JPS6226027A - Automatic rice charging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an automatic rice preparation device that automatically performs a series of tasks to make stored rice ready for cooking.

[Conventional technology]

This conventional device did not have a means for detecting rice.

[The shortcomings that the invention attempts to solve]

Since the conventional apparatus described above is not equipped with a means for detecting the amount of stored rice, the amount of rice stored may be less than the amount used, and a series of rice preparation operations may be wasted.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is an automatic rice preparation device that can prevent a series of rice preparation operations from being wasted. The purpose is to obtain.

[Means to solve all problems]

The automatic rice preparation device according to the present invention is provided with a rice storage amount detecting means having a resistor provided in the stored rice and a motor for rotating the resistor.

[For production]

In the automatic rice preparation device according to the present invention, when a large amount of rice is stored, the rotation of the resistor becomes heavy and the motor current increases. Conversely, when the amount of rice stored R decreases, the rotation of the resistor becomes less light and the motor current decreases. Therefore, the rice storage site can be detected from the magnitude of the motor current. [Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In Fig. 1, 1 is the main body, 2 is a rice storage chamber provided in the upper part of the main body 1, 3 is a rice meter and device provided at the bottom of the rice storage chamber 2, and 4 is a rice measuring device. 3 is a rice washing device disposed below the rice washing device 4, 5 is a water supply device disposed above the rice washing device 4, and 6 is a control device that is electrically connected to each of these constituent parts and controls each part.

The rice storage chamber 2 is hollow-shaped and has an opening formed at its bottom. A casing 3d constituting a rice measuring device 3 is integrally formed at the bottom of the rice storage chamber 2. or,
An impeller (resistor) 20 connected to a motor 19 is housed near the bottom of the rice storage chamber 2, as shown in FIG.

Further, a circular cell 3a is rotatably installed inside the casing 3d, and the cell 3a is divided into four chambers by dividing the inside of the vertically open cylindrical body with a cross-shaped partition wall extending radially. Measure the specified amount of rice for each rotation. The cell 3a is rotated by a motor 3C via a transmission disk 3b in contact with its outer periphery, and is controlled by a control device 6 for the motor 3C.

In addition, the bottom of the casing 3d that accommodates the cell 3ai is the cell 3a.
An unbuilt lower opening with almost the same shape as the opening of one room is formed,
When the rice that has been completely charged from the rice storage room 2 into one chamber of the cell 3a coincides with the lower opening of the casing 3d due to the rotation of the cell 3a, the rice completely opens the lower opening of the casing 3d and falls downward. The rice washing container 4 of the rice washing device 4 is placed at the position where this rice falls.
A chute 7 is provided to drop the material into the container a. The container 4a is a cylindrical container with an open top and bottom, and a stirring rod 4b is arranged inside the container, and the upper end of the stirring rod 4b can be connected to the rotating shaft of a motor 4C. The bottom opening of the container 4a can be opened and closed by a bottom plate 4d, and the opening and closing of the bottom plate 4d is performed in conjunction with the transport device 8. The conveying device 8 has a gutter-shaped conveying body 8ai, and the conveying body 8a is arranged so that its #1 interspace is located directly below the rice washing container 4a, and swings like a scene with this intermediate part as a fulcrum. It is preferably attached to a drive device (not shown). The bottom plate 4d is pivotally supported outside the bottom opening of the rice washing container 4a, and is constantly pressed downward in the opening direction by a spring force.

A motor (not shown) for driving the carrier 8a and the motor 4c are controlled by a control device 6.

A water supply device 5 is provided above the rice washing device 4, and this water supply device 5 has a water receiving tank 5a connected to an appropriate water source, and one end connected to the bottom of the water receiving tank 5a and the other end connected to the rice washing container 4.
It consists of a water supply/Q pipe 5b facing the upper opening of the water supply pipe 5b, and a solenoid valve 5C installed on the water supply pipe 5b to control the amount of water.

The 6-lube 5C is connected to a control device 6, and its opening time is controlled.

