AUTOMATIC TOFU-PACKING APPARATUS

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus for automatically packing tofu or deep-fried bean curd

BACKGROUND ART

Conventional methods for packing tofu or deep-fried bean curd includes, for example, a method comprising the steps of exposing blocks of tofu molded with a molding box to water in a tank, manually cutting each block of tofu into cakes of tofu having the same dimension as a product dimension and manually placing each cake of tofu in a container (pack) and, in the case of using the molding box, a method comprising the steps of releasing the molded blocks of tofu into the tank containing water, transporting the blocks of tofu in water so as to be disposed at prescribed positions in water and placing a cake of tofu in a pack. In addition, in the case of using a continuous, automatic solidifying and molding machine, disclosed is a technique comprising the steps of transporting into a water tank intermediate blocks of tofu that has been cut to have a prescribed dimension, cutting each intermediate block of tofu into cakes of tofu having a product dimension, transporting the cakes of tofu in water or in a half-submerged state, and placing in water each cake of tofu in a tofu pack that has separately been conveyed. Thus, the conventional methods utilize underwater transportation to place a cake of soft tofu in a pack without breaking the cake of tofu through actions of treating the cake of tofu in water.

On the other hand, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose apparatus for packing tofu while being conveyed with a belt conveyor without placing the tofu in water. To be specific, these methods adopt dropping the tofu from a prescribed height position through an action of rapidly sliding a slide table or opening a door for a releasing mouth in a bottom plate. Since these methods do not release the tofu into water, they are so called “onshore filling”. Actually, the number of the onshore filling steps adopted is smaller than that of the steps of placing tofu in water adopted.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3343134

Patent Document 2: JP-A HEI 10-329806

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Problems the Invention Intends to Solve

While the conventional underwater placing methods require a water tank and a large quantity of water in order to release tofu into water and have a merit of enabling the tofu to be packed utilizing water resistance without damaging the tofu, the processing capacity thereof has its own limits up to 3000 cakes of tofu per hour. On the other hand, the so-called onshore filling has merits of saving water, enabling an automatic producing apparatus capable of producing 3000 cakes of tofu per hour or more, or sometimes up to 10000 cakes of tofu per hour, to be developed and fresh and fluffy, soft cakes of tofu to be produced without exposing them to water in a water tank and without depriving the cakes of tofu of nutrition.

The method that adopts dropping tofu from a prescribed height position through an action of rapidly sliding a slide table or opening a door for a releasing mouth in a bottom plate (Patent Document 1) entails the problems of possibly damaging the tofu owing to dropping the tofu from the prescribed height and, even when the placement of the tofu has slightly been deviated, making it impossible to remedy the deviation, thereby failing to well place the tofu. In addition, the action of rapidly sliding the slide table requires two steps of plunging the tofu onto a glide plate and rapidly sliding the glide plate per packing action. Furthermore, the action of opening the door for the releasing mouth in the bottom plate (Patent Document 2) requires two steps of opening and closing the door. In both the two methods, purpose-designed apparatus used therein have a complicated structure. A conventional onshore filling apparatus entails a problem of making it difficult to establish the timing of placing tofu in a pack. In the meantime, when the action of opening the door for the releasing mouth in the slide table or bottom plate is made rapider, a problem of machine breakdown, a concern of possibly failing to guarantee a safety operation and a problem of inserting grit and dust into a pack when packing tofu are induced. Moreover, according to the conventional methods, there are many cases in which tofu is placed in a pack, with a large quantity of water placed in the pack, it is difficult to handle packs for various kinds of cakes of tofu having different sizes, and since a block of tofu is cut into cakes of tofu having a smaller size to form a large gap between the cake of tofu and the pack to the sight, the resultant packed state having a larger amount of water placed in the pack is brought about to induce a negative product image.

In view of the above, the object of the present invention is to provide an automatic tofu-packing apparatus capable of facilitating the establishment of the timing of placing tofu in a pack, suppressing an impact of dropping the tofu onto the bottom of the pack and, when dropping the tofu to induce slight positional deviation, remedying the deviation and then placing the tofu in the pack, and further coping with the problem of a high-speed requirement.

Means for Solving the Problems

An automatic tofu-packing apparatus of the present invention comprises pack-moving means for conveying a pack for packing tofu, and tofu-transporting means disposed above the pack-moving means for conveying cut tofu having a packing size, wherein both the pack-moving means and the tofu-transporting means are used to move the tofu and pack in a same traveling direction, thereby placing the tofu in a lower pack from above. Here, the traveling directions of both the pack-moving means and the tofu-transporting means are the same as each other in the case of a horizontal direction (horizontal plane) and include the directions in which at least one of these means is inclined in the case of vertical directions (vertical planes). The two means include a belt conveyor, for example. However, a mere plate may be used as the tofu-transporting means and fabricated as a glide plate inclined obliquely to slide the tofu thereon. In addition, the pack-moving means includes the cases of moving the pack in the same direction as the tofu-moving direction using a conveyor and moving the pack from a conveyor to another conveyor using a plunging plate.

