JPH02279112A - Rice cooking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute this device so that washed rice, etc., can be received by moving horizontally a shutter even if it is contained in a box body in a state that the upper cover of a rice cooker remains closed by forming an opening part in the upper cover, and providing the shutter for moving the opening part in the horizontal direction. CONSTITUTION:On the upper cover 42 of a rice cooker 38, an opening part 52 is formed, and when the rice cooker 38 is contained in a box body 5, this opening part 52 is opposed vertically to an extraction port of a rice washing mechanism 7 placed in the upper part, and also, can be opened and closed freely by a shutter 53. On the periphery of the opening part 52 of the upper cover 42, a slide rail frame 54 is provided, and to a rail groove 54A of this slide rail frame 54, the shutter 53 having a projection 53A is fitted so as to be freely movable in the horizontal direction, by which the opening part 52 can freely be opened and closed. On the rear in the lower half part of the box body 5, a shutter driving mechanism 55 is provided. By providing the rice cooker 38 provided with the shutter 53, capable of opening and closing freely openable freely in the horizontal direction on the upper cover 42, the rice cooker 38 can be set to the box body 5 in a state that the upper cover 42 remains closed, therefore, the overall height of the device can be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a rice cooking device, and is applicable to, for example, a small fully automatic rice cooking device that automates a series of processes from storing polished rice to cooking rice in a single box. be done.

(Conventional technology) In order to save labor in rice cooking, which has conventionally been a labor-intensive task, the rice cooking process includes storage of polished rice, measurement, washing, water adjustment,
A fully automatic rice cooking device that automatically processes a series of work processes from soaking, cooking, and steaming using a program was developed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 58.
- Publication No. 105723 (conventional example 1), Special Publication No. 5B -
There are techniques such as No. 8848 (Conventional Example 2).

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional example 1 described above, the rice washing device and the rice cooker are housed in a box, and the rice cooker is configured to be pulled out from the front of the main body for ease of handling. ing.

Furthermore, in Conventional Example 2, stored rice dust is provided in the lower part of the box, and polished rice is lifted from the stored rice dust, weighed, washed, and then supplied to a rice cooker provided in the middle of the box.

In any of the above-mentioned conventional examples 1 and 2 and other automatic rice cooking devices, in order to supply washed rice to the rice cooker housed in the box, a top lid that can be rotated vertically and freely opened and closed is placed inside the box. It is designed to be released and then blocked after washing and supplying rice.

However, since the rice cooker can be opened and closed by vertically rotating the top lid within the case, the means for opening and closing the top lid is complicated and can cause malfunctions, especially for households with poor maintenance skills. This was extremely troublesome for housewives, and was a bottleneck to labor-saving and automation efforts.

In addition, since the top cover is rotated vertically within the box, the rice washing means, rice storage means, and rice storage means attached to the rice cooker are installed inside the box.
When arranging various functional parts such as measuring means, the height of the box becomes extremely high (this has become a problem when installing it as a single unit for home use or as a system kitchen because it is bulky). .

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art by forming an opening in the top cover and providing a shutter that moves horizontally through the opening.

(Φ Means for Solving the Problem) The present invention has a top that can be rotated in the vertical direction to open and close freely. i42
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the following technical measures are taken in a rice cooking device in which a rice cooker 3B equipped with the following is housed in a box 5 and can be freely pulled out in the horizontal direction.

That is, in the present invention, the upper lid 42 has an opening 52.
is formed so that washed rice can be received through this opening 52, and is provided with a shutter 53 that can freely cover the opening 52 through horizontal movement.
The present invention is characterized in that a shutter drive mechanism 55 is provided inside the box 5, which is detachable from the shutter 53 and moves the shutter 53 along with it in the horizontal direction.

(Embodiments and Operations) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention and their operations will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a rice storage 1 formed in the shape of a hopper has quantitative sorting means 2 at its lower bottom, and is placed on top of a box 5 having a cubic shape.

The quantitative sorting means 2 shown in this embodiment has a fixed volume cylinder horizontally arranged with a partially cut-out opening 2A on its circumferential surface and sealed at both ends, and the axis of the cylinder is fixed by an electric motor 3. It rotates in the direction to cause the polished rice in the rice storage 1 to fall downward, and detects a pulse output corresponding to a preset rotation speed.
The desired amount is determined by driving the electric motor 3.

Note that a sensor S is provided at the bottom of the rice storage 1 to detect the remaining amount of polished rice.

