JPH04259414A - Automatic rice boiling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always make the finish of boiled rice constant by employing such a rice weight measuring method whereby after the weight of all of rice in a rice measuring tank is measured the rice is discharged until set weight of rice is reached, and also employing such a water weight measuring method whereby water is discharged after being fed into a water measuring tank until set weight of water is reached. CONSTITUTION:After operation of an automatic rice boiling device is started the weight of polished rice in a tank 10 is measured by a load cell and the weight signal is sent to a control portion 69. The polished rice which has been supplied from a discharge opening 16 to the hopper 18 of a rice lifting thrower 17 is made to flow down through the hopper 8 and supplied from a supply opening 19 into the lower portion of the thrower 17 and supplied into a supply tube 24 via an inclined gutter 22. After being washed and dewatered at the gutter 22 the rice is made to flow down through a rice feed tube 37 and supplied into a rice-boiling container 46 through openings 42, 58, 57. Then water is supplied into a water measuring tank 11. The amount of the water is measured by the load cell 12 and when a set amount of water is reached a solenoid valve 60 is opened so that water supply is stopped.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic rice cooker having rice washing and dehydrating functions.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, automatic rice cooking apparatuses have been known in which rice stored in a rice storage tank is weighed with a scale, washed with a rice washing mechanism, and then cooked. This will be explained with reference to FIG. A rice storage tank 80, a measuring device 81, a rice washing tank 82, and a rice cooker 83 are provided in the machine frame 79, and the rice storage tank 80 is connected to the measuring device 81 via a hopper 84.
The weighing machine 81 communicates with a rice washing tank 82 via a rice supply pipe 85. A stirring blade 86 is rotatably provided in the rice washing tank 82, a water supply pipe 88 attached to a water supply tank 87 faces the rice washing tank 82, and 91 is an opening/closing plate that opens and closes the discharge port 89 at the bottom of the rice washing tank 82.

Next, to explain its operation, the rice in the storage tank 80 flows down a hopper 84 and is supplied to a measuring device 81, and after being weighed by a predetermined amount in the measuring device 81, it flows down a rice feeding pipe 85. The rice is put into the rice washing tank 82. In the rice washing tank 82,
The rice is washed by the stirring action caused by the rotation of the stirring blades 86. The washed rice is discharged outside the machine from a drain pipe 90 by a drainage device (not shown), and the washed rice is discharged from the opening/closing plate 9.
1 to open the rice cooker (with the lid removed). Next, water for cooking rice is supplied from the water supply pipe 88 to the rice cooker 83, and the rice is cooked after closing the lid.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional automatic rice cooking device as described above, rice is measured by a volumetric measuring method using a measuring device 81. The drawback was that there was variation in weight. In addition, water for cooking rice is not accurately measured, and the amount of water supplied varies depending on the supply, which has the disadvantage that the finished product of rice is inconsistent.

[0005] This invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks and
To provide an automatic rice cooking device capable of always making the finished product of cooked rice constant by accurately measuring rice and water supplied to a rice cooking container.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the present invention has the following configuration.

[0007] A rice measuring tank for measuring the weight of rice, a water measuring tank for measuring the weight of water, a weight measuring device connected to the rice measuring tank and the water measuring tank, and a rotatable stirring wheel in the rice washing cylinder. a rice washing device equipped with a rice washing device, a dehydration device equipped with a rice feeding means equipped with spiral blades in a rotatably mounted perforated wall cylinder, and a tank for measuring washed and dehydrated rice and water. In an automatic rice cooking device consisting of a rice cooking container that is supplied with water weighed in water and used to cook rice, the method for measuring the weight of rice is determined by measuring the total weight of rice in the rice measuring tank.
The discharge reduction method discharges rice until it reaches a set rice weight.
The method for measuring the water weight is an input increasing method in which water is added to the water measuring tank until a set water weight is reached and then discharged.

In the automatic rice cooking device, the rice measuring tank and the water measuring tank are connected to a single weight measuring device.

