Cleaning jig for food material cutting blade

Abstract

This cleaning jig for a food material cutting blade is attached to a cutting frame, which is detachably attached to a housing of a stick-shaped food material cutting device, and is used when cleaning the cutting blade. The cleaning jig is attached to a blade frame body of the cutting frame so as to face a blade edge of the cutting blade. The cleaning jig has a guard plate covering the cutting blade, a magnet provided on the guard plate to secure the guard plate to the cutting frame, and a large number of through holes formed in the guard plate to guide a cleaning liquid to the cutting blade.

Description

Fixture for cleaning food cutting blades

[0001] The present invention relates to a fixture for cleaning food cutting blades for cutting rod-shaped foods such as maki sushi.

[0002] A rod-shaped food cutting device for cutting a plurality of rod-shaped foods such as maki sushi is described in Patent Document 1. This cutting device has a movable table that supports and moves the rod-shaped food, and a blade frame provided with a plurality of cutting blades, that is, a blade frame body, and the blade frame body is fixed to a housing. The movable table reciprocates between a mounting position where the rod-shaped food is mounted and a take-out position, and the rod-shaped food before cutting mounted at the mounting position is pressed against the cutting blade while moving along the cutting blade by the movable table and is cut and conveyed to the take-out position. When it is conveyed to the take-out position, the rod-shaped food is in a state of being cut into a plurality of pieces.

[0003] In order to drive the movable table between the mounting position and the take-out position, a drive mechanism including a drive-side pulley that is rotationally driven by a motor and a belt that is wound around the drive-side pulley and a driven-side pulley is incorporated in the cutting device. The movable table is attached to the belt and is driven between the mounting position and the take-out position via the belt by a motor.

[0004] The maki sushi cutting device described in Patent Document 2 includes a cradle that supports the maki sushi and moves it in the vertical direction, a guide that guides the cradle in the vertical direction, an endless belt that is wound around drive-side and driven-side pulleys and to which the cradle is connected, and a blade frame body fixed to a housing. The maki sushi is cut by a plurality of cutting blades in the process of being conveyed from the mounting position to the take-out position and pressed against the cutting blade.

[0005] The maki sushi cutting device described in Patent Document 3 has a lifting and rotating arm provided with a maki sushi receiver at its tip and a flange at its base end, a cutting blade frame whose lower end rotates around a horizontal axis, and an operating connecting rod connected between the upper end of the cutting blade frame and the flange. When the flange is rotated by a motor, the maki sushi receiver moves upward toward the cutting blade frame by the lifting and rotating arm, and at the same time the upper end of the cutting blade frame moves downward, and the maki sushi is cut into a plurality of pieces.

[0006] As described above, the cutting blades described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are fixed, whereas the cutting blade described in Patent Document 3 rotates around its lower end so that its upper end moves downward as the sushi roll holder rises due to the lifting and lowering rotating arm.

[0007] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-181646, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-212789, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-95625

[0008] The movable table of the rod-shaped food cutting device described in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a cleaner for removing residue adhering to the cutting blade. The cleaner has a cleaning member that contacts the cutting blade when the movable table moves from the removal position to the mounting position. However, providing a cleaner to the food cutting device makes the device more complex and increases manufacturing costs.

[0009] In food cutting devices that do not have a built-in cleaner, the quadrilateral blade frame, or blade frame body, in which multiple cutting blades are assembled parallel to each other, is removed from the food cutting device, and the cutting blades are cleaned using a washing machine. If an operator manipulates the blade frame and applies a sponge directly to the cutting blades for cleaning, there is a risk of injuring their hands or fingers by touching the sharp edges of the cutting blades.

