JP4982155B2 - Automatic bread machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic bread maker capable of easily baking bread in a general household, and more particularly to an automatic bread maker having a cake menu capable of baking cakes in addition to bread menus such as bread, gourmet bread and French bread. Is.

  In general households, an automatic bread maker that can easily bake various types of bread such as bread, gourmet bread, and French bread, and can also bake cakes, is commercially available.

  However, such an automatic bread maker has a problem that cake material, particularly powder, adheres to the side wall of the container in the cake cooking process, and adheres directly to the baked cake dough, thereby deteriorating the appearance of the cake.

  Then, this kind of automatic bread maker has developed the automatic bread maker which added the process of dropping the powder etc. which adhered to the container side during the cake cooking process (for example, refer to the following patent documents 1-3).

  The automatic bread maker described in the following Patent Document 1 is such that the kneading process of the cake cooking process is interrupted for a certain period of time, and the powder removing process can be performed during that time. Since this powder removal is performed by temporarily interrupting the kneading process, it is difficult to determine the timing at which the kneading process should be interrupted to remove the powder after starting the bread maker.

  Thus, an automatic bread maker having improved such operability is described in Patent Document 2 below. This automatic bread maker displays the time required for the powder removal process after the start (immediately after), and indicates that it is the powder removal process at the time of powder removal. Note that this automatic bread maker automatically returns to the cake preparation process after a certain time has elapsed after the start of the flour removing process.

  In addition, when a powder removal process is added, the cooking time varies depending on the time spent for powder removal. Therefore, the automatic bread maker described in Patent Document 3 below adjusts the kneading time of the next process according to the time required for the powder removing process so that the time of the cooking sequence is substantially constant. In addition, this automatic bread maker informs the end of the powder removal process after a predetermined time without operating the input device during the powder removal, and automatically proceeds to the next process. Yes.

Specifically, at the start of the bread maker, the time until powder removal is displayed on the display device, and when this time elapses, an alarm is given and the powder removal character is displayed on the display device. In this state, the user performs powder removal, but this powder removal is done by the user putting the hand in the container and scraping the powder adhering to the side wall surface using a rubber spatula. The cooking sequence is resumed when turned on. However, the user may not perform powder removal. In this case, a predetermined time, for example, 15 minutes is waited, and if the start switch is not turned on even after this time has elapsed, the cooking sequence is automatically restarted. In this case, before the cooking sequence is resumed, the notification device informs that cooking is resumed, and at the same time, the display device causes the kneading characters to blink.
JP 2004-305477 (paragraphs [0033], [0035], FIG. 2) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-95486 (paragraphs [0024] to [0027], FIG. 2) JP-A-2005-118250 (paragraphs [0021] to [0023], FIG. 4)

  The automatic bread maker described in the above-mentioned patent documents 1 to 3 interrupts the kneading process for a certain period of time for powder removal. However, if the cake cooking process is automatically interrupted, some users do not need to remove powder and want to bake as quickly as possible. It will be wasted and cooking time will be long.

  Moreover, like the automatic bread maker of the above-mentioned patent document 2, when a certain time has passed after the start of the powder removal process, when the transition is automatically made to the cake preparation process, the kneading blade is used in a situation that the user does not expect. At this time, if you put your hand in the container, there is a risk of injury. Further, the automatic bread maker disclosed in Patent Document 3 waits for a predetermined time, for example, 15 minutes, when the user does not remove the powder, and if the start switch is not turned on even after this time has elapsed, the automatic bread maker automatically The cooking sequence is resumed. In such a case, waiting for the required time is a waste of time for a user who does not need to remove powder. Further, when the cooking sequence is automatically restarted after the standby time has elapsed, the above-described danger occurs.

  The present invention was made in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and the object of the present invention is to notify the optimum powder removal period when selecting a cake cooking menu and to let the user select powder removal. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic bread maker capable of making it possible.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic bread maker in which a restart request is notified so that a restart is not forgotten when the restart is not performed after powder removal.

