JP7788930B2 - Measuring rice container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a measuring rice container.

Since the volume of each grain of granular white rice, brown rice, and pre-washed rice varies, if you measure brown rice or pre-washed rice in the same measuring measure as for white rice and cook it with the same amount of water as for white rice, the cooked rice will be either soft or hard.

The measuring rice bin described in Patent No. 4035411 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1) allows the volume of the measuring measure to be changed by attaching and detaching an attachment that reduces the volume of the measuring measure, making it possible to measure different types of rice using the same measuring measure.

Patent No. 4035411

However, switching between white rice and pre-washed rice is not done until the refilled rice is empty. In the meantime, with a measuring rice bin like the one in Patent Document 1, the attachment has to be stored somewhere else. The frequency with which rice is refilled varies depending on the number of people in the household, but if it is refilled approximately once every one or two months, there is a risk that the location of the attachment will be lost during that time. Furthermore, if you also take into account the need to switch from white rice to brown rice, the attachment will only be attached and detached a few times a year. This makes it even more likely that you will forget where you stored the attachment.

Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a measuring rice container that can store attachments.

The measuring rice bin that represents one solution of the present invention comprises a hopper in the main body that stores granular solids, a measuring device that measures a fixed amount of solids flowing from the hopper into a measure, a rice receptacle that receives the solids measured by the measuring device, and an attachment that changes the volume of the measure. The measuring device has an attachment section for attaching the attachment to the measure, and the main body is equipped with a storage section for storing the attachment.

The attachment also includes a base, an arm portion extending from the base for reducing the width of the attachment, and a protrusion for fixing the attachment in the insertion/removal direction.
The mounting portion has a guide portion for fixing the attachment and a fitting hole for fitting the protrusion of the attachment.
The storage section has a guide section for fixing the attachment and a fitting hole for fitting the protrusion of the attachment.

One solution of the present invention allows attachments to be stored in the measuring rice container.

1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of a measuring rice bin according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the external configuration of the measuring rice bin shown in FIG. 1. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in Figure 2. FIG. 3 is a top view of the weighing device 20 of FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the weighing device 20 showing the attachment 50 attached thereto. This is a cross-sectional view of line B-B' in Figure 4. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the weighing device 20 showing the storage state of the attachment 50.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the explanation will be divided into multiple sections, etc., if necessary. However, in principle, these are not unrelated to each other; one is a partial or complete modification or detail of the other. For this reason, in all drawings, components having the same function are given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations will be omitted.

Furthermore, the number of components (including number, numerical value, amount, range, etc.) is not limited to a specific number, and may be more or less than a specific number, unless otherwise specified or clearly limited in principle to a specific number. Furthermore, when referring to the shape of a component, etc., this includes things that are substantially similar or approximate to that shape, etc., unless otherwise specified or clearly considered not to be the case in principle.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of a measuring rice bin 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a front view showing the external configuration of the measuring rice bin shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' in Fig. 2.
The measuring rice container 1 stores rice inside the main body 10 and measures out the required amount (for example, one gou). The main body 10 of the measuring rice container 1 is made of resin or metal such as stainless steel. The inside of the main body 10 is provided with a heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam or urethane material to insulate the temperature around the measuring rice container 1 when it is installed.
The main body 10 has a door 11 with a handle 13 on the front. Like the main body 10, the door 11 is made of resin or metal such as stainless steel, and the inside of the door 11 is lined with insulating material such as polystyrene foam or urethane material. This prevents the temperature around the installed measuring rice bin 1 from being transmitted through the door 11 to the inside of the main body 10. Furthermore, when the door 11 is opened, a removable wall 16 is provided, and when the wall 16 is removed, access to the inside of the main body 10 is possible.
The measuring rice container 1 has an opening at the top and a removable lid 14. The lid 14 can be removed to make it easier to pour rice into the container. The underside of the lid 14 is provided with a heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam or urethane to prevent the temperature around the measuring rice container 1 from being transferred from the lid 14 to the inside of the container 10.
The measuring rice container 1 has a function of insulating the temperature around the measuring rice container 1 from being transmitted to the inside of the main body 10 by providing heat insulating materials on the top surface and around the container, thereby preventing deterioration of the rice contained therein.
Furthermore, the weighing rice container 1 is equipped with a cooling device such as a Peltier element (not shown), which has the function of preventing the rice, which is a perishable food, from deteriorating by keeping it at a constant temperature.

