JPH0580888B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a fully automatic rice cooking device, which is used for business purposes such as restaurants and kotobuki shops.

(Prior Art) Various proposals regarding automatic rice cooking devices have been made in the past, but most of them are for small home use, and in terms of frequency of use, throughput, and operability, they are not suitable for commercial use, which is the object of the present invention. There is a huge difference, and they are on a different level from the point of view of practicality and continuity.

Therefore, the inventor of the present invention has proposed the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 13020/1983 as a fully automatic rice cooking device that can be used for commercial purposes.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The fully automatic rice cooking device described in the above publication includes a rice storage section for storing rice, a measuring section for weighing and discharging the rice in the rice storage section, and a rice discharging section for discharging rice from the measuring section. a rice washing section that washes rice;
A rice cooking section that cooks the rice discharged from the rice washing section, and a rice discharging valve (conical valve) that opens and closes by vertical motion at the bottom of the rice washing section, and an upper lid that opens and closes the inner pot by vertical motion. The rice cooker, which is the rice cooking part, can be moved in and out laterally (horizontally) while leaving the rice in the refrigerator.

However, the upper lid is equipped with a cylindrical body that is nested into the cylindrical body that has the rice discharging valve, and the cylindrical body is used to guide the vehicle in the vertical direction and to charge the discarded rice into the inner pot. During rice cooking, the heat of the rice cooker was transmitted to the rice waiting in the rice washing tank of the rice washing section, and there was a risk that the cooked quality would deteriorate due to adverse thermal effects.

In addition, it was difficult to check the operation of the rice discharging valve, and if there was rice left behind at the rice discharging valve, it was difficult to clean it, which could lead to poor quality of cooked rice.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a fully automatic rice cooking device that can prevent the effects of heat on the rice in the rice washing section during rice cooking, and also facilitate checking the operation and cleaning of the rice discharging valve in the rice washing section. The purpose is to

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention includes a rice cooking section that receives and cooks rice from the rice washing section at the bottom of the rice washing section that washes weighed rice, and the rice washing section has the rice washing section at the bottom thereof. Equipped with a mouth and a rice discharge valve that allows the rice discharge port to be opened and closed by vertical movement,
The rice cooking section includes a rice cooker having an inner pot that is movable laterally between a rice cooking position located below the rice discharging port and a take-out position pulled out from the rice cooking position, and is movable up and down in the rice cooking position. A fully automatic rice cooking device comprising an upper lid for opening and closing the inner pot,
We have developed the following technical means to achieve the above objectives.

That is, in the present invention according to claim 1, the upper lid 29 has an inlet 37 through which the rice from the rice discharging port 15 is introduced into the inner pot 35, and the inlet 37 can be opened and closed by a lateral movement. A space is formed between the rice discharging valve 14 of the rice washing section 5 and the top lid 29 during rice cooking at the rice cooking position, vertically separating the two 14 and 29 and communicating with each other in the lateral direction. It is characterized by this.

Further, in the present invention according to claim 2, the upper lid 2
9 has an inlet 37 into which the inner pot 35 is introduced to remove the rice from the rice discharging port 15, and a shutter 41 that allows the inlet 37 to be opened and closed by lateral movement; A space is formed between the valve 14 and the top lid 29 during rice cooking in the rice cooking position, separating both 14 and 29 vertically and communicating with each other in the lateral direction. This device is characterized in that it includes means 42 for opening the rice valve 14.

(Function) With the rice cooker 44 set at the rice cooking position, open the shutter 41 provided on the top lid 29 and open the inlet 37.
When the rice discharge valve 14 is opened with the rice cooker 44 open, the washed rice is put into the inner pot 35 of the rice cooker 44.

After charging, the inner pot 35 is closed with the upper lid 29 while the inlet 37 is closed with the shutter 41, and the rice cooking process begins.

During this rice cooking, the rice discharge valve 14 and the upper lid 29 are vertically separated by a space and communicated laterally, so that the heat from the rice cooker 44 is transferred to the rice waiting in the rice washing tank 5 of the rice washing section. There will be no adverse effects.
Moreover, it is easy to check the operation around the rice discharge valve 14, and cleaning is also facilitated.

