JPH09294935A - Rice washing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the entrance of rice, water, etc., into an overflow port and to discharge and remove bubbles, scum, and solid by installing a shutter which is movable to/from the overflow port which is formed at a prescribed height of a tank wall in a rice washing tank. SOLUTION: A shutter 35 which is movable to/from an overflow port 30 which is formed at a prescribed height of a tank wall is installed in a washing water tank 13. The shutter 35 is moved as required so that the overflow port 30 can be opened or closed. The shutter 35 is controlled to be opened during the operation of a rice supply means 7 and to be closed during the supply of immersing water by a washing water means 14. Therefore, the direct entrance of rice immediately after being supplied to the rice washing tank 13, water, etc., into the overflow port 30 can be prevented. Moreover, bubbles, scum, solid, etc., which are floating on a water surface during rice washing can be made to flow out into the overflow port 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rice washing apparatus suitable for repeatedly washing a large amount of rice with water in restaurants, sushi restaurants, hotels and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a rice washing apparatus, a rice washing tank, a stirring means for stirring rice in the rice washing tank, and a water supply means for supplying water into the tank from a shower provided above the rice washing tank have been provided. It is known that (for example, JP-B-56-938)
(See Japanese Patent No. 1 etc.), a recent rice washing device is provided with a rice feeding means for automatically sucking rice from a rice storage portion arranged in a proper position by making a negative pressure in the rice washing tank by a blower device. In addition to the above, there is also one in which a rice cooker is combined with the bottom of the rice washing tank to form a fully automatic rice cooker as a whole.

Generally, in the rice washing tank of such a rice washing apparatus, in order to keep the water level in the tank below a predetermined level, an overflow port is provided to the tank wall and a drain pipe is connected to the outside of the tank. There is.

[0004]

The rice sucked into the rice washing tank by the blower device, the water supplied into the rice washing tank from the water supply means, etc. directly enter the overflow port. There was that. for that reason,
Loss of rice, clogging of drainage pipe, insufficient amount of water required for the soaking process (rice becomes harder when cooked).
It has caused various problems.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems, for example, it is conceivable to provide an eave protruding from the upper part of the overflow port to the inside of the tank on the inner surface of the tank wall of the rice washing tank. However, when such an eave is provided, bubbles, a mulch or the like floating on the surface of the water during washing the rice may be caught in the eave, which hinders the inflow to the overflow port.

On the surface of the water during the washing of rice, not only bubbles and lumps but also solid matters such as scrap rice and bran become suspended.
It was difficult to discharge and remove these solids from the overflow port. This is because the drainage flow of the excess water does not have sufficient momentum and solids cannot get over the opening edge of the overflow port. For this reason, bubbles, lumps, solids, etc. will remain attached to the rice when drained from the lower part of the rice washing tank after washing the rice,
In the subsequent dipping step, even if water is supplied to the rice washing tank, it is difficult to separate it from the rice, so that the taste of the rice obtained by subsequent rice cooking will be deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and prevents the rice, water, etc. immediately after being supplied into the rice washing tank from directly entering the overflow port, and during the rice washing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rice washing device capable of surely discharging and removing bubbles, debris, solid matter, and the like, and making it possible to cook delicious rice in subsequent cooking.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the following technical measures have been taken in order to achieve the above object. That is, in the present invention according to claim 1, a rice washing tank, a rice feeding means capable of sucking and receiving rice into the rice washing tank, a rice washing means for washing the rice in the rice washing tank with water, and water can be supplied into the rice washing tank. In the rice washing apparatus having a different water supply means, the rice washing tank is provided with a movable shutter for an overflow port provided at a predetermined height of the tank wall.

With such a construction, the movable shutter can be moved as necessary to open or close the overflow port. That is, the movable shutter may be controlled so as to be closed while the rice supplying means is operating, open when the rice washing means is operating, and closed while the immersion water is being supplied by the water supplying means. 4).

Therefore, the rice, water, etc. immediately after being supplied to the rice washing tank do not directly enter the overflow port. Moreover, bubbles, dirt, solid matter, and the like floating on the water surface during rice washing can be discharged to the overflow port. The rice washing tank may be provided with a water collecting container outside the tank corresponding to the overflow port, and a drain port may be provided at the bottom of the water collecting container. In this case, the movable shutter is the water collecting container. The opening / closing operation of the overflow port can be performed inside the container (claim 2).