Though the two means may be moved in the same direction and the timing may be established so that the tofu-transporting means may not collide against the sidewall of the pack, according to the present invention, it is particularly preferred that the action of allowing the front and bottom end of tofu sent out from the tip of the tofu-transporting means to collide against the front end inner wall surface of a pack to thereby catch and push the pack is adjusted. At this time, since the tofu is contracted back and forth in a position of being slightly pulled, the back end of the tofu becomes easy to place in the back end inner side of the pack. Even in a state in which the tofu is placed in the pack as being slightly deviated in position, by adjusting the pack to be loosely movable back and forward to some extent (or right and left slightly), it is possible to place the tofu on the bottom of the pack as being shaken back and front (or slightly right and left) just in an image of manually shaking the pack back and forth (or right and left). Particularly in the state in which the pack is loosely movable back and forth, the pack absorbs the impetus of the tofu sent and falling to effectively place the tofu in the pack without damaging the tofu. Conventionally, it has been necessary to produce tofu hard and not broken up so as to satisfy the packing method. Such tofu is deprived of its taste, is dry and tasteless and is not good. According to the present invention, however, it is possible to provide not only tofu that is fresh and fluffy, soft and elastic, but also tofu that can be packed in the form of making use of its elasticity and is elastic in texture and good. In addition, an auxiliary effect of the present invention lies in that even when tofu is placed as being slightly deviated in position and collides against the front and back inner wall surfaces of a pack, impact of the tofu is absorbed owing to the elasticity of the front and back inner wall surfaces unlike the bottom wall surface, the positional deviation is remedied due to the elastic force of the tofu, and the tofu that has caught the pack is well placed in the pack while shaking back and forth. The speeds at which the two means are moved back and forth in the same direction are substantially the same and it is particularly optimum to adjust the timing or synchronism of the front end of the tofu colliding against the front end inner side surface of the pack. Preferably, by putting flexibility to the pack in the back-and-forth (or slightly right-and-left) direction without keeping the pack fixed, the aforementioned loose movement of the pack is replied to. It is also preferable that water is placed in an empty pack as a cushion fulfilling its function when tofu is received in the pack. In addition, since the empty pack is lightweight and easy to deviate in position, it is preferable to place water in the pack as a weight. Since the adjustment of the amount of the water is related to the loose movement of the pack, it is desirably determined within an appropriate range. When the method of sliding and entering tofu from one side thereof into a pack is thus adopted, the tofu does not need to be cut in a smaller appropriate size relative to the size of the pack and the amount of water to be placed in the pack can be minimized. Furthermore, the tofu-transporting means preferably has a flat plate having no distortion (not a corrugated plate described later) because the flat plate is at ease with transporting cakes of tofu cut in different sizes at a tofu-cutting step that is a preceding step (including a mechanism of placing the cakes of tofu at intervals after the tofu-cutting step). That is to say, even in the case of packs having different sizes, component replacement is not required and it is possible to readily handle various kinds of products (some kinds of pack sizes, too). As a matter of course, the acceptable pack sizes fall within a range of one pitch of empty pack-supplying means and, in the case where the pack sizes differ, the individual pitches of the packs (distances between respective adjacent cores) are the same. The tofu-transporting means is provided, besides the flat plate, with means for pushing the back end of tofu with a plate operated with a drive system, such as an air cylinder. Furthermore, by operating the plate in synchronism with a support plate applied to the front end of the tofu, it is possible to effectively suppress declination of the timing and inclination of the plate incurred due to a slip of the tofu. It is preferred that the packs are pushed out, in synchronism with or by the same operation as the aforementioned operation, using the pack-moving means.

Though the pack-moving means and tofu-transporting means may have a horizontal and parallel relationship relative to each other in the present invention, it is preferred that one of the two means is inclined in an intersecting direction relative to the other and moves. According to the present invention, by moving tofu obliquely downward or moving a pack obliquely upward, it is possible to make a drop between the tofu and the bottom of the pack small and place the tofu in the pack. Particularly, by making a state of (operating) the front end of the tofu pushing the front end inner wall surface of the pack, like the manner that the tofu forms a shape contracted through being pushed back and forth at a moment when the tofu has been placed in the pack, the back end of the tofu is well placed in the back end inner side of the pack. Incidentally, since the drop can be minimized in the case where a pack is moved obliquely upward, tofu is difficult to damage. The tofu may be placed in the pack through forming the contracted shape of the tofu having been pushed back and forth while transporting the tofu-transporting means obliquely upward, and also transporting the pack-moving means obliquely upwardly.

It is preferred in the present invention that the pack-moving means descends at a moment when the tofu is placed in the pack. According to the present invention, by causing the pack-moving means to descend downward at a moment when the tofu is placed in the pack, the tofu can be placed in the pack, with the dropping impact by the tofu minimized. Even in the case where the tofu drops from the tofu-transporting means, for example, the tofu is placed in the pack, with the tofu-dropping distance minimized. At this time, placing some quantity of water in the pack enables the impact to be absorbed. In addition, in order to minimize the tofu-dropping distance before the descending operation, an operation of causing the pack to once ascend may be adopted.

