JPH0368311A - Rice storage device for automatic rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate supply of rice to a rice storage chamber and to reduce the occurrence of failure in operation by a method wherein a obliquely upward drawable chute is mounted to a rice storage chamber incorporated in a box body in a manner to be stationarily positioned to the upper part thereof. CONSTITUTION:A rice storage chamber 4 to store rice is incorporated to the upper part of a box body 1, a quantitative division means 5 is mounted to the lower part of the rice storage chamber 4, and a slope part 6 extending in an up spreading state from the quantitative division means 5 is provided. An obliquely upward drawable chute 7 is mounted to the slope part 6. As a result, rice can be supplied to the rice storage easily and without reducing failure in operation.

Description

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

(Prior Art) Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1983-1997 is an automatic rice cooker that stores, weighs and washes rice, and supplies the washed rice and the corresponding amount of water to a rice cooker to automatically cook the rice. 10572
There are techniques disclosed in Publication No. 4, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-46919, and the like.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the prior art disclosed in the above-mentioned publications, etc., the entire rice storage built in the upper part of the box is pulled out.

Therefore, in the conventional rice storage device, since the entire rice storage is pulled out, the pulling resistance is large, and the rice cooker, who is mainly a housewife, has to work hard.

Furthermore, when grains of rice or the like are stuck in the drawer portion, especially the drawer rail, the pullout resistance becomes significantly heavy.

Furthermore, since the rice storage has quantitative sorting means in its lower part, and this means is driven by a motor, the wiring section is also pulled out when the rice storage is pulled out, which may cause malfunctions.

In view of the above-mentioned actual situation, the present invention provides a rice storage built in the upper part of the box body, which is fixedly provided in the box body, and a chute which can be freely drawn out in an upward diagonal direction. ,
The purpose of this system is to make it easy to replenish rice to a rice storage warehouse and to reduce breakdowns.

(Means for Solving the Problem) The present invention is an automatic rice cooker that stores rice, measures it, washes it, supplies the washed rice and water corresponding to the rice into a rice cooker, and automatically cooks the rice. In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the following technical measures are taken in the device.

That is, in the present invention, a rice storage 4 for storing rice is built in the upper part of the box 1, and the rice storage 4 is provided with quantitative sorting means 5 at the lower part thereof, and the rice storage 4 is provided with a quantitative sorting means 5 in the upper part of the rice storing means 5. The rice storage 4 has an expanded sloped surface part 6, and the sloped surface part 6 is further provided with a chute 7 that can be freely pulled out in an upward diagonal direction. It is.

(Function) According to the present invention, in order to replenish the rice storage 4 with rice, the chute 7 is pulled out and the rice is dropped into the chute 7 while maintaining the pulled-out position.

The rice on chute 7 is directed upward and diagonally to chute 7.
Since the rice is pulled out, the rice storage 4 is naturally replenished through the chute 7.

When the chute 7 is pushed in, the rice that has piled up in a so-called yamabushi shape in the rice storage 4 is leveled out by the push of the chute 7.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In Figures 1 to 3, 1 is a box, shaped like a cube, and has a height, depth, and width that are compatible with sinks, gas stoves, etc. in system kitchens, and its lower bottom is It is movable by being equipped with wheels 2, and is equipped with a cooking table 3 at its upper end.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a rice storage, which is built into the upper part of the box body 1, and a quantitative sorting means 5 is provided at the lower part thereof.

The rice storage 4 has a funnel shape, and has an inclined surface part 6 that expands upward from the quantitative sorting means 5, and a chute 7 is provided on the inclined surface part 6 on the front side (1vij surface side) in an upward diagonal direction. The chute 7 has a mallet that slides on the inclined surface, and one end (front side) of the mallet is a lid 9 having a handle 8. It can be freely pulled out by passing through an opening 10 formed in the box body 1 below 3 and sliding on the inner surfaces of the left and right vertical walls and the inclined surface part 6 of the rice storage 4, and when it is stored in the rice storage 4. In this case, the lid 9 is flush with the front surface of the box 1, and the lid 9 is in contact with the periphery of the opening 10 to maintain the storage position.

The quantitative sorting means 5 shown in this embodiment has a fixed volume cylinder horizontally arranged with a partially cut-out opening 5^ on its circumferential surface and sealed at both ends of the cylinder, and the axis of the cylinder is connected to an electric motor (1). The rice storage device 4 is rotated in one direction to drop the polished rice in the rice storage 4 downward, and the pulse output corresponding to the preset rotation speed is detected and the electric motor 11 is driven to produce the desired amount of rice. A sensor S is provided at the bottom of the rice storage 4 to detect the remaining amount of polished rice.