Horizontal slide rails 5A are attached to the upper inner surfaces of the left and right side plates of the box 5, as shown in FIG. By attaching the slide shoe 4 to the upper outer surface of the left and right side plates of the box and fitting the slide shoe 4 into the slide rail 5^ so that it can be freely drawn out, the rice storage 1 can be moved in and out of the box 5 as shown by arrow A in FIG. It is stored and supported as a box 5.
A locking means 6 provided inside allows the vehicle to be locked as necessary during operation.

A rice washing mechanism 7 is arranged at the lower part of the rice storage 1, and the rice washing mechanism 7 has a stirring means 8 and a water supply means 9, and a drain port 10 which can be opened and closed at the bottom as shown in FIG. It is mainly composed of a cylindrical body 12 equipped with a flexible spout 11.

The cylindrical body 12 has an open upper part and a conical part tapering downward from the lower half, and has a sleeve core extending vertically from the upper frame 13. By fitting the slide shoes 14 attached to the left and right sides of the pedestal 13 to the attached horizontal slide rails 5B, the rice washing mechanism 7 is extended horizontally as shown by arrow B in FIG. It is housed and supported in a box 5 so as to be freely inserted, and can be locked by a locking means 15 provided on the box 5 in the stored state.

The stirring means 8 is attached to a cylindrical shaft 17 which is rotationally driven by an electric motor 16 provided on a pedestal 13, and extends radially on a horizontal plane and parallel to the axis and extends downward so as to follow the conical portion of the cylindrical body 12. comprising a bar 18 formed;
The cylinder axis 17 is aligned with the cylinder centerline of the cylindrical body 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the water supply means 9 has a plurality of fountain nozzles 20 and a solenoid valve 21 connected to the pressure water system through a solenoid valve 19 disposed above the device. Consists of a water supply pipe 23 etc. connected to a constant water level tank 22,
The fountain nozzle 20 is arranged so as to be able to always wash the wall surface above the maximum value of the amount of water corresponding to the maximum throughput of rice milling, depending on its spray angle.

At the bottom of the cylindrical body 12, as shown in FIG.
A drainage jacket 24 having a spout 11 and a spout 11 is disposed to surround the bottom part in an annular manner, and a funnel-shaped perforated plate 25 is attached to the drainage jacket 24. is communicated with a drainage gutter 27 via an on-off valve 26.

The spout 11 can be opened and closed by a conical valve 28, and the conical valve 28 has a valve stem 29 inserted into the cylindrical shaft 17 so as to be vertically movable, and the valve stem 29 is moved vertically by a control mechanism (not shown). Thus, the conical valve 28 can be opened and closed.

Here, the rice washing mechanism 7 configured as described above transfers the polished rice supplied from the quantitative sorting means 2 of the rice storage 1 to the chute 3.
0 into the cylindrical body 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the constant water level tank 22 is installed in the box 5 by utilizing the depth space when the rice storage 1 is housed in the box 5.
The constant water level tank 22 has an overflow port 31 connected to an overflow pipe 32 that communicates with a drainage gutter 27, and a pressure water system via an upper limit water level detection sensor 33 and a solenoid valve 34. The water supply port 35 is provided with a water supply port 35 communicating with the water supply port 35.

In the constant water level tank 22, the water level detection sensor 33 is configured to detect the water level at a point L1 slightly above the overflow level L2 and close the solenoid valve 34. The flow rate that flows out is the water level L2 in the tank 22.
In addition, the water supply amount of the solenoid valve 34 is determined by the flow rate flowing out from the solenoid valve 21 and the water overflow port 3 depending on the water level head height H.
The flow rate is set to be equal to or slightly larger than the sum of the overflow amount from 1.

At the bottom of the rice washing mechanism 7, a rice cooker 38 is mounted on an L-shaped pedestal 37 having a pair of slide shoes 36 so as to be removable and capable of being positioned and held. horizontal guide rail 5
By fitting the slide shoe 36 to C, the rice cooker 38 is housed in the case 5 so that it can be moved in and out horizontally as shown by arrow C in FIG. It is housed in a lockable case 5.

Here, a rice storage 1, a rice washing mechanism 7 and a rice cooker 38 are provided.
are each individually movable in and out of the box 5 in the horizontal direction.
In this embodiment, the locking means 6 and 15.39 are in the form of electromagnets, and the locking means 6 and 15.39 are arranged in a hook 6 that can be engaged and detached.
A, 15A, and 39A.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the rice cooker 38 has an outer pot 40.
, an inner hook 41 is provided, and an upper lI 42 of the outer hook 40 can be opened and closed by rotating vertically through a pivot portion 43, and an upper M 42 can be freely closed with a hook 44. In addition, the upper lid 42 has an inner lI 45 and a hook 4.
4, when the upper M42 is sealed, the inner pot 41 is simultaneously sealed with the inner pot M45.