It is preferred in the present invention that the pack-moving means moves horizontally and that the tofu-transporting means comprises a thin glide plate inclined obliquely downward. Preferably, the glide plate is a thin plate having no distortion (the plate has a thickness of 0.1 to 1.0 mm, preferably 0.5 to 2 mm, is made of stainless steel, titanium or resin for food products including fluorine resin and polypropylene resin, and has no particular limitations insofar as it is a flat, smooth and level plate acceptable from the standpoint of food sanitation). In the case where the pack-moving means moves horizontally, the relative inclination angle is preferably in the range of 0 to 45°, most preferably in the range of 2 to 15°. In addition, the pack-moving means has no particular limitations insofar as it moves horizontally, and includes a conveyor for transportation moving horizontally, a type of pushing out the pack on the flat plate using a push-out plate and a type of pushing out the pack from a conveyor for transportation to another conveyor for transportation using a push-out plate. According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of components of the apparatus in comparison with the case where a belt conveyor is disposed and place the tofu in the pack as being slid obliquely downward. The tofu-transporting means that is a flat slid plate is advantageous for reducing the inclination angle thereof and, reduction of the inclination angle relative to the pack-moving means enables the tofu to be easily moved at the same speed. Incidentally, it is effective that the glide plate is made porous for assisting in the sliding of the tofu so as to jet air or water or that sprinkling of water onto the glide plate is appropriately performed. As the case may be, the surface of the pack-moving means is subjected to a concavo-convex process (to an extent not damaging the tofu) that produces minute round concaves and convexes in the vertical direction (traveling direction of tofu) to make the tofu difficult to deviate in position right and left. This has an effect of preventing slight positional deviation of the tofu.

It is preferred in the present invention that the pack-moving means comprises at least two conveyors, which are a conveyor disposed on a supply side and a conveyor disposed on a takeoff side, and a plunging plate for moving the pack from the conveyor on the supply side to the conveyor on the takeoff side and placing the pack on the conveyor on the takeoff side. When an apparatus has a structure in which the pack-moving means is moved in the lateral direction (including in the oblique direction, i.e. in the same direction as the tofu-moving direction), the apparatus is large-sized and the structure thereof is complicated. According to the present invention, however, since the plunging plate is used to move the pack from the conveyor on the supply side to the conveyor on the takeoff side and placing the pack on the conveyor on the takeoff side, the pack can be moved in the lateral direction (in the same direction as the tofu-moving direction) through the adjustment of the speed of the plunging plate. When the tofu-transporting means is a conveyor, providing the conveyor with an elimination mechanism brings about an effect of enabling residues and leavings of the tofu to be continuously removed during the operation of the apparatus.

It is preferred in the present invention that exhausting means is connected to the pack-moving means for disposing of defective tofu and its leavings. According to the present invention, the exhausting means is used to enable the defective tofu and its leavings to be easily disposed of without changing the position of the pack-moving means.

It is preferred in the present invention that the tofu-transporting means or exhausting means has a concave portion for partitioning the tofu and a cake of tofu cut in a size for packing. According to the present invention, the presence of the concave portion enables the cut tofu to be accurately directed to the pack without being inclined and to be placed in the pack.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, the tofu-transporting means and pack-moving means are moved in the same direction within the horizontal plane, it is possible to place the tofu on the bottom of the pack in a state in which the tofu is shaken back and forth in the moving direction, like a state in which the pack is manually shaken right and left, and back and forth. In addition, since the operation is performed, in which the pack is allowed to descend at a moment when the tofu is received in the pack, it is possible to reduce damage or injury of the tofu due to its dropping. Particularly, by causing the front and bottom ends of the tofu sent out from the forward end of the tofu-transporting means to collide against the front end inner wall surface of the pack and adjusting the action of causing the tofu to catch and push the pack, it is possible to place the tofu on the bottom of the pack as being shaken back and front (or slightly right and left) just in an image of manually shaking the pack back and forth (or right and left) without damaging the tofu even when a small amount of water is placed in the pack. In addition, by means of the two means, it is possible to easily establish the timing of moving the tofu and pack in the same direction, remedy subtle positional deviation and reply to high-speed transportation and packing. Furthermore, by configuring the apparatus simply so as to dispose the glide plate obliquely and use the conveyor to transport the tofu, the transportation and packing can be performed at higher speeds. In addition, by adopting the onshore filling, it is possible to save the amount of water for exposing the tofu thereto. Moreover, while the conventional apparatus requires two actions of plunging the tofu onto the glide plate and rapidly sliding the glide plate, the apparatus of the present invention requires one action of plunging the tofu onto the glide plate, which action is not possibly required when adopting the inclination posture, to shorten the time required, induce rare machine breakdown, enable long-time operation and constitute a mechanical structure excellent in high-speed mass production. Furthermore, since the pack-moving means is disposed below the tofu-transporting means, foreign matter is difficult to mix in the tofu until the tofu is placed in the pack and, at the same time, space saving can be attained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 includes schematic views showing an automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, (a) being a side view thereof and (b) being a side view showing an example of push-out means used in the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the automatic tofu-packing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a state in which a cake of tofu is placed in a pack.

