JP5214548B2 - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker in which rice washed from a rice washing apparatus for washing rice is dropped and discharged into a rice cooker together with water addition and dewatering and cooked with the rice cooker.

Conventionally, a rice washing device for washing rice and dropping and discharging to a lower rice cooker is provided, and a rice inlet for allowing rice dropped and discharged from the rice washing device to pass through is formed in the upper lid that closes the inner pot of the rice cooker. And a shutter that is slidable between a closed position that closes the rice inlet and an open position that opens the rice inlet, and a motor that drives the shutter in the sliding direction. The automatic rice cooker which enabled it to perform automatically is disclosed by patent document 1. FIG.
In the automatic rice cooker described in Patent Document 1, the shutter is supported on the upper lid so as to be swingable about the axis of the support shaft by a support shaft having a vertical axis, and the shutter is supported by the support. By swinging around an axis, the slide position is freely slidable between the closed position and the open position. Further, the power transmission mechanism between the shutter and the motor that drives the shutter in the sliding direction is connected to the output shaft of the motor and rotated around the vertical axis, and the lower end of the rotary shaft. It consists of an arm fixed at one end, a roller provided at the other end of the arm, a plate with which the roller engages, and a pin inserted through a long hole formed in the plate and fixed to the shutter. When the transmission shaft is rotated by the motor to swing the arm, the plate is moved and the shutter slides.

Further, during maintenance such as cleaning, the shutter can be removed together with the upper lid by lifting the plate so that the long hole formed in the plate is removed from the pin fixed to the shutter.
In the automatic rice cooker described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that a failure may occur if an arm, a plate, a pin, or the like of the power transmission mechanism is deformed. In order to solve this problem, the shutter is provided with a rack, and a pinion that meshes with the rack is provided, and the driving force from the output shaft of the motor is transmitted to the pinion via the gear transmission mechanism, and the pinion is rotationally driven. Therefore, it is considered to open and close the rice slot by sliding the shutter.

  In the case where the shutter is slid by this rack and pinion, the rack can rotate the pinion by manually sliding the shutter from the closed position to the closing direction, so the shutter can be removed. It is said that.

JP-A-8-279543

In the case where the shutter is slid by the rack and pinion, when the shutter is removed, the shutter can be driven in the sliding direction by the motor, so the shutter is moved from the closed position to the closing operation direction. When the slide is moved manually, the output shaft of the motor is rotated via the power transmission mechanism, and there is a problem that the operation of removing the shutter is heavy.
Therefore, even if the shutter can be removed by manually sliding the shutter from the closed position to the closing operation direction while the shutter can be driven in the sliding direction by a motor, the shutter can be removed. The object is to provide a rice cooker that can be operated lightly.

  The technical means taken by the present invention in order to solve the technical problem comprises a rice washing device for washing rice and dropping it to a lower rice cooker, and the upper lid for closing the inner pot of the rice cooker A rice inlet is formed to allow the rice dropped and discharged from the rice washing apparatus to pass through, and a shutter that is slidable between a closed position for closing the rice inlet and an open position for opening the rice inlet is provided. A motor driven in the sliding direction, and when the shutter is removed by manually sliding the shutter from the closed position to the closing operation direction, the motor output shaft does not rotate during the removal operation of the shutter. Furthermore, a play is provided in a power transmission mechanism between the motor and the shutter.

The power transmission mechanism includes a rack attached to the shutter and a pinion that meshes with the rack, and the pinion is meshed with the rack by driving the pinion by the driving force of the motor. The shutter may be configured to be driven in the sliding direction.
The rotational power of the motor may be transmitted to the pinion via a torque limiter.
In addition, a transmission shaft coupled to the output shaft of the motor via a torque limiter is provided, and power is transmitted from the transmission shaft to the pinion, and between the output shaft of the motor and the torque limiter. The play may be provided.

  Further, it is preferable that power is transmitted from the transmission shaft to the pinion via a gear transmission mechanism.

  According to the present invention, even if the shutter can be removed by manually sliding the shutter from the closed position to the closing operation direction while the shutter can be driven in the sliding direction by the motor, By the play provided in the power transmission mechanism between the shutter and the shutter, the shutter can be removed without rotating the output shaft of the motor, and the shutter removal operation is light.

