Rice processor

Abstract

To drop rice divided by a pair of tabular shutters from a thickness setting part while a posture on an opening / closing gate is maintained.SOLUTION: A rice processor includes: a thickness setting part 40 having a pair of opening / closing gates 40a and 40b which are installed below a pair of tabular shutters 30a and 30b for dividing rice are provided so that they horizontally move in the same direction as the pair of shutters 30a and 30b and can approach and separate each other, are at closed positions at which they approach each other, close a rice drop route, and load rice when rice is divided by the pair of shutters 30a and 30b, and are at open positions at which they are separated, open the rice drop route, and drop rice when the pair of shutters 30a and 30b divide rice; a main measuring part 50 which is arranged below the thickness setting part 40 and measures the weight of rice dropped from the thickness setting part 40; and an installation position adjusting part 90 for adjusting an installation position along a moving direction of the pair of shutters 30a and 30b in the thickness setting part 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooked rice processing apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A rice measuring device that uses volumetric measurement is known as one type of device that measures rice put into a hopper to a predetermined set weight value.

[0003] Volumetric measurement is a technique for measuring cooked rice by a volume determined by the horizontal cross-sectional area of ​​the measuring box through which the cooked rice passes and the thickness (height) of the divided cooked rice. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 12, cooked rice R discharged downward from the measuring box is placed on a gate-type thickness setting unit 140, and a shutter 130 installed between the measuring box and the thickness setting unit 140 is operated to separate the cooked rice from the upper part, thereby taking out a predetermined weight of cooked rice R.

[0004] Regarding cooked rice processing devices that use volumetric measurement, for example, the technology described in Patent Document 1 (JP 2022-071385 A) is known. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-071385 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] 12, in the cooked rice measuring device by volumetric measurement, the thickness setting section 140 is provided with a pair of opening and closing gates 140a, 140b that approach and separate from each other in the horizontal direction, and cooked rice R is placed on the opening and closing gates 140a, 140b and divided by a pair of plate-shaped shutters 130a, 130b. In addition, the opening and closing gates 140a, 140b open and the divided cooked rice R falls into the measuring section 150 provided below.

[0007] Here, when the cooked rice R is divided by a pair of plate-shaped shutters 130a, 130b that operate horizontally, the movement of the shutters 130a, 130b may cause the cooked rice R on the thickness setting section 140 to move laterally, which may result in a misalignment in the position of the cooked rice R on the thickness setting section 140 after division from its position before division.

[0008] When such a positional shift occurs and the center position Rce of the cooked rice R (the center position Rce in the moving direction of the pair of shutters 130a, 130b) shifts from the joint position 140ce of the pair of opening and closing gates 140a, 140b, as shown in Fig. 13, when the opening and closing gates 140a, 140b open and the cooked rice R is dropped into the weighing section 150, both sides of the cooked rice R cannot simultaneously exit through the respective opening and closing gates 140a, 140b. In other words, in Fig. 13, the timing at which one side of the cooked rice R exits through one opening and closing gate 140a is earlier than the timing at which the other side of the cooked rice R exits through the other opening and closing gate 140b.

[0009] Then, as shown in Fig. 14, the side of the cooked rice R that first leaves the opening and closing gate 140a starts to fall first and falls in a tilted position into the weighing section 150. As a result, as shown in Fig. 15, when the cooked rice R lands on the weighing section 150, it bounces and the cooked rice R leans to one side or tilts on the weighing section 150, and a part of the cooked rice R deviates from the openable weighing gates 150a, 150b, which are the original weighing position (in the illustrated example, a state is shown in which a part of the cooked rice R rides up on the weighing gate stopper 150c that prevents the weighing gates 150a, 150b from falling off). This makes it impossible to correctly measure the weight of the divided cooked rice R in the weighing section 150.

[0010] Moreover, if a portion of the cooked rice R deviates from the intended weighing gates 150a, 150b and remains on the weighing gate stopper 150c as shown in Fig. 15, for example, the cooked rice R will get caught when it is dropped from the weighing section 150, and will assume an inclined position straddling the weighing section 150 and the input section 160 as shown in Fig. 16. Then, when the input gates 160a, 160b of the input section 160 are opened, the cooked rice R will fall onto the transport conveyor 170 in a misaligned state, causing the shape to be distorted and the transport pitch to be shifted.

