JPH0515890Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention relates to a measuring rice bin that measures and discharges stored rice, and in particular, a type of measuring rice bin that outputs an alarm when the rice in the rice storage section decreases to prompt rice replenishment. Regarding rice bins.

[Prior art and its problems] Conventionally, as this type of measuring rice bin, for example, the Jikosho
As described in Japanese Patent No. 47-1400, a device is known in which when the amount of rice in a rice storage unit decreases, a notification device is energized to prompt replenishment of rice, and the electric measuring operation is stopped. However, with these devices,
Since the system is notified only when the rice is out, which would cause insufficient measurement, the system is inconvenient because by the time the user realizes there is no rice left, it is difficult to prepare meals.

To deal with this, it is possible to take measures to detect the drop in the level in the rice storage unit and issue a warning before the rice runs out, but since there is still some rice left in the rice storage unit at the time the alarm is issued, for example, if the rice storage unit has a capacity of 10kg, 10Kg to rice bin
Even if they tried to replenish the amount of rice, it was not possible to store the entire amount in the rice storage unit immediately after the alarm was issued. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a warning at a plurality of levels as the remaining amount decreases, but this requires a plurality of level sensors and is expensive.

[Means for solving the problem] This invention includes a level sensor that detects when the rice in the rice storage unit drops below a predetermined level before the rice runs out, and a detection signal from the level sensor that detects the remaining rice. a first alarm means for notifying a decrease in the amount; and means for counting the amount of rice to be discharged after the level sensor detects that the amount has fallen below the predetermined level;
The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a second alarm means that notifies you that the rice is out or is about to run out when the counting device counts a discharge amount exceeding a predetermined amount.

[Example] Examples will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rice bin portion of the embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes a rice bin body, and one side of the rice bin part 2 forms an article storage shelf with a front door 3. The rice bin section 2 is formed by providing a rice storage section 4, a measuring section 5, and a rice receiving section 6 from above. The rice storage section 4 is equipped with a rotating door 8 that opens the rice inlet 7 upward at the front surface thereof, and a funnel bottom 9, and a rice outlet 1 at the bottom thereof.
0 is formed. The measuring section 5 is connected to the rice outlet 10 of the rice storage section 4 and has a guide plate 1 having a certain slope.
1, a metering operation plate 14 which rotates at a fulcrum 12 and alternately contacts the guide plate 11 on the upper and lower division plates 13, 13' to carry out a metering operation, and a drive consisting of a solenoid or the like to rotate the operation plate 14. Vessel 1
5, a metering chamber 16 with a unit capacity (normally 1 cup: 180 cm ³ ) is formed between the guide plate 11 and the operating plate 14, and a drive unit 15 discharges unit quantities.
The rice receiving part 6 is located below the measuring part 5, and has a rice receiving container 17 that can be inserted into and removed from the front of the main body, and is configured to receive the rice discharged from the measuring part 5 and to take it out at will. . Reference numeral 18 denotes a level sensor attached to the funnel bottom 9, which has a diaphragm 19 facing into the rice storage section 4, and opens and closes the micro switch 20 in response to the weight pressure of the rice in the storage section 4. Detects the remaining amount of rice within 4. 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes an operation panel formed on the front surface of the main body 1, which will be described in detail later.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the operation panel section of the embodiment, which forms a rice measuring section 22 and a timer section 23.
The rice measuring section 22 is provided with 1 to 5 measuring keys 24 and corresponding indicator lights 25.
The weighing operation can be performed by pressing the key to measure 1 cup, pressing the key 2 to measure 2 cups, etc. The indicator light 25 lights up according to the pressed key position, and the measuring unit lights up sequentially starting from 1 to display the progress of weighing. Also, the weighing key 24
As shown in the figure, you can lock and unlock the weighing operation by pressing the two keys at the same time, and pressing the keys 1 and 3 at the same time will lock the weighing operation, and even if you press this weighing key 24, no rice will be removed. If the lock is not accepted and keys 2 and 4 are pressed, this lock state is released, which prevents mischief by children and the like. Reference numeral 26 denotes a remaining amount warning light for prompting the replenishment of rice into the rice jug, which lights up in response to the sensing operation of the level sensor 18, and then flashes when a certain amount or more is dispensed after being lit. Timer section 2
3 is equipped with a known timer function including a display device 27 for displaying time and timer settings, a time set key 28 for setting time and timer settings, and a timer outlet 29.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control system of the embodiment. 30 is the central control unit, which controls the CPU, ROM,
It consists of a microcomputer consisting of RAM, a clock generator, an input/output unit, etc., and a ROM
Control operations are performed according to the internal program. The central control device 30 normally functions as a timer clock in response to operations on the timer section 23 of the operation panel 21, receives operations on the measurement key 24 of the measurement section 22 as an interrupt input, and executes a measurement program.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the main part of the program registered in the ROM of the central control unit 30, in which (A) shows the weighing operation and (B) shows the overtime check operation in the rice bin.

