Rice washing device

Abstract

To provide a rice washing device which can dehydrate inside of a rice washing tank.SOLUTION: A rice washing device comprises: a rice washing tank (5) to which a specified amount of rice is sent out from a rice storing tank (4); the rice storing tank (4) whose outer side is covered with a cover member (23); a partition member (3) which partitions a space part (A) covered with the rice washing tank (5) and the cover member (23); a fan (70) which is arranged on a wall of the cover member (23); and an opening which is formed in the partition member (3) at an upper part of the rice washing tank (5).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a rice washing device.

Background Art

[0002] A configuration is known in which an overflow pipe is connected to the upper part of a rice washing tank, and a float sensor (water level sensor) for detecting an overflow state is provided on the ceiling part of the rice washing tank (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of this invention is to dry the inside of a rice washing tank.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] This invention has taken the following technical means to solve the above problems.

[0006] The invention according to claim 1 is configured to feed a predetermined amount of rice from a rice storage tank (4) to a rice washing tank (5), the rice storage tank (4) is configured to be covered with an outer cover member (23), a partition member (3) is provided to partition a space portion (A) covered by the rice washing tank (5) and the cover member (23), a fan (70) is disposed on the wall of the cover member (23), and an opening is formed in the partition member (3) at the upper part of the rice washing tank (5).

[0007] The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein The opening is provided at a position close to the front wall side of the cover member (23), and a base member (68b) for covering the opening is detachably provided.

[0008] The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 2, a water level sensor (68) for detecting that the water level in the rice washing tank (5) is at an overflow state water level is provided on the base member (68b).

Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, by the action of the fan, the inside of the rice washing tank can be dried through the opening.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 5

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Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

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Figure 13

Figure 14

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.

[0012] The support member 1 that frames the U-shaped or square tube material vertically and horizontally is composed of a rectangular base frame 1a provided with casters at the lower part, left and right support columns 1b, 1b of a predetermined width and height, and a plurality of horizontal crossbars 1c, 1c... supported between the left and right support columns 1b, 1b.

[0013] A flat partition member 3 is provided on the above-mentioned horizontal crossbar 1c to mount each equipment. A rice storage tank 4 is provided above it, a rice washing tank 5 is provided below the rice storage tank 4, and a rice cooking device 6 is arranged at intervals below the rice washing tank 5. This rice cooking device 6 is composed of a rice cooker 7, a gas stove 8 for heating the pot, a drawer-type pedestal 9, etc. In FIG. 1, the drawer side of the pedestal 9 is the front side and the back side is the rear side.

[0014] The rice storage tank 4 consists of an upper main tank 4a with a square cross-section and a lower funnel-shaped hopper part 4b. A weighing drum case 10 is attached to the lower end of this hopper part 4b. Inside the weighing drum case 10, a weighing drum 13 composed of a drum part 11a having a cylindrical shape and a notch part 11 and front and rear side wall parts 12a, 12b is provided, and it is rotatably supported by a horizontal shaft 14 in the drum case 10 so as to penetrate the front and rear side wall parts 12a, 12b. Further, a motor 15 is attached to the rear surface side of the drum case 10 to directly interlock with this shaft 14. The rice flowing down from the rice storage tank 4 into the weighing drum 13 through the notch part 11 by a certain amount is filled, and when the position of the notch part 11 is inverted downward by rotation and reaches the discharge port 16 formed in the drum case 10, it flows down and is discharged from the weighing drum 13.

[0015] The partition member 3 is provided with an opening 17 corresponding to the discharge port 16, and is configured such that by rotating the metering drum 13 by a predetermined number of rotations, a predetermined amount of rice is fed out from the rice storage tank 4 to the rice washing tank 5. Also, it is configured such that a predetermined amount can be supplied by detection of a rotation sensor (not shown) that counts the number of feed-out times.

[0016] The drum case 10 and the funnel-shaped hopper 4b are integrally formed, and after removing the upper main tank 4a, the integrated unit of this hopper 4b and the drum case 10 can be removed from the partition member 3. That is, on the rear side, an engaging portion 20 is provided at the engaging convex portion 19 of the drum case 10 to be detachably engaged with the hook-shaped portion 18 formed on the partition member 3, and on the front side, a detachable engaging stay 21 that can be detachably fixed with screws is provided between the partition member 3 and the drum case 10. By loosening the screw 22 and rotating the stay 21 around the screw portion center, the engagement with the drum case 10 is released. The lower end edge of the drum case 10 is formed to fit into the rectangular opening of the partition member 3. However, by removing the engagement of the engaging stay 21 and slightly lifting the side upward, the fitting of the lower end edge from the partition member 3 is released, and by pulling it out obliquely forward from the front, the fitting of the lower end edge on the rear side can be released while being released from the engagement of the engaging portion 20.

