JP2010099417A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker which prevents a user from getting a burn by detecting the temperature of cooling water inside a water tank by a temperature sensor, and has the temperature sensor with improved sensitivity. <P>SOLUTION: The rice cooker includes: an inner pot 3 freely detachably housed in a rice cooker body 1; a steam conduit for guiding steam from a cooked rice inside the inner pot 3 generated while cooking rice to the outside; the water tank 21 for condensing water from the steam guided by the steam conduit by cooling water and recovering it; the temperature sensor 25 which is brought into contact with the bottom part of the water tank 21 by a spring 27a, and detects the temperature of the cooling water inside the water tank 21; and a water temperature determination means for determining whether or not the temperature of the cooling water inside the water tank 21 detected by the temperature sensor 25 is equal to or higher than a prescribed temperature and reporting to a user that the water tank 21 is at a high temperature through a reporting means when the detected temperature of the temperature sensor 21 is equal to or higher than the prescribed temperature. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker provided with a water tank that recovers steam in the inner pot generated during rice cooking by condensing with cooling water.

  In the conventional rice cooker, steam generated in the inner pot is guided to a water tank by a steam conduit, discharged into cooling water in the water tank, condensed and recovered. The water tank is detachably attached to the outer upper part of the rice cooker body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 03-231613 (2nd page, FIG. 1)

In the conventional rice cooker described above, the temperature of the cooling water in the water tank is not known several times. For this reason, there is a risk that the user may be burned when replacing the cooling water in the water tank.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. The temperature of the cooling water in the water tank is detected by the temperature sensor so that the user is not burned. It aims at providing the rice cooker which improved the sensitivity.

  The rice cooker according to the present invention is led by an inner pot detachably stored in the rice cooker body, a steam conduit for guiding steam from the cooked rice in the inner pot generated during rice cooking to the outside, and a steam conduit. A water tank that condenses and collects the recovered steam with cooling water, a temperature sensor that contacts the bottom of the water tank with elastic means and detects the temperature of the cooling water in the water tank, and a water tank detected by the temperature sensor Water temperature determining means for determining whether or not the temperature of the cooling water inside is not less than a predetermined temperature, and notifying the user that the water tank is at a high temperature via the notifying means when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is not less than the predetermined temperature; It is equipped with.

  In the present invention, the temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the cooling water in the water tank is provided, and the temperature sensor is brought into contact with the bottom of the water tank by the elastic means. The temperature of the water tank can be detected with high sensitivity, and therefore it is possible to accurately notify whether or not the water tank is hot and prevent the user from being burned.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a side surface of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a rice cooker body and a water tank of the rice cooker according to the embodiment, and FIG. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the water tank and temperature sensor of the rice cooker which concerns on a form, FIG. 4 is the perspective view of the rice cooker which shows embodiment, and its bottom part, FIG. 5 is the rice cooker main body in the rice cooker which concerns on embodiment It is a perspective view which expands and shows the bottom part by the side of the water tank.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rice cooker according to the embodiment includes a rice cooker body 1 and a water tank 21 that condenses and recovers steam generated during rice cooking with cooling water. A protective frame 2 having an upper opening is provided inside the rice cooker body 1, and a bottomed cylindrical inner pot 3 whose outer surface is made of a magnetic metal is detachably stored in the protective frame 2. Further, a lid body 4 whose one end is pivotally supported by a hinge portion 5 so as to be freely opened and closed is attached to the upper portion of the rice cooker body 1. On the upper surface of the lid 4, as shown in FIG. 4, various operation switches 9 necessary for cooking rice, a display window 10 a of the liquid crystal display unit 10 that displays the cooking status, and the like are arranged. Further, a lid heat radiating plate 7 provided with a lid heater 6 is attached to the lid 4, and an inner lid 8 is detachably mounted so as to cover the lid radiating plate 7. A packing 8a is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the inner lid 8 so as to be in contact with the flange portion 3a of the inner hook 3 when the lid body 4 is closed so that the upper opening of the inner hook 3 is sealed.

