Fermented product production device

Abstract

To provide a fermented product production device which can use various sizes and types of storage containers.SOLUTION: A fermented product production device which ferments an object with heat to produce a fermented product includes a casing having a storage space 11 therein for storing a storage container which stores the object. The storage space 11 has an N-sided polygon shape (N is a natural number of 5 or more) when viewed from above.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing a fermented product by heating and fermenting an object to produce a fermented product. [Background technology]

[0002] As an example of a fermented milk production device that produces fermented milk, a fermented product, a "yogurt production machine with switchable fermentation temperature settings can be used to accommodate different types of bacteria in yogurt that have different fermentation temperatures by switching the fermentation temperature when making yogurt, and can be used either with cartoned milk as is or with an attached container when making yogurt." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-218433 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] With the above device, you cannot simply insert a long, horizontal pack, such as a soy milk paper pack, into the machine and make yogurt; instead, you must transfer the contents into a special container, which is troublesome. In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a fermentation product production apparatus that can utilize storage containers of various sizes and types. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The fermentation product production apparatus of the present invention is a fermentation product production apparatus that heats and ferments an object to produce a fermentation product, and is equipped with a housing having an internal storage space for accommodating a storage container that holds the object, and the storage space has an N-sided polygonal shape (N is a natural number greater than or equal to 5) when viewed from above. Effect of the Invention

[0006] The above-described device allows the use of containers of various sizes and types. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing the exterior of the fermentation product producing apparatus, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing a state in which a storage container is installed and a lid is removed. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the cross section of the fermentation product producing apparatus as viewed from above on the right side. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the fermentation product producing apparatus as viewed from above. [Figure 4] 1A is a diagram of the device body as viewed from above, and FIG. 1B is a diagram of the device body as viewed from above, accommodating a storage container having a rectangular shape in plan view. [Diagram 5] 1A is a top view of the device body housing a storage container having a horizontally elongated rectangular shape in plan view, and FIG. 1B is a top view of the device body housing a storage container having a circular shape in plan view. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] <Summary> A first fermented product production apparatus in one embodiment is a fermented product production apparatus that heats and ferments an object to produce a fermented product, and is equipped with a housing having an internal storage space for accommodating a storage container that holds the object, and the storage space has an N-sided polygonal shape (N is a natural number greater than or equal to 5) when viewed from above. This allows for the storage of containers that are rectangular, rectangular, or circular in plan view.

[0009] In one embodiment of the second fermentation product production apparatus, in the first fermentation product production apparatus, the N-sided shape is a hexagon, a pseudo-hexagonal shape resembling a hexagon with at least one corner being arc-shaped, a pseudo-hexagonal shape resembling a hexagon with at least one side being arc-shaped, or a pseudo-hexagonal shape resembling a hexagon with at least one corner and at least one side being arc-shaped. This allows for the storage of containers that are rectangular, rectangular, or circular in plan view.

[0010] In one embodiment, in the second fermentation product production apparatus, the hexagonal shape or the pseudo-hexagonal shape is perpendicular to the opposing direction of a pair of first side portions in which the distance is maximum, and is a shape that is symmetrical with respect to a virtual line that passes through a midpoint between the pair of first side portions in the opposing direction, When the storage container, which has a square shape when viewed from above, is stored, the four second sides different from the first sides abut against or are close to the four corners of the storage container. This allows the container to be positioned.

[0011] A fourth fermented product production apparatus in one embodiment is the third fermented product production apparatus, in which the apparatus main body is provided with a heater for heating and fermenting the target object in a peripheral wall portion of the recess, and a circuit board on which a circuit for controlling the heater is mounted between the peripheral wall portion and the outer peripheral wall of the housing, and the circuit board is parallel to the opposing direction when viewed from above and is located on one side of a direction perpendicular to the opposing direction. In one embodiment, the 4A fermented product production apparatus is a fermented product production apparatus comprising the first to third fermented product production apparatuses, the apparatus main body having a heater for heating and fermenting the target object in the peripheral wall portion of the recess, and a circuit board having a circuit mounted thereon for controlling the heater between the peripheral wall portion and the outer peripheral wall of the housing, the circuit board being parallel to the first direction and positioned on one side of the second direction when viewed from above.

