JP2006334107A - Rice storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily discharge rice even when the rice enters between a measuring drum and a casing and to secure the smooth rotation of the measuring drum. <P>SOLUTION: The casing 24 is provided with a guide member 41 for guiding the rice near the outer peripheral surface 26a of the measuring drum 26, and the guide member 41 is provided with a release means 48 for releasing the guide member 41 in the outer direction of the diameter of the measuring drum 26 when the rice is interposed between the outer peripheral surface 26a of the measuring drum 26 and the guide member 41. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice storage device provided in, for example, an automatic rice cooker.

Conventionally, a rice storage device that measures and discharges rice in a rice storage is provided, for example, in an automatic rice cooker that automatically performs from rice measurement to rice washing and rice cooking as shown in Patent Document 1. Yes.
The rice storage device includes a rice storage, a casing provided on the lower side of the rice storage, and a weighing drum that is rotatably supported in the casing and has an opening into which rice is introduced. After the rice in the rice storage was put into the measuring drum through the opening of the drum, the weighed rice was discharged by rotating the measuring drum and directing the opening to the outlet provided in the casing.
JP 2001-149241 A

In the rice storage device, when rice is put into the measuring drum, rice such as small rice or cracked rice enters between the measuring drum and the casing, and these rice is clogged between the measuring drum and the casing. As a result, the measuring drum cannot be rotated.
Therefore, as a countermeasure for the above problem, in the conventional rice storage device, the gap between the measuring drum and the casing is made as small as possible so that rice does not enter the gap, or the torque of the drive motor that rotates the measuring drum is increased to increase the measuring drum. Or a rubber packing or the like between the weighing drum and the casing to make it difficult for rice to enter between the casing and the weighing drum.

However, even if the above measures are taken, it is not possible to completely prevent rice from entering between the measuring drum and the casing, and the rice is clogged between the measuring drum and the casing, so that the measuring drum can rotate. The problem of disappearing could not be completely prevented.
Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention can easily discharge rice even if it enters between the measuring drum and the casing, and can ensure smooth rotation of the measuring drum. An object is to provide an apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following technical means. That is, a casing is provided on the lower side of the rice storage, and the measuring drum for rotating the rice in the storage rice into the opening through the opening and discharging the introduced rice to the outlet provided in the casing is rotated. In a freely provided rice storage device, when a casing is provided with a guide member for guiding rice in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum, the rice is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum and the guide member. An escape means is provided for releasing the guide member in the radially outward direction of the measuring drum.
According to this, it is possible to guide the rice in the measuring drum to the discharge port of the casing by the guide member and to make it difficult for the rice to enter between the guide member and the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum. Even if rice enters between the member and the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum, the guide member is released in the radially outward direction by the escape means, so the inserted rice is discharged to the discharge port, ensuring smooth rotation of the measuring drum. can do.

The escape means is characterized in that the guide member is formed of an elastic body and can be escaped by elastic deformation when rice is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum and the guide member.
According to this, the escape means can be formed easily and inexpensively.
The elastic body is constituted by a leaf spring formed in an arc shape along the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum.
According to this, since the elastic body is formed of an arc-shaped leaf spring, the leaf spring is easily brought close to or in surface contact with the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum, and rice is inserted between the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum and the leaf spring as much as possible. It becomes possible to make it difficult.

  According to the present invention, even if rice enters between the measuring drum and the casing, the rice can be easily discharged, and smooth rotation of the measuring drum can be ensured.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 shows a commercial automatic rice cooker 2 equipped with a rice storage device 1 according to the present invention. The rice cooker 2 includes a rice storage device 1 at the upper part of a machine frame 3, and the rice storage device 1. The rice washing tank 4 is provided below the rice washing tank 4, and the rice cooker 5 is provided below the rice washing tank 4. The rice supplied from the rice storage device 1 is washed in the rice washing tank 4, and the washed rice is removed. The rice cooker 5 is put into the rice cooker to cook rice, and these operations can be repeated as one cycle to perform automatic rice cooking.
The rice storage device 1 is arranged in a case 6 above the machine casing 3, and a control unit 8 having an operation panel 7 is provided on the front surface of the case 6.

