WO2007032607A1

WO2007032607A1 - Unmanned cooking device

Info

Publication number: WO2007032607A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/003353
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sung-Gon Kim
Original assignee: Vaper Tech Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2005-09-13
Filing date: 2006-08-25
Publication date: 2007-03-22
Also published as: KR200402213Y1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an unmanned cooking device wherein rice washing means is mounted in a longitudinal direction in a rice washing tank to allow the conveying and washing of the rice to be carried out easily and rapidly, a washing water-storing tank is mounted at the inside of a body to allow the washing water to be stored in the interior of the unmanned cooking device irrespective of the pressure of water supplied to the outside, coupling means of a rice cooker and the body is improved to allow the mounting and demounting of the rice cooker to be carried out easily, to remove the noises generated upon the coupling, and to enhance the coupling force therebetween, whereby the whole structure and the length between the upper and lower portions of the device can be reduced in size, the destruction of nutrients of rice can be greatly reduced during washing, and the body and the rice cooker can be easily coupled without having any noise generated upon coupling and without having any damages on the coupled portions.

Description

UNMANNED COOKING DEVICE

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a cooking device, and more particularly, to an unmanned cooking device for carrying out the whole process of supplying, washing, conveying, and heating rice in a rice cooker automatically, by unmanned operations, thereby making it possible for everyone to cook rice and enabling the time and endeavors consumed for cooking rice to be greatly reduced. Background Art

[2] So as to cook rice, generally, the rice is directly taken out of a rice storing tank to put into a washing vessel, and then, the rice is washed several times and carried to a general electric rice cooker or a pressure rice cooker. Next, the rice is filled appropriately with water in accordance with the kinds of rice and is then heated by heating means.

[3] Conventional cooking methods have some problems that rice should be taken out of the rice storing tank and be washed by a manual operation, and the rice is just cooked by the electric rice cooker, such that those people inclusive of working couples, unmarried persons, old persons, or children cannot cook rice by themselves on time.

[4] To solve these problems, thus, there are proposed various devices of combining the rice storing tank and the rice cooker, and recently, there are introduced and developed a variety of unmanned cooking devices wherein a determined quantity of rice is supplied from a rice storing tank, the supplied rice is washed by rice washing means, and the washed rice and the water for cooking rice are supplied to a rice cooker to be heated by heating means, such that all processes of supplying, washing, and cooking rice are achieved by unmanned operations.

[5] However, existing unmanned cooking devices have some defects in that the whole configuration is somewhat complicated, and the embryo buds of rice are damaged at the time of washing rice by the rice washing means like rotary wings, which causes the nutrients the rice has to be destroyed. Moreover, as the rice is supplied downwardly from the rice storing tank and is then washed for supplying to the rice cooker positioned at the lower portion thereof, the device is extended in the direction of upward and downward lengths at its outer appearance, which makes it inconvenient to be placed on a sink or a table. Further, when the rice cooker is mounted and demounted repeatedly, the coupled portion is easily broken, which makes the life period of the device itself relatively shortened. Like this, having such these problems, the conventional unmanned cooking devices are not adopted well in practical use, and even though they are made as products, they are not produced in great quantities due to frequent troubles, which fails to make the product commonly used.

[6] To overcome the problems the existing unmanned cooking device have had, this inventor provides an unmanned cooking device which is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0389585, the unmanned cooking device having a body, a rice storing tank, rice supply means for supplying a determined quantity of rice, a rice washing tank with rice washing means for washing rice with water supplied by a supply hose, a rice cooker mounted in a rice cooker mounting insertion part of the body and having rice and water supplied thereto. The prior art unmanned cooking device includes: the rice storing tank having a partition, a hopper, and a supply hole formed therein; the rice supply means having a round plate having a mounting protrusion formed along the outer periphery thereof and a plurality of determined quantity of rice supply through-holes radially formed thereon, each of the determined quantity of rice supply through-holes having an inclined face thereon, and having a rotary plate having a plurality of sensing through-holes formed thereon for sensing a rotated position by a rotation sensor attached thereon; the rice washing tank having a water supply tube coupled to the supply hose having a pump, a water level sensor, a water discharging hole having a filtering screen formed thereon, and a rice and water discharging hole; first and second blocking plates mounted on the inside of a base frame, each of the first and second blocking plates connected to a motor and having a through-hole formed on one side thereof and having opening/closing sensors fixed on left and right sides thereof; the rice washing means having a center point passing screw fixed by a connection rod to a driving shaft of a forwardly and backwardly driving motor mounted in a horizontal direction thereof and having a plurality of washing protrusions formed on the both surfaces of the screw; the rice cooker having a rice cooker body and a rice cooker cover having a plurality of steam discharging holes formed on the top portion thereof and a handle grip with an insertion hole formed thereon in such a manner as to be coupled thereto by means of fixing means; the handle grip having a plurality of steam emitting holes, a mounting groove formed at the inside of each of the steam emitting holes, a gravity weight mounted along the mounting grooves, a slide opening with a locking stepped protrusion formed therealong, and an opening/closing plate slid at the inside of the slide opening and having a locking protrusion and a locking handle grip formed thereon; and a transfer tube adapted to communicate with the rice and water discharging hole and having an elastic support member formed on the end portion thereof in such a manner as to be elastically supported by a spring for coupling to the top portion of the handle grip of the rice cooker.

