Method and device for separating boiled noodles into individual servings

Abstract

To provide a method and a device for picking up a serving for an individual portion of boiled noodles, capable of preventing short noodles from being brought forth by a novel method without relying on a cut-off-upon-filled-up method for obtaining one portion.SOLUTION: A method and a device include a pinching tube 4 in a bottom of a noodle supply tank 1, the tube extending toward a measuring basket 3 via an ejector nozzle 2 for taking out noodle lines. The ejector nozzle 2 has a function of assisting taking out noodle lines from a noodle supply port in a bottom face of the noodle supply tank 1. The pinching tube 4 includes midway thereof a pinch valve 5 that intermittently pinches the pinching tube 4 so that the noodles lines in the pinching tube 4 can be temporarily prevented from coming down when the pinching tube 4 is pinched by the pinch valve 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and device for dividing boiled noodles into individual servings, in which noodles boiled in a large pot are divided into individual servings, and more specifically to a method and device for dividing boiled noodles into individual servings, in which a fixed amount of noodles can be taken out without cutting the noodle strings. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, noodles boiled in a large pot are cooled and separated into individual servings using a separate ball-separating device, which then separates them into buckets at the downstream stage and sends them to the packaging process. The mechanism of the ball-separating device in this case generally uses a volumetric measuring system, which ensures a certain volume (weight) by leveling off the top of a full weighing basket. With this level-separating measuring system, noodles that protrude from the weighing basket are cut off, so the resulting short noodles inevitably remain in the finished product. Firm noodle strands, such as Japanese soba noodles, are particularly prone to breaking, resulting in a high incidence of short noodles, which reduces their commercial value. Therefore, currently, they are rarely produced on a line with a separate ball-separating device.

[0003] In order to prevent the generation of short noodles that accompany the level measurement, it is necessary to supply noodle strands in small amounts from the noodle supply tank. This method discloses an automatic method for measuring boiled noodles (JP 2012-50425 A). This method coordinates the water flow with the rotating drum to create a flow that rotates up and down, preventing the boiled noodles stored in the water in the noodle supply tank from becoming crowded due to settling or being scraped together by stirring in the reciprocating orbit, and enables the noodles to be supplied in small amounts.

[0004] However, with this configuration, while the occurrence of broken noodles can be reduced, there is still the problem that it cannot be reduced to zero, and while the small-volume supply of noodles is effective in preventing clogging of the outlet at the bottom of the noodle supply tank, there is a possibility that some noodles may not meet the allowable weight, which results in the problem of time-consuming re-weighing.To solve this problem, a level-scale weighing method has been proposed that reduces the occurrence of broken noodles when weighing level with a ball-removing machine, and rather than simply aiming to improve weighing accuracy by reducing the standard deviation, increases the probability that the weight will be distributed within the allowable range (correct weight pass rate), increases the correct weight pass rate when measuring 0.5 servings to make one serving, and further increases the correct weight pass rate without reducing the processing efficiency of the ball-removing machine when measuring 0.5 servings to make one serving (JP 2021-32874 A). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-50425 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-32874 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] As mentioned above, the invention of Patent Document 1 has the problem of not being able to sufficiently prevent the occurrence of short noodles due to leveling, while the invention of Patent Document 2 has the problem of the time-consuming task of measuring half servings and the resulting complexity of the system. Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a method and device for dividing boiled noodles into individual servings that also uses a volumetric measuring method but separates the noodles into individual servings using a new method that does not rely on the leveling method, thereby preventing the occurrence of short noodles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As a result of extensive research into solving the above problems, the inventors came up with the idea that, while using the same volumetric measuring system, it would be possible to separate the noodles into portions for each meal rather than by leveling them off, by placing an extremely low-pressure pinch valve on top of the measuring basket and tightening it with a pinch valve that would apply such low pressure that the noodles would not be cut off, thereby making it possible to measure the noodles, and thus developed the present invention.

