JP2004033426A - Heat radiator setting detector of rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a heat radiator set detector preventing omission of attaching the heat slinger set detachably attached to the lid of a rice cooker by using an electric detection means. <P>SOLUTION: The heat radiator set detector of rice cooker is designed to detect existence of a heat radiator set 8 detachably attached to the lower surface of a lid of rice cooker and to alarm in a specified manner when the omission of the heat radiator set 8 is detected. A mechanical detection switch such as a limit switch 23 is placed inside the upper lid and a hole 24 is provided at a part of the lid facing an actuation arm 34 of the detection switch. A pushing member 19 of the actuation arm 34 is inserted freely in the hole 24, the insertion part of the pushing member 19 is sealed with a packing member 21 and a coil spring energizing the pushing member 19 downward is provided in the constitution. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a heat sink set detecting device for a rice cooker (including a rice cooker).
[0002]
[Prior art]
A lid heater is mounted on the inner surface of the lid of the rice cooker for the purpose of preventing dew condensation and the like, and a radiator plate set for dissipating heat of the lid heater to the rice cooker main body side is detachably attached to the lower surface of the lid.
[0003]
After removing the heat sink set for maintenance or the like, if the user forgets the attachment and closes the lid and cooks rice, there is a disadvantage that the sealing effect of the lid packing attached to the heat sink set is not exhibited. For this reason, in order to prevent forgetting to attach the heat sink set, when the heat sink set is not attached, the lid hook remains protruding, so that the lid is not closed, and the user forgets to attach the heat sink set. Was reported from an early age.
[0004]
In recent years, it has also been known that a proximity switch detects that the user has forgotten to attach a heat sink set, and if the proximity switch is not turned on even when the lid is closed, rice cooking is not started and a required notification is made. (See JP-A-11-56620 and JP-A-2001-327399).
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the notifying means for keeping the lid hook protruding when the user forgets to attach the heat sink set has the advantage that only a mechanical mechanism can be used and no electrical means is required. Since the rice cooker is in an open state, there is a concern that dust may enter the rice cooker body, and the appearance is not good. There is also a problem that a space is required above the rice cooker by an amount corresponding to the opening of the lid.
[0006]
On the other hand, those using a proximity switch can electrically detect and notify that the heat sink set has been left forgotten, so the above problem has been solved for the time being.However, the proximity switch requires a magnet as a pair. Therefore, there is a problem that the cost is higher than a switch that is turned on and off by mechanical displacement such as a limit switch.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat sink set detection device that electrically detects that a heat sink set has been left unattached and can be realized at low cost.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention detects the presence or absence of a heat sink set detachably attached to the lower surface of a rice cooker lid, and informs the user when a forgetting to install the heat sink set is detected. In a heat sink set detection device of a rice cooker, a mechanical detection switch is provided inside the lid, and a hole is provided in a part of the lid facing an operation arm of the detection switch, and the hole is formed in the hole. An airtight holding means for inserting the pressing member of the operating arm so as to be movable up and down, holding the airtight while inserting the pressing member, and an urging means for urging the pressing member downward; At the time of attachment, the push-up member is pushed up to activate the detection switch.
[0009]
According to the above configuration, it is possible to detect forgetting to attach the heatsink set by using a mechanical detection switch such as a limit switch or a tact switch, so that it can be provided at a lower cost than that using a proximity switch.
[0010]
Further, as a means for maintaining the airtightness of the pressing member, a packing member in which a packing part for sealing the lower surface of the hole and a flexible bag-shaped storage part for storing a coil spring as the urging means are integrated. Can be adopted. In this case, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the coil spring is interposed between the packing portion and the spring receiving portion of the pressing member. According to this configuration, since the coil spring does not come into contact with the steam, corrosion is prevented.
