Rice milling facility

Abstract

To provide a rice milling machine capable of performing rice milling with a degree of polishing desired by a user while preventing shaving of germs during the rice milling.SOLUTION: A rice milling machine 6 comprises: an unpolished rice tank 4 for storing unpolished rice; a milling chamber 9 for milling the unpolished rice; a rotary valve 5 for delivering and supplying the unpolished rice br from the unpolished rice tank 4 to the milling chamber 9; and a pressure plate 15 provided at an outlet of the milling chamber 9. The rice milling machine further comprises, in the milling chamber 9: a milling roll part 13 configured to rotate to stir the unpolished rice br to perform rice milling; and a rice milling screen 14 which is disposed so as to surround the milling roll part 13 and performs rice milling while removing bran by interfering with the stirred unpolished rice br. The problem to be solved is solved by the rice milling machine that is characterized in that bellows-like irregularities are provided on an inner wall of a supply passage 10 extending from an inner wall of a side part of the unpolished rice tank 4 and the unpolished rice tank to the milling chamber 9.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rice polishing machine arranged in a rice polishing facility. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a rice polishing machine of this type is known, for example, from Patent Document 1. This conventional rice polishing machine is arranged in a rice polishing facility constructed as a simple building with a roof and four side walls, and is equipped with a polishing chamber in which brown rice is polished, and in this polishing chamber, the polishing roll unit rotates to agitate the brown rice, and the rice is polished by friction between the grains while the rice interferes with a mesh arranged inside the polishing chamber to remove the bran. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-104504 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, the nutritional value of brown rice has been attracting attention again due to the growing health consciousness of consumers against the backdrop of infectious disease epidemics, etc. In particular, the germ contained in brown rice contains a lot of micronutrients (minerals, vitamins) and dietary fiber, and is expected to have many health benefits.

[0005] However, with conventional rice polishing machines, there was a problem that the germ was scraped off during the rice polishing process, resulting in the loss of nutrients contained in the germ. Also, if the degree of polishing (also simply called whiteness) in the rice polishing process was reduced in order to leave the germ, there was a risk that the rice would not be polished sufficiently.

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a rice polishing machine that can polish rice to the degree of polishing desired by the user while preventing the removal of the germ during the rice polishing process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the first invention provides: The rice milling machine includes a brown rice tank for storing brown rice, a polishing chamber for polishing the brown rice, a rotary valve for feeding the brown rice from the brown rice tank to the polishing chamber, and a pressure plate provided at an outlet of the polishing chamber. The rice milling machine includes a milling roll section in the milling chamber that rotates to agitate and mill the brown rice, and a rice milling screen that is disposed so as to surround the milling roll section and that interferes with the agitated brown rice to remove bran while milling the rice. The present invention provides a rice polishing machine, characterized in that bellows-shaped projections and recesses are provided on the inner wall of the side of the brown rice tank and on the inner wall of the supply path leading from the brown rice tank to the polishing chamber.

[0008] According to the first invention, the inner wall of the brown rice tank and the inner wall of the supply passage are provided with bellows-shaped unevenness, and the brown rice present in the brown rice tank and the supply passage can be adjusted so that the longitudinal direction of the brown rice grains is parallel to the direction of movement of the brown rice (approximately downward direction) by abutting against the unevenness. This makes it easier to align the orientation of the brown rice grains sent to the polishing chamber by aligning them in a constant manner. As a result, the brown rice grains are aligned even when friction occurs between grains in the polishing screen. This makes it possible to suppress damage to the germ during polishing and improve the germ retention rate. In addition, by promoting friction between the surfaces of the brown rice, the bran removal rate on the surface can be made uniform, improving the taste. This makes it possible to provide a rice polishing machine that can polish rice to a degree of polishing desired by the user while preventing the germ from being scraped off during polishing.

[0009] The second invention has the same configuration as the first invention, as well as: The rice polishing screen is formed into a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section, and is characterized in that alignment recesses for aligning the brown rice are provided at predetermined intervals along the inside of the periphery.

[0010] According to the second invention, in addition to the effects of the first invention, the rice polishing screen is formed in a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section, so that force is applied evenly to the grains, which prevents the grains from being biased inside the rice polishing screen and makes it easier to align the grains. Also, by a part of the grain body entering the alignment recess, the grains are aligned in a constant manner so as to be aligned along the longitudinal direction of the rotation axis and the rice polishing screen, i.e., parallel to the longitudinal direction. Due to the synergistic effect of these, the germ at the tip of the brown rice is more unlikely to come into contact with the rice polishing screen, which makes it even more effective to prevent the germ from being scraped off during the rice polishing process.

[0011] The third invention has the same configuration as the first invention, as well as: The whitening roll section is characterized by comprising a roll body having an approximately cylindrical shape, a pair of stirring blades for stirring the brown rice on the peripheral surface of the roll body, and a plurality of alignment claws for aligning the brown rice while being stirred.

[0012] According to the third invention, in addition to the effects of the first invention, when the polishing roll unit rotates, the alignment claws come into contact with the brown rice and align it while assisting in stirring, which makes it possible to equalize the density of the brown rice grains inside the polishing screen and align them even better. As a result, it is possible to more effectively prevent the germ from being scraped off during the rice polishing process.

[0013] The fourth invention has the following features in addition to any one of the first to third inventions: The rice mill has a broken rice separation mechanism for separating the polished rice from the broken rice. The broken rice separation mechanism includes a separation net that separates the polished rice from the broken rice, a broken rice hopper that stores the broken rice separated by the separation net, a full amount detection sensor that detects whether the broken rice hopper is full, a broken rice discharge shutter provided at the bottom of the broken rice hopper, and a control unit that controls opening and closing of the broken rice discharge shutter, The control unit is configured to control the opening of the broken rice discharge shutter when the full-content detection sensor detects the full content, thereby discharging the broken rice from the broken rice hopper and temporarily suspending the rice polishing process by the rice polishing machine.

