WO2012026198A1 - Automatic bread-maker - Google Patents

Abstract

An automatic bread-maker (1) provided with: a cover (93) attached to a rotating shaft of a bread container; a clutch (103) that couples/decouples said rotating shaft and said cover (93) to/from each other; and a kneading blade (101) attached to the cover (93) such that the orientation of said kneading blade can be changed. The clutch (103) comprises: a first engagement body (103a); a second engagement body (103b) provided with a first engagement part (103bb) and a second engagement part (103bc); and a stopper (93b). When the kneading blade (101) is folded, the first engagement part (103bb) of the second engagement body (103b) interferes with the rotational trajectory of the first engagement body (103a) and the second engagement part (103bc) catches on the stopper (93b). When the kneading blade (101) is opened, the first engagement part (103bb) of the second engagement body (103b) pulls back from the rotational trajectory of the first engagement body (103a) and the second engagement part (103bc) disengages from the stopper (93b).

Description

Automatic bread machine

The present invention relates to an automatic bread maker mainly used in general households.

As a home automatic bread maker, one having a mechanism for manufacturing bread by directly using a bread container into which bread ingredients are placed as a baking mold (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such an automatic bread maker, first, a bread container in which bread ingredients are placed is placed in a baking chamber in the main body. And the bread raw material in a bread container is kneaded into bread dough with the kneading blade provided in a bread container (kneading process). Thereafter, a fermentation process for fermenting the kneaded bread dough is performed, and the bread container is used as a baking mold to bake the bread (baking process).

When bread is manufactured using such an automatic bread maker, so far, flour (wheat flour, rice flour, etc.) or flour such as wheat or rice is used as the raw material for bread. It was necessary to have a mixed powder in which various auxiliary materials were mixed. However, in general households, as represented by rice grains, grains are sometimes held in the form of grains instead of in the form of flour. For this reason, it is very convenient if the automatic bread maker is configured to produce bread directly from grain. With this in mind, the present applicants have developed a bread production method for producing bread using cereal grains as a starting material (see Patent Document 2).

In this bread manufacturing method, first, cereal grains and liquid are mixed, and the crushed blade is rotated in this mixture to pulverize the cereal grains (grinding step). And the bread raw material containing the paste-form ground powder obtained through the grinding process is kneaded into bread dough using a kneading blade (kneading process). Thereafter, a fermentation process for fermenting the kneaded bread dough is performed, followed by a baking process for baking the bread.

JP 2000-116526 A JP 2010-35476 A

The present applicants are working on the development of an automatic bread maker equipped with a new mechanism capable of executing the above-described method for producing bread using cereal grains as a starting material. Among them, the present applicants crushed grains mixed with liquid in a bread container and put in powder bread raw materials such as dry yeast and gluten, and then the automatic bread making that can reliably perform the kneading process. The development of the vessel is being considered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a mechanism that can reliably transmit the rotational power of a motor to a kneading blade when kneading with a kneading blade.

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic bread maker according to the present invention comprises a bread container having a rotating shaft provided at the bottom and into which bread ingredients are placed, a main body for receiving the bread container, and a grinding blade attached to the rotating shaft. A cover attached to the rotary shaft so as to cover the pulverization blade, a clutch for switching a connection state between the rotary shaft and the cover according to a rotation direction of the rotary shaft, and a support shaft on the outer surface of the cover. A kneading blade that can be switched between a folding position and an opening position by rotation as described above, and the clutch moves together with the kneading blade and a first engagement body that is non-rotatably attached to the rotating shaft. A second engagement body that is non-rotatably attached to the support shaft and has a first engagement portion and a second engagement portion, and a stopper provided on the cover And the second engagement body causes the first engagement portion to interfere with the rotation track of the first engagement body when the kneading blade is in the folded posture, and the second engagement portion is When the kneading blade is engaged with the stopper and the kneading blade is in the open position, the first engaging portion is retracted from the rotation track of the first engaging body and the second engaging portion is detached from the stopper portion. It has a configuration.

In the automatic bread maker configured as described above, it is preferable that the second engagement body is configured to engage the first engagement portion with the stopper portion when the kneading blade is in the open position.

In the automatic bread maker configured as described above, when the rotating shaft rotates in the forward direction, the kneading blade is in the folded position, the clutch connects the rotating shaft and the cover, and the rotating shaft is reversed. When the kneading blade rotates in the direction, the kneading blade turns to the opening posture and contacts the inner wall of the bread container to prevent the cover from rotating, and the clutch disconnects the rotation shaft and the cover. Is preferred.

In the automatic bread maker configured as described above, when the rotating shaft rotates in the reverse direction, a pulverizing step of pulverizing grains using the pulverizing blade is performed, and when the rotating shaft rotates in the forward direction, It is preferable that the kneading process for kneading bread dough is performed.

In the automatic bread maker configured as described above, when the kneading blade is in the folded position, a moment around the support shaft is applied to the second engagement body by a torque applied from the rotary shaft through the first engagement body. It is preferable that the stopper portion receives the moment.

In the automatic bread maker configured as described above, it is preferable that the stopper portion functions as an angle determining portion that determines an angle when the kneading blade is in the folded posture.

In the automatic bread maker configured as described above, it is preferable that the first engagement portion, the second engagement portion, and the stopper portion included in the clutch are provided so as to be covered with the cover.

According to the present invention, the rotational power of the rotating shaft (provided in the bread container; hereinafter referred to as the blade rotating shaft) is transmitted to the cover that covers the grinding blade and includes the kneading blade on the outer surface, so that the blade rotating shaft cannot be rotated. A first engagement body that is attached, a second engagement body that is non-rotatably attached to a support shaft that moves together with the kneading blade, and has a first engagement portion and a second engagement portion, and a stopper provided on the cover Part. When the kneading blade is in the folded position, the second engaging body causes the first engaging portion to interfere with the rotation track of the first engaging body and engages the second engaging portion with the stopper portion. . For this reason, the force transmitted from the first engagement body to the second engagement body is not only the support shaft to which the kneading blade is attached, but also the cover that holds the support shaft through the engagement of the second engagement body and the stopper portion. It is also accepted by. For this reason, when the kneading blade turns into the folded position and enters the kneading state, the rotational power of the blade rotation shaft is reliably transmitted to the kneading blade.

The perspective view of the automatic bread maker which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. Schematic horizontal sectional view for explaining the internal configuration of the automatic bread maker of the first embodiment The structure and operation explanatory drawing of the clutch contained in the 1st power transmission part with which the automatic bread maker of 1st Embodiment is equipped, The figure which shows the state which a clutch cuts off power The structure and operation explanatory drawing of the clutch contained in the 1st power transmission part with which the automatic bread maker of 1st Embodiment is equipped, The figure which shows the state in which a clutch transmits power The figure for demonstrating the baking chamber in which the bread container was accommodated, and the structure of the periphery in the automatic bread maker of 1st Embodiment. The perspective view of the blade unit with which the automatic bread maker of 1st Embodiment is provided. The disassembled perspective view of the blade unit with which the automatic bread maker of 1st Embodiment is provided. The schematic side view which shows the structure of the blade unit with which the automatic bread maker of 1st Embodiment is provided. Sectional view at the position AA in FIG. 7A FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the blade unit included in the automatic bread maker according to the first embodiment when viewed from below, and a view when the kneading blade is in a folded posture. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the blade unit included in the automatic bread maker according to the first embodiment when viewed from below, and a view when the kneading blade is in an open posture The figure when the bread container with which the automatic bread maker of 1st Embodiment is provided is seen from the top, and the figure when a kneading blade is in a folding posture The figure when the bread container provided in the automatic bread maker of the first embodiment is viewed from above, and the figure when the kneading blade is in the open posture Block diagram of the automatic bread maker of the first embodiment Time chart of the bread-making course for rice grains executed by the automatic bread maker of the first embodiment Flowchart relating to bread material automatic charging control performed by the automatic bread maker of the first embodiment The schematic perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the automatic bread maker of 2nd Embodiment. Schematic sectional view at the BB position of the automatic bread maker of the second embodiment shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the detailed structure of the crushing container with which the automatic bread maker of 2nd Embodiment is provided. The block diagram which shows the structure of the automatic bread maker of 2nd Embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the flow of the bread-making course for rice grains performed with the automatic bread maker of 2nd Embodiment. In the automatic bread maker of 2nd Embodiment, the schematic sectional drawing which shows the state when the lid | cover of a grinding | pulverization container is opened. Schematic for demonstrating the modification of the automatic bread maker of 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of an automatic bread maker according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the specific time, temperature, etc. which appear in this specification are illustrations to the last, and they do not limit the content of this invention.

1. First embodiment (configuration of automatic bread maker)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an external configuration of the automatic bread maker according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an operation unit 20 is provided on a part of the upper surface of a main body 10 (the outer shell of which is formed of, for example, metal or synthetic resin) of an automatic bread maker 1 provided in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. It has been. The operation unit 20 includes an operation key group and a display unit that displays time, contents set by the operation key group, errors, and the like. The operation key group includes, for example, a start key, a cancel key, a timer key, a reservation key, a bread manufacturing course (a course for manufacturing bread using rice grains as a starting material, a course for manufacturing bread using rice flour as a starting material) And a selection key for selecting a course for producing bread using flour as a starting material. The display unit is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display panel.

Inside the main body 10, there is provided a baking chamber 30 in which a bread container 80, which will be described later in detail, is accommodated. The firing chamber 30 is a box-shaped chamber having a substantially rectangular shape, which is composed of, for example, a bottom wall 30a made of sheet metal and four side walls 30b (see also FIG. 4 described later), and an upper surface thereof is open. The upper surface opening of the baking chamber 30 is closed by a lid 40 provided at the upper part of the main body 10. The lid 40 is attached to the back side of the main body 10 with a hinge shaft (not shown), and rotates with the hinge shaft as a fulcrum. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the lid 40 is opened.

The lid 40 is provided with a viewing window 41 made of heat-resistant glass, for example, so that the inside of the baking chamber 30 can be seen. A bread raw material storage container 42 is detachably attached to the lid 40. The bread ingredient storage container 42 enables a part of bread ingredients to be automatically charged during the bread manufacturing process. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the bread ingredient storage container 42 is attached to the lid 40, and more specifically shows a state in which the container lid of the bread ingredient storage container 42 is opened.

The bread raw material storage container 42 includes a box-shaped container body 42a having a substantially rectangular plane shape, and a container lid 42b that is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the container body 42a and opens and closes the opening of the container body 42a. . Further, the bread ingredient storage container 42 can support the container lid 42b from the outer surface (lower surface) side and maintain the closed state of the opening of the container body 42a, and is moved by an external force to move the container lid 42b to the container lid 42b. There is also provided a movable hook 42c for releasing the engagement.

An automatic closing solenoid 16 (see FIG. 10 described later) is provided in the main body 10 on the lower side of the operation unit 20, and when the automatic closing solenoid 16 is driven, the plunger is adjacent to the lid 40. It protrudes from the opening 10b provided in the wall surface 10a. Then, the movable hook 42c is moved by a movable member (not shown) movable by the protruding plunger, the engagement between the container lid 42b and the movable hook 42c is released, the container lid 42b is rotated, and the container main body 42a. The opening of is opened. Note that FIG. 1 shows a state where the opening of the container main body 42a is opened.

The container main body 42a and the container lid 42b are preferably provided with a metal such as aluminum so that powder bread materials (for example, gluten, dry yeast, etc.) stored in the container do not remain in the container. These surfaces are preferably covered with a silicon-based or fluorine-based coating layer, and more preferably configured to be covered with an alumite layer. Moreover, it is preferable that the container main body 42a and the container lid 42b are formed as smoothly as possible without being uneven. The same applies to the members on the inner side of the lid 40 (the side on which the bread ingredient storage container 42 is attached). When the base is made of aluminum, the surface is covered with a coating layer such as silicon or fluorine, or an alumite layer. preferable.

