JP7567451B2 - Rice washing machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rice washer, and in particular to a rice washer suitable for large commercial rice cookers.

Conventionally, rice washing machines in large commercial rice cookers are designed to prevent damage to the rice when it is added by having water wait before supplying the rice to the rice washing tank (Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-22523 A

The configuration of Patent Document 1 effectively prevents the rice from cracking or being damaged when the first rice dropped into the rice washing tank hits the bottom of the tank, but there is room for improvement in the timing of water supply.

The present invention aims to streamline the timing of supplying standby water to the rice washing tank and prevent bran and remaining rice from adhering.

In order to solve such problems, the first aspect of the present invention provides a rice washing machine comprising a measuring and supplying unit (20) for supplying rice to a rice washing tank (2), a water supply pipe (11, 35) for supplying water to the rice washing tank (2), and a drain valve (63) for draining the water in the rice washing tank (2),
In a rice washing machine, a rice and water dumping process is carried out in which a dumping valve (25) provided at the bottom of a rice washing tank (2) is opened after a rice washing operation to dump rice and water into a rice cooker (6) waiting below.
A means for determining whether or not a continuous rice washing operation is set is provided,
When the rice and water dropping process is performed and the dropping valve (25) is closed, it is determined whether or not the continuous rice washing operation is in progress.
If it is determined that there is no next rice washing operation, a certain amount of water that does not correspond to the amount of rice is supplied, and after a predetermined time has elapsed after the supply, the drain valve (63) is opened to drain the certain amount of water,
When it is determined that the next rice washing operation is to be performed, the rice washing machine is configured to supply water in an amount corresponding to the amount of rice into the rice washing tank (2) and to wait.
The second invention is the rice washer of the first invention, which is configured to start draining water just before the rice supply is finished and start the rice washing operation by supplying new water.
A first invention related to the present invention is a rice washing machine that includes a measuring supply unit 20 that supplies rice to the rice washing tank 2, water supply pipes 11, 35 that supply water to the rice washing tank 2, and opens a drop valve 25 provided at the bottom of the rice washing tank 2 to drop rice and mixed water into a rice cooker 6 waiting below.When the drop valve 25 is closed, water is supplied into the rice washing tank 2 and the tank is placed in standby.

A second aspect of the present invention is the first aspect of the present invention , wherein standby water is supplied and the water in the rice washing tank 2 is drained after a set time has elapsed.

A third invention related to the present invention is the first or second invention related to the present invention , wherein the amount of standby water is changed according to the amount of washed rice.

A fourth invention related to the present invention is configured in any one of the first to third inventions related to the present invention so that drainage begins when rice supply is completed or just before the completion of rice supply, and rice washing operation is started by supplying new water.

According to the present invention, the rice is less likely to be damaged when new rice is supplied to the rice washing tank 2. Since rice and water with a water content are supplied to the rice cooker and the water is supplied after the drop valve 25 is closed, bran and remaining rice are less likely to adhere to the inside of the rice washing tank 2.
According to the first invention related to the present invention , the rice is less likely to be damaged when new rice is supplied to the rice washing tank 2. Since rice and water with a water content is supplied to the rice cooker and water is supplied after the drop valve 25 is closed, bran and remaining rice are less likely to adhere to the inside of the rice washing tank 2.

According to the second aspect of the present invention , in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention , deterioration of water caused by long periods of standby time during the summer season or the like can be prevented.

According to the third invention related to the present invention , in addition to the effects of the first or second invention related to the present invention , the standby water volume is set in approximately proportion to the amount of washed rice, so that when the amount of washed rice is large, the water volume is large, and when the amount of washed rice is small, the water volume is small. This reduces the collision of the dropped rice with the bottom of the rice washing tank 2, thereby reducing the amount of broken rice and the waste of water.

According to the fourth invention related to the present invention , in addition to the effects of any one of the first to third inventions related to the present invention , the rice can be washed while quickly discharging bran and dust from the rice that has already been supplied and soaked therein from the start of rice supply until the end or almost the end of the supply, thereby shortening the rice washing time.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a rice washer for a rice cooker. FIG. 2 is a side view of a rice washer for a rice cooker. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the details of the rice washing machine. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a water supply pipe that supplies water to the rice washing tank. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the rice washing machine. FIG. 2 is a process diagram showing the operations performed in the rice washing machine. 4 is a timing chart of operations performed by the rice washing machine. 1 is a flowchart. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the rice cooker inner pot and its surroundings, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the rice cooker pot and its surroundings. 1A and 1B are side views of the drawer stand and its surrounding structure.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the rice washer for a rice cooker includes a rice washer 3 equipped with a rice storage bin 1 for storing rice and a rice washing tank 2 for washing the rice, and the rice storage bin 1 of the rice washer 3 is attached to the top of the support frame 5 so that it can move laterally in the direction indicated by arrow A, and the rice washing tank 2 of the rice washer 3 is located below the rice storage bin 1.

