Rice making device

Abstract

To allow cooked rice to be dropped and loaded on a carrying conveyor without being deformed.SOLUTION: A cooked rice production apparatus includes a carrying conveyor 5 for carrying cooked rice R, and cooked rice generation means 3 for generating cooked rice R of a prescribed weight and dropping and loading on the carrying conveyor 5. The cooked rice generation means 3 includes: a supply part 3a having a pair of shutters 3c for dividing the cooked rice R, disposed in the opened bottom end, and supplying downward the cooked rice R; and a thickness adjustment plate 3d positioned below the supply part 3a, composed of a vertically opened frame body, having a pair of upper gates 3da disposed in the lower end, and adjusting a thickness of the cooked rice R by an interval between the pair of shutters 3c. A guide frame 10 in which the dropped and loaded cooked rice R is fitted is installed in a cooked rice fall position of the carrying conveyor 5. The guide frame 10 is a frame composed of two frame pieces 10p, and can move separating from each other in a direction orthogonal to the carrying conveyor 5, to a position in which carrying the cooked rice R by the carrying conveyor 5 is not inhibited.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] In a rice production device that shapes cooked rice to fit the shape of the serving part of a lunch box or the like, the rice supplied from a hopper is divided into predetermined weights, and these divided rice portions are weighed in a measuring cup and then dropped onto a conveyor in the shape of the inner circumference of the measuring cup, or the divided rice portions are dropped directly onto the conveyor to adjust the shape and then weighed by a weighing device attached to the conveyor (conveying means).

[0003] Note that, for example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2018-143229 A) is a document that describes a technique for shaping divided cooked rice. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which cooked rice produced in a cooked rice producing unit that produces cooked rice with a set target weight is shaped into a predetermined shape by a shaping unit on a transport conveyor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-143229 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, even if the rice is shaped using a measuring cup, the rice may lose its shape when it falls onto the conveyor. In particular, rice that does not solidify easily, such as fried rice, may lose its shape on the conveyor and some of it may fall off the conveyor. Therefore, even if there is a rice-forming mechanism in the subsequent process, the rice will still scatter before reaching the mechanism, and the rice will not enter the mechanism properly.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned technical background, and has an object to provide a cooked rice manufacturing apparatus that can drop and load cooked rice onto a conveying means without losing its shape. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described in claim 1 comprises a conveying means for conveying cooked rice, a cooked rice generating means for generating main cooked rice, which is cooked rice targeted at a set weight value that is set to a weight less than a final target weight value, and dropping and loading the main cooked rice onto the conveying means, and a supplemental cooked rice generating means for generating supplemental cooked rice, which is cooked rice targeted at a supplemental weight value that is the weight difference between the main cooked rice and the final target weight value, and supplementing the supplemental cooked rice to the main cooked rice conveyed by the conveying means, wherein the cooked rice generating means comprises a supply section that is provided at its lower end with a pair of shutters that separate the cooked rice and that supplies the cooked rice downward, a thickness adjusting means that is composed of a frame body that is located below the supply section and is open at the top and bottom, and that has a pair of upper gates at its lower end and adjusts the thickness of the cooked rice by the distance between the pair of shutters, and a measuring drop guide that is provided below the thickness adjusting means, that is open at the top and bottom, that guides the cooked rice that falls from the supply section, and that has a cooked rice measuring device attached. , and a pair of lower gates are provided at the lower end of the measuring drop guide, which are in a closed position when the cooked rice is measured, and are in an open position after the cooked rice is measured, allowing the cooked rice to fall; and at the position in the conveying means where the cooked rice from the cooked rice producing means falls, a guide frame is provided whose inner periphery has the same shape as the lower end of the opening of the supply section and the inner periphery of the thickness adjustment means and is located at the same position when viewed vertically, and into which the cooked rice falls onto the conveying means and prevents the outer shape of the cooked rice from collapsing; the guide frame is a frame body made up of two frame pieces that are spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the conveying means and can be moved to a position where they do not interfere with the conveying of the cooked rice by the conveying means; until the cooked rice falls onto the conveying means, the two frame pieces come together to form a frame body, and after the cooked rice has fallen onto the conveying means, the two frame pieces move to the position where they do not interfere with the conveying of the cooked rice; and the conveying means is the cooked rice producing meansand one transport conveyor that is arranged to pass directly below the replenishment cooked rice generating means, and that transports the main cooked rice that is generated by the cooked rice generating means and dropped onto it, and also transports the replenishment cooked rice that is generated by the replenishment cooked rice generating means and dropped onto the main cooked rice.

