JP2009296960A - Method for connecting laver, and apparatus for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for connecting laver, capable of increasing a production speed of producing belt-like laver by connecting rectangular laver. <P>SOLUTION: This method for connecting laver comprises detecting with a detector 7, the downstream end of rectangular laver S which is intermittently transported in the horizontal direction, moistening the upstream connection hem Sa of the rectangular laver S before or after detecting, and stopping transportation of the rectangular laver S in a timing when the downstream connection hem Sb of the rectangular laver S is superposed by the detection of the downstream end of the rectangular laver S, on the upstream connection hem SLa of belt-like laver SL which stands by on the downstream side of the transportation direction of the rectangular laver S. Furthermore, the method comprises sticking and adding the rectangular laver S to the belt-like laver SL by pressurizing the superposed part in a condition that the downstream connection hem Sb of the rectangular laver S and the upstream end connection hem SLa of the belt-like laver SL are superposed on each other, transporting the belt-like laver SL to the downstream side only by a length which is obtained by reducing a width of the downstream connection hem Sb of the rectangular laver S from the total length of the transportation direction of the rectangular laver S, and repeating the above processes every time when the detector 7 detects the downstream end of the rectangular laver S so as to add rectangular laver one by one. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a nori connection method and apparatus for automatically connecting rectangular sheet-like nori in a strip shape with high efficiency.

  When mass-produced sushi rolls, while moving a long strip of laver on a conveyor, put rice and ingredients on the laver, with rice rolls on the inside by roll rollers facing each other across the transition path of laver, A method is adopted in which the seaweed is wound continuously on the outside and this is sequentially cut into unit lengths.

The applicant previously proposed a seaweed articulating device (Patent Document 1) that can obtain a long strip-shaped seaweed by concatenating a large number of rectangular seaweeds.
The laver connecting device divides the laver transport device into an upstream side and a downstream side, and the feed speed is fast on the upstream side and slow on the downstream side. The laver and the upstream laver are overlapped by the connection allowance, and the overlapping portion of the laver is sandwiched and connected. By applying a dampening solution to the rectangular seaweed and moistening it, the seaweed itself is given adhesion.

Japanese Patent Publication 1-449475

The above-mentioned seaweed connection device connects the ends of the running seaweed without stopping the seaweed, so it is possible to connect the ends of the seaweed that are light and difficult to stabilize the transportation posture at the planned position. Troubles due to lack of stability are often incurred in overlapping the margins.
As the laver transport speed is increased, the above-mentioned trouble occurs more frequently, so that only about 60 standard laver can be connected per minute.

  In addition, the seam allowance width is not stable as described above, so the joint allowance width is set to 2 cm for safety. This is twice as large as the joint margin width of about 1 cm, which is considered to be the necessary minimum of the seaweed connection strength. For this reason, when a large number of rectangular seaweeds are connected, the loss is great and the loss is large.

  In addition, in order to overlap and pinch the connection margin of adjacent laver while traveling, a pressure roller and a receiving roller that rotate at a speed corresponding to the transport speed of the laver are used. It must descend with the timing of passing through the receiving roller, and pinch the overlapping part of the seaweed together with the receiving roller. In this case, the mechanism for rotating the pressing roller in synchronization with the receiving roller and raising and lowering the pressing roller is complicated, resulting in high manufacturing costs.

  The present invention clarifies a connecting method and apparatus capable of solving the above problems.

