Powder adhesion device and method for food

Abstract

Provided are a powder attachment device and a method for attaching powder to a desired range of a food.　This powder attachment device (1) for attaching powder (11) onto a surface of a food (10) has: a carrying conveyor (5) including a conveyor carrying surface (5B) for carrying a food; and one or more rotary bodies (3A, 3B) disposed beside the conveyor carrying surface. The rotary bodies are configured to scatter powder (11) toward a food being carried by the conveyor carrying surface by means of the rotation of the rotary bodies. The rotary bodies are configured so as to repeatedly change the rotation speed of the rotary bodies while scattering the powder.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for attaching powder to the surface of food. Specifically, it relates to an apparatus and method for supplying powder to a rotating body (the surface of a flat rotating plate or a rotating brush), causing the powder to fly toward the food by the rotation of the rotating body, and attaching the powder to the surface of the food.

Background Art

[0002] The powder adhering apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a conveyor for conveying food, a rotating body disposed on the side of the conveyor, and a powder supply mechanism for supplying powder to the rotating body. The rotating body includes a rotatable rotating shaft and at least one flat rotating plate provided on the rotating shaft. This powder adhering apparatus can adjust the height position at which the powder is flown by changing the height position of the rotating plate. Further, this powder adhering apparatus can adjust the amount of powder flown per rotation of the rotating plate by adjusting the rotational speed of the rotating plate.

[0003] Moreover, the powder adhering apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes, for example, two pairs of rotating bodies arranged so as to sandwich the conveyor. Each rotating body includes a rotating shaft disposed perpendicular to the conveying surface of the conveyor, and an upper rotating plate and a lower rotating plate attached to the rotating shaft with a vertical interval therebetween. Therefore, the upper rotating plate and the lower rotating plate are arranged parallel to the conveying surface of the conveyor.

[0004] The powder adhering apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a conveyor constituting a passage for food, a pair of rotating brushes arranged so as to sandwich and face each other across the conveyor, and a powder supply mechanism for supplying powder to the rotating brushes from above. This powder adhering apparatus further includes a force adjusting means for adjusting the force for flying the powder from the rotating brush toward the food, and a direction adjusting means for adjusting the height direction (angle) of the powder flown from the rotating brush to the food. The direction adjusting means is composed of a movable inclined plate and a moving device for moving the inclined plate.

[0005] The powder adhesion device described in Patent Document 3 has two pairs of rotating bodies arranged on the side of the conveyor. Each rotating body includes a rotating shaft and a brush attached to the rotating shaft. Further, the powder adhesion device has pins that come into contact when blowing off powder from the rotating brush.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] In the powder adhesion device described in Patent Document 1, the powder blown horizontally from the upper rotating plate is dropped along a parabolic trajectory and adhered mainly to the upper surface and side surfaces of the food. Also, the lower rotating plate is arranged close to the conveyor transport surface, and the powder blown from the lower rotating plate is scattered along the conveyor transport surface and adhered mainly to the side surfaces of the food. However, on the side surface of the food, there may be a case where the powder adheres more to the upper and lower parts and less to the middle part, resulting in an uneven adhesion state.

[0008] Furthermore, between the downward inclined surface (side surface of an inverted frustum of a cone) located between the side surface and the bottom surface of the food and the conveyor transport surface, an air pocket may be generated due to the air flow generated by the rotation of the rotating plate, making it difficult to adhere the powder to the downward inclined surface of the food. If the rotation speed of the rotating plate is increased in an attempt to adhere the powder to the downward inclined surface, the air flow becomes faster, and the powder that has once adhered to the food may be peeled off.

[0009] In the powder adhesion device described in Patent Document 2, a moving device is used to move the inclined plate in a desired inclination direction, thereby adjusting the vertical position of the powder blown by centrifugal force from the tip of the rotating brush. Further, this powder adhesion device is used when it is desired to arbitrarily specify the direction in which the powder is blown. For example, it is used when attaching powder to the back side of a portion where the shape of the food protrudes like an umbrella, or when attaching powder only to a portion (hem) near the bottom surface of a tall food. Therefore, it is difficult to attach the powder to a wide range of the entire surface of the food.