[0008] During the research and development process, it was discovered that the number and length of noodles held by the pinch valve varied depending on the diameter of the tube used to hold the noodles, resulting in a large change in the volume of noodles entering the weighing basket at the bottom, resulting in weight errors for each serving. Therefore, attempts were made to reduce this change by narrowing the diameter of the tube through which the noodles pass, but this resulted in clogging of the noodles, a longer weighing time, and a reduced throughput. Following this result, further research was conducted, leading to the conclusion that an effective solution to this problem would be to use a water ejector in combination with the tube, as this would minimize the diameter of the take-out tube and shorten the take-out time, and this led to the completion of this invention.

[0009] That is, the invention described in claim 1 to solve the above problem is as follows: A method for separating boiled noodles into individual portions using a boiled noodle separating device having a configuration in which a pinch tube extending toward a measuring basket via an ejector nozzle for removing noodle strings is disposed at the bottom of a noodle supply tank, supplying noodle strings from the noodle supply tank to the pinching tube through the noodle string removal ejector nozzle; , The aforementioned The middle part of the pinch tube , with a pressure that can prevent the noodle strings from falling without breaking them. By pinching, the falling of the noodle strings in the pinching tube is intermittently stopped, The aforementioned The amount of noodles falling into the weighing basket is restricted. The process and Contains This is a method for dividing boiled noodles into individual portions.

[0010] Further, the invention described in claim 2 for solving the above problem provides a pinch tube that is disposed at the bottom of the noodle supply tank and extends toward the measuring basket via an ejector nozzle for removing noodle strings, The ejector nozzle is A downward flow nozzle is provided for ejecting a downward water flow that acts to assist in drawing out the noodle strings from a noodle supply outlet at the bottom of the noodle supply tank. , the pinch tube is in the middle of the pinch tube, With a pressure that can prevent the noodle strings from falling without breaking themThis boiled noodle separating device for dividing noodles into individual portions is characterized in that it is provided with a pinch valve that pinches intermittently, and when the pinch valve pinches the pinch tube, the falling of the noodle strings in the pinch tube is temporarily stopped.

[0011] In one embodiment is before The ejector nozzle includes an upward flow nozzle that ejects an upward water flow that turns over the noodle strings near the noodle supply outlet at the bottom of the noodle supply tank, thereby preventing noodle clogging.

[0012] In one embodiment, the downflow nozzles and the upflow nozzles are controlled to alternately spray high-pressure water.

[0013] In one embodiment, the pinch valve includes a pair of tube elements that pinch the pinch tube, and the pair of tube elements are depressed by a vacuum operation after the pinch tube is clamped to assist the pinch tube in restoring its original shape. Also, in one embodiment, a metering extension tube is disposed between the lower end of the pinch tube and the measuring basket. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] As described above, the present invention uses a volumetric measuring system, but rather than using a leveling method to separate the noodles into individual servings, a method is used in which a slight pressure is applied to the middle section of the pinching tube, which is located between the noodle outlet at the bottom of the noodle supply tank and the measuring basket, to intermittently stop the falling of the noodle strings inside the pinching tube, thereby preventing the creation of short noodles and enabling the amount of noodle strings that fall into the measuring basket to be regulated and measured. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a boiled noodle individual portioning device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] 2A and 2B are a partial cross-sectional view and a cross-sectional view along line AA of an ejector nozzle in the boiled noodle individual portion-separating ball-removing device according to the present invention. [Figure 3]1A and 1B are a front view and a cross-sectional view along line BB of a pinch valve and a pinch tube portion in a boiled noodle individual portioning device according to the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is an exploded perspective view of a pinch valve and a pinch tube portion of the boiled noodle individual portioning device according to the present invention. FIG. [Figure 5] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a pinch valve and a pinch tube portion of a boiled noodle individual portioning device according to the present invention. FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pinch valve and pinch tube portion in the boiled noodle individual portioning device according to the present invention. FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pinch valve and the pinch tube portion in the boiled noodle individual portioning device according to the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The method for dividing boiled noodles into individual servings according to the present invention is characterized in that the amount of noodle strings falling into the measuring basket is restricted by applying a slight pressure to the middle part of a pinch tube, which is a passageway for noodle strings to fall between a noodle outlet at the bottom of a noodle supply tank and a measuring basket, thereby intermittently stopping the falling of the noodle strings.