[0010] Therefore, a guard plate has been developed that attaches to the blade frame to cover the blade tip, allowing for cleaning of the cutting blade without touching the blade tip by manipulating the blade frame after removing it from the food cutting device. However, the guard plates developed so far are designed to hook their sides onto the blade frame, and there is a risk of touching the blade tip when attaching the guard plate to the blade frame. Also, if the cutting blade is cleaned with the guard plate in contact with the blade tip, the flow of the cleaning solution may be obstructed by the guard plate, and dirt may remain on the blade tip. On the other hand, if the gap between the blade tip and the guard plate is made large, there is a risk of injuring hands or fingers during the cleaning process, and if cleaning is performed without touching the blade tip, dirt may remain on the cutting blade.

[0011] The present invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned technical background, and aims to provide a cleaning jig for food cutting blades that can safely and reliably perform the cleaning work of food cutting blades used to cut rod-shaped food ingredients.

[0012] To solve the above problems, the cleaning jig for a food cutting blade of the present invention as described in claim 1 is a cleaning jig for a food cutting blade that is attached to a cutting frame which is detachably mounted on the housing of a rod-shaped food cutting device, the cutting frame which is equipped with a blade frame body having vertical frame pieces and horizontal frame pieces and a plurality of cutting blades that extend parallel to each other along the vertical frame pieces and are attached to the horizontal frame pieces, and is characterized in that it has a guard plate which is attached to the blade frame body facing the cutting edge of the cutting blade and covers the cutting blade, a fixing member which is provided on the guard plate and fixes the guard plate to the cutting frame, and a plurality of through holes which are formed in the guard plate and guide cleaning liquid to the cutting blade.

[0013] The cleaning jig for food cutting blades described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, a jig-side handle adjacent to the blade frame-side handle provided on the vertical frame piece is provided on the guard plate, so that the blade frame-side handle and the jig-side handle can be gripped simultaneously.

[0014] The cleaning jig for a food cutting blade of the present invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in claim 1, an outer peripheral flange is provided on the outer circumference of the guard plate, which is bent on the back side of the guard plate, and a reinforcing flange is provided on the inside of the outer peripheral flanges which are parallel to each other, and the guard plate is molded from a resin material.

[0015] The cleaning jig for a food cutting blade of the present invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that, in claim 1, the fixing member is a magnet that magnetically adheres to the cutting frame made of a magnetic material.

[0016] The cleaning jig for food cutting blades according to claim 5 of the present invention is characterized in that the through-holes are regular hexagons, and a large number of the through-holes are formed in a honeycomb shape in the guard plate.

[0017] According to the present invention, when a cleaning jig is attached to the cutting frame removed from the housing of the rod-shaped food cutting device, numerous through holes are formed in the guard plate facing the cutting blade of the cutting frame. As a result, the cleaning solution passes through the through holes and is reliably supplied to the cutting edge of the cutting blade, allowing the operator to safely and reliably clean the cutting blade.

[0018] This is a perspective view showing a sushi roll cutting device with a sushi roll loaded in the loading position. This is a perspective view showing a sushi roll cutting device with a sushi roll transported to the removal position. This is a perspective view showing a sushi roll cutting device with the protective cover removed. This is a perspective view showing a cutting frame removed from the housing of the sushi roll cutting device and a cleaning jig for food cutting blades, which is one embodiment of the present invention, facing each other. This is a perspective view showing the back side of the cleaning jig for food cutting blades. (A) is a front view of the cleaning jig for food cutting blades, and (B) is a rear view of the cleaning jig for food cutting blades. This is a perspective view showing the back side of the cleaning jig attached to the cutting frame. This is a front view of Figure 7. (A) is a cross-sectional view showing the reinforcing rib portion in Figure 8, and (B) is a cross-sectional view showing the portion other than the reinforcing rib in Figure 8. This is a perspective view showing a cutting frame with the cleaning jig attached being cleaned by a washing machine.

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings used to illustrate the embodiments, the same reference numerals are generally used for identical components, and repeated descriptions of such components will be omitted.