On the operation panel 7, a rice cooking menu such as the amount of rice cooked (the amount of rice to be cooked), the soaking time in the rice cooker 5 (soaking time), the unevenness time, the amount of water added or subtracted to be supplied to the rice cooker 5 with a push button etc. The setting part to set and the display part which displays the setting display of a rice cooking menu, a rice cooking process, etc. are provided. The control unit 8 controls the operation of the rice storage device 1, the rice washing device in the rice washing tank 4, and the rice cooker 5 based on the rice cooking mode set in the operation panel 7, and controls the rice storage device 1. It has become.
The rice storage device 1 has a rice storage box 15 in which the upper part is formed in a rectangular tube shape and a tapered funnel part is formed in the lower part, and a weighing device 16 that measures the rice in the rice storage box 15 and discharges it to the rice washing tank 4. And a supply device (supply means) 17 for supplying rice to the rice storage 15.

The supply device 17 is provided in the upper part of the rice storage 15 and has a negative pressure generator 18 such as a blower that makes the inside of the rice storage 15 negative, and a paddle, a bag, A rice storage unit 19 such as a container, and a feed pipe 20 that connects and communicates the storage unit 19 and the upper part of the rice storage box 15 are provided. The pressure is reduced, and the rice in the storage unit 19 is sucked and supplied into the rice storage 15 via the feed pipe 20 by this pressure reduction.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the measuring device 16 rotates the casing 24, the cylindrical measuring drum 26 that rotates around the rotary shaft 25 in the front-rear direction in the casing 24, and the rotary shaft 25 of the measuring drum 26. And a drive motor 27.

The casing 24 is formed in a split shape with a left casing 24L that covers the left side of the measuring drum 26 and a right casing 24R that covers the right side of the measuring drum 26, and is joined in a face-to-face manner, thereby forming a cylindrical shape having upper and lower rectangular openings. The upper opening is an inlet 32 for introducing rice, and the lower opening is an outlet 33 for discharging rice. An input port 32 of the casing 24 is connected to a discharge port 34 formed in the lower part of the rice storage 15, and the discharge port 32 of the casing 24 is connected to the rice washing tank 4.
The left and right side walls 31L, 31R of the left and right casings 24L, 24R have an arc portion 35 formed in an arc shape along the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum 26, and a center in the left-right direction as the arc portion 35 is moved downward from the lower side. And an inclined portion 36 that moves toward the portion.

The measuring drum 26 is formed by a plate material such as a steel plate in a C-shaped cross section (partially cut-out cylindrical shape). The measuring drum 26 allows rice to flow into the measuring drum 26 and the rice in the measuring drum 26. Is formed.
A gap S1 is formed between the measuring drum 26 and the casing 24 so that the measuring drum 26 rotates in the casing 24. Between the measuring drum 26 and the left and right side walls 31L and 31R of the casing 24, the measuring drum is provided. Two guide members 41 attached to the casing 24 in a state of being close to the outer peripheral surface 26a of the 26 are disposed.

Each guide member 41 is configured by an elastic body that can be elastically deformed, that is, a leaf spring. It has become.
Specifically, the plate spring 41 is formed by bending a plate material, and the upper plate portion of the plate spring 41 is set as an attachment portion 42 attached to the upper wall 30U of the casing 24, and downward from the upper plate portion. A portion that is bent and extends downward is an elastically deformable portion 43 that can be elastically deformed near the measuring drum 26.

The elastic deformation portion 43 includes an arc portion 43a formed in an arc shape along the outer peripheral surface 26a of the measuring drum 26, and is bent toward the casing 24 from the arc portion 43a. The inner surface of the arc portion 43a is close to or in surface contact with the outer peripheral surface 26a of the measuring drum 26.
A gap S2 that is slightly larger than the grain of rice is formed between the leaf spring 41 and the left and right side walls 31L, 31R of the casing 24.
The rotation shaft 25 is provided with angle detection means 45 capable of detecting the rotation angle and the like of the rotation shaft 25. The angle detection means 45 is synchronized with the rotation of the rotation shaft 25 and outputs a pulse signal at a certain angle. It is comprised with the encoder apparatus which generate | occur | produces. The encoder device 45 outputs a pulse signal accompanying the rotation of the rotary shaft 25 to the control unit 8, and the control unit 8 determines the number of rotations and the rotation angle from the pulse signal, so that the opening 40 of the measuring drum 26 faces upward. A drive motor 27 that rotates the measuring drum 26 is controlled so as to face downward.

In the weighing state, the opening 40 of the measuring drum 26 is directed upward, the inside of the measuring drum 26 and the inside of the rice storage 15 are in communication, and the outlet 34 of the rice storage 15 and the inlet 32 of the casing 24 are connected. Then, the rice in the rice storage 15 flows into the opening 40 of the measuring drum 26, and rice corresponding to the approximate volume of the measuring drum 26 is stored in the measuring drum 26.
When rice is introduced, the measuring drum 26 is rotated in the direction of arrow a by driving the drive motor 27, and the opening 40 of the measuring drum 26 faces the right side wall 31 </ b> R side of the casing 24, and then the discharge port 33 of the casing 24. The measuring drum 26 rotates clockwise so as to face the side.