[0017] The rice storage tank 2 and the metering unit are configured to be covered on the outside with a cover member 23. The left and right side walls and the rear side wall are appropriately fixed to the partition member 3 or the like. The lower half portion 23a of the front side wall is configured in a door form that can be opened and closed with, for example, the right side portion in the front view as a fulcrum. The upper half portion 23b of the front side wall is connected to the left and right side walls and is configured to be detachable. Therefore, inspection and detachment of the rice storage tank 2 and the drum case 10 can be performed with the lower half portion 23a of the front side wall released. Note that 24 is a square cover plate that detachably covers the main tank 4a from above.

[0018] 25 is a discharge shutter for discharging rice provided on one side (the front side in the illustrated example) of the funnel-shaped hopper portion 4b. It blocks the rice discharge in the standing posture and can be rotated around the shaft support portion to form an inclined guide chute shape to discharge the rice inside.

[0019] FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the metering drum 13. Gaskets 26a and 26b for guiding rice in an inclined manner are obliquely provided between the funnel-shaped lower hopper 4b and the drum case 10, and a gap t (for example, about 1 mm) is provided between the outer circumference of the metering drum 13 and the inner circumference of the drum case 10 such that the rice intrusion does not crush it.

[0020] The metering drum 13 rotates and stops repeatedly in a certain direction I by the motor 15, and the stop position of the metering drum 13 is the position shown in FIG. 7. That is, a vibration means (in the illustrated example, a pump 66 for air supply described later) is attached to the inclined wall near the side where the rear rotation gasket 26b exists on the side wall of the funnel-shaped hopper 4b to promote the internal rice flow. At the same time, the metering drum 13 stops with its open end edge at the rear position of the vibration side gasket 26b in rotation, and the other open end edge stops at the front position of the non-vibration side gasket 26a. While shielding the rice trying to enter by the vibration of the vibration means with the metering drum 13, on the non-vibration side, the rice is naturally fed into the metering drum 13, so that the accuracy of the supply amount can be stabilized.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the rice washing tank 5 is configured to include a receiving cylinder portion 31 for guiding the rice supplied from the drum case 10 at the ceiling portion, a cylindrical body portion in the middle portion, and a hopper-shaped portion at the lower portion. A jacket portion 32 is connected below the hopper-shaped portion of the rice washing tank 3, and a filter 33 made of a net-like body having an opening that does not allow rice grains to leak is provided at the boundary between the hopper-shaped portion and the jacket portion 32.

[0022] A vertical rotation shaft 34 is provided at the center of the rice washing tank 5, and a plurality of stirring rods 35, 35... formed by bending a rod-shaped body into an inverted L shape are attached to the upper end portions thereof to the shaft 34 by welding or the like. The rotation shaft 34 is rotated by a rice washing motor 36 via a bevel gear mechanism 37, and is configured to stir the rice and water in the tank by rotation.

[0023] The above-mentioned rotating shaft 34 is a hollow shaft, and the inner shaft 38 is loosely fitted inside the outer hollow shaft 34 so as to be vertically slidable and extends downward. A conical rice discharging valve 39 is detachably provided at the lower end of the shaft 38. The upper end of the shaft 38 is vertically moved by a cam 41 driven by a motor 40 for driving the rice discharging valve and an interlocking mechanism such as a dropping arm described later, so that the opening and closing of the rice discharging valve 39 is controlled. When the rice discharging valve 39 opens, the rice in the rice washing tank 5 is configured to fall into the inner pot of the rice cooker 6 below.

[0024] The supply of water to the rice washing tank 5 is carried out through an upper water supply route via a main water distribution pipe 46 communicating with a water tap, an upper water supply valve 47, two flexible upper water supply pipes 48, 48, and upper water inlets 49, 49 at the ceiling of the rice washing tank 5, and two systems of a lower water supply route branched from the main water distribution pipe 46 via a lower water supply valve 50, a water distribution pipe 51, a water supply hose 51a, and a lower water inlet 52 through the jacket part 32. Each water supply route is provided with a flow rate sensor (not shown).

[0025] Note that the water supply hose 51a is not shown in the drawings such as FIG. 8 and FIG. 10.

[0026] That is, two upper water supply pipes 48, 48 communicating with the main water distribution pipe 46 are arranged based on the partition member 3 in the vicinity of the drum case 10, and a lower water supply pipe 53 is connected to the water distribution pipe 51 provided so as to penetrate the partition member 3.

