JP7320327B2 - Cooked rice feeder - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cooked rice supply device for supplying cooked rice to a container.

2. Description of the Related Art A cooked rice supply device is known for supplying cooked rice to a container such as a bowl or a lunch box when making lunch boxes, rice bowls, or the like. This cooked rice feeding device is a device for automatically feeding a fixed amount of cooked rice to a container by weighing the cooked rice in a hopper (storage section).

In the cooked rice supply device, a plurality of serving buttons (weight setting units) to which a supply weight of cooked rice is assigned are arranged in parallel. For example, a plurality of serving buttons are arranged on the front of the device, and different cooked rice weights are assigned to each button.

In such a cooked rice supply apparatus, when a container is placed at a predetermined position on the apparatus and a serving button corresponding to a desired weight is pressed, a predetermined amount of cooked rice in the hopper is conveyed, loosened, and dropped into the load cell. The set weight of boiled rice weighed by (measuring means) is drop-fed into the container.

Incidentally, as a cooked rice supply device for supplying cooked rice to a container, for example, those described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-186748) and Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-019492) are known. there is Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for quickly supplying a predetermined amount of food material to a container after specifying the weight of the food material. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for efficiently charging foodstuffs that have been accurately weighed into a mold.

JP 2018-186748 A JP 2016-019492 A

Here, the cooked rice weighing mechanism includes a so-called upper weighing mechanism that measures the weight of the cooked rice accumulated in the opening and closing cup installed on the drop path of the cooked rice, and a weighing mechanism that measures the weight of the cooked rice accumulated in the placed container. There is a so-called lower weighing mechanism for measuring.

In the case of the upper weighing mechanism, the set weight of cooked rice drops from the opening and closing cup all at once, so when the rice is served in a bowl-shaped container, the central portion becomes depressed, resulting in a mountain-like shape. difficult to serve.

On the other hand, in the case of the lower weighing mechanism, the cooked rice falls to almost one point in the container and is gradually accumulated, so that the rice is served in a mountain shape with a large raised center portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooked rice feeder capable of serving cooked rice in a desired shape in a container.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the cooked rice supply device of the present invention according to claim 1 comprises a storage section in which cooked rice is stored, a conveying means for conveying the cooked rice in the storage section, and the cooked rice fed from the conveying means. It is equipped with a loosening means for dropping while falling, a weight setting section for setting the weight of the cooked rice to be supplied to the container, and a serving shape setting section for setting the serving shape of the cooked rice to be supplied to the container, and is placed on the container placing section. a main body for dropping and supplying cooked rice to a container placed thereon; an openable cup placed on the main body so as to open and close the path of the cooked rice falling from the main body; and a weight of the cooked rice accumulated in the openable cup. a first weighing means for measuring; a second weighing means for measuring the weight of the cooked rice accumulated in the container placed on the container placing portion; and a serving shape set by the serving shape setting portion. and a control means for executing control to supply the cooked rice of the weight set by the weight setting unit to the container so that 2nd ridged shape with a flat surface, 3rd ridged shape with a relatively small ridge at the center, and 4th ridged shape with a relatively large ridge at the center The control means weighs only the first weighing means in the first heaping shape, and measures the first weighing means after weighing the second weighing means in the second heaping shape. It is weighed by the weighing means, weighed by the first weighing means in the third serving shape and then weighed by the second weighing means, and weighed by the second weighing means alone in the fourth serving shape. It is characterized by performing control of weighing and supplying cooked rice to the container .

According to the present invention, the first weighing means for measuring the weight of the cooked rice accumulated in the opening/closing cup, and the second weighing means for measuring the weight of the cooked rice accumulated in the container placed on the container placing portion. is provided, and the control unit selectively uses these weighing means to supply the set weight of cooked rice to the container so as to form the serving shape set by the serving shape setting unit. Therefore, it is possible to arrange the cooked rice in a desired shape in the container.

