Insect Crusher

Abstract

To provide an insect crushing device which enables drying and crushing to be performed at one device and utilizes an airflow type crushing device to achieve a contamination-free state, reduction of the number of cleaning needed due to oil contents and moisture contents etc. included in insects, and improvement of a powder recovery rate.SOLUTION: An insect crushing device of the invention has: a raw material tank which pumps an insect raw material; a dry unit which dries the insect raw material; and a crushing unit which crushes the insect raw material. In the crushing unit, a first rotation body and a second rotation body for crushing the insect raw material are arranged in a crushing chamber. The insect raw material is carried by an airflow occurring in the crushing unit, and collision between the insect raw material, collision between the insect raw material and the first rotation body and the second rotation body, and / or collision with a crushing chamber inner wall are repeated to crush the insect raw material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an insect crushing device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the increase in the world population and abnormal weather such as heavy rains and droughts have been raised as future issues. In order for humans to survive under these circumstances, food (ingestion of nutrients) is essential. Although there are foods that can be artificially produced, artificially produced foods have limitations on the nutrients that are naturally derived, and there are also harmful effects due to the addition of additives.

[0003] Among these efforts, efforts are being made to utilize insects as an alternative source of protein for food. Insects contain nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Examples of insects include earthworms, grasshoppers, honeybees, wasps, and crickets. Insects raised on insect farms are also touted for their low rearing space and rearing costs (electricity and food costs, etc.) compared to animals and plants (cows, pigs, etc.).

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for treating insects, which discloses that the temperature of the insects is reduced to -10°C or lower within 0.5 seconds to 45 minutes, thereby reducing and preferably stopping the activity of enzymes that cause nutrient loss, color (browning), and changes in flavor.

[0005] In addition, if processing insects into powder form is expected to make them more acceptable to consumers in terms of appearance, taste, etc., a device that has both drying and crushing functions is required.

[0006] For drying, there are commercially available ovens and dryers, etc. For grinding, there are wet grinders and dry grinders that grind agricultural products, food, minerals, pharmaceuticals, and other materials. A wet mill emulsifies or microparticulates the materials to be ground by colliding slurry-like materials with each other. A dry mill has two rotors facing each other in a milling chamber, and generates an airflow in the milling chamber by rotating both rotors, and grinds the materials by repeating various collisions between the materials, between the materials and the rotors, and between the materials and the inner wall of the milling chamber.

[0007] In the crusher described in Patent Document 2, the frame and casing are arranged so as to be separable and joinable into a first divided body and a second divided body, so that the crushing chamber can be opened in two separate halves, making it easy to clean the inside of the crushing chamber. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2021-500033 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5872242 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] Although Patent Document 1 discloses various processing steps, its main focus is on preserving the nutrients by rapidly freezing the insects, and it does not provide detailed (specific) descriptions of the crushing process or the crusher (crushing device).

[0010] Patent Document 2 is intended to crush agricultural products, food, minerals, medicines, and other materials, but crushing insects for consumption was not envisaged. Therefore, unless the oils and moisture contained in the insects are treated in advance, the oils and moisture that adhere to the surfaces inside the grinder must be removed. In particular, in the case of animal oils, there is the problem that once they have adhered, it takes time to remove them.

[0011] Furthermore, although devices for achieving drying and grinding exist separately, it has not been envisaged to provide them as a series of systems.