[0017] Furthermore, the boiled noodle individual portion-separating ball-removing device of the present invention is used to carry out the above method, and multiple (usually 2 to 6) ball-removing devices are arranged side by side at the bottom of a noodle supply tank 1 disposed above a machine frame (not shown). Each ball-removing device comprises an ejector nozzle 2 for removing noodle strings that is fixedly installed at the bottom of the noodle supply tank 1, a measuring unit attached to the ejector nozzle 2, and a measuring basket 3 disposed below the measuring unit, and the measuring unit comprises a pinch tube 4 and a pinch valve 5 that is disposed midway along the pinch tube 4 and intermittently clamps the pinch tube 4 (Fig. 1).

[0018] The ejector nozzle 2 functions to assist in drawing out the noodle strings from the noodle supply outlet 1a at the bottom of the noodle supply tank 1, and also to prevent the noodle supply outlet 1a from clogging with noodles. As will be described later, in order to perform these functions, the ejector nozzle 2 is formed with multiple (e.g., six) downward flow nozzles 14 that spray a downward water flow for drawing in the noodle strings, and multiple upward flow nozzles 15 that spray an upward water flow for turning the noodle strings, each of which is arranged centripetally (Fig. 2).

[0019] The ejector nozzle 2 consists of a resin nozzle body 11 and a metal cover 12 that surrounds the nozzle body 11, and a noodle passage 13 is formed that penetrates the nozzle body 11 from top to bottom. The inner diameter of the noodle passage 13 is uniform from the top to bottom. Threaded cylinders 16 and 17 are provided on the lower and upper halves of the ejector nozzle 2, respectively, so as to protrude laterally.

[0020] The lower half of the nozzle body 11 is narrowed in diameter, and an annular water passage 18 is formed on its circumferential surface, with the screw cylinder 16 installed so that it opens toward the annular water passage 18. A plurality of downflow nozzles 14 are drilled obliquely downward from the annular water passage 18 toward the noodle passage 13. Furthermore, an annular water passage 19 is formed on the circumferential surface of the upper half of the nozzle body 11, and the screw cylinder 17 is installed so that it opens toward the annular water passage 19. A plurality of upflow nozzles 15 are drilled obliquely upward from the annular water passage 19 toward the noodle passage 13.

[0021] A hose joint 21 for supplying high-pressure water for drawing out the noodle strings is screwed onto the screw cylinder 16, and a hose joint 22 for supplying high-pressure water for turning the noodle strings is screwed onto the screw cylinder 17. A high-pressure water supply mechanism that supplies high-pressure water alternately and intermittently is connected to the hose joints 21 and 22.

[0022] 1, the high-pressure water supply mechanism includes a three-way water solenoid valve 23 that receives high-pressure water supplied from a pressure storage tank, and flow control valves 24 and 25 that are connected to the three-way solenoid valve 23. One flow control valve 24 is connected to a hose joint 22 via a high-pressure water supply hose 27, and the other flow control valve 25 is connected to a hose joint 21 via a high-pressure water supply hose 28. The three-way solenoid valve 23 and flow control valves 24 and 25 are provided for each ball removal device.

[0023] 3 to 5 in particular, the metering section connected to the lower side of the ejector nozzle 2 is made up of a pinch tube 4 and a pinch valve 5 that is arranged midway through the pinch tube 4 and intermittently pinches the pinch tube 4. The pinch tube 4 is fitted into an inlet piping ferrule 31 that is connected at its upper end to the bottom of the ejector nozzle 2 and secured with a hose band, or, as will be described later, is secured by inserting a rubber ring when attaching the connecting blocks 6, 6a to the inlet piping ferrule 31.

