JPS6241617A - 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] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention has developed a series of rice storage, measuring and washing rice, and supplying the washed rice and corresponding water into the pot of a rice cooker. This relates to an automatic rice preparation device that automatically performs its work.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional devices of this type include those shown in FIGS. 2 to 10.

First, in Fig. 3, 1 is the main body, 2 is the rice storage chamber located in the upper part of the main body 1, 3 is the rice measuring device installed at the bottom of the rice storage chamber 2, and 4 is the rice measuring device 3. A rice washing device disposed below, 5 a water flow control device disposed above the rice washing device 4, 8 a conveying device disposed at the bottom of the rice washing device 4, 6
is a control device that is electrically connected to each of these component parts and controls each part.

The rice storage chamber 2 has a hopper shape, and an opening is formed at the bottom. At the bottom of this rice storage room 2 is a rice measuring device 3.
A casing 3d constituting the casing 3d is integrally formed, and a circular square 3a is rotatably installed inside the casing 3d. It is partitioned into four chambers, and a specified amount of rice is weighed with each magnetic revolution. The cell 3a is rotated by a motor 3c via a transmission disk 3b in contact with its outer periphery, and the motor 3c is controlled by a control device 6. In addition, a rice dropping port having almost the same shape as the opening of one chamber of the basin 3a is formed at the bottom of the casing 3d that accommodates the basin 3a, and the rice thrown into one chamber of the basin 3a from the rice storage chamber 2 is poured into one chamber of the basin 3a. When the rotation of 3a causes one of the chambers to align with the rice droplet of the casing 3d, the rice drops downward through the rice droplet. A chute 7 is provided at the dropping position of the rice to receive the rice and drop it into the container 4a of the rice washing device 4. The container 4a is a cylindrical container with an open top and bottom, and a stirring rod 4b is arranged inside the container.
The upper end of the stirring bar 4b is 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 bottom plate 4d is opened and closed in conjunction with the transport device 8. The conveying device 8 has a gutter-like conveying body 8a, and the conveying body 8
The rice washing container 4a is arranged so that its approximately middle portion is located directly below the rice washing container 4a, and is attached to a driving device (not shown) that swings like a seesaw using this middle portion as a fulcrum. Further, the bottom plate 4d is pivotally supported outside the bottom opening of the rice washing container 4a, and is always pressed in the opening direction, that is, downward, by a spring force. A motor (not shown) that drives the carrier 8a and the motor 4c are controlled by the control device 6.

A water flow control device 5 is provided above the rice washing device 4, the details of which are shown in FIG. In Figure 2, 20 is the water supply port 2
0a and a metering tank having a drain port 20b, 21 is a water supply pipe provided between the water supply port 20a and the water supply source, and the water supply pipe 21 is provided with a first flow rate control device 22 consisting of a solenoid valve or a pump. . In addition, a partition wall 20c is provided in the measuring tank 20 to partition the inside, and a partition W 20 c
A communication hole 20d is provided at the lower part of the hole. 23 is drain port 2
0b and facing the upper opening of the rice washing container 4a; 24 is a second flow control device consisting of a pump or solenoid valve installed in the drain pipe 23; 25H is a float housed in the measuring tank 20; , 26 float 25
It is an optical scale attached to the optical scale 26, which is formed by printing light-blocking slits 26a at equal intervals on a transparent leaf material such as plastic or glass, or by pasting a printed film. As shown in FIG. 5, a light blocking part 26b wider than the slit 26a is formed at the bottom, a transparent part 26c is formed at the top, and slits 26a are formed at predetermined intervals in the middle. A provided slit portion 26d is formed. The width and spacing of the sulin) 26a can be determined depending on the resolution of the optical sensor 27, but in this example, the sulin) 26a has a resolution of 0.5+w.
The width and spacing of 26a were set to 06mm. It is an optical sensor placed opposite to the 27-digit scale 26, and is composed of a light emitting diode and a phototransistor. The positional relationship between the skate 26 and the sensor 27 is such that when there is no water and the float 25 is on the bottom surface of the measuring tank 20, the sensor 27 detects the part of the transparent part 26c of the scale 26 near the slit part 26d.

