JP7486262B2 - Food material supplying device and food material supplying method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a food supplying device and a food supplying method, and in particular to a technology that is effective when applied to improve the weight accuracy of food supplied to a food receiving section.

When making bento lunches or rice bowls, there is a known food supplying device that supplies cooked rice (food) to a container (food receiving part) such as a lunch box or bowl. This food supplying device measures cooked rice in a hopper (food storage part) to a set weight and automatically supplies the set weight of cooked rice to the container.

In the food supply device, cooked rice is transported by a transport screw (transport means), loosened by a drum-shaped loosening roller (loosening means), dropped and weighed, and a preset weight of cooked rice is supplied (plated) into a container.

Such food supply devices are required to supply cooked rice with high weight accuracy relative to the set weight. One technique for achieving this is to stop supplying the cooked rice when the measured value exceeds the set weight, and then re-weigh the rice after a specified time has elapsed in which the response of the load cell (weighing means) has stabilized. If the measured value is short of the set weight, normal weighing operations are performed to make up for the shortfall.

As a technology for improving the weight accuracy of the cooked rice being supplied, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication No. 2006-081459) is known. This Patent Document 1 uses the mechanism of the main cooked rice supply section to top up the remaining amount, and specifically describes a technology in which a rotating drum that can be changed to high and low speed is provided, the main amount of cooked rice is sent to the measuring chamber by rotating the rotating drum at high speed, and the remaining amount is supplied by rotating the rotating drum at low speed.

JP 2006-081459 A

In a structure where cooked rice is dropped, there is a time lag between the weight of the cooked rice being measured being recognized as a measured value by the load cell and the time it takes for the rice to fall.

In the case of the technology mentioned above, that is, the operation of compensating for the shortage weight by normal weighing operation, the supply of rice is stopped after the machine recognizes that the measured value of the cooked rice is equal to or exceeds the required compensation weight, so there is a risk that the weight will be excessive due to the time lag, and the cooked rice, which is an ingredient, will be supplied in excess.

The present invention was made in light of the above technical background, and aims to provide a food supplying device and a food supplying method that can supply food with high weight accuracy relative to a set weight.

In order to solve the above problem, the food supplying device of the present invention described in claim 1 comprises a food supplying means for dropping and supplying food to a food receiving section, a driving means for driving the food supplying means, a weighing means for measuring the weight of the food supplied to the food receiving section, and a control means for controlling the driving means so that a set weight of food is dropped and supplied to the food receiving section, wherein the control means stops the operation of the food supplying means if the food measured during the drop reaches the set weight and re-weighs the food after a stabilization time has elapsed during which the measurement value of the weighing means stabilizes , and if the re-weighed weight does not reach the set weight, controls the food supplying operation, which is configured in a predetermined operating mode, to be performed at least once until the set weight is reached.

The food supplying device of the present invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1 , the filling operation is an operation in which the driving means fills food for a first filling time and weighs it after the stabilization time has elapsed.

The food supplying device of the present invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1 , the compensation operation is an operation in which, when the re-weighed weight is a predetermined shortfall weight or more with respect to the set weight, the food is compensated for by the driving means over a first compensation time and weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed, and when the re-weighed weight is below the predetermined shortfall weight with respect to the set weight, the food is compensated for by the driving means over a second compensation time longer than the first compensation time and weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed, this operation being performed at least once until the food is equal to or greater than the predetermined shortfall weight, and then the food is compensated for by the driving means over the first compensation time and weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed.

The food ingredient supplying device of the present invention described in claim 4 is an invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that the food ingredient supplying means comprises a conveying means for conveying food ingredients in a food ingredient storage section in a predetermined direction, a loosening means for dropping the food ingredients conveyed to the conveying means while breaking it down in a loosening manner, and an opening/closing means arranged to be openable and closable in the food ingredient drop path, the driving means comprises a conveying driving means for driving the conveying means, a loosening driving means for driving the loosening means, and an opening/closing driving means for driving the opening/closing means, the opening/closing means accumulates food ingredients dropped from the loosening means in the closed position, and drops and supplies the accumulated food ingredients to the food ingredient receiving section in the open position, and the weighing means is arranged to be able to weigh the food ingredients accumulated in the opening/closing means when in the closed position.

The food ingredient supplying device of the present invention described in claim 5 is an invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that the food ingredient supplying means comprises a conveying means for conveying food ingredients in a food ingredient storage section in a predetermined direction, a loosening means for dropping the food ingredients conveyed to the conveying means while breaking it down in a loosening manner, and an opening/closing means arranged to be openable and closable in the food ingredient drop path, the driving means comprises a conveying driving means for driving the conveying means, a loosening driving means for driving the loosening means, and an opening/closing driving means for driving the opening/closing means, the opening/closing means opening the drop path in the open position to allow food ingredients dropped from the loosening means to be supplied to the food ingredient receiving section, and closing the drop path in the closed position, and the weighing means being arranged to be able to weigh the food ingredients supplied to the food ingredient receiving section.

