JPH09238837A - Continuous rice boiler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the smother time and the transition process in a primary steam part in a continuous rice boiler. SOLUTION: A continuous rice boiler comprises a hopper 1 for rice R soaked in the water, a primary steam part A for smothering supplied rice R by heated steam while transferring it, a secondary soaking part B for soaking the rice R subjected to the primary steam in a heated water vessel 4 and transferring it through a scraper conveyer 5, and a secondary steam part C for again smothering the rice R subjected to the secondary soaking by heated steam while transferring it. In this case, the primary steam part is provided with a boring machine 9 for making steam passing holes in a rice stacking layer in the course of transfer by many spits moved up and down by a driving means 23.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuous rice cooker suitable for use in a large number of rice cookers such as a lunch box catering business, a catering company, and a restaurant industry.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A continuous rice cooker which has been widely used in the past, as described in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 2-31075, heats steam while transporting rice soaked in water on a mesh belt conveyor. The primary steaming part to be steamed with, the secondary soaking part which transfers the rice continuously supplied from this primary steaming part with the scraper conveyor while being immersed in the heating water tank, and the rice after this secondary soaking is further meshed A secondary steaming section that steams again with heated steam while transferring it with a belt conveyor,
It is composed of

[0003]

By the way, in this type of continuous rice cooker, the rice subjected to the immersion treatment in water and transferred to the primary steaming section is blown out from the steam pipe below the conveyor in the primary steaming section. It is steamed to about 80 ° C by heated steam at around 102 ° C and transferred to the secondary dipping section. However, as a practical problem, the steaming in the primary steaming section is performed as shown in FIG. The side that is in contact with the guide side plates 20, 20 arranged on both sides of the piled layer of rice R that is being transferred tends to advance faster and tend to be delayed on the central side. That is, in FIG. 6, among the rice R transferred in the direction of the arrow a, an unsteamed portion Ra (a portion below 80 ° C.) shown in a white background and a hatched portion Rb (a portion above 80 ° C.) are shown. As described above, it takes a considerably long time (T1) for the entire rice layer to finish steaming in the primary steaming section. For this reason, it is necessary to set the transfer process of the primary steaming section to be long, and in addition to poor rice cooking efficiency and space efficiency of equipment, there is a difference in steaming unevenness between the two sides and the central part of the rice pile layer. This is a serious problem, especially when the raw rice is hard to boil like old rice or old rice.

As described above, the steaming on the central portion side of the rice layer is delayed because the rice grains are sealed by water such as adsorbed water, capillary water and free water in the unsteamed portion Ra of the rice accumulation layer. Since there is a great resistance to the steam supplied from below the conveyor passing through the rice layer and exiting upwards, steam begins to rise along the guide sidewalls on both sides where there is little resistance in the early stages of steaming. With the guide side plate 20,
A state in which rice grains in the vicinity of 20 are heated to absorb the surrounding moisture, and by absorbing this moisture, voids are generated between the rice grains and steam easily passes therethrough, further heating the surrounding rice grains. Therefore, heating is transferred from the peripheral side to the central side.

In view of the above problems, the present invention is a continuous system capable of shortening the steaming time and the transfer process in the primary steaming section to improve the steaming efficiency and thereby the rice cooking efficiency and the space efficiency of equipment. The purpose is to provide a rice cooker.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 is
Rice R supply section (hopper) 1 that has been subjected to immersion treatment in water,
A primary steaming part A for transporting the supplied rice R and steaming with heated steam, and a rice R after the primary steaming are heated in a water tank 4
Continuously provided with a secondary immersion section B which is immersed therein and transferred through the scraper conveyor 5, and a secondary steaming section C which transfers rice R that has undergone this secondary immersion and steams again with heated steam. In the type rice cooker, the primary steaming section A is provided with a punching machine 9 for punching a steam passage hole 31 in a rice accumulated layer being transferred by a large number of skewer rods 22 vertically moved by a driving means 23. To do.

According to the present invention, in the primary steaming section A, a large number of vapor passage holes 31 can be opened in the piled layer of rice R being transferred by the punching machine 9, so that the heated steam can flow into the piled rice layer. The passage becomes good, and the central portion in the width direction of the rice R deposition layer is steamed in a time as fast as possible without being much different from the both sides. Therefore, the steaming time T2 until the entire rice deposition layer finishes steaming in the primary steaming part A can be greatly shortened, and uneven steaming of the rice R in the primary steaming part A can be avoided.

