An ingredient supplying device for instant cup food that counts and supplies small pieces of ingredients such as kamaboko into aligned, traveling cups.

Abstract

To count small piece ingredients such as thin flat fish cakes piece by piece and supply a prescribed number of them into cups travelling intermittently, to prevent scattering of the small piece ingredients when dropping and place them in an aligned state.SOLUTION: A receiving dish body having a circular shape in a plan view where an upward-tilted ingredient drop hole is provided, is mounted in an inclined manner under a hopper with ingredients on a travelling route of a cup, a rotation circular disk is provided where U-shaped cutouts are provided circumferentially on a bottom plate of the receiving dish body, small piece ingredients such as fish cakes, coming into the receiving dish body from the hopper, are filled and delivered piece by piece by the upward rotational movement of the U-shaped cutouts, and a prescribed number of them is supplied from one drop hole onto noodles in the cup which is intermittently stopped, and the cup is moved upward so as to prevent scattering of the small piece ingredients.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for counting and supplying a fixed number of small pieces of ingredients such as kamaboko into cups that are moving in an aligned manner. [Background technology]

[0002] The applicant has proposed in Patent No. 5755267 a device that automatically supplies ingredients from above into cups that are filled with food ingredients such as noodles and suspended in an aligned and running manner using a retainer conveyor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5755267 Publication Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the above-mentioned invention has a problem in that it is not possible to accurately count and supply small, thin, flat pieces of ingredients such as kamaboko in units of several pieces.

[0005] That is, if the number of small pieces of ingredient supplied is more than the specified number, losses will occur, and if the number of small pieces of ingredient supplied is slightly different from the specified number, there is a risk that the product will be judged as defective during product inspection.

[0006] Furthermore, even if the correct number of ingredients is supplied, if small pieces of ingredients are dropped into the cup from a height, they may bounce on the noodles and scatter outside the cup, or may get hidden between the noodles and the cup and be impossible to identify during inspection.In addition, there is the problem that small pieces of ingredients scattered on top of the noodles can make the product look unattractive. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem by installing a circular tray body in a slanted position below an ingredient hopper located on the cup's travel path, providing a single ingredient drop hole at the upper end of the slanted tray body, and providing a rotating disk with a U-shaped notch around its periphery on the bottom plate of the tray body. Small pieces of ingredient such as kamaboko (fish paste) entering the tray body from the hopper are rotated and fed towards the ingredient drop hole by the U-shaped notch, and a specified number of pieces are counted and sequentially aligned and fed from the single drop hole onto the noodles in the cup, which is stopped intermittently. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The present invention has the effect of being able to count small, thin, flat pieces of ingredients such as kamaboko and supply a fixed number of pieces onto the noodles in a cup.

[0009] By coloring the bottom plate appearing in the U-shaped notch in a color different from that of the small ingredients, it is possible to prevent mistakes in counting the small ingredients by the counting sensor.

[0010] While the cups are stopped intermittently under the tray, the cups are moved upward to prevent the scattering and scattering of small pieces of ingredients that fall onto the noodles, and the cups can be placed in an aligned state on the noodles. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a front view of a cup during travel, and (b) is a front view showing the cup being raised during intermittent stops to drop the kamaboko filling. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] (a) is a plan view showing the bottom plate with side walls and the rotating disc separately, and (b) is a perspective view showing the state in which small kamaboko pieces in the U-shaped notches are being carried toward the kamaboko drop hole by the rotation of the rotating disc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0012] 1 is hopper 1a is a shoot 2 is the saucer body 2a is the bottom plate 2b is a kamaboko drop hole 2c is a U-shaped notch 2d is a rotating disk 2e is the side wall around the tray 2F is an inward-facing tsuba 2g is a counting optical sensor 2h is a drop tube 3 is a retainer conveyor 4 is the up and down mechanism G is a small, thin, flat piece of kamaboko C is cup M is noodles DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] In this invention, a receiving tray that is circular in plan view and has a single ingredient drop hole that slopes upward is installed at an angle below an ingredient-containing hopper that is installed on the running path of the cups, and a rotating disk with a circumferential U-shaped notch is installed on the bottom plate of the receiving tray, and small pieces of ingredient such as kamaboko that drop from the hopper into the receiving tray are fed upward one by one through the circumferential U-shaped notch as the rotating disk rotates, and the number of pieces that have fallen in is counted during this time and dropped sequentially through the single drop hole onto the noodles in the cup that is stopped intermittently, and the cup is raised during this time to prevent the small pieces of ingredient from scattering outside the cup.

[0014] An embodiment of the counting and feeding of small kamaboko pieces will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a hopper 1 containing a large number of thin, flat kamaboko pieces G is installed on the travel path of cups C, and a receiving tray 2 is attached at an angle below a chute 1a connected to the hopper 1. The receiving tray 2 is circular in plan view, with a single kamaboko drop hole 2b provided on the bottom plate 2a at the upper end of the slope. A rotating disk 2d with U-shaped notches 2c around its periphery is provided at regular intervals on the bottom plate 2a, through which kamaboko G are inserted and fed one by one. Each U-shaped notch 2c has an open outer end to make it easier to insert a single kamaboko G, and is of the right size and height for insertion and feeding. 2e is the side wall around the bottom plate 2, which gradually increases in height toward the lower end of the slope and has an inward-facing flange 2f. 2g is a counting optical sensor that detects and counts each small piece of kamaboko G that passes through the ingredient drop hole 2b at a position just above it, 2h is a drop tube connected to the bottom of the kamaboko drop hole 2b, 3 is a retainer conveyor that moves the cup C intermittently, and 4 is a vertical movement mechanism that moves the cup C, which stops intermittently below the drop tube 2h, up and down.

