JPH01299513A - Automatic rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an automatic rice cooker used in general households.

Conventional technology Conventional automatic rice cookers that automatically perform everything from washing rice to adjusting the amount of water and cooking the rice, generally use water to wash the rice, rice that uses stirring blades, and water jets. It has been proposed that rice be washed by using the force of collision between rice comrades, and as for the method of adding and reducing the amount of water, the rice is weighed using a measuring basin installed at the bottom of the rice bin, and the amount of water is It has been proposed to perform metering by temporally controlling a solenoid valve installed at the bottom of a water tank (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-2171).
Publication No. 18).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional method described above, rice can be measured with fairly high accuracy as long as the type of rice does not change. Since the flow rate of water changes depending on the area and the initial water level of the water tank, simply controlling the opening and closing of a solenoid valve over time is not a fool's errand for measuring water accurately; This means that it is not possible to adjust the appropriate amount of water without taking into account the moisture already contained in the rice, but since this moisture content is not constant due to the influence of water temperature, etc., it is necessary to always cook rice at a constant consistency. However, the problem was that it was not sufficient to achieve the desired hardness adjustment. Also,
Another problem was that it was difficult to adjust the amount of water, especially at low water levels.

The present invention solves the above problems, and has a simple structure that allows rice to be washed cleanly without using water, improves the accuracy of water measurement, and allows for appropriate water level. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic rice cooker that can improve detection accuracy at low water levels.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the automatic rice cooker of the present invention includes a rice bin part that can store rice and discharge it in predetermined amounts, and a rice cooker part that removes sugar from the rice supplied from the rice bin part. The appropriate amount of water is determined by a rice section, a rice cedar feeding section that transports polished rice, a water supply section that supplies water necessary for cooking, and two sensors that detect coarse and fine water levels in the water supply section. A rice cooking section that cooks rice using the rice and water supplied from the rice cedar feeding section and the water supply section, and a control section that performs a series of sequence control and rice cooking control.

In addition, the water level detection section is of a capacitive type, and the lower part of the electrode is made smaller, and a water tank is provided as the water level detection part. By making the lower part of this water tank smaller, the accuracy at low water levels is improved. It was designed to measure the

Effects The present invention has the above-mentioned structure, so that it is possible to wash rice without using water, so there is no error in the amount of water due to water absorption into the rice, and it is possible to wash rice using an accurate water measuring means. It allows you to adjust the appropriate amount of water.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this Figure 1, 1 is a rice bin part that stores rice and can discharge it in predetermined amounts, 2 is a rice polishing part that removes sugar from the rice supplied from the rice bin part 1, and 3 is a part that removes the rice that has been polished. 4 is a water supply section that supplies the water necessary for cooking rice; 5 is a water level detection section that detects the water level of the water supply section 4 and determines the appropriate amount of water; 6 is a Yonecedar transfer section 3 and a water supply section. a rice cooking section that cooks rice using the rice and water supplied from 4; 7;
is a control unit that performs a series of sequence control and rice cooking control.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed embodiment of the rice bin section 1, the rice polishing section 2, and the rice cedar feeding section 3. Rice bin part 1 is rice bin 8,
It consists of a rice discharge section 9 that measures and discharges rice in predetermined amounts.

The rice polishing section 2 includes a rice polishing brush 10 whose outer periphery is flocked, a rice polishing motor 11 that drives the rice polishing brush 10, and a small hole that covers the outer periphery of the rice polishing brush 10 and is large enough to prevent rice grains from flowing out. a polishing body 12 provided with a large number of rice polishing bodies 12, a rice grain part 13 located below the rice discharge part 9 and opened upward, and a polished rice container provided with a rice discharge hole 14, an air intake hole 16, and an exhaust hole 18. 17, and a bran container 18 for collecting sugar discharged from the exhaust hole 16.

The rice cedar feeding section 3 also includes a transfer fan 19, a suction pipe 2o connecting the bran container 18 and the intake side of the transfer fan 19, an exhaust pipe 21 provided on the exhaust side of the transfer fan 19, and a polished rice container 17. An ejector 22 having a structure for pneumatically feeding the rice discharged from the rice discharge hole 14, and this ejector 22.
The transport pipe 23 transports the rice to the pot by the action of the transport pipe 23.

FIG. 3 shows a concrete example of the water supply section 4 and the water level detection section 6. Reference numerals 24a and 24b are a pair of electrodes serving as a rough water level sensor, which are attached closely to the side wall of the water tank 26. ing. 2ea and 2eb are a pair of electrodes serving as a low water level sensor. 27 is the pair of rough water electrodes 2;
4a and 24b; a coarse water level detection section that detects a change in capacitance (due to a change in water level); and 28, the pair of fine water level electrodes 26a.

This is a thin water level detection unit that detects a change in capacitance (due to a change in water level) between 26b and 26b. and the rough water level electrode 24a,
24b and the narrow water level electrodes 26a and 26b, the narrow water level electrodes 2ea and 2eb have narrower electrode widths, so that capacitance changes due to water level changes at low water levels are larger and accuracy is higher.

