JP2004329364A - Rice chest - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice chest from which a metering measure is easily removed, which is easily cleaned and to which the measuring measure is easily fitted without being positioned. <P>SOLUTION: The rice chest 1 is provided with: a hopper 5 for storing polished rice R; a fixed quantity take-out mechanism 7 for taking out the polished rice by the fixed quantity; and a take-out tray for receiving a prescribed quantity of taken out polished rice R. The hopper 5 is provided with: a hopper upper part 21 provided in a fixed state; and a hopper lower part 25 fitted to the hopper upper part 21 in an attachable and detachable manner via an engaging means 23. The fixed quantity take-out mechanism 7 is provided with: the metering measure 19 for measuring the polished rice R; and an operation part 27 for taking out the measured prescribed quantity of polished rice R. The hopper lower part 25 and the metering measure 19 constitute an integral measuring unit 57 to be attached to and detached from the hopper upper part 21 through one action. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a rice bottle provided with a fixed-quantity take-out mechanism capable of taking out rice at a constant rate, and more particularly to a rice bin capable of cleaning by removing a measuring tub to which rice bran or the like adheres.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Milled rice is always stored in rice bins and used repeatedly every day. Therefore, rice bran or the like easily adheres to the rice storage part, and if left unchecked, insects will spring or mold will grow, resulting in unsanitary conditions. Therefore, it is desirable to periodically clean the rice storage part. .
The same applies to rice bins equipped with a quantitative dispensing mechanism that has recently become popular.However, a measuring tub that forms a part of the quantitative dispensing mechanism is provided below the hopper that stores milled rice in a fixed state. This causes the following problems.
[0003]
That is, since rice is continuously and temporarily stored in the measuring chamber, rice bran and the like adhere to the measuring chamber in addition to the hopper. In this case, since the hopper can be put into the hopper by removing the upper cover, the inner surface of the hopper can be cleaned.
However, even though the inside of the weighing basin can be peeped through the small opening at the bottom of the hopper, it is not possible to reach into the opening. It is not done at present.
On the other hand, if the rice bin is disassembled and the hopper and measuring basin are removed from the casing, these can be easily cleaned, but they involve delicate operations such as loosening and tightening many screws and positioning. It is terrible to ask the user for that work.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems described above, so that the measuring basin can be easily removed by one-touch removal from the rice bin, so that cleaning can be easily performed without paying special attention. It is another object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-use rice bin in which the positioning is automatically performed and the measuring basin can be easily attached to the rice bin.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 includes a hopper for storing milled rice, a quantitative extraction mechanism for extracting milled rice at a fixed rate, and an extraction tray for receiving a predetermined amount of extracted milled rice. In a rice bin having a hopper, the hopper includes an upper hopper provided in a fixed state with respect to the casing, and a lower hopper detachably attached to the upper hopper via an engagement means, and the fixed quantity removal mechanism removes the polished rice. A measuring unit for weighing, and an operation unit for taking out a predetermined amount of polished rice, the lower part of the hopper and the measuring unit constitute a measuring unit integrated as an integral member, and the measuring unit Is a rice bin configured to be detachable from the upper part of the hopper.
[0006]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the rice bin according to the first aspect, the engaging means is provided on a positioning claw provided on one end side of the lower part of the hopper in the front-rear direction, and on an upper part of the hopper engaged with the positioning claw. It is characterized by comprising a mating groove, an engagement projection provided on the other end side in the front-rear direction of the lower part of the hopper, and an engagement hole provided on the upper part of the hopper to engage with the engagement projection. It is a rice bin.
[0007]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the rice bin according to the second aspect, the engaging projection is provided for a finger hook that is raised from a lower portion of the hopper, and a finger is held on the finger hook to hold the weighing unit. The rice bin is characterized in that the posture is set so that the positioning claw side is slightly inclined downward in the state.
[0008]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the rice bin according to any one of the first to third aspects, the weighing basin is horizontally disposed between the two side plates and the guide drum provided in a fixed state with respect to the lower portion of the hopper, and the left and right side plates. And a weighing drum that rotates by a predetermined angle about the rotative axis, and in a state where the weighing drum is held in a normal posture with the hopper lower side up, the weighing drum is A rice bin characterized by being configured to rotate downward by its own weight and reach a driven-side rotation start end position where an opening provided at a lower portion of a hopper is fully opened.