[0015] The small kamaboko pieces G fall from the chute 1a of the hopper 1 to the inclined lower side of the receiving tray body 2, and as the rotating disk 2d rotates, these small kamaboko pieces G enter the U-shaped notch 2c one by one, are carried to the inclined upper end of the bottom plate 2a, and fall sequentially from the kamaboko drop hole 2b. The small kamaboko pieces G are detected one by one by a counting optical sensor 2g along the way, and are counted and supplied one by one from the drop tube 2h onto the noodles M in the cup C, which is stopped intermittently, for example, three small kamaboko pieces G, and then the rotating disk 2d stops rotating, and the next small kamaboko pieces G in the U-shaped notch 2c do not fall from the drop hole 2b. As shown in Figure 1(b), while the cup C is stopped intermittently, it is moved upward by the vertical movement mechanism 4 to bring the distance between the drop tube 2h and the noodles M very close, preventing the small pieces of kamaboko G that are dropped from bouncing off the noodles M and flying out of the cup C, or getting stuck between the noodles M and the cup C, and preventing them from falling in a disorderly manner, and ensuring that they are neatly placed on the noodles M.

[0016] Small kamaboko pieces G that fall into the sloping lower portion of the receiving tray 2 are prevented from spilling out by the high lower sidewall 2e and the presence of the inward flange 2f. Because the receiving tray 2 is sloping, the small kamaboko pieces G fit into the U-shaped notch 2c one by one, while the remaining small kamaboko pieces G slide back down. The angle of inclination of the receiving tray 2, depending on the size and quality of the small kamaboko pieces G, has been found to be in the range of 40 to 50 degrees, preferably around 45 degrees, which achieves efficient operation with minimal dropouts. If the angle is too shallow, the other small kamaboko pieces G that do not fit into the U-shaped notch 2c may move together while remaining overlapping, while if the angle is too steep, the small kamaboko pieces G will not fit into the U-shaped notch 2c and will spin freely.

[0017] In addition, as shown in Figure 3, by coloring the bottom plate 2a in a highly distinguishable color, for example, blue, which is different from the white color of the small kamaboko pieces G, the clear difference in color allows the counting optical sensor 2g to accurately detect the presence or absence of the small kamaboko pieces G in the U-shaped notch 2c and count them accurately.

[0018] A receiving tray 2 is provided for each running row of cups C, and the hopper 1 can be a single unit or multiple units, with each unit having a branched chute 1a, allowing small pieces of kamaboko G to be continuously supplied to multiple receiving trays 2. Small pieces of kamaboko G can also be replaced with other ingredients such as small pieces of naruto. [Industrial Applicability]

[0019] The present invention is widely used by counting small pieces of ingredients such as kamaboko one by one and accurately supplying a set number of pieces into a cup.

Claims

1. This is an ingredient supplying device for instant cup foods that counts and supplies a fixed number of small pieces of ingredient such as kamaboko (fish paste) onto noodles in cups that travel intermittently, the device comprising: a receiving tray body that is circular in plan view and has a single ingredient drop hole that slopes upward below an ingredient-containing hopper on the travel path of the cups; a rotating disk with a circumferential U-shaped notch through which small pieces of ingredient such as kamaboko (fish paste) are fed one by one from the hopper into the receiving tray body by rotating and upward the U-shaped notch, and a specified number of small pieces of ingredient such as kamaboko (fish paste) are fed sequentially from the single drop hole onto the noodles in the cups that travel intermittently, the device comprising: a receiving tray body that is circular in plan view and has a single ingredient drop hole that slopes upward below an ingredient-containing hopper on the travel path of the cups;

2. 2. An ingredient supplying device for instant cup food, which counts and supplies a fixed number of small pieces of ingredient such as kamaboko into the aligned and traveling cups according to claim 1, wherein the inclination angle of the receiving tray is approximately 45 degrees.

3. 3. An ingredient supplying device for instant cup food that counts and supplies a fixed number of small pieces of ingredients such as kamaboko into cups that are aligned and traveling according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an optical sensor for counting small pieces of ingredients such as kamaboko is provided above the U-shaped notch that rotates and passes through.

4. 4. An ingredient supplying device for instant cup food that counts and supplies a fixed number of small pieces of ingredients such as kamaboko into cups that run in an alignment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the top surface of the bottom plate is colored differently from the small pieces of ingredients, thereby enabling accurate detection and counting of the presence or absence of small pieces of ingredients in the U-shaped notches that rotate upward.

5. 5. An ingredient supplying device for instant cup food that counts and supplies a fixed number of small pieces of ingredients such as kamaboko into cups that travel in an aligned fashion according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the traveling cups move upward while intermittently stopping under the receiving body to prevent the small pieces of ingredients from scattering.

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