[0011] The present invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned technical background, and aims to provide a rice processing device that can drop rice divided by a pair of plate-shaped shutters from a thickness setting section while maintaining its position on the opening and closing gate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] In order to solve the above problems, the cooked rice processing device of the present invention described in claim 1 comprises a measuring box that is open at the top and bottom and sends cooked rice fed from above downward while shaping the horizontal cross section of the cooked rice fed from above into a predetermined shape, a pair of plate-shaped shutters that are arranged below the measuring box and move horizontally to two positions, a closed position where they overlap in the vertical direction and an open position where they are spaced apart, to divide the cooked rice fed from the measuring box, and a pair of plate-shaped shutters that are installed below the pair of shutters with a gap therebetween and that are arranged to be able to move horizontally in the same direction as the pair of shutters and approach and separate from each other, and when the cooked rice is divided by the pair of shutters, they approach each other to close the fall path of the cooked rice. the thickness setting unit has a pair of opening and closing gates which, when opened, move to a closed position for loading cooked rice and which, when the pair of shutters have divided the cooked rice, move away to an open position to open the fall path of the cooked rice and allow the cooked rice to fall; a weighing unit which is disposed below the thickness setting unit and measures the weight of the cooked rice which has fallen from the thickness setting unit; and an installation position adjustment unit for adjusting the installation position of the thickness setting unit along the movement direction of the pair of shutters, wherein the installation position of the thickness setting unit can be adjusted by the position adjustment unit so that the joint position of the pair of approaching opening and closing gates coincides with the center position of the cooked rice divided by the pair of shutters in the shutter movement direction.

[0013] The cooked rice processing device of the present invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, the weighing section comprises a pair of weighing gates that open and close with a horizontal sliding motion to receive the cooked rice that has fallen from the thickness setting section, and a pair of regulating members that push the cooked rice that has fallen into the pair of weighing gates from both sides to regulating it in the center of the pair of weighing gates.

[0014] The cooked rice processing device of the present invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the thickness setting section is movable in the vertical direction. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, cooked rice divided by a pair of plate-shaped shutters can be dropped from the thickness setting section while maintaining its position on the opening and closing gate. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a cooked rice processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the cooked rice processing device of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a perspective view showing a measuring measure, a shutter, an opening / closing gate, a main measuring section, and a feeding section provided in the cooked rice processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view further illustrating a shutter, an opening / closing gate, a main weighing section, and a throw-in section extracted from FIG. [Diagram 5] 2 is a perspective view showing an installation position adjustment unit that adjusts the installation position of a thickness setting unit provided in the cooked rice processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pair of opening and closing gates constituting the thickness setting section are close to each other after being adjusted by the installation position adjustment section in FIG. 5. FIG. [Figure 7] 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pair of opening and closing gates constituting the thickness setting section are separated by being adjusted by the installation position adjustment section in FIG. 5. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which the center position of divided cooked rice coincides with the joint position of a pair of opening and closing gates. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a plan view of FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 1A is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the center position of the divided rice has moved toward the weighing gate and shifted from the joint position of the pair of opening and closing gates, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the pair of opening and closing gates have been moved toward the weighing gate so that the joint position and the center position of the divided rice are aligned. [Figure 11]1A is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the center position of the divided rice has moved to the opposite side of the weighing gate and is shifted from the joint position of the pair of opening and closing gates, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the pair of opening and closing gates have been moved to the opposite side of the weighing gate to align the joint position with the center position of the divided rice. [Figure 12] 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which the center position of the cooked rice divided by a pair of shutters is shifted from the joint position of the pair of opening and closing gates. FIG. [Figure 13] 13 is a perspective view showing a state in which the pair of opening and closing gates are opened from the state shown in FIG. 12 and cooked rice starts to fall into the measuring section. [Figure 14] 14 is a perspective view showing a state in which one portion of cooked rice has fallen into the measuring section from the state shown in FIG. 13. FIG. [Figure 15] 15 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cooked rice has entirely fallen into the measuring section from the state shown in FIG. 14. FIG. [Figure 16] 16 is a perspective view showing a state in which cooked rice has fallen into the input section from the state shown in FIG. 15. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings for explaining the embodiment, the same components are generally designated by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description will be omitted.

