JP2024006263A - Rinsed rice cooking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dry a measuring part, a rice storing part, and a rinsed rice tank using heating means.

SOLUTION: A rinsed rice cooking device includes: a measuring part that receives rice in a measuring drum 13 from a storage tank 4, measuring a predetermined amount of rice and delivering the rice while rotating about a horizontal shaft 14; and heaters 27 respectively installed on right and left outer sides of a measuring drum case 10 that stores the measuring drum 13.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a rice washing and cooking device.

Washing rice cookers are equipped with a rice storage section and repeat the process of weighing, washing, and cooking the rice over and over again, so the steam and heat from cooking can cause moisture to adhere to the measuring section, resulting in poor rice flow. This may result in incorrect measurement. For this reason, a configuration is known in which an air blowing port is formed on the side surface of the measuring device, and air is sent from a blower provided on the outside of the measuring device to apply the air to the lower surface of the measuring drum facing the rice washing tank (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-3305

According to Patent Document 1, by operating the blower to blow air while the rice cooker is operating, or to periodically blow air at fixed time intervals when the rice cooker is turned on, the rice cooker is moistened with water. In addition to preventing rice grains from entering the measuring drum, it is also possible to suppress the growth of mold by drying the rice washing tank.

However, there is no structure that directly heats and dries the inside of the measuring section by blowing air.

The object of the present invention is to dry a measuring section, a rice storage section, and a rice washing tank using a heating means.

This invention has taken the following technical means to solve the above problems.

The invention according to claim 1 constitutes a measuring section that receives rice from the storage tank 4 into the measuring drum 13 and measures and dispenses a predetermined amount of rice while rotating around the horizontal axis 14, and accommodates the measuring drum 13. Heaters 27 are provided on the left and right sides of the measuring drum case 10, respectively.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, in which an opening 28 is formed on the upper surface of the rice washing tank 5, a filter 28a and a fan 28b are arranged in the opening 28, and the rice washing tank 5 is set in the drying mode. The measuring drum 13 is configured to rotate, the drop valve 39 at the bottom of the rice washing tank 5 is opened, and the fan 28b is driven.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the rice storage tank 4 is provided at the upper part of the main body so as to be rotatable around the fulcrum shaft 85, and has an inverted rice receiving posture and rice storage. A lid-like body 86 is provided which can switch to a return position to cover the upper surface of the tank 4.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the heating effect of the heater 27 can heat the measuring drum 13 and its surroundings, thereby improving the situation of rice distribution obstruction.

According to the invention set forth in claim 2, in addition to the effect set forth in claim 1, by blowing air from the fan 28b from the opening 28 on the top surface of the rice washing tank 5, the rice storage tank 4, the measuring section, and the rice washing tank 5 are can be dried.

In addition to the effect described in claim 1 or claim 2, the invention set forth in claim 3 sets the position of the lid-like body 86 in the rice receiving posture low, so that even a short worker can easily perform the rice loading operation. I can do it. In addition, by repeating the operations of inverting and returning the lid-like body 86 to the return position, wind can be generated, and the rice storage tank 4, measuring section, and rice washing tank 5 can be ventilated and dried.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a rice washing and cooking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the washed rice cooking device. It is a front sectional view of the washed rice cooking device. It is a perspective view of the rice storage tank and the rice washing tank of the same washed rice cooking device. It is a top view of the rice storage tank and the rice washing tank. It is a sectional side view of the measuring part of the washed rice cooking device. It is a sectional view of the drum case of the same measuring part. (A) A front view of the drum case with a heater attached to the measuring section, and (B) a side view of the drum case. It is a perspective view of the washed rice cooking device. It is a top view of the partition member and peripheral arrangement|positioning equipment of the same washed rice cooking apparatus. (A) A side view of the rice washing tank and the surrounding area of the washed rice cooking device, and (B) a plan view thereof. It is a perspective view of the partition member and peripheral arrangement|positioning equipment of the same washed rice cooking apparatus. (A) A front view showing an example of the display state of the operation panel of the washed rice cooking device, and (B) a front view showing an example of the display of the extended setting screen. It is an overall control flowchart of the washed rice cooking device. (a) A side view showing the operating state of the washed rice cooking device, and (b) a plan view showing the operating state. (A) and (B) are perspective views showing the opened and closed states of the lid-like body of the washed rice cooking device, and (C) and (D) are side views showing its operation. It is a perspective view showing the action of the lid-shaped body of the washed rice cooking device. (A) A perspective view of rice conveyance to the rice storage tank of the washed rice cooking device, (B) A plan view of the top lid of the rice storage tank. It is a front view of another example of the rice washing and cooking device of the embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 12, the support member 1, which frames U-shaped or square tube materials vertically and horizontally, consists of a rectangular underframe 1a with casters at the bottom, and left and right supports 1b having a predetermined width and a predetermined height. , 1b, and a plurality of horizontal bars 1c, 1c... supported between the left and right columns 1b, 1b.