In addition, if steam or the like generated when pulverizing grains such as rice grains enters the container body 42a, it is not preferable because the bread material easily adheres to the inner surface of the container. For this purpose, a flange (flange) is provided at the opening side edge of the container main body 42a so that the aforementioned steam or the like does not enter the container, and a packing is provided between the flange and the container lid 42b. (Seal member) 42d is interposed.

The lid 40 has an inclined structure in which substantially the entire upper surface rises from the front side to the back side of the main body 10 in the closed state. For this reason, it is easy to observe the inside of the bread container 80 accommodated in the baking chamber 30 from the viewing window 10 disposed near the front surface of the main body 10 in a state where the lid 40 is closed. In addition, in the state where the lid 40 is closed, the bread ingredient storage container 110 attached to the back side of the main body 10 is disposed in a portion where the thickness of the lid 40 is thick. You can earn volume.

FIG. 2 assumes a case where the automatic bread maker 1 is viewed from above, with the lower side of the figure being the front side of the automatic bread maker 1 and the upper side of the figure being the back side. As shown in FIG. 2, in the automatic bread maker 1, a low-speed / high-torque type kneading motor 50 used in the kneading process is fixedly disposed on the right side of the baking chamber 30, and the grinding process is performed behind the baking chamber 30. The high-speed rotation type crushing motor 60 used in the above is fixedly arranged. The kneading motor 50 and the crushing motor 60 are both shafts.

The first pulley 52 is fixed to the output shaft 51 protruding from the upper surface of the kneading motor 50. The first pulley 52 is connected by a first belt 53 to a second pulley 55 having a diameter larger than that of the first pulley 52 and fixed to the upper side of the first rotating shaft 54. ing. A second rotation shaft 57 is disposed under the first rotation shaft 54 so that the rotation center thereof is aligned with the rotation center of the first rotation shaft 54 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). The first rotating shaft 54 and the second rotating shaft 57 are rotatably supported inside the main body 10. Between the first rotating shaft 54 and the second rotating shaft 57, a clutch 56 that performs power transmission and power interruption is provided (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). The configuration of the clutch 56 will be described later.

A third pulley 58 is fixed to the lower side of the second rotating shaft 57 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). The third pulley 58 is provided on the lower side of the firing chamber 30 by the second belt 59 and is fixed to the driving shaft 11 and has a first driving shaft pulley 12 (having substantially the same diameter as the third pulley 58). (See FIG. 3). Since the kneading motor 50 itself is of a low speed / high torque type, and the rotation of the first pulley 52 is decelerated by the second pulley 55 (for example, decelerated to a speed of 1/5), the clutch 56 is When the kneading motor 50 is driven in a state where power is transmitted, the driving shaft 11 rotates at a low speed (for example, about 180 rpm) and a high torque.

The first pulley 52, the first belt 53, the first rotating shaft 54, the second pulley 55, the clutch 56, the second rotating shaft 57, the third pulley 58, the second belt 59, and Hereinafter, the power transmission unit composed of the first driving shaft pulley 12 may be referred to as a first power transmission unit PT1.

A fourth pulley 62 is fixed to the output shaft 61 protruding from the lower surface of the grinding motor 60. The fourth pulley 62 is fixed by the third belt 63 below the second driving shaft pulley 13 (below the first driving shaft pulley 12; FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B). The second driving shaft pulley 13 has substantially the same diameter as the fourth pulley 62. A grinding motor 60 that can rotate at high speed is selected. Since the rotation of the fourth pulley 62 is maintained at substantially the same speed in the second driving shaft pulley 13, the driving shaft 11 rotates at a high speed (for example, 7000 to 8000 rpm) by the high speed rotation of the grinding motor 60. Do.

In addition, the power transmission unit configured by the fourth pulley 62, the third belt 63, and the second driving shaft pulley 13 may be hereinafter referred to as a second power transmission unit PT2. The second power transmission unit PT2 has a configuration that does not have a clutch, and connects the output shaft 61 of the crushing motor 60 and the driving shaft 11 so that power can be transmitted constantly.

3A and 3B are assumed to be viewed along the direction of arrow X in FIG. The clutch 56 includes a first clutch member 561 and a second clutch member 562. When the claw 561a provided on the first clutch member 561 and the claw 562a provided on the second clutch member 562 are engaged with each other (the state shown in FIG. 3B), the clutch 56 transmits power. When the claws 561a and 562a do not mesh with each other (the state shown in FIG. 3A), the clutch 56 cuts off the power. That is, the clutch 56 is a meshing clutch.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that each of the clutch members 561 and 562 has a circumferential direction (when the first clutch member 561 is looked up from below, and when the second clutch member 562 is looked down from above). ) Are provided with six claws 561a and 562a arranged at almost equal intervals. The number and shape of the claws 561a and 562a may be appropriately selected from a preferable number and a preferable shape.

The first clutch member 561 is slidable in the axial direction (vertical direction in FIGS. 3A and 3B) with respect to the first rotating shaft 54 and is not relatively rotatable. It is attached. A spring 71 is loosely fitted on the upper side of the first clutch member 561 of the first rotating shaft 54. The spring 71 is disposed so as to be sandwiched between a stopper portion 54a provided on the first rotating shaft 54 and the first clutch member 561, and biases the first clutch member 561 downward. Yes. On the other hand, the second clutch member 562 is fixed to the upper end of the second rotating shaft 57.

Switching between the power transmission state and the power cut-off state in the clutch 56 is performed using an arm portion 72 that can move between a lower position and an upper position. A part of the arm portion 72 is disposed below the first clutch member 561 and can come into contact with the outer peripheral side of the first clutch member 561.

The driving of the arm portion 72 is performed using a clutch solenoid 73. The clutch solenoid 73 includes a permanent magnet 73a and is a so-called self-holding solenoid. The plunger 73 b of the clutch solenoid 73 is fixed to the plunger fixing attachment portion 72 a of the arm portion 72. For this reason, the arm part 72 moves according to the movement of the plunger 73b in which the amount of protrusion from the housing 73c varies due to the application of voltage.

When the arm portion 72 moves from the lower position (state shown in FIG. 3B) to the upper position (state shown in FIG. 3A), the first clutch member 561 is pushed by the arm portion 72 and resists the urging force of the spring 71 in the upward direction. Move to. When the arm portion 72 is in the upper position, the first clutch member 561 and the second clutch member 562 do not mesh with each other. That is, when the arm portion 72 is in the upper position, the clutch 56 performs power interruption.

On the other hand, when the arm part 72 moves from the upper position to the lower position, the first clutch member 561 moves downward while being pushed by the urging force of the spring 71. When the arm portion 72 is in the lower position, the first clutch member 561 and the second clutch member 562 are engaged with each other. That is, when the arm portion 72 is in the lower position, the clutch 56 transmits power.

When the crushing motor 60 is driven, if the clutch 56 is in a state where power is transmitted (the state shown in FIG. 3B), rotational power for rotating the driving shaft 11 at high speed is transmitted to the output shaft 51 of the kneading motor 50 (FIG. 2). In this case, if the crushing motor 60 is rotated at, for example, 8000 rpm, the output shaft 51 of the kneading motor 50 is rotated at 40000 rpm depending on the radius ratio (for example, 1: 5) between the first pulley 52 and the second pulley 55. The power to make it necessary. As a result, a very large load is applied to the pulverization motor 60, and the pulverization motor 60 may be damaged. For this reason, when driving the grinding motor 60, it is necessary to prevent the rotational power for rotating the driving shaft 11 from being transmitted to the output shaft 51 of the kneading motor 50. Thus, as described above, the automatic bread maker 1 includes the clutch 56 that performs power transmission and power interruption in the first power transmission unit PT1.

Note that, as described above, in the automatic bread maker 1, the second power transmission unit PT2 is not provided with a clutch, for the following reason. That is, even if the kneading motor 50 is driven, the driving shaft 11 is only rotated at a low speed (for example, 180 rpm). For this reason, even if the rotational power for rotating the driving shaft 11 is transmitted to the output shaft of the crushing motor 60, a large load is not applied to the kneading motor 50. And the manufacturing cost of the automatic bread maker 1 is suppressed by adopting the structure in which the clutch is not provided in the second power transmission part PT2 in this way. However, it goes without saying that a configuration in which a clutch is provided in the second power transmission unit PT2 may be adopted.

FIG. 4 assumes a configuration when the automatic bread maker 1 is viewed from the front side, and the configurations of the baking chamber 30 and the bread container 80 are generally shown in cross-sectional views. In addition, the bread container 80 used as a baking mold while the bread raw material is input can be taken in and out of the baking chamber 30.

As shown in FIG. 4, a sheathed heater 31 is arranged inside the baking chamber 30 so as to surround a bread container 80 accommodated in the baking chamber 30. By energizing the sheathed heater 31, it is possible to heat bread ingredients (including dough) in the bread container 80.

A bread container support portion 14 (for example, made of an aluminum alloy die cast product) that supports the bread container 80 is fixed to a location that is substantially at the center of the bottom wall 30a of the baking chamber 30. The bread container support 14 is formed so as to be recessed from the bottom wall 30a of the baking chamber 30, and the shape of the recess is substantially circular when viewed from above. The driving shaft 11 is supported at the center of the bread container support portion 14 so as to be substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall 30a. A main body side connecting portion 11 a is fixed to the upper end of the driving shaft 11.

The bread container 80 is, for example, an aluminum alloy die-cast molded product (others may be made of sheet metal or the like), has a bucket-like shape, and is handed to the flange 80a provided on the side edge of the opening. A handle (not shown) is attached. The horizontal cross section of the bread container 80 is a rectangle with rounded corners. In addition, the bottom portion of the bread container 80 is formed with a substantially circular concave portion 81 that accommodates a part of a blade unit 90 described later in detail.

At the center of the bottom of the bread container 80, a blade rotating shaft 82 extending in the vertical direction is rotatably supported in a state where a countermeasure against sealing is taken. A container-side connecting portion 82a is fixed to the lower end of the blade rotation shaft 82 (projecting outward from the bottom of the bread container 80).

A cylindrical base 83 is provided on the bottom outer surface side of the bread container 80 so as to surround the blade rotation shaft 82. The bread container 80 is accommodated in the baking chamber 30 in a state where the base 83 is received by the bread container support part 14. The pedestal 83 may be formed separately from the bread container 80 or may be formed integrally with the bread container 80.

When the bread container 80 is received in the baking chamber 30 in a state where the pedestal 83 of the bread container 80 is received by the bread container support portion 14, the container side connection portion 82 a provided at the lower end of the blade rotation shaft 82, and the driving force The main body side connecting portion 11a fixed to the upper end of the shaft 11 is coupled. As a result, the blade rotation shaft 82 can transmit the rotational power from the driving shaft 11. That is, the main body side connecting portion 11a and the container side connecting portion 82a constitute a coupling.

The blade unit 90 is detachably attached to the portion of the blade rotating shaft 82 that protrudes into the bread container 80. The configuration of the blade unit 90 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 9A, and 9B.

The blade unit 90 includes a unit shaft 91, a crushing blade 92 that is attached to the unit shaft 91 so as not to rotate relative to the unit shaft 91, and a blade that is attached to the unit shaft 91 so as to be relatively rotatable and cover the crushing blade 92 from above. A circular dome-shaped cover 93, a kneading blade 101 attached to the dome-shaped cover 93 so as to be relatively rotatable, and a guard 106 attached to the dome-shaped cover 93 and covering the grinding blade 92 from below. 8A and 8B show a state in which the guard 106 is removed.