[0009]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the rice bin according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the operation unit is provided by directly contacting a takeout button operated by a user with a finger and a part of the takeout button. An operating lever that rotates by an angle, a drive sector gear integrated with the operation lever, a biasing unit that biases the operation lever and the drive sector gear in a predetermined direction, and a drive-side rotation of the drive sector gear A rice bin comprising a positioning stopper for setting a start end position.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
In the following description, first, the overall configuration of a rice bin having a fixed-quantity take-out mechanism will be described, followed by the configuration of a weighing unit, which is a characteristic configuration of the present invention, positioning adjustment and weighing when attaching the weighing unit to the rice bin. The operation procedure for attaching and detaching the unit will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 1, the rice bin 1 has a hopper 5 for storing the milled rice R in a rectangular parallelepiped casing 3, a fixed-quantity extracting mechanism 7 for extracting the milled rice R by a fixed amount, and a predetermined amount of milled rice that has been extracted. And a take-out tray 9 for receiving R.
[0011]
The upper surface of the casing 3 is open, and the upper lid 11 is detachably attached. When the upper lid 11 is removed, the hopper 5 is provided below the upper lid 11. The hopper 5 is formed by four inclined guide plates 13 that partition the internal space of the casing 3 up and down. The funnel-shaped upper space including the inclined guide plates 13 is the hopper 5.
The inclined guide plate 13 is provided so as to be inclined downward from the front, rear, left and right wall surfaces of the casing 3 toward the center, and the upper surface of the inclined guide plate 13 guides the milled rice R to the lower fixed quantity take-out mechanism 7. It is 15.
[0012]
At the center of the bottom of the hopper 5, two rectangular openings 17 are provided side by side, and serve as communication ports with two weighing basins 19 located below and having different capacities. The hopper 5 has a divided structure capable of being divided into a hopper upper portion 21 fixed to the casing 3 and a hopper lower portion 25 detachably attached to the hopper upper portion 21 via engaging means 23. I have.
[0013]
Below the opening 17, the fixed quantity take-out mechanism 7 faces. The fixed quantity take-out mechanism 7 includes a measuring box 19 for measuring the milled rice R, and an operation unit 27 for extracting a predetermined amount of the milled rice R.
As shown in FIG. 2, the measuring weighing tub 19 can store a half-quantity measuring tub 19S having a semi-cylindrical storage space capable of accommodating about 0.5 gram and 75 g of milled rice R and about 1 gram and 150 g of milled rice R. There are provided two units, namely a double weighing measure 19L having a cylindrical storage space.
The measuring box 19 is provided with two side plates 29 and a guide drum 31 fixed to the hopper lower portion 25, a rotating shaft 33 that is horizontally bridged between the left and right side plates 29, and the rotating shaft 33 as a center. A measuring drum 35 that rotates at a predetermined angle.
[0014]
The side plates 29 are provided vertically downward from near the left and right side edges of the opening 17. In the present embodiment, since two openings 17 are provided side by side, one side plate 29 is shared as the central side plate 29 sandwiched between the two openings 17.
The guide drum 31 is a member that constitutes a peripheral surface of the storage space of the weighing basin 19 near the rear, and is a curved plate-shaped member whose upper end is connected near the rear edge of the opening 17.
The weighing drum 35 is a member constituting a peripheral surface of the storage space of the weighing basin 19 near the front. A driven fan gear 39 is provided at the center of the outer peripheral surface of the curved plate-shaped peripheral body.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 2, two operation units 27 are provided, one of the operation units 27 is a half operation unit 27S for driving the measuring drum 35 in the half measuring chamber 19S, and the other is double. The double operation unit 27L for driving the measurement drum 35 in the measurement container 19L is provided.
The operation unit 27 includes an ejection button 41 that is directly operated by the user with a finger, an operation lever 43 that rotates by a predetermined angle by contacting a part of the ejection button 41, and a drive united with the operation lever 43. A sector gear 45; and a torsion spring 47 as urging means for urging the operation lever 43 and the driving sector gear 45 to rotate in a predetermined direction (a direction in which the ejection button 41 is pushed upward and the opening 17 is fully opened). It has.
[0016]
The operating lever 43 and the driving sector gear 45 are rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 49. The rotating shaft 49 is horizontally moved by a side plate 51 provided vertically downward from the hopper upper part 21. Supported.
The side plate 51 is provided with a positioning stopper 53. A part of the operation lever 43 that rotates by receiving the urging force of the torsion spring 47 abuts on the positioning stopper 53, thereby setting the drive-side rotation start end position of the drive sector gear 45.
[0017]
An opening formed by rotating the measuring drum 35 upward is provided at a lower portion of the measuring tub 19, and serves as an outlet 55 for a predetermined amount of milled rice R measured by the measuring tub 19. I have. The take-out tray 9 having a rectangular box shape is provided below the take-out port 55, and the milled rice R discharged from the take-out port 55 is taken out onto the take-out tray 9.
The opening 17 formed at the bottom of the hopper 5 is a receiving port for the milled rice R stored in the hopper 5. When the measuring drum 35 rotates downward, the opening 17 shifts to the open state, and when the measuring drum 35 rotates upward, the opening 17 shifts to the closed state.