FIG. 4 includes schematic views showing a state in which the cake of tofu is being cut with a cutting device, (a) showing a state in which cutting blades of the cutting device are placed close together and (b) showing a state in which the cutting blades are placed at prescribed intervals.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing another example of the automatic tofu-packing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing still another example of the automatic tofu-packing apparatus, particularly in a state in which cleaning equipment is disposed.

FIG. 7 includes side views schematically showing an automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, (a) showing a state in which a central conveyor for transportation is held horizontal and (b) showing a state in which the central conveyor for transportation is held obliquely downward.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is includes schematic views showing an automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, (a), (b) and (c) being side views illustrating movements thereof.

FIG. 10 includes side views schematically showing the movements of an automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a side view schematically showing an automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 includes side views schematically showing cross-sectional shapes of tofu-transporting means or exhausting means in the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a side view schematically showing an automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a side view schematically showing an automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a side view schematically showing an automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 includes side views schematically showing practical applications of the automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 includes side views illustrating a packing operation in which only a cake of tofu is moved, with the pack fixed.

FIG. 18 includes side views illustrating a packing operation, with the automatic tofu-packing apparatus according to the first embodiment used.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS AND SYMBOLS

Z1 to Z8: automatic tofu-packing apparatus

1: tofu-producing belt conveyor (conveyer for transportation)

2: pack-moving means

2
a: belt conveyor on a supply side (conveyer for transportation)

2
b: belt conveyor on a takeoff side (conveyer for transportation)

2
c, 2d, 2e: central belt conveyors (conveyers for transportation)

3: tofu-transporting means, 3a: glide plate, 3b: belt conveyor (conveyor for transportation)

3
c: adjustment plate

5: tofu-push-out means (push-out plate, plunging means)

7: pack-plunging plate (push-out plate, plunging means)

11: exhausting means

12: disposal box

B: block of tofu

P: pack, Pe: the edge of the pack

T: a cake of tofu cut to have the size of an encasement pack

Ta: top end of the cake of tofu, Tb: bottom end of the cake of tofu

e: concave portion

s: space (gap between a pack and the cake of tofu)

Tf: traveling direction of tofu-transporting means

Pf: traveling direction of pack-moving means

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An automatic tofu-packing apparatus of the present invention will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1(
a) includes side views showing the present embodiment and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. The present embodiment relates to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus Z1 comprising a belt conveyor 1 for producing tofu, pack-moving means 2 for moving an empty pack in which tofu is packed, a pack-plunging plate 7 (7a) for pushing out the empty pack, tofu-transporting means 3 disposed above the puck-plunging means 7 and pack-moving means 2 for transporting a cake of tofu cut to have a size for packing, and tofu-push-out means 5. In the case of using a tofu-producing belt conveyor 1 (continuous, automatic solidifying and molding machine), adopted in many cases are the steps of transporting an intermediate block of tofu cut to have a prescribed dimension into a water tank, cutting the intermediate block of tofu in water into cakes of tofu having a product dimension, transporting the cakes of tofu in water and packing each cake of tofu in a pack. In the present embodiment, however, tofu is placed, through the so-called onshore filling not requiring a water tank to be disposed, in a pack P in which a small amount of water has been placed. Here, the tofu widely includes silken tofu, cotton tofu, soft cotton tofu, soft tofu (having silken tofu given grains), fried bean curd, fried bean curd of silken tofu and fried bean curd of cotton tofu and, particularly includes these kinds of tofu of a quality fresh and fluffy and very soft.

In the tofu-producing belt conveyor 1, on an entrance side thereof, heated soymilk is introduced to produce a block of tofu B and, on an exit side thereof, the block of tofu B is cut at prescribed intervals, and the tofu cut at the prescribed intervals (strip-shaped tofu) is cut into cakes of tofu having a size for packing. The cakes of tofu are spaced so as to meet the prescribed intervals at which the packs are conveyed. The tofu-producing belt conveyor 1 has an endless belt which is a tough sheet member and which is wound on sprockets (rollers) disposed on the opposite ends of the conveyor as extending between them, and is adapted to produce tofu on the tough sheet member. A cutting mechanism K is disposed above the exit side, provided with plural blades k1 to k7 placed at prescribed intervals. The blades cut the block of tofu B having its forward end cut, simultaneously cut the block of tofu B into cakes of tofu having the size for packing, and are spaced so as to meet the prescribed intervals at which the packs are conveyed (FIG. 4).

