JP2000308584A - Kitchen knife drying and sterilizing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make dryable and sterilizable a kitchen knife in the state of being housed in a case by heating the kitchen knife housed in the housing case with a heating coil supplied with high frequency current. SOLUTION: The heating coil 8 is provided on the side surface of a kitchen knife housing part 6 for housing a kitchen knife 5 and is connected with an inverter part 8. It is detected whether the knife 5 exists in a housing part 6 by detecting current and voltage within the part 8 and when the knife 5 does not exist, the inverter 8 is stopped. The inverter 8 operates at a fixed period and when the kitchen knife 8 exists, continues operation to high frequency current flow through the heating coil 7 to generate a high frequency magnetic field. Thus, induction current flows through the part of the edge of the knife 5 to heat the knife 5. Inputting power is gradually lowered to control the temperature of the edge to be constant by heating and radiating. The knife 5 can be dried and sterilized by keeping a prescribed temp. for a fixed period or longer than this in this way.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a kitchen knife storage case that can be dried and sterilized when storing a kitchen knife.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional storage of a kitchen knife will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, 1 is a kitchen knife, 2 is a storage case, and 3 is a sink. The kitchen knife storage case 2 is installed on the door of the kitchen sink 3, and is configured such that the kitchen knife 1 that has been washed after use is drained and inserted and stored. Alternatively, it is dried once with warm air of about 70 ° C. such as a dish dryer and inserted into a storage case to be stored.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is necessary to drain the water after use, and if it is not sufficiently drained, it may cause rust. In addition, sterilization cannot be performed only by washing and draining. On the other hand, when dried with a dish dryer or the like, it is time-consuming to put the dish in the dish dryer and store it in the storage case. In addition, since the temperature inside the storage case does not become high, there is a problem that bacteria propagated in the case attach. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage case that can perform drying and sterilization while storing the kitchen knife by directly heating the kitchen knife itself by induction heating.

[0004]

A first means of the present invention for achieving this object is a case for storing a kitchen knife, a heating coil arranged close to the case, and a heating coil connected to the heating coil. This is a kitchen knife drying and disinfecting device comprising an inverter section for supplying a high-frequency current to the coil.

[0005] A second means of the present invention for achieving this object is the kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to the first means, further comprising kitchen knife detecting means for detecting that the kitchen knife has been inserted. It is assumed that.

A third means of the present invention for achieving this object is that, in the first and second means, the inverter section is driven in a sequence preset by a switch so that drying and sterilization can be performed for a certain time. It is a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing device that is a feature.

According to a fourth means of the present invention for achieving this object, in the first to third means, the heating coil disposed close to the case is divided into a plurality of heating coils, and the heating coils are individually and simultaneously subjected to high-frequency waves. This is a kitchen knife drying / sterilizing apparatus configured to allow current to flow.

A fifth means of the present invention for achieving this object is characterized in that, in the first to fourth means, a magnetic shielding means such as aluminum is provided on the side opposite to the kitchen knife as viewed from the heating coil. This is a kitchen knife dry sterilizer.

A sixth means of the present invention for achieving this object is characterized in that in the first to fifth means, the inside of the case is divided by a partition plate so that adjacent kitchen knives do not come into contact with each other. This is a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing device.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to the first aspect of the present invention, a magnetic flux is generated from a heating coil by a high-frequency current flowing from the inverter section to the heating coil, and the magnetic flux is generated near the heating coil by the magnetic flux. An induced current flows through the stored kitchen knife itself. This induced current causes the kitchen knife itself to generate heat and act to be dried.

[0011] The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention operates to heat and dry the kitchen knife by operating the inverter when the kitchen knife is inserted by the detecting means for detecting whether the kitchen knife is inserted. It is.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the user operates the switch to select a time, and operates the inverter for the set time to perform heating and drying.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the heating coil is divided into a plurality of parts so that only the kitchen knife stored immediately before can be heated and dried.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the magnetic flux leaking from the heating coil is absorbed by an aluminum plate or the like so that the magnetic field does not have any other effect.

In the invention according to claim 6 of the present invention, the kitchen knives are separated by the partition plate in the case, and do not come into contact with each other. For this reason, it works so that it does not scorch due to the heat generated by the concentrated flow of the induced current due to the point contact.

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to the first, fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 4 denotes a kitchen knife drying / sterilizing apparatus, reference numeral 5 denotes a kitchen knife, reference numeral 6 denotes a kitchen knife storage portion (case) for storing the kitchen knife, and reference numeral 7 denotes a heating coil fixedly attached to a side surface of the storage portion 6. , 8 are inverter units connected to the heating coil 7 and connected to an AC power supply.