[7] According to the prior art unmanned cooking device, however, there occur some disadvantages in that first, the rice washing means is formed in a horizontal direction in the rice washing tank such that the time period required for supplying all of the washed rice to the rice cooker becomes long, water is arbitrarily supplied when the pump of the supply hose connected to the rice washing tank is not resistant to the water pressure, the cover of the rice cooker cannot be easily held by a user's hand as the opening/closing plate on the handle grip is protrudedly extended longer to one side thereof in such a manner as to be slid, and noises are generated from the elastic support member elastically supported by means of the spring on the end portion of the transfer tube as a connecting part of the body and the rice cooker, at the time of coupling to the rice cooker. To overcome the above-described disadvantages, therefore, there is an urgent need for improvement of the unmanned cooking device. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[8] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an unmanned cooking device wherein rice washing means is mounted in a longitudinal direction in a rice washing tank to allow the conveying and washing of the rice to be carried out easily and rapidly, a washing water-storing tank is mounted at the inside of a body to allow the washing water to be stored in the interior of the unmanned cooking device irrespective of the pressure of water supplied to the outside, coupling means of a rice cooker and the body is improved to allow the mounting and demounting of the rice cooker to be carried out easily, to remove the noises generated upon the coupling, and to enhance the coupling force therebetween, whereby the whole structure and the length between the upper and lower portions of the device can be reduced in size, the destruction of nutrients of rice can be greatly reduced during washing, and the body and the rice cooker can be easily coupled without having any noise generated upon coupling and without having any damages on the coupled portions, such that the unmanned cooking device of this invention has a greatly low malfunction probability and a substantially long life period. Technical Solution

[9] To achieve the above objects, according to the present invention, there is provided an unmanned cooking device including: a body having a control panel formed on one side thereof; a rice storing tank formed at the inside of the body and having a supply hole formed toward a rice supply means; the rice supply means having a round plate with a plurality of determined quantity of rice supply through-holes radially formed thereon and having a rotary plate with a plurality of sensing through-holes formed thereon in the same direction as the plurality of determined quantity of rice supply through-holes; a rice washing tank of an upwardly and downwardly erected cylindrical shape and having a supply hose coupled on the top portion thereof for storing washing water supplied thereto, a protruded portion formed in the middle portion on the inner bottom surface thereof, a water discharging hole with a filtering screen formed on the bottom portion thereof, and a rice and water discharging hole formed on the bottom portion thereof for discharging the rice and water to a rice cooker, each of the water discharging hole and the rice and water discharging hole having a blocking plate operated by a motor such that the opening and closing thereof are controlled by the blocking plate; a rice washing means having a screw fixed on a driving shaft of a forwardly and backwardly driving motor secured on the outside of the top portion of the rice washing tank, the screw having a plurality of washing protrusions formed on the both side surfaces thereof, and having a scraper integrally formed on the end portion of the lower side of the screw, the scraper having a cover formed on the end portion thereof; a rice washing water-storing tank formed on the outside of the rice washing tank in such a manner as to be supported by means of a plurality of support rods fixed to the body and connected to one side of the supply hose with a pump formed thereon, on the bottom portion thereof, the rice washing water-storing tank having a water quantity control means formed in the interior of one side thereof; the rice cooker mounted to a rice cooker mounting insertion part of the body and having a rice cooker body, and a rice cooker cover having a handle grip with a round insertion hole formed thereon, the handle grip having a ball valve formed at the inside thereof for controlling the opening and closing of the insertion hole and having a lower body and an upper body separately coupled to each other for mounting the ball valve at the inside thereof; a transfer tube adapted to communicate with the rice and water discharging hole and having an elastic support member formed on the end portion thereof in such a manner as to be elastically supported by a spring for coupling to the top portion of the handle grip of the rice cooker, the elastic support member having a round packing member partially fixedly inserted along the end portion of the lower side thereof and having an ascending/descending adjustment assembly connected thereto such that as the ascending/descending adjustment assembly is operated, the elastic support member is moved upwardly and downwardly; and a heating means disposed on the lower portion of the rice cooker mounting insertion part of the body for heating the rice cooker to cook the rice in the rice cooker. Brief Description of the Drawings