The laver connecting device of the present invention is a connecting device for sequentially connecting the rectangular laver S to the belt-like laver SL, the rectangular laver conveying device (2) for intermittently conveying the rectangular laver S, and the downstream of the rectangular laver conveying device. The seaweed connection device (3) deployed on the side, and the length obtained by subtracting the connection allowance Sb for the strip-shaped laver SL from the total length in the transport direction of the rectangular seaweed S deployed at the downstream side of the seaweed connection device And a strip laver transport device (8) that transports the strip laver SL for one minute (one pitch),
The laver connecting device (3) is a moistening means (4) for moistening at least one of the upstream connection margin Sa, the downstream connection margin Sb, and the upstream end connection margin SLa of the strip laver SL. When,
A detector (7) which is arranged on the downstream side of the rectangular laver conveying device (2) and detects the downstream end of the rectangular laver S being conveyed;
Clamping means for clamping the upstream connection margin SLa of the strip laver SL and the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular laver S on the strip laver transport device (8), which is arranged downstream of the detector (7). 6) and
Upon receiving the rectangular seaweed detection signal from the detector (7), the timing of causing a time shift or a distance shift when the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S reaches the corresponding position with the pinching means (6). Control unit (5) for instructing each operation of the conveyance stop operation of the rectangular laver S, the clamping operation of the clamping means (6), the subsequent clamping release operation, and the conveying operation for one pitch of the strip laver conveying device (8). It is comprised by.

In the laver connection method of the present invention, the downstream end of the rectangular seaweed S conveyed in the horizontal direction is detected by the detector (7), and before or after the detection, the upstream connection margin Sa of the rectangular laver S is moistened. From the detection of the downstream end of the rectangular seaweed S, the rectangular seaweed S overlaps with the upstream connection margin SLa of the strip-shaped laver SL waiting for the downstream connection margin Sb on the downstream side in the transport direction of the rectangular nori S. Stop the transport of the rectangular nori S,
The rectangular seaweed S is bonded to the belt-like laver SSL by pressing the overlapping portion in a state where the downstream side seam Sb of the rectangular seaweed S and the upstream end seam SLa of the belt-like seaweed SL overlap, and then the rectangular seaweed SL is added. The strip laver SL is transported downstream by the length obtained by subtracting the width of the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S from the total length in the transport direction of S,
The above process is repeated each time the detector (7) detects the downstream end of the rectangular nori S, and the rectangular nori is successively added.

When the detector (7) detects the downstream tip of the nori, the rectangular seaweed S being conveyed reaches the position where the downstream connection margin Sb of the nori reaches the position corresponding to the pinching means (6) and waits. Automatically stops at the timing when it overlaps the upstream connection allowance SLa of the strip laver SL.
The overlapping connection charges SLa and Sb are clamped by the clamping means (6).
The seaweed connection allowance is moistened by the moistening means (4) before being pinched and is given adhesiveness, so that the rectangular seaweed S is adhered to and added to the belt-like laver SL by the pinching pressure.

The clamping pressure of the clamping means (6) is released, and then the strip laver SL is conveyed downstream. The rectangular seaweed S connected immediately before is also pulled together and moves downstream.
By a single transport operation for the strip-shaped laver SL, the length of the rectangular seaweed S is transported by a length obtained by subtracting the connection allowance Sb for the strip-shaped laver SL.

  As a result, whenever the rectangular laver S is connected to the belt-shaped laver SL and conveyed to the downstream side and stopped, the upstream connection allowance SLa is aligned with the position corresponding to the downstream connection allowance Sb of the rectangular nori S. Therefore, the overlapping width of the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S and the upstream end connection margin SLa of the strip-shaped laver SL is constant. For this reason, the width of the seaweed connection allowance can be set to about 1 cm which is considered to be the minimum necessary width considering the connection strength, and the connection allowance width in the case of carrying out with the connecting device of Patent Document 1 is about 2 cm. Compared to half, the loss can be greatly reduced and the economic effect is great.