  The protective frame 2 described above is composed of an upper frame 2a, a side heat radiating plate 2b on which a body heater 11 is disposed, and a coil base 2c. The induction coil 12 supported by the coil base 2 c of the protective frame 2 is arranged so as to face the side induction coil 12 a disposed so as to face the bottom corner portion of the inner hook 3 and the bottom portion of the inner hook 3. The bottom induction coil 12b is provided. The side induction coil 12a and the bottom induction coil 12b of the induction coil 12 are covered with ferrite (not shown). This is to prevent the magnetic flux generated from the side induction coil 12a and the bottom induction coil 12b from leaking outside. The bottom temperature sensor 13 attached through the central part of the coil base 2c is made of, for example, a thermistor, contacts the bottom of the inner pot 3 by the elastic force of the spring 13a, and the temperature of the cooked rice stored in the inner pot 3 Is detected indirectly.

  The water tank 21 is made of, for example, plastic having a side wall portion and a bottom portion having substantially the same thickness, and is detachably mounted on the side wall portion 14 and the bottom portion 15 of the rice cooker body 1. A tank lid 22 is detachably fitted in the upper opening of the water tank 21. The tank lid 22 is provided with a sealing material 22a for preventing steam leakage in the water tank 21, and a packing 24a is connected to the steam conduit 24 provided in the lid body 4 as shown in FIG. A substantially quadrilateral steam inlet 22b is formed which is interposed and joined. A tank cover 23 formed in a substantially C shape when viewed from above is detachably attached to the water tank 21. The tank cover 23 is provided to prevent the user from directly touching the water tank 21 at a high temperature and not to impair the design of the rice cooker.

  The steam conduit 24 is detachably joined to the lid 4, one is joined to the steam outlet 8 a provided in the inner lid 8, and the other is joined to the steam inlet 22 b of the tank lid 22. . When the cooked rice in the inner pot 3 is boiled by the induction heating of the induction coil 12 and steam is generated, the steam flows from the steam discharge port 8a into the steam introduction pipe 24 and is guided by the steam introduction pipe 24 to be tank lid 22. The steam is introduced into the cooling water in the water tank through a communication pipe (not shown) connected to the steam inlet 22b and condensed.

  A temperature sensor 25 (for example, a thermistor) that detects the temperature by contacting the bottom of the water tank 21 is provided on the bottom 15 of the rice cooker body 1 on the side where the water tank 21 is placed. The temperature sensor 25 is stored through the upper surface of the sensor storage unit 26 provided in the bottom 15 and is connected to a microcomputer (not shown) of the rice cooker body 1. As shown in FIG. 3, a sensor support portion 27 with a temperature sensor 25 fitted to the upper end portion is inserted into the sensor storage portion 26, and a spring 27 a (elastic means) is provided on the outer periphery of the sensor support portion 27. It has been. When the water tank 21 is placed on the bottom portion 15, the temperature sensor 25 comes into contact with the bottom portion of the water tank 21 by the elastic force of the spring 27 a of the sensor support portion 27.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bottom portion 15 of the rice cooker body 1 is provided with a rib 31 formed along the shape of the side wall portion 14 (see FIG. 2), and further inside the rice cooker body 1. A chevron-shaped airflow direction separating rib 32 (shielding rib) that divides cooling air from a cooling fan (not shown) to be cooled in two directions is connected to the surface of the rib 31. The ribs 31 are provided with vent holes 31 a at positions facing the exhaust ports 33 formed in the bottom portion 15. As shown in FIG. 5, the cooling air from the cooling fan is divided into two directions by the angle-shaped ribs 32 for separating the air direction, flows through the air vents 31 a to the lower side of the water tank 21, and the exhaust ports 33. Are discharged to the outside respectively. Due to the flow of the cooling air, the cooling air is not directly applied to the temperature sensor 25, and the temperature sensor 25 is less susceptible to the temperature detection of the water tank 21.