[10] FlG.1 is a perspective view showing an unmanned cooking device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[11] F1G.2 is a partly exploded perspective view of the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [12] FlG.3 is a side sectional view showing the inner configuration of the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [13] F1G.4 is a front sectional view showing the inner configuration of the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [14] F1G.5 is a sectional view showing the rice supply part of the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [15] F1G.6 is a plane sectional view showing the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [16] F1G.7 is a side sectional view showing the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [17] FlG.8 is an exploded perspective view showing rice supply means as a part of the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [18] F1G.9 is an enlarged sectional view showing a rice washing tank and rice washing means of the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [19] FlG.10 is an enlarged plane sectional view showing the rice washing tank and the rice washing means of the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [20] FlG.11 is a plane view showing the opening/closing operations of the rice supply tube and the discharging holes formed at the lower portion of the rice washing tank of the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention; [21] FlG.12 is an exploded perspective view showing the connecting part between a rice cooker cover and a transfer tube; [22] FlG.13 is a sectional view of FlG.12, showing the state before connecting to the rice cooker; [23] FlG.14 is a sectional view of FlG.12, showing the state after connecting to the rice cooker; [24] FlG.15 is a sectional view of FlG.12, showing the state of the rice cooker cover closed while cooking is being carried out after connecting to the rice cooker; and [25] FlG.16 is a plane view showing the operation of the opening/closing plate at the inside of the handle grip of FlG.12. [26]

Mode for the Invention [27] FIGS.1 and 2 are a perspective view and a partly exploded perspective view showing an unmanned cooking device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and FIGS.3 and 7 are sectional views showing the respective parts of the inner configuration of the unmanned cooking device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Now, an explanation of the configuration of the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention will be given with reference to the drawings of this invention.

[28] The present invention relates to an unmanned cooking device 1 that automatically conducts the total processes of supplying, conveying, washing, and cooking rice, by unmanned operations, and the unmanned cooking device 1 includes a body 2; a control panel 3 formed on one side of the body 2; a rice storing tank 10 formed at the inside of the body 2 and having a cover 11 opened and closed on the top portion thereof; rice supply means 20 for supplying rice in the rice storing tank 10 by a determined quantity; a rice washing tank 30 with rice washing means 40 for washing the rice with the water supplied by a supply hose 4 mounted therein; a rice cooker 50 having the washed rice and water through the rice washing means 40 supplied thereof; and heating means 60 for heating and cooking the rice and water contained in the rice cooker 50.

[29] The body 2 is formed integrally with a fixing bolt 2a in the middle portion at the bottom thereof and is coupled with a base plate 5 on the bottom portion thereof by means of the coupling of the fixing bolts 2a with a nut 5a insertedly formed in the middle portion thereof. The body 2 is mounted on body rotating means 6 that is formed as a round ring or a plurality of balls inserted partially into the base plate 5, such that it can be rotated by 360° on the top portion of the base plate 5 with respect to the fixing bolt 2a and the nut 5a, and the base plate 5 has a fixing member 5b protruded upwardly on the front side thereof in such a manner as to be elastically supported by means of a spring 5c, while corresponding to a fixing groove 2b formed on the front side of the bottom surface of the body 2.

[30] The rice storing tank 10 includes a partition 2' that is formed on one side in the body 2, a hopper 12 that is formed larger toward the upper side and smaller toward the lower side thereof, and a rice supply hole 13 that is formed at the lower end portion thereof for connecting to the rice supply means 20.

[31] The rice supply means 20 is fittably mounted to the partition 2' of the body 2 by means of a mounting protrusion 24 formed circumferentially on the both surfaces of a round plate 23 fixed to a motor 21 by means of a shaft 22 in such a manner as to be rotated by the rotation of the shaft 22, and as shown in F1G.8, the round plate 23 has a plurality of determined quantity of rice supply through-holes 25 formed radially thereon, each of the determined quantity of rice supply through-holes 25 having an inclined face 25a formed on one side thereof in such a manner as to have the same shape as the rice supply hole 13 and to be enlarged toward the rice washing tank 30. Further, a rotary plate 26, which has a plurality of sensing through-holes 27 formed thereon in the same direction of the determined quantity of rice supply through-holes 25, is fixed to the shaft 22 of the motor 21, and the sensing through-holes 27 are formed in such a manner as to correspond with a rotation senor 28 fixed on the partition 2' of the body 2 at their top position.

[32] At this time, the motor 21 is fixedly mounted to the rice storing tank 10 of the outside of the partition 2', and the shaft 22 of the motor 21 is supported to the partition 2' by means of a bearing. The motor 21 is protected from the rice of the rice storing tank 10 by means of a motor cover 21a.

[33] The rice washing tank 30 has a water supply tube 31 integrally formed on one side of the top portion thereof, the water supply tube 31 being of an upwardly and downwardly erected cylindrical shape, such that the water supply tube 31 communicates with the determined quantity of rice supply through-hole 25 that is placed at the top position and is coupled to the water supply hose 4 on the top side thereof. Further, the rice washing tank 30 has a generally square plate-like connecting flange 30a integrally formed on the lower portion thereof, and has a water level sensor 32 formed on one side thereof in such a manner as to be electrically connected to a pump 4a mounted on the water supply hose 4. Additionally, the rice washing tank 30 includes a water discharging hole 33 having a filtering screen 34 formed thereon for discharging only the water after washing the rice and a rice and water discharging hole 35 for discharging the washed rice and the water for cooking the rice to the rice cooker 50, in such a manner as to be passed through the inside of the rice washing tank 30 on the lower side thereof. Further, the rice washing tank 30 includes a protruded portion 30b in the middle portion of the bottom surface thereof for smoothly discharging the rice and water through the water discharging hole 33 and the rice and water discharging hole 35.

