KR200495983Y1 - Popcorn maker - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a popcorn manufacturing apparatus capable of preventing the popcorn from burning by automatically stopping heating when the production of popcorn is completed. The apparatus for producing popcorn according to the present invention includes a main body having an accommodating space therein, a heating pan rotatably installed in the accommodating space, and a heating part formed in an inner cooking space in which popcorn is accommodated, and is hinged to the heating pot to cook It includes a cover part covering the space, an opening/closing sensing unit installed in at least one of the heating pot and the cover unit to detect whether the cover is opened or closed, and a control unit controlling the heat of the heating unit according to whether the cover is opened or closed from the opening/closing sensing unit. .

Description

Popcorn maker {Popcorn maker}

The present invention relates to a popcorn manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a popcorn manufacturing apparatus capable of preventing the popcorn from burning by automatically stopping heating when the production of the popcorn is completed.

Popcorn is corn kernels seasoned and fried. Popcorn is cooked by adding butter, cooking oil, and salt to corn kernels and heating it to a high temperature to make a popping sound. When corn kernels are heated to a high temperature, they burst and become bulky popcorn. Popcorn is consumed as a light snack, especially when watching movies.

A method for cooking such popcorn is largely divided into a method of cooking using a microwave oven at home or a method of cooking for sale at a place such as a movie theater. If you are cooking popcorn using a microwave at home, it is automatically completed by turning the corn kernels in the microwave for a set amount of time. However, when cooking popcorn commercially, such as in a movie theater, since a large amount of popcorn needs to be cooked, a large amount of corn kernels are put in a heating pan and cooked in a manner that heat is applied. At this time, when the corn kernels are heated in the heating pot and the volume increases and the popcorn is completed, the popcorn sales staff pours the popcorn in the heating pot and divides it into small portions to sell to customers.

In the conventional popcorn manufacturing apparatus using a heating pot, when the popcorn cooking is completed, an employee has to pour the heating pan directly to empty it. In particular, if an employee was busy serving customers or setting up other foods, the popcorn inside could not be emptied in time, causing the popcorn inside to continue to heat up and burn, resulting in loss of merchantability.

Republic of Korea Utility Model Publication No. 20-0453944, (2011. 05. 24)

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to solve this problem, and to provide a popcorn manufacturing apparatus capable of preventing the popcorn from burning by automatically stopping heating when the production of the popcorn is completed.

The technical problems of the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The apparatus for producing popcorn according to the present invention includes a main body having an accommodating space formed therein, a heating pot rotatably installed inside the accommodating space, a heating pan having a heating part formed in an inner cooking space in which popcorn is accommodated, and hinged to the heating pan, A cover part covering the cooking space, an opening/closing sensing unit installed in at least one of the heating pan and the lid unit to detect whether the lid unit is opened or closed, and the opening/closing sensing unit to generate heat from the heating unit according to whether the lid unit is opened or closed from the opening/closing sensing unit control unit for regulating.

The cover part may be opened by being pushed by the popcorn when gravity or elastic force acts to cover the cooking space, and when the corn kernels inside the cooking space are fried and the volume increases.

The opening/closing detection unit includes a sensor unit installed in any one of the heating pan and the cover unit, and a sensing piece installed in the other one of the heating pan and the cover unit and protruding toward the sensor unit along the moving direction of the cover unit. may include

The sensor unit may recognize the pressure by the sensing piece or recognize the proximity of the sensing piece in a non-contact manner.

The heating pot may be formed in a cylindrical container shape with a closed lower portion, and the cover portion may be formed in a semi-circular shape to be coupled to an upper surface of the heating pan in a radial direction as a hinge axis.

The heating pot is fixed to the main body by a rotation shaft parallel to the hinge shaft, and rotates about the rotation shaft by a motor driving unit to pour the popcorn contained in the cooking space into the accommodation space. have.

When the opening/closing sensing unit detects that the cover unit is opened, the control unit may drive the motor driving unit to rotate the heating pot to pour the popcorn into the accommodation space.

The control unit may reduce the temperature of the heating unit after a reference time has elapsed when the opening/closing sensing unit detects that the cover unit is opened.

It may further include a mixing unit installed inside the heating pan and rotating the inside of the cooking space to mix the popcorn.

The mixing unit includes an extension shaft extending upward through the center of the heating pot, a mixing bar extending in the horizontal direction in close contact with the bottom surface of the heating pan at the lower end of the extension shaft, and an upper end of the extension shaft, It may include a second driving gear separably engaged with the first driving gear of the driving unit installed on the main body.