[0027] 55 is a shutter that opens and closes the discharge port 16 in conjunction with the electric motor 15. The rotation of the motor 15 is connected to the shutter support shaft 58 via link mechanisms 56, 57, and is interlocked so that the shutter 55 is in an open state when the drum opening coincides with the discharge port 16. Therefore, normally, the shutter 55 is in a closed position, preventing the scattering of diffused water during rice washing in the rice washing tank 5 and preventing the intrusion of water into the measuring drum 13.

[0028] The drum case 10 is located on the left side of the position where the upper water supply pipes 48, 48 are arranged, and a motor 40 for the rice discharging valve 39 and a rice washing motor 36 for driving the stirring rods 35, 35... are arranged on the right side.

[0029] A drain box 60 is provided on the lower side of the rice washing tank 5. The drain box 60 having a drain port 61 has its upper end connected to the lower end of an overflow pipe 62 whose upper end opens at the upper side surface of the rice washing tank 5, and one end thereof is connected to the other end of the jacket part 32 that communicates with the jacket part 32. Drainage from the jacket part 32 is performed by opening and closing a drain valve 64, and the water level in the rice washing tank 5 is adjusted while draining with a water level valve 65.

[0030] Normally, the drain box 60 is closed by the drain valve 64 and the water level valve 65. However, when draining the water in the rice washing tank 5, it is drained from the filter 33 of the jacket part 32 through the drain valve 64 and / or the water level valve 65, the drain box 60, and the drain port 61. The drain valve 64 and the water level valve 65 are opened and closed by an appropriate opening and closing output. Also, a water level sensor 68 for detecting the amount of water in the rice washing tank 5 is provided at the upper part inside the rice washing tank 3.

[0031] Incidentally, the overflow pipe 62 has a horizontal pipe part 62a connected near the upper end of the rice washing tank 3 and a vertical pipe part 62b connected to the horizontal pipe part 62a, and the lower end of the vertical pipe part 62b is connected to the drain box 60. Then, the upper end of the vertical pipe part 62b is extended upward, and this extended pipe part 62c is appropriately fixed and supported by a mounting holder 69 provided on the lower surface of the partition member 3 in a state of passing through the partition member 3.

[0032] Inside the cover member 23, in a substantially closed space A between the lower part of the rice storage tank 4 and the partition member 3, the above-described metering unit 10, various drive units, piping, etc. are accommodated, and air permeability is ensured to prevent the accumulation of water vapor. That is, a blower fan 70 is arranged on one side wall of the cover member 23, and it is configured to be constantly energized and driven during the operation of the device to supply external air into the space A. The air that enters the space A appropriately circulates through the space A and is exhausted outside the machine from the mesh hole portion and the like described later. Therefore, the humidity inside the space A that receives the water vapor rising during rice cooking can be reduced by the circulation of external air. A controller 71 is arranged on the inner surface of the cover member 23 on the side opposite to the blower fan 70, and moisture can be removed by also giving a ventilation effect to this controller 71. In the vicinity of the controller 71, for example, when the upper end opening of the extension pipe portion 62c is aimed at the lower front part of the controller 71, an appropriate air flow is generated, and the air acting on the controller 71 can be efficiently introduced into the extension pipe portion 62c.

[0033] By the way, by passing the extension portion 62c of the overflow pipe 62 through the partition member 3 as described above, the upper end opening portion will protrude into the space A, and the ventilation from the blower fan 70 will be supplied into the rice washing tank 5 through the overflow pipe 62. That is, the air that enters from the upper end of the extension pipe portion 62c of the overflow pipe 62 will enter the rice washing tank 5 through the extension portion 62c and the horizontal pipe portion 62a. Therefore, it has the effect of drying the inside of the rice washing tank 5. In this way, by configuring a ventilation portion B such as the extension pipe portion 62c of the overflow pipe 62 between the space A and the rice washing tank 5, the circulating air by the blower fan 70 can be introduced into the rice washing tank 5, and the inside of the rice washing tank 5 can be dried.

[0034] If the configuration is such that the extension pipe portion 62c of the overflow pipe 62 is provided as the ventilation portion B, even if the dust in the space A is transported by the air, this dust will fall through the vertical pipe portion 62b of the overflow pipe 62 and reach the drainage tank 60, and there is little chance of entering the rice washing tank 5.

[0035] A net-like body 73 made of a ventilation net or punching metal may be attached to the upper end of the extension pipe portion 62c (ventilation portion B) to prevent foreign matter from entering.