[0012] In one embodiment, a fifth fermentation product production apparatus is a first to fourth fermentation product production apparatus, in which the housing comprises an apparatus main body having a recessed portion that forms the lower side of the storage space, and a lid body that covers the opening of the recessed portion and forms the upper side of the storage space, and the opening area of ​​the recessed portion is larger than the area of ​​the bottom portion of the recessed portion. This makes it easier to insert the container into the recess.

[0013] A sixth fermented product producing apparatus according to one embodiment is such that, in each of the first to fifth fermented product producing apparatuses, the opening periphery of the recess forms an inclined surface that widens outward as it moves upward. This makes it easier to insert the container into the recess.

[0014] A seventh fermentation product producing apparatus according to one embodiment is any of the first to sixth fermentation product producing apparatuses, wherein the apparatus body has a plurality of protrusions on a bottom portion of the recess. This can prevent the bottom surface of the storage container from coming into contact with liquid (for example, water) accumulated in the bottom portion of the recess.

[0015] <Embodiment>

[0016] 1. Fermentation product production equipment The fermented product producing apparatus 1 heats and ferments an object to produce a fermented product. Examples of fermented products include fermented milk, sweet sake, and salt koji. Fermented milk is produced, for example, by heating and fermenting raw milk and a seed culture. Sweet sake is produced, for example, by adding boiling water to rice, and then adding water and rice koji and fermenting the mixture. Salt koji is produced, for example, by adding salt and water to sweet sake and rice koji and fermenting the mixture. 1 and 2, the fermentation product production apparatus 1 has an internal storage space 11 for storing a storage container 9 for storing an object. In the drawings, the leading line of the storage space 11 is shown as an arrow to distinguish it from the recessed portion 32. The storage container 9 may be, for example, a storage container 9A having a rectangular shape when viewed from above as shown in (b) of Figure 4, a storage container 9B having a horizontally elongated rectangular shape when viewed from above as shown in (a) of Figure 5, and a storage container 9C having a circular shape when viewed from above as shown in (b) of Figure 5. When there is no need to distinguish between them, they will simply be referred to as "storage container 9". For example, the storage container 9A corresponds to a milk carton or the like and has a square shape of 7 cm x 7 cm in plan view. The storage container 9B corresponds to a soy milk carton or the like and has a horizontally elongated rectangular shape of 10 cm x 6 cm in plan view. The storage container 9C corresponds to a special-purpose container and has a circular shape with a radius of 5 cm in plan view. In addition, yogurt can be produced from milk and lactic acid bacteria, and soy milk yogurt (fermented product) can be produced from soy milk and lactic acid bacteria.

[0017] The fermented product producing apparatus 1 includes an apparatus body 3 that forms the lower side of the accommodation space 11, and a lid body 5 that forms the upper side of the accommodation space 11. In other words, the apparatus body 3 and the lid body 5 form a housing. The device main body 3 includes a main body section 31 and a recessed section 32 recessed downward from the upper surface of the main body section 31. The device main body 3 includes a heating section 33 (see FIG. 2) for heating an object, an operation section 34 for turning the device on and off, selecting a fermented product to be produced, and manually heating the object, and a control section 35 for controlling the heating section 33 and the operation section 34. Here, the direction perpendicular to the surface on which the operating unit 34 is located is defined as the front-rear direction, the side on which the operating unit 34 is located is defined as the front side, and the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the up-down direction is defined as the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the cover 5 detachably covers the upper part of the device body 3.

