CN111493704A - Rice storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a rice storage device which comprises an accommodating unit with an accommodating space, a material taking unit and a control unit. The accommodating space is provided with a discharge hole. The material taking unit comprises a material taking port and a material taking cavity. The material taking cavity is positioned above the material taking port and can move between a first position communicated with the material outlet and a second position communicated with the material taking port. The control unit is electrically connected with the material taking unit and is configured to control the material taking chamber to move from the first position to the second position for a predetermined number of times in response to the operation of the operable member to take out a predetermined amount of material from the containing space. According to the food material taking device, the accommodating space is not in direct contact with the external environment in the material taking process, so that the adverse effect of the external environment on food materials stored in the accommodating space can be weakened. Get the material unit through the control unit control and carry out automatically and get the material operation, can simplify user's operation to can control the volume of getting accurately, thereby promote and use experience.

Description

Rice storage device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of kitchen utensils, in particular to a rice storage device.

Background

In daily life, food materials such as rice are often used to buy a large amount at a time and stored by using a rice storage device such as a plastic rice bucket, a metal rice bucket, a ceramic rice bucket, and the like. In order to protect from the external temperature, humidity, etc., these rice storage devices mostly store rice in a separate space isolated from the outside. However, the user often needs to completely open the separate space when taking out the stored rice. At this time, the temperature, humidity, etc. in the space for storing the rice are easily affected by the external environment, and even microorganisms or dust, etc. may enter the rice storage device to contaminate the rice. In addition, the user often needs to take the rice manually, and it is difficult to control the amount of taking accurately. Taking too much or too little can be inconvenient, thereby creating a poor experience.

To this end, the present invention provides a rice storage device to at least partially solve the problems of the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

In this summary, concepts in a simplified form are introduced that are further described in the detailed description. This summary of the invention is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In order to solve the above problems at least in part, the present invention provides a rice storage device, comprising:

the accommodating unit is provided with an accommodating space for storing materials, and the bottom of the accommodating space is provided with a discharge hole;

get the material unit, get the material unit set up in the discharge gate below, it includes to get the material unit:

a material taking port; and

the material taking cavity can move between a first position communicated with the discharge hole and a second position communicated with the material taking hole, and the material taking hole is positioned below the material taking cavity; and

a control unit electrically connected to the material taking unit, the control unit including an operable member and controlling the number of times the material taking chamber is moved from the first position to the second position in response to an operation of the operable member to take out a predetermined amount of material from the accommodating space.

According to the rice storage device, the stored food materials can be taken from the accommodating space through the taking unit, and the accommodating space is not in direct contact with the external environment in the taking process, so that the adverse effect of the external environment on the food materials stored in the accommodating space is weakened. In addition, get the material unit through the control unit control and carry out automatically and get the material operation, can simplify user's operation to can control the quantity of making accurately, thereby promote and use experience.

Optionally, the extraction chamber is configured to reciprocate between the first position and the second position in a rotational manner about a central axis of rotation. Therefore, the moving mode of the material taking cavity is simple, easy to realize and small in occupied space.

Optionally, the material extracting unit comprises a plurality of the material extracting chambers arranged around the central axis of rotation. From this, set up a plurality of material chambeies of getting and can improve the efficiency of getting the material.

Optionally, the plurality of material taking cavities have the same shape and volume and are uniformly arranged in the circumferential direction around the central axis of rotation. Therefore, the volume and the shape of the material taking cavity are the same, and the control accuracy can be improved.

Optionally, the rice storage device further comprises a sensing unit, the sensing unit is configured to send an in-place signal to the control unit when the material taking cavity moves to the second position, and the control device controls the material taking cavity to move from the first position to the second position for a predetermined number of times by counting the in-place signal. Therefore, the control unit can accurately control the movement of the material preparing cavity through the sensing unit.

Optionally, the sensing unit includes a signal emitting element and a triggering element, and at least one of the signal emitting element and the triggering element has the same number as the material taking cavities and corresponds to the material taking cavities one by one; the signal emitting element integrally moves along with the material taking cavity, the trigger element is fixedly arranged, or the trigger element integrally moves along with the material taking cavity, the signal emitting element is fixedly arranged, and when the material taking cavity moves to the second position, the signal emitting element is triggered by the trigger element to emit the in-place signal. Therefore, the sensing unit is simple in structure and easy to realize.

Optionally, the control device controls the plurality of material taking cavities to rotate by a predetermined angle, so as to control the number of times that the material taking cavities move from the first position to the second position. Therefore, the control unit can accurately control the movement of the material preparing cavity by controlling the rotation angle.

Optionally, the material taking unit comprises:

the shell is provided with a cylindrical sunken part, the sunken part comprises a bottom wall and a side wall, and the material taking port is arranged on the bottom wall;

a rotating member disposed within the recess and rotatable about the axis of the cylinder, the rotating member having partitions extending radially of the cylinder, the partitions including at least two and being spaced circumferentially of the cylinder, the region between adjacent partitions defining one of the pickup chambers; and

and the driving piece is electrically connected with the control unit and is used for driving the rotating piece to rotate under the control of the control unit. Therefore, the material taking unit is simple in construction mode and easy to realize.

