Brewing rice-polishing machine

Abstract

To provide a brewing rice-polishing machine capable of reducing a protein content of rice grains and suppressing generation of crushed rice grains.SOLUTION: Control means 50 capable of controlling a brewing rice-polishing machine 100 is provided. The control means 50 includes: a shape determination part 55 capable of determining whether the shape of rice grains is flat, original or spherical based on a rice grain shape measurement result by a shape measurement part 53; and a crushed rice grain determination part 54 determining whether a ratio of crushed rice grains to a predetermined flow rate measured by a flow rate measurement part 51 is small, regular or high. It is possible to change at least any one of a rice grain supply amount to a rice polishing part 20, a rotational speed of a roll of a polishing roll 21, and a current value of the brewing rice-polishing machine 100 based on the determination result of the shape determination part 55 and / or the crushed rice grain determination part 54.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rice polisher for brewing that is capable of polishing rice grains for brewing. [Background technology]

[0002] As disclosed in Patent Document 1, a conventional rice milling method is known in which the protein content of rice grains during milling is measured using near-infrared spectroscopy, and milling is completed when a preset protein content is reached. This method allows rice varieties with different protein contents, or rice grains of the same variety grown under different cultivation conditions, to be milled with an appropriate yield.

[0003] Patent Document 2 also discloses a method of extracting and weighing rice grains during milling, detecting the amount of broken rice, and temporarily changing the number of rotations of the milling rolls, the load current value of the milling roll drive motor, and the flow rate of circulating rice by a predetermined amount through automatic control, thereby suppressing the occurrence of broken rice. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 07-163893 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-042433 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 above do not disclose a method for detecting and controlling the shape of rice grains during milling, and there is room for improvement in order to achieve more efficient rice milling.

[0006] Specifically, when comparing rice grains with the same polishing ratio, flat rice grains have a lower protein content than spherical rice grains. For example, the protein content of flat rice with a polishing ratio of 65-70% is the same as that of spherical rice with a polishing ratio of 50%. In other words, more appropriate rice polishing can be achieved by controlling the amount of rice grains supplied, the number of rotations of the polishing rolls, and the current value of the rice polishing machine according to the shape of the rice grains.

[0007] In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide a rice polisher for brewing that can reduce the protein content of rice grains and suppress the occurrence of broken grains. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a rice polisher for brewing that has a rice polishing section that polishes rice grains, a rice polishing tank that stores the rice grains above the rice polishing section, a flow rate control valve that moves up and down within the rice polishing tank to adjust the amount of rice grains supplied to the rice polishing section, and a polishing roll that rotates within the rice polishing section to polish the rice grains, and the rice polisher has control means that can control the rice polisher for brewing, and the control means has a flow rate measuring section that measures the flow rate of the rice grains in a flow path for the rice grains flowing down from the rice polishing tank to the rice polishing section, a protein measuring section that measures the protein content of the rice grains flowing down the flow path, and a shape measuring section that measures the shape of the rice grains flowing down the flow path. a shape determination unit capable of determining whether the shape of the rice grain is "flat," "original," or "spherical" based on the results of shape measurement of the rice grains by the shape measurement unit; a broken grain determination unit capable of determining whether the rate of broken grains relative to a predetermined flow rate measured by the flow rate measurement unit is "low," "normal," or "high"; and a control change unit capable of changing at least one of the "amount of rice grains supplied" to the rice milling unit, the "roll rotation speed" of the milling rolls, and the "current value" of the rice milling machine based on the determination results of the shape determination unit and / or the broken grain determination unit.

[0009] Furthermore, in this rice polishing machine for brewing, the control change unit makes a change to reduce at least one of the "roll rotation speed" and the "current value" when the proportion of broken grains is determined to be "high" in the judgment result of the broken grain judgment unit.

[0010] Furthermore, in the rice polishing machine for brewing, the control change unit reduces at least one of the "rice grain supply amount" and the "roll rotation speed" and / or increases the "current value" when the broken grain determination unit determines that the proportion of broken grains is "normal" or "low" and the shape determination unit determines that the shape of the rice grains is "spherical."

[0011] Furthermore, in this rice polishing machine for brewing, the control change unit makes a change to increase the "current value" when the rate of broken grains is determined to be "low" in the judgment result of the broken grain judgment unit and when the shape judgment unit determines that the shape of the rice grains is "original shape."

[0012] Furthermore, the protein measuring unit is composed of an NIR sensor and is capable of measuring the moisture content of rice grains flowing down the flow path, and the control change unit makes changes to reduce both the "roll rotation speed" and the "current value" when the moisture content is higher than a predetermined amount. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, the state of rice grains during milling is observed and the rice milling machine for brewing is controlled according to that state, which makes it possible to reduce the protein content of rice grains and suppress the occurrence of broken grains. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a rice polisher for brewing in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a sensor means and a control means in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of a flow rate detection sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of an appearance recognition sensor in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of an NIR sensor in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 10 is a table illustrating an example of a control mode in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a rice polisher for brewing of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown below.