A flat partition member 3 is provided on the horizontal bar 1c to attach various equipment, a rice storage tank 4 is provided above the partition member 3, a rice washing tank 5 is provided below the rice storage tank 4, and a rice washing tank 5 is provided below the rice storage tank 4. Below, rice cooking devices 6 are arranged at intervals. This rice cooking device 6 is composed of a rice cooking pot 7, a gas table 8 for heating the pot, a drawer-type pedestal 9, 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 consists of an upper main tank 4a with a rectangular cross section and a lower funnel-shaped hopper section 4b, and a measuring drum case 10 is attached to the lower end of the hopper section 4b. In the measuring drum case 10, a measuring drum 13 is provided, which is made up of a cylindrical drum part 11a with a notch 11 formed therein, and front and rear side walls 12a, 12b. It is rotatably supported on the drum case 10 by a horizontal shaft 14. In addition, a motor 15 is attached to the rear side of the drum case 10 in order to directly interlock this shaft 14, and a fixed amount of rice is poured from the rice storage tank 4 through the notch 11 into the measuring drum 13, and by rotation, When the position of the notch 11 is reversed downward and reaches the discharge port 16 formed in the drum case 10, the liquid is discharged from the measuring drum 13.

The partition member 3 is provided with an opening 17 corresponding to the discharge port 16, and is configured to dispense 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 number of rotations. There is. Further, the configuration is such that a predetermined amount can be supplied by detection by a rotation sensor (not shown) that counts the number of times the cartridge is fed out.

The drum case 10 and the funnel-shaped hopper 4b are integrally constructed, and after removing the upper main tank 4a, the integrated body of the hopper 4b and the drum case 10 can be removed from the partition member 3. configured. That is, an engaging portion 20 is provided on the rear side so that the engaging convex portion 19 of the drum case 10 can be engaged with and detached from the hook-shaped portion 18 formed on the partition member 3, and on the front side, the engaging portion 20 is provided between the partition member 3 and the drum case 10. A removable engagement stay 21 is provided between the drum case 10 and the drum case 10, and the stay 21 is disengaged from the drum case 10 by loosening the screw 22 and rotating the stay 21 around the screw portion. The lower edge of the drum case 10 is formed to fit into the rectangular opening of the partition member 3, but by disengaging the engaging stay 21 and lifting that side slightly upward, the lower edge of the drum case 10 is fitted. By unfitting the partition member 3 and pulling it out obliquely from the front toward the front, the lower end edge on the rear side can be disengaged and released from the engagement of the engaging portion 20.

The rice storage tank 4 and the measuring section have a structure in which the outside is covered with a cover member 23, and the left and right side walls and the rear side wall are fixed to the partition member 3 etc. as appropriate, and the lower half part 23a of the front side wall is, for example, when viewed from the front. It is constructed in the form of a door that can be opened and closed using the right side as a fulcrum. The upper half portion 23b of the front side wall is connected to the left and right side walls to form a fixed wall. Therefore, the rice storage tank 2 and the drum case 10 can be inspected and removed while the lower half 23a of the front wall is open. In addition, 24 is a rectangular cover plate that covers the main tank 4a from above in a detachable manner.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a discharge shutter for discharging rice provided on one side (the front side in the figure) of the funnel-shaped hopper section 4b, which blocks the discharging of rice in an upright position and rotates around the shaft support to open the shutter in the shape of an inclined guide chute. It has a structure that allows the rice inside to be discharged.

FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of the measuring drum 13, in which gaskets 26a and 26b for obliquely guiding the rice are provided between the funnel-shaped lower hopper 4b and the drum case 10. The structure is such that there is a gap t (about 1 mm, for example) between the periphery and the periphery, which is large enough to prevent the rice from being crushed even if rice intrudes therein.

The measuring drum 13 is repeatedly rotated and stopped in a fixed direction A by the motor 15, and the stopping position of the measuring drum 13 is as shown in FIG. That is, a vibrating means (in the illustrated example, it is a pump 66 for supplying air, which will be described later) is attached to the side wall of the funnel-shaped hopper 4b on the inclined wall near the side where the rotating rear side gasket 26b is present to promote the flow of rice inside. In addition, the measuring drum 13 is configured so that its opening edge stops after the rotation of the excitation side gasket 26b, and the other opening edge stops before the non-excitation side gasket 26a. In this way, the measuring drum 13 blocks the rice that is about to enter due to the vibration of the vibrating means, while the rice is naturally fed into the measuring drum 13 on the non-vibrating side, thereby stabilizing the accuracy of the supplied amount.

As shown in FIG. 8, heaters 27L and 27R are provided on the outer periphery of the drum case 10 along arcuate portions on the left and right sides of the case 10. As shown in FIG. The heater 27 is a thin sheet-like flexible silicone rubber heater, for example. By attaching it to the drum case 10 and using it, it is possible to heat the drum case 10 and, in turn, heat the inside of the measuring drum 13. By the way, steam and heat generated during the rice cooking process cause moisture to act on the measuring section, impeding the flow of the measured rice. However, the heating action of the heater 27 can heat the measuring drum 13 and its surroundings, thereby improving the rice distribution obstruction situation. Note that during the drying mode, which will be described later, the notch 11 of the weighing drum 13 is stopped with either the left or right orientation, and one of the left and right heaters 27, 27L, dries the outside of the weighing drum 13, while the other 27R does not. The inside of the measuring drum 13 can be dried in correspondence with the notch 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rice washing tank 5 is equipped with a receiving cylinder part 31 on the ceiling for guiding the rice supplied from the drum case 10, a cylindrical body part in the middle part, and a hopper-shaped part in the lower part. The jacket part 32 is connected to the lower part of the hopper-shaped part of the rice washing tank 3, and the filter 33 is made of a net-like body having openings large enough to prevent rice grains from leaking at the boundary between the hopper-shaped part and the jacket part 32. has been established.

A vertical rotation shaft 34 is provided in the center of the rice washing tank 5, and a plurality of stirring rods 35, 35, which are formed by bending rod-shaped bodies into an inverted L shape, are attached to the rotation shaft 34, and the upper ends of these rods are attached to the rotation shaft 34. 34 by welding, etc. The rotating shaft 34 is rotated by a rice washing motor 36 via a bevel gear mechanism 37, and is configured to stir the rice and water in the tank by rotation.

The rotating shaft 34 is a hollow shaft, and the inner shaft 38 is loosely fitted inside the outer hollow shaft 34 so as to be vertically slidable and extends downward. A conical drop valve 39 is detachably provided at the lower end of this shaft 38. The opening and closing of the dropping valve 39 is controlled by moving the upper end of the shaft 38 up and down by an interlocking mechanism such as a cam 41 driven by a rice discharging valve driving motor 40 and a dropping arm, which will be described later. When the dropping valve 39 is opened, the rice in the rice washing tank 5 is configured to fall into the inner pot of the rice cooking device 6 located below.

Water is supplied to the rice washing tank 5 through a main water pipe 46 communicating with the water faucet, an upper water supply valve 47, two flexible upper water supply pipes 48, 48, an upper water supply port 49 on the ceiling of the rice washing tank 5, 49, and a lower water supply route branching from the main water pipe 46 and branching from the lower water supply valve 50, water pipe 51, and lower water supply port 52 through the 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 communicating with the main water pipe 46 are arranged based on the partition member 3, and a water pipe 51 that is provided through the partition member 3 is provided with A lower water supply pipe 53 is connected.