With such a structure, since the movable shutter is not provided in the rice washing tank, it is possible to prevent problems such as the rice or water supplied into the rice washing tank hitting the movable shutter and adversely affecting the uniformity of the supply. it can. A drop holding weir for holding the drain port side at a low level may be provided between the overflow port and the drain port (claim 3).

With this configuration, when surplus water exceeding the formation level of the overflow port is generated, this surplus water flows to the drain port all at once along with the drop by the drop holding weir, so that a strong drainage flow can be obtained. become. Therefore,
With this surplus water, bubbles, slag, solids, etc. can be discharged and removed from the rice washing tank.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a rice cooker 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is combined with a rice cooker installation portion 3 and a rice storage portion 4 capable of holding an inner rice cooker 2 for rice cooking to constitute a rice cooking pretreatment device 5. Shows.

Therefore, the rice washing apparatus 1 receives a predetermined amount of rice transferred from the rice storing section 4 through the rice supplying means 7,
After washing this with water, the washed rice can be taken out into the inner pot 2 above the pot installation portion 3. The rice cooker 2 containing rice may be set in a rice cooker (not shown) installed separately to cook rice. At this time, in the rice cooker pretreatment device 5, another rice cooker 2 is attached to the kettle setting section 3. It is possible to hold the rice and then repeat the next washing.

The rice washing apparatus 1 includes a rice washing tank 13, a rice feeding means 7 capable of sucking and receiving rice into the rice washing tank 13, a rice washing means 14 for washing the rice in the rice washing tank 13 with water, and a rice washing tank 13. It has a water supply means 15 capable of supplying water from the upper part of the tank. The rice washing tank 13 has a cylindrical main body 13a as shown in FIG.
And a funnel-shaped throttle cylinder 13b provided in the lower part thereof, and a small diameter hanging cylinder 13c provided in the lower part thereof, and a tank ceiling 17 is provided above the cylindrical main body 13a. Has been.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rice supplying means 7 has a rice storing section 4
From the lower part of the bowl through the weighing device 8 and the receiving box 9
The rice transfer pipe 10 connected to the tank ceiling 17 and the blower device 11 installed in a state corresponding to the communication port 17a formed in the tank ceiling 17 (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 9, the blower device 11 is lifted to a predetermined height by a holding frame 100 provided on the tank ceiling 17 of the rice washing tank 13. Then, the suction port 11a of the blower device 11
The space between the vertical direction and the communication port 17a of the tank ceiling 17 is connected without a gap by a tapered peripheral wall 101 having a larger diameter toward the upper side, and a buffer passage 102 is formed therein. Inside the buffer passage 102, a filter material 103 formed of a net material or a plate material having a large number of holes is provided to prevent passage of rice.

Therefore, when the blower device 11 is operated in the rice supplying means 7 (see FIG. 1), a negative pressure is generated in the rice washing tank 13 through the buffer passage 102, and the suction force accompanying this causes a negative pressure. , Rice storage section 4 via rice transfer pipe 10 etc.
Will start to receive rice by suction. The amount of rice received at this time is controlled by the weighing device 8 (see FIG. 2) to be a predetermined amount.

It should be noted that it is not a frequent occurrence that the rice once supplied into the rice washing tank 13 is sucked into the communication port 17a, but even if such a situation occurs, the above-mentioned buffer will be used. Since the filter medium 103 is provided in the passage 102, rice does not move upward from the filter medium 103. Moreover, the buffer passage 102 is connected to the communication port 17
Since the inner diameter of the passage closer to the blower device 11 is larger than the diameter of a, the influence of the suction pressure gradually decreases as the rice moves up the buffer passage 102. For this reason, even if there is fine waste rice or the like that passes through the filter medium 103, or even if the filter medium 103 is not provided, the rice will not be sucked into the blower device 11.