[0009] In the automatic rice cooking device, the weight measuring device is a load cell.

0010

[Operation] After the total weight in the rice measuring tank is measured, the rice is discharged until the set rice weight is reached, and the rice that has been measured is sent to the rice washing device. In the rice washing device, the rice is subjected to a short-time washing action as the flow is reversed by the rotation of the stirring rotor, and the rice bran and the like remaining in the rice are separated and eluted by the washing action. The washed rice is sent to a dehydrator, where it is dehydrated by the rotation of a perforated wall tube, and the dehydrated rice is supplied to a rice cooking container. Next, water is poured into the water measuring tank, and when the set water weight is reached, the feeding is stopped, and the measured water is supplied to the rice cooking container.

[0011]

Embodiments An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partial side sectional view of an automatic rice cooker embodying the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the operation panel.

[0012] The inside of the machine frame 2 of the automatic rice cooking device 1 is divided by partition plates 3 and 4.
The upper tier is a rice washing/dehydration chamber 5, the middle tier is a rice cooking chamber 6, and the lower tier is a rice storage/measurement chamber 7.The rice cooking chamber 6 and the rice storage/measurement chamber 7 are connected by handles 8, 9. It is formed so that it can be freely drawn out.

[0013] Inside the rice storage/measuring chamber 7 is a tank 10 for measuring white rice.
is arranged, and a water measuring tank 11 is installed inside one end thereof,
The white rice measuring tank 11 is loaded through two load cells 12,
It is supported by both side walls of the rice storage/measuring chamber 7. A motor 15 is directly connected to a screw conveyor 14 installed horizontally in a discharge gutter 13 at the bottom of a tank 10 for measuring polished rice, and a discharge port 16 of the discharge gutter 13 is connected to a hopper 18 of a lifted rice thrower 17. The hopper 18 is connected to a blade wheel 21 directly connected to a motor 20 through a supply port 19, and the upper end of the rice thrower 17 is connected to an inclined gutter 22,
It communicates with a supply cylinder 24 via a discharge port 23.

The supply cylinder 24 is connected to a rice washing cylinder 26 of a rice washing section 25, and a stirring trochanter 27 is horizontally suspended in the rice washing cylinder 26 so as to be freely rotatable, and a rice washing chamber 28 is formed by the rice washing cylinder 26 and the stirring trochanter 27. death,
The supply side of the rice washing chamber 28 is connected to the rice supply port 29, and the discharge side is connected to the dewatering section 30.
Contact.

In the porous wall cylinder 31 of the dewatering section 30, a spiral blade 3 is installed.
The hollow rice feeding cylinder 33 with the rice feeding tube 2 attached thereto is horizontally mounted so as to be freely rotatable.
A dehydration chamber 34 is formed by the rice feeding cylinder 33 and the porous wall cylinder 31. The porous wall cylinder 31 has bearings 36, 3 provided on the mounting bodies 35, 35.
6, the dehydration chamber 34 is rotatably mounted horizontally, and the discharge end of the dehydration chamber 34 is connected to a rice supply cylinder 37. A pulley 92 is attached to the shaft of the stirring rotor 27.
A pulley 38 is attached to the shaft of the rice feeding cylinder 33, and a pulley 39 is attached to the shaft of the porous wall cylinder 31, and the shaft of the stirring trochanter 27 passes through the inside of the hollow rice feeding cylinder 33 and is attached to the bearing 40. I'm wearing it.

The lower part of the supply cylinder 37 faces the supply cylinder 41,
A shutter 43 that moves back and forth to open and close the opening 42 is disposed at the bottom of the supply cylinder 41. A pinion (not shown) attached to the motor shaft of a forward/reverse motor 44 is engaged with a rack (not shown) connected to the shutter 43 .