The two rice cooking devices 4 are placed on the left and right below the rice washing tank 2 with a gap between them, and each is composed of a rice cooking pot 6, a burner 7 for heating the pot, and a retractable stand 8.

The rice storage bin 1 has an opening (not shown) at the bottom, and the rice washing tank 2 is placed directly below the opening of the rice storage bin 1. The rice washing tank 2 is provided with an agitator 9 inside that rotates around a vertical axis.

A water supply and drainage jacket 10 is provided at the lower end of the rice washing tank 2, and the jacket 10 is provided with a lower water supply pipe 11 that supplies water to the rice washing tank 2 and an air supply pipe 12 that supplies air to the rice washing tank 2.

The water supply pipe 13 is provided at the same height as the top of the rice washing tank 2, and is configured to selectively supply water to the lower water supply pipe 11 and the upper water supply pipe 35 by the switching valve 14, as shown in FIG. 4. A flow rate sensor 50 is provided upstream of the switching valve 14 of the water supply pipe 13 to measure the amount of water supplied from the water supply pipe 13 to the rice washing tank 2. The lower water supply pipe 11 and the upper water supply pipe 35 are provided with an opening/closing valve 11a and an opening/closing valve 35a, respectively. Here, the switching valve 14 is configured so that when it is located in a first position, the water supply pipe 13 is connected to the lower water supply pipe 11, and when it is located in a second position, the water supply pipe 13 is connected to the upper water supply pipe 35.

A drain box 16 having a drain outlet 15 is provided on the lower side of the rice washing tank 2, and the drain box 16 is connected via a connecting pipe 17a to an overflow pipe 17 whose upper part opens on the upper side of the rice washing tank 2. The drain outlet 15 is connected to a drain pipe (not shown), and the drain pipe is provided with a drain valve (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 3, a rice inlet 18 is opened at the top of the rice storage bin 1, and the rice inlet 18 is configured to be opened and closed by a lid member 19. The lower part of the rice storage bin 1 is formed in a hopper shape, and a measuring and supplying unit 20 is provided at the bottom of the hopper-shaped rice storage bin 1. The measuring and supplying unit 20 measures the amount of rice to be supplied from the rice storage bin 1 to the rice washing tank 2 by a measuring unit 20b consisting of a fixed-volume dispensing valve driven by a motor 20a, and a predetermined amount of rice is dropped and supplied from the rice storage bin 1 into the rice washing tank 2.

The rice washing tank 2 is formed in a funnel shape to receive the rice supplied from the rice storage shed 1, and has a cylindrical section 2a and a hopper section 2b connected to the bottom of the cylindrical section 2a.

The lower end of the jacket 10, which is provided at the lower end of the rice washing tank 2, is formed with a drop port 24 through which rice is dropped from the rice washing tank 2 into the rice cooking device 4. A drop valve 25 is inserted into this drop port 24, which opens and closes the drop port 24 by moving up and down. Furthermore, a filter 22 with small holes 22a formed inside the jacket 10 that are small enough not to allow rice to pass through is provided, and water from the lower water supply pipe 11 can enter the jacket 10 from the water supply section 10a, pass through the filter 22, and flow into the rice washing tank 2 body. The rice washing water flowing out from the small holes 22a is drained into the drain box 16 from the drain section 10b formed in the jacket 10.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a hollow shaft 26 is provided in the center of the rice washing tank 2, extending vertically and having an agitator 9 attached thereto. This hollow shaft 26 is configured to be rotatable in both forward and reverse directions via a bevel gear or the like by a motor 27 attached to the support machine frame 5, and is configured to rotate the agitator 9, which is formed in the shape of a downwardly curved rod, at the same time.

The support shaft 30 of the drop valve 25 is inserted into the hollow shaft 26, and the upper end of the support shaft 30 is connected to a motor 32 via a cam 31. By driving the motor 32, the drop valve 25 supported by the support shaft 30 is moved back and forth downward or upward to open or close the drop port 24.