In a state where the blade unit 90 is attached to the blade rotation shaft 82, the crushing blade 92 is located at a position slightly above the bottom surface of the recess 81 of the bread container 80. Almost the entire grinding blade 92 and dome-shaped cover 93 are accommodated in the recess 81 (see FIG. 4).

The unit shaft 91 is a substantially cylindrical member formed of a metal such as a stainless steel plate, for example, and has an opening at one end (lower end), and the inside is hollow. That is, the unit shaft 91 has a configuration in which an insertion hole 91c is formed so that the blade rotation shaft 82 can be inserted from the lower end (see, for example, FIG. 7B).

A pair of notches 91a are formed on the lower side (opening side) of the side wall of the unit shaft 91 so as to be symmetrically disposed across the rotation center of the unit shaft 91 (see FIG. 6). Only one of the pair of notches 91a is shown). The side shape of the shape of the notch 91a is a vertically long rectangle, and the upper end is rounded. The notch 91a is provided to engage the pin 821 (see FIG. 7B) that penetrates the blade rotation shaft 82 horizontally. When the pin 821 of the blade rotating shaft 82 and the notch 91a are engaged, the unit shaft 91 is attached to the blade rotating shaft 82 so as not to be relatively rotatable.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the center of the upper surface on the inner side of the unit shaft 91 so as to engage with a convex portion 82b provided at the center of the upper end surface (substantially circular) of the blade rotation shaft 82 (shown by a broken line). A concave portion 91b is formed in the portion. Accordingly, the blade unit 90 can be easily attached to the blade rotation shaft 82 in a state where the centers of the unit shaft 91 and the blade rotation shaft 82 are aligned. In addition, when the blade rotation shaft 82 is rotated, unnecessary rattling is suppressed. In the present embodiment, the convex portion 82b is provided on the blade rotating shaft 82 side and the concave portion 91b is provided on the unit shaft 91 side, but conversely, the concave portion is provided on the blade rotating shaft 82 side and the unit shaft 91 side is provided. A configuration in which a convex portion is provided may be employed.

The pulverization blade 92 for pulverizing grains is formed by processing a stainless steel plate, for example. As shown in FIG. 6, the pulverization blade 92 includes a first cutting portion 921, a second cutting portion 922, a connecting portion 923 that connects the first cutting portion 921 and the second cutting portion 922, and Is provided. An opening 923 a having a planar shape is formed at the center of the connecting portion 923. The crushing blade 92 is attached to the unit shaft 91 such that the lower side of the unit shaft 91 is fitted into the opening 923a.

On the lower side of the unit shaft 91, a flat surface is formed by shaving a part of the side surface (near the position where the notch 91a is provided). As a result, when the unit shaft 91 is viewed from below, the lower side of the unit shaft 91 has a cross section that has substantially the same shape (oval shape) as the opening 923 a provided in the connecting portion 923. Since such a shape is adopted, the pulverization blade 92 attached to the unit shaft 91 cannot be rotated relative to the unit shaft 91. The cross-sectional area of the lower part of the unit shaft 91 is slightly smaller than the opening 923a, so that the unit shaft 91 and the grinding blade 92 can be fitted. Since the stopper member 94 for preventing the retaining member 94 is fitted into the unit shaft 91 on the lower side of the pulverizing blade 92, the pulverizing blade 92 does not fall off the unit shaft 91.

The dome-shaped cover 93 disposed so as to surround and cover the crushing blade 92 is made of, for example, an aluminum alloy die-cast product, and a bearing 95 (in this embodiment, a rolling bearing is used on the inner surface side thereof. ) (See FIG. 7B) is formed. In other words, in order to form the accommodating portion 931, the dome-shaped cover 93 has a configuration in which a substantially cylindrical convex portion 93a is formed in the central portion when viewed from the outer surface. No opening is formed in the convex portion 93 a, and the bearing 95 accommodated in the accommodating portion 931 is in a state where the side surface and the upper surface are enclosed by the wall surface of the accommodating portion 931.

An inner ring 95a is attached to the unit shaft 91 in a state in which the bearing 95 is provided with upper and lower retaining rings 96a and 96b so as not to rotate relative to the unit shaft 91 (the unit shaft 91 is press-fitted into a through hole inside the inner ring 95a. Have been). The bearing 95 is press-fitted into the housing portion 931 so that the outer wall of the outer ring 95b is fixed to the side wall of the housing portion 931. The dome-shaped cover 93 is attached to the unit shaft 91 so as to be rotatable relative to the bearing 95 (the inner ring 95a rotates relative to the outer ring 95b).

The housing portion 931 of the dome-shaped cover 93 is, for example, silicon-based or fluorine-free so that foreign matter (for example, liquid used when pulverizing grain grains or paste-like material obtained by pulverization) does not enter the bearing 95 from the outside. A seal material 97 formed of a system material and a metal seal cover 98 that holds the seal material 97 are press-fitted from the lower side of the bearing 95. The seal cover 98 is fixed to the dome-shaped cover 93 with a rivet 99 so that the fixing to the dome-shaped cover 93 is ensured. Fixing with rivets 99 is not essential, but it is preferable to do so in order to obtain secure fixing.

On the outer surface of the dome-shaped cover 93, a kneading blade 101 (for example, aluminum) in a planar shape is formed by a support shaft 100 (see FIG. 6) disposed so as to extend in a vertical direction at a location adjacent to the convex portion 93 a. (Made of die-cast alloy product) is attached. The kneading blade 101 is attached to the support shaft 100 so as not to be relatively rotatable, and moves together with the support shaft 100 attached to the dome-shaped cover 93 so as to be relatively rotatable. In other words, the kneading blade 101 is attached to the dome-shaped cover 93 so as to be relatively rotatable.

A cushioning material 107 is attached to one surface near the tip of the kneading blade 101 (assuming a portion that draws the largest circle when the kneading blade 101 is rotated about the support shaft 100). The buffer material 107 is provided so as to slightly protrude from the tip of the kneading blade 101 (see, for example, FIG. 8B). In the present embodiment, it is provided so as to protrude about 3 mm (d≈3 mm).

The buffer material 107 is fixed by holding the buffer material 107 between the side surface of the kneading blade 101 and the fixing plate 108, inserting a rivet 109 from the other side of the kneading blade 101, and caulking. In the present embodiment, the number of rivets 109 is two, but it goes without saying that the number is not limited.

The cushioning material 107 is for preventing the kneading blade 101 in an open posture (details will be described later) from directly contacting the bread container 80 (the inner wall thereof). When the kneading blade 101 and the bread container 80 are in direct contact with each other, damage may occur due to interference between them, and the buffer material 107 is provided to prevent such damage.

In the automatic bread maker 1 of the present embodiment, the surface of the bread container 80 and the kneading blade 101 is coated with fluorine. For this reason, it can be said that the buffer material 107 of the present embodiment is provided so that the fluorine coating is not peeled off by contact between the kneading blade 101 and the pan container 80. From this point, the material constituting the cushioning material 107 is preferably a material softer than the coating material so as not to peel off the fluorine coating. For example, silicone rubber or TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomers) is used. . The buffer material 107 also functions as a soundproofing measure, which will be described later. Note that the cushioning material 107 may also be described as a part of the kneading blade 101.

In the present embodiment, a complementary kneading blade 102 (for example, made of an aluminum alloy die-cast product) is fixedly arranged on the outer surface of the dome-shaped cover 93 so as to be aligned with the kneading blade 101. The complementary kneading blade 102 is not essential, but is preferably provided in order to increase the kneading efficiency in the kneading process for kneading the bread dough.

Here, the operation of the kneading blade 101 will be described. The kneading blade 101 rotates about the axis of the support shaft 100 together with the support shaft 100, and has two postures, a folded posture shown in FIGS. 5, 7A, 8A and 9A, and an open posture shown in FIGS. 8B and 9B. Take. The kneading blade 101 in the folded position is stopped from rotating by a stopper portion 93b provided on the inner surface of the dome-shaped cover 93, and further rotated counterclockwise (assuming when viewed from above) with respect to the dome-shaped cover 93. Can not do. In the folded position, the tip of the kneading blade 101 protrudes slightly from the dome-shaped cover 93.

When the kneading blade 101 rotates clockwise with respect to the dome-shaped cover 93 (assumed when viewed from above) from the folded position (state shown in FIG. 9A) to the open position shown in FIG. 9B, the tip of the kneading blade 101 Protrudes greatly from the dome-shaped cover 93. The opening angle of the kneading blade 101 in the opening posture is also limited by the stopper portion 93b. For details, the kneading blade 101 reaches the maximum opening angle when a second engagement body 103b (fixed to the support shaft 100), which will be described later, hits the stopper portion 93b and cannot rotate.

When the kneading blade 101 is in the folded posture, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7A, the complementary kneading blade 102 is aligned with the kneading blade 101, and the size of the kneading blade 101 having a "<" shape is the same. It becomes larger.

The first engagement body 103a (see FIG. 6) constituting the cover clutch 103 is attached to the unit shaft 91 between the grinding blade 92 and the seal cover 98. For example, the first engaging body 103a made of a zinc die-cast product has a planar oval shape opening 103aa, and the lower oval cross section of the unit shaft 91 is fitted into the opening 103aa, so that the first The engaging body 103 a is not rotatable relative to the unit shaft 91. The first engaging body 103a is attached from the lower side of the unit shaft 91 prior to the pulverizing blade 92, and the stopper member 94 prevents the detachment from the unit shaft 91 together with the pulverizing blade 92. In the present embodiment, the washer 104 is arranged between the first engagement body 103a and the seal cover 98 in consideration of prevention of deterioration of the first engagement body 103a, but the washer 104 is not essential.

2nd engaging body 103b which comprises the clutch 103 for a cover in cooperation with the 1st engaging body 103a is attached to the lower side of the spindle 100 to which the kneading blade 101 is attached. For example, the second engagement body 103b made of a zinc die-cast product has a planar oval shape opening 103ba, and the oval cross section on the lower side of the support shaft 100 is fitted into the opening 103ba, thereby The two engagement bodies 103b are not rotatable relative to the support shaft 100. In the present embodiment, the washer 105 is arranged above the second engagement body 103b in consideration of prevention of deterioration of the second engagement body 103b, but the washer 105 is not essential.

The cover clutch 103 composed of the first engagement body 103a and the second engagement body 103b functions as a clutch for switching whether or not to transmit the rotational power of the blade rotation shaft 82 to the dome-shaped cover 93. The cover clutch 103 is a rotation direction of the blade rotation shaft 82 when the kneading motor 50 rotates the driving shaft 11 (this rotation direction is referred to as “forward rotation”. In FIGS. 8A and 8B, the rotation is counterclockwise. 9A and 9B, the rotational power of the blade rotation shaft 82 is transmitted to the dome-shaped cover 93. Conversely, the rotation direction of the blade rotation shaft 82 when the crushing motor 60 rotates the drive shaft 11 (this rotation direction is referred to as “reverse rotation”. FIGS. 8A and 8B rotate clockwise, and FIGS. 9A and 9B show rotation directions). Then, the cover clutch 103 does not transmit the rotational power of the blade rotating shaft 82 to the dome-shaped cover 93. Hereinafter, the structure and operation of the cover clutch 103 will be described in more detail.

The second engaging body 103b has engaging portions at two locations on the side surface. One is a first engagement portion 103bb which is an engagement portion with respect to the first engagement body 103a, and the second is a second engagement portion 103bc which is an engagement portion with respect to the stopper portion 93b.