[34] As shown in FTG.11, the rice washing tank 30 is further provided with a blocking plate 37 that is mounted on each of the lower sides of the water discharging hole 33 and the rice and water discharging hole 35, for opening/closing the water discharging hole 33 and the rice and water discharging hole 35 by the rotation of a motor 36, the blocking plate 37 being of a generally fan-like shape and having a through-hole 38 formed on one side of the enlarged portion of the fan-like shape thereof in such a manner as to have the same shape as each of the water discharging hole 33 and the rice and water discharging hole 35. Each of the blocking plates 37 has an opening/closing sensor 37a formed on each of the left and right end portions for conducting angle movements, for sensing the opening/closing of the water discharging hole 33 and the rice and water discharging hole 35.

[35] At this time, the blocking plate 37 is fixed to the connecting flange 30a and is mounted inside a base frame 39 having an internal space with the water discharging hole 33 and the rice and water discharging hole 35 extended to the lower portion thereof. [36] The water level sensor 32 includes a communicating tube 32a connected to the lowermost end portion of the rice washing tank 30 and an erecting tube 32b formed integrally to the communicating tube 32a, and further includes a pressure sensor 32c formed on the top end portion thereof, for transmitting an output signal therefrom to control the pump 4a on the water supply hose 4. The water level sensor 32 is a device generally used for measuring water levels.

[37] At the inside of the rice washing tank 30 is provided the rice washing means 40 that is formed in a longitudinal direction thereof and is rotated by means of a forwardly and backwardly driving motor 41 fixed to the outside of the top portion thereof, and as shown in F1G.9 or FlG.10, the rice washing means 40 has a screw 43 fixedly formed integrally to a driving shaft 42 of the forwardly and backwardly driving motor 41 in such a manner as to be bent downwardly at the end portion of the lower side thereof for forming a scraper 44 in a close relationship with respect to the bottom portion of the rice washing tank 30. And, the scraper 44 is provided with a cover 44' made of silicon and mounted along the end portion thereof, for maintaining the air tightness between the bottom surface of the rice washing tank 30 and the top of the scraper 44 and for minimizing the friction therebetween. The screw 43 has a plurality of washing protrusions 45 formed on the both side surfaces thereof, for making the washing easily achieved, and the driving shaft 42 is supported at upper and lower sides thereof by means of a waterproof bearing since water is supplied to the rice washing tank 30.

[38] At the outside space portion of the rice washing tank 30 is provided a rice washing water tank 70 that is supported by means of a plurality of supporting rods 71 fixed to the body 2 and that is connected at the lower portion thereof to the other end of the supply hose 4 for supplying water to the rice washing tank 30. The rice washing water tank 70 has water quantity control means 72 formed at the inside of one side thereof, such that if a given amount of water is supplied from the outside and stored therein, the water is not supplied anymore from the outside. The water quantity control means 72 is comprised of a float valve having a float 72a and a needle valve 72b, and may be comprised of an electronic control unit (which is a general device in this field, so it is not shown) including a level switch, a relay, and an electronic valve. The water in the rice washing water tank 70 is supplied to the rice washing tank 30 by means of the pump 4a disposed on the water supply hose 4.

[39] The rice cooker 50 is disposed on one side of the body 2 and is provided with the heating means 60 mounted at the lower portion thereof. The rice cooker 50 is mounted in such a manner as to be inserted into the rice cooker mounting insertion part 8. The rice cooker mounting insertion part 8 includes a rice cooker insertion sensor 7 that is formed on one side thereof. The rice cooker 50 has a lower rice cooker body 51 and an upper rice cooker cover 52, and the upper rice cooker cover 52 has a handle grip 53 mounted on the top side thereof by means of screw-coupling through fixing means 55, as shown in FIGS.12 and 15. In this case, the handle grip 53 has a round insertion hole 54 formed in the middle portion thereof. The upper rice cooker cover 52 has a plurality of steam discharging holes 52a on the top surface thereof, for discharging the steam generated during the heating of the rice and water in the lower rice cooker body 51 through the heating means 60, and the handle grip 53 has a plurality of steam emitting holes 53a formed radially along the lower end outer periphery thereof. A donut-like gravity weight 56 is mounted along a mounting groove 53b at the inside of the steam emitting holes 53a in such a manner as to be upwardly and downwardly moved, thereby serving as a check valve of blocking the upper portions of the steam discharging holes 52a.

[40] The handle grip 53 forms a ball valve 59 at the inside thereof, for controlling the opening and closing of the insertion hole 54, and so as to mount the ball valve 59 thereat, the handle grip 53 has a lower body 57 and an upper cover 58 dividedly coupled to each other. Desirably, the lower body 57 and the upper cover 58 are coupled by means of screws, and the ball valve 59 includes a ball 59a having a through-hole 59a' formed therein, upper and lower packing members 59b for air tightness, a rotary shaft 59c coupled to the ball 59a, and a valve handle grip 59d fixed to the end portion of the rotary shaft 59c, which are well known to those persons skilled in the art.