[0011] Claim 2 The cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described above Claim 1 In the invention described above, the upper inner edge of the guide frame is formed in a tapered shape.

[0012] Claim 3 The cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described above Claim 1 or 2 In the invention described above, the thickness adjusting means is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction.

[0014] Claim 4 The cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described above Any one of claims 1 to 3 In the invention described above, the upper inner edge of the measuring drop guide is formed in a tapered shape. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, a guide frame into which the cooked rice dropped onto the conveying means fits is installed at the cooked rice drop position on the conveying means, so that the cooked rice can be dropped onto the conveying means without losing its shape. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing an outline of a cooked rice manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a side view of the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a side view showing a main cooked rice preparation unit constituting the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 together with a transport conveyor. FIG. [Figure 5]FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the measuring drop guide, a pair of lower gates, and a guide frame that constitute the main cooked rice producing section of FIG. 4, together with the transport conveyor. [Figure 6] 2 is a front view showing a supplementary cooked rice producing section constituting the cooked rice producing apparatus of FIG. 1 together with a transport conveyor. FIG. [Figure 7] 1(a) to 1(g) are explanatory diagrams successively showing the main cooked rice production process by a main cooked rice production unit provided in an apparatus for producing cooked rice according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified example of a guide frame constituting a main cooked rice producing section provided in a cooked rice producing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, together with a measuring drop guide, a pair of lower gates, and a transport conveyor. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another modified example of the guide frame constituting the main cooked rice producing section provided in the cooked rice producing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, together with a measuring drop guide, a pair of lower gates, and a transport conveyor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] 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 repeated description thereof will be omitted.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an outline of a cooked rice manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a side view of the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a side view showing the main cooked rice production section constituting the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 together with a conveyor, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the measuring drop guide, a pair of lower gates and guide frames constituting the main cooked rice production section of FIG. 4 together with a conveyor, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing the supplementary cooked rice production section constituting the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 together with a conveyor.

[0020] 1 to 3, the cooked rice producing apparatus M of this embodiment has a main cooked rice production section (cooked rice production means) 3 and a replenishment cooked rice production section (replenishment cooked rice production means) 4 arranged adjacent to each other on a base 2 that is movable by casters 1a and can be fixed with adjustable legs 1b that can be extended and retracted up and down with screws, and a transport conveyor (transport means) 5 is provided so as to pass directly below the main cooked rice production section 3 and the replenishment cooked rice production section 4. The main cooked rice production section 3 is arranged on the upstream side of the transport direction, and the replenishment cooked rice production section 4 is arranged on the downstream side.

[0021] Here, the main cooked rice producing unit 3 is a functional unit that produces main cooked rice R1 (cooked rice R) with a set weight value set to a weight less than the final target weight value, and drops and loads it onto the transport conveyor 5. Specifically, if the final target weight value is, for example, 200 g, the main cooked rice producing unit 3 produces main cooked rice R1 with a set weight value of, for example, 90% (180 g).

[0022] The replenishment cooked rice generating unit 4 is a functional unit that generates replenishment cooked rice R2 (rice R) with a target replenishment weight value, which is the weight difference between the weight of the main cooked rice R1 and the final target weight value, and replenishes the main cooked rice R1 transported on the transport conveyor 5. Specifically, it generates replenishment cooked rice R2, which is cooked rice R with a target replenishment weight value (20 g), which is the weight difference between the weight of the main cooked rice R1 (180 g) and the final target weight value (200 g), and replenishes this to the main cooked rice R1 transported on the transport conveyor 5.

[0023] As shown in the figure, a hopper 6 into which cooked rice R to be supplied to the main cooked rice production section 3 and the supplementary cooked rice production section 4 is provided above the main cooked rice production section 3 and above the supplementary cooked rice production section 4.