[0010] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a new powder adhesion device and method capable of attaching powder to a desired range on the surface of food.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0011] To achieve the above object, the powder adhesion device according to the present invention includes a transport conveyor for transporting food, at least one rotating body disposed on the side of the transport conveyor, a powder supply mechanism for supplying powder to the rotating body, and a control device for variably controlling the rotation of the rotating body.

[0012] The control device may variably control the rotation of the rotating body so as to alternately repeat low-speed rotation and high-speed rotation, or may variably control the rotation of the rotating body so as to continuously repeat in a wave shape between low-speed rotation and high-speed rotation.

[0013] Preferably, the control device variably controls the rotation of the rotating body periodically.

[0014] Preferably, at least one rotating plate attached to the rotating body is disposed lower than the placement surface on which the food is placed on the conveyor transport surface of the transport conveyor.

[0015] Preferably, the rotating shaft is disposed to be inclined outward from below to above with respect to the transport conveyor.

[0016] Preferably, a part of the conveyor conveying surface of the conveying conveyor is formed in an inverted trough shape.

[0017] Preferably, at least one rotating plate attached to the rotating body is arranged such that a part of the rotating plate is in sliding contact with the conveyor conveying surface.

[0018] Also, in order to achieve the above object, a powder adhesion method according to the present invention for adhering powder to the surface of food supplies powder from a powder supply mechanism to at least one rotating body that rotates on the side of a conveying conveyor that conveys food, and the received powder is thrown toward the food by the rotation of the rotating plate, the rotating body is repeatedly rotated at a variable speed, and the area where the powder flies is repeatedly varied.

[0019] Preferably, the powder is thrown obliquely upward from the rotating body.

[0020] Preferably, the food is conveyed by the conveying conveyor whose belt conveying surface is formed in an inverted trough shape, and the powder is adhered to the downward inclined portion of the food.

[0021] Preferably, a part of the rotating plate attached to the rotating body is brought into sliding contact with the conveyor conveying surface of the conveying conveyor, and the powder deposited on the conveyor conveying surface is thrown toward the food.

Effects of the Invention

[0022] In the powder adhesion device and method according to the present invention, by controlling the rotation speed of the rotating plate in a variable manner and diffusing the powder thrown from the rotating plate over a wide range, the powder can be adhered to a wide range of the food surface. Furthermore, with the downward inclined surface of the food and the conveying surface of the conveying conveyor open, by conveying the food, the powder can be adhered to the downward inclined surface of the food. Therefore, the powder can be adhered to a desired range on the food surface.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6a

Figure 6b

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10a

Figure 10b

Figure 11

Figure 12

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the powder adhering device 1 according to the first embodiment of the device according to the present invention will be described. The powder adhering device 1 is configured to adhere the powder 11 to the food 10.

[0025] As conceptually and schematically shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the powder adhering apparatus 1 includes a base 6, and further includes a powder supply mechanism 2, a rotating body 3, a box body 4, a conveying conveyor 5, a shaping roller 7, and a powder circulation device 8 attached to the base 6. The powder adhering apparatus 1 further includes a control device 15 for controlling the driving of each part (each component).

[0026] The conveying conveyor 5 is disposed at the lower part of the front surface (front) of the base 6. The conveying conveyor 5 is configured to convey the food 10 in a continuous operation or an intermittent operation.

[0027] Two pairs (four) of rotating bodies 3 are disposed on the side of the conveyor conveying surface 5B of the conveying conveyor 5 so as to sandwich the conveying conveyor 5. The box body 4 is attached to the front (front) of the base 6 so as to cover a part of the rotating body 3 and the conveying conveyor 5.

[0028] The powder supply mechanism 2 is attached to the upper part of the box body 4, has a discharge port 22, and is configured to supply the powder 11 from the discharge port 22 to the rotating body 3 and the conveying conveyor 5 disposed below the powder supply mechanism 2. The powder supply mechanism 2 adopts, for example, a known technique described in Patent Document 1, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0029] The box body 4 has an inlet 4A for carrying in the food 10 and an outlet 4B for carrying out the food 10. Further, the box body 4 further has air curtains 9A and 9B disposed in the vicinity of the inlet 4A and the outlet 4B.