12 is a rice washing device, and the rice washing device 12 includes stirring means 1
3, a water supply means 14, and a cylindrical body 17 having a drain port 15 that can be opened and closed at the bottom and a spout 16 that can be opened and closed as shown in FIG.

The cylindrical body 17 is a conical part with an open top and a conical shape tapering downward from the lower half, extending from the upper frame 18 with the cylinder axis in the vertical direction ε, and extending from the left and right side plates of the box body 1. By fitting the slide shoes 20 installed on the left and right sides of the frame work 8 into the horizontal slide rails 19 installed inside the rice washing device 12 as shown by arrow A in FIG.
is stored and supported in the box body 1 so that it can be taken in and out in the horizontal direction, and in the stored state, the locking means 21 provided on the box body 1
It is said that it can be locked freely.

The stirring means 13 is attached to a cylindrical shaft 23 which is rotatably driven by an electric motor 22 provided on a pedestal 18, and extends radially on a horizontal plane and extends downward parallel to the axis of the cylindrical body 17.
The cylindrical body 17 has a bar 24 formed along the conical portion of the cylindrical body 17, and the cylindrical shaft 23 is aligned with the cylindrical center line of the cylindrical body 17.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the water supply means 14 has a plurality of fountain nozzles 26 and a solenoid valve 27 connected to the pressure water system through a solenoid valve 25 disposed above the device. It consists of a water supply pipe 29 etc. that communicates with a constant water level tank 28, and the fountain nozzle 26 is arranged in such a way that it can always wash the wall surface above the maximum value of the water amount corresponding to the maximum throughput of milled rice, depending on its spray angle. be.

As shown in FIG.
A drainage jacket 30 having a drain port 15 and a spout 16 is disposed to surround the bottom part in an annular manner, and a funnel-shaped perforated plate 31 is attached to the drain jacket 30. is in communication with a drainage gutter 33 via an on-off valve 32.

The spout 16 can be opened and closed by a conical valve 34, and the conical valve 34 has a valve stem 35 inserted into the cylindrical shaft 23 so as to be movable up and down, and the valve stem 35 is moved up and down by a control mechanism not shown. Thus, the spout 16 can be opened and closed by the conical valve 34.

Here, the rice washing device 12 configured as described above is capable of receiving polished rice supplied from the quantitative sorting means 5 of the rice storage 4 into the cylindrical body 17 via the chute 36.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the fixed water level tank 28 is installed in the box 1 by utilizing the depth space when the rice storage 4 is housed in the box 1.
The constant water level tank 28 has an overflow port 37, and an overflow pipe 38 communicating with the drain gutter 33 is connected to the overflow port 37, and an upper limit water level detection sensor 39
and a water supply port 4 communicating with the pressure water system via a solenoid valve 40
1.

In the constant water level tank 28, the water level detection sensor 39 is configured to detect the water level at 11 points slightly above the overflow level 12 and close the solenoid valve 40. The flow rate that flows out is the water level L2 in the tank 28.
In addition, the water supply amount of the solenoid valve 40 is determined by the flow rate flowing out from the solenoid valve 27 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 7.

At the bottom of the rice washing device 12, a rice cooker 44 is mounted on an L-shaped pedestal 43 having a pair of slide shoes 42 so as to be removable and capable of being positioned and held. By fitting the slide shoe 42 into the horizontal guide rail 45 shown in FIG. It is housed in the box 1 and can be locked with a locking means 46 during operation.

Here, the rice storage 4 is built in and fixed in the box l, but the rice washing device 12 and the rice cooker 44 are each individually housed in the box 5 so that they can be moved in and out in the horizontal direction, and each is locked. In this embodiment, the locking means 21.46 is an electromagnetic type hook 21.46 which can be engaged and detached. A, it has 46A.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the rice cooker 44 has an outer pot 47.
, an inner pot 48, and an upper lid 49 of the outer pot 47 which can be opened and closed by pivoting in the vertical direction by a pivot part 50, and can be closed tightly by a hook 51. Further, the upper lid 49 has an inner lid 52, and when the upper lid 49 is sealed with the hook 51, the inner pot 48 is simultaneously sealed with the inner M52.

Furthermore, the rice cooker 44 includes a heater 53 and a rice cooking completion sensor 54.
, a sensor 55 for detecting the presence or absence of the inner pot 48, and a heat retention control circuit means, and as shown in FIG. Furthermore, the rice cooker 44 can be removed from the pedestal 43 by having a handle 56 provided on the upper lid 49.

