JP4034792B2 - Cooked water exchange device and cooked rice system using it - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a rice cooking water exchange device and a rice cooking system using the same, and more specifically, a water draining device for draining immersion water from a rice cooker being transported through a transport line, and a rice cooking pot newly drained with immersion water. The present invention relates to a rice cooking water exchange device provided with a water supply device for supplying water, and a rice cooking system using the rice cooking water exchange device.

  In recent years, with the prosperity of convenience stores and the catering industry, it has been required to efficiently cook and ship a large amount of rice. In order to answer this problem, various automatic rice cooking systems have been proposed, and typical examples thereof include, for example, a large number of rice cookers as disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 in a conveyance line. There is a rice cooking system in which each process necessary for rice cooking such as water immersion, rice cooking, and steaming is performed on the transportation line. In such a rice cooking system, a large number of rice cookers are cooked one after another while being sequentially transported through the transport line, so that there is an advantage that a large amount of rice can be cooked efficiently.

  However, according to the experience of the present inventors, when cooking with these conventional rice cooking systems, even when the rice cooking conditions and the amount of water are set appropriately, sometimes, depending on the rice cooker, scorching occurs due to rice cooking, An unforeseen inconvenience occurred that the cooked rice felt sticky and sticky. Such unpredictable burning and stickiness is not preferable for quality control of cooked rice.

  As a result of repeated research to solve this problem, the present applicant found that in conventional rice cooking systems, a non-negligible amount of rice starch was eluted in the immersion water in the water immersion process, and this eluted rice starch was cooked. In order to find out that it settles on the bottom of the kettle and causes burns or adheres to the periphery of the cooked rice grains, causing stickiness. Completed rice cooking water exchange device equipped with a water draining device and a water supply device for newly supplying rice cooking water, and a rice cooking system comprising these water draining device and rice water exchange device, patent application (patent Reference 3).

However, in the process of further research, the previously proposed draining device spills immersion water from the rice cooker to the outside by tilting the rice cooker to a large extent, so that the occupied space is large and the device is It turns out that there is a disadvantage that it becomes a big scale.
JP-A-9-108104 JP 2000-83815 A Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-293129

  The present invention was made in order to solve the above problems, there is no occurrence of unpredictable scorching and stickiness, it is possible to efficiently cook stable quality rice, and the occupied space is small, In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide provision of a water draining device having a relatively simple structure as a device, a rice cooking water exchange device using the same, and a rice cooking system.

  The present invention relates to a transport device; a rice cooker stop device for stopping the rice cooker transported by the transport device at a predetermined position; and a nozzle provided with an opening through which water is not passed and at the tip and / or its vicinity. : A suction device connected to the nozzle; stopped at a predetermined position between the first position where the nozzle opening is outside the rice cooker and the second position where the nozzle opening is near the bottom surface inside the rice cooking pot. Provided with a water draining device comprising a rice cooker and a moving device for relatively moving the nozzle, and in addition to such a water draining device, a water supply device for supplying rice cooking water to a rice cooker from which immersion water has been extracted The above-mentioned problems are solved by providing a rice cooking water exchange device provided with the above, and further providing a rice cooking system provided with such a water draining device and / or rice cooking water exchange device.

  According to the water draining apparatus of the present invention, the immersion water can be efficiently extracted from the rice cooker by a simple operation of relatively moving the nozzle and the rice cooker and positioning the nozzle opening near the bottom surface inside the rice cooker. Therefore, it is not necessary to greatly tilt the rice cooker when draining water, and the structure of the draining device is simple and the advantage of space saving can be obtained. And according to the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention provided with the above water draining apparatuses, since the structure of the water draining apparatus itself is simple, it is comparatively easy to add a rice water supply apparatus to the water draining apparatus. Yes, it is possible to perform draining and cooking water supply at the same place on the rice cooking line, so that the rice cooking water exchange device is also space-saving. Moreover, according to the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention, since rice cooking can be performed using the rice cooking water different from immersion water, naturally, it is brought about by the rice starch eluted in immersion water in the water immersion process. In addition, there is also an advantage that there is no burning or stickiness in cooked rice. Furthermore, according to the rice cooking water exchange apparatus provided with the water draining apparatus of the present invention, there is an advantage that the rice cooking water can be freely selected regardless of the immersion water. Moreover, according to the rice cooking system provided with the rice cooking water exchange device of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of unforeseeable scorching and stickiness without requiring much extra space. In a limited space, the advantage is that high-quality rice can be efficiently cooked and shipped.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated one.

  FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a rice cooking water exchange apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is the rice cooking water exchange device of the present invention, 2 is a lid removing device, 3 is a draining device, 4 is a water supply device, 5 is an additive supply device, 6 is a pear device, and 7 is a capping device. is there. In the rice cooking water exchange device 1 of this example, these devices are arranged in this order from the upstream side of the rice cooker transport path. 8 is a roller conveyor, 9 is a rice cooker, and 10 is a lid of the rice cooker 9. In the present specification, the upstream side of the transport path means the upstream side where the rice cooker 9 is transported by a transport device such as a roller conveyor 8, and in FIG. 1, the rice cooker 9 faces from the right side to the left side in the figure. Therefore, the right side in the figure is the upstream side. In addition, as a conveying apparatus which conveys the rice cooking pot 9, it is not restricted to the roller conveyor 8, Appropriate conveying means, such as a chain conveyor, a plastic conveyor, or a belt conveyor, can be used.

  In FIG. 1, the rice cooker 9 passes through a dipping line (not shown) arranged on the upstream side of the conveyance path, and stores rice and dipping water inside, and the lid 10 is covered with the lid 10. When it is conveyed to the position, the position detection device 11 is activated to generate a signal, and based on the signal, a control device (not shown) is activated to stop the roller conveyor 8 that is the conveyance device, and the rice cooker 9 is covered. The take-up device 2 is stopped at a predetermined position. In the illustrated example, the position detection device 11 is a mechanical position detection device 11 that generates a signal when the rice cooker 9 being conveyed abuts the position detection device 11. The device 11 is not limited to a mechanical device, and may be based on any principle as long as it can detect that the rice cooker 9 has reached a predetermined position. For example, an optical one that detects that the rice cooker 9 has reached a predetermined position by a change in the amount of light, an electrostatic one that detects by a change in electric capacity, or a magnetic one that detects by a change in magnetic flux It may be. In any case, the rice cooker stop device for stopping the rice cooker 9 at a predetermined position is constituted by the position detection device 11 and a control device (not shown).

  When the rice cooker 9 stops at a predetermined position of the lid removing device 2, the movable part 203 of the lid removing device 2 is lowered, and the lid chuck 204 attached to the lower end thereof grips the lid 10. The mechanism by which the lid chuck 204 grips the lid 10 is not particularly limited, and any mechanism may be employed as long as the lid 10 can be lifted and conveyed to a predetermined position. For example, when the lid 10 is a magnetic body, an electromagnet may be used for the lid chuck 204, and the lid 10 may be attracted and held by the magnetic force generated by the electromagnet, or the inside of the lid chuck 204 is evacuated. The lid 10 may be sucked and held by the negative pressure. Of course, a mechanical gripping mechanism that grips the lid 10 by grasping a part of the lid 10 may be employed.

  When the lid chuck 204 grips the lid 10, the movable portion 203 rises to the raised position (A) as indicated by the arrow in the drawing, and further moves to the predetermined position (B) in the horizontal direction. At the predetermined position (B), the movable portion 203 descends, and after the lid 10 is placed on the lid transport device 12, the gripping of the lid 10 by the lid chuck 204 is released. The lid 10 placed on the lid transporting device 12 is transported in the horizontal direction of the arrow to the lidding device 7 described later. The lid removing device 2 repeats the above operation, automatically takes the lid 10 of the rice cooker 9 that is sequentially conveyed, and conveys it to the lid conveying device 12.