[0030] The shaping roller 7 is disposed above the conveying conveyor 5 and downstream of the outlet 4B. The powder circulation device 8 has a powder recovery slope 81 disposed below the conveying conveyor 5 and the rotating body 3.

[0031] The powder circulation device 8 further has a powder separation mechanism 82 that separates reusable powder 11 from the recovered powder 11, and is configured to reintroduce the separated powder 11 into the powder supply mechanism 2. The powder circulation device 8 adopts, for example, a known technique described in Patent Document 1, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the conveying conveyor 5 is a belt conveyor. The conveying conveyor 5 has an endless rotating belt 5A. The belt 5A has an inverted trough-shaped conveyor conveying surface 5B (upper surface), that is, a part (center in the width direction) of the conveyor conveying surface 5B protrudes upward. More specifically, the conveying conveyor 5 includes a conveyor plate 5C and a rectangular parallelepiped spacer plate 5D disposed on the upper surface of the conveyor plate 5C. The belt 5A is disposed so as to be hung on the upper surface of the spacer plate 5D. Thereby, the conveyor conveying surface 5B has a flat central portion 5AC at the center in the width direction and end portions 5AS that incline downward toward the outer side in the width direction on both sides thereof. The central portion 5AC is a flat surface on which the food 10 is placed, and the end portion 5AS is an inclined surface. It is preferable that the width of the central portion 5AC is smaller than the width of the bottom surface 10D of the food 10.

[0033] Each of the rotating bodies 3 is disposed on the side of the inverted trough-shaped conveyor conveying surface 5B. The rotating body 3 includes a rotating shaft 33 disposed inclined with respect to the central portion 5AC of the conveyor conveying surface 5B (with respect to the horizontal direction), and an upper rotating plate 31 and a lower rotating plate 32 attached to the rotating shaft 33 with a vertical interval therebetween.

[0034] The rotating shaft 33 is inclined outward in the width direction (in the direction away from the conveyor transport surface 5B) as it goes from the lower side to the upper side. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating shaft 33 is connected to a control motor M, for example, a servo motor. As shown in FIG. 3, on the side of the rotating body 3 facing each other (the side facing the conveyor 5), a pair of rotating bodies 3A and 3B arranged upstream in the transport direction R of the conveyor 5 are configured to rotate in the upstream direction of the conveyor 5, and a pair of rotating bodies 3C and 3D arranged downstream in the transport direction R are configured to rotate in the downstream direction of the conveyor 5.

[0035] Both the upper rotating plate 31 and the lower rotating plate 32 are thin disk-shaped. The diameter of the lower rotating plate 32 is larger than the diameter of the upper rotating plate 31. The upper rotating plate 31 and the lower rotating plate 32 are each attached so as to be orthogonal to the rotating shaft 33. The lower rotating plates 32 of two rotating bodies 3 adjacent to each other in the transport direction R on one side of the conveyor 5 are arranged slightly apart from each other so as not to interfere with each other.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 4, the lower rotating plate 32 is arranged lower than the flat surface (the central part 5AC of the conveyor transport surface 5B) on which the food 10 is placed. Further, the lower rotating plate 32 is arranged so that a part of the outer periphery of its lower surface rotates (slidingly contacts) while contacting the end portion 5AS of the conveyor transport surface 5B. A plurality of spacer collars 34 are sandwiched between the upper rotating plate 31 and the lower rotating plate 32, and the upper rotating plate 31 is fixed to the rotating shaft 33. The height position of the upper rotating plate 31 can be changed by changing the number of spacer collars 34. As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the upper rotating plates 31 of the rotating bodies 3B and 3C that are diagonally opposed across the conveyor 5 in a plan view are arranged higher than the upper rotating plates 31 of the other rotating bodies 3A and 3D that are diagonally opposed.

