Apparatus and method for discharging a seasoning

Abstract

A condiment dispensing device for dispensing doses of compressed condiment, comprising: a condiment dosing unit configured to dispense a dose of the condiment; and a plurality of compression hoppers, each compression hopper configured to receive and hold a dose of the condiment dispensed from the condiment dosing unit and then dispense the dose of the condiment to a dispensing position. The condiment dosing unit and the plurality of compression hoppers are configured such that the condiment dosing unit sequentially supplies a dose of the condiment to each of the plurality of compression hoppers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for discharging seasonings, particularly solid granular seasonings such as salt or seasonings for potato chips and crisps.

Background Art

[0002] In the field of seasoning foods such as potato chips and crisps, it is desirable to season the foods batch by batch immediately before packaging after weighing. By doing so, the seasoning does not adhere to the apparatus for weighing each batch of food, so that the cleaning required when changing the seasoning can be minimized. However, it was necessary to dispense and discharge a relatively small amount of seasoning. That is, it was necessary to discharge an amount of seasoning suitable for a single batch of food, such as seasoning for a single bag of potato chips or crisps. In order to maintain the processing capacity, it is necessary to apply the seasoning to these individual batches relatively quickly. Patent Document 1 (International Publication No. 2018 / 091908A1) describes a system suitable for increasing the processing capacity of individual batches of food.

[0003] In order to quickly and efficiently coat a product with a seasoning, it is usually necessary to supply a compressed single dose of the seasoning and quickly and uniformly adhere the seasoning to the product. However, in the case of particulate or liquid seasonings, it takes a certain amount of time until they are combined and compressed. When working with the high processing capacity required for individual batch processing, this compression time can be a factor limiting the processing capacity of the entire packaging system. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus capable of quickly weighing and discharging each compressed dose of seasoning in a small amount.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a seasoning discharging device for discharging each dosage of compressed seasoning, comprising: a seasoning dosing unit configured to discharge one dosage of seasoning; and a plurality of compression hoppers, each compression hopper being configured to receive and hold one dosage of seasoning discharged from the seasoning dosing unit and then discharge the one dosage of seasoning to a discharge position. The seasoning dosing unit and the plurality of compression hoppers are configured such that the seasoning dosing unit sequentially supplies one dosage of seasoning to each of the plurality of compression hoppers.

[0005] When measuring and discharging one dosage of seasoning in a short time as required when manufacturing a small dosage of seasoning in large quantities, generally, there is no time to combine and compress each dosage to form one dosage of compressed seasoning particularly suitable for use in seasoning individual batches of food. The system according to the first aspect responds to such a requirement for compression time by providing a plurality of compression hoppers, and each compression hopper is individually and sequentially supplied with seasoning by the seasoning dosing unit. By using a plurality of compression hoppers, a practical buffer is provided and the residence time of the seasoning until it is finally discharged is increased. That is, each compression hopper can compress the dosage of seasoning by receiving and holding the dosage of seasoning for a certain period of time. While a second hopper is receiving the dosage of seasoning to that hopper, a certain compression hopper can hold the seasoning and form a compressed dosage. Thereby, the interruption time of the seasoning dosing unit can be minimized and the seasoning processing capacity of the entire system can be maintained high.

[0006] As described above, the seasoning dosing unit and the plurality of compression hoppers are configured such that the seasoning dosing unit sequentially supplies a single dose of seasoning to each of the plurality of compression hoppers. A more detailed configuration for realizing this will be described in more detail below. It should be understood that the term "sequentially (in order)" in this specification means that two compression hoppers do not receive the dosing amount of seasoning simultaneously, i.e., within the same period. Instead, usually, after the first compression hopper receives a single dose of seasoning, the second compression hopper receives a single dose of seasoning. Preferably, after the first compression hopper completely receives a single dose of seasoning, the second compression hopper begins to receive the seasoning, but in some cases, there may be some overlap. Also, it should be understood that each compression hopper only needs to receive and discharge at least a single dose of seasoning during one dosing cycle of the seasoning discharging device, and the order of filling the compression hoppers may be arbitrary.