  The rice cooker 9 with the lid 10 removed and the upper part opened is then conveyed to the water draining device 3. When the rice cooker 9 is conveyed to a predetermined position of the draining device 3, the position detection device 11 is activated to generate a signal, and a control device (not shown) is activated based on the signal, and the roller conveyor 8 which is a conveyance device. And the rice cooker 9 is stopped at a predetermined position of the water draining device 3. The principle and structure of the position detection device 11 are not limited to those shown in the figure, and that the rice cooker stop device that stops the rice cooker 9 at a predetermined position by the position detection device 11 and a control device (not shown) The same as in the capping device 2. In addition, 4 is a water supply apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view in which only the drainage device 3 is taken out and enlarged, FIG. 3 is an AA cross-sectional view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a BB cross-sectional view thereof. 2 to 4, reference numeral 301 denotes a nozzle, and an opening 302 that passes water and does not pass rice is provided at the tip of the nozzle 301. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the opening 302 that does not allow water to pass through the rice is an opening 302 that is covered with a mesh having a mesh size smaller than the grain size of the rice grains. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of holes having a diameter smaller than the grain size of the rice grains may be used as the opening 302. Further, instead of the holes, a plurality of slits having an interval smaller than the grain size of the rice grains may be provided as the opening 302. In any case, it is sufficient that the opening 302 does not pass the rice through the water, and thus the rice in the rice cooker 9 is left as it is by the nozzle 301 by providing the opening 302 that does not pass the rice through the water. In addition, it is possible to draw out only the immersion water by suction. The shape of the tip of the nozzle 301 may be cylindrical as shown in FIG. 5, or conical as shown in FIG. It is good also as a shape.

  The position of the opening 302 in the nozzle 301 may be only the tip of the nozzle 301 as shown in FIG. 5, or may be provided at and near the tip of the nozzle 301 as shown in FIG. good. In some cases, the opening 302 may be provided only in the vicinity of the tip of the nozzle 301. However, in the case where the opening 302 is also provided in the vicinity of the tip of the nozzle 301, in the final stage of draining when the water level in the rice cooker 9 is lowered, air is released from the opening 302 that protrudes above the water surface. Since it will be sucked, it is preferable that the opening 302 is provided only at the tip of the nozzle 301 from the viewpoint of efficiently sucking and extracting the water in the rice cooker as far as possible.

  2 to 4, 303 a and 303 b are solenoid valves, 304 a and 304 b are solenoid valve control units, 305 is a drain pipe, and 306 is a nozzle 301 that moves the nozzle 301 up and down between the illustrated broken line position and the solid line position. It is a cylinder to move to. As shown in the figure, the opening 302 of the nozzle 301 is located outside the rice cooker 9 at the broken line position, that is, the first position, and at the solid line position, the opening 302 of the nozzle 301 is near the bottom surface inside the rice cooking pot, that is, the second. In position. The cylinder 306 moves the nozzle 301 up and down between the first position and the second position.

  The height of the nozzle 301 at the first position may be a height at which the nozzle 301 does not come into contact with the rice cooker 9 when the rice cooker 9 is conveyed by the roller conveyor 8. Further, the height of the nozzle 301 at the second position may be a height at which the opening 302 is positioned in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the rice cooker 9. In the vicinity of the bottom surface of the rice cooker 9, the distance between the opening 302 and the bottom surface of the rice cooker 9 is usually 20 mm or less, preferably in the range of 5 to 15 mm, more preferably in the range of 5 to 10 mm. Range. The preferred position in the height direction of the nozzle 301 and its opening 302 at the first position and the second position varies depending on the size of the rice cooker 9 and the inclination angle of the rice cooker 9 to be described later. By adjusting the vertical stop position and movement length of the cylinder 306, the distance between the first position and the second position, and the position in the height direction thereof are variable.

  The opening 302 of the nozzle 301 may be in any position in the rice cooker 9 in the second position as long as it is in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the rice cooker 9. When the pot 9 is tilted, as shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable that the pot 9 be positioned in the vicinity of the rice cooking pot 9 and in the vicinity of the bottom surface that is on the lower side when tilted. In the example shown in the drawing, the nozzle 301 is moved up and down by the cylinder 306 to move between the first position and the second position. It may be moved up and down to move between the first position and the second position, or both the nozzle 301 and the rice cooker 9 may be moved. Further, the nozzle 301 can be moved not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction so that the position of the opening 302 of the nozzle 301 in the horizontal plane can be adjusted according to the size of the rice cooker 9. Further, it is desirable to make it movable, and such a mode naturally falls within the category of this example.

