Coating method and coating device

Abstract

To provide an application method capable of automatically and substantially uniformly applying a high viscosity liquid to a coated product.SOLUTION: An application method of applying a high viscosity liquid to a coated product includes: a supplying step of quantitatively supplying the high viscosity liquid to a bell-shaped chamber having a bottom formed of a porous material; an arrangement step of arranging the coated product below the porous material; and an application step of causing the high viscosity liquid supplied into the chamber by the supplying step to spread over a predetermined area on the porous material, causing the high viscosity liquid to pass through a number of pores formed in the porous material by applying positive pressure in the chamber, and applying the high viscosity liquid onto the coated product arranged below the porous material in the arrangement step.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a coating method and a coating device for coating a highly viscous liquid on a substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] In factories that manufacture boxed lunches sold in stores, such as kalbi boxed lunches, which have a relatively viscous sauce applied to the top, the work of applying the sauce is mainly done manually. However, the burden of long hours of work to continue applying sauce and labor shortages due to a decrease in the working population are becoming evident, and there is a demand for automation, simplification, and streamlining of the manufacturing process.

[0003] For example, as a related technique, Patent Document 1 discloses a fixed-volume filling machine that automatically extrudes a fixed amount of highly viscous food, such as miso or chocolate, and fills it into a plastic bag. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-193202 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, the quantitative filling machine described in Patent Document 1 is a device for filling miso or chocolate into plastic bags, and is not intended to apply a highly viscous liquid substantially uniformly onto a predetermined area.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a coating method and coating apparatus capable of automatically and substantially uniformly coating a highly viscous liquid on a substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The coating method of the present invention is a coating method for coating a highly viscous liquid onto a substrate, the bottom of which is a porous body. Conical a supply step of supplying a fixed amount of the high-viscosity liquid into the chamber; a placement step of placing the object to be coated below the porous body; and the high-viscosity liquid supplied into the chamber in the supply step spreads over a predetermined area on the porous body, and the high-viscosity liquid is discharged from the chamber. The air and a coating process in which a positive pressure is applied to the porous body, causing the high-viscosity liquid to pass through a large number of holes formed in the porous body, and the high-viscosity liquid is applied onto the object to be coated that is placed below the porous body in the placement process.

[0008] In the coating method of the present invention, in the coating step, after the high-viscosity liquid has passed through the plurality of holes, The air It is characterized by applying negative pressure to the

[0009] In the coating method of the present invention, the supplying step is The air The present invention is characterized in that a fixed amount of the high viscosity liquid is supplied into the chamber when negative pressure is applied to the chamber.

[0010] The coating method of the present invention is characterized in that the high-viscosity liquid is a food product.

[0011] Furthermore, the coating method of the present invention is characterized in that the porous body is a flat plate, the numerous holes are of a size such that the high-viscosity liquid does not drip for a certain period of time when the high-viscosity liquid is left to stand on the porous body at atmospheric pressure, and the certain period of time is at least the period from after the high-viscosity liquid supplied in advance has passed through the numerous holes to before the high-viscosity liquid supplied subsequently has passed through the numerous holes.

[0012] In addition, the coating device of the present invention is a coating device that coats a high-viscosity liquid on an object to be coated, and is characterized by comprising a porous body in which a large number of holes are formed, a cone-shaped pressure chamber with the porous body as its bottom, a supply unit that supplies a fixed amount of the high-viscosity liquid to the pressure chamber, and an air pressure control unit that controls the air pressure in the pressure chamber.

[0013] In addition, the air pressure control unit of the coating device of the present invention is configured to supply the high viscosity liquid into the pressurizing chamber and distribute the high viscosity liquid throughout a predetermined area on the porous body, and then discharge the high viscosity liquid into the pressurizing chamber. The air After the high viscosity liquid passes through the multiple holes, the pressure chamber The air It is characterized by applying negative pressure to the

[0014] In the coating device of the present invention, the supply unit is The air The present invention is characterized in that a fixed amount of the high viscosity liquid is supplied into the pressurizing chamber when a negative pressure is applied to the pressurizing chamber.

[0015] The coating device of the present invention is characterized in that the high-viscosity liquid is a food product.