[0014] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, The broken rice separation mechanism enables good separation of broken rice, and furthermore, by configuring the rice polishing process by the rice polishing machine to be temporarily halted when the broken rice is discharged from the broken rice hopper, problems such as clogging within the rice polishing machine can be prevented. Effect of the Invention

[0015] In view of such problems, the present invention provides a rice polishing machine that can polish rice to a degree of polishing desired by the user while preventing the removal of the germ during the rice polishing process. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of rice milling equipment in which a rice milling machine according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic system configuration diagram relating to the rice milling process of the rice milling facility of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an indoor plan view of the rice milling equipment of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a front view of the partition wall in FIG. 3 as seen from the passenger compartment side. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5(a) is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts of a rice polishing machine disposed in the rice polishing section of FIG. 2, FIG. 5(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line α-α of FIG. 5(a), and FIG. 5(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line β-β of FIG. 5(a). [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line γ-γ of FIG. 5(a). [Figure 7] 7(a) is a partially enlarged view of the polishing roll portion shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7(b) is a partially enlarged view of the polishing screen shown in FIG. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the rotating shaft 11 shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the air flow inside the rice polisher during rice polishing processing. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a side view of the rice polishing machine and its surroundings shown in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the rice milling section of the rice milling equipment of FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a table showing the control amounts of each mode of the rice polishing mode executed by the control unit C. [Figure 13] FIG. 13(a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion around the polishing chamber in the normal mode, and FIG. 13(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion around the polishing chamber in the germ protection mode. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the main part around the operation panel S in FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a table showing the control amounts of the various modes executed by the control unit of another embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a list of control amounts in each mode executed by the control unit of the second modified embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a brown rice tank (part 1) of a rice polishing machine in still another embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a brown rice tank (part 2) of a rice polishing machine in still another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] <1. Configuration of rice milling equipment> An embodiment specifically configured based on the above technical concept will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, "whitening" refers to polishing rice to whiten it, "polishing rice" refers to the process of polishing brown rice to whiten it, and "re-polishing rice" refers to the process of further polishing white rice that has been polished once. Figure 1 is an external perspective view of rice polishing equipment A in which a rice polishing machine 6 according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, the rice milling equipment A is constructed as a simple building with a roof and four side walls, with a front entrance a1 used by users at the front of the building and a back entrance a2 used by workers at the side.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic system configuration diagram (side view) relating to the rice milling process of the rice milling equipment A. As shown in FIG. 2, the rice milling equipment A is equipped with, from the upstream side of the processing path for rice to be milled (more specifically, this refers to brown rice before milling and rice that has been milled once for re-milling (i.e. white rice), but since normal rice milling mainly involves brown rice, hereinafter this refers to rice to be milled and may be referred to as brown rice), a brown rice input section S1 that receives the brown rice, a foreign matter removal section S2 that removes foreign matter contained in the brown rice, a rice milling section S3 that mills the input brown rice, and a white rice removal section S4 for removing white rice (also called polished brown rice or white rice). In addition, a first grain lifting machine E1 is provided between the brown rice input section S1 and the foreign matter removal section S2, and a second grain lifting machine E2 is provided between the foreign matter removal section S2 and the rice milling section S3, and they are configured to transport the brown rice upwards.

[0020] The brown rice input section S1 is equipped with a generally funnel-shaped input hopper 1 into which the user inputs brown rice brought by the user, and is configured to deliver the brown rice input into the input hopper 1 to the first huller E1. In addition, an opening / closing door 1a for closing / opening the input port of the input hopper 1 is provided in front of the brown rice input section S1, and the user can input rice into the input hopper 1 by opening the opening / closing door 1a. Here, a state detection sensor I for detecting the state of rice input into the input hopper 1 is provided near the input port of the input hopper 1. This state detection sensor I is configured to automatically detect when the user inputs rice into the input hopper 1 by putting a small amount of rice into a sample collection vessel. The state detection sensor I is also capable of detecting the presence or absence of rice in the input hopper 1.

[0021] The status detection sensor I is composed of multiple sensors that detect information related to the status of the rice. The information detected by the status detection sensor I (hereinafter referred to as status detection information) is sent to the control unit C described below. The status detection sensor I is equipped with a whiteness detection sensor i1 that detects the whiteness of the rice fed in, a fatty acid degree detection sensor i2 that detects the fatty acid degree, and a temperature detection sensor i3 that detects the temperature.

[0022] The whiteness detection sensor i1 is a sensor that detects the whiteness of rice by measuring the spectral reflectance of the grain surface, and can detect the whiteness of rice, for example, as a numerical value from 0 to 100 (the higher the numerical value, the higher the whiteness). It may also be configured to detect the whiteness by image analysis of a camera that captures an image of the rice.

[0023] The fatty acid degree detection sensor i2 is a sensor that detects the fatty acid degree of rice, and can detect the fatty acid degree of rice as a numerical value of 0 to 50 (the higher the numerical value, the higher the fatty acid degree), for example.

[0024] The temperature detection sensor i3 is a sensor that detects the temperature of rice. Here, since it is estimated that the temperature of rice becomes substantially the same as the air temperature over time, the temperature detection sensor i3 is configured to detect the temperature of rice by measuring the air temperature in the vicinity of the input hopper 1.

[0025] The foreign matter removal section S2 is equipped with a stone remover 2 that separates stones mixed in with the brown rice, and a foreign matter removal device 3 that separates long foreign matter such as straw mixed in with the brown rice. The brown rice supplied to the foreign matter removal section S2 from the first threshing machine E1 is passed from the stone remover 2 through the foreign matter removal device 3 to the second threshing machine E2.

[0026] The rice polishing section S3 is equipped with a brown rice tank 4 for temporarily storing brown rice, a rotary valve 5 for delivering the brown rice in the brown rice tank 4, a rice polishing machine 6 for polishing the brown rice, and a bran removal fan 7 for sucking up the bran generated by the rice polishing process in the rice polishing machine 6. The rice polishing section S3 will be described in detail later, but the brown rice supplied to the brown rice tank 4 from the second grain raising machine E2 is delivered from the rotary valve 5 and supplied to the rice polishing machine 6, where it is polished (also called whitening or polishing process) and then transferred to the white rice removal section S4.

[0027] The polished rice removal section S4 is equipped with a polished rice tank 8 having a generally funnel shape that receives the polished rice that has been polished by the rice polishing section S3, and the user can remove the polished rice from this polished rice tank 8 by performing a predetermined operation.

[0028] FIG. 3 is an indoor plan view of the rice milling equipment A in FIG. As shown in Fig. 3, the interior of the rice milling equipment A is divided by a partition wall a3 into a guest room a4 where users stay and a machine room a5 where various equipment is installed. The guest room a4 can be accessed from the front door a1, and the machine room a5 can be accessed from the back door a2. On the machine room a5 side, the above-mentioned feeding hopper 1, stone remover 2, foreign body remover 3, brown rice tank 4, rotary valve 5, rice milling machine 6, bran removal fan 7, white rice tank 8, etc. are arranged.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a front view of the partition wall a3 in FIG. 3 as seen from the passenger compartment a4 side. An opening / closing door 1a is provided in this partition wall a3, and a polished rice outlet a6 is provided facing the polished rice tank 8, so that a user can open the opening / closing door 1a to put in brown rice and take out the polished rice from the outlet a6. Also, provided approximately in the center of the partition wall a3 are an operation panel S that accepts user operations and a fee insertion port G that accepts fee insertion. Details will be described later, but the operation panel S is provided with a selection switch SW that accepts user operations.

