JP3708321B2 - mixer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mixer that pulverizes foods such as vegetables and fruits with stirring to produce juices and sauces.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the conventional mixer, when the power is turned on, the cutter rotates to stir and pulverize vegetables and fruits to make juice, and the power is turned off when the user determines that the product is ready.
[0003]
The time for which the user rotates the mixer is usually about 10 to 20 seconds in which no large solid matter is visibly present in the juice, and the power supply is usually stopped in 30 seconds at the longest. However, fruits with relatively soft tissues can be cut finely in about 30 seconds, but vegetables such as carrots, cabbage and green juice are hard, and it takes 2 minutes to cut finely until it is easy for people to drink. About time is required. For this reason, when cutting is insufficient, juice is difficult to drink, and another juicer is used after giving up using another mixer, filtering solids, or making with a mixer. Since the solid matter is filtered at this time, the dietary fiber, which is a nutrient in the juice, is often removed as a solid matter.
[0004]
In addition, there has been a mixer with a function to set the cutting time with a timer, but the optimum cutting time differs depending on the food, so empirical knowledge is required to determine that time, It was not fully used and the actual usage was the same as above. Vitamin C, which is a nutrient in vegetables and fruits, varies depending on the amount of vitamin C in the food itself and the amount of degrading enzyme contained, but tends to decrease as the cutting time increases (several percent to 20% with 1 minute extension). It was undesirable to cut for a longer time than necessary.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional mixer, it is difficult to set an optimum cutting time for the food without user experience.
[0006]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is to provide a mixer that senses the completion of juice and automatically stops cutting in a minimum amount of time. The object of the present invention is to provide a cutting detection means capable of judging that a simple food has been completed.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the mixer of the present invention is located at the bottom of the cup, a main body with a built-in rotation mechanism, a cup base placed on the main body, a cup placed on the cup base, A cutter rotated by a rotating mechanism; a cutting degree detecting means for detecting a cutting degree of the food material cut by the cutter; and a control unit for controlling the rotation of the cutter. The cutting degree detecting means includes a signal light in the cup. And a light receiving means for receiving the signal light. The light generating means radiates the signal light in two or more directions and includes two or more light receiving means. And
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a mixer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0009]
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a mixer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mixer 1 includes a main body 4 equipped with a control unit 3 directly connected to a rotation mechanism 2 using a motor and a power switch, a cup base 5 detachable from the main body 4, a cup 6, and a lid that covers an upper opening of the cup 6. 7, a cutter 8 that is rotated by the rotating mechanism 2 on the bottom surface of the cup 6, and a rotation speed detection means 9 that uses a rotary encoder that detects the rotation speed of the cutter 8. 10 is a food such as vegetables and fruits, and 11 is a liquid such as water. The degree of cutting is detected by the control unit 3 as being sufficiently cut when the number of revolutions detected by the revolution number detection means 9 is high and the change is small.
[0010]
In the mixer 1 having the above-described configuration, the cup base 5 and the cup 6 are placed on the main body 4, the food material 10 and the liquid 11 are put in the cup 6, the lid 6 is put on the cup 6, the power switch is turned on, and the control unit 3. Thus, the rotation mechanism 2 is operated. The cutter 8 is rotated by the operation of the rotating mechanism 2, and the food material 10 is cut and stirred with the liquid 11 to produce juice. At this time, as the food material 10 becomes finer, when the power is constant, the resistance force received by the cutter 8 is reduced, so that the rotational speed of the cutter 8 is increased. When the food 10 becomes finer and easier to drink, and the change in the rotation speed detected by the rotation speed detection means 9 becomes smaller, the controller 3 determines that the juice is ready, the rotation mechanism 2 is stopped, and the cutter 8 is stopped. .
[0011]
According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically determine the completion of juice that has been done by humans in the past, and because the tissue is soft, fruits that are easy to cut are short in time, and vegetables that are hard and difficult to cut are sufficient. The cutting time can be controlled according to the foodstuff so that it takes time. As a result, the nutrients in vegetables and fruits such as vitamin C, which has been destroyed because the cutting time is too long, and fiber that has been filtered because it is difficult to drink because of insufficient cutting, are consumed without loss. be able to.