[0020] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the sushi roll cutting device M, an example of a rod-shaped food cutting device, is used to cut sushi rolls (rod-shaped food) R, such as seaweed rolls or egg rolls, into multiple pieces at predetermined intervals, and has a housing 1. The housing 1 has left and right side wall plates 2a and 2b that extend in the vertical direction, and a protective cover 3 that is detachably provided in the vertical center of the front of the housing 1. A loading opening 4 for loading the sushi rolls R to be cut is provided at the lower end of the housing 1. An opening / closing lid 5 is provided at the upper end of the housing 1, and as shown in Figure 2, when the opening / closing lid 5 is opened, a dispensing opening 6 provided at the upper end of the housing 1 is exposed to the outside. The dispensing opening 6 is offset to the rear side of the housing 1 from the loading opening 4.

[0021] A movable table 7 supporting the rolled sushi R is provided in the housing 1 so as to be movable, and the movable table 7 is guided by a guide rod (not shown) provided in the housing 1 and moves back and forth between the loading opening 4 and the dispensing opening 6. The drive mechanism (not shown) for moving the movable table 7 is similar to that in Patent Document 1 and includes pulleys provided at the upper and lower ends on both the left and right sides of the housing, a motor that rotates in both forward and reverse directions, and a belt stretched across the output shafts of the pulleys and the motor to which the movable table 7 is fixed. As the belt moves in both forward and reverse directions over a predetermined length by the motor, the movable table 7 reciprocates vertically between the position of the loading opening 4 and the position of the dispensing opening 6.

[0022] The movable table 7 comprises a base plate portion 7a and an upright portion 7b, and multiple slits 8 are formed in the movable table 7 at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction. These slits 8 are the cutting positions for the rolled sushi, and when the cutting blade, described later, enters the slits 8, the rolled sushi is cut into multiple pieces on the base plate portion 7a. Restricting plates 9 are provided at both ends of the base plate portion 7a in the left-right direction to regulate the left-right position of the rolled sushi R, and the size of both ends of the cut rolled sushi is made to match the size of the other parts by the restricting plates 9.

[0023] Two drive buttons 10 are provided on the lower front of the left and right side wall panels 2a and 2b, which are pressed when cutting rolled sushi. When both drive buttons 10 are operated, the movable table 7 is driven from the loading opening 4 to the removal opening 6, and the opening / closing lid 5 is automatically opened. After the cut rolled sushi is removed from the movable table 7 at the removal position, if either of the drive buttons 10 is operated, the movable table 7 is returned to the loading opening 4 position.

[0024] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the sushi roll cutting device M with the protective cover 3 removed. When the protective cover 3 is removed from the front of the housing 1, the cutting frame 11 attached to the housing 1 is exposed to the outside. The cutting frame 11 is detachably attached to the front side of the housing 1.

[0025] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the front side, or outer side, of the cutting frame 11 after it has been removed from the housing 1. The cutting frame 11 has a quadrilateral blade frame 14 comprising two metal vertical frame pieces 12a and 12b on the left and right, and metal horizontal frame pieces 13a and 13b attached to both ends of the vertical frame pieces 12a and 12b.

[0026] Handles 15a and 15b are attached to the longitudinal center of each vertical frame piece 12a and 12b, forming blade frame side handles. Each handle 15a and 15b together with the vertical frame pieces 12a and 12b forms a quadrilateral frame, with openings 16a and 16b into which an operator's hand can be inserted. The blade frame body 14 has multiple cutting blades 17, each cutting blade 17 running parallel to each other along the vertical frame pieces 12a and 12b, with its ends fixed to the horizontal frame pieces 13a and 13b. Each cutting blade 17 is made of a strip-shaped metal material, and when the cutting frame 11 is attached to the housing 1, the width direction of the cutting blades 17 faces the front-to-back direction of the housing 1. The cutting edge 18 of the cutting blade 17 faces the inner surface of the cutting frame 11.