[0007] In many embodiments, the flavorant dosing unit comprises a flavorant supply configured to gradually supply an amount of flavorant forming each dose. That is, the flavorant dosing unit is configured such that the flavorant supply discharges a dose of flavorant over a time longer than the time it takes to discharge a dose of flavorant from one of the plurality of compression hoppers. A common method for accumulating a dose of flavorant of a known weight is to gradually supply the flavorant to a metering container until the desired weight is reached. Alternatively, the flavorant may be supplied by means such as an auger that can discharge the flavorant at a predetermined rate and with reasonable accuracy so that a known weight is accumulated in a predetermined time. In either case, although it takes a certain amount of time for the gradually discharged flavorants to combine and compress into a compressed dose suitable for flavoring with individual batches of flavorant, the system can utilize these staged flavorant supplies to form small doses while maintaining high processing capabilities and ensuring that the compressed doses are discharged. As described above, the flavorant dosing unit comprises a flavorant supply configured to gradually supply the flavorant. For example, the flavorant supply may supply the flavorant substantially continuously. Thereby, each compression hopper can receive a dose of flavorant over a relatively long time before compressing the dose and then discharge the dose of flavorant relatively quickly. As described above, a preferred form of the flavorant supply is an auger.

[0008] As described above, in many cases, the seasoning dosing unit includes a seasoning supply unit that gradually supplies the seasoning. In some embodiments, the seasoning may be directly and gradually supplied to each compression hopper. However, preferably, the seasoning dosing unit includes a holding hopper arranged to receive and hold the seasoning gradually supplied by the seasoning supply unit, and the holding hopper periodically discharges the seasoning supplied to be received by one of the plurality of compression hoppers, whereby the seasoning dosing unit periodically discharges each dose of the seasoning. Here, the term "periodically" may refer to a holding hopper that discharges at regular predetermined intervals such as after a set period, or at irregular intervals such as only when a specific discharge criterion is met. According to such a holding hopper, the seasoning can be supplied continuously or substantially continuously by the seasoning supply unit, thereby maximizing the processing capacity of the system. For example, without the holding hopper, it may be necessary to temporarily stop the seasoning supply unit after the first hopper receives a dose of seasoning and before starting to fill the next empty compression hopper with the next dose of seasoning. That is, the holding hopper may be placed in the closed position while the compression hopper to be filled is being reconfigured so that the seasoning supply unit does not need to temporarily stop the supply of the seasoning. In some embodiments, the holding hopper may be configured to measure the weight of the seasoning to determine a dose of the seasoning. In other embodiments, the dose of the seasoning may be determined by gradually discharging the seasoning by the seasoning supply unit for a certain period.

[0009] Preferably, the seasoning dosing unit includes a discharge unit that discharges a dose of the seasoning so that one of the plurality of compression hoppers receives it, and the discharge unit of the seasoning dosing unit and the plurality of compression hoppers are movable relative to each other so that the seasoning dosing unit sequentially supplies a dose of the seasoning to each of the plurality of compression hoppers. The relative movement between the discharge unit and the compression hopper provides a convenient way to sequentially fill each of the plurality of compression hoppers. Alternatively, preferably, the dosing unit includes a discharge unit for each compression hopper, and the compression hoppers can also be sequentially filled by operating these discharge units in order.

[0010] Any relative movement can be used, but during operation, the seasoning dispensing unit preferably remains stationary while the compression hopper is movable. Thus, preferably, each of the plurality of compression hoppers is moved sequentially from a first position where the compression hopper receives the seasoning discharged from the seasoning dispensing unit to a second position laterally displaced from the first position, the second position being a position where the compression hopper discharges the dispensed amount of the compressed seasoning. Usually, the first position is the same for each of the plurality of compression hoppers. In many cases, the second position of each compression hopper is the discharge position, but guiding means for guiding the seasoning from the compression hopper at a distant second position to the discharge position can also be provided. In a particularly preferred configuration, each of the plurality of compression hoppers is sequentially movable around a closed path between the first position and the second position. In these embodiments, each compression hopper moves around the closed path from a first position where it receives the dispensed amount of seasoning to a second position where it discharges the dispensed amount of seasoning, and then returns to the first position for the next dispensed amount of seasoning. The seasoning can be compressed before discharge by the movement time between the first position and the second position. Such a closed path allows the second position to be arranged at a distance from the first position exceeding 180° of the entire cycle of the closed path, thereby enabling a relatively long compression time to be provided.

