JP2013255590A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker which facilitates setting the time of warming step to a length desired by a user, and reduces power consumed after the end of the warming step.SOLUTION: A rice cooker includes: an inner pot into which a cooked object is put; a rice cooker body 20 having an inner pot storing portion for removably storing the inner pot; a lid body 10 for covering the inner pot storing portion in an openable/closable manner; a heating device for heating the inner pot; a control device controlling the heating device to perform a cooking step including a rice cooking step and a warming step following the cooking step; and a selection unit 11 allowing a user to select a cooking menu controlled by the control device. The rice cooker has a plurality of set warming times, including a non-warming time, as a continuation time of the warming step performed after the end of the rice cooking step. The user is allowed to select any one of the set warming times through an operation device. The control device stops energization to all heaters including the heating device, after the end of the selected set warming time.

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker, and more particularly, to a rice cooker having a heat retaining function for keeping warm the cooked rice after completion of rice cooking.

  In recent years, rice cookers have a microcomputer to control the energization current to the IH coil and heater, which are heating means, based on the temperature of the inner pot detected by a temperature sensor arranged around the inner pot, By adjusting finely the temperature of the inner pot in each of the rice cooking process, which is the temperature process, cooking process (boiling process), follow-up cooking process, and unevenness process, delicious rice is not affected by changes in the amount of cooked rice and the environmental temperature. You can cook.

  In such a rice cooker, the rice cooking program often includes a heat retention step after the completion of rice cooking. In a rice cooker equipped with a thermal insulation function, after cooking is completed, the cooked rice inside the inner pot is kept at a predetermined temperature, so that it is possible to eat rice that is close to freshly cooked even after a certain amount of time has passed. it can.

  In the rice cooker having such a heat retaining function, a rice cooker having a function of selecting whether or not to continue the heat after rice cooking at the time of setting the rice cooking program has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

JP2012-40294A

  According to the technique described in Patent Literature 1, it is possible to select a case where the process proceeds to the heat retaining process after rice cooking and a case where the heater is turned off without proceeding to the heat retaining process, depending on the user's intention. However, even if it is sufficient to keep warm for a certain time of several hours without having to keep warm continuously for a long time, the user sets the temperature to keep warm after cooking, and then keeps himself warm after the specified warming time has passed. Must be released. For this reason, if the user forgets the operation, the heat insulation state is maintained for a long time, and the flow of energy saving is reversed.

  In addition, when it is set not to shift to the heat retention process or when the heat retention state is canceled, the power supply to the heater for cooking rice or heat retention is stopped, but the dew that is placed inside the lid Since the energization of the prevention heater is continued, it consumes more power than standby power, and may not fully respond to the intention of the user who ended the heat retention state in order to save energy.

  This invention solves the subject in such a conventional rice cooker, and while being able to set the heat retention process in the time which a user desires easily, reducing the power consumption after completion | finish of a heat retention process. The purpose is to obtain a rice cooker that can be used.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the rice cooker of the present invention opens and closes an inner pot in which to-be-cooked rice, a rice cooker main body having an inner pot accommodating part that accommodates the inner pot in a removable manner, and the inner pot accommodating part. A cover that can be covered, a heating means for heating the inner pot, a control means for controlling the heating means to perform a cooking process including a rice cooking process and a subsequent heat retaining process, and a user controlled by the control means A rice cooker comprising a selection means capable of selecting a cooking menu, and having a plurality of heat retention setting times including a case where the heat retention process is not continued as a duration of the heat retention process after the completion of the rice cooking process. According to the present invention, any one of the heat retention set times can be selected, and the control means stops energization of all the heaters including the heating means after the selected heat retention set time ends.

  The rice cooker of the present invention is provided with a plurality of heat retention setting times in advance including a case where heat retention is not performed as a set time for continuing the heat retention process after the rice cooking process, and the user selects any one heat retention setting time by the operating means. It is possible. For this reason, the heat retention time according to a user's intention can be set easily. Further, the control unit stops energization of all the heaters after the selected heat retention set time is over. For this reason, after progress of heat retention setting time, the power consumption which a rice cooker uses can be made into a very small value.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the design of the cover body surface containing the operation part of the rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention.