[0037] The rotating body 3 is configured to rotate based on the set conditions of the control device 15. As will be described later, by rotating the upper rotating plate 31 disposed at an angle with respect to the horizontal direction, the powder 11 supplied to the upper rotating plate 31 can be flung obliquely upward and scattered in a parabolic shape. At this time, according to the high or low rotation speed of the upper rotating plate 31, it is possible to change the height at which the powder 11 is flung, and it is possible to make the distance at which the powder 11 is flung farther or closer. That is, it is possible to change the area where the powder 11 is flung.

[0038] The control device 15 is configured to perform control to change the rotation speed of the rotating body 3 by controlling the rotation speed of the control motor M. The change in the rotation speed is arbitrary. For example, as shown in FIG. 6a, the control device 15 performs control to change the rotation speed of the rotating body 3 so as to alternately repeat a predetermined low rotation speed and a predetermined high rotation speed. For example, the low rotation speed is 500 revolutions per minute, the high rotation speed is 1500 revolutions per minute, and the rotation speed of the rotating body 3 is controlled so that the low-speed time zone rotating at the low rotation speed and the high-speed time zone rotating at the high rotation speed (including the acceleration time and deceleration time of rotation) change periodically (every 0.5 seconds). Also, as shown in FIG. 6b, the rotation speed of the rotating body 3 may be controlled so as to continuously change in a wave shape (for example, a sine wave) with a cycle time of 2t seconds between a predetermined low rotation speed and a predetermined high rotation speed. The predetermined low rotation speed and / or the predetermined high rotation speed may always be the same, or may change over time. Also, the time of rotation at the predetermined low rotation speed and the time of rotation at the predetermined high rotation speed may always be the same, or may change over time.

[0039] Next, a method according to the present invention for attaching powder to the food 10 using the powder attaching device 1 according to the first embodiment of the device according to the present invention will be described. The food 10 is, for example, a daifuku, and the powder 11 is, for example, kudzu starch. The food 10 is substantially cylindrical. Specifically, the surface of the food 10 is composed of a curved upper surface 10A, a cylindrical circumferential surface 10B, a downwardly tapering lower inclined surface (the circumferential surface of an inverted frustum of a cone) 10C, and a flat bottom surface 10D.

[0040] Place the food (dango rice cake) 10 coated and formed by a known wrapping machine on the conveyor 5. At this time, the powder 11 has already adhered to the bottom surface 10D of the food 10. Convey the food 10 into the box body 4 by the rotation of the belt 5A. Supply the powder (katakuriko) 11 from the discharge port 22 of the powder supply mechanism 2 to the upper surfaces of the upper rotating plate 31 and the lower rotating plate 32 of the rotating body 3. Due to the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotating body 3, the powder 11 adhering to the upper surfaces of the rotating body 3 (the upper rotating plate 31 and the lower rotating plate 32) is respectively blown in the tangential direction 12 of the upper rotating plate 31 and the lower rotating plate 32 (see Fig. 3).

[0041] At this time, by repeatedly changing the rotation speed of the rotating body 3 between a high rotation speed and a low rotation speed, the fan-shaped area where the powder 11 is blown repeatedly fluctuates, becoming wider or narrower. As shown in Figs. 3 to 5, since the pair of upstream rotating bodies 3A and 3B are rotated in the upstream direction of the conveyor 5 on the side where they face each other, the powder 11 blown by the rotating bodies 3A and 3B adheres mainly to the downstream surface (front surface) and side surfaces of the food 10 conveyed by the conveyor 5. Since the pair of downstream rotating bodies 3C and 3D are rotated in the downstream direction (the same direction) of the conveyor 5 on the side where they face each other, the powder 11 blown by the rotating bodies 3C and 3D adheres mainly to the side surfaces and the upstream surface (rear surface) of the food 10.