In order to solve the above problem, the food ingredient supplying method of the present invention described in claim 6 is a food ingredient supplying method in which a set weight of food ingredients is dropped into a food ingredient receiving section, and if the food ingredients measured by a weighing means during the drop reach the set weight, the food ingredient supplying operation is stopped and re-weighing is performed after a stabilization time has elapsed in which the measurement value of the weighing means stabilizes, and if the re-weighed weight does not reach the set weight, a food ingredient supplementing operation configured in a predetermined operating mode is performed at least once until the set weight is reached.

The food supplying device of the present invention described in claim 7 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 6 , the replenishment operation is an operation of replenishment of food for a first replenishment time and weighing it after the stabilization time has elapsed.

The food supplying device of the present invention described in claim 8 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 6 , the compensation operation is an operation of compensating for the food over a first compensation time and weighing it after the stabilization time has elapsed when the re-weighed weight is equal to or greater than a predetermined shortfall weight with respect to the set weight, and when the re-weighed weight is below the predetermined shortfall weight with respect to the set weight, an operation of compensating for the food over a second compensation time longer than the first compensation time and weighing it after the stabilization time has elapsed is performed at least once until the food weight is equal to or greater than the predetermined shortfall weight, and then compensating for the food over the first compensation time and weighing it after the stabilization time has elapsed.

According to the present invention, when the weight of the food material measured during falling reaches a set weight, the food material supply operation is stopped and re-weighing is performed after the stabilization time has elapsed, which is the time it takes for the measured value of the weighing means to stabilize. If the re-weighed weight does not reach the set weight, the food material refill operation configured in a preset operating mode is performed at least once until the set weight is reached.

This prevents excess supply of ingredients beyond the range required to make up for a weight deficiency, and makes it possible to supply ingredients with high weight accuracy relative to the set weight.

1 is a perspective view showing a cooked rice supplying device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a perspective view showing an upper portion of the cooked rice supplying device of FIG. 1 with a top lid open. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cooked rice supplying device of FIG. 1 . 2 is a perspective view showing an upper hopper and its peripheral mechanism of the cooked rice supplying device according to the embodiment of the present invention, viewed obliquely from above. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a hopper and its peripheral mechanism of the cooked rice supplying device according to the embodiment of the present invention, viewed obliquely from below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a cooked rice supplying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart showing a cooked rice supplying process in the cooked rice supplying device of the present embodiment. 8 is a time chart showing the cooked rice refilling operation in the flowchart of FIG. 7. 13 is a flowchart showing a cooked rice supplying process as a modified example of the cooked rice supplying device of the present embodiment. 10 is a time chart showing the cooked rice refilling operation in the flowchart of FIG. 9 .

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings for explaining the embodiment, the same components are generally designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations will be omitted.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a cooked rice supplying device according to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the upper part of the cooked rice supplying device of Figure 1 with the top lid open, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cooked rice supplying device of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the upper hopper and its surrounding mechanism of the cooked rice supplying device of this embodiment from an obliquely upward position, and Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the hopper and its surrounding mechanism of the cooked rice supplying device of this embodiment from an obliquely downward position.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cooked rice supplying device (food supplying device) A of this embodiment has a front panel 10, a back panel 11 located behind the front panel 10, and side panels 12 located on both sides of the front panel 10 and the back panel 11, and has a main body 1 with an opening 13 that opens upward. In addition, a top lid 14 for opening and closing the opening 13 is attached to the main body 1 via a hinge unit 15. The top lid 14 is composed of an outer lid portion 14-1 located on the outside when the opening 13 is closed, and an inner lid portion 14-2 located on the inside.

As shown in the figure, the front panel 10 is equipped with a touch panel type input unit 16. The input unit 16 is a functional unit for inputting the weight of cooked rice (ingredients) to be supplied to the container, and is composed of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). On the rear side of the main body 1, a board 17 (Fig. 3) is installed on which various electronic components are mounted, such as a control unit (control means: Fig. 6) 30 for controlling the operation of the cooked rice supplying device A.