The above object can be achieved by the following means. That is, the invention of the automatic bread maker described in claim 1 includes a cooking container into which a material to be cooked is charged, a stirring means for containing the cooking container and stirring the material to be cooked, and the food in the cooking container. A bread maker main body having a heating means for heating the cooking material and a control means for controlling the stirring means and the heating means; a display device mounted on the bread maker main body or the lid and displaying various cooking courses; In an automatic bread maker provided with a course selection means for selecting a bread cooking course or a cake cooking course displayed on the display device, the cake cooking course is a kneading step of kneading the material to be cooked in the cooking container. And a baking step of baking the material to be cooked after completion of the kneading step, and when the cake cooking course is selected by the course selecting means, the control means is in the kneading step. There set period dropped predetermined flour, displays this period while allowing the transition to step down powder during dropping powder on the display device, until there is a predetermined operation, during off said powder The kneading operation is continued .

  The invention according to claim 2 is the automatic bread maker according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm device, wherein the control means is configured to display the display device after a predetermined time has elapsed since the cake cooking course was started. In addition to displaying the dust removal period, the alarm device is made to emit a notification sound.

  In addition, the invention according to claim 3 is the automatic bread maker according to claim 1, wherein the control means does not move to the powder removal process during the powder removal period. It is characterized by performing control to continue the cooking course.

  Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the automatic bread maker according to claim 2, wherein the control means moves to the powder removing step during the powder removing period, and a predetermined time elapses. When the return operation to the kneading process is not performed, the alarm device is caused to issue a return request alarm.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the automatic bread maker according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means stops the operation of the stirring means during the powder dropping step.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the automatic bread maker according to claim 1, further comprising stop means for stopping the operation of the stirring means, and the stop means is provided when the lid is opened. The operation of the stirring means is stopped.

  By providing the above configuration, the present invention has the following excellent effects. That is, according to the invention of claim 1, among the various cooking courses, a powder removal period is set in anticipation of an optimal time in the cake cooking course (process), and that fact is displayed during this period. It is configured. In other words, after starting the cake cooking course, from the amount of ingredients to be cooked and the stirring speed, etc., it is possible to display a predetermined dust removal period, starting from the time when a large amount of powder adheres to the cooking vessel wall, The powder removal can be performed efficiently without particularly affecting the kneading of the material to be cooked. Therefore, when powdering is performed, a cake dough having a good appearance can be made. In addition, since powder removal is performed by the user's selection, cooking can be performed without wasting time.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the control means, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the cake cooking course was started (this time is the base point of the optimum powder removal period and is obtained by experiment) While displaying the dust removal period on the display device and causing the alarm device to emit a notification sound, the timing of powder removal can be accurately notified to the user.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the control means performs control so that the cooking course, that is, the kneading process is continued as it is when the process does not shift to the powder removal process during the powder removal period. Loss of cooking time can be eliminated for users who do not need it.

  According to the invention of claim 4, when the control means shifts to powder removal during the powder removal period and the return to the cooking course is not made even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the alarm device issues a return request alarm. Since it is emitted, it is possible to reduce forgetting to return. In addition, since this bread maker does not automatically return to the kneading process, there is no danger that the kneading blades suddenly rotate during the dust removal operation and damage the hands and the like.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the operation of the stirring means is stopped at the time of powder removal, powder removal can be executed safely.

  According to the invention of claim 6, since the operation of the stirring means is stopped by the stopping means when the lid is opened, it is possible to put a hand or the like into the cooking container and perform a dusting operation or the like.

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies an automatic bread maker for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to specify the present invention for this automatic bread maker. Other embodiments within the scope of the claims are equally applicable.

  FIG. 1 is a longitudinal front view of the automatic bread maker according to one embodiment of the present invention with a cooking container mounted thereon, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an operation display panel of the automatic bread maker of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a control block diagram of the automatic bread maker of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic bread maker 1 includes a cooking container 30 into which a predetermined amount of bread or cake material and a cooking material such as water are charged, and the cooking container 30 that houses the cooking material. An agitation means for agitation and a heating means for heating and cooking, and a bread maker body 2 having a control means 20 for controlling these agitation means and heating means to automatically perform mixing from cooking to baking. .

  The bread maker 2 includes a case 3 made of a box-shaped container, an opening / closing lid 4, an operation display panel 5, a baking tank 6, a baking heater 7, a boiler 8, a motor 19, a power transmission unit 13, a control means 20, and the like. It is configured. The cooking container 30 is detachably mounted above the boiler 8 inside the baking tank 6.