The output of the optical sensor 27 is applied to the control device 6, which controls the first . The second flow rate control devices 22 and 24 are controlled. FIG. 4 shows a part of the control device 6 connected to the sensor 27, with a 28-30 digit comparator, the comparator 28 compares the reference voltage V and the sensor output V, and the comparator 29 and 30 also compare the reference voltage V and the sensor output V. Reference voltage V2. Compare V4 and sensor output V.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the output V of the sensor 27 is V when the slit portion 26d of the optical interrupter 26b1 and the transparent portion 26c are detected. , V3. V, becomes. As a result, the outputs of the comparators 28-30 become as shown in FIG.

Further, at the lowest part of the main body 1, a drainage receiver 9 is provided for receiving and discharging water flowing down from the right end 8b when the carrier 8a swings with its right end 8b facing down. Also,
The rice cooker 10 is arranged at a position where it can receive water and rice flowing down from the left end 8c when the conveyor 8a swings with its left end 8c facing down. The rice cooker is opened so that 100ills of rice and water can flow into the pot. At that time, as shown in FIG. 7, the lid holder @ 12 attached to a predetermined position inside the main body 1 holds the handle 11a formed on the top surface of the lid 11, and holds the lid 11 halfway open, that is, at a angle of 90 degrees or less. Hold it open at an angle. 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 lid holding device 12 is shown in FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b).
), two opposing plates 13a and 13b are pivotally connected by a pivot joint 14, an electromagnet 15 is provided at one end of the plate 13a, and a coil spring 16 is installed between one end of the plates 13a and 13b with a distance between them. Set it so that it opens. The plate material 13a is fixed inside the main body 1. Also, 17 is a limit switch,
This is for determining whether the lid holding device 12 is holding the lid 11 or not. When the lid holding device 12 does not hold the lid 11 as shown in FIG. 8(a), the plates 13a, 1
One end of the plate 13b is wide open, and one end of the plate 13b comes into contact with the contact 17a of the limit switch 17, activating it. Electromagnet 15 and limit switch 17 are connected to control device 6 . When setting the rice cooker 10 in the main body 1, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the plates 13a and 13b are
The handle 11a is held between the other ends, 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 15, and the handle 11m is opened. Therefore, the lid 11 rotates downward under its own weight, and the latch mechanism is activated by the force of the rotation, thereby closing the lid 11. Further, 18a and 18b are limit switches provided below the carrier 8a, and 19 is a control display board provided at the top of the main body 1 and connected to the control device 6. Rice measuring switch 19a1 for controlling rice cooking switch 1 for controlling rice cooking
9b and a rice washing switch 19 that controls rice washing.
A selection switch such as c is provided.

Next, the operation of the above device will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG. First, if the rice is not properly loaded into the rice storage chamber 2), then the lid 11 of the rice cooker 10 is attached to the lid holding device 12.
The rice cooking amount adjustment section and the rice cooking time adjustment section of the control device 6 are set. Next, select the selection switches 198 to 19c to select the extent of the operation to be performed. Now, when the rice cooking switch 19b is selected, the control device 6 determines whether or not the lid 11 is open based on the signal from the limit switch 17, and if the limit switch 17 is on, that is, the lid 11 is held, the timer is set. It enters a standby state until the operation start time. If the limit switch 17 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. 3). As a result, the rice washing container 4
The bottom opening of a is closed by a bottom plate 4d that interlocks 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. Thereafter, the second flow rate control device 24 is activated 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. As a result, the washed rice wastewater is sequentially passed through the conveyor 8a and drained out of the main body 1 from the drainage receiver section 9. Such rice washing is repeated until the sewage turbidity falls below a predetermined value or a predetermined time elapses, and after the final rice washing, the second flow rate control device 24 is closed and the operation is stopped until all drainage is completed. do. 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. Then, the second flow rate control device 24 is opened for a predetermined period of time to supply water to the inside of the rice washing container 4a, and while washing off the rice adhering to the container 4a and the carrier 8a, the rice and corresponding rice are added to the pot of the rice cooker 10. Stock up on debt. Incidentally, at this time, a water sprinkler may be attached to the tip of the drain pipe 23 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 limit switch 1
8a, 18b and precisely controlled by the control device 6. At the same time as the post-cleaning, the electromagnet 15 of the lid holding device 12 is energized to attract one end of the plate 13b, and the lid 11
Turn off the latch.

Thereby, the lid 11 is closed by its own weight. On the other hand, the rice in the pot has risen like a mountain, and the rice cooker 10 is actually heated by the vibrating table installed at the bottom of the rice cooker 10.
The rice is placed evenly in the pot by applying horizontal vibrations. After that, a waiting period is taken to soak the rice in water for a predetermined time.
Next, energy is input 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.