[0012] The present invention aims to provide an insect crushing device that performs drying and crushing in a single system and utilizes an airflow type crushing device, thereby eliminating contamination, reducing the number of cleaning cycles required due to oils and moisture contained in insects, and improving the powder recovery rate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The insect crushing device of the present invention crushes insect raw materials. Retention A raw material tank for A drying chamber having opening and closing doors at both ends is provided, and the drying chamber is provided with a From raw material tank supply a drying unit for drying the insect raw material; placed in a drying room, a coarse grinding unit for coarsely grinding the dried insect raw material; and a grinding unit for grinding the insect raw material after the coarse grinding, the grinding unit comprising a first rotor and a second rotor disposed opposite each other in a grinding chamber into which the insect raw material is fed, and which causes the insect raw material to collide against each other; A belt conveyor passes through the opening and closing door and into the drying chamber. Between each unit , placed in the raw material tray Insect raw materials With raw material tray The device has a conveying unit for conveying the raw insect material, and a control unit for controlling at least one of the following: the amount of raw insect material pressure-fed from the raw material tank, the drying temperature of the drying unit, the drying time of the drying unit, the pressing force of the coarse crushing unit, the processing time of the coarse crushing unit, the rotation speed of the crushing unit, and the processing time of the crushing unit. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the insect crushing device of the present invention, drying and crushing are performed in a single device, and by using an airflow type crushing device, it is possible to achieve a contamination-free operation, reduce the number of cleaning steps required due to oils and moisture contained in the insects, and further improve the powder recovery rate. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] A diagram showing the configuration of an insect crushing device according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1A is a cross-sectional view of the drying unit according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the opening and closing door is closed for drying, and a state in which the opening and closing door is open for putting in and taking out insect raw material. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the coarse crushing unit of the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the coarse crushing unit of the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the grinding unit of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the grinding unit of the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment (second embodiment) of the insect crushing device of the present embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment (third embodiment) of the insect crushing device of the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

[0017] (Configuration of insect crushing device) The crushing device 1 of this embodiment is a device that dries and crushes the target insect raw material O. As shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 8, the crushing device 1 has a raw material tank 2, a drying unit 3, a coarse crushing unit 4, a crushing unit 5, and a raw material tank 6 for processing.

[0018] The raw material tank 2 is a portion for storing the insect raw material O. The size and shape of the raw material tank 2 can be changed according to the processing amount, the physical properties of the insect raw material O, and the properties of the medium to be added (acidic, neutral, alkaline, etc.). In addition, temperature adjustment and sealing functions can be added according to the living conditions of the insect raw material O.

[0019] The drying unit 3 dries out the oil and water content in the body of the insect raw material O. If oil or water adheres to the surfaces of the grinding chamber, various tanks, the piping connecting them, etc., it is very difficult to remove because the components are similar to animal oils, and a thorough cleaning process is required when operating continuously or intermittently, which reduces production efficiency. In order to avoid such adverse effects, the ratio of oil and water content in the body of the insect raw material O to less than 10% can be reduced by drying in the drying unit 3 in advance, thereby improving the overall processing efficiency.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2(a) and (b), the drying unit 3 dries the insect raw material O by heating the inside of the drying unit 3 with the heater H. Also, by opening and closing the opening and closing door 10, the movable stage 9 arranged on the top of the base 8 can be moved in and out, allowing the loading and unloading of raw material trays T containing the insect raw material O. Furthermore, the drying unit motor M1 rotates the drying unit rotation shaft S1, thereby rotating the base 8 or the movable stage 9 fixed to the drying unit rotation shaft S1, thereby improving the drying efficiency. The drying speed by the heater H can be set as appropriate.

[0021] The coarse crushing unit 4 coarsely crushes the insect raw material O before or after drying, before the main crushing. By coarsely crushing in advance, the crushing speed and drying speed can be improved. As shown in FIG. 3, the coarse crushing unit 4 crushes the insect raw material O placed in the raw material tray T by crushing it with a coarse crushing unit pressing body 11a. The coarse crushing unit pressing body 11a presses the insect raw material O placed below it with a pressure cylinder 11b that moves up and down by fluid supplied from a pressure supply source (not shown), and a pressing part 11c located at the tip of the pressure cylinder 11b, thereby coarsely crushing the insect raw material O.

[0022] In the coarse crushing unit 4, the raw insect material O in an unprocessed state is coarsely crushed, so that the raw insect material O can be pre-crushed by crushing or grinding using energy in the direction of gravity. The coarse crushing unit 4 can be of a vertical type, a horizontal type, or the like, as appropriate, but the vertical type is preferable.

