JP2015077245A - Flyer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flyer for detecting the abnormality of a heater by a simple and inexpensive construction.SOLUTION: A flyer comprises: a control unit for controlling the heating or heating stop of a heater 18; cutoff means responsive to the ON instruction of the control unit for connecting a motor circuit to feed an electric power to the heater 18 and to the OFF instruction of said control unit for disconnecting said motor circuit; and a relay connected to the motor circuit in parallel with the heater so that it may have a contact point switched into a first state, when the motor circuit is turned on, and into a second state when the motor circuit is turned off. The control unit decides the abnormality of the heater individually in an improper state, in which the contact of the relay is in a first state at the OFF instruction time, and in an improper state, in which the contact of said relay is in a second state at the ON instruction time.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fryer used for cooking fried foods.

  As a commercial fryer used in restaurants and convenience stores, a fryer capable of automatic cooking based on a preset program has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such a fryer includes an oil tank, a heater unit having a heater for heating the oil contained in the oil tank, and an elevating mechanism that moves up and down a lift that holds a basket in which cooking articles are stored. The lift mechanism lowers the lift so as to immerse the basket in the oil in the oil tank when the fryer starts cooking, and after a predetermined cooking time has elapsed, the lift is automatically lifted to lift the basket. The operation is controlled so as to pull up from the oil.

  The flyer disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an energization control element that controls energization to the heater in the oil tank, an earth leakage breaker that shuts off the power of the flyer, and a current that detects current flowing through two phases of the three-phase power source. A transformer, and an input current detected by the current transformer can be detected by a current detection circuit. This flyer detects that a current flowing to the heater is detected by a current detection circuit through a current transformer in a state where a drive signal is not output from the control device to the current control element. Therefore, it is equipped with a safety device configured to drive the earth leakage breaker and disconnect from the flyer's original power source.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-32923

  The safety device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has an expensive current transformer, and requires a complicated current detection circuit that converts an input current detected by the current transformer into a signal that can be input to the control device. It will lead to.

  That is, the present invention has been proposed in order to suitably solve these problems related to the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fryer capable of detecting an abnormality in a heater with a simple and inexpensive configuration. And

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended purpose, the flyer of the invention according to claim 1 of the present application provides:
In the fryer that heats the oil in the oil tank with a heater,
A control unit for controlling heating or heating stop of the heater;
A power circuit that supplies power to the heater in response to an on instruction from the control unit;
A relay connected to the power circuit in parallel with the heater and switching so that the contact is in the first state when the power circuit is energized and the contact is in the second state when the power circuit is not energized;
The control unit detects that the heater is in an incompatible state where the relay contact is in the first state when the off instruction is given, and a non-conforming state where the relay contact is in the second state when the on instruction is given. The gist is that it is configured to determine the above.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the abnormality of the heater can be determined by the state of the contact of the relay connected to the power circuit in parallel with the heater, the circuit for inputting the state of the contact of the relay to the control unit is provided. The safety of the flyer can be improved with a simple and inexpensive configuration.

In the invention according to claim 2, in the non-conforming state, provided with a timer that starts counting a preset set time,
The gist of the invention is that the controller is configured to determine an abnormality of the heater when the nonconforming state continues even when the timer measures the set time.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the non-conforming state continues for the set time, the heater abnormality is determined, so that an erroneous determination can be prevented.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 3, it raises / lowers between the lowered position which hold | maintains a cooking article holding | maintenance part and arrange | positions this cooking article holding | maintenance part inside an oil tank, and the raising position which pulls up this cooking article holding | maintenance part outside an oil tank A moving up and down mechanism;
Oil temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the oil stored in the oil tank,
The control unit adjusts the oil to a set temperature by heating the heater based on detection by the oil temperature detecting unit according to a preset setting condition, and the cooking is performed over a cooking time according to the set condition. Operate the lifting mechanism to immerse the cooking article put in the article holding part in oil,
The controller determines an abnormality of the heater in a non-conforming state where the oil temperature detecting means does not detect a temperature rise when the elevating mechanism is in the raised position and the contact of the relay is in the first state. The gist is that it is configured.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, abnormality can be determined when the heater is disconnected.

  The flyer according to the present invention can detect an abnormality in the heater with a simple and inexpensive configuration.