It is a front view of a rice cooker. It is a side view of a rice cooker. It is a rear view of the lower part side of a rice cooker. It is front sectional drawing of a rice cooker. It is side surface partial sectional drawing of the up-and-down middle part of a rice cooker. It is a side view which shows the state which has a raising / lowering frame in an upper cover closed position. It is a side view which shows the state which has a raising / lowering frame in an upper cover raising position. It is a side view which shows the state which has a raising / lowering frame in an upper cover lowest position. (A) is a front view of the swing arm, (b) is a side view of the swing arm, and (c) is an enlargement of the tip end side of the swing arm at the lowermost position of the upper lid. It is a perspective view of a swing frame and a shutter. It is side surface sectional drawing of the assembly of a rocking | fluctuation frame, an upper cover, a shutter, and a shutter drive device. It is a front view, such as a rocking | fluctuation frame and an upper cover. It is a front fragmentary sectional view of the up-and-down middle part of a rice cooker. It is side surface partial sectional drawing of a torque limiter attachment part. It is a top view which shows a raising / lowering frame and a shutter drive device. It is a plane schematic diagram showing a power transmission mechanism.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes an automatic rice cooker that automatically performs weighing, rice washing, and rice cooking of rice by microcomputer control.
The rice cooker 1 includes a machine frame 2, a rice storage 3 provided at the top of the machine frame 2, a rice washing tank 4 provided below the rice storage 3, and a lower part of the rice washing tank 4. It has the provided rice cooker 5, and the mounting base 6 provided in the lower end side of the machine frame 2 in order to mount this rice cooker 5. As shown in FIG.
The machine frame 2 includes a base member 7 having a rectangular shape in plan view at the lower end, a pair of left and right support members 8 erected on the left and right sides of the rear end of the base member 7, and lower portions of the left and right support members 8. And a connecting member 9 for connecting the two.

The rice storage 3 includes a box-shaped case 11 with an upper end opening, a rice tank 12 with an upper end opening stored in the upper side of the case 11, and upper openings of the case 11 and the rice storage tank 12. And a lid body 13 that can be freely opened and closed.
The rear end side of the lower surface of the case 11 is fixed to the upper ends of the left and right support members 8 of the machine frame 2.
The upper opening of the rice storage tank 12 is a rice inlet, and a rice discharge port 14 for discharging the rice in the rice storage tank 12 is provided at the lower end side of the rice storage tank 12.
The rice washing tank 4 has a cylindrical upper portion and a lower portion formed in a tapered funnel shape downward, and an opening at the upper and lower ends, and a detachable attachment to the lower end of the tank main body 16. A drainage jacket 17 that is freely attached and communicates with the inside of the tank body 16 through the lower end opening of the tank body 16 is provided.

The upper end side of the rice washing tank 4 is detachably attached to a tank support 18 fixed to the lower wall of the case 11.
The upper surface of the tank support 18 is fixedly attached to the lower wall of the case 11, and the upper surface of the upper wall is exposed in the case 11 through an opening formed in the lower wall of the case 11. Yes.
The tank support 18 has a cylindrical mounting portion 19 that protrudes downward, and the upper end side of the rice washing tank 4 is detachably attached to the mounting portion 19 via a plurality of fixtures 21 (patching locks). The upper end opening of the rice washing tank 4 is closed by a tank support 18.

On the upper wall of the tank support 18, a rice passage port 22 is formed below the rice discharge port 14 at the lower end of the rice storage tank 12. Between the rice passage port 22 and the rice discharge port 14, A rice meter 23 is provided for measuring the rice in the rice storage tank 12 and supplying it to the rice washing tank 4.
The rice measuring instrument 23 is configured such that a cylindrical measuring drum 25 is housed horizontally in a casing having an opening at the top and bottom so that the axial center coincides with the front-rear direction, and the measuring drum 25 is rotated around an axis. It has a motor to drive.
The upper end opening of the casing of the rice meter 23 communicates with the rice discharge port 14, and the lower end opening communicates with the rice passage port 22.

An opening extending in the axial direction is formed in a part of the peripheral wall of the measuring drum 25, and when the opening of the measuring drum 25 faces upward, the rice in the rice storage tank 12 flows into the measuring drum 25, and is measured. When the opening of the drum 25 is directed downward, the rice in the measuring drum 25 is dropped and supplied into the rice washing tank 4 through the rice passage port 22.
Therefore, the rice meter 23 is configured so that the rice in the rice storage tank 12 can be measured by the number of rotations of the measuring drum 25.
The rice cooker 1 is provided with a water supply device for supplying water (tap water) into the rice washing tank 4.

A stirring rod 26 for stirring the rice in the tank 4 is provided in the rice washing tank 4.
The stirring rod 26 is supported on the upper wall of the tank support 18 so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis, and is rotationally driven by a stirring motor provided on the upper surface side of the tank support 18 to supply water into the rice washing tank 4. By rotating the stirring rod 26, the rice in the rice washing tank 4 is washed.
On the lower surface side of the drainage jacket 17, there is provided a rice draining port 27 for discharging the washed rice together with water addition / reduction. The rice draining port 27 is closed by a conical rice draining valve 28 so as to be freely opened and closed. .