Below the front panel 10 is a container installation section 18 in which a container (food receiving section: Figure 3) S for serving cooked rice is installed, and between the front panel 10 and the container installation section 18, a recessed space 19 with a predetermined depth and height is formed. This recessed space 19 is large enough to accommodate the container S, and cooked rice falls from above and is supplied to the container S. In addition, a container detection sensor (not shown) for detecting whether or not a container S is installed is installed in the container installation section 18. The container detection sensor can be an optical sensor that optically detects the presence or absence of a container S, or a weight sensor that detects the presence or absence of a container S from the change in weight when the container S is placed on the container installation section 18.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a hopper (cooked rice storage section) 20 is installed inside the aforementioned opening 13, in which cooked rice fed through the opening 13 is stored. Also, as shown in Figure 3, near the bottom of the hopper 20, there is a conveying screw (conveying means: part of the food supplying means) 21 for conveying the cooked rice (in Figure 3, conveying it diagonally from the right side to the upper left side of the drawing), and a stirring blade (stirring means) 25 for stirring the cooked rice in the hopper 20 and sending it to the conveying screw 21.

Downstream of the conveying screw 21 in the direction of conveying the cooked rice is a drum-shaped loosening roller (loosening means: part of the food supplying means) 22 with numerous claws 22a on its outer periphery that loosens and breaks down the cooked rice conveyed inside the hopper 20 by the rotation of the conveying screw 21. In addition, directly below the loosening roller 22, a pair of opening and closing cups (opening and closing means: part of the food supplying means) 23 are provided to open and close the falling path of the cooked rice that falls from the loosening roller 22.

The rotation axis of the loosening roller 22 is positioned so as to be perpendicular to the rotation axis of the conveying screw 21. As a result, cooked rice stored in the hopper 20 is conveyed to the loosening roller 22 by the rotation of the conveying screw 21 provided in the hopper 20. The cooked rice conveyed to the loosening roller 22 falls while being loosened by the action of the claws 22a that accompany the rotation of the loosening roller 22.

In this embodiment, the cooked rice in the hopper 20 is sent to the loosening roller 22 by the conveying screw 21, and is loosened by the loosening roller 22 and falls, but the mechanism by which the cooked rice in the hopper 20 falls is not limited to this.

The open/close cup 23 is located on the path of the cooked rice that falls due to the loosening roller 22 described above. This open/close cup 23 is shaped to bulge downwards so that cooked rice can be accumulated, and is formed of a pair of members that can be opened and closed by rotating around the upper part as a fulcrum. In the closed position, the cooked rice that falls is accumulated, and the weight of the accumulated cooked rice is measured one by one by a weighing device 24 described later. In the open position, the accumulated cooked rice falls and is supplied to the container S.

As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the hopper 20 is composed of an upper hopper 20a that is open at the top and bottom, and a lower hopper 20b that fits into the opening at the bottom of the upper hopper 20a to form the bottom surface of the hopper 20.

The upper hopper 20a is gradually narrowed from the top to the bottom, so that the top end is a wide opening and the bottom end is a narrow opening.

In Figures 3 to 5, the aforementioned conveying screw 21 is installed in the roughly semicircular storage groove 20b-1 (Figures 3 and 5) formed in the lower hopper 20b. The conveying screw 21 is composed of a conveying shaft 21a that extends along the conveying direction of the cooked rice, and a spiral screw 21b that is provided around the conveying shaft 21a and conveys the cooked rice in the hopper 20 to the loosening roller 22. One end of the conveying shaft 21a (the end opposite the loosening roller 22) protrudes outside the lower hopper 20b, and a gear 26a that constitutes the reducer 26 is attached to the protruding end.

The stirring blade 25 is arranged in parallel with the conveying screw 21. The stirring blade 25 is composed of a shaft 25a arranged along the direction in which the rice is conveyed by the conveying screw 21, and a plurality of stirring rods 25b extending in a direction intersecting the rotation direction of the shaft 25a and spaced apart from each other. One end of the shaft 25a (the end opposite the loosening roller 22) also protrudes outside the lower hopper 20b, and a gear 27a constituting the reducer 27 is similarly attached to the protruding end. The structure of the stirring blade 25 is not limited to that shown in this embodiment. The stirring blade 25 does not have to be provided.

The reducer 26, which includes a gear 26a attached to the conveying shaft 21a, and the reducer 27, which includes a gear 27a attached to the shaft 25a, are both stored in the housing 28. A conveying motor M1 for rotating the conveying screw 21 and a stirring motor M2 for rotating the stirring blade 25 are fixed to the back side of the housing 28. A gear 26b constituting the reducer 26 is attached to the output shaft of the conveying motor M1, and a gear 27b constituting the reducer 27 is attached to the output shaft of the stirring motor M2. As a result, the rotational force of the conveying motor M1 is transmitted from the gear 26b to the gear 26a via the relay gear 26c, rotating the conveying screw 21. The rotational force of the stirring motor M2 is transmitted from the gear 27b to the gear 27a via the relay gear 27c, rotating the stirring blade 25.