Furthermore, the rice cooker 38 includes a heater 46 and a rice cooking completion sensor 47.
, a sensor 48 for detecting the presence or absence of the inner pot 41, and a heat retention control circuit means, and as shown in FIG. Furthermore, the rice cooker 38 can be removed from the pedestal 37 by having a handle 49 provided on the upper lid 42.

When removed from the pedestal 37, the electrical connection between the rice cooker 38 and the main body of the device can be cut off by the power supply mechanism 50 such as the heater 46. On the other hand, the rice cooker 38 taken out to the outside is of a cord reel type. It is configured so that it can be kept warm by a separate power source using the plug 51.

An opening 52 is formed in the upper M42 of the rice cooker 38, and when the rice cooker 38 is housed in the box 5, the opening 52 is located above and below the spout 11 of the rice washing mechanism 7 disposed above. The shutters 53 are arranged to face each other, and can be opened and closed by a shutter 53.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a U-shaped slide rail frame 54 is provided around the opening 52 of the upper lid 42, and a rail groove 54A of the slide rail frame 54 has a
A shutter 53 having a protrusion 53A is fitted so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, so that the opening 52 can be opened and closed.

A shutter drive mechanism 55 is provided at the rear inside the lower half of the box 5, and this shutter drive mechanism 55 is connected to a third
As shown in the figure, an electric motor 56 that can be freely switched between forward and reverse directions, and an electric motor 56
A screw shaft 59 that has an axial center in the depth direction (back and forth direction) of the box 5 below 56 and is supported by bearings 57 and 5B, and a gear that interlocks and connects the screw shaft 59 and the electric motor 56. A transmission body 60 shown by , a driver 61 supported by a screw shaft 59 so as to be screwable, a mooring hook 63 provided on the driver 61 so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 62, and the hook. It is composed of a spring 64 that biases the drive element 63 to the moored position, and sensors 65 and 66 that control the stopping and reciprocating switching of the driver 61 that reciprocates between intervals.

The driver 61 of the shutter drive mechanism 55 is awaited at the C position in FIG. 3, and in this C position, the upper piece of the hook 63 uses the bearing 57 as a stopper to compress the spring 64 and move the hook 63 into the mooring preparation position. It is held in

In this state, when the rice cooker 38 is housed in the box 5 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5, and the opening 52 is sealed in conjunction with the storage operation of the rice cooker 38.

To open the shutter 53, the driver 61 is moved from the C position to the A position by the screw feeding action of the screw shaft 59 by starting the electric motor 56.
When the hook 63 is moved to the position B in the movement process, the elastic force of the spring 64 causes the hook 63 to fall down using the support shaft 62 as a fulcrum, and is moored to the protrusion 53A of the shutter 53, so that the shutter is moved as shown by the arrow in FIG. 53 is accompanied by the driver 61 to open the opening 52 so that the inner pot 41 can be replenished with washed rice.

To seal the shutter 53 after replenishing a predetermined amount of washed rice, moving the driver 61 in the opposite direction pushes the protrusion 53A of the shutter 53 with the front of the driver 61, so the shutter 53 closes. Move as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5 to open the opening 52.
Seal it tightly.

Additionally, in the figure, 67 is a console panel;
Data such as the desired amount of rice to be cooked, amount of water, soaking time, steaming time, and cooking time are entered. 68 is a top plate, which is detachable from the top of the box 5. 69 is a wheel, and 70 is a steam exhaust means.

In addition, the device of the present invention is equipped with a drain port, and various hoses (pipes), wiring, etc. are connected to allow the drawer stroke.

Next, the operation mode of the embodiment of the present invention will be explained.

In Fig. 1, when the rice storage L filled with a predetermined amount of polished rice is inserted into a predetermined position in the box, a sensor (not shown) detects the rice storage, and at the same time, a sensor S detects the presence or absence of polished rice. Ru. Similarly, when the rice washing mechanism 7 is inserted into a predetermined position, a sensor (not shown) detects this, and when the rice cooker 38 is inserted into a predetermined position, a sensor (not shown) detects this. The presence or absence of the inner pot 41 of the rice cooker 38 is detected by a sensor 48.

Preparation for startup is completed only when all sensors operate as described above. On the other hand, after inputting data such as the desired amount of rice to be cooked, amount of water, soaking time, steaming time, and cooking time from the console panel 67, and pressing the start button, the rice storage 1, the rice washing mechanism 7, and the rice cooker 38 are activated. The locking means 6, 15, and 39 operate simultaneously to lock all mechanisms in the refrigerator.