1 is a perspective view showing a fryer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the flyer of an Example, Comprising: A lift exists in a descent | fall position. Note that the lifting mechanism is not shown. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the flyer of an Example, Comprising: A lift exists in a raise position. It is explanatory drawing which shows the raising / lowering mechanism of an Example, (a) is a lift in a descent | fall position, (b) is a lift in a raise position. It is a disassembled perspective view of the flyer of an Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the circuit of a heater in the flyer of an Example. 4 is a timing chart showing control of the heater in the flyer of the embodiment, where (a) is when the interrupting means or the relay is welded, (b) is when the contact of the interrupting means or the relay is defective, and (c) is the heater. It is during disconnection.

  Next, preferred embodiments of the fryer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the flyer 10 according to the embodiment includes a casing 12 having an oil tank 14 opening upward, and oil placed in the oil tank 14 by a heater 18 disposed in the casing 12. And a heater unit 16 for heating. Further, the flyer 10 includes a lift 22 for holding a metal net basket-like basket (cooking article holding unit) B into which cooking articles are placed, and a lowered position (see FIG. 2) where the basket B is disposed inside the oil tank 14. An elevating mechanism 20 that moves up and down between the raised position (see FIG. 3) for lifting the basket B to the upper side (outside) of the oil tank 14 is provided. On the front side of the housing 12, there are an electrical unit having an operation unit 26 for performing various settings and operations of the flyer 10, a control unit C (see FIG. 6) composed of a microcomputer for controlling the components of the flyer 10, and the like. A box 24 is provided. And the fryer 10 throws into the oil of the oil tank 14 the cooking article put into the basket B in the raising position by lowering the lift 22 to the lowered position by the lifting mechanism 20, and the lifting mechanism 20 after the set cooking time has elapsed. Thus, a series of automatic cooking operations for lifting the cooked article by raising the lift 22 to the raised position can be performed under the control of the control unit C according to the operation of the operation unit 26.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the housing 12 is a combination of a bottom plate 28 that forms a bottom surface, left and right side plates 29 and 29 that form side surfaces, a roof plate 30 that forms a back surface, and a top plate 31 that forms a top surface. The front surface is closed by the electrical box 24. The oil tank 14 is accommodated in the internal space of the housing 12 through an installation opening 31a provided in the top plate 31, and a flange portion 14a provided at the upper edge of the oil tank 14 is used as an opening edge of the installation opening 31a. It is hooked and positioned. The oil tank 14 can be easily attached to and detached from the housing 12. On the back side of the housing 12, a mechanism accommodating portion 12a is defined by a partition wall 32 disposed on the rear side of the oil tank 14, and an elevating mechanism 20 and the like are installed in the mechanism accommodating portion 12a. (See FIGS. 2 and 3).

  The heater unit 16 includes a box-shaped unit base 34 that is rotatably disposed on the top surface of the top plate 31 on the back side of the housing 12, and the heater 18 that extends from the unit base 34. Is arranged so as to be displaceable between a normal position where the heater 18 is disposed inside the oil tank 14 and a standing position where the heater 18 is raised outside the oil tank 14. An oil temperature detecting means 36 such as a thermistor for detecting the oil temperature is disposed in the unit base 34 so as to extend inside the oil tank 14. Further, the unit base 34 has a shut-off that cuts off the power supply to the heater 18 when the overheat detecting means 50 such as a thermostat detects that the heater 18 has excessively heated due to a failure of the oil temperature detecting means 36 or the like. Means 38, a relay 78 described later, and the like are accommodated (see FIG. 6). The unit base 34 is detachably attached with a lid 34a that forms the upper surface of the unit base 34 with a screw or the like, and by removing the lid 34a, the storage devices such as the blocking means 38 and the relay 78 can be maintained. Yes.

  In the normal position of the heater unit 16, the heater 18 extends vertically from the front surface of the unit base 34 along the wall of the oil tank 14, and is connected to the lower part of the vertical part along the bottom of the oil tank 14. And a horizontal portion meandering so that the linear portion extends in the front-rear direction, and the oil is directly heated by immersing the horizontal portion in the oil in the oil tank 14 (see FIGS. 1 to 3). . An operation lever 40 for rotating the heater unit 16 is disposed on the right side of the unit base 34, and the operation lever 40 is opened from the upper opening of the oil tank 14 when the heater unit 16 is in the normal position. It extends in the front-rear direction on the right lateral side (see FIG. 1). Then, the heater unit 16 is lifted up above the oil tank 14 so that the horizontal portion of the heater 18 extends in the up-down direction by rotating the unit base 34 about 90 ° rearward from the normal position. The position can be maintained by the lock means 42 in the standing position. As described above, the flyer 10 performs maintenance of the oil tank 14 by displacing the heater unit 16 to the upright position, thereby cleaning the frying debris accumulated in the oil tank 14 and attaching / detaching the oil tank 14 to / from the housing 12. It is easy.