The operation of the embodiment will be described below.

The inverter section 8 starts operating at a constant cycle. At this time, whether or not the kitchen knife 5 is in the storage section 6 can be detected by the current and voltage in the inverter section 8. If the kitchen knife 5 is not present, the operation is stopped. Kitchen knife 5
When there is, a high-frequency magnetic field is generated when a high-frequency current is passed through the heating coil 7. With this magnetic field,
An induced current flows through the blade portion of the adjacent kitchen knife 5, and the kitchen knife 5 is heated. Here, the input power is gradually reduced, and the temperature of the blade is made constant by heat generation and heat radiation to the air. Alternatively, the inverter unit 8 may be operated with a constant electric power, detect the temperature with a temperature sensor or the like, and perform on / off control of the inverter to reach a predetermined temperature. Alternatively, the input power may be adjusted according to the number and size of the kitchen knives so that the inverter operates stably. With such a configuration, the inverter is operated so as to reach a predetermined temperature, and the predetermined temperature is maintained for a predetermined time or more, whereby moisture is evaporated and drying can be performed. In addition, kitchen knives are especially for handling raw fish and meat, and washing and drying alone are not enough for sterilization. For example, the O157 bacteria has a high temperature of 75
E. coli is almost killed in 10 minutes at 60 ° C and 30 minutes at 60 ° C.
Therefore, if the temperature and the time during which the power is continuously applied are set in advance so that the temperature and time necessary for all of these main bacteria to be killed can be obtained, drying and sterilization can be performed simultaneously. With this configuration, it is possible to provide a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus capable of drying, sterilizing, and storing.

FIG. 7 shows seventeen magnetic shield plates. Here, the magnetic shielding plate 17 absorbs the leakage magnetic flux to prevent the magnetic flux from leaking out of the apparatus. The material of the magnetic shield 17 is aluminum or the like. With this configuration, heating of a nearby metal can be prevented, and a more efficient device can be provided.

Further, in FIG. 8, the kitchen knives are separated by the partition plate 18 in the case, and the kitchen knives do not contact each other. For this reason, the induced current does not locally concentrate and flow due to the point contact between the knives, and a safer device can be provided in which abnormalities do not occur due to heat generation and discharge.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to claims 2 and 3 of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, 4 is a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus, 5 is a kitchen knife, 6 is a kitchen knife storage section into which the kitchen knife is inserted, 7 is a heating coil fixedly attached to the side of the storage section 6, and 8 is a heating coil. An inverter unit connected to the coil, a switch 9 for detecting the presence or absence of a kitchen knife, and a control unit 10 for inputting information of the switch 9 and controlling the operation of the inverter 8 are provided.

The operation of the embodiment will be described below.

When the kitchen knife 5 enters the kitchen storage section 6, the switch 9 is turned on and the information is input to the control section 10. With this information, the inverter 8 starts operating, and the heating coil 4
When a high-frequency current is passed through the device, a high-frequency magnetic field is generated. Due to this magnetic field, an induced current flows in the blade portion of the adjacent kitchen knife 5, and the kitchen knife 5 is heated. Since the input power is input to the control means as information on the number of kitchen knives, the power can be adjusted to an appropriate power in accordance with the number of knives, and the inverter can operate stably. With such a configuration, the inverter is operated so as to reach a predetermined temperature, and the predetermined temperature is maintained for a predetermined time or more, whereby moisture is evaporated and drying can be performed. Here, kitchen knives are especially used for handling raw fish and meat, and washing and drying alone are not enough for sterilization. For example, O1
57 almost kills at 75 ° C. for 10 minutes and E. coli at 30 ° C. for 30 minutes. Therefore, if the temperature and the time during which the power is continuously applied are set in advance so that the temperature and time necessary for all of these main bacteria to be killed can be obtained, drying and sterilization can be performed simultaneously. Here, the switch 6 has a mechanical switch structure in which the handle of the kitchen knife pushes the lever to make contact. In addition, if the configuration consists of an oscillation circuit consisting of a coil and a capacitor, and a change in the inductance caused by the metal part of the kitchen knife approaching the coil can be detected as a change in the oscillation frequency, or if the configuration is such that it is detected by a photo sensor, the kitchen knife It can be detected without touching the surface, and can be made more clean and reliable. With this configuration, it is possible to provide a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus capable of drying, sterilizing, and storing.

Further, in FIG. 3, 11 time setting switches are provided so that the user can set the heating time, and the apparatus can be changed in settings such as simple drying and further careful drying. be able to.