[0016] In addition, the coating device of the present invention is characterized in that the porous body is a flat plate, the numerous holes are of a size such that when the high-viscosity liquid is left to stand on the porous body at atmospheric pressure, the high-viscosity liquid does not drip for a certain period of time, and the certain period of time is at least the period from after the high-viscosity liquid supplied in advance has passed through the numerous holes to before the high-viscosity liquid supplied subsequently has passed through the numerous holes. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a coating method and a coating device that can automatically coat a highly viscous liquid substantially uniformly on a substrate. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a coating device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a coating device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a porous body according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart for explaining a method for applying a sauce onto kalbi meat using the application device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5]1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an initial state in a coating method using a coating device according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating a state in which a drip is supplied in a coating method using the coating device according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] 11 is a diagram showing a state in which a drip has spread over a predetermined area of ​​a porous body in a coating method using a coating device according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] 11 is a diagram showing a state in which a drip has passed through a large number of holes formed in a porous body in a coating method using a coating device according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9] 11A and 11B are diagrams showing a state in which a drip is applied in a coating method using the coating device of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, a coating device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a coating device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view thereof. A coating device 2 according to this embodiment is a device for coating a highly viscous liquid on a coating target. In this embodiment, a lunch box container 14 having a rectangular opening is filled with polished rice 14a, and a sauce 16, which is a highly viscous liquid, is coated on the upper surface of kalbi meat 14b, which is the coating target, spread on the polished rice 14a. The highly viscous liquid is a liquid with a viscosity that does not drip from the holes 6a for at least a certain time (the certain time will be described later) when the highly viscous liquid is dripped onto the top of the holes 6a (described later) on the porous body 6, which is the bottom of the pressurizing chamber 8, and the viscosity of the liquid changes depending on the diameter of the holes 6a. Furthermore, after the high-viscosity liquid that has passed through the holes 6a is applied onto the object to be coated and new high-viscosity liquid is supplied from the supply unit 10 (described later), the high-viscosity liquid needs to spread over the porous body 6 and block the holes 6a on the porous body 6, so a liquid with a viscosity that maintains the shape at the time of supply is inappropriate. Examples of liquids that satisfy these conditions include sauces such as grilled meat sauce and eel sauce, oils with fluidity such as sesame oil, seasonings with fluidity such as dressing, and condiments such as soy sauce and vinegar.

[0020] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the coating device 2 is equipped with a filling nozzle 4 that has a cylindrical shape at the top and a truncated quadrangular pyramid shape at the bottom and has an opening at the bottom, a porous body 6 which is a flat plate-like member with a number of holes 6a (see Figure 3) formed therein and is attached to the bottom of the filling nozzle 4, a supply unit 10 which supplies a fixed amount of sauce 16 via a supply passage 18 into a pressurized chamber 8 provided in the filling nozzle 4, and an air pressure control unit 12 which controls the air pressure in the pressurized chamber 8.

[0021] The filling nozzle 4 is provided with a pressurizing chamber 8 formed by the lower part of the filling nozzle 4 and the porous body 6. The pressurizing chamber 8 has a space in the shape of a quadrangular pyramid with the porous body 6 as the bottom, and temporarily stores the sauce 16 that is supplied in a fixed amount from the supply unit 10 and does not pass through the numerous holes 6a of the porous body 6 before being spread and distributed over the surface of the porous body 6. A supply passage 18 and an air cylinder (not shown) are attached to the upper part of the filling nozzle 4, and a plurality of screw holes 4a for attaching the porous body 6 are provided on the edge of the lower part of the filling nozzle 4.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a view of the porous body 6 as seen from the bottom. The porous body 6 is a flat plate having a size corresponding to the size of the lunch container 14 to which the sauce 16 is applied, and a large number of holes 6a are formed on the surface (flat surface) of the porous body 6 in an area 6b corresponding to the area to which the sauce 16 is applied. The large number of holes 6a have a size that does not drip for a certain period of time when the sauce 16 is left stationary on the porous body 6 at atmospheric pressure, and in this embodiment, a diameter (about 5 to 6 mm) that does not drip for a certain period of time. Note that the certain period of time refers to at least the period from after the preceding sauce 16n (see FIG. 7), i.e., the sauce 16n applied on the rib meat 14b spread in the lunch container 14, passes through the large number of holes 6a to before the following sauce 16n+1 (see FIG. 7), i.e., the sauce 16n+1 applied on the rib meat (not shown) in the lunch container (not shown) transported next to the lunch container 14 in the transport section 20, passes through the large number of holes 6a.

[0023] In this embodiment, a punched metal obtained by punching a flat plate is taken as an example of the porous body 6, but something other than punched metal, such as a mesh-like flat plate, may be used. In addition, although the circular holes 6a are taken as an example, holes other than a circle, such as rectangular holes, may be used.