  An oil temperature detecting means 36 is attached to the vertical portion of the heater 18 by a mounting base 44 (see FIG. 1), and a signal from the oil temperature detecting means 36 is input to the control unit C. The controller C instructs the heater 18 to maintain the temperature of the oil in the oil tank 14 at the set temperature by instructing the energization / interruption of the shut-off means 38 based on the oil temperature detection of the oil temperature detecting means 36. Is controlled. Further, an overheat detecting means 50 is attached to the lateral portion of the heater 18 by a fixture 48 (see FIG. 1). The overheat detecting means 50 is connected in series with an instruction circuit from the control unit C to the shut-off means 38, and shuts off the instruction circuit when the overheating of the heater 18 is detected (see FIG. 6).

  The elevating mechanism 20 and the motor (driving means) M for operating the elevating mechanism are disposed in an installation section 52 that is detachably installed in the mechanism housing section 12a (see FIG. 3). The installation portion 52 is formed in a box shape that opens to the rear, and the motor M is installed on the front surface of the installation portion 52, and the lifting mechanism 20 is attached to the output shaft of the motor M protruding to the rear side of the installation portion 52. Is mounted so as to be accommodated inside the installation portion 52 (see FIG. 4). The elevating mechanism 20 is also supported by a first link 56 having one end connected to an eccentric position of a rotating body 54 that rotates about a longitudinal axis by a motor M, and one end rotatably supported by an installation portion 52. And a second link 58 disposed so as to extend below the body 54. In the lifting mechanism 20, the other end of the first link 56 is rotatably connected to an intermediate portion of the second link 58, and the second link 58 is swung up and down by the first link 56 as the rotating body 54 rotates. A crank mechanism is configured. The lift 22 is supported on the other end side of the second link 58 from the connection portion of the first link 56, and the lift 22 moves up and down by the swinging of the second link 58. The lift 22 is in the lowered position when one end of the first link 56 is located at the bottom dead center of the rotating body 54 and the second link 58 is in the lower position (see FIG. 4A). One end of 56 is located at the top dead center of the rotator 54, and the second link 58 is in the upward position (see FIG. 4B). As described above, the rotation of the rotating body 54 rotated in one direction by the motor M is converted into the lift up and down movement by the both links 56 and 58, and the lift 22 is moved upward as the rotating body 54 rotates in one direction. The lowering from the lowering position to the lowering position and the rising from the lowering position to the rising position are repeated alternately.

  The lift 22 is disposed in the installation portion 52, and a lift base 60 having a lower end rotatably connected to the second link, and a lower end supported by the lift base 60. Two struts 62, 62 erected on the back side of the oil tank 14 through an opening formed in the plate 31, and a frame member 64 supported by the upper ends of these struts 62, 62 and extending forward. And. The supports 62 and 62 are respectively inserted into guide portions 66 attached to the top surface of the top plate 31 of the housing 12 and guided in the vertical direction by the guide portions 66. In the embodiment, the elevating mechanism 20 and the motor M arranged in the installation unit 52 and the lift 22 supported by the elevating mechanism 20 can be handled as an integrated unit via the installation unit 52. Yes. The basket B is held by hooking the edge on the back side to the front end edge of the frame member 64.

  The installation unit 52 includes a lowering detecting unit 68 provided in the lifting mechanism 20, a lowering detection unit 72 that switches the detection state in the operating state of the lifting mechanism 20 in which the lift 22 is in the lowering position, and the lifting mechanism 20. A lift detecting means 74 is provided for switching the detection state when the lift mechanism 20 is in the lifted position. As the detection means 72 and 74, a micro switch or the like that switches the detection state between the ON state and the OFF state depending on the presence or absence of the detection units 68 and 70 of the rotating body 54 is used. Both detection means 72 and 74 are electrically connected to the control unit C so that detection signals can be input to the control unit C, respectively. The control unit C drives or stops driving the motor M that operates the lifting mechanism 20 based on switching of the detection states of the detection means 72 and 74 input from the detection means 72 and 74.