When the rectangular laver S and the belt-like laver SL are connected, once the conveyance of both is stopped, the connection workability of the laver is inferior to the case where the laver is connected while being conveyed and moved as in Patent Document 1. It seems like it is a win.
However, in Patent Document 1, the laver transport speed cannot be increased for the reasons described above. However, in the case of the present application, the transport speed can be increased more than the loss of time during which the laver transport is stopped. 90 pieces of rectangular seaweed S could be connected.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a laver connecting apparatus.
When viewed from above, a rectangular laver transport device (2) is deployed from one end to the other end of the horizontally long rectangular frame (1), and a strip laver transport device (8) is deployed on the other end of the frame (1). The laver connecting device (3) is provided between the rectangular laver conveying device (2) and the strip-shaped laver conveying device (8).
The frame (1) has legs (11).
In the following description, the upstream side is the rectangular laver conveying device (2) side, and the downstream side is the belt-like laver conveying device (8) side.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rectangular nori S conveyed by the rectangular nori conveying device (2) is a fixed form having a length of 21 cm and a width of 19 cm. In the embodiment, the rectangular nori S is conveyed with the length direction aligned with the conveying direction. Is done.
The belt-like laver SL conveyed by the belt-like laver conveying device (8) is formed by adding the rectangular laver S.
Both ends of the rectangular seaweed S in the length direction become connection margins Sa and Sb over the entire length in the width direction.
In the embodiment, the widths of the connection charges Sa and Sb are set to about 1 cm.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rectangular seaweed transporting device (2) has a large number of receiving rollers (20) and (20) arranged in a dense pitch in the frame (1), and each receiving roller is forcibly rotated to bring the nori downstream. It conveys to the side.
The rectangular laver conveying device (2) is driven by a high-precision control motor such as a servo motor or a stepping motor.

The rectangular laver conveying device (2) is provided with thin shaft-shaped guide members (23) and (23) in parallel to approach the receiving roller (20).
The guide members (23) and (23) are for horizontally guiding the rectangular nori S by preventing the rectangular nori S from rolling up on the receiving roller (20), and pressing the rectangular nori S against the receiving roller (20) is not.
Guide walls (not shown) for guiding the rectangular nori S straightly are provided on both sides of the conveying path of the rectangular nori S formed by the large number of receiving rollers (20).
A guide stand (24) is arranged on the downstream side of the receiving roller (20a), approaching the receiving roller (20a) at the most downstream end of the rectangular laver conveying device (2). The height of the upper surface of the guide stand (24) is substantially the same as the height of the conveying surface of the rectangular laver conveying device (2).

  The laver connecting device (3) is provided close to the guide stand (24), and sandwiches the downstream side connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S and the upstream end connection margin SLa of the strip laver SL (6) ), A dampening means (4) for moistening the upstream connection margin Sa of the rectangular nori S on the rectangular nori conveying device (2), and the rectangular nori S being conveyed has reached the vicinity of the guide stand (24) And a detector (7) for detecting this.

The clamping means (6) is connected to a cradle (61), a pressurizing member (62) that can be moved up and down above the cradle (61), and the pressurizing member (62). And a pressure driving device (63).
The cradle (61) and the pressure member (62) are each formed in a horizontally long bar shape slightly longer than the width of the rectangular nori S, and are positioned perpendicular to the laver transition direction.
The upper surface of the cradle (61) has a size that allows the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S to be placed without protruding, and the height position of the upper surface is slightly smaller than the upper surface height of the guide table (24). Low. In the embodiment, it is about 5 mm lower.
The width of the lower surface (pressing surface) of the pressurizing member (62) matches the width of the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S. The pressurizing member (62) is connected to an elevating drive device (64) such as an air cylinder as a pressurizing drive device (63).
In the embodiment, a heater (not shown) is incorporated in one or both of the cradle (61) and the pressure member (62), and can be heated while sandwiching the laver.

The dampening means (4) applies a dampening liquid such as water or liquor to the upstream connection margin Sa of the rectangular nori S at the downstream end of the rectangular nori conveying device (2).
The dampening means (4) according to the embodiment is one in which a dampening liquid is instantaneously sprayed and applied by one or a plurality of spray nozzles (41).
The spray nozzle (41) has a belt-like spray area. In the embodiment, when two spray nozzles (41) (41) are arranged along the width direction of the rectangular nori S, the upstream side of the rectangular nori S The entire area of the connection allowance Sa can be covered.
An spray driving device (not shown) is connected to the spray nozzle (41).