The tofu-transporting means 3 is adapted to transport plural cakes of tofu T, which have been obtained by cutting on the tofu-producing belt conveyor 1 to have a size for packing and spaced, toward the packs P (the traveling direction is shown by reference symbol Tf in FIG. 1(a)). In the present embodiment, it comprises a metal glide plate inclined obliquely for sliding the cakes of tofu. In the present embodiment, the tofu-transporting means 3 is provided thereon with push-out means 5 for pushing out the cakes of tofu cut to have the size for packing. The push-out means 5 is disposed above the tofu-producing belt conveyor 1 and it is possible not to dispose the push-out means above the tofu-transporting means 3 as the glide plate. In addition, the push-out means 5 may function to move the cakes of tofu to the exit at the forward end of the tofu-transporting means 3 or, in the case where the tofu-transporting means 3 is the glide plate inclined obliquely, merely press the cut cakes of tofu from above to partway. In addition, the push-out means 5 may comprise paired push-out means 5a and 5b so as to sandwich the cake of tofu T at the front and back surfaces thereof as shown in FIG. 1(b). With this, variations in slight inclination and traveling direction of the cut cake of tofu can be suppressed.

The pack-moving means 2 is adapted to move empty packs for packing the cakes of tofu therein. The packs are transported at prescribed intervals onto a conveyor 1 for transportation (the traveling direction is shown by reference symbol Tf in FIG. 1(a)), pushed out with the pack-plunging plate 7 and, after being filled with the cake of tofu, conveyed further to a prescribed place. The pack-moving means 2 in the present embodiment is provided with a belt conveyor 2a on a supply side and a belt conveyor 2b on a takeoff side and further with the pack-plunging plate 7. The pack-plunging plate 7 is adapted to move the pack P from the belt conveyor 2a on the supply side to the belt conveyor 2b on the takeoff side and dispose the pack on the belt conveyor on the takeoff side and has a plunging plate 7a made of metal (material is no object) and moved with a cylinder 7b in the same direction and at substantially the same speed as the cake of tofu and, on this occasion, the cake of tofu is placed from above in the pack. There is no space or an intervening plate between the belt conveyor 2a on the supply side and the belt conveyor 2b on the takeoff side, and the cut cake of tofu is transferred from the former belt conveyor onto the latter belt conveyor. The pack P is made preferably of resin material excellent in lubricity, chemical resistance and flexibility, such as nylon, polyacetal, polycarbonate, PET, PPO and PBT. The shape of the pack P includes rectangle (inverted trapezoid when being viewed from the side thereof) or circular cylinder, but is not limitative. Here, however, the pack has a shape of the inverted trapezoid when being viewed from the side thereof, has a brim on the outer circumferential upper end thereof and is used generally for placing the cake of tofu therein. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the state in which the cake of tofu T has been placed in the pack P, from which it is understood that spaces s are formed between the cake of tofu and the pack at the front wall Pa and back wall Pb in the traveling direction. A suitable amount of water is beforehand placed in the pack to be conveyed from the pack-moving means 2 to produce an effect of cushion when receiving the cake of tofu, function as a weight and produce an effect of positional deviation prevention. FIG. 18 includes views illustrating the state of a moment when the cake of tofu T is placed in the pack P and the state in which the cake of tofu T is placed in the pack P while the two are shaken in the same traveling direction (on the right side in the figure).

The belt conveyor 2b on the takeoff side does not come into contact with any other portion of the pack P than the bottom surface of the pack P. The cake of tofu T is placed in the pack P in a state in which shaking of the sidewalls of the pack in the front-back direction is allowed. That is to say, the flexible pack P made of synthetic resin is conveyed, with the bottom surface thereof brought into contact with the conveyor 2b for transportation and, when the cake of tofu T has been dropped, it may possibly be damaged due to the dropping impact. However, since the front and back walls Pa and Pb of the pack P do not come into contact with the conveyor 2b for transportation, the cake of tofu T can be placed in the pack in the state in which the shaking in the front-back direction is allowed and is difficult to damage unlike on the bottom surface of the pack.

Here, as the tofu-transporting means 3 and the tofu-push-out means 5, belt conveyors can be substituted for the glide plate 3a. That is to say, as shown in FIG. 5, a configuration may be adopted, in which a belt conveyor 3b is disposed obliquely toward the pack-plunging means 7 without disposing the plunging plate for plunging the pack until being packed with the cake of tofu T above the belt conveyor 3b. That is to say, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the plunging plate 5 is adapted to transfer the cut cake of tofu T onto the belt conveyor 3b and, upon completion of this transfer, the cake of tofu T is conveyed obliquely downward with the belt conveyor 3b. On the other hand, the pack-moving means 2 may be used to move the pack in the same direction as the cake of tofu T with the conveyor for transportation or move the pack onto the flat plate with the plunging plate 5.