  The case 3 is formed of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped container, and an opening 3a for inserting the container is provided in an upper part of the case 3, and an opening / closing lid 4 is attached to the opening 3a so as to be opened and closed. In addition, an operation display panel 5 is mounted at a location close to the opening 3a.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the operation display panel 5 includes a menu button 5a for selecting the type of rice flour such as rice flour, wheat flour, natural yeast, and the like, and a menu selected by the course button 5a. A menu display unit 5b to display, a time / reservation setting button 5c for setting the time or reservation timer time, a time / reservation time display unit 5d for displaying the time / reservation time set by the time / reservation setting button 5c, and A dust drop display portion 5e is provided.

  The baking tank 6 creates an atmosphere for baking bread dough, and is disposed in a region corresponding to the upper opening 3 a of the case 3. As shown in FIG. 1, an ambient temperature sensor 6 a that detects the ambient temperature inside the firing tank 6 is provided on the outer peripheral wall of the firing tank 6. The firing heater 7 adjusts the atmospheric temperature inside the firing tank 6 and is provided on the inner peripheral wall near the bottom of the firing tank 6. The firing heater 7 is also used as a preheating heater, but a preheating heater may be provided separately.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the boiler 8 is installed at the bottom of the baking tank 6 and is formed in a substantially oval shape in plan view and contains water that opens upward, and the outer periphery of the bottom of the water container 8 a The boiler heater 8b is attached to the wall and evaporates the water in the water container 8a. A cylindrical wall 9 is provided in the central region of the water container 8a, and a spindle shaft 10 is vertically passed through a horizontal wall in the middle of the cylindrical wall 9 in the vertical direction. A drive gear 12 is fixed to the upward projecting end of the spindle shaft 10. The bread maker 2 is a multi-function device that can also be used as various bread maker, cake dough, rice cake maker, and steamer for cooked food. Used for steaming cooked items.

  The motor 19 rotates the spindle shaft 10 provided in the boiler 8 via the power transmission unit 13, and is disposed in a region below the operation display panel 5. The power transmission unit 13 is provided over almost the entire inner bottom portion of the case 3 and transmits the rotational power of the motor 19 to the spindle shaft 10. The pulley 13 c fixed to the output shaft of the motor 19 and the spindle shaft 10 The pulley 13c is attached to the lower end, and the endless belt 13b is wound around the pulleys 13a and 13c.

  The cooking container 30 has a slightly elongated rectangular shape that is large enough to bake a bread of bread. At the center of the bottom of the cooking container 30, a rotating shaft 31 is provided so as to penetrate vertically. An agitating blade 32 for mixing and kneading bread ingredients is detachably provided at the upper projecting end of the rotating shaft 31, and the lower projecting end of the rotating shaft 31 is connected to the drive gear 12 of the spindle shaft 10. A driven gear 14 is attached.

  Further, a pedestal 15 for fixing to the water container 8 a of the boiler 8 is provided on the bottom outer wall surface of the cooking container 30. The pedestal 15 is formed in a shape that serves as a lid that covers the water container 8a of the boiler 8 and seals the water container 8a.

  The control means 20 is used for bread making control by inputting various information from the operation display panel 5 and the ambient temperature sensor 6a, and is provided between the operation display panel 5 and the motor 19 in the case 3. ing. As shown in FIG. 3, the control means 20 comprises an MCU (Micro Controller Unit) 21 which is a microcomputer in which a CPU, ROM, RAM, input / output communication ports and the like are integrated on one chip, and includes an ambient temperature. Sensor 6a, a course button 5a provided on the operation display panel 5, a switch such as a start button, a trim button, a time / reservation setting button 5c, a menu display unit 5b, a time / reservation display unit 5d and a powder of the operation display panel 5 Connected to the LCD for the electro-optical display such as the dropping display 5e, the LED for the start display, the display of the display, the reservation display, the motor 19, the heater circuit including the firing heater 7 and the boiler heater 8b, and the alarm. Is done. The MCU 21 controls the operation of the firing heater 7 and the boiler heater 8b based on setting / control instructions input from switches such as a start button, a set button, a time / reservation setting button 5c, and information input from the ambient temperature sensor 6a. At the same time, various LCDs and LED displays on the operation display panel 5 are controlled.

