Abstract:
A stirring and feeding device includes a base seat having a stirring reservoir and a feeding port for engaging a feeding tube, a hopper defining a filling space which is disposed upstream of the stirring reservoir, a rotatable stirring unit extending in the filling space and having a spirally extending blade for guiding the stuffing downwardly to the stirring reservoir, and two rollers defining a rolling space below the blade to roll the stuffing toward the feeding port for preventing clogging.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 104218911, filed on Nov. 25, 2015. 
       FIELD 
       [0002]    The disclosure relates to a stuffing apparatus, and more particularly to a stirring and feeding device for a stuffing apparatus. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    A conventional stuffing apparatus for making stuffed food, such as dumplings, stuffed buns, etc., generally includes a stirring and feeding device, a cutting device, and a feeding tube connected between the stirring and feeding device and the cutting device. The stirring and feeding device includes a hopper defining a filling space therein, and a stirring shaft rotatably mounted in the filling space to stir and force food stuffing to advance downwardly toward the feeding tube. However, it is disadvantageous that the stuffing tends to stop advancing at the juncture between the filling space and the feeding tube and causes clogging of the feeding tube adjacent to the juncture, which leads to generation of heat as the stuffing continues to be fed into the filling space and advance toward the feeding tube. The heat generated may result in deterioration of the stuffing. Part of the stuffing may even remain in the filling space to render the feeding operation incomplete. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a stirring and feeding device that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art. 
         [0005]    According to the disclosure, the stirring and feeding device includes a base seat having a surrounding wall which extends in an upright direction and which has an inner wall surface that defines a stirring reservoir, an outer wall surface radially opposite to the inner wall surface, and a feeding port that extends radially from the inner wall surface through the outer wall surface to be in spatial communication with a feeding tube. The inner wall surface has an inclined surface portion which is angularly displaced from the feeding port and which is inclined downwardly and toward the feeding port. A hopper is disposed upwardly of the base seat and defines therein a filling space which is disposed upstream of the stirring reservoir. A stirring unit includes a stirring shaft which extends in the filling space and which is driven to rotate about a first upright axis, a spirally extending blade which is disposed on and rotated with the stirring shaft to stir the stuffing and guide movement of the stuffing downwardly to the stirring reservoir. The device further includes two rollers disposed in the stirring reservoir and interposed between the stirring unit and the feeding port. One of the rollers is disposed to rotate about a second upright axis in a clockwise direction, and the other one of the rollers is disposed to rotate about a third upright axis in a counterclockwise direction. The rollers have a plurality of teeth which are meshed with each other and which are configured to define therebetween a rolling space that is disposed below the spirally extending blade to permit the stuffing entering the rolling space to be rolled toward the feeding port through rotations of the rollers. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a schematic front view illustrating a stuffing apparatus in which an embodiment of a stirring and feeding device according to the disclosure is incorporated; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the embodiment; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a fragmentary sectional view of the embodiment; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the embodiment, illustrating the relationship between a stirring unit and two rollers. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an embodiment of a stirring and feeding device according to this disclosure is incorporated in a stuffing apparatus  1  for making stuffed food, such as dumplings, stuffed buns, etc., which consists of a dough wrapped around a stuffing. The stuffing apparatus  1  further includes a transportation device  11  disposed downstream of the stirring and feeding device, and a cutting device  12  disposed downstream of the transportation device  11  for cutting the stuffing. The transportation device  11  includes a housing  111  and a feeding tube  112  extending horizontally (in a feeding direction) in the housing  111  and interconnecting the stirring and feeding device and the cutting device  12 . The stirring and feeding device of this embodiment is adapted for stirring the stuffing and feeding the same to the feeding tube  112 , and includes a base seat  2 , a hopper  3 , a stirring unit  4  and two rollers  5 . 