1 is a perspective view showing a cooked rice supply device that is an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cooked rice supply device of FIG. 1; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a heaping shape of cooked rice using only the first load cell, which is the upper weighing mechanism, in the cooked rice supply device of the present embodiment; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a heaping shape of cooked rice using only the second load cell, which is a lower weighing mechanism, in the cooked rice supply device of the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a heaping shape of cooked rice using the first load cell, which is the upper weighing mechanism, after using the second load cell, which is the lower weighing mechanism, in the cooked rice supply device of the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a heaping shape of cooked rice using the second load cell as the lower weighing mechanism after using the first load cell as the upper weighing mechanism in the cooked rice supply device of the present embodiment. 3 is a block diagram of a control system in the cooked rice supply device of the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of supplying cooked rice in the cooked rice supply device of the present embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment as an example of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings for describing the embodiments, in principle, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cooked rice feeding device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cooked rice feeding device of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cooked rice feeding apparatus A of the present embodiment includes a front plate 10, a rear plate 11 positioned behind the front plate 10, and side plates positioned on both sides of the front plate 10 and the rear plate 11. It is provided with a face plate 12 and has a body portion 1 with an opening 13 at the upper portion shown in FIG. The main body 1 is also provided with a lid 14 connected to the upper end of the back plate 11 via a hinge (not shown), and the lid 14 opens and closes the opening 13 .

As shown in the figure, the front panel 10 of the main body 1 is provided with a display section 15 and serving buttons (weight setting section and serving shape setting section) 16 . The display unit 15 is a screen for displaying operation commands, messages, etc., and is configured by, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

The serving button 16 is a button for setting the weight of the cooked rice R (FIGS. 3 to 6) supplied to the container S and the serving shape of the cooked rice R supplied to the container S. The weight (the weight of the cooked rice served in the container S) and the serving shape (the serving shape of the cooked rice R supplied to the container S) are registered as one set. In this embodiment, seven serving buttons 16 are arranged. For example, each serving button 16 is assigned a cooked rice weight of 100 g to 280 g in increments of 30 g and four types of serving shapes according to each cooked rice weight. It is

Here, the four types of pile shapes are, for example, a pile shape with a depressed center (first pile shape), a flat surface shape (second pile shape), and a central portion are relatively small raised shape (third raised shape), and a raised shape (fourth raised shape) has a relatively large central portion. These serving shapes are set with the cooked rice weight. 220g, 250g and the third serving shape are set, and the cooked rice weight of 280g and the fourth serving shape are set.

However, the number of serving buttons 16, the value of the cooked rice weight assigned to each serving button 16, and the serving shape are merely examples, and are not limited to these. Furthermore, the setting of the cooked rice weight and serving shape may be performed by a touch panel type or the like instead of the button type. Further, the details of the serving shape of the cooked rice R will be described later.

When the serving button 16 is pressed to start the operation of the device, a control unit (control means) 30 (to be described later) causes the conveying screw (conveying means) 23 to convey the cooked rice R and the cooked rice conveyed to the conveying screw 23. Unraveling and dropping operation by R unraveling roller (unraveling means) 24, opening and closing operation of opening and closing cup 25 for accumulating cooked rice R dropped from unraveling roller 24 and supplying to container S, and accumulation in opening and closing cup 25 The weighing operation of the cooked rice R to be weighed by the load cell (first weighing means) 41 and the weighing operation of the cooked rice R directly stored in the container S by the load cell (second weighing means) 41b are controlled.

A recessed space 17 having a predetermined depth and height is formed below the front plate 10 . This recessed space 17 is a space sufficient to accommodate the container S when the cooked rice R is served, and the cooked rice R drops from above and is supplied to the container S.

As shown in FIG. 2, inside the main body 1, two conveying screws (conveying means) 23 arranged in parallel to each other and spirally formed around a shaft are provided to store cooked rice R. A hopper (storage unit) 22 and a drum-shaped unraveling roller (unraveling means) 24 provided with a large number of claws 24a on the outer circumference for loosening and dropping the cooked rice R conveyed from the hopper 22 by the rotation of the conveying screw 23. is provided. Furthermore, directly below the unraveling roller 24 in the main body 1, an opening/closing cup 25 is attached to temporarily accumulate the weight of the cooked rice R falling from the unraveling roller 24. As shown in FIG.