  The heater 18 is connected to a power circuit 76 connected to a three-phase 200V power source P, and is configured to generate heat upon receiving power supply from the power source P such as a commercial power source outside the flyer 10 via the power circuit 76. . The power circuit 76 on the high power side is provided with a shut-off means 38 between the power source P and the heater 18 that can open and close the energization line to the heater 18 by opening / closing control of the control unit C. A magnet switch can be used as in the embodiment. The shut-off means 38 is energized to the shut-off means 38 in response to an ON instruction from the control unit C, thereby connecting the power circuit 76 and allowing the heater 18 to be energized. When the energization to 38 is stopped, the power circuit 76 is switched off.

  The power circuit 76 is provided with a relay 78 that is connected in parallel with the heater 18 and has a contact 78 a that opens and closes depending on whether or not the power circuit 76 is energized. The contact point of the relay 78 is connected to the control unit C. When the relay 78 is closed, the close signal of the contact point 78a is input to the control unit 78, and when the relay 78 is opened, the open signal of the contact point 78a is received. Input to the control unit C. The controller C confirms that the power circuit 76 is energized by the input of a close signal from the contact 78a by closing the contact 78a of the relay 78 in a state where electricity is flowing through the power circuit 76 (first state). Is detected. Further, the controller C opens the contact 78a of the relay 78 in a state in which no power is flowing through the power circuit 76 (second state), and the power circuit 76 is in a non-energized state due to the input of the open signal from the contact 78a. Is detected. Here, the control circuit 80 for inputting a signal from the contact 78a of the relay 78 to the control unit C is a circuit on the low electric side that is configured separately from the power circuit 76 on the high electric side. In the embodiment, a relay 78 is installed inside the unit base 34.

  The controller C outputs a non-conformity state (see FIG. 7A) in which a close signal of the contact point 78a is input from the relay 78 when outputting an OFF instruction to the blocking means 38, and an ON instruction to the blocking means 38. It is configured to determine the abnormality of the heater 18 in each of the non-conformity states (see FIG. 7B) in which an open signal of the contact 78a is input from the relay 78 during output. In addition, a timer TM that starts counting from the point of incompatibility is provided, and when the timer TM measures a preset time (for example, about 2 seconds), the notification means 82 notifies the abnormality of the heater 18. It is like that. The notification means 82 performs either or both of visual notification using a lamp or display on the operation unit 26 and auditory notification using a buzzer.

  When the control unit C outputs an off instruction to the shut-off means 38, if it is normal, the shut-off means 38 is opened and the power circuit 76 is in a non-energized state. The opening signal of the contact 78a should be input to the control unit C. If the closing signal is input from the contact 78a of the relay 78 while the control unit C is outputting an off instruction to the shut-off means 38, there is a probability that a failure such as welding occurs in the shut-off means 38 or the relay 78. Since it is high, timer TM is started. If the opening signal of the contact 78a of the relay 78 is not input before the timer TM measures the set time, the abnormality of the heater 18 is determined and the occurrence of the abnormality is notified by the notification means 82. When the control unit C outputs an ON instruction to the interruption means 38, if it is normal, since the interruption means 38 is closed and the power circuit 76 is energized, the contact 78a of the relay 78 is closed and the contact is made. The 78a closing signal should be input to the controller. When the controller C outputs an ON instruction to the interruption means 38, if an open signal is input from the contact 78a of the relay 78, there is a probability that a failure such as a contact failure occurs in the interruption means 38 or the relay 78. Is high, the timer TM is started. If the closing signal of the contact 78a of the relay 78 is not input before the timer TM measures the set time, the abnormality of the heater 18 is determined and the abnormality is notified by the notification means 82.