[0042] Also, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the powder 11 is blown obliquely upward from the upper rotating plate 31 and scattered in a parabolic trajectory. Also, by repeatedly changing the rotation speed of the rotating body 3, the vertical area where the powder 11 is blown is repeatedly fluctuated from top to bottom and from bottom to top. In this embodiment, the powder 11 blown from the upper rotating plate 31 where the rotating bodies 3B and 3C are relatively highly arranged is mainly vertically fluctuated within the range of the upper surface 10A and the peripheral surface 10B of the food 10 and adhered to the food 10. Also, the powder 11 blown from the upper rotating plate 31 where the rotating bodies 3A and 3D are relatively lowly arranged is mainly vertically fluctuated within the range of the peripheral surface 10B of the food 10 and adhered to the food 10.

[0043] By repeatedly changing the rotational speed of the rotating body 3, the distance that the powder 11 is flung from the upper rotating plate 31 is further varied. By repeatedly varying the distance that the powder 11 is flung between far and near, more powder 11 than in the prior art can be adhered to the downstream surface (front surface) and the upstream surface (rear surface) of the food 10 conveyed by the conveying conveyor 5. Further, more powder 11 than in the prior art can be adhered to the upstream surface (rear surface) of the food 10 by the pair of upstream rotating bodies 3A and 3B, and can be adhered to the downstream surface (front surface) of the food 10 by the pair of downstream rotating bodies 3C and 3D.

[0044] The lower rotating plate 32 is arranged lower than the central portion (placement surface) 5AC of the conveyor conveying surface 5B and rotates (slidingly contacts) while contacting the end portion (inclined surface) 5AS of the conveyor conveying surface 5B (upper surface), thereby flinging the powder 11 supplied from the powder supply mechanism 2 onto the upper surface of the lower rotating plate 32. Further, the lower rotating plates 32 of the downstream rotating bodies 3C and 3D fling the powder 11 supplied onto the upper surface of the lower rotating plate 32 after accumulating on the inclined surface 5AS of the conveyor conveying surface 5B upstream thereof. The powder 11 flung from the lower rotating plate 32 is scattered along the upper surface of the inclined surface 5AS and adhered to the lower portion of the food 10, particularly the lower inclined surface 10C.

[0045] Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a powder adhering device 101 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the powder adhering device 101 that is the same as the powder adhering device 1 according to the first embodiment is denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the powder adhering device 1, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The rotating body 3 of the powder adhering device 101 is configured to rotate in a direction (opposite direction) different from that of the rotating body 3 of the powder adhering device 1. Further, the number and arrangement of the discharge ports 22 of the powder supply mechanism 102 of the powder adhering device 101 are different from the number and arrangement of the discharge ports 22 of the powder supply mechanism 2 of the powder adhering device 1.

[0046] The powder adhering device 101 includes, like the powder adhering device 1, two pairs (four) of rotating bodies 3 arranged so as to sandwich the conveying conveyor 5. On the sides of the rotating bodies 3 facing each other (the sides facing the conveying conveyor 5), the pair of upstream rotating bodies 3A and 3B are configured to rotate in the downstream direction of the conveying conveyor 5, and the pair of downstream rotating bodies 3C and 3D are configured to rotate in the upstream direction of the conveying conveyor 5. Thereby, the powder 11 scattered by the rotating bodies 3A and 3B is mainly adhered to the upstream surface (rear surface) and side surfaces of the food 10 conveyed by the conveying conveyor 5, and the powder 11 scattered by the rotating bodies 3C and 3D is mainly adhered to the downstream surface (front surface) and side surfaces of the food 10. By repeatedly changing the rotation speed of the rotating bodies 3, the adhering effect of the powder 11 is enhanced compared to the prior art.

[0047] Furthermore, compared to the prior art, the pair of upstream rotating bodies 3A and 3B can adhere a large amount of the powder 11 to the downstream surface (front surface) of the food 10, and the pair of downstream rotating bodies 3C and 3D can adhere a large amount of the powder 11 to the upstream surface (rear surface) of the food 10.

[0048] Next, with reference to FIG. 9, the powder adhering device 201 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The components of the powder adhering device 201 that are the same as those of the powder adhering device 1 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the powder adhering device 1, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted. The direction of the rotating body 3 of the powder adhering device 201 is different from the direction of the rotating body 3 of the powder adhering device 1.