[0030] <2. Overall configuration of rice milling machine 6> Fig. 5(a) is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the main parts of the rice polishing machine disposed in the rice polishing section of Fig. 2, Fig. 5(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line α-α of Fig. 5(a), and Fig. 5(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line β-β of Fig. 5(a). As shown in Fig. 5(a), the rice polishing machine 6 is provided with a polishing chamber 9 for polishing brown rice, and a rotary valve 5 is provided in a supply passage 10 that communicates between the polishing chamber 9 and the brown rice tank 4.

[0031] This rotary valve 5 is configured to deliver a predetermined amount of brown rice br stored in the brown rice tank 4 to the polishing chamber 9 by rotation. Therefore, the amount of brown rice br supplied to the polishing chamber 9 per unit time is determined according to the rotation speed of the rotary valve 5. A valve motor M1 that rotates the rotary valve 5 is controlled by a control unit C, which will be described later. As a result, the control unit C can control the amount of brown rice supplied to the rice polishing section S3 (polishing chamber 9) by controlling the valve motor M1. The rotary valve 5 and valve motor M1 described above constitute a supply amount adjustment unit J1 that adjusts the amount of brown rice supplied to the polishing chamber 9.

[0032] As shown in the α-α cross-sectional view of FIG. 5(b), the inner wall of the side of the brown rice tank 4 is provided with bellows-shaped unevenness. Although not shown, the inner wall of the lower part (part formed in a substantially funnel shape) of the brown rice tank 4 is also provided with bellows-shaped unevenness. In addition, as shown in the β-β cross-sectional view of FIG. 5(c), the inner wall of the supply path 10 is also provided with bellows-shaped unevenness. In this way, by providing the inner wall of the brown rice tank 4 and the inner wall of the supply path 10 with bellows-shaped unevenness, the brown rice br present in the brown rice tank 4 and the supply path 10 can be adjusted so that the longitudinal direction of the grains of the brown rice br is parallel to the moving direction (substantially downward direction) of the brown rice br by abutting against the unevenness. As a result, the grains of the brown rice br sent to the polishing chamber 9 are uniformly aligned, and the orientation of the brown rice br can be easily aligned in the polishing chamber 9.

[0033] Here, in order to prevent the germ of the brown rice br from being scraped off, it is essential that the posture of the brown rice br is uniformly aligned in the conveying direction F1 of the brown rice br in the polishing chamber 9 (in other words, in the rice polishing screen 14). That is, if the orientation of the brown rice br is inconsistent, the germ at the tip of the brown rice br is likely to interfere with the rice polishing screen 14, which makes it easier for the germ to be scraped off. Therefore, by aligning the posture of the grains of the brown rice br sent to the conveying roll section 12 of the polishing chamber 9 described later in a uniform manner by the above-mentioned configuration, the brown rice br is conveyed in an aligned state by the conveying roll section 12 described later, and as a result, the grains of the brown rice br are also aligned in the grain-to-grain friction in the rice polishing screen 14, which is a later process. This suppresses damage to the germ during polishing, and improves the germ survival rate. In addition, by promoting friction between the surfaces of the brown rice, the proportion of bran removed from the surface can be made uniform, improving the taste.

[0034] The polishing chamber 9 has therein a rotary shaft 11 that is rotated by a drive motor M2, and on this rotary shaft 11, there are provided, in order from the upstream side in the conveying direction F1 of the brown rice br, a conveying roll section 12 that conveys the brown rice dropped and supplied from the rotary valve 5 and sends it out to the polishing chamber 9, and a polishing roll section 13 that stirs and polishes the brown rice in the polishing chamber 9. Note that the polishing chamber 9 in this embodiment is in an inclined position with the supply side in the upper position and the outflow side in the lower position.

[0035] The conveying roll section 12 is provided with a screw thread, so that when the rotating shaft 11 rotates, the brown rice br is conveyed along the longitudinal direction of the shaft and the brown rice is sent from the supply path 10 into the polishing chamber 9. The conveying speed of the brown rice by the conveying roll section 12 is sufficiently faster than the supply speed of the brown rice by the rotary valve 5.

[0036] In addition, in the polishing chamber 9, a rice polishing screen 14 with a mesh-like slit formed on its plate surface is disposed so as to surround the polishing roll section 13. Details of the configuration of the polishing roll section 13 and the rice polishing screen 14 will be described later, but when the polishing roll section 13 rotates as a result of the driving motor M2 that drives the polishing roll section 13 to rotate being driven and controlled by the control section C, which will be described later, the brown rice br in the rice polishing screen 14 in the polishing chamber 9 advances toward the outlet 9a while being agitated, and interferes with the plate surface of the rice polishing screen 14, and is polished (polished) by grain-to-grain friction.

[0037] In addition, an ammeter I2 that measures a current value is attached to the drive motor M2, and the control unit C is configured to acquire information regarding the measurement value of the ammeter I2 and to be able to control the current supplied to the drive motor M2 based on the measurement value.

[0038] An outlet 9a, which is an opening through which polished rice flows out, is provided at the bottom of the polishing chamber 9, and a pressure plate 15 biased towards the polishing chamber 9 is disposed over the outlet 9a so as to cover it. The pressure plate 15 is fixed to one end of a pressure arm 17 which is rotatably mounted on a pressure support shaft 16, and the other end of the pressure arm 17 is biased by an elastic spring 18. The pressing force of the elastic spring 18 is adjusted by the position of a pressure adjustment head 19 which advances and retreats as a result of the drive of a pressure adjustment motor M3. The pressure adjustment motor M3 is driven and controlled by a control unit C which will be described later. As a result, the control unit C is able to control the pressure of the pressure plate 15.

[0039] Here, the brown rice polished in the polishing chamber 9 flows out from the outlet 9a against the biasing force of the pressure plate 15, and is supplied to the polished rice tank 8 in the polished rice removal section S4. Therefore, the greater the pressure of the pressure plate 15, the higher the pressure inside the polishing chamber 9 and the higher the degree of polishing. Conversely, the smaller the pressure of the pressure plate 15, the lower the pressure inside the polishing chamber 9 and the lower the degree of polishing. The above-mentioned pressure adjustment motor M3, pressure support shaft 16, pressure arm 17, and pressure plate 15 constitute a pressure adjustment section J3 that adjusts the pressure inside the polishing chamber 9.

