JPH11253317A - Automatic baking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To produce bread though a bread dough expansion detecting means is abnormal by shifting the process to a baking processing after the lapse of a necessary time by neglecting the result of the detecting means during forming and fermenting processing in the case of judging the abnormality of the means detecting whether the expanded height of the bread dough reaches a necessary height or not. SOLUTION: At the time of starting a mixing processing, whether an output from a photodetective element is at a high level longer than a necessary time or not is judged first (S4 to S6). At the time of judging that the output of the photodetective element is at a low level, the processing shifts to a normal mode (S7 to S14) but at the time of judging that the output of the photodetective element is at a high level, an abnormality display lamp is lighted (S6) and the processing shifts to the flow of an abnormal mode (S30 to S35). At the time of starting forming and fermenting processing in the abnormal mode (S34), the lapse of the necessary time from a processing starting point of time is waited by completely neglecting the output of the photodetective element (S35) and the forming and fermenting processing is finished to be shifted to the baking processing (S15).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic bread maker.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an automatic bread maker, if a user puts bread ingredients (flour, water, yeast, etc.) into a container called a hopper and presses a start switch, a kneading process for kneading the bread ingredients is performed. A molding fermentation process for expanding the bread dough to a required height position in the container and a baking process for baking the expanded bread dough are automatically performed sequentially and continuously.

In such an automatic bread maker, the processing conditions in each of the above-mentioned processes are uniquely fixed in order to make the size of the finished bread almost constant. However, since the bread ingredients are left to the user, the amount of the bread ingredients may be too large or too small. Variations occur in the size of the bread finally completed, such as when the height becomes smaller or larger than the height assumed in advance. In particular, there is a problem when it is too large.

[0004] In view of the above, for example,
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 222640, the processing conditions in the molded fermentation treatment, in particular, the processing time is not fixed and is infinite, and when it is detected that the dough has expanded to the required height,
A method in which the processing is terminated has been considered.

In this publication, a light projecting element and a light receiving element are arranged at required positions above an upper opening of a container at two opposing positions of the container, and light from the light projecting element is blocked by expanded bread dough. At this time, the molding fermentation process is terminated.

The light emitting element and the light receiving element are arranged between a firing tank in which a container is accommodated and an outer box in which the firing tank is disposed so as not to be affected by heat during the heat treatment in each of the above steps. It is installed in the gap. The transmission and reception of light between these elements
The process is performed through a small hole formed in the peripheral wall of the baking tank described above.

[0007]

However, the following problems are pointed out in the above conventional example.

In other words, in the kneading process for kneading bread ingredients,
Flour and water are agitated, which can cause them to splatter out of the top opening of the container. If this scattered matter is likely to adhere to the above-described hole in the firing tank, in a severe case, the state in which light cannot be transmitted and received between the light emitting element and the light receiving element is continued. Become. If the process proceeds to the forming and fermentation process in such a state, the detection of the expansion of the bread dough cannot be performed normally. In other words, if the above problem occurs, even if the process proceeds to the molded fermentation process and the process is started, light is not incident on the light receiving element, so that the molded fermentation process is immediately terminated. Can be For this reason, the bread dough is hardly expanded, and the process proceeds to the subsequent baking process. As a result, it is expected that bread that is hard and difficult to eat will be eventually formed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to produce bread without any trouble even in a case where the detection of expansion of bread dough cannot be performed normally in an automatic bread maker.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic bread maker, comprising: a kneading process for kneading bread ingredients contained in a container having an open top; Bread is manufactured by sequentially performing a molding fermentation process of expanding the bread dough and a baking process of baking the expanded bread dough, and detecting whether the expansion height of the bread dough has reached a required height in the molding fermentation process. Detecting means for detecting the presence of arrival by the detecting means before the start of the molded fermentation process, determining whether or not this detection state has continued for a required time or more. When the forming fermentation process is started after the monitoring unit determines that there is no abnormality and the detection unit detects the arrival after the start, the forming unit is notified at the time of this detection. A first management means for ending the processing and shifting to a subsequent baking treatment; and a monitoring means for determining that there is an abnormality and starting the molding fermentation processing. Ignores the results of
A second management means for terminating the shaped fermentation process at the time when the required time has elapsed and shifting to a subsequent baking process.