[0049] The rotating shaft 33 of the rotating body 3 of the powder adhesion device 201 is arranged in the vertical direction (at the central part 5AC of the conveyor transport surface 5B or in the direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction). In a pair of rotating bodies 3A and 3B on the upstream side in the transport direction R, the upper rotating plate 31 of the rotating body 3B is arranged higher than the upper rotating plate 31 of the rotating body 3A. In the present embodiment, the lower rotating plate 32 is arranged at a height approximately the same as the central part 5AC (placement surface) of the conveyor transport surface 5B or slightly lower. Further, the lower rotating plate 32 is arranged slightly separated from the belt 5A without contacting the end portion (inclined surface) 5AS of the conveyor transport surface 5. Also, the downstream rotating body 3D is configured in the same manner as the rotating body 3A, and the downstream rotating body 3C is configured in the same manner as the rotating body 3B.

[0050] The rotating body 3 is configured to change the rotation speed based on the set conditions of the control device 15. The powder 11 is horizontally launched from the upper rotating plate 31 and scattered in a parabolic trajectory. Also, by repeatedly changing the rotation speed of the rotating body 3, the vertical region where the powder 11 is launched is repeatedly varied.

[0051] The powder 11 launched from the lower rotating plate 32 is scattered along the inclined surface 5AS and adhered to the lower part of the food 10, particularly to the lower inclined surface 10C.

[0052] As described above, according to the present invention, by controlling the rotation speed of the rotating body 3 to change and repeatedly varying the region where the powder 11 is launched, the powder 11 can be diffused over a wide range and adhered to a wide range of the surface of the food 10. Further, by arranging the rotating plates 31 and 32 inclined with respect to the horizontal direction, the range in which the powder 11 is diffused can be further widened.

[0053] In addition, by configuring the belt conveyance surface 5B in an inverted trough shape, the downward inclined surface 10C of the food 10 is opened with respect to the conveyor conveyance surface 5B. Therefore, the generation of air pockets between the food 10 and the conveyor conveyance surface 5B can be suppressed more effectively than in the case of a conventional flat conveyor conveyance surface, and the powder 11 can be stably adhered to the food 10, particularly to its downward inclined surface.

[0054] The description of the powder adhesion devices 1 and 101 according to the embodiments of the present invention is generally as described above. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0055] For example, as shown in FIG. 10a, the rotating bodies 3 may be provided at two locations with the conveying conveyor 5 interposed therebetween. In this case, if one rotating body 3A is arranged upstream of the conveying conveyor 5 and the other rotating body 3D is arranged downstream of the conveying conveyor 5, an effect of adhering the powder 11 to the entire surface of the food 10 can be obtained.

[0056] Also, although the powder adhesion devices 1, 101, and 201 have two pairs (four) of rotating bodies 3, as shown in FIG. 10b, the rotating plate attached to the rotating body 3 may be only the upper rotating plate 31, not a plurality. Further, when adhering the powder 11 to a part of the food 10, the rotating body 3 may be arranged only on one side of the conveying conveyor 5. Thus, it is preferable to appropriately select the number and arrangement of the rotating bodies 3 and the number of rotating plates according to the powder adhesion site on the food.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 11, in the case of the shape of the food 110 that does not have a downward inclined surface, when adhering the powder 11 to the upper surface 10A or the circumferential surface 10B of the food 110, it is not necessary to blow the powder 11 from below the food 110. In this case, the conveyor conveyance surface 5B of the conveying conveyor 5 may be flat instead of being in an inverted trough shape.

[0058] In addition, in order to blow the powder 11 deposited on the conveyor transport surface 5B toward the food 10, for example, the rotating body 203 shown in FIG. 12 may be employed. The rotating body 203 includes a rotating shaft 37 arranged in the horizontal direction and a rotating plate 36 attached to the rotating shaft 37 and having a required thickness, and is preferably configured to rotate (slidingly contact) while the outer periphery (circumferential surface 36A) of the rotating plate 36 contacts the inclined surface 5AS. If the rotating body 203 is added to the powder adhesion device 201 or the like, more powder 11 can be scattered around the food.