[0040] A bran removal fan 7 is provided below the polishing chamber 9 to suck up the bran generated in the polishing chamber 9, and is configured to appropriately suck up and remove the bran generated during the rice polishing process by driving the bran removal fan 7. The fan motor M4 that drives the bran removal fan 7 is controlled by the control unit C.

[0041] <3. Configuration of the polishing roll section 13 and the polishing screen 14> Fig. 6 is a γ-γ line cross-sectional view of Fig. 5(a). Fig. 7(a) is a partially enlarged view of the polishing roll unit 13 shown in Fig. 6, and Fig. 7(b) is a partially enlarged view of the rice polishing screen 14 shown in Fig. 6. Next, the configurations of the polishing roll unit 13 and the rice polishing screen 14 will be described below with reference to Figs. 6, 7(a) and 7(b). Note that the arrow F2 in Fig. 6 indicates the rotation direction of the polishing roll unit 13.

[0042] The whitening roll section 13 is equipped with a roll body 13a having a substantially cylindrical shape, and on the peripheral surface of the roll body 13a, a pair of stirring blades 13b, 13b for stirring the brown rice, and a number of aligning claws 13c, 13c, 13c, ... for aligning the brown rice while being stirred.

[0043] The stirring blade 13b is formed to protrude from the peripheral surface along the longitudinal direction of the polishing roll section 13 in a feather-like shape, and can stir the brown rice br by the rotation of the polishing roll section 13. In addition, each of the alignment claws 13c has a contact wall surface 131 formed to rise substantially vertically from the peripheral surface of the roll body 13a, and an inclined surface 132 inclined to draw a gentle arc from the top of the contact wall surface 131. As a result, when the polishing roll section 13 rotates, each contact wall surface 131 contacts the brown rice br to assist in stirring and align it (i.e., align the grains of the brown rice br so that the longitudinal direction of the grains is substantially the same as the direction of movement of the brown rice br), thereby making the grains of the brown rice br in the rice polishing screen 14 uniform in coarseness and density, and aligning them well. In addition, since the inclined surface 132 is inclined to draw a gentle arc, it is configured to prevent damage even when it comes into contact with the brown rice. Furthermore, if the alignment claws 13c are not provided, the grains around the stirring blade 13a tend to become dense, and when the grains become dense, they cannot move and tend to become disoriented. As a result, the germ at the tip of the grain of brown rice br comes into contact with the rice polishing screen 14 and is easily scraped off.

[0044] The peripheral speed of the whitening roll section 13 (referring to the speed Vs of the tip of the stirring blade 13b; the same applies below) can be controlled by the control section C described later, which drives and controls the drive motor M2 that rotates the whitening roll section 13. As a result, the control section C can control the stirring speed of the whitening roll section 13 by controlling the drive motor M2. Here, the stirring speed refers to the number of rotations (min-1) per unit time of the whitening roll section 13. When the peripheral speed and stirring speed of the whitening roll section 13 increase, the straight-line speed of the brown rice in the whitening chamber 9 also increases. As a result, the whitening speed of the brown rice (the speed at which it is whitened) also improves. The above-mentioned rotating shaft 11, whitening roll section 13, and drive motor M2 constitute the stirring speed adjustment section J2 in the whitening chamber 9.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 6, the rice polishing screen 14 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section. The rice polishing screen 14 is also called a bran removing wire net because it has a bran removing function. Since the rice polishing screen 14 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section, when the grains are stirred by the polishing roll section 13 in the rice polishing screen 14, a force is evenly applied to the grains, which prevents the grains from being biased in the rice polishing screen 14 and makes it easier to align the grains. As a result, the germs present at the tip of the brown rice br are less likely to come into contact with the rice polishing screen 14, so that the structure is configured to prevent the germs from being scraped off during the rice polishing process. In addition, the size of the rice polishing screen 14 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention is, for example, a width W1 of 100 mm (millimeters), a height W2 of 100 mm (millimeters), and a depth W3 of 400 mm (millimeters). Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7(b), along the inner circumferential surface, alignment recesses 14a for aligning the posture of the brown rice br are provided at predetermined intervals. Considering that brown rice generally has a width of 3 mm, a thickness of 2 mm, and a length of 5 mm, the alignment recess 14a is formed to have a width w of about 3 mm and a depth of about 1 mm. Although not shown, the length of the alignment recess 14a is provided along the longitudinal direction of the rice polishing screen 14, so as to extend over substantially the entire length of the rice polishing screen 14. In order to accommodate the variation in density within the polishing chamber 9, the inner protrusions (dimples) of the rice polishing screen 14 may be gradually reduced from the upstream side to the downstream side in the traveling direction of the brown rice br, so that the grains are more easily aligned.

[0046] The alignment recesses 14a may be provided on the circumferential surface (surface) of the polishing roll section 13 (excluding the portions where the alignment claws 13c and the stirring blades 13b are formed). By providing the alignment recesses 14a on the roll body 13a, the brown rice br that comes into contact with the roll body 13a can be aligned, further improving the alignment of the brown rice br. In this case, the formation of the alignment recesses 14a on the rice polishing screen 14 can be omitted.

[0047] As a result, as shown in the figure, when the brown rice br interferes with the rice polishing screen 14, a part of the kernel body enters the alignment recess 14a, so that the kernel's posture is uniformly adjusted to be along the longitudinal direction of the rotation shaft 11 and the rice polishing screen 14, i.e., parallel to the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, the length of the alignment recess 14a is set to be along the longitudinal direction of the rice polishing screen 14 and to extend over substantially the entire length of the rice polishing screen 14, so that the brown rice br can easily proceed through the rice polishing screen 14 with the kernel's posture aligned. With this configuration, the germ at the tip of the brown rice is even less likely to come into contact with the rice polishing screen 14, so that the configuration is such that the scraping off of the germ can be prevented during the rice polishing process.

[0048] <4. Ventilation structure of rice milling machine 6> Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the rotating shaft 11 shown in Fig. 5. Next, the ventilation structure of the rice polishing machine 6 will be described below with reference to Fig. 8. As shown in Fig. 8, the rotating shaft 11 has an air passage 11a, which is a cylindrical hollow portion provided so as to penetrate both ends of the rotating shaft 11, and this provides a structure in which the inside has ventilation. Furthermore, a plurality of ventilation passages 11b are formed branching from the air passage 11a, and a plurality of ventilation openings 11c, which are approximately circular openings communicating with the plurality of ventilation passages 11b, are provided on the circumferential surface of the rotating shaft 11.