Next, the operation of the water amount control device 5 will be explained using the time chart shown in FIG. First, the first flow rate control device 22 is operated under the AND condition of the water supply command and the output of the comparator 28, and water is supplied to the metering tank 20 via the water supply pipe 21. As a result, water hits the partition wall 20c and the communication hole 20d
flows into a certain part of the float 25 through the float 2
5 and scale 26 move upward. Here, when the sensor 27 detects the light blocking part 26b, the output of the comparator 28 is turned off, the first flow rate control device 22 is deactivated, and the water supply is stopped. At this time, since the water flow is suddenly stopped, the water surface shakes, and the scale 26 also shakes, which may cause the sensor 27 to detect the water incorrectly. For this reason, a command to turn on the second flow rate control device 24 is issued after one hour has passed since the first flow rate control device 22 became inactive.

The second flow rate control device 24 is activated by the AND condition of this ON command, the counter output, and the inverted output of the comparator 30,
As a result, drainage (with respect to the rice washing container 4a) begins, and the scale 26 descends. At this time, the sensor 27 detects the slit 26a and the comparator N29 generates a pulse, which is counted by the counter in the control device 6. When a predetermined number of slits is counted, the second flow rate control device 24 is stopped and the drain is drained. will be stopped. Drainage amount is slit 26IIL
A predetermined amount of water is discharged because it is proportional to the number of rice washing containers 4
& supplied to. Since the measuring accuracy of this device is proportional to the curvature of the sulin 26a for a predetermined amount of water, the accuracy is improved by decreasing the cross-sectional area of the measuring tank 20 and increasing the moving distance of the scale 7. In addition, when supplying water to the measuring tank 20, it is necessary to reduce the shaking of the water surface in order to reduce errors, and for this purpose, the water supply port 20a is installed at a position higher than the highest water level, and the water supply port 20a is installed at a position higher than the highest water level, and also to prevent the water from falling directly onto the water surface. It is made to hit the partition wall 20c once.

Note that there may be cases where it is necessary to configure the capacity of the measuring tank 2° to be smaller due to physical factors of the entire device. may disappear. At this time, the inverted output of the comparator 30 turns off before the count is completed, so the second flow rate control device 24 stops, but when the flow rate control device 220 of cylinder 1 is commanded to turn on again, water supply starts, and the scale 26 The water level rises until the light blocking part 26b is detected, and when the second flow control device 27 is turned on again, the counter counts the slits 26a'j5.
The sequence f is such that when the cumulative total with the previous count reaches a predetermined count, the second flow control device 24 is turned off.
! r: Just configure it. In addition, the waste water from the second flow rate control device 24 is used not only for water needed for cooking rice but also for washing rice and washing the rice washing tank, and in such cases, the water supply rate (l/C) cannot be reduced cheaply. , comparator 28 without using a counter
The first and second flow control devices 22 and 24 may be driven by the output of the comparator 30 and the inverted output of the comparator 30.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the above-mentioned conventional device is good because it only requires a small amount of water for cooking, but when washing rice that requires a large amount of water, the measuring tank 20 is small in order to measure the cooking water accurately and to reduce the size of the rice. There was a drawback that it took time to wash the rice because there was not enough supply.

The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional problems, and allows the measuring tank to be made smaller, the amount of rice cooking water to be supplied to be accurate, and a large amount of rice washing water to be supplied. The purpose is to obtain an automatic rice preparation device that can perform rice preparation.

[Means for solving problems]

The automatic rice preparation device according to the present invention includes a measuring tank, a first flow rate and a second flow rate! In addition to the 11i H device, a water flow control device is provided which has a distributor for distributing water from the water supply pipe to the water supply pipe and the rice washing container. Since water is supplied directly to the rice washing container, it is possible to supply a large amount of water for washing rice.
Since the metering tank is used only for supplying cooking water, which is used in a small amount, it can be made smaller and its cross-sectional area can be reduced, thereby improving measurement accuracy.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a water flow rate control device according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 31 denotes a distributor installed in the water supply pipe 21 to supply water to the metering tank 20. It is distributed between the mouth 20a and the washed rice container i4a. Also, 20e
is an overflow roller provided at the upper part of the b1 tank 20, and this overflow pipe 20e is connected to the rice washing container 4a via an overflow pipe 32. Other configurations are the same as the conventional one. In the above configuration, when rice is put into the rice washing container 4a,
The light quantity control device (in this case, the lubricant) 22 of 'g1 is opened, and water is supplied from the water supply pipe 21 through the distributor 31 to the measuring tank 20 and the rice washing container 4a. At this time, the first distributor 31 distributes a small amount of water to the measuring tank 20 and a large amount of water to the rice washing container 4a. This distribution ratio is such that the oats flow from the oats to the fluorocarbon 20e in the measuring tank 20 until the rice washing is completed, and specifically, in the case of about 5 cups of cooked rice, the amount of water used for washing the rice is about 101.