[0036] A cavity C is provided at the lower bottom of the space portion A surrounded by the cover member 23 and the partition member 3 or the like to accommodate various harnesses (not shown). More specifically, the partition member 3 is formed by constricting and integrally forming side walls, and a bottom plate 72 is provided in a lid-like manner below it to form the cavity C. A net-like body 74 made of a ventilation net or punching metal is attached to an appropriate position of the partition member 3 to communicate with the cavity C. In this case, the mesh size of the net-like body 73 at the upper end of the extension pipe portion 62c (ventilation portion B) is made smaller than the mesh size of the net-like body 74 disposed at an appropriate position of the partition member 3, thereby enhancing the effect of preventing the entry of foreign matter, particularly insects of a minute size.

[0037] Next, the water level sensor 68 will be described. The water level sensor 68 is provided to detect that the water volume in the rice washing tank 5 has reached a water level immediately before reaching the overflow state or has reached the overflow state, and is a known configuration including a detection electrode 68a (water level detection portion) for detecting reaching a predetermined water level and detecting a change in capacitance based on the presence or absence of water level to detect reaching the predetermined water level. The water level sensor 68 is detachably supported by the partition member 3. The detection electrode 68a is connected and fixed to a base member 68b for support. That is, it is located at a position on the upper surface of the partition member 3 close to the lower half portion 23a of the front side wall of the cover member 23 and is connected and fixed to the base member 68b. The fixing of the base member 68b of the water level sensor 68 is configured to fasten and loosen rotation lock pieces 75 disposed at two positions on the left and right with wing bolts 76, and the rotation operation of the wing bolts 76 can be performed with fingers and is provided in a so-called tool-free manner. When the base member 68b is removed, a large opening 77 formed in the partition member 3 can be opened. Therefore, the operator can visually observe the inside of the rice washing tank 5 through the opening 77 that opens to the front side by opening the lower half portion 23a of the front side wall of the cover member 23.

[0038] In the above embodiment, the water level detection unit of the water level sensor 68 is configured as an electrode form capable of detecting the presence or absence of capacitance. However, various configurations can be adopted, such as a float form in which electrical contacts can be turned ON and OFF as the so-called float rises.

[0039] The supply of water to the rice washing tank 5 is configured to be performed by two systems: an upper water supply route via the upper water supply port 48 at the ceiling of the rice washing tank 5 and a lower water supply route via the jacket part 32 from the lower water supply port 51. In parallel with the lower water supply pipe 52 of the lower water supply route, an air ejection pipe 67 communicating with the pump 66 and ejecting air is arranged, and air is ejected into the jacket part 32 together with the water in the lower water supply route. The lower water supply pipe 52 and the air ejection pipe 67 are provided at positions eccentric from the center of the jacket part 32 in FIG. 12(b), respectively, making it easier to generate a swirling flow in which air and water are mixed.

[0040] During the rice washing operation in the rice washing tank 5, the rotation directions of the large and small stirring rods 35, 35... provided on the rotating shaft 34 in the rice washing tank 5, the water ejection direction from the lower water supply route, and the air ejection direction from the air ejection pipe 67 are configured to be opposite to each other.

[0041] Note that the air supply by the air ejection pipe 67 contributes to the drying of the rice washing tank 5 when the rice washing tank 5 is empty. For this reason, a configuration is adopted such that the switch means for driving the pump 66 can be turned on even outside the rice washing operation, and the operator can arbitrarily execute the drying of the rice washing tank 5. The air supply by driving the pump 66 may be performed alone or in a form that can be executed in duplicate with the air supply from the communication part B.

[0042] Next, the operation of the rice cooker will be described.

[0043] First, the control unit of the computer outside the figure sets the conditions necessary for the operation of the rice cooker, such as the amount of cooked rice, the rice washing time (rotation time of the stirring rod 35), the rice polishing time (rotation time of the stirring rod 35), and the immersion time in the rice washing tank or the pot, through the operation panel (operation display device) 80 arranged on the lower half of the front wall 23a of the cover member 23. It is configured to be able to set the above conditions necessary for rice washing and cooking while displaying and guiding the functions and operation procedures of operating the surrounding switch group 82 on the liquid crystal display screen 81.

[0044] The operation of the above example will be described.

[0045] Turn on the power switch, set the cooking conditions according to each operation of the operation panel 80, and after setting various cooking conditions, when the start switch is turned on, the operation starts as shown in the cooking flow of FIG. 11.

[0046] That is, first, turn on the power switch (step 1), then input the setting of the cooking conditions (step 2). When the start switch 75 is pressed (step 3), in step 4, the rice in the rice storage tank 4 is weighed by the weighing drum, and the set amount of rice is supplied to the rice washing tank 5, and then the rice is washed in step 5.