  In the illustrated example, the nozzle 301 moves in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction together with the electromagnetic valves 303a and 303b. However, the solenoid valve 303a and 303b remain unchanged, and only the nozzle 301 is shown in the cylinder 306 or illustrated. Of course, it may be moved in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction by a moving device that does not.

  307 is a measuring device for measuring the weight of the rice cooker 9 together with its contents. The measuring device 307 is provided with four measuring columns 309, 309,. It has been. The measuring struts 309, 309, etc. are usually located below the upper surface of the roller conveyor 8, and during measurement, the cylinders 308, 308,. The rice cooker 9 is slightly lifted in contact with the lower surface of the rice cooker 9, and the weighing device 307 measures the load applied to the weighing columns 309, 309,. Note that the illustrated weighing device 307 is merely an example, and it goes without saying that the weighing device 307 may be of any principle and structure as long as it can measure the weight of the rice cooker 9 together with its contents.

  310 and 310 are inclined bars for inclining the rice cooker 9, and the cylinder 311 moves up and down between the broken line position and the solid line position shown in FIG. Is inclined. Although there is no particular limitation on the tilt angle, the tilt angle from the horizontal is usually in the range of 3 to 30 degrees, preferably 5 to 20 degrees, more preferably 5 to 10 degrees. In this way, by tilting the rice cooker 9 with the inclined bars 310, 310, the immersion water in the rice cooker 9 is collected on the bottom surface of the rice cooker 9 that is on the lower side when tilted. The advantage that the immersion water can be extracted more efficiently is obtained. Of course, the immersion water may be sucked and extracted by the opening 302 of the nozzle 301 while the rice cooker 9 is kept in a horizontal state without being inclined. Reference numeral 312 denotes a guide member that regulates the position of the rice cooker 9 so that the rice cooker 9 does not move laterally in FIG. 3 when the inclined bars 310, 310 are raised to tilt the rice cooker 9. Is.

  In the illustrated example, the rice cooking pot 9 is tilted by moving the tilting bars 310 and 310 up and down, but the mechanism for tilting the rice cooking pot 9 is not limited to the illustrated one. For example, an appropriate member for inclining the rice cooker 9 by inclining the roller conveyor 8 on which the rice cooker 9 is positioned, or in contact with a portion other than the bottom of the rice cooker 9 such as a flange on the side of the rice cooker 9 It is also possible to incline the rice cooking pot 9 using.

  Next, operation | movement of the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention provided with the draining device 3 of this invention and the water supply apparatus 4 is demonstrated using FIG. 7 thru | or FIG.

  In FIG. 7, reference numeral 313 denotes a suction pump, which is connected to a nozzle 301 via a drain pipe 305 and an electromagnetic valve 303a, and constitutes a suction device. Reference numeral 314 denotes a discharge pump, which is connected to the nozzle 301 via an electromagnetic valve 303b and constitutes a discharge device. 401 is a water supply nozzle of the water supply device 4, 402 is an electromagnetic valve, 403 is an electromagnetic valve controller, and 13 is a water supply tank. In FIG. 7, the measuring columns 309, 309... Of the weighing device 307 are at positions lower than the upper surface of the roller conveyor 8, and in this state, the rice cooker 9 with the lid removed is the draining device 3. When it is conveyed to the predetermined position, a position detection device (not shown) is activated to stop the rice cooker 9 at the predetermined position. At this stage, the nozzle 301 of the water draining device 3 is in the first position outside the rice cooker 9, and the rice cooker 9 is conveyed to a predetermined position without contacting the nozzle 301. In addition, R is the layer of rice immersed in water, and W is immersion water.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the cylinders 308 and 308 of the weighing device 307 are actuated to raise the weighing columns 309 and 309 in the direction of the arrow in the figure, slightly lift the rice cooker 9, Measure the weight including the weight of its contents. The weighing device 307 stores the weight weighed at this time as a reference value.

