JP3579315B2 - Rice storage equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention mainly relates to a rice storage device provided side by side in an automatic rice cooking device, an automatic rice washing device, and the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, as described in JP-A-11-137458, a rice storage device having a rice storage and a measuring drum for measuring and discharging the rice in the rice storage, 2. Description of the Related Art An automatic rice cooker that includes a rice washing device for washing rice washed with water and a rice cooker for cooking rice that has been washed with water and automatically performs the steps from weighing rice to washing rice and cooking rice has been known.
This rice storage device has a supply device for supplying rice into the rice storage, and this supply device has a blower in the upper part of the rice storage, and a container such as a bag or a container and a rice storage. Are connected by a supply hose, and the rice in the container is sucked and supplied into the rice storage by depressurizing the rice storage with the blower.
[0003]
There is also a supply device that transports rice from a container to a rice storage by a lift conveyor.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the supply device provided with a blower, the phenomenon that the rice in the rice storage is sucked up by the operation of the blower occurs. At this time, if the weighing device is operating at the same time, there is a problem that a certain amount of rice hardly flows into the weighing drum due to the suction of the rice in the rice storage.
In addition, even if the supply device is equipped with a lift conveyor or the like and is operated simultaneously with the weighing device, newly supplied rice is accumulated on the rice remaining in the rice storage, In some cases, the flow of rice to the measuring drum was hindered, or conversely, rice clogged in the drum.
[0005]
And when such things occur, accurate weighing is not performed, and especially in the case of an automatic rice cooker, there is an adverse effect that water adjustment in the subsequent process goes out of order and deteriorates rice cooking. Had become.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice storage device capable of accurately measuring rice by a measuring means without being affected by a supply means for supplying rice into a rice storage.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to a rice storage device including a supply unit that supplies rice to a rice storage and a measuring unit that measures and discharges the rice in the rice storage, wherein the supply unit and the measurement unit operate simultaneously. It is controlled so as not to be performed.
Specifically, a control unit is provided which performs control so as to regulate the operation of one of the supply unit and the measurement unit during operation of the other.
Thereby, for example, the operation of the supply means is regulated during the operation of the measuring means, or the operation of the measuring means is regulated during the operation of the supply means, and both are not operated at the same time and the supply means Accurate measurement can be performed by the weighing means without being affected by the measurement.
[0007]
Further, the present invention is characterized in that a controller is provided which performs control so as to stop the operation of one of the supplying means or the measuring means when the other starts operating while the other is operating.
Thus, for example, when the weighing unit starts operating during the operation of the supply unit, it is possible to stop the operation of the supply unit and operate only the weighing unit. It can be done accurately without receiving.
Conversely, when the supply unit starts operating during the operation of the weighing unit, the operation of the weighing unit can be stopped (standby), so that the weighing operation is continued together with the operation of the supply unit. Thus, it is possible to prevent a measurement error from being caused by the influence of the supply means.
[0008]
Further, the present invention is characterized by including a control unit that controls the weighing unit to operate in preference to the supply unit so that the supply unit and the weighing unit do not operate at the same time.
Thus, when the measuring means starts operating during the operation of the supplying means, the operation of the supplying means is stopped and the measuring means is preferentially operated, and during the operation of the measuring means, the measuring means is operated. Is prioritized to regulate the operation of the supply means, so that the measurement by the measurement means can be accurately performed without being affected by the supply means.
[0009]
Then, since the weighing means operates preferentially with respect to the supply means, for example, when automatic rice cooking or the like is started during the operation of the supply means, the weighing operation can be immediately performed in preference to the supply means. Thus, the working efficiency can be suitably maintained without causing a time loss.
The present invention provides a rice storage device including a supply unit that supplies rice to a rice storage, and a measuring unit that measures and discharges the rice in the rice storage,
The rice storage is provided with shutter means for enabling partitioning and release of a space into a space to which rice is supplied by the supply means and a space to be measured by the measuring means.
[0010]
Thus, when the supply means and the weighing means are operating separately, the partition of the rice storage by the shutter means is released, and when the supply means and the weighing means operate simultaneously, the storage means is used by the shutter means. By partitioning the rice storage into a rice supply space and a metering space, accurate measurement can be performed without being affected by the suction of rice by the blower and the supply of rice that is newly accumulated in the rice storage. Become.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 shows an automatic rice cooker 2 for business use provided with the rice storage device 1 according to the present invention. The rice cooker 2 includes the rice storage device 1 on the upper part of the machine frame 3. The main configuration is provided with a rice washing tank 4 below the rice washing tank 4 and a rice cooker 5 below the rice washing tank 4. The rice discharged from the rice storage device 1 is washed in the rice washing tank 4, and the washed rice is washed. The rice cooker 5 is put into the rice cooker 5 to cook rice, and these operations can be repeated as one cycle to automatically cook rice.