The rice drain valve 28 is attached to the lower end of a valve rod 29 arranged in the vertical direction in the center of the rice washing tank 4, and the valve rod 29 is lifted and lowered by a lifting mechanism provided on the upper surface side of the tank support 18. When the rice drain valve 29 is raised, the rice drain port 27 is closed, and when it is lowered, the rice drain port 27 is opened.
A drainage box 31 is provided on the side of the drainage jacket 17, and the drainage box 31 and the drainage jacket 17 communicate with each other by a drainage pipe 32.
Further, in the drainage jacket 17, a separation plate 33 formed in a truncated conical cylinder shape so as to surround a space between the lower end opening of the tank body 16 of the rice washing tank 4 and the rice discharge port 27 is provided. .

The separation plate 33 is formed with many small holes that allow water to pass but not pass rice, so that the rice sharpening juice flows from the drainage jacket 17 to the drainage box 31 with small impurities. Sharpening soup or the like flows from the drainage box 31 to the drainage groove.
In the drain box 31, an on-off valve 34 is provided that can open and close a fluid inlet port from the drain jacket 17 side to the drain box 31.
The tank support 18 is provided with an overflow port 35 for draining water overflowed from the rice washing tank 4, and this overflow port 35 communicates with the drainage box 31 via the vertical drainage pipe 36 (therefore, the rice washing is performed). The water and impurities overflowed from the tank 4 flow from the drain box 31 to the drain groove).

A rice washing apparatus for washing rice is constituted by the rice washing tank 4, the stirring rod 26, a stirring motor that drives the stirring rod 26, a rice drain valve 28, a lifting mechanism that moves the rice drain valve 28 up and down, and the like.
The mounting table 6 is provided on the base member 7 of the machine frame 2 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction (front-rear direction). In this embodiment, a gripping portion 37 is provided at the front portion of the mounting table 6. The main body (inner pot and outer pot) is configured to be able to be pulled out from directly under the rice washing tank 4 to the front side of the rice washing tank 4.
The rice cooker 5 includes an inner pot 38, an upper lid 39 that closes and opens the upper end opening of the inner pot 38, and an outer pot 40 that includes the inner pot 38 and includes a heating device that heats the inner pot 38. Have.

In the upper lid 39 of the rice cooker 5, a circular rice inlet 41 is formed for allowing the washed rice and the hydrated water reduced from the rice outlet 27 of the rice washing tank 4 to pass to the inner pot 38. (See FIG. 11 and the like).
A control device for controlling the rice cooker 1 is provided inside the front wall of the case 11 of the rice storage 3 and an operation panel 42 is provided on the front surface of the case 11 of the rice storage 3.
The operation panel 42 is provided with a start switch for starting the rice cooker 1, and the operation panel 42 allows selection of the amount of rice to be cooked, how to wash the rice (light to careful), cooking adjustment ( The selection of the type of cooking (normal white rice, brown rice, rice bran, rice crackers, etc.), etc. can be entered, and the rice in the rice storage box 3 can be input according to the conditions entered through the operation panel 42. Is weighed, washed, cooked and cooked automatically.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 16, the rice cooker 1 is provided with an elevating frame 43 supported by the machine frame 2 so as to be movable up and down, and the upper cover 39 is attached to the elevating frame 43. The elevating frame 43 is provided with a shutter 44 for opening and closing the rice slot 41 of the upper lid 39 and a shutter driving device 45 for driving the shutter 44.
As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of left and right guide rails 46 are disposed between the left and right support members 8 of the machine frame 2, and the upper ends of the guide rails 46 are fixed to the lower surface of the case 11 of the rice storage 3 and the lower ends. Is fixed to the connecting member 9 of the machine casing 2.

The left and right guide rails 46 are formed in a U-shaped plane cross section and are disposed so as to open to the opposite side.
As shown in FIGS. 6, 10, and 11, the elevating frame 43 includes a base frame 47, a support frame 48 provided at the rear portion of the base frame 47, and a shutter support frame 49 that supports the shutter 44. Have.
The base frame 47 includes a bottom wall 47a, left and right side walls 47b that rise from the left and right sides of the bottom wall 47a, and a connecting member 47c that connects upper portions of the left and right side walls 47b.