[0049] The plurality of ventilation holes 11c are provided at the position of the transport roll section 12 on the rotating shaft 11, and although not shown in detail, are drilled at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction of the transport roll section 12. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of ventilation holes 11c drilled in two annular rows are formed on the circumferential surface of the rotating shaft 11. However, the arrangement method of the plurality of ventilation holes 11c is not limited to this, and they can be configured in a configuration other than two rows. For example, they can be configured in three rows, or they can be drilled in a spiral shape instead of a ring shape. The size (dimension) of each ventilation hole 11c is formed to a diameter of 2 mm or less so that brown rice does not enter the ventilation holes 11c.

[0050] The rotating shaft 11 configured as described above is structured such that when the bran removal fan 7 is driven, the wind sucked from the base end side of the rotating shaft 11 (upstream side in the conveying direction F1 of the brown rice br) blows through the ventilation cavity 11a to the tip side (downstream side in the conveying direction F1 of the brown rice br). Furthermore, the wind diverted from the ventilation cavity 11a to the multiple ventilation paths 11b is blown out from the multiple ventilation holes 11c. As a result, the wind is blown onto the brown rice supplied from the brown rice tank 4 to the conveying roll section 12 via the rotary valve 5, creating gaps between the grains of the brown rice br, and the blown wind flows to the tip side (downstream side in the conveying direction F1 of the brown rice) of the rotating shaft 11, so that the posture of the brown rice br can be uniformly adjusted along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 11, i.e., parallel to the longitudinal direction, and can be supplied to the conveying roll section 12 in the polishing chamber 9. As a result, when polishing by the conveying roll section 12 starts, the germ at the tip of the brown rice is less likely to come into contact with the rice polishing screen 14, and scraping off of the germ at the start of polishing can be prevented.

[0051] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the air flow inside the rice polishing machine 6 during rice polishing processing. As shown in the air flow (wind) in Figure 9, the rice polishing machine 6 is configured so that air is blown out from multiple ventilation holes 11c provided in the conveying roll section 12 of the rotating shaft 11 by driving the bran removal fan 7, and this makes it possible to generate an air flow along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 11 in the polishing roll section 13. This allows the position of the brown rice br being polished by the polishing roll section 13 to be constantly aligned so that it is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the polishing roll section 13 even during the polishing process. As a result, the germ at the tip of the brown rice is less likely to come into contact with the rice polishing screen 14, so that the structure is configured to effectively prevent the germ from being scraped off during the rice polishing process.

[0052] <5. Broken rice separation mechanism of rice milling machine 6> Figure 10 is a side view of the rice polishing machine 6 and its surroundings in Figure 3. Next, a broken rice separation mechanism of the rice polishing machine 6 will be described with reference to Figure 10. The rice polishing machine 6 is equipped with a broken rice separation mechanism that separates white rice and broken rice after polishing.

[0053] The broken rice separation mechanism comprises a separation net 21 that separates the broken rice from the polished white rice, a broken rice hopper 22 that stores the broken rice separated by the separation net 21, and a broken rice discharge shutter 23 provided at the bottom of the broken rice hopper 22. A full amount detection sensor I2 is provided within the broken rice hopper 22 to detect when the broken rice hopper 22 is full.

[0054] The mesh size of the separating net 21 is designed to allow broken rice to pass but not polished rice to pass, and the separating net 21 is disposed below the outlet 9a of the polishing chamber 9 in an inclined position downward toward the polished rice tank 8. Polished rice that is dropped and supplied onto the separating net 21 from the outlet 9a of the polishing chamber 9 is guided by the separating net 21 to the polished rice tank 8, and the broken rice mixed with the polished rice passes through the separating net 21 and is dropped and supplied into the broken rice hopper 22. The broken rice discharge shutter 23 is controlled to open and close by a control unit C described later, which is provided so as to be able to acquire detection information from the full amount detection sensor I2. When the full amount detection sensor I2 detects the full amount, the control unit C controls the broken rice discharge shutter 23 from a closed state to an open state, and the broken rice is discharged from the broken rice hopper 22. When the discharge of the broken rice is completed, the broken rice discharge shutter 23 is controlled to a closed state. The broken rice discharged from the broken rice hopper 22 passes through the discharge pipe 24 and is sent to the discharge box 25. The discharge box 25 may be a trash can provided in the foreign matter removal section S2. The control section C, which will be described later, may be configured to temporarily suspend the rice milling process by the rice milling machine 6 for a predetermined time when the full amount detection sensor I2 detects the full amount and discharges the broken rice from the broken rice hopper 22. This can prevent problems such as clogging in the rice milling machine 6. The control section C may be configured to control the broken rice discharge shutter 23 from a closed state to an open state each time the rice milling process is completed, thereby discharging the broken rice from the broken rice hopper 22. This allows the user to check the amount of broken rice generated by one rice milling process.

[0055] <6. Configuration of control unit C> FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system for the rice milling section S3 of the rice milling equipment A in FIG. The control unit C is an information processing device that performs the function of controlling the rice milling unit S3 including the rice milling machine 6, and is configured with a CPU that performs arithmetic processing, and a memory that can read and write information necessary for the arithmetic processing, and the configuration shown as functional blocks in Fig. 7 is realized by the CPU operating according to various control programs stored in the memory. Note that the control unit C may be a sequence control device instead of a CPU.

[0056] A selection switch SW is connected to the input side of the control unit C, and the control unit C can obtain operation information of the selection switch SW. As described above, the state detection sensor I is also connected, and state detection information can be obtained. That is, information detected by the whiteness detection sensor i1, the fatty acid content detection sensor i2, and the temperature detection sensor i3 can be obtained. Furthermore, a full amount detection sensor I2 is connected, and is configured to be able to obtain detection information indicating full amount.

[0057] Furthermore, a supply amount adjuster J1, an agitation speed adjuster J2, a pressure adjuster J3, and a bran removal fan 7 are connected to the output side of the control unit C. This enables the control unit C to control the amount of brown rice supplied to the polishing chamber 9 by the supply amount adjuster J1, the agitation speed of the polishing roll unit 13 by the agitation speed adjuster J2, the pressure of the pressure plate 15 by the pressure adjuster J3, and the removal of bran by the bran removal fan 7. Also, a broken rice discharge shutter 23 is connected so that it can be controlled to open and close.