[0011] In a particularly preferred embodiment, each compression hopper moves around the closed path, and the plurality of compression hoppers are connected to each other such that when one of the plurality of compression hoppers moves away from the first position, another compression hopper moves to the first position. By connecting the plurality of compression hoppers, the structure can be further simplified, and it may be possible that only one drive source is required to move all of the plurality of compression hoppers. For example, each of the plurality of compression hoppers may be mounted on a rotatable support, and by rotation of the rotatable support, each of the plurality of compression hoppers may sequentially move between the first position and the second position around a substantially circular path.

[0012] In some embodiments, the seasoning dosing unit may gradually fill each compression hopper with seasoning in turn, such as by directly filling the compression hoppers from the seasoning supply unit. In such an embodiment, preferably, each compression hopper has an upper opening for receiving the seasoning, and while the discharge part of the seasoning dosing unit and the plurality of compression hoppers move relative to each other, the upper opening of each compression hopper abuts against the upper opening of each adjacent compression hopper so that the seasoning is discharged from the seasoning dosing unit substantially continuously and received by one of the compression hoppers. For example, the upper opening of each compression hopper may be provided by a funnel member of the compression hopper, and one funnel member abuts against the funnel member of the adjacent compression hopper. According to this configuration, the seasoning can be supplied continuously or substantially continuously by the seasoning supply unit, thereby providing one way to maximize the processing capacity of the system.

[0013] In an embodiment having relative movement between the seasoning dosing unit and the plurality of compression hoppers, the relative movement between the discharge part of the seasoning dosing unit and the plurality of compression hoppers may be substantially continuous. In another embodiment, the relative movement may include an intermittent feed movement of the discharge part of the seasoning dosing unit relative to the plurality of compression hoppers. The continuous movement brings about the effect of stirring the seasoning and makes it easier to compress a specific type of seasoning. On the other hand, in some embodiments, the intermittent feed movement can improve the processing capacity and maximize the time during which the compression hopper is in the first position, i.e., the position for receiving the seasoning.

[0014] In the above-described embodiments, a plurality of unspecified compression hoppers that can be two or more compression hoppers have been described. Preferably, the plurality of compression hoppers include at least a first compression hopper, a second compression hopper, and a third compression hopper, and more preferably, the plurality of compression hoppers further include at least a fourth compression hopper. It will be understood that this system effectively provides a buffer between the filling of the compression hopper and the discharge of the seasoning for the dose. The size of this buffer can be increased by providing additional compression hoppers, thereby obtaining additional compression time and enabling a more compressed dose. For example, in a system with only two compression hoppers, in order to maintain the processing capacity, after the second compression hopper has received all the doses, the first compression hopper should be able to discharge the dose and receive the next dose of seasoning. The third compression hopper increases the length of time from when any one compression hopper receives a dose until it has to discharge that dose so that it can be used for the next dose. For example, after the first compression hopper receives a dose of seasoning from the seasoning dosing unit, it holds the dose of seasoning while the second compression hopper receives a dose of seasoning from the seasoning dosing unit, and then, after at least the third compression hopper begins to receive a dose of seasoning from the seasoning dosing unit, the first compression hopper discharges the dose of seasoning it received. The seasoning dosing unit and the plurality of compression hoppers may be configured accordingly.