[0018] 2. Device body The main body 31 is columnar and has a rectangular shape with arc-shaped corners and sides when viewed from above, as shown in Fig. 3. The main body 31 has an outer peripheral wall 311, and an operation unit 34 is provided at a portion located on the front side of the outer peripheral wall 311. The main body 31 has a step portion 313 at a joining portion between the upper wall 312 and the outer peripheral wall 311, and is configured so that the dome-shaped lid 5 fits into it.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the recessed portion 32 constitutes the lower side of the storage space 11. The recessed portion 32 has an opening shape in cross section that is substantially the same in the vertical direction (the opening shape at any position in the vertical direction is substantially constant (similar)). The recessed portion 32 has a peripheral wall portion 321 and a bottom portion 322. The peripheral wall portion 321 has an opening area that increases from the bottom portion 322 upward. That is, the opening area of ​​the upper end of the recessed portion 32 is larger than the area of ​​the bottom portion 322. This makes it easy to store the storage container 9. In particular, in the case of the storage container 9A, even if it is not inserted straight in the front-rear or left-right directions, the storage container 9A can be guided to be positioned in a position (assumed position) facing the front-rear and left-right directions. In addition, since the opening area on the bottom portion 322 side is smaller, the gap between the lower side of the peripheral wall portion 321 and the storage container 9 is smaller or comes into contact with the storage container 9. This makes it possible to prevent or position the storage container 9 from wobbling, and reduces the variation in the distance between the heating unit 33 and the storage container 9. Therefore, the variation in the heating temperature of the storage container 9 (object) is reduced, and the quality of the fermented product can be improved.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 4(a) when viewed from above, the recess 32 (housing space 11) has a horizontal dimension L1 that is approximately the same as a vertical dimension L2, and has an N-sided polygon (N is a natural number of 5 or more). Note that "approximately the same" means that L1 is in the range of 0.8 to 1.2 times L2. In other words, the outline of the opening shape when the recess 32 is viewed from above includes a pair of linear first regions 323 intersecting with the left-right direction and an arc-shaped second region 324 intersecting with the front-rear direction, with the second region 324 bulging outward from both ends in the front-rear direction of the first region 323. This allows the recess 32 to accommodate a horizontally elongated storage container 9B and a cylindrical storage container 9C as shown in Fig. 5(a) (naturally, a rectangular storage container 9A can also be accommodated). The opening shape is symmetrical with respect to an imaginary line L that passes through the center (center O) of the pair of first regions 323 intersecting (or perpendicular to) the left-right direction and extends in the front-rear direction.

[0021] The N-gon, which is the shape of the recess 32, here has a hexagonal shape with a large distance between a pair of sides (first region 323) in the left-right direction, a pseudo-hexagonal shape similar to a hexagon with at least one corner being arc-shaped, a pseudo-hexagonal shape similar to a hexagon with at least one side being arc-shaped, or a pseudo-hexagonal shape similar to a hexagon with at least one corner and at least one side being arc-shaped. As shown in Fig. 3, the pseudo-hexagonal shape here has six corners and four sides (four sides other than the side (first region 323) that face each other in the left-right direction and have the largest facing distance) that are arc-shaped.

[0022] 5(b), the pseudo-hexagon has a shape in which a circle of radius r is inscribed in a pair of first regions 323 and a pair of second regions 324, and the direction in which the pair of first regions 323 face each other (left-right direction) is perpendicular to the direction in which the pair of second regions 324 face each other (front-back direction). This allows the cylindrical storage container 9C with radius r to be stored with little wobble, the gap between the heating unit 33 and the storage container 9C to be constant, and temperature variation can be reduced. The distance between the pair of first regions 323 ("L1" in FIG. 4(a)) corresponds to the length of the long side of the horizontally long storage container 9B as shown in FIG. 5(a), and the length L3 in the front-to-rear direction of the first region 323 corresponds to the length of the short side of the horizontally long storage container 9B. This makes it possible to store the horizontally long storage container 9B with little wobble, and to place the storage container 9B in an intended position, thereby reducing variation in the quality of the object to be heated. Moreover, the radius of the arcs of the pair of second regions 324 is within a range of 1.05 to 1.2 times r.

[0023] 3, the third region 325 located between the first region 323 and the second region 324 is linear or arc-shaped with a larger radius than the arc of the second region 324. The four third regions 325 are configured to abut against the four corners of the storage container 9A as shown in (b) of FIG. 4. This allows the storage container 9A, which has a rectangular shape when viewed from above, to be stored with little wobble, the gap between the heating unit 33 and the storage container 9A to be constant, and the temperature variation of the storage container (object) 9A to be reduced. In addition, when the third region 325 is included, when the storage space 11 is viewed from above, as shown in (a) of Figure 4, the dimension (L1) in the first direction (left-right direction) and the dimension (L3) in the second direction (front-rear direction) that are perpendicular to each other are larger than the dimension (L3) in the second direction, and the storage space 11 is composed of a pair of short side portions (first region 323) that intersect with the first direction and a pair of long side portions (second region 324 and third region 325) that intersect with the second direction and are longer than the short side portions, and the long side portions bulge outward in the second direction. The bulge may be a combination of two linear third regions 325 and an arc-shaped second region 324, or the part corresponding to the second region 324 may be linear and parallel to the left-right direction (in this case, it will have a pseudo-octagonal shape).