  The microcomputer mentioned above is provided with a water temperature determination means. For example, when rice cooking is finished and heat insulation is started, it is determined whether the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 25 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature lower than the threshold, and the temperature sensor 25 detects the temperature. When the temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the fact that the water tank 21 is hot is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 10 (notifying means) to notify the user. And when the temperature of the water tank 21 becomes lower than the predetermined temperature, the notification is terminated. In addition, you may use LED as an alerting | reporting means. For example, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 25 exceeds a predetermined temperature, the LED is turned on or blinked to notify the user. The LED is provided in the vicinity of the display window 10a disposed on the upper surface of the lid 4 so that the user can easily enter the field of view.

  In the present embodiment, a temperature sensor 25 is provided at the bottom 15 of the rice cooker body 1 on the water tank 21 placement side, and the temperature sensor 25 is brought into contact with the bottom of the water tank 21 by the elastic force of the spring 27a. Since the cooling air from the cooling fan is not directly applied to the temperature sensor 25 by the air direction separating rib 32, the temperature of the cooling water in the water tank 21 by the temperature sensor 25 can be detected with high sensitivity. Therefore, it is possible to accurately notify whether or not the water tank 21 is hot, and it is possible to prevent the user from being burned.

  In the embodiment, it has been described that the thickness of the side wall portion and the bottom portion of the water tank 21 is substantially the same, but as shown in FIG. 6, the bottom plate thickness is formed thinner than the side wall portion. A water tank 21 may be used. Thereby, the temperature of the cooling water in the water tank 21 can be detected with higher sensitivity by the temperature sensor 25, so that it is possible to accurately notify whether the water tank 21 is hot or not. Can prevent burns.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7, you may make it provide the recessed part formed upwardly so that a temperature sensor may be inserted in the bottom part of a water tank. By this recess, the temperature of the cooling water in the water tank 21 by the temperature sensor 25 can be detected with higher sensitivity without being affected by the cooling air from the cooling fan. It is possible to more accurately notify whether or not the user is burned.

  Further, in the embodiment, it has been described that the mountain-shaped airflow direction separating rib 32 is provided so that the cooling air from the cooling fan does not directly hit the temperature sensor 25, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any structure may be used as long as the sensor 25 is shielded from the cooling air.

It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the rice cooker which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the rice cooker main body and water tank in the rice cooker of embodiment. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the water tank and temperature sensor in the rice cooker of embodiment. It is a perspective view of the rice cooker which shows embodiment, and its bottom part. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the bottom part by the side of the water tank of the rice cooker main body in the rice cooker of embodiment. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the water tank and temperature sensor in the rice cooker of another form. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the water tank and temperature sensor in the rice cooker of another form.

Explanation of symbols

1 rice cooker body, 2 protective frame, 3 inner pot, 4 lid, 6 lid heater, 7 lid heat sink,
8 inner lid, 8a steam outlet, 9 operation switch, 10 liquid crystal display, 11 trunk heater, 12 induction coil, 13 bottom temperature sensor, 14 side wall, 15 bottom, 21 water tank, 22 tank lid, 23 tank cover, 24 Steam conduit, 25 Temperature sensor, 26 Sensor housing part, 27 Sensor support part, 31 Rib, 31a Ventilation port, 32 Air direction separation rib, 33 Exhaust port

Claims (4)

An inner pot detachably stored in the rice cooker body,
A steam conduit for guiding steam from the cooked rice in the inner pot generated during cooking to the outside;
A water tank that condenses and collects the steam guided by the steam conduit with cooling water;
A temperature sensor that contacts the bottom of the water tank by elastic means and detects the temperature of the cooling water in the water tank;
It is determined whether or not the temperature of the cooling water in the water tank detected by the temperature sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, and when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the water tank A rice cooker comprising a water temperature determining means for notifying that the temperature is high.   The thickness of the bottom part of the said water tank is formed thinner than the plate | board thickness of the side wall part of a water tank, The rice cooker of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. The bottom of the water tank is provided with a recess formed to protrude inward,
The rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the temperature sensor is inserted into the recess.   The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a shielding rib that shields the temperature sensor from cooling air from a cooling fan that cools the inside of the rice cooker body is provided at the bottom of the rice cooker body.

Images