The front surface of the housing 28 is covered with a housing cover 28a to protect the reducers 26 and 27 and to support the rotating shafts of these reducers 26 and 27.

Now, in FIG. 3, the cooked rice supplying device A is equipped with a weighing device (weighing means) 24 that weighs the cooked rice accumulated in the openable cup 23 (i.e., the cooked rice to be supplied to the container S placed on the container installation section 18).

The weighing device 24 uses a load cell that converts load into an electrical signal. The rotation of the conveying screw 21 and the loosening roller 22 stops just before the measured value of the cooked rice accumulated in the open-close cup 23, which is in the closed position (measured value by the weighing device 24), reaches the target measured value, and when the measured value is finally reached, the open-close cup 23 opens and the cooked rice falls into the container S.

The hopper 20 is housed in a thermal insulation container 32 (Fig. 3) equipped with a heater, so that the rice in the hopper 20 is kept at an appropriate temperature. In addition, legs 29 (Fig. 3) are attached to approximately the four corners of the bottom surface of the device.

Next, a block diagram of the cooked rice supplying device A having the above configuration is shown in Figure 6.

As shown in the figure, the cooked rice supplying device A of this embodiment is equipped with a control unit 30 that controls the operation of the device, and in addition to the above-mentioned input unit 16, measuring device 24, conveying motor (conveying drive means: part of the drive means) M1 that rotates the conveying screw 21, and stirring motor M2 that rotates the stirring blade 25, it is equipped with an unraveling motor (unraveling drive means: part of the drive means) M3 that rotates the unraveling roller 22, and a cup motor (opening/closing drive means: part of the drive means) M4 that opens and closes the open-close cup 23. In addition, although not shown in the figure, it is equipped with a memory in which programs are stored that are sequentially read and executed by the control unit 30.

The block diagram shown in this embodiment shows only functional blocks related to the present invention, and it goes without saying that the control unit 30 also controls components other than those shown in these functional blocks.

Next, the operation of supplying cooked rice in the cooked rice supplying device A of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. Here, Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the cooked rice supplying process in the cooked rice supplying device of this embodiment, and Figure 8 is a time chart showing the cooked rice replenishing operation in the cooked rice supplying device of this embodiment.

As a preliminary step to the rice supplying operation in the rice supplying device A, the power is turned on, the top lid 14 is opened, cooked rice is placed into the hopper 20, and the top lid 14 is closed.

Then, the touch panel input unit 16 is operated to set the weight of cooked rice to be supplied to the container S, and the start button is turned ON (step S01). At this point, the open/close cup 23 is in the closed position.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the setting is made so that 200 g of cooked rice is supplied to the container S. Note that the set weight does not have to be a specific numerical value, and abstract weights such as "small serving," "regular serving," and "large serving" can be set. In addition, when setting an abstract weight, the device associates it with a numerical weight, for example, 150 g for "small serving," 200 g for "regular serving," and 250 g for "large serving."

After the weight is set in step S01 and the start button is turned ON, the cooked rice is supplied (step S02). That is, the conveying motor M1 rotates to drive the conveying screw 21, and the loosening motor M3 rotates to drive the loosening roller 22. As a result, the cooked rice in the hopper 20 is conveyed to the loosening roller 22 by the conveying screw 21, and then falls while being loosened by the action of the claws 22a as the loosening roller 22 rotates, and is accumulated in the open-close cup 23. At this time, the stirring motor M2 rotates to drive the stirring blade 25, and the cooked rice in the hopper 20 is sent to the conveying screw 21 while being stirred.

As shown in FIG. 7, the cooked rice that falls from the unraveling roller 22 and accumulates in the openable cup 23 is successively weighed by the weighing device 24, and it is determined whether the set weight has been reached (step S03).

If it is determined in step S03 that the rice measured during the fall has reached the set weight (here, 200 g) (set weight reached Wt: FIG. 8), the rice supply operation is temporarily stopped (step S04). Then, after the stabilization time, which is the time it takes for the measurement value of the weighing device 24 to stabilize, has elapsed, the rice is re-weighed (step S05). In this embodiment, the stabilization time is 0.5 seconds. However, the stabilization time is not limited to 0.5 seconds, and can be freely set depending on the type of weighing device 24 used, etc.

