JPH0528513Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention relates to a device for measuring the viscosity of stirred materials such as bean paste, cream, and other fermented products. When finishing the
The present invention relates to a viscosity measuring device that can measure viscosity using the reaction force of a drive system that rotates the stirrer.

PRIOR ART

In the case of bean paste, cream, sauce, and other foods, the various constituent materials that make up each are placed in a container and stirred and mixed using a stirring blade, and each food is finished to the required viscosity. It's getting old.

In this case, it is necessary to be able to confirm whether the food being stirred and mixed has a desired viscosity, and it is desirable that the viscosity be measured automatically.

Conventionally, as a means for measuring the viscosity of a fermented product in the above-mentioned food stirring device, the load current of the electric motor that rotates the stirring blade is detected by a current detector, and the viscosity of the fermented product is calculated from this load current and displayed on the display. I was trying to output and display it.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, in the conventional viscosity measurement method as described above, since the load current of the electric motor is used, when the power supply voltage fluctuates, the fluctuation also acts on the load current, making accurate viscosity measurement impossible.

In addition, the stirrers used to stir and mix products come in a variety of capacities, from small to large for commercial use, and as a result, the capacity of the motor used differs, and the load current value also differs. To come,
The same model of viscosity measuring device cannot be used, and it is necessary to prepare various devices designed according to the load current capacity, resulting in a high-cost viscosity measuring device and a current transformer for detecting the load current. , rectifiers, and other equipment were required, leading to the problem of an increase in the size of the device.

This idea was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to accurately measure the constantly changing viscosity of the stirred material, which can be finished to the required viscosity while stirring the material with a stirrer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for measuring the viscosity of a stirred material, which enables miniaturization of the device and common use with various types of stirrers.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention will be explained in conjunction with FIGS. 1 to 3, which are one embodiment. The present invention is capable of finishing a substance to be stirred in a fixed container 1 to a required viscosity while stirring and mixing it. Stirrer 2 of the stirrer;
An electric motor 4 that rotationally drives the stirring bar 2, a support 3 that rotatably supports the entire electric motor 4 around its rotation axis, and when rotating the stirring bar 2 against the viscous resistance of the material to be stirred A member 11 for preventing the entire electric motor 4 from rotating in the same direction as the stirring bar 2, and a stopper member 12 with which the rotation preventing member 11 comes into contact are provided to prevent the stirring bar 2 from rotating in the same direction as the stirring bar 2. When rotating the electric motor 4
A load sensor 13 converts the reaction force received from the rotation prevention member 11 into an electric signal in accordance with the torque generated in the entire body, and a load sensor 13 detects the ever-changing viscosity of the agitated material based on the signal output from the load sensor 13. An arithmetic circuit 16 for calculation, and a display section 17 for displaying the calculation result obtained by the arithmetic circuit 16 as viscosity.
It is equipped with the following.

[Effect]

In the above configuration, when the stirrer 2 is rotated by the electric motor 4 to mix and stir the materials to be stirred, a torque is generated in the entire electric motor 4 in the direction of rotation of the stirrer according to the viscous resistance of the material to be stirred. This torque acts as a reaction force on the load sensor 12 via the rotation prevention member 11. In this load sensor 12,
The reaction force acting on this is converted into an electrical signal and output, and based on this output signal, the arithmetic circuit 16 calculates the viscosity of the material to be stirred and displays it on the display section. Therefore, it is possible to accurately measure the viscosity of the stirred material, which changes moment by moment as the mixture is stirred.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of this invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 to 3 show the case where the stirred material viscosity measuring device according to this invention is applied to a food stirrer, in which 1 is a heating pot (container) having a hemispherical bottom 1a, and 2 is an interior of the heating pot 1. This stirrer 2 stirs an object to be stirred (not shown) corresponding to bean paste or other fermented foods, and the stirrer 2 includes a diagonal shaft 2a whose upper end is rotatably attached to a support 3; It is composed of a stirring blade 2b attached to this oblique shaft 2a. Also,
Reference numeral 4 denotes an electric motor equipped with a speed reducer that rotationally drives the stirrer 2, and its stator side is supported by the support body 3 by a bearing device 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bearing device 5 has an outer ring part 6 fixed to the support body 3, and an inner ring part 8 rotatably attached to the outer ring part 6 via a ball bearing 7. The stator side end surface of the electric motor 4 is fixed to a flange 9 provided at one end of the electric motor 4, so that the entire electric motor 4 can rotate around its output shaft 4a when stirring a substance to be stirred. It's getting old. In addition, a universal joint 10 is attached to the output shaft 4a of the electric motor 4 with a reduction gear.
The upper end of the oblique shaft 2a of the stirrer 2 is connected to the stirrer 2 via the stirrer 2.

The flange 9 to which the electric motor 4 is attached has an arm (member) projecting outward as shown in FIG.
11 is provided, and this arm 11 is for preventing the entire motor 4 from rotating in the direction of rotation of the stirrer when the electric motor 4 rotates the stirrer 2.
A stopper member 12 that prevents the arm 11 from rotating is disposed on the rotation end side of the rotation prevention arm 11, and the stopper member 12 includes a piezoelectric element that converts the reaction force received from the arm 11 into an electric signal. A load sensor 13 such as a pressure-sensitive transistor is attached, and a support member 14 for preventing fluctuation of the motor 4 is installed on the opposite side of the arm 11 from the load sensor 13. An adjustment bolt 15 that presses the pressure sensor 13 toward the pressure sensor 13 is screwed into the adjustment bolt 15. Further, the load sensor 13 is connected to an arithmetic circuit 16 that calculates the viscosity of the agitated material based on an electric signal generated in response to the reaction force received from the arm 11.
6 is connected to a display section 17 that displays the calculation results as viscosity.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained.