The rotation axis of the unwinding roller 24 is positioned perpendicular to the rotation axis of the conveying screw 23 . As a result, the cooked rice R stored in the hopper 22 is conveyed to the loosening roller 24 by the rotation of the conveying screw 23 provided in the hopper 22 . Then, the cooked rice R conveyed to the unraveling roller 24 is dropped and discharged while being unraveled by the action of the claws 24a associated with the rotation of the unraveling roller 24. As shown in FIG.

A reverse screw 26 is installed above the conveying screw 23 for returning the surplus cooked rice R conveyed to the unraveling roller 24 by the conveying screw 23 (conveying in the direction opposite to the conveying screw 23).

The opening/closing cup 25 is positioned on the path of the cooked rice R dropped by the unraveling roller 24 described above. The opening/closing cup 25 has a shape that bulges downward so that the cooked rice R can be accumulated, and is formed of a pair of cup pieces that can be opened and closed downward. Then, under the control of the control unit 30, which will be described later, when the cooked rice R is accumulated and the weight is measured, the closed position is reached, and the accumulated cooked rice R is dropped and supplied to the container S after the weight measurement of the cooked rice R is completed. When doing so, the operation of measuring the cooked rice R and the operation of supplying the cooked rice R to the container S are performed by being in the open position.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a container placement portion 40 is provided directly below the opening/closing cup 25 on which a container S such as a bowl or lunch box is placed. The container mounting portion 40 is formed lower than the surroundings via a step so that the container S can be reliably mounted at a predetermined position. A first load cell (first weighing means) 41a (upper weighing mechanism) is provided so as to support the opening/closing cup 25, and a second load cell having a cantilever structure is provided below the container mounting portion 40. load cell (second weighing means) 41b is installed (lower weighing mechanism). The load cells 41a and 41b are load transducers that use, for example, strain gauges as detection elements and convert strain due to load into electric signals.

In the upper weighing mechanism, the first load cell 41a weighs the cooked rice R accumulated in the opening/closing cup 25 at the closed position. The boiled rice R is dropped and supplied collectively to the container S placed on the . In the lower weighing mechanism, the second load cell 41b weighs the cooked rice R that passes through the opening/closing cup 25 at the open position and is directly accumulated in the container S from the loosening roller 24. It is gradually dropped and supplied to the container S.

In the cooked rice supply apparatus A of the present embodiment, the cooked rice R is weighed and supplied using only the upper weighing mechanism, the cooked rice R is weighed and supplied using only the lower weighing mechanism, and the upper weighing mechanism and the lower weighing mechanism are used. It is designed to measure and supply cooked rice R using both.

Here, the shape of cooked rice to be served in the container S will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the shape of the serving of cooked rice using only the first load cell that is the upper weighing mechanism, and FIG. 4 is an explanation showing the shape of the serving of cooked rice using only the second load cell that is the lower weighing mechanism. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the shape of the heaping of cooked rice using the first load cell, which is the upper weighing mechanism, after using the second load cell, which is the lower weighing mechanism, and FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a serving shape of cooked rice using a second load cell, which is a lower weighing mechanism, after using a load cell of 1;

As described above, the button 16 has a first raised shape in which the central portion is depressed, a second raised shape in which the surface is flat, and a third raised shape in which the central portion is relatively small. Four types of piled shapes are assigned, including a piled shape and a fourth piled shape having a relatively large center portion.

Now, when only the first load cell 41a, which is the upper weighing mechanism, is used, when the target weight of cooked rice R1 is accumulated in the opening/closing cup 25 at the closed position, the opening/closing cup 25 is opened. The cooked rice R1 drops all at once. Therefore, the serving shape of the cooked rice R1 in the container S is, as shown in FIG. 3, a shape in which the central portion is depressed (first serving shape). In this case, since the cooked rice R1 is dropped into the container all at once, the density of the cooked rice increases due to the drop impact, and the fluffy texture is relatively poor. However, since the cooked rice R1 can be weighed and accumulated in the opening/closing cup 25 in advance, the cooked rice R1 can be served quickly in the container S.

In addition, when only the second load cell 41b, which is a lower weighing mechanism, is used, the cooked rice R2 loosened by the loosening roller 24 is directly (without once accumulated in the open/close cup 25) almost at one point in the container S. It falls and accumulates gradually. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the rice R2 is arranged in the container S in a mountain-like shape with a relatively large central portion (fourth arrangement). In this case, the cooked rice R2 is gradually accumulated and the density of the cooked rice is lowered, so that a soft texture can be obtained.