The invention according to claim 2 is the continuous type rice cooker according to claim 1, characterized in that the skewer bars 22 are arranged in a zigzag pattern in the width direction of the rice pile to be transferred. . Therefore, according to the present invention, a large number of vapor passage holes 31 are formed along the width direction of the rice deposit layer and dispersed before and after the transport direction of the rice R. The street to is even better.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the continuous rice cooker described in (1), the driving means 23 of the punching machine 9 comprises a motor 13a and a crank mechanism linked to the motor 13a. Therefore, according to the present invention, by starting the motor 13a, the skewer bar 22 can be reliably driven to reciprocate up and down through the crank mechanism.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the whole of a continuous type rice cooker according to the present invention. This rice cooker uses rice R which has been subjected to a primary dipping treatment and which is supplied from a hopper 1 as a supply unit. A primary steaming part A, which is steamed by the heated steam blown out from the steam pipe 3 while being transported at a constant speed by the mesh conveyor 2, and rice R continuously supplied from the primary steaming part A
The secondary soaking section B in which the rice is soaked in the heated water tank 4 is transferred via the scraper conveyor 5, and the rice R continuously supplied from the secondary soaking section B is fed to the take-out section 7 by the mesh conveyor 6 at a constant speed. The secondary steaming section C is steamed by the heated steam blown from the steam pipe 3 in the first half while being transferred, and the steaming section D is maintained and steamed at a temperature lower than the secondary steaming section C in the latter half. .

The hopper 1 (supply section), the primary steaming section A, the secondary dipping section B, the secondary steaming section C and the steaming section D are sequentially arranged in a tunnel-shaped casing 8 and are separated from the outside by foreign matter. It also prevents the entry of bacteria and other germs, and also prevents heated steam and heat from escaping to the outside.

Mesh conveyor 2 in the primary steaming section A
A perforator 9 is provided slightly closer to the carry-in end than the middle part of
A loosening machine 10 is provided at the unloading end, and a cleaning shower 11 is provided above the intermediate portion between the punching machine 9 and the loosening machine 10.
Is provided. Also, the secondary steaming part C to the steaming part D
The same loosening machine 10, punching machine 9 and washing shower 11 are provided closer to the carry-in end side than the middle part of the mesh conveyor 6 across, and the loosening machine 10 and seasoning liquid nozzle are close to the carry-out end side. 12 and a washing shower 11 are provided, and the mesh conveyor 6 in the steaming section D is further provided.
A washing shower 11 is provided inside.

In FIG. 1, 13a to 13f are variable speed motors, 13a is a driving motor for each punching machine 9, 13b is a driving motor for the mesh conveyor 2 and the loosening machine 10 in the primary steaming section A, and 13c is A drive motor of the scraper conveyor 5, 13d is a drive motor of the loosening machine 10 in the secondary steaming section C, 13e is a drive motor of the loosening machine 10 in the steaming section D, 13
f is a motor for driving the mesh conveyor 6. Further, 14 is the shoot 1 for rice R by slidingly contacting the mesh belt 2a at the carry-out end of the mesh conveyor 2 on the primary steaming section A side.
Reference numeral 16 denotes a scraper that is dropped onto 5, and 16 is a scraper that guides the rice R cooked by slidingly contacting the mesh belt 6a at the carry-out end of the mesh conveyor 6 on the secondary steaming section C side to the take-out section 7.