When the kneading blade 101 is in the folded position (for example, the state shown in FIGS. 8A and 9A), the first engagement portion 103bb of the second engagement body 103b is the engagement portion 103ab (2 in this embodiment) of the first engagement body 103a. The second engaging portion 103bc engages with the stopper portion 93b (see FIG. 8A). The stopper portion 93b functions as an angle determining portion that determines an angle when the kneading blade 101 is in the folded posture.

In this state, when the blade rotation shaft 82 rotates in the forward direction, the engagement portion 103ab of the first engagement body 103a and the first engagement portion 103bb of the second engagement body 103b are engaged. In the second engagement body 103b, a moment around the support shaft 100 is generated by the torque applied from the blade rotation shaft 82 through the first engagement portion 103bb. This moment is received by the stopper portion 93 b, whereby the rotational power of the blade rotation shaft 82 is transmitted to the dome-shaped cover 93.

The force transmitted from the first engagement body 103a to the second engagement body 103b holds not only the support shaft 100 to which the kneading blade 101 is attached but also the support shaft 100 through the engagement of the second engagement body 103b and the stopper portion 93b. Since the dome-shaped cover 93 is also received, the rotational power of the blade rotating shaft 82 is reliably transmitted to the kneading blade 101 when the kneading blade 101 enters the kneading posture by being folded.

On the other hand, when the kneading blade 101 is in the open position (for example, the state shown in FIGS. 8B and 9B), the first engagement portion 103bb of the second engagement body 103b is retracted from the rotation track of the engagement portion 103ab of the first engagement body 103a. (See FIG. 8B). For this reason, even if the blade rotation shaft 82 rotates, the first engagement body 103a and the second engagement body 103b are not engaged. Accordingly, the rotational power of the blade rotation shaft 82 is not transmitted to the dome-shaped cover 93. At this time, the second engagement portion 103bc of the second engagement body 103b is detached from the stopper portion 93b.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the dome-shaped cover 93 is formed with a window 93d that communicates the space inside the cover and the space outside the cover. The window 93d is arranged at a height equal to or higher than the grinding blade 92. In the present embodiment, a total of four windows 93d are arranged at intervals of 90 °, but other numbers and arrangement intervals can be selected.

A total of four ribs 93e are formed on the inner surface of the dome-shaped cover 93 corresponding to each window 93d (see FIGS. 8A and 8B). Each rib 93e extends obliquely from the vicinity of the center of the dome-shaped cover 93 to the outer peripheral annular wall with respect to the radial direction, and the four ribs 93e form a kind of bowl shape. Moreover, each rib 93e is curving so that the side which faces the bread raw material pressed toward it may become convex.

A guard 106 is detachably attached to the lower surface of the dome-shaped cover 93. The guard 106 covers the lower surface of the dome-shaped cover 93 and prevents the user's finger from approaching the crushing blade 92. The guard 106 is made of heat-resistant engineering plastic, and can be a molded product such as PPS (polyphenylene sulfide). The guard 106 may not be provided, but is preferably provided for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the user.

As shown in FIG. 6, at the center of the guard 106, there is a ring-shaped hub 106a through which a stopper member 94 fixed to the unit shaft 91 is passed. At the periphery of the guard 106, there is a ring-shaped rim 106b provided concentrically outside the hub 106a. The hub 106a and the rim 106b are connected by a plurality of spokes 106c. The plurality of spokes 106c are arranged at a predetermined interval, and between the spokes 106c are openings 106d through which grain grains pulverized by the pulverizing blade 92 pass. The opening 106d has a size that prevents a finger from passing through.

When the spoke 106 c of the guard 106 is attached to the dome-shaped cover 93, the spoke 106 c comes into close proximity with the grinding blade 92. The guard 106 is shaped like an outer blade of a rotary electric razor, and the grinding blade 92 is shaped like an inner blade.

A total of four columns 106e (not limited to this configuration) are integrally formed at the periphery of the rim 106b at intervals of 90 °. A horizontal groove 106ea with one end dead end is formed on the side surface of the column 106e facing the guard 106 center side. The guard 106 is attached to the dome-shaped cover 93 by engaging the grooves 106 ea with the projections 93 f formed on the outer periphery of the dome-shaped cover 93 (four are also arranged at 90 ° intervals). Although detailed description is omitted, the groove 106ea and the protrusion 93f are provided so as to constitute a bayonet coupling. Each of the plurality of pillars 106e is inclined such that the side surface 106eb that is the front surface in the rotation direction is obliquely upward when the blade rotation shaft 82 rotates in the forward direction.

As described above, in the automatic bread maker 1 of the present embodiment, since the crushing blade 92 and the kneading blade 101 are incorporated into one unit (blade unit 90), the handling thereof is convenient. The user can easily pull out the blade unit 90 from the blade rotating shaft 82, and can easily clean the blade after the bread making operation. Further, the pulverizing blade 92 provided in the blade unit 90 is detachably attached to the unit shaft 91, and is easily mass-produced and has excellent maintainability such as blade replacement.

Since a liquid such as water is put in the pan container 80, it is preferable that the bearing 95 has a sealed structure so that the liquid does not enter the bearing 95. In this respect, in the automatic bread maker 1, since the bearing 95 is accommodated in the concave accommodating portion 931 provided in the dome-shaped cover 93, the sealing means (the sealing material 97 and the seal cover only on the inner surface side of the dome-shaped cover 93). If 98) is provided, a structure for sealing the bearing 95 is obtained. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide sealing means above and below the bearing 95, and the seal structure of the bearing 95 can be downsized. For this reason, in the automatic bread maker 1, it is possible to suppress an adverse effect on the shape of the baked bread (for example, the bottom surface of the bread is greatly recessed).

FIG. 10 shows a block configuration of the automatic bread maker 1. The automatic bread maker 1 is controlled by the control device 130. The control device 130 is configured by a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an I / O (input / output) circuit unit, and the like. The control device 130 is preferably disposed at a position that is not easily affected by the heat of the baking chamber 30. The control device 130 has a time measurement function, and can perform temporal control in the bread manufacturing process.

The control device 130 includes the operation unit 20, the temperature sensor 15 that detects the temperature of the baking chamber 30, the lid opening / closing sensor 17 that detects the open / closed state of the container lid 42b of the bread raw material storage container 42, and a kneading motor. The drive circuit 131, the grinding motor drive circuit 132, the heater drive circuit 133, the first solenoid drive circuit 134, and the second solenoid drive circuit 135 are electrically connected.

The lid opening / closing sensor 17 includes, for example, a light emitting unit that emits infrared light and a light receiving unit that receives infrared light emitted from the light emitting unit. The light emitting unit and the light receiving unit included in the lid opening / closing sensor 17 are arranged so that infrared light emitted from the light emitting unit is blocked by the container lid 42b and is not received by the light receiving unit with the container lid 42b opened. Accordingly, if the light emitting part emits light and the light receiving part does not receive light, it can be detected that the container lid 42b is open. If the light emitting part emits light and the light receiving part receives light, the container lid 42b is closed. It can be detected. In addition to this, the lid opening / closing sensor 17 may be, for example, a sensor that detects opening / closing of the container lid 42b by turning on / off a micro switch, or a sensor that detects opening / closing of the container lid 42b by a Hall element and a magnet.

The kneading motor drive circuit 131 controls the driving of the kneading motor 50 under a command from the control device 130. The crushing motor drive circuit 132 controls the driving of the crushing motor 60 under a command from the control device 130. The heater drive circuit 133 controls the operation of the sheathed heater 31 under a command from the control device 130. The first solenoid drive circuit 134 controls the driving of the automatic charging solenoid 16 that is driven when a part of the bread raw material is automatically charged in the course of the bread manufacturing process under a command from the control device 130. The second solenoid drive circuit 135 controls driving of the clutch solenoid 73 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B) that switches the state of the clutch 56 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B) under a command from the control device 130.

The control device 130 reads a program relating to a bread manufacturing course (breadmaking course) stored in a ROM or the like based on an input signal from the operation unit 20, and a kneading blade by the kneading motor 50 via the kneading motor driving circuit 131. 101, rotation control of the complementary kneading blade 102, control of rotation of the pulverization blade 92 by the pulverization motor 60 through the pulverization motor drive circuit 132, control of heating operation by the sheathed heater 31 through the heater drive circuit 133, The automatic bread maker 1 controls the operation of the lock mechanism 118 by the automatic closing solenoid 16 via the solenoid driving circuit 134 and the switching control of the clutch 56 by the clutch solenoid 73 via the second solenoid driving circuit 135. Execute bread manufacturing process.

(Operation of automatic bread machine)
Next, the operation in the case of producing bread with the automatic bread maker 1 configured as described above will be described. Here, the operation of the automatic bread maker 1 will be described by taking as an example a case where bread is produced by using the rice grain as a starting material by the automatic bread maker 1.

When the rice grain is used as the starting material, the bread making course for rice grain is executed according to the time chart of FIG. In the bread making course for rice grains, the dipping process, the crushing process, the pause process, the kneading (kneading) process, the fermentation process, and the baking process are sequentially performed in this order.

In starting the bread making course for rice grains, the user attaches the blade unit 90 to the blade rotation shaft 82 by covering the blade rotation shaft 82 of the bread container 80 with the unit shaft 91. As described above, since the blade unit 90 includes the guard 106, the user's finger does not touch the crushing blade 92 during this work, and the user can work safely. After the operation of attaching the blade unit 90, the user weighs rice grains, water, and seasonings (for example, salt, sugar, shortening, etc.) in predetermined amounts and puts them in the bread container 80.

The user weighs a part of the bread ingredients that are automatically input during the bread production and puts them in the bread ingredient storage container 42. Examples of the bread ingredients stored in the bread ingredient storage container 42 include gluten and dry yeast. Instead of gluten, at least one of wheat flour, thickener (eg, guar gum), and top fresh powder may be stored in the bread ingredient storage container 42. In addition, for example, only dry yeast may be stored in the bread raw material storage container 42 without using gluten, wheat flour, thickener, super fresh powder or the like. Furthermore, depending on the case, seasonings such as salt, sugar and shortening may be stored in the bread ingredient storage container 42 together with gluten and dry yeast so as to be automatically added during the bread manufacturing process. Good. In this case, the bread raw material previously put into the bread container 80 is rice grains and water (in place of mere water, for example, a liquid having a taste component such as soup stock, a liquid containing fruit juice or alcohol, etc.) Become.

After this, the user puts the bread container 80 into the baking chamber 30 and further sets the bread raw material storage container 42 on the lid 40. Then, the user closes the lid 40, selects the rice grain breadmaking course using the operation unit 20, and presses the start key. Thereby, the control apparatus 130 starts control operation | movement of the bread-making course for rice grain which manufactures bread using rice grain as a starting material. When the start key is pressed, the control device 130 confirms the detection signal of the lid opening / closing sensor 17, and if the container lid 42b is in an open state, an error is notified and the start of the bread making course is stopped. . At this time, for example, an error display may be displayed on the liquid crystal display panel of the operation unit 20 or an audio notification may be performed. On the other hand, if the container lid 42b is closed, the control device 130 starts the bread making course. If a bread making reservation is made, the same processing is performed when the reservation time comes.

When the bread making course for rice grains is started, the dipping process is started by a command from the control device 130. In the dipping process, the bread raw material previously put in the bread container 80 is set in a stationary state, and the stationary state is maintained for a predetermined time (30 minutes in the present embodiment). This dipping process is a process aimed at making the rice grains easy to be pulverized to the core in the subsequent pulverization process by adding water to the rice grains.

In addition, the water absorption speed of rice grains varies depending on the temperature of the water. If the water temperature is high, the water absorption speed increases, and if the water temperature is low, the water absorption speed decreases. For this reason, you may make it fluctuate | variate the time of an immersion process with the environmental temperature etc. which the automatic bread maker 1 is used, for example. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress the dispersion | variation in the water absorption degree of a rice grain. Further, in order to shorten the immersion time, the sheathed heater 31 may be energized to increase the temperature of the firing chamber 30.