[0016] Figure 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a rice polisher for brewing 100 in this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the rice polisher for brewing 100 has at least a rice polishing section 20 that polishes rice grains, and a rice polishing tank 10 that is provided above the rice polishing section 20 and is capable of storing rice grains, and in the rice polishing section 20, polishing rolls 21 are arranged in a rice polishing chamber 22.

[0017] Furthermore, a resistance plate 23 is placed at the polished rice discharge port 24 of the rice polishing section 20, and the discharged rice grains are transported to the elevator 40 via the mankoku 30. The rice grains are then stored in the rice polishing tank 10 from the elevator 40.

[0018] The rice polishing tank 10 is provided with a flow control valve 11 as a rice grain flow rate control mechanism, which can adjust the amount of rice grains supplied to the rice polishing section 20 by moving up and down within the rice polishing tank 10.

[0019] The space between the flow control valve 11 and the wall of the rice-polishing tank 10 forms a flow path for the rice grains to flow down to the rice-polishing section 20, and an observation window 12 is provided in the wall of the rice-polishing tank 10 corresponding to this flow path, allowing the inside of the rice-polishing tank 10 to be seen through. The observation window 12 is equipped with sensor means 13 that allows the rice grains to be observed as they flow down.

[0020] Furthermore, the rice polishing tank 10 is provided with a drive cylinder 14 that serves as the drive source for the flow control valve 11, and control means 50 that can control each part of the rice polishing machine 100 for brewing is provided, either integrally with the rice polishing machine 100 or separately.

[0021] 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the sensor means 13 and control means 50 in this embodiment. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, a flow rate detection sensor 131, an appearance recognition sensor 132, and an NIR sensor 133 are arranged as the sensor means 13.

[0022] 3 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration for detecting rice grains using the flow rate detection sensor 131. As shown in the figure, the flow rate detection sensor 131 is equipped with at least a light source device 1313, a detector array device 1312, and an image processor 1311. Light is irradiated onto the rice grain from the light source device 1313, which may be an LED lamp, through the observation window 12, and an image of the shadow pattern of the rice grain is acquired by the detector array device 1312 in the direction of specular reflection. The image processor 1311 compares this image with the previously acquired image of the rice grain to calculate the amount and direction of displacement of the rice grain.

[0023] This makes it possible for the flow rate measuring unit 51 of the control means 50 to measure the flow rate of the rice grains in the flow path of the rice grains flowing down from the rice polishing tank 10 to the rice polishing unit 20.

[0024] 4 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration for detecting rice grains using the appearance recognition sensor 132. As shown in the figure, the appearance recognition sensor 132 includes at least a laser irradiation means 1324, a detector array device 1323, a TOF processor 1322, and an image processor 1321. The laser irradiation means 1324 irradiates the rice grain with laser light through the observation window 12, and the detector array device 1323 and the TOF processor 1322 measure the reflection time from the surface of the rice grain, calculate the distance to the surface of the rice grain, and output the obtained three-dimensional image to the image processor 1321.

[0025] That is, a three-dimensional image of the rice grain obtained by a TOF (a method of measuring the distance to an object by measuring the time it takes for light to be emitted and reflected back) sensor is sent to image processor 1321, and the amount and direction of displacement of the rice grain is calculated and output. With this method, the laser light is emitted almost perpendicularly to the rice grain, so it is not affected by specular reflections from the transparent plate of observation window 12, and because it does not use the strength of the laser light, it has the advantage that even if the transparent plate is slightly dirty, the output of the laser light can be increased.

[0026] This makes it possible for the shape measuring unit 53 of the control means 50 to measure the shape of the rice grains in the flow path of the rice grains flowing down from the rice polishing tank 10 to the rice polishing unit 20.

[0027] 5 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration for detecting rice grains using the NIR sensor 133. As shown in the figure, the NIR sensor 133 is equipped with at least a light source device 1333, a detector array device 1331, and a diffraction grating 1332. The light source device 1333 irradiates light using, for example, a halogen lamp (or a tungsten lamp), and the resulting reflected light is dispersed by the diffraction grating 1332 and then detected by the detector array device 1331.

[0028] This makes it possible for the protein measuring section 52 of the control means 50 to measure the protein content and moisture content of the rice grains in the flow path of the rice grains flowing down from the rice polishing tank 10 to the rice polishing section 20.

[0029] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the control means 50 is equipped with a shape determination unit 55 that can determine whether the shape of the rice grain is "flat," "original," or "spherical" based on the shape measurement results of the rice grain by the shape measurement unit 53 described above.