The base frame 47 is disposed so as to extend from the space between the left and right guide rails 46 to the space between the rice washing tank 4 and the rice cooker 5 (in other words, the base frame 47 has the left and right ends at the left and right sides). It is located between the guide rails 46 and is arranged so that the front side is located between the rice washing tank 4 and the rice cooker 5).
An operation handle 51 for raising and lowering the elevating frame 43 is provided at the right front portion of the base frame 47.
The support frame 48 includes left and right side walls 48a and an upper wall 48b that connects upper ends of the left and right side walls 48a. The lower end sides of the left and right side walls 48a are side walls of the base frame 47 that are on the same side in the left-right direction. It is fixed to the rear part of 47b. The rear side of the support frame 48 is located between the left and right guide rails 46.

A pair of upper and lower elevating rollers 52 are rotatably attached to the outer surface side of the left and right side walls 48a of the support frame 48 (see FIG. 5 and the like). The elevating rollers 52 are attached to the guide rail 46 on the same side in the left-right direction. The upper / lower frame 43 is supported by the left and right guide rails 46 (on the machine frame 2 side) so as to be movable up and down.
A substantially rectangular opening 53 is formed in the front portion of the bottom wall 47a of the base frame 47, and the substantially rectangular shutter support frame 49 is disposed so as to fit into the opening 53 (so as to close the opening 53). The shutter support frame 49 is fixed to the bottom wall 47 a of the base frame 47.

An upper lid 39 of the rice cooker 5 is attached and fixed to the lower surface side of the shutter support frame 49, and the shutter support frame 49 is concentric with the rice inlet 41 of the upper lid 39 and slightly smaller in diameter than the rice inlet 41. A hole 54 is formed, and rice and hydrated water can pass through the rice inlet 41 through the circular hole 54.
The shutter 44 is mounted on the shutter support frame 49 so as to close the circular hole 54 and is slidable on the shutter support frame 49 in a substantially horizontal direction (front-rear direction in this embodiment).

The shutter 44 can be repositioned to an open position for opening the rice inlet 41 by sliding backward from a closed position for closing the rice inlet 41 shown in FIG.
In addition, a shutter support base 56 that supports the shutter 44 when the shutter 44 is moved backward is provided at the rear portion on the bottom wall 47 a of the base frame 47.
A restricting member 57 is provided on the front side of the base frame 47 to restrict the forward movement from the closed position where the shutter 44 closes the circular hole 54.
The restricting member 57 is located between the lower portions on the front end side of the left and right side walls 47 b of the base frame 47 (below the connecting member 47 c), and the left and right end sides (left side) are attached to the support shaft 58 provided on the base frame 47. It is pivotally supported around an axis in the vertical direction, and the other left and right ends (right side) are fixed to the base frame 47 by a fixing tool 59 (a snap lock).

Therefore, by releasing the fixing tool 59, the restricting member 57 can be rotated around the support shaft 58, and the shutter 44 can be slid forward from the closed position (in the closing operation direction). The shutter 44 can be taken out.
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 14 to 16, the shutter drive device 45 includes a motor 61 serving as a drive source, and a power transmission mechanism 62 that transmits the power of the motor 61 to the shutter 44.
The motor 61 is mounted and fixed on a motor support base 63 provided on the left side of the upper surface of the upper wall 48b of the support frame 48, and the output shaft 64 of the motor 61 projects downward from the upper wall of the motor support base 63. And is driven to rotate about the vertical axis.

The power transmission mechanism 62 is fixed to the shutter 44 and a transmission shaft 66 disposed concentrically below the output shaft 64 of the motor, a torque limiter 67 that interlocks the transmission shaft 66 and the motor output shaft 64, and the shutter 44. A rack 68, a pinion 69 that meshes with the rack 68, and a gear transmission mechanism 70 that transmits power from the transmission shaft 66 to the pinion 69.
The transmission shaft 66 has an upper end supported on the upper wall 48b of the support frame 48 so as to be rotatable about the axis, and a lower end supported on the support plate 71 so as to be rotatable about the axis. 56 and is fixedly attached to a bent piece 72 provided at the upper end of the side wall 47b of the base frame 47.

The rack 68 is on the right side of the upper surface side of the shutter 44 so as to be along the front-rear direction (so that the teeth are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction), and the teeth are on the left side (the center side in the left-right direction of the shutter 44). Is mounted and fixed to the shutter 44.
The pinion 69 is disposed so as to be positioned on the rear end side of the rack 68 in a state in which the shutter 44 is positioned at the closed position, and is supported by the support plate 71 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis. .
The gear transmission mechanism 70 includes a first gear 73 provided integrally with the lower end side of the transmission shaft 66, a second gear 74 meshing with the first gear 73, and the second gear 74 and the pinion 69. The second gear 74 and the third gear 75 are rotatably supported by the support plate 71.