As shown in FIG. 9, the blower device 11 is connected to the holding frame 100 using a hinge 105 so that the maintenance and the like can be facilitated and the filter medium 103 can be easily cleaned or replaced. It has been opened and closed. The closed state is held by the metal fitting 106. The buffer passage 102 has a cylindrical peripheral wall 10 as shown in FIG.
7 and the tapered peripheral wall 101 are formed in combination,
As shown in FIG. 11, it may be formed only by the cylindrical peripheral wall 107.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rice washing means 14 has a blow-up pipe 18 standing upright at the center of the inside of the rice washing tank 13 and a lower opening of a hanging cylinder 13c provided at the bottom of the rice washing tank 13. Rice discharge control valve 19 that can be opened and closed, and this rice discharge control valve 1
It has a washing water supply means 20 capable of supplying water to the inside of the washing water tank 13 through 9. The blow-up pipe 18 is the rice washing tank 1
The standing state is maintained by a plurality of support plates 21 provided in the radial direction in the third throttle cylinder 13b, and the lower part of the pipe reaches the inside of the hanging cylinder 13c concentrically. The support plate 21 is made of a vertically thin plate material so that rice cannot be placed on the support plate 21. The support plate 21 prevents resistance to the flow of rice and water moving up and down in the tank during washing rice. When removing the washed rice to the inner pot 2 (see FIG. 2), residual rice is not generated in the tank.

Between the lower part of the blow-up pipe 18 and the hanging cylinder 13c of the rice washing tank 13, there is provided a selection cylinder 22 concentric with them. The sorting cylinder 22 has an opening that allows scrap rice and the like to pass through but prevents regular rice from passing through. Further, a horizontal drainage pipe 24 extending from the outside of the sorting cylinder 22 to the outside of the pipe is connected to the peripheral wall of the hanging cylinder 13c, and the horizontal drainage pipe 24 communicates with the water reservoir 25. .

A drain valve 26 is built in the water reservoir 25, and a drain hose 27 that is opened and closed in accordance with the operation of the drain valve 26 is connected to the drain portion 25. Drain valve 2
6, the valve body 29 normally biased by a spring 28 shuts off the inside of the laterally drawn drain pipe 24. An overflow port 30 for keeping the water level in the tank below a predetermined level is formed in the tank wall of the cylindrical main body 13a of the rice washing tank 13, and the overflow port 30 corresponds to the overflow port 30 and is collected outside the tank. A water container 31 is provided. A drainage port 32 is formed in the bottom surface of the water collecting container 31, and a drainage pipe 34 communicating with the above-described water reservoir 25 is connected to the drainage port 32 via a joint 33.

A movable shutter 35 for opening and closing the overflow port 30 is provided inside the water collecting container 31.
Is provided. As shown in FIG. 12, the movable shutter 35 includes an oscillating body 3 having a shutter portion 36d and the like.
6 and a drive tool 37 for transmitting the swing drive to the swing body 36. The oscillating body 36 includes a base portion 36a that is rotatably fitted to a horizontal pivot 38 that penetrates the water collecting container 31, a stainless steel shutter holding piece 36b that protrudes from two locations on the outer peripheral portion of the base portion 36a, and Transmission piece 36c
And a shutter portion 36d made of a rubber plate attached to the shutter holding piece 36b.

Since the shutter portion 36d is made of a rubber plate, there is an advantage that noise can be reduced when the overflow port 30 is closed and the watertightness in the closed state can be improved.
The shutter portion 36d may be formed of a soft resin plate or the like. A solenoid, a motor, a fluid pressure cylinder, and the like are used for the driving tool 37, and the tank ceiling 1 of the rice washing tank 13 is used.
It is attached to 7 etc. The drive tool 37 has a transmission shaft 37a extending downward toward the water collecting container 31, and the lower end portion of the transmission shaft 37a has the lower end of the rocking body 3.
6 is engaged with the transmission piece 36c.

Between the overflow port 30 and the drain port 32, a drop holding weir 40 for holding the drain port 32 side at a low level is provided. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the water level in the rice washing tank 13 rises and surplus water exceeds the head 40, the surplus water is tried to flow into the drain port 32 all at once with a head. A strong water force will be added. Therefore, with the surplus water having such a strong water force, the rice washing tank 13
Contaminants S such as waste rice, rice bran, spices, and bubbles floating on the water surface inside
Can be reliably passed over and carried to the drainage port 32 together.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rice discharge control valve 19 is a valve base 43 fixed to the hanging cylinder 13c of the rice washing tank 13 in a radially outwardly protruding state, and this valve base 43. 43
The fan-shaped valve plate 4 which is horizontally swingable around the pivot 45 while being held in contact with the lower surface of the valve base 43 by a plurality of support rollers 44 provided in the lower part of the same in a certain direction.
6, and a valve drive unit 47 for swinging and driving the valve plate 46,
The interlocking device 48 interlocks the swing of the valve plate 46 with the drain valve 26 described above.