As the opening 40 of the measuring drum 26 faces the right side wall 31R, the opening 40 is gradually closed by the elastic deformation portion 43 of the leaf spring 41, and when the measuring drum 26 is rotated 90 degrees, Communication with the inside of the rice storage 15 is cut off, and the rice in the rice storage 15 is prevented from entering the measuring drum 26.
In a state where the communication between the measuring drum 26 and the rice storage 15 is cut off, the opening 40 faces the discharge port 33 side of the casing 24, and the opening 40 is blocked by the elastic deformation portion 43 of the leaf spring 41. When it disappears, the measuring drum 26 is discharged, and the rice in the measuring drum 26 is discharged from the opening 40 toward the discharge port 33.

Since the plate spring 41 is close to or in surface contact with the measuring drum 26 when the measuring drum 26 transitions from the measuring state to the discharged state, the outer peripheral surface 26a of the measuring drum 26 and the inner peripheral surface of the plate spring 41 (guide member). Small rice and cracked rice are difficult to enter between.
In the unlikely event that rice enters between these (the outer circumferential surface 26a of the measuring drum 26 and the leaf spring 41), the leaf spring 41 is elastically deformed and escapes to the outside in the radial direction, that is, toward the gap S2. The rice can be discharged to the discharge port 33 of the casing 24 as the measuring drum 26 rotates without crushing the rice.

That is, the rice storage device 1 is provided with a release means 48 for releasing the leaf spring 41 in the radially outward direction of the measuring drum 26 when rice is interposed between the outer peripheral surface 26 a of the measuring drum 26 and the guide member 41. The escape means 48 is formed of a guide member (plate spring 41) made of an elastic body so that it can escape by elastic deformation when rice is interposed between the outer peripheral surface 26a of the measuring drum 26 and the plate spring 41. There is.
Therefore, even if the rice enters between the outer peripheral surface 26 a of the measuring drum 26 and the inner peripheral surface of the leaf spring 41 by the escape means 48, the rice that has entered as described above is discharged to the discharge port 33 of the casing 24.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed in design.
The supply means 17 of the rice storage device 1 does not have to include the negative pressure generator 18, the holding unit 19, and the feeding pipe 20, and an opening and the opening can be closed on the upper part of the rice storage 15. A lid may be provided and a person may manually supply rice to the rice storage 15 through the opening.
The escape means 48 may be any means that moves (releases) the guide member 41 in the radially outward direction of the measuring drum 26 when rice is interposed between the outer peripheral surface 26a of the measuring drum 26 and the guide member 41. For example, the guide member 41 may be made of a plate material, and the upper portion of the plate material may be attached to the casing 24 via a hinge so that the plate material can be moved in the radially outward direction. In this case, it is preferable that an elastic body for biasing the plate material against the measuring drum 26 is interposed between the plate material and the casing 24. Further, the plate spring 41 described above may be made of a synthetic resin that can be elastically deformed, or may be made of other members.

  The rice storage device 1 of the present invention may be applied to a rice cooking device in which the rice storage device 1 is located below the rice cooker, and other than the above-described automatic rice cooking device, automatic rice washing that does not have a rice cooking function. It may be arranged in parallel with the apparatus or used alone.

It is side surface sectional drawing in the casing of the rice storage apparatus of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of a measuring device. It is a whole front view of the automatic rice cooker provided with the rice storage apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice storage apparatus 15 Rice storage 24 Casing 26 Measuring drum 26a The outer peripheral surface 40 of a measuring drum Opening 41 Guide member (plate spring)
48 Escape means

Claims (3)

A casing is provided on the lower side of the rice storage, and in this casing, the rice in the storage rice is put in from the opening, and the measuring drum for discharging the introduced rice to the discharge port provided in the casing is rotatable. In the established rice storage device,
A guide member for guiding rice is provided in the casing in proximity to the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum, and when the rice is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum and the guide member, the guide member is disposed outside the diameter of the measuring drum. A rice storage device characterized by providing escape means for escaping in a direction.   2. The escape means according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is formed of an elastic body and can be escaped by elastic deformation when rice is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum and the guide member. The described rice storage device.   3. The rice storage device according to claim 2, wherein the elastic body is configured by a leaf spring formed in an arc shape along the outer peripheral surface of the measuring drum.

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