Further, the grinding blade 92 may be rotated at the initial stage of the dipping process, and further, the grinding blade 92 may be intermittently rotated thereafter. If it does in this way, the surface of a rice grain can be damaged, and the liquid absorption efficiency of a rice grain will be improved.

When the predetermined time elapses, the dipping process is terminated by a command from the control device 130, and the crushing process for crushing the rice grains is started. In this crushing step, the crushing blade 92 is rotated at a high speed (for example, 7000 to 8000 rpm) in a mixture containing rice grains and water. In this crushing step, the control device 130 controls the crushing motor 60 to rotate the blade rotation shaft 82 in the reverse direction (clockwise rotation in FIGS. 8A and 8B, and counterclockwise rotation in FIGS. 9A and 9B). Since the cutting blade of the crushing blade 92 is moved forward in the rotation direction by the reverse rotation of the blade rotation shaft 82, a crushing function using the crushing blade 92 is obtained.

When rotating the grinding blade 92 using the grinding motor 60, the control device 130 drives the clutch solenoid 73 so that the clutch 56 shuts off the power (the state shown in FIG. 3A). This is because, as described above, there is a possibility that the motor is damaged unless it is controlled in this way.

When the blade rotation shaft 82 is rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the grinding blade 92, the dome-shaped cover 93 also starts to rotate following the rotation of the blade rotation shaft 82. The rotation of the cover 93 is immediately blocked (stopped). It is preferable that the pulverizing blade 92 is rotated at a low speed in the initial stage of the pulverization process and then rotated at a high speed.

The rotation direction of the dome-shaped cover 93 accompanying the rotation of the blade rotation shaft 82 for rotating the grinding blade 92 is the counterclockwise direction in FIGS. 9A and 9B, and the kneading blade 101 has been folded until then (see FIG. 9A). In the case of the posture shown in FIG. 9B, the resistance is changed to the open posture (posture shown in FIG. 9B) due to the resistance received from the mixture containing rice grains and water.

When the kneading blade 101 is in the open position, the first engagement portion 103bb of the second engagement body 103b retreats from the rotation track of the engagement portion 103ab of the first engagement body 103a. As a result, the cover clutch 103 disconnects the blade rotation shaft 82 and the dome-shaped cover 93 from each other. Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, a part of the kneading blade 101 in the open posture (more precisely, the buffer material 107 provided on the tip side) is formed on the inner wall of the bread container 80 (specifically, the grinding efficiency is improved). The rotation of the dome-shaped cover 93 is prevented (stopped) in order to abut against the bowl-shaped convex portion 80b provided on the inner wall of the bread container 80 for improvement.

In the pulverization step, vibration is generated while the pulverization blade 92 is rotating. However, since the cushioning material 107 is in contact with the pan container 80, the collision sound generated by the vibration is reduced.

The pulverization of the rice grains in the pulverization step is performed in a state in which water is soaked in the rice grains by the previously performed immersion step, so that the rice grains can be easily pulverized to the core. In the present embodiment, the rotation of the pulverizing blade 92 in the pulverization step is intermittent. This intermittent rotation is performed, for example, in a cycle of rotating for 30 seconds and stopping for 5 minutes, and this cycle is repeated 10 times. In the last cycle, the stop for 5 minutes is not performed. The rotation of the crushing blade 92 may be continuous rotation, but for the purpose of, for example, preventing the temperature of the raw material in the bread container 80 from becoming too high, it is preferable to perform intermittent rotation.

In the pulverization step, the pulverization of the rice grains is performed in the dome-shaped cover 93 whose rotation is stopped, so that the possibility that the rice grains scatter out of the bread container 80 is low. Further, the rice grains entering the dome-shaped cover 93 from the opening 106d of the guard 106 in the rotation stopped state are sheared between the stationary spoke 106c and the rotating pulverizing blade 92, so that the pulverization can be performed efficiently. Further, the rib 93e provided on the dome-shaped cover 93 suppresses the flow of the mixture containing rice grains and water (the flow in the same direction as the rotation of the pulverizing blade 92).

The mixture containing the crushed rice grains and water is guided in the direction of the window 93d by the rib 93e of the dome-shaped cover 93, and is discharged out of the dome-shaped cover 93 from the window 93d. Since the rib 93e of the dome-shaped cover 93 is curved so that the side facing the mixture pressing toward it is convex, the mixture hardly stays on the surface of the rib 93e and flows smoothly toward the window 93d. . Instead of the mixture being discharged from the inside of the dome-shaped cover 93, the mixture existing in the space above the concave portion 81 enters the concave portion 81 and passes through the opening portion 106 d of the guard 106 from the concave portion 81. Get inside. Since the pulverization by the pulverization blade 92 is performed while being circulated as described above, the pulverization can be performed efficiently.

In the automatic bread maker 1, the crushing process is completed in a predetermined time (in this embodiment, 50 minutes). However, the grain size of the pulverized powder may vary depending on the hardness of the rice grains and the environmental conditions. For this reason, the end of the crushing process may be determined using, for example, the magnitude of the load of the crushing motor 60 (for example, it can be determined by the control current of the motor) as an index.

When the pulverization process is completed, the pause process is executed according to a command from the control device 130. The pause process is provided as a cooling period for lowering the temperature of the contents in the bread container 80 raised by the crushing process. The reason for lowering the temperature is that the next kneading step is carried out at a temperature at which the yeast is active (for example, around 30 ° C.). In this embodiment, the pause process is fixed at a predetermined time (30 minutes), but the pause process may be continued until the temperature of the bread container 80 reaches a predetermined temperature.

When the pause process is completed, the kneading process is started by a command from the control device 130. At the start of the kneading step, the control device 130 drives the clutch solenoid 73 so that the clutch 56 transmits power (state shown in FIG. 3B). The control device 130 controls the kneading motor 50 to rotate the blade rotation shaft 82 in the forward direction (counterclockwise rotation in FIGS. 8A and 8B and clockwise rotation in FIGS. 9A and 9B).

When the blade rotation shaft 82 is rotated in the forward direction, the grinding blade 92 is also rotated in the forward direction. In this case, the pulverizing blade 92 rotates with the cutting blade behind in the rotation direction, and does not exhibit the pulverizing function. Due to the rotation of the grinding blade 92, the bread ingredients around the grinding blade 92 flow in the forward direction. Accordingly, when the dome-shaped cover 93 moves in the forward direction (clockwise in FIGS. 9A and 9B), the kneading blade 101 receives resistance from the non-flowing bread ingredients and is folded from the open position (see FIG. 9B). Change the angle to (see FIG. 9A). As a result, the engaging portion 103bb of the second engaging body 103b has an angle that interferes with the rotation trajectory of the engaging portion 103ab of the first engaging body 103a. Then, the cover clutch 103 connects the blade rotation shaft 82 and the dome-shaped cover 93, and the dome-shaped cover 93 enters a state of being driven in earnest by the blade rotation shaft 82. The dome-shaped cover 93 and the kneading blade 101 in the folded position rotate together with the blade rotation shaft 82 in the forward direction.

In order to surely connect the cover clutch 103 described above, the rotation of the blade rotation shaft 82 at the initial stage of the kneading process is preferably intermittent rotation or low speed rotation.

When the kneading blade 101 is in the folded position as described above, the complementary kneading blades 102 are arranged on the extension of the kneading blade 101, so that the kneading blade 101 is enlarged and the bread raw material is pressed strongly. For this reason, the dough can be kneaded firmly.

The rotation of the kneading blade 101 (this term is used as an expression including the complementary kneading blade 102 in the folded position, the same applies hereinafter) is very slow in the initial stage of the kneading process, and the speed is increased stepwise. Control is performed by the control device 130 as described above. In the initial stage of the kneading process in which the rotation of the kneading blade 101 is very slow, the control device 130 drives the automatic charging solenoid 16 to unlock the container lid of the bread ingredient storage container 42. As a result, the container lid of the bread ingredient storage container 42 is opened as shown in FIG. 1, and bread ingredients such as gluten and dry yeast are automatically charged into the bread container 80. Details of the control of the automatic feeding of bread ingredients will be described later.

In this embodiment, the bread ingredients stored in the bread ingredient storage container 42 are charged while the kneading blade 101 is rotating. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the kneading blade 101 is stopped. You may decide to throw in in the state. However, as in this embodiment, it is preferable to add the bread ingredients while the kneading blade 101 is rotated because the bread ingredients are uniformly dispersed.

After the bread ingredients stored in the bread ingredient storage container 42 are put into the bread container 80, the bread ingredients are kneaded into a dough connected to one having a predetermined elasticity by the rotation of the kneading blade 101. Go. When the kneading blade 101 swings the dough and knocks it against the inner wall of the bread container 80, an element of “kneading” is added to the kneading. As the kneading blade 101 rotates, the dome-shaped cover 93 also rotates. When the dome-shaped cover 93 rotates, the rib 93e formed on the dome-shaped cover 93 also rotates, so that the bread material in the dome-shaped cover 93 is quickly discharged from the window 93d and the kneading blade 101 kneads the bread. Assimilate into a lump of material.

In the kneading process, the guard 106 is also rotated in the forward direction together with the dome-shaped cover 93. The spoke 106c of the guard 106 has a shape in which the center side of the guard 106 precedes and the outer peripheral side of the guard 106 follows when rotating in the forward direction. For this purpose, the guard 106 rotates in the forward direction to push the bread ingredients (bread dough) inside and outside the dome-shaped cover 93 outward with the spokes 106c. Thereby, the ratio of the raw material used as a waste after baking bread can be reduced.

Further, the pillar 106e of the guard 106 is configured such that when the guard 106 rotates in the forward direction, a side surface 106eb that is the front surface in the rotational direction is inclined upward. For this reason, at the time of kneading, the bread material (bread dough) around the dome-shaped cover 93 is splashed upward on the side surface 106eb of the column 106e. Since the boiled bread material is assimilated into the lump (dough) of the upper bread material, the proportion of the raw material that becomes waste after baking the bread can be reduced.

In the automatic bread maker 1, a predetermined time (10 minutes in this embodiment) obtained experimentally as a time for obtaining bread dough having a desired elasticity is employed as the time for the kneading process. However, if the time of the kneading process is constant, the degree of bread dough may vary depending on the environmental temperature or the like. Therefore, for example, the end point of the kneading process may be determined using the magnitude of the load of the kneading motor 50 (which can be determined by the control current of the motor) as an index.

In addition, when bread containing ingredients (for example, raisins, nuts, cheese, etc.) is baked, the ingredients may be introduced during the kneading process.

When the kneading process is completed, the fermentation process is started by a command from the control device 130. In this fermentation process, the control device 130 controls the sheathed heater 31 to maintain the temperature of the baking chamber 30 at a temperature at which fermentation proceeds (for example, 38 ° C.). Then, the dough is left for a predetermined time (in this embodiment, 60 minutes) in an environment in which fermentation proceeds.

In some cases, in the middle of the fermentation process, the kneading blade 101 may be rotated to perform degassing or rounding of the dough.

When the fermentation process is completed, the firing process is started by a command from the control device 130. The control device 130 controls the sheathed heater 31 to raise the temperature of the baking chamber 30 to a temperature suitable for baking (for example, 125 ° C.). Then, the control device 130 performs control so that the bread is baked for a predetermined time (in this embodiment, 50 minutes) in the baking environment. The end of the firing process is notified to the user by, for example, a display on the liquid crystal display panel of the operation unit 20 or a notification sound. When the user detects the completion of bread making, the user opens the lid 40 and takes out the bread container 80 to complete the bread production.