[0027] As shown in Figure 3, the cutting frame 11 has its upper end (cutting end) positioned behind the housing 1 compared to its lower end (cutting start), and is mounted to the housing 1 at an angle in the front-to-back direction. This angle of inclination is set to be greater than the angle of inclination between the mounting position and the removal position of the movable table 7. As a result, when the movable table 7 moves from the mounting opening 4 to the removal opening 6, the rolled sushi R, which is a rod-shaped food item, is cut into multiple pieces by the cutting blade 17. During this cutting, the cutting blade 17 enters the slit 8 of the movable table 7 from the blade tip 18 side.

[0028] As shown in Figure 3, the outer and inner surfaces of the cutting frame 11 are based on the state in which it is mounted on the housing 1, with handles 15a and 15b protruding from the outer surface side of the cutting frame 11, and the cutting edge 18 facing the inner surface. The frame pieces that make up the blade frame body 14 are vertical frame pieces that are parallel to the cutting blade 17, and horizontal frame pieces that extend laterally relative to these.

[0029] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the front side of a food cutting blade cleaning jig, which is one embodiment of the present invention, facing the inner surface of a cutting frame removed from the housing of a sushi roll cutting device. Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the rear side of the food cutting blade cleaning jig. Figure 6(A) is a front view of the food cutting blade cleaning jig, and Figure 6(B) is a rear view of the food cutting blade cleaning jig.

[0030] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the cleaning jig 20 has a roughly quadrilateral resin guard plate 21 with arc-shaped corners. The guard plate 21 is slightly smaller than the inner circumferential surface of the blade frame 14 of the cutting frame 11, and fits slightly inside the blade frame 14. The side of the guard plate 21 corresponding to the cutting edge 18 of the cutting blade 17 is the front, and the opposite side is the back.

[0031] The outer circumference of the guard plate 21 is provided with an outer circumference flange 22 that is bent towards the back. When the outer circumference flange 22 is attached to the cutting frame 11, it has a vertical flange 23a extending along the vertical frame piece 12a, a vertical flange 23b extending along the vertical frame piece 12b, a horizontal flange 24a extending along the horizontal frame piece 13a, and a horizontal flange 24b extending along the horizontal frame piece 13b, and these are connected in a loop shape as shown in Figure 5.

[0032] The guard plate 21 has openings 25a and 25b adjacent to the respective vertical flanges 23a and 23b. As shown in Figure 5, partition frames 26a and 26b are provided on the back side of the guard plate 21, positioned on the inner circumference of the respective openings 25a and 25b. The partition frames 26a and 26b are connected by reinforcing flanges 27, and the vertical flanges 23a and 23b are connected by two reinforcing flanges 28a and 28b. These reinforcing flanges 27, 28a, and 28b are parallel to each other and are provided inside the outer peripheral flange 22, that is, in the area enclosed by the outer peripheral flange 22.

[0033] The cleaning jig 20 is molded from a resin material, and by providing the outer peripheral flange 22 and reinforcing flanges 27, 28a, and 28b on the guard plate 21, the strength of the resin cleaning jig 20 can be increased and the thickness of the guard plate 21 can be reduced.

[0034] On the front side of the guard plate 21, handles 29a and 29b are provided adjacent to the respective vertical flanges 23a and 23b and positioned in the longitudinal center of the vertical flanges. Each of the handles 29a and 29b constitutes a jig-side handle and has openings 30a and 30b corresponding to the openings 16a and 16b of the blade frame-side handle, and an operator can insert their hand into each of the openings 30a and 30b.

[0035] Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the rear side of the cleaning jig attached to the cutting frame, with Figure 8 being a front view of Figure 7.

[0036] The cleaning jig 20 is attached to the cutting frame 11 with its front facing the inner surface of the cutting frame 11. As a result, the front of the guard plate 21 faces the cutting edge 18 of the cutting blade 17 so as to cover the cutting edge 18. When the cleaning jig 20 is attached to the cutting frame 11, a portion of the outer surface of the cleaning jig 20 faces the inner surface of the blade frame 14. In other words, the cleaning jig 20 partially fits inside the blade frame 14.

