JPH11253319A - Automatic bread maker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely detect that the maximum rising part reaches a stipulated height even when the rising shape of bread dough in a molding and fermentation processing is distorted at the worst in an automatic bread maker for manufacturing horizontally long bread. SOLUTION: For this bread maker, a light projecting element 12 and a light receiving element 13 as detection means for detecting whether or not the swelling height of the bread dough in the molding and fermentation processing reaches the stipulated height are provided in the state of crossing a container 6 above the upper opening of the container 6. In this case, a pair of the elements 12 and 13 is arranged respectively on the short side wall part side of both sides in the longitudinal direction of the container 6. Thus, even when the upper part of the bread dough is swollen in a distorted shape at the time of the molding and fermentation processing, when the maximum height position reaches the stipulated height, that effect is surely detected by both elements 12 and 13.

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]

In the automatic bread maker described above, one loaf of bread is usually manufactured.
For this reason, the shape of the container is also substantially square in plan view. In such an automatic bread maker, since the four side walls of the container have the same shape as each other, the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element are simply disposed outside two opposite side walls of the container. I have.

Incidentally, the applicant of the present application has recently
We have proposed an automatic bread maker that produces half bread loaves. In this case, the shape of the container is substantially rectangular in a plan view. The arrangement of the pair of elements is set as follows. That is, in general, the finished bread
Considering that the center in the longitudinal direction is in a raised shape, a pair of elements are arranged so that light transmitted and received between the pair of elements crosses the short direction of the container at the longitudinal central portion of the container. I was

However, if the shape of the bread dough is distorted in the process of rolling the dough, the shape of the dough rising upward may be distorted in the molding and fermentation process. For example, there is a case where the bread dough does not have a shape in which the center in the longitudinal direction is raised, but has a shape in which only one end in the longitudinal direction is raised. In such a case, the light transmitted and received between the pair of elements may not be blocked by the maximum raised portion of the bread dough. for that reason,
The molded fermentation process cannot be terminated any time, and the process cannot be shifted to the subsequent baking process. In other words, the bread dough sequence will not end forever, so the bread dough cannot be baked.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in an automatic bread maker for producing a horizontally long bread, even if the swelling shape of the bread dough in the molding and fermentation process becomes irregular, the maximum swelling portion reaches the specified height. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to reliably detect such a situation.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic bread maker, comprising: a kneading process for kneading bread material stored in a container having an open top; The bread is manufactured by sequentially performing a molding fermentation process of expanding to a position and a baking process of baking the expanded bread dough. Detecting means for detecting whether or not, after starting the molded fermentation process, when the detection means detects the arrival, the management means for terminating the molded fermentation process at this detection point and shifting to the subsequent baking process Wherein the container is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view so as to manufacture a horizontally long bread, and the detecting means comprises a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and light transmitted and received between these two elements is The upper of the upper opening of the serial container is arranged to be a form transverse to the longitudinal direction or the diagonal direction of the container.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic bread maker according to the first aspect, the management unit detects the arrival by the detection unit even when a required time has elapsed from the start of the processing in the molding fermentation process. If not, the molding fermentation process is terminated at the time when the required time has elapsed, and the process is shifted to the subsequent baking process.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic bread maker according to the first or second aspect, wherein the pair of elements constituting the detecting means are disposed outside a baking tank in which a container is mounted. The baking tank has a light-passing window, and the light-passing window on the light-receiving element side is set to be larger than the light-passing window on the light-projecting element side in consideration of the positional deviation due to the processing error of both light passing windows. Have been.

As described above, in the present invention, in brief, the detection means detects that the expansion height of the dough has reached the required height, and terminates the molding and fermentation treatment, and uses a horizontally long container. The arrangement of the light emitting element and the light receiving element as the detecting means is devised. In other words, in the present invention, both elements are arranged on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the container. When the expansion height reaches the specified height, the maximum bulge always blocks the light transmitted and received between the two elements, thereby terminating the molding fermentation process at an appropriate time. become able to.