The automatic bread maker according to the second aspect of the present invention is a kneading process for kneading bread ingredients contained in a container having an open top, and a forming and fermenting process for expanding kneaded dough to a required height in the container. And a baking process for sequentially baking the expanded bread dough to produce bread, and detecting means for detecting whether or not the expanded height of the bread dough has reached a required height in the forming fermentation process, and When the presence of arrival is detected by the detection unit before the start of the fermentation process, it is determined whether or not the detection state has continued for a required time or more, and only when the detection state has continued, the detection unit notifies that the detection unit is abnormal. Means, when the molding fermentation process is started by determining that there is no abnormality in the monitoring means, when the arrival is detected by the detection means after the start, the molding fermentation processing is terminated at this detection time and On the other hand, if the detection means does not detect the arrival even if the required time has elapsed from the start of the forming fermentation process, the forming fermentation process is terminated at the elapse of the required time and the subsequent baking process is performed. When the molding fermentation process is started after the first management unit and the monitoring unit determine that there is an abnormality, the detection result of the detection unit is ignored until the required time elapses from the start time, and the required A second management means for terminating the molded fermentation process after a lapse of time and shifting to a subsequent baking process.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the automatic bread maker of the first or second aspect, the detecting means comprises a light projecting element and a light receiving element, and light transmitted and received between the two elements is transmitted to the container. It is configured to cross over the upper opening.

As described above, in the present invention, in short, if the detection means remains in the detection state indicating that the bread dough has reached the required height for some reason before the start of the molding fermentation treatment, Is reported to be abnormal. Moreover, in the present invention, the processing conditions of the molded fermentation processing are changed according to the presence or absence of abnormality in the detection means. That is, when the molding fermentation process is started in a state where the abnormality of the detecting means is recognized, the bread dough is expanded by ignoring the detection output of the detecting means and managing the time. This makes it possible to prevent the molded fermentation process from becoming insufficient even if a failure occurs in the detection of the detection means.

In particular, in the second aspect, even when the molding fermentation process is started when the detection means is not abnormal, the following problems can be prevented from occurring.
That is, for example, when the used amount of the bread material is small, the expansion of the bread dough does not reach the specified height no matter how long the molding fermentation process is continued. In such a situation, no matter how long the molding fermentation process is continued, the detection means does not detect the presence of arrival, so that it is impossible to shift to the subsequent baking process any time.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in FIGS.

1 to 5 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a top view showing a state in which a lid of an automatic bread maker is removed, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of the automatic bread maker, FIG.
Is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic bread maker, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts used for explaining the operation of the automatic bread maker.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, A denotes an entire automatic bread maker, 1 denotes an outer box, 2 denotes a lid, 3 denotes an operation panel,
4 is a baking tank, 5 is a heater, 6 is a container called a hopper,
7 is a motor, 8 is a power transmission unit, and 9 is a control unit.

The outer box 1 is formed in a rectangular shape.
On the upper surface, an area of about 2/3 in the longitudinal direction is opened,
The lid 2 is attached to the upper opening so as to be openable and closable upward.

The operation panel 3 is disposed in the remaining approximately one third of the upper surface of the outer box 1, and includes a selection switch 3a for selecting a cooking course according to the type of bread, a start switch 3b, , A cancel switch 3c and an abnormality indicator light 3d.

The baking tank 4 creates an atmosphere for baking the dough, and is arranged in the outer box 1 in a region corresponding to the upper opening. A spindle shaft 10 is provided at the center of the bottom of the firing tank 4.

The heater 5 heats the inside of the firing tank 4 and is attached to the inner bottom of the firing tank 4.