[0012]
The rice storage device 1 is arranged in a case 6 above the machine frame 3, and a control unit 8 having an operation panel 7 is provided on a front surface of the case 6.
As shown in FIG. 5, the operation panel 7 is provided with a display unit 9 composed of a flat display and an operation unit 10. The operation unit 10 has a setting button 11 for setting a rice cooking mode and the like of automatic rice cooking, a start button 12 , A cancel button 13 and the like are provided, and the display unit 9 displays a setting display screen for automatic rice cooking and the like, a process display screen for displaying a flow of the automatic rice cooking process, and the contents and error codes when the operation is mistaken. Error display screen (an error display screen is shown in the example in the figure).
[0013]
The control unit 8 controls the operations of the rice storage device 1, the rice washing device in the rice washing tank 4, and the rice cooker 5 based on the rice cooking mode and the like set on the operation panel 7. The operations of the weighing device 16 and the supply device 17 are controlled in association with each other.
The rice storage device 1 includes a rice storage 15 in which an upper portion is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape and a tapered funnel portion is formed in a lower portion, and a metering device that measures rice in the rice storage 15 and discharges the rice to the rice washing tank 4 ( (Measurement means) 16 and a supply device (supply means) 17 for supplying rice to the rice storage 15.
[0014]
The supply device 17 includes a negative pressure generator 18 such as a blower that is provided at an upper portion of the rice storage 15 and makes the inside of the rice storage 15 negative, and a bale, a bag, and the like provided outside the rice storage 15. A rice storage section 19 such as a container and a feed pipe 20 connecting and communicating the rice storage section 19 with the upper part of the rice storage 15 are provided. The pressure is reduced and the rice in the holding section 19 is sucked and supplied into the rice storage 15 through the feed pipe 20 by the reduced pressure.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the rice storage 15 has a first detection sensor 21 for detecting that the remaining amount of rice inside is low, and a second detection sensor for detecting that the rice inside is full. 22 are provided. When the first detection sensor 21 detects that the remaining amount of rice in the rice storage 15 is low, a display is displayed on the display unit 9 of the operation panel 7 to prompt the user to replenish rice. The operation switch of the pressure generator 18 is turned on.
[0015]
When the rice is replenished until the rice is full by the operation of the negative pressure generator 18, the state is detected by the second detection sensor 22, and the detection signal is input to the negative pressure generator 18, so that the rice is filled before the rice overflows. Then, the operation of the negative pressure generator 18 is stopped. In the above description, the operation switch of the negative pressure generator 18 is turned on by a user's artificial operation. However, when the detection signal of the first detection sensor 21 is input to the negative pressure generator 18, the operation is automatically performed. It may be made to operate by.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the weighing device 16 includes a casing 24 having an open top and bottom, and a weighing drum 26 that rotates around a rotation axis 25 in the front-rear direction in the casing 24. The upper opening of the casing 24 is connected to a discharge port 15A formed in the lower part of the rice storage 15, and the lower opening is connected to the rice washing tank 4.
[0016]
The measuring drum 26 is formed in a cylindrical shape by a plate material such as a steel plate, and an outer peripheral surface thereof is formed with an opening 26A that allows rice to flow into the drum 26 and discharges rice from the drum 26. ing. The motor 27 is connected to the rotary shaft 25 and is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow a by the operation of the motor 27.
When the measuring drum 26 is rotated in the direction of arrow a and the opening 26A is located upward, a fixed amount (the volume of the measuring drum 26) of rice flows into the measuring drum 26 from the outlet 15A of the rice storage 15. As shown in FIG. 1B, when the opening 26A of the measuring drum 26 is turned rightward and deviated from the upward state as shown in FIG. When the opening 26A of the measuring drum 26 is positioned downward as shown in FIG. 2A, the metered rice is discharged from the opening 26A and put into the rice washing tank 4. Is configured.
[0017]
An encoder 28 is provided at the outer end of the rotating shaft 25 of the measuring drum 26, and the encoder 28 generates a pulse signal every rotation of a predetermined angle in synchronization with the rotation of the measuring drum 26. I have.
The motor 27 is controlled by the control unit 8. The control unit 8 receives a pulse signal from the encoder 28, and controls the measuring drum by the number of rotations corresponding to a preset rice cooking amount. After rotating the measuring drum 26 in the direction indicated by the arrow a, the motor is stopped so that the rotation of the measuring drum 26 is stopped immediately before the opening 26A is turned upward (for example, leftward as shown in FIG. 27 is controlled.