[0024] A lifter 8 is provided on the side of the base 2 (on the right side in FIG. 1) to raise and lower a container 7 containing cooked rice R along a pair of vertical rails (not shown) extending in the vertical direction. The container 7 is lifted by this lifter 8 to the position of a hopper 6 installed above, and an inverting part 9 provided at the upper end of the lifter 8 inverts the container 7 upside down toward the hopper 6, thereby feeding the cooked rice R from the container 7 into the hopper 6.

[0025] The hopper 6 is provided with a loosening roller for loosening the cooked rice R that has been put in, and a conveying roller for conveying the cooked rice R loosened by the loosening roller to the main cooked rice production section 3 and the replenishment cooked rice production section 4. In addition, a branch plate (not shown) that branches the cooked rice R in the hopper 6 to the main cooked rice production section 3 and the replenishment cooked rice production section 4 is installed at the boundary between the main cooked rice production section 3 and the replenishment cooked rice production section 4. Therefore, the cooked rice R in the hopper 6 is distributed by the branch plate to the main cooked rice production section 3 and the replenishment cooked rice production section 4 described above.

[0026] The transport conveyor 5 is composed of a drive roller 5aa, a driven roller 5ab, and an endless transport belt 5b that runs around these rollers 5aa and 5ab. The main cooked rice production section 3 is provided above the upstream side of the transport conveyor 5 in the transport direction, and the supplementary cooked rice production section 4 is provided above the main cooked rice production section 3 on the downstream side in the transport direction, and both are arranged in positions adjacent to each other.

[0027] As shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5, the main cooked rice production section 3 includes a supply section 3a that supplies cooked rice R downward from the hopper 6, and a frame-shaped weighing drop guide 3b that is provided below the supply section 3a and guides the cooked rice R that falls from the supply section 3a.

[0028] The supply unit 3a is open at its lower end, and a pair of shutters 3c that divide the cooked rice R are provided so that the lower end can be opened and closed. Furthermore, rollers 3aa for sending the cooked rice R downward are provided inside the supply unit 3a. As shown in the figure, a total of four rollers 3aa are provided, arranged in two vertical tiers. The amount of main cooked rice R1 is adjusted depending on the horizontal cross-sectional area of ​​the cooked rice R sent out from the supply unit 3a by the rollers 3aa and the position at which the cooked rice R is divided by the pair of shutters 3c described above.

[0029] The metering drop guide 3b is open at the top and bottom, and a thickness adjustment plate (thickness adjustment means) 3d that is movable up and down is provided between the supply unit 3a and the metering drop guide 3b. This thickness adjustment plate 3d is a frame that is open at the top and bottom, and a pair of upper gates 3da are provided at the lower end so that they can be opened and closed. In addition, a pair of lower gates 3e are provided at the lower end of the metering drop guide 3b so that the lower end can be opened and closed.

[0030] The lower opening end of the supply unit 3a, the thickness adjusting plate 3d, the measuring drop guide 3b, and the guide frame 10 on the transport conveyor 5, which will be described later, have inner peripheries that are formed in the same shape and are in the same position when viewed vertically (see FIG. 4). Therefore, the main cooked rice R1 that comes out from the lower opening end of the supply unit 3a falls by its own weight, passes through the thickness adjusting plate 3d and the measuring drop guide 3b, and falls onto the transport conveyor 5 so as to fit into the guide frame 10. The transport conveyor 5 is stopped until the main cooked rice R1 is loaded, and after loading, starts its transporting operation to transport the main cooked rice R1 toward the replenishment cooked rice producing unit 4.

[0031] In this embodiment, a load cell (not shown), which is a cooked rice weighing device, is attached to the measuring drop guide 3b, and the weight of the main cooked rice R1 that has fallen into the measuring drop guide 3b is measured when the pair of lower gates 3e are in the closed position. After measuring the weight of the main cooked rice R1, the pair of lower gates 3e open, and the main cooked rice R1 in the measuring drop guide 3b falls onto the transfer conveyor 5.

[0032] Here, the upper inner edge 3ba of the measuring drop guide 3b is formed in a tapered shape, as shown in Fig. 5. With this shape, when a pair of upper gates 3da provided on the thickness adjusting plate 3d opens and the main cooked rice R1 falls into the measuring drop guide 3b, the main cooked rice R1 is guided by the tapered upper inner edge 3ba, and can smoothly enter the measuring drop guide 3b without part of the main cooked rice R1 spilling out.