[0059] Also, in FIG. 6a, the time lengths of 500 rotations (low rotation speed) and 1500 rotations (high rotation speed) of the rotating body are generally the same, but depending on the situation of powder adhesion to the food, the ratio of the time at the high rotation speed to the time at the low rotation speed may be changed within one cycle of the speed change control. For example, when there is a lot of powder adhesion to the upper part of the food and little powder adhesion to the lower part of the food, by making the time at the high rotation speed relatively short and the time at the low rotation speed relatively long, the powder can be adhered to the food without being offset.

[0060] Also, in the change of the rotation speed of the rotating body shown in FIG. 6a, a time of rotating at a medium rotation speed may be added between the low rotation speed and the high rotation speed. Also, a plurality of medium rotation speeds may be added to change the rotation speed step by step.

[0061] The rotating body 3 may be a rotating brush (brush) described in Patent Document 3. In this case, by adopting an inverted trough-shaped conveyor belt transport surface, powder can be adhered to the downward inclined surface of the food transported by the transport conveyor.

[0062] Also, by changing the rotation speed of the rotating brush (brush) to change the force with which the rotating brush contacts the pins and blows the powder, the region where the powder is blown can be repeatedly varied. Furthermore, by inclining the rotating shaft with respect to the horizontal direction, that is, inclining it outward in the width direction from the bottom to the top, the powder can be blown obliquely upward and scattered farther.

[0063] In the above-described embodiment, the rotating bodies 3 and 203 may be configured such that the positions of the rotation axes 33 and 37 can be adjusted in the width direction with respect to the conveyance direction R. Thereby, according to the weight of the powder 11, the distance between the rotating bodies 3 and 203 and the foods 10 and 100 (that is, the distance between the rotating bodies 3 and 203 and the conveyor conveyance surface 5B of the conveyor 5) can be adjusted, and the adhesion of the powder 10 to the foods 10 and 100 can be adjusted. For example, in the case of a relatively heavy powder such as starch, the adhesion state tends to change due to such a change in the distance.

[0064] Changes other than the change in the rotation speed of the rotating body 3 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B are also possible. For example, in the first embodiment, by shifting the timing of the change in the rotation speed of the four rotating bodies 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D clockwise or counterclockwise in plan view in order, the powder 11 is scattered in a spiral shape, and it may be promoted that the powder 11 adheres to the entire food 10. Further, the timing of changing the rotation speed of the four rotating bodies 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D is arbitrary and may be the same as each other or different from each other. Also, the predetermined low rotation speed and / or the predetermined high rotation speed of the four rotating bodies 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D may be the same as each other or different from each other. Further, the time of rotating at the predetermined low rotation speed and / or the time of rotating at the predetermined high rotation speed of the four rotating bodies 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D may be the same as each other or different from each other. Using such a combination of changes in the rotation speed, it is preferable to scatter the powder 11 randomly, adjust the range in which the powder 11 is scattered, or promote the adhesion of the powder 11 to the entire food 10.

[0065] The above-described embodiments and modifications may be arbitrarily combined.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0066] 1, 101, 201 Powder adhesion device 3, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203 Rotating body 31 Upper rotating plate 32 Lower rotating plate 33 Rotating shaft 36 Rotating plate 37 Rotating shaft 5 Conveyor 5AC Central part (placement surface) 5AS End part (inclined surface) 5B Conveyor conveying surface 10, 110 Food 11 Powder

Claims

1. A powder adhering device (1, 101, 201) for adhering powder (11) to the surface of food (10, 110), comprising a conveyor (5) including a conveyor transport surface (5B) for transporting the food (10, 110), at least one rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) disposed laterally of the conveyor transport surface (5B), and a control device (15), wherein the rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) is configured to fly the powder (11) toward the food (10, 110) being transported by the conveyor transport surface (5B) by rotation of the rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203), and while the powder (11) is being flown, the control device (15) is configured to repeatedly change the rotation speed of the rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203). The powder adhering device (1, 101, 201).

