Food Shaping Device Cutter Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food shaping apparatuses struggle to reliably cut plate-shaped cooked rice due to variations in rice hardness, leading to issues like rice grains being stuck to the cutter or torn off, and inefficient material use.
Innovation Solution
A food shaping apparatus with a cutting unit that advances and retracts a cutter at the discharge port of the shaped cooked rice, pressing the cutter multiple times at the same place to ensure reliable cutting, regardless of rice hardness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single cutting action is used, then the cutting process is fast, but the cutting reliability is insufficient for hard rice varieties
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting unit performs multiple periodic cutting actions at the same position. The cutter advances to the cutting position, cuts the shaped article, then retracts and advances again for a second cutting action. This periodic repetition ensures reliable cutting of hard rice varieties while maintaining acceptable productivity through automated cycle management.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting unit performs a preliminary cutting action before the final cut. The first cutting action prepares the shaped article by making an initial incision, and the second cutting action completes the separation. This preliminary action ensures that even hard rice varieties are properly cut without damaging the cutter or producing incomplete cuts.
2Reliability
If the cutter presses hard to cut through hard rice, then cutting reliability improves, but rice grains get stuck to the cutter
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting unit uses periodic cutting actions with controlled pressure. Instead of applying maximum pressure continuously, the cutter presses with controlled force during the first cutting action, then retracts completely before the second cutting action. This periodic approach with controlled pressure prevents rice grains from adhering to the cutter while still achieving reliable cutting through the repeated action.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting process maintains continuity through automated repeated actions. The cutter performs multiple cutting actions in sequence without manual intervention, ensuring that the useful cutting action continues until the shaped article is properly separated. This automated continuity ensures reliable cutting while the controlled retraction between actions prevents grain adhesion.
3Reliability
If the cutter presses hard to cut through hard rice, then cutting reliability improves, but cleaning time and effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting unit performs periodic cutting actions with controlled pressure and complete retraction between actions. This approach achieves reliable cutting of hard rice varieties while minimizing rice grain adhesion to the cutter. The reduced adhesion directly decreases cleaning time and effort, resolving the contradiction between cutting reliability and cleaning time.
4Reliability
If the cutter presses hard to cut through hard rice, then cutting reliability improves, but material use efficiency decreases due to torn rice
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting unit performs multiple periodic cutting actions with controlled pressure. The first cutting action makes an initial incision with controlled force, and the second cutting action completes the separation. This periodic approach with controlled pressure prevents tearing of the shaped article, ensuring clean cuts and maximizing material use efficiency while maintaining cutting reliability for hard rice varieties.
Data Source
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AI summary
[Problem] To reliably cut a plate-shaped cooked rice. [Solution] A food shaping apparatus 1 that shapes a plate-shaped article having a predetermined length, the food shaping apparatus including a shaping unit 4 that shapes cooked rice supplied from a hopper 2 into a plate shape, and a cutting unit 5 that cuts the shaped cooked rice by advancing and retracting a cutter 52 at a discharge port of the cooked rice shaped by the shaping unit, in which the cutting unit presses the cutter multiple times at a same place in one plate-shaped article.