Optionally, the rice storage device further comprises a pressure reduction unit in communication with the receiving space for causing the pressure in the receiving space to be lower than a predetermined pressure. Therefore, the pressure reducing unit can form a negative pressure environment in the accommodating space, so that the air content in the accommodating space is reduced, and the respiration of the food materials in the storage process is slowed down.

Optionally, the material taking unit further comprises a sealing member, the sealing member is capable of moving between a sealing position for sealing the material taking port and an opening position for opening the material taking port, wherein when the material taking cavity is located at the second position, the sealing member is located at the opening position, and when the material taking cavity is located outside the second position, the sealing member is located at the sealing position, so that the accommodating space and the material taking unit form a closed space relatively to the outside. Therefore, the sealing element can ensure that the accommodating space keeps sealed relative to the outside, and the movable arrangement does not influence the material taking operation.

Optionally, the operable member is configured as a knob or button. Thereby, the operational manner of the operable member is simple.

Optionally, the control unit further comprises a display for displaying information. Thereby, the user can read the desired information through the display member.

Drawings

The following drawings of the invention are included to provide a further understanding of the invention. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rice storage device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the rice storage device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a receiving bin of the rice storage device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a base of the rice storage device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the base shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a feed opening seal of a take-off unit of the rice storage apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cover plate of a take-out unit of the rice storage apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sealing member of a take-off unit of the rice storage device shown in FIG. 1; and

fig. 9 is a partially enlarged view of a portion a in fig. 2.

Detailed Description

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without one or more of these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments of the invention.

In the following description, a detailed structure will be presented for a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. It is apparent that the implementation of the embodiments of the present invention is not limited to the specific details familiar to those skilled in the art.

The present invention provides a rice storage device which can be used for storing granular food materials such as rice, beans and the like. However, it is understood that the rice storage device according to the present invention may also store fruits or vegetables, etc. in the accommodating space. Therefore, the rice storage device may also be referred to as food storage device.

The rice storage device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Accommodating unit

According to the present invention, a rice storage device includes a receiving unit having a receiving space. Fig. 1 to 3 show a housing bin 10 as one example of a housing unit. Furthermore, the rice storage device 1 comprises a base 20. The receiving container 10 is constructed in a separate structure from the base 20 and is detachably coupled to the base 20.

The accommodating chamber 10 includes a chamber body 11 and a chamber cover 12. The cartridge body 11 is generally configured in the shape of a rounded rectangular parallelepiped having a space inside and forming an opening at the top communicating with the inside space. A bin cover 12 covers the top of the bin body 11 to close the opening. Thus, a storage space 14 for storing food materials is formed between the bin cover 12 and the bin body 11.

Exemplarily, the receiving space 14 may be provided with a larger volume such that it may store 5-10kg of food material. The detachable arrangement mode allows a user to detach and clean the accommodating bin 10, so that the inside of the accommodating bin is kept in a clean and sanitary environment, and long-time storage of food materials is facilitated. Preferably, as shown in fig. 1, a window 17 may be formed on a side wall of the bin body 11 to facilitate a user to observe the amount of the food material stored in the accommodating bin 10.

The bin cover 12 may be fixedly connected to the bin body 11, for example by means of ultrasonic welding or the like. The lid 12 is provided with an additional lid 13 which can be opened and closed. The food material can be placed in the receiving space 14 by opening the additional cover 13. Thus, the additional cover 13 is smaller in size, and is more convenient to open and close. And the opening corresponding to the additional cover 13 is small, so that the possibility that dust, impurities and the like fall into the accommodating space 14 through the opening when the additional cover 13 is opened can be reduced. The additional cover 13 can be opened, for example, by pivoting about a pivot axis, by pushing and pulling along a chute, or by direct removal.

Alternatively, the lid 12 may be provided so as to be entirely openable and closable with respect to the body 11. For example, the lid 12 may be pivotally connected to the cartridge body 11 by a pivot shaft, or snap-fit directly onto the cartridge body 11, or be connected to the cartridge body 11 in a push-pull manner by a slide slot. The additional cover 13 may be optionally retained or omitted at this time as desired.

The bottom of the bin body 11 is provided with a discharge hole 15 communicated with the accommodating space 14. The food material stored in the accommodating space 14 can automatically flow out of the discharge hole 15 under the action of gravity, so that the food material is convenient for a user to take. Therefore, the rice storage device 1 according to the present invention is particularly suitable for storing granular food materials having fluidity such as rice, beans, and the like. Preferably, the bottom of the cartridge body 11 can be configured as a bottom wall comprising inclined inner side surfaces. The inner side surface may be formed of at least one inclined surface. And the discharge hole 15 is provided at the lowest position of the inclined surface. In the present embodiment, the bottom of the cartridge body 11 is generally configured in the reverse tapered configuration of a rectangular pyramid, as shown in fig. 3, for example. The discharge port 15 is provided at the top end of the reverse taper (i.e., at the lowest position of the cartridge body 11). Therefore, the bottom of the bin body 11 has a slope, so that food material residue can be avoided. Alternatively, the inner side surface of the bottom wall of the cartridge body 11 may be configured as an arc-shaped inclined surface. Further, it is understood that the inner side surface of the bottom wall may be a combination of an inclined surface and a flat surface.

