JP2022099438A - Rice washer/cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent foreign objects such as insects from easily entering in a pot by releasing steam at appropriate timing when cooking rice porridge.SOLUTION: A rice washer/cooker comprises a rice cooking pot 7 on the lower side of a rice washing tank 5. The rice cooking pot 7 includes an inner pot container 101, and a high-center-shaped rice cooking lid 102 having a high center part closing a body opening of the inner pot container 101, detachably provided. The rice cooking lid 102 includes a supply hole 102a formed at a central part, and a shutter 103 interlocking so as to open/close the supply hole 102a by supply hole opening/closing means S. The rice washer/cooker further comprises a temperature sensor 110 near the rice cooking lid 102, when a detection temperature of the temperature sensor 110 reaches a temperature before boiling-over, drives the supply hole opening/closing means S to open the supply hole 102a, and when the detection temperature becomes a prescribed temperature or less, closes the supply hole 102a again.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

The present invention relates to a rice-washing rice-cooking device capable of cooking a required amount of rice, and more particularly to a rice-cooking kettle suitable for cooking soft rice, porridge, and the like by adjusting the required amount of water.

In a rice-washing device equipped with a rice-washing section and a rice-cooking section, there is a technology that enables porridge rice cooking with a large amount of water addition and reduction compared to standard rice cooking (Patent Document 1), but porridge rice cooking has a large amount of water addition and reduction. Because the rice porridge that spills from the lid of the rice porridge may adhere to the rice porridge and the gas table for heating and stain it, a rice porridge is provided under the rice porridge and the rice porridge lid is attached to the rice porridge. There is one that allows a part of the rice cooking lid to be opened and closed in this state (Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-19709 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-810

According to Patent Document 2, since the end of the rice cooker is lifted upward in the porridge mode, the end must be lifted and held in advance, and foreign matter, insects, etc. are likely to be mixed.

The present invention attempts to prevent foreign substances such as insects from being mixed into the pot by letting steam escape at an appropriate timing when cooking porridge rice.

The present invention has taken the following technical measures to solve the above problems.

The invention according to claim 1 is provided with a rice cooker 7 below the rice washing tank 5, and the rice cooker 7 closes the main body opening of the inner pot container 101 and the inner pot container 101 to cook rice in a medium-high shape with a high center. A lid 102 is detachably provided, and a supply hole 102a is formed in the center of the rice cooking lid 102, and a shutter 103 interlocking to open and close the supply hole 102a by the supply hole opening / closing means S is attached to the vicinity of the rice cooking lid 102. The temperature sensor 110 is provided in the above, and when the detection temperature of the temperature sensor 110 reaches the temperature before the spill, the supply hole opening / closing means S is driven to open the supply hole 102a, and when the temperature falls below a predetermined temperature, the supply hole 102a is closed again. And.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when it is determined or estimated that the latter half of the porridge rice cooking process has been entered in the first aspect of the invention, the drive control of the supply hole opening / closing means S by the temperature sensor 110 is stopped. The shutter 103 is configured to continue the closed position of the supply hole 102a.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the temperature sensor 110 detects before the spillage and opens the supply hole 102a, and if the temperature sensor 110 detects that heat has escaped, the operation of closing the supply hole 102a is repeated. , Prevents spillage by letting steam escape at the right time. In addition, since it is not always open but is opened at high temperatures, foreign substances such as insects are unlikely to enter the pot.

According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effect of claim 1, the amount of steam emitted can be suppressed in the latter half of the porridge rice cooking process, and the dirt on the upper parts such as the rice drain valve and the drain box can be reduced. In addition, the amount of heat released to the outside of the rice cooker 7 can be minimized, which contributes to the reduction of electricity and gas costs.