[0030] In addition, the machine is equipped with a broken grain determination unit 54 that can determine whether the proportion of broken grains relative to the predetermined flow rate measured by the flow rate measurement unit 51 described above is "low," "normal," or "high," and is equipped with a control change unit 56 that can change at least one of the "amount of rice grains supplied" to the rice milling unit 20, the "roll rotation speed" of the milling rolls 21, and the "current value" of the brewing rice milling machine 100 based on the determination results of the shape determination unit 55 and / or the broken grain determination unit 54.

[0031] With the control configuration described above, when polishing rice grains to "spherical" shape, the rice grains flow quickly and the rice milling machine operates with large grain movements, so it is possible to adjust the "amount of rice grains supplied" to the rice milling unit 20, the "roll rotation speed" of the polishing rolls 21, and the "current value" of the brewing rice miller 100 according to the flow of the rice grains. On the other hand, when polishing rice grains to "flat" shape, the rice milling machine operates with the rice grains flowing slowly and with small grain movements.

[0032] Furthermore, even with the same polishing ratio, the protein content varies depending on the shape of the rice grain. In other words, polishing rice to a "flat" shape results in a lower protein content at the same polishing ratio than polishing rice to a "spherical" shape, with an advantage of 15-20% in terms of polishing ratio. For example, spherical rice polished to a 50% polishing ratio and flat rice polished to a 65-70% polishing ratio have the same protein content. Therefore, when controlling rice grain shape through polishing, flat polishing is more efficient at reducing protein content than spherical polishing.

[0033] Therefore, in this embodiment, the shape of the rice grains during milling is determined by the shape determination unit 55 based on rice grain detection data from the appearance recognition sensor 132, and if the rice has been milled to a spherical shape, the shape can be controlled to be flat by adjusting the "amount of rice grains supplied" to the rice milling unit 20, the "roll rotation speed" of the milling roll 21, and the "current value" of the brewing rice milling machine 100. becomes.

[0034] On the other hand, sake-brewing rice, which has a white-core inside the grain, is more susceptible to cracking than rice used for eating. In other words, rice grains crack easily, especially when the white-core is exposed, and flat-polishing the rice too much makes them more susceptible to cracking. Therefore, the broken grain determination unit 54 determines whether the proportion of broken grains relative to the specified flow rate measured by the flow rate measurement unit 51 is "low," "normal," or "high." This allows adjustments to be made to the "amount of rice grains supplied" to the rice-polishing unit 20, the "roll rotation speed" of the polishing roll 21, and the "current value" of the brewing rice polisher 100, making it possible to flat-polish rice with reduced cracking.

[0035] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, based on the rice grain detection data obtained by the NIR sensor 133, the protein measuring unit 52 can measure the protein content and moisture content of the rice grains in the flow path of the rice grains as they flow down from the rice-polishing tank 10 to the rice-polishing unit 20. This makes it possible to polish rice using the protein content as the target value instead of the target rice-polishing ratio.

[0036] For example, if rice has previously been polished to a target polishing ratio of 50%, resulting in rice with a too low protein content, by setting a target protein content and obtaining polished rice with a polishing ratio of 60%, it will be possible to obtain 1.2 times more raw polished rice.

[0037] On the other hand, if rice is polished to a target polishing ratio of 50%, but the protein content is higher than expected and the sake produced is not as clean as expected, it is possible to polish the rice to the target protein content by measuring the protein content with the protein measuring unit 52.

[0038] Furthermore, if the NIR sensor 133 is configured to measure the moisture content of the rice grains, when brown rice with a moisture content higher than a predetermined amount is fed, the control change unit 56 can reduce the "roll rotation speed" of the polishing roll 21 and the "current value" of the brewing rice polisher 100, thereby preventing the occurrence of broken grains.

[0039] Next, an example of a control mode of this embodiment is shown in Figure 6. As shown in the figure, when the particle crushing determination unit 54 determines that the proportion of crushed particles is "high," the control change unit 56 of the control means 50 can make a change to reduce at least one of the "roll rotation speed" and the "current value."

[0040] Furthermore, if the result of the judgment by the crushed grain judgment unit 54 is that the proportion of crushed grains is "normal" or "low," and if the result of the judgment by the shape judgment unit 55 is that the shape of the rice grains is "spherical," it is possible to reduce at least one of the "rice grain supply amount" and the "roll rotation speed," and / or to make changes to increase the "current value."

[0041] Furthermore, if the result of the determination by the broken grain determination unit 54 is that the proportion of broken grains is "low," and if the result of the determination by the shape determination unit 55 is that the shape of the rice grain is "original," it is possible to make a change to increase the "current value."