In the shutter driving device 45, by rotating the output shaft 64 of the motor 61, the rotational power is transmitted from the torque limiter 67 → the transmission shaft 66 → the gear transmission mechanism 70 → the pinion 69 so that the pinion 69 is When the pinion 69 is driven to rotate, the pinion 69 meshes with the rack 68 and slides the shutter 44 in the front-rear direction.
Further, when the shutter 44 is manually slid from the closed position to the closing operation direction (forward) and the shutter 44 is pulled forward, the pull-out force rotates the pinion 69 so that the rack 68 is detached from the pinion 69. The shutter 44 can be removed.

At this time, if the output shaft 64 of the motor 61 is also rotated together, a relatively large pulling force is required to pull the shutter 44 forward, but in this embodiment, the shutter is closed from the closed position. When the shutter 44 is manually slid in the operation direction (by the removal operation of the shutter 44), the power transmission mechanism 62 (in this embodiment, a torque limiter 67 and the like) is arranged so that the output shaft 64 of the motor 61 does not rotate. A play s is provided between the motor output shaft 64 (see FIG. 16B).
As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16B, the output shaft 64 of the motor 61 is inserted into the upper portion of the housing 76 of the torque limiter 67 so as to be relatively rotatable, and is positioned at a radially symmetric position so as to sandwich the output shaft 64. A pair of engaging projections 77 are fixedly provided on the upper surface of the housing 76 of the torque limiter 67.

Further, the output pin 64 of the motor 61 is provided with an engagement pin 78 in a radial direction so as to be interposed between the pair of engagement protrusions 77 in the rotation direction.
The upper end side of the transmission shaft 66 is inserted into the inner ring 79 of the torque limiter 67, and the inner ring 79 and the transmission shaft 66 are configured to rotate integrally in the forward / reverse rotation direction without play.
Therefore, when the output shaft 64 of the motor 61 is driven to rotate, the engagement pin 78 comes into contact with the rear side in the rotation direction of the engagement protrusion 77 and the engagement pin 78 presses the engagement protrusion 77, and the output of the motor 61 is output. Rotational power is transmitted from the shaft 64 to the housing 76 of the torque limiter 67.

In addition, a torque limiting member that generates a slip with a transmission torque of a predetermined value or more is provided in the housing 76 of the torque limiter 67, and torque is transmitted from the housing 76 to the inner ring 79 via the torque limiting member.
Therefore, for example, when something is bitten into the shutter 44 while the shutter 44 is sliding, if a load exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the torque limiter 67, the output shaft 64 of the motor 61 and the transmission are transmitted. An excessive load is prevented from being applied to the motor 61 due to the relative rotation of the shaft 66.

In the illustrated example, as shown in FIG. 16, when the output shaft 64 of the motor 61 is rotated in the direction of arrow a, the pinion 69 rotates in the direction of arrow b, and the shutter 44 is moved forward (arrow C)), that is, when the output shaft 64 of the motor 61 is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow a, the pinion 69 rotates in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow b. 44 moves rearward (opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow c), that is, in the opening operation direction.
Also, from the state in which one of the pin protrusions 78 a, which is the part where the engagement pin 78 protrudes from the output shaft 64, contacts one of the engagement protrusions 77 to the other engagement protrusion 77, The power transmission from the output shaft 64 to the torque limiter 67 is not performed.

The play s is taken from the time when one of the projecting portions 78a of the engaging pin 78 contacts one of the engaging projections 77 to the other engaging projection 77.
Accordingly, when the shutter 44 is pulled forward from the closed position shown in FIG. 16, the pinion 69, the first to third gears, the transmission shaft 66, and the torque limiter 67 rotate, but the engagement protrusion 77 contacts the engagement pin 78. Until this is done, the torque limiter 67 and the output shaft 64 of the motor 61 rotate relative to each other. At this time, the rack 68 is configured to be disengaged from the pinion 69 until the engagement protrusion 77 contacts the engagement pin 78.

The play may be provided between the transmission shaft 66 and the first gear 73 or may be provided in the middle of the transmission shaft 66.
Detectors 80 and 81 for detecting the open position and the closed position of the shutter 44 are provided on the upper surface of the support frame 48, the rear detector 80 is an open position detector, and the front detector 81 is It is a closed position detector.
Between the detectors 80 and 81 and the shutter 44, an interlocking member 82 interlocked with the moving operation of the shutter 44, and a contact fixed to the interlocking member 82 and contacting the contact of the detectors 80 and 81. This member 83 is provided.