[41] A transfer tube 9, which communicates with the rice and water discharging hole 35 and is mounted on the top portion of the rice cooker mounting insertion part 8, has an elastic support member 9a elastically supported by means of a spring 9b on the end portion thereof, and the elastic support member 9a has a round packing member 9c partially fixedly inserted along the end portion of the lower side thereof in such a manner as to be mounted elastically and tightly on the top surface of the handle grip 53 of the upper rice cooker cover 52.

[42] An ascending/descending adjustment assembly 80 is mounted on the elastic support member 9a for ascending and descending the elastic support member 9a by means of the up and down operations of a lever 81. The ascending/descending adjusting assembly 80 has hinges 82 formed at both sides relative to the center portion thereof in such a manner as to be forcedly fittably coupled to the body 2, the lever 81 rotatably formed on the left and right portions of the elastic support member 9a at the end portion of one side thereof, a magnetic material 83 fixed on the bottom surface of one side of the lever 81, an adjusting handle grip 84 formed on the end portion of the other side of the lever 81 in such a manner as to be protruded outwardly from the body 2, and a magnet 85 insertedly fixed on the body 2 in such a manner as to be attached to the magnetic material 83. [43] On the other hand, the control panel 3, which is formed on one side of the body 2, is electrically connected to an electronic control unit (in this case, only programs are varied in the general technology in this art, and therefore, the illustration of the electronic control unit is avoided in the drawings) that is connected to all kinds of sensors, motors, and valves in the unmanned cooking device 1, for controlling the determined quantity of rice supply, the water supply, the water discharging and rice transferring after washing the rice, and the rice cooker heating in accordance with the cooking time, the number of persons to eat the cooked rice, the kinds of rice, and the water quantity.

[44] A reference numeral 33a which is not explained yet denotes a water discharging tube connected to the water discharging hole 33.

[45] According to the unmanned cooking device of this invention under the above configuration, a registration mode is set or a cooking button is pressed by choosing the number of persons to eat the cooked rice, the kinds of rice, and the water quantity in accordance with a user's preferences. Thereby, the determined quantity of rice is supplied from the rice storing tank 10 to the rice washing tank 30 via the water supply tube 31 with the help of the rice supply means 20, and the water in the rice washing water tank 70 is supplied by a given quantity to the rice washing tank 30 by means of the water supply hose 4 and the pump 4a connected to the top portion of the water supply tube 31. Then, the determined quantity of rice is washed by the rice washing means 40 and the water left after washing is discharged through the water discharging hole 33 and the water discharging tube 33a to the outside. The rice is washed several times in the above-mentioned manner, and then, clean water is supplied again to the washed rice. Next, the rice and water are supplied through the scraper 44 of the end portion of the screw 43 of the rice washing means 40 to the interior of the rice cooker 50 via the rice and water discharging hole 35 and the transfer tube 9 and are then heated by the heating means 60, thereby automatically cooking the rice. When compared with the conventional unmanned cooking device, the present invention can avoid inconvenient processes of transferring and washing the rice several times, such that only if given buttons on the control panel 3 are pressed, a user can have the cooked rice on his or her desired mealtime and by his or her desired quantity, which makes it possible to have his or her meals regularly even in his or her busy daily life.

[46] Hereinafter, an explanation of the operation related to each part of the unmanned cooking device 1 according to the present invention will be given in detail.

[47] Referring first to the rice supply means 20 for supplying the rice to the rice washing tank 30, the rice in the rice storing tank 10 is passed through the rice supply hole 13 formed at the lower portion thereof along the inner surface of the inclined hopper 12 and is supplied to the determined quantity of rice supply through-holes 25 on the round plate 23 of the rice supply means 20. The round plate 23 is rotated by the activation of the motor 21 and if the determined quantity of rice supply through-hole 25 to which the rice is supplied is positioned at the top end of the round plate 23, the rice is supplied along the inclined face 25a to the interior of the rice washing tank 30 via the water supply tube 31.

[48] At this time, as the rotary plate 26 fixed to the shaft 22 of the motor 21 is rotated, the sensing through-holes 27 that are formed radially to correspond to the determined quantity of rice supply through-holes 25 sense the rotating position of the rotary plate 26 by means of the rotation sensor 28, such that the determined quantity of rice in accordance with the number of persons to eat the cooked rice manipulated on the control panel 3 can be supplied to the rice washing tank 30.

[49] Through the rice supply means 20, the rice is supplied in a vertical direction from the upper portion to the lower portion in the conventional unmanned cooking device, but it is supplied in a horizontal direction in the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention, such that the whole configuration and the length between the upper and lower portions can be all reduced to allow the device itself to be placed on a sink or a table, without having any limits in the installation area thereof.