FIG. 4 shows a specific example of the water supply section 4 and the water level detection section 5 in another embodiment of the present invention.
29b is a pair of sensor electrodes for detecting changes in water level as changes in capacitance.

Since the pair of sensor electrodes 29a and 2eb have a lower part narrower than an upper part, a change in capacitance due to a change in water level when the water level is low becomes large, thereby increasing accuracy.

FIG. 6 shows a specific example of the water supply section 4 and the water level detection section 5 in still another embodiment of the present invention.
is a water tank, and 30a and 30b are a pair of sensor electrodes closely attached to the side wall of the water tank 25. In this embodiment, since the lower part of the water tank 24 is made small, the water level changes greatly when the amount of water is low, resulting in high accuracy.

Next, the operation of the disembarkation configuration will be explained.

When the user determines and inputs the amount of rice to be cooked, the control section 7 outputs a control signal to the rice bin section 1, and as a result, the rice discharging section 9 of the rice bin 8 measures the rice in predetermined amounts and sends it to the rice polishing section 2. Supply this rice. Next, the rice polishing motor 11 of the rice polishing section 2 is driven to rotate the rice polishing brush 10, and the rice bran and the like adhering to the surface of the rice are removed between it and the polishing body 12. At the same time, the transfer fan 19 of the rice cedar feeding section 3 is driven, and air is sucked in through the intake hole 16 of the polished rice container 17, and this air is exhausted from the exhaust hole 1e. and the sugar removed from the rice.

is collected into the bran container 18 through the exhaust hole 16.

The polished rice is sent from the rice discharge hole 14 to the ejector 22, and is transported to the rice cooking section 5 via the transport pipe 23 by the air supplied from the transfer fan 19 through the exhaust pipe 21. If the lower part of the bran container 18 is configured to be detachable as shown in FIG. 2, the bran can be easily disposed of.

Next, yen reduction in the embodiment of the present invention will be explained. The water level of the water tank 26 of the water supply 1 section 4 is measured by detecting a change in capacitance between a pair of sensor electrodes provided on the side wall of the water tank 26 facing each other.

For example, by constructing an oscillation circuit using capacitance between a pair of sensor electrodes, and counting the number of output pulses of this oscillation circuit,
It is measured by converting it to water level.

Therefore, when supplying the amount of water commensurate with the amount of washed rice,
This is possible by performing water supply control while measuring changes in the water level of the water tank 26 using the water level detection section 6 while supplying water. Furthermore, since the rice washing method is a method that does not use water, it is possible to adjust the amount of water without any errors caused by water absorption into the rice.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the description of the above embodiments, according to the present invention,
Since it has a rice washing method that does not use water, there is no error in the amount of water due to water absorption into the rice, and it is possible to measure water extremely accurately, making it an automatic rice cooker with good water amount accuracy. can be provided. In particular, the water level detection section allows fine adjustment of water level when the water level is low.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a specific embodiment of the water supply unit/water level detection unit, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a specific embodiment of the water supply unit/water level detection unit in another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a specific example of the water supply section and water level detection section in still another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Rice potting department, 2... Rice polishing department, 3.
...Yonesugi feeding section, 4...Water supply section, 6...
... Water level detection section, 6 ... Rice cooking section, 7 ...
...Control unit, 24a, 2ab...Rough water level sensor, 26...Water tank, 26a, 26b
・・・・・・Low water level sensor, 29a, 29b, 30a
. 30b... A pair of sensor electrodes. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshi Nakao and one other person Figure 1 - One-way system a signal direction indicator' - Rice closing 16-- - Hane r - Kikora 9 - Rice M exit part 17- Stone piece Unbreathed Volume 10---Kenka Brush lδ-・I Kōyō Volume lf・-Ishiba Mi Moog 19- Published 1 Chifan/Z---Polishing Rest υ-Suction Ha0if 113・-Water Receiver Takuma
2f-MP air pipe 14...US 1F soil, JL
22- Ejinikugu 15- Intake 2b23・-Transportation no\°Eve Fig. 2 4 (Ka+Umuno no Expenses N\J Castle 0

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A rice bin part that can store rice and discharge it in predetermined amounts, a rice grinding part that removes sugar from the rice supplied from the rice bin part, a rice transfer part that transfers the ground rice, and a rice pot part that can be used for cooking rice. a water supply unit that supplies necessary water; a water level detection unit that determines an appropriate amount of water using two sensors that detect rough water levels and fine water levels in the water supply unit; and rice supplied from the rice transfer unit and the water supply unit. An automatic rice cooker comprising a rice cooking section that cooks rice using water and water, and a control section that performs a series of sequence control and rice cooking control. (2) The automatic rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the water level detection section is of a capacitance type, and the lower part of the electrode is small in shape. (3) The automatic rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein a water tank is provided as a water level detection part, and the lower part of the water tank has a small shape.