[0023] 4, in another embodiment, the coarse crushing unit 4 has a structure in which a plurality of (e.g., three) coarse crushing unit rotating shafts S2 are rotated by a rotary drive source (not shown). The insect raw material O fed into the coarse crushing unit inlet 12 is coarsely crushed in the gaps between the plurality of coarse crushing unit rotors 14 and discharged from the coarse crushing unit outlet 13. The plurality of coarse crushing unit rotors 14 do not all rotate in the same direction, but may be set to rotate alternately and reversely or randomly, or may have different rotation speeds, thereby adjusting the coarse crushing of the insect raw material O.

[0024] As another embodiment, the coarse crushing unit 4 may be configured to coarsely crush the insect raw material O by rotating a rotor using a driving source such as a motor in the processing container. In this case, a commercially available mixer or the like may be used.

[0025] In the grinding unit 5, dried and / or coarsely ground insect raw material O is fed into the grinding unit inlet 17, and the insect raw material O is ground by the airflow generated by the rotation of the main rotor 19 in the grinding chamber 16, and is discharged from the grinding unit outlet 18.

[0026] In the crushing unit 5, the insect raw material O in a coarsely crushed state is crushed, so that the size is smaller (finer) than at the coarsely crushed stage, and powderization can be promoted by pulverizing the insect raw material O itself using the collision energy of the insect raw material O itself, rather than by crushing or grinding. The crushing unit 5 can be appropriately selected from vertical and horizontal types, but the horizontal type is preferable.

[0027] The insect raw material O is pre-pulverized in a vertical coarse crushing unit 4 using energy in the direction of gravity, and then pulverized in a horizontal crushing unit 5 using the collision energy of the insect raw material O itself, thereby making it possible to process the insect raw material O in a finely divided and powdered state.

[0028] The crushing chamber 16 crushes the insect raw material O. The insect raw material O is carried by an air current generated by rotating two opposing main rotors (the first main rotor 19a on the inlet side and the second main rotor 19b on the outlet side) in the crushing chamber 16, and the insect raw material O is repeatedly collided with each other, with the main rotors 19, and / or with the inner wall of the crushing chamber 16, thereby finely crushing the insect raw material O.

[0029] The surface of the main rotor 19 can be changed as appropriate, for example, to a uniform shape or an uneven shape. The main rotor 19 is, for example, an impeller having about 5 to 12 blades, has a coating on its surface, and rotates at a rotation speed of 3,000 to 10,000 rpm. When crushing the insect raw material O, the main rotor 19 can be entirely or partially formed of ceramic such as zirconia, so as to have a structure that prevents contamination from being introduced, taking into consideration sanitation. The main rotor 19 can also be replaced as needed.

[0030] The rotating shaft S3 for the grinding unit can be appropriately selected from a single shaft type shown in Fig. 5, a double shaft type shown in Fig. 6, etc., and may be driven (rotated) by the same or separate driving sources (not shown). In addition, if it is desired to strengthen the suction function during recovery, the suction force can be adjusted by disposing an external suction device (not shown).

[0031] 1, one crushing unit 5 is shown, but the number of units can be increased. By increasing the number of units, the crushing amount can be increased, and the insect raw material O can be generated at different crushing stages (such as large and small particle sizes of the insect raw material O). In addition, it goes without saying that the specifications (size, rotation speed, etc.) of the crushing chamber 16 and main rotor 19 in each crushing unit 5 can be changed and assembled.