[0018]
The standby position of the weighing drum 26 is a rightward state immediately after the opening 26A is turned upward (a state in FIG. 1B), and a downward state with rice discharged (a state in FIG. 2A). Etc. can also be set. However, when waiting in the rightward state, the amount of rotation (about 270 °) from the start of the next weighing to the actual weighing (up to the upward weighing state) increases, so it may take some time. When a standby occurs in a downward state, a loss may occur, and steam from the rice cooker 5 may infiltrate and the inside of the measuring drum 26 may become wet, causing rice to adhere and causing a measurement error. It is preferable to wait just before the portion 26A is turned upward (to the left).
[0019]
The control unit 8 has a function of controlling the weighing device 16 and the supply device 17 not to operate at the same time.
That is, as shown in FIG. 1A, the negative pressure generator 18 of the supply device 17 is connected to the power supply via the relay circuit 30, and the weighing device 16 starts operating with the start of automatic rice cooking and the like. Then, the start signal is input from the control unit 8 to the relay circuit, the energization to the negative pressure generator 18 is cut off, and when the operation of the weighing device 16 is completed, the signal is input from the control unit 8 to the relay circuit 30. Thus, power is supplied to the negative pressure generator 18.
[0020]
Therefore, when the weighing device 16 starts operating while the supply device 17 is operating, the negative pressure generator 18 is interrupted and the operation is interrupted, and the weighing device 16 operates preferentially. Is completed, the negative pressure generator 18 is energized and the supply operation is controlled again.
Even if the operation switch of the supply device 17 is turned on during the operation of the weighing device 16, the operation of the negative pressure generator 18 is restricted because the power supply is cut off, and the power supply is restored after the measurement is completed. After that, the negative pressure generator 18 is controlled to operate.
[0021]
By performing such control, since the suction of the rice in the rice storage 15 by the negative pressure generator 18 does not occur during the rice weighing, the rice flows into the weighing drum 26 properly. Accurate weighing can be performed.
In addition, since the weighing device 16 is controlled so as to operate preferentially with respect to the supply device 17, for example, even if automatic rice cooking is started while the supply device 17 is operating, the weighing device 16 is immediately started. The weighing can be started by 16 so that the time loss can be reduced so as not to impair the work efficiency of the automatic rice cooking.
[0022]
If the measuring device 16 starts operating while the supply device 17 is operating, the operation of the supply device 17 is stopped, and after the measurement is completed, the operation switch of the negative pressure generator 18 is turned on again manually or the like. The supply device 17 may be operated. Further, even when the operation of the supply device 17 is restricted while the measuring device 16 is operating, the supply device 17 may be operated by turning on the operation switch of the negative pressure generator 18 again after the measurement is completed. .
The present invention can also perform the reverse control, that is, control so that the supply device 17 operates in preference to the metering device 16.
[0023]
For example, referring to FIG. 6 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the operation state (on / off state) of the negative pressure generator 18 is input to the control unit 8, and this negative pressure generation is performed. The control unit 8 controls the weighing device 16 to operate only when the container 18 is in the off state.
That is, during the operation of the supply device 17, the ON state of the negative pressure generator 18 is input to the control unit 8, and the operation of the weighing device 16 is regulated according to this input signal. Even if an attempt is made to start the operation, the weighing device 16 is in a standby state until the supply operation ends.
[0024]
Conversely, when the supply device 17 starts operating while the weighing device 16 is operating, the ON state of the negative pressure generator 18 is input to the control unit 8, and the operation of the weighing device 16 is interrupted according to this signal. Then, the supply device 17 is preferentially operated.
Thus, the weighing device 16 and the supply device 17 do not operate at the same time, and accurate weighing can be performed by the weighing means 16 when the supply device 17 is not operating.
[0025]
As described above, the standby position of the weighing drum 26 is set so that the opening 26A is at a position other than the upward position, so that the weighing drum 26 temporarily stands in the middle of weighing (the state in which the opening 26A is upward). In this case, the operation of the negative pressure generator 18 prevents the rice in the rice storage 15 from being sucked up and prevents a fixed amount of rice from flowing into the waiting measuring drum 26, and the measuring device is operated again. Sometimes accurate amounts of rice can be discharged.
FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
[0026]
In the first and second embodiments, accurate weighing can be performed by controlling the weighing device 16 and the supply device 17 not to operate simultaneously. However, in the present embodiment, the weighing device 16 is controlled. And the supply device 17 are allowed to operate at the same time, and when they are operated at the same time, the inside of the rice storage 15 is partitioned into an upper space H for supplying rice and a lower space L for measuring. However, the weighing operation of the weighing device 16 is not affected by the supply device 17.
That is, a shutter device (shutter means) 33 having a freely openable and closable shutter 33 </ b> A is provided in the rice storage 15 in the present embodiment, and the driving unit 33 </ b> B of the shutter device 33 operates in the manner described above. It is controlled by the control unit 8. Further, the on / off state of the negative pressure generator 18 is input to the control unit 8, and both the metering device 16 and the supply device 17 (the negative pressure generator 18) are stopped. When or when one of them is operating, the shutter 33A is opened and the normal operation is performed, and when both are operating at the same time, the shutter 33A is closed and the inside of the rice storage 15 is partitioned into upper and lower H, L. .