[0047] The rice washing process in step 5 consists of a bran removal process of stirring the rice while pouring water, a rice polishing process of once supplying water and then draining the water and stirring the rice in a wet state, a rough rinsing process of stirring the rice at a predetermined water level, and a finishing rinsing process of stirring while the water overflows from the tank.

[0048] After the rice washing process in step 5 above, it proceeds to the water adjustment process in step 6.

[0049] In step 7, the washed rice in the rice washing tank 5 and the water whose amount has been measured in the water adjustment in step 3 are dropped into the rice cooker 7 by opening and closing the discharge rice valve 139.

[0050] In step 8, the rice in the rice cooker 7 is immersed in water for a specified time. After the specified time has elapsed, ignition is performed in step 9, rice cooking is performed in step 10, steaming is performed in step 11, and cooking is completed in step 12, resulting in predetermined cooked rice.

[0051] In addition, before turning on the start switch, a reservation screen can be output by operating the reservation switch, and by setting a reservation for the cooking completion time and the like, cooking can be completed at the scheduled time.

[0052] Also, in the above embodiment, the water level is sequentially reduced from the full state of the rice washing tank by opening the water level valve 65 to secure a predetermined amount of water. However, the present invention is not limited to this form. For example, a configuration in which a flow sensor is provided to manage the water supply amount may be used.

[0053] The blower fan 70 is continuously driven during the rice washing and cooking operation after the start switch is turned on, but is also configured to be driven for a predetermined time even after the cooking operation. By configuring in this way, the inside of the rice washing tank 5 can be dried after the cooking operation is completed. Note that, after the cooking operation, the states of the drain valve 64 and the dropping valve 39 when the blower fan 70 is driven are set such that the dropping valve 39 is closed and the drain valve 64 is open. Therefore, the blown air by the blower fan 70 is introduced from the extension pipe portion 62c, enters the upper side of the rice washing tank 5 through the horizontal pipe portion 62a, and at the same time enters the lower side of the rice washing tank 5 through the vertical pipe portion 62b and the drain tank 60, so that the drying efficiency can be improved compared to air supply only from the upper side.

[0054] Since the drain tank 60 of the present embodiment is provided on the side of the rice washing tank 5 (the right side in the example of FIG. 1), it is easy to perform maintenance on the drain tank 60. Further, if the lid opening and closing arm 81 described later is configured to move in the left-right direction and be positioned directly below the drain tank 60 in the lid open posture (FIG. 13), it will not interfere when the rice washing tank 5 is attached and detached.

[0055] Regarding the rice cooker 7, in Fig. 14, the rice cooker 7 detachably includes a container 31 and a rice cooker lid 32 with a medium-high shape having a high center that closes the main body opening of the container 31. A supply hole 32h is formed in the center of the rice cooker lid 32, and a slide shutter 33S as supply hole opening / closing means is detachably attached so as to close the supply hole 32h.

[0056] The slide shutter 33S is provided so as to be slidable along guide rails 33a, 33a in the horizontal left-right direction, and by opening the supply hole 32h, rice and water of appropriate amount falling from the rice washing tank 5 can be supplied into the rice cooker 31.

[0057] Note that the slide shutter 33S can open and close the supply hole 32h by the lid opening / closing arm 81 engaging with the knob 32c at the center of the rice cooker lid 32 and controlling left and right movement, and in the lid open posture as described above, it is configured to be located directly below the drain box 60.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0058] 3 Partition member 4 Rice storage tank 5 Rice washing tank 10 Measuring unit 23 Cover member 70 Blower fan 62 Overflow pipe A Space part B Ventilation part (extension pipe part 62c) C Cavity part W Opening 71 Controller 73 Net-like body 74 Net-like body

Claims

1. A predetermined amount of rice is fed from the rice storage tank (4) to the rice washing tank (5). The rice storage tank (4) is configured to be covered on the outside with a cover member (23), A partition member (3) is provided to separate the rice washing tank (5) from a space (A) covered by a cover member (23), A fan (70) is disposed on the wall of the cover member (23); A rice washing device characterized in that an opening is formed in a partition member (3) above a rice washing tank (5).

2. 2. The rice washing device according to claim 1, wherein the opening is provided at a position close to a front wall side of the cover member (23), and a base member (68b) covering the opening is provided in a detachable manner.

3. 3. The rice washing device according to claim 2, wherein the base member (68b) is provided with a water level sensor (68) for detecting whether the water level in the rice washing tank (5) is at an overflow level.

Images