Further, at the lowest part of the main body, there is provided a drainage receiver part 9 for receiving and discharging water flowing down from the right end 8b when the conveyor 8a swings with its right end 8b facing down. Also,
The rice cooker 10 is arranged at a position where when the conveyor 8a swings with its left end 8C facing down, the rice and water flowing down from the left end 8C can be received. The lid 11 of the rice cooker 10 is opened so that rice and water that has flowed down can enter the pot. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the lid holding device ff112 installed at a predetermined position in the main body 1 holds the handle 11a formed on the top surface of the lid 11, and holds the lid 11 open halfway, that is, at an angle of 900 degrees or less. Hold open. The rice cooker 10 supports a lid 11 with a hinge mechanism so that it can be opened on one side, and has a latch mechanism for the lid 11 on the other end side. The differential holding device 12 is shown in FIG.
Two plates 13a and 13b facing each other as shown in (b)
is pivotally connected at a pivot joint 14, and an electromagnet 1 is attached to one end of the plate 13a.
5 is provided, and a coil spring 16 is provided between one end of the plate materials 13a and 13b so as to open the gap therebetween. Plate material 13a
is fixed within the main body 1. Further, 17 is a limit switch for determining whether or not the differential holding device 12 is holding the lid 11. When the differential holding device 12 does not hold the lid 11 as shown in FIG. 5(a), the plate material 13a
, 13b are wide open, and one end of the plate 13b comes into contact with the contact 17a of the limit switch 17, activating it. Are electromagnet J5 and limit switch 17 restricted?
8 device 6 is connected. When setting the rice cooker 10 in the main body 1, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the plate material 13a,
The handle 11a is held between the other ends of i3b, and the spring force of the coil spring 16 holds the lid 11 in an open state. To release this holding, the electromagnet 15 is energized by a signal from the control device 6, one end of the plate 13b is attracted to the electromagnet ]5, and the handle 11afr is opened. As a result, the lid 1 rotates downward under its own weight, and the latch mechanism is activated by the force of the rotation, causing the lid 1 to rotate downward under its own weight.
1 is closed. Also, limit switches 18a, 18b\'i are provided below the conveyor 8a, and 19 is a control display board provided at the top of the main body 1 and connected to the control device 6. Selection switches are provided, such as a rice measuring switch 19a that performs control up to and including rice cooking, a rice cooking switch 19b that performs control up to rice cooking, and a rice washing switch 19c that performs control in the rice washing trench.

Next, the operation of the above device will be explained using the flowchart shown in Fig. 4. First, when the rice is not fully charged into the rice storage chamber 2), then the lid 11 of the rice cooker 10 is attached to the lid holder. rx
At t12, it is latched to the middle open state, and the rice cooking 'M adjustment section and the rice cooking time adjustment section of the control device 6 are set. next,
Select the selection switches 19a to 19c to select the range of operations to be performed. Now, when the rice cooking switch 19b is selected, the control device 6 drives the motor 20 and the impeller 2
Rotate 1. When a large amount of rice is stored in the rice storage chamber 2, the impeller 21 receives a large resistance and the motor 2
The current flowing through 0 increases and the voltage V across current detection resistor R1 increases. The comparator 22 compares this voltage V with a reference voltage VO and changes its output depending on the magnitude thereof, and in this case outputs a low output. Conversely, when the rice storage M, i- is below the predetermined value, the current of the motor 20 becomes small and the output of the comparator 22 becomes large.

Therefore, the control device 6 can determine whether the stored rice amount is above or below a predetermined value based on the output of the comparator 22, and if it is below the predetermined value, a dumping alarm is issued to notify the user. Continuous operation of the motor 20 will significantly shorten its lifespan, so it is operated for a very short period of time. Next, the control device 6Fi,
It is determined whether the lid 11 is open or not based on a signal from the limit switch 17. If the limit switch 17 is on, that is, the lid 11 is held, the device enters a standby state until the timer-set operation start time. If limit switch 1
If 7 is off, the operation is stopped and the user is immediately notified by an alarm or the like. Next, when the operation start time set by the timer comes, the conveyor 8a is swung toward the drainage side (the side shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). Thereby, the bottom opening of the rice washing container 4a is closed by the bottom plate 4d that moves with the carrier 8a.

Next, the square 3a of the measuring device 3 is rotated by a predetermined number of revolutions based on the rice cooking amount set, and the rice thus weighed is placed into the rice washing container 4a through the chute 7.