[0024] Additionally, a number of screw holes 6c are provided on the edge of the porous body 6 for attaching the porous body 6 to the bottom of the filling nozzle 4. The porous body 6 is fixed to the bottom of the filling nozzle 4 by inserting and tightening thumbscrews 22 into the screw holes 6c and the corresponding screw holes 4a of the filling nozzle 4. When the area to which the sauce 16 is applied is different, for example when the size of the lunch container 14 is different, the porous body 6 can be replaced with a porous body that corresponds to the area.

[0025] The supply unit 10 supplies a fixed amount of sauce 16 to the pressurized chamber 8, that is, supplies a single amount of sauce 16 to be applied to the kalbi meat 14b in one lunch box container 14. The supply unit 10 intermittently supplies a single amount of sauce 16 to the pressurized chamber 8 by an inching operation in which the supply unit 10 is repeatedly driven and stopped for short periods of time. Specifically, the supply unit 10 is driven when negative pressure is applied inside the pressurized chamber 8, and supplies the sauce 16 into the pressurized chamber 8.

[0026] The air pressure control unit 12 controls the air pressure in the pressurized chamber 8 using an air cylinder or the like (not shown). The air pressure control unit 12 applies positive pressure to the pressurized chamber 8 after the sauce 16 is supplied into the pressurized chamber 8 and spreads over the porous body 6 to permeate the predetermined area 6b of the porous body 6. The air pressure control unit 12 also applies negative pressure to the pressurized chamber 8 after the sauce 16 passes through the numerous holes 6a of the porous body 6 from inside the pressurized chamber 8 to outside the pressurized chamber 8. The transport unit 20 is a conveyor or the like, and intermittently transports the lunch containers 14 by an inching action that repeatedly drives and stops for short periods of time.

[0027] Next, with reference to the drawings, a coating method for coating sauce 16 on short rib meat 14b in a lunch box container 14 using coating device 2 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the process executed by a control unit (not shown) that comprehensively controls each unit of coating device 2 and conveying unit 20 to coat sauce 16. In the initial state before the process shown in the flow chart of FIG. 4 is executed, the air pressure in pressurizing chamber 8 is controlled to negative pressure by air pressure control unit 20. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, in pressurizing chamber 8, one dose of sauce 16n is stored on porous body 6 in a state where it has spread throughout region 6b.

[0028] First, the control unit operates the conveying unit 20 to convey the lunch container 14 below the coating device 2 (step S10). That is, the control unit outputs a control signal to a driving unit (not shown) to drive the conveying unit 20 so that the rib meat 14b in the lunch container 14 is placed below the porous body 6.

[0029] Next, as shown in Fig. 6, the control unit supplies a fixed amount of sauce 16n+1, which is a single dose, into the pressurized chamber 8 while applying negative pressure inside the pressurized chamber 8 (step S11). That is, the control unit outputs a control signal to the supply unit 10, causing it to supply sauce 16n+1 (sauce for a lunch container, not shown, which is conveyed next to the lunch container 14) different from sauce 16n into the pressurized chamber 8. Then, the control unit sets the air pressure inside the pressurized chamber 8 to positive pressure (step S12). Specifically, the control unit outputs a control signal to the air pressure control unit 12, causing positive pressure to be applied inside the pressurized chamber 8.

[0030] The sauce 16n+1 supplied into the pressurizing chamber 8 in step S11 spreads and becomes distributed over the layer of sauce 16n spreading over the region 6b on the porous body 6, as shown in Fig. 7. Since the air pressure in the pressurizing chamber 8 is positive and the sauce 16n+1 is pushed by its own weight, the sauce 16n is pushed out from within the pressurizing chamber 8 by passing through the numerous holes 6a formed in the porous body 6, as shown in Fig. 8. The pushed-out sauce 16n falls onto the short rib meat 14b in the lunch container 14 arranged below the porous body 6, as shown in Fig. 9, and spreads to be applied (step S13).

[0031] After the sauce 16n passes through the numerous holes 6a formed in the porous body 6 (after a predetermined time has elapsed), the control unit makes the air pressure in the pressurized chamber 8 negative (step S14). That is, after the sauce 16n is pushed out from inside the pressurized chamber 8 to outside the pressurized chamber 8, the control unit outputs a control signal to the air pressure control unit 12 to apply negative pressure to the inside of the pressurized chamber 8.

[0032] Next, the control unit operates the conveying unit 20 to convey the lunch container 14 from below the porous body 6 to a position where the next process is performed (step S15), and at the same time conveys the next lunch container after the lunch container 14 to below the porous body 6. In this way, the control unit intermittently operates the supply unit 10, the air pressure control unit 12, and the conveying unit 20 to successively apply the sauce onto the rib meat in the lunch containers.