[0012]
(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a mixer according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the mixer 1 includes a main body 4 equipped with a control unit 3 directly connected to a rotation mechanism 2 made of a motor and a power switch, a cup base 5 detachable from the main body 4, a cup 6, and an upper opening of the cup 6. A lid 7 that covers the surface of the cup 6, a cutter 8 that is rotated by the rotating mechanism 2 on the bottom surface of the cup 6, and an electric current detector 12 that uses an ammeter that detects an electric current flowing through the rotating mechanism 2. 10 is a food such as vegetables and fruits, and 11 is a liquid such as water. The degree of cutting is detected by the control unit 3 as being sufficiently cut when the current value detected by the current detecting means 12 becomes small and the fluctuation becomes small.
[0013]
In the mixer 1 having the above-described configuration, the cup base 5 and the cup 6 are placed on the main body 4, the food material 10 and the liquid 11 are put in the cup 6, the lid 6 is put on the cup 6, the power switch is turned on, and the control unit 3. Thus, the rotation mechanism 2 is operated. The cutter 8 is rotated by the operation of the rotating mechanism 2, and the food material 10 is cut and stirred with the liquid 11 to produce juice. At this time, since the resistance of the food is large in the initial stage of rotation, a large amount of current flows. Then, as the food material 10 becomes finer, the current becomes smaller, the finer the food material 10 is, the easier it is to drink, and when the fluctuation of the current detected by the current detection means 12 becomes smaller, the control unit 3 determines that the juice is ready and rotates. The mechanism 2 is stopped and the cutter 8 is stopped.
[0014]
According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically determine the completion of juice that has been done by humans in the past, and because the tissue is soft, fruits that are easy to cut are short in time, and vegetables that are hard and difficult to cut are sufficient. The cutting time can be controlled according to the food material so that time is required.
[0015]
(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a mixer according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the mixer 1 includes a main body 4 equipped with a control unit 3 directly connected to a rotation mechanism 2 made of a motor and a power switch, a cup base 5 detachable from the main body 4, a cup 6, and an upper opening of the cup 6. The lid 7 covering the cup, the cutter 8 rotated by the rotating mechanism 2 on the bottom surface of the cup 6, and the torque detecting means 13 using a torque meter for detecting the force received when the motor of the rotating mechanism 2 operates. 10 is a food such as vegetables and fruits, and 11 is a liquid such as water. The degree of cutting is detected by the control unit 3 as being sufficiently cut when the rotational force detected by the rotational force detecting means 13 is small and the change is small.
[0016]
In the mixer 1 having the above-described configuration, the cup base 5 and the cup 6 are placed on the main body 4, the food material 10 and the liquid 11 are put in the cup 6, the lid 6 is put on the cup 6, the power switch is turned on, and the control unit 3. Thus, the rotation mechanism 2 is operated. The cutter 8 is rotated by the operation of the rotating mechanism 2, and the food material 10 is cut and stirred with the liquid 11 to produce juice. At this time, when the electric power is constant and the rotational speed of the cutter 8 by the rotating mechanism 2 is set to be constant, the numerical value of the rotational force of the rotational force detecting means 13 decreases as the food material 10 becomes finer. Then, when the food 10 becomes finer and easier to drink and the rotational force detected by the rotational force detecting means 13 is not changed, the controller 3 determines that the juice is ready, the rotational mechanism 2 is stopped, and the cutter 8 is stopped. To do.
[0017]
According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically determine the completion of juice, which has been performed by humans, even in a mixer in which the cutter rotation speed is set at a certain power, and the fruit is easy to cut because the tissue is soft. The cutting time can be controlled according to the food ingredients so that a sufficient amount of time is taken for vegetables that are hard and difficult to cut.
[0018]
(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a mixer according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the mixer 1 includes a main body 4 equipped with a control unit 3 directly connected to a rotation mechanism 2 composed of a motor and a power switch, a cup base 5 detachable from the main body 4, a cup 6, and an upper opening of the cup 6. The cover 7 covers the cutter, the cutter 8 is rotated by the rotating mechanism 2 on the bottom surface of the cup 6, and the cutter resistance detecting means 14 uses a pressure-sensitive element that detects the resistance received when the cutter 8 rotates. 10 is a food such as vegetables and fruits, and 11 is a liquid such as water. The degree of cutting is detected by the control unit 3 as having been sufficiently cut when the resistance detected by the cutter resistance detecting means 14 becomes small and the change becomes small.