[0033] A load cell may be installed on the transport conveyor 5 to measure the weight of the main cooked rice R1 on the transport conveyor 5. In this case, the weighing drop guide 3b can be omitted.

[0034] However, in the case of a mechanism for replenishing the main cooked rice R1 with the replenishing cooked rice R2 produced in the replenishing cooked rice production unit 4 as in this embodiment, if a load cell is installed on the transfer conveyor, the transfer conveyor will also serve as a conveyor for measuring the cooked rice, so another transfer conveyor continuous with the transfer conveyor (conveyor also serving as a rice measuring conveyor) must be provided, and the main cooked rice R1 must be transferred onto this other transfer conveyor before the replenishing cooked rice R2 is replenished. This not only requires two transfer conveyors, which increases costs, but also poses the risk of the main cooked rice R1 losing its shape due to the impact when it transfers onto the other transfer conveyor, or of some of the cooked rice spilling out from the gap between the two transfer conveyors.

[0035] Therefore, in a cooked rice producing apparatus with a mechanism for replenishing the replenishment cooked rice R2 to the main cooked rice R1, it is desirable to provide a weighing drop guide 3b as in this embodiment so that the main cooked rice R1 is weighed before it is dropped onto the transfer conveyor 5. If the weighing is completed before it is dropped onto the transfer conveyor 5 in this way, the cooked rice can be transported using a single transfer conveyor, which not only prevents an increase in costs but also eliminates the process of transferring the cooked rice from the transfer conveyor 5 to another transfer conveyor, thereby preventing the cooked rice from losing its shape or spilling as described above and improving the weighing accuracy.

[0036] As mentioned above, the thickness adjustment plate 3d is movable in the vertical direction, and the distance from the pair of shutters 3c can be adjusted. Therefore, with the pair of upper gates 3da in the closed position and the thickness adjustment plate 3d installed at a predetermined vertical position, cooked rice R sent out from the supply unit 3a is placed on the plate, and in this state the pair of shutters 3c divides the cooked rice R to produce main cooked rice R1, thereby making it possible to adjust the amount. However, the thickness adjustment plate 3d may be prevented from moving in the vertical direction, making it impossible to adjust the amount.

[0037] 4 and 5, a guide frame 10 is provided directly below the weighing drop guide 3b of the transport conveyor 5, into which the main cooked rice R1 that has been dropped from the weighing drop guide 3b onto the transport conveyor 5 fits. This guide frame 10 is a frame that prevents the main cooked rice R1 from being scattered by the impact of falling onto the transport conveyor 5 and losing its outer shape, and is installed so that a small gap is formed with respect to the transport surface of the transport conveyor 5.

[0038] The guide frame 10 consists of two frame pieces 10p that can be separated from each other in a horizontal direction (indicated by the arrows in Figures 4 and 5) perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying conveyor 5 when in a closed state (i.e., when in a frame body state), and its inner circumference is shaped to a size that matches the size (size in a plan view) of the main rice meal R1 produced.

[0039] Furthermore, the guide frame 10 is designed to wait in a closed frame state when the main rice R1 falls, and once the main rice R1 falls onto the transport conveyor 5 (i.e., once the shape of the main rice R1 that has been subjected to the impact of the fall is maintained), the two frame pieces 10p move apart horizontally and can be moved to a position that does not interfere with the transport of the main rice R1 by the transport conveyor 5.

[0040] In this embodiment, as described above, a gap is formed between the guide frame 10 and the conveying surface of the conveying conveyor 5 to prevent friction from occurring between the guide frame 10 and the conveying conveyor 5 when the guide frame 10 moves away from the conveying conveyor 5. However, the guide frame 10 may be configured to be in contact with the conveying surface of the conveying conveyor 5 when closed, and to rise slightly when moving away from the conveying conveyor 5 so that it does not come into contact with the conveying surface of the conveying conveyor 5.