  The rice cooker of the present invention includes an inner pot for putting a rice to be cooked, a rice cooker main body having an inner pot accommodating portion that accommodates the inner pot so as to be removable, and a lid that covers the inner pot accommodating portion so as to be opened and closed. A heating means for heating the inner pot, a control means for controlling the heating means to perform a cooking process including a rice cooking process and a subsequent heat retaining process, and a user can select a cooking menu controlled by the control means A rice cooker having a selection means, and having a plurality of heat setting times including a case where heat is not kept as the duration of the heat holding process after the end of the rice cooking process, and the user sets any one heat setting by the operation means The time can be selected, and the control means stops energization of all the heaters including the heating means after the selected heat retention set time.

  The rice cooker of the present invention has the above-described configuration, so that the user can select the most preferable heat retention time from among a plurality of heat retention setting times including the case where heat retention is not performed. For this reason, not only when keeping warm continuously but also when keeping warm only for a fixed time, a desired warming time can be selected and set easily and reliably. In addition, since the control means stops energization to all the heaters including the heating means after the selected heat retention set time, the power consumption of the rice cooker after the heat retention set time has elapsed is set to a very small value. Can do. Furthermore, since energization of all the heaters is stopped, the temperature in the inner pot decreases relatively quickly, and the time during which the rot temperature at which various germs and the like are most likely to propagate can be shortened.

  In the rice cooker according to the present invention, the control means stores the heat setting time selected by the user when the user selects the heat setting time, and when the cooking menu capable of holding heat is selected thereafter, the memory is stored. It is preferable to perform heat insulation for the set heat retention time. By doing in this way, the heat retention in the heat retention setting time preferable for the user assumed to be constant within a certain range can be executed without receiving the user's heat retention setting time selection operation.

  In addition, when the user selects a cooking menu for which it is not preferable to keep heat from the operation unit, it is preferable that the control means does not shift to the heat keeping step. In this way, in the case of cooking menus that cause adverse effects due to warming such as porridge or cooked rice, even if the user operates it incorrectly, it does not shift to the warming process, so the quality of the finished dish is impaired Can be reliably avoided.

  On the other hand, when the user selects a cooking menu that should be kept warm from the operation unit, it is preferable that the control means always shifts to the keeping step. By doing this, when a menu that needs to be kept warm after cooking is complete, such as a cooking menu that cooks stew, etc., the user has forgotten the setting to move to the heat retaining process Even in this case, it is possible to prevent the situation where the quality of the finished dish is deteriorated by keeping each person warm.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the selected heat retention set time is always displayed on the operation unit of the operation means. By doing in this way, while the setting operation of the heat retention set time by a user becomes easy, the actually selected heat retention set time can always be confirmed.

  In this case, the selectable heat setting time is printed on the menu sheet arranged in the operation unit, and the display unit of the operation unit displays which heat setting time is selected. can do.

  Hereinafter, the rice cooker according to the present invention will be described by exemplifying the case of a rice cooker in which the inner pot is a non-metallic earthen pot and the pressure inside the inner pot is adjusted by a pressure valve.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the rice cooker of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rice cooker of the present embodiment includes rice and water, and an inner pot (not shown) that holds cooked rice that is various ingredients such as vegetables, beans, and meat in the rice-containing rice cooking mode. It has the rice cooker main body 20 which can accommodate an inner pot, and the cover body 10 which can obstruct | occlude the upper opening of the rice cooker main body 20 so that opening and closing is possible.

  The lid 10 is provided with an operation unit 11 for the user to give various settings to the rice cooker.

  The operation unit 11 has a plurality of menu buttons 12 for a user to select a cooking menu, select a heating, control a warming setting time of the heat retaining process, and instruct a start of cooking, a reservation operation, an operation cancellation, and the like. A display unit 14 formed by a liquid crystal panel or other image display panel for displaying a selection status of the plurality of operation buttons 13, the menu button 12 and the operation buttons 13, a cooking state and a remaining time during cooking, and the like is disposed. Details of the operation unit 11 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The lid body 10 is provided with a pressure valve that is a pressure adjusting means capable of adjusting the pressure inside the inner pot to a predetermined pressure with the lid body 10 closed, and when the pressure valve is opened. A pressure regulating cap 16 having a steam discharge port 15 through which steam generated inside the inner pot is discharged is disposed. The pressure adjusting cap 16 functions to return the gas-liquid separated rice bowl into the inner pot.

  A lock button 17 is provided on the front side of the upper surface of the lid body 10. When the lock button 17 is pushed in with the lid body 10 closed, the lid body 10 is unlocked and the entire lid body 10 is moved by a spring mechanism. Is opened to the rear (back) side in FIG.