[0024] As shown in Figure 4, pinch valve 5 comprises a pair of connecting blocks 6, 6a and a pair of valve bodies 36, 36a supported between the connecting blocks 6, 6a, and the connecting blocks 6, 6a are connected by fastening the upper and lower parts of the connecting blocks 6, 6a with screws 7 while supporting the valve bodies 36, 36a and sandwiching the pinch tube 4 therebetween. At this time, the pinch valve 5 is fixed to the inlet piping ferrule 31 by applying strong pressure from the upper parts of the connecting blocks 6, 6a to the lower part of the inlet piping ferrule 31 on which the pinch tube 4 is fitted. In addition, the outlet piping ferrule 32 is fixed to the pinch valve 5 by applying strong pressure from the lower parts of the connecting blocks 6, 6a to the upper part of the outlet piping ferrule 32 on which the pinch tube 4 is inserted.

[0025] The connecting blocks 6, 6a are provided with support holes 8, 8a arranged side by side for inserting and supporting the ends of the valve bodies 36, 36a, respectively. A low-pressure air supply hole 9 is formed in one of the connecting blocks 6a.

[0026] The valve bodies 36, 36a of the pinch valve 5 are composed of a semicircular case 37, a core 38 with a semicircular cross section that is housed within the case 37, and a thin-walled rubber tube element 39 that is airtightly fitted around the core 38. The core 38 is formed with an air inlet / outlet hole 40 that is closed at the back and communicates with the low-pressure air supply hole 9 of the connecting block 6a (see Figure 6 in particular). The air inlet / outlet hole 40 receives extremely low-pressure compressed air for operation from a pinch valve vacuum mechanism, and also receives air from the air inlet / outlet hole 40. Both ends of the tube element 39 are pressed against the core 38 by retaining ferrules 39a to maintain an airtight seal, and pressurization cushion rubber packings 39b are placed on the outside of the retaining ferrules 39a (see Figure 6).

[0027] As shown in Figure 1, the pinch valve vacuum mechanism is composed of a regulator 42 that reduces the pressure of high-pressure air (0.5 MPa) that has passed through a filter 41, a micro-pressure regulator 43 that further reduces the pressure, a vacuum ejector 44, and a three-port direct-acting solenoid valve 45 for low-pressure air. A three-port direct-acting solenoid valve 45 is provided for each ball-removing device, while the vacuum ejector 44 is common to all the ball-removing devices. The operation timing of the three-port direct-acting solenoid valve 45 and the three-way solenoid valve 23 is controlled via a timer 24. The pinch valve 5 clamps the group of noodle strings M that fall through the pinch tube 4 without cutting them, creating a measurement interval. To avoid cutting soft noodle strings, the pinch pressure must be kept extremely low, i.e., approximately 0.01 to 0.05 MPa, depending on the tube diameter.

[0028] In the case of the individual serving noodle dispenser according to the present invention, batches of boiled noodles are fed into the noodle supply tank 1 in units of 5 to 10 kg. To dispense small amounts of noodles from a mass of noodle strands M, it is necessary to break up the noodle strands to a certain extent so that their concentration with water remains constant. Otherwise, the time required for metering will be unstable. Therefore, in the present invention, a loosening mechanism is provided in the noodle supply tank 1 to turn the noodle strands M near the noodle supply outlet 1a at the bottom of the tank to prevent clogging. Any of a variety of commonly used loosening mechanisms with different configurations can be used as the loosening mechanism. Cooperation between this loosening mechanism and the upward flow nozzle 15, which ejects the upward water flow for turning the noodle strands, prevents clogging of the noodle supply outlet 1a.

[0029] A metering extension tube 33 that extends to the weighing basket 3 is connected to the outlet piping ferrule 32. The metering extension tube 33 is installed to prevent the noodle strings M from spilling out from the top surface of the weighing basket 3. That is, in the present invention, volumetric metering is performed, but if the weighing basket 3 becomes full of noodles and the noodles reach the outlet piping ferrule 32, the outlet of the auxiliary water flow from the downward flow nozzle 14 also becomes blocked, the flow rate decreases, and the flow of the noodle strings M from the noodle supply outlet 1a stops. The metering extension tube 33 is installed to avoid this situation and is, for example, about 100 mm long.