According to the present invention, it is possible to cook the popcorn for an appropriate time and temperature. In particular, when the cooking of the popcorn is completed, it is possible to automatically stop cooking or pour the popcorn to cook the popcorn to an appropriate degree so as not to overcook the popcorn. In addition, although the cooking time varies depending on the type or amount of corn kernels used to produce popcorn, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily recognize and determine when popcorn cooking is completed regardless of the type or amount of corn kernels. can be used

1 is a perspective view of a popcorn manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the combined state of the heating pot, the cover portion, and the mixing unit of Figure 1;
3 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the combination of the heating pot, the cover part, and the mixing unit of FIG. 1 .
4 to 7 are operational views of the popcorn manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 .

Advantages and features of the present invention, and a method for achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only the present embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs It is provided to fully inform those who have the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Hereinafter, a popcorn manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 .

1 is a perspective view of a popcorn manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the heating pot, the cover part, and the mixing unit of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is the heating pot, the cover part, and the mixing unit of FIG. It is an exploded perspective view for

1 to 3, the popcorn manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present invention includes a main body 10 having an accommodating space 11 formed therein, and is rotatably installed in the accommodating space 11, popcorn A heating pan 100 in which a heating unit 120 is formed in the receiving inner cooking space 110, a cover 200 hinged to the heating pan 100 to cover the cooking space 110, and a heating pan ( 100) and the opening/closing sensing unit 300 installed in at least one of the cover unit 200 to detect whether the lid unit 200 is opened or closed, and the opening/closing sensing unit 300 depending on whether the cover unit 200 is opened or closed. and a control unit 400 for controlling heat generation of the heating unit 120 .

In the popcorn manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present invention, a heating pan 100 is formed in the receiving space 11 inside the main body 10, and corn kernels are put in the heating pan 100 and cooked with popcorn, and the cooked popcorn is completed. can be stored by automatically pouring into the receiving space (11). In particular, when corn kernels are cooked with popcorn, the volume increases, and the popcorn pushes up the cover 200 covering the heating pot 100 . At this time, when it is sensed that the cover unit 200 is opened by using the opening/closing detection unit 300 that detects whether the cover unit 200 is opened or closed, the temperature applied to the popcorn is adjusted or the popcorn is poured into the receiving space 11 . can pay That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically stop cooking when the cooking is completed by recognizing that the cooking of the popcorn is completed by the opening and closing of the cover unit 200 and to make the best popcorn by pouring the popcorn.

First, the main body 10 may be implemented in various forms as an external frame for accommodating popcorn by forming an accommodating space 11 therein. For example, the body 10 may be formed in a box shape as shown in FIG. 1 . At least one side of the main body 10 may be opened and closed so that it can be opened only when the popcorn accommodated therein is taken out. The main body 10 is normally maintained in a closed state to maintain the temperature and humidity of the receiving space 11 in an optimized state for storing popcorn. In addition, at least a portion of the main body 10 may be formed as a transparent window so that the inside can be seen from the outside. The body 10 may be formed in various shapes within the limit of a structure in which an empty accommodating space 11 is formed therein to manufacture and accommodate popcorn. Therefore, it is not necessary to limit the body 10 to the illustrated shape. The main body 10 may be formed in various different shapes depending on the implementation method or the overall structure of the device.

The heating pan 100 is installed in the receiving space 11 and functions to cook popcorn. The heating pan 100 has a cooking space 110 formed therein, and includes a heating unit 120 for heating the cooking space 110 . The heating pot 100 may be implemented in various forms that can accommodate and heat the popcorn inside. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the heating pot 100 may be formed in a cylindrical container shape with a closed bottom, so that a cooking space 110 recessed inside may be formed. The cooking space 110 may be implemented in various shapes depending on the shape of the heating pan 100 , and in the present specification, a cylindrical recessed shape is exemplified. The heating pan 100 is formed with a fixing member 130 extending in the radial direction on the upper surface. The fixing member 130 is fixed to the heating pan 100 and functions to mediate the coupling of the heating pan 100 with the main body 10 , the cover 200 , and the mixing unit 600 . The fixing member 130 is formed in the shape of a square plate and extends in the radial direction from the top surface of the heating pan 100 , and extends downward so that both ends cover both sides of the heating pan 100 , and is fixed to the heating pan 100 . are combined The heating pot 100 is rotatably shaft-coupled to the main body 10, and is attached to the main body 10 based on the rotating shaft 140 horizontally protruding from both sides extending to the lower part of the fixing member 130 . axially coupled. As shown in Figure 1, the main body 10 is formed with a pair of extension members 12 extending vertically downward from the top surface of the receiving space 11, and the heating pot 100 is a rotating shaft ( 140 is axially coupled to the pair of extension members 12 . That is, the heating pan 100 has a rotating shaft 140 protruding from both sides in the receiving space 11 is shaft-coupled to the extension member 12 of the main body 10, so as to be rotatable in the receiving space 11, the main body ( 10) can be combined. The heating pan 100 is rotatable at a fixed position with respect to the rotation shaft 140 as a reference axis. The heating pan 100 can rotate both clockwise or counterclockwise around the reference axis. The rotation angle of the heating pan 100 is not limited and can be rotated as long as the angle at which all the popcorn in the cooking space 110 can be poured. On the other hand, the heating unit 120 is installed in one section of the heating pot 100 serves to heat the cooking space (110). The heating unit 120 may be installed in various positions such as the bottom surface or the side surface of the heating pot 100 . The heating unit 120 may be formed of a heating element such as a heating wire, and may be built in the heating pot 100 to heat the popcorn. The heating unit 120 can be operated or not and the temperature can be adjusted by the control unit 400 according to the cooking state of the popcorn.