The upper water supply pipe 35 extends at the same height as the top of the funnel-shaped portion 2b, and multiple nozzles 35b that supply water into the rice washing tank 2 are opened in the upper water supply pipe 35. As shown in Fig. 5, the control system of the rice washing machine 3 includes a controller 40 that controls the operation of the entire rice washing machine 3, a ROM 41 that stores control programs and the like, and a RAM 42 that stores various data. The detection system of the rice washing machine 3 of the rice cooker according to this embodiment includes a flow sensor 50 provided in the water supply pipe 13 to measure the amount of water supplied to the rice washing tank 2, a measuring unit 20b provided in the measuring and supplying unit 20 to measure the amount of rice supplied from the rice storage 2 to the rice washing tank 4, and a water level sensor 51 that detects the level of water contained in the rice washing tank 2. The drive system of the rice washing machine 3 in this embodiment includes a switching valve 14 that selectively supplies water supplied through the water supply pipe 13 to the lower water supply pipe 11 and the upper water supply pipe 35, an opening/closing valve 11a that opens and closes the lower water supply pipe 11, an opening/closing valve 35a that opens and closes the upper water supply pipe 35, an air supply motor 61 that supplies air from the air supply pipe 12 to the rice washing tank 2, a motor 20a that drives the fixed-quantity dispensing valve of the metering supply unit 20 that supplies rice from the rice storage 1 to the rice washing tank 2, a motor 27 that rotates the hollow shaft 26 and the stirring member 9, a motor 32 that moves the support shaft 30 of the drop valve 25 up and down via a cam 31, and a drain valve 63 that opens and closes the drain pipe (not shown) connected to the drain outlet 13.

In addition, the input system of the rice washer 1 includes a touch panel 65 that can set the amount of rice and water to be supplied to the rice washer tank 2, and the display system includes a display 68 that can display various messages.

Figure 6 is a process diagram showing the operations performed by the rice washer 3, and Figure 7 is a timing chart.

When the operator operates the touch panel 65 to input an operation start signal, the operation start signal is output to the controller 40, and the rice washing and cooking operation begins (S1).

When the controller 40 receives the operation start signal, it places the switching valve 14 in the first position and opens the opening/closing valve 11a so that water is supplied to the lower water supply pipe 11. As a result, water starts to be supplied from the lower water supply pipe 11 to the rice washing tank 2 (S2).

The amount of water supplied to the rice washing tank 2 is detected by a flow rate sensor 50 provided in the water supply pipe 13, and the amount of water supplied detected by the flow rate sensor 50 is output to the controller 40. When it is determined that a predetermined amount of water has been supplied to the rice washing tank 2, the controller 40 closes the opening/closing valve 11a to stop the supply of water to the rice washing tank 2 and terminates the water supply process (S3).

When the water supply to the rice washing tank 4 is stopped, the controller 40 outputs a rice supply signal to the measuring and supplying unit 20 to start the measuring and supplying process (S4).

Upon receiving a rice supply signal, the measuring and supplying unit 20 supplies rice from the rice storage 1 to the rice washing tank 2, and the measuring unit 20b measures the amount of rice supplied from the rice storage 1 to the rice washing tank 2 and outputs a measuring signal to the controller 40.

In this way, the controller 40 is configured to supply rice from the rice storage 1 to the rice washing tank 2 after determining that a predetermined amount of water has been supplied to the rice washing tank 2 from the lower water supply pipe 11. This effectively prevents the rice that is initially dropped from the rice storage 1 into the rice washing tank 2 from colliding with the bottom of the rice washing tank 2, which can cause the rice to crack or become damaged, among rice that is in an overly dry state during winter, and makes it possible to stabilize the quality of the rice. In addition, when the weighed rice is dropped into the rice washing tank 2, it is dropped into the water in the rice washing tank 2, which prevents the rice from concentrating in a specific location and allows the rice to be evenly distributed within the rice washing tank 2.

The controller 40 stores the measurement signal input from the measuring supply unit 20 as rice measurement data in the RAM 42. When the controller 40 determines that a predetermined amount of rice has been supplied to the rice washing tank 2 based on the measurement signal from the measuring supply unit 20, it ends the measuring supply process (S5).

Next, the controller 40 places the switching valve 14 in the first position, opens the on-off valve 11a, supplies water from the lower water supply pipe 11 to the rice washing tank 2, and outputs a drive signal to the air supply motor 61 to supply air from the air supply pipe 12 to the rice washing tank 2, thereby rotating the stirring member 9 and supplying water containing air bubbles to the rice washing tank 2, thereby executing the rice washing process (S6).

As shown in FIG. 7, when the controller 40 receives a detection signal from the water level sensor 51, it outputs a drive stop signal to the air supply motor 61 to stop the supply of air from the air supply pipe 12 to the rice washing tank 2. Meanwhile, water is being supplied to the rice washing tank 2 from the lower water supply pipe 11, so the water contained in the rice washing tank 2 overflows.