The weighing rice bin 1 comprises a hopper 12 that stores rice in a main body 10, a weighing device 20 that weighs the stored rice, and a rice receptacle 15 that receives the rice to be weighed. The top of the hopper 12 is open for adding rice, and the edge of the hopper 12 is designed to connect with the opening of the main body 10. The top of the hopper 12, i.e., the opening of the main body 10, is provided with the removable lid 14 mentioned above. The bottom of the hopper 12 is open so that the rice can flow out into the weighing device 20, and the opening is shaped to slope toward the opening so that the rice can flow out.
The weighing device 20, which is provided below the hopper 12, is arranged so that it can be pulled out to the front of the main body 10 when the door 11 is opened and the removable wall 16 is removed. The weighing device 20 also has a finger hook 22 that protrudes from the front of the wall 16, and by pressing down on the finger hook 22, it has the function of measuring a fixed amount of rice flowing in from below the hopper 12.
The measuring rice container 1 has a rice receptacle 15 below the measuring device 20. The rice receptacle 15 is provided to receive the rice discharged by the measuring device 20 and to allow it to be pulled out from the main body 10.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the weighing device 20. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the weighing device 20 showing the attachment 50 attached. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B' in FIG. 4. The weighing device 20 is provided with a weighing lever 21. The front side of the weighing lever 21 has a finger hook 22 that is pressed down to activate the weighing device 20, and an operating arm 23 extending rearward from the finger hook 22 is provided at the rear of the weighing lever 21. The operating arm 23 branches into left and right parts midway as it extends rearward, each of which is formed in a crank shape. The end of the operating arm 23 is curved and contacts one end of a measuring vessel 28 provided at the rear of the weighing lever 21.
The measuring lever 21 has a hole 24 formed midway between the finger hook 22 and the connecting operating arm 23, and a pivot pin 26 is inserted into the hole 24. The pivot pin 26 is rod-shaped and bent at one point, with a long piece and a short piece. By inserting the long piece of the pivot pin 26 into the hole 24, the measuring lever 21 rotates around the pivot pin 26.

A measuring vessel 28 that moves in conjunction with the measuring lever 21 is provided at the rear of the measuring lever 21. The measuring vessel 28 has two fan-shaped plate portions 30, each of which is composed of an arc 32 and a chord 31. The chord 31 is provided so as to come into contact with the curved surface of the operating arm 23.
The measuring measure 28 has a plate-shaped blocking plate 17 behind the two plate portions 30 (Figure 4). The blocking plate 17 has an arc-shaped cross section and functions to block rice flowing in from the hopper 12. The measuring measure 28 also has a measure portion 29 that discharges rice into the rice receiving container 15. The measure portion 29 is originally plate-shaped, and the lower portion of the measure portion 29 is curved so that rice can be stored. The upper portion of the measure portion 29 is provided to connect to the plate portions 30 and the blocking plate 17. For ease of explanation, the measure portion 291 in Figure 6 will be referred to as measure portion a, 292 as measure portion b, and 293 as measure portion c.
The measuring vessel 28 also has a hole 25 into which a pivot pin 27 is inserted. The pivot pin 27 is rod-shaped and bent at one point, with a long piece and a short piece. When the long piece of the pivot pin 27 is inserted into the hole 25, the measuring vessel 28 rotates around the pivot pin 27.

The weighing device 20 has a cover 33 that covers the weighing lever 21 and the weighing vessel 28. The cover 33 has a pair of rails 37 on both sides of the cover 33 so that the weighing device 20 can be pulled out from the main body 10. One end of the rails 37 has a shape that gradually widens toward the rear so that it can be easily fitted into a guide (not shown) provided on the main body 10. The other end has a bent portion 38. The bent portion 38 functions as a stopper when the weighing device 20 is inserted into the main body.
The top surface of the cover 33 is open and has a receiving port 34 for receiving rice flowing out from the hopper 12. The bottom surface of the cover 33 has a discharge port 35 for discharging the measured rice. The discharge port 35 is always blocked by the measure part 29 and is opened when the measure part 29 rotates.
The cover 33 also has a space 39 for containing the rice measured by the measure portion 29. The space 39 surrounded by the cover 33 and the measure portion 29 is a space that blocks the rice flowing in from the receiving port 34.

7A is a perspective view of the attachment 50 showing the attached state. 7B is a perspective view of the attachment 50 showing the stored state. 7B is a perspective view of the weighing device 20 showing the stored state of the attachment 50. In FIG. 7, the x-axis direction is the attachment/detachment direction of the attachment 50, the y-axis direction is the width direction, and the z-axis direction is the height direction.
The attachment 50 has a substantially rectangular base body 55 and an arm 54 extending symmetrically from one side of the base body 55. The extending arm 54 has a bending portion 56 where it bends midway, and has a gripping portion 51 at its end for gripping the attachment 50. The arm 54 has the property of swinging inward from the bending portion 56 as a base point. The arm 54 also has a protrusion 53 midway that fits into a fitting hole 42 of the mounting portion 40, which will be described later.
The base 55 also has a rib 52. The rib 52 has a U-shape so that the rib 52 can be easily inserted between the two guide portions 43 when the attachment 50 is attached.