Here, the reason why re-weighing is performed after the stabilization time has elapsed is as follows. That is, when the cooked rice is weighed while it is falling, the impact load caused by the rice falling is added to the weight of the cooked rice itself, so there is a tendency for a value that is momentarily indicated to be greater than the weight of the cooked rice actually accumulated in the open-close cup 23. As a result, even though the set weight of cooked rice is not accumulated in the open-close cup 23, it is determined that the cooked rice has reached the set weight, based on a value that is greater than the actual weight. Therefore, in order to eliminate the effects of the impact load, a time is set until the measured value of the weighing device 24 stabilizes, i.e., a stabilization time, and after this stabilization time has elapsed, re-weighing is performed to obtain the exact weight of the cooked rice.

Now, if reweighing is performed in step S05, it is determined whether the measured weight reaches the set weight (step S06).

If it is determined in step S06 that the re-weighed weight has reached the set weight (in this embodiment, it is 200 g or more), the open-close cup 23 is driven by the cup motor M4 to move from the closed position to the open position (step S07). As a result, the cooked rice accumulated in the open-close cup 23 falls and is supplied to the container S installed directly below, and the series of cooked rice supply operations is completed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S06 that the reweighed weight, i.e., the measured weight, does not reach the set weight (for example, in this embodiment, the set weight is 200 g and the reweighed weight is 195 g), the process proceeds to a rice refill operation configured in a preset operating mode.

Specifically, cooked rice is added for a first replenishment time by driving the conveying screw 21 and the loosening roller 22 by the conveying motor M1 and the loosening motor M3, respectively (step S08). In this embodiment, the first replenishment time is 0.2 seconds, and 2 g of cooked rice is added during this first replenishment time. Once cooked rice has been added in step S08, it is then weighed after a stabilization time (0.5 seconds in this embodiment) has elapsed (step S09). In this embodiment, since 2 g has been added to the weighed value of 195 g in step S05, it is weighed as 197 g in step S09.

Now, once such a refilling operation has been performed, the process returns to step S06 to determine whether the measured weight has reached the set weight. In this case, the measured weight is 197 g, which does not reach the set weight of 200 g, so a second refilling operation is performed, as shown in FIG. 8. That is, in step S08, 2 g of cooked rice is refilled in the first refilling time (0.2 seconds), and in step S09, it is weighed after the stabilization time (0.5 seconds) has elapsed. In this case, since 2 g has been refilled to the previous weighed value of 197 g, it is weighed as 199 g in step S09.

Once the second refill operation has been performed, the process returns to step S06 to determine whether the measured weight has reached the set weight. In this case, the measured weight is 199g, which is not yet the set weight of 200g, so a third refill operation is performed, as shown in FIG. 8. Then, 2g of cooked rice is refilled in step S08, and weighed in step S09 after the stabilization time (0.5 seconds) has elapsed. In this case, because 2g has been refilled to the previous weighed value of 199g, it is weighed as 201g in step S09.

Once the third refill operation has been performed, the process returns to step S06 to determine whether the measured weight has reached the set weight. In this case, the measured weight is 201 g, which is the set weight of 200 g (set weight reached Wf: FIG. 8), so the process moves to step S07 and the open-close cup 23 moves from the closed position to the open position. This causes the 201 g of cooked rice that had been accumulated in the open-close cup 23 to fall and be supplied to the container S placed directly below, completing the series of cooked rice supply operations.

In this embodiment, including the case described below, the refilling operation is performed three times, but it goes without saying that the number of times does not have to be three. In other words, the rice refilling operation is performed once or multiple times until the set weight is reached, that is, at least once. In addition, the length of the first refilling time and the weight of rice refilled during the first refilling time are not limited to the values shown in this embodiment (0.2 seconds and 2 g, respectively), and can be set freely. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the stabilization time in the refilling operation is 0.5 seconds, which is the same as the stabilization time after the set weight Wt is reached, but it may be different.

In this way, according to the cooked rice supplying device A of this embodiment, if the cooked rice measured during falling reaches the set weight, the cooked rice supplying operation is stopped, and re-weighing is performed after the stabilization time has elapsed, which is the time it takes for the measurement value of the weighing device 24 to stabilize. Then, if the re-weighed weight does not reach the set weight, the cooked rice is supplemented for the first supplementation time (0.2 seconds in this embodiment), and the rice is weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed. This compensation operation is performed at least once (three times in this embodiment) until the set weight is reached. This prevents over-supplying beyond the range of compensating for the shortage weight of cooked rice, and makes it possible to supply cooked rice with high weight accuracy relative to the set weight.

(Variations of compensation action)

The filling operation described above is an operation in which cooked rice is filled for a first filling time and then weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed. However, in addition to this filling operation, the following modified examples are also possible.
That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, after going through steps similar to those in the flowchart of FIG. 7, if it is determined in step S06 that the measured weight re-weighed in step S05 does not reach the set weight, it is determined whether the re-weighed weight is a predetermined shortfall (e.g., 195 g) or more with respect to the set weight (e.g., 200 g) (step S10).