In particular, in the second aspect, even in a situation where the maximum swelling portion of the bread dough does not reach the specified height during the molding fermentation process, the elapsed time from the start of the molding fermentation process is managed. Then, the molding fermentation process is terminated. Thereby, it is possible to avoid occurrence of a problem that the molding fermentation process cannot be completed forever.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to prevent the centers of the respective light passing windows corresponding to the light projecting element and the light receiving element from being inconsistent due to the processing error, the processing error is taken into consideration. The light passage window on the side corresponding to the light receiving element is set to be larger than the light passage window on the light projection element side. As described above, by making one of the light passing windows larger, a processing error can be absorbed.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS.

1 to 6 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.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic bread maker, FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts used to explain the operation of the automatic bread maker, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing a distorted expansion of bread dough.

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 1/3 area on the upper surface of the outer box 1, and includes a selection switch 3a for selecting a cooking course corresponding 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 in which the dough is baked, and is provided inside 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 stored 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 manufacturing operation described later, and is disposed 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. The microcomputer 9a corresponds to a management unit described in the claims.

A light emitting element 12 and a light receiving element 13 for determining the end time of the molding and fermentation treatment are provided outside the baking tank 4. The light emitted from the light projecting element 12 crosses over the upper opening of the container 6 and passes through the light receiving element 13.
In the firing tank 4, each of the elements 1
Holes 4a as light passing windows are provided at locations corresponding to
4b is drilled. The light emitting element 12 and the light receiving element 1
Numeral 3 is for transmitting and receiving infrared rays, for example. In this example, a light receiving element 13 which is at a low level when light is incident and is at a high level when light is not 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. That is, by devising the arrangement positions of the above-mentioned light emitting element 12 and light receiving element 13, even when the expansion of the bread dough is distorted in the molding fermentation process, the maximum bulging portion reaches the specified height. , The light emitting element 1
Light transmitted and received between the light receiving element 2 and the light receiving element 13 is reliably blocked.

In this embodiment, the light projecting element 12 and the light receiving element 13 are arranged on both sides of the container 6 in the longitudinal direction. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the light projecting element 12 and the light receiving element 13 include two short side walls facing each other in the longitudinal direction of the baking tank 4, and a circuit board (not shown) of the outer box 1 and the control unit 9. (Omitted) and are arranged. As shown in the figure, if the light receiving element 13 is disposed on the circuit board side of the control unit 9, it is not necessary to route the output line of the light receiving element 13, so that it is possible to prevent noise components from being mixed into the output of the light receiving element 13. There are advantages such as.

In addition, holes 4a and 4b as light passing windows provided in the firing tank 4 are also devised as follows.
The holes 4a and 4b serve to prevent the light from the light projecting element 12 from diffusing inside the container 6 and to allow the light reflected at various parts inside the container 6 to pass through the light receiving element 13. A small size is set in advance so as not to be incident, so that the detection accuracy is improved. As described above, since the holes 4a and 4b of the baking tank 4 need to be set small, even if the center positions thereof are slightly shifted due to a processing error, the light from the light emitting element 12 Stops being incident. Therefore, the hole 4b on the light receiving element 13 side is
The hole is set to be larger than the hole 4a on the second side so as to include the processing error. If the hole 4b on the light receiving element 13 side is made large to absorb the processing error, the light from the light emitting element 12 can be always incident on the light receiving element 13. In addition, since the size of the hole 4b is not particularly increased, the incident direction of light is not excessively widened, and the detection accuracy can be maintained.

The operation of the automatic bread maker A will be described specifically. 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 sequentially performed in this order.

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

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

In the degassing process, the motor 7 is continuously driven for 10 seconds to degas the dough.