[0011]
An O-ring mounted around the pressing member on the lower surface of the hole and supported by an O-ring receiving portion of the pressing member is used as the airtight holding means of the pressing member, and the pressing member is used as the urging means. A configuration using a coil spring supported by the spring receiving portion can also be adopted.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, in the rice cooker of the embodiment, a lid 2 is attached to a rice cooker main body 1 by a hinge 3 so as to be openable and closable, and a pot 4 is removably stored inside the rice cooker main body 1. A pressure regulator 5 is provided inside the lid 2, and a lid heater 6 is mounted on the upper surface of the heater mounting plate 7. A heat sink set 8 is detachably attached to the lower surface of the lid 2 (see FIG. 2).
[0013]
The radiator plate set 8 has a lid ring 11 attached to an outer peripheral edge of a metal radiator plate 9 and a lid packing 12 (see FIG. 3) sandwiched between the outer peripheral edge of the radiator plate 9 and the lid ring 11. ing. The lid packing 12 comes into close contact with the peripheral edge of the opening of the pan 4 to seal the pan 4. The lid ring 11 is provided on the hinge 3 side with protrusions 14 and 14 that engage with engagement portions 13 and 13 (see FIG. 2) provided on the hinge 3 side of the lid 2. Also, handles 16, 16 are provided on the opposite side to the hinge 3 side, that is, on both left and right end portions on the lid hook 15 side. The attachment and detachment of the radiator plate set 8 is performed by gripping the handles 16, 16.
[0014]
A heat sink set detecting device 17 is provided on the inner surface of the lid 2 so as to face the outer peripheral edge of the heat sink set 8 approaching one of the protrusions 14. The heat radiating plate set detecting device 17 includes a pressing member 19, a packing member 21, a coil spring 22, and a limit switch 23 housed in a downward open concave portion 18 provided on the inner surface of the lid 2. A hole 24 is provided at the bottom of the recess 18, and the pressing member 19 is inserted into the hole 24 so as to be vertically movable. The pressing member 19 is provided with a spring receiving portion 25 at the lower end, and two leg portions 26, 26 are provided on the upper half with elasticity in a direction approaching and moving away from each other. Claws 27, 27 for retaining are provided at the upper ends of the two legs 26, 26. A small projection 28 is provided at the center of the lower surface of the pressing member 19.
[0015]
The packing member 21 is formed of a flexible elastic member such as rubber, has an annular packing portion 29 at an upper end, and a bag-shaped storage portion 31 is formed on a lower surface of the packing portion 29. At the center of the lower end of the storage section 31, a projection 32 is provided in which the small projection 28 is fitted on the inner surface side. The packing member 21 is inserted into the recess 18, and the packing portion 29 is pressed against the bottom surface of the recess 18 around the hole 24.
[0016]
The above-described pressing member 19 and the coil spring 22 are stored in the above-mentioned storage portion 31, and the lower end of the coil spring 22 is located between the spring receiving portion 25 of the pressing member 19 and the inner surface of the packing portion 29. It is interposed and urges the pressing member 19 downward. The upper ends of the legs 26 of the pressing member 19 project upward through the hole 33 in the center of the packing 29 and the hole 24 of the recess 18.
[0017]
One upper end of the legs 26, 26 of the pressing member 19 protruding upward is opposed to the operation arm 34 of the limit switch 23 provided inside the lid 2, and when the pressing member 19 is pushed upward. Then, the operating arm 34 is pushed up by the leg 26 (see the state of the solid line in FIG. 3), and the limit switch 23 is turned on. Conversely, when the pressing member 19 is lowered, the operation arm 34 is also lowered (the dashed line in FIG. 2), and the limit switch 23 is turned off.
[0018]
The embodiment of the present invention is as described above. When cooking rice, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the heat sink set 8 is attached to the lower surface of the lid 2, the convex portion of the packing member 21 is partially formed. Push up the tip of 32. As a result, the periphery of the convex portion 32 of the packing member 21 is elastically deformed, the pressing member 19 is pushed up, and the limit switch 23 is turned on.
[0019]
When the limit switch 23 is turned on, the signal is input to a control device (not shown), and rice cooking is started when the cooker start key 37 is pressed after the lid 2 is closed or when the timer switch is turned on.