The interlocking member 82 is formed by bending a bar, has an axial center in the vertical direction, has an upper end supported rotatably on the upper wall 48b of the support frame 48 and a lower end supported by the support plate 71. A support shaft portion 82a supported so as to rotate freely, an arm portion 82b extending from the lower end of the support shaft portion 82a toward the left side of the rear end of the shutter 44, and downward from the extension end of the arm portion 82b. And an engaging portion 82c extending to the center.
The upper end side of the support shaft portion 82a of the interlocking member 82 protrudes above the upper wall 48b of the support frame 48, and the contact member 83 is fixed to the upper end of the support shaft portion 82a.

A torsion coil spring (not shown) is externally fitted to the support shaft portion 82a, and the interlocking member 82 is urged by the spring so that the arm portion 82b swings forward.
On the left side of the rear end side of the upper surface of the shutter 44, a pair of front and rear engaging walls 84, 85 are provided for engaging the engaging portion 82c of the interlocking member 82.
The engaging portion 82c of the interlocking member 82 is inserted between the front and rear engaging walls 84 and 85 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. When the shutter 44 moves rearward, the engaging portion 82c is pressed against the front engaging wall 84. As a result, the arm portion 82b of the interlocking member 82 swings backward, and when the shutter 44 moves forward, the engagement portion 82c is pressed by the rear engagement wall 85 and swings forward.

When the arm portion 82b of the interlocking member 82 swings back and forth, the contact member 83 swings back and forth around the axis of the support shaft portion 82a of the interlocking member 82 in conjunction with this, and the contact member 83 opens. The motor 61 is controlled so that the shutter 44 stops at the open position when contacting the position detector 80, and the shutter 44 stops at the closed position when the contact member 83 contacts the closed position detector 81.
The right end side 84a of the front engagement wall 84 protrudes toward the center side (right side) of the left-right direction shutter 44 from the rear engagement wall 85, and is behind the right end side 84a of the front engagement wall 84 and rear engagement. The engaging portion 82c of the interlocking member 82 can pass in the front-rear direction on the right side of the wall 85.

Accordingly, when the shutter 44 is pulled out from the closed position shown in FIG. 16 to the front side, the arm portion 82b of the interlocking member 82 is swung forward by the biasing force of the spring, so that the engaging portion 82c is automatically moved from the rear engaging wall 85. Since it comes off, the shutter 44 can be taken out.
Further, in the state where the shutter 44 is taken out, the arm portion 82b of the interlocking member 82 comes into contact with a stopper 86 provided on the lower surface side of the support plate 71 so that the swinging to the front side is restricted. 82c is positioned at a position where it can contact the right end side of the front engaging wall 84 when the shutter 44 is attached.

In the state where the rice cooker 5 is located at the lower position of the rice washing tank 4, the elevating frame 43 has an upper lid closed position which is a position where the upper end opening of the inner pot 38 is closed by the upper lid 39 as shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 7, the upper lid 39 can be raised and lowered between the upper lid raising position located above the inner hook 38.
In the state where the elevating frame 43 is located at the upper lid closing position, the supply of rice and hydrated water from the rice washing tank 4 and rice cooking are performed.
In the state where the lifting frame 43 is located at the upper lid raising position, the upward movement is restricted by the lifting roller 52 coming into contact with the stopper 87 provided on the guide rail 46, and the shutter 44 is located at the lower end of the rice washing tank 4. Prevents contact. Moreover, the outer pot 40 and the inner pot 38 of the mounting table 6 and the rice cooker 5 can be pulled forward at the upper lid raising position.

A support bracket 88 is fixed to the middle portion of the right guide rail 46 in the vertical direction. The support bracket 88 has upper and lower walls 88a and 88b whose rear sides are fixed to the guide rail 46, and a side wall 88c that connects the left and right outer ends (right ends) of the upper and lower walls 88a and 88b. In the rear view, the rice cooker 5 is formed in an open U-shape toward the center in the left-right direction.
On the inner surface side of the front portion of the side wall 88c of the support bracket 88, the rear end side of the swing arm 89 is pivotally supported about the left and right axes via an arm pivot 90 and a bearing 91. The swing arm 89 can swing up and down around the axis of the arm pivot 90.

As shown in FIG. 9, the swing arm 89 includes upper and lower walls 92 and 93, a side wall 94 that connects the left and right outer ends (right end sides) of the upper and lower walls 92 and 93, and the left and right sides of the upper wall 92. An extension wall 95 extending downward from the inner end side in the direction, a rising wall 96 extending upward from the front end of the upper wall 92, and a picture extending forward from the upper end of the rising wall 96. And a piece 97.
A side wall 94 of the swing arm 89 is pivotally supported on the support bracket 88 via the arm pivot shaft 90.
On the rear side of the right side wall 47b of the base frame 47 of the elevating frame 43 and the front side of the support frame 48, an engagement roller 98 made of a bearing roller is provided so as to be rotatable about the left and right axis. The engagement roller 98 is inserted between the upper and lower walls 92 and 93 of the swing arm 89 so as to be movable in the arm longitudinal direction.