When removed from the pedestal 43, the electric connection between the rice cooker 44 and the main body of the device can be cut off by the power supply mechanism 57 such as the heater 53.On the other hand, the rice cooker 44 taken out to the outside is a cord reel type. It is configured so that it can be kept warm by a separate power source using a plug 58.

An opening 59 is formed in the top lid 49 of the rice cooker 44, and when the rice cooker 44 is housed in the box 1, the opening 59 is located above and below the spout 16 of the rice washing device 12 disposed above. The shutters 60 are arranged to face each other, and can be opened and closed by a shutter 60.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a U-shaped slide rail frame 61 is provided around the opening 59 of the upper lid 49, and the rail groove 61A of the slide rail frame 61 has a
The shaft 0 having the protrusion 60A is fitted so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, so that the opening 59 can be opened and closed.

A shutter drive mechanism 62 is provided at the rear of the lower half of the box 1, and this shutter drive mechanism 62
As shown in the figure, there is a motor 63 that can be freely switched between forward and reverse directions, and a screw shaft 6 that is supported by bearings 64 and 65 and has an axial center direction in the depth direction (front and back direction) of the box 1 below the motor 63.
6, a transmission body 67 shown as a gear that interlocks and connects the screw shaft 66 and the electric motor 63, a driver 68 supported on the screw shaft 66 so as to be screwable, and a support shaft 69 for the driver 6. The mooring hook 7 is provided with a mooring hook that can be rotated freely around the fulcrum.
0, a spring 71 that urges the hook 70 to the mooring position,
It is composed of sensors 72, 73, etc. that control the stopping and reciprocating switching of the driver 68 that reciprocates between intervals.

The drive element 68 of the shutter drive mechanism 62 is awaited at the C position in FIG. It is maintained in a prepared posture.

When the rice cooker 44 is housed in the box 1 in this state in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6, and the opening 59 is sealed in conjunction with the storage operation of the rice cooker 44.

To open the shutter 60, the driver 68 is moved from the C position to the A position by the screw feeding action of the screw shaft 66 by starting the electric motor 63.
When the hook 70 is moved to the position B in the movement process, the elastic force of the spring 710 causes the hook 70 to fall down about the support shaft 69, and is moored to the protrusion 6QA of the shutter 60, so that the shutter 60 is moved as shown by the arrow in FIG. is followed by the drive element 68 to open the opening 59, allowing the inner pot 48 to be replenished with washed rice.

To seal the shutter 60 after completing the replenishment of a predetermined amount of washed rice, when the driver 68 is moved in the opposite direction, the front surface of the driver 68 pushes the protrusion 60A of the shutter 60, so the shutter 60 closes. Move as shown by the arrow in FIG. 6 to open the opening 59.
Seal it tightly.

In addition, in the figure, 74 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. 75 indicates steam exhaust means.

The device of the present invention is equipped with a ground water inlet, and various hoses (pipes), wiring, etc. are connected to allow the drawing stroke.

To replenish the rice storage 4 with polished rice, the chute 7 is pulled out in an upward diagonal direction as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1 and in FIG. In order to maintain the drawn-out position, positioning means including a ball, a spring, etc. may also be provided.

In this state, when rice is fed into the chute 7 from above as shown by arrow E, the polished rice flows down the chute 7 and is replenished into the rice storage 4.

Replenishment in the rice storage 4 is in the form of a so-called heap, but when the chute 7 is pushed in after the replenishment is completed, the milled rice that has been replenished in the heap in the rice storage 4 is almost evenly distributed by pushing the chute 7. be forced to When replenishment is completed, the sensor S detects the presence or absence of polished rice. Similarly, when the rice washing device 12 is inserted into a predetermined position, a sensor (not shown) detects this,
Furthermore, when the rice cooker 44 is inserted into a predetermined position, a sensor (not shown) 44 detects this. The presence or absence of the inner pot 48 of the rice cooker 44 is detected by a sensor 58.

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 74, when the start button is pressed, each locking means 21 of the rice washing device 12 and the rice cooker 44 is pressed.
．． 46 operates simultaneously to lock all mechanisms inside the refrigerator. In the above state, the start signal can be received.

After the closing of the conical valve 34 that seals the rice washing device 12 is confirmed by inputting a start signal, the quantitative sorting means 5 rotates and a predetermined amount of polished rice is passed through the chute 36 and passed through the cylindrical body 17 of the rice washing device 12 (hereinafter referred to as the rice washing tank). ). Upon completion of the quantitative determination, the stirring means 13 rotates, the electromagnetic valve 25 opens, and water spraying from the fountain nozzle 26 begins as indicated by the dotted line 26A in FIG. 7.