[0041] Here, as shown in Fig. 5, the upper inner edge 10a of the guide frame 10 is formed in a tapered shape. With this shape, when the pair of lower gates 3e provided on the measuring drop guide 3b opens and the main cooked rice R1 falls into the guide frame 10 (when the pair of upper gates 3da provided on the thickness adjusting plate 3d opens and the main cooked rice R1 falls into the guide frame 10 in the case where the measuring drop guide 3b is not provided), the main cooked rice R1 is guided by the tapered upper inner edge 3ba, and can smoothly enter the measuring drop guide 3b without part of it spilling out.

[0042] The guide frame 10 is for maintaining the shape of the main cooked rice R1 when it is dropped onto the transport conveyor 5, so if the size of the main cooked rice R1 is changed, the guide frame 10 is also replaced accordingly.

[0043] As shown in detail in Figure 6, the replenishment cooked rice producing unit 4 is provided with a first pair of rollers 4a, which form a left-right pair and send the replenishment cooked rice R2 downward. Below this first pair of rollers 4a, a second pair of rollers 4b, which also form a left-right pair and send the replenishment cooked rice R2 downward, is provided. The spacing between the second pair of rollers 4b, which is located below the first pair of rollers 4a, is narrower than the spacing between the first pair of rollers 4a. Therefore, the replenishment cooked rice R2 is compressed as it passes between the first pair of rollers 4a, and is then further compressed as it is sent to the second pair of rollers 4b.

[0044] Below the second pair of rollers 4b is a housing 4d formed with an inlet 4da for introducing the replenishment cooked rice R2 sent from the second pair of rollers 4b. Directly below the inlet 4da is a loosening roller (loosening portion) 4c with protrusions 4ca formed around its entire periphery for loosening the introduced replenishment cooked rice R2. The bottom of the housing 4d is open, and the replenishment cooked rice R2 loosened by the loosening roller 4c falls toward the transport conveyor 5.

[0045] The cooked rice producing apparatus M is provided with a sensor (not shown) that detects the leading edge position of the main cooked rice R1 transported to the replenishment cooked rice producing unit 4 by the transport conveyor 5. The replenishment cooked rice producing unit 4 operates so that the replenishment cooked rice R2 falls onto the main cooked rice R1 in accordance with the arrival timing of the main cooked rice R1 detected by the sensor.

[0046] In this embodiment, the weight of the replenishment cooked rice R2 introduced into the housing 4d is estimated based on the cross-sectional area and passing length of the replenishment cooked rice R2 passing through the second roller pair 4b (in other words, based on the cross-sectional area of ​​the replenishment cooked rice R2 passing through the second roller pair 4b and the amount of rotation of the second roller pair 4b). Therefore, a load cell, which is a cooked rice measuring device, is not attached to the replenishment cooked rice producing unit 4. However, it is of course possible to attach a load cell to the replenishment cooked rice producing unit 4 to actually measure the weight. Furthermore, a load cell may be installed on the transport conveyor 5, and the weight of the main cooked rice R1 replenished with the replenishment cooked rice R2 may be measured on the transport conveyor 5.

[0047] On the side of the hopper 6 (on the right side in FIG. 1), there are provided an operation panel 11 for setting the final target weight value of the cooked rice R to be produced, the set weight value of the main cooked rice R1, and the allowable weight values ​​of the main cooked rice R1 and the supplementary cooked rice R2, as well as an operation switch 12 for starting and stopping the cooked rice producing apparatus M. Therefore, the worker measures the cooked rice R using the cooked rice producing apparatus M by appropriately operating the operation panel 11 and the operation switch 12.

[0048] Next, the process of producing the main cooked rice R1 in the main cooked rice production unit 3 in the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus M of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Here, Figs. 7(a) to (g) are explanatory diagrams successively showing the process of producing the main cooked rice R1 by the main cooked rice production unit.

[0049] To produce the main cooked rice R1, first, as shown in Figure 7(a), a pair of shutters 3c provided on the supply unit 3a are set to the closed position, a pair of upper gates 3da provided on the thickness adjustment plate 3d are set to the closed position, and a pair of lower gates 3e provided on the measuring drop guide 3b are set to the closed position, and two frame pieces 10p constituting the guide frame 10 are joined together to form a frame body. At this time, the thickness adjustment plate 3d is adjusted to a height position at which the desired amount of main cooked rice R1 is produced. Also, cooked rice R is placed in the supply unit 3a.