In the primary steaming section A and the secondary steaming section C,
The mesh belts 2a and 6a of the mesh conveyors 2 and 6 are each formed of a fine mesh net made of stainless steel. As is clear with reference to the sectional view of FIG. 2 showing the primary steaming section A in detail, in the mesh conveyor 2 of the primary steaming section A, a box frame 17 having an open upper surface is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor. The inside of the box frame 17 is partitioned and formed into a plurality of steam chambers 19 by partition plates 18 arranged at regular intervals in the conveyor longitudinal direction, and the steam pipes 3 are arranged in each steam chamber 19 and each steam pipe 3 The heated steam ejected downward from the guide passes through the mesh belt 2a, and the guide side plates 2
The rice R is steamed by being blown into the accumulated layer of rice R being transferred between 0 and 20. Then, the both guide side plates 2
Nos. 0 and 20 have their lower end flange portions 20a, 20a fixed on the upper end flange portions 17a, 17a of the box frame 17, and the both end edges of the upper side mesh belt 2a of the mesh conveyor 2 have their respective flange portions 20a, 17a. It is arranged so as to be sandwiched with a slight gap between them. Each steam pipe 3 is connected to a steam introduction pipe 21.
A box frame 17 similar to that on the side of the primary steaming section A is arranged in the mesh conveyor 6 of the secondary steaming section C, and the inside of this box frame 17 is partitioned into a plurality of steam chambers 19 by a partition plate 18. The steam pipes 3 are arranged in the steam chambers 19, respectively, and the heated steam ejected downward from the steam pipes 3 is blown into the accumulated layer of rice R being transferred through the mesh belt 6a of the mesh conveyor 6, Steaming is done.

The punching machine 9 provided in the primary steaming section A and the secondary steaming section C comprises, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a large number of skewer bars 22 and a driving means 23 for moving them up and down. A pair of lifting rods 24, 24 on both sides in the width direction of the mesh conveyor 2 are vertically mounted on a support frame portion F of the tunnel-shaped casing 8 by a bearing 25, and the upper ends of the lifting rods 24, 24 are lifted. A large number of skewer rods 22 are provided on a horizontal support rod 26 horizontally arranged between the parts in two cases along the width direction of the rice pile layer, and the skewer rods 22 in each row do not overlap in the front and rear in the transfer direction. In the zigzag arrangement, they are connected in a hanging manner, while the bearing 2 is provided on the lower side of the support frame portion F.
Crank arms 29, 29 are fixed to both ends of a drive shaft 28 which is horizontally supported by 7 and driven by a motor 13a, and each crank arm 29 is connected to a lower end portion of each lifting rod 24 through a connecting rod 30. Is pivotally connected to. Here, the crank arm 29, the connecting rod 30, and the elevating rod 24 constitute a crank mechanism, and the crank mechanism and the motor 13a for driving the crank mechanism vertically move the skewer bar 22 via the horizontal support rod 26. Make up 23.

Therefore, in the punching machine 9, the crank mechanism is driven by the activation of the motor 13a,
By the ascending / descending movement of the ascending / descending rod 24 due to the driving of the crank mechanism, the skewer bar 22 suspended and connected to the horizontal support rod 26.
Moves up and down between the upper limit position shown by the solid line and the lower limit position shown by the phantom line in FIG.
Rushes into the deposited layer of rice R being transferred by the steam passage hole 3 as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3 and in FIG.
Open one. This improves the passage of the heated steam into the rice pile, and the center side of the rice pile is the guide side plate 2
Steaming is performed in a time as fast as possible without much difference from the side in contact with 0 and 20, and uneven steaming of the rice deposited layer due to heated steam is avoided.

In this case, the steam passage holes 31 are formed in a zigzag arrangement in two rows as shown in FIG. 4 in the width direction of the rice deposit layer each time the skewer bar 22 reciprocates up and down. The vertical reciprocating cycle of the skewer bar 22 by the driving means 23 of the punching machine 9 so that the vapor passage holes 31 are continuously formed in the rice pile layer transfer direction at the same pitch as the pitch between the two lever rows. And the moving speed of the mesh conveyor 2 are adjusted.
As described above, since the skewer bars 22 are arranged in a zigzag pattern along the width direction of the rice R accumulation layer, a large number of steam passage holes 31 are formed along the width direction of the rice accumulation layer. In addition, the rice R is dispersed and formed before and after the transport direction of the rice R, so that the passage of the heated steam into the rice accumulation layer becomes better.

On the other hand, in each loosening machine 10, as shown in FIG. 2, a large number of pins 3 are mounted on a rotary shaft 32 which is mounted on a supporting frame portion F.
3 are radially planted at regular intervals in the axial direction and at different angles, and the rotary shaft 32 is interlockingly connected to the drive motor 13b via a sprocket / chain transmission mechanism 34. The rotation of the rotary shaft 32 causes each pin 33 to enter the rice R deposit layer and
Performs a loosening action. 2 shows the loosening machine 10 provided in the primary steaming section A, but the loosening machines 10 respectively provided in the secondary steaming section C and the steaming section D also have the same configuration as described above. The rotation of the rotary shaft 32 is normally set in the same direction as the transfer direction of the mesh conveyors 2 and 6, and the peripheral speed of the tip of the pin 33 is set to about 3 times the transfer speed of the mesh conveyors 2 and 6. As a result, the above-mentioned loosening action and rice R transfer assisting action are exhibited.

