JPH02280723A - Rice cooking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the supply of the washed rice and surely lock the cover of a rice cooker by installing shutter driving body which freely operates a shutter installed at the opened port part of an upper cover and installing a collision part for the application of the upper cover. CONSTITUTION:When a rice cooker 38 is accommodated into a case body 5, the projection 53A of a shutter 53 is pressed onto a collision part 61A formed on the front surface of a driving body 6, and the shutter 53 shifts in the direction of the arrow along a slide rail frame 54, and an opened port part 52 is closed by the inter-locking with the accommodation operation of the rice cooker 38, and even if the shutter 53 is closed and the upper cover 42 of the cooker 38 is opened, and the rice cooker 38 is accommodated into the case body 5, the upper cover 42 can be surely locked by the collision part 61A. When the shutter 53 is opened, the driving body 61 is shifted from the C position to the A position due to the screw feed action of a screw shaft 59 by the start of an electric motor 56, and at the shift process B position, a hook 63 is turned down around a supporting shaft 62 by the elastic force of a spring 64, and engaged with the projection part 53A of the shutter 53, and the opened port part 52 of the shutter 53 is opened, accompanied with the driving body 61, and washed rice can be supplied into an inner pot 41.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an automatic rice cooking device.

(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.
There is a technique disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No.-105723.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the prior art disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, the polished rice storage and the rice cooker are configured to be pulled out toward the front of the main body, thereby solving hygiene and other problems.

However, although the rice cooker is provided at the bottom of the rice washing device so that it can be freely pulled out, there are still unresolved issues regarding the supply of washed rice to the inner pot of the rice cooker and the sealing of the rice cooker after supply.

The present invention solves the complexity of rice cooking at home, significantly reduces housewives' housework, and modernizes ancient customs all at once. The purpose of the problem and installation is to solve all problems such as space problems, and also to make it possible to securely close the lid of the rice cooker.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention includes an upper lid 42 that can be freely opened and closed by rotating in the vertical direction about a pivot portion 43, and a locking means 44 for locking the upper lid 42 is connected to the pivot portion 43. In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the following technical measures are taken in a rice cooking device in which a rice cooker 38 provided in a position opposite to a rice cooker 43 is housed in a box 5 and can be freely pulled out in the horizontal direction. .

That is, in the present invention, the rice cooker 38 is
The upper lid 42 of the rice cooker 38 has an opening 52 formed therein so that washed rice can be received into the rice cooker 38 through the opening 52. and a shutter 53 that can freely cover the opening 52.
A shutter driving body 61 that can freely shield the shutter 53 is provided inside the inner part of the box 5, and a top lid 42 of the rice cooker 38 housed in the box 5 is provided on the shutter driving body 61 side. It is characterized by being provided with a contact part 61A for closing the lid.

(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 which is cubic and flexible.

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.

As shown in FIG. 2, horizontal slide rails 5^ are attached to the upper inner surfaces of the left and right side plates of the box 5, and a pair of slide shoes 4 fitted to the slide rails 5A are attached to the rice storage. By attaching the slide shoe 4 to the upper outer surface of the left and right side plates of the box 1 and fitting the slide shoe 4 to the slide rail 5A 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 disposed at the bottom of the rice storage 1. The rice washing mechanism 7 has a stirring means 8 and a water supply means 9, as shown in FIG. It is mainly composed of a cylindrical body 12 having a spout 11 that can be opened and closed, and the drain port 1O is used as a drainage means, and the spout 11 is used as a rice discharging means.

The cylindrical body 12 has a conical part with an open top and a conical shape that tapers downward from the lower half, and extends from the upper mount 13 with the cylinder axis in the vertical direction. By fitting the slide shoes 14 attached to the left and right sides of the pedestal 13 to the horizontal slide rails 5B attached to the horizontal slide rails 5B, the rice washing mechanism 7 is moved horizontally as shown by arrow B in FIG. It is housed and supported in a box 5 so that it can be put in and taken out, 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 that is rotatably 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. The cylinder shaft 17 is aligned with the center line of the cylinder 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 that it can always wash the wall surface further above the maximum value of the water amount corresponding to the maximum throughput of rice by its spray angle. is considered as a means of water supply.

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 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 M40
It is equipped with an inner pot 41, and an outer pot 40. 42 can be opened and closed by rotating in the vertical direction by a pivot portion 43, and the top lid 42 can be closed tightly by a locking means 44 shown by a hook. Further, the upper lid 42 has an inner lid 45, and when the upper lid 42 is sealed with the locking means 44, the inner lid 45 is closed.
The inner pot 41 is hermetically sealed at the same time.

That is, the rice cooker 38 has a pivot portion 43 and a locking means 44.
The pivot portion 43 is housed in the case 5 with the pivot portion 43 located at the inner side of the case 5.

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 top lid 42 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 M42, and the 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, there is an electric motor 56 that can be freely switched between forward and reverse directions, and a screw shaft 5 that is supported by bearings 57 and 58 below the electric motor 56 and having its axis in the depth direction (back and forth direction) of the box 5.
9, a transmission body 60 shown as a gear that interlocks and connects the screw shaft 59 and the electric motor 56, a shaft drive body 61 supported on the screw shaft 59 so as to be capable of screw feeding, and the drive body 6.
1, a mooring hook 63 rotatable around a support shaft 62, a spring 64 that urges the hook 63 to the mooring position, and a shutter driving body 61 that reciprocates between intervals and switches between stops and reciprocation. It is composed of sensors 65, 66, etc. that control the.