  Next, the operation of the automatic bread maker 1 under the control of the MCU 21 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic bread maker 1 can select from the operation display panel 5 the type of powder for baking bread and cake, and the type of bread and other dough to be baked. FIG. 4 shows a flow chart for selecting these menus and baking each bread or cake.

After switching on the material and water and the like of the dough in the container, on the operation display panel 5, by selecting a menu by pressing a course button 5a, various menus are displayed on the display panel in step S _2. For example, when the “wheat” button of the course button 5a is pressed once, the LCD of the “bread” portion of the menu display portion 5b is turned on, and the course for baking bread can be selected. When the “wheat” button of the course button 5a is pressed once again, the “boiled bread” portion of the menu display portion 5b is turned on in addition to the “bread” portion. When you press the “wheat” button, the “bread” and “baked dark”, “gourmet bread”, “french bread”, “bread dough”, “pizza dough”, “noodle”, “cake” parts are in order. Lights up and the cooking course can be determined.

  Similarly, when the “rice flour” button of the course button 5a is pressed, “bread” and “wheat 0”, “bread dough” and “wheat 0”, “bread”, “bread dough”, “pizza dough”, “ Each part of “Noodle” and “Cake” is lit, and each cooking course can be determined.

  When the “natural yeast” button of the course button 5a is pressed, the portions “bread bread”, “bread dough”, and “raw seed raising” are lit in order.

  Further, when the “cooking” button of the course button 5a is pressed, the “jam” and “soup” portions are lit in order, and the respective cooking courses can be selected and determined.

Based on this view, to determine the menu for following Step S _3.

That the user is to select the desired cooking courses by pressing several times the course button 5a in step S _3, determines the dough and cooking courses, such as bread or cake by pressing the start button of the operation display panel 5 in this state Then, each cooking as shown in FIG. 4 is started. FIG. 4 schematically shows a bread manufacturing process when wheat flour is selected as a material, a bread manufacturing process when rice flour is selected, and a cake manufacturing process of rice flour or flour. .

  In the following, the operation of the automatic bread maker when the “cake” course is selected by pressing the “rice flour” button or the “wheat” button several times will be described.

  When the “cake” cooking course is selected, the initial kneading process of flour or rice flour is started. In this kneading process, it is impossible to shift to powder removal. When this kneading process is finished, the process proceeds to a kneading process in which powder can be removed. During the kneading process in which the powder can be removed, the user can open the opening / closing lid and drop materials such as wheat flour and rice flour adhering to the inner wall surface of the cooking container 30. Furthermore, when this kneading process is completed, it becomes a kneading process in which the transition to powdering cannot be performed again. Following this kneading process, a baking process is started and the cake is baked.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the powder removing process in the kneading process.

  When the kneading process starts, it is determined in step S51 whether or not the kneading process has passed a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes). If the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S52, and the powder can be removed by opening the opening / closing lid 4 to the user by turning on the powder display 5e of the operation display panel 5 or sounding an alarm. To inform. Note that the kneading process is continued while the powder drop display portion 5e is lit. That is, the kneading process is continued except that the powder drop display unit 5e is informed that powder can be dropped. Next, in step S53, it is determined whether or not the period during which dust can be removed (1 to 3 minutes) has ended. When the period during which powder can be removed has ended, the process proceeds to step S59 and the powder removal display unit 5e. The display or alarm notification is terminated, and the kneading process is continued in step S60. Next, in step S61, it is determined whether the kneading process completion time has elapsed. If the kneading process completion time has not elapsed, the kneading process is continued, and if the kneading process completion time has elapsed, the kneading process is terminated.

  If it is determined in step S53 that the period allowing the powder removal process has not ended, the kneading operation continues and waits for the user to press the start button in step S54, and the start button is pressed. If this happens, the process proceeds to the powder removal process in step S55. In step S55, the motor 19 is stopped, and the dust drop display portion 5e of the operation display panel 5 indicating that it is a dust drop process is turned on. As the kneading blade stops, the user can open the open / close lid 4 to confirm the stop of the blade and drop the powder stuck inside the cooking container 30 with a spatula or the like. If the user does not press the start button in step S54, the process returns to step S53, and the state in which the user presses the start key is maintained while the kneading process is continued until the dust removal transition possible time ends.

