JP2003180283A - Natto (fermented soybean) production apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a natto production apparatus for domestic use capable of automating the steps of fermenting soybeans with Bacillus natto and of stopping the fermentation. <P>SOLUTION: This apparatus has the following structure: a thermoregulatory unit 11 with a thermomodule 12 of Peltier element is thermally connected to an inner vessel 5 as fermentation chamber installed in a thermal insulation vessel 1 as the main body. This apparatus works as fellows: in the step of promoting fermentation, the thermomodule 12 is energized in the normal direction through a control circuit 16 to heat the inner vessel 5 to ferment Bacillus natto-inoculated soybeans S in a soybean container 17 held in the inner vessel 5; in the step of suppressing/stopping the fermentation after ending the preceding step, the thermomodule 12 is energized in the reverse direction to cool the inside of the inner vessel 5 and the soybeans S to stop the fermentation; thus, with the thermoregulatory unit 11 of simple structure, the steps can automatically be controlled without removing the soybean container 17 from the inner vessel 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a natto maker for fermenting soybeans to produce natto, and more particularly to a natto maker used at home.

[0002]

Conventionally, as this type of natto maker, for example, a heating device described in JP-A-11-309070 is known. this is,
A heater (temperature adjusting unit), a heater having a temperature controller (control circuit) for adjusting the temperature of the heater, and a closed container (fermentation chamber) equipped with the heater are provided. It is the one to make fermented foods such as natto. Then, in the closed container of these heating devices, the soybeans that have been previously steamed and inoculated with Bacillus natto are stored, and by heating the inside of the closed container with a heater, heat does not escape to the outside of the closed container, The soybeans in the closed container are efficiently heated to make natto.

By the way, when making natto, soybeans are fermented with natto bacteria, and substances that give off offensive odors such as ammonia are secondarily produced in the process of this fermentation, so that it takes an appropriate time. If you do not stop the fermentation, it will be odorous and difficult to eat. In order to stop the fermentation, the temperature of soybean during fermentation may be lowered to 15 ° C or lower. And, in the above-mentioned natto maker, since only the heater is provided, in order to stop the fermentation, after stopping the heater, it is necessary to forcibly cool the soybeans during fermentation with a refrigerator or the like. There is. However, in this case, it is necessary to take out the fermented soybeans from the closed container after the heater is stopped, cool it naturally for a while, and then transfer it to the refrigerator, so that the user may feel troublesome in these operations. was there. Moreover, since it takes a long time to complete the natto, even if the heater is stopped, the user may forget about it.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a household natto maker capable of automating the process of fermenting soybeans with natto and the process of suppressing and stopping the fermentation.

[0005]

The natto maker according to the present invention comprises:
A main body having a fermentation chamber, a temperature control unit accommodated in the main body, a control circuit for controlling the temperature control unit, and a soybean container accommodated in the fermentation chamber, wherein the temperature control unit is a Peltier element. With a thermomodule consisting of, the control circuit performs at least a fermentation promotion step and fermentation inhibition stop step, to warm the fermentation chamber by energizing the thermomodule in the forward direction in the fermentation promotion step. In the fermentation suppression stopping step after the completion of the fermentation promoting step, the fermentation chamber is cooled by energizing the thermomodule in the opposite direction.

According to the present invention configured as described above, the soybeans steamed and inoculated with Bacillus subtilis natto are stored in the fermentation chamber, and the control circuit electrically energizes the thermomodule of the temperature control unit in the forward direction. By executing the accelerating process, the inside of the fermentation chamber is heated to ferment soybeans. Then, after fermenting the soybean for a predetermined time, by performing a fermentation suppression stop step of energizing the thermomodule of the temperature control unit in the opposite direction by the control circuit, the fermentation chamber is cooled to stop the fermentation of the soybean. .

Further, the natto manufacturing apparatus of the present invention comprises:
In the above, a resting step is provided between the fermentation promoting step and the fermentation suppression stopping step.

With the configuration of the present invention as described above, the temperatures of both sides of the thermomodule are gently averaged before the process proceeds from the fermentation promoting step to the fermentation suppression stopping step.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
A description will be given based on FIGS. 1 to 5. Reference numeral 1 denotes a heat insulating container which is a main body, and this heat insulating container 1 has an outer shell formed by an outer frame 2, a front frame 3, a rear cover 4 and the like, and an inner container 5 which is a fermentation chamber formed of aluminum or the like. Is built in. The heat insulating portion 6 is formed by filling urethane foam or the like between the inner container 5 and the outer frame 2 and the front frame 3. The heat insulating container 1 has an opening 7 on the front surface, and a heat insulating door 9 having a heat insulating portion 8 such as urethane foam is attached to the opening 7 so as to be openable and closable.
A through hole 6a is formed in the heat insulating portion 6 at a position corresponding to the inner wall of the inner container 5, and a heat transfer block 13 to be described later is brought into thermal contact with the inner container 5 in the through hole 6a. ing. A temperature sensor 10 is provided on the outer surface of the inner wall of the inner container 5 while being in thermal contact with the inner container 5.