[0015] When performing the third compression, in order to sequentially supply a dose of seasoning to each of the plurality of compression hoppers, the first compression hopper receives a dose of seasoning, then the second compression hopper receives a dose of seasoning, and then the third compression hopper receives a dose of seasoning. Preferably, after the first compression hopper has completely received a dose of seasoning, the second compression hopper begins to receive the seasoning, and after the second compression hopper has completely received a dose of seasoning, the third compression hopper begins to receive the seasoning. However, in some cases, there may be some overlap. Also in this case, the order of supplying the dose of seasoning to each compression hopper may be arbitrary.

[0016] In many embodiments, the flavorant dispensing device further comprises a control unit configured to control a flavorant administration unit and a plurality of compression hoppers. For example, the control unit may control any flavorant supply unit to determine when the flavorant is gradually supplied, control any holding hopper to determine when the flavorant for administration is discharged, or control the movement and discharge of each compression hopper. However, the control unit is not essential. In some embodiments, the administration unit may continuously supply the flavorant as described above. For example, when the compression hopper reaches the discharge position, each dose may be automatically discharged by the compression hopper (e.g., mechanical means for operating the compression hopper).

[0017] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method of discharging each dose of compressed flavorant, comprising: a) discharging a first dose of flavorant from a flavorant administration unit comprising a flavorant supply unit configured to gradually supply the flavorant; b) receiving, in a first compression hopper of a plurality of compression hoppers, the first dose of flavorant; c) holding the first dose of flavorant in the first compression hopper and compressing the dose of flavorant; d) discharging the compressed first dose of flavorant from the first compression hopper to a discharge position; e) discharging a second dose of flavorant from the flavorant administration unit after step a) and before step d); f) receiving, in a second compression hopper of the plurality of compression hoppers, the second dose of flavorant; g) holding the second dose of flavorant in the second compression hopper and compressing the dose of flavorant; h) discharging the compressed second dose of flavorant from the first compression hopper to the discharge position.

[0018] It will be appreciated that this method is particularly suitable for being implemented on the system according to the first aspect of the present invention. The various advantages described above with respect to the system according to the first aspect of the present invention can also be reproduced by the method according to this second aspect.

[0019] The above method only describes the dispensing of two doses of the seasoning. It will be understood that this method is executed approximately continuously, and subsequent doses of the seasoning are dispensed after step e), received in the first compression hopper, and the process continues.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the following drawings.

Figure 1A

Figure 1B

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4A

Figure 4B

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9A

Figure 9B

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1A to 4B, a first embodiment of the seasoning discharge device will be described below.

[0022] FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a seasoning discharge device 1 including a seasoning administration unit 100 disposed on a plurality of compression hoppers 150.

[0023] The seasoning administration unit 100 is configured to supply a measured amount of seasoning (particularly granular seasoning such as potato chip seasoning), and then one of the plurality of compression hoppers 150 receives it. The seasoning administration unit 100 includes a drill-shaped seasoning supply unit 110. The drill part includes a screw (not shown in detail), and the screw rotates in the trough to push the seasoning along the trough from the open end 111 and drop it into the holding hopper 120. The seasoning is supplied to the seasoning supply unit 110 from an upstream supply unit (not shown). The seasoning supply unit 110 gradually discharges the seasoning as the screw rotates in the trough.

[0024] The gradually supplied seasoning is received by the holding hopper 120. Here, the holding hopper 120 is connected to a weighing unit configured to weigh the contents of the holding hopper 120. The holding hopper 120 includes two doors 121a and 121b, and these doors operate to open when the seasoning reaches a predetermined weight. An empty compression hopper 160 is disposed below the holding hopper 120.