The bread in the bread container 80 can be taken out by directing the opening of the bread container 80 downward. Simultaneously with taking out the bread, the blade unit 90 attached to the blade rotating shaft 82 is also taken out from the bread container 80. Due to the presence of the guard 106, the user can safely work without touching the crushing blade 92 when the bread is taken out. At the bottom of the bread, burn marks of the kneading blade 101 of the blade unit 90 and the complementary kneading blade 102 (projecting upward from the recess 81 of the bread container 80) remain. However, since the dome-shaped cover 93 and the guard 106 are housed in the recess 81, the traces that they remain on the bottom of the pan are conservative.

(Automatic feed control of bread ingredients)
As described above, bread ingredients such as dry yeast are automatically charged into the bread container 80 from the bread ingredient storage container 42 in the middle of the kneading process. The automatic charging control will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the predetermined timing is reached during the kneading process, the flowchart of FIG. 12 is started. First, in step S1, the control device 130 commands the first solenoid drive circuit 134 to turn on the automatic closing solenoid 16. Next, in step S <b> 2, the control device 130 confirms the detection signal of the lid opening / closing sensor 17. If the container lid 42b is open (Y in step S3), the process proceeds to step S4, and the control device 130 continues the bread making course.

On the other hand, if the container lid 42b is in a closed state (N in step S3), the process proceeds to step S5, and the control device 130 determines whether or not the number of trials to turn on the automatic closing solenoid 16 is a predetermined number or more. To do. The predetermined number of times is a plurality of times, and may be, for example, twice. If the current number of trials is smaller than the predetermined number (N in Step S5), the process returns to Step S1, and the control device 130 instructs the first solenoid drive circuit 134 to turn on the automatic closing solenoid 16 again. On the other hand, if the current number of trials reaches a predetermined number (Y in step S5), the process proceeds to step S6, and the control device 130 performs error notification and stops the bread making course. The error notification is performed by, for example, display on the liquid crystal display panel of the operation unit 20 or a notification sound.

As described above, in the automatic bread maker 1, even if the automatic charging solenoid 16 is turned on a predetermined number of times, if the container lid 42b is closed for some reason, the bread making course is canceled together with an error notification. The For this reason, in the automatic bread maker 1 of this embodiment, it can suppress that a bread raw material cannot be thrown in but a defective bread is manufactured. In addition, as a result of trying to turn on the automatic charging solenoid 16 a predetermined number of times or less, if it is detected that the container lid 42b is opened, the bread-making course is continued. It can be performed.

It should be noted that until the predetermined time elapses after the bread making course is canceled in step S6, the bread making course may be resumed from the place where it was stopped by operating the operation unit 20 (in this embodiment, restart from the kneading process). ) In this case, the user manually puts the bread ingredients in the bread ingredient storage container 42 into the bread container 80 and operates the operation unit 20 until a predetermined time elapses. As a result, the bread-making course is restarted, and bread can be produced without wasting the previous steps.

Further, the determination in step S5 may be omitted, and the process may proceed to step S6 after N in step S3. In this case, the automatic charging solenoid 16 will not be turned on again, but if the container lid 42b is not opened, the bread-making course is stopped, so that the production of defective bread is suppressed. The effect that can be done is produced.

2. Second Embodiment (Configuration of automatic bread maker)
Next, the automatic bread maker of 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated. The automatic bread maker of the second embodiment is an embodiment of an automatic bread maker that has a mechanism capable of producing delicious bread using cereal grains as a starting material and can suppress the complexity of the structure.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing an external configuration of the automatic bread maker according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the main body 210 of the automatic bread maker 200 of the second embodiment is provided in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the first drawer 220 and the second drawer 230 are provided inside the main body 210 from one side surface 210 a thereof. It can be taken in and out. The main body 210, the first drawer 220, and the second drawer 230 are made of, for example, synthetic resin or metal.

The first drawer 220 and the second drawer 230 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, and the first drawer 220 is above the second drawer 230. In addition, handles 220a and 230a are attached to the first drawer 220 and the second drawer 230, respectively, in order to facilitate the insertion and removal. It should be noted that a known mechanism may be adopted as the slide mechanism that allows the first drawer 220 and the second drawer 230 to be inserted and removed, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view at the BB position of the automatic bread maker according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 13 (precisely, there are portions such as pulleys that are not partially cross-sectional views). As shown in FIG. 14, the first drawer 220 is configured in a box shape so that a crushing container 240 provided detachably from the upper side can be placed thereon. Here, the details of the crushing container 240 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. In addition, FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a detailed configuration of a crushing container provided in the automatic bread maker of the second embodiment.

The pulverization container 240 is configured by using, for example, a container main body 241 and a lid 242 made of metal, for example, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. In addition, the shape of the crushing container 240 of this embodiment is an example, The shape may of course be changed to various shapes, for example, may be a substantially cylindrical shape. The box-shaped container body 241 has a posture in which the opening 241a is located on the lower surface side (a posture in which the bottom wall 241b of the container body 241 is on top), and a lid 242 that opens and closes the opening 241a is on the lower side of the container body 241. Be placed. An opening 20c is provided on the bottom surface 220b of the first drawer 220 (a mounting surface on which the crushing container 240 is mounted) so that the lid 242 can be opened and closed.

The container body 241 has a flange 241d that protrudes from the end of the side wall 241c toward the outside so as to surround the opening 241a that is substantially rectangular in plan view. For example, silicon packing 243 is fixed to the flange portion 241d. As shown in FIG. 15, the packing 243 has a U-shaped attachment portion 243a attached to the container body 241 so as to sandwich the flange portion 241d from above and below, and protrudes from below the attachment portion 243a and into the opening portion 241a. And a thin-walled elastic portion 243b that is folded back in a direction opposite to the direction in which it faces. The packing 243 is fixed to the container main body 241 by a cover member 244 (for example, made of synthetic resin) disposed so as to cover it.

A flat lid 242 can be rotated at both ends of one side (the left side of two sides extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 15) of the cover member 244 formed in a substantially frame shape in plan view. A lid support portion 244a for supporting the lid is formed. In addition, engagement portions 242a that engage with engagement protrusions 2441 that protrude from the lid support portion 244a are provided at both ends of one side of the substantially rectangular lid 242 that is planar. That is, the lid 242 is supported by the cover member 244 so as to be rotatable about the engaging protrusion 2441.

Also, a clamp hook support portion 244b for rotatably supporting the clamp hook 245 is provided at a substantially central portion of the side of the cover member 244 facing the one side where the lid support portion 244a is formed. The clamp hook support portion 244b has a shape having a groove portion 2442 extending in a direction (vertical direction in FIG. 15) substantially parallel to the depth direction of the container main body 241. A shaft 2443 (extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 15) is attached to the groove portion 2442 so that both ends thereof are fixed by two opposing side walls 2442a (only one is shown in FIG. 15). Yes. The clamp hook 245 is supported on the shaft 2443 in a rotatable state (a state where the clamp hook 245 can be turned around the shaft 2443). As shown in FIG. 15, a spring 2444 that biases the clamp hook 245 outward (rightward in FIG. 15) is attached to the upper side of the shaft 2443 in the bottom surface 2442 b of the groove portion 2442.

As a result, the clamp hook 245 provided with a hook on one end side (lower side in FIG. 15) supports the lid 242 by partially contacting the outer surface (lower surface) of the lid 242, and the lid 242 The state where the opening 241a of the container main body 241 is closed (the state shown in FIG. 15, the locked state) can be maintained. The lid 242 is in a state in which the outer peripheral portion thereof overlaps with the flange portion 241d of the container body 241 in a state where the opening 241a of the container body 241 is closed, and completely covers the opening 241a.

Further, when the other tip side (upper side in FIG. 15) of the clamp hook 245 is pressed from the outside toward the container body 241 side (left side in FIG. 15), the locked state by the clamp hook 245 is released (clamp hook 245). The lid 242 is released from the support 242), and the lid 242 is rotated and the opening 241a is opened. In the present embodiment, the clamp hook 245 can be pressed by a solenoid 259 disposed on the upper side in the main body 10 as shown in FIG. The first drawer 220 is provided with an opening that allows the plunger 259a of the solenoid 259 to be taken in and out.

In this embodiment, the clamp hook 245, the groove portion 2442, the shaft 2443, and the clamp hook support portion 244b provided with the spring 2444 are an example of a lock mechanism. The solenoid 259 is an example of a lock release unit.

Further, when the lid 242 is in a state of closing the opening 241 a of the container body 241 using the lock mechanism (the state shown in FIGS. 14 and 15), the elastic portion 243 b of the packing 243 is the inner surface of the lid 242. It always abuts (upper surface in FIG. 15). Therefore, in the locked state in which the lid 242 closes the opening 241b, the gap 241d of the container main body 241 and the lid 242 are sealed by the packing 243, and the airtightness of the grinding container 241 is ensured. It should be noted that the configuration for ensuring the sealing property of the pulverization container 241 is not limited to the configuration of the present embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate.

A first rotating shaft 246 (for example, made of metal) extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the upper wall is provided with a countermeasure against sealing at a substantially central portion of the upper wall of the crushing container 240 (the bottom wall 241b of the container body 241). In a state, it is rotatably attached. A crushing blade 247 (for example, made of metal) used for crushing grain grains is attached to the lower end portion of the first rotating shaft 246 in a state in which measures against retaining are taken. The crushing blade 247 is disposed so as to be close to the bottom wall of the crushing container 240 (this corresponds to the above-described lid 242), and the height of the crushing blade 247 is appropriately adjusted so that the grain can be efficiently crushed. Is done.

In the present embodiment, a sheath body that surrounds the first rotary shaft 246 and the grinding blade 247 so as to reduce the risk of injury due to the user's fingers coming into contact with the first rotary shaft 246 and the grinding blade 247. 248 is provided. Further, the sheath body 248 has a configuration in which a portion surrounding the crushing blade 247 swells compared to a portion surrounding the first rotation shaft 246. Thereby, the protection space according to the occupation area of the 1st rotating shaft 246 and the grinding | pulverization blade 247 can be formed.

In addition, a coating layer 249 (for example, a silicon coating or a fluorine coating) is provided on the inner surface of the pulverization container 240 so that the contents easily fall when the lid 242 is opened. Further, a handle 250 is provided on a part of the outer wall of the crushing container 240 (the outer wall 41c of the container main body 241) so that the crushing container 240 can be easily held.

Next, a configuration for rotating the grinding blade 247 in the grinding container 240 will be described. As shown in FIG. 15, a crushing motor (crushing motor) 251 is located on the upper side in the main body 210 of the automatic bread maker 200 and on the back side in the direction in which the first drawer 220 is inserted (right direction in FIG. 15). Is arranged. The pulverization motor 251 is selected as a high-speed rotation type so that cereal grains can be pulverized. A first pulley 252 is fixed to the output shaft 251 a of the grinding motor 251.

Also, a second rotating shaft 253 supported by a bearing (not shown) is disposed on the upper part of the main body 210 where the first drawer 220 is inserted. In a state in which the crushing container 240 is placed at a predetermined position of the first drawer 220 and the first drawer 220 is inserted to a fixed position in the main body 210, the rotation center of the second rotation shaft 253 and the first rotation shaft The second rotation shaft 253 is disposed in the main body 210 so that the rotation center of the H.246 coincides substantially. A second pulley 254 having substantially the same diameter as the first pulley 252 is fixed to the second rotating shaft 253, and the first pulley 252 and the second pulley 254 are connected by a first belt 255.