A temperature adjusting unit 11 is attached to the rear side of the outer frame 2. This temperature control unit 11
Is composed of a thermo module 12 for heating or cooling, which includes a Peltier element, a heat transfer block 13, and a heat sink 14. One side of the thermo module 12 is thermally connected to the rear surface of the inner container 5 via the heat transfer block 13. On the other hand, the other side of the thermo module 12 is in thermal contact with the heat sink 14 outside the outer frame 2.
Further, the rear cover 4 is attached to the rear portion of the outer frame 2 so as to cover the cooling / heating unit 11. A fan 15 is attached to the rear cover 4, and the fan 15 faces the heat sink 14 of the temperature adjusting unit 11. And the thermo module
The control circuit 16 energizes the 12 and the fan 15. Reference numeral 17 denotes a soybean container, into which the soybean S that has been steamed and inoculated with Bacillus natto is put and is stored in the inner container 5. A plurality of through holes 19 are formed in the lid 18 of the soybean container 17, and the soybean container is formed by the through holes 19.
The inside and outside of 17 are configured to communicate with each other. Further, a knob 18a is formed on a side portion of the lid 18, and the knob 18 is grasped and pulled up so that the lid 18 is a soybean container 17.
Removed from. 20 is a water tray.

The control circuit 16 will be described in detail. The control circuit 16 has a main control circuit 21, a timer circuit 22, a thermo module drive circuit 23 for driving the thermo module 12, and a fan drive circuit 24 for driving the fan 15. Power is supplied from the power supply circuit 25. Then, the main control circuit 21 receives inputs from the operation unit 26, the timer circuit 22 and the temperature sensor 10, and controls the thermo module drive circuit 23 and the fan drive circuit 24.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. First, an appropriate amount of soybeans are washed in advance, soaked in water to absorb water sufficiently, and then steamed in a steamer. Then, the natto bacteria dissolved in boiling water are sprinkled while the steamed soybeans are hot to inoculate the soybeans with the natto bacteria, and the inoculated soybeans are transferred to the soybean container 17,
Attach the lid 18. Then, the soybean container 17 containing soybeans is placed in the inner container 5, and the heat insulating door 9 is closed.

By operating the operation section 26, the fermentation promoting step is started. That is, the main control circuit 21 sets the time-measurement time and passes it to the timer circuit 22, and at the same time sends a time-measurement start signal, at the same time, the main control circuit 21 controls the thermo-module drive circuit 23 to drive the thermo-module 12. It At this time, an electric current is applied to the thermo module 12 in the forward direction, so that the inside of the inner container 5 is heated via the heat transfer block 13. Further, the fan 15 is not driven while the inside of the inner container 5 is being heated. While monitoring the temperature inside the inner container 5 with the temperature sensor 10,
The main control circuit 21 drives the thermo module 12 by controlling the thermo module drive circuit 23. The main control circuit 21 controls the thermomodule driving circuit 23 so that the temperature in the inner container 5 becomes about 40 to 45 ° C. during the fermentation promoting process.

Then, when the set time has elapsed, the process shifts to the rest process. That is, the timer circuit 22 sends a stop signal to the main control circuit 21, and the main control circuit 21 receiving the stop signal controls the thermomodule driving circuit 23 to stop the driving of the thermomodule 12. Even if the power supply to the thermo module 12 is stopped, the temperature of the soybean S itself hardly decreases due to the heat generated by the fermentation. On the other hand, there is a temperature difference on both sides of the thermo module 12 immediately after the driving is stopped, and by stopping the driving of the thermo module 12,
The temperatures on both sides of the thermo module 12 are gently averaged.

Further, after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of the resting step, the process proceeds to the fermentation suppression stopping step. That is, the timer circuit 22 sends a drive signal to the main control circuit 21, and the main control circuit 21 receiving the drive signal controls the thermo module drive circuit 23, whereby the thermo module 12 is driven again. At this time, the electric current is applied to the thermo module 12 in the opposite direction, so that the inner container 5 passes through the heat transfer block 13.
As the inside is cooled, the heat sink 14 is heated. Therefore, while the inside of the inner container 5 is being cooled, the main control circuit 21 controls the fan drive circuit 24 to drive the fan 15. Then, the air flow by the fan 15 takes heat from the heat sink 14 and releases the heat to the outside of the heat insulating container 1. In this way, the inner container 5
When cooled to about ℃, the temperature of soybean S during fermentation gradually decreases and the fermentation is gradually suppressed, and finally the temperature of soybean S becomes 15 ° C or less, so that the fermentation of soybean S is completed. Stop at and the natto is completed. Then, the temperature control unit 11 is continuously driven as it is to cool the inside of the inner container 5,
The completed natto is stored, or the heat insulation door 9 is opened, the natto is taken out of the inner container 5 together with the soybean container 17, transferred to a refrigerator or the like, and stored. As described above, before switching the energization direction to the thermo module 12 in the fermentation suppression stop step, by stopping the driving of the thermo module 12 for a predetermined time in the rest step, the thermo module
The temperatures on both sides of 12 will be moderately averaged, minimizing the effect of thermal stress on thermo module 12 due to rapid thermal expansion and contraction, and reducing the risk of thermo module 12 being destroyed. be able to.