[0025] As described above, a plurality of compression hoppers 150 are arranged below the seasoning dispensing unit 100. The plurality of compression hoppers include first to fourth compression hoppers 160a, 160b, 160c, and 160d that are connected to a compression hopper support 170. The compression hopper support 170 includes two rigid metal plates 171 and 172, but only the first plate is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. This structure will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 3. The four compression hoppers 160a to 160d are arranged at equal intervals from the central rotation axis of the compression hopper support 170 and near the outer periphery of the support 170. Since four compression hoppers are provided in this embodiment, the compression hoppers are arranged at 90-degree intervals on the circumference of the compression hopper support 170. During operation, the compression hopper support 170 rotates to sequentially move each of the four compression hoppers under the holding hopper 120.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the seasoning discharging device 1 in more detail. As can be seen from the figure, the seasoning discharging device includes a support structure 180. The support structure 180 includes a circular upper plate 182 facing a circular lower plate 183 and a plurality of support arms 181 extending between these upper and lower support plates 182 and 183. An internal cavity is formed by the support structure 180, and a plurality of compression hoppers 150 are arranged therein. In particular, the plurality of compression hoppers 150 are supported by a rotatable compression hopper support structure 170. FIG. 3 shows first and second metal plates 171 and 172 that support the compression hoppers 160a, 160b, 160c, and 160d. These metal plates are arranged horizontally, and the lower plate 171 is connected to each compression hopper near the lower end of the compression hopper. The plurality of compression hoppers are further supported by an upper support plate 172 that has the same shape as the first plate 171 and is connected to each compression hopper near the upper end of the compression hopper. The support plates 171 and 172 are connected to each other by a central shaft member (not shown), and by being rotationally driven by this central shaft member, each compression hopper is moved within the support structure 180.

[0027] The holding hopper 120 is positioned on the upper surface of the upper support plate 182 of the support structure portion, is disposed above the opening of the support plate 182, and can discharge the seasoning into the compression hopper 160 disposed therebelow. Although not shown in FIG. 3, a seasoning supply unit (in this case, a drill unit) is disposed to gradually supply the seasoning through the upper opening of the substantially cylindrical holding hopper 120.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, each compression hopper 160 includes a substantially cylindrical housing 161 that receives one dose of seasoning during operation. This substantially cylindrical housing 161 is disposed substantially vertically and forms a circular upper opening 163. As schematically shown in FIG. 1B, the seasoning is received from the holding hopper 120 through this opening. The lower end of each compression hopper 160 is closed by a set of doors 162. As shown in FIG. 4B, the doors of the compression hopper include two substantially semi-circular plates 162a, 162b, and these plates together close the lower opening of the compression hopper. Each hopper door 162a, 162b is connected around the lower opening of the compression hopper by corresponding hinges 167a, 167b at the corners of the semi-circular plates, whereby each semi-circular plate can rotate around the corner to open the compression hopper door 162. When the compression hopper door 162 opens when the compression hopper is positioned above the circular discharge opening of the bottom support plate 183, the compressed dose of seasoning is discharged to the downstream process.

[0029] Next, the operation of the seasoning discharging device shown in FIGS. 1 to 4B will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

[0030] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the steps necessary to discharge the first two doses of seasoning from the seasoning discharging device 1 shown in the previous figures. Since this seasoning discharging device includes four compression hoppers 160a, 160b, 160c, 160d, it will be understood that four doses of seasoning will be discharged before the system completes a full cycle. However, for ease of understanding the process, only the steps of operating the first and second compression hoppers to discharge each dose of seasoning will be described, and this process is shown in FIG. 5.

[0031] In step S100, the first dose of the seasoning is supplied to the first compression hopper 160a located at the dosing position, i.e., below the holding hopper 120. This step includes a step in which the seasoning supply unit 110 gradually discharges the seasoning into the holding hopper 120 until a predetermined weight is reached. This process is shown in FIG. 1A. When the predetermined weight is reached, as schematically shown in FIG. 1B, the holding hopper 120 opens and discharges the first dose of the seasoning into the first compression hopper 160A.

[0032] In step S200, the first compression hopper moves away from the dosing position where it has received one dose of the seasoning. At the same time, the second compression hopper moves to the dosing position below the holding hopper 120. In this system, step S200 is achieved by rotating the compression hopper support 170 by 90 degrees so that the first compression hopper 160a, which is located below the holding hopper 120 in FIGS. 1A to 3, moves to the position occupied by the fourth compression hopper 160d in FIG. 2. When the first compression hopper is moved in this way, the second compression hopper 160b moves from the position in FIGS. 1A to 3 to the dosing position below the holding hopper 120.

