TWI894072B - Rice steamer feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

A rice steamer feeding device is defined as having a first direction and includes a housing, at least one conveying unit, at least one first accommodating slot, and a second accommodating slot. The housing has a feed channel above and communicates with an internal accommodating space. The at least one conveying unit includes a driver, a rotating shaft, and a conveying plate. The at least one driver is used to drive the at least one rotating shaft to link the at least one conveying plate to swing between a first position and a second position. When the at least one conveying plate is in the first position, the other side of the at least one conveying plate abuts against the inner wall of the housing, and the at least one conveying plate is opposite to the feed channel along the first direction. When the at least one conveying plate is in the second position, the at least one conveying plate leaves the position opposite to the feed channel along the first direction. The at least one first accommodating slot and the second accommodating slot are arranged in the accommodating space.

Description

Rice steamer feeding device

The present invention relates to a rice steamer; in particular, to a feeding device for a rice steamer.

Rice is an indispensable staple food, and rice-related dishes can be found in almost every household. Currently, steaming is the most common method of preparing rice, and as a result, rice steaming equipment has evolved over time, including electric rice cookers and electronic rice cookers. Businesses that require large quantities of rice at once, such as restaurants and hotels, typically use rice steamers to meet the larger demand. These steamers contain multiple tanks to hold the rice, thereby increasing the steamer's capacity.

However, existing rice steamers typically require manual loading of rice into these troughs. This not only increases operation time but also the risk of human error, leading to lower overall efficiency and higher operating costs. Therefore, developing a highly efficient and cost-effective rice steamer feeding device is a current focus of the relevant industry.

In view of this, the object of the present invention is to provide a feeding device for a rice steamer, which transports rice to the corresponding first or second receiving tank via a conveying unit.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a rice steamer feeding device having a first direction and comprising a housing, at least one conveying unit, at least one first receiving tank, and a second receiving tank. The housing has a feeding channel on its upper surface and a receiving space therein, the feeding channel connecting to the receiving space along the first direction. The at least one conveying unit comprises a driver, a rotating shaft, and a conveying plate. The at least one driver is disposed in the housing. The at least one rotating shaft is located in the receiving space, and the at least one conveying plate is disposed in the housing. The two ends of at least one rotating shaft are rotatably pivoted on the two sides of the shell, and the at least one rotating shaft is connected to the at least one driver; one side of the at least one conveying plate is connected to the at least one rotating shaft, and the at least one driver is used to drive the at least one rotating shaft to link the at least one conveying plate to swing between a first position and a second position; wherein, when the at least one conveying plate is in the first position, the other side of the at least one conveying plate is against the inner wall of the shell, and the at least one conveying plate is facing the feed along the first direction. channel; when the at least one conveying plate is in the second position, the at least one conveying plate leaves the position facing the feed channel along the first direction; the at least one first accommodating groove is arranged in the accommodating space of the shell, the at least one first accommodating groove is located on the side of the shafts away from the conveying plates, the at least one first accommodating groove and the at least one conveying plate are arranged staggered along the first direction, the at least one first accommodating groove has a first groove body, and the at least one first groove body is close to the side of the at least one conveying plate. The edge is connected to a first extension plate. The at least one first extension plate has a free end edge, and the at least one free end edge is located below the corresponding at least one rotating shaft. The second accommodating tank is disposed in the accommodating space of the housing and is located below the at least one first accommodating tank. The second accommodating tank has a second tank body and a second extension plate. One side of the second extension plate is connected to the second tank body, and the other side of the second extension plate is connected to the inner wall of the housing. The second extension plate is opposite the feed channel along the first direction.

The present invention achieves the effect of improving operating efficiency and reducing operating costs by designing the feeding device of the rice steamer so that at least one conveyor plate can swing between a first position and a second position to automatically feed the rice into the corresponding at least one first receiving tank and the corresponding second receiving tank.

100: Rice steamer feeding device

10: Shell

12: Feed channel

14: Storage space

16: First opening

20: Screw Plate

30: Side cover

40: Transport unit

42:Driver

44: Turning handle

46: Axis

48:Conveyor plate

50: First accommodating tank

52: First tank

54: First extension plate

541: Free Edge

56: Second opening

60: Second storage tank

62: Second tank

64: Second extension plate

66: The third opening

70: Screw rod

80: Motor

90: Partition

1: Rice

2: Heating device

3: Water supply device

D1: First Direction

D2: Second Direction

P1: First position

P2: Second position

S: Horizontal reference plane

θ1: First angle

θ2: Second angle

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the feeding device of a rice steamer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the feeding device of the rice steamer according to the preferred embodiment from another angle.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the area marked A1 in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of some components of the preferred embodiment, showing the conveyor plate in the first position.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of some components of the preferred embodiment, showing the conveyor plate in the second position.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the second receiving tank of the above-mentioned preferred embodiment.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 2.