On the valve plate 46, the pivot 45 is positioned at a fan-shaped kaname position, and a fountain nozzle 49 is provided at the center of the valve plate 46 in the circumferential direction. A rice drop opening 50 is formed on one side (on the right side in FIG. 4) of the fountain nozzle 49, and a closed portion 51 having no opening is formed on the other side (on the left side in FIG. 4). In addition, as shown in FIG.
Between the sliding contact surface between the valve 6 and the valve base 43, an appropriate water blocking structure 52 such as an O-ring is provided so as to surround the hanging cylinder 13c.

The valve drive unit 47 horizontally swings the swing arm 54 by a motor 53 (53a is a motor shaft) fixed on the valve base 43, and a transmission pin vertically hung from the swing arm 54. The interlocking rod 56, which is integrally extended to the valve plate 46, is oscillated by a drive mechanism 55. As shown in FIG. 4, the interlocking rod 56 has a bifurcated distal end, and the transmission pin 55 is engaged with the crotch 56a. The valve drive unit 47
A sensor 58 such as a proximity switch is provided at the tip of the swing arm 54.
And the switching operation state of the valve plate 46 (the hanging cylinder 13
Fountain nozzle 49, rice drop port 50, closing part 51 for c
It is possible to control the selection of each matching state).

The interlocking means 48 is provided on the valve plate 46 at the pivot 4
5, a link 61 and a swing arm 62 are connected from a hinge portion 60 projecting around 5, and the tip end of the swing arm 62 is connected to a hook portion 63 provided on a spindle 29a of a valve body 29 of the drainage valve 26. And configured to engage. Therefore, in the rice discharge control valve 19, the valve plate 46 connects the fountain nozzle 49 or the rice drop port 50 to the hanging cylinder 1 of the rice washing tank 13.
3c, the drain valve 26 valve element 29
Shuts off the horizontal drainage pipe 24, and the rice discharge control valve 19
The valve plate 46 closes the closing portion 51 of the rice washing tank 13
The valve body 29 of the drainage valve 26 opens the inside of the horizontal drainage pipe 24 only when the drainage valve 26 is aligned with 3c.

The washing water supply means 20 has a water supply main pipe 65 connected to a fountain nozzle 49 attached to the valve plate 46 of the rice discharge control valve 19, and the water supply main pipe 65 has a valve plate 46. Bellows type flexible tube 66 for following the horizontal swing of the
And a remote control valve 67 including an electromagnetic valve and the like. An air suction pipe 68 is connected to the water supply main pipe 65 or the fountain nozzle 49. The air suction pipe 68 has a pipe end portion located above the highest water level of the rice washing tank 13 (above the lower end of the opening of the overflow port 30). Is also erected so as to be positioned above.

Therefore, from the water supply main pipe 65 to the fountain nozzle 4
When water is supplied to 9, the jet water flow entraining the bubbles is blown up toward the inside of the blow-up pipe 18 of the rice washing tank 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the water supply means 15 has a fountain part 70 provided at the center of the inner surface of the tank ceiling 17 of the rice washing tank 13, and a water supply pipe 71 for supplying water to the fountain part 70. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the fountain 70 has a mounting base 72 fixed to the tank ceiling 17, a swivel plug 73 rotatably held by the mounting base 72, and a swivel plug. A plurality of fountain branch pipes 7 projecting radially outward of 73
4 and. The mounting base 72, the swirl plug 73, and the fountain branch pipes 74 are in communication with each other, and each pipe end of the fountain branch pipe 74 has a plane X as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b).
A V-shaped vortex generator 76 and a nozzle cap 77 having a tapered nozzle hole 77a are provided. Therefore, the fountain W from the fountain branch pipe 74 is evenly and evenly diffused in a conical shape.

Each fountain branch pipe 74 has its pipe end portion at the rice washing tank 1
Since the water is blown out from each fountain branch pipe 74 (see arrow X), the swirl plug body 73 rotates (see arrow Y) in response to the water being blown out from each fountain branch pipe 74 (see arrow Y). become. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the respective pipe end portions of the fountain branch pipe 74 have different directivity heights with respect to the inner surface of the wall of the rice washing tank 13;
Water can be jetted and supplied in a wide range up and down.