[0024] Specifically, L1 is equal to or longer than the long side of storage container 9B and is 10 cm. L3 is equal to or longer than the short side of storage container 9B and is 6 cm. L2 is the same as L1, 10 cm. Note that L3 is longer than the short side of storage container 9B and shorter than one side of storage container 9A. This allows storage containers 9A, 9B, and 9C to be stored in a positioned state, and the corner portion of storage container 9A abuts against peripheral wall portion 321 of recessed portion 32.

[0025] The opening periphery 326 of the recess 32 forms an inclined surface (326) that widens outward as it moves upward. This makes it easier to insert the storage container 9 into the recess 32 and to guide it into the recess 32. The bottom portion 322 of the recessed portion 32 has a plurality of protrusions 327. This can prevent the bottom of the storage container 9 from coming into contact with water or the like accumulated in the bottom portion 322 of the recessed portion 32, and allows for hygienic use. In addition, when water comes into contact with the entire surface (including most of the surface) of the bottom of the storage container 9, there is no gap between the side surface of the storage container 9 and the peripheral wall of the recessed portion 32, and a difference in heat transfer from the heater between the bottom surface and the side surface of the storage container 9 is easily generated. However, the protrusions 327 can prevent the generation of the difference in heat transfer. In addition, even if the storage container 9 is a container with an uneven surface at the bottom such as folds of a paper container, the protrusions 327 can stably place the storage container 9 on the bottom portion 322 of the recessed portion 32 in the same way as a container with a flat bottom surface. Here, the convex portion 327 has a circular, square, rectangular, elliptical, oval, or other shape when viewed from above. There are eight convex portions 327, including four arranged at the corners of the first rectangular shape S1 and four arranged at the corners of the second rectangular shape S2 that is smaller than one side of the first rectangular shape S1, as shown in FIG. 3. Here, the intersection position of the diagonal lines of the first rectangular shape S1 and the intersection position of the diagonal lines of the second rectangular shape S2 coincide ("O" in the figure), and the second rectangular shape S2 is rotated 45 degrees around the intersection point (center) with respect to the first rectangular shape S1. The second rectangular shape S2 exists within the area of ​​the first rectangular shape S1.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 2, the heating section 33 is provided on the outer circumferential surface (the surface not facing the accommodation space 11) of the peripheral wall portion 321 of the recessed portion 32. The heating section 33 is made of a heating wire, and is provided around the entire circumference of the peripheral wall portion 321 while being folded up and down. The heating wire is fixed with a metal foil (aluminum tape) such as aluminum (not shown). The aluminum foil is provided around the entire circumference of the outer circumferential surface of the recessed portion 32, which allows heat to be transferred evenly around the entire circumference of the peripheral wall portion 321 of the recessed portion 32. From the viewpoint of fixing, it is not necessary to provide the heating wire around the entire circumference of the recessed portion 32.

[0027] 1B, the operation unit 34 includes a power button 341 for power supply, a selection button 342 for selecting a generation program, and a display means 343 for displaying the selected content, the progress of the program, the temperature, etc. These are mounted on a circuit board 344 disposed between the outer peripheral wall 311 and the peripheral wall portion 321 of the recessed portion 32. As shown in FIG. 3, the circuit board 344 is disposed so as to be perpendicular to the front-rear direction (in other words, parallel to the left-right direction) when viewed from above. The circuit board 344 is mounted with electronic components of the control unit 35 that controls the heating unit 33 and executes the generation program. The circuit board 344 is disposed between the peripheral wall portion 321 of the recess 32 and the outer circumferential wall 311, on one side in the front-rear direction (the front side). Here, since the outer peripheral wall 311 has a pseudo-rectangular shape that is symmetrical (line-symmetrical with respect to the imaginary line) with respect to the imaginary line (center line L) that passes through the center in the left-right direction and extends in the front-rear direction, the heating unit 33 and the circuit board 344 are closest to each other at the center in the left-right direction, but the distance between the heating unit 33 and the circuit board 344 is greater on both the left and right sides of the center. This allows electronic components that are sensitive to heat or tall electronic components to be arranged on both the left and right sides. Furthermore, because they can be arranged in this way, the device main body 3 can be prevented from becoming large in size.

[0028] 3. Lid The lid 5 is cup-shaped and open downward. The cross-sectional shape of the lid 5 is similar to the outer circumferential shape of the cross-section of the device body 3. The open end (lower end) 51 of the lid 5 fits into the step portion 313 of the device body 3. The cover 5 has a knob 53 on the top wall 52 that can be used when attaching or detaching the cover 5 to or from the device body 3. The knob 53 is composed of a pair of recessed portions .