It is a front view of the rice washing rice cooking apparatus of this invention. It is a side view of the rice washing apparatus. It is a front sectional view of the rice washing apparatus. It is a perspective view of a rice storage tank and a rice washing tank. It is a top view of a rice storage tank and a rice washing tank. It is a side sectional view of the measuring part. It is sectional drawing of the drum case. (A) is a side view showing an operating state, and (b) is a plan view showing an operating state. (A) (b) is a front view of the operation panel. It is a front view which shows the working state of a drop arm. It is a water adjustment process flowchart. It is a flow chart of a rice cooking process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the rice washing tank capacity and the amount of water addition. It is an overall control flowchart of a rice cooker. It is a side sectional view of a rice cooker and its vicinity. (A) (B) (C) It is a top view which shows the operating state of the supply hole opening / closing means. This is an example of an extended display screen. (a) An example of the relationship table of the amount of rice cooked in the normal rice cooking mode-the amount of water added / reduced, and (b) an example of the relationship table of the amount of rice cooked in the porridge rice cooking mode-the amount of water added / decreased. This is an example of the rice cooking condition setting screen.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
The support member 1 that vertically and horizontally frames the U-shaped or square tubular member is between a rectangular underframe 1a having casters at the bottom, left and right columns 1b and 1b having a predetermined width and a predetermined height, and left and right columns 1b and 1b. It is composed of a plurality of cross rails 1c, 1c ...

The horizontal rail 1c is provided with a flat plate-shaped partition member 3 for mounting each equipment, a rice storage tank 4 is provided above the flat plate-shaped partition member 3, a rice washing tank 5 is provided below the rice storage tank 4, and the rice washing tank 5 is provided. The rice cooking device 6 is arranged below at intervals. The rice cooking device 6 includes a rice cooking pot 7, a gas table for heating the pot 8, a drawer-type stand, and the like. The drawer side of the gantry 9 in FIG. 1 is the front side, and the back side is the rear side.

The rice storage tank 4 is composed of a main tank 4a at the upper part having a rectangular cross section and a funnel-shaped hopper portion 4b at the lower part, and a measuring drum case 10 is attached to the lower end portion of the hopper portion 4b. In the measuring drum case 10, a measuring drum 13 including a drum portion 11a having a cylindrical notch portion 11 and front and rear side wall portions 12a and 12b is provided and penetrates the front and rear side wall portions 12a and 12b. It is rotatably supported by the drum case 10 by the horizontal axis 14. Further, a motor 15 is mounted on the rear surface side of the drum case 10 so as to directly interlock the shaft 14, and a fixed amount of rice flowing down from the rice storage tank 4 through the notch 11 is filled in the measuring drum 13 by rotation. When the position of the notch 11 is inverted downward and reaches the discharge port 16 formed in the drum case 10, the measuring drum 13 is discharged.

The partition member 3 is provided with an opening 17 corresponding to the discharge port 16, and is configured to deliver a predetermined amount of rice from the rice storage tank 4 to the rice washing tank 5 by rotating the measuring drum 13 by a predetermined rotation speed. There is. Further, a predetermined amount can be supplied by detecting a rotation sensor (not shown) that counts the number of feedings.

The drum case 10 and the funnel-shaped hopper 4b are integrally configured, and after the upper main tank 4a is removed, the integral body of the hopper 4b and the drum case 10 can be removed from the partition member 3. It is composed. That is, on the rear side, an engaging portion 20 is provided so that the engaging convex portion 19 of the drum case 10 can be engaged and disengaged from the hook-shaped portion 18 formed on the partition member 3, and these partition members 3 and the drum case 10 are provided on the front side. A detachable engaging stay 21 that can be attached and detached and fixed with a screw is provided between the two, and the stay 21 is rotated around the center of the screw portion by loosening the screw 22 to release the engagement with the drum case 10. The lower end edge of the drum case 10 is formed so as to fit into the rectangular opening of the partition member 3, but the lower end edge of the drum case 10 is slightly lifted upward by disengaging the engagement stay 21. By releasing the fitting from the partition member 3 and pulling it diagonally from the front toward the front, the engagement of the engaging portion 20 can be released while releasing the fitting of the lower end edge on the rear side.

The rice storage tank 2 and the measuring portion are configured to cover the outside with a cover member 23, and the left and right side walls and the rear side wall are appropriately fixed to the partition member 3 and the like, and the front side wall 23a is provided, for example, the right side portion in front view. It is configured as a door that can be opened and closed as a fulcrum. Therefore, the rice storage tank 2 and the drum case 10 can be inspected and attached with the front side wall 23a open. Reference numeral 24 denotes a square covering plate that detachably covers the main tank 4a from above.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a discharge shutter for rice discharge provided on one side (front side in the figure) of the funnel-shaped hopper portion 4b. The structure is such that the rice inside can be discharged.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the measuring drum 13 portion, in which gaskets 26a and 26b for tilting and guiding rice are provided between the funnel-shaped lower hopper 4b and the drum case 10, and the outer periphery of the measuring drum 13 and the inside of the drum case 10 are provided. The space between the circumference and the circumference is such that there is a gap t (for example, about 1 mm) that does not crush the rice even if it is infiltrated.