[50] After the water supplied from the outside is supplied, by a determined quantity of water by means of the water quantity control means 72 on the rice washing water tank

70 mounted at the inside of the body 2 and supported by the plurality of support rods

71 at the outside of the rice washing tank 30, to the rice washing tank 30 in which the rice supplied by the rice supply means 20 is put, through the supply hose 4, as the pump 4a is activated for a given time of period by means of the water level sensor 32. After that, the forwardly and backwardly driving motor 41 of the rice washing means 40 fixed to the top portion of the cylindrical rice washing tank 30 is activated to rotate the driving shaft 42 and the screw 43 fixed to the driving shaft 42, such that the rice is washed and transferred to the lower portion thereof. At this time, the formation of the plurality of washing protrusions 45 on the upper and lower surfaces of the screw 43 allows the rice washing efficiencies to be better. The rice washing is repeated two to three times, and next, the blocking plate 37 at the water discharging hole 33 conducts angle motions by means of the activation of the motor 36. If the through-hole 38 meets correspondingly with the water discharging hole 33, the water is discharged to the outside through the water discharging tube 33a, and at this time, the water discharging hole 33 has the filtering screen 34 formed on the top side thereof, such that the rice is filtered and just the water is discharged.

[51] If the rice washing process is finished two to three times by the operation of the rice washing means 40, the water discharging hole 33 is stopped by means of the blocking plate 37, and the clean water is supplied again by the supply hose 4 to the rice washing tank 30. At this time, the water is supplied appropriately in accordance with the rice quantity set on the control panel 3, and if the water level sensor 32 senses the supply of the determined quantity of water, it sends the sensing signal to the pump 4a on the supply hose 4 connected electrically thereto to stop the operation of the pump 4a, such that the water is not supplied anymore to the rice washing tank 30. After the water has been supplied, the blocking plate 37 at the rice and water discharging hole 35 conducts angle motions by means of the activation of the motor 36. If the through-hole 38 meets correspondingly with the rice and water discharging hole 35, the rice and water are discharged to the interior of the rice cooker 50 through the transfer tube 9.

[52] So as to discharge the rice and water in the rice washing tank 30 to the rice and water discharging hole 35, at this time, as the scraper 44 that is bent downwardly at the end portion of the lower side of the screw 43 is rotated to push the rice downwardly, the rice accumulated at the lower portion of the rice washing tank 30 can be rapidly and accurately discharged toward the rice and water discharging hole 35. Further, since grains of rice may be fit to a space portion between the bottom surface of the rice washing tank 30 and the top portion of the scraper 44 to give load to the forwardly and backwardly driving motor 41, the silicon cover 44' is mounted on the end portion of the scraper 44 to remove the space portion between the bottom surface of the rice washing tank 30 and the top portion of the scraper 44, thereby preventing the grains of rice from being fit to the space portion and easily discharging the rice to the rice and water discharging hole 35. Also, the protruded portion 30b is formed in the middle portion of the bottom surface of the rice washing tank 30, such that the rice or water is moved to the peripheral sides where the water discharging hole 33 and the rice and water discharging hole 35 are formed.

[53] The blocking plates 37 conduct the angle motions to left and right by means of the motor 36, such that the water discharging hole 33 and the rice and water discharging hole 35 are opened and closed by the operation of the opening/closing sensors 37a thereof. Normally, the blocking plates 37 are closed, and if washing is finished one time, the blocking plate 37 at the water discharging hole 33 conducts the angle motion to open the water discharging hole 33, thereby discharging the water to the water discharging hole 33. If water is supplied again after washing is finished several times, the blocking plate 37 at the rice and water discharging hole 35 conducts the angle motion to open the rice and water discharging hole 35, thereby transferring the rice and water to the interior of the rice cooker 50.

[54] If the rice and water is completely sent to the rice cooker 50 through the transfer tube 9 and the insertion hole 54 of the handle grip 53 of the upper rice cooker cover 52, the blocking plate 37 at the rice and water discharging hole 35 conducts the angle motion to close the rice and water discharging hole 35, and at this state, the heating means 60 formed on the bottom surface of the rice cooker mounting insertion part 8 is heated to cook the rice in the rice cooker 50. If the steam is generated from the interior of the rice cooker 50 heated by the heating means 60, it is not discharged at first to the outside by means of the gravity weight 56, but if a given time of period is passed by, the steam is generated much to raise the pressure of the rice cooker 50. At this time, if the pressure becomes larger than the weight of the gravity weight 56, the gravity weight 56 is raised from the mounting groove 53b such that the steam in the rice cooker 51 is discharged to the outside through the steam discharging holes 52a on the rice cooker cover 52, through the mounting groove 53b of the handle grip 53, and through the steam emitting holes 53a. This enables the cooking to be safely achieved with an appropriate steam pressure.

[55] If the cooking is finished in the above-mentioned manner, the rice cooker 50 is isolated from the body 1 of the unmanned cooking device 1 and the rice cooker cover 52 is opened to take the cooked rice therein. At the time of separating the rice cooker 50 from the body 1 of the unmanned cooking device 1, as shown in F1G.15, the valve handle grip 59d is first turned such that the ball 59a of the ball valve 59 closes the insertion hole 54 of the handle grip 53. Thereby, since the steam in the interior of the rice cooker 50 is not emitted upwardly, the separation of the rice cooker 50 can be achieved safely. After the separation of the rice cooker 50 from the body 1, if the ball valve 59 is closed, the cooked rice left therein can be warm for long hours. If the rice cooker 50 is to be coupled to the unmanned cooking device 1 again, the ball valve 59 is opened to make the through-hole 59a' of the ball 59a correspond to the insertion hole 54, thereby maintaining the opened state thereof, such that the rice and water after washing can be sent through the insertion hole 54 of the handle grip 53 to the rice cooker 50.