[0037] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, permanent magnets, or magnets 31a and 31b, are attached to the vertical flanges 23a and 23b as fixing members for securing the cleaning jig 20 to the cutting frame 11 when the cleaning jig 20 is attached to the cutting frame 11. Each of the magnets 31a and 31b is incorporated into the vertical flanges 23a and 23b and is insert-molded when the resin guard plate 21 is molded.

[0038] When the cleaning jig 20 is attached to the cutting frame 11, the magnets 31a and 31b are magnetically attracted to the vertical frame pieces 12a and 12b of the cutting frame 11, which are made of magnetic material, and the cleaning jig 20 is fixed to the cutting frame 11. The fixing members for fixing the cleaning jig 20 to the cutting frame 11 are not limited to the magnets 31a and 31b, and an engaging member that engages the cleaning jig 20 with the cutting frame 11, or a clamping member that holds it in place, can be used. However, by using the magnets 31a and 31b, the operator can easily attach the cleaning jig 20 to the cutting frame 11 and then remove it after attachment.

[0039] The guard plate 21 is provided with numerous through holes 32. As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the through holes 32 are regular hexagons, and the spacing between adjacent through holes 32 is uniform overall. As a result, numerous through holes 32 are formed in the guard plate 21 in a honeycomb shape, and the honeycomb-shaped group of through holes faces the cutting blades 17 so as to cover the cutting edges 18 of all the cutting blades 17. The shape of each through hole 32 is not limited to a regular hexagon; it can be round or of various polygons, but by forming a honeycomb-shaped group of through holes in the guard plate 21 using regular hexagons, the strength of the guard plate 21 can be maintained even if the spacing between the through holes 32 is narrow.

[0040] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, when the cleaning jig 20 is attached to the cutting frame 11, only a small portion of the cutting blade 17 is covered by the guard plate 21 and reinforcing flanges 28a and 28b, and during the cleaning process, the cleaning fluid is reliably supplied to the cutting edge 18 of the cutting blade 17 through the through hole 32. This ensures that any residue adhering to the cutting blade 17 is reliably removed. As shown in Figure 9, even when the guard plate 21 is brought close to the cutting edge 18 of the cutting blade 17 to a position where the cutting edge 18 is almost in contact with the guard plate 21, most of the cutting edge 18 faces the through hole 32, and the cleaning fluid is reliably guided to the cutting edge 18. Even if a small gap of a few millimeters is created between the cutting edge 18 and the guard plate 21, it is possible to prevent the cutting edge 18 from coming into contact with the worker's fingers during the cleaning process, and the cleaning fluid can be guided to the entire cutting edge 18.

[0041] Figure 10 is a perspective view showing a cutting frame fitted with a cleaning jig being cleaned by a cleaning machine.

[0042] With the cleaning jig 20 attached to the cutting frame 11, the cutting frame 11 is immersed in the cleaning solution 34 injected into the cleaning device 33, as shown in Figure 10. At this time, the handles 15a and 15b, which serve as the blade frame side handles, and the handles 29a and 29b, which serve as the jig side handles, are adjacent to each other. Therefore, the operator can easily immerse the cutting frame 11 and the cleaning jig 20 in the cleaning solution 34 and perform the cleaning work by simultaneously gripping the two adjacent handles 15a and 29a with one hand and the two handles 15b and 29b with the other hand.

[0043] When the cleaning jig 20 is attached to the cutting frame 11, the cutting edge 18 of the cutting frame 11 is covered by the guard plate 21 during cleaning, so that the hands and fingers of the operator performing the cleaning operation are prevented from touching the cutting edge 18, and the cleaning operation can be performed safely. When the cleaning liquid 34 or gas is supplied from the bottom side of the cleaner 33 toward the cleaning liquid 34, the jet flow is sprayed onto the cutting edge 18, so that the residue adhering to the cutting blade 17 can be removed more reliably.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, guide holes 35 having an inner diameter larger than that of the through holes 32 are formed at the four corners of the guard plate 21. When the cutting frame 11 is immersed in the cleaning liquid 34, the cleaning liquid 34 passes through the guide holes 35 and the openings 16a and 16b and flows into the front side of the guard plate 21. As a result, a large amount of the cleaning liquid 34 flows along the cutting blade 17, and the cleaning efficiency can be improved more efficiently.