Then, in step S10, when it is determined that the weight is equal to or greater than the predetermined unreached weight, the same refilling operation (see the time chart in FIG. 8) as described above is executed. That is, by driving the conveying motor M1 and the loosening motor M3, for example, 2 g of cooked rice is refilled in a first refilling time (for example, 0.2 seconds) (step S11), and after a stabilization time (for example, 0.5 seconds) has elapsed, the rice is weighed (step S12). After that, it is determined whether the measured weight has reached the set weight (step S13), and if it has, the open/close cup 23 moves to the open position (step S07), the cooked rice falls and is supplied to the container S, and the series of cooked rice supplying operations is completed. Also, in step S13, if it is determined that the measured weight has not reached the set weight, the process returns to step S10, and the refilling operation (steps S11 and S12) is executed until the set weight is reached.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S10 that the reweighed weight is below the predetermined unreached weight with respect to the set weight (e.g., 192 g), a compensation operation is performed according to the time chart in FIG. 10. That is, as the first compensation operation, for example, 5 g of cooked rice is compensated for by compensation for a second compensation time (e.g., 0.5 seconds) that is longer than the first compensation time (step S14). Then, after a stabilization time (e.g., 0.5 seconds) has elapsed, weighing is performed (step S12). Here, since 5 g has been compensated for the weighed value of 192 g in step S05, it is measured as 197 g in step S12.

The length of the second replenishment time and the weight of cooked rice replenished during the second replenishment time are not limited to the values shown in this embodiment (0.5 seconds and 5 g, respectively), but can be freely set.

Once such a refilling operation has been performed, it is determined whether the measured weight has reached the set weight (step S13). In this case, the measured weight is 197 g, which is not yet the set weight of 200 g, so a second refilling operation is performed as shown in FIG. 10. The refilling time for the second and subsequent refilling operations is the first refilling time. That is, in step S11, 2 g of cooked rice is refilled in the first refilling time (0.2 seconds), and in step S12, weighing is performed after the stabilization time (0.5 seconds) has elapsed. Here, since 2 g has been refilled to the previous weighing value of 197 g, 199 g is weighed in step S12.

If it is determined in step S13 that the measured weight has reached the set weight, the open/close cup 23 moves to the open position (step S07), and the cooked rice falls and is supplied to the container S. If it is determined in step S13 that the measured weight has not reached the set weight, the refilling operation (steps S11 and S12) is executed until the set weight is reached.

Once the second refill operation has been performed, the process moves to step S13 again to determine whether the measured weight has reached the set weight. In this case, the measured weight is 199g, which is not yet the set weight of 200g, so a third refill operation is performed, as shown in FIG. 10. Then, 2g of cooked rice is refilled in step S11, and weighed after the stabilization time (0.5 seconds) has elapsed in step S12. In this case, since 2g has been refilled to the previous measured value of 199g, it is weighed as 201g in step S12.

Once the third refill operation has been performed, the process moves to step S13 again, where it is determined whether the measured weight has reached the set weight. In this case, the measured weight is 201 g, which is the set weight of 200 g (set weight reached Wf: FIG. 10), so the process moves to step S07, and the open-close cup 23 moves from the closed position to the open position. This causes the 201 g of cooked rice that had been accumulated in the open-close cup 23 to fall and be supplied to the container S placed directly below, completing the series of cooked rice supply operations.

In this embodiment, the compensation operation is performed once during the second compensation time, but in the following example cases, it will be performed multiple times.

For example, suppose the measured weight remeasured in step S05 is 189 g, and in step S10 it is determined that the remeasured weight is below the set weight by a predetermined unreached weight (195 g), and in step S14, for example, 5 g of cooked rice is replenished during the second replenishment time. In this case, the weight is measured as 194 g when weighed after the stabilization time in step S12, and in step S13 it is determined that the measured weight has not reached the set weight, and the process returns to step S10.

At this time, since the measured weight is 194 g, in step S10 it is again determined that the re-weighed weight is below the specified unreached weight (195 g) with respect to the set weight. Therefore, once again in step S14, for example, 5 g of cooked rice is replenished during the second replenishment time, and then, in the weighing after the stabilization time in step S12, it is measured as 199 g, and in step S13 it is determined that the measured weight has not reached the set weight, and the process returns to step S10.