After a first predetermined time has elapsed since the detection signal was input from the water level sensor 51, the controller 40 closes the on-off valve 11a to stop the supply of water from the lower water supply pipe 11 to the rice washing tank 2, and outputs a drive stop signal to the motor 27 to stop the rotation of the stirring member 9. At the same time, the controller 40 opens the drain valve 63 to start draining the water contained in the rice washing tank 2.

When the rice washing process is thus completed, the controller 40 switches the switching valve 14 to the second position, opens the on-off valve 35a, and connects the water supply pipe 13 and the upper water supply pipe 35. In this state, the on-off valve 35a is opened and closed intermittently to supply water from the injection nozzle 35b of the upper water supply pipe 35, and the drain valve 63 is opened to discharge the water from the drain outlet 15, thereby executing the strainer-raising soaking process (S7).

When the strainer-raising and soaking process has been carried out for the second specified time, the controller 40 closes the on-off valve 35a to stop the supply of water from the spray nozzle 35b of the upper water supply pipe 35 to the rice washing tank.

Next, the controller 40 closes the drain valve 63 to stop drainage from the rice washing tank 2, and opens the opening/closing valve 11a to supply water from the lower water supply pipe 11 into the rice washing tank 2.

As a result, when the water level sensor 51 detects the water level contained in the rice washing tank 2, the controller 40 closes the opening/closing valve 11a to stop the water supply from the lower water supply pipe 11, and outputs a drive signal to the motor 27 to rotate the stirring member 9, stirring the water in the rice washing tank 2, and executing the stirring process (S8).

In this way, when the water level sensor 51 located at the upper end of the rice-washing tank 2 detects the water level contained in the rice-washing tank 2 and the stirring member 9 is rotated for a third predetermined time, the controller 40 outputs a drive stop signal to the motor 27 to stop the rotation of the stirring member 9 and end the stirring process.

After the stirring process is completed, the controller 40 opens the drain valve 63 to drain the water from the rice washing tank 2 (S9).

Once the water in the rice washing tank 2 has been drained, a water adjustment process is carried out to adjust the amount of water to be poured into the rice cooker 6 along with the washed rice (S10).

During the water addition process, the controller 40 places the switching valve 14 in the first position, opens the on-off valve 11a, and supplies water from the lower water supply pipe 11 into the rice washing tank 2. At the same time, the controller 40 calculates the amount of water to be poured into the rice cooker 6 along with the washed rice based on the rice measurement data stored in the RAM 42, and when the amount of water supplied detected by the flow sensor 50 becomes equal to the amount of water to be poured into the rice cooker 6, closes the on-off valve 11a and ends the water addition process.

Once the water addition process is completed, the controller 40 outputs a drive signal to the motor 32 to move the support shaft 30 and the drop valves 25 attached to each downward, opening the drop port 24 and dropping the washed rice and water into the rice cooker 6 of the rice cooker 4 (S11).

The rice dropped into the rice cooker 6 is cooked by the rice cooker 6.

Next, the details of the rice damage prevention control carried out from the start of the metered supply (S4) to the rice washing process (S6) will be described with reference to FIG. 14. When a preset amount of water based on the amount of rice to be washed is supplied to the rice washing tank 2 (S101), rice is supplied (S102). Then, when it is determined that the rice supply is about to end, the drain valve 63 is opened to start draining the water in the rice washing tank 2 (S103). After a predetermined time, the drain valve 63 is closed, new water is supplied, and the stirring member 9 is started to be driven to enter the rice washing process (S104). When the rice washing operation is completed, the water is drained (S105), the amount of water is adjusted (S106), and the drop valve 25 is opened to carry out the rice and water drop process (S107).

After the rice and water dropping process is executed and the dropping valve 25 is closed (107), it is determined whether or not the so-called continuous rice washing operation is being performed. Continuous rice polishing operation is a process in which multiple rice washing operations are set in advance in response to multiple rice washing and cooking operations and are executed sequentially. If the continuous rice washing operation is set, that is, if S108 is YES, then the process returns to S101 and the same process is repeated. On the other hand, if S108 is NO, that is, if a single rice washing operation is being set, then a standard amount of water is supplied (S109). Here, the standard amount of water is a fixed amount of water that is set in advance and does not depend on the amount of rice.

Then, it is determined whether the next rice washing operation has been set (S110), and if the next rice washing operation has not been set, after a predetermined time has elapsed (S111), the drain valve 63 is opened and the standard amount of water supplied is drained (S112). On the other hand, if the next rice washing operation has been set in S110, the amount of water is adjusted to correspond to the amount of rice to be washed (S113), and the process returns to S102 and the subsequent steps are executed.