Therefore, when the elevating frame 43 is raised, the engaging roller 98 rolls on the lower surface of the upper wall 92 of the oscillating arm 89 to swing the oscillating arm 89 upward, and when the elevating frame 43 is lowered, the engaging roller 98 engages. While the roller 98 rolls on the upper surface of the lower wall 93 of the swing arm 89, the swing arm 89 swings downward.
Further, a spring hooking portion 99 made of a pin is provided on the rear side of the support bracket 88 (behind the arm pivot 90), and one end side (rear end side) of the switching spring 100 made of a coil spring is hooked on the spring hooking portion 99. The other end side (front end side) of the switching spring 100 is hooked by a spring hooking portion 101 formed of a pin provided on the front portion of the outer surface of the side wall 94 of the swing arm 89.

When the elevating frame 43 is located at the upper lid closing position, the axial center of the switching spring 100 is located below the arm pivot 90, so that the urging force of the switching spring 100 causes the swing arm 89 to swing downward. Acts to move. That is, the switching spring 100 urges the elevating frame 43 through the swing arm 89 and the engagement roller 98 so as to be lowered.
Further, when the elevating frame 43 is located at the upper lid raising position, the axial center of the switching spring 100 is located above the arm pivot 90, so that the urging force of the switching spring 100 causes the swing arm 89 to move upward. Acts to rock. That is, the switching spring 100 biases the lifting frame 43 through the swing arm 89 and the engagement roller 98 so as to lift.

Therefore, the biasing force of the switching spring 100 is such that the lifting frame 43 is lifted and lowered to bias the lifting frame 43 to the upper lid closing position, and the lifting frame 43 is biased to the upper lid raising position. Can be switched to.
In this embodiment, the lifting frame 43 can be held at the upper lid closed position or the upper lid raised position by the biasing force of the switching spring 100.
Further, when the elevating frame 43 is held in the upper lid raising position, the elevating frame 43, the upper lid 39, the shutter 44, the swing arm 89, the engaging roller 98, etc. must be lifted against their own weights, so that the switching spring The spring force of 100 has to be increased, making it difficult to assemble the switching spring 100. If the spring force of the switching spring 100 is strong, a large lifting force is required when lifting the lifting frame 43 from the upper lid closing position. Necessary.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the lifting frame 43 is suspended from the machine frame 2 via the suspension spring 102 to reduce the size of the switching spring 100 and reduce the lifting force of the lifting frame 43.
A pair of left and right suspension springs 102 are provided on the back side of the lifting frame 43, and the upper end side of the suspension spring 102 extends downward from the rear end of the bottom wall 47 a of the case 11 of the rice storage 3. The suspension spring 102 is hooked on the wall 103, and the lower end side of the suspension spring 102 is hooked on a hook piece 104 provided on the rear end of the upper wall 48 b of the support frame 48.

The spring force of the suspension spring 102 is set so that, for example, the lifting frame 43 is located in the upper lid closed position or near the upper lid closed position (may be above or below the upper lid closed position) with the switching spring 100 removed. Is done.
Alternatively, the spring force of the suspension spring 102 is such that the elevating frame 43 is positioned at a position between the position (dead point) at which the urging force of the switching spring 100 is switched and the upper lid closed position, with the switching spring 100 removed. Is set.
Accordingly, the spring force of the switching spring 100 is not increased, and the lifting force of the lifting frame 43 can be reduced.

Further, in the case where the lifting frame 43 is below the rice washing tank 4, the lifting frame 43 becomes an obstacle when removing the rice washing tank 4 or removing the drainage jacket 17.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the lifting frame 43 is in a state where the upper lid is lowered below the upper lid closed position, as shown in FIG. 8, with the outer pot 40 of the rice cooker 5 pulled out from the lower position of the rice washing tank 4. It is configured to be able to be lowered.
When the outer pot 40 of the rice cooker 5 is pulled out from the lower position of the rice washing tank 4, the elevating frame 43 is closed by the weight of the elevating frame 43, the shutter 44 and the like and the biasing force of the switching spring 100. Move further down from the position.

And if the raising / lowering frame 43 is further pulled down from this lowered position, the raising / lowering frame 43 will be in the upper lid lowest position shown in FIG.
Therefore, in the state where the main body side of the rice cooker 5 is taken out from the lower position of the rice washing tank 4 and the switching spring 100 is switched so as to move the lifting frame 43 downward, the lifting frame 43 is in the upper lid closed position and the upper lid lowest position. So that the urging force of the switching spring 100 and the urging force of the suspending spring 102 are balanced so that the elevating frame 43 is urged by the urging force of the suspending spring 102 at the lowermost position of the upper lid. Is biased upward.