Furthermore, first, the second load cell 41b, which is the lower weighing mechanism, is used to directly supply the cooked rice R2 to the container S, and then the first load cell 41a, which is the upper weighing mechanism, is used to feed the cooked rice R1 from the opening/closing cup 25 to the container S. , first, the fourth serving shape is reflected in the container S, and the cooked rice R2 is served in a mountain shape with a raised central portion, and the first serving is applied on top of it. Reflecting the shape, the cooked rice R1 is served with a thin central portion and a thick peripheral portion. Therefore, the cooked rice R is arranged in the container S in a shape with a flattened surface as shown in FIG. 5 (second arrangement shape).

First, the first load cell 41a, which is the upper weighing mechanism, is used to supply the cooked rice R1 from the opening/closing cup 25 to the container S, and then the second load cell 41b, which is the lower weighing mechanism, is used to directly supply the cooked rice R2 to the container S. , the first serving shape is first reflected in the container S, and the cooked rice R1 is served in a shape with a depressed center, and the fourth serving shape is reflected thereon. Then, the cooked rice R2 is served in the shape of a mountain with a raised central portion. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the heaping shape of the cooked rice R in the container S is a shape in which the central portion is relatively small and raised (third heaping shape).

In the present embodiment, in the second serving shape and the third serving shape, the weight of the cooked rice R to be served first is about 70% of the set weight, and the weight of the cooked rice R to be served later is about 70% of the set weight. It is about 30%. This is because when the cooked rice R is dropped and supplied into the container S having the shape used in the present embodiment, the weight distribution is such that the surface is flattened (second serving shape) or the center This is because the raised shape (third raised shape) in which the portion swells relatively small is formed. Therefore, depending on the shape of the container S, the weight distribution different from that of the present embodiment results in the second serving shape or the third serving shape.

It should be noted that the weight distribution and the arrangement shape based on this can be freely set, and are not limited to the present embodiment. Also, weight distribution settings may be adjustable.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of the cooked rice supply device A having the above configuration.

As shown in the figure, the cooked rice supply device A of the present embodiment includes a control unit 30 configured by a microcomputer or the like for controlling the operation of the device. In addition to the load cell 41a and the second load cell 41b, a conveying motor M1 for rotationally driving the conveying screw 23, a reverse motor M2 for rotationally driving the reverse screw 26, A motor M3 for unwinding, a motor M4 for opening and closing the opening/closing cup 25, and the like are provided.

Next, the operation of supplying cooked rice R in the cooked rice supply apparatus A of the present embodiment will be described. Here, FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the operation of supplying cooked rice in the cooked rice supplying apparatus of the present embodiment.

First, the cooked rice R is put into the hopper 22 and the lid 14 is closed. Next, the container S is placed on the container placing portion 40, and any one of the seven serving buttons 16 is pressed to set the desired weight of the cooked rice R to be supplied to the container S (step S1). . By this operation, the weight and shape of the cooked rice R to be served in the container S are set.

In step S1, when the serving button 16 preset with the first serving shape is pressed, the first load cell 41a, which is the upper weighing mechanism, is used to weigh the entire amount of the set weight of cooked rice R1, and the open/close cup is placed. 25 to the container S (step S2). As a result, the cooked rice R1 is served in a shape in which the central portion is depressed (see FIG. 3).

When the serving button 16 preset with the second serving shape is pressed in step S1, first, 70% of the set weight of cooked rice R2 is weighed using the second load cell 41b, which is a lower weighing mechanism. and directly supplied to the container S (step S3). Next, 30% of the set weight of cooked rice R1 is weighed using the first load cell 41a, which is an upper weighing mechanism, and supplied from the opening/closing cup 25 to the container S (step S4). As a result, the cooked rice R is served in a flattened shape (see FIG. 5).

When the serving button 16 preset with the third serving shape is pressed in step S1, first, 70% of the set weight of cooked rice R1 is weighed using the first load cell 41a, which is the upper weighing mechanism. is supplied from the opening/closing cup 25 to the container S (step S5). Next, 30% of the set weight of cooked rice R2 is weighed using the second load cell 41b, which is a lower weighing mechanism, and directly supplied to the container S (step S6). As a result, the cooked rice R is served in a shape in which the central portion is relatively small and raised (see FIG. 6).