[0058] Here, the control unit C is configured to be able to execute the rice milling process in a plurality of control modes (hereinafter referred to as rice milling modes) with different control amounts. As shown in Fig. 11, the control unit C is equipped with a normal mode execution unit c1 that executes the "normal mode", a no-rinse mode execution unit c2 that executes the "no-rinse mode", a germ protection mode execution unit c3 that executes the "germ protection mode", and a re-milling mode execution unit c4 that executes the "re-milling mode", as rice milling modes, and is configured to be able to select and execute these modes.

[0059] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a list of control amounts for each mode of the rice polishing mode executed by the control unit C. In FIG. 12, the control mode (rice polishing mode), control items, and control amounts are listed, and X (kg / hr), P (MPa), and R (min-1) in the figure are set values ​​that are set according to the scale of the rice polishing unit S3, and the control amounts that are the basis of the rice polishing process are set. Note that such set values ​​are set in advance by an operator before the rice polishing process. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, for example, values ​​of X=380, P=1, and R=900 are set as these set values. These set values ​​mean that the control amounts are controlled to be 380 kg of brown rice supply per hour, 1 MPa of the pressure plate 14, and 900 min-1 of the rotation speed of the polishing roll unit 13.

[0060] The normal mode execution unit c1 is a program that executes the normal mode, which is a mode that performs normal rice polishing processing. In the normal mode, the user can switch between three types of states with different degrees of polishing: standard, partially polished, and upper white, depending on the user's needs. The switching is performed by operating the selection switch SW.

[0061] The normal mode (standard) in the figure is a control mode in which the control amount that is the standard for normal rice polishing processing is set, and rice polishing processing is performed by the supply amount X of brown rice of the rotary valve 5, the pressure P, and the stirring speed R. Here, the normal mode (standard) is a mode in which rice polishing processing is performed by the control amount that is the standard for other rice polishing modes. Therefore, it is desirable to set the control amount in the normal mode (standard) to a control amount that can perform rice polishing processing with a standard degree of polishing. On the other hand, in the normal mode (partial polishing), the pressure P is reduced by about 30% compared to the normal mode (standard). This allows the degree of polishing in the finish to be lowered. In the normal mode (upper white), the pressure P is increased by about 20% compared to the normal mode (standard). This allows the degree of polishing in the finish to be increased.

[0062] The no-rinse-rice-mode execution unit c2 is a program that executes the no-rinse-rice mode, which is a control mode for finishing brown rice as no-rinse rice. In the no-rinse-rice mode, the amount of brown rice supplied is reduced by about 20% and the pressure P is increased by about 40% compared to the normal mode (standard). This increases the degree of polishing in the finish, allowing the rice to be finished as no-rinse rice.

[0063] The germ protection mode execution unit c3 is a program that executes the germ protection mode, which is a control mode that performs rice polishing while preventing the removal of the germ of brown rice. In the germ protection mode, it is possible to switch between two states, standard and partially polished, which have different degrees of polishing at the finish. The switching is performed by operating the selection switch SW.

[0064] In the germ protection mode (standard), the amount of brown rice supplied is reduced by about 20% compared to the normal mode (standard). Also, in the germ protection mode (standard), the pressure is about the same as in the normal mode, and in the germ protection mode (partial threshing), the pressure P is reduced by about 30%.

[0065] Next, the effect of the germ protection mode will be described with reference to Fig. 13. Fig. 13(a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main parts around the polishing chamber 9 in the normal mode, and Fig. 13(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main parts around the polishing chamber 9 in the germ protection mode.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 12, during rice milling in the germ protection mode (standard), brown rice grains br are supplied from the brown rice tank 4 to the polishing chamber 9, but the amount of brown rice supplied is configured to be reduced by about 20% compared to the normal mode (standard).

[0067] Here, as shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part around the polishing chamber 9 in the normal mode in FIG. 13(a), in the normal mode, the density of the grains br in the polishing chamber 9 is high (the packing rate is increased), so that the orientation of the grains br tends to become irregular, and the tips of the grains br in which the germs are present come into contact with the rice polishing screen 14, making it easy for the germs to be scraped off. In addition, when the grains are not oriented in the same direction as each other due to friction between the grains, in addition to contact with the rice polishing screen, the grains also tend to remove the germs from each other. In contrast, in the germ protection mode, the amount of brown rice supplied is reduced by about 20% compared to the normal mode (standard), so that the density of the grains br in the polishing chamber 9 is reduced (the packing rate is reduced), and the longitudinal orientation of the grains br tends to be aligned in the traveling direction (the direction along the polishing roll section 13). As a result, the degree of polishing desired by the user can be achieved by the contact of the sides of the grains br with the rice polishing screen 14 and the friction between the brown rice grains, while preventing the tips of the grains br containing the germ from contacting the rice polishing screen 14 and preventing the germ from being removed by the brown rice grains. This makes it possible to perform rice polishing processing that prevents the germ from being scraped off. In addition, by reducing the friction between the brown rice grains, not only is it possible to prevent the germ from being scraped off, but the surface of the brown rice is scraped evenly, leaving the flavor layer of the finished rice and achieving a good taste.

[0068] Returning to Fig. 11, the re-polishing mode execution unit c4 is a program that executes the re-polishing mode, which is a control mode for re-polishing brown rice (i.e., white rice) that has been once polished. In other words, the surface of white rice oxidizes over time after polishing, causing it to lose flavor, so the re-polishing mode can improve the deterioration of flavor by re-polishing the rice.

[0069] In the re-polishing mode, the pressure P is reduced by about 30% compared to the normal mode (standard). This makes it possible to prevent the breakage of white rice that has become brittle over time. In addition, it is possible to prevent the surface of the white rice from being over-shaved. Furthermore, it is configured to increase the stirring speed R by about 10%. By increasing the stirring speed R by about 10%, the ratio of the circumferential speed Vs to the speed of the white rice moving through the whitening chamber 9 is increased, and the straightness of the grains br is increased. This makes it possible to reduce the time that the white rice stays in the whitening chamber 9, thereby reducing the load on the white rice and preventing the rice from breaking. At this time, the pressure P of the pressure plate 15 is also reduced to make it easier for the grains to flow out of the whitening chamber 9, so that the time that the white rice stays in the whitening chamber 9 is reduced by the synergistic effect of these. In this way, in the re-polishing mode, the pressure P of the pressure plate 15 is reduced and the stirring speed R is increased, so that the re-polishing process can be quickly performed, the load on the grains can be reduced, and the breakage of the rice can be effectively prevented. The control unit C may be configured to automatically reduce the pressure P of the pressure plate 15 to the minimum line and discharge all the rice in the rice polishing machine 6 when the full amount detection sensor I2 detects the full amount during execution of the re-polishing mode and discharges the broken rice from the broken rice hopper 22. This effectively prevents the rice from clogging the rice polishing machine 6.