In (A), an interrupt operation occurs due to an operation input on the weighing key 24, and when an input is made by any key on the weighing key 24 to measure and dispense rice by V ₀ (total), the driver 15 is first operated to A measured amount is discharged (1), and the indicator light 25 corresponding to the discharged amount is turned on, and the metering counter VC is incremented by 1 (2). Subsequently, the state of the level sensor 18 is checked (3), and if the level is below the detection level of the sensor 18, the check counter CK is incremented by one (4). Thereafter, the metering counter and the set amount V ₀ in the metering key 24 are compared (5), and if they do not match, the unit amount discharge is repeated from step (1). When VC and V ₀ match and metered dispensing ends, an alarm notifying the end of metering is output and the indicator light 25 is turned off (6), and then the value of the check counter CK is set to a constant value V ₁ (for example, 10).
If it is above, output an alarm indicating that the remaining amount of rice is close to 0 and return (7).

In (B), this remaining amount check routine is constantly repeatedly executed by a timer interrupt at regular intervals.First, the state of the level sensor 18 is checked (1), and if it is below the detection level of the sensor 18, the remaining amount is The warning light 26 is turned on (2), and the value of the check counter CK is compared with the reference value _V1 (3), and CK is
If it reaches V ₁ or higher, the warning light 26 is changed to a flashing display (4), prompting the operator to replenish rice as soon as possible. In step (1), if the remaining amount of rice in the rice bin is equal to or higher than the detection level, the check counter CK is cleared to 0 and the remaining amount warning light 26 is turned off (5).

This embodiment is constructed as described above, and when the amount of rice remaining in the rice bin falls below the detection level of the level sensor 18, the remaining amount warning light 26 is turned on to notify that the remaining amount of rice is low, and furthermore, in this state, the amount of rice remains constant. When a quantity of rice equal to or greater than V ₁ is discharged, a warning light 26 is displayed blinking to notify that the rice is out or is about to run out.

[Effects of the invention] This invention is constructed as described above, and the first alarm is output before the rice runs out to notify the user of a decrease in the remaining amount of rice. This eliminates the inconvenience of not having enough rice, and allows you to replenish your surplus rice. In addition, after the first alarm, if more than a predetermined amount of rice is discharged, a second alarm will be output, and it will notify you that the rice is out or is about to run out. It is possible to prevent inconveniences such as. Furthermore, the two-stage alarm lets you know when the remaining amount of rice is decreasing and when the rice is out, so you can order the amount of rice that matches the capacity of the rice bin at the time of the first alarm, and replenish that rice at the time of the second alarm. If you use it in this way, you can always replenish the rice bin to its full capacity, making it possible to use it more effectively with fewer refills. In addition, the rice run-out condition is detected by counting the amount of rice discharged after it drops below a predetermined level, and one level sensor can output the first and second alarms, so multiple sensors can be used. There is no need to provide it, and it can be constructed at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the main part of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the main parts of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control system of the embodiment. Fifth
The figure is a flowchart showing the main part of the program of the embodiment. 1 is a measuring rice jug body, 4 is a rice storage section, 5 is a measuring section, 6 is a rice receiving section, 18 is a level sensor, 26 is a remaining amount warning light that functions as first and second alarm means, and 30 is a counting means. Central control unit including CK.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a level sensor for detecting when the rice in the rice storage unit has fallen below a predetermined level before the rice runs out; a first alarm means for notifying a decrease in the remaining amount of rice based on a detection signal from the level sensor; means for counting the amount of rice discharged after the sensor detects that the amount has fallen below the predetermined level; and a second means for notifying that the rice has run out or is about to run out when the counting means counts the discharge of more than the predetermined amount. A measuring rice bin comprising: alarm means.