[0045] Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are illustrative in all respects and are not limited to the disclosed technology. That is, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed restrictively based on the description in the above embodiments, but should be construed according to the description of the claims, and includes all modifications as long as they are equivalent to the technology described in the claims and do not depart from the gist of the claims.

[0046] For example, the cutting frame capable of performing the cleaning process can be applied not only to the cutting frame of a sushi rolling cutter for cutting sushi rolls but also to the cutting frames of various food cutting devices for cutting rod-shaped food materials. For example, in addition to sushi rolls such as tamagoyaki, fancy rolls, kneaded products formed into rods (kamaboko, satsuma-age, etc.), thick omelets, meat products cut into rods, and rod-shaped vegetables such as cucumbers, as long as it is a cutting frame constituting a device for cutting them, the cleaning jig of the present invention can be used to perform the cleaning process.

[0047] The cleaning jig is used to clean the cutting frame of a rod-shaped food cutting device that cuts rod-shaped food items such as sushi rolls. When the cleaning jig is attached to the cutting frame, the cutting blade can be easily cleaned without the operator injuring their fingers or hands.

[0048] 1 Housing 2a, 2b Side wall plates 3 Protective cover 4 Mounting opening 5 Opening / closing lid 6 Discharge opening 7 Movable table 7a Bottom plate 7b Upright part 8 Slit 9 Regulating plate 10 Drive button 11 Cutting frame 12a, 12b Vertical frame piece 13a, 13b Horizontal frame piece 14 Blade frame body 15a, 15b Handle 16a, 16a Opening 17 Cutting blade 18 Blade tip 20 Cleaning jig 21 Guard plate 22 Outer flange 23a, 23b Vertical flange 24a, 24b Horizontal flange 25a, 25b Opening 26a, 26b Partition frame 27 Reinforcement flange 28a, 28b Reinforcement flange 29a, 29b Handle 30a, 30b Opening 31a, 31b Magnet 32 ​​Through hole 33 Washer 34 Washing solution 35 Guide hole M Rolled sushi cutting device (rod-shaped food cutting device) R Rolled sushi (rod-shaped food)

Claims

1. A cleaning jig for food cutting blades, which is attached to a cutting frame that is detachably mounted on the housing of a rod-shaped food cutting device, the cutting frame having a blade frame body comprising vertical frame pieces and horizontal frame pieces, and a plurality of cutting blades extending parallel to each other along the vertical frame pieces and attached to the horizontal frame pieces, the jig being attached to the cutting frame body when cleaning the cutting blades, the jig comprising: a guard plate attached to the blade frame body facing the cutting edge of the cutting blade and covering the cutting blade; a fixing member provided on the guard plate for fixing the guard plate to the cutting frame; and a plurality of through holes formed in the guard plate for guiding cleaning liquid to the cutting blade.

2. The cleaning jig for food cutting blades according to claim 1, characterized in that a jig-side handle adjacent to the blade frame-side handle provided on the vertical frame piece is provided on the guard plate, so that the blade frame-side handle and the jig-side handle can be gripped simultaneously.

3. The cleaning jig for food cutting blades according to claim 1, characterized in that a bent outer flange is provided on the outer circumference of the guard plate, on the back side of the guard plate, and reinforcing flanges are provided on the inside of the outer flanges which are parallel to each other, and the guard plate is molded from a resin material.

4. The cleaning jig for food cutting blades according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing member is a magnet that magnetically adheres to the cutting frame made of a magnetic material.

5. The cleaning jig for food cutting blades according to claim 1, characterized in that the through-holes are regular hexagons, and a large number of the through-holes are formed in a honeycomb shape in the guard plate.

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