The crushing motor 251 and a bearing (not shown) that supports the second rotating shaft 253 are fixedly disposed on the same support table 256, and the support table 256 is moved up and down (in the direction of the broken arrow in FIG. 14) by a lifting mechanism (not shown). It is movable. The raising / lowering mechanism should just be a mechanism which raises / lowers the support stand 256, The structure is not specifically limited, A well-known raising / lowering mechanism is applicable. For example, a configuration using a lifting motor (corresponding to reference numeral 288 in FIG. 16 described later), a feed screw rotated by the lifting motor, and a nut member screwed with the feed screw can be used.

A first coupling member 257 is provided at the upper end portion of the first rotating shaft 246 of the crushing container 240, and a second coupling member 258 is provided at the lower end portion of the second rotating shaft 253 disposed in the main body 210. It has been. The first coupling member 257 and the second coupling member 258 are switched between the engaged state and the disengaged state by raising and lowering the support base 256. When the grain is crushed in the pulverization container 240, the first coupling member 257 and the second coupling member 258 are engaged with each other. Thereby, the rotation of the crushing motor 251 is transmitted to the first rotating shaft 246 and the crushing blade 247 rotates.

Subsequently, the configuration of the second drawer 230 will be described. The second drawer 230 includes a side wall 260a and a bottom wall 260b made of sheet metal, and is provided with a firing chamber 260 that is substantially rectangular when viewed from above. The upper portion of the baking chamber 260 is open, and the bread container 270 can be accommodated in the baking chamber 260 by pulling out the second drawer 230 from the main body 210. In the baking chamber 260, a sheathed heater 261 (an example of a heating unit) is disposed so as to surround a bread container 270 (details will be described later). (Including bread dough) can be heated.

The baking chamber 260 has a central position between the first drawer 220 and the second drawer 230 inserted in the main body 210 to a fixed position (the state shown in FIG. 14) and the central position of the crushing container 240. It is comprised so that it may correspond substantially.

A base 263 made of sheet metal is installed on the lower side of the firing chamber 260 of the second drawer 230. On the base 263, a bread container support 264 made of, for example, an aluminum alloy die-cast molded product is fixed at a position corresponding to the center of the baking chamber 260. The inside of the bread container support portion 264 is exposed to the inside of the baking chamber 260 through an opening formed in the bottom wall 260b of the baking chamber 260. The bread container support 264 receives a cylindrical base 271 (for example, made of an aluminum alloy die-cast product) and supports the bread container 270 by being fixed to the bottom surface of the bread container 270.

A driving shaft (rotating shaft) 265 extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall 260b of the baking chamber 260 is supported at the center of the bread container support 264. The lower end of the driving shaft 265 protrudes from the lower surface of the bread container support 264, and the third pulley 266 is fixed here. The third pulley 266 is connected by a second belt 269 to a fourth pulley 268 fixed to the output shaft 267a of a kneading motor (kneading motor) 267 mounted in a fixed state on the second drawer 230. . The diameter of the third pulley 266 is larger than that of the fourth pulley 268, and the rotation of the kneading motor 267 is decelerated and transmitted to the driving shaft 265. That is, the driving shaft 265 rotates at a low speed and a high torque. In the present embodiment, the kneading motor 267 is fixedly disposed on the second drawer 230, and can be pulled out by an operation of pulling out the second drawer 230.

The bread container 270 is made of, for example, a sheet metal and has a bucket-like shape, and a handle (not shown) for handbags is attached to the mouth edge. The bread container 270 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above. A kneading blade 272 is disposed in the center of the bottom of the bread container 270. The kneading blade 272 is attached to the non-circular cross section of the upper end of the blade rotating shaft 273 extending in the vertical direction supported by a sealing measure at the center of the bottom of the bread container 270, and is attached and detached without using a tool. be able to. For this reason, it can be easily replaced with a different kind of kneading blade 272.

The blade rotating shaft 273 is connected to the driving shaft 265 to transmit power. In order to realize this, the third coupling member 274 is fixed to the lower end of the blade rotating shaft 273, and the fourth coupling member 275 connected to the third coupling member 274 is fixed to the upper end of the driving shaft 265. . The two coupling members 274 and 275 are enclosed by the base 271 and the bread container support 264.

Protrusions (not shown) are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the bread container support 264 and the outer peripheral surface of the base 271, respectively. These protrusions constitute a well-known bayonet connection. When the bread container 270 is attached to the bread container support 264, the bread container 270 is lowered so that the protrusion of the base 271 does not interfere with the protrusion of the bread container support 264. Then, after the base 271 is fitted into the bread container support 264, when the bread container 270 is twisted horizontally, the protrusion of the base 271 is engaged with the lower surface of the protrusion of the bread container support 264, and the bread container 270 is It will not come out upward. By this operation, the above-described coupling of the two coupling members 274 and 275 is also achieved. It is preferable that the twisting direction when the bread container 270 is attached coincides with the rotation direction of the kneading blade 272 so that the bread container 270 does not come off even when the kneading blade 272 rotates.

The electrical configuration of the automatic bread maker 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. As shown in FIG. 16, the control operation in the automatic bread maker 200 is performed by the control device 280. The control device 280 includes, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an I / O (input / output) circuit unit, and the like. .

The control device 280 includes an operation unit 281, a temperature sensor 282 that detects the temperature of the baking chamber 260, a grinding motor drive circuit 283, a kneading motor drive circuit 284, a heater drive circuit 285, a solenoid drive circuit 286, The lift motor drive circuit 287 is electrically connected. The operation unit 281 includes a group of operation keys such as a selection key for bread types (wheat flour bread, rice flour bread, bread with ingredients), a cooking content selection key, a timer key, a start key, a cancel key, and the like. In addition, the operation unit 281 includes a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal display panel) that displays set cooking content, timer reservation time, and the like. The operation unit 281 is provided at a position on the outer surface of the main body 210 that can be easily operated by the user.

The pulverization motor drive circuit 283 is a circuit for controlling the drive of the pulverization motor 251 under a command from the control device 280. The kneading motor driving circuit 284 is a circuit for controlling the driving of the kneading motor 267 under a command from the control device 280. The heater drive circuit 285 is a circuit for controlling the operation of the sheathed heater 261 under a command from the control device 280. The solenoid drive circuit 286 is a circuit for controlling the drive of a solenoid 259 (see FIG. 14) used to open the lid 242 of the crushing container 240 under a command from the control device 280. The lift motor drive circuit 287 is a circuit for controlling the drive of the lift motor 288 provided to lift and lower the support base 256 that supports the grinding motor 267 and the like under a command from the control device 280.

The control device 280 reads a program related to a bread manufacturing course (breadmaking course) stored in a ROM or the like based on an input signal from the operation unit 281 and controls the above-described driving circuits to control the automatic bread maker 1. Execute the bread manufacturing process.

(Operation example of automatic bread maker)
Next, an operation example of the automatic bread maker 200 in the case where bread is manufactured by the automatic bread maker 200 configured as described above will be described. Here, the operation of the automatic bread maker 1 will be described by taking as an example the case where the automatic bread maker 200 manufactures bread using rice grains as a starting material.

When using rice grains as the starting material, a bread-making course for rice grains is executed. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of the bread making course for rice grains executed by the automatic bread maker. As shown in FIG. 17, in the bread making course for rice grains, the dipping process, the pulverizing process, the kneading (kneading) process, the fermentation process, and the baking process are sequentially performed in this order.

In starting the rice grain breadmaking course, the user puts a predetermined amount of bread ingredients into the crushing container 240 and the bread container 270. For example, 220 g of rice grains and 200 g of water are put in the crushing container 240. When the user puts rice grains and water into the crushing container 240, the user puts these raw materials in such a posture that the lid 242 of the crushing container 240 is on the upper side, and then closes the lid 242 and closes the lid 242 by the above-described locking mechanism. To keep closed. For example, 50 g of gluten, 16 g of sugar, 4 g of salt, 10 g of shortening, and 2 g of dry yeast are placed in a bread container 270 (with a kneading blade 272 attached). When the user puts a predetermined amount of bread ingredients, the crushing container 240 is set in a predetermined position of the first drawer 220, and the bread container 270 is set in the baking chamber 260 of the second drawer 230. 220 and 230 are inserted to a fixed position in the main body 210 (the drawer is closed).

In addition, as a bread raw material put into the grinding | pulverization container 240, the liquid containing a taste component like a soup stock, the liquid containing fruit juice, alcohol, etc. may be used instead of mere water. In some cases, seasonings such as sugar, salt, and shortening may be added not to the bread container 270 side but to the grinding container 240 side. Further, instead of gluten placed in the bread container 270, for example, at least one of wheat flour, thickener (such as guar gum) and upper fresh powder may be placed in the bread container 270.

When the user prepares the above-mentioned bread ingredients and closes the first drawer 220 and the second drawer 230, the user selects the rice grain bread course by the operation unit 281 and presses the start key. Thereby, the bread making course for rice grain which manufactures bread using the rice grain as a starting material by the control apparatus 280 is started.

When the bread making course for rice grains is started, the dipping process is started by a command from the control device 280. In the dipping process, the pulverization container 240 is kept stationary for a predetermined time (in this embodiment, 50 minutes). This dipping process is a process aimed at making the rice grains easy to be pulverized to the core in the subsequent pulverization process by adding water to the rice grains.

In addition, the water absorption speed of rice grains varies depending on the temperature of the water. If the water temperature is high, the water absorption speed increases, and if the water temperature is low, the water absorption speed decreases. For this reason, you may make it fluctuate the time of an immersion process with the environmental temperature etc. in which the automatic bread maker 200 is used, for example. In this case, a temperature detecting unit corresponding to that is required. In some cases, a heating means for warming the bread ingredients in the crushing container 240 may be provided so as to warm the bread ingredients in the crushing container 240 during the dipping process. Thereby, the time of an immersion process can also be shortened.

In this dipping process, the grinding blade 247 may be rotated for a short time at the initial stage of the dipping process or intermittently in order to damage the surface of the rice grains. In this way, the liquid absorption efficiency of rice grains can be increased. In this case, it is necessary that the grinding blade 247 be rotatable by the grinding motor 251 before the dipping process starts.

When the predetermined time has elapsed, the dipping process is terminated by a command from the control device 280, and the crushing process for crushing the rice grains is started. Before this crushing process starts, the control device 280 controls the driving motor 288 to drive so that the first coupling member 257 and the second coupling member 258 are engaged (see FIG. 18). Perform the action.

In the grinding process, the grinding blade 247 is rotated at high speed in a mixture containing rice grains and water. Since the pulverization by the pulverization blade 247 is performed in a state where water is soaked in the rice grains, the rice grains can be easily pulverized to the core. In this way, while the grinding blade 247 is rotating, the rice grains in the grinding container 240 together with the water, from the gap between the sheath body 248 and the inner bottom surface of the grinding container 240 (the inner surface of the lid 242), the sheath body 248. It is crushed by the crushing blade 247 and repeatedly goes out of the sheath body 248, and is cut into pieces.

In this embodiment, the rotation of the grinding blade 247 in the grinding process is intermittent. This intermittent rotation is performed, for example, in a cycle of rotating for 30 seconds and stopping for 5 minutes, and this cycle is repeated 10 times. In the last cycle, the stop for 5 minutes is not performed. The rotation of the crushing blade 247 may be continuous rotation, but it is preferable to perform intermittent rotation in consideration of crushing efficiency and the like.

In the automatic bread maker 200, the crushing process is completed in a predetermined time (in this embodiment, 50 minutes). However, the grain size of the pulverized powder may vary depending on the hardness of the rice grains and the environmental conditions. For this reason, the end of the pulverization process may be determined based on the magnitude of the load of the pulverization motor 251 (for example, it can be determined by the control current of the motor).