The measuring drum 13 is repeatedly rotated and stopped in a certain direction by the motor 15, but the stop position of the measuring drum 13 is the position shown by the solid line in FIG. That is, a vibrating means (referred to as a pump 66 for air supply described later in the figure) is attached to the side wall of the funnel-shaped hopper 4b on the inclined wall near the existing side of the rotary rear side gasket 26b to promote the internal rice flow. In addition, the opening edge of the measuring drum 13 is stopped at the rear position of the vibration-side gasket 26b, and the other open end edge is stopped at the front position of the non-vibration-side gasket 26a. The rice that is about to enter due to the vibration of the vibration means is shielded by the measuring drum 13, while the non-vibrating side naturally feeds the rice into the measuring drum 13 to stabilize the accuracy of the supply amount.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rice washing tank 5 is provided with a receiving cylinder portion 31 for guiding rice supplied from the drum case 10 on the ceiling portion, a cylindrical body portion in the middle portion, and a hopper-shaped portion in the lower portion. A filter 33 made of a mesh body having a jacket portion 32 connected below the hopper-shaped portion of the rice washing tank 3 and having an opening at the boundary between the hopper-shaped portion and the jacket portion 32 so as not to leak rice grains. Is provided.

A rotation shaft 34 in the vertical direction is provided in the center of the rice washing tank 5, and a plurality of stirring rods 35, 35 ... Attach to 34 by welding or the like. The rotating shaft 34 is rotated by the rice washing motor 36 via the bevel gear mechanism 37, and is configured to agitate the rice and water in the tank by rotation.

The rotary shaft 34 is a hollow shaft, and the inner shaft 38 is slidably fitted vertically inside the outer hollow shaft 34, and is detachably conical at the lower end of the shaft 38 extending downward. The rice discharge valve 39 is provided. The upper end of the shaft 38 is moved up and down by an interlocking mechanism such as a cam 41 driven by a rice discharge valve driving motor 40 and a drop arm described later, so that the opening and closing of the rice discharge valve 39 is controlled. When the rice discharge valve 39 is opened, the rice in the rice washing tank 5 is configured to fall into the inner pot of the rice cooker 6 below.

The water supply to the rice washing tank 5 is supplied by a main water pipe 46 communicating with a water faucet, an upper water supply valve 47 and two flexible upper water pipes 48,48, and an upper water supply port 49 on the ceiling of the rice washing tank 5. It is carried out by two systems, an upper water supply route via 49 and a lower water supply route branching from the main water distribution pipe 46 and passing through a lower water supply valve 50, a water distribution pipe 51, and a lower water supply port 52 via a jacket portion 32. Each water supply route is equipped with a flow rate sensor.

That is, in the vicinity of the drum case 10, two upper water supply pipes 48, 48 leading to the main water distribution pipe 46 are arranged based on the partition member 3, and the water distribution pipe 51 in which the partition member 3 is provided in a penetrating manner is provided. The lower water supply pipe 53 is connected.

Reference numeral 55 is a shutter that opens and closes the discharge port 16 in connection with the electric motor 15. The rotation of the motor 15 is connected to the shutter support shaft 58 via the link mechanisms 56 and 57, and the drum opening coincides with the discharge port 16. The interlocking configuration is such that the shutter 55 is opened when the shutter 55 is operated. Therefore, the shutter 55 is always in the closed posture to prevent the diffused water from scattering during the rice washing in the rice washing tank 3 and prevent the water from entering the measuring drum 13.

The above water supply pipes 48, 48 are arranged so as to be located on the left and right center lines in a plan view, and this position corresponds to the left and right center lines in a plan view of the rice washing tank 5 described later. Further, the drum case 10 is located on the left side of the position where the upper water supply pipes 48 and 48 are arranged, and the rice discharge valve 139 motor 40 and the stirring rods 35, 35 ... Drive rice washing motor 36 described later are located on the right side. It is arranged.