The cover part 200 has a semi-circular thin plate shape and is hinged to the top surface of the heating pot 100 to open and close the cooking space 110 . The hinge shaft 210 functions to hinge the cover part 200 to the heating pan 100 . The pair of cover parts 200 are rotatably coupled to both side surfaces of the fixing member 130 in the radial direction formed in a straight line by a hinge shaft 210 , respectively. The cover unit 200 may maintain a state in which the cooking space 110 is covered by a force such as gravity or elastic force in a state in which the heating pan 100 is horizontally disposed. When the heating pan 100 rotates with respect to the rotation shaft 140 , the cover part 200 may rotate by its own weight based on the hinge shaft 210 parallel to the rotation shaft 140 . When the heating pan 100 rotates at a right angle or more, the cover part 200 has its top surface facing the ground and is rotated by its own weight to open the cooking space 110 . In addition, in a state in which the heating pan 100 is horizontally arranged, the cover part 200 maintains the covered state, but when the cooking is completed and the popcorn overflows out of the cooking space 110, it is pushed up by the popcorn and may be opened. .

The opening/closing detection unit 300 functions to detect the opening/closing of the cover unit 200 . The opening/closing sensing unit 300 includes a sensing piece 320 protruding from the top of the cover unit 200 and a sensor unit 310 fixed to the heating pan 100 to recognize the movement of the sensing piece 320 . In the present specification, the sensor unit 310 is fixed to the heating pan 100 , and a shape in which the sensing piece 320 is installed on the rotating cover unit 200 is illustrated, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The sensing piece 320 and the sensor unit 310 may be respectively installed in any one of the cover unit 200 or the heating pot 100 to be implemented in various forms that can recognize the rotation of the cover unit 200 . . The sensing piece 320 is formed on the top of the cover 200 to protrude toward the sensor 310 along the driving direction of the cover 200 . In other words, the sensing piece 320 may extend along the rotational direction of the cover unit 200 , and may approach or move away from the sensor unit 310 according to the opening/closing operation of the cover unit 200 . The sensor unit 310 may recognize whether the cover unit 200 is opened or closed in various ways, such as directly pressurized by the sensing piece 320 or a method of recognizing proximity in a non-contact manner. When the opening of the cover unit 200 is recognized by the opening/closing detection unit 300 , it transmits the completion of popcorn cooking to the control unit 400 . That is, the opening/closing detection unit 300 may transmit a popcorn cooking completion signal to the control unit 400 .

The control unit 400 receives whether the cover unit 200 is open from the opening/closing sensing unit 300 , and functions to control the operation of the motor unit driving unit 13 or control the temperature of the heating unit 120 . The controller 400 may prevent the popcorn from being burned or dried by preventing the popcorn from being heated any more after the cooking of the popcorn is completed. First, the controller 400 may control the temperature of the heating unit 120 so that the cooked popcorn is not overcooked. The control unit 400 may lower the temperature of the heating unit 120 to the extent that the popcorn does not burn or control the operation to completely stop. Also, the control unit 400 may control the heating unit 120 after a specified reference time has elapsed since the time when the cover unit 200 is opened. Even if the popcorn pushes up the cover unit 200, there may still be uncooked popcorn in the cooking space 110, so the control unit 400 may lower the temperature of the heating unit 120 after the reference time. . In addition, the control unit 400 may control the motor driving unit 500 to rotate the heating pan 100 so as to pour the popcorn in the heating pan 100 into the accommodation space 11 . The motor driving unit 500 may rotate the heating pan 100 by rotating at least one rotation shaft 140 of the heating pan 100 . The motor driving unit 500 is interlocked with the heating unit 120 and may be controlled by the control unit 400 to rotate the heating pan 100 when the temperature of the heating unit 120 is lowered or the operation is stopped after a reference time has elapsed. have. The control unit 400 may be installed in the main body 10 , and may be connected to the heating unit 120 and the motor driving unit 500 wirelessly or by wire.