2. The rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) is configured to alternately and repeatedly change between a predetermined low rotation speed and a predetermined high rotation speed, or continuously and repeatedly change between the predetermined low rotation speed and the predetermined high rotation speed while the powder (11) is being flown. The powder adhering device (1, 101, 201) according to Claim 1.

3. The rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) is configured to periodically change the rotation speed while the powder (11) is being flown. The powder adhering device (1, 101, 201) according to Claim 1 or 2.

4. The rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) are a plurality of the rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D), and the low rotation speed and / or the high rotation speed of the plurality of rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) are the same as each other or different from each other. The time of rotation at the low rotation speed and / or the time of rotation at the high rotation speed of the plurality of rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) are the same as each other or different from each other. The powder adhering device (1, 101) according to Claim 2.

5. The rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) are two pairs of rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) arranged so as to sandwich the conveyor conveying surface (5B), and are configured to shift the timing of changing the rotational speeds of the two pairs of the rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) clockwise or counterclockwise in a plan view. The powder adhesion device (1, 101) according to claim 1.

6. The rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) are a plurality of the rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D), and the timing of changing the rotational speeds of the plurality of the rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) is the same as each other or different from each other. The powder adhesion device (1, 101) according to claim 1.

7. The rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) include a rotating shaft (33) arranged to be inclined with respect to the horizontal direction and a rotating plate (31, 32) or a rotating brush attached to the rotating shaft (33), and the rotating shaft (33) is inclined in a direction away from the conveyor conveying surface (5B) as going from below to above. The powder adhesion device (1) according to claim 1.

8. The conveyor conveying surface (5B) has a flat central portion (5AC) and end portions (5AS) inclined downward toward the outer side in the width direction on both sides thereof. The rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) are configured to blow the powder (11) from below the central portion (5AC) of the conveyor conveying surface (5B). The powder adhesion device (1, 101, 201) according to claim 1.

9. The rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) include a rotating plate (32, 36) attached to a rotating shaft (33), and the outer periphery of the rotating plate (32, 36) is configured to rotate while contacting the end portion (5AS) of the conveyor conveying surface (5B). The powder adhesion device (1, 101, 201) according to claim 8.

10. The rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) include a rotating shaft (33) arranged perpendicular or inclined with respect to the horizontal direction and a rotating plate (31, 32) or a rotating brush attached to the rotating shaft (33), and the distance between the conveyor conveying surface (5B) and the rotating shaft (33, 37) is adjustable. The powder adhesion device (1, 101, 201) according to claim 1. In a powder adhesion device (1, 101, 201) including a conveying conveyor (5), rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203), and a control device (15), a powder adhesion method for adhering powder (11) to the surface of food (10, 110), comprising: conveying the food (10, 110) by a conveyor conveying surface (5B) of the conveying conveyor (5); launching the powder (11) toward the food (10) by at least one of the rotating bodies (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) disposed laterally of the conveyor conveying surface (5B); while the powder (11) is being launched, repeatedly changing the rotational speed of the rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) under the control of the control device (15) of the powder adhesion device (1, 101, 201).

12. The rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) includes a rotating shaft (33) disposed obliquely with respect to the horizontal direction and a rotating plate (31, 32) attached to the rotating shaft (33), and launches the powder (11) obliquely upward from the rotating plate (31, 32). The powder adhesion method according to claim 11.

13. The conveyor conveying surface (5B) has a flat central portion (5AC) and end portions (5AS) that slope downward toward the outer side in the width direction on both sides thereof, and the powder (11) is launched by the rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) between the food (10) and the end portions (5AS). The powder adhesion method according to claim 11.

14. The rotating body (3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 203) includes a rotating plate (32, 36); rotating the rotating plate (32, 36) while in contact with the end portion (5AS) of the conveyor conveying surface (5B); launching the powder (11) deposited on the end portion (5AS) of the conveyor conveying surface (5B) by the rotating plate (32, 36). The powder adhesion method according to claim 13.

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