As described above, according to the present invention, the temperature control unit 11 having the thermo module 12 is thermally connected to the inner vessel 5 which is the fermentation chamber provided in the heat insulating vessel 1 which is the main body. By energizing the thermo module 12 in the forward direction by the control circuit 16 during the fermentation promoting process,
The inner container 5 is heated to ferment the steamed soybean S inoculated with Natto in the soybean container 17 contained in the inner container 5,
By reversing the energizing direction of the thermo module 12 of the temperature control unit 11 at the fermentation suppression stopping step after the fermentation promoting step, the soybean S in the inner container 5 is cooled, and the fermentation of the soybean S is finally carried out. The temperature control unit 11 having a simple structure including the thermo module 12 can automatically control the process control of the fermentation of Soybean S for Natto bacteria to the termination of the fermentation. Further, since the inside of the inner container 5 can be heated and cooled by the temperature adjustment unit 11 including the thermo module 12, the heat transfer block 13, and the heat sink 14, the entire apparatus can be made compact. Furthermore, by providing a resting step between the fermentation promoting step and the fermentation inhibition stopping step, it is possible to reduce the influence of heat stress applied to the thermomodule 12 and reduce the risk of the thermomodule 12 being destroyed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment, only the thermomodule was provided as the heating / cooling element of the temperature control unit, but a heater was also used as a heating element, and the fermentation chamber was rapidly warmed by this heater at the beginning of the fermentation promoting step, and thereafter Fine temperature control may be performed by the thermo module.

[0018]

The natto maker of the present invention comprises a main body having a fermentation chamber, a temperature control unit housed in the main body, a control circuit for controlling the temperature control unit, and soybeans stored in the fermentation room. With a container, the temperature control unit has a thermo module consisting of a Peltier element, the control circuit performs at least fermentation promotion step and fermentation suppression stop step, to the thermo module in the fermentation promotion step. By heating the fermentation chamber by energizing in the forward direction, the fermentation chamber is controlled by cooling the fermentation chamber by energizing in the opposite direction to the thermo module in the fermentation suppression stopping step after the fermentation promoting step. Yes,
The soybeans that have been steamed and inoculated with Bacillus natto are stored in the fermentation chamber, and the control circuit performs a fermentation promotion process in which the thermoelectric module of the temperature control unit is energized in the forward direction to heat the fermentation chamber. Fermenting soybeans with Bacillus natto, fermenting soybeans for a predetermined period of time, and then performing a fermentation suppression stop step of energizing the thermomodule of the temperature control unit in the reverse direction by the control circuit, thereby cooling the fermentation chamber. Since the fermentation of soybeans is stopped, it is possible to automatically perform the process control from the fermentation promotion to the fermentation inhibition stop without taking out the soybean container from the fermentation chamber by a simple configuration using the thermomodule. Moreover, since the fermentation module can heat and cool the fermentation chamber, the entire natto maker can be made compact without using any other cooling means.

Further, the natto manufacturing apparatus of the present invention comprises:
In the above, a pause step is provided between the fermentation promotion step and the fermentation inhibition stop step, and the temperature of both sides of the thermomodule is gently averaged before the transition from the fermentation promotion step to the fermentation inhibition stop step. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk that the thermomodule will be destroyed by thermal stress due to abrupt thermal expansion, thermal contraction, etc. when shifting to the fermentation inhibition stopping step.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a natto manufacturing machine showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the soybean container, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a sectional view.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the above.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view showing the control of the natto manufacturing process, wherein the upper graph shows the temperature change of soybeans and the lower graph shows the energization direction of the thermomodule.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Thermal insulation container (main body) 5 Inner container (fermentation room) 11 Temperature control unit 12 Thermo module 16 Control circuit 17 soybean container 21 Main control circuit (control circuit) 22 Timer circuit (control circuit) 23 Thermo module drive circuit (control circuit) 24 Fan drive circuit (control circuit) S soybean

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Mayumi Ohashi             Niigata Prefecture Nishikanbara-gun Yoshida Town Oita Nishiota Katagata             2084 Address 2 Within Twin Bird Industry Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 4B020 LB14 LC10 LP18 LP19 LY04

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A main body having a fermentation chamber, a temperature control unit accommodated in the main body, a control circuit for controlling the temperature control unit, and a soybean container accommodated in the fermentation chamber, wherein the temperature With a thermomodule in which the control unit is a Peltier element, the control circuit performs at least the fermentation promotion step and fermentation suppression stop step, the fermentation by energizing the thermomodule in the forward direction in the fermentation promotion step. A natto manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the fermentation chamber is cooled by heating the chamber and energizing the thermomodule in the opposite direction in the fermentation suppression stopping process after the fermentation promoting process is finished. 2. The natto manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a quiescent step is provided between the fermentation promoting step and the fermentation suppression stopping step.