In the above state, the start signal can be received.

After the closing of the conical valve 28 that seals the rice washing mechanism 7 is confirmed by inputting a start signal, the quantitative sorting means 2 rotates and a predetermined amount of polished rice is passed through the chute 30 and transferred to the cylindrical body 12 of the rice washing mechanism 7 (hereinafter referred to as the rice washing tank). ). Upon completion of the quantitative determination, the stirring means 8 rotates, the solenoid valve 19 opens, and the water fountain nozzle 20 starts sprinkling water as indicated by the dotted line 20 in FIG.

The rice washing method drainage in the rice washing tank 12 is drained from the drainage jacket 24 at the bottom.
The water passes through a perforated plate 25 provided therein, passes through a drain port 10 that can be opened and closed, and is drained out of a drainage gutter 27.

When the rice washing process for a predetermined period of time is completed, the water sprinkling in the rice washing tank 12 is temporarily interrupted, and the process shifts to the rice polishing process in which only the stirring means 8 rotates. During this time, the solenoid valve 34 opens and water supply starts to the constant water level tank 22, and once the water supply is stopped at the water level of the water level sensor 33,
Water is stored up to the overflow port 31. After repeating the rice washing process and the rice polishing process a predetermined number of times, the process moves to the rinsing process.

In the rinsing process, the on-off valve 26 is closed and the rice washing tank 12
After the water is stored up to a predetermined level in the rice cooker, the opening/closing valve 26 is opened to drain water all at once, and the purpose is to wash away the rice bran and clarify the rice washing waste water.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the maximum amount of water corresponding to the preset amount of rice to be cooked, for example, the amount of water 30% more than the same amount of water, can be used as the amount of water for one rinse step. It is extremely effective in clarifying wastewater and conserving water. That is, in the rinsing process, when the solenoid valve 21 of the conduit 23 that communicates with the bottom of the constant water level tank 22 is opened, the solenoid valve 34 is simultaneously opened to start supplying water into the washed rice tank 12. Since the water level H in the constant water level tank 22 is kept constant by the overflow port 31, the flow rate of water supplied by the solenoid valve 21 is always constant. Therefore, by opening the solenoid valve 21 for a preset period of time, an accurate amount of water storage can be ensured. The flow rate flowing in from the water supply electromagnetic valve 34 is adjusted to be equal to or slightly larger than the sum of the flow rate flowing out from the electromagnetic valve 21 and the amount of water overflowing from the water overflow port 31. Therefore, the water level H can always be maintained stably.

The rinsing process is repeated several times and when the water in the rice washing tank 12 is completely drained, the process moves to the water adjustment process. Opening/closing valve 2 for drain port 10
6 is closed, and the solenoid valve 21 is opened for a preset time to adjust the water level. Shutter drive mechanism 5 at the same time as water adjustment is completed
5, the shutter 53 opens to open an opening 52 provided in the upper lid 42, which is an inlet for rice and water. shutter 53
At the same time as the opening of the conical valve 28 is detected, the rice and water are discharged into the inner pot 41.

The rice and water discharged from this rice washing tank 12 are discharged from the conical valve 28.
As a result of the rice flowing down in a hollow radial manner along the slope of the inner pot 41, the rice deposited in the inner pot 41 exhibits an ideal distribution curve and does not require any means for leveling the rice back store.

On the other hand, when discharging rice from the rice washing tank 12, the stirring means 8 is rotated for a short time at the same time as the conical valve 28 is opened in order to improve rice discharging efficiency.

Here, when the amount of polished rice to be processed is small, a large amount of rice grains may remain particularly at the bottom of the tank, and furthermore, a large amount of rice grains may remain attached to the area indicated by the reference numeral in FIG.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, at the final stage of the rice discharging process, that is, when the rice in the rice washing tank 12 has almost completely been discharged, water is sprayed for a short time from the fountain nozzle 20 to remove the remaining rice at the top and the bottom. Wash away instantly.

Also, the amount of water used for washing is constant regardless of the amount of polished rice, and is added to the amount of water used to adjust the water level. This means that the water that evaporates during rice cooking is almost constant regardless of the amount of rice being cooked, so this method replaces the amount of water that evaporates during rice cooking, making it possible to eliminate the difficult quantitative work of adding extra water depending on the amount of rice being cooked. can be excluded.

The conical valve 28, which has been opened for a predetermined period of time for the above-mentioned cleaning, ie, disposal of leftover rice, is automatically closed, and upon detecting the closing of the conical valve 28, the shutter drive mechanism 55 rotates in reverse to close the shutter 53.