A drainage box 60 is provided behind the lower part of the rice washing tank 3. In the drainage box 60 having the drainage port 61, the lower end portion of the overflow pipe 62 whose upper end opens to the upper side surface of the rice washing tank 3 and the other end portion of the jacket portion 132 whose one end communicates with the jacket portion 132 are connected. Has been done. Drainage from the jacket portion 132 is performed by opening and closing the drain valve 64, and the water level in the rice washing tank 5 is adjusted while draining with the water level valve 65.

The drainage box 60 is always closed by the drainage valve 64 and the water level valve 65, but when draining the water in the rice washing tank 5, the drainage valve 64 and / or the water level valve 65 is discharged from the filter 33 of the jacket portion 32. , The drainage box 60 and the drainage port 61 are used for drainage. The drain valve 64 and the water level valve 65 are opened and closed by an appropriate opening / closing output. Further, a float sensor 68 with an electric contact for detecting the amount of water in the rice washing tank 5 is provided in the upper part of the rice washing tank 3.

The water supply to the rice washing tank 5 is performed by two systems, an upper water supply route via the upper water supply port 48 on the ceiling of the rice washing tank 5 and a lower water supply route from the lower water supply port 51 via the jacket portion 32. Although it is configured, an air ejection pipe 67 that communicates with the pump 66 and ejects air is arranged in parallel with the lower water supply pipe 52 of the lower water supply route, and the air is combined with the water in the lower water supply route. The lower water supply pipe 52 and the air ejection pipe 67 are respectively provided at positions eccentric from the center of the jacket portion 32 in FIG. 8B, and air and water are mixed. It makes it easy for a swirling flow to occur.

When the rice is washed in the rice washing tank 5, the rotation directions of the large and small stirring rods 35, 35 ... Provided on the rotating shaft 34 in the rice washing tank 5, the water ejection direction from the lower water supply route, and the air ejection pipe 67 It is configured so that the air ejection directions from the water supply are opposite to each other.

During the rice washing operation, the stirring rods 35, 35 ... Are rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 8B, and the water ejected from the lower water supply route and the air ejected from the air ejection pipe 67 are rotated clockwise. Let it spurt out. Then, especially in the vicinity of the bottom of the rice washing tank 5, the rice is stirred by the stirring rods 35, 35, etc., and bubbles are generated by the ejection of air to be in a bubble washing state, and a high rice washing effect can be obtained.

Next, the operation of the rice cooker will be described.

First, in the control unit of the computer outside the figure, the rice cooking device such as rice cooking amount, rice washing time (rotation time of stirring rod 135), rice polishing time (rotation time of stirring rod 135), soaking time in rice washing tank or kettle is operated. The conditions necessary for the above are set by the operation panel (operation display device) 70 arranged on the front door portion of the cover member 23.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which the switch cover 71 of the operation panel (operation display device) 70 is closed (FIG. 9 (a)) and a state in which the switch cover 71 is opened (FIG. 9 (b)). A process display unit 72, a reservation switch 73, a setting switch group 74, a start switch 75, a help switch 76, and the like are arranged on the operation panel 70, and a liquid crystal display screen 77 is provided below. The process display unit 72 shows a preliminary process consisting of weighing, washing and soaking (immersing) rice, and a rice cooking process consisting of preparation of a kettle, soaking (immersion), ignition, rice cooking, unevenness, and cooking. The LEDs 78, 78 ... Provided for each process display unit can be turned on to identify which process is currently being executed, and the two colors of green are emitted under normal operating conditions and red at abnormal times. , The operating condition can be easily recognized.

The setting switch group 74 is provided with "UP (+)", "DOWN (-)", and "feed" switches on the top, bottom, left, and right, and mainly changes the settings, such as the planned number of kettles and the cooking time. It is a configuration that can be set.

Further, the lower part of the operation panel 70 has the switch cover 71 that opens and closes up and down at the horizontal axis fulcrum, and when the cover 71 shown in FIG. 9A is closed, the liquid crystal display screen 77 is a normal operation display screen. Display A. In the embodiment of this embodiment, the cumulative number of times of rice cooking (corresponding to the total number of rice cooking kettles; hereinafter referred to as the cumulative number of kettles), the number of times of continuous rice cooking (hereinafter referred to as the planned number of kettles), the capacity to be processed in one cooking, and the method of cooking rice. (Mode), the total soaking time in the rice cooking preliminary process and the rice cooking process, and the steaming time are displayed.