A rice cooking container 46 is placed on a mounting table 45 provided around the rice cooking chamber 6, and a plurality of heaters 4 are placed below the rice cooking container 46.
Place 7. Note that the heating means is not limited to a heater, and may be any other means such as gas. A through hole 49 is provided in the lid 48 of the rice cooking container 46 to allow steam to pass through, and 50 is a sealing plate that seals the rice cooking container 46 by moving a sealing cylinder 51 up and down when supplying polished rice and water and cooking rice. Sealing plate 50 on 48
It is sealed by touching it. A rack 52 is attached to one end of the sealing plate 50, and a pinion 54 attached to the shaft of a forward/reverse motor 53 is engaged with the rack 52. 55 is an exhaust pipe that exhausts steam generated during rice cooking to the outside of the machine, and the exhaust pipe 5
A steam sensor 56 for detecting the temperature of steam is installed in the inside of the
Openings 57 and 58 are provided in the lid 48 and the sealing plate 51, respectively.

A water supply pipe 59 faces above the water measuring tank 11, and is connected to a water supply pipe 61 via a solenoid valve 60, and is connected to a discharge port (not shown) at the bottom of the water measuring tank 11.
The water supply pipe 6 is connected via a solenoid valve 62 and a pump (not shown).
3, and the water supply pipe 63 faces the supply cylinder 41. A water supply pipe 64 faces above the rice supply opening 29 of the rice washing section 25, and the water supply pipe 64 is connected to the water supply pipe 61 via a solenoid valve 65, and 66 is a discharge gutter for discharging dehydrated and washed rice water to the outside of the machine. and
67 is a wheel for moving the automatic rice cooker.

FIG. 2 shows the operation panel of the automatic rice cooker 1, and the operation panel 68 communicates with a control section 69. 70
are rice amount switches, and by pressing each switch, the weight of rice can be selected in the range of 2 to 5 sho. 7
1 is a water adjustment switch (72 is an increase switch, 73 is a decrease switch), and the set water volume is the set weight of polished rice multiplied by a coefficient (set ratio), and the coefficient is 1.4 from the standard.
5 and can be adjusted from 1.35 to 1.55 (switching in 5 steps). 74 is a power switch, 75 is an operation switch, 76
is the timer reservation switch, and 77 is the “cooking”, “
It is a display panel with characters such as "Complete", and 78 is a process monitor that displays the flow of the rice cooking process.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. By pulling the handle 9 forward, the rice storage measuring chamber 7 is taken out of the machine, and polished rice is put into the polished rice measuring tank 10 from the rice bag. At this time, since the rice storage measuring chamber 7 is located below the automatic rice cooker 1, the operator can put the white rice into the tank 1 in a comfortable position.
0, reducing the burden on the body.

When the operation switch 75 is pressed, operation is started, the weight of polished rice in the tank 10 is measured by a load cell, and the weight signal is sent to the control section 69. Next, the motor 15 is activated to rotate the screw conveyor 14, and the polished rice is conveyed through the discharge gutter 13 and supplied from the discharge port 16 to the hopper 18 of the rice thrower 17. The polished rice flows down the hopper 18, is supplied to the lower part of the thrower 17 from the supply port 19, is lifted by the rotation of the impeller 21 by the motor 20, and is supplied to the supply tube 24 via the inclined gutter 22. When the set weight of polished rice is reached, the operation of the motor 15 is stopped, and the measurement of the weight of polished rice by the screw conveyor 14 is completed.

[0022] At the same time that the polished rice begins to flow down inside the supply tube 24, the solenoid valve 65 is opened (the solenoid valve 60 is closed), and water begins to be supplied from the water supply pipe 61 to the water supply pipe 64. The polished rice supplied from the rice supply port 29 to the rice washing chamber 28 is subjected to a rice washing action by being reversed in flow by the stirring rotor 27, and the rice bran remaining in the polished rice is separated and eluted by the washing action. At this time, the weight of water supplied to the rice washing chamber 28 is 1 to 2 times the weight of the polished rice, and the white rice is
At step 8, the rice is washed in a short time of about 3 seconds.