  When the weighing is finished, as shown in FIG. 9, the cylinders 308 and 308 of the weighing device 307 are actuated again, the weighing columns 309 and 309 are lowered, and the rice cooker 9 is lowered to a predetermined position on the roller bearing 8. In parallel with the lowering operation of the measuring columns 309 and 309 or after the lowering operation is finished, the cylinder 306 (not shown) is activated, and the opening 302 of the nozzle 301 is positioned near the bottom surface in the rice cooker 9. The nozzle 301 is moved downward to the position. At this time, as a matter of course, the opening 302 is located in the rice layer R in the rice cooker 9. In this state or in parallel with the downward movement of the nozzle 301, cylinders 311 and 311 (not shown) are operated to raise the inclined bars 310 and 310, and the rice cooker 9 is inclined as illustrated. Of course, the rice cooker 9 may be tilted before the nozzle 301 is lowered to the second position. However, if the rice cooker 9 is tilted before the nozzle 301 is lowered, the thickness of the rice layer R that the opening 302 must enter increases and resistance increases, so the nozzle 301 is lowered to the second position. It is desirable to incline the rice cooker 9 after the operation. In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that the inclination-angle of the rice cooking pot 9 can be suitably adjusted and set by adjusting the raising height of the inclination bars 310 and 310 with the cylinder 311 which is not shown in figure.

  In this state, the solenoid valve control unit 304a is activated to open the solenoid valve 303a, the suction pump 313 starts operating, sucks up the immersion water W in the rice cooker 9 from the opening 302, and opens the drain pipe 305. To the outside. Since the rice cooker 9 is inclined and the opening 302 is located in the vicinity of the peripheral portion in the rice cooker on the lower side of the inclination and in the vicinity of the bottom surface, the immersion water W is sucked from the opening 302. Will be performed efficiently. Although it is possible to suck the immersion water W through the opening 302 without inclining the rice cooker 9, the immersion water W present below the lower end of the opening 302 cannot be sucked, so that the immersion water cannot be sucked. In order to reduce the amount of W, it is desirable to incline the rice cooker 9.

  The operation time of the suction pump 313 may be controlled by a timer for a predetermined time so as to extract the immersion water W, or an appropriate position of the pipe line from the nozzle 301 to the drain pipe 305. A pressure gauge may be provided to detect the time when air instead of water is sucked from the opening 302 due to a pressure change in the pipe, and the suction pump 313 may be stopped at that time. Alternatively, the amount of drainage from the drainage pipe 305 may be measured, and the suction pump 313 may be stopped when the amount of drainage reaches a predetermined value. At the same time as or after the stop of the suction pump 313, the solenoid valve control unit 304a is operated to close the solenoid valve 303a.

  When the extraction of the immersion water W from the rice cooker 9 is completed as described above, the inclined bars 310 and 310 are lowered to return the rice cooker 9 to a horizontal state and the nozzle 301 is raised as shown in FIG. And move to the first position. It should be noted that either the lowering of the inclined bars 310 and 310 and the raising of the nozzle 301 may be performed first, or both or some of the operations may be performed simultaneously. .

  Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the cylinders 308 and 308 are operated, the measuring columns 309 and 309 are lifted, the rice cooker 9 is slightly lifted, and the weight of the rice cooker 9 is included including the weight of its contents. Weigh. At the same time as the start of measurement, or at the same time as the start of measurement, the electromagnetic valve control unit 403 is activated to open the electromagnetic valve 402, and the rice cooking water W ′ is supplied from the water supply tank 13 through the water supply nozzle 401. Supply water inside. At this time, the weight of the rice cooker 9 is weighed by the weighing device 307 including the weight of the contents, and when the weighed weight becomes the same as the weight weighed initially, the solenoid valve The control unit 403 operates to close the electromagnetic valve 402 and stop water supply. In this way, the same amount of new water as the immersion water W that was initially present in the rice cooker 9 can be supplied into the rice cooker 9 as the rice cooking water W ′. In addition, it is also possible to change the operating conditions of the electromagnetic valve control unit 403 to stop the water supply by closing the electromagnetic valve 402 when supplying a larger or smaller amount of rice cooking water W than the initial immersion water W. is there. In the above example, the amount of water supply is controlled by measuring the weight of the rice cooker 9, but a flow meter is attached to an appropriate position in the pipeline between the water supply nozzle 401 and the water supply tank 13 to supply water. The amount of cooked rice water may be directly measured to adjust the amount of water supply.