Reference numeral 55 denotes a shutter that opens and closes the discharge port 16 in conjunction with the electric motor 15, and the rotation of the motor 15 is connected to the shutter shaft 58 via link mechanisms 56 and 57, so that the drum opening is aligned with the discharge port 16. When this happens, the shutter 55 is in an open state. Therefore, the shutter 55 is normally in a closed position to prevent water from scattering during rice washing in the rice washing tank 5 and to prevent water from entering the measuring drum 13.

In addition, the above-mentioned upper water supply pipes 48, 48 are arranged to be located on the left and right center line in plan view, and this position corresponds to the left and right center line of the rice washing tank 5, which will be described later, in plan view. Further, the drum case 10 is located on the left side of the position where the upper water supply pipes 48, 48 are arranged, and on the right side, a motor 40 for the drop valve 39 and a rice washing motor 36 for driving the stirring rods 35, 35, which will be described later, are arranged. are doing.

As shown in FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b), a drain box 60 is provided at the lower rear of the rice washing tank 5. In the drain box 60 having a drain port 61, the lower end of an overflow pipe 62 whose upper end opens into the upper side surface of the rice washing tank 5 is connected to the other end of the jacket part 32 whose one end communicates with the jacket part 32. has been done. Drainage from the jacket part 32 is performed by opening and closing a drain valve 64, and the water level in the rice washing tank 5 is adjusted while draining with a water level valve 65.

The drain box 60 is normally closed by the drain valve 64 and the water level valve 65, but when draining the water in the rice washing tank 5, the drain valve 64 and/or the water level valve 65 is closed from the filter 33 of the jacket part 32. , the water is drained through the drain box 60 and the drain port 61. The drain valve 64 and the water level valve 65 are opened and closed by appropriate opening and closing outputs. Further, a water level sensor 68 for detecting the amount of water in the rice washing tank 5 is provided at the upper part of the rice washing tank 3.

By the way, the overflow pipe 62 has a horizontal pipe part 62a connected to the vicinity of the upper end of the rice washing tank 3 and a vertical pipe part 62b connected to the horizontal pipe part 62a, and the lower end of the vertical pipe part 62b is connected to the drain box. 60. The upper end of the vertical tube portion 62b is extended upward, and the extension tube portion 62c is appropriately fixedly supported by a mounting holder 69 provided on the lower surface of the partition member 3 in a state of penetrating the partition member 3.

A substantially closed space A within the cover member 23 between the lower part of the rice storage tank 4 and the partition member 3 accommodates the measuring section 10, various drive sections, piping, etc. However, ventilation is ensured to prevent water vapor from becoming trapped. That is, the blower fan 70 is disposed on one side wall of the cover member 23 and is constantly energized and driven to supply external air into the space A during operation of the apparatus. Note that the air that has entered the space A is appropriately circulated through the space A and is exhausted to the outside of the machine through the mesh holes, etc., which will be described later. Therefore, humidity can be lowered by circulating outside air through the space A that receives water vapor rising during rice cooking. A controller 71 is disposed on the inner surface of the cover member 23 on the side facing the ventilation fan 70, and moisture can be removed by providing ventilation to this controller roller 71 as well. In addition, if the upper end opening of the extension tube part 62c is looked into near the controller 71, for example, under the front of the controller 71, an appropriate air flow will be generated, and the air acting on the controller 71 will be efficiently introduced into the extension tube part 62c. obtain.

By the way, by passing the extension part 62c of the overflow pipe 62 through the partition member 3 as described above, the upper end opening looks into the space A, and the ventilation from the ventilation fan 70 flows through the overflow pipe 62 into the rice washing tank 5. It will be supplied to In other words, air entering from the upper end of the extension pipe section 62c of the overflow pipe 62 enters the rice washing tank 5 via the extension section 62c and the horizontal pipe section 62a. Therefore, there is an effect of drying the inside of the rice washing tank 5. In this way, by configuring the ventilation part B such as the extension pipe part 62c of the overflow pipe 62 between the space part A and the rice washing tank 5, the circulating air by the ventilation fan 70 can be introduced into the rice washing tank 5. , the inside of the rice washing tank 5 can be dried.

Note that if the extension pipe part 62c of the overflow pipe 62 is provided as the ventilation part B, even if the dust in the space part A is carried by the air, this dust will fall through the vertical pipe part 62b of the overflow pipe 62 and drain into the drainage box. 60, and there is little risk of it entering the rice washing tank 5. A ventilation net or a mesh body 73 made of punched metal may be attached to the upper end of the extension pipe portion 62c (ventilation portion B) to prevent foreign matter from entering.