Approximately 11 water is supplied as cooking water. In this way, a large amount of water is supplied in a short time by water pressure and is stirred by the stirring rod 4b, thereby efficiently washing the rice. In order to increase the effectiveness of this rice washing, after washing the rice by supplying water for a certain period of time, all the waste water is drained from the rice washing container 4a, and then all the water is supplied again for a certain period of time, and the water is supplied intermittently. When the rice washing is finished, the washed rice is put into the rice cooker 10 and the cooking water is supplied. Close the Nagasaki control device 22 and open the drain port 20 of the metering tank.
When the second flow control device (pump in this case) connected to b is operated, water flows from the measuring tank 20 to the rice washing container 4.
The rice is supplied to the rice cooker 10 while washing the rice adhering to the wall of the rice washing container 4a. The rice cooking water at this time needs to be accurately measured, and this measurement is performed by measuring the number of slits in the optical scale 26 integrated with the float 25 when the float 25, which is moved upward by the water supplied during rice washing, descends. This is performed by detecting the water using the optical chamber 27, and the amount of cooking water (the product of the cross-sectional area of the measuring tank 2o and the number of slits) can be measured accurately as in the conventional method. still,
It is desirable that the Oats Fluoro 20e be located above the rice washing container 4a so that the Oats Fluoro water can be efficiently supplied to the rice washing container 4a.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the measuring tank is used only for supplying cooking water, it is small, has good measurement precision, and has good If. Also, when washing rice, water can be directly supplied from the water supply source to the rice washing container, so a large amount of water can be supplied, the total rice washing time can be shortened, and the rice washing capacity can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a water flow control device according to the present invention. Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of a conventional water flow control device.5 Figure 3 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional device.Figures 4 to 6 are partial configuration diagrams of a conventional control device, voltage waveform diagrams of various parts, and output characteristic diagrams. , FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional differential holding mechanism, FIGS. 8(a) and (b) are plan views of the conventional differential holding mechanism in a lid non-holding state and a lid holding state, respectively, and FIG. 9 is a diagram of a conventional differential holding mechanism. The flowchart shown in Fig. 10 shows the operation of a conventional water flow control device. FIG. 2...Rice storage room, 3...Rice measuring device, 4...Rice washing device, 4a...Rice washing container, 5...Water flow control device, 6
...Control device, 8.Transportation device, 10.Rice cooker, 20..Weighing/li 20 e..Opa Fluoro, 21..Water supply pipe, 22..First Flow rate 1
b1] Control device, 23... Drain pipe, 24... Second flow rate control device, 25... Float, 26... Optical scale, 26a... Slit, 27... Optical sensor, 3
1...Distributor. Note that the same reference numerals in Figure 1 indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Automatic rice preparation that automatically performs a series of rice preparation operations, from storing rice to measuring it, washing it in a rice washing container, and supplying the washed rice and corresponding rice cooking water from the rice washing container into the rice cooker. The device includes a metering tank having a drainage amount measuring device and an overflow port at the top, and a first tank provided in a water supply pipe connected to a water supply source and controlling the flow rate.
a flow rate control device, a distributor installed in the water supply pipe on the downstream side of the first flow rate control device and distributing water from the water supply pipe to the measuring tank and the rice washing container, and a drainage device for guiding the waste water from the measuring tank to the rice washing container. A water flow control device is installed in the pipe and includes a second flow control device that controls the flow rate, and when washing rice, the first flow control device is operated to supply water to the measuring tank and the rice washing container, and the rice is cooked. Automatic rice preparation characterized in that when water is supplied, the first flow rate control device is deactivated and the second flow rate control device is activated to supply a predetermined amount of rice cooking water from the measuring tank to the rice washing container. Device.