  As described above, the immersion water W is extracted, the rice cooking water W ′ is newly supplied, and the rice cooking pot 9 after the exchange of the rice cooking water is returned to the roller conveyor 8 and conveyed to the next process. The FIG. 12 shows a state after the rice cooking pot 9 having been replaced with the rice cooking water has been conveyed to the next step. In the state shown in FIG. 12, the electromagnetic valve control unit 304b is activated to open the electromagnetic valve 303b, the discharge pump 314 starts to operate, and the water in the water supply tank 13 is supplied to the opening of the nozzle 301 with an appropriate pressure. Discharge from 302 as indicated by the arrow in the figure. As a result, even if foreign matter such as partially immersed rice adheres to the opening 302, the foreign matter is blown away or washed away by the water discharged from the opening 302. It can be kept clean without clogging. At this time, an appropriate cradle (not shown) is disposed below the opening 302 to collect the discharged water and the foreign matter to be washed away. The cleaning of the opening 302 as described above is not performed only when the rice cooker 9 does not exist, but the opening 302 is clogged when the immersion water W in the rice cooker 9 is sucked. It can be performed in other appropriate cases as required. Further, the clogging of the opening 302 may be eliminated by simply discharging air from the opening 302 instead of the water from the water supply tank 13.

  As described above, the supply of fresh water as cooked water by the water supply device 4 to the rice cooker 9 from which the immersion water has been removed by the water draining device 3 completes the exchange of the rice cooking water. Therefore, the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention is equipped with the drain apparatus 3 and the water supply apparatus 4 as a minimum structural unit. All the operations of the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of the present invention including the water draining apparatus 3 and the water supply apparatus 4 are automatically performed in a predetermined procedure based on a control signal from a control apparatus (not shown). It is like that. Of course, part or all may be performed manually. In the above example, the water supply device 4 is provided at the same location on the conveyance path of the water draining device 3 and the rice cooker 9, but the water supply device 4 is located at a different position on the conveyance path from the water drainage device 3. You may make it provide. However, it is preferable to provide the water supply device 4 at the same location on the transport path as the drainage device 3 because space and equipment such as the position detection device 11 can be saved.

  Returning again to FIG. 1, the rice cooker 9 for which the rice water has been supplied is then transported to the additive supply device 5. When the rice cooker 9 reaches a predetermined position of the additive supply device 5, the position detection device 11 is operated to stop the rice cooker 9. A plurality of additive supply means 14, 14, 14... Are arranged above the rice cooker 9. From these additive supply means 14, 14, 14..., For example, soy sauce, salt, vinegar In addition, one or more kinds of various additives such as other seasonings, dashi, ingredients, extracts, etc., mixed with rice and cooked into rice are added to the rice cooker 9.

  The rice cooker 9 to which the additive has been added is subsequently transported to the prying device 6, and when reaching the predetermined position of the prying device 6, the position detection device 11 is activated and the rice cooking vessel 9 is moved as before. Stop. Reference numeral 15 denotes a stirring bar. When the rice cooking pot 9 stops, the stirring bar 15 descends and rotates in the rice cooking pot 9 to stir the inside of the rice cooking pot 9 so that it becomes narrus.

  When the tearing process is completed, the rice cooker 9 is subsequently conveyed to the lidding device 7. When the rice cooker 9 reaches a predetermined position of the lid-covering device, the position detection device 11 operates to stop the rice cooker 9. When the rice cooker 9 stops at a predetermined position, the movable part 203 holding the lid 10 descends from above, and after the lid 10 is placed at the predetermined position of the rice cooker 9, the lid chuck 204 is released, A lid 10 is attached to the hook 9. The movable unit 204 and the lid chuck 203 sequentially lift the lid 10 conveyed by the lid conveyance device 12 at the position (C), move it horizontally to the position (D), and then lower it. Then, the operation of placing it in a predetermined position of the rice cooker 9 is repeated, and this operation is basically the reverse operation of the operation of the lid removing device 2 described above. Omitted.