[0018] Figure 1 is a front view of a cooked rice processing device in one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an oblique view showing the internal structure of the cooked rice processing device of Figure 1, Figure 3 is an oblique view showing the measuring measure, shutter, opening and closing gate, main measuring section and feeding section provided in the cooked rice processing device of Figure 1, and Figure 4 is an oblique view showing the shutter, opening and closing gate, main measuring section and feeding section further extracted from Figure 3.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the cooked rice processing device M of this embodiment includes a hopper 10 that drops and feeds cooked rice while loosening it, a measuring box 20 that sends the cooked rice sent from the hopper 10 downward to shape the horizontal cross section of the cooked rice into a predetermined shape, a shutter unit 30 disposed below the measuring box 20, a thickness setting unit 40 disposed below the shutter unit 30 at a predetermined distance from the shutter unit 30, and a thickness setting unit 40 disposed below the thickness setting unit 40. A main weighing section (weighing section) 50 is arranged on the side of the thickness setting section 40 and measures the weight of the main weighed rice, which is the cooked rice R (FIG. 8, etc.) dropped from the thickness setting section 40, an input section 60 temporarily holds the cooked rice R weighed by the main weighing section 50, an auxiliary weighing section 70 weighs the cooked rice supplied from the hopper 10 to generate supplementary weighed rice, and a transport conveyor 80 transports the cooked rice R (i.e., the main weighed rice and the supplementary weighed rice) dropped and supplied from the input section 60 and the auxiliary weighing section 70. An installation position adjustment section 90 for adjusting the installation position of the thickness setting section 40 is provided on the side of the thickness setting section 40. Details of the installation position adjustment section 90 will be described later.

[0020] Moreover, a control unit (not shown) for controlling the operation of the entire device is provided on one side of the hopper 10 (the left side of the hopper 10 in Figs. 1 and 2), and a controller CT for an operator to input the operation setting conditions of the device is provided. The controller CT is provided with an operation switch CT-1 for operating, stopping, restarting, etc., the cooked rice processing device M, and an operation panel CT-2 for setting the set weight of cooked rice, production quantity, etc.

[0021] Furthermore, on the other side of the hopper 10 (the right side of the hopper 10 in FIG. 1), a lift mechanism 11 is provided for lifting up a container containing cooked rice and inverting it at the top, and depositing the cooked rice in the container into the hopper 10.

[0022] Here, in the cooked rice processing apparatus M of the present embodiment, in order to prepare cooked rice with high weight accuracy, as described above, weighing is carried out in two stages, namely, main weighing and auxiliary weighing.

[0023] That is, the main weighing unit 50 produces cooked rice with a set weight value set to a weight less than the final target weight value. For example, if the final target weight value is set to 200g and the weight is set to 10% less, the set weight value becomes 180g, so the main weighing unit 50 produces cooked rice with a target weight of 180g. If the main weighing unit 50 were to weigh the cooked rice produced in this way, it would be 170g.

[0024] In the auxiliary weighing section 70, the supplementary weighed rice is generated with the weight difference between the weight of the main weighed rice measured in the main weighing section 50 and the final target weight value as the target. In other words, if the final target weight value is 200g and the weight of the main weighed rice is 170g, the supplementary weighed rice is generated with the weight difference between the two, which is 30g, as the target.

[0025] The hopper 10 is equipped with a mechanism that melts the cooked rice put in and drops it, supplying most of it (for example, approximately 90%) to a path leading from the measuring vessel 20 to the main measuring section 50, and supplying the remainder to the auxiliary measuring section 70.

[0026] The measuring measure 20 is a square cylinder with an opening at the top and bottom, and the shape of the horizontal cross section of the cooked rice that is sent from the hopper 10 and passes through the measuring measure 20 is formed to a shape that fits the measuring measure 20.

[0027] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the shutter section 30 disposed below the measuring measure 20 is composed of a pair of plate-shaped shutters 30a, 30b that move toward and away from each other in the horizontal direction, and an upper shutter holder 30c and a lower shutter holder 30d that hold the pair of shutters 30a, 30b from above and below. The pair of shutters 30a, 30b move horizontally between two positions: a closed position where they partially overlap in the vertical direction, and an open position (position shown in Figure 4) where they are spaced apart, and divide the cooked rice R sent from the measuring measure 20.

