speed so that their opposing surfaces move in the same direction. Also, air is sprayed from both the lower air nozzle 81-1 and the upper air nozzle 81-2, and at the same time, both are swung by the lower swing mechanism 91-1 and the upper swing mechanism 91-2.

[0026] Then, when the fish and shellfish F1 are sequentially fed from the fish and shellfish feed port 100 side, the fed fish and shellfish F1 are transferred downstream while being sandwiched by an appropriate force between the opposing lower conveyor belt 11-1 and upper conveyor belt 11-2, and during the transfer, air is blown from below onto the lower surface of the fish and shellfish F1 from the swinging lower air nozzle 81-1, and at the same time, air is blown from above onto the upper surface of the transferred fish and shellfish F1 from the swinging upper air nozzle 80-2, blowing off and removing moisture (water droplets, blood, etc.) adhering to the surface of the fish and shellfish F1, that is, removing moisture from the surface. The fish and shellfish F1 from which moisture has been removed are discharged to the outside of the device from the fish and shellfish discharge port 105. In addition, in order not to dry the fish and shellfish as in the case of dried fish, air at room temperature (room temperature, a temperature at which drying is not performed, for example, 15°C) is used as the air to be blown.

[0027] As described above, according to the seafood moisture removal device 1-1, the lower air nozzle 81-1 and the upper air nozzle 81-2 are oscillated to blow away and remove moisture from the surface of the seafood F1, so that air can be sprayed evenly across the entire width of the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11-2 with a small number of nozzles.As a result, with a small number of air nozzles, moisture (including blood) can be evenly and reliably removed (dehydrated) from the surface (top and bottom) of the seafood F1, even for any seafood F1 that is positioned at different positions in the width direction.

[0028] Furthermore, since the seafood F1 can be sandwiched and transported between the opposing surfaces of the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11-2, even in the case of small and light seafood F1, the seafood F1 can be prevented from being blown away or flopping about by the air blown from the lower air nozzle 81-1 and the upper air nozzle 81-2, and moisture can be removed smoothly.

[0029] The upper conveyor belt 11-2 does not necessarily need to be in contact with the upper surface of the seafood F1, and may be placed slightly away from the upper surface of the seafood F1. In other words, by adjusting the distance between the opposing surfaces of the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11-2 by the vertical movement mechanism 15, the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt 11-2 can be moved away from the seafood F1, or brought into weak or strong contact with the seafood F1 depending on the size, thickness, weight, meat quality, and surface condition (e.g., skin side or flesh side) of the seafood F1. When the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt 11-2 comes into contact with the seafood F1, the elastic body 17 can automatically adjust the pressing force of the upper conveyor belt 11-2 when it comes into contact with the seafood F1 and is transported to a constant pressing force, so that the seafood F1 can be clamped and transported without damaging its surface.

[0030] Fig. 4 is a detailed configuration diagram of the seafood moisture removal apparatus 1-1 shown in Fig. 1. In the seafood moisture removal apparatus 1-1 shown in Fig. 4, the parts explained in the seafood moisture removal apparatus 1-1 shown in Fig. 1 will not be explained.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, the fish and shellfish moisture removing apparatus 1-1 is entirely surrounded by a frame 110 assembled in a rectangular shape, and each of the components is disposed within the frame 110.

[0032] The lower conveyor section 10-1 is configured so that one drive roller 21-1 and three driven rollers 23-1, 25-1, 27-1 are arranged in a trapezoidal shape whose upper side is longer than the lower side when viewed from the side, and a single endless belt-like lower conveyor belt 11-1 is wound around each of these rollers 21-1 to 27-1.The drive roller 21-1 is rotated by a lower belt drive motor (fixed to frame 110) not shown, thereby moving the lower conveyor belt 11-1 in the direction of arrow A1.