  With the above, from the rice cooker 9 that has completed the water soaking process, remove the lid, drain the soaking water, add fresh water as rice cooking water instead, add the necessary additives, prick, cover Then, a series of operations of sending out to the rice cooking process, which is the next process, is completed. One or both of the additive supply device 5 and the pear device 6 may be arranged at the same position on the conveying path of the rice cooking water exchange device and the rice cooker 9, and may be omitted if unnecessary. Even if it is provided, it is not necessary to use it if it is unnecessary. In addition, the lid removing operation does not need to be performed if the rice cooker 9 conveyed from the water immersion process is not covered with the lid 10, and the lid attaching operation does not require the lid 10 when sending it to the subsequent process. If so, there is no need to do it.

  The above water draining device or rice cooking water exchange device can be appropriately incorporated into the rice cooking system. In FIG. 13, an example of the rice cooking system incorporating the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention is shown. In the figure, reference numerals 2 to 7 denote the lid removing device 2, the drainage device 3, the water supply device 4, the additive supply device 5, the tearing device 6, and the lid attachment device 7 described above. The rice cooker 9 fitted with the lid 10 by the lid attaching device 7 is conveyed to the rice cooking line 16 by the conveying device and cooked. The rice cooking pot 9 having finished cooking is then transported to the steaming line 17, where it undergoes a steaming process for a predetermined time, and then transported to the lid removing device 18, where the lid is removed. The rice cooker with the lid removed is inverted by the rice cooker reversing device 19 and the cooked rice inside is discharged onto the conveying device. The rice discharged onto the conveying device passes through the rice stirring device 20 and the cooling device 21, is filled into a shipping container by a predetermined amount by the weighing device 22, and is shipped via the stacking device 23.

  On the other hand, the rice cooker 9 that has released the internal rice is transported to the rice cooker cleaning device by the transport device 24, cleaned there, and then transported to the weighing device 26. In the weighing device 26, the rice that has been washed with a rice washing machine (not shown) is supplied to the cleaned empty rice cooker, and then the immersion water is supplied. The amount of immersion water supplied is measured by measuring the weight increase of the rice cooker 9 by the measuring device 26. That is, the weight of the rice cooker 9 supplied with the washed rice is first weighed by the weighing device 26, and then, based on this value, an increase in the weight of the rice cooker 9 due to the supply of immersion water is obtained, and its weight It is designed to measure the amount of water supplied from the increase. When it is detected that a predetermined amount of immersion water has been supplied to the rice cooker 9, the supply of immersion water is stopped.

  On the other hand, after the lid taken by the lid removing device 18 is washed by the washing device 27, it is conveyed to the lid attaching device 29 via the lid conveying device 28, where the washed rice and the immersion water are supplied. It is attached to the cooked rice cooker 9 made. The rice cooker 9 fitted with the lid is then conveyed to the immersion line 30 where an immersion process for a predetermined time is performed. As described above, the rice cooker 9 that has undergone the dipping process is again conveyed to the drainage device 3, the water supply device 4, and the like through the lid removing device 2.

  According to such a rice cooking system of the present invention, it is possible to extract the immersion water and cook new water as cooking water, so that the cooked rice does not cause unpredictable scorching and sticky stickiness, High-quality rice can be cooked efficiently. In addition, in such a rice cooking system of this invention, when it is not necessary to drain immersion water, of course, it is also possible not to operate the water draining apparatus 3 and the water supply apparatus 4. FIG. In that case, the rice cooking pot 9 that has undergone the dipping process is supplied with the additive by the additive supply apparatus 5 as necessary, and is stirred by the prying apparatus 6, and then goes through the capping apparatus 7 to the rice cooking process. Will be transported. Moreover, in the rice cooking system of this invention, the measurement of the rice cooking pot 9 is the measuring apparatus 307 with which the rice cooking water exchange apparatus containing the measuring apparatus 26 in the place which supplies immersion water, the water draining apparatus 3, and the water supply apparatus 4 was equipped. Therefore, even if the weighing device 26 breaks down, there is an advantage that accurate metering water can be supplied by the other weighing device 307.