This completes the rice washing process and moves on to the soaking process.

If only the rice washing process is selected and set in advance, automatic operation ends here, all mechanisms are unlocked, and the rice can be pulled out from the box.

When the preset immersion time has elapsed, the heater 46 starts to be energized and the rice cooking process begins. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the start of the rice cooking process, the steam exhaust means 70 having a fan is activated to exhaust steam to the outside of the system.

Completion of rice cooking is detected by a sensor 47, and then the steaming process is started. The rice cooker 38 has a built-in heat retention control circuit and is configured to detect a drop in the temperature of the inner pot 41 and automatically perform heat retention after the steaming process is completed. At the end of the above steaming process, the rice cooker 38 is unlocked and can be pulled out from the box 5.

This concludes the series of operating steps in the apparatus of the present invention.

The compact fully automatic rice cooking device according to the embodiment of the present invention, which has the structure and operation mode described above, eliminates all the complexity of rice cooking and allows you to cook freshly cooked hot rice at the desired time by simply setting the timer. In addition to the groundbreaking utility value of being able to eat food, it has many other benefits as listed below.

The small fully automatic rice cooking device according to the embodiment of the present invention has each mechanism configured independently and can be freely pulled out from the box, making it convenient for replenishing polished rice. The top plate can be used as a cooking table or storage space, etc., the rice washing mechanism, which requires special cleaning management, can be easily cleaned, and each part is easy to inspect, and each mechanism or part can be easily replaced in the event of a breakdown. It has many advantages such as being able to perform

Furthermore, by equipping the rice cooker with a shutter on the top lid that can be opened and closed in the horizontal direction, the rice cooker can be set in the main body of the device with the top lid closed, significantly reducing the overall height of the device. In addition to Chinode single unit type,
It is possible to realize a highly practical device that can be provided in a compact size that can be stored in a system kitchen.

Furthermore, regarding water supply means, conventionally proposed float types, moving electrode types, and metered water storage types have complex structures, poor cleaning performance, and frequent errors in water level detection due to dirt, changes in water quality, etc. In view of these many problems, a digital control system using a constant water level tank has been adopted, which completely eliminates the above problems and has the advantage of being able to accurately control a small water flow range.

The above-described embodiment of the present invention can be modified in design as follows. First, it is possible to replenish polished rice each time from the top of the cylindrical body of the rice washing mechanism.In addition, for example, the rice storage can be fixed and the top plate can be opened and closed or slid to replenish the polished rice. Removing the metering device and making it a hopper-only structure that replenishes pre-quantified milled rice each time, and other design changes to the metering device; placing the rice cooker in the upper and middle tiers of the box so that it can be pulled out freely; In addition to Shu,
For example, it can be made into a roller shape.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention is as described above, and according to the present invention, an opening is formed in the upper lid, through which washed rice can be received, and the opening is horizontally It is equipped with a shutter that can be closed off by moving in the direction, and is further provided with a shutter drive mechanism that can be freely engaged with and detached from the shutter and move the shutter along with it in the horizontal direction. Even if the container is stored in the box with the top lid closed, the washed rice hat can be received through the opening formed in the top lid by moving the shutter horizontally without rotating the top lid inside the box.

Furthermore, since the top lid of the rice cooker is equipped with a shutter that can be opened and closed, sufficient pressure is maintained during the cooking process, and the quality of the cooked rice is greatly improved.

Furthermore, since the shutter that opens and closes the opening opens and closes by moving in the horizontal direction, there is little risk of the rice washing mechanism being installed in the box in addition to the rice cooker. However, it can also be stored together with the system kitchen.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a side view showing the arrangement of internal mechanisms, FIG. 2 is a side view explaining how to handle the rice cooker, and FIG. 3 is a partial cross-section showing the inside of the rice cooker. Side view, 4th
5 and 5 are plan views showing the opening and closing movements of the shutter, respectively, and FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the water supply means. 5...Box, 38...Rice cooker, 42...Top lid, 5
2... Opening portion, 53... Shutter, 55... Shutter drive mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A rice cooker in which a rice cooker (38) equipped with a top lid (42) that can be rotated vertically to freely open and close is housed in a box (5) and can be pulled out horizontally, the top lid (42) is formed with an opening (52) through which washed rice can be received, and the opening (52) can be freely covered by moving in the horizontal direction. The shutter drive mechanism (55) is provided with a shutter (53) to move the shutter (53) in the horizontal direction, and is detachable from the shutter (53) within the box (5). A rice cooking device characterized by being equipped with.