The container 6 is for kneading the bread material contained therein, and is detachably mounted inside the baking tank 4. This container 6 is formed in a shape capable of producing one and a half loaf of bread, that is, a rectangular shape, and a stirring blade 11 for kneading the bread material is provided on the inner bottom thereof. Spindle shaft 1 of firing tank 4
Combined with zero.

The motor 7 has a spindle shaft 10 of the firing tank 4.
Is rotatably driven via the power transmission unit 8, and is disposed inside the outer box 1 in a region below the operation panel 3.

The power transmission unit 8 is provided on the entire inner bottom portion of the outer box 1 and transmits the rotational power of the motor 7 to the spindle shaft 10 of the firing tank 4. The pulley is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 7. 8a, a pulley 8b fixed to the spindle shaft 10 of the firing tank 4, and an endless belt 8c wound around the pulleys 8a and 8b.

The control unit 9 controls the whole bread making operation described later, and is arranged above the motor 7 in a region below the operation panel 3 in the outer box 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 9 includes a CPU, an RO,
A microcomputer 9a comprising M, RAM, etc .;
It includes an I / O circuit section 9b, a motor drive circuit section 9c, and a heater drive circuit section 9d. This microcomputer 9a corresponds to the monitoring means and the first and second management means.

Then, 2 opposed in the longitudinal direction of the firing tank 4
A light projecting element 12 and a light receiving element 13 are separately provided between the surface and the outer case 1 and a circuit board (not shown) of the control unit 9, and light emitted from the light projecting element 12 is 6 across the upper opening of the light receiving element 13
In the firing tank 4, each of the elements 1
Holes 4a, 4b are drilled at locations corresponding to 2,3. The light emitting element 12 and the light receiving element 13 transmit and receive infrared rays, for example. In this example, the light receiving element 1
As No. 3, one which becomes low level when light is incident and becomes high level when no light is incident is used.
Note that the elements 12, 13 and the microcomputer 9a correspond to a detecting means described in claims.

Next, the features of the present invention will be described. In the kneading process, when the bread material is scattered and adheres to either the light projecting surface of the light projecting element 12 or the light receiving surface of the light receiving element 13 and the occurrence of a detection abnormality by these elements 12 and 13 is recognized, The processing time in the molding fermentation process is adjusted to an appropriate baking time (eg, 50 b
Minutes). Thereby, even if the bread material is scattered and adheres to either the light emitting surface of the light emitting element 12 or the light receiving surface of the light receiving element 13 in the kneading process, the subsequent molding and fermentation process is performed in an insufficient state as in the related art. Without ending, the dough can be expanded and baked almost properly.

Specifically, the operation of the automatic bread maker A will be described. When manufacturing bread, first, the user puts dough (flour, water, yeast, etc.) into the container 6, and then presses the start switch 3b to start automatic operation. Note that there is also a timer start function for starting bread production from an arbitrary time without pressing the start switch 3b. Only at the time of this timer start, the container 6 containing the bread ingredients is placed in the baking tank 4 until the reservation start time comes.
A reservation process for keeping the temperature at 14 ° C. is performed by the heater 5 in the inside.

In the automatic operation, in short, the kneading process, the primary fermentation process, the degassing process, the dough resting process, the dough rounding process, the forming fermentation process, the baking process, and the heat retaining process are continuously performed in this order.

In the kneading process, first, the motor 7 is turned on and off at predetermined time intervals for 5 minutes.
Is continuously driven for 20 minutes to knead the bread ingredients.

In the primary fermentation treatment, the temperature inside the firing tank 4 is kept at 30 ° C. by the heater 5 and left for 40 minutes.

In the degassing process, the gas is released from the dough by continuously driving the motor 7 for 10 seconds.

In the dough resting process, the temperature inside the baking tank 4 is maintained at 30 ° C. by the heater 5 and left for 25 minutes.

In the dough rounding process, the dough is rounded by continuously driving the motor 7 for 15 seconds.