         [0013]    With reference to  FIGS. 3 to 5 , the base seat  2  has a surrounding wall  21  which extends in an upright direction and which has an inner wall surface  211  that defines a stirring reservoir  20  with an upper opening, an outer wall surface  212  radially opposite to the inner wall surface  211 , and a feeding port  213  that extends radially from the inner wall surface  211  through the outer wall surface  212  to be in spatial communication with the feeding tube  112 . The inner wall surface  211  has an inclined surface portion  215  which is angularly displaced from the feeding port  213 , and which is inclined downwardly and toward the feeding port  213 . In this embodiment, the inclined surface portion  215  is disposed opposite to the feeding port  213  in the feeding direction so as to guide stuffing in the stirring reservoir  20  which is remote from the feeding port  213  to advance toward the feeding port  213 . 
         [0014]    The hopper  3  is removably mounted on and is disposed upwardly of the base seat  2 , and defines therein a filling space  30  which is disposed upstream of the stirring reservoir  20 . 
         [0015]    The stirring unit  4  includes a stirring shaft  41  which extends in the filling space  30 , and is driven by a first power source  71 , such as an electric motor, to rotate about a first upright axis in the upright direction, a plurality of stirring members  42  which are mounted on and rotated with the stirring shaft  41  and which are spaced apart from each other in the first upright axis, and a spirally extending blade  43 . The stirring shaft  41  is elongated downwardly from an upper portion of the hopper  3  and through the stirring reservoir  20 . Each stirring member  42  has a rod portion  421  which extends radially and outwardly from the stirring shaft  41  to terminate at a distal rod end  423 , and a stirring blade portion  422  which is connected to the distal rod end  423  and which has a major blade surface confronting outwardly and downwardly. The spirally extending blade  43  is disposed on the stirring shaft  41  and downwardly of the stirring members  42  to extend into the stirring reservoir  20 , and is rotated with the stirring shaft  41  to stir the stuffing and guide movement of the stuffing downwardly to the stirring reservoir  20 . In this embodiment, the spirally extending blade  43  winds at least about one full turn around the stirring shaft  41  (about 360 degrees). 
         [0016]    The rollers  5  are disposed in the stirring reservoir  20  and are interposed between the stirring shaft  41  and the feeding port  213 . One of the rollers  5  is disposed to rotate about a second upright axis in a clockwise direction  62 , and the other one of the rollers  5  is disposed to rotate about a third upright axis in a counterclockwise direction  61 . The rollers  5  have a plurality of teeth  51  which are meshed with each other such that, one of the rollers  5  which is driven by a second power source  72 , such as an electric motor, is rotated to drive the other one of the rollers  5  to rotate in an opposite rotational direction. The teeth  51  of the rollers  5  are configured to define therebetween a rolling space  50  that is disposed below the spirally extending blade  43  to permit the stuffing entering the rolling space  50  to be rolled toward the feeding port  213  through the opposite rotations of the rollers  5 . 
         [0017]    In use, stuffing is loaded into the filling space  30  from the upper portion of the hopper  3 , the stirring unit  4  is driven to rotate in the counterclockwise direction  61 , and the rollers  5  are driven to rotate in the counterclockwise and clockwise directions  61 ,  62 . The stuffing falls, is stirred and advances downwardly by the rotation of the stirring unit  4 . Specifically, the stuffing is guided by means of the spirally extending blade  43  to move downwardly, and is then forced to enter the rolling space  50 . Subsequently, with the rotation of the rollers  5 , the stuffing is pressed to move to the feeding port  213 . In this embodiment, each roller  5  can force the stuffing in the rolling space  50  to sequentially move slightly in a direction toward the stirring shaft  41 , turn at an angle to be moved toward the surrounding wall  21 , and be guided into the feeding port  213 . 
         [0018]    As illustrated, by means of the stirring unit  4  and the rollers  5 , most of stuffing can be fed into the feeding tube  112  through the feeding port  213 . Some of the stuffing that directly falls down to a bottom portion of the stirring reservoir  20  can slide by means of the inclined surface portion  215  toward the rollers  5  for movement toward the feeding port  213  by the rollers  5 . Hence, the stuffing can be fed smoothly and continuously into the feeding tube  112  without blockage, which minimizes occurrence of the stuffing remained in the stirring reservoir  20  and avoids deterioration of the stuffing. 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 , the stuffing fed into the feeding tube  112  is transported to the cutting device  12  for a cutting work. 
         [0020]    While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.