Accordingly, the top plate 21 of the base 20 is disposed to be downwardly offset from the upper edges of the sidewalls of the base 20 by a predetermined distance. This makes it possible to form a space above the top plate 21 to avoid the downwardly convex bottom of the housing bin 10 when the housing bin 10 is mounted to the base 20.

Preferably, one of the bin 10 and the base 20 can be provided with a detent, and the other with a catch. When the accommodating bin 10 is mounted on the base 20, the buckle is engaged with the detent, so that the two are locked. As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the storage chamber 10 is provided with a detent 16, and the base 20 is provided with a catch 22. Of course, as an alternative embodiment, the cartridge 10 and the base 20 may be locked by means of fastening means such as screws.

Pressure reducing unit

The rice storage 1 according to the invention further comprises a decompression unit 30. The decompression unit 30 communicates with the accommodating space 14 for reducing the pressure within the accommodating space 14 to or below a predetermined pressure value. For example, the pressure in the accommodating space 14 may be made lower than the atmospheric pressure by evacuating the accommodating space 14. A state in which the pressure inside the accommodating space 14 is lower than the atmospheric pressure may be referred to as a negative pressure state. Under the negative pressure state, the air content, especially the oxygen content, in the accommodating space 14 is low, so that the respiration of the stored food material can be obviously weakened, and the food material can be kept fresh for a long time.

As shown in fig. 2, the decompression unit 30 includes a vacuum pump 31. An air inlet of the vacuum pump 31 communicates with the accommodating space 14 to evacuate the accommodating space 14. In the present embodiment, the vacuum pump 31 is provided in the base 20. Such an arrangement can avoid the vacuum pump 31 being directly disposed on the accommodating chamber 10, which is beneficial to reducing the weight of the accommodating chamber 10 and making it more portable.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 2 and 4, a portion of the top plate 21 is recessed downward, forming a vacuum pump mounting portion 23 for mounting the vacuum pump 31. That is, the vacuum pump 31 is disposed directly below the accommodating chamber 10. Accordingly, the bottom of the accommodating chamber 10 is provided with a first pumping part 33 of a column shape protruding downward, which has a gas passage communicating with the accommodating space 14. The first pumping section 33 is in fluid communication with an inlet of the vacuum pump 31. In this way, the housing space 14 can be evacuated by the vacuum pump 31. It will be appreciated that the receiving space 14 is constructed as a whole as a sealed environment to maintain a negative pressure condition after evacuation.

Preferably, in the present embodiment, the vacuum pump 31 is not completely buried in the base 20, but is provided to protrude upward from the top plate 21 to reduce the distance between the inlet of the vacuum pump 31 and the first pumping part 33. Further, a suction seal ring 32 is provided between the inlet of the vacuum pump 31 and the first suction portion 33, and one end thereof is fitted to the inlet and one end thereof facing the first suction portion 33 is constructed as a gradually expanding umbrella-shaped portion. When the pod 10 is mounted to the base 20, the first pumping section 33 is aligned with the pumping seal 32 and received in the umbrella section. The protruding length of the first pumping part 33 is set properly so as to apply a pressing force to the pumping seal ring 32. Thereby achieving fluid communication between the inlet port of the vacuum pump 31 and the first pumping section 33 and maintaining sealing with respect to the outside. Thus, the air inlet of the vacuum pump 31 and the first pumping part 33 can be directly fluidly communicated with each other when the storage container 10 is attached to the base 20, and can be directly separated when the storage container 10 is detached from the base 20, thereby facilitating the attaching and detaching operation.

Preferably, although not shown in the drawings, a biasing member such as a spring may be provided in the vacuum pump mounting part 23. The biasing member applies a biasing force to the vacuum pump 31 toward the storage container 10 to ensure that the first pumping section 33 and the umbrella-shaped section of the pumping seal ring 32 have a pressing force therebetween to maintain the seal.

Alternatively, a silicone hose may be provided between the air inlet of the vacuum pump 31 and the first pumping part 33 to achieve fluid communication. Alternatively, a seal ring may be fitted around the outer periphery of the inlet of the vacuum pump 31, and the fluid communication may be realized by directly inserting the inlet into the gas passage of the first pumping section 33. At this time, the columnar structure for forming the first pumping part 33 may be provided outside the bottom wall of the accommodating compartment 10 to extend downward, and may also be provided inside the bottom wall of the accommodating compartment 10 to extend upward (i.e., similar to the configuration of the second pumping part 34).

In general, when storing granular food materials such as rice and beans, the inside of the accommodating space 14 is liable to generate food material pieces having a small particle size or to be mixed with dust or the like. In order to avoid the food debris or dust from clogging the gas flow path of the decompression unit 30, it is preferable that an inlet of the gas flow path of the decompression unit 30 is disposed at the top of the accommodating space 14 as shown in fig. 2.