At the lower part of the swirl plug 73, there is a lower jet nozzle 7 that opens toward the blow-up pipe 18 (see FIG. 1) therebelow.
5 is provided, and an umbrella-shaped reflection plate 78 that covers the upper part of the blow-up pipe 18 (see FIG. 1) is attached around this. Therefore, rice, water, and the like blown up from the blow-up pipe 18 collide with the lower side of the reflection plate 78 and bounce off, so that they are unlikely to adhere to the fountain branch pipe 74 and the like.

The tank ceiling 17 of the rice washing tank 13 is provided with a detent device 112 that allows the stopper shaft 110 to move up and down toward the rotating region of the fountain branch pipe 74. The detent device 112 causes the stopper shaft 110 to be engaged with one fountain branch pipe 74 by lowering the stopper shaft 110 by a drive tool 113 such as a solenoid, thereby stopping the rotation of the swivel plug body 73. Water can be jetted from the fountain branch pipe 74 as it is.

Such a structure is for facilitating generation of a swirling flow on the water surface in the rice washing tank 13, and for facilitating pushing bubbles and the like on the water surface to the overflow port 30 by this swirling flow. . The water supply pipe 71 (see FIG. 1) is the water supply main pipe 65 of the rice washing water supply means 20 described above.
Is connected to the attachment base 72 of the fountain part 70 via a branch pipe 80. Reference numeral 81 is a remote control valve including a solenoid valve and the like. The water supply pipe 71 is integrated with the branch pipe 80 or the remote control valve 81, or as a configuration separate from these,
A water amount controller (not shown) is provided.

The operation of the rice cooker pretreatment device 5 having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. Initially, the rice discharge control valve 19 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) of the rice washing apparatus 1 has the closing part 5
1 corresponds to the hanging cylinder 13c of the rice washing tank 13, and the drain valve 26 opens the inside of the horizontal drain pipe 24. When a driving start operation is performed, first, the movable shutter 35 (see FIG.
(See) closes the overflow port 30 (step 20)
0).

Next, the rice supply means 7 (see FIG. 2) sucks and receives a necessary amount of rice from the rice storage unit 4 into the rice washing tank 13 (step 201). At this time, overflow port 3
Since 0 is closed by the movable shutter 35, the rice transferred into the rice washing tank 13 does not enter the water collecting container 31 or the drain pipe 34 as it is. In addition, the rice once supplied into the rice washing tank 13 has a tank ceiling 17
Even if it may enter the buffer passage 102 through the communication port 17a, the rice will not be sucked into the blower device 11 due to the action of the filter medium 103 and the buffer passage 102.

As a result, the rice is not lost, and the rice is prevented from being clogged in the drain pipe 34, the blower device 11 or the like. When the amount of rice supplied into the rice washing tank 13 reaches a predetermined amount and the blower device 11 stops,
The movable shutter 35 opens the overflow port 30 (step 202). Next, in the rice washing process (step 203), first, the rice discharge control valve 19 (see FIG. 1) causes the fountain nozzle 49 to coincide with the hanging cylinder 13c of the rice washing tank 13. In addition, the drain valve 26 shuts off the inside of the horizontal drain pipe 24.

Then, the remote control valve 67 of the washing water supply means 20 is opened, and water is jetted from the fountain nozzle 49 toward the blow-up pipe 18 in the rice washing tank 13. This spout water is
It is a jet flow in which bubbles sucked from the air suction pipe 68 are involved. Then, when the water flowing out from the upper part of the blowing pipe 18 into the rice washing tank 13 blocks the lower end portion of the blowing pipe 18, the rising jet flow in the blowing pipe 18 sucks the water, and the rice washing tank 13 The rice inside will rise inside the blow-up pipe 18 (see arrow a). Then, such a flow forms a circulating flow, whereby the rice is washed with water.

The water and rice blown up from the upper part of the blow-up pipe 18 collide with the reflection plate 78 provided in the water supply means 15 as described above and bounce downward (arrow b).
reference). Therefore, not only can rice and bran be prevented from adhering and remaining on the fountain part 70 (fountain branch pipe 74) and the like, but there is an advantage that the washing efficiency can be improved by dropping rice quickly.