According to the present embodiment, therefore, by synchronizing the movement of the cake of tofu transported with the belt conveyor and the movement of the receiving container (pack) and moving (operating) the pack-push-out means 7 in substantially the same direction as the synchronized movements, the cake of tofu T can be placed on the bottom of the pack while accompanying shaking in an image of manually shaking the pack back and forth, and right and left. By synchronizing the movements of the cake of tofu T and the pack P in an image of trapping a soccer ball or by slightly changing the relative movement, the cake of tofu is placed in the pack without damaging, exposing to water and braking the fresh and fluffy cake of tofu. That is to say, as shown in FIG. 18, it is preferred that the front end (and lower end) of the cake of tofu T sent out from the tofu-transporting means 3 is allowed to collide against the forward end inner wall of the pack P and that the action of catching and pushing the pack P with the cake of tofu T is adjusted. At this time, since the cake of tofu T has a posture slightly pushed and contracted back and forward (FIG. 18(c)), the back end Tb of the cake of tofu T is easy to store in the back end inner wall surface Pb of the pack P. Even in the state in which the cake of tofu is placed in the pack P as being slightly deviated, by enabling the pack P to be moved back and forward (or slightly right and left) to some extent and providing the front-back spaces s as shown in FIG. 3, the cake of tofu T can be placed on the pack bottom (FIG. 18(c) to FIG. 18(d)) while accompanying front-back (or slightly right-left) shaking in an image of manually shaking the pack P back and forward (or right and left). Conventionally, it has been necessary to produce tofu hard and not broken up so as to satisfy the packing method. Such tofu is deprived of its taste, is dry and tasteless and is not good. According to the present invention, however, it is possible to provide tofu that is elastic and good using the method for producing tofu which is fresh and fluffy, and soft and which can be packed in the form of making use of its elasticity. In other words, the apparatus according to the present embodiment is not suitable for producing tofu bad in quality including fragile tofu and tofu weak in adhesiveness. It is effective that a high-speed, a continuous, automatic tofu solidifying and molding line is provided with a mechanism of appropriately disposing of such defective tofu with exhausting means 11. Since tofu fragile and not elastic as bitching out inevitably from customers can readily be visually judged, it is possible to naturally manage the quality thereof and prevent such defective products from being shipped out. To the contrary, in the case where only the cake of tofu T is moved, with the position of the pack fixed (a belt V in FIG. 17 moves not in the traveling direction of the cake of tofu T), as shown in FIGS. 17(a), 17(b) and 17(c), since the forward end of the cake of tofu T immediately drops onto the pack bottom, accurate packing is not performed.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently place the cake of tofu T cut to have a product dimension in the pack P for a very short period of time without releasing the cake of tofu into a water tank, provide a high processing ability and reduce the installation space. When using the continuous, automatic solidifying and molding machine 1, loss capacity can be minimized without damaging or breaking up even silken tofu that is fresh and fluffy, and soft. Since a great amount of water is not used, this enables a drainage volume to be reduced, and is economical and hygienic without contaminating the water tank with bacteria. Incidentally, since the nutrient content and sugar content of tofu elute off when the tofu has been exposed to water (released into the water tank), this brings about the reduction in sweetness, umami, nutrition value, functionality and physiological effect of the tofu. When the tofu kept in a hot state of a temperature of around 60 to 90° C. is packed, the proliferation of airborne bacteria that may possibly be mixed in the tofu or pack can be inhibited.

Here, by making the inclination angle of the glide plate 3a horizontal in the same state as that in which the pack is horizontally moved on the empty pack-moving means 2 by means of the pack-push-out plate 7, or nearly horizontal, the packs P moved with the pack-push-out plate 7 and cut cakes of tofu transported with the tofu-transporting means 3 are moved at substantially the same speed (strictly, at the same speed when being viewed from above) to enable the cakes of tofu to be placed in the packs, respectively. When the glide plate is set to have such a subtle inclination angle, a thin flat glide plate 3a is advantageously used. Incidentally, It can be understood through visual observation of the lateral side as shown in FIG. 1 whether or not the pack-moving means 2 and tofu-transporting means 3 are synchronized. In addition, both the pack-push-out plate 7 operating on the pack-moving means 2 and the tofu-transporting means 3 may comprise movable conveyors. Since the feed rates of the respective conveyors are variable using an inverter and subtle movement can appropriately be set, it is possible to provide a packing apparatus easy to control and good-natured for the products. In addition, the tofu may move horizontally and the pack may ascend obliquely upward.

As a practical application of the present embodiment, it is possible to dispose cleaning equipment 9 below the conveyor belt 3b for tofu for cleaning the belt. This aims at cleaning tofu residues at the times of the start of operation, completion of the operation and packing operations to clean the belt inserted into the water tank or clean the belt through a jet of water or water clarification. In the cleaning equipment 9, tofu residues are continuously removed and the cakes of tofu may be sterilized with hot water or chlorine water. In addition, the apparatus also has an advantage in that the operation can hygienically be made while removing the tofu residues. The insertion of waste of tofu into the container can be minimized. By disposing the cleaning equipment 9 below the belt 3b, a dead space can effectively be utilized and, at the same time, the cleaning equipment 9 can be used also for cleaning the pack-moving means 2.

As shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), by the movement in an image of manually placing the tofu smoothly in the pack, i.e. by forming as a whole a movable pectinate portion 8 (FIG. 16(b)) and driving the portion, to guide the tofu to the pack bottom (in a state in which the tofu is easy to place in the pack bottom), thereby forming a structure in which the tofu can be inserted obliquely in the forward bottom corner in the pack P. As a result, the tofu T is received on the forward inner surface of the pack P and, at the same time, the pack P is pushed out forward in synchronism with the tofu T pushed out to enable the sliding movement from a forward end 8 of the glide plate 3a obliquely inserted while the pack descends. By making the forward end 8 of the glide plate 3a movable (making it of flexible resin, thin stainless-steel spring or titanium), the tofu can be dropped so as not break up it.

Second Embodiment

The present embodiment relates, as shown in FIGS. 7(a), 7(b) and 8, to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus Z2 in which a transportation conveyor 2c is disposed between the belt conveyor 2a on the supply side and the belt conveyor 2b on the takeoff side and used in place of the pack-push-out plate 7. By disposing the transportation conveyor 2c, it is possible to provide a structure in which the horizontal intervals of moving the packs to the right side in FIG. 7 can sufficiently be secured. That is to say, even after the tofu T dropping from the glide plate 3a is placed in the pack P, the transportation by the transportation conveyor 2c is not stopped though the speed thereof may be deadened. As a result, by securing allowable shaking (waggle) in a state in which the tofu T has been placed in the pack P, i.e. by utilizing the spaces s and the loose movement of the pack per se (FIG. 3), the tofu T can be placed in the pack without being damaged. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7(b), it is effective that the transportation conveyor 2c is inclined downward.

Furthermore, by delaying the speed of the transportation conveyor 2c immediately after placing in the pack the tofu T transported by means of the transportation conveyor 2c, shaking of the pack P (front-back shaking in the moving direction) can be suppressed. That is to say, the pack pushed out is not fixed forward, but is loosely movable (free) to enable the shock given when receiving the tofu to escape. Moreover, by making the belt of the belt conveyor of the transportation conveyor 2c of rubber exhibiting elasticity in the vertical direction, it is possible to variably adjust the speed of the transportation conveyor 2c to be optimum and absorb the momentum of the dropping tofu T. Incidentally, the forward end 3d of the glide plate 3a is configured to have a large inclination angle.

Third Embodiment

The present embodiment relates to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus Z3, as shown in FIGS. 9(a), 9(b) and 9(c), in which a pack-moving means 2 comprises a belt conveyor 2a on the supply side, a belt conveyor 2b on the takeoff side and a central belt conveyor 2c. The central belt conveyor 2c is configured to be movable up and down with drive means 10. The pack is moved from the belt conveyor 2a on the supply side onto the central belt conveyor 2c movable up and down by means of a plunging plate 7A and from the central belt conveyor 2c movable up and down onto the belt conveyor 2b on the takeoff side by means of a plunging plate 7B. As shown in FIG. 9(b), the central belt conveyor 2c receives a pack P from the belt conveyor 2a on the supply side and moves down immediately before or after receiving a cake of tofu T cut to have a size for packing in the pack P, to place the tofu T in the pack P and, upon completion thereof, the plunging plate 7B pushes out the pack from the central belt conveyor 2c to the belt conveyor 2b on the takeoff side.

Fourth Embodiment

The present embodiment relates to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus Z4, as shown in FIG. 10, in which a belt conveyor 2e on the takeoff side moves up or down when placing tofu T in a pack P. That is to say, the belt conveyor 2e movable up and down with drive means 10 is moved up immediately before placing the tofu T in the pack P when a plunging plate 7 moves the pack P from a belt conveyor 2a on the supply side onto the belt conveyor 2e and, at a moment when (simultaneously with or immediately before) the tofu T is placed in the pack P, moved down by means of the drive means 10 (FIGS. 10(b) and 10(c)). In order to establish the timing at that time, a tofu-transporting means 3 is provided on the forward end thereof with an adjustment plate 3c for adjusting the length (or angle) of the tofu-transporting means. By moving the tofu T up or down with the timing established, it is possible to minimize the dropping distance between the tofu T and the pack bottom and, at the same time, alleviate the impact of the tofu colliding against the back bottom. That is to say, a hand is applied to the tofu T dropping obliquely downward and receives the dropped tofu. In an image of trapping a soccer ball, for example, the tofu T is placed in the pack P while moving the tofu. Thereafter, the belt conveyor 2e is moved down with the drive means 10 to return the height thereof to its original height the same as the height of the belt conveyor 2a on the supply side (FIGS. 10(d) to 10(e)). The adjustment plate 3c is made of a flexible material, SUS spring steel or a flexible material in the form of a chute and may be a chute for guiding tofu onto the pack bottom so that the tofu is not be bent. In addition, it is effective to form concave portions e in cross section as shown in FIGS. 12(b) to 12(e).