Specifically, the bottom of the accommodating chamber 10 is provided with a second pumping part 17 corresponding to the first pumping part 33 on the inner side. The gas passage of the first pumping section 33 simultaneously penetrates the second pumping section 34. The storage chamber 10 is further provided with a gas suction pipe 35 having one end connected to the second gas suction portion 34 to communicate with the gas passage and the other end extending to the top of the storage space 14. Preferably, the top of the accommodating space 14 is provided with a columnar third pumping part 36, and a gas passage penetrating in the axial direction is provided inside the third pumping part. The suction pipe 35 may be connected to the third suction portion 36 to be kept fixed. Preferably, the extraction duct 35 is arranged to extend along the inner surface of the side wall of the containing bin 10, avoiding interference with the stored food material.

Although not shown in the drawings, preferably, the gas flow path of the pressure reducing unit 30 at the inlet at the top of the accommodating space 14 may be disposed to face downward or laterally, to prevent food debris or dust from entering therein under the action of gravity. In addition, as shown in fig. 2, a filter screen 37 may be provided at an inlet of the gas flow path of the decompression unit 30 to further isolate the entry of foreign matter blocking the gas flow path.

The arrangement of the decompression unit of the rice storage apparatus according to the present invention may be a combination of several technical features of the above-described embodiments.

Material taking unit

In order to facilitate the smooth removal of the food material from the accommodating space 14, the rice storage device 1 according to the present invention further includes a taking out unit 40. As shown in fig. 2, 4 and 9, the material taking unit 40 is disposed below the discharge port 15 of the accommodating space 14, and has a material taking chamber 43 and a material taking port 44. Wherein the material taking chamber 43 is movable between a first position communicating with the discharge port 15 of the accommodating space 14 and a second position communicating with the material taking port 44. In the first position, the material taking chamber 43 is able to receive a predetermined amount of food material from the outlet 15. When the take-out chamber 43 is moved from the first position to the second position, the received predetermined amount of food material may be taken out through the take-out opening 44.

Preferably, get material mouth 44 and set up in the below of getting material chamber 43, can utilize gravity to make the edible material in getting material chamber 43 fall automatically when the two communicate, convenience of customers takes.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 2, the rice storage device 1 further comprises a material receiving box 60 disposed below the material taking port 44. The material receiving box 60 is provided in a removable manner. After the material taking operation is completed by the material taking unit 40, the user may collect the taken-out material from the material receiving box 60.

In addition, in order to ensure sealing of the accommodating space 14, the taking unit 40 further includes a sealing member 45. The sealing member 45 is movable between a sealing position sealing the material discharge opening 44 and an opening position unsealing the material discharge opening 44. Moreover, the material taking unit 40 is configured such that when the material taking cavity 43 is located at the second position and is communicated with the material taking port 44, the sealing member 45 is located at the open position, so as to facilitate the user to take out the food material; and when the material taking chamber 43 is located at a position other than the second position, the sealing member 45 is located at a sealing position to seal the material taking port 44. Thus, when the food materials do not need to be taken out, although the accommodating space 14 is communicated with the material taking unit 40 through the discharge hole 15, the accommodating space 14 is kept sealed relative to the outside, and the accommodating space 14 is ensured to form an independent space to keep a negative pressure state.

In the present embodiment, the take-out unit 40 is provided in the base 20. Such an arrangement is advantageous in that the weight of the cartridge 10 is reduced, making it more lightweight. As shown in fig. 4 and 9, the top plate 21 of the base 20 is recessed downward at a position corresponding to the discharge port 15 to form a recess 25 having a circular cross section to provide the take-out unit 40. The recess 25 has a bottom wall 251 and a side wall 252. The material taking port 44 is provided on the bottom wall 251.

The take-off unit 40 also includes a rotor 42 for forming a movable take-off chamber 43. The rotary piece 42 is disposed in the recess 25 and is rotatable about its axis AX. As shown in fig. 9, the take-off unit 40 includes a drive member 46, such as a motor, that provides a driving force for rotation of the rotatable member 42. The rotating member 42 includes at least two partitions 421 extending in a circular radial direction and spaced in a circumferential direction. The rotor 42 further includes an outer peripheral portion 422 connecting the adjacent two partitions 421. Thus, the area surrounded by the two adjacent partitions 421 and the peripheral portion 422 therebetween defines one picking chamber 43. As the rotor 42 rotates about the axis AX, the take-off chamber 43 moves between the first and second positions therewith.

Alternatively, the peripheral portion 422 may not be provided, and the partition 421 may be extended in the radial direction to abut against the side wall 252 of the recess 25. The side wall 252, instead of the peripheral portion 422, defines a pickup chamber 43 together with the adjacent partition 421.

