JPS5934340B2 - Raw tea leaf steamer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a raw tea leaf steaming apparatus, and is particularly characterized in that it is of a batch type and can be operated automatically.

In producing green tea, first, raw tea leaves are put into a steamer and steamed.

That is, the steaming process is the first step in the green tea manufacturing process, and the processing conditions here have a strong influence on the taste and flavor of the green tea product. Depending on the temperature, green tea has a sweet, nutritious, and refreshing taste;
When the temperature is lower than 00°C, the green tea product has a strong grassy smell and astringent taste.

Here, we will outline the conventional method of processing raw tea leaves.
First, raw tea leaves are continuously put into a tea leaf steamer and steamed for 2 to 3 minutes, then cooled to around room temperature and heated for 20 to 30 minutes.
It is stocked for 30 minutes and then put into a roughing machine for further processing.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional tea leaf steamer, in which reference numeral 31 is a supply hopper for supplying tea leaves, 32 is a rotary mesh drum with an open rear end, and 3
3 is a stirring blade; 34 is a steam supply port that supplies steam into the machine;
Reference numeral 35 denotes a cover cylinder that covers the rotating mesh cylinder, and like the rotating mesh cylinder 32, the rear end is open.

When steaming raw tea leaves using the tea leaf steamer, the rotary mesh body 32 and stirring blades 33 are rotated, and steam is further supplied into the machine from the steam supply port 34, and the raw tea leaves are passed through the supply hopper 31. into the aircraft continuously.

Then, the raw tea leaves are stirred within the rotating mesh shell 32, and at the same time are brought into contact with steam and heated, and are discharged from the end of the mesh shell 32 to the outside of the machine.

In this case, as mentioned above, the rotary mesh cylinder 32 is open at its end, so the steaming treatment is carried out under normal pressure.

Therefore, the temperature inside the aircraft is around 100-100℃ near the steam supply port.
The temperature is about 95℃, but since this steam comes into contact with the raw tea leaves and lowers the temperature, the raw tea leaves end up being steamed at about 60-70℃, and the grassy smell cannot be removed because the steaming temperature is insufficient. It is.

The present invention improves the conventional continuous steamer described above,
By steaming raw tea leaves in a batch method using a covered steaming tank, the pressure inside the tank can be raised to a level higher than that required for steaming, and the process can be carried out at a sufficient saturated steam temperature. All operations such as take-out can be performed automatically, further increasing practicality.

The present invention will be specifically described below based on illustrated embodiments.

Reference numeral 1 in the figure is a steam tank. This is a heat-resistant and pressure-resistant tank, and is equipped with an opening/closing lid 2 on the top surface and a steamer basket 3 inside.

In addition, this steaming tank 1 is equipped with a mechanism for automatically opening and closing a lid 2, which will be described later, a mechanism for rotating a steamer basket 3, and other mechanisms. 5
It is attached to the machine frame 5 and rotates back and forth together with the machine frame 5.

The steamer basket 3 is supported by a rotating shaft 6, and rotates at an appropriate speed when steaming the raw tea leaves put into the basket and when discharging the steamed tea leaves to the outside of the tank.
A sprocket 7 is fitted onto the rotating shaft 6, and a motor 8 is connected to this.

The steam tank 1 is also provided with a steam inlet 6 to feed steam for steam into the tank. As an example of the feeding method, FIG. 2 shows a support shaft 9 for supporting the machine frame 5 on the base 4. This figure shows a system in which a hollow pipe is formed to serve as a steam feed pipe, and this is connected to a boiler (not shown) to feed steam into the tank through the support shaft 9.

Reference numeral 10 is a steam exhaust pipe, and 11 is a drain cock.

A bypass is formed in the steam feed pipe (support shaft 9),
Solenoid valves 12 and 13 are attached to each, and although not shown, the steam tank 1 is equipped with a measuring device for measuring the internal steam temperature or steam pressure. ) is connected to the measuring device via a ticket counting device as appropriate, and is configured to open and close in response to changes in steam temperature or steam pressure in the tank to maintain a preset temperature condition inside the tank.

Next, a mechanism for opening and closing the opening/closing lid 2 will be explained.

This mechanism is not particularly limited, and any mechanism that can automatically operate the opening/closing lid 2 using a hydraulic cylinder or a motor is sufficient.

The figure shows an example in which a hydraulic cylinder is used, a hanging rod 14 is pivotally attached to the machine frame 5, an opening/closing lid 2 is attached to this, and an arm 15 is further protruded from the hanging rod 14. A hydraulic cylinder 16 is connected between this and one point of the machine frame 5.
It is to intervene.

The opening/closing lid 2 is configured to seal the steaming tank 1 during heat treatment so that steam does not leak from this area.For example, the opening/closing lid 2 is provided with locking hooks 1 at two to four locations.
7 is attached, and is locked to the steaming tank 1 by engaging with a collar 18 formed on the upper edge of the steaming tank 1.