Further, FIG. 9B shows a state in which the switch cover 71 is opened. The cover 71 is provided with a cover open / close detecting means 79 composed of a photocoupler and a reflector and a locking portion 80. When the cover 71 is opened, the cover open / close detecting means 79 is turned off and the liquid crystal display screen 77 is in normal operation. A screen on which rice cooking conditions can be set immediately is displayed from the display screen A, and this screen is hereinafter referred to as a rice cooking condition setting screen B. The rice cooking condition setting screen B is a screen on which one of the rice cooking conditions, the amount of rice cooked, the amount of water, the washing method, the soaking time, the steaming time, the rice cooking method (mode), and the ignition method can be set. The rice cooking conditions can be determined by the setting switches 81, 81 ... At the corresponding positions. Reference numeral 82 is a power switch arranged below the operation panel 70.

The control unit also has the following functions. That is, it has a normal rice cooking mode in which white rice is cooked under normal water adjustment and a porridge rice cooking mode in which the amount of water is increased compared to the normal rice cooking mode and rice is cooked according to a unique heating program. It is something that can be set. The normal rice cooking mode and the porridge rice cooking mode are configured to be automatically set by comparing the rice cooking amount S with the predetermined amount A set in advance in the control unit C. The porridge rice porridge cooking mode is set according to the selection setting of the "porridge mode" on the extended setting screen C shown in FIG. 17 from the rice porridge condition setting screen B. The transition to the extended setting screen C is performed by simultaneously operating a plurality of switches of the setting switch group 74. In addition to the "porridge mode", the extended setting screen C includes "rice washing bubble setting", "water adjustment history", and the like.

An example of the relationship between the amount of rice cooked S and the amount of water added or subtracted in the normal rice cooking mode is shown in FIG. 18 (a), and an example of the relationship between the amount of rice cooked S and the amount of water added or subtracted in the porridge rice cooking mode is shown in FIG. 18 (b). To change the water level, change the range setting by pressing the "UP (+)" and "DOWN (-)" switches 74, as well as specifying "water level" on the rice cooking condition setting screen B shown in FIG. While doing so, it is possible to change and set the amount of water addition and reduction accordingly. The amount of changed water for each range of water adjustment in the normal rice cooking mode is set differently depending on the amount of rice cooked (FIG. 18, "changed water amount in one range"), whereas the range in the porridge rice cooking mode. The amount of changed water for each change is constant regardless of the amount of rice cooked (Fig. 18, "changed amount of water in one range"). In this way, in the porridge rice cooking mode that requires a large amount of water, the setting operation can be easily performed by changing the fixed amount for each range regardless of the fine setting.

In the rice cooking condition setting screen B of FIG. 19, by designating the "rice cooking amount" and pressing the "UP (+)" "DOWN (-)" switch 74, for example, the increase can be set in 0.5 kg units. However, the figure shows the amount of rice cooked in the standard rice cooking mode of 3.0 kg. By the way, when the porridge rice cooking mode is set, the maximum amount of rice cooked is set in advance. For example, when the "UP (+)" switch 74 is sequentially pressed, "0.5"-> "1.0"-> "1.5"-> "2.0"-> "0.5" ... , It is configured to avoid unexpected rice cooking conditions by preventing settings exceeding "2.0". The maximum amount of rice cooked may be configured to set and store the maximum amount of porridge rice cooked in the control unit in correspondence with the amount of rice cooked in the rice cooker 7. Further, a discriminating means capable of automatically discriminating the type of the rice cooker 7 may be provided so that the maximum amount of rice cooked can be automatically set, and this configuration is convenient even if it is expanded to the normal rice cooking mode.

For example, when the set rice cooking amount S is large in comparison with the predetermined amount A (S ≧ A), the “normal rice cooking mode” is set. When the set rice cooking amount S is small (S <A), it is set to the "porridge rice cooking mode".