In the illustrated embodiment, the partition 421 is configured as an arm extending in the radial direction. The rotary member 42 includes four arms evenly spaced in the circumferential direction. Thus, the rotor 42 includes four take-off chambers 43. It can be understood that the lower surface of the partition 421 is tightly attached to the upper surface of the bottom wall 251 of the recess 25 to prevent the food material entering the material taking cavity 43 from leaking, and to prevent the food material from being jammed under the partition 421 to affect the rotation of the rotating member 42. Of course, the partition 421 may also be constructed in the form of a partition plate having a small thickness.

Preferably, taking rice as an example, the amount of rice that can be contained in each taking cavity 43 can be set to be about 50-150g, so that a user can take the rice quantitatively according to the number of people at a dinner. The volume of the take-up chamber 43 may be set to 75g, 90g, 100g, 120g, or any value within the above range. In other embodiments, the number of the partitions 421 may be set to two, three, five or more to define two, three, five or more picking chambers 43, respectively, according to design requirements. Each of the material taking cavities 43 may have an equal volume, or may be configured to have different volumes.

The recess 25 is configured as an open space to facilitate the disposition of the rotation member 42 and the like. Therefore, the take-out unit 40 further includes a cover plate 41 as shown in fig. 7 and 8. The cover plate 41 covers the recess 25 and is provided with a cover plate gasket 47 for sealing. The cover plate 41 is provided with a feed opening 411 for communicating with the feed opening 15 of the accommodating space 14. Thus, the interior of the material removal unit 40 is sealed from the outside at other locations than through the feed opening 411 and the receiving space 14 and through the material removal opening 44.

The cover plate 41 is further provided with a feed inlet seal 48 to seal the feed inlet 411 and the discharge outlet 15 from the outside when they are in communication. As shown in fig. 5, the side of the cover plate 41 facing the receiving chamber 10 is provided with a standing wall 412 surrounding the feed opening 411. The upper edge of the upright wall 412 has a laterally outward flange 413. Accordingly, as shown in fig. 6, the inlet gasket 48 includes a mounting portion 481 and a sealing portion 482. The mounting portion 481 is configured to be fixedly mounted on the flange 413 in a covered manner. The seal portion 482 extends in the circumferential direction of the feed port 411. As shown in fig. 9, when the housing 10 is mounted to the base 20, the edge of the discharge port 15 abuts against the pressing seal portion 482, achieving sealing. The arrangement mode can conveniently install the feed inlet sealing ring 48 in place, and the installation firmness is good.

As an alternative embodiment, an insertion portion extending downward and surrounding the circumference may be provided at the discharge port 15 of the accommodating chamber 10, and the connection between the discharge port 15 and the feed port 411 may be realized in such a manner that the insertion portion is inserted into the feed port 411. Similarly, a seal ring may be provided between the insertion portion and the feed port 411. In this arrangement, the insert and the feed opening 411 are sealed by pressing the sealing ring in the transverse direction.

As shown in fig. 6, the inlet gasket 48 preferably further includes a wiping section 483. The wiping portion 483 is provided on the mounting portion 481 on the opposite side of the seal portion 482, surrounding one turn in the circumferential direction of the feed port 411 and extending in the direction opposite to the orientation of the seal portion 482. Turning again to fig. 7 and 9, in a state where the inlet seal ring 48 is mounted in place, the wiping section 483 extends below the cover plate 41 through the inlet 411. Preferably, in the mounted state, the lower edge of the wiping section 483 is lower than the upper surface or the upper edge of the partition 421 of the rotating member 42 by 2 to 5 mm.

In the process of rotating the rotating member 42, the sweeping section 483 moves relative to the partition section 421 to sweep the upper surface of the partition section 421. Therefore, the food materials scattered on the upper surface of the partition 421 can be removed, and the jamming can be avoided. It will be appreciated that the inlet seal 48 is typically made of a flexible material such as silicone. Therefore, the wiping portion 483 can elastically deform to escape when interfering with the partition portion 421. In addition, scraping portion 483 extends downwards from feed inlet 411, can also play the guide effect to the edible material through feed inlet 411, makes edible material can accurately get into and get material chamber 43.

In this embodiment, the wiping section 483 is constructed as an integral structure with the feed port seal ring 48 for ease of installation. As an alternative embodiment, the scraping and sweeping section 483 may be a separately molded structure and fixedly provided at the feed port 411, or the scraping and sweeping section 483 may be configured to be integrally molded with the cover plate 41, for example, the scraping and sweeping section 483 is separately molded and provided as an integral and non-detachable structure with the cover plate 41 by a two-shot molding.

Fig. 5 and 8 show the seal 45 of the take-off unit 40. Preferably, as shown in fig. 9, the sealing member 45 is disposed below the bottom wall 251 of the recess 25. Thus, the sealing member 45 and the rotating member 42 are respectively located on both sides of the bottom wall 251 without interference therebetween.