(Embodiment) To explain the present invention with reference to drawings showing an embodiment thereof, the rice storage tank (part) disposed at the top in FIG.
Raw material (rice) is stored in a hopper-shaped rice storage tank 1, and a metering device (measuring section) 2 is connected to the bottom of the rice storage tank 1. The metering device 2 shown in this embodiment is a drum type that is rotated in one direction by an electric motor 3, and the internal volume is kept constant, and the required amount of raw material is divided into quantitative portions according to the number of rotations and dropped downward. This is based on a pulse counting method controlled by the transmission of pulses to the set value of the counter set by 21.

On the other hand, directly below the metering device 2 is a rice washing tank 5 which has a funnel-shaped raw material chute 4 and serves as a rice washing section.
A raw material supply port 7 is opened through the top plate 6. The rice washing tank 5 is made of a cylindrical body with an inverted cone shape at the bottom, and a hollow rotating shaft 9 on which a plurality of stirring blades 8 each having a different rotation radius is installed at the axis of the tank passes through the top plate 6. It is rotatably arranged by an electric motor 11 via a bearing 10 provided in the same manner. On the other hand, at the bottom of the rice washing tank 5, there is a shaft 13 inserted coaxially with the hollow shaft 9 and movable vertically by a rotary cam mechanism 12 provided above the top plate 6, and a lower end of the shaft 13. A rice discharge port 15, which is an outlet for raw materials and cooking water, is provided with a conical rice discharge valve 14 fixed to the rice cooker, which can be opened and closed by vertical movement.

Further, above the rice draining port 15, there is a separating plate 16 formed in the shape of an inverted cone having a large number of water holes, an annular drainage jacket 17 provided to tightly surround the separating plate 16, and a lower part of the top plate 16. An overflow port 18 is provided in series.

A side pipe 19 is opened in communication with the outer circumferential surface of the drain jacket 17, and a float 20 for detecting a rise in the water level inside the pipe is enclosed. It is configured to be detected and adjusted by a movable center 22. Furthermore, a plurality of water sprinkling ports 23 are provided at the top of the rice washing tank 5 by opening through the top plate 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the side pipe 19 on the outer peripheral surface of the drain jacket 17, there is also a drain pipe 25 for draining washing water out of the system via a drain valve 24 that can be opened and closed, and a drain pipe 25 for draining washing water out of the system and an upward flow into the rice washing tank 5. A water supply port 27 which is opened in communication via a solenoid valve 26 is provided in each case to discharge floating pollutants from the system through the overflow port 18.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of guide plates 28 are fixed to the sides of the drain jacket 17 and a pair of guide plates 28 are installed directly below the coaxial side of the rice washing tank 5.
A member 31 fixed to a shutter rail 30 provided on the top surface of the shutter rail 9 and configured to be able to slide up and down, and a fulcrum 3
An upper lid 29 is installed directly below the rice washing section tank 5, and the inner pot 35 can be opened and closed in the vertical direction by vertical movement using an opening/closing arm 34 extending forward via a pin 33 provided on a member 31. has been done.

The upper lid 29 has a stroke H by the opening/closing arm 34.
As shown by the dotted line in the figure, the inserted inner pot 35 is sealed and held in the open position by a hook 36, and the opening/closing arm 34 and the like constitute a top lid opening/closing means. There is. Therefore, during rice cooking, between the top lid 29 of the rice cooker 44 and the rice discharge valve 14 of the rice washing tank 5, both 29 and 1 are connected.
4 is vertically separated, and a space is formed which communicates in the horizontal direction in the vertical direction of at least stroke H or more.

As shown in FIG. 3, an inlet 37 for rice and water is opened in the center of the upper lid 29, and the inlet 37 has a fulcrum 39 and is moved laterally by a swing arm 40 driven by an electric motor 38. Shutter 41
It has a structure that can be opened and closed freely. The shutter 41 moves along a stroke H' using a shutter rail 30 provided on the top lid as a guide, and slides and seals the inlet 37, and is provided with a sensor 42 for detecting opening/closing of the shutter.

This sensor 42 enables the rice discharging valve 14 to open when the shutter 41 is open, and allows the rice discharging valve 14 to open when the shutter 41 is closed.
The valve is prevented from opening.

In the device of the present invention, when the rice discharge valve 14 provided at the bottom of the rice washing tank 5 is opened, the outflow curve of the rice and water flowing out takes on the shape of a parabola, which is an extension of a conical surface, as shown by the dotted line 43 in FIG. . Top cover 29
The diameter of the inflow port 37 formed in the upper cover 29 is determined so that it does not intersect with the parabola when the upper cover 29 is in the closed position.