[0033] The lower air spraying unit 80-1 is installed on the lower side (inside the rotating belt) of the upper belt of the rotating lower conveyor belt 11-1. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower air spraying unit 80-1. As shown in the figure, the tip 83-1 of the lower air nozzle 81-1 constituting the lower air spraying unit 80-1 has a flat shape that spreads in the width direction (direction intersecting the belt movement direction) B1 of the lower conveyor belt 11-1, and the tip 83-1 is provided with a large number of air ejection holes toward the width direction B1. A pipe 87-1 is connected to the base 85-1 of the lower air nozzle 81-1, and a flexible air hose (not shown) is connected to the other end of the pipe 87-1. The air hose is connected to an air compressor (not shown).

[0034] As shown in Fig. 5, the lower swing mechanism 91-1 constituting the lower air spraying section 80-1 includes a four-bar link mechanism 93-1, a rod 95-1 for swinging the four-bar link mechanism 93-1, and a rod drive mechanism 97-1 for driving the rod 95-1. The four-bar link mechanism 93-1 is a parallel link mechanism, and the lengths of the opposing links of the four links 93a-1, 93b-1, 93c-1, and 93d-1 are equal, and one link 93a-1 on the short side is a fixed link, the other link 93c-1 on the short side is a link for attaching the lower air nozzle, and one link 93b-1 on the long side is a link for connecting the rod 95-1. That is, one end of the rod 95-1 is rotatably attached to a rod attachment part 931-1 provided so as to protrude upward at the middle position of the link 93b-1. 4, the link 93a-1 is fixed to a lower swing mechanism mounting frame 101 that constitutes a part of the frame body 110. The piping 87-1 of the lower air nozzle 81-1 is attached to the link 93c-1 via a nozzle position adjustment mechanism 88-1. The nozzle position adjustment mechanism 88-1 has the function of rotating the piping 87-1 attached thereto in the vertical direction and fixing it at a desired position.

[0035] The rod drive mechanism 97-1 includes a motor 971-1, a disk-shaped arm portion 973-1 rotated by the motor 971-1, and a stay 975-1 that fixes the motor 971-1 to the frame body 110. The stay 975-1 is fixed to a predetermined position of the frame body 110 (not shown). A rod attachment portion 977-1 that protrudes upward is provided on the upper surface of the plate-shaped arm portion 973-1 near the outer periphery, and is rotatably attached to one end of the rod 95-1.

[0036] In the lower swing mechanism 91-1 configured as described above, when the motor 971-1 is driven, the arm portion 973-1 rotates, which causes the rod 95-1 to move in its longitudinal direction, thereby causing the four-bar link mechanism 93-1 to swing in the direction of arrow B1 relative to the fixed link 93a-1, and the lower air nozzle 81-1 to swing reliably in the direction of arrow B1.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 4, the upper conveyor section 10-2 is configured such that one drive roller 21-2 and three driven rollers 23-2, 25-2, 27-2 are arranged in a trapezoidal shape with an upper side longer than the lower side when viewed from the side, and are rotatably attached to a support member 29-2. An endless upper conveyor belt 11-2 is wound around each of the rollers 21-1 to 27-2, and the drive roller 21-2 is rotated by an upper belt drive motor (fixed to the support member 29-2) not shown, thereby moving the upper conveyor belt 11-2 in the direction of arrow A2.

[0038] The upper air spraying unit 80-2 is installed on the upper side of the lower belt of the rotating upper conveyor belt 11-2 (inside the rotating belt). FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper air spraying unit 80-2 (however, the motor 971-2 shown in FIG. 4 is omitted). As shown in the figure, the tip 83-2 of the upper air nozzle 81-2 constituting the upper air spraying unit 80-2 has a flat shape that spreads in the width direction (direction intersecting the belt movement direction) B2 of the upper conveyor belt 11-2, and the tip 83-2 is provided with a large number of air ejection holes toward the width direction B2. A pipe 87-2 is connected to the base of the upper air nozzle 81-2, and a flexible air hose (not shown) is connected to the other end of the pipe 87-2. The air hose is connected to the air compressor (not shown).