Further, the seal 45 may be moved between the sealing position and the open position by a drive provided by the driver 46 to rotate about the axis AX. The position of the seal 45 along the axis AX corresponds to the partition 421 of the rotor 42. When the partition 421 moves to the position corresponding to the material taking port 44, no material taking cavity 43 is communicated with the material taking port 44, and at this time, the sealing member 45 is just below the material taking port 44 to seal the material taking port 44, that is, at the sealing position. When the material taking chamber 43 communicates with the material taking port 44, the partition 421 is offset from the material taking port 44, and accordingly, the sealing member 45 is also offset from the position of the material taking port 44, that is, is located at the open position. According to the above arrangement, the sealing member 45 moves in synchronization with the rotary member 42 defining the take-out chamber 43, so that the accuracy of the interlocking of the two can be improved and the control procedure can be simplified.

In the present embodiment, the sealing member 45 includes a mounting arm 451 coaxially mounted with the rotating member 42, and a gasket 452 fitted over the mounting arm 451. The fixing strength of the gasket 452 can be ensured by fitting the gasket 452 on the mounting arm 451. It is possible to avoid falling off the mounting arm 451 due to friction with the bottom wall 251 during rotation with the mounting arm 451.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 5, an end of the mounting arm 451 remote from the axis AX is provided with a projection 453 projecting downward. Accordingly, a laterally extending pressing plate 253 is provided below the bottom wall 251 of the recessed portion 25 at a position corresponding to the material taking port 44. When the mounting arm 451 moves below the material discharge opening 44, the pressing plate 253 acts on the protrusion 453 to bias the mounting arm 451 toward the material discharge opening 44, so that the sealing gasket 452 tightly covers the material discharge opening 44, thereby enhancing the sealing effect. Preferably, a surface (i.e., an upper surface) of the pressing plate 253 facing the material taking opening 44 may be configured as an arc-shaped surface protruding toward the material taking opening 44. The arcuate surface further reduces the distance between the pressure plate 253 and the material extraction opening 44, which facilitates the biasing action on the seal 45. On the other hand, the arc-shaped surface is smoothly transited, which is beneficial to the relative movement between the sealing member 45 and the pressing plate 253. Among them, the pressing plate 253 and the protrusion 453 may be referred to as a biasing structure. Alternatively, a cam structure may be provided to effect the biasing.

In the above embodiment, the portion of the top plate 21 of the base 20 for forming the depression 25 may be regarded as an outer case that houses the taking unit 40. Alternatively, the material extracting unit 40 may not be provided in the base 20, and a separate member may be used to form an outer case having a cylindrical recess. For example, the rotor 42 and the sealing member 45 may be provided on the separate member, and the outer case may be sealingly connected to the bottom of the accommodating chamber 10 in such a manner that the discharge port 15 communicates with the cylindrical recess. In other words, the outer case is fastened to the bottom of the receiving chamber 10. This makes it possible to omit the provision of the above-described lid plate 41 and to provide the accommodating case 10 with an integrated structure with the taking unit 40.

In addition, as an alternative embodiment, one or two material taking cavities 43 may be provided. For example, when only one material taking cavity 43 is provided, a cover portion integrally moving with the material taking cavity 43 may be provided, and as the material taking cavity 43 moves away from the first position, the cover portion moves to a position for blocking the material outlet 15 to prevent the material from spilling, and after the material taking cavity 43 moves to the first position, the cover portion moves away from the material outlet 15. Alternatively, the reclaiming chamber 43 may be configured to move in a linear reciprocating motion between the first position and the second position.

The arrangement of the material taking unit of the rice storage device according to the invention can be a combination of several technical features of the above embodiments.

Control unit

For ease of control, the rice storage device 1 according to the invention may preferably further comprise a control unit 50. As shown in fig. 5, the control unit 50 includes a control board 53 electrically connected to the depressurizing unit 30 and the taking unit 40, respectively. Specifically, the control board 53 is electrically connected to the vacuum pump 31 and the driving member 46, respectively, to control the operations of the two, respectively. The control board 53 is provided in the base 20. On the one hand, this facilitates routing of wires between the components to achieve electrical connections. On the other hand, all the electrically connected components are arranged in the base 20, and the accommodating chamber 10 is not electrically connected with the base 20 and the components arranged on the base 20, so that the accommodating chamber 10 can be conveniently disassembled and assembled relative to the base 20.

After the user places the food material in the accommodating space 14, the control board 53 may automatically control the vacuum pump 31 to perform the pumping-out operation. It will be appreciated that the lid 12 and the additional lid 13 of the receiving bin 10 are now both maintained closed and the seal 45 of the take-off unit 40 is in a sealed position. The decompression unit 30 may further include a pressure sensing member (not shown) electrically connected to the control board 53 for sensing the pressure in the accommodating space 14 and generating a corresponding electrical signal to be transmitted to the control board. When the pressure in the accommodating space 14 sensed by the pressure sensing side member drops to a predetermined pressure value, the control board 53 controls the vacuum pump 31 to stop working, so that a negative pressure environment is formed and maintained in the accommodating space 14. Illustratively, the predetermined pressure value may range from-30 kPa to-5 kPa, such as-10 kPa, -20kPa, or any value within the above range.