The container portion 29 has a mounting portion 40 for mounting an attachment 50 that reduces the volume of the space 39. The mounting portion 40 has a fitting portion 41 into which the attachment 50 is inserted and a guide portion 43 that guides the mounting of the attachment 50. Furthermore, the mounting portion 40 has a fitting hole 42 into which the protrusion 53 of the attachment 50 is fitted.
The guide portion 43 is provided in the box portion a 291 of the box portion 29, and is provided away from the box portion b 292 by the height h of the attachment 50. Therefore, by inserting the base body 55 between the guide portion 43 and the box portion b 292, the guide portion 43 has the function of fixing the base body 55 of the attachment 50 between the box portion b 292 and the guide portion 43.
Furthermore, the two guide portions 43 are provided spaced apart by the width of the rib 52. Therefore, the rib 52 fits between the two guide portions 43, thereby functioning to fix the base body 55 in the left-right direction.
That is, the mounting portion 40 has the function of fixing the base body 55 of the attachment 50 in place and fixing it in the insertion direction by the fitting hole 42. As a result, the mounting portion 40 prevents the attachment 50 from falling into the space 39.

A storage section 45 for storing the attachment 50 is provided at the rear side of the weighing device 20. The storage section 45 has a fitting section 46, a fitting hole 47, and a guide section 48 for storing the attachment 50. The mounting height of the guide section 48 is set at a distance h from the bottom 36 of the cover 33, which is the height of the attachment 50, and the guide sections 48 are spaced apart by the width of the rib section 52, similar to the mounting section 40.
The guide portions 48 are capable of fixing the base body 55 in the left-right direction when the rib portions 52 are sandwiched between the guide portions 48. Furthermore, the guide portions 48 are capable of sandwiching the base body 55 between the bottom surface 36 and the guide portions 48 when the base body 55 slides below the guide portions 48. This allows the guide portions 48 to function as fixing the base body 55. In other words, the storage portion 45 fixes the attachment 50 in the insertion direction by fitting the protrusions 53 of the attachment 50 into the fitting holes 47, and the guide portions 48 can fix the base body 55 of the attachment 50.

Next, we will explain the operation of the measuring rice bin 1 configured in this way. Note that the measuring rice bin 1 of the present invention will be explained using white rice and brown rice, which has a larger volume than white rice, as an example, but it can also be used to measure other granular materials with different volumes, such as pre-washed rice and white rice.

Since the volume of white rice is smaller than that of brown rice, if one cup of white rice is cooked in a brown rice measuring cup, it will become soft. Therefore, the user pulls out the weighing device 20 from inside the main body 10 and attaches the attachment 50 to the mounting part 40 of the weighing device 20.
When the user pinches the two gripping portions 51 of the attachment 50, the arms 54 are displaced inward. This causes the arms 54 of the attachment 50 to contract in the width direction, making it easier for the user to insert their hands between the receiving openings 34. The user inserts the attachment 50 between the fitting portions 41 and then releases their hands from the gripping portions 51. The displaced arms 54 then return to their original shape, and the protrusions 53 fit into the fitting holes 42. At this time, the ribs 52 are inserted between the guide portions 43, securing the attachment in the left-right direction. Furthermore, because the guide portions 43 are positioned a distance h from the measure portion b292, they also secure the base 55. This secures the attachment 50 to the mounting portion 40 and prevents it from falling into the space 39.

Once the attachment 50 is attached to the attachment section 40, the user returns the weighing device 20 to the main body 10. The user then opens the lid 14 of the main body 10, puts polished rice into the hopper 12, and closes the lid 14.
Once the user has finished adding the white rice, they press down on the finger grip 22 of the measuring lever 21 to measure the desired amount of white rice. This causes the measuring lever 21 to rotate around the pivot pin 26, so when the finger grip 22 lowers, the operating arm 23 rises. Because the operating arm 23 is in contact with the measuring measure 28, it can move the measuring measure 28 in conjunction with the lever 21. Furthermore, because the measuring measure 28 rotates around the pivot pin 27, when the operating arm 23 rises, the plate portion 30 is lifted by the operating arm 23, and the measure portion 29 tilts downward. By tilting downward, the measure portion c293, which is in contact with the cover 33, separates from the cover 33 and opens to allow the white rice to flow out of the discharge port 35. The white rice in the blocked space 39 then passes through the discharge port 35 and is received in the rice receiver 15 provided below the discharge port 35.
Furthermore, as the measuring vessel 28 rotates, the blocking plate 17 blocks the opening of the receiving port 34 , so that the rice stored in the hopper 12 does not flow from the hopper 12 into the space 39 .
This allows a constant amount of white rice (for example, one cup) to be measured at all times.