The detector (7) detects that the downstream end of the rectangular nori S on the rectangular nori conveying device (2) has passed through the guide stand (24). In the embodiment, the detector (7) is provided at a position where the downstream end of the rectangular nori S detects the end 5cm before the downstream end of the rectangular nori S is placed 1cm wide on the cradle (61) of the clamping means (6). It has been.

The belt-like seaweed transporting device (8) has a receiving roller (80) arranged in a dense pitch in the frame (1) in the same manner as the rectangular seaweed transporting device (2), and one or more receiving rollers (80a) on the upstream side. ) (80) The presser rollers (81) (81) are urged downward with a spring or the like upward, and all the receiving rollers (80a) (80) and presser rollers (81) (81) are forcibly rotated. The belt-like laver SL is conveyed downstream.
The receiving rollers (80a) and (80) and the presser rollers (81) and (81) are driven by a high-precision control motor such as a servo motor or a stepping motor in the same manner as the rectangular laver conveying device (2).

The height position of the receiving roller (80), that is, the height of the conveying path of the belt-like laver conveying device (8) is approximately the same as the height of the upper surface end of the cradle (61) of the pressing means (6), It is slightly lower than the conveying path height of the rectangular laver conveying device (2).
The belt-shaped laver conveying device (8) includes a guide stand (82) for guiding the connected laver between the receiving roller (80a) at the most upstream end and the receiving stand (61) to the receiving roller (80a). Has been deployed.

  The rotation of the receiving roller (80a) (80) and the presser roller (81) (81) of the rectangular laver conveying device (2), the pressure driving device (63) of the clamping means (6), and the belt-like laver conveying device (8) The control unit (5) that controls the detection of the downstream end of the rectangular nori S being conveyed by the detector (7) receives the signal from the downstream end of the rectangular nori S and the clamping means (6). After a time or distance shift to reach the corresponding position, the transport operation of the rectangular nori S is stopped, the pinching operation of the pinching means (6), the subsequent pinching release operation, and the strip laver transporting device (8). Each operation of the one pitch conveyance operation and the dampening operation to the dampening means (4) is commanded.

  Specifically, the receiving rollers (80a) (80) and the presser rollers (81) (81) are connected downstream from the entire length of the rectangular laver S in the conveying direction by a single feeding operation of the strip laver conveying device (8). In the embodiment, 20 cm can be fed by the length obtained by reducing the width of the margin Sb.

  In addition, a winding drum (not shown) is provided on the downstream side of the belt-shaped laver conveying device (8), and the belt-shaped seaweed SL is wound around the drum by the length of the rectangular seaweed S connected thereto. It is done.

However, the upstream end of the strip laver SL on the strip laver conveying device (8) is placed on the cradle (61) of the pinching means (6) and kept waiting.
The strip laver SL is a combination of the rectangular seaweed S, and the upstream end connection margin SLa of the strip laver SL is dampened with the dampening liquid by the spray nozzle (41) in the process before the rectangular seaweed S is joined. Moist.

  The rectangular laver conveying device (2) is operated, and the rectangular laver S is placed on the upstream end of the rectangular nori conveying device (2) one by one with an automatic feeder or manually.

When the detector (7) detects the downstream end of the leading rectangular nori S, a dampening command is issued to the dampening means (4), and the upstream connection margin Sa of the rectangular nori S is instantaneously sent from the spray nozzle (41). Moistening liquid is injected.
When the downstream connection allowance Sb of the rectangular seaweed S reaches above the cradle (61) of the pinching means (6) and a moistening command is issued to the moistening means (4), a time loss occurs. In the case of the example, since the moistening command is issued before the rectangular seaweed S is placed on the cradle (61), there is no time loss.
In the case of the embodiment, the tip of the rectangular seaweed S reaches the upper side of the cradle (61) and the spraying of the dampening liquid is almost simultaneously.
Needless to say, a moistening command can be issued to the moistening means (4) after the connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S reaches above the cradle (61).