[56] Further, the rice cooker sensor 7 is mounted on one side of the rice cooker mounting insertion part 8 such that if the rice cooker 50 is not inserted thereinto, all operations as well as cooking are not carried out, which enhances the safety in the operations of the unmanned cooking device 1. Also, the elastic support member 9a, which is supported by the spring 9b and has the round packing member 9c fixed along the end portion of the lower side thereof, is mounted along the end portion of the transfer tube 9 on the top side of the rice cooker mounting insertion part 8 in such a manner as to be coupled to the handle grip 53 of the upper rice cooker cover 52. At the time of coupling to the rice cooker 50, the adjusting handle grip 84 of the ascending/ descending adjustment assembly 80 that is protruded to the outside of the body 2 is pushed downwardly, as shown in FIG.13, to attach the magnetic material 83 of the lever 81 to the top portion of the magnet 85, such that the elastic support member 9a can be moved upwardly with respect to the hinges 82. After the coupling to the rice cooker 50, if the adjusting handle grip 84 is pushed upwardly, as shown in FlG.14, to detach the magnetic material 83 of the lever 81 from the top portion of the magnet 85, such that the elastic support member 9a can be moved downwardly with respect to the hinges 82. Thus, the elastic support member 9a comes into close contact with the upper periphery of the handle grip 53 by means of the packing member 9c fixed along the end portion of the lower side thereof, thereby maintaining the air tightness between the transfer tube 9 and the rice cooker 50. This prevents the rice or water from being leaked during the transferring to the rice cooker 50, makes the coupling to the rice cooker 50 conducted easily and safely, and removes the generation of noises caused upon the coupling by means of the packing member 9c.

[57] At this time, as used in FIGS.13 to 15, a term 'down' means that the elastic support member 9a is moved downwardly, and contrarily, a term 'up' means that the elastic support member 9a is moved upwardly. Therefore, the terms 'up and down' are not related to the ascending/descending of the adjusting handle grip 84.

[58] If the adjusting handle grip 84 of the ascending/descending adjustment assembly 80 is moved downwardly or upwardly, as shown in FlG.16, the lever 81 conducts the angle motions with respect to the hinges 82 such that the elastic support member 9a disposed along the end portion of the transfer tube 9 can be moved upwardly or downwardly. The hinges 82 formed on the both sides of the lever 81 can be forcedly fitted to the body 2, thereby giving the advantages of easy assembling effects and low production costs.

[59] The body 2 of the unmanned cooking device 1 is rotated by a relatively slight force like a user's hands such that the cover 11 of the rice storing tank 10 can be oriented toward the front of the device, and after the cover 11 is opened, rice is put into the rice storing tank 10. That is to say, if a given rotating force is applied to the body 2 by a user, the fixing member 5b of the base plate 5 is separated from the fixing groove 2b on the lower portion of the body 2 by the pressurizing force of the support spring 5c, and the body 2 is rotated by 360° by the operation of the body rotating means 6 placed between the body 2 and the top portion of the base plate 5. Thus, as the body 2 is rotated at a state where the unmanned cooking device 1 is placed on a sink or a table, rice can be easily supplied to the rice storing tank 10, and if the cooking starts in the unmanned cooking device 1, the fixing member 5b of the base plate 5 is fixedly attached to the fixing groove 2b of the body 2 by the support spring 5c, such that the unmanned cooking device 1 can not be arbitrarily rotated anymore.

[60] In addition to rice, on the other hand, the unmanned cooking device can cook a variety of cereals like beans, barley, millets, foxtail millets, and so on. In this case, if buttons for cooking the rice and cereals, for supplying water thereto, and for adding the washing times are set on the control panel 3 and if the programs for operating the set modes are stored, the unmanned cooking device 1 can be applied to all kinds of cereals.

Industrial Applicability

[61] As described above, there is provided the unmanned cooking device according to the present invention wherein the rice washing means 40 is mounted in a longitudinal direction in the rice washing tank 30 to allow the transferring and washing of the rice to be easily and rapidly carried out, the rice washing water-storing tank 70 is mounted at the inside of the body 2 to allow the washing water to be stored in the interior of the unmanned cooking device 1 irrespective of the pressure of water supplied to the outside, thereby enabling a determined quantity of water for washing the rice to be supplied therein, the end portion of the transfer tube 9 and the handle grip 53 that serve as the connection parts at the time of connecting the body 2 with the rice cooker 50 are structurally improved to allow the detachable attachment of the rice cooker 50 to be easily carried out, to remove the noises generated upon the coupling, to enhance the coupling force therebetween, and to prevent the connected portion from being damaged, whereby the unmanned cooking device 1 of this invention has a greatly low malfunction probability and a substantially long life period. Under the above configuration and operation, therefore, the unmanned cooking device 1 of this invention further gives the following advantages:

[62] First, the whole process of supplying, washing, transferring, and cooking rice are carried out by unmanned operations, which enables everyone to use the unmanned cooking device of this invention and reduces the time and endeavors to cook rice, such that those people inclusive of working couples, unmarried persons, or workers who don't have their meals on time because of their busy daily life can cook rice by using the unmanned cooking device of this invention;

[63] Second, the washing and transferring processes are carried out at a time, such that the whole structure of the device can be simply made, thereby greatly reducing the production costs;

[64] Third, the rice supply means 20 is improved structurally to reduce the length between the upper and lower portions of the device, such that the unmanned cooking device of this invention can be placed on a sink or a table, thereby overcoming the limits on the installation areas; and

[65] Finally, the screw 43 as the rice washing means 40 that is mounted vertically is used for washing rice, such that the grains of rice can be fully protected to minimize the loss of the nutrients of rice, when compared with a conventional forced striking method wherein rice is washed by the rotation of rotary wings.

[66] [67]

[68]

Claims

[1] An unmanned cooking device comprising: a body (2) having a control panel (3) formed on one side thereof; a rice storing tank (10) formed at the inside of the body (2) and having a supply hole (13) formed toward a rice supply means (20); the rice supply means (20) having a round plate (23) with a plurality of determined quantity of rice supply through-holes (25) radially formed thereon and having a rotary plate (26) with a plurality of sensing through-holes (27) formed thereon in the same direction as the plurality of determined quantity of rice supply through-holes (25); a rice washing tank (30) of an upwardly and downwardly erected cylindrical shape and having a supply hose (4) coupled on the top portion thereof for storing washing water supplied thereto, a protruded portion (30b) formed in the middle portion on the inner bottom surface thereof, a water discharging hole (33) with a filtering screen (34) formed on the bottom portion thereof, and a rice and water discharging hole (35) formed on the bottom portion thereof for discharging the rice and water to a rice cooker (50), each of the water discharging hole (33) and the rice and water discharging hole (35) having a blocking plate (37) operated by a motor (36) such that the opening and closing thereof are controlled by the blocking plate (37); a rice washing means (40) having a screw (43) fixed on a driving shaft (42) of a forwardly and backwardly driving motor (41) secured on the outside of the top portion of the rice washing tank (30), the screw (43) having a plurality of washing protrusions (45) formed on the both side surfaces thereof, and having a scraper (44) integrally formed on the end portion of the lower side of the screw (43), the scraper (44) having a cover (44') formed on the end portion thereof; a rice washing water-storing tank (70) formed on the outside of the rice washing tank (30) in such a manner as to be supported by means of a plurality of support rods (71) fixed to the body (2) and connected to one side of the supply hose (4) with a pump (4a) formed thereon, on the bottom portion thereof, the rice washing water-storing tank (70) having a water quantity control means (72) formed in the interior of one side thereof; the rice cooker (50) mounted to a rice cooker mounting insertion part (8) of the body (2) and having a rice cooker body (51), and a rice cooker cover (52) having a handle grip (53) with a round insertion hole (54) formed thereon, the handle grip (53) having a ball valve (59) formed at the inside thereof for controlling the opening and closing of the insertion hole (54) and having a lower body (57) and an upper body (58) separately coupled to each other for mounting the ball valve (59) at the inside thereof; a transfer tube (9) adapted to communicate with the rice and water discharging hole (35) and having an elastic support member (9a) formed on the end portion thereof in such a manner as to be elastically supported by a spring (9b) for coupling to the top portion of the handle grip (53) of the rice cooker (50), the elastic support member (9a) having a round packing member (9c) partially fixedly inserted along the end portion of the lower side thereof and having an ascending/descending adjustment assembly (80) connected thereto such that as the ascending/descending adjustment assembly (80) is operated, the elastic support member (9a) is moved upwardly and downwardly; and a heating means (60) disposed on the lower portion of the rice cooker mounting insertion part (8) of the body (2) for heating the rice cooker (50) to cook the rice in the rice cooker (50).

[2] The unmanned cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the water quantity control means comprises a float valve having a float (72a) and a needle valve (72b).

[3] The unmanned cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the water quantity control means comprises an electronic control unit having a level switch, a relay, and an electronic valve formed integrally to one another.

[4] The unmanned cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the ascending/ descending adjustment assembly (80) comprises hinges (82) formed at both sides thereof relative to the center portion thereof in such a manner as to be forcedly fittably coupled to the body (2), a lever (81) rotatably formed on the left and right portions of the elastic support member (9a) at the end portion of one side thereof, a magnetic material (83) fixed on the bottom surface of one side of the lever (81), an adjusting handle grip (84) formed on the end portion of the other side of the lever (81) in such a manner as to be protruded outwardly from the body (2), and a magnet (85) insertedly fixed on the body (2) in such a manner as to be attached to the magnetic material (83).