[0027]
Therefore, even if the weighing device 16 and the supply device 17 operate simultaneously and the upper space H of the rice storage is depressurized by the operation of the negative pressure generator 18, the lower weighing space L is partitioned by the shutter device 33. Because of this, accurate measurement can be performed without being affected by this.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the automatic rice cooker 2 of each of the above-described embodiments, water and air flow through the rice washing tank 4, the drainage jacket 35 below the rice washing tank 4, the drainage box 36, and the inlet 37 on the side of the case 6. It is necessary to periodically clean the part, and the cleaning time varies depending on the part, such as weekly or monthly.
[0028]
Usually, these cleaning times are described in the instruction manual, and the user cleans each part based on this description.However, as a practical matter, it is troublesome for the user to control the use time. Yes, and depending on the frequency of use of the automatic rice cooker 2, the optimal cleaning time may be different from the one described in the instruction manual. Many cleanings were performed for the first time.
Therefore, in the automatic rice cooker 2 of each of the above-described embodiments, the optimal cleaning time in each part is converted into the number of operations of the automatic rice cooker 2, and the control unit 8 counts the number of operations and reaches a predetermined count. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, a cleaning instruction is displayed on the display unit 9 (error display screen) of the operation panel 7 so as to inform the user of an optimal cleaning time of each unit.
[0029]
For example, for a part that needs to be cleaned weekly, a cleaning instruction display is displayed every time the automatic rice cooker is operated 50 times, and for a part that needs to be cleaned every month, 100 times is operated. A cleaning instruction is displayed every time.
The display unit 9 displays on the left side of the error display screen that the corresponding part (the rice washing tank in the example in the figure) is to be cleaned, and displays an illustration of the automatic rice cooker 2 on the right side. The emphasis mark A is added. In addition, a corresponding error code (error: 20 in the example) is displayed on the upper right.
[0030]
By doing so, it is possible to prevent the function of the automatic rice cooker 2 from deteriorating or breaking down due to dirt or the like of each part, and it is possible to reduce the burden on the user such as cleaning management. It has become.
The design of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate.
For example, the supply device is not limited to a device using a negative pressure generator, and may have a configuration in which rice is transported and supplied from a holding unit such as a container by a lift conveyor. Further, the weighing device is not limited to a device provided with a weighing drum that rotates, and may have another form.
[0031]
The rice storage device of the present invention can be used in parallel with an automatic rice washing device having no rice cooking function, or can be used alone, in addition to the automatic rice cooking device described above.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, according to the present invention, accurate weighing can be performed by the weighing unit without being affected by the supply unit that supplies rice to the rice storage.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing a rice storage device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the weighing device.
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the weighing device.
FIG. 4 is an overall front view of the automatic rice cooker.
FIG. 5 is a front view of an operation panel.
FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of a rice storage device according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a front sectional view of a rice storage device according to a third embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Rice storage device 8 Control unit 15 Rice storage 16 Metering device 17 Supply device 33 Shutter device

Claims (4)

A supply means for sucking and supplying rice from the outside to the rice storage by supplying a negative pressure to the rice storage with a negative pressure generator, and rice provided at the lower part of the rice storage and flowing from the rice storage. A rice storage device having a measuring means for measuring and discharging
A rice storage device, comprising: a control unit that performs an electrical control so as to regulate the operation of one of the negative pressure generator and the metering unit while the other is operating. A supply means for sucking and supplying rice from the outside to the rice storage by supplying a negative pressure to the rice storage with a negative pressure generator, and rice provided at the lower part of the rice storage and flowing from the rice storage. A rice storage device having a measuring means for measuring and discharging
A rice storage device, comprising: a control unit that performs an electrical control so as to stop the operation of one of the negative pressure generator or the measuring means when the other starts operation during the operation thereof. . A supply means for sucking and supplying rice from the outside to the rice storage by supplying a negative pressure to the rice storage with a negative pressure generator, and rice provided at the lower part of the rice storage and flowing from the rice storage. A rice storage device having a measuring means for measuring and discharging
A rice storage device, comprising: a control unit that performs electrical control so that the negative pressure generator and the weighing unit do not operate at the same time so that the weighing unit operates in preference to the supply unit. A rice washing device for washing the rice discharged from the measuring device is provided below the measuring device, and a rice cooker for cooking the washed rice is provided below the rice washing device.The control unit includes a negative pressure generator and a measuring device.貯米device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the controllable der Rukoto the operation of the rice washing device and rice cooker in association with means.

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