[0070] <7. Configuration of selection switch SW> Fig. 14 is an enlarged view of the main parts around the operation panel S in Fig. 4. Although not shown in Fig. 14, the operation panel S is provided with a display screen (display unit) capable of displaying various information, and is configured to display a setting screen on the display screen and, during the rice polishing process, to display the currently executed rice polishing mode, the remaining time until the rice polishing process is completed, etc.

[0071] As shown in Fig. 14, the operation panel S includes a plurality of press-type switches (sw1 to sw7) corresponding to the above-mentioned control modes as the selection switches SW. The control unit C is configured to first accept a user's operation, acquire operation information of the selection switches SW, and execute each of the above-mentioned control modes corresponding to the operated selection switch SW after determining whether or not the re-milling mode is automatically executed by the re-milling execution determination unit c5, except when the seventh switch sw7, which is a button dedicated to the re-milling mode, is pressed and selected. That is, when the control unit C acquires operation information of the selection switch SW, first, the re-milling execution determination unit c5 executes a re-milling mode execution determination process for determining whether or not the re-milling mode is automatically executed.

[0072] Here, the first switch sw1 is a switch for executing the normal mode (standard), the second switch sw2 is a switch for executing the normal mode (partially polished rice), the third switch sw3 is a switch for executing the normal mode (superior white rice), and the fourth switch sw1 is a switch for the user to select the no-rinse rice mode.

[0073] The fifth switch sw1 is a switch for selecting the germ protection mode (standard), and the sixth switch sw6 is a switch for selecting the germ protection mode (partially hulled). The seventh switch sw7 is a switch for selecting and executing the re-polishing mode. The eighth switch sw8 is a switch for returning the input brown rice to the user. The ninth switch sw9 to the eleventh switch sw11 are switches for switching ON / OFF the execution of the re-polishing mode execution decision process and for making various settings.

[0074] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 14, there is one type of polishing in the normal mode, but it is not limited to this, and selection switches SW corresponding to multiple polishing degrees, such as 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 8 minutes, may be provided. Also, it may be configured so that polishing of 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 8 minutes can be selected according to the number of times the second switch sw2 is pressed.

[0075] Here, the control unit C is configured to be able to appropriately switch between the normal mode (standard), normal mode (partially polished), and normal mode (upper white) in response to the operation of the selection switch SW during the normal mode (rice polishing process). This allows the user to fine-tune the degree of polishing of the brown rice during the polishing process while watching the finished polished rice.

[0076] On the other hand, the germ protection mode and re-milling mode are configured to restrict switching to other modes during the rice milling process. The germ protection mode is configured to prevent erroneous operation, and the re-milling mode is configured to prevent clogging of the milling chamber 9 due to broken rice caused by switching to another mode. The re-milling mode is configured to prevent erroneous operation by the user by providing a dedicated switch.

[0077] The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. It goes without saying that the present invention may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical concept. For example, the present invention may be configured as follows.

[0078] <8. Control amount of the control unit C in another embodiment (part 1)> Fig. 15 is a diagram showing a list of control amounts for each mode executed by the control unit C of another embodiment. As shown in Fig. 17, the control unit C of another embodiment reduces the supply amount of brown rice in the germ protection mode (standard) less than in the no-rinse rice mode and about 40% less than in the normal mode (standard).

[0079] As shown in FIG. 15, in the case of the germ protection mode (standard), if the supply amount of brown rice is reduced by about 40% compared to the normal mode (standard), the density of the grains br in the polishing chamber 9 is reduced (the packing rate is reduced) more than in the embodiment of FIG. 12, and the longitudinal direction of the grains br is more likely to be aligned in the traveling direction (the direction along the polishing roll section 13). On the other hand, in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 12, the effect is that the time required for the rice polishing process is shorter than in the embodiment of FIG. 15, and the manager of the rice polishing equipment can select and set the supply amount in advance according to the user's demand. In addition, when the germ protection mode is partial polishing, the rice is polished in a manner substantially equivalent to partial polishing in the normal mode. Specifically, when there are multiple types of partial polishing as described later, it is desirable to perform partial polishing at the lowest degree of polishing (for example, about 3 minutes as described later). This makes it easy to understand even for users who do not know what degree of polishing to select when leaving the germ part in partial polishing.

[0080] <9. Control amount of the control unit C in another embodiment (part 2)> Next, another embodiment 2 relating to the control unit C will be described with reference to FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a list of control amounts for each mode executed by the control unit C of another embodiment 2. In the case of this embodiment 2, during rice polishing processing in the germ protection mode, brown rice grains br are supplied from the brown rice tank 4 to the polishing chamber 9, and at this time, the supply amount of brown rice is reduced by about 20% (or 40%) and the stirring speed is increased by about 10% compared to the normal mode (standard).

[0081] In the germ protection mode, the supply amount of brown rice is reduced by about 20% (or 40%) compared to the normal mode (standard), thereby reducing the density of the grains br in the polishing chamber 9 (reducing the packing rate) and making it easier for the longitudinal direction of the grains br to be aligned in the moving direction (direction along the polishing roll section 13). Furthermore, by increasing the stirring speed by about 10%, the ratio of the circumferential speed Vs to the speed of the brown rice moving in the polishing chamber 9 is increased and the straightness of the grains br is increased, so that the longitudinal direction of the grains br can be more effectively aligned in the moving direction by the synergistic effect of these. As a result, it is possible to more effectively prevent the tip of the grains br in which the germ is present from contacting the rice polishing screen 14 or the germ from being removed by the brown rice while realizing the degree of polishing desired by the user by the contact of the side of the grains br with the rice polishing screen 14 or the friction between the brown rice. Therefore, more preferably, it is possible to perform rice polishing processing that prevents the removal of the germ, while reducing the friction between the brown rice grains, thereby not only preventing the removal of the germ but also leaving the flavor layer of the finished rice, resulting in a good taste.