To more clearly illustrate the present invention, a preferred embodiment is described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figures 1 to 3 illustrate a rice steamer feeding device 100 for conveying and steaming a plurality of rice ingredients 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The rice steamer feeding device 100 defines a first direction D1, a second direction D2, and a horizontal reference plane S. The first direction D1 is perpendicular to the second direction D2 and the horizontal reference plane S. The rice steamer feeding device 100 comprises a housing 10, a plurality of mixing plates 20, a plurality of side covers 30, at least one conveying unit 40, at least one first receiving tank 50, a second receiving tank 60, a plurality of screws 70, a plurality of motors 80, and at least one partition 90.

The housing 10 has a feed channel 12 on its top and a receiving space 14 inside. The feed channel 12 connects to the receiving space 14 along the first direction D1 and is used to allow the rice 1 to enter. The housing 10 has a plurality of first openings 16 on one side along the second direction D2. The first openings 16 are arranged along the first direction D1. The material distribution plates 20 are disposed in the feed channel 12 and along the second direction D2. The rice materials 1 are arranged at intervals in the second direction D2 so that when they fall through the feed channel 12, the agglomerated rice materials 1 can collide with the distribution plates 20 and be broken up, allowing them to fall evenly into the accommodating space 14. The side covers 30 are disposed on one side of the housing 10 in the second direction D2, corresponding to the first openings 16, and each side cover 30 can open or close each first opening 16 of the housing 10.

As shown in FIG3 to FIG7, the at least one conveying unit 40 includes a driver 42, a handle 44, a shaft 46 and a conveying plate 48. The at least one driver 42 is a linear driver and one end is pivoted to the outside of the housing 10, and the other end is pivoted to the outer end of the at least one handle 44. The at least one shaft 46 is located in the accommodating space 14. In the second direction D2, the at least one The two ends of the rotating shaft 46 are rotatably pivoted on the two sides of the housing 10, and one end of the at least one rotating shaft 46 is combined with the rotating handle 44 to connect to the at least one driver 42; one side of the at least one conveying plate 48 is connected to the at least one rotating shaft 46; the at least one driver 42 drives the at least one rotating shaft 46 through the at least one rotating handle 44 to connect the at least one conveying plate 48 to a first position P1 and a second position P2. When the at least one conveying plate 48 is in the first position P1, the other side of the at least one conveying plate 48 abuts against the inner wall of the housing 10, and the at least one conveying plate 48 faces the feed channel 12 along the first direction D1, allowing the rice 1 to fall from the feed channel 12 to the at least one conveying plate 48. When the at least one conveying plate 48 is in the second position P2, the at least one conveying plate 48 leaves the position facing the feed channel 12 along the first direction D1, allowing the rice 1 to continue falling from the feed channel 12 into the accommodating space 14. In this embodiment, the number of the at least one conveying unit 40 is plural; in other embodiments, the number of the at least one conveying unit 40 can be adjusted to one as needed.

The at least one first accommodating groove 50 is disposed in the accommodating space 14 of the housing 10. The at least one first accommodating groove 50 is located on a side of the at least one rotating shaft 46 away from the at least one conveying plate 48. The at least one first accommodating groove 50 and the at least one conveying plate 48 are disposed along the first direction D1. The at least one first accommodating groove 50 has a first groove body 52, a first extension plate 54, and a second opening 56 (see FIG. 8 ). In this embodiment, In this example, the number of the at least one first receiving slot 50 corresponds to the number of the at least one conveying unit 40, and the first receiving slots 50 and the conveying plates 48 are arranged alternately along the first direction D1. The first receiving slots 50 have the same structure, and one first receiving slot 50 is used for illustration. In other embodiments, when the number of the at least one conveying unit 40 is one, the number of the at least one first receiving slot 50 is correspondingly adjusted to one.