[0039] The upper swing mechanism 91-2 constituting the upper air spraying unit 80-2 includes a four-bar link mechanism 93-2, a rod 95-2 that swings the four-bar link mechanism 93-2, and a rod drive mechanism 97-2 that drives the rod 95-2, as shown in FIG. 6, similar to the lower swing mechanism 91-1 shown in FIG. 5. The configuration is the same as that of the lower swing mechanism 91-1, so the same reference numerals are used (except that "-2" is substituted for "-1") and detailed description is omitted. In this case, too, one of the short links 93a-2 is used as a fixing link, the other short link 93c-2 is used as a link for attaching the upper nozzle, and one of the long links 93b-2 is used as a link for connecting the rod 95-2. The link 93a-2 is fixed to the support member 29-2 as shown in FIG. 4.

[0040] In the upper swing mechanism 91-2 configured as described above, when the motor 971-2 is driven, the arm portion 973-2 rotates, thereby moving the rod 95-2 in its longitudinal direction. This causes the four-bar link mechanism 93-2 to swing in the direction of arrow B2 relative to the link 93a-2 fixed to the support member 29-2, and the upper air nozzle 81-2 to swing reliably in the direction of arrow B2.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical movement mechanism 15 is composed of a hanging mechanism 19 having a pair of vertical moving rods 151, 151 and a position adjustment mechanism 153 for the vertical moving rods 151, 151, and an elastic body 17 consisting of a coil spring attached between the lower ends of each of the pair of vertical moving rods 151, 151 and the support member 29-2, and further has vertical movement guide rods 111 installed in pairs on both sides of the upper conveyor section 10-2 (the front and rear sides of the paper in FIG. 4) facing in the vertical direction and fixed to the frame body 110, and a rod guide member 113 through which the vertical movement guide rods 111 are inserted so as to be freely movable up and down and fixed to the support member 29-2.

[0042] The position adjustment mechanism 153 has a rod positioning portion 155 which penetrates the vertically movable rod 151 to position and fix it in the vertical direction, and a positioning means 157 which simultaneously positions the vertically movable rod 151 by both rod positioning portions 155. The positioning means 157 has a positioning handle 159 and a driving rod 161 which rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the positioning handle 159 to simultaneously move both vertically movable rods 151 up and down by both rod positioning portions 155 to the same dimension. A speed change mechanism 163 formed by meshing gears is interposed between the positioning handle 159 and the driving rod 161.

[0043] According to this position adjustment mechanism 153, by rotating the positioning handle 159, both vertically movable rods 151 can be moved simultaneously to the same position in the vertical direction. As a result, the upper conveyor section 10-2 can be reliably moved parallel to the vertical direction while being maintained in a horizontal state by the vertically movable guide rod 111 and rod guide member 113, and fine adjustments can also be easily made.

[0044] That is, by rotating the positioning handle 159, the upper conveyor section 10-2 is moved in parallel accurately while being lowered to a desired position, and the distance between the opposing surfaces of the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11-2 is easily and accurately set, and then the lower belt drive motor (not shown) and the upper belt drive motor (not shown) are simultaneously driven to move the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11-2 in the directions of arrows A1 and A2, respectively, at the same speed. At the same time, the motors 971-1 and 971-2 are driven to simultaneously swing the lower air nozzle 81-1 and the upper air nozzle 81-2 in the directions of arrows B1 (see FIG. 5) and B2 (see FIG. 6), and the air compressor (not shown) is driven to jet air from the lower air nozzle 81-1 and the upper air nozzle 81-2.

[0045] As described above, the seafood F1 is sequentially fed into the seafood feeding port 100 shown in FIG. 3, thereby effectively blowing away and removing moisture (water droplets, blood, etc.) adhering to the surface of the fed seafood F1.