[0030] The weighing basket 3 has punched holes on its periphery and an open bottom, which opens and closes in response to the operation of an opening-closing plate 47 located below it. The opening-closing plate 47 is axially supported so that it can rotate downward from a horizontal position. When in the horizontal position, it closes the bottom opening of the weighing basket 3 to store the noodle strings M, and when it rotates downward, it opens the bottom opening to allow the accumulated noodle blocks to fall under their own weight, into a bucket that rotates below and is then sent to the next process, the packaging process. The opening-closing plate 47 is opened and closed by an air cylinder 49 that operates intermittently under the control of a timer 48 linked to the timer 24. It is preferable that the weighing basket 3 has a sliding cylinder 3a attached to the bottom of the main body that slides up and down relative to the main body, and that the capacity can be adjusted by moving this cylinder up and down.

[0031] In the boiled noodle individual portioning device according to the present invention configured as described above, noodle blocks that have been boiled in batches are fed in units of 5 to 10 kg into a noodle supply tank 1 containing water. The fed noodle blocks are turned over and loosened by the action of a loosening mechanism provided in the noodle supply tank 1, and are further loosened by the upward water flow from the upward flow nozzle 15, so that noodle strands M do not accumulate near the noodle delivery outlet 1a and cause noodle clogging.

[0032] High-pressure water is intermittently and alternately supplied to the upflow nozzle 15 and the downflow nozzle 14 by the action of the three-way solenoid valve 23, and while an upward flow is being sprayed from the upflow nozzle 15, the noodle strands M stop falling into the ejector nozzle 2, and while a downward flow is being sprayed from the downflow nozzle 14, the noodle strands M are drawn into the ejector nozzle 2. In other words, the noodle strands M that have fallen into the ejector nozzle 2 are urged downward by the action of the downflow nozzle 14, which sprays a downward water flow for drawing in the noodle strands, and fall from the noodle passage 13 into the pinch tube 4, and then pass through the metering extension tube 33 and are accumulated in the weighing basket 3.

[0033] After a predetermined time has passed, when a predetermined amount of low-pressure air is sent to the low-pressure air supply hole 9 of the connecting block 6a, the low-pressure air is introduced into the air inlet / outlet holes 40 of the valve bodies 36, 36a that face each other across the pinching tube 4, and acts to cause the tube element 39 at the air inlet / outlet hole 40 to expand horizontally. As a result, the pinching tube 4 is compressed and crushed, and the group of noodle strings M that is falling is held down (Figure 7), and is separated from the group of noodle strings M that fell earlier. In other words, one serving's worth is measured out.

[0034] Then, after a predetermined time has passed, when the low-pressure air inside the air inlet / outlet hole 40 is sucked out and the pinch valve 5 opens, the pinch tube 4, which had been crushed, returns to its original circular cross-section due to its elasticity, and the group of noodle strings M that had been clamped is released and falls under its own weight. However, since there are cases where the pinch tube 4 does not completely return to its original shape within a short period of time, the present invention is provided with a function to restore the pinch tube 4 by vacuum operation so that when the pinch valve 5 opens, the pinch tube 4 completely returns to its original shape, ensuring a noodle passage and allowing the group of noodle strings M to fall smoothly. In other words, a negative pressure is created inside the air inlet / outlet hole 40 so that the tube element 39 is recessed along the air inlet / outlet hole 40 (see Figures 6 and 7).

[0035] In the present invention, in order to improve weighing accuracy, the pinch tube 4, which is the passage for the noodle strings M, is narrowed to reduce the number of noodle strings passing through. However, to prevent this from slowing down the weighing speed, an auxiliary water flow (ejector water flow) is sent from the downward flow nozzle 14 to increase the falling speed of the noodle strings M to be weighed.