[0020]
Conversely, if the user forgets to attach the heat sink set 8 and closes the lid 2, the rice cooking is not started because the conditions for starting rice cooking are not satisfied, and a warning sound or the like is issued.
[0021]
In addition, the steam generated by the rice cooking reaches the concave portion 18, but since the hole 24 is sealed by the packing portion 29, the steam does not leak to the limit switch 23 side. Further, since the coil spring 22 is housed in the housing 31, it does not come into contact with steam. Therefore, corrosion is prevented.
[0022]
Next, in another embodiment shown in FIG. 5A, an O-ring 35 is used as a sealing member for the hole 24 of the recess 18. In this case, the pressing member 19 is provided with an O-ring receiving portion 36 at the lower ends of the legs 26, 26, thereby supporting the O-ring 35. When the pressing member 19 is pushed up, the O-ring 35 is pressed. The seal is pressed against the periphery of the hole 24. Other configurations and operations are the same as those described above.
[0023]
In the case of the other embodiment shown in FIG. 5B, the mounting of the limit switch 23 is turned upside down, one leg 26 of the pressing member 19 is bent at a right angle, and the tip end of the operating arm 34 is bent. It faces upward. In this case, when the operating arm 34 is at the upper position (see the two-dot chain line in the figure), it is turned on, and when it is pushed down (see the solid line in the figure), it is turned off.
[0024]
The one shown in FIG. 5C uses a tact switch 23 'instead of the limit switch 23 in the case of FIG. 5A.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the presence / absence of the radiator plate set is detected by using a mechanical switch such as a limit switch and a tact switch, so that electrical detection is realized at low cost. be able to. Further, by using a unit in which the packing part and the bag-shaped storage part are integrated as the airtightness maintaining means, the corrosion of the coil spring can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same; FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the same; FIG. (A) Exploded perspective view of FIG. 5 (a) to (c) Partial sectional view of another embodiment [Description of References]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker main body 2 Lid 3 Hinge 4 Pot 5 Pressure regulator 6 Lid heater 7 Heater mounting plate 8 Radiating plate set 9 Radiating plate 11 Lid ring 12 Lid packing 13 Engaging part 14 Projecting part 15 Lid hook 16 Handle 17 Radiating plate set Detecting device 18 Recess 19 Pressing member 21 Packing member 22 Coil spring 23 Limit switch 23 ′ Tact switch 24 Hole 25 Spring receiving part 26 Leg part 27 Claw part 28 Small protrusion 29 Packing part 31 Storage part 32 Convex part 33 Hole 34 Operating arm 35 O-ring 36 O-ring receiver 37 Start key

Claims (4)

A heat sink set detection device for a rice cooker that detects the presence or absence of a heat sink set removably attached to the lower surface of a lid of a rice cooker, and makes a necessary notification when it is detected that the heat sink set is forgotten. In the above, a mechanical detection switch is provided inside the lid, a hole is provided in a part of the lid facing the operation arm of the detection switch, and a pressing member of the operation arm is inserted into the hole so as to be vertically movable. Airtight holding means for inserting the pressing member while maintaining airtightness, and urging means for urging the pressing member downward, and when the heat sink plate set is attached, pushes up the pushing up member to set the detection switch. A heat sink set detection device for a rice cooker, which is operated. As a means for maintaining the airtightness of the pressing member, a packing member in which a packing portion for sealing a lower surface of the hole and a flexible bag-shaped storage portion for storing a coil spring as the urging means are used. The heat sink set detection device for a rice cooker according to claim 1. The heat sink set detecting device for a rice cooker according to claim 2, wherein the coil spring is interposed between the packing portion and the spring receiving portion of the pressing member. An O-ring mounted on the lower surface of the hole around the pressing member and supported by an O-ring receiving portion of the pressing member is used as the airtight holding means of the pressing member, and a spring of the pressing member is used as the urging means. The heat sink set detecting device for a rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein a coil spring supported by the receiving portion is used.

Images