In the forming fermentation treatment, the temperature inside the baking tank 4 is kept at 30 ° C. by the heater 5 and left for an appropriate time (range of 30 to 70 minutes).

In the baking treatment, the temperature inside the baking tank 4 is kept at 125 ° C. by the heater 5 and left for 40 minutes.

In the heat retaining process, the temperature inside the firing tank 4 is slowly lowered from the temperature at the previous firing process to 80 ° C. At this time, the heater 5 is turned on for a maximum of 60 minutes.
Turn off.

The specific operation of the automatic operation for performing such a series of processing will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

First, it is determined whether or not the container 6 is properly mounted (S1). Here, the outputs of the elements 12 and 13 for detecting the height of the bread dough are checked. In other words, if the container 6 is properly mounted, the light incident on the light receiving element 13 is not blocked, so that the output of the light receiving element 13 is at a low level. Floats, which blocks light from entering the light receiving element 13, and the output of the light receiving element 13 goes high.

Here, if it is not properly mounted, the abnormality indicator lamp 3d is turned on and the operation is stopped (S2).
If it is mounted properly, the kneading process is started (S
3).

As described above, when the container 6 is not properly mounted and the operation is stopped, the cancel switch 3c is operated to cancel the abnormality indicator light, and after the container 6 is mounted again. Then, the cooking course is reset by the selection switch 3a, and the automatic operation is restarted by pressing the start switch 3b.

When the kneading process is started, first, the light receiving element 1
It is determined whether or not the output of No. 3 is at the high level for the required time or longer (S4 to S6). Here, the abnormality of the elements 12 and 13 is examined, such as whether foreign matter such as bread material has adhered to the light emitting surface of the light emitting element 12 or the light receiving surface of the light receiving element 13 or has failed. In other words, in the kneading process, dried grapes may be thrown in the middle of the kneading process, and the throwing of these may cause the output of the light receiving element 13 to temporarily go to a high level. I have to.

According to the results of S4 and S5, the processes from the primary fermentation process to the shaping fermentation process are performed in a normal mode and an abnormal mode. In other words, in S4 and S5, if it is determined that the output of the light receiving element 13 is at the low level, the operation proceeds to the normal mode (S7 to S14) and the light receiving element 1
3 is determined to be at the high level, the abnormality indicator lamp 3d is turned on (S6), and the abnormality mode (S30 to S3) is turned on.
Move to the flow of 5).

The difference between the normal mode and the abnormal mode is only the molded fermentation process, and other primary fermentation processes (S7, S30) and degassing processes (S8, S3).
1), the dough resting process (S9, S32), and the dough rounding process (S10, S33) have exactly the same contents, and are thus formed and fermented (S11 to S14, S34, S3).
Only 5) will be described.

Here, when the molding fermentation process in the normal mode is started (S11), first, it waits for the first required time T1 (for example, 30 minutes) to elapse from the start of the process (S1).
2). This is the first stage of the molding and fermentation process.
Foreign matter adheres to the light-emitting surface of the light-receiving element 2 or the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element 13, or the light-receiving element 13 fails.
This is because even if the output becomes high level, they are ignored and the dough is expanded more than a certain degree.

When the first required time T1 has elapsed from the start of the processing, it is determined whether the output of the light receiving element 13 has become high level, and the second required time T2 has been determined from the start of the processing.
(For example, 70 minutes) (S13 to S1)
4). Here, when the second required time T2 elapses while the output of the light receiving element 13 is at the low level, the molded fermentation process is terminated, and the process proceeds to the firing process (S15). However, if the output of the light receiving element 13 becomes high level before the second required time T2 elapses, the molding fermentation process is terminated at that point, and the process proceeds to the baking process (S15).

When the molding fermentation process in one abnormal mode is started (S34), the output of the light receiving element 13 is completely ignored, and the process waits for a required time T3 (for example, 50 minutes) to elapse from the start of the process (for example, 50 minutes). S35) The shaped fermentation process is completed, and the process proceeds to the baking process (S15).