[0028] Additionally, the upper shutter holder 30c prevents the shutters 30a, 30b from falling off the lower shutter holder 30d, and stores cooked rice in continuity with the measuring measure 20. The lower shutter holder 30d guides the opening and closing (moving closer and further away) of the shutters 30a, 30b.

[0029] The thickness setting unit 40 is movable in the vertical direction to set the thickness of the cooked rice R divided by the shutter unit 30 to an arbitrary thickness. The thickness setting unit 40 is provided with a pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b that are arranged to be able to move horizontally in the same direction as the pair of shutters 30a, 30b and approach and separate from each other, and opens and closes the fall path of the cooked rice R that has passed through the measuring box 20. When the shutter unit 30 divides the cooked rice R, the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b approach each other to close the fall path of the cooked rice R and are in a closed position (position shown in Figs. 3 and 4) where the cooked rice R is loaded, and when the shutter unit 30 divides the cooked rice R, the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b move away from each other to open the fall path of the cooked rice R and are in an open position where the cooked rice R falls into the main measuring unit 50. As a result, cooked rice R is produced with a set weight value (a weight less than the final target weight value) targeted by the volume determined by the horizontal cross-sectional area of ​​the measuring vessel 20 mentioned above and the thickness of the cooked rice R divided by the shutter section 30 (i.e., the distance between the shutters 30a, 30b and the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b).

[0030] Although the thickness setting section 40 in this embodiment is adapted to move in the vertical direction, it may be fixed so as not to be able to move vertically.

[0031] In the main weighing section 50, the cooked rice R dropped from the thickness setting section 40 is weighed by a load cell (not shown). The main weighing section 50 is provided with a pair of weighing gates 50a, 50b that open and close by sliding horizontally to receive the cooked rice R dropped from the thickness setting section 40, and a weighing gate stopper 50c that prevents the weighing gates 50a, 50b from moving forward of the device during operation of the weighing gates 50a, 50b. In the main weighing section 50, the weighing gates 50a, 50b are placed in the closed position to receive the cooked rice R from the thickness setting section 40 and to weigh it. After weighing, the weighing gates 50a, 50b are moved to the open position, and the cooked rice R is dropped into the input section 60. The main weighing section 50 is provided with a pair of fall guides (regulating members) 50d, 50e that push the cooked rice R that has fallen into the pair of weighing gates 50a, 50b from both sides to move the falling position toward the center of the weighing gates 50a, 50b and regulate the falling position.

[0032] The feeding section 60 is equipped with a pair of feeding gates 60a, 60b that move horizontally toward and away from each other to open and close the falling path of the cooked rice R, and a pair of feeding and falling guides 60c, 60d that guide the width of the cooked rice R falling from the main weighing section 50. The pair of feeding gates 60a, 60b are set in the closed position to temporarily hold the cooked rice R that has fallen from the main weighing section 50, and are then set in the open position at a timing to be described later to allow the cooked rice R to fall onto the transport conveyor 80.

[0033] As described above, the auxiliary weighing unit 70 generates supplementary weighed rice targeted at the weight difference between the actual weight of the main weighed rice, which is the cooked rice R weighed by the main weighing unit 50, and the final target weight value. In this embodiment, cooked rice of the target weight is supplied by controlling the spacing and rotation angle of rollers arranged opposite each other in three tiers, for example, above and below.

[0034] The transport conveyor 80 transports cooked rice R (mainly weighed rice) dropped from the feeding section 60 and cooked rice (replenishment weighed rice) dropped from the auxiliary weighing section 70. As shown in the figure, the auxiliary weighing section 70 is disposed upstream of the feeding section 60 with respect to the transport direction T (FIG. 2) of the transport conveyor 80. Therefore, if the position where the main weighed rice falls on the transport conveyor 80 is a first position, the position where the replenishment weighed rice falls on the transport conveyor 80 is a second position that is upstream of the first position in the transport direction.

[0035] Then, under the control of the control unit provided in the controller CT, the main weighed rice weighed in the main weighing unit 50 is held in the input unit 60, and during that time, the conveyor 80 is stopped and the replenishment weighed rice produced in the auxiliary weighing unit 70 is dropped to a second position on the conveyor 80. Then, when the conveyor 80 is operated and the replenishment weighed rice reaches the first position, the conveyor 80 is stopped again and the main weighed rice held in the input unit 60 is dropped onto the conveyor 80 at the first position (more specifically, onto the replenishment weighed rice transported from the upstream side by the conveyor 80).