Meanwhile, the mixing unit 600 is installed in the cooking space 110 and functions to mix the popcorn accommodated in the cooking space 110 . The mixing unit 600 includes an extension shaft 610 extending vertically through the central portion of the heating pot 100, a mixing bar 620 extending horizontally from the bottom of the extension shaft 610 and mixing popcorn, and an extension It is formed on the upper end of the shaft 610 and includes a second driving gear 630 receiving rotational driving force. The extension shaft 610 has a circular shaft shape, vertically penetrating through the heating pan 100, and the movement in the vertical and horizontal directions is fixed and is coupled so that only rotation is possible in place. The extension shaft 610 is rotated by the second driving gear 630 coupled to the upper end. The second driving gear 630 may be meshed with the first driving gear 14 coupled to the driving unit 13 installed on the upper end of the main body 10 to receive rotational driving force from the driving unit 13 . The driving unit 13 may be a motor for rotationally driving the first driving gear 14 . The second driving gear 630 is installed at the upper end of the extension shaft 610 to receive rotational driving force from the first driving gear 14 installed in the main body 10 . The extension shaft 610 rotates according to the rotation of the second driving gear 630, and at the same time, the mixing bar 620 coupled to the lower end of the extension shaft 610 rotates together, and the heat of the heating unit 120 is evenly distributed over the popcorn. Popcorn can be mixed to deliver. The mixing unit 600 has a structure extending vertically from the main body 10 to the cooking space 110 , and the mixing bar 620 passes through the fixing member 130 of the heating pan 100 into the cooking space 110 . is inserted Accordingly, when the heating pan 100 is rotated about the rotation shaft 140 , the mixing unit 600 rotates together with the heating pan 100 , and the second driving gear 630 is the first driving gear 14 . ) and can stop rotation. Furthermore, even if the mixing unit 600 is not spaced apart from the first driving gear 14 , the control unit 400 may control the operation of the driving unit 13 to stop the rotation operation.

4 to 7 are operational views of the popcorn manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 .

First, the popcorn manufacturing apparatus 1 may start operation in the state shown in FIG. 4 . At this time, the heating pot 100 may maintain a horizontal state, and the cover part 200 may also maintain a closed state by gravity or elastic force. The operator lifts the cover 200 and supplies corn kernels A for cooking with popcorn to the cooking space 110, and when the external force is removed after supplying the corn kernels A, the cover 200 is The cooking space 110 may be closed by returning to the original position by gravity or elastic force.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5 , while the heating unit 120 and the mixing unit 600 operate, heat is uniformly applied to the corn kernels A and cooking starts with the popcorn B. The heating unit 120 applies heat to the cooking space 110 , and the mixing unit 600 rotates in close contact with the bottom surface of the cooking space 110 to continuously mix the corn kernels A. When a predetermined time elapses after the heating unit 120 and the mixing unit 600 are operated, as shown in FIG. 5 , the corn kernel A bursts into the popcorn B and starts to cook. Since the cooked popcorn B is relatively lighter than the corn kernel A, it is piled up and the relatively heavy corn kernel A is piled up on the bottom surface of the cooking space 110 . At this time, the mixing unit 600 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the cooking space 110 and rotates until the popcorn (B) cooking is completed.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6 , when almost all of the corn kernels A are cooked with the popcorn B, the popcorn B has a larger volume than the cooking space 110 and pushes up the cover 200 to the outside. may overflow with At this time, as the cover part 200 is pushed up, the sensing piece 320 is rotated and pushed to approach the sensor part 310 together. The sensor unit 310 recognizes the adjacent sensing piece 320 and recognizes that the cover unit 200 is opened. The sensor unit 310 may recognize the opening of the cover unit 200 and transmit a cooking completion signal of the popcorn B to the control unit 400 . The control unit 400 may transmit a signal to the motor driving unit 500 and the heating unit 120 immediately or after a specified time based on the signal received from the sensor unit 310 .