When the baking of the bread is completed by the baking process (S15), the process proceeds to the heat retention process (S16).

In the heat retention process, when the required time (for example, 60 minutes) has elapsed from the start time (S17), or even when the required time (for example, 60 minutes) has not elapsed from the start time, the atmospheric temperature in the firing tank 4 is reduced. When the temperature falls below 80 ° C (S
At 21), the heat retention process is completed, and the automatic operation is completed. In addition, during the heat retention period, the baking tank 4
It is determined whether or not the container 6 has been taken out of the container (S18 to S18).
20) Also, when the container 6 is taken out, the heat retention processing is ended, and the automatic operation is completed. The removal of the container 6 can be determined by determining whether or not the output of the light receiving element 13 has been inverted.
That is, when the container 6 is taken out, the output of the light receiving element 13 is immediately inverted.
In particular, if the bread dough has expanded to a required height in the pre-heating treatment, especially in the forming fermentation treatment, the light receiving element 1
Although the output of No. 3 is at a high level, the output of the light receiving element 13 is at a low level unless the dough has expanded to the required height. Under such circumstances, in S18, the current output of the light receiving element 13 is determined, and in S19, S2
At 0, the inversion of the light receiving element 13 is determined. When the output of the light receiving element 13 is at the low level in S19, the molding fermentation process is terminated and the process proceeds to the baking process. When the output is at the high level, the process proceeds to S21. When the output of the light receiving element 13 is at the high level in S20, the molding fermentation process is terminated and the process proceeds to the baking process. When the output is at the low level, the process proceeds to S21.

As described above, in the present invention, in the kneading process, the bread material is used in the light emitting element 12 or the light receiving element 1.
When an abnormality occurs in the detection of the elements 12 and 13 due to attachment to the device 3, the abnormality can be detected and the user can be notified. Moreover, when the detection abnormality of the elements 12 and 13 is detected, the processing condition of the subsequent molding fermentation processing is not required to be the molding fermentation processing in a normal case, and the required output time is always ignored ignoring the detection output of the light receiving element 13. As described above, it is possible to eliminate the waste of making the baking process fail by shifting to the baking process while the expansion of the bread dough is insufficient as in the related art.

In the above-described embodiment, the bread dough is placed in the upper part of the container 6 in the molding fermentation process due to an error in the measurement of the bread material by the user or the user intentionally reducing the bread material in the normal molding fermentation process. Even when a situation occurs in which the light from the light emitting element 12 is not blocked without protruding from the opening, the molding fermentation process is not continued forever, but is terminated after waiting for a required time to elapse. By shifting to the baking process, the bread is always baked to complete the entire process of bread production. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate a situation in which the bread cannot be baked without proceeding to the baking process forever.

Further, in the above embodiment, prior to the start of the automatic operation, even in a situation where the mounting error of the container 6 has occurred, it is possible to recognize the situation and notify the user of the situation. Even if 3b is pressed, it is possible to avoid occurrence of a situation that bread cannot be manufactured.

Further, in the heat retaining process, even when the user takes out the container 6 without permission, the user recognizes it and terminates the heat retaining process. Eliminate waste of power consumption.

In the kneading process, the bread material adheres to the light projecting element 12 or the light receiving element 13 and the like.
Even if the process shifts to the heat retention process in the state where the detection abnormalities 2 and 13 have occurred, the atmosphere in the firing tank 4 is required when the required time has elapsed since the start of the temperature retention or when the required time has not elapsed since the start of the temperature retention. Since the heat retention process is automatically terminated when the temperature falls below a predetermined temperature, the heat retention process can be performed forever even if the user cannot recognize that the container has been taken out due to a malfunction of the element. Is not continued, and waste of power consumption can be eliminated.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to only the above embodiment, and various applications and modifications are conceivable. (1) In the above embodiment, the container 6 has a shape capable of producing one and a half loaf of bread, but the present invention can also be applied to a container having a shape capable of producing one loaf of bread. (2) In the above embodiment, the light projecting element 12 and the light receiving element 13 are used as the detecting means for detecting the expansion height of the dough in the molding fermentation process, but other sensors can be used. .