In the secondary dipping section B, as shown in FIG. 1, the heating water tank 4 has a horizontal section 4a extending from the side close to the primary steaming section A to the central section and an ascending upward slope. And part 4b, and in this heated water tank 4,
Although illustration is omitted, a heating steam pipe for setting the water temperature in the water tank 4 to a constant high temperature is provided. The scraper conveyor 5 includes two pairs of driven pulleys 5a and 5b arranged at the same height position on the horizontal portion 4a side of the heated water tank 4 and a pair of drive pulleys 5c arranged at a high position on the inclined portion 4b side. Attach the endless chain 5d of
A large number of scraper plates 35 are mounted at right angles to the chain longitudinal direction between the linear chains 5d, and the drive pulley 5c is interlocked with the drive pulley 5c via a sprocket / chain transmission mechanism 36.

The steaming section D has a mesh conveyor 6
An auxiliary heating chamber 37 is provided inside the chamber over almost the entire area in the transfer direction. In this steaming section D, the rice R that has passed through the secondary steaming section C is retained for a certain period of time without any particular positive heating, with the residual heat during steaming.

According to the use of the continuous rice cooker having the above-described structure, first, in the primary steaming section A, the rice R subjected to the primary immersion treatment supplied from the hopper 1 is
While being transferred by the mesh conveyor 2, it is steamed to about 80 ° C. by heated steam of about 102 ° C. blown out from each steam pipe 3 below the conveyor 2. Therefore, in the primary steaming section A, in the initial stage of the transfer by the mesh conveyer 2, the holes are formed in the deposited layer by the perforator 9.
Since a large number of steam passage holes 31 as shown in FIG.
The center of the rice R in the width direction of the layer is steamed in a time as fast as possible without much difference from the side in contact with the guide side plates 20, 20.

That is, in FIG. 5, the mesh conveyor 2
Width of the transfer path (distance between the guide side plates 20, 20) is 70
When the temperature of the heated steam blown from the steam pipe 3 of each steam chamber 19 is about 102 cm, the unboiled portion Ra of rice R transferred in the direction of arrow a (the portion at 80 ° C. or lower) is about 140 cm. Let T2 be the steaming time until the steaming portion Rb (the portion having a temperature of 80 ° C. or higher) that is steamed by the heated steam and reaches the hatched portion is T3, and the time is about 3 to 4 minutes. On the other hand, in the primary steaming part A in the conventional continuous type rice cooker in which the puncher 9 is not provided, as shown in FIG. 6, the steaming time T2 until the whole rice pile layer is steamed
Will be 12 to 16 minutes. Therefore, according to the rice cooker of the present invention, the cooking time in the primary steaming section A is 1/100 times that of the conventional apparatus.
It is shortened to about 4 and steaming unevenness is almost eliminated.

The rice R steamed in the primary steaming section A as described above has been converted into α and has a water content of 34%, and the loosening machine 10
Then, the rice R is continuously supplied to the secondary dipping section B through the scraper conveyor 5 and dispersed in water in the heated water tank 4. In this dispersed state, the rice R is moved forward by the scraper plate 35. It is transferred and supplied onto the mesh conveyor 6 in a semi-cooked state in which the water content of the surface layer portion is softened to about 55 to 58%. The water temperature of the heated water tank 4 in the secondary immersion part B is about 92 ± 3 ° C., and the transfer time of the horizontal part 4 a and the inclined part 4 b is about 3 to 5 minutes.

In the secondary steaming section C, the heated steam from the steam pipe 3 of each steam chamber 19 is blown into the piled layer of rice R being transferred through the mesh conveyor 6, and the steaming action causes the rice R to become the core of the rice grain. Cook up to. The steaming in the secondary steaming section C is performed at a temperature of about 102 ° C. and a required time of about 5 to 10 minutes.