The drive body 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. The driving body 6
1 has a contact portion 61A for closing the top lid 42 of the rice cooker 38.

When the rice cooker 38 is housed in the box 5 in this state in the direction of the arrow in FIG. , the shutter 53 is located at the fifth position along the slide rail frame 54.
The opening 52 is moved in the direction of the arrow in the figure and sealed in conjunction with the storage operation of the rice cooker 38.
While the shutter 53 is closed, the top lid 4 of the rice cooker 38
Even when the rice cooker 38 is placed in the case 5 with the lid 2 open (including the case where the lid is forgotten to be locked), the upper lid 4
Make sure to lock 2.

To open the shutter 53, when the electric motor 56 is activated and the screw shaft 59 feeds the driver 61, the drive body 61 is moved from the C position to the A position. 63 is laid down with the support shaft 62 as a fulcrum, and is moored to the protrusion 53A of the shutter 53. As shown by the arrow in FIG. Washed rice can be replenished.

When the driver 61 is moved in the opposite direction, the front surface of the driver 61 pushes the protrusion 53A of the shutter 53, so that the shutter 53 is closed after the specified amount of washed rice has been replenished. 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 7o 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 drawing stroke.

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

In Fig. 1, when a rice storage 1 filled with a predetermined amount of polished rice is inserted into a predetermined position inside 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 washer tI7 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 6.15.39 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 3o 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 electromagnetic valve 19 opens, and the water spraying from the fountain nozzle 2o begins as indicated by the dotted line 20A in FIG. 6.

The washed rice waste water in the rice washing tank 12 is drained from the drain 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 interrupted for - hours, 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 amount of water corresponding to the preset amount of rice to be cooked can be used as the maximum value, 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 step is repeated several times, and when the water in the rice washing tank 12 is completely drained, the water adjustment step is started. 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, the rice deposited in the inner pot 41 exhibits an ideal distribution curve and does not require any means to level the surface layer of the rice.

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 been almost completely discharged, water is sprayed from the fountain nozzle 20 for a predetermined short period of time to remove the remaining rice at the top and the bottom. Wash away any remaining rice in an instant.

In addition, the amount of water used for this 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 automatic rice cooking device according to the embodiment of the present invention, which has the structure and operation mode described above, completely eliminates the complexity of rice cooking and allows you to enjoy freshly cooked, hot rice at the desired time by simply setting a timer. It has many advantages, including the ground-breaking utility value of being able to use it.

The automatic rice cooking device according to the embodiment of the present invention is convenient for replenishing polished rice because each mechanism is configured independently and can be freely pulled out from the box. The top plate can be used as a cooking table or storage space, the rice washing mechanism, which requires special cleaning, can be cleaned easily, and each part can be inspected easily, and each machine tank or parts can be replaced in the event of a breakdown. It has many advantages such as being easy 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 the 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, we have adopted a digital control method using a constant water level tank, which completely eliminates the above problems and has the advantage of being able to precisely control the minute water flow range.

Although the embodiments of the present invention are as described above, the following design changes are free. It is also possible to replenish polished rice from the cylindrical body of the rice washing mechanism each time.Other options include a structure in which the rice storage is fixed and the top plate is opened and closed or slides to replenish the polished rice, or a metering machine for the rice storage field is used. All changes in the design of the metering machine, such as eliminating the structure of only the hopper and replenishing the pre-quantified milled rice each time, are within the technical scope of the present invention.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention is as described above, and the rice cooker 38 is housed in the case 5 with its pivot portion 43 on the inner side of the case 5, and the upper M42 of the rice cooker 38 is , an opening 52 is formed through which washed rice can be received in the rice cooker 38, and a shutter 53 is provided to freely cover the opening 52, so that the pressure can be maintained sufficiently during rice cooking. The quality of cooked rice is greatly improved.

Furthermore, a shutter drive body 61 that can freely shield the shutter 53 is provided inside the inner part of the case 5, and an upper part 14 of the rice cooker 38 accommodated in the case 5 is provided on the shutter drive body 61 side.
2 is provided with a contact part 61A that closes the lid, so the top! 42
Even if the rice cooker 38 is stored in the case 5 without being securely locked, forgetting to lock the rice cooker 38 can be surely prevented.

Therefore, the rice cooking device according to the present invention can be stored in a home kitchen either alone or together with a 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 operations of the shutter, respectively, and FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the water supply means. ■...Rice storage, 5...Box, 7...Rice washing mechanism,
8... Stirring means, 9... Water supply means, 10... Drain port, 11... Outlet, 12... Cylindrical body, 38...
Rice cooker, 42...Top lid, 43...Pivot part, 52
...Opening portion, 53...Shutter, 61...Shutter driver, 61A--Abutting portion. Patent applicant Kubota Iron Works Co., Ltd. Portex Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney
An 1) Toshio J Figure 2 Figures E and Q

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A top cover (42) is provided which can be opened and closed by rotating vertically about a pivot part (43), and a locking means (44) for locking the top cover (42) is attached to the pivot part (43). )
Place the rice cooker (38) in a position opposite to the box (5).
The rice cooker (38) is housed in a box (5) and can be pulled out horizontally, with the pivot part (43) located on the inner side of the box (5). The upper lid (42) of the rice cooker (38) has an opening (52) formed therein so that washed rice can be received into the rice cooker (38) through the opening (52). ) is provided, and a shutter drive body (61) is provided inside the inner part of the box (5), and the shutter drive body (61) is provided in the inner part of the box (5). 61)
On the side, there is a top lid (
42) A rice cooking device characterized by being provided with a contact portion (61A) for closing the rice cooker.