(Embodiment 3) A kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 4 denotes a kitchen knife drying / sterilizing apparatus, reference numeral 5 denotes a kitchen knife, reference numeral 6 denotes a kitchen knife storage section into which the kitchen knife is inserted, and reference numeral 12 is fixed to the side of the storage section 3 and divided into a plurality of kitchen knives. A heating coil 13 attached thereto; an inverter unit 13 connected to the heating coil; a switch 9 for detecting the presence or absence of a kitchen knife; and a control unit 14 for inputting information of the switch 9 and controlling the operation of the inverter 13.

The operation of the embodiment will be described below.

When the kitchen knife 5 enters the kitchen knife storage section 6, a switch 9 where the kitchen knife 5 is inserted, for example, 9a is turned on,
The information is input to the control unit. With this information kitchen knife 5
The inverter 13 starts operating so that a high-frequency current flows only in the heating coil 12, for example, only the portion 12a where the heat flux enters, and a high-frequency magnetic field is generated. Due to this magnetic field, an induced current flows through the blade portion of the kitchen knife 5, and the kitchen knife 5 is heated. Here, the inverter unit 13 has a configuration as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows an individual inverter system in which the switching elements 15 move the heating coil 12 independently. FIG. 6 shows the heating coil 12 via the switching means 16.
a, 12b and 12c can be switched or operated simultaneously. With such a configuration, the inverter is operated so as to reach a predetermined temperature, and the predetermined temperature is maintained for a predetermined time or more, whereby moisture is evaporated and drying can be performed. Here, kitchen knives are especially used for handling raw fish and meat, and washing and drying alone are not enough for sterilization. For example, O
157 is for 10 minutes at high temperature of 75 ° C, and E. coli is for 30 minutes at 60 ° C.
Die almost in minutes. Therefore, if the temperature and the time during which the power is continuously applied are set in advance so that the temperature and time necessary for all of these main bacteria to be killed can be obtained, drying and sterilization can be performed simultaneously. With this configuration, it is possible to provide a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus capable of drying, sterilizing, and storing.

[0031]

The first means of the present invention is that the kitchen knife can be dried and sterilized with a simple structure of the storage section, the inverter and the coil, and the kitchen can be stored in a sanitary manner and the effect is great. There is.

The second means of the present invention can heat and sterilize only when the kitchen knife is stored by the switch, so that a more efficient apparatus can be provided, and the effect is significant.

According to the third means of the present invention, since the user can set the start and time, it is possible to suppress unnecessary power consumption and to provide a device which can be operated according to the situation. The effect is significant.

A fourth means of the present invention is that the heating coil is divided so that only necessary ones can be individually heated in a plurality of kitchen knives. The effect can be great.

The fifth means of the present invention is to provide an efficient device which does not have a risk of heating the surroundings, since the magnetic flux can be prevented from leaking by providing the magnetic shielding means. There is something.

The sixth means of the present invention is to prevent abnormal discharge and heat generation due to eddy current concentration due to contact of the kitchen knives by the partition plate between the kitchen knives, and the effect is significant. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the first means of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the second means of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the third means of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the fourth means of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an inverter unit of a fourth means of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an inverter unit according to an embodiment of the fourth means of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the fifth means of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the sixth means of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a conventional kitchen knife storage case.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 5 kitchen knife 2 kitchen storage case 3 sink 4 kitchen knife drying and sterilizing device 6 kitchen storage case 7, 12a, 12b, 12c heating coil 8, 13 inverter 9 kitchen knife detection switch 11 time setting switch 14 control unit 15 switching element 16 switching means 17 Magnetic shield plate 18 Partition plate

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hideki Omori 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3B060 GC01 4B066 EE45 EE46

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A kitchen knife drying / sterilizing apparatus comprising a case for storing a kitchen knife, a heating coil arranged close to the case, and an inverter connected to the heating coil and supplying a high-frequency current to the heating coil. 2. The kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising kitchen knife detecting means for detecting that the kitchen knife has been inserted. 3. The kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inverter section is driven in a sequence set in advance by a switch to perform dry sterilization. 4. The kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating coil comprises a plurality of coils, and each of the coils is configured to allow a high frequency current to flow individually and simultaneously. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein magnetic shielding means such as aluminum is provided on the side opposite to the kitchen knife as viewed from the heating coil.
5. The kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to items 4 to 4. 6. The kitchen knife drying and sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a partition plate is provided inside the case, and adjacent kitchen knives are divided by the partition plate so as not to contact with each other.