[0033] In step S300, the second dose of the seasoning is supplied to the second compression hopper located at the dosing position. Step S300 includes a step in which the seasoning supply unit 110 gradually supplies the seasoning into the holding hopper 120 until a predetermined weight is reached. Although step S300 is shown as occurring after step S200, it will be understood that the process of filling the holding hopper 120 with the seasoning can be started at any time after the holding hopper 120 is returned to the closed position. For example, this step may be started while moving each compression hopper in step S200.

[0034] In step S400, the second compression hopper that has received one dose of the seasoning moves away from the dosing position. In the system shown in FIGS. 1 - 3, the compression hopper support 170 is rotated to move the second compression hopper 160B away from the holding hopper 120, and at the same time, the third compression hopper 160C moves to the dosing position below the holding hopper 120. In practice, this third compression hopper generally receives the third dose of the seasoning in substantially the same manner as described for the first and second compression hoppers. Next, the dosing plate rotates 90 degrees again to bring the fourth compression hopper to the dosing position below the holding hopper 120. Here too, the fourth compression hopper receives the fourth dose of the seasoning in substantially the same manner as described for the first to third compression hoppers.

[0035] In step S500, the first dose of the compressed seasoning is discharged from the first compression hopper 160a. In this case, the first compression hopper 160a discharges one dose of the seasoning at the discharge position that is at a 270° position from the dosing position, i.e., the position occupied by the second compression hopper 160b in FIG. 2. This position corresponds to a position where the compression hopper support 170 only needs to be rotated 90° from the position to return below the holding hopper 120.

[0036] As is clear from the above, while the second compression hopper 160b, the third compression hopper 160c, and possibly the fourth compression hopper 160d receive the seasoning, the first dose of the seasoning is compressed within the first compression hopper 160a. Further, the movement of the compression hopper 160a when the compression hopper support 170 rotates promotes the sedimentation and compression of the seasoning held within the compression hopper.

[0037] In step S600, by further rotating the support plate 170 by 90 degrees, the first compression hopper 160a returns to the dosing position below the holding hopper 120. By moving the first compression hopper 160a to the dosing position in this way, the second compression hopper 160b moves to the discharge position.

[0038] In step S700, the compressed second dose of the seasoning is discharged from the second compression hopper 160b while at the discharge position. At this time, since the first compression hopper 160a is located at the dosing position and is ready to receive the subsequent dose of the seasoning, it will be understood that each step of this method can be repeated from step S100. Similar to the first and second compression hoppers, for the doses of the seasoning in the third and fourth compression hoppers, if the corresponding compression hopper is at the discharge position, it is discharged by the seasoning discharge device.

[0039] With reference to FIGS. 6 to 9B, a second embodiment of the seasoning discharge device will be described below.

[0040] The seasoning discharge device 1 schematically shown in FIG. 6 includes a seasoning dosing unit 100 disposed above a plurality of compression hoppers 150. In this example, the seasoning dosing unit 100 also includes a seasoning supply unit 110 configured to gradually supply the seasoning in the form of a drill part here. Different from the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4B, this seasoning discharge device does not include a holding hopper. Instead, the seasoning supply unit 110 gradually discharges the seasoning directly into the plurality of compression hoppers 150.