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7 , the motor driving unit 500 receives an operation signal from the control unit 400 , rotates the rotation shaft 140 to rotate the heating pot 100 , and serves the popcorn (B) inside. It can be poured into the receiving space 11 of the main body 10 . At this time, the heating unit 120 may also receive a popcorn production completion signal from the control unit 400 , like the motor driving unit 500 , to lower the temperature or stop heating. For example, when the heating unit 120 receives the popcorn production completion signal from the control unit 400 , it recognizes that the cooking of the popcorn is almost complete and immediately stops the heating or gradually lowers the heating temperature, and eventually the heating may be stopped. In addition, the heating unit 120 may gradually lower the temperature or stop heating after a predetermined time from the time the popcorn production completion signal is received. That is, the heating unit 120 may completely finish cooking the corn kernels that may remain on the floor by gradually lowering the heating without stopping the heating immediately when the popcorn production completion signal is received. Also, the heating unit 120 may function to keep the cooked popcorn warm by maintaining the lowered temperature. When the operation of the heating unit 120 is stopped, the motor driving unit 500 may rotate the heating pot 100 to pour out the cooked popcorn. When the heating pan 100 rotates, the cover 200 covering the cooking space 110 is opened by its own weight or elastic force, and all the popcorn in the cooking space 110 may be poured out. In particular, at this time, the second driving gear 630 coupled to the upper end of the mixing unit 600 is spaced apart from the first driving gear 14 and rotates together with the heating pan 100 .

According to such a control, when the user puts corn kernels in the cooking space 110 , it is automatically cooked and poured into the receiving space 11 , so it is convenient not to periodically check the state of the popcorn. For example, when working in a movie theater, corn kernels are put in the cooking space 110 to cook popcorn, and the popcorn is heated even when the popcorn cooking is completed, such as serving other guests or ticketing. If you don't pour it out, the popcorn may all burn or dry out, causing problems with taste. In the present invention, the heating pot 100 can stop heating or automatically rotate when the popcorn is completed, thereby preventing such a problem. In addition, since the present invention automatically pours the popcorn, it can be driven without a separate handle for manually rotating the heating pan 100 , thereby simplifying the structure of the heating pan 100 and reducing costs.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can realize that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing its technical spirit or essential features. you will be able to understand Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.

1: Popcorn making device
10: body 11: accommodation space
12: extension member 13: driving unit
14: first driving gear 100: heating pot
110: cooking space 120: heating unit
130: fixing member 140: rotation shaft
200: cover part 210: hinge shaft
300: open/close detection unit 310: sensor unit
320: sensing piece 400: control unit
500: motor driving unit 600: mixing unit
610: extension shaft 620: mixing bar
630: second driving gear A: corn kernels
B: Popcorn

Claims (10)

a body having a receiving space therein;
a heating pot rotatably installed in the receiving space and having a heating unit formed in the inner cooking space in which the popcorn is accommodated;
a cover portion hinged to the heating pan to cover the cooking space;
A sensor unit installed in any one of the heating pan and the cover unit, and a sensing piece installed in the other one of the heating pan and the cover unit and protruding toward the sensor unit along the moving direction of the cover unit, the cover; an opening/closing sensing unit for detecting whether the unit is opened or closed;
A control unit for controlling heat generation of the heating unit according to whether the cover unit is opened or closed from the opening/closing sensing unit, and
A mixing unit installed inside the heating pot and rotating the inside of the cooking space to mix the popcorn,
The mixing unit is
An extension shaft extending upward through the center of the heating pot, a mixing bar extending in the horizontal direction in close contact with the bottom surface of the heating pot at the lower end of the extension shaft, and a driving unit formed at the upper end of the extension shaft and installed on the body including a second driving gear separably engaged with the first driving gear of
The cover part covers the cooking space by the action of gravity or elastic force, and when the corn kernels inside the cooking space are fried and the volume increases, it is pushed open by the popcorn,
The control unit, popcorn manufacturing apparatus for reducing the temperature of the heating unit when the opening and closing sensing unit detects that the cover is opened. delete delete The method of claim 1,
The sensor unit is a popcorn manufacturing apparatus for recognizing the pressure by the sensing piece or for recognizing the proximity of the sensing piece in a non-contact manner. The method of claim 1,
The heating pan is formed in the shape of a cylindrical container with a closed bottom,
The cover portion is formed in a semi-circular shape and is coupled to the upper surface of the heating pan in a radial direction as a hinge axis. 6. The method of claim 5,
The heating pan is
A popcorn manufacturing apparatus fixed to the main body by a rotation shaft parallel to the hinge shaft, and rotating about the rotation shaft by a motor driving unit to pour the popcorn contained in the cooking space into the accommodation space. 7. The method of claim 6,
The control unit is
When the opening/closing sensing unit detects that the cover is opened, the popcorn manufacturing apparatus drives the motor driving unit to rotate the heating pan to pour the popcorn into the receiving space. delete delete delete

Images