[0032] The processing raw material tank 6 collects the insect raw material O processed in the crushing unit 5. The size and shape of the processing raw material tank 6 can be changed depending on the processing amount, the physical properties of the insect raw material O, and the properties of the added medium (acidic, neutral, alkaline, etc.). In addition, temperature adjustment and sealing functions can be added depending on the survival state of the insect raw material O, etc.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 7, by disposing the transport unit 7, the processes of drying, coarse crushing, crushing, recovery, etc. can be automated. The transport unit 7 is a belt conveyor or feeder (feeding mechanism) in which a transport moving part 15a such as a belt operates in conjunction with a transport rotating part 15b that rotates using the power of a drive source (not shown). By disposing the transport unit 7 between the raw material tank 7 and the drying unit 3, between the drying unit 3 and the coarse crushing unit 4, between the coarse crushing unit 4 and the crushing unit 5, etc., automation can be achieved and mass production of the insect raw material O can be performed.

[0034] A control unit 20 is installed to remotely control the amount of insect raw material O pumped from the raw material tank 2, the drying temperature and drying time of the drying unit 3, the pressing force and processing time of the coarse crushing unit 4, the rotation speed and processing time of the crushing unit 5, etc.

[0035] As shown in Fig. 8, a sterilizing fluid supply unit 21 is provided, and by switching a branch valve 23, the coarse grinding unit 4 and / or grinding unit 5 can be filled with a sterilizing fluid such as high-temperature steam or gas, thereby sterilizing each grinding chamber. By constantly sterilizing or before grinding, an environment in which germs and bacteria do not grow in the coarse grinding unit 4 and / or grinding unit 5 can be created, thereby achieving highly safe grinding of the insect raw material O.

[0036] Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 8, the inside can be sterilized by arranging a sterilization treatment section for the coarse grinding unit (sterilization treatment section) 26 and a sterilization treatment section for the grinding unit (sterilization treatment section) 25 on the outer periphery of the grinding chamber of the coarse grinding unit 4 and the grinding unit 5. As a method of sterilization, high frequency waves, microwaves, infrared rays, far infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, etc. are irradiated into each grinding chamber to create an environment in which germs and bacteria do not grow, thereby achieving grinding of the insect raw material O with high safety.

[0037] The coarse grinding unit 4 has an inlet 12 for the coarse grinding unit through which the insect raw material O is fed, and an outlet 13 for the coarse grinding unit through which the insect raw material O is discharged, and by disposing a seal part 23 for the coarse grinding unit at these inlets 12 and 13, the seal part 23 can be disposed in these outlets 13.

[0038] In the crushing unit 5, sealing performance can be improved by disposing a crushing unit seal part 24 at the crushing unit inlet 17 for feeding the insect raw material O and the crushing unit outlet 18 for discharging the insect raw material O. By disposing the coarse crushing unit seal part 23 and the crushing unit seal part 24, each crushing chamber can be sterilized in a sealed state. The coarse crushing unit seal part 23 and the crushing unit seal part 24 are seals made of heat-resistant resin or the like that seal the inlet and outlet of the insect raw material O. The aperture diameter, number, angle, shape, material, and the like can be selected as appropriate.

[0039] When adjusting the amount of the sterilizing fluid supplied from the sterilizing fluid supply unit 21, a sterilizing fluid adjustment valve connected to the through holes of the coarse crushing unit seal unit 23 and the crushing unit seal unit 24 can be disposed in either one or both of them. Note that adjustment of the sterilizing fluid adjustment valve not only adjusts the amount of the sterilizing fluid, but also adjusts the discharge amount of the insect raw material O after crushing. In other words, the number of times and the degree of crushing of the insect raw material O in the coarse crushing unit 4 and the crushing unit 5 can be adjusted.

[0040] Furthermore, by arranging a filter in the coarse crushing unit sealing part 23 and / or the crushing unit sealing part 24, the size and other characteristics of the processed insect raw material O can be uniformly collected. The filter may be any commercially available filter having a mesh shape, and high-quality powder of insect raw material O can be collected by classifying powder of unnecessary sizes from the insect raw material O. The powder of unnecessary sizes remaining in each crushing chamber can be easily cleaned by arranging a collection point in part of the crushing chamber, for example.