[0036] Then, once the metering operation is complete, a reverse flow (upward flow) is made to flow from the upward flow nozzle 15 to the noodle delivery outlet 1a at the bottom of the noodle supply tank 1 to prevent the outlet 1a from being clogged with noodle blocks. Furthermore, when the metering operation is complete, the pinch valve 5 closes and the group of noodle strands M is pinched within the pinch tube 4, causing this section to become blocked. Therefore, if the upward flow nozzle 15 is formed to point slightly upward, the water sprayed from the upward flow nozzle 15 will reliably head toward the noodle delivery outlet 1a.

[0037] The noodle block for one serving that has been weighed and stored in the weighing basket 3 as described above falls under its own weight into a bucket that moves around below when an opening / closing plate 47 attached to the underside of the bottom opening of the weighing basket 3 is driven to open by an air cylinder 49, and is then sent to the next process, the packaging process. [Industrial Applicability]

[0038] As described above, the present invention uses a volumetric measuring system, but rather than using a leveling method to separate the noodles into individual servings, it uses a method in which a slight pressure is applied to the middle section of the pinching tube, which is located between the noodle outlet at the bottom of the noodle supply tank and the measuring basket, to intermittently stop the falling of the noodles inside the pinching tube. This has the effect of preventing the creation of short noodles while regulating the amount of noodle strings that fall into the measuring basket and allowing them to be measured, and has great industrial applicability. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1. Noodle supply tank 2 ejector nozzles 3 Weighing basket 4 Pinch tube 5 Pinch Valve 14 Downflow nozzle 15 Upflow nozzle 31 Inlet piping ferrule 32 Outlet piping ferrule 33 Metering extension tube 36,36a Valve body 39 Tube Element 40 Air inlet / outlet 47 Opening and closing plate

Claims

1. A method for separating boiled noodles into individual portions using a boiled noodle separating device having a configuration in which a pinch tube extending toward a weighing basket via an ejector nozzle for removing noodle strings is disposed at the bottom of a noodle supply tank, supplying noodle strings from the noodle supply tank to the pinching tube through the noodle string removal ejector nozzle; a step of restricting the amount of the noodle strings falling into the weighing basket by intermittently stopping the falling of the noodle strings through the pinch tube by pinching the middle portion of the pinch tube with a pressure that can suppress the falling of the noodle strings without cutting the noodle strings; A method for dividing boiled noodles into individual servings, comprising:

2. A pinch tube is disposed at the bottom of the noodle supply tank, and extends toward the measuring basket via an ejector nozzle for removing the noodle strings. The ejector nozzle is equipped with a downward flow nozzle that sprays a downward water flow that acts to assist in drawing out the noodle strings from the noodle supply outlet at the bottom of the noodle supply tank, and the pinch tube is equipped with a pinch valve in the middle that intermittently pinches the pinch tube with a pressure that can suppress the fall of the noodle strings without cutting them, so that the fall of the noodle strings in the pinch tube is temporarily stopped when the pinch valve pinches the pinch tube.

3. 3. The boiled noodle individual portioning device according to claim 2, wherein the ejector nozzle is provided with an upward flow nozzle that ejects an upward water flow that turns over the noodle strings near the noodle outlet at the bottom of the noodle supply tank to prevent noodle clogging.

4. 4. The boiled noodle separating device according to claim 3, wherein the downward flow nozzle and the upward flow nozzle are controlled to alternately spray high-pressure water.

5. 3. The boiled noodle individual portioning ball-taking device according to claim 2, wherein the pinch valve includes a pair of tube elements that pressurize the pinch tube, and the pair of tube elements are depressed by a vacuum operation after the pinch is completed to assist the pinch tube in restoring its original shape.

6. 3. The boiled noodle dispenser for dividing individual portions of noodles according to claim 2, wherein a measuring extension tube is disposed between the lower end of the pinching tube and the measuring basket.

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