The washed white rice is sent to the dehydration chamber 34 by the stirring rotor 27, and is sent to the dehydration chamber 34 by the spiral blade 32 of the rice feeding tube 33, which rotates at approximately 1,500 to 2,000 revolutions per minute.
being transported inside. At that time, about 100 yen from the rice feeding cylinder 33
The slow rotating porous wall tube 31 provides dehydration (approximately 3
The water containing the bran eluted from the polished rice is discharged from the holes in the porous wall cylinder 31. The discharged rice washed water flows down the drainage gutter 66 and is discharged outside the machine. When the measurement of the weight of polished rice is completed and the supply of polished rice is stopped, the solenoid valve 6 is closed and the supply of water to the rice washing chamber 28 is stopped, and after a predetermined period of time, the stirring rotor 27 The rotation of the rice cylinder 33 and the porous wall cylinder 31 is stopped, and the rice washing and dehydration are completed.

[0024] In this device, the rice washing time is short (approximately 3 seconds in this example), and since dehydration is performed continuously, there is almost no water absorption into the polished rice during washing, and the water contained in the rice is reduced. is uniform, and even when water for cooking is supplied, all white rice grains are uniformly soaked, and the water content is constant. Therefore, cooked rice made from white rice has a consistent hardness and stickiness, and has a delicious taste.

The polished rice that has been dehydrated flows down the rice supply cylinder 37 and is supplied into the rice cooking container 46 through the openings 42, 58, 57. When all of the measured white rice is supplied into the rice cooking container 46, the solenoid valve 60 is opened (the solenoid valve 65 is closed) in response to a signal from the control unit 69. Then, water for cooking rice is supplied from the water supply pipe 61 to the water supply pipe 59 to the water measuring tank 11, and the water in the tank 11 is measured by the load cell 12. When the set water weight is reached, the solenoid valve 60 is opened to stop the water supply, and then the solenoid valve 62 is opened and the pump (not shown) is activated so that the water flows down the water supply pipe 63.
The rice is supplied into the rice cooking container 46 through the openings 42, 58, 57.

[0026] In this embodiment, since the milled rice is weighed by the discharge reduction method, there is no need to provide a separate storage tank and the device is compact, unlike the increasing method in which milled rice is added to a set weight and weighed. This makes it possible to reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, since water is measured using the input/increase method, unlike the discharge/reduction method in which water is stored in the tank and a set amount of water is discharged, water may remain in the tank after measurement.
Bacteria and the like will not grow and become unsanitary.

When all of the measured water is supplied into the rice cooking container 46, the forward/reverse motor 44 is operated to close the shutter 43.
close. The white rice is soaked in the rice cooking container 46, and when the soaking is finished, it is heated by the heater 47 and the rice is cooked. Steam generated during rice cooking is discharged from the through hole 49 of the lid 47 to the rice cooking chamber 6, and from the rice cooking chamber 6 to the exhaust pipe 55.
It is then ejected from the aircraft. When steam is discharged from the exhaust stack 55, the steam temperature is detected by the steam sensor 56,
The detection signal is input to the control section 69 to control the heating temperature and heating time of the heater 47. The rice that has been cooked is steamed, and when the rice is steamed, the forward/reverse motor 53 is operated to pull up the sealing plate 51. Next, the handle 8 is pulled out to move the rice cooking chamber 5 outside the machine, and the rice cooking container 46 is removed. Take out. At that time, there is no need to lift the rice cooking chamber 46, the rice cooking container 46 can be taken out in a comfortable posture, and the burden on the body can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, manual operation was shown, but operation by setting a timer reservation is also possible. That is, by setting the rice cooking start time using the rice amount switch 70 and the water amount switch 76, it is possible to complete the rice cooking at the desired time.