Depending on the difference between the above-mentioned "normal rice cooking mode" and "porridge rice cooking mode", the water adjustment and rice cooking heating programs are different, and each of them is configured to be controlled and operated according to the program stored in the control unit. For example, regarding the water adjustment process, as shown in FIG. 11, when the water adjustment process is started, the predetermined amount A (set to 2 squares) is first compared with the set rice cooking amount S (S101), 2 squares. In the above case, it is set to the normal water adjustment mode (S102), and when it is less than 2 squares, it is set to the porridge rice water adjustment mode (S103). Specifically, the water level valve 65 opening time T for adjusting the water level with the water level valve 65 from the overflow state from the rice washing tank 5 is set based on the table or the relationship graph set for each mode. In the normal water adjustment mode, the opening time T of the water level valve 65 is set to TS (S104), and in the porridge water adjustment mode, it is set to TN (S105). When such a mode setting and selection of the water level valve open time are performed, both the drain valve and the water level valve are closed (S106) and water is supplied (S107) (in this embodiment, the lower water supply is used, but the upper water supply is performed. It may be a configuration in which both upper and lower simultaneous water supply can be selected).

Eventually, the overflow sensor 68 is turned on (S108), but the lower water supply is stopped (S109) and the water level valve 65 is opened (S110). Then, the water is drained from the rice washing tank 5 with the opening of the water level valve 65, and the water level is closed after a lapse of a predetermined time to obtain a desired water level, that is, water level (S112 to S115). Here, in the normal water adjustment mode, TS is called as the water level valve opening time (S115) to secure about 1.2 times the amount of rice cooked. Further, in the porridge water adjustment mode, TN is called as the water level valve opening time (TS <TN) (S114).

Therefore, these times are managed by the timer set, and when the timer outputs the passage of the time, the timer is up, the water level valve 65 is closed (S116), and the predetermined water adjustment is completed.

Next, when the rice cooking process is reached, as shown in FIG. 12, the normal rice cooking mode setting and the porridge rice cooking mode setting are selectively set for the processing procedure. In the normal rice cooking mode, the rice is cooked according to the heating program for normal rice cooking, and in the porridge rice cooking mode, the rice is cooked according to the heating program described later.

The predetermined amount A is set in consideration of the maximum capacity Q of the rice washing tank 5. The amount of rice cooked S and the required amount of water added / subtracted W are in a proportional relationship, and for example, W = pS + q (p and q are constants). Therefore, the total amount is S + W = S + pS + q = (1 + p) S + q. When considering the maximum capacity Q, the maximum value of the rice cooking amount S satisfying Q <(1 + p) S + q may be set as the set value A.

Further, since the constant p is different between the case of adding water for normal rice cooking and the case of adding water for porridge rice cooking, the set value A is naturally different. That is, the normal rice porridge water adjustment WS and the porridge water adjustment WN have a relationship of WS <WN, and the constant p (= ps) for normal rice cooking is compared with the constant p (= pn) for porridge rice cooking. Is several times larger, so a value for porridge rice cooking is selected for the set amount A (FIG. 13).

Next, an embodiment of the drive configuration of the rice discharge valve 139 will be described with reference to FIG.

The drive configuration of the rice discharge valve 39 is such that when the rice discharge valve 39 is removed from the rice discharge shaft 38, cleaned, and then reattached, the rice discharge shaft 38 is fixed so as not to slide up and down, making it easy to install. It is a thing.

A rice discharging shaft 38 is loosely fitted in the hollow rotating shaft 34 so as to be slidable up and down, and a rice discharging valve 39 is attached to the lower end of the rice discharging shaft 38. An intermediate part of the dropping arm 92 that moves up and down like a seesaw is pivotally supported on the mounting member on the upper part of the rice washing tank 5, one end of the dropping arm 92 is connected to the upper end of the rice discharging shaft 138 by a pin 93, and the other end of the dropping arm 92. A drop cam 41 driven in the direction of the arrow by the rice discharge valve driving motor 40 is movably linked to a roller 94 provided in the portion, and the rice discharge valve 39 is moved up and down to open and close the lower opening of the rice washing tank 5. Is. A stopper 95 is provided to stop the downward rotation of the dropping arm 92 on one end side at a predetermined position.