[0082] <10. Correction of the control amount based on the detection value of the state detection sensor I> In yet another embodiment, the control amount shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 15, and FIG. 16 may be corrected based on the detection value (state detection information) acquired by the state detection sensor I. For example, when the whiteness is greater than a predetermined value, the pressure P is reduced by a predetermined rate (for example, 10%) to perform the rice polishing process, when the fatty acid content is greater than a predetermined value, the pressure P is increased by a predetermined rate (for example, 10%) to perform the rice polishing process, and when the temperature is greater than a predetermined value, rice breakage is unlikely to occur, so the pressure P is increased by a predetermined rate (for example, 10%) to perform the rice polishing process. In addition, the state detection sensor I may be provided with a moisture detection sensor to detect the moisture value of the rice put into the input hopper 1, and when the moisture value is below a predetermined value, the stirring speed is increased by 10%, and when the moisture value is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, it is determined that rice breakage is unlikely to occur, so the increase rate is greater than 10% (about 40 to 50%). Furthermore, at this time, the higher the moisture value, the greater the increase rate may be. Also, when the moisture value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the pressure P may be reduced by a predetermined rate (e.g., 10%) to perform the rice polishing process. Also, when the moisture value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the supply amount adjustment unit J1 may be configured to reduce the supply amount of brown rice br by a predetermined rate (e.g., 20%) to perform the rice polishing process. Furthermore, when it is determined that the condition of the polished rice is poor based on the detection values ​​of the moisture meter and the whiteness meter, the supply amount adjustment unit J1 may be configured to reduce the supply amount of brown rice br to a minimum level (e.g., a reduction of 80%). Also, a sensor capable of measuring the viable bacteria count may be provided in the state detection sensor I, and the control amount may be corrected based on the detection value of the sensor.

[0083] The state detection sensor I may be provided with an image detection sensor, and when the control unit C determines that the white rice is heavily damaged based on image information from the image detection sensor during re-milling mode, the control unit C may be configured to reduce the number of rotations of the bran removal fan. This prevents the white rice from drying out, thereby reducing the occurrence of broken rice.

[0084] <11. Another embodiment of brown rice tank 4 (part 1)> FIG. 17 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the brown rice tank 4 (part 1) of the rice polishing machine 6 in yet another embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, two brown rice tanks 4 may be provided, one for the re-polishing mode and the other modes. In the illustrated example, the control unit C controls the solenoid valve Bn to distribute the rice supplied from the second huller E2. When the re-polishing mode is selected, the rice to be polished (white rice to be re-polished) is sent to the re-polishing tank 4A on the left side of the page, and when the other modes are selected, the brown rice is sent to the brown rice tank 4 on the right side of the page. The re-polishing tank 4A on the left side of the page is provided with a valve motor M5 that rotates the rotary valve 5A, and is provided with a supply path 10A. This allows the re-polishing tank 4A and the brown rice tank 4 to send rice to be polished to the polishing chamber 9 independently. As shown in the figure, by providing the supply passage 10A long and at an incline, the grains can be well aligned due to the bellows-like irregularities provided on the inner wall of the supply passage 10A.

[0085] <12. Another embodiment of brown rice tank 4 (part 2)> Fig. 18 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of the brown rice tank 4 (part 2) of the rice polishing machine 6 in yet another embodiment. As shown in Fig. 18, a vibration plate 4k, which is provided in the brown rice tank 4 so as to be rotatable about a fulcrum 4t, may be vibrated by a vibration motor M6, thereby vibrating the brown rice Br in the brown rice tank 4 and encouraging alignment. The control unit C is configured to control the driving of the vibration motor M6.

[0086] <13. Other embodiments> The control unit C may be configured to periodically operate the cleaning mechanism during the rice milling process when the re-milling mode is selected. The cleaning mechanism is a mechanism that automatically closes the entrance of the input hopper 1 and removes the remaining brown rice when the fee is input into the fee input port G. This cleaning mechanism is a publicly known technology and will not be described in detail, but please refer to JP 2014-36961 A, for example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 1 Feeding hopper 1a Opening and closing door 2 Stone removal machine 3 Foreign matter removal device 4. Brown rice tank 5 Rotary Valve 6 Rice polishing machine 7. Bran Removal Fan 8. White rice tank 9. Milling Room 9a Outlet 10 Supply route 11 Rotation axis 11a Ventilation Cave 11b Ventilation passage 11c Ventilation hole 12 Transport roll section 13 White Roll Section 13a Roll body 13b Stirring blade 13c Alignment Claw 14 Rice polishing screen 14a Alignment recess 15 Pressure Plate 16 Pressure support shaft 17 Pressure Arm 18 Elastic Spring 19 Pressure Adjustment Head 20 Storage Shelf 21 Separation net 22 Broken rice hopper 23 Broken rice discharge shutter 24 Discharge pipe 25 Discharge box A Rice milling equipment a1 Main entrance a2 Back door A3 Partition wall br grain C control section S1 Brown rice input section S2 Foreign matter removal section S3 Rice milling department S4 White rice removal section E1 1st grain hoist E2 2nd grain hoist I Status detection sensor M1 Valve Motor M2 Drive motor M3 Pressure Regulating Motor M4 Fan Motor

Claims

1. The rice milling machine includes a brown rice tank for storing brown rice, a polishing chamber for polishing the brown rice, a rotary valve for feeding the brown rice from the brown rice tank to the polishing chamber, and a pressure plate provided at an outlet of the polishing chamber. The rice milling machine includes a milling roll section in the milling chamber that rotates to agitate and mill the brown rice, and a rice milling screen that is disposed so as to surround the milling roll section and that interferes with the agitated brown rice to remove bran while milling the rice. A rice polishing machine characterized in that bellows-shaped projections and recesses are provided on the inner wall of the side of the brown rice tank and on the inner wall of the supply passage leading from the brown rice tank to the polishing chamber.

2. 2. The rice polishing machine according to claim 1, wherein the rice polishing screen is formed in a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section, and has alignment recesses at predetermined intervals along the inside of its circumferential surface for aligning the position of the brown rice.

3. The rice polishing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the polishing roll section comprises a roll body having an approximately cylindrical shape, a pair of stirring blades for stirring the brown rice on the peripheral surface of the roll body, and a plurality of alignment claws for aligning the brown rice during stirring.

4. The rice mill has a broken rice separation mechanism for separating the polished rice from the broken rice. The broken rice separation mechanism includes a separation net that separates the polished rice from the broken rice, a broken rice hopper that stores the broken rice separated by the separation net, a full amount detection sensor that detects whether the broken rice hopper is full, a broken rice discharge shutter provided at the bottom of the broken rice hopper, and a control unit that controls opening and closing of the broken rice discharge shutter, The rice polishing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, when the full-quantity detection sensor detects the full quantity, the control unit controls to open the broken rice discharge shutter to discharge the broken rice from the broken rice hopper and temporarily suspend the rice polishing process by the rice polishing machine.

Images