The operation mode of the device of the present invention configured as described above will be explained with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments.
In the figure, the rice cooker 44 with the empty inner pot 35 mounted thereon is pulled out and pushed into the refrigerator using the pedestal 45 and moved to the rice cooking position coaxially and directly below the axis of the upper lid 29, and the upper lid 29 is lowered by the opening/closing arm 34 to open the inner pot. 33
Seal it tightly. Here, the presence or absence of the inner pot 35 is detected by the sensor 46.

Next, by setting the metering dial 21 to the required amount of rice to cook, the pulse counter that controls the rotation speed of the metering device 2 is selected, and the sensor 2 that detects the water level detection float 20 in the side pipe 19 is activated.
2 to determine the water level adjustment point 47 in the rice washing tank 5 necessary for rice cooking.

By pressing the start button, the metering machine 2 rotates and divides the raw material in the rice storage tank 1 into the chute 4.
Through the raw material supply port 7, the rice is dropped and supplied into the rice washing tank 5. At the same time, the electric motor 11 starts and the stirring blade 8
At the same time, the solenoid valve 48 communicating with the pressure water system opens and water supply starts from the plurality of water sprinkling ports 23, and the rice washing process begins. The wastewater that has passed through the raw material layer that is accumulated and stirred in the rice washing tank and becomes rice washing pollutant water passes through the separation plate 16 provided at the bottom, passes through the drain jacket 17, the drain pipe, and the drain valve 24, and is then discharged to the drain outlet. 49 and drained out of the system.

Next, the water supply is temporarily stopped according to the rice washing program inputted in advance, and the rice polishing process is started. After the predetermined rice polishing process has passed, water sprinkling is started again to drain away the rice contamination. After repeating the above steps, the drain valve 24 shown in FIG. 2 is closed and water starts to be supplied from the water supply port 27 communicating with the drain jacket 17 via the electromagnetic valve 26.

By sealing the drain valve 24, the supplied water flows upward in the rice washing tank 5, overflowing from the overflow port 18, passing through the drain pipe 50 and the drain box 51, and being drained out of the system from the drain port 49. When a predetermined overflow time has elapsed, the electromagnetic valve 26 closes, the drain valve 24 opens, and the cleaning water that has been stored up to the overflow point in the tank is drained out of the system all at once.

With the above, the rice washing process is completed and the drain valve 2
4 is closed and the solenoid valve 48 is opened, and water supply for the water adjustment process is started. In this process, the water level detection sensor 22
The circuit is turned ON, and as the water level in the rice washing tank 5 rises, the float 20 in the side pipe 19 rises, and at the water level detection point 47, the solenoid valve 48 is closed to stop the water supply.
Next, the cam-type opening/closing mechanism 12 provided above the shaft 13 is rotated by the output signal of the sensor, and the rice discharging valve 14 that seals the rice discharging port 15 at the bottom of the rice washing tank is caused to fall by a predetermined stroke, thereby discharging the raw materials and the cooking water. The liquid is allowed to flow down into the inner pot 35 through an inlet 37 formed in the upper lid 29.

Note that the inlet 37 is used as a shutter 41 during rice cooking.
The opening is temporarily opened by an electric motor 38 in response to an output signal from the sensor 22, and is automatically closed after a predetermined period of time. Further, when the raw material is completely discharged, the rice discharge valve 14 returns to its original position by the rotation of the cam opening/closing mechanism 12 and closes the rice discharge port 15.

Next, a timer that is excited upon detection of the completion of rice discharging speeds up the water absorption time of the raw material, and after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, a burner (not shown) of the rice cooker 44 is ignited by an output signal from the timer to begin the rice cooking process.
The combustion gas is supplied through a conduit that is opened and closed by a gas solenoid valve (not shown), and the solenoid valve is opened by the output signal of the timer and connected to a thermostat (not shown) that detects the bottom temperature of the inner pot 35. It is configured to be blocked by

Completion of the rice cooking process is detected by the thermostat, the burner is extinguished, and a separate timer is activated to limit the steaming time. After the predetermined steaming time has elapsed, the output signal of the timer notifies the completion of rice cooking, and the series of operating steps in the apparatus of the present invention is completed.