The rice R steamed in the secondary steaming section C as described above is placed on the mesh conveyor 6 and then the next steaming section D is left.
Sent to In the steaming part D, the heating is not actively performed, and the rice R having the residual heat of the rice steamed in the secondary steaming part C is maintained for a certain period of time. That is, although the rice R cooked in the secondary steaming section C is cooked up, it is in a sticky state containing excess water. Therefore, by performing so-called steaming in this steaming section D, excess water is removed. Volatilize to remove stickiness,
Make delicious rice with crunchy texture. Therefore, the temperature of the steaming section D is usually set to about 98 ± 3 ° C., which is lower than that of the secondary steaming section C. Thus, the rice obtained through the steaming part D is completely cooked with a water content of about 63 to 65% and a volume of about 2.5 times compared to the initial stage of transfer, and is taken out at a temperature of about 90 to 98 ° C. . For sushi,
When producing seasoned rice for rice balls, cooked rice, etc., the steamed portion D can be used for seasoning. In this case, if the seasoning liquid such as vinegar solution, salty liquid, soup stock, and edible oil set to a predetermined concentration is sprayed from the seasoning liquid nozzle 12 provided above the steaming portion D onto the rice (rice R) being transferred. Good.

The disentangling machines 10 are provided at two positions before and after the mesh conveyor 6 extending from the secondary steaming section C to the steaming section D. The rice R here is in a state of being cooked or close to this. There is a difference in the cooked state depending on the depth position of the deposited layer, and the rice grains stick to each other and easily harden, and also adhere to the guide side plate of the conveyor 6 to increase the transfer resistance. This is to make the state uniform and to assist the feeding.

The secondary steaming section C is also provided with the same punching machine 9 as that of the primary steaming section A, so that a large number of skewer bars 22 are being transferred on the mesh conveyor 6. By repeating the up-and-down reciprocating motion that plunges into and goes out of the sedimentary layer of the rice, a steam passage hole 31 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is formed in the rice sedimentary layer, whereby the heated steam passes through the sedimentary layer. It will be good, and shortage of cooked rice will be avoided.

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a large number of steam passage holes can be opened by a hole punching machine in the rice deposition layer being transferred in the primary steaming section, so that in the rice deposition layer of heated steam. As a result, the steaming time in the primary steaming section can be greatly shortened, uneven steaming of rice in the primary steaming section can be avoided, and the transfer process can also be greatly shortened, improving steaming efficiency, Therefore, the rice cooking efficiency and the space efficiency of the equipment can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a large number of vapor passage holes can be formed in an array along the width direction of the rice deposit layer and can be formed in a dispersed manner before and after the rice transport direction. The streets into the layers can be better.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by starting the motor, the skewer bar can be reliably driven to reciprocate up and down through the crank mechanism.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a continuous rice cooker according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a primary steaming section in the continuous rice cooker.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of the punching machine.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a rice pile layer transferred in the primary steaming section.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a steamed state in the primary steaming section.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a steaming state in a primary steaming section in a conventional continuous rice cooker.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Primary steaming part B Secondary dipping part C Secondary steaming part D Steaming part 1 Hopper (supply part) 2 Mesh conveyor 3 Steam pipe 4 Heating water tank 5 Scraper conveyor 6 Mesh conveyor 9 Punching machine 10 Unraveling machine 13a Punching machine Drive motor 22 Skew bar 23 Driving means 24 Elevating rod 26 Horizontal support rod 28 Drive shaft 29 Crank arm 30 Connecting rod

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A supply part of rice that has been subjected to immersion treatment in water, a primary steaming part that steams the supplied rice with heating steam while transferring the supplied rice, and the rice that has undergone this primary steaming is immersed in a heated water tank. Secondary immersion section that is transferred via a scraper conveyor,
In a continuous rice cooker having a secondary steaming section for steaming rice with heated steam again while transferring the rice that has undergone this secondary soaking, in the primary steaming section, by a number of skewer bars that move up and down by a driving means. A continuous rice cooker, which is equipped with a punching machine that opens steam passage holes in the rice layer being transferred. 2. The continuous rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the skewer bars are arranged in a zigzag pattern along the width direction of the rice pile to be transferred. 3. The continuous rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the driving means of the punching machine comprises a motor and a crank mechanism linked to the motor.