[0046] It is preferable to make the volume or force of the air blown from the lower air nozzle 81-1 larger or stronger than the volume or force of the air blown from the upper air nozzle 81-2. This is because water falls downward from the transported fish and shellfish F1, so the lower surface of the fish and shellfish F1 contains more water than the upper surface, and blowing air up against the falling water droplets requires more volume or force than blowing air down. This makes it possible to maintain an appropriate volume and force of air blown to the upper and lower surfaces of the fish and shellfish F1. For this reason, for example, the number of air blowing holes arranged in two rows in the width direction B1 of the lower air nozzle 81-1 may be twice the number of air blowing holes (one row) of the upper air nozzle 81-2. In addition, in this embodiment, the lower air nozzle 81-1 and the upper air nozzle 81-2 have a large number of air outlets arranged in the B1, B2 directions, so that the air ejected has a flat surface having a width in the B1, B2 directions, and the air can be ejected more uniformly in the width direction of the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11.

[0047] In the above-mentioned seafood moisture removing device 1-1, mesh conveyor belts are used as the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11, but any type of conveyor belt may be used as long as it is an endless belt-like belt with many ventilation holes that allow air to pass through the belt conveyor. For example, a flat belt with many openings (ventilation holes) may be used.

[0048] Furthermore, the conveyor belt may not have any vent holes, but may have a plurality of pairs of lower and upper conveyor belts, with air nozzles between the pairs. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of this type of seafood moisture removal device 1-2. In this figure, the same parts as those in the seafood moisture removal device 1-1 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0049] The seafood moisture removing device 1-2 shown in Fig. 7 differs from the seafood moisture removing device 1-1 in the structure of the lower conveyor section 10-1 and the upper conveyor section 10-2. That is, the lower conveyor section 10-1 is configured by arranging two lower conveyor sections 10-1A and 10-1B side by side on the upstream side and downstream side with respect to the transport direction of the seafood F1. The lower conveyor sections 10-1A and 10-1B respectively have lower conveyor belts 11-1A and 11-1B and lower drive mechanisms 21-1A and 21-1B that drive the lower conveyor belts 11-1A and 11-1B in the transport direction of the seafood F1. On the other hand, the upper conveyor section 10-2 is configured by arranging two upper conveyor sections 10-2A and 10-2B side by side on the upstream side and downstream side. The upper conveyor sections 10-2A and 10-2B respectively have upper conveyor belts 11-2A and 11-2B and upper drive mechanisms 21-2A and 21-2B that drive in the transport direction of the seafood F1. The lower conveyor belts 11-1A and 11-1B and the upper conveyor belts 11-2A and 11-2B are both flat belts without ventilation holes.

[0050] The lower conveyor belt 11-1A and upper conveyor belt 11-2A on the upstream side form a pair to transport the seafood F1 thrown in from the seafood inlet 100, and then the lower conveyor belt 11-1B and upper conveyor belt 11-2B on the downstream side form a pair to continue transporting the seafood F1 transported from the upstream side and directing it to the seafood outlet 105.

[0051] An air blowing gap 103 is provided between the upstream pair of lower conveyor belt 11-1A and upper conveyor belt 11-2A and the downstream pair of lower conveyor belt 11-1B and upper conveyor belt 11-2B. A lower air nozzle 81-1 of a lower air spray section 80-1 is installed below the air blowing gap 103, and an upper air nozzle 81-2 of an upper air spray section 80-2 is installed above the air blowing gap 103.

[0052] Then, when the fish and shellfish F1 are sequentially fed from the fish and shellfish feed opening 100, the fed fish and shellfish F1 are transferred downstream while being held with an appropriate force between the lower conveyor belt 11-1A and the upper conveyor belt 11-2A of the upstream pair, and in the air blowing gap 103, the swinging lower air nozzle 81-1 blows air from below onto the lower surface of the fish and shellfish F1, and at the same time, the swinging upper air nozzle 80-2 blows air from above onto the upper surface of the fish and shellfish F1, blowing off and removing moisture (water droplets, blood, etc.) adhering to the surface of the fish and shellfish F1, that is, removing moisture from the surface. The fish and shellfish F1 from which the moisture on the surface has been removed are transferred downstream while being held with an appropriate force between the lower conveyor belt 11-1B and the upper conveyor belt 11-2B of the downstream pair, and are discharged from the fish and shellfish discharge opening 105 to the outside of the device.