In addition, the receiving space 14 may leak gas due to poor sealing during long-term storage of the food material, thereby affecting the vacuum environment. Therefore, during long-term storage, the control board 53 may be configured to sense the pressure value in the accommodating space through the pressure sensing member in real time or periodically, and control the vacuum pump 31 to evacuate so as to reduce the pressure in the accommodating space 14 to the predetermined pressure value again when the sensed pressure value exceeds the preset value and the material taking operation is not performed.

For example, when the food material is stored in the negative pressure environment for a period of time longer than a predetermined time (e.g., 1 hour), the pressure value sensed by the pressure sensing member is higher than-5 kPa (or the pressure value is 50% of the predetermined pressure value) and the material taking operation is not performed at the same time, the vacuum pump 31 may be activated to perform the pumping operation on the accommodating space 14 to reduce the pressure thereof.

Furthermore, the rice storage device 1 may be provided with a reminder unit (not shown) which is electrically connected to the control board 53. When the food material is continuously stored in the negative pressure environment for less than a predetermined time (e.g., 1 hour), the pressure value sensed by the pressure sensing member is higher than-5 kPa (or the pressure value is 50% of the predetermined pressure value) and the material taking operation is not performed at the same time, the control board 53 may control the prompting unit to send a prompting message, such as an optical signal, a voice message, or other sound message, to prompt the user that the sealing of the accommodating space 14 is in a problem and needs to be checked and maintained. Accordingly, the prompting unit may include an indicator lamp, a speaker, a buzzer, or the like.

As an alternative embodiment, the rice storage device 1 may also be provided without a prompting unit, but in other ways to alert the user. For example, the control panel 53 may also alert the user by communicating directly with the user's smartphone, or by way of a server or directly issuing a notification to the APP installed by the user's smartphone. The invention does not limit the reminding mode, as long as the reminding effect can be realized.

When the user needs to take the material, the material taking instruction can be input to the control panel 53 through the operable component. After receiving the material taking command, the control panel 53 controls the driving member 46 to drive the material taking bin 43 to move between the first position and the second position, and correspondingly, the sealing member 45 moves between the sealing position and the opening position, so as to realize the material taking. After the material is taken, the user can collect the ingredients in the material receiving box 60 for cooking or other desired operations.

It will be appreciated that when a material extracting operation is performed, the accommodating space 14 communicates with the outside through the material taking port 44 of the material extracting unit 40, and the negative pressure environment therein is broken. Therefore, after the material is taken out, the control board 53 can control the decompression unit 30 to evacuate in the above manner, so that the negative pressure environment is formed in the accommodating space 14 again.

As shown in fig. 1, the control unit 50 may preferably include a knob 51 (operable member) having an indicating portion and a display panel 52. The knob 51 is mounted on the display panel 52 and electrically connected to the control board 53. Information indicating the amount of food material to be taken is provided on the display panel 52. This information may be displayed as an integral multiple of the capacity of the single picking chamber 43, or may be displayed as a specific numerical value according to the specific capacity of the single picking chamber 43. It will be appreciated that the indication substantially corresponds to the cumulative number of times the take off chamber 43 has passed the take off port 44 during a single take off operation.

Preferably, the display panel 52 may further include a display module, such as a display screen, for displaying user selection information, pressure values or other desired information in the accommodating space 14, and the like.

The user can turn the knob 51 to align its indicator with the desired amount of food material while sending a corresponding electrical signal to the control panel 53. The control panel 53 knows the accumulated times of the material taking cavity 43 passing through the material taking port 44 according to the electric signal, and then controls the rotating member 42 to rotate, and when the number of the material taking cavity 43 passing through the material taking port 44 reaches the accumulated times, controls the rotating member 42 to stop rotating. At this time, the amount of the food material collected in the material receiving box 60 is the amount desired by the user.

In the present embodiment, each material taking cavity 43 has an equal volume and is uniformly arranged around the axis AX, therefore, the control board 53 can control the number of times that the material taking cavity 43 passes through the material taking port 44 by controlling the angle that the rotating member 42 rotates through, for example, the number of the material taking cavities 43 arranged around the axis AX is N, when the user indicates that the material taking quantity N times of the capacity of the single material taking cavity 43 is required through the knob 51, the control board 53 can calculate the angle that the rotating member 42 needs to rotate according to the formula α ═ 360 × N/N, and control the driving member 46 to stop working after the rotating member 42 rotates by the angle α.

As an alternative embodiment, the control panel 53 may control the number of times the material taking cavity 43 passes through the material taking opening 44 by providing a sensing unit (not shown). The sensing unit is configured to send a wired or wireless in-place signal to the control board 53 when the take-up chamber 43 is moved to the second position. The control board 53 determines the number of times that the material taking cavity 43 passes through the material taking port 44 currently according to the number of the received in-place signals.

In particular, the sensing unit may comprise one signaling element and a plurality of triggering elements. A plurality of trigger members are in one-to-one correspondence with the take-out hoppers 43. One of the signal emitting element and the plurality of trigger elements is fixedly provided, and the other is integrally rotated with the rotation member 42. When one material taking cavity 43 moves to the second position to be communicated with the material taking port 44, the triggering element corresponding to the material taking cavity 43 triggers the signal sending element to send a position signal.