A cavity C is provided at the bottom of the space A surrounded by the cover member 23, the partition member 3, etc., and accommodates various harnesses (not shown). To explain in detail, the partition member 3 is formed by drawing and integrally molding the side wall, and a bottom plate 72 is provided below the bottom plate 72 in a lid-like manner to form a cavity C. Note that a mesh body 74 made of a ventilation net or punched metal is attached to a proper position of the partition member 3 so as to communicate with the cavity C. In this case, the mesh of the mesh member 73 at the upper end of the extension pipe portion 62c (ventilation portion B) is smaller than the mesh of the mesh member 74 disposed at the appropriate position of the partition member 3, so that foreign matter, especially It is highly effective in preventing the entry of microscopic insects.

The ventilation section B may have a different configuration from the above example. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, an opening 28 is provided in the partition member 3 that covers the upper part of the rice washing tank 5, and a filter 28a and a fan 28b are installed to directly blow ventilation into the rice washing tank 5 from the space A. By supplying rice, the lower part of the rice storage tank 4, the space A including the measuring section, and the inside of the rice washing tank 5 can be dried. Note that the drying mode for controlling the fan 28b will be described later.

Next, the water level sensor 68 will be explained. The water level sensor 68 is provided to detect that the water level of the rice washing tank 5 is just before reaching an overflow state or is at a water level that has reached an overflow state, and includes an electrode 68a (water level detection part) to detect when the water level reaches a predetermined water level. This is a known configuration that can detect a change in capacitance based on the presence or absence of a water level and detect that the predetermined water level has been reached. A water level sensor 68 is detachably supported on the partition member 3. The detection electrode 68a is connected and fixed to a supporting base member 68b. That is, it is located on the upper surface of the partition member 3 at a location close to the lower half 23a of the front wall of the cover member 23 and is connected and fixed to the base member 68b. Note that the base member 68b of the water level sensor 68 is fixed by tightening and loosening rotation lock pieces 75 provided at two places on the left and right sides with butterfly bolts 76, respectively, and the rotation of the butterfly bolts 76 can be performed by hand. Since it can be carried out, it is installed without any tools. When the base member 68b is removed, the large opening 77 formed in the partition member 3 can be opened. Therefore, by opening the lower half 23a of the front side wall of the cover member 23, the worker can visually view the inside of the rice washing tank 5 through the opening 77 that opens toward the front.

In the above embodiment, the water level detecting section of the water level sensor 68 has an electrode form that can detect the presence or absence of capacitance, but various configurations such as a float form that can turn on and off electrical contacts as the so-called float rises are possible. can do. Water is supplied to the rice washing tank 5 through two routes: 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. In this structure, an air jet pipe 67 that communicates with the pump 66 and jets out air is placed in parallel with the lower water supply pipe 52 of 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 part 32 in FIG. 12(b), so that air and water are mixed. This makes it easier for swirling flow to occur.

During rice washing work in the rice washing tank 5, the rotating direction of the large and small stirring rods 35, 35... provided on the rotating shaft 34 in the rice washing tank 5, the direction of water jetting from the lower water supply route, and the air jetting pipe 67 are controlled. The air is ejected in opposite directions to each other.

Note that supplying air through the air jet pipe 67 while the rice washing tank 5 is empty contributes to drying the inside of the rice washing tank 5. For this reason, the switch means for driving the pump 66 can be turned on even when the rice is not being washed, so that the worker can dry the rice washing tank 5 at his/her discretion. This air supply by driving the pump 66 may be performed independently, or may be performed in combination with the air supply from the communication portion B.

Further, in order to improve the detection accuracy of the water level sensor 68, the following configuration can be adopted. This is carried out in two systems, an upper water supply route and a lower water supply route, but the timing of detection by the water level sensor 68 is after the shower of the upper water supply has stopped, and after detection, if the shower is restarted, it is detected intermittently at predetermined intervals. composition. If a test run mode is provided, water supply and detection are repeated at predetermined time intervals to confirm detection accuracy, and in the case of detection abnormality, an abnormality display is displayed.