[0041] Here too, the plurality of compression hoppers 150 includes four compression hoppers 160a, 160b, 160c, and 160d supported by a compression hopper support structure 170. In order to supply the seasoning directly from the seasoning supply unit 110, a funnel member 164 is provided at the upper part of each of the plurality of compression hoppers 150. In particular, four separate funnel portions 164a, 164b, 164c, and 164d respectively associated with the corresponding compression hoppers 160a, 160b, 160c, and 160d are collectively arranged to form a substantially annular upper opening with respect to the funnel structure. Due to such a substantially annular upper opening of the funnel structure, the seasoning supplied by the seasoning dispensing unit 100 is always received by one of the four funnels and surely enters one of the four compression hoppers 160a, 160b, 160c, and 160d regardless of the rotational position of the compression hopper support structure 170. FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of the seasoning discharge device 1 with the support structure portion 180 and the compression hopper support 170 omitted to clearly show the interaction between the seasoning dispensing unit 100 and the funnel portions 164a, 164b, 164c, and 164d. FIG. 9B is a detailed plan view showing the arrangement of the four compression hoppers 160a, 160b, 160c, and 160d and the corresponding funnel portions 164a, 164b, 164c, and 164d. As shown in this figure, each funnel member 164 defines an arcuate installation surface in a plan view, and when the four compression hoppers are arranged adjacent to each other, the funnel members 164 together form a substantially continuous annular upper opening for the plurality of compression hoppers.

[0042] FIG. 8 is a side view showing the seasoning discharge device schematically shown in FIG. 6 in more detail. Also in this figure, the seasoning dispensing portion 110 in the form of a drill portion is not shown for clarity.

[0043] In this case, the seasoning discharging device includes a support structure 180, an annular upper plate 182' that defines a large central opening, and the upper plate also faces a lower plate 183 here and has each support arm 181 extending between the opposing support plates. Here too, a plurality of compression hoppers 150 are arranged within an internal cavity defined between two opposing support plates 182' and 183. However, the funnel portions 164a, 164b, 164c, 164d of each compression hopper extend through the large central opening of the annular upper plate 182' near the lower part of the seasoning dispensing unit 100. Similar to the first embodiment, each compression hopper, together with the corresponding funnel portion, rotates within the internal cavity of the support structure 180 by a compression hopper support structure 170, and the compression hopper support structure 170 also includes first and second plates 171, 172 arranged to rotate about a central axis here.

[0044] FIG. 9A shows a single compression hopper according to the second embodiment, including a funnel portion 163. The compression hopper 160 includes a cylindrical lower housing 161 that defines an upper opening 163 to the compression hopper and a lower opening closed by a compression hopper door 162. As shown in FIG. 9A, the funnel portion 164 is integrally formed with the cylindrical lower housing 161 and extends away from the upper opening 163 defined by the compression hopper housing 161.

[0045] According to the arrangement of the compression hoppers 160 in this embodiment, instead of rotating the plurality of compression hoppers in an indexed manner, the seasoning can be gradually and continuously supplied to the seasoning dispensing unit 100 while rotating continuously. As described above, according to this funnel arrangement, regardless of the rotational positions of the plurality of compression hoppers, any of the seasonings discharged by the seasoning dispensing unit 100 is surely received by one of the compression hoppers 160a, 160b, 160c, 160d.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0046]

Patent Document 1

Claims

1. A seasoning discharging device for discharging each dosage of the settled seasoning, comprising: a seasoning dosing unit configured to discharge one dosage of the seasoning; a plurality of settling hoppers, each of the settling hoppers being configured to receive and hold one dosage of the seasoning discharged from the seasoning dosing unit and then discharge the one dosage of the seasoning to a discharge position; the seasoning dosing unit and the plurality of settling hoppers being configured such that the seasoning dosing unit sequentially supplies one dosage of the seasoning to each of the plurality of settling hoppers; the seasoning dosing unit comprising a seasoning supply unit configured to gradually supply the amount of the seasoning forming each dosage, and the seasoning supply unit discharging one dosage of the seasoning over a time longer than the time taken to discharge one dosage of the seasoning from one of the plurality of settling hoppers. A seasoning discharging device.

2. The seasoning dosing unit according to claim 1, further comprising a holding hopper arranged to receive and hold the seasoning gradually supplied by the seasoning supply unit, wherein the holding hopper periodically discharges the seasoning supplied to be received by one of the plurality of settling hoppers, so that the seasoning dosing unit periodically discharges each dosage of the seasoning.