[0041] In addition, by coating the inside of the coarse crushing unit 4 and the crushing unit 5, or by providing a surface sheet that can be replaced after a certain period of crushing processing, it is possible to maintain hygiene and improve ease of replacement.

[0042] As shown in Figures 1 and 8, by arranging all the elements of the crushing device 1 in a clean room or a highly airtight space, it goes without saying that an environment in which germs and bacteria do not multiply can be created, thereby enabling the crushing of the insect raw material O to be performed in a highly safe manner.

[0043] The crushing method (processes of drying, coarse crushing, crushing, and recovery) in the insect crushing device 1 of this embodiment will be described below.

[0044] <Drying process (P1)> The insect raw material O (contained in a raw material tray T) supplied from the raw material tank 2 is dried (P1). As shown in FIG. 2(b), with the opening and closing door 10 open, the insect raw material O contained in the raw material tray T is placed on the moving platform 9. The moving platform 9 is brought into the drying unit 3, and the opening and closing door 10 is closed as shown in FIG. 2(a). The insect raw material O is then heated and dried by the heater H of the drying unit 3. For example, the temperature of the heater H can be set to 10 to 60°C, and the drying time can be set appropriately to 30 minutes to 1 hour, etc.

[0045] <Coarse grinding process (P2)> The dried insect raw material O is coarsely crushed in the coarse crushing unit 4 (P2). As shown in FIG. 3, the coarse crushing unit 4 crushes the insect raw material O with a pressing body 11a for the coarse crushing unit, thereby coarsely crushing the insect raw material O. The pressing force and pressing time of the coarse powder can be appropriately set. In the coarse crushing unit 4, the insect raw material O can be pre-crushed by pressing or grinding it using energy in the gravitational direction.

[0046] <Crushing process (P3)> The coarsely ground insect raw material O is coarsely ground in the grinding unit 5 (P3). The dried and / or coarsely ground insect raw material O is fed into the grinding unit inlet 17, and is ground by the airflow generated by the rotation of the main rotor 19 (first main rotor 19a, second main rotor 19b) in the grinding chamber 16, and is discharged from the grinding unit outlet 18. In the grinding unit 5, the impact energy of the insect raw material O itself is utilized to pulverize it, thereby facilitating powderization.

[0047] <Recovery process (P4)> Basically, the insect raw material O after the crushing process (P3) is discharged (P4). If it is necessary to strengthen the suction function during collection, the suction force can be adjusted by disposing an external suction device (not shown). The powder size can also be stabilized by adjusting the diameter of the through holes of the seal part 23 for the coarse crushing unit and the seal part 24 for the crushing unit, or by classifying the powder using a filter.

[0048] Also, a sterilization step (P0) can be performed before the drying step (P1). After sealing each grinding chamber with the seal part 23 for the coarse grinding unit arranged at the inlet 12 and outlet 13 for the coarse grinding unit and the seal part 24 for the grinding unit arranged at the inlet 17 and outlet 18 for the grinding unit, a sterilizing fluid is supplied from the sterilizing fluid supply part 21 to fill the inside of the coarse grinding unit 4 and / or the grinding unit 5, thereby sterilizing each grinding chamber.

[0049] As another method of the sterilization step (P0), after sealing each grinding chamber with the sealing part 23 for the coarse grinding unit arranged at the inlet 12 and outlet 13 for the coarse grinding unit and the sealing part 24 for the grinding unit arranged at the inlet 17 and outlet 18 for the coarse grinding unit, a sterilization treatment part 26 for the coarse grinding unit and a sterilization treatment part 25 for the grinding unit are arranged around the outer periphery of the grinding chamber of the coarse grinding unit 4 and the grinding unit 5, so that the inside can be sterilized. The sterilization treatment part 26 for the coarse grinding unit and / or the sterilization treatment part 25 for the coarse grinding unit irradiate high frequency waves, microwaves, infrared rays, far infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, etc., and sterilize each grinding chamber.