[0036] Next, the installation position adjustment section 90 that adjusts the installation position of the thickness setting section 40 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 5, the installation position adjustment unit 90 includes a base plate 92 whose two opposing sides are held by a pair of guide rails 91a, 91b and which is movable in the direction in which the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b are opened and closed, and a position adjustment knob 93 which is attached to the main body of the rice processing device M and moves the base plate 92. An adjustment screw 93a having a male thread is attached to the position adjustment knob 93, and the adjustment screw 93a penetrates a bearing block 92a attached to the lower surface of the base plate 92 and is screwed into a female thread formed in the bearing block 92a. Therefore, when the adjustment screw 93a is turned by the position adjustment knob 93, the screwing position between the adjustment screw 93a and the bearing block 92a moves according to the direction and amount of rotation, and the base plate 92 to which the bearing block 92a is attached is guided and moved by the guide rails 91a, 91b.

[0038] The base plate 92 is provided with a pair of fixed blocks 95a, 95b that are fixed to the base plate 92 at positions facing each other and support the guide rods 94a, 94b in the horizontal direction, a pair of sliding blocks 96a, 96b that slidably penetrate the guide rods 94a, 94b and move along the guide rods 94a, 94b, and a pair of arm fixing plates 98a, 98b to which a pair of arms 97a, 97b that support the gate mounting plates 40a-1, 40b-1 on which the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b are respectively mounted are fixed and attached to the pair of sliding blocks 96a, 96b. An endless belt B that is stretched over a pair of pulleys 99a, 99b and a drive motor 100 that drives the belt B in both forward and reverse directions over a predetermined length are also provided. A pair of brackets 98a-1, 98b-1 fixed to the pair of arm fixing plates 98a, 98b are attached to the belt B at positions facing each other.

[0039] In the installation position adjustment unit 90 having such a structure, the pair of sliding blocks 96a, 96b move in mutually approaching or separating directions via the pair of brackets 98a-1, 98b-1 and the pair of arm fixing plates 98a, 98b by the belt B driven in a circular motion by the rotation of the drive motor 100. As a result, the pair of arms 97a, 97b fixed to the pair of arm fixing plates 98a, 98b move in the same manner, and when the belt B is driven in the forward direction by the drive motor 100, the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b on the gate mounting plates 40a-1, 40b-1 supported by the pair of arms 97a, 97b approach each other (FIG. 6), and when it is driven in the reverse direction, they separate (FIG. 7).

[0040] Since such a mechanism is constructed on the base plate 92, the installation position along the moving direction of the pair of shutters 30a, 30b in the thickness setting unit 40 is adjusted by operating the position adjustment knob 93 to move the base plate 92. In other words, the mating position 40ce of the pair of approaching opening and closing gates 40a, 40b is adjusted in the direction along the moving direction of the pair of shutters 30a, 30b.

[0041] Next, the adjustment of the position of the thickness setting unit 40 by the installation position adjusting unit 90, that is, the adjustment of the joint position of the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b in the cooked rice processing apparatus M of this embodiment configured as above, will be described.

[0042] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the center position Rce (center position Rce in the moving direction of the pair of shutters 30a, 30b) of the cooked rice R divided by the pair of shutters 30a, 30b coincides with the joint position 40ce of the pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b. Since the positions of the two coincide, both sides of the cooked rice R can pass through the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b at the same time, and the cooked rice R falls into the main weighing section 50 while maintaining its position on the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b. As a result, the cooked rice R falls in the correct position on the opening and closing weighing gates 50a, 50b, and the weight of the divided cooked rice R can be correctly measured by the main weighing section 50.

[0043] However, depending on the degree of viscosity of the cooked rice R, the cooked rice R may tend to be pulled by the shutters 30a, 30b which move horizontally, and the movement of the shutters 30a, 30b when dividing the cooked rice R may cause the cooked rice R on the thickness setting section 40 to move laterally, and the center position Rce of the cooked rice R on the thickness setting section 40 after division may become misaligned from the joint position 40ce of the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b.