The first trough 52 is a U-shaped trough. The first extension plate 54 is connected to the edge of the first trough 52 near one side of the corresponding conveying plate 48. The first extension plate 54 has a free end 541. The free end 541 is located below the corresponding rotating shaft 46. The first extension plate 54 is tilted at a first angle θ1 relative to the horizontal reference plane S. When one of the conveying plates 48 is located at the first position P1, the conveying plate 48 is tilted at a second angle θ1 relative to the horizontal reference plane S. The first angle θ1 is smaller than the second angle θ2, so that the rice 1 can slow down when falling from the conveying plate 48 to the first extension plate 54, and then fall along the first extension plate 54 into the corresponding first trough 52, thereby preventing the rice 1 from entering the first trough 52 too quickly and splashing out of the first trough 52. The second opening 56 is located on one side of the first receiving groove 50 in the second direction D2, and the second opening 56 is connected to the corresponding first opening 16.

The second accommodating trough 60 is disposed within the accommodating space 14 of the housing 10 and below the first accommodating troughs 50. The second accommodating trough 60 comprises a second trough body 62, a second extension plate 64, and a third opening 66 (see Figure 8). One side of the second extension plate 64 is connected to the second trough body 62, and the other side is connected to the inner wall of the housing 10. The second extension plate 64 faces the feed channel 12 along the first direction D1. When the conveying plates 48 are in the second position P2, the rice 1 falls from the feed channel 12 and then along the second extension plate 64 into the second trough body 62. The third opening 66 is located on one side of the second accommodating trough 60 in the second direction D2 and is connected to the first opening 16 located at the bottom.

In this embodiment, a plurality of water supply devices 3 and a heating device 2 are installed in the storage space 14. Each water supply device 3 is located above each of the first extension plates 54 and the second extension plates 64 to supply water to the corresponding first tank 52, the second tank 62, and the storage space 14. The heating device 2 is located at the bottom of the storage space 14 and below the second storage tank 60 to heat the water at the bottom of the storage space 14 to generate steam, which is used to cook the rice 1 in the first storage tank 50 and the second storage tank 60.

As shown in Figure 8 , the screws 70 are rotatably disposed in the first and second troughs 52 and 62, respectively. One end of each screw 70 rotatably penetrates the housing 10 on one side of the second direction D2. Each motor 80 is disposed in the housing 10 and connected to the corresponding screw 70. When the rice 1 in the first and second troughs 52 and 62 is cooked, the side covers 30 open the first openings 16 of the housing 10. The motors 80 then drive the screws 70 to rotate, thereby discharging the cooked rice 1 through the communicating second opening 56 and the corresponding first opening 16, or through the communicating third opening 66 and the corresponding first opening 16.

Please refer to Figure 3 again. The at least one partition 90 is disposed in the accommodating space 14 and is located between the corresponding first trough 52 and the screw rod 70. One side of the at least one partition 90 is connected to the lower side of the at least one first trough 52 and the other side extends in the first direction D1. Thus, when the rice materials 1 slide along the first extension plate 54 or the second extension plate 64 to the corresponding first trough 52 or the second trough 52, the rice materials 1 can be placed in the accommodating space 14. When the first or second trough 62 is disposed between the first or second trough 52 or 62 and the respective screws 70, the at least one partition 90 can reduce the gap between the corresponding first or second trough 52 or 62 and the respective screws 70, thereby preventing the rice material 1 from impacting the respective screws 70 and spilling out of the corresponding first or second trough 50 or 60. In this embodiment, a plurality of the at least one partition 90 are provided, corresponding to the number of the at least one first trough 50.

In practice, the rice materials 1 enter the feed channel 12 and are separated from the agglomerated rice materials 1 by the sizing plates 20, so that the rice materials 1 fall evenly into the accommodating space 14 of the housing 10. At this time, when one of the conveying plates 48 is located at the first position P1, one side of the conveying plate 48 abuts against the inner wall of the housing 10 and faces the feed channel 12 along the first direction D1, so that the rice materials 1 fall into the first trough 52 along the corresponding conveying plate 48 and the first extension plate 54. Alternatively, when one or more of the conveying plates 48 are located at the second position P2, one or more of the conveying plates 48 leave the position facing the feed channel 12 along the first direction D1, so that the rice materials 1 fall from the feed channel 12. The rice material 1 continues to fall in the accommodating space 14 along the first direction D1 until it lands on one of the conveying plates 48 located below at the first position P1. The rice material 1 then continues to fall into the first trough 52 along the corresponding first extension plate 54. Alternatively, when the conveying plates 48 are all located at the second position P2, the conveying plates 48 move away from their positions directly opposite the feed channel 12 along the first direction D1, allowing the rice material 1 to continue to fall from the feed channel 12 in the accommodating space 14 along the first direction D1 until it lands on the second extension plate 64. The rice material 1 then continues to fall into the second trough 62. In this way, the rice material 1 can be fed from the feed channel 12 into the first accommodating troughs 50 and the second accommodating troughs 60 as needed.