[0018]
In such a rice bin 1, the hopper lower part 25 and the two measuring boxes 19S and 19L are unitized as an integral member, and become a measuring unit 57. The weighing unit 57 is configured so that it can be attached to and detached from the hopper upper part 21 with one touch via the engaging means 23.
The engaging means 23 includes a positioning claw 59 provided on the front end side of the hopper lower part 25 and an engagement groove 61 provided on the hopper upper part 21 which engages with the positioning claw 59. The positioning claw 59 is a wide plate-shaped member, and is provided so as to slightly protrude from the front end side of the hopper lower portion 25. The corner portions and the lower surface of the tip of the positioning claw 59 are subjected to a rounding process for smooth engagement with the engagement groove 61.
[0019]
In the center of the rear end of the hopper lower portion 25, a tongue-shaped finger hook 63 is vertically raised. The finger hook 63 has appropriate elasticity, and is provided with a non-slip convex portion 65 on the rear surface of the front end portion and a hook-shaped engaging projection 67 on the rear surface near the center.
The hopper upper portion 21 is provided with a square hole-shaped engagement hole 69 that engages with the engagement protrusion 67, and the engagement protrusion 67 and the engagement hole 69 are also constituent members of the engagement means 23. .
[0020]
When the weighing unit 57 is held with a finger placed on the finger hook 63, the position of the positioning claw 59 is slightly set to be inclined downward by appropriately adjusting the position of the center of gravity. The engagement of the positioning claws 59 is facilitated.
In this state, the position of the center of gravity is adjusted so that the weighing drum 35 rotates downward by its own weight, whereby the opening 17 provided in the lower hopper 25 is fully opened, and the driven fan-shaped gear 39 is moved to the driven side. The rotation start end position is automatically reached.
[0021]
As described above, the driven sector gear 39 is moved to the driven-side rotation start end position, and the driving sector gear 45 meshing with the driven sector gear 39 is moved to the driving-side rotation start end position as described above. The meshing position between the gear and the drive sector gear 45 is always constant, and a required rotation angle can be obtained.
The rotation of the weighing drum 35 by its own weight and the rotation of the torsion spring 47 and the positioning stopper 53 at a predetermined angle adjust the position of the weighing unit 57 when the weighing unit 57 is mounted.
[0022]
Next, an operation procedure for attaching and detaching the weighing unit 57 will be described.
When removing the weighing unit 57, a finger is hung on the finger hook 63, and the finger hook 63 is slightly bent toward the near side, and the finger hook 63 is pivoted upward with the rotation starting point near the base of the positioning claw 59. Let it.
As a result, the engagement state between the engagement protrusion 67 and the engagement hole 69 is released, and if the measuring unit 57 is lifted upward while holding the finger hook 63, the positioning claw 59 is moved slightly backward with the movement of the center of gravity. As a result, the engagement with the engagement groove 61 is released. Then, the measuring unit 57 is lifted as it is, taken out of the casing 3, and cleaned by washing with water or the like.
[0023]
When attaching the weighing unit 57, the weighing unit 57 is lifted with the finger hook 63, and the positioning claw 59 is engaged with the engagement groove 61. At this time, the positioning claw 59 is rounded so that the positioning claw 59 side is slightly inclined downward, so that the positioning claw 59 and the engagement groove 61 are smoothly engaged.
Then, the finger hook 63 is rotated downward with the vicinity of the base of the positioning claw 59 as a rotation fulcrum, and the measuring unit 57 is pushed downward so as to be horizontal. As a result, the finger hook portion 63 is bent and deformed toward the front side, and the engagement protrusion 67 engages with the engagement hole 69, and the mounting of the measuring unit 57 is completed.
[0024]
As described above, the driven sector gear 39 is moved to the driven-side rotation start end position, and the driving sector gear 45 meshing with the driven sector gear 39 is moved to the drive-side rotation start end position. , The meshing position between the driven sector gear 39 and the driving sector gear 45 is always constant. Therefore, when the weighing unit is mounted on the rice bin, the positioning adjustment is automatically performed, and the user can mount the weighing unit in the positioned state without paying special attention.
[0025]
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and even if there is a change in the design without departing from the gist of the present invention, the present invention will be described. include.
For example, only one measuring basin 19 may be provided, or three or more measuring basins 19 may be provided. In the case where a plurality of measuring boxes 19 are provided, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the measuring boxes 19 having the same storage space are provided.
Further, in order to determine the position of the driven-side rotation start end position of the driven sector gear 39, forcible positioning means using a biasing means such as a torsion spring may be employed instead of the positioning by the weight of the measuring drum 35. It is.