In this upper lid lowermost position, the swing arm 89 is downward and tilted backward, and the engagement roller 98 is detached from the lower surface of the upper wall 92 of the swing arm 89 and is below the rising wall 96 and photographed. It is located on the back side of the piece 97.
Further, as shown in FIG. 9C, the rising wall 96 of the swing arm 89 is inclined upward toward the front at the upper lid lowest position, and the photographing piece 97 is formed by the engaging roller 98. It touches the front side.
Therefore, when a lifting force is applied to the elevating frame 43 at the upper lid lowest position, the engaging roller 98 presses the rising wall 96 of the swing arm 89 from below, but the rising wall 96 faces forward. Since it is inclined upward, the force with which the engaging roller 98 presses the rising wall 96 acts to swing the swing arm 89 backward. Further, since the photographing piece 97 is in contact with the front side of the engaging roller 98, the swinging of the swinging arm 89 to the rear is restricted. As a result, the engagement roller 98 is locked without being disengaged from the rising wall 96 and the imaging piece 97 at the lowermost position of the upper lid, and the swing arm 89 is stretched to restrict the lifting of the lifting frame 43.

The rising wall 96 of the rocking arm 89 and the shooting piece 97 constitute an ascending restricting portion 106 that engages with the engaging roller 98 so as to restrict the ascending / descending of the elevating frame 43 at the lowermost position of the upper lid.
In order to raise the elevating frame 43 from the lowermost position of the upper lid, the raising restricting portion 106 is engaged with the engagement roller 98 by holding the photographing piece 97 and swinging the swing arm 89 forward and upward. Is released, and the lifting frame 43 can be raised.
In the structure described above, the engaging roller 98 is automatically fitted to the ascending restriction portion 106 by the operation of lowering the elevating frame 43, and the elevating frame 43 is locked at the lowermost position of the upper lid.

Further, by simply raising and lowering the lifting frame 43 with the operation handle 51, the lifting frame 43 can be repositioned to the upper lid raising position, the upper lid closing position, and the upper lid lowest position, and the operation is easy.
In addition, although the rice cooker 1 of this embodiment illustrated the fully automatic rice cooker 1 which performs a measurement of rice, rice washing, and rice cooking automatically by microcomputer control, the rice measurement, rice washing, and the rice washed with water addition and dehydration Until it is discharged downward, it may be automatically performed by the control device on the main unit side, and the rice cooking operation of the rice cooker 5 may be performed by the control device on the rice cooker 5 side.

5 Rice cooker 38 Inner pot 39 Top lid 41 Rice slot 44 Shutter 61 Motor 62 Power transmission mechanism 64 Output shaft 66 Transmission shaft 67 Torque limiter 68 Rack 69 Pinion 70 Gear transmission mechanism s Play

Claims (5)

  The rice washing device was equipped with a rice washing device for washing rice and dropping and discharging to the lower rice cooker (5), and the rice lid was dropped and discharged from the rice washing device to the upper lid (39) that closed the inner pot (38) of the rice cooker (5). A rice slot (41) for passing rice is formed, and a shutter (44) slidable between a closed position for closing the rice slot (41) and an open position for opening the rice slot (41) is provided. A motor (61) for driving the shutter (44) in the sliding direction, and detaching the shutter (44) by manually sliding the shutter (44) from the closed position to the closing operation direction. At the same time, the power transmission mechanism (62) between the motor (61) and the shutter (44) prevents the output shaft (64) of the motor (61) from rotating by the detaching operation of the shutter (44). Rice machine, characterized in that a play (s).   The power transmission mechanism (62) includes a rack (68) attached to the shutter (44) and a pinion (69) meshing with the rack (68), and is driven by the driving force of the motor (61). The said pinion (69) is driven, The said pinion (69) meshes with the said rack (68), The said shutter (44) is comprised so that it may drive in the said sliding direction. The rice cooker according to 1.   The rice cooker according to claim 2, characterized in that the rotational power of the motor (61) is transmitted to the pinion (69) via a torque limiter (67).   A transmission shaft (66) linked to the output shaft (64) of the motor (61) via a torque limiter (67) is provided, and power is transmitted from the transmission shaft (66) to the pinion (69). The rice cooker according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the play (s) is provided between the output shaft (64) of the motor (61) and the torque limiter (67).   The rice cooker according to claim 4, wherein power is transmitted from the transmission shaft (66) to the pinion (69) through a gear transmission mechanism (70).

Images