In step S10, since the measured weight is 199g, it is determined that the reweighed weight is equal to or greater than the specified missing weight (195g) relative to the set weight. Next, in step S11, 2g of cooked rice is added in the first addition time (0.2 seconds), and in step S12, weighing is performed after the stabilization time (0.5 seconds) has elapsed. Here, since 2g has been added to the previous measured value of 199g, it is weighed as 201g in step S12. Then, the process moves to step S13, where the measured weight is 201g, which is the set weight of 200g, so the process moves to step S07, and the open/close cup 23 moves from the closed position to the open position.

In this way, the compensation operation during the second compensation time is not limited to one time, but is performed until the measured weight is equal to or greater than the predetermined shortfall weight. In other words, the compensation operation during the second compensation time is performed one or more times (i.e., at least once) until the measured weight is equal to or greater than the predetermined shortfall weight.

According to this modified example, if the reweighed weight falls below a predetermined unreached weight relative to the set weight, cooked rice is replenished for a second replenishment time that is longer than the first replenishment time in the first replenishment operation. This allows the cooked rice to reach the set weight with fewer replenishment operations than when replenishment is performed only for the first replenishment time, making it possible to supply cooked rice with good weight accuracy relative to the set weight in a shorter time.

(Variations regarding the weight of cooked rice measured during the fall and the cessation of the cooked rice supply operation)

In the above explanation, if it is determined that the rice measured during the fall has reached the set weight (step S03 in Figures 7 and 9), the rice supply operation is temporarily stopped (step S04 in Figures 7 and 9), and re-weighing is performed after the stabilization time has elapsed (step S05 in Figures 7 and 9).

However, the criterion for determining whether the cooked rice supply operation is stopped may be changed from whether the cooked rice has reached a set weight (step S03 in FIG. 7 and FIG. 9) to whether a predetermined weight that is less than the set weight has been reached. As a specific example, if the set weight is 200 g, the criterion may be whether it has been determined that the cooked rice has reached 190 g, which is 95% of the set weight.

If the criterion for determining whether or not the cooked rice supply operation is stopped is whether or not a predetermined weight below the set weight has been reached, the measured weight when reweighed after the stabilization time has elapsed in step S05 of FIG. 7 or FIG. 9 does not reach the set weight. Then, in the next step S06 (determining whether or not the measured weight has reached the set weight), it will necessarily be found that the measured weight has not reached the set weight.

Therefore, in the case of this modified example, the process skips steps S05 and S06 in FIG. 7 and proceeds to step S08, or skips steps S05 and S06 in FIG. 9 and proceeds to step S10.

The invention made by the inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, but the embodiments disclosed in this specification are illustrative in all respects and are not limited to the disclosed technology. In other words, the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted restrictively based on the explanation in the above embodiments, but should be interpreted solely in accordance with the claims, and includes technologies equivalent to the technologies described in the claims and all modifications that do not deviate from the gist of the claims.

For example, in this embodiment, cooked rice is replenished over the first replenishment time or the second replenishment time. Here, if the operating time of the conveyor motor M1 or the loosening motor M3 becomes longer (or shorter), the amount of rotation of the conveyor motor M1 or the loosening motor M3 becomes larger (or smaller), and the cooked rice replenishment time becomes longer (or shorter). Therefore, the replenishment time is synonymous with the operating time or amount of rotation of the conveyor motor M1 or the loosening motor M3.

In addition, in this embodiment, the food supply means is made up of the conveying screw 21, the loosening roller 22, and the opening and closing cup 23, but it is sufficient if the cooked rice can be measured and supplied to the container S, and the food supply means is not limited to this configuration.

In addition, the above description shows a so-called top-weighing rice supplying device A that measures the weight of rice accumulated in the open-close cup 23, but it may also be a so-called bottom-weighing rice supplying device that measures the weight of rice that is dropped and supplied to the container S placed on the container installation section 18.

Here, in the bottom-weighing cooked rice supplying device A, instead of the aforementioned open-close cup 23, an open-close shutter (open-close means) is provided that can open and close the path through which cooked rice stored in the hopper 20 falls. Also, the weighing device (weighing means) 24 does not weigh the cooked rice stored in the open-close cup 23, but weighs the cooked rice supplied to the container S installed in the container installation section 18. The open-close shutter is controlled by the control section 30 so that in the open position, it opens the fall path for the cooked rice to be able to supply cooked rice that has fallen from the roller 22 to the container S, and in the closed position, it closes the fall path.

In addition, in the embodiment of the rice supplying device A described above, a container S is shown as an example of the food receiving portion, but it is not limited to the container S and may be, for example, a forming mold for forming the dropped rice into a predetermined shape. Note that the container S may be a rice bowl, a bowl, a tray, a plate, a lunch box, etc., and there is no particular limit to the shape or size, and various objects capable of supplying rice may be applied.