In this way, after the rice and water dropping process is performed and the dropping valve 25 is closed, the standard amount of water is supplied without delay (S107 to S109), which makes it difficult for bran and remaining rice to adhere to the inside of the rice washing tank 2. In addition, after a predetermined time has passed, the water is drained (S111 to S112), which prevents the water from deteriorating due to long standby times during the summer, etc.

The amount of water supplied in S101 and S113, i.e., the amount of standby water, is set in approximately proportion to the amount of rice washed, so that when the amount of rice washed is large, the amount of water is large, and when the amount of rice washed is small, the amount of water is small. This reduces the collision of the dropped rice with the bottom of the rice washing tank 2 and reduces the waste of water.

In addition, water drainage starts just before the rice supply in S103 ends, and the rice washing operation starts with the supply of new water in S104, so the rice can be washed while quickly discharging the bran and dust from the rice that has already been supplied and soaked from the start of rice supply until the end or near the end, thereby shortening the rice washing time.

In this embodiment, between the sieve lifting and soaking process and the water addition process, the stirring member 9 is driven while the water level sensor 51 detects the water level in the rice washing tank 2, and a stirring process is performed to stir the water and rice in the rice washing tank 2. This removes rice adhering to the inner wall of the rice washing tank 2, and minimizes the amount of rice remaining on the inner wall of the rice washing tank 2 when the rice contained in the rice washing tank 2 is dropped into the rice cooking pot 6.

Next, the washing process that is carried out after the rice and water dropping process in S11 will be described. When the operator operates the touch panel 65 to input a washing start signal, it is output to the controller 40 and the washing process operation starts. That is, this washing start signal causes the controller 40 to close the drop valve 25 and open the opening/closing valve 11a, and water enters the jacket 10 from the lower water supply pipe 11 and passes through the filter 22 installed in the jacket 10 to be supplied to the rice washing tank 2.

Next, we will explain the configuration around the rice cooking device 4.

In Figure 9, fans 70 are provided on both sides of the support frame 5 behind the rice cooker 6, and are configured to blow air backwards from when the lid of the rice cooker 6 is removed until the inner pot 6A is removed. This configuration allows steam from the inner pot 6A to be sent backwards (Figure 9 (A)), allowing the operator to work comfortably. In addition, by configuring the fan 70 to be driven in the reverse direction, it can be used to cool the handle of the rice cooker 6 when the rice is cooked (Figure 9 (B)).

In Fig. 10, an improved configuration of the drawer stand 8 is shown, in which the drawer rail 71 is horizontal, the drawer stand 8 guided by the rail 71 is composed of an inclined surface 72 and a mounting block 73, and the inclined surface 72 is seen below the drainage outlet 74 of the water pipe inside the facility. With this configuration, the wastewater flows forward on its own, so the worker does not have to clean it. The drainage to the inclined surface 72 is performed by switching the electromagnetic valve 75, but a nozzle 76 is provided at the tip, and washing can be performed with water sprayed from the nozzle 76 by switching the electromagnetic valve as desired. The wastewater from the inclined surface 72 is also guided to a drainage channel 77 (Fig. 10(A)), but a receiver 78 may be provided and guided to the drainage channel 77 via a hose or the like (Fig. 10(B)).

2 Rice washing tank 6 Rice cooker 11 Lower water supply pipe (water supply pipe)
25 Drop valve 35 Upper water supply pipe (water supply pipe)
20 Metering and supplying section

Claims (2)

The rice washing apparatus includes a measuring and supplying unit (20) for supplying rice to the rice washing tank (2), a water supply pipe (11, 35) for supplying water to the rice washing tank (2), and a drain valve (63) for draining water from the rice washing tank (2 ).
In a rice washing machine, a rice and water dumping process is carried out in which a dumping valve (25) provided at the bottom of a rice washing tank (2) is opened after a rice washing operation to dump rice and water into a rice cooker (6) waiting below.
A means for determining whether or not a continuous rice washing operation is set is provided,
When the rice and water dropping process is performed and the dropping valve (25) is closed, it is determined whether or not the continuous rice washing operation is in progress.
If it is determined that there is no next rice washing operation, a certain amount of water that does not correspond to the amount of rice is supplied, and after a predetermined time has elapsed after the supply, the drain valve (63) is opened to drain the certain amount of water,
When it is determined that the next rice washing operation is to be performed, the rice washing machine is configured to supply water in an amount corresponding to the amount of rice into the rice washing tank (2) and to make the machine stand by. 2. The rice washer according to claim 1, wherein the rice washer starts draining water just before the rice supply is completed and starts washing the rice by supplying new water.

Images