When the electric motor 4 is started during the production of bean paste, etc., the material to be stirred in the heating pot 1 is stirred as the stirring bar 2 rotates, and at the same time, a load is applied to the stirring bar 2 according to the viscous resistance of the material to be stirred. It takes. At this time, since the electric motor 4 is rotatably supported by the bearing device 5,
The entire electric motor 4 also tries to rotate in the same direction as the stirrer 2, but the entire electric motor 4 does not rotate because it is prevented from rotating by the stopper member 12 via the arm 11. As a result, a reaction force corresponding to the viscosity of the material to be stirred is generated at the contact portion of the arm 11, and this reaction force is applied to the load sensor 13 via the arm 11. Therefore, the load sensor 13 outputs an electric signal corresponding to the reaction force applied thereto, and this output signal is input to the arithmetic circuit 16. Arithmetic circuit 1
In step 6, the viscosity of the stirred material is calculated based on the output signal from the load sensor 13. By outputting this calculation result to the display section 17, the viscosity of the currently stirred material is digitally displayed. Therefore, the viscosity, which changes moment by moment as the material to be stirred is heated and stirred, is continuously measured and displayed on the display section 17.

In this way, in this embodiment, while stirring and mixing the materials to be stirred, which correspond to the bean paste and other fermented foods in the heating pot 1, with the stirring bar 2, the reaction force corresponding to the torque generated in the electric motor 4 as a whole is used. By making it possible to measure the viscosity of the stirred material, it is now possible to accurately measure the viscosity without being affected by fluctuations in the power supply voltage, as was the case in the past. In addition to being able to accurately grasp the information, it is also possible to provide the stirred material with consistent quality. Furthermore, by using a semiconductor conversion element such as a pressure-sensitive transistor or a piezoelectric element for the load sensor 13, measurement accuracy is improved, and the load sensor 13 can be made smaller, lighter, and less expensive, and its installation becomes easier.

Furthermore, even if the capacity of the heating pot 1 of the stirrer and the stirrer used to stir the material to be stirred are changed, it is only necessary to change the constants in the arithmetic circuit accordingly, so that the arm that extracts the reaction force in the rotational direction of the entire motor can be used. The viscosity measuring device consisting of the mechanism, load sensor, calculation circuit, etc. can be shared.

Furthermore, the torque component generated by the frictional resistance of the rotating support portion of the electric motor 4 results in an error in the viscosity of the stirred material, but this error can be easily corrected by the arithmetic circuit 16, making it possible to measure the viscosity with high precision.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, the viscosity measuring device of the present invention is
A stirrer of a stirrer that finishes a substance to be stirred in a fixed container to a required viscosity while stirring and mixing; an electric motor that rotationally drives the stirrer; and a support that rotatably supports the entire electric motor around its rotation axis; a member that prevents the entire electric motor from rotating in the same direction as the stirring element in response to the torque generated throughout the electric motor 4 when the stirring element is rotated against the viscous resistance of the material to be stirred; and a rotation prevention member. a load sensor that is provided on a stopper member that comes into contact with the stirrer and converts the reaction force received from the rotation prevention member into an electrical signal when the stirrer is rotated against the viscous resistance of the stirred material; and a signal output from the load sensor. It consists of an arithmetic circuit that calculates the constantly changing viscosity of the agitated material based on It is possible to accurately measure the viscosity of a stirred material whose viscosity changes from time to time, and it is also possible to obtain a stirred material of constant quality and required viscosity. In addition, since the load sensor uses semiconductor conversion elements such as pressure-sensitive transistors and piezoelectric elements, detection accuracy is improved, and it is possible to easily realize a small, lightweight, and low-cost viscosity measurement system. This has the advantage that the measuring device can be used in common with various stirring devices having different capacities.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of an agitator equipped with the viscosity measuring device of this invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing details of the reaction force generation mechanism in this embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the reaction force generation mechanism in detail. It is a block diagram of the system which converts the reaction force into an electric signal and displays viscosity. Explanation of main symbols, 1...Heating pot, 2...Stirrer, 3...Support, 4...Electric motor, 5...Bearing device, 11...Arm for preventing rotation, 12...Stopper member, 13...Load sensor, 16...Arithmetic circuit, 17...Display section.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A stirrer 2 of a stirrer that finishes a substance to be stirred in a fixed container 1 to a required viscosity while stirring and mixing; an electric motor 4 that rotationally drives the stirrer 2; and the entire electric motor 4. a support body 3 rotatably supported around its rotation axis, and a support body 3 that rotates the entire electric motor 4 in the same direction as the stirring bar 2 when the stirring bar 2 is rotated against the viscous resistance of the material to be stirred. and a stopper member 12 with which the rotation preventing member 11 comes into contact, the rotation preventing member 11 is provided with a stopper member 12 that responds to the torque generated in the entire electric motor 4 when the stirring bar 2 is rotated against the viscous resistance of the stirred material. a load sensor 13 that converts the reaction force received from the rotation prevention member 11 into an electrical signal; an arithmetic circuit 16 that calculates the ever-changing viscosity of the stirred material based on the signal output from the load sensor 13; A display unit 17 that displays the calculation result obtained by the arithmetic circuit 16 as a viscosity; and a viscosity measuring device for a stirred material.