[0050] Next, as shown in Fig. 7(b), the pair of shutters 3c provided in the supply unit 3a are set to the open position, and the cooked rice R is dropped into the supply unit 3a up to the pair of upper gates 3da provided on the thickness adjusting plate 3d. Then, as shown in Fig. 7(c), the pair of shutters 3c of the supply unit 3a are set to the closed position. As a result, the main cooked rice R1 is produced under a volume measurement obtained by multiplying the horizontal cross-sectional area of ​​the cooked rice by the height of the cooked rice (in other words, the distance between the pair of shutters 3c and the pair of upper gates 3da).

[0051] Next, as shown in Figure 7(d), a pair of upper gates 3da provided on the thickness adjusting plate 3d is set to the open position, and the main cooked rice R1 is dropped into the measuring drop guide 3b. At this time, since the upper inner edge 3ba of the measuring drop guide 3b is formed in a tapered shape, the main cooked rice R1 can smoothly enter the measuring drop guide 3b without partly spilling out.

[0052] Then, as shown in FIG. 7(e), the main cooked rice R1 is weighed using a load cell attached to the weighing drop guide 3b.

[0053] Once the main cooked rice R1 has been weighed using the weighing drop guide 3b, as shown in Figure 7(f), a pair of lower gates 3e provided on the weighing drop guide 3b are set to the open position, and the main cooked rice R1 is dropped onto the transport conveyor 5. At this time, since a guide frame 10 is disposed directly below the weighing drop guide 3b of the transport conveyor 5, the main cooked rice R1 will be dropped onto the transport conveyor 5 without losing its shape, even if it is cooked rice that does not harden easily, such as fried rice.

[0054] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the upper inner edge 10a of the guide frame 10 is tapered, so that the main cooked rice R1 does not spill out and can be guided by the tapered upper inner edge 10a and smoothly enter the guide frame 10.

[0055] In this way, once the main cooked rice R1 has been dropped onto the conveyor 5 without losing its shape, as shown in Figure 7(g), a pair of lower gates 3e provided on the weighing drop guide 3b are set to the closed position, and the two frame pieces 10p of the guide frame 10 are moved horizontally away from each other to positions where they do not hinder the transport of the main cooked rice R1 by the conveyor 5.

[0056] Thereafter, when the main rice R1 is transported on the conveyor 5 and reaches directly below the replenishment rice production unit 4, the replenishment rice production unit 4 replenishes the main rice R1 with replenishment rice R2 (rice with a weight equal to the difference between the final target weight value and the measured value on the load cell), and the main rice R1 is sent to the next process.

[0057] The invention made by the inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, but the embodiments disclosed in this specification are illustrative in all respects and are 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 of the above embodiments, but should be interpreted solely in accordance with the claims, and includes technologies equivalent to the technologies described in the claims and all modifications that do not deviate from the gist of the claims.

[0058] For example, in this embodiment, the guide frame 10 is composed of two frame pieces 10p that can move horizontally away from each other, but as shown in Figure 8, it may be made into an integrated frame shape that can be raised to a height that does not interfere with the transportation of the main cooked rice R1 by the transport conveyor 5.

[0059] 9, the guide frame 10 may have a shape that opens forward in the direction of transport of the main cooked rice R1 by the transport conveyor 5. In the case shown in FIG. 9, the guide frame 10 does not need to be moved (upward or horizontally), so the structure is simple, and although there is a possibility that the main cooked rice R1 may lose its shape in the forward direction of transport, which is the opening of the guide frame 10, when the main cooked rice R1 is dropped and loaded onto the transport conveyor 5, the shape of the main cooked rice R1 at the opening is restricted on both sides of the opening, so that the loss of shape at the opening is minimized.

[0060] If the guide frame 10 is an integrated frame shape (Fig. 8), when the main cooked rice R1 is dropped onto the guide frame 10, there may or may not be a gap between the guide frame 10 and the conveying surface of the conveyor 5. On the other hand, if the guide frame 10 is shaped so that it opens forward in the conveying direction of the main cooked rice R1 (Fig. 9), the guide frame 10 is installed so that a gap is formed between the guide frame 10 and the conveying surface of the conveyor 5, so that friction does not occur between the guide frame 10 and the conveyor 5 during conveyance.