  Note that an operation circuit that operates corresponding to the various menu buttons 12 and the operation buttons 13 of the operation unit 11 and a display image on the display unit 14 are displayed on a portion located below the operation unit 11 in the lid 10. A circuit portion (not shown) including a drive circuit for outputting is provided. Moreover, in the rice cooker of this embodiment, the microcomputer (illustration omitted) which is a control means by which the control circuit which carries out execution control of various cooking programs according to the cooking mode set by the user is also on the circuit board which comprises a circuit part. It is mounted on.

  In the rice cooker of this embodiment, the control circuit contained in the microcomputer arrange | positioned at a circuit part controls the electricity supply to a heating means based on the output from the temperature sensor which is not shown in figure, and performs temperature control of an inner pot. At the same time, the pressure valve which is the pressure adjusting means described above is controlled to adjust the pressure inside the inner pot to a predetermined value.

  In the rice cooker of this embodiment, when the lid 10 and the rice cooker main body 20 are firmly pressed and fixed, the packing material (not shown) disposed on the inner surface of the lid 10 is the upper end of the inner surface of the inner pot. In contact with the vicinity of the portion, the lid 10 can seal the upper opening of the inner pot in an airtight state, and the pressure inside the inner pot can be adjusted to a maximum of 1.25 atm by adjusting the pressure valve. Can be increased.

  An induction heating coil as a heating means is arranged around the inner pot accommodating portion of the rice cooker body 20, and an eddy current is generated inside the heating element formed on the outer surface of the inner pot which is a non-metallic earthen pot. To generate heat. Moreover, the heater coil which directly warms the side surface outer side of an inner pot with a radiant heat is arrange | positioned at the side part of the inner pot accommodating part. This heater coil is mainly used in a heat insulation process.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a design pattern on the upper surface of the lid 10 in the rice cooker of the present embodiment.

  As described above, the operation unit 11 is disposed on the upper surface of the lid 10 between the pressure adjustment cap 16 and the lock button 17.

  The operation unit 11 includes six menu buttons 12 (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f) for selecting a cooking menu and the like, and three operations for controlling the operation of the rice cooker according to the determined cooking menu. Button 13 (13a, 13b, 13c), display for setting menu, display of selected menu, and further display using liquid crystal panel for displaying operation status of rice cooker, remaining time of each process, etc. Part 14 is arranged. FIG. 2 shows a state where all the displays on the display unit 14 are lit.

  The user presses the first menu button 12a to switch the hour / minute of the time display on the display unit 14, and operates the fourth menu button 12d and the fifth menu button 12e to advance the respective numbers. Or, you can set the time such as the cooking time at the time of timer cooking by performing the operation to return.

  When it is desired to shift to the heat retention process following the cooking process such as the rice cooking process, the user can switch the heat retention setting time by operating the second menu button 12b. Specifically, the second menu button is selected from four heat retention courses, which are a plurality of heat retention set times that are set in advance, that is, no heat retention (heat retention time 0), 3 hours heat retention, 6 hours heat retention, and continuous heat retention. The triangle indicator 14d that moves on the liquid crystal panel each time 12b is pressed operates to indicate the desired heat retention set time among the heat retention set times printed on the menu sheet of the frame portion 14e of the liquid crystal panel. By doing in this way, the user can select the desired heat retention time from among a plurality of heat retention setting times that are predetermined in a state that is very easy to see sensuously.

  The user can listen to the operation guide by voice by pressing the voice guide button which is the third menu button.

  Furthermore, by operating the fourth menu button 12d and the fifth menu button 12e, a desired cooking menu can be selected from various cooking menu displays 14a displayed on the upper portion of the display unit 14. . As shown in FIG. 2, in the rice cooker of the present embodiment, in addition to various cooking menus such as eco-cooking, white rice (cooking rice) and quick cooking, cooking menus such as cooking (rice), rice porridge, brown rice soup, etc. Furthermore, it has a cooking menu for stew and stewed dishes.

  The control means stores the heat setting time set by the user, and when a rice cooking menu such as eco-cooking or white rice (cooking) quick cooking is selected, the heat setting set previously is automatically set. Set the heat retention process in time. When the user selects these rice cooking menus, the index 14d is displayed on the display unit, and the temperature setting time printed on the menu sheet of the frame unit 14e is pointed to, so that any temperature setting time is selected. You can check at a glance. In general, since the warming set time desired by the user is highly linked to each user's life pattern, the same user is likely to select the same warming set time. For this reason, the warming setting time selected by the user is memorized, and the same warming setting time is selected each time the user sets the default setting so that the same warming setting time is selected in the subsequent rice cooking menu settings. It is possible to save the trouble of selecting. Of course, the user can easily change to a desired heat retention set time by operating the second menu button 12b when selecting a heat retention set time other than the heat retention set time displayed as default.