[0033] According to the application device 2 and application method of this embodiment, the porous body 6 is provided, and the sauce passes through a large number of holes 6a formed in a predetermined area 6b of the porous body 6, so that the sauce can be applied almost uniformly all over the kalbi meat in the lunch container. Also, the pressurizing chamber 8 is provided, and the air pressure in the pressurizing chamber 8 can be controlled to positive and negative pressure, so that the required amount of sauce can be pushed out from the pressurizing chamber 8 when needed, and the sauce can be applied well on the kalbi meat in the lunch container. Also, according to the application device 2 and application method of this embodiment, the sauce can be automatically applied almost uniformly on the kalbi meat in many lunch containers in a short time. Therefore, labor and manpower saving can be realized.

[0034] In this embodiment, sauce has been used as an example of a high-viscosity liquid, however, the present invention can also be applied to the case where high-viscosity liquids of other foods, such as condiments such as sauces, dressings and cheeses, bakery doughs such as melon bread, pastes such as whipped cream, jam and chocolate cream, and confectionery ingredients such as meringue, are applied to an object to be coated.

[0035] In addition, in the coating method of this embodiment, an example has been described in which the sauce 16n+1 is supplied on top of the sauce 16n stored on the porous body 6, but the sauce 16n+1 may also be supplied after the sauce 16n is pushed out from the pressure chamber 8.

[0036] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a rectangular porous body 6 and a lunch container 14 having a rectangular opening have been described as examples, but the present invention can also be applied to lunch containers having shapes other than rectangular, such as bowl-shaped lunch containers having circular or elliptical openings, by using a porous body of a corresponding shape, such as a circular or elliptical shape. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 2...applicator, 4...filling nozzle, 6...porous body, 8...pressurizing chamber, 10...supply section, 12...air pressure control section, 14...lunch container, 18...supply passage, 20...conveying section, 22...wing screw.

Claims

1. A coating method for coating a high viscosity liquid onto a substrate, comprising the steps of: a supply step of supplying a fixed amount of the high viscosity liquid into a cone-shaped chamber having a porous bottom; A placement step of placing the object to be coated below the porous body; a coating step in which the high-viscosity liquid supplied into the chamber in the supply step spreads over a predetermined area on the porous body, and a positive pressure is applied to the air in the chamber, causing the high-viscosity liquid to pass through a large number of holes formed in the porous body, and the high-viscosity liquid is coated on the object to be coated that is placed below the porous body in the placement step; A coating method comprising the steps of:

2. 2. The coating method according to claim 1, wherein in the coating step, after the high-viscosity liquid has passed through the multiple holes, negative pressure is applied to the air in the chamber.

3. 3. The coating method according to claim 1, wherein the supplying step comprises supplying a fixed amount of the high-viscosity liquid into the chamber while applying a negative pressure to the air in the chamber.

4. 4. The coating method according to claim 1, wherein the high-viscosity liquid is a food product.

5. The porous body is a flat plate, the numerous pores are of a size such that when the high-viscosity liquid is allowed to stand on the porous body at atmospheric pressure, the liquid does not drip for a certain period of time; The coating method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the certain period of time is at least the period from after the previously supplied high-viscosity liquid has passed through the multiple holes to before the subsequently supplied high-viscosity liquid has passed through the multiple holes.

6. A coating device that coats a highly viscous liquid on a substrate, A porous body in which a large number of pores are formed; A cone-shaped pressurizing chamber having the porous body at its bottom; a supply unit that supplies a fixed amount of the high viscosity liquid to the pressure chamber; an air pressure control unit for controlling the air pressure in the pressurizing chamber; A coating apparatus comprising:

7. The air pressure control unit is After the high viscosity liquid is supplied into the pressurizing chamber and spreads over a predetermined area on the porous body, a positive pressure is applied to the air in the pressurizing chamber; 7. The coating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein after the high-viscosity liquid has passed through the multiple holes, negative pressure is applied to the air in the pressure chamber.

8. 8. The coating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the supply unit supplies a fixed amount of the high-viscosity liquid into the pressure chamber when a negative pressure is applied to the air in the pressure chamber.

9. The coating device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the high-viscosity liquid is a food product.

10. The porous body is a flat plate, the numerous pores are of a size such that when the high-viscosity liquid is allowed to stand on the porous body at atmospheric pressure, the liquid does not drip for a certain period of time; The coating device according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the certain period of time is at least the period from after the previously supplied high-viscosity liquid has passed through the multiple holes to before the subsequently supplied high-viscosity liquid has passed through the multiple holes.

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