Next, the operation of the rice cooking device will be explained.

First, the control section of the computer (not shown) is used to control rice cooking equipment operation, such as rice cooking amount, rice washing time (rotation time of the stirring rod 35), rice polishing time (rotation time of the stirring rod 35), soaking time in the rice washing tank or pot, etc. The necessary conditions are set using an operation panel (operation display device) 80 provided on the lower half 23a of the front wall of the cover member 23. A liquid crystal display screen 81 is provided, and the above-mentioned conditions necessary for washing and cooking rice can be set while displaying and guiding the functions and operating procedures of the surrounding switch group 82 (FIGS. 13(A) and 13(B)).

Turn on the power switch, set rice cooking conditions according to each operation on the operation panel 80, and after setting various rice cooking conditions, turn on the start switch to start operation as shown in the rice cooking flow shown in FIG. 14.

That is, first, after turning on the power switch (step 1), setting and inputting the rice cooking conditions (step 2), and pressing the start switch 75 (step 3), in step 4, the rice in the rice storage tank 4 is weighed with the measuring drum. 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 process in Step 5 includes a bran removal process in which the rice is stirred while water is dripped, a rice polishing process in which water is once supplied, the water is drained, and the rice is stirred in a wet state, a rough rinsing process in which the rice is stirred at a predetermined water level, and water is poured into a tank. It consists of a final rinsing step that involves stirring while overflowing.

After the rice washing process in step 5, the process proceeds to step 6, which is a water adjustment process. In step 7, the washed rice in the rice washing tank 5 and the water measured in step 3 are dropped into the rice cooker 7 by opening and closing the drop valve 39.

In step 8, the rice in the rice cooker 7 is soaked in water for a specified period of time. After the specified time has elapsed, the ignition is performed in step 9, the rice is cooked in step 10, the rice is steamed in step 11, and the rice is cooked in step 12 to complete the desired cooked rice.

Before turning on the start switch, a reservation screen is output by operating the reservation switch, and by setting a reservation for the cooking time, etc., the rice can be cooked at the scheduled time.

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

After turning on the start switch, the blower fan 70 and the fan 28b are continuously driven during the rice washing and cooking operation, but after the rice cooking operation, the blower fan 70 and the fan 28b are driven for a predetermined period of time, and then The heater 27 is configured to be turned on. Note that during the drying mode, the measuring drum 13 is driven to rotate, and the drop valve 39 is operated downward to open the rice discharge port. With this configuration, after the rice cooking operation is completed, the lower part of the rice storage tank 4, the inside of the space A where the measuring section is configured, and the inside of the rice washing tank 5 can be dried. Therefore, the air blown by the blower fan 70 is introduced from the extension pipe part 62c and enters the upper side of the rice washing tank 5 through the horizontal pipe part 62a, while it enters the lower part of the rice washing tank 5 through the vertical pipe part 62b and the drain box 60. This can improve drying efficiency. Further, the air blown by the drive of the fan 28b enters the rice washing tank 5 and is supplied with air from the upper side to improve the drying efficiency.

In addition to the above, the operation panel 80 may be provided with a drying switch 83 to enable the transition to the drying mode at any time (FIG. 13(A)). The drying mode is configured such that the set time in the drying mode can be arbitrarily set. That is, when the drying switch 83 in Fig. 13(A) is turned on, the screen shifts to the extended screen in Fig. 13(B), and the drying time can be set based on + (plus) - (minus) switch operations not shown. The set time is numerically displayed on the rice washing tank drying time display section 84 shown in the figure.