When eating brown rice, the user pulls out the weighing device 20 from the main body 10 and removes the attachment 50 attached to the mounting portion 40. The user then attaches the attachment 50 to the storage portion 45 provided at the rear of the cover 33. Specifically, the user holds the attachment 50 by the grip portion 51 with the side with the rib 52 facing up, as shown in FIG. 7B. The user inserts the attachment 50 between the fitting portions 46 and then releases the grip portion 51. The displaced arm portion 54 then returns to its original shape, and the protrusion 53 fits into the fitting hole 47. At this time, the rib portion 52 is inserted between the guide portions 48, securing the attachment in the left-right direction. The guide portions 48 are located a distance h (the height of the base 55) from the bottom surface of the cover 33, allowing the base 55 to be secured in place. In this way, when the attachment 50 is attached to the storage section 45, it can be easily attached by simply turning the attachment 50 upside down.
On the other hand, when the attachment 50 is removed, the volume of the space 39 increases by the volume of the attachment 50, thereby enabling the weighing device 20 to measure the same amount of brown rice (for example, one cup) as the amount of white rice.

As described above, by attaching and detaching the attachment 50 of this configuration to the mounting portion 40, the volume of the space 39 can be changed, and different volumes of white rice, brown rice, etc. can be measured using the same measuring portion 29.
Furthermore, the weighing device 20 of the present invention is provided with a storage section 45, which allows the attachment 50 to be stored within the main body. In other words, the weighing rice container 1 of the present invention prevents the attachment 50 from being lost by storing it in the storage section 50 when not in use.
Furthermore, the configuration of the mounting portion 40 is the same as the configuration of the storage portion 45 (the guide portions 43, 48, the fitting portions 41, 46, and the fitting holes 42, 47). This allows the attachment 50 to be stored in the storage portion 45 simply by turning it upside down and attaching it. This allows the attachment 50 to be stored easily without using other parts (such as screws) when storing the attachment 50.

Also, it has been explained that the arm portion 54 of the attachment 50 of the present invention extends from the base 55 to both ends and bends midway so as to reduce the width of the attachment 50. However, this shape is not essential as long as the protrusion 53 of the arm portion 54 is configured to fit into the fitting holes 42, 47.
Furthermore, although the base body 55 of the attachment 50 has been described as being substantially rectangular, it may be, for example, cylindrical if the volume of the space 39 can be varied.
Furthermore, although the mounting portion 40 has been described as being provided in the box portion 29, this is not a requirement as long as the mounting portion 40 is provided in the space 39, and it may also be provided on the inner wall of the cover 33, for example.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications can be made to the shape and configuration without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1 Measuring rice container 10 Main body 12 Hopper 15 Rice receiver 20 Measuring device 21 Measuring lever 22 Finger hook 23 Operating arm 28 Measuring measure 29 Measure portion 291 Measure portion a
292 Masube b
293 Masube c
33 Cover 34 Receiving port 35 Discharge port 37 Rail 38 Bending portion 39 Space 40 Mounting portion 41, 46 Fitting portion 42, 47 Fitting portion hole 43, 48 Guide portion 45 Storage portion 50 Attachment 51 Grip portion 52 Rib portion 53 Protrusion portion 54 Arm portion 55 Member 57 Sliding portion h Height

Claims (2)

In a rice measuring bin that measures a fixed amount of granular solids,
The measuring rice container has a hopper for storing the individual pieces in a main body,
a weighing device having a measuring portion for measuring a fixed amount of the solid flowing out from the hopper;
a rice receptacle for receiving the rice pieces to be metered by the metering device;
an attachment that changes the volume of the container;
The weighing device includes a mounting portion provided within the container portion and configured to mount the attachment;
A measuring rice container characterized by having a storage section located outside the container section for storing the attachment. The attachment is
a substrate;
an arm portion extending from the base body and displacing in a width direction ;
a protrusion for fixing the attachment in the insertion/removal direction,
The mounting portion includes a guide portion that fixes the attachment;
a fitting portion having a fitting hole into which the protrusion of the attachment is fitted,
The storage section includes a guide section for fixing the attachment;
a fitting portion having a fitting hole into which the protrusion of the attachment is fitted;
2. The measuring rice container according to claim 1.