[0029] <Modification>

[0030] Although the present invention has been described below based on the above embodiment, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The following cases are also included in the present invention. (1) In the embodiment, when viewed from above, the shape is hexagonal with the dimension in a first direction (left-right direction) greater than the dimension in a second direction (front-back direction) that are perpendicular to each other. However, the shape may be a tetragon, pentagon, or polygon with seven or more sides with the dimension in the first direction greater than the dimension in the second direction.

[0031] (2) In the embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the storage space was a pseudo-hexagonal shape, but from the standpoint of accommodating a horizontally elongated storage container 9B and a rectangular storage container 9A, it may be a rectangular shape whose long side corresponds to the long side of storage container 9B and whose short side corresponds to one side of storage container 9A, or it may be a square shape whose one side corresponds to the long side of storage container 9B.

[0032] (3) In the embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the storage space was a pseudo-hexagonal shape, but in this case, the two third regions 325 and one second region 324 on the front side in the fore-and-aft direction are linearly extending in the left-right direction, making the cross-sectional shape a pentagon or pseudo-pentagonal shape. In this case, by configuring the two third regions (325) on the rear side in the front-rear direction to abut against corners of the storage container 9A, the storage containers 9A, 9B, and 9C can be stored in a positioned state.

[0033] (4) In the embodiment, the opening area of ​​the recess 32 increases toward the upper side, but the vertical middle portion may be narrowed to allow positioning at the middle portion while maintaining ease of insertion. Also, from the viewpoint of positioning, the opening area may increase toward the lower side.

[0034] (5) In the embodiment, the second region 324 of the recess 32 is in the front-to-back direction (front side), and the operating unit 34 is located on the front side (one side in the front-to-back direction), but the second region 324 or the operating unit 34 may be in the left-to-right direction (left or right side).

[0035] (6) In the embodiment, the bottom portion 322 of the recess 32 has a plurality of island-shaped protrusions 327, but they may be ridges extending in the left-right direction, the front-back direction, the diagonal direction, etc. However, since water and the like adhere to the upper surfaces of the ridges, mountain-shaped protrusions are preferred.

[0036] (7) In the embodiment, a heater (heating wire) is not provided in bottom portion 322 of recess 32, but a heater (heating wire) may be provided in bottom portion 322, or aluminum foil or aluminum tape may be provided continuing from peripheral wall portion 321. By continuing aluminum foil (metal foil) or aluminum tape from peripheral wall portion 321, bottom portion 322 can be heated without providing a heater in bottom portion 322. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1 Fermentation equipment 3. Device body 5 Lid 11 Containment Space 31 Main body 32 Recessed

Claims

1. A fermentation product producing apparatus for heating and fermenting an object to produce a fermentation product, a housing having an internal storage space for storing a storage container that stores the object; The storage space has an N-sided polygonal shape (N is a natural number of 5 or more) when viewed from above. Fermentation product production equipment.

2. The N-gon is a hexagon, a pseudo-hexagon having at least one arc-shaped corner, a pseudo-hexagon having at least one arc-shaped side, or a pseudo-hexagon having at least one arc-shaped corner and at least one arc-shaped side. The fermentation product producing apparatus according to claim 1 .

3. the hexagonal shape or the pseudo-hexagonal shape is a shape that is line-symmetric with respect to a virtual line that is perpendicular to a facing direction of a pair of first side portions in which the distance is maximum and that passes through a midpoint between the pair of first side portions in the facing direction, When the storage container is stored in a square shape when viewed from above, four second sides different from the first sides abut against or are close to four corners of the storage container. The fermentation product producing apparatus according to claim 2 .

4. the device body includes a heater for heating and fermenting the object on a peripheral wall of the recess, and a circuit board on which a circuit for controlling the heater is mounted, between the peripheral wall and an outer peripheral wall of the housing; When viewed from above, the circuit board is parallel to the facing direction and is located on one side of a direction perpendicular to the facing direction. The fermentation product producing apparatus according to claim 3.

5. the housing includes a device main body having a recessed portion that forms a lower side of the storage space, and a lid that covers an opening of the recessed portion and forms an upper side of the storage space, The opening area of ​​the recess is larger than the area of ​​the bottom portion of the recess. The fermentation product producing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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