[0026]
The positioning stopper 53 contacts the operation lever 43 to position the drive sector gear 45. In addition, the positioning stopper 53 may contact another part such as a side surface of the drive sector gear 45 to determine the position. It is possible.
In addition, the arrangement of the engagement means 23 is reversed, and the positioning claw 59 and the engagement groove 61 are provided on the back side, and the finger hook 63, the engagement protrusion 67, and the engagement hole 69 are arranged on the front side. It is also possible.
In addition, it is possible to easily remove the rotating shaft 33 of the removed measuring unit 57 from the side plate 29, and to remove the measuring drum 35. In this way, the cleaning inside the measuring chamber 19 is further facilitated.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the measuring unit can be detached and attached with a single touch, so that cleaning inside the measuring chamber, which has been difficult in the past, becomes easy. In addition, when foreign matter is mixed in the measuring basin or when the foreign matter is caught in the gap and hinders the operation of the measuring drum, the work of removing the foreign matter can be easily performed.
In addition, when the weighing unit is mounted on a rice bin, positioning adjustment is automatically performed, so that the user can mount the weighing unit in a positioned state without paying special attention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a rice bin according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view showing an upper portion of a hopper, a weighing unit, and a periphery of an operation unit in the rice bin of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged side sectional view showing an upper portion of a hopper, a weighing unit, and a periphery of an operation unit in the rice bin of FIG. 1 before a weighing unit is attached.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view illustrating the vicinity of the upper portion of the hopper, the weighing unit, and the operation unit in the rice bin of FIG. 1 while the weighing unit is being mounted.
5 is a side cross-sectional view of the rice bin of FIG. 1 after the weighing unit is attached, showing an enlarged view of the upper portion of the hopper, the weighing unit, and the operation unit;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice bin 3 Casing 5 Hopper 7 Quantitative take-out mechanism 9 Take-out tray 11 Top lid 13 Inclined guide plate 15 Inclined guide surface 17 Opening 19 Weighing basin 19S Half weighing basin 19L Double weighing basin 21 Upper hopper 23 Engaging means 25 Lower hopper 27 Operating unit 27S Half volume operation unit 27L Double volume operation unit 29 Side plate 31 Guide drum 33 Rotating shaft 35 Weighing drum 39 Follower sector gear 41 Eject button 43 Operating lever 45 Driving sector gear 47 Torsion spring 49 Rotation shaft 51 Side plate 53 Positioning stopper 55 Exit 57 Measuring unit 59 Positioning claw 61 Engagement groove 63 Finger hook part 65 Non-slip convex part 67 Engagement projection 69 Engagement hole R Polished rice

Claims (5)

In a rice bin having a hopper for storing polished rice, a fixed-quantity take-out mechanism for taking out polished rice by a fixed amount, and a take-out tray for receiving a predetermined amount of polished rice taken out, the hopper is fixed to the casing. A hopper upper portion provided, and a hopper lower portion detachably attached to the hopper upper portion via an engaging means, the fixed quantity take-out mechanism is a measuring cell for weighing the polished rice, and a weighed predetermined amount of polished rice. Operating unit for taking out, the lower part of the hopper and the measuring weigher constitute a unitized unit as an integral member, and the measuring unit is configured to be detachable from the upper part of the hopper. A rice bin characterized by the following. 2. The rice bin according to claim 1, wherein the engaging means is a positioning claw provided on one end side of the lower part of the hopper in the front-rear direction, an engagement groove provided on an upper part of the hopper to engage with the positioning claw, and a front and rear part of the lower part of the hopper. A rice bin comprising: an engaging projection provided on the other end side in the direction; and an engaging hole provided on an upper portion of a hopper which engages with the engaging projection. In the rice bin according to claim 2, the engaging projection is provided for a finger hook that rises from the lower portion of the hopper, and in a state where the finger is hooked on the finger hook and the weighing unit is held, the positioning claw side is slightly moved. A rice bin characterized in that the posture is set to be inclined downward. The rice bin according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the measuring basin has two side plates and a guide drum provided in a fixed state with respect to a lower portion of the hopper, and a rotating shaft horizontally hung between the left and right side plates. A weighing drum that rotates by a predetermined angle about a rotation axis, and the weighing drum rotates downward by its own weight when the weighing unit is held in a normal posture with the hopper lower side up. The rice bin is configured to reach a driven-side rotation start end position where an opening provided in a lower portion of the hopper is fully opened. The rice bin according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the operation unit includes a takeout button that is directly operated by a user with a finger, and an operation lever that rotates a predetermined angle by abutting a part of the takeout button. A drive sector gear integrated with the operation lever, biasing means for rotating and biasing the operation lever and the drive sector gear in a predetermined direction, and a positioning stopper for setting a drive-side rotation start end position of the drive sector gear. A rice bin comprising:

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