  In step S56 to step S58, a process capable of coping with a case where a restart instruction is not given even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the user started the dust removal process is performed. First, in Step S56, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time, for example, 2 minutes has elapsed since the start of the dust removing process. If not, the process proceeds to Step S58, and if the predetermined time has elapsed, Step S56 is performed. In S57, an alarm is sounded at intervals of 30 seconds, and the user is requested to restart. In step 58, the process waits for the user to press the start button. If the start button is not pressed, the process returns to step S56 to repeat the above processing. If the start button is pressed, the LCD display or alarm notification of the dust drop display unit 5e is stopped in step S59, and the kneading process is continued in step S60. Next, in step S61, it is determined whether the kneading process completion time has elapsed. If the kneading process completion time has not elapsed, the kneading process is continued, and if the kneading process completion time has elapsed, the kneading process is terminated.

  In addition, at the time of powder removal, the kneading blade is turned on / off by turning on / off the start button. However, an open / close switch may be provided on the lid, and it may be turned on / off in conjunction with the opening / closing of the lid. .

  As described above, the processing including the kneading process that can be ground when the “cake” cooking course is selected has been described. By pressing the “rice flour” button on the operation display panel 5, the bread is not used. The same process is also performed for the kneading process that allows the powder to be removed when the course to bake is selected.

It is a vertical front view of the state which attached the cooking container of the automatic bread maker which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a top view which shows the operation display panel of the automatic bread maker of FIG. It is a control block diagram of the automatic bread maker of FIG. It is a flowchart which selects a menu and bake bread or a cake. It is a flowchart explaining the powder removal process in a kneading process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic breadmaker 2 Breadmaker body 3 Case 3a Opening 3a Upper opening part 4 Opening / closing lid 5 Operation display panel 5a Course button 5b Menu display part 5c Time / reservation setting button 5d Time / reservation display part 5e Dust removal display part 6 Firing tank 6a Atmospheric temperature sensor 7 Firing heater 8 Boiler 8a Water container 8b Boiler heater 9 Cylindrical wall 10 Spindle shaft 12 Drive gear 13 Power transmission unit 13a Endless belt 13c Pulley 14 Driven gear 15 Base 19 Motor 20 Control means 30 Cooking container 31 Rotating shaft 32 Stirring blade

Claims (6)

A cooking container into which a material to be cooked is charged, a stirring means for containing the cooking container and stirring the material to be cooked, a heating means for heating the material to be cooked in the cooking container, and the stirring means and the heating means are controlled. A bread maker main body having control means to perform, a display device that is mounted on the bread maker main body or lid and displays various cooking courses, and a bread bakery cooking course or cake cooking course displayed on the display device is selected. In an automatic bread maker equipped with course selection means to
The cake cooking course has a kneading step of kneading the cooking material in the cooking container and a baking step of baking the cooking material after the kneading step is finished,
When a cake cooking course is selected by the course selection means, the control means sets a predetermined powder removal period during the kneading process, and enables transition to the powder removal process during the powder removal period. This period is displayed on the display device ,
The automatic bread maker, wherein the kneading operation continues during the powder dropping period until a predetermined operation is performed .   An alarm device is further provided, and the control means displays a powder dropping period on the display device after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of the cake cooking course, and causes the alarm device to emit an alarm sound. The automatic bread maker according to claim 1.   2. The automatic bread maker according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control to continue the cake cooking course as it is when the shift to the powder removal process is not performed during the powder removal period. 3. .   The control means issues a return request alarm to the alarm device when the operation for returning to the kneading process is not performed even after a predetermined time has elapsed after shifting to the powder removal process during the powder removal period. The automatic bread maker according to claim 2, wherein:   The automatic bread maker according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stops the operation of the stirring unit during the powder removing step. The automatic bread maker according to claim 1, further comprising stop means for stopping the operation of the stirring means, wherein the stop means stops the operation of the stirring means when the lid is opened.