[0029]

[Effect] According to the automatic rice cooking device of the present invention, the rice weight measurement method is changed to: after measuring the total weight in the rice measuring tank;
The discharge reduction method discharges rice until it reaches a set rice weight.
By forming the water weight measurement method into a water increasing method in which water is poured into the water measuring tank and then discharged until the set water weight is reached, it is possible to accurately measure the rice and water to be supplied to the rice cooking container. The finish can always be kept constant. In addition, since the rice measuring tank also has a storage function, there is no need to install a separate storage tank, making it possible to downsize the device and reduce manufacturing costs. Water will not remain in the tank after measurement and bacteria will grow and become unsanitary.

Furthermore, since the measuring tank and the water measuring tank are connected to a single weight measuring device, the weighing tank and the water measuring tank are each provided with a weight measuring device, so that each measuring device has a different weight. There is no need to consider the effects of temperature characteristics, error ranges, etc., and the weight measuring device can be adjusted extremely easily.

Furthermore, by using a load cell as the weight measuring device, the structure can be simplified and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial side sectional view of an automatic rice cooker embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the operation panel.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a conventional automatic rice cooker.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Automatic rice cooking device 2 Machine frame 3 Partition plate 4 Partition plate 5　Rice washing/dehydration room 6. Cooking room 7 Rice storage measuring room 8. Handle 9. Handle 10 Tank for measuring white rice 11 Water measuring tank 12 Load cell 13　Discharge gutter 14 Screw conveyor 15 Motor 16 Discharge port 17 Fried rice thrower 18 Hopper 19 Supply port 20 Motor 21 Wing wheel 22 Slanted gutter 23　Discharge port 24 Supply cylinder 25 Rice washing department 26　Rice washing cylinder 27 Stirring trochanter 28　Rice washing room 29 Rice feeder 30 Dehydration section 31 Porous wall tube 32 Spiral wing 33 Rice tube 34 Dehydration room 35 Mounting body 36 Bearing 37 Pulley 38 Pulley 39 Pulley 40 Bearing 41 Supply cylinder 42 Opening 43 Shutter 44 Forward/reverse motor 45 Mounting stand 46 Rice cooking container 47 Heater 48 Lid 49 Through hole 50 Sealing plate 51 Sealed cylinder 52 Rack 53 Forward/reverse motor 54 Pinion 55 Exhaust pipe 56 Steam sensor 57 Opening 58 Opening 59 Water supply pipe 60 Solenoid valve 61 Water supply pipe 62 Solenoid valve 63 Water supply pipe 64 Water supply pipe 65 Solenoid valve 66 Discharge gutter 67 Wheel 68 Operation panel 69 Control section 70　Rice amount switch 71 Water level switch 72 Volume increase switch 73　Reduction switch 74 Power switch 75 Operation switch 76 Timer reservation switch 77 Display panel 78 Process monitor 79 Machine frame 80 Rice storage tank 81　Measuring instrument 82　Rice washing tank 83 Rice cooker 84 Hopper 85 Rice feeding pipe 86 Stirring blade 87 Water tank 88 Water supply pipe 89 Discharge port 90 Drain pipe 91 Opening/closing plate 92 Pulley

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: A rice measuring tank for measuring the weight of rice, a water measuring tank for measuring the weight of water, a weight measuring device connected to the rice measuring tank and the water measuring tank, and a rice measuring tank rotatably disposed within the rice washing cylinder. A rice washing device equipped with a stirring trochanter, a dewatering device in which a rice feeding means equipped with spiral blades is rotatably installed in a perforated wall cylinder rotatably installed, and washed and dehydrated rice and water. In an automatic rice cooking device consisting of a rice cooking container that is supplied with water measured in a measuring tank and used to cook rice, the rice weight measurement method is such that after measuring the total weight of rice in the rice measuring tank, the set rice weight is reached. An automatic rice cooking device characterized by having a discharge reduction method in which rice is discharged up to a certain amount, a water weight measurement method, and an input increase method in which water is charged into the water measuring tank and then discharged until a set water weight is reached. . 2. The automatic rice cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the rice measuring tank and the water measuring tank are connected to a single weight measuring device. 2. The automatic rice cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the weight measuring device is a load cell.