Here, the stored amount is detected again in the same manner as described above, and after the measurement, it is detected whether the stored rice amount is below a predetermined value, and an alarm is issued if the rice storage amount is below the predetermined value. Thereafter, the solenoid valve 5C is opened to supply water into the rice washing container 4a, and at the same time, the stirring rod 4b is rotated to wash the rice. At this time, the bottom opening of the rice washing container 4a and the bottom plate 4d are not completely sealed, so that some water may leak out. the result,
The waste water from the rice washing passes through the conveyor 8a and the waste water is drained into the drainage receiver section 9.
The water is drained out of the main body 1. Such rice washing is repeated until the turbidity of the waste water becomes below a predetermined value or a predetermined time elapses, and after the final rice washing, the solenoid valve 5C is
Close and stop operation until all drainage is completed. Thereafter, the conveyor 8a is swung so that the left end 8c is on the lower side, and the bottom opening of the rice washing container 4a is opened. And solenoid valve 5
C is opened for a predetermined period of time, water is supplied into the rice washing container 4a, and rice and a corresponding amount of rice cooking water are charged into the pot of the rice cooker 10 while washing off the rice adhering to the container 4a and the carrier 8a. Incidentally, at this time, a watering tool may be attached to the tip of the water supply pipe 5b in order to completely wash off the rice adhering to the rice washing container 4a and the like. Next, the carrier 8a is again swung to the drainage side, and water is supplied for a predetermined period of time to perform post-cleaning. The position of the carrier 8a is detected by limit switches 18a, 18b and accurately controlled by the control device 6. At the same time as post-cleaning, the electromagnet 15 of the differential holding device 12 is energized to attract one end of the plate 13b, and the lid 11 is latched off. As a result, the lid 11 falls due to its own weight.

On the other hand, the rice in the pot was raised like a mountain,
In reality, a swing device provided at the bottom of the rice cooker 10 applies horizontal vibration to the rice cooker 10 to evenly arrange the rice in the pot. Thereafter, a standby time is allowed to soak the rice in water for a predetermined time, and then energy is applied to the rice cooker 10.

The above is the case when the rice cooking switch 19b is selected, but when the rice measuring switch 19a is selected, the conveyor 8a is swung toward the rice cooker 10 from the beginning, and the rice is weighed as described above. The washed rice passes through the rice washing container 4a and is stored in the pot of the rice cooker 10 via the carrier 8a, and the lid 11 is closed.

Also, when the rice washing switch 19c is pressed, the rice cooker 10
The steps up to the input of rice cooking energy to the rice cooker are performed in the same manner as when the rice cooking switch 19b is selected. This is used, for example, when making takikomi rice.

Incidentally, in the above embodiment, the rice cooking water was supplied once when washing off the rice adhering to the rice washing container 4a and the conveyor 8a.
The rice cooking water may be supplied in multiple steps as shown by dotted lines in the flowchart of FIG. 4. In this case, the rice can be washed more reliably.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the present invention, the rice storage amount detection means is provided which has a resistor provided in the stored rice and a motor that rotates the resistor, and the rice storage amount f can be detected by this means. This prevents a series of rice preparation operations from being performed in vain when the amount of rice is insufficient. Furthermore, the amount of stored rice is detected not only before but also after weighing the rice, making it possible to eliminate rice shortages during the next rice preparation. Furthermore, since the amount of stored rice is detected only for a short time before and after measuring the rice, the life of the motor can be extended.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the lid holding mechanism according to the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the rice storage amount detection means according to the present invention. 2... Rice storage chamber, discharge ...Rice measuring device, 4...Rice washing device, 5...Water supply device, 6...Control device, 8...Transport device, 10...Rice cooker, 20...Motor, 21...
...Resistor (impeller). Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Stored rice in an automatic rice preparation device that automatically performs a series of tasks from storing rice to measuring and washing the rice and supplying the washed rice and the corresponding water to the pot of the rice cooker. It is equipped with a resistor installed inside and a motor that rotates this resistor, and operates for a short time before and after weighing the rice, and detects from the magnitude of the motor current that the amount of rice stored is below a predetermined value. An automatic rice preparation device characterized in that it is provided with a rice storage amount detection means that issues an alarm when the amount of rice is stored.