  Although the above description is about the rice cooker 9 whose horizontal cross-sectional shape is circular, the rice cooker which this invention makes object is not restricted to a horizontal cross-sectional shape. The horizontal cross-sectional shape may be a rectangular shape, a rectangular shape, an oval shape, a rectangular shape with rounded corners or a rectangular shape. However, in that case, it goes without saying that the shape of the separation lid, the arrangement of the rice cooker fixing claws, the shape of the auxiliary water feeder, and the like are changed according to the shape of the rice cooker to be used.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically and easily extract the immersion water containing the eluted rice starch from the rice cooker by using a water draining device having a relatively simple structure and saving space. Moreover, according to the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention and the rice cooking system using the same, the immersion water is extracted automatically and easily while minimizing the burden on the space, and the newly supplied water is used as the rice cooking water. You can cook rice. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unexpected scorching or sticky stickiness from occurring in the cooked rice, facilitating quality control of the rice, and supplying a large amount of stable quality rice. Is. The utility of the present invention is extremely high for the rice cooking industry that is required to stably supply a large amount of high-quality rice.

It is a side view which shows an example of the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention. It is a top view which shows an example of the drainage apparatus of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a nozzle. It is a figure which shows the other example of a nozzle. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the rice cooking water exchange apparatus of this invention. It is an arrangement plan showing an example of a rice cooking system of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooking water exchange apparatus 2 Lid removal apparatus 3 Drainage apparatus 4 Water supply apparatus 5 Additive supply apparatus 6 Naraashi apparatus 7 Lid apparatus 8 Roller conveyor 9 Rice cooker 10 Lid 11 Position detection apparatus 12 Lid conveyance apparatus 13 Water supply tank 301 Nozzle 302 Opening Part 303a, 303b, 402 Solenoid valve 304a, 304b, 403 Solenoid valve control part 305 Drain pipe 306, 308, 311 Cylinder 307 Weighing device 309 Weighing column 310 Inclined bar 312 Guide member 313 Suction pump 314 Discharge pump W Dipping water W ′ Cooking rice water R Rice layer

Claims (6)

A conveying device for conveying the rice cooker; a draining device and a water supply device provided along the conveying path of the conveying device; and being conveyed by the conveying device in a state in which rice and immersion water are accommodated inside through the immersion line A rice cooker stop device for stopping the coming rice cooker at a predetermined position where the draining device is located ; a weighing device for measuring the weight including the contents of the rice cooker; and a control device for controlling the amount of rice water supplied to the rice cooker The drainage device is provided with an opening at the tip and / or in the vicinity thereof that has an opening through which water cannot pass through the rice, a suction pump connected to the nozzle, and a nozzle opening located outside the rice cooker. A moving device that relatively moves the rice cooker stopped at a predetermined position and the nozzle between one position and a second position where the nozzle opening is in the rice layer near the bottom surface inside the rice cooker. , Drainage device for removing immersion water from rice cooker There, the water supply device, with a water supply device for supplying a separate water supply nozzle and the nozzle of the draining device, and a water supply tank connected to the water supply nozzle, the new cooking water into the soaking water is withdrawn cooking pot Oh Ri; metering apparatus, and weigh the weight of the cooking pot, including the previous contents, soaking water is extracted by a water drain device, stores the weight as a reference value, including the contents when the water supply by the water supply device and be a weighing device for weighing the weight of the cooking pot; controller, by comparing the reference value and the weight to be weighed to the water supply time, Ru controller der for controlling the water supply amount of cooking water to the cooking pot , Cooking rice water exchange device. The rice cooking water of Claim 1 provided with the inclination apparatus which inclines a rice cooking pot so that a nozzle opening part may be located in the inner peripheral surface vicinity of a rice cooking pot in a 2nd position, and the inner peripheral surface vicinity part may become a lower side. Exchange equipment. The rice cooking water exchange apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a discharge pump that discharges water or air from the nozzle and prevents clogging of the nozzle is connected to the nozzle of the drainage device. It claims 1 exchange cooking water and a leveling device for stirring the added material supply device and the rice in a kettle additive is supplied to supply the additive to the rice in a pot ended according to any one of 3 Cooking water exchange device. The rice cooking water exchange apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4 provided with the lid removal apparatus which mounts a lid | cover on the rice cooking pot, and / or the lid removal apparatus which takes the lid of a rice cooking pot. The rice cooking system which equips the downstream side rather than the immersion line with the rice cooking water exchange apparatus in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5 .

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