[0056]

In the automatic bread maker according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, for example, when a detection error occurs in the detection means due to, for example, the bread material adhering to the detection means in the kneading process, the abnormality is detected. To inform the user. Moreover, when an abnormal detection of the detecting means is detected,
By setting the processing conditions of the subsequent molding fermentation process to be the required time without ignoring the detection result of the detection means, instead of the normal molding fermentation process, the expansion of bread dough as in the past Shift to the baking process with insufficient
Waste such as failure to make bread can be eliminated.

In particular, in the second aspect of the present invention, in a normal molding and fermentation process, the swelling height of the bread dough is reduced to a specified height due to a measurement error of the bread material by the user or a user intentionally reducing the bread material. Even if such a situation does not occur, instead of continuing the molding and fermentation processing forever, the processing must be completed after the required time has elapsed, and the process will be shifted to the subsequent baking processing to ensure that the bread is baked and baked. All processes of manufacturing are completed. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of a situation in which the bread cannot be baked without proceeding to the baking process forever, which can contribute to improvement in usability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view showing an automatic bread maker according to an embodiment of the present invention with a lid removed.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of the automatic bread maker of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic bread maker of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart used to describe the operation of the automatic bread maker of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a continuation of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 A automatic bread maker 1 outer box 3 operation panel 4 baking tank 5 heater 6 container 7 motor 8 power transmission unit 9 control unit 12 light emitting element 13 light receiving element

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A kneading process for kneading bread ingredients contained in a container having an open top, a molding fermentation process for expanding kneaded bread dough to a required height in the container, and a baking process for baking the expanded bread dough. And a detecting means for detecting whether or not the expanded height of the dough has reached a required height in the forming and fermenting process, and before starting the forming and fermenting process. Monitoring means for determining whether or not the detection state has continued for a required time or more when the detection means has detected arrival, and notifying the detection means as abnormal only when the detection state has continued, and monitoring means When it is determined that there is no abnormality and the molded fermentation process is started, if the detection means detects the arrival after the start, the molded fermentation process is terminated at this detection point and the process proceeds to the subsequent baking process. When the molded fermentation process is started by determining that there is an abnormality in the first management unit and the monitoring unit, the detection result of the detection unit is ignored until the required time elapses from the start time, and the required time And a second management means for terminating the molded fermentation process at the time when elapses and shifting to the subsequent baking process. 2. A kneading process for kneading bread ingredients stored in a container having an open top, a molding fermentation process for expanding kneaded bread dough to a required height position in the container, and a baking process for baking the expanded bread dough. And a detecting means for detecting whether or not the expanded height of the dough has reached a required height in the forming and fermenting process, and before starting the forming and fermenting process. Monitoring means for determining whether or not the detection state has continued for a required time or more when the detection means has detected arrival, and notifying the detection means as abnormal only when the detection state has continued, and monitoring means When it is determined that there is no abnormality and the molded fermentation process is started, if the detection means detects the arrival after the start, the molded fermentation process is terminated at this detection point and the process proceeds to the subsequent baking process. On the other hand, if the detection means does not detect the arrival even if the required time has elapsed from the start of the forming fermentation process, the forming fermentation process is terminated at the time of the required time and the process is shifted to the subsequent baking process. 1 When the management means and the monitoring means determine that there is an abnormality and start the molding fermentation process, the detection result of the detection means is ignored until the required time elapses from the start time, and the required time has elapsed. A second management means for terminating the molded fermentation process at a point in time and shifting to a subsequent baking process. 3. An automatic bread maker according to claim 1, wherein said detecting means comprises a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and light transmitted and received between said two elements is located above an upper opening of said container. An automatic bread maker, wherein the automatic bread maker is configured to cross the bread.