In addition, during each process such as water absorption, cooking, and steaming of raw materials in the rice cooker placed below the rice washing tank, and after rice removal is completed, lift the top lid, pull out the inner pot laterally to the removal position, and empty the rice cooker. The shutter 41 is electrically interlocked to prevent it from being opened until it is set at the inner pot take-out position, and the rice discharging valve 14 is opened in response to an output signal from a sensor 42 that detects the opening of the shutter. By doing so, human errors such as double discharge can be completely prevented.

Furthermore, the device of the embodiment is capable of fully automatically processing a series of operations from measuring raw materials to completing rice cooking just by inputting a start signal, and is also capable of continuously and automatically processing a large amount of rice. It also has functions. That is, the output signal of the water level detection sensor 22 indicating the completion of water addition, the sensor (not shown) for detecting the opening of the conical valve 14, and the output signal of the sensor (not shown) for detecting the sealing of the rice discharging valve are used in cascade. The above-mentioned start pulse is generated and the device is restarted automatically, so that the rice washing process in the upper rice washing section is carried out while the rice cooker disposed below is in operation, and the rice washing process is continued until the rice cooking is completed. Since the raw materials inside the rice cooker can be given a waiting time for water absorption, both rice washing and rice cooking operations can be performed continuously in a single device.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention is as described above, and in the present invention according to claim 1, during rice cooking, the rice discharging valve of the rice washing section and the top lid of the rice cooker at the rice cooking position are separated vertically between the two. Since a space is formed that communicates in the horizontal direction, it is possible to prevent the heat of the rice cooking section during rice cooking from having an adverse effect on the rice in the rice washing section.
It is possible to check the operation of the rice discharge valve in the rice washing section, and cleaning is also easier.

Further, since the inlet of the upper lid having the inlet is opened and closed by the lateral movement of the shutter, it can be made compact in the vertical direction.

Furthermore, in the present invention according to claim 2, since rice is not ejected when the shutter is closed, human errors such as double ejection are not caused.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an embodiment of the present invention, a side view showing the arrangement of the internal mechanism, Fig. 2 is a front view of the embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway view of the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1...Rice storage section, 2...Measuring section, 5...Rice washing tank,
14...Rice discharging valve, 15...Rice discharging port, 29...Top lid, 34...Top lid opening/closing means, 41...Shutter, 44...Rice cooker.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A rice washing section for washing weighed rice is provided with a rice cooking section below the rice washing section for receiving and cooking rice from the rice washing section, and the rice washing section has a rice discharging port and a rice discharging port at the bottom thereof. and a rice discharging valve that can be opened and closed by vertical movement, and the rice cooking section is movable laterally between a rice cooking position located below the rice discharging opening and a take-out position pulled out from the rice cooking position. The fully automatic rice cooking device is equipped with a rice cooker having an inner pot and an upper lid that opens and closes the inner pot by vertical movement in the rice cooking position, and the upper lid 29 is configured to remove rice from the rice discharging port 15 from the inner pot. 35, the inlet 37
A shutter 41 is provided which can be opened and closed by a lateral movement, and a shutter 41 is provided between the rice discharge valve 14 of the rice washing section 5 and the top lid 29 during rice cooking in the rice cooking position.
The fully automatic rice cooking device is characterized in that the rice cooker 9 is separated vertically and forms a space that communicates with the rice in the horizontal direction. 2. A rice washing section for washing weighed rice is provided with a rice cooking section below the rice washing section for receiving and cooking rice from the rice washing section, and the rice washing section has a rice discharging port at its bottom and the rice discharging port can be opened and closed by vertical movement. and a rice discharging valve, the rice cooking section having an inner pot that is movable laterally between a rice cooking position located below the rice discharging port and a take-out position pulled out from the rice cooking position. The fully automatic rice cooking device is equipped with an upper lid that opens and closes the inner pot by vertical movement in the rice cooking position, and the upper lid 29 serves as an inflow port through which the rice discarded from the rice discharging port 15 is introduced into the inner pot 35. 37, the inlet 37
A shutter 41 is provided which can be opened and closed by a lateral movement, and a shutter 41 is provided between the rice discharge valve 14 of the rice washing section 5 and the top lid 29 during rice cooking in the rice cooking position.
9 are vertically separated to form a space communicating with each other in the lateral direction, and further includes means 42 for detecting the opening of the shutter 41 and opening the rice discharging valve 14. Automatic rice cooker.