Then, when the serving button 16 preset with the fourth serving shape is pressed in step S1, the second load cell 41b, which is the lower weighing mechanism, is used to weigh the entire set weight of cooked rice R2. It is supplied directly to the container S (step S7). As a result, the cooked rice R2 is served in a shape in which the central portion is relatively raised ( see FIG. 4 ).

As described above, according to the cooked rice supply apparatus A of the present embodiment, the first load cell 41a for measuring the weight of the cooked rice R accumulated in the opening/closing cup 25 and the container S placed on the container placement section 40 A second load cell 41b is provided for measuring the weight of the cooked rice R accumulated in the platter 30. By selectively using these load cells 41a and 41b, the control unit 30 measures the weight set by the serving button 16. And since the cooked rice R in the serving shape is supplied to the container S, it becomes possible to serve the cooked rice R in the container S with a desired weight and shape.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are illustrative in all respects and are limited to the disclosed technology. isn't it. That is, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a restrictive manner based on the description of the above embodiments, but should be construed according to the description of the scope of claims. All modifications are included as long as they do not deviate from the description technology and equivalent technology and the gist of the claims.

For example, in the present embodiment, the cooked rice R is weighed and supplied using only the load cells 41a and 41b, and the cooked rice R is weighed and supplied selectively using the first load cell 41a and the second load cell 41b. are performed, it is not necessary to use only the load cells 41a and 41b.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the first load cell 41a and the second load cell 41b are selectively used once each, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, each may be used twice or more, or one may be used once and the other may be used twice.

In the present embodiment, the serving button 16 is registered as a set of the weight of the cooked rice R supplied to the container S and the serving shape of the cooked rice R supplied to the container S. Separately, a button for setting the weight of the rice plate and a button for setting the serving shape of the cooked rice may be provided.

Further, in the present embodiment, the main body 1 includes a hopper 22 in which cooked rice R is stored, a conveying screw 23 for conveying the cooked rice R in the hopper 22, and the cooked rice R conveyed from the conveying screw 23, and falls while loosening. Although the unraveling roller 24 is provided, the body portion 1 may be configured by members other than these.

The container in which cooked rice is served by the cooked rice supply device of the present invention is not limited to a rice bowl, and various containers such as a tray-shaped lunch box and a curry dish can be applied.

1 main body 16 heaping button (weight setting section, heaping shape setting section)
22 hopper (reservoir)
23 transport screw (transport means)
24 unraveling roller (unraveling means)
25 open/close cup 30 control unit (control means)
40 container mounting portion 41a first load cell (first weighing means)
41b second load cell (second weighing means)
A Cooked rice supply device S Containers R, R1, R2 Cooked rice

Claims (1)

A reservoir for storing cooked rice, a conveying means for conveying the cooked rice in the reservoir, a loosening means for loosening and dropping the cooked rice sent from the conveying means, and a weight setting for setting the weight of the cooked rice to be supplied to the container. a main body portion for dropping and supplying the cooked rice to the container placed on the container placing portion;
an opening/closing cup placed on the main body so as to be able to open and close the path of the cooked rice falling from the main body;
a first measuring means for measuring the weight of the cooked rice accumulated in the opening/closing cup;
a second measuring means for measuring the weight of the cooked rice accumulated in the container placed on the container placing portion;
a control means for executing control to supply the cooked rice of the weight set by the weight setting unit to the container so that the serving shape is set by the serving shape setting unit ;
In the pile shape setting unit, a first pile shape with a depressed central portion, a second pile shape with a flat surface, a third pile shape with a relatively small rise at the center, and It is possible to set a fourth heaping shape in which the central portion is relatively raised,
The control means weighs only the first weighing means in the first heaping shape, and weighs the second heaping shape by the second weighing means and then weighs the first weighing means. In the third heaping shape, weighing is performed by the second weighing means after being weighed by the first weighing means, and in the fourth heaping shape, weighing is performed only by the second weighing means, perform control to supply cooked rice to the container;
A cooked rice supply device characterized by:

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