Fifth Embodiment

The present embodiment is directed to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus Z5 provided with an exhausting plate that is one of exhausting means 11 for disposing of tofu T cut to have a size for packing relative to a disposal box 12, for example. That is to say, as shown in FIG. 11, the exhausting means 11 can advance and retreat so as to cover pack-moving means 2. Though it is brought to a standby position as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 11 during the operation of packing the tofu T, it is moved to the left side in the figure to cover the pack-moving means 2 and brought to a state in which it is connected to the lower side end of tofu-transporting means 3. The exhausting means 11 is disposed obliquely and, therefore, it is possible to dispose of the tofu T relative to the disposal box 12 as sliding from the tofu-transporting means 3 to the disposal box via the exhausting means 12. The exhausting means 11 may be configured as a scraping-out device. By inserting the exhausting means 11 beneath the tofu-transporting means 3 to use the exhausting means 11 that is tofu disposal means for disposing of defective tofu and tofu residues, it is possible to remove tofu lost in rise and clean and remove residues incurred during the production of tofu. Incidentally, as described later, it is possible to provide the exhausting means 11 with concave portions e. According to the present embodiment, the exhausting means 11 is used to enable defective tofu (the finished state confirmed) or its leavings to be disposed of without changing the position of the pack-moving means 2.

Here, FIG. 12 includes cross sections in the lateral direction relative to the traveling direction of the tofu-transporting means 3, showing that the concave portions e are disposed for partitioning tofu T and tofu T cut to have a size for packing. The concave portions e of the tofu-transporting means 3 serve to correct the tofu T slightly deviated in position to be just placed in the pack P and convey the tofu T so as not to be inclined, and corrugated or hollow-ground concave portions e are conceivable (FIGS. 12(b) to FIG. 12(e)). Incidentally, FIG. 12(a) shows a case where there is no concave portion e, for comparison. For this reason, the tofu T cut to have a prescribed size for packing can accurately be placed naturally in the pack. The tofu can be placed in the pack with exactitude even when the tofu T has slightly irregularly inclined in position or exhibited a slight change its position resulting from a change in sliding motion of the tofu due to the quality of the tofu. Incidentally, the packs may be conveyed as a unit of two or three connected packs.

Sixth Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 13, the present embodiment relates to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus Z6, in which a belt conveyor that is the tofu-transporting means 3 is disposed in the horizontal direction and the pack-moving means 2 is disposed obliquely upward in a direction intersecting the tofu-transporting means 3. Belt conveyors are used as the tofu-transporting means 3 and the pack-moving means 2, and a structure in which the pack P is allowed to gradually ascend obliquely with two belt conveyors 2g is adopted. It is possible to use the belt conveyors 2g having the same size as the belt conveyor 3b that is used as the tofu-transporting means 3 and to adjust the speed of the former conveyors to be the same as the that of the latter conveyor. It is optional in accordance with the practice that the pack-moving means 2 is provided with a stopper for preventing the pack P from being slid. According to the present embodiment, therefore, the pack P is directed obliquely upward to place therein the tofu T moved in the horizontal direction as scraping out the tofu.

Seventh Embodiment

The present embodiment relates, as shown in FIG. 14, to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus Z7, in which tofu-transporting means 3b is disposed as being directed obliquely downward, and pack-moving means 2 is disposed as being directed obliquely upward. Belt conveyors are used as the tofu-transporting means 3 and the pack-moving means 2, and the pack-moving means 2 comprises a horizontal belt conveyor 2h and an inclined belt conveyor 2g disposed in that order. A pack P is transferred from the tofu-transporting means 3 onto the inclined belt conveyor 2g and conveyed obliquely upward and places therein the tofu T moved obliquely downward from the tofu-transporting means 3b as scraping out the tofu. Here, it is desirable to use the belt conveyors having the same size as the inclined belt conveyor 2g and the tofu-transporting means 3b and adjust the inclined angles and speeds thereof to be the same as each other, respectively. In addition, it is desirable to adjust the speeds to be substantially the same as each other as being viewed from above.

Eighth Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 15, the present embodiment relates to an automatic tofu-packing apparatus Z8 in a state in which water is placed in a tank up to the lower portion of tofu-transporting means 3b. Water W is filled in a pack P conveyed with pack-moving means 2. In addition, the level of the water W in the tank reaches up to the lower portion of the tofu-transporting means 3.

According to the present embodiment, therefore, since tofu T conveyed with the tofu-transporting means 3 is placed in the pack P, with the pack filled with the water W, the tofu T is placed in the pack P via the water W. In addition, since the level of the water W in the water tank reaches the lower portion of the tofu-transporting means 3 and since the tofu T is transported while receiving the resistance of the water and placed in the pack P, this is advantageous in that the degree of damage of the tofu is small.

As has been described in the foregoing, the automatic tofu-packing apparatus of the present invention can heighten the producing capacity through the onshore filling not using a water tank and, as described in the embodiments, can be used in the water tank or in the half-submerged state. Thus, the apparatus is not necessarily limited to use for the onshore filling.

AUTOMATIC TOFU-PACKING APPARATUS

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