When the pulverization process is completed, the controller 280 drives the solenoid 259 to put the pastry bread material made of the pulverized rice grains and water in the pulverization container 240 into the bread container 270, The locked state is released and the lid 242 is opened. FIG. 18 shows a state where the lid 242 of the grinding container 240 is opened. When the lid 242 of the crushing container 240 is opened, the pasty bread material falls into the bread container 270. 18 shows a state in which the plunger 259a of the solenoid 259 protrudes to press the clamp hook 245 (see FIG. 15).

In the pulverization container 240, the coating layer 249 for improving the slipperiness is formed on the inner surface thereof, so that the pasty bread material easily falls from the pulverization container 240 to the bread container 270. In addition, the bread material is not easily caught on the packing 243 by the device of the shape and arrangement of the packing 243. Therefore, it is difficult for the bread ingredients to remain in the crushing container 240.

It should be noted that attention must be paid to the distance between the crushing container 240 and the bread container 270 and the position of the opened lid 242 so that the open lid 242 of the crushing container 240 does not interfere with the subsequent bread production. In addition, when the bread raw material is dropped from the pulverization container 240 to the bread container 270, the kneading blade 272 in the bread container 270 may be rotated at a low speed or may be stopped.

When the charging of the bread ingredients from the pulverization container 240 to the bread container 270 is completed, the kneading process is started by a command from the control device 280. In addition, it is necessary to perform this kneading process at the temperature (for example, around 30 degreeC) in which a yeast works actively. For this reason, you may make it a kneading process start when it becomes a predetermined temperature range.

Rotation of the kneading blade 272 is controlled, for example, by the control device 280 so as to be very slow at the initial stage of the kneading process and to increase the speed stepwise. By rotation of the kneading blade 272, the bread ingredients in the bread container 270 are kneaded into a dough connected to one having a predetermined elasticity. When the kneading blade 272 swings the dough and knocks it against the inner wall of the bread container 270, an element of “kneading” is added to the kneading.

In the automatic bread maker 200, the kneading process time is set to a predetermined time (10 minutes in the present embodiment) obtained experimentally as the time for obtaining bread dough having a desired elasticity. However, if the time of the kneading process is constant, the degree of bread dough may vary depending on the environmental temperature or the like. For this reason, for example, the configuration may be such that the end point of the kneading process is determined based on the magnitude of the load of the kneading motor 267 (for example, it can be determined by the control current of the motor).

In addition, when bread containing ingredients (for example, raisins, nuts, cheese, etc.) is baked, the ingredients may be introduced during the kneading process.

When the kneading process is completed, the fermentation process is started by a command from the control device 280. In this fermentation process, the controller 280 controls the sheathed heater 261 to maintain the temperature of the baking chamber 260 at a temperature at which fermentation proceeds (for example, 38 ° C.). Then, the dough is left for a predetermined time (in this embodiment, 60 minutes) in an environment in which fermentation proceeds.

In some cases, in the middle of this fermentation process, the kneading blade 272 may be rotated to perform degassing or rounding of the dough.

When the fermentation process is completed, the firing process is started by a command from the control device 280. The control device 280 controls the sheathed heater 261 to increase the temperature of the baking chamber 260 to a temperature suitable for baking (for example, 125 ° C.), and in a baking environment for a predetermined time (in this embodiment, 50 minutes). ) Control to bake bread. The end of the firing step is notified to the user by, for example, a display on the display unit of the operation unit 281 or a notification sound. When the user detects the completion of bread making, the user pulls out the second drawer 230 and takes out the bread container 270 from the baking chamber 260 to complete the bread production.

Note that it is inconvenient if the first coupling member 257 and the second coupling member 258 are engaged when the first drawer 220 is pulled out. Therefore, at an appropriate stage after the pulverization process is finished, the control device 280 drives the lifting motor 288 to raise the support table 256 that supports the pulverization motor 251 and the bearing (supporting the second rotating shaft 253). Then, the engagement between the two is released.

In the above embodiment, the crushing container 240 is disposed right above the bread container 270. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. That is, as in the modification shown in FIG. 19, the crushing container 240 may be disposed obliquely above the bread container 270, and the crushing container 240 may be mounted in the main body 210 while being inclined from the horizontal. In FIG. 19, the side surface of the crushing container 240 is configured as a lid 242 that is opened to drop the contents in the crushing container 240 into the bread container 270. And in this modification, the front end side of the open lid | cover 242 contact | abuts with the periphery of the bread container 270, and the lid | cover 242 does not become an obstacle of the bread making process after a kneading process.

In the above embodiment, the crushing container 240 is placed in the first drawer 220 so that it can be taken in and out of the main body 210. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the pulverization container 240 itself may be configured to be freely inserted into and removed from the main body 210.

In the above embodiment, the bread container 270 can be placed in the baking chamber 260 in the main body 210 by pulling out the second drawer 230. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the baking chamber is exposed by opening a door provided on the side surface of the main body 210, and the bread container 270 can be arranged in the baking chamber by opening the door. Also good.

Here, the effect of the configuration of the second embodiment will be described. In the automatic bread maker 200 according to the second embodiment, the container for pulverizing grain (crushed container 240) and the container for kneading (bread container 270) are separated, so that the automatic bread maker Complexity can be suppressed. In addition, according to the configuration of the second embodiment, since a paste-like substance (a mixture of pulverized grains and liquid) can be dropped into the bread container 270, the powder is dropped into the bread container 270. It is easier to produce stable quality (delicious) bread.

In the automatic bread maker 200 of the second embodiment, the baking chamber 260 has an opening on the upper surface, and the crushing container 240 is disposed on the upper side of the baking chamber 260. For this reason, since it can be set as the structure which the part (milling part) which performs a grinding process, and the part (kneading part) which performs a kneading process and later can be made, a grinding container receives the restrictions by the manufacturing process of the bread after a kneading process. Design is possible without any problem, and the degree of freedom of design is expanded.

In this embodiment, a coating layer 249 is formed on the inner surface of the pulverization container 240. For this reason, the slipperiness of the contents in the pulverization container 240 (mixture of pulverized grain powder and liquid) can be improved, and the possibility that the contents remain in the pulverization container 240 can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the crushing container 240 and the baking chamber 260 can be taken in and out from the side surface of the main body 210. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the height of the automatic bread maker 200 from increasing. In addition, it is easy to realize a configuration in which the crushing container 240 is disposed on the upper part of the bread container 270 accommodated in the baking chamber 260.

In the automatic bread maker 200 of the second embodiment, the pulverization unit (pulverization container 240) for pulverizing the grain and the kneading unit (bread container 270) for performing the kneading step are provided separately, so that the kneading step A method of use is also possible in which the crushing process is performed in parallel with the subsequent bread-making process.

3. Others The embodiment described above is an example of the present invention, and the configuration of the automatic bread maker to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the embodiment described above.

For example, in the first embodiment described above, the bread ingredient storage container 110 is attached to the lid 40, but the bread ingredient storage container 110 may be attached to the main body 10.

Moreover, in 1st Embodiment shown above, although the case where bread was manufactured using rice grain as a starting raw material was illustrated, the automatic bread maker 1 manufactures bread using grain flours, such as wheat flour and rice flour, as a starting raw material, for example. (The bread making process is appropriately changed). When bread is produced using wheat flour or rice flour as a starting material, the bread material storage container 110 can also be used to contain ingredients for producing bread with ingredients such as raisins and nuts. is there.

In the embodiment described above, rice grains are exemplified as representative examples of grain grains used as starting materials. However, grains other than rice grains such as wheat, barley, straw, buckwheat, buckwheat, corn, soybeans, etc. are used as starting materials. It can also be.

Moreover, the above-described manufacturing flow of the rice grain bread course is an example, and other manufacturing flows are possible. For example, the manufacturing flow of the first embodiment may be applied to the second embodiment, or the manufacturing flow of the second embodiment may be applied to the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment described above, the pulverizing blade 92 and the kneading blade 101 are included in the blade unit 90, and the blade unit 90 is attached to and detached from the blade rotating shaft 82. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and the pulverizing blade 92 and the kneading blade 101 may be separately mounted on the blade rotation shaft 82. In some cases, the pulverization blade and the kneading blade may be separated from each other, and only one blade that exhibits the pulverization function and the kneading function may be provided.

In the first embodiment described above, separate motors are used for the case where the grain is pulverized by the pulverizing blade 92 and the case where the dough is kneaded by the kneading blade 101. However, the automatic bread maker of the present invention is not limited to this configuration. That is, for example, only one motor may be provided, and the same motor may be used as a power source when the grain is crushed by the pulverizing blade 92 or when the dough is kneaded by the kneading blade 101.

So far, as an embodiment of the automatic bread maker, the automatic bread maker starting from the pulverization process and consistently performing the kneading process, fermentation process, and baking process has been described as an example. The bread machine can also be configured as a device that performs from the crushing process to the fermentation process, or only the crushing process and the kneading process. In this case, the firing process, or the fermentation process and the firing process, are left to an external device such as an oven. Further, the automatic bread maker of the present invention can be developed as a device for business use instead of home use.

The present invention is suitable for an automatic bread maker for home use.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic bread maker 10 Main body 30 Baking chamber 40 Lid 80 Bread container 82 Blade rotation axis (rotation axis)
92 Crushing blade 93 Dome-shaped cover (cover)
93b Stopper (angle determining part)
100 Support shaft 101 Kneading blade 103 Cover clutch (clutch)
103a 1st engagement body 103ab engagement part 103b 2nd engagement body 103bb 1st engagement part 103bc 2nd engagement part

Claims (7)

1. A bread container in which a rotating shaft is provided at the bottom and into which bread ingredients are placed;
   A body for receiving the bread container;
   A grinding blade attached to the rotating shaft;
   A cover attached to the rotating shaft so as to cover the grinding blade;
   A clutch for switching a connection state between the rotation shaft and the cover according to a rotation direction of the rotation shaft;
   A kneading blade attached to the outer surface of the cover so as to be able to switch between a folding posture and an open posture by rotation about a support shaft;
   With
   The clutch is
   A first engagement body that is non-rotatably attached to the rotation shaft;
   A second engagement body that is non-rotatably attached to the support shaft that moves together with the kneading blade, and has a first engagement portion and a second engagement portion;
   A stopper provided on the cover,
   When the kneading blade is in the folded position, the second engagement body causes the first engagement portion to interfere with the rotation track of the first engagement body and engages the second engagement portion with the stopper portion. And when the kneading blade is in the open position, the first engagement portion is retracted from the rotation track of the first engagement body and the second engagement portion is detached from the stopper portion. Bread machine.
2. The automatic bread maker according to claim 1, wherein the second engaging body engages the first engaging portion with the stopper portion when the kneading blade is in the open posture.
3. When the rotating shaft rotates in the forward direction, the kneading blade is in the folded posture, and the clutch connects the rotating shaft and the cover,
   When the rotating shaft rotates in the reverse direction, the kneading blade turns to the open posture and abuts against the inner wall of the bread container to prevent the cover from rotating, and the clutch includes the rotating shaft and the cover. The automatic bread maker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connection is disconnected.
4. When the rotating shaft rotates in the reverse direction, a pulverizing step of pulverizing grains using the pulverizing blade is performed, and when the rotating shaft rotates in the forward direction, a kneading step of kneading bread dough is performed. The automatic bread maker according to claim 3.
5. When the kneading blade is in the folded position, a moment around the support shaft is generated in the second engaging body by the torque applied from the rotating shaft through the first engaging body, and the stopper portion applies the moment. The automatic bread maker according to claim 1 or 2, which is to be received.
6. The automatic bread maker according to claim 5, wherein the stopper portion functions as an angle determining portion that determines an angle when the kneading blade is in the folded posture.
7. The automatic bread maker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first engagement portion, the second engagement portion, and the stopper portion included in the clutch are provided so as to be covered by the cover.

Images