In the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 10, the large diameter portion of the dropping cam 41 abuts on the roller 94 of the dropping arm 92, lifts the left boom of the dropping arm 92, and passes through the dropping arm 92 to the rice discharging shaft 38 and the rice discharging valve 39. Is lifted, and the rice discharge valve 39 is closed. Next, when the dropping cam 41 further rotates counterclockwise, it rotates while pressing the left side portion of the dropping arm 92, and when the large diameter portion is separated from the roller 94, the left side of the dropping arm 92 is the rice discharge valve 39 and the like. The rice discharge shaft 38 also moves downward due to its own weight, and the rice discharge valve 39 is opened (FIG. 10 virtual line).
The action of rice washing operation will be explained. When the power switch 82 is turned on, the rice cooking conditions are set according to each operation of the operation panel 70, various rice cooking conditions are set, and then the start switch 75 is turned on, the operation is started as shown in the rice cooking flow shown in FIG. ..

That is, first, the power switch is turned on (step 1), then the rice cooking condition is set and input (step 2), and when the start switch 75 is pressed (step 3), the rice in the rice storage tank 4 is weighed with the weighing drum in step 4. Then, a set amount of rice is supplied to the rice washing tank 5, and the rice is washed in step 5.

The rice washing step of step 5 is a rice bran removing step of stirring rice while dripping water, a rice polishing step of once supplying water and then draining and stirring the rice in a wet state, a rough rinsing step of stirring rice at a predetermined water level, and a tank of water. It consists of a finishing rinsing process in which the mixture is stirred while overflowing.

Following the rice washing step of step 5, the process proceeds to the water-adjusting treatment step of step 6. In this step 6, based on the flow of FIG. 11, the "normal rice cooking water adjustment mode" or the "porridge rice cooking water adjustment mode" is set as described above, and the amount of rice, the quality of rice, and the temperature in the rice washing tank 3 are set. The microcomputer calculates the amount of water corresponding to the water temperature, etc., supplies water to the rice washing tank 5, and after the rice washing tank 5 is full, the water level valve 65 is opened for the calculated time, that is, TS or TN is "opened" to adjust the amount of water. do.

While the amount of water in normal rice cooking is about 1.2 times the amount of rice cooked, the amount of water in porridge rice cooking requires about 5 times the amount of water cooked, so it is significantly different. There is a limit to the amount that can be stored in a rice cooker, and even if it is possible to cook 5 squares of rice with a commercial rice cooker, the amount of porridge rice cooked is 2 squares or less. Depending on whether or not the amount exceeds a predetermined amount, the control unit automatically selects "normal rice porridge water adjustment mode" or "porridge rice porridge water adjustment mode", and the predetermined amount of water is obtained based on the selection. It is possible to simplify the operation by eliminating the need for the operator to select and set whether to cook normal rice or porridge rice.

In step 7, the washed rice in the rice washing tank 5 and the weighed water of the water level in step 3 are dropped into the rice cooker 7 by opening and closing the rice discharge valve 39.

In step 8, the rice in the rice cooker 7 is immersed in water for a specified time. After the lapse of the specified time, the rice is ignited in step 9, the rice is cooked in step 10, the steam is steamed in step 11, and the cooked rice is cooked in step 12, and the predetermined cooked rice is completed.

Before turning on the start switch 75, the reservation screen can be output by operating the reservation switch, and the cooking time can be set to the reserved time to cook at the scheduled time.

Further, in the above embodiment, the amount of water is gradually reduced from the full state of the rice washing tank by opening the water level valve 65 to secure a predetermined amount of water. It may be a managed configuration.

Next, regarding the rice cooker 7, a rice cooker that can handle porridge rice cooking will be described.

In FIG. 15, the rice cooker 7 is provided with a medium-high shape rice cooker lid 102 having a high center portion by closing the inner pot 101 and the main body opening of the inner pot 101, and the rice cooker lid 102 is supplied to the center portion. The hole 102a is formed, and the slide shutter 103 of the supply hole opening / closing means S is attached so as to be openable and closable so as to close the supply hole 102a.

Regarding the supply hole opening / closing means S, a metal 106 is meshed with a motor shaft 105 that is rotated by a forward rotation drive of the reversible motor 104, a shutter opening / closing arm 107 is attached to the metal 106, and a U formed at the tip of the shutter opening / closing arm 107. The knob 102b of the rice cooking lid 102 is engaged with the engaging portion of the mold, and the slide shutter 103 is configured to be movable to the left and right (right side in the figure) along the slide rail 108. The stop of the motor 104 is due to the metal 106 coming into contact with the limit switch (not shown).