[0042] By controlling the rice polisher for brewing 100 using a control configuration such as that shown in FIG. 6, it becomes possible to control the protein content of rice grains and also to control the operation of the rice polisher for brewing 100 in a way that effectively suppresses the occurrence of broken grains.

[0043] (Other variations) One embodiment of the rice polisher for brewing of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and also includes the following.

[0044] In the above-described embodiment, the flow rate detection sensor 131, the appearance recognition sensor 132, and the NIR sensor 133 are arranged through the observation window 12 provided in the rice polishing tank 10. However, this is not necessarily limited to this configuration, and it is also possible to sample rice grains discharged from the rice polishing section 20 and measure them using the appearance recognition sensor 132 and the NIR sensor 133 provided outside the machine.

[0045] In the above-described embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, at least one of the "amount of rice grains supplied" to the rice milling unit 20, the "roll rotation speed" of the milling rolls 21, and the "current value" of the rice milling machine for brewing 100 is changed based on the determination results of the shape determination unit 55 and the broken grain determination unit 54, but this is not necessarily limited to this. In other words, it is also possible to change at least one of the "amount of rice grains supplied" to the rice milling unit 20, the "roll rotation speed" of the milling rolls 21, and the "current value" of the rice milling machine for brewing 100 based on the determination results of the shape determination unit 55 or the broken grain determination unit 54.

[0046] Although the embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof. Furthermore, the components described in the claims and specification may be combined or omitted to the extent that at least part of the above-described problems can be solved or at least part of the effects can be achieved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 10 Rice polishing tank 11 Flow control valve 12 Observation window 13 Sensor means 14 Drive cylinder 20 Rice Milling Department 21 White Roll 22 Rice milling room 23 Resistance plate 24 Precious product outlet 300,000 koku 40 Elevator 50 Control Means 51 Flow measurement section 52 Protein Measurement Section 53 Shape measurement section 54 Crushed particle determination section 55 Shape determination section 56 Control change section 100 Brewery rice polisher 131 Flow detection sensor 1311 Image Processor 1312 Detector array device 1313 Light source device 132 Appearance recognition sensor 1321 Image Processor 1322 TOF Processor 1323 Detector Array Device 1324 Laser irradiation means 133 NIR sensor 1331 Detector Array Device 1332 Diffraction Grating 1333 Light source device

Claims

1. A rice polisher for brewing has a rice polishing section that polishes rice grains, a rice polishing tank that stores the rice grains above the rice polishing section, a flow control valve that moves up and down within the rice polishing tank to adjust the amount of rice grains supplied to the rice polishing section, and a polishing roll that rotates within the rice polishing section to polish the rice grains. a control means capable of controlling the rice polisher for brewing, The control means a flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of the rice grains in a flow path of the rice grains flowing down from the rice polishing tank to the rice polishing unit; a protein measuring unit for measuring the protein content of rice grains flowing down the flow path; a shape measuring unit for measuring the shape of rice grains flowing down the flow path; a shape determination unit that can determine whether the shape of the rice grain is "flat," "original shape," or "spherical" based on the shape measurement result of the rice grain by the shape measurement unit; A crushed particle determination unit capable of determining whether the ratio of crushed particles to a predetermined flow rate measured by the flow rate measurement unit is "low," "normal," or "high." and a control change unit that can change at least one of the "amount of rice grains supplied" to the rice milling unit, the "number of roll rotations" of the milling rolls, and the "current value" of the rice milling machine for brewing, based on the judgment results of the shape judgment unit and / or the broken grain judgment unit. This rice polishing machine for brewing is characterized by the following characteristics.

2. The control change unit changes the "roll rotation speed" and / or the "current value" to decrease when the rate of broken particles is determined to be "high" in the determination result of the broken particle determination unit.

2. The rice polisher for brewing according to claim 1.

3. The control change unit decreases at least one of the "amount of rice grain supplied" and the "number of roll rotations" and / or increases the "current value" when the rate of broken grains is determined to be "normal" or "low" in the determination result of the broken grain determination unit and when the shape determination unit determines that the shape of the rice grains is "spherical." 3. The rice polisher for brewing according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The control change unit increases the "current value" when the rate of broken grains is determined to be "low" in the determination result of the broken grain determination unit and when the shape determination unit determines that the shape of the rice grain is "original shape." 3. The rice polisher for brewing according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The control change unit increases the "current value" when the rate of broken grains is determined to be "low" in the determination result of the broken grain determination unit and when the shape determination unit determines that the shape of the rice grain is "original shape." 4. The rice polisher for brewing according to claim 3.

6. The protein measurement unit is composed of an NIR sensor and can measure the moisture content of rice grains flowing down the flow path, The control change unit changes the "roll rotation speed" and the "current value" so as to decrease them both when the moisture content is higher than a predetermined amount.

2. The rice polisher for brewing according to claim 1.

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