[0044] Specifically, as shown in Figure 10(A), the center position Rce of the divided cooked rice R may move toward the weighing gate stopper 50c and become misaligned from the joint position 40ce of the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b, or as shown in Figure 11(A), the center position Rce of the divided cooked rice R may move away from the weighing gate stopper 50c and become misaligned from the joint position 40ce of the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b.

[0045] Then, when the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b are opened and the cooked rice R is dropped into the main weighing section 50 in a state where the center position Rce of the divided cooked rice R is misaligned with the joint position 40ce of the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b, both sides of the cooked rice R cannot pass through the respective opening and closing gates 40a, 40b at the same time, and the cooked rice R falls into the main weighing section 50 in an inclined position. As a result, the cooked rice R deviates from the correct position of the opening and closing weighing gates 50a, 50b, making it impossible to correctly measure the weight of the divided cooked rice R in the main weighing section 50, or the cooked rice R falls into the input gates 60a, 60b of the input section 60 located below the main weighing section 50 in a misaligned position.

[0046] Therefore, in the rice processing device M of this embodiment, the joint position 40ce of the pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b that constitute the thickness setting section 40 is adjusted in the direction along the movement direction of the pair of shutters 30a, 30b by turning the position adjustment knob 93 provided on the installation position adjustment section 90 (Figures 5 to 7) to move the base plate 92.

[0047] That is, when the result of dividing the cooked rice R with the pair of shutters 30a, 30b shows that the center position Rce of the divided cooked rice R is shifted toward the measurement gate stopper 50c side as shown in Fig. 10(A), the pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b are moved toward the measurement gate stopper 50c side as shown in Fig. 10(B) to match the joint position 40ce of the pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b with the center position Rce of the cooked rice R. Also, when the result of dividing the cooked rice R with the pair of shutters 30a, 30b shows that the center position Rce of the divided cooked rice R is shifted toward the opposite side of the measurement gate stopper 50c as shown in Fig. 11(A), the pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b are moved toward the opposite side of the measurement gate stopper 50c as shown in Fig. 11(B) to match the joint position 40ce of the pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b with the center position Rce of the cooked rice R.

[0048] In this way, according to the cooked rice processing device M of this embodiment, by adjusting the installation position along the movement direction of the pair of shutters 30a, 30b in the thickness setting section 40 using the installation position adjustment section 90, it is possible to match the position of the joint position 40ce of the pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b with the central position Rce of the cooked rice R after division.Therefore, when the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b are opened to drop the cooked rice R into the main weighing section 50, both sides of the cooked rice R can pass through each opening and closing gate 40a, 40b at the same time, and it is possible to drop the cooked rice R into the main weighing section 50 while maintaining its posture on the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b.

[0049] In this way, the falling posture of the cooked rice R is improved, and the bias or tilt of the falling position is reduced, so that the cooked rice R falls in the correct position on the pair of open / close weighing gates 50a, 50b, and the weight of the divided cooked rice R can be correctly measured by the main weighing section 50.

[0050] As described above, in this embodiment, a pair of drop guides 50d, 50e are provided to push the cooked rice R that has fallen into the pair of weighing gates 50a, 50b from both sides to move the cooked rice R to the center of the weighing gates 50a, 50b and regulate the drop position. Therefore, if the cooked rice R falls to a slightly biased or inclined position, the pair of drop guides 50d, 50e can regulate the cooked rice R to the correct position of the pair of weighing gates 50a, 50b.

[0051] As a result, the cooked rice R can be loaded onto the transport conveyor 80 without being misaligned, and therefore deviation in the transport pitch (the distance between the cooked rice R being transported) can be prevented, improving workability.

[0052] The invention made by the inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiment, but the embodiment disclosed in this specification is illustrative in all respects and is not limited to the disclosed technology. In other words, the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted restrictively based on the description in the above embodiment, but should be interpreted strictly according to the description in the claims, and includes technologies equivalent to the described technologies in the claims and all modifications that do not deviate from the gist of the claims.

[0053] For example, in this embodiment, the thickness setting unit 40 is moved using the position adjustment knob 93 provided on the installation position adjustment unit 90 to adjust the joint position 40ce of the pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b, but it is also possible to motorize the thickness setting unit 40 so that it is moved by motor drive and can be adjusted remotely using the operation panel CT-2.