Then, the washed rice and the water-adjusted water in the rice washing tank 5 are opened by the lowering of the vertical movement shaft 38 and the rice discharge valve 39, and fall from the tank rice discharge port, but downward. It is housed in the inner pot 101 through the desired supply hole 102a ((B) in FIG. 16). Subsequently, the reversible motor 104 reverses, the metal 106 and the shutter opening / closing arm 107 move in opposite directions (on the right side in the figure) by reversing the motor shaft 105, and the limit switch (FIG.) in the position where the slide shutter 103 closes the supply hole 102a. It is configured to be stopped at (not shown) ((A) in FIG. 16).

Normally, the reversible motor 104 is maintained in a stopped state during rice cooking, but in the porridge rice cooking mode, it is configured to operate during rice cooking. That is, a temperature sensor 110 is provided in the vicinity of the rice cooking lid 102, and when the temperature before the spill is reached due to a change in the temperature sensor 110, the reversible motor 104 is driven in the forward direction to open the supply hole 102a. Then, when the temperature becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, the reversible motor 104 is reversed and the supply hole 102a is closed again. With this configuration, the temperature sensor 108 detects the area before the spill and opens the supply hole 102a, and if the temperature sensor 110 presumably detects that heat has escaped, the operation of closing the supply hole 102a is repeated. The heat that escapes to the outside of the rice cooker can be minimized. By setting the forward rotation drive of the reversible motor 104 in a predetermined short time, the opening width ε of the supply hole 102a may be set to the minimum necessary without opening the entire supply hole 102a. In some cases, the release of heat can be minimized ((C) in FIG. 16).

Based on the detection result of the temperature sensor 110, the slide shutter 103 can be operated to open or return the supply hole 102a to close it, and steam is released at an appropriate timing to prevent spillage. Since the supply hole 102a is not always open but is opened at high temperature, it is difficult for foreign matter such as insects to enter the pot.

Further, in porridge rice cooking, the heating is weakened in the latter half of the rice cooking process, but if it is determined or estimated that the latter half of the rice porridge process is entered, the slide shutter 103 control by the temperature sensor 110 is stopped. Configure. After a lapse of a predetermined time, it can be determined that the porridge rice cooking process has entered the latter half, and during this predetermined time, the amount of rice cooked is configured to recall the data accumulated in advance according to the amount of water. With this configuration, the amount of steam emitted can be suppressed, and dirt on upper parts such as the rice drain valve 38 and the drain box 60 can be reduced. In addition, the amount of heat released to the outside of the rice cooker 7 can be minimized, which contributes to the reduction of electricity and gas costs.

In the present embodiment, the spillage is detected by detecting the temperature higher than the set temperature. For example, the spillage is detected when the temperature higher than the set temperature continues for the set time, or the porridge is cooked. When the mode of is selected, the slide shutter 103 may be activated after a set time from the start of rice cooking. Alternatively, the slide shutter 103 may be opened and closed every set time when a temperature higher than the set temperature is detected.

5 Rice washing tank 7 Rice cooking pot 101 Inner pot 102 Rice cooking lid 102a Supply hole 103 Slide shutter (shutter)
110 Temperature sensor S Supply hole opening / closing means

Claims (2)

A rice cooker (7) is provided below the rice washing tank (5), and the rice cooker (7) has a medium-high shape with a high center by closing the main body openings of the inner pot container (101) and the inner pot container (101). A rice cooking lid (102) is detachably provided, and a supply hole (102a) is formed in the center of the rice cooking lid (102), and the supply hole (102a) is opened and closed by the supply hole opening / closing means (S). An interlocking shutter (103) is attached, a temperature sensor (110) is provided near the rice cooking lid (102), and when the detection temperature of the temperature sensor (110) reaches the temperature before the spill, the supply hole opening / closing means (S) is opened. A rice-washing rice-cooking device characterized in that it is driven to open a supply hole (102a) and closes the supply hole (102a) again when the temperature drops below a predetermined temperature. When it is determined or estimated that the latter half of the porridge rice cooking process has been entered, the drive control of the supply hole opening / closing means (S) by the temperature sensor (110) is stopped, and the shutter (103) closes the supply hole (102a). The rice porridge rice porridge according to claim 1, which has a continuous configuration.

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