  In addition, when a cooking menu such as cooking (rice), rice cracker, brown rice soup, etc. that is not preferable for the cooking item inside the inner pot is selected, the control means Control so that setting time cannot be selected. Specifically, the display of the indicator 14d on the display unit is turned off, and the indicator 14d is not displayed on the display unit even when the user accidentally operates the second menu button 12b. In this way, control is performed so that the user does not erroneously set the transition to the heat retaining process after cooking is completed.

  On the other hand, when the “cooking” menu for cooking stew or stewed dishes is selected, the control means always controls the process so that the process proceeds to the heat insulation process even if the user selects no heat preservation when selecting the rice cooking menu. To do. Also in this case, when the user selects the “cooking” menu, the indicator 14d on the display unit indicates the heat retention set time printed on the menu sheet of the frame portion 14e. It is possible to know that the transition to the heat insulation process has been set. In addition, as for the “cooking” menu, when the menu that always shifts to the heat retaining process is selected, the heat retaining setting time may be selected so that continuous heat retaining is uniformly selected, or the rice cooker of the present embodiment In the example, a set time that can be kept for a time having a certain length or longer, such as 6 hours, may be selected. In this case, when the user operates the second menu button 12b, the setting of what kind of heat retention setting time can be selected, so that only continuous heat retention can be selected, or if it is longer than a certain time Either of the modes can be adopted in which the heat retention set time can be changed and selected.

  The sixth menu button 12f is a button for adjusting the heating level in the cooking menu to a desired one, and the indicator 14c indicating the level of heating level on the display unit 14 changes every time the user operates the sixth menu button 12f. Thus, the user can easily grasp which level of fire is selected.

  After the setting time of the heat insulation process to shift to the cooking menu is determined by the operation of these menu buttons 12, the user selects the first operation button 13a when performing reserved rice cooking, and the first operation button 13a when entering the rice cooking process as it is. 2 operation button 13b is operated. Moreover, when a user cancels the rice cooking by a rice cooker, the 3rd operation button 13c is operated.

  Thus, when the operation of the rice cooking process by the rice cooker is instructed by the user, the control means controls the heating means and the pressure adjustment means based on information obtained from various sensors such as a temperature sensor, Execute the rice cooking process according to the program. Then, after the rice cooking process is completed, the process proceeds to a heat insulation process corresponding to the selected heat retention setting time, and the coil heater disposed inside the rice cooker main body is energized as described above to perform heat insulation at a predetermined temperature. . When the set heat retention set time has elapsed, the control means includes a work coil and a coil heater that perform high-frequency heating as the heating means, and a dew prevention heater that is disposed inside the lid body 10. Stop energizing all heaters.

  Since the humidity inside the inner pot after completion of the rice cooking process or after the heat retention process is high, the energization to the coil heater used in the heat retention process is stopped and the temperature inside the inner pot is lowered. Dew is generated on the inner surface of the. When the user opens the lid 10, the dew drops on the inside of the inner pot 10 or around the rice cooker. Even if the lid 10 cannot be opened, if a long time elapses, dew will fall into the inner pot and cause the cooked rice to deteriorate. In order to prevent this dew condensation, a dew prevention heater that generates heat at a relatively low temperature is built in the lid, and is continuously energized after the rice cooking process is completed. Thus, in the case of the conventional rice cooker, even when the setting is made so as not to shift to the heat retention process after the rice cooking process, the energization to the dew prevention heater is continued, so the normal standby state Compared with, a considerably large current continues to flow. For this reason, in particular, when the user does not want to move to the heat retention process from the viewpoint of power consumption reduction, continuing energization of the dew prevention heater does not sufficiently satisfy the user's intention. In the rice cooker of the present embodiment, in order to stop energization of all the heaters including the dew prevention heater after the heat insulation process at the heat insulation setting time of a predetermined time including 0 hours is completed, The rice cooker is in a so-called standby state and can limit power consumption to an extremely small value.