When the water level in the rice washing tank 13 rises during the rice washing and exceeds the overflow port 30, excess water is drained from the drain port 32 to the drain hose 27 via the drain pipe 34 and the water reservoir 25. Then, the inside of the rice washing tank 13 is kept at a predetermined water level. At this time, overflow port 3
For the surplus water flowing from 0 to the drainage port 32, the fall retaining weir 40
(See Fig. 3) A strong water force is applied by riding on the head when overcoming. Therefore, due to the surplus water flow of the strong water force, the foreign matters S such as waste rice, bran, slag, and bubbles floating on the water surface surely get over the head 40 and are carried to the drainage port 32 together. Become. Therefore, the effectiveness of the rice washing operation can be enhanced, and delicious rice can be cooked by subsequent rice cooking.

During this washing of rice, the whirl-stop device 112 (see FIG. 7)
(See), the stopper shaft 110 is lowered, and then the remote control valve 81 of the water supply means 15 (see FIG. 1) is opened in parallel or temporarily, the fountain branch pipe 74 is kept in a non-rotating state. The water jetted from the portion 70 causes a swirling flow to occur at the water surface. Therefore, the action of pushing out the contaminants S to the overflow port 30 is further enhanced, and the effectiveness of the rice washing operation is further enhanced.

When the rice washing process is completed, the process goes to the strainer raising process (step 204), the remote control valve 67 of the rice washing water supply means 20 is closed, and the rice discharge control valve 19 is closed by the closing part 51 (see FIG. 4). Match the hanging cylinder 13c of the rice washing tank 13. Along with this, the drain valve 26 opens the inside of the horizontal pulling drain pipe 24. Therefore, the water in the rice washing tank 13 comes to be drained from the drooping tube 13c to the drain hose 27 through the sorting tube 22 (see FIG. 1), the horizontal drainage pipe 24, and the water reservoir 25, thereby washing rice. Only regular rice is left in the tank 13.

At this time also, the remote control valve 81 of the water supply means 15 is temporarily opened to remove the water from the fountain part 70 and the rice washing tank 1.
If water is supplied to the inside of 3, the rinsing effect can be enhanced, which is suitable for cooking delicious rice in subsequent cooking. Next, the movable shutter 35 closes the overflow port 30 again (step 205). Then, the rice discharge control valve 19 matches the rice drop port 50 (see FIG. 4) with the hanging cylinder 13c of the rice washing tank 13. As a result, the washed rice is taken out to the inner pot 2 (see FIG. 2) set at the bottom of the rice washing apparatus 1.

Then, the remote control valve 81 of the water supply means 15 is opened, and a predetermined amount of water is supplied from the fountain part 70 through the rice washing tank 13 into the inner pot 2. This water is used for soaking, and the hardness of the rice will be affected by subsequent cooking, so the amount of water is controlled with high accuracy, but the overflow port 30 has already been moved by the movable shutter 35.
Is closed by (see step 205),
The water from the fountain part 70 is never drained directly from the overflow port 30.

Therefore, the amount of this immersion water is
Water controller provided on the remote control valve 81, etc. (not shown)
It will be exactly the same as the value weighed, and the optimum amount of water for cooking rice will be obtained. Of the water supplied from the fountain unit 70 into the rice washing tank 13, the water blown out from the fountain branch pipe 74 is applied to the inner wall of the rice washing tank 13 and to the lower jet nozzle 75.
The water (see the arrow c in FIG. 1) flowing down from the blow-up pipe 1
The inner peripheral surface of 8 can be washed away. Therefore, the rice remaining in the rice washing tank 13 can be reduced as much as possible,
The accuracy of water addition can be further increased.

After completion of these steps, the movable shutter 35 opens the overflow port 30 (step 208), the above-mentioned respective parts are returned to the initial setting state, and if necessary, the step of washing the inside of the rice washing tank 13 is performed. Then, one cycle is completed. In the above-mentioned washing process in the tank, after removing the washed rice from the rice washing tank 13 to the inner pot 2, the rice discharge control valve 1
9, the hanging cylinder 13c is closed, water is supplied from the fountain part 70 of the water supply means 15 into the rice washing tank 13 to raise the water level, and here the whirl stop device 112 (see FIG. 7) is used to fountain the fountain branch 70. By making the pipe 74 non-rotatable, water is caused to flow out from the overflow port 30.
At this time, water may be jetted by the washing water supply means 20 in parallel.

By carrying out this washing in the tank, even if impurities, slime, mold and the like remain in the rice washing tank 13, they can be washed out cleanly from the overflow port 30 by the swirling flow. Therefore, the effectiveness of the next rice washing operation can be maintained at a high level. By the way, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, the detailed structure of the movable shutter 35 is not limited in any way, and is a mechanism for sliding or rotating the shutter plate along the opening edge portion outside the overflow port 30 (inner surface of the water collecting container 31). Alternatively, a fluid pressure cylinder or the like may be provided in a state of penetrating the wall on the back side of the water collection container 31, and thereby the shutter may be linearly brought into contact with or separated from the overflow port 30.