Next, an improved configuration of the rice storage tank 4 will be explained based on FIGS. 16 and 17. Loading rice into the rice storage tank 4 located at the top of the frame is hard work, especially for workers who are elderly or not tall, and improvements were needed. Therefore, it is configured as follows. That is, a lid-like body 86 is provided on the top of the main body of the rice storage tank 4 so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum shaft 85. The lid-shaped body 86 is formed into a container shape that can appropriately store rice in an inverted position, and is provided integrally with the fulcrum shaft 85 via a bracket 87. A drive motor 88 is provided on either the left or right side of the fulcrum shaft 85, and upon receiving a forward/reverse signal, the rice storage tank 4 is moved to a lid closed position where the upper part of the rice storage tank 4 is closed and to a rice receiving position that is greatly reversed and reaches the front of the operation panel 80. It is configured to switch. When an appropriate amount of rice is put into the lid-like body 86 in the rice-receiving attitude and the drive motor 88 is driven to return to rotation, the rice is thrown into the rice storage tank 4 while flowing down. By repeating the reversal and return a predetermined number of times, the rice storage tank 4 reaches a predetermined full capacity. As shown in FIG. 16, by forming the upper end of the upper half portion 23b of the front side wall in an inclined shape, the fulcrum shaft 85 for rotation can be placed directly above the lid-like body 86 in the rice-receiving posture. The lower limit range of can be increased. On the other hand, by forming the upper end of the rice storage tank 4 at a position opposite to the side where the fulcrum shaft 85 is present to be inclined inward, the lid-like body 86 can be opened and closed smoothly. In addition, by repeating the operations of inverting and returning the lid-like body 86 to the return position, wind can be generated, and the rice storage tank 4, measuring section, and rice washing tank 5 can be ventilated and dried.

In the above example, the fulcrum shaft 85 of the lid-like body 86 is configured to be within the range in front of the machine, but the fulcrum shaft 85 may also protrude from the front of the machine. In this case, it is desirable to take measures to limit the rotation of the fulcrum shaft 85 so that the movable range of the lid-like body 86 can be limited.

Based on FIG. 18, an example of stabilizing the installation configuration of a configuration in which rice is conveyed by air to the rice storage tank 4 will be described. Magnetic catchers 91 are provided at four locations on the top lid 90 of the rice storage tank 4 at front, rear, left, and right positions to improve positioning accuracy. The upper lid 90 has a rice input port 92a in the center thereof that communicates with the rice conveyance path 92, and an air exhaust communication path 93a that has a larger diameter than the rice input port 92a and communicates with the exhaust air conveyance path 93 near the rice input port 92a. It's open. The exhaust air conveyance path 93 has an open portion and is configured to be able to rotate about the base side in any direction and set the direction of the open portion in any direction.

Based on FIG. 19, it is attempted to dry the space A and the measuring section by effectively utilizing the gas combustion heat during rice cooking. A material with high thermal conductivity is arranged from around the rice cooker 7 to the space A and the measuring section. For example, a copper plate 95 with high thermal conductivity is provided on the back of the rice cooker 7, and copper plate members 96 are provided on each of the left and right columns 1b, 1b, the partition member 3, the inner wall of the space A, and the measuring section (drum case 10). , 97, 98, 99 are attached. When the heat generated by the combustion gas of the rice cooker of the gas range 8 is applied to the copper plate 95 on the back side, the copper plate members 96 of the left and right columns 1b, 1b, the copper plate member 97 of the partition member 3, and the copper plate member of the inner wall of the space A are applied. The heat is conducted via 98 and finally reaches the copper plate member 99 of the measuring drum 13. The measuring drum case 10 heated by the copper plate member 99 is heated in a manner similar to the action of the heater 27, so that the interior can be dried and rice can be distributed smoothly.

4 Rice storage tank 5 Rice washing tank 10 Drum case 13 Measuring drum 14 Horizontal shaft 27 Heater 28 Opening 28a Filter 28b Fan 85 Fulcrum shaft 86 Lid-shaped body

Claims (3)

The measuring drum (13) receives rice from the storage tank (4), and constitutes a measuring section that measures and dispenses a predetermined amount of rice while rotating around the horizontal axis (14), and accommodates the measuring drum (13). A rice washing and cooking device characterized in that heaters (27) are provided on the left and right sides of a measuring drum case (10). An opening (28) is formed on the top surface of the rice washing tank (5), a filter (28a) and a fan (28b) are arranged in this opening (28), and while the drying mode is set, the measuring drum (13) 2. The rice washing and cooking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drop valve (39) at the bottom of the rotating rice washing tank (5) is configured to open and to drive the fan (28b). A lid-shaped body (86) is provided on the top of the rice storage tank (4) body so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum shaft (85), and can switch between an inverted rice receiving position and a return position covering the top surface of the rice storage tank (4). ) The rice washing and cooking apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

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