In the above explanation, cooked rice is used as an example of an ingredient, but this is not limited to this, and various ingredients, such as chopped vegetables, can be used as long as they are ingredients.

18 Container installation section 20 Hopper (cooked rice storage section)
21 Conveying screw (conveying means: part of food supplying means)
22 Unraveling roller (unraveling means: part of the food supply means)
23 Opening and closing cup (opening and closing means: part of food supply means)
24 Measuring instruments (measuring means)
25 Stirring blade (stirring means)
30 Control unit (control means)
A Rice supplying device (food supplying device)
M1 conveyor motor (conveyor drive means: part of the drive means)
M2 Stirring motor M3 Unraveling motor (unraveling drive means: part of the drive means)
M4 Cup motor (opening/closing drive means: part of the drive means)
S Container (food receiving part)

Claims (8)

A food supplying means for dropping and supplying food to the food receiving portion;
A driving means for driving the food supplying means;
A weighing means for measuring the weight of the food material supplied to the food material receiving section;
A control means for controlling the driving means so that a set weight of food material is dropped and fed to the food material receiving portion,
The control means
When the food material measured during the drop reaches the set weight, the operation of the food material supplying means is stopped, and re-weighing is performed after a stabilization time has elapsed during which the measured value of the weighing means is stabilized, and when the re-weighed weight does not reach the set weight, a control is executed to perform a food material supplementing operation configured in a preset operating mode at least once until the set weight is reached.
A food supplying device characterized by the above. The replenishment operation is an operation of replenishment of ingredients by the driving means for a first replenishment time and weighing the ingredients after the stabilization time has elapsed.
2. The food supplying device according to claim 1 . The compensation operation is
When the reweighed weight is equal to or greater than a predetermined underweight with respect to the set weight, the food material is replenished by the driving means for a first replenishment time, and then weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed.
When the reweighed weight falls below a predetermined shortfall weight with respect to the set weight, the food material is filled by the driving means for a second filling time longer than the first filling time, and weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed. This operation is repeated at least once until the weight of the reweighed weight is equal to or greater than the predetermined shortfall weight, and then the food material is filled for the first filling time and weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed.
2. The food supplying device according to claim 1 . The food supplying means includes a conveying means for conveying the food in the food storage section in a predetermined direction, a loosening means for dropping the food conveyed to the conveying means while breaking it down, and an opening/closing means arranged in a manner that allows the food to be opened and closed on a dropping path of the food,
the drive means includes a transport drive means for driving the transport means, a loosening drive means for driving the loosening means, and an opening/closing drive means for driving the opening/closing means,
The opening/closing means accumulates the food dropped from the unwinding means at a closed position, and drops and supplies the accumulated food to a food receiving section at an open position;
The measuring means is provided so as to be able to measure the ingredients stored in the opening/closing means when the opening/closing means is in the closed position.
The food supplying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The food supplying means includes a conveying means for conveying the food in the food storage section in a predetermined direction, a loosening means for dropping the food conveyed to the conveying means while breaking it down, and an opening/closing means arranged in a manner that allows the food to be opened and closed on a dropping path of the food,
the drive means includes a transport drive means for driving the transport means, a loosening drive means for driving the loosening means, and an opening/closing drive means for driving the opening/closing means,
The opening/closing means opens the fall path at an open position to allow the food material dropped from the unwinding means to be supplied to the food material receiving section, and closes the fall path at a closed position;
The measuring means is provided so as to be able to measure the ingredients supplied to the ingredient receiving section.
The food supplying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . A food material supplying method for dropping a set weight of food material into a food material receiving portion, comprising:
If the weight of the food material measured by the weighing means while the food material is falling reaches the set weight, the feeding operation of the food material is stopped, and the food material is re-weighed after a stabilization time has elapsed during which the measured value of the weighing means is stabilized.
When the re-weighed weight does not reach the set weight, a supplementary operation of the food material configured in a preset operation mode is performed at least once until the set weight is reached.
A food supply method comprising: The replenishment operation is an operation of replenishing ingredients for a first replenishment time and weighing them after the stabilization time has elapsed.
7. The method for supplying food material according to claim 6 . The compensation operation is
When the reweighed weight is equal to or greater than a predetermined underweight with respect to the set weight, the food material is supplemented for a first supplement time and weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed.
When the reweighed weight falls below a predetermined shortfall weight with respect to the set weight, the food material is supplemented for a second supplement time longer than the first supplement time, and weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed. This operation is repeated at least once until the shortfall weight is equal to or greater than the predetermined shortfall weight, and then the food material is supplemented for the first supplement time and weighed after the stabilization time has elapsed.
7. The method for supplying food material according to claim 6 .

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