When the user indicates that the food materials with the number n times of the capacity of the single material taking cavity 43 need to be taken by the knob 51, the control panel 53 controls the driving piece 46 to drive the rotating piece 42 to rotate, and controls the driving piece 46 to stop working when the number of the received in-place signals is n. The sensing unit may be a combination of a micro switch or a photoelectric switch and a trigger element corresponding thereto.

Of course, one triggering element may be provided, and the signal emitting elements are provided in a plurality corresponding to the material taking cavities 43 one by one, so as to achieve the same technical effects as described above; or a plurality of signal emitting elements and triggering elements can be arranged in a one-to-one correspondence manner and then correspond to the material taking cavities 43 in a one-to-one correspondence manner, so that the same technical effects as those described above can be achieved.

The way of arranging the control unit of the rice storage according to the invention can be a combination of several technical features of the above described embodiments.

Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Terms such as "disposed" and the like, as used herein, may refer to one element being directly attached to another element or one element being attached to another element through intervening elements. Features described herein in one embodiment may be applied to another embodiment, either alone or in combination with other features, unless the feature is otherwise inapplicable or otherwise stated in the other embodiment.

The present invention has been described in terms of the above embodiments, but it should be understood that the above embodiments are for purposes of illustration and description only and are not intended to limit the invention to the scope of the described embodiments. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications may be made to the teachings of the invention, which fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

Claims (12)

1. A rice storage device, characterized in that it comprises:

a containing unit having a containing space (14) for storing the material, the containing space (14) having a discharge port (15) at a bottom thereof;

get material unit (40), get material unit (40) set up in discharge gate (15) below, get material unit (40) and include:

a material taking port (44); and

the material taking cavity (43) can move between a first position communicated with the material outlet (15) and a second position communicated with the material taking opening (44), and the material taking opening (44) is positioned below the material taking cavity (43); and

a control unit (50), the control unit (50) being electrically connected with the material taking unit (40), the control unit (50) including an operable member (51), and controlling the number of times the material taking chamber (43) is moved from the first position to the second position in response to an operation of the operable member (51) to take out a predetermined amount of material from the accommodating space (14).

2. A rice storage device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the withdrawal chamber (43) is configured to move back and forth between the first position and the second position in a rotational manner around a central axis of rotation.

3. A rice storage device as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the take-off unit (40) comprises a plurality of the take-off chambers (43) arranged around the central axis of rotation.

4. A rice storage device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that a plurality of the fetching chambers (43) have the same shape and volume and are arranged evenly in a circumferential direction around the central axis of rotation.

5. A rice storage device as claimed in any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that the rice storage device further comprises a sensing unit configured to send an in-position signal to the control unit (50) when the retrieving chamber (43) is moved to the second position, the control device controlling the retrieving chamber (43) to move from the first position to the second position a predetermined number of times by counting the in-position signal.

6. A rice storage device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the sensing units comprise signal emitting elements and triggering elements, at least one of which has the same number as the fetching chambers (43) and corresponds one to one;

the signal emitting element integrally moves along with the material taking cavity (43), the trigger element is fixedly arranged, or the trigger element integrally moves along with the material taking cavity (43), the signal emitting element is fixedly arranged, and when the material taking cavity (43) moves to the second position, the signal emitting element is triggered by the trigger element to emit the in-place signal.

7. A rice storage device as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the control device controls the plurality of picking chambers (43) to rotate a predetermined angle to control the number of times the picking chambers (43) are moved from the first position to the second position.

8. A rice storage device as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the take-off unit (40) comprises:

the device comprises an outer shell, wherein the outer shell is provided with a cylindrical recess (25), the recess (25) comprises a bottom wall (251) and a side wall (252), and the material taking port (44) is arranged on the bottom wall (251);

a rotating member (42), said rotating member (42) being disposed within said recess (25) and rotatable about said cylindrical axis, said rotating member (42) having partitions (421) extending radially of said cylindrical axis, said partitions (421) comprising at least two and being spaced circumferentially of said cylindrical axis, the area between adjacent partitions (421) defining one of said pickup chambers (43); and

a driving part (46), wherein the driving part (46) is electrically connected with the control unit (50) and is used for driving the rotating part (42) to rotate under the control of the control unit (50).

9. A rice storage device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the rice storage device further comprises a pressure relief unit (30), the pressure relief unit (30) being in communication with the receiving space (14) for keeping the pressure in the receiving space (14) below a predetermined pressure.

10. A rice storage device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the withdrawal unit (40) further comprises a sealing member (45), the sealing member (45) being movable between a sealing position sealing the withdrawal opening (44) and an opening position unblocking the withdrawal opening (44), wherein the sealing member (45) is in the opening position when the withdrawal chamber (43) is in the second position and the sealing member (45) is in the sealing position when the withdrawal chamber (43) is out of the second position, such that the receiving space (14) forms a closed space with the withdrawal unit (40) with respect to the environment.

11. A rice storage device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the operable member (51) is configured as a knob or a button.

12. A rice storage device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (50) further comprises a display for displaying information.

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