The washed rice wastewater in the rice washing tank 17 is drained from the drainage jacket 30 at the bottom.
The water passes through a perforated plate 31 provided therein, passes through a drain port 15 that can be opened and closed, and is drained out of the drain gutter 23.

When the rice washing process for a predetermined period of time is completed, water sprinkling in the rice washing tank 17 is temporarily interrupted, and the process shifts to a rice polishing process in which only the stirring means 13 rotates. During this time, the electromagnetic valve 40 opens and water starts being supplied to the constant water level tank 28, and once the water supply is stopped at the water level measured by the water level sensor 39, water is stored up to the overflow port 37.

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 32 is closed and the rice washing tank 17
After the water is stored up to a predetermined level in the rice cooker, the on-off valve 32 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 step, when the solenoid valve 27 of the conduit 29 that communicates with the bottom of the constant water level tank 28 is opened, the solenoid valve 40 is simultaneously opened to start supplying water into the washed rice tank 17. Since the water level H in the constant water level tank 28 is kept constant by the overflow port 37, the flow rate of water supplied by the solenoid valve 27 is always constant. Therefore, by opening the electromagnetic valve 27 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 40 is adjusted to be equal to or slightly larger than the sum of the flow rate flowing out from the electromagnetic valve 27 and the amount of water overflowing from the water overflow port 37. Therefore, the water level H can always be maintained stably.

After repeating the rinsing process several times and completing draining the rice washing tank 17, the process moves to the water adjustment process. Opening/closing valve 3 of drain port 15
2 is closed, and the solenoid valve 27 is opened for a preset time to adjust the water level. At the same time as the water level is finished, the shutter drive mechanism 62
This opens the shutter 60 and opens the opening 59 provided in the upper lid 49, which is the inlet for rice and water. At the same time as the opening of the shutter 60 is detected, the conical valve 34 opens to discharge rice and water into the inner pot 48. The rice and water discharged from the rice washing tank 17 flow down in a hollow radial manner along the slope of the conical valve 34 as shown in FIG. 7, so that the rice accumulated in the inner pot 48 exhibits an ideal distribution curve. , does not require any means of leveling the surface layer of the rice.

On the other hand, when discharging rice from the rice washing layer 17, the stirring means 13 is rotated for a short time at the same time as the conical valve 34 is opened in order to improve the 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 17 has almost completely been discharged, water is sprayed for a short time from the fountain nozzle 26 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 34, 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 34, the shutter drive mechanism 62 rotates in reverse to close the shutter 60.

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, the 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 53 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 75 having a fan is activated to exhaust steam to the outside of the system.

Completion of rice cooking is detected by the sensor 54, and then the steaming process is started. The rice cooker 44 has a built-in heat retention control circuit and is installed at the bottom of the tank so as to detect a drop in the temperature of the inner pot 48 and automatically keep the rice warm after the steaming process is completed. At the end of the above steaming process, the rice cooker 44 is unlocked and can be pulled out from the box 1.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention is as described above, and the present invention includes a rice storage for storing rice built in the upper part of the box, and the rice storage has a quantitative sorting means in the lower part thereof, The rice storage has a sloped surface portion that expands upward from the quantitative sorting means, and the sloped surface portion is further provided with a chute that can be freely pulled out in an upward diagonal direction, so that the rice storage It is very easy to replenish rice, and since only the chute is pulled out, the labor is light, there is less chance of clogging with rice grains, and even if it does get clogged, it can be cleaned easily.

Furthermore, by pushing the chute, it is possible to level out the heaped-up polished rice in the rice storage almost evenly, which means that it is possible to store a large amount of polished rice in the rice storage. can.

Therefore, the rice cooking device having the device of the present invention can be stored in a home kitchen room 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, FIG. 3 is a front (front) view, and FIG. 5 is a partially sectional side view showing the inside of the rice cooker, FIGS. 5 and 6 are plan views showing the opening and closing operations of the shutter, respectively, and FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing the water supply means. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Box body, 4... Rice storage, 5... Quantitative sorting means, 6... Inclined surface part, 7... Chute, 12... Rice washing device, 44... Rice cooker.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an automatic rice cooker that automatically cooks rice by storing, measuring, and washing the rice and supplying the washed rice and the corresponding amount of water to the rice cooker, a rice storage compartment for storing rice is used. (4) is built into the upper part of the box body (1), and the rice storage (4) is provided with quantitative sorting means (
5), the rice storage (4) has a sloped surface part (6) that expands upward from the quantitative sorting means (5), and furthermore, the sloped surface part (6) has a sloped surface part (6) extending upwardly from the quantitative sorting means (5). A rice storage device for an automatic rice cooker, characterized in that it is equipped with a chute (7) that can be freely drawn out in any direction.