The rice washing device 1 is not limited to the one that constitutes the rice cooking pretreatment device 5, and may be an automatic rice cooking device as a whole or an independent single unit. Further, the rice washing means 14 may be of a mechanical type (a stirring impeller system described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-9381) other than a system utilizing a circulating water flow.

[0052]

As is apparent from the above description, in the present invention according to claim 1, a rice washing tank, a rice supplying means capable of sucking and receiving rice into the rice washing tank, and washing the rice in the rice washing tank with water. In a rice washing apparatus having a rice washing means and a water supply means capable of supplying water to the rice washing tank, the rice washing tank is provided with a movable shutter for an overflow port provided at a predetermined height of a tank wall. Therefore, the movable shutter can be moved as necessary to open or close the overflow port.

For example, the movable shutter is closed during the operation of the rice feeding means, and the movable shutter is opened during the operation of the rice washing means.
The movable shutter is controlled to be closed while the immersion water is being supplied by the water supply means (claim 4). This prevents the rice, water, etc. immediately after being supplied to the rice washing tank from directly entering the overflow port. Moreover, bubbles, dirt, solid matter, and the like floating on the water surface during rice washing can be discharged to the overflow port.

As described above, delicious rice can be cooked by subsequent cooking without causing a shortage of rice or water. When a water collecting container corresponding to the overflow port is provided outside the rice washing tank and a drain port is provided at the bottom of the water collecting container, the movable shutter should be provided inside the water collecting container. This is preferable (claim 2), whereby the movable shutter does not interfere with the uniform dispersion of the rice and water supplied into the rice washing tank.

If a drop holding weir for holding the drain side at a low level is provided between the overflow port and the drain port (Claim 3), the surplus water that exceeds the overflow port can be dropped by the drop holding weir. As a result, a strong drainage flow can be obtained, and along with this, bubbles, debris, solids, etc. can be discharged and removed from the rice washing tank. Therefore, it is possible to cook delicious rice in subsequent cooking.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a rice washing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a rice cooker pretreatment device configured by using the rice washing device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing, in an enlarged manner, a state in which excess water flows out from an overflow port of a rice washing tank.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side sectional view of a fountain part.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a nozzle end structure of a fountain part, (a)
Is a plan sectional view, and (b) is a front view.

FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view showing the mounting structure of the blower device in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing another embodiment corresponding to FIG.

11 is a side sectional view showing still another embodiment corresponding to FIG. 9. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a side cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the overflow port of the rice washing tank in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation status as a rice cooking pretreatment device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 rice washing device 4 rice storage unit 7 rice feeding means 10 rice transfer pipe 11 blower device 13 rice washing tank 14 rice washing means 15 water supply means 17 tank ceiling 17a communication port 30 overflow port 31 water collection container 32 drainage port 35 movable shutter 40 drop holding weir 101 Tapered peripheral wall 102 Buffer passage 103 Filter material

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rice washing tank (13), a rice feeding means (7) capable of sucking and receiving rice into the rice washing tank (13), and a rice washing tank (13)
Rice washing means (14) for washing rice in water, and rice washing tank (13)
In a rice washing apparatus having a water supply means (15) capable of supplying water into the inside, in a rice washing tank (13), a movable shutter (35) is provided with respect to an overflow port (30) provided at a predetermined height of a tank wall.
A rice washing device characterized by being provided with. 2. The rice washing tank (13) is provided with a water collecting container (31) outside the tank corresponding to the overflow port (30), and a drain port (32) is provided at the bottom of the water collecting container (31). 2. The washed rice according to claim 1, wherein the movable shutter (35) is configured to open and close the overflow port (30) inside the water collection container (31). apparatus. 3. A drop retaining weir (40) for holding the drain (31) side at a low level is provided between the overflow outlet (30) and the drain outlet (31). The rice washing apparatus according to claim 2. 4. The movable shutter (35) is in a closed state while the rice feeding means (7) is in operation, and the rice washing means (14).
The rice washing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rice is controlled to be in an open state during operation and to be in a closed state while the immersion water is being supplied by the water supply means (15). .