Next, in conjunction with the water supply devices 3 and the heating device 2, the water supply devices 3 add water to the corresponding first and second tanks 52 and 62, while the heating device 2 heats the rice 1 in the first and second accommodating tanks 50 and 60. Finally, the motors 80 drive the screws 70 to rotate, causing the screws 70 to discharge the cooked rice 1 from the corresponding first, second, and third openings 16, 56, and 66. Thus, the design of the rice steamer's feeding device 100 automates the rice steamer's feeding process, thereby improving operating efficiency and reducing operating costs.

The above description is merely an example of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Any equivalent variations made by applying the present invention description and patent application scope should be included in the patent scope of the present invention.

100: Rice steamer feeding device

10: Shell

12: Feed channel

80: Motor

2: Heating device

D1: First Direction

D2: Second Direction

S: Horizontal reference plane

Claims (7)

A feeding device for a rice steamer is defined as having a first direction and comprises: a housing having a feeding channel on its upper portion and a storage space therein, the feeding channel communicating with the storage space along the first direction; at least one conveying unit comprising a driver, a rotating shaft, and a conveying plate; the at least one driver being disposed in the housing; the at least one rotating shaft being located in the storage space and having two ends rotatably intersecting the housing; the at least one rotating shaft being connected to the at least one driver; one side of the at least one conveying plate being connected to the at least one rotating shaft; the at least one driver being used to drive the at least one rotating shaft to move in a linkage manner; The at least one conveyor plate swings between a first position and a second position; wherein, when the at least one conveyor plate is in the first position, the other side of the at least one conveyor plate abuts against the inner wall of the housing, and the at least one conveyor plate faces the feed channel along the first direction; when the at least one conveyor plate is in the second position, the at least one conveyor plate moves away from the position facing the feed channel along the first direction; At least one first accommodating slot is disposed in the accommodating space of the housing. The at least one first accommodating slot is located on a side of the at least one rotating shaft facing away from the at least one conveying plate. The at least one first accommodating slot and the at least one conveying plate are arranged along the first direction. The at least one first accommodating slot has a first slot body. A first extension plate is connected to an edge of the at least one first slot body proximal to a side of the at least one conveying plate. The at least one first extension plate has a free end edge, and the at least one free end edge is located below the corresponding at least one rotating shaft. A second accommodating tank is disposed in the accommodating space of the housing and below the at least one first accommodating tank. The second accommodating tank comprises a second tank body and a second extension plate. One side of the second extension plate is connected to the second tank body, and the other side of the second extension plate is connected to the inner wall of the housing. The second extension plate is opposite to the feed channel along the first direction. The feeding device of the rice steamer as described in claim 1 includes a plurality of screw rods and a plurality of motors, the first trough body of the at least one first accommodating trough is a U-shaped trough, and a screw rod is rotatably arranged in the at least one first trough body and the second trough body, respectively, one end of each screw rod is rotatably pivoted on a side of the housing, and each motor is arranged in the housing and connected to the corresponding screw rod. The feeding device of the rice steamer as described in claim 1, wherein a partition is connected to the lower side of the at least one first trough. The feeding device of the rice steamer as described in claim 1, wherein a horizontal reference plane is defined, the horizontal reference plane being perpendicular to the first direction; the at least one first extension plate is inclined at a first angle relative to the horizontal reference plane, and when the at least one conveying plate is in the first position, the at least one conveying plate is inclined at a second angle relative to the horizontal reference plane, and the first angle is smaller than the second angle. The feeding device of the rice steamer as described in claim 1 includes a plurality of sizing plates, which are arranged in the feeding channel and arranged at intervals along a straight line. The feeding device of the rice steamer as described in claim 1, wherein one end of the at least one rotating shaft passes through the housing and is connected to a rotating handle, and the at least one driver is a linear driver and has one end pivotally connected to the outside of the housing and the other end pivotally connected to the outer end of the at least one rotating handle. The feeding device of the rice steamer as described in claim 1, wherein the number of the at least one first receiving groove is plural, the number of the at least one conveying plate is plural, and the first receiving grooves and the conveying plates are arranged alternately along the first direction.