[0050] (Evaluation Test 1) Evaluation test 1 was actually carried out using the crushing device 1 according to the present invention. The processing conditions for evaluation test 1 were as follows: the insect raw material O after drying in the drying unit 3 was crushed in the crushing unit 5 (DB-180W manufactured by Sugino Machine Co., Ltd.) at a rotation speed (first rotor 19a and second rotor 19b): 8,000 min -1 Then, the crushing process was carried out.

[0051] (Evaluation Test 2) In addition, a sensory test was conducted on the appearance, texture, and taste of the insect raw material O before grinding and the insect raw material O after grinding using the grinding device 1 according to the present invention (Table 1). There were opinions that problems with appearance, etc. were resolved and the texture and taste were improved by drying and grinding the insect raw material O. [Table 1]

[0052] As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be modified appropriately without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1 Crushing equipment 2 Raw material tank 3 Drying unit 4 Coarse grinding unit 5 Crushing Unit 6. Processing material tank 7 Transport unit 8 Base 9 Mobile stand 10 Opening and closing doors 11a Pressing body for coarse grinding unit 11b Pressure cylinder 11c Pressing part 12 Inlet for coarse grinding unit 13 Outlet for coarse grinding unit 14 Rotating body for coarse grinding unit 15a Transport moving part 15b Rotating part for conveying 16 Crushing Room 17 Inlet for crushing unit 18 Discharge port for grinding unit 19 Main Rotor 19a First main rotor 19b Second main rotor 20 Control section 21 Sterile fluid supply 22 Branch valve 23 Seal part for coarse grinding unit 24 Grinding unit seal 25 Sterilization section for grinding unit 26 Sterilization processing section for coarse grinding unit O insect raw material H Heater M1 Drying unit motor M2 Coarse grinding unit motor S1 Rotating shaft for drying unit Rotating shaft for S2 coarse grinding unit Rotating shaft for S3 grinding unit

Claims

1. A raw material tank for storing the insect raw material; A drying unit has a drying chamber with doors at both ends, the drying chamber is disposed in the drying chamber, and the drying unit dries the insect raw material supplied from the raw material tank. A coarse grinding unit disposed in the drying chamber for coarsely grinding the insect raw material after the drying; A grinding unit for grinding the insect raw material after the coarse grinding, the grinding unit having a first rotor and a second rotor arranged opposite to each other in a grinding chamber into which the insect raw material is fed, and causing the insect raw material to collide against each other; A conveyor belt passes through the door and penetrates the drying chamber, and a conveying unit conveys the insect raw material placed in the raw material tray together with the raw material tray between each unit. a control unit for controlling at least one of the amount of the insect raw material pressure-fed from the raw material tank, the drying temperature of the drying unit, the drying time of the drying unit, the pressing force of the coarse crushing unit, the processing time of the coarse crushing unit, the rotation speed of the crushing unit, and the processing time of the crushing unit; An insect crushing device comprising:

2. The method for crushing insects according to claim 1, further comprising: a sterilization treatment section for sterilizing the inside of the crushing unit. Device.

3. The grinding unit includes a grinding unit inlet for feeding the insect raw material and a grinding unit outlet for discharging the insect raw material, 3. The insect crushing device according to claim 1, wherein a crushing unit seal portion for sealing a crushing chamber of the crushing unit is disposed in at least one of the crushing unit inlet and the crushing unit outlet.

4. The insect crushing device described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drying unit has a heater for heating the insect raw material, a movable stage that can slide onto a base, and an opening and closing door for introducing and removing the movable stage.

5. 5. The insect crushing device according to claim 1, wherein the coarse crushing unit has a pressing body for pressing the insect raw material.

6. The coarse crushing unit is a vertical unit that pre-crushes the insect raw material using gravitational energy, The insect crushing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the crushing unit is a horizontal unit that uses the collision energy of the insect raw material itself to powder it.

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