[0053] In the case of this seafood moisture removing device 1-2, the gap 103 for air blowing is formed by providing a plurality of pairs of the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11-2, so that the lower conveyor belts 11-1A, 11-1B and the upper conveyor belts 11-2A, 11-2B can be configured with belts without air holes (of course, they may be configured with air holes). The number of pairs of the lower conveyor belt 11-1 and the upper conveyor belt 11-2 is not limited to two, and may be three or more.

[0054] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings. Any shape, structure, or material not directly described in the specification and drawings is within the scope of the technical ideas of the present invention as long as it achieves the functions and effects of the present invention. For example, the elastic body 17 is not limited to a coil spring, and any elastic body having any mechanism may be used as long as it expands and contracts according to load, such as other springs such as leaf springs and rubber-like elastic bodies. In addition, the embodiments shown in the above description and each figure can be combined with each other as long as there is no contradiction in their purpose and configuration. In addition, even a part of the description in the above description and each figure can be an independent embodiment, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to one embodiment combining the above description and each figure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1. Seafood dehydration equipment 10 Conveyor mechanism 10-1 Lower conveyor section 10-2 Upper conveyor section 11-1 Lower conveyor belt 11-2 Upper conveyor belt 15 Vertical movement mechanism 17 Elastic Body 19 Suspension mechanism 21-1 Lower drive mechanism 21-2 Upper drive mechanism 80 Air spray mechanism 80-1 Lower air spray section 80-2 Upper air spray section 81-1 Lower air nozzle 81-2 Upper air nozzle 91-1 Lower swing mechanism 91-2 Upper swing mechanism

Claims

[Claim 1] A conveyor mechanism for transporting seafood; an air spraying mechanism that blows air onto the seafood transported by the conveyor mechanism to blow off moisture from the surface of the seafood; Equipped with The air spray mechanism includes: a lower air spray unit including a lower air nozzle that is installed below the seafood transported by the conveyor mechanism and that blows air from below onto the seafood being transported, and a lower swinging mechanism that swings the lower air nozzle in a direction that intersects with the direction in which the conveyor mechanism transports the seafood; an upper air spray unit having an upper air nozzle that is installed above the seafood transported by the conveyor mechanism and that blows air from above onto the transported seafood, and an upper swinging mechanism that swings the upper air nozzle in a direction that intersects with the direction in which the conveyor mechanism transports the seafood; The present invention is configured to include The conveyor mechanism includes: a lower conveyor section having an endless belt-like shape with a number of ventilation holes and a lower conveyor belt on an upper surface of which the seafood is placed and transported; an upper conveyor unit having an upper conveyor belt that is endless and has a number of ventilation holes, and is installed above the lower conveyor belt so that the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt moves in the transport direction of the seafood; The present invention is configured to include The lower air nozzle of the air spray mechanism is installed below the lower conveyor belt moving in the transport direction of the seafood, and blows air from below while swinging toward the seafood placed on the lower conveyor belt and transported; The upper air nozzle of the air spray mechanism is installed above the upper conveyor belt which moves in the transport direction of the seafood, and blows air from above while swinging toward the seafood placed on the lower conveyor belt and transported; and making the volume or force of the air blown from the lower air nozzle larger or stronger than the volume or force of the air blown from the upper air nozzle. a vertical movement mechanism for adjusting the distance between the opposing upper and lower conveyor belts by moving the upper conveyor up and down to a position where the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt is slightly spaced from the upper surface of the seafood placed on the lower conveyor belt, a position where the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt is in weak contact with the upper surface of the seafood placed on the lower conveyor belt, and a position where the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt is in strong contact with the upper surface of the seafood placed on the lower conveyor belt; The vertical movement mechanism has a hanging mechanism that suspends the upper conveyor section via an elastic body that expands and contracts according to the load and moves it up and down, so that the pressing force when the lower surface of the upper conveyor belt is placed in a position to contact the seafood placed on the lower belt conveyor is automatically adjusted to a constant pressing force. A seafood moisture removal device comprising:

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