Needless to say, the engagement and release of the engagement hook 11 are performed automatically. For example, a rotation shaft 19 is provided at an appropriate position on the opening/closing lid 2, and the engagement hook 17 is attached to the rotation shaft 19. The rotating shaft 19 is connected to a hydraulic cylinder 21 via a crank mechanism 20.

An example of a mechanism for tilting the steam tank 1 forward is the support shaft 9.
A worm wheel 22 is fitted onto the worm wheel 22, a worm gear 23 is meshed with the worm wheel 22, and this is further connected to a motor 24 attached to a base 4. It is constructed so that it slopes in two steps, one step downward from the horizontal.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a device in which two steam heat treatment devices are paired. In the figure, reference numeral 25 is a raw tea leaf input conveyor, and 26 is a steamed tea leaf discharge conveyor. The heat-treated steamed tea leaves are discharged onto this conveyor 26,
It is then sent to the next process.

Next, a procedure for steaming raw tea leaves using the raw tea leaf steaming apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

First, operate the hydraulic cylinder 16 to open the opening/closing lid 2,
A predetermined amount of raw tea leaves is put into this, then the opening/closing lid 2 is closed, the hydraulic cylinder 21 is activated to lock the locking hook 17 to the collar 18, and the motor 24 is activated to open the steaming tank 1 for 30 minutes. ~
Tilt it at about 90 degrees (of course, there is nothing wrong with tilting it at this angle beforehand).

In this state, the motor 8 is operated to rotate the steamer basket 3, and the solenoid valves 12 and 13 are opened to introduce steam into the tank.

When the steam temperature or pressure in the tank reaches a certain value, the solenoid valve 13 is narrowed as necessary, that is, to the extent that the steam temperature or pressure in the tank is kept slightly lower than the fixed value by this alone, On the other hand, the solenoid valve 12 is opened and closed according to increases and decreases in the steam temperature or pressure within the tank to maintain the inside of the tank at preset processing conditions.

After a certain period of time has passed, close the solenoid valves 12 and 13 to stop the supply of steam, open the opening/closing lid 2, and then open the motor 2.
4 to tilt the steam tank 1 one step downward from horizontal.

Then, the steamed tea leaves are gradually discharged out of the tank, so when the discharge is completed, the rotation of the steamer basket 3 is stopped, and then the steamer basket 1 is raised to its original position to complete one process.

Note that this device can wash raw tea leaves with water before steaming them.

Of course, at this time, we will install water supply piping to supply water for sintering to the steamer tank 1, and we will make it possible to switch the rotational speed of the steamer basket 8 into two stages so that it can be used as a dewatering basket. be.

The procedure for washing raw tea leaves is first to supply washing water to a predetermined amount of raw tea leaves while rotating the steamer basket 3.

After carrying out the specified cleaning, the steamer tank 1 is stood up, the drain cock 11 is opened, the water in the tank is drained, and the steamer basket 3 is drained.
is rotated at high speed to dehydrate it, and then subjected to the steaming treatment described above.

As described in detail above, the present invention processes raw tea leaves in a batch method, increases the steam pressure in the steaming tank to over 100'C, and raises the steam temperature to 100'C.
As described above, it is possible to perform steam heat treatment, and in particular, in steam heat treatment, the steam tank 1 is heated to a temperature of 30 to 90
Since the steamer basket 3 is rotated by tilting the steamer basket 3, the raw tea leaves are sufficiently steamed in the tank, eliminating the need for a stirring device, and the raw tea leaves are evenly stirred and mixed without being damaged. It can be steamed efficiently and processed into high-quality green tea.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal side view showing a conventional tea leaf steamer, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway side view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of the same, and Fig. 4 shows the main parts. FIG. 5 is a front view showing another embodiment. 1; Steam tank, 2; Open/close lid, 3; Steam basket, 4; Base, 5; Machine frame, 6; Rotating shaft, 7; Sprocket, 8; Motor, 9;
Support shaft, 10; Steam exhaust pipe, 11; Drain cock, 12;
Solenoid valve, 13; Solenoid valve, 14; Hanging rod, 15; Arm, 16; Hydraulic cylinder, 17; Locking hook, 18; Tsuba, 19; Rotating shaft, 20; Crank mechanism, 2
1; Hydraulic cylinder; 22; Worm wheel; 23; Worm gear; 24; Motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Attach the machine frame to the base so that it can rotate freely, and further attach a covered steam tank to this, and set the steam tank together with the machine frame vertically by 3.
It is made so that it can be tilted in two stages, from about 0 to 90 degrees and slightly downward from horizontal, and furthermore, a steam feed pipe is connected to the steam tank, a bypass is formed in this, and solenoid valves are installed on both sides. One of the solenoid valves is connected to a steam temperature or steam pressure measuring device in the steam tank, and the steam tank is rotatably installed in the steam tank.
A raw tea leaf steaming treatment device characterized by a vertical table tilted at an angle of about 90 degrees for steaming raw tea leaves.