  The controller C detects the oil temperature after the closing signal of the contact 78a of the relay 78 is inputted in the operating state in which the elevating mechanism 20 is in the raised position where the ascending detector 74 detects the ascending detector 70. An abnormality of the heater 18 is determined even in a non-conforming state where the temperature rise is not detected by the 36 (see FIG. 7C). That is, when the basket B is in the raised position, there is no load such as cooking ingredients in the oil tank 14, and therefore, when the heater 18 is energized with the close signal of the contact 78a input from the relay 78, the oil tank temperature. Should increase in temperature over time. In the embodiment, when the closing signal of the contact 78a of the relay 78 is inputted when the rising detecting means 74 detects the rising detecting section 70, the timer TM starts counting and the oil temperature detecting means 36 uses the oil tank temperature. The oil tank temperature is again acquired by the oil temperature detecting means 36 after a preset delay time (for example, 5 minutes) has elapsed. Then, comparing the previously obtained oil tank temperature and the later obtained oil tank temperature, if the temperature does not rise above a preset temperature rise (for example, assuming a worst case temperature rise), the heater 18 Since the oil is not properly heated due to disconnection or the like, the controller C determines whether the heater 18 is abnormal.

  Thus, according to the flyer 10 of the embodiment, the abnormality of the heater 18 can be determined based on the state of the contact 78a of the relay 78 connected to the power circuit 76 in parallel with the heater 18. Here, the relay 78 is less expensive than a device such as a current transformer that can directly detect the state of the power circuit 76 on the high voltage side. In addition, the control circuit 80 for inputting the state of the contact 78 of the relay 78 to the control unit C can be easily configured as a low-power side circuit similar to the control unit, and is almost different from a general switch input. Can be designed without. Therefore, the safety of the flyer 10 can be improved with a simple and inexpensive configuration in which the relay 78 is added. Further, since the abnormality of the heater 18 is determined when the nonconforming state continues for a set time, it is possible to prevent a determination error. Based on the operating state of the elevating mechanism 20 and the oil tank temperature acquired by the oil temperature detecting means 36, an abnormality can be determined even when the heater 18 is disconnected.

(Change example)
The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as follows.
(1) The relay is not limited to a normally open contact (a contact) as in the embodiment, but may be a normally closed contact (b contact). In the case of a normally open contact, the state change depending on whether or not the power circuit is energized is the reverse of the embodiment.
(2) In the embodiment, the present invention is applied to a flyer equipped with an elevating mechanism, but may be applied to a flyer not equipped with an elevating mechanism.

14 oil tank, 20 lifting mechanism, 18 heater, 36 oil temperature detection means, 38 shut-off means,
76 power circuit, 78 relay, 78a contact, B basket (cooking article holding part),
C control unit, TM timer

Claims (3)

In the fryer that heats the oil in the oil tank (14) by the heater (18),
A control unit (C) for controlling heating or heating stop of the heater (18);
A power circuit (76) for supplying electric power to the heater (18) according to an on instruction from the control section (C) is connected, and a power circuit (76) is shut off according to an off instruction from the control section (C). Means (38);
The power circuit (76) is connected in parallel with the heater (18), and when the power circuit (76) is energized, the contact (78a) is in the first state and when the power circuit (76) is not energized, the contact (78a ) With a relay (78) that switches to the second state,
The control unit (C) includes a non-conforming state in which the contact (78a) of the relay (78) is in the first state at the time of the off instruction, and a contact (78a) of the relay (78) at the time of the on instruction. The flyer is characterized in that an abnormality of the heater (18) is determined in a nonconforming state in which the is in the second state. In the non-conforming state, the timer (TM) that starts measuring the preset set time is provided,
The controller (C) is configured to determine an abnormality of the heater (18) when the nonconforming state continues even when the timer (TM) measures a set time. Flyer. Holding the cooking article holding part (B), the lowered position where the cooking article holding part (B) is arranged inside the oil tank (14), and the cooking article holding part (B) is pulled up to the outside of the oil tank (14) Elevating mechanism (20) that moves up and down between the raised position,
Oil temperature detecting means (36) for detecting the temperature of the oil stored in the oil tank (14),
The control unit (C) adjusts the oil to a set temperature by heating the heater (18) based on the detection of the oil temperature detection means (36) according to a preset set condition, and sets the set condition. Operate the elevating mechanism (20) so as to immerse the cooking article put in the cooking article holding part (B) in oil over the corresponding cooking time,
The controller (C) is configured such that when the elevating mechanism (20) is in the raised position and the contact (78a) of the relay (78) is in the first state, the oil temperature detecting means (36) The flyer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an abnormality of the heater (18) is determined in a nonconforming state where no rise is detected.

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