[0054] In addition, in this embodiment, the weighing section (here, main weighing section 50) into which cooked rice R falls from the thickness setting section 40 is provided separately from the transport conveyor 80, but the weighing section may be installed within the transport conveyor and integrated. In this case, cooked rice R from the thickness setting section 40 falls onto the transport conveyor, which is the weighing section, and is weighed. In addition, since the replenishment weighed rice is generated after the main weighed rice, which is cooked rice R, is weighed, the replenishment weighed rice is replenished downstream of the cooked rice R, which is the main weighed rice.

[0055] In addition, in this embodiment, the input section 60 is provided below the main weighing section 50, but the input section 60 may not be provided and the cooked rice R weighed in the main weighing section 50 may be dropped directly onto the transport conveyor 80. In this case, the supplementary weighed rice is replenished downstream of the cooked rice R that is the main weighed rice.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the pair of opening and closing gates 40a, 40b are moved toward or away from each other by one drive motor 100, so the mating position 40ce of the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b is adjusted by operating the position adjustment knob 93 to move the base plate 92. However, if an installation position adjustment unit 90 is provided that can move each of the opening and closing gates 40a, 40b individually using two drive motors, it becomes possible to adjust the mating position 40ce by the position when the opening and closing gates 40a and 40b are moved independently, rather than by moving the base plate 92. [Industrial Applicability]

[0057] In the above description, the cooked rice processing device of the present invention is a device that is provided with a main weighing section and an auxiliary weighing section and weighs cooked rice in two stages in order to produce cooked rice with high weight accuracy, but it may also be a cooked rice processing device that does not have an auxiliary weighing section. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 10 Hopper 20 Measuring Scale 30 Shutter section 30a, 30b Shutter 30c Upper shutter holder 30d Lower shutter holder 40 Thickness setting section 40a, 40b Opening and closing gate 40a-1, 40b-1 Gate mounting plate 40ce Joint position 50 Main weighing section (measuring section) 50a, 50b Weighing gate 50c Weighing Gate Stopper 50d, 50e Fall guide (regulating member) 60 Input section 60a, 60b Input gate 60c,60d Drop-in guide 70 Auxiliary weighing section 80 Transport Conveyor 90 Installation position adjustment section 91a, 91b Guide rail 92 Base Plate Block 92a 93 Position adjustment knob 93a Adjustment screw 94a, 94b Guide rod 95a, 95b Fixed blocks 96a, 96b Sliding block 97a,97b Arm 98a, 98b Arm fixing plate 98a-1,98b-1 Bracket 99a,99b Pulley 100 Drive motor B Belt M Cooked rice processing device R Rice Rce Center position of cooked rice

Claims

1. A measuring box that is open at the top and bottom and sends the cooked rice fed from above downward while shaping the horizontal cross section of the cooked rice into a predetermined shape; A pair of plate-shaped shutters are arranged below the measuring vessel and move horizontally to two positions, a closed position where the shutters overlap each other in the vertical direction and an open position where the shutters are spaced apart from each other, to divide the cooked rice sent from the measuring vessel; a thickness setting unit provided with a pair of opening / closing gates that are installed below the pair of shutters with a gap therebetween and that are horizontally movable in the same direction as the pair of shutters to approach and separate from each other, and that when the pair of shutters divide the cooked rice, the pair of shutters approach each other to close the fall path of the cooked rice and become a closed position for loading the cooked rice, and when the pair of shutters have divided the cooked rice, the pair of shutters move apart to open the fall path of the cooked rice and make the cooked rice fall; A weighing unit arranged below the thickness setting unit and measuring the weight of the cooked rice dropped from the thickness setting unit; an installation position adjustment unit for adjusting an installation position of the thickness setting unit along a moving direction of the pair of shutters; having The position adjustment unit adjusts the installation position of the thickness setting unit so that the position of the joint of the pair of approaching opening and closing gates coincides with the center position of the cooked rice divided by the pair of shutters in the shutter movement direction. A cooked rice processing device comprising:

2. The measuring unit includes: A pair of weighing gates that open and close by sliding horizontally to receive cooked rice dropped from the thickness setting section; A pair of regulating members that push the cooked rice that has fallen into the pair of weighing gates from both sides to regulate it in the center of the pair of weighing gates.

2. The cooked rice processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The thickness setting unit is movable in the vertical direction.

3. The cooked rice processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

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