[0019]
In the mixer 1 having the above-described configuration, the cup base 5 and the cup 6 are placed on the main body 4, the food material 10 and the liquid 11 are put in the cup 6, the lid 6 is put on the cup 6, the power switch is turned on, and the control unit 3. Thus, the rotation mechanism 2 is operated. The cutter 8 is rotated by the operation of the rotating mechanism 2, and the food material 10 is cut and stirred with the liquid 11 to produce juice. At this time, even when the mixer 8 has a large amount of electric power and a high rotational speed, or when the amount of the food 10 in the liquid 11 is small, the cutter 8 can be used even when the rotational speed and rotational force of the rotating mechanism 2 are small. Since the force received is subject to fluctuations depending on the size of the food, as the food 10 becomes finer, the force received by the cutter 8 becomes smaller, and the numerical value of the cutter resistance of the cutter resistance detection means 14 becomes smaller. When the food material 10 becomes finer enough to be drunk and the resistance force detected by the cutter resistance force detecting means 14 is not changed, the controller 3 determines that the juice is ready, the rotation mechanism 2 is stopped, and the cutter 8 is moved. Stop.
[0020]
According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically determine the completion of juice, which has been performed by humans, even in the case of a mixer with a large amount of electric power and a high rotational speed, or when the concentration of food in a liquid is low.
[0021]
(Embodiment 5)
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a mixer according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the mixer 1 includes a main body 4 equipped with a control unit 3 directly connected to a rotation mechanism 2 composed of a motor and a power switch, a cup base 5 detachable from the main body 4, a cup 6, and an upper opening of the cup 6. Cover 7, cutter 8 that is rotated by rotating mechanism 2 on the bottom surface of cup 6, light generator 15 that emits signal light into cup 6, and light receiver 16 that receives the emitted signal light. 10 is a food such as vegetables and fruits, and 11 is a liquid such as water. The degree of cutting is detected by the control unit 3 as being sufficiently cut when the amount of received light with respect to the amount of radiated light increases and the change decreases.
[0022]
In the mixer 1 having the above-described configuration, the cup base 5 and the cup 6 are placed on the main body 4, the food material 10 and the liquid 11 are put in the cup 6, the lid 6 is put on the cup 6, the power switch is turned on, and the control unit 3. Thus, the rotation mechanism 2 is operated. The cutter 8 is rotated by the operation of the rotating mechanism 2, and the food material 10 is cut and stirred with the liquid 11 to produce juice. At this time, the signal light emitted from the light generating device 15 passes through the cup 6 and is received by the light receiving device 16. The ratio of the amount of light received by the light receiving device 16 to the amount of light emitted from the light generating device 15 is used as the light transmittance, and is calculated by the control unit 3. When the food material 10 is large, the light transmittance is low, but as the food material 10 becomes finer and dispersed in the liquid 11, the light transmittance increases. Then, when the food material 10 becomes finer and easier to drink, and the light transmittance does not change at a certain value, the controller 3 determines that the juice is ready, the rotation mechanism 2 is stopped, and the cutter 8 is stopped.
[0023]
According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically detect the completion of juice, which has been performed by humans, by automatically determining the size of solids in the liquid. In addition, in the case of a viscous liquid such as sticky wrinkles or creams, the detection by the rotational speed or the rotational force reduces the fluctuation and makes it difficult to detect the finished product. Even things can be detected.
[0024]
(Embodiment 6)
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a mixer according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the mixer 1 includes a main body 4 equipped with a control unit 3 directly connected to a rotation mechanism 2 composed of a motor and a power switch, a cup base 5 detachable from the main body 4, a cup 6, and an upper opening of the cup 6. The lid 7 covering the cup 6, the cutter 8 rotated by the rotating mechanism 2 on the bottom surface of the cup 6, the light generator a 17 that emits signal light into the cup 6, the light generator b 19, and the optical receiver that receives the emitted signal light a18, and an optical receiver b20. 10 is a food such as vegetables and fruits, and 11 is a liquid such as water.