After the detector (7) detects the tip of the rectangular seaweed S and the connection allowance Sb reaches above the cradle (61) in time or distance, the pressure member (62) descends. The downstream connection allowance Sb of the rectangular nori S is pushed down and overlapped with the upstream connection allowance SLa of the belt-like nori SL waiting and sandwiched with the cradle (61).
As described above, since the upstream connection allowance SLa of the strip-shaped nori SL is wet and has adhesiveness, the downstream contact allowance Sb of the rectangular nori S and the upstream connection allowance SLa of the strip-like nori SL are Is glued. In the embodiment, since the clamping means (6) is heated while being clamped, the adhesion becomes stronger in a short time.
In the case of the example, the clamping time is about 0.2 seconds.

The belt-like laver conveying device (8) conveys for one pitch with a momentary delay until the pressing member (62) rises and the clamping pressure is released.
The strip laver transport device (8) is transported by 1 pitch, and can be transported by a length equal to the total length of the rectangular laver S minus the width of the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular laver S, so that it is connected. The fresh rectangular seaweed is pulled downstream while being stuck to the belt-like seaweed SL. The upstream connection margin Sa of the rectangular seaweed S stops and stands by on the cradle (61) of the pinching means (6) as the upstream connection margin SLa of the strip-shaped laver SL.
The above operation is repeated each time the detector (7) detects the rectangular nori S, and the rectangular nori S is added in order.

90 pieces of rectangular laver S per minute could be connected by the connecting device of the example. Since the connecting device of Patent Document 1 has 60 sheets per minute, the capacity is 1.5 times.
In the embodiment, the width of the connection allowance for the rectangular seaweed S is about 1 cm, which is half that of the connection allowance of about 2 cm when the connection device of Patent Document 1 is used. . For example, the length of the strip-shaped laver when 100 rectangular laver S are connected is about 20 m in the present application, about 19 m in the apparatus of Patent Document 1, and about 1 m longer in the present application. This is equivalent to about 5 pieces of rectangular laver S, and the economic effect is great.

The downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S needs to be correctly overlapped with the upstream connection margin SLa of the belt-shaped laver SL waiting on the cradle (61) of the pinching means (6). When the downstream connection allowance Sb of the rectangular seaweed S is moistened, the downstream connection allowance Sb becomes soft and hangs down in the middle of the upstream connection allowance SLa of the strip-like seaweed SL. If the connection allowance SLa is pushed downstream, the connection allowances Sb and SLa are connected with a small overlapping area, which may result in a connection failure.
In the laver connecting apparatus of the embodiment, the dampening means (4) wets the upstream connection allowance Sa of the rectangular nori S on the rectangular nori transport apparatus (2), and damps the downstream connection allowance Sb of the rectangular nori S. Therefore, the above problem does not occur.

The dampening means (4) only needs to be able to apply a dampening liquid such as water or liquor to the upstream connection allowance Sa of the rectangular seaweed S, so that the dampening means (4) is placed above the upstream connection allowance Sa. The pressure member (62) of the pinching means (6) located immediately above the downstream connection allowance Sb can be disposed at a position that does not interfere with the pressure member (62).
Further, if the dampening means (4) is disposed above the rectangular seaweed conveying device (2), the dampening means (4) can be easily maintained.

  Further, since the dampening means (4) of the embodiment is to apply the dampening liquid by spraying from the nozzle (41), the dampening liquid of the seaweed can be easily wetted by selecting the nozzle or selecting the spray pressure. You can adjust the amount. Further, since the dampening liquid can be sprayed instantaneously, the dampening liquid can be sprayed even when the laver is moving, and it is not necessary to consider the time for dampening the connection cost of the laver.