In the dough resting process, the temperature inside the baking tank 4 is kept 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 maintained 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 gradually 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 remounted. 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 forming 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 since the start of the process, 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 process.
(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 retaining 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 molding fermentation treatment, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the maximum swelling portion of the bread dough is biased to one side in the longitudinal direction of the container 6. Even when the shape of the bread dough is reached, if the maximum height of the bread dough reaches the specified height, the maximum height of the dough always blocks the light from the light emitting element 12, so that the molding fermentation process is terminated. The timing can be properly grasped, and the occurrence of a problem caused by the irregular expansion of the dough as in the related art can be avoided.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the molding fermentation process, due to a measurement error of the bread ingredients by the user or a user intentionally reducing the bread ingredients,
Even if the inflation height of the dough does not reach the specified height, the fermentation process does not continue forever, but waits for the required time and ends, and the process proceeds to the subsequent baking process By doing so, the bread is always baked to complete the entire process of bread production. 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 as long as in the related art.

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, the user can recognize it 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 addition, in the kneading process, even if the bread material adheres to the light projecting element 12 or the light receiving element 13 and a detection abnormality of the elements 12 and 13 occurs, the subsequent molding and fermentation processing always requires the required time. Is performed, the process shifts to the baking process without expanding the dough, and waste such as failure of bread production can be eliminated.

Further, even if the process shifts to the heat retention process in a state where the detection abnormality of the elements 12 and 13 has occurred, even if the required time has elapsed since the start of the temperature retention or the required time has not elapsed since the start of the temperature retention. Since the heat retaining process is automatically terminated when the atmospheric temperature in the firing tank 4 falls below a predetermined temperature, it is not possible to recognize that the user has taken out the container due to an abnormality of the element. In addition, the heat retention process is not continued forever, and waste of power consumption can be eliminated.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various applications and modifications are conceivable. (1) In the above embodiment, the light transmitting element 12 and the light receiving element 13 for detecting the expansion height of the bread dough in the molding fermentation process use an infrared transmitting / receiving sensor, but other sensors may be used. . (2) In the above embodiment, the arrangement of the light projecting element 12 and the light receiving element 13 can be the diagonal positions A, A 'and B, B' of the container 6, as shown in FIG. In this case, the same operation and effect as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0061]

In the automatic bread maker according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, even if the maximum bulging portion of the dough is biased to one side in the longitudinal direction of the container in the forming and fermentation treatment, the expansion height of the maximum bulging portion is increased. Whenever reaches the specified height, the maximum swelling portion can block the light transmitted and received between the two elements, thereby terminating the molding fermentation process at an appropriate time. 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 as long as in the past, which contributes to improvement in usability.

In particular, in the second aspect, even in a situation where the maximum swelling portion of the bread dough does not reach the specified height during the forming and fermenting treatment, the elapsed time from the start of the forming and fermenting treatment is controlled, thereby forming the dough. The fermentation process is terminated. Thus, it is possible to avoid occurrence of a problem that the molding fermentation process cannot be completed forever due to the shortage of the used amount of the bread material.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, each of the light passing windows corresponding to the light projecting element and the light receiving element in the firing tank is set so as to absorb a processing error of the light passing window. As a result, it is possible to avoid a phenomenon that impedes light incidence on the light receiving element, thereby contributing to improvement in reliability.

[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;

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the distorted expansion of the dough of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an arrangement of a light projecting element and a light receiving element according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[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 bread dough has reached a required height in the shaped fermentation process, and the shaped fermentation process. After the start, when the detection means detects the arrival, the management means for terminating the molded fermentation processing at the time of this detection and shifting to the subsequent baking processing, wherein the container can manufacture a horizontally long bread The detection means is composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and light transmitted and received between these elements is positioned above the upper opening of the container in the longitudinal direction of the container. An automatic bread maker, which is arranged so as to cross in a diagonal or diagonal direction. 2. The automatic bread maker according to claim 1, wherein the control means does not detect the arrival by the detection means even if a required time has elapsed from the start of the processing in the molded fermentation processing. An automatic bread maker, wherein the molding and fermentation process is terminated at the elapse of time and the process is shifted to a subsequent baking process. 3. The automatic bread maker according to claim 1, wherein the pair of elements constituting the detection means are disposed outside a baking tank in which a container is mounted. A light-passing window is provided, and the light-passing window on the light-receiving element side includes the processing error portion more than the light-passing window on the light-projecting element side in consideration of a positional shift due to a processing error of the two light passing windows. An automatic bread maker characterized by being set large.