[0025]
In the mixer 1 having the above-described configuration, the cup base 5 and the cup 6 are placed on the main body 4, the food material 10 and the liquid 11 are put in the cup 6, the lid 6 is put on the cup 6, the power switch is turned on, and the control unit 3. Thus, the rotation mechanism 2 is operated. The cutter 8 is rotated by the operation of the rotating mechanism 2, and the food material 10 is cut and stirred with the liquid 11 to produce juice. At this time, the signal light emitted from the light generation device a17 and the light generation device b19 passes through the cup 6 and is received by the light reception device a18 and the light reception device b20, respectively. When the transmittance calculated by the control unit 3 is the same by the values measured by the two optical receivers a18 and b20, and the change disappears, the finished juice and the control unit are made fine enough to make the food 10 easy to drink 3, the rotation mechanism 2 is stopped and the cutter 8 is stopped.
[0026]
According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically determine the completion of juice, which has been performed by humans in the past, and it is possible to accurately detect the completion of any liquid depending on the size of the solid matter in the liquid. In addition, when the food material 10 at the initial stage of cutting is not dispersed in the liquid 11, if only one light receiving device is used, light is incidentally transmitted to a portion where there is no food material, high transmittance is calculated, and the mixer malfunctions. There is a possibility of stopping. However, if there are two or more optical receivers, there is a low probability that two or more foods will block light at the same time, so that malfunction can be prevented. For example, even if the signal light from the light generation device a17 is received by the light reception device a18 without being blocked by the food material 10, and the calculated transmittance is close to 100%, the light from the light generation device b19 is not the food material. 10 and the transmittance calculated by the optical receiver b20 is low. Accordingly, since the transmittance values calculated from the optical receiver a18 and the optical receiver b20 are not equal, the rotation mechanism 2 is not stopped by the control unit 3.
[0027]
It is obvious that the effect of the present invention is not hindered even if the cutting degree detecting means shown in the first to sixth embodiments is used in combination.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, with the mixer provided with the cutting degree detecting means of the present invention, it is possible to judge the completion of juice that has been done by humans in the past even if the type and amount of liquid or food changes. Can be done automatically. That is, the cutting time can be controlled in accordance with the ingredients so that the fruit that is easy to cut due to the soft tissue takes a short time, and the vegetables that are hard and difficult to cut take a sufficient time. As a result, the nutrients in vegetables and fruits such as vitamin C, which has been destroyed because the cutting time is too long, and fiber that has been filtered because it is difficult to drink because of insufficient cutting, are consumed without loss. be able to.
[0029]
In addition, in the case of viscous liquids such as sticky wrinkles and creams, the cutting degree detection means based on the number of rotations and rotational force has little fluctuation and is difficult to detect, but can be detected by using an optical signal. . Furthermore, if there are two or more receiving devices, the probability that two or more foods block light at the same time is low, so that malfunction can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a cross-sectional view of a mixer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a mixer according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is another different embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a mixer according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a mixer according to another different embodiment of the present invention. Sectional view of a mixer according to another embodiment
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mixer 2 Rotation mechanism 3 Control part 4 Main body 5 Cup base lid 6 Cup 7 Lid 8 Cutter 9 Rotation speed detection means 10 Food material 11 Liquid 12 Current detection means 13 Rotation force detection means 14 Cutter resistance force detection means 15 Light generator 16 Light Receiver 17 Light generator a
18 Optical receiver a
19 Light generator b
20 Optical receiver b

Claims (1)

A main body with a built-in rotation mechanism, a cup base placed on the main body, a cup placed on the cup base, a cutter positioned under the cup and rotated by the rotation mechanism, and the cutter A cutting degree detecting means for detecting the cutting degree of the food material to be cut by, and a control unit for controlling the rotation of the cutter ,
The cutting degree detecting means includes a light generating means for emitting signal light in a cup and a light receiving means for receiving the signal light. The light generating means emits the signal light in two or more directions. A mixer comprising two or more light receiving means.

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