3. The seasoning dosing unit according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a discharging part configured to discharge one dosage of the seasoning so that one of the plurality of settling hoppers can receive it, and the discharging part of the seasoning dosing unit and the plurality of settling hoppers being relatively movable so that the seasoning dosing unit sequentially supplies one dosage of the seasoning to each of the plurality of settling hoppers.

4. The seasoning discharging device according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of settling hoppers is sequentially movable from a first position where the settling hopper receives the seasoning discharged by the seasoning dosing unit to a second position laterally displaced from the first position, and the second position is the position where the settling hopper discharges the dosage of the settled seasoning.

5. The seasoning discharging device according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of settling hoppers is sequentially movable around a closed path between the first position and the second position.

6. The flavoring discharge device according to claim 5, wherein one of the plurality of sedimentation hoppers moves away from the first position, so that another sedimentation hopper moves to the first position, and the plurality of sedimentation hoppers are connected to each other.

7. The flavoring discharge device according to claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of sedimentation hoppers is mounted on a rotatable support, and by rotation of the rotatable support, each of the plurality of sedimentation hoppers sequentially moves around a substantially circular path between the first position and the second position.

8. Each sedimentation hopper includes an upper opening for receiving the flavoring. While the discharge part of the flavoring administration unit and the plurality of sedimentation hoppers move relative to each other, the flavoring is discharged substantially continuously from the flavoring administration unit and received by one of the sedimentation hoppers. The upper opening of each sedimentation hopper abuts against the upper opening of each adjacent sedimentation hopper. The flavoring discharge device according to any one of claims 3 to 7.

9. The flavoring discharge device according to claim 8, wherein the upper opening of each sedimentation hopper is provided by a funnel member of the sedimentation hopper.

10. The flavoring discharge device according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the relative movement between the discharge part of the flavoring administration unit and the plurality of sedimentation hoppers is substantially continuous, or the relative movement includes intermittent feeding movement of the discharge part of the flavoring administration unit with respect to the plurality of sedimentation hoppers.

11. The flavoring discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the plurality of sedimentation hoppers includes at least a first sedimentation hopper, a second sedimentation hopper, and a third sedimentation hopper, and preferably, the plurality of sedimentation hoppers further includes at least a fourth sedimentation hopper.

12. The flavoring discharge device according to claim 11, wherein after the first sedimentation hopper receives one dose of flavoring from the flavoring administration unit, it holds the one dose of flavoring while the second sedimentation hopper receives one dose of flavoring from the flavoring administration unit, and then, after at least the third sedimentation hopper starts to receive one dose of flavoring from the flavoring administration unit, the first sedimentation hopper discharges the one dose of flavoring it received. The flavoring administration unit and the plurality of sedimentation hoppers are configured as such.

13. The seasoning discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising a control unit configured to control the seasoning administration unit and the plurality of sedimentation hoppers.

14. A method of discharging each administration portion of the sedimented seasoning, comprising: a) discharging a first administration portion of the seasoning from a seasoning administration unit provided with a seasoning supply unit configured to gradually supply the seasoning; b) receiving the first administration portion of the seasoning in a first sedimentation hopper among the plurality of sedimentation hoppers; c) holding the first administration portion of the seasoning in the first sedimentation hopper and sedimenting the administration portion of the seasoning; d) discharging the sedimented first administration portion of the seasoning from the first sedimentation hopper to a discharge position; e) discharging a second administration portion of the seasoning from the seasoning administration unit after step a) and before step d); f) receiving the second administration portion of the seasoning in a second sedimentation hopper among the plurality of sedimentation hoppers; g) holding the second administration portion of the seasoning in the second sedimentation hopper and sedimenting the administration portion of the seasoning; h) discharging the sedimented second administration portion of the seasoning from the second sedimentation hopper to the discharge position, wherein in steps a) and e), the seasoning supply unit discharges one administration portion of the seasoning over a time longer than the time taken to discharge one administration portion of the seasoning from one of the plurality of sedimentation hoppers. Method.

15. The method according to claim 14, implemented using the seasoning discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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