[0061] Furthermore, the cooked rice manufacturing apparatus M of this embodiment is formed of a main cooked rice production section 3 and a supplementary cooked rice production section 4, and is structured so that the main cooked rice R1 is supplemented with supplementary cooked rice R2 to produce cooked rice R of the final target weight value, but it may also be configured so that only the main cooked rice production section 3, which is the cooked rice production means, is provided without providing the supplementary cooked rice production section 4.

[0062] Furthermore, the shape of the main cooked rice R1 is not limited to a rectangular shape as in this embodiment, but may be any of various shapes such as a square or an oval. [Industrial Applicability]

[0063] The cooked rice produced by the cooked rice production apparatus of the present invention can be served in a lunch container such as a tray in its original shape or after changing its shape, or compressed to make rice balls, and various other post-processing processes can be applied. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1a Caster 1b Adjustable legs 2 pedestal 3 Main rice generation section (rice generation means) 3a Supply section 3aa Laura 3b Weighing Drop Guide 3c Pair of shutters 3d Thickness adjustment plate (thickness adjustment means) 3da Pair of upper gates 3e Pair of lower gates 4 Replenishment cooked rice generation unit (replenishment cooked rice generation means) 4a First pair of rollers 4b Second pair of rollers 4c Unraveling roller (unraveling part) 4ca protrusion 4d housing 4da introduction port 4e Distribution plate (distribution means) 5. Conveyor (transport means) 5b Conveyor belt 5aa Drive roller 5ab driven roller 6 Hopper 10 Guide Frame 10p frame piece M Rice manufacturing equipment R Rice R1 Main rice R2 supplementary rice

Claims

1. A conveying means for conveying cooked rice; A cooked rice producing means for producing main cooked rice having a target weight set to a weight less than the final target weight value and dropping and loading it onto the conveying means; A supplementary cooked rice generating means is provided for generating supplementary cooked rice, which is cooked rice targeted at a supplementary weight value that is the weight difference between the weight of the main cooked rice and the final target weight value, and replenishing the supplementary cooked rice to the main cooked rice transported by the transport means, The cooked rice producing means is A supply unit that supplies cooked rice downward and is provided at the lower end with a pair of shutters that divide the cooked rice, A thickness adjusting means is provided below the supply unit, and is composed of a frame body that is open at the top and bottom, and has a pair of upper gates at the bottom end, and adjusts the thickness of the cooked rice by the distance between the pair of shutters; A measuring drop guide is provided below the thickness adjusting means, is open at the top and bottom, guides the cooked rice falling from the supply unit, and has a cooked rice measuring device attached thereto; A pair of lower gates are provided at the lower end of the measuring drop guide, and are in a closed position when measuring cooked rice, and are in an open position after measuring cooked rice, allowing cooked rice to drop. At the position where the cooked rice from the cooked rice producing means falls in the conveying means, a guide frame is installed whose inner periphery has the same shape as the inner periphery of the opening lower end of the supply section and the thickness adjusting means and is arranged at the same position when viewed vertically, and into which the cooked rice falling onto the conveying means fits to prevent the outer circumferential shape of the cooked rice from collapsing, The guide frame is A frame body composed of two frame pieces that can be moved apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to the conveying means to a position that does not interfere with the conveyance of cooked rice by the conveying means, The two frame pieces are joined together to form a frame body until the cooked rice falls onto the conveying means, and after the cooked rice falls onto the conveying means, the two frame pieces move to the position where they do not obstruct the conveyance of the cooked rice, The conveying means is a single conveyor provided to pass directly below the cooked rice generating means and the supplementary cooked rice generating means, and conveys the main cooked rice generated by the cooked rice generating means and dropped and loaded, and also conveys the supplementary cooked rice generated by the supplementary cooked rice generating means and dropped and supplemented onto the main cooked rice. A cooked rice manufacturing apparatus characterized by:

2. The upper inner edge of the guide frame is tapered.

2. The cooked rice manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The thickness adjusting means is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction.

3. The cooked rice manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The upper inner edge of the metering drop guide is tapered. The cooked rice manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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