  The above description is provided to illustrate the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or reducing the scope thereof. In addition, the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

  For example, the upstream connection allowance Sa of the rectangular nori S is not limited to being moistened, and the downstream connection allowance Sb of the rectangular nori S may be moistened. Further, instead of the rectangular nori S, the upstream end connection allowance SLa of the belt-like nori SL may be moistened. In short, at least one of the upstream connection margin Sa, the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S, and the upstream end connection margin SLa of the strip-shaped laver SL may be moistened.

It is sectional drawing of a nori connection apparatus. It is a principal part perspective view of a seaweed connection apparatus. It is a principal part front view of a seaweed connection apparatus. It is a front view of a rectangular seaweed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Frame 2 Rectangular seaweed conveyance apparatus 3 Seaweed connection apparatus 4 Wetting means 5 Control part 6 Clamping means 7 Detector 8 Band-like seaweed conveyance apparatus

Claims (5)

A connecting device for sequentially connecting the rectangular nori S to the belt-like nori SL, a rectangular nori transferring device (2) for intermittently transferring the rectangular nori S, and a nori connecting device arranged downstream of the rectangular nori conveying device (3) and a strip-shaped portion of the length (one pitch) obtained by subtracting the connection allowance Sb for the strip-shaped laver SL from the total length in the transport direction of the rectangular seaweed S in a single transport operation. It is composed of a strip-shaped laver conveying device (8) for conveying laver SL,
The laver connecting device (3) is a moistening means (4) for moistening at least one of the upstream connection margin Sa, the downstream connection margin Sb, and the upstream end connection margin SLa of the strip laver SL. When,
A detector (7) which is arranged on the downstream side of the rectangular laver conveying device (2) and detects the downstream end of the rectangular laver S being conveyed;
Clamping means for clamping the upstream connection margin SLa of the strip laver SL and the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular laver S on the strip laver transport device (8), which is arranged downstream of the detector (7). 6) and
Upon receiving the rectangular seaweed detection signal from the detector (7), the timing of causing a time shift or a distance shift when the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S reaches the corresponding position with the pinching means (6). Control unit (5) for instructing each operation of the conveyance stop operation of the rectangular laver S, the clamping operation of the clamping means (6), the subsequent clamping release operation, and the conveying operation for one pitch of the strip laver conveying device (8). A seaweed articulation device composed of   The seaweed articulating device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (5) receives a detection signal from the detector (7) and issues a dampening command to the dampening means (4). The dampening means (4) is configured to apply a dampening liquid such as water or liquor to the upstream connection margin Sa of the rectangular nori S located on the most downstream side of the rectangular nori conveying device (2).
The pinching means (6) is composed of a cradle (61) arranged on the downstream side of the rectangular seaweed conveying device (2) and a pressurizing member (62) moving up and down above the cradle. The seaweed articulating device according to claim 1 or 2.   The seaweed articulating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the dampening means (4) is for applying the dampening liquid by spraying from the nozzle (41). The downstream end of the rectangular nori S conveyed in the horizontal direction is detected by a detector (7), and before or after the detection, the upstream connection margin Sa of the rectangular nori S is moistened, and the downstream of the rectangular nori S From the detection of the edge, the rectangular seaweed S stops transporting the rectangular seaweed S at a timing when the downstream connection margin Sb overlaps the upstream connection margin SLa of the strip-shaped seaweed SL waiting on the downstream side in the transport direction of the rectangular seaweed S. And
The rectangular seaweed S is bonded to the belt-like laver SSL by pressing the overlapping portion in a state where the downstream side seam Sb of the rectangular seaweed S and the upstream end seam SLa of the belt-like seaweed SL overlap, and then the rectangular seaweed SL is added. The strip laver SL is transported downstream by the length obtained by subtracting the width of the downstream connection margin Sb of the rectangular seaweed S from the total length in the transport direction of S,
A method for connecting seaweeds, in which each time the detector (7) detects the downstream end of the rectangular seaweed S, the above steps are repeated to sequentially add the rectangular seaweed.

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