  Note that by stopping energization of the dew prevention heater, if the user has left the lid without opening it for a certain period of time, dew will occur on the inner surface of the lid. In the case of any rice cooker, it is considered that the user confirms the heat retention setting time and understands the setting time in any rice cooking menu, so the rice cooker can be used as it is after the heat retention setting time has passed. It is unlikely that a situation of neglect will occur. For this reason, there are relatively few harmful effects of stopping the energization to the dew prevention heater at the same time as the heat retention process is completed.

  In addition, in a conventional rice cooker, when left for a long time in a state where only the dew prevention heater is energized, the process returns to the room temperature from the heat retaining temperature in the heat retaining process, which is considered to be a rot temperature range of 65 ° C to 60 ° C. The state of ℃ will continue for a long time. If the temperature in the inner pot is left in this rot temperature range for a long time, it not only deteriorates the quality of the cooked rice, such as the growth of Bacillus subtilis, which is difficult to remove completely once it has propagated. It may invite a situation that deteriorates the environment inside the rice cooker. As in this embodiment, by performing control to stop energization of all the heaters at the same time as the heat retention process is completed, the temperature inside the inner pot lowers to the room temperature earlier, so that the inner pot interior is kept at the rot temperature for a long time. The effect of not leaving it in the area can also be expected.

  As described above, in the rice cooker of the present embodiment, the heat retention time after the completion of rice cooking has a plurality of heat retention setting times including no heat retention in advance, and the user can select a desired time from these heat retention time settings. Can be selected. For this reason, a necessary heat retention time can be set by a simple operation, and a heat retention process at a desired time can be performed after the rice cooking process. In addition, since the energization to all the heaters is stopped after the heat insulation process is completed, the power consumption after the heat insulation process can be maintained at a very low value, and the inside of the inner pot is kept in the rot temperature region for a long time. The effect of avoiding maintenance can also be expected.

  In the above-described embodiment, the control means stores the heat setting time set by the user and performs initial setting such that the process proceeds to the heat holding process at the selected heat setting time at the time of the next rice cooking menu setting, In addition, it has been described that, when a menu that is not preferable to be transferred to the heat retention process or a menu that should be kept warm is selected, a heat retention set time that includes no heat retention is automatically selected. These settings are preferable from the viewpoint of user friendliness, but are not essential requirements in the rice cooker of the present invention.

  Moreover, when selecting the heat retention setting time, it has been explained that the heat retention setting time is always displayed so that the user can confirm the setting state at a glance. It is not an essential requirement for the rice cooker of the present invention to include such a setting including printing on the menu sheet.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the pressure rice cooking system was employ | adopted and this invention was demonstrated to the example of the rice cooker whose inner pot is what is called a non-metallic earthenware pot, the rice cooker and metal which are not employ | adopting the pressure rice cooking system. It goes without saying that the present invention can be suitably applied to a rice cooker that uses a so-called inner pot even if it is a so-called rice cooker that is kept warm after cooking.

  According to the rice cooker of the present invention, the user can easily select a desired heat retention time setting, and the power consumption may increase undesirably due to forgetting operation or operation mistakes. It is possible to avoid adverse effects such as deterioration of quality. For this reason, the rice cooker of this invention is useful as a rice cooker which can implement | achieve the various rice cooking modes responding to a user's various needs.

10 Lid 11 Operation section 12 Menu switch (operation means)
20 Rice cooker body

Claims (6)

An inner pot for cooking rice,
A rice cooker body having an inner pot accommodating portion for accommodating the inner pot in a removable manner;
A lid that covers the inner pot accommodating portion so as to be openable and closable;
A heating means for heating the inner pot, a control means for controlling the heating means to perform a cooking process including a rice cooking process and a subsequent heat retaining process, and a user can select a cooking menu controlled by the control means A rice cooker equipped with various operating means,
While having a plurality of heat retention setting times including the case of not keeping heat as the duration of the heat retention step after the rice cooking process, the user can select any one heat retention setting time by the operation means, and the control means, The rice cooker is characterized in that energization of all heaters including the heating means is stopped after the selected heat retention set time is over.   The control means stores the warming setting time selected by the user when the user selects the warming setting time. When a cooking menu capable of warming is selected thereafter, the control means performs the warming at the stored warming setting time. The rice cooker of Claim 1 to perform.   The rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the user selects a cooking menu for which it is not preferable to keep heat from the operation unit, the control means does not shift to the heat keeping step.   The rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the user selects a cooking menu that should be kept warm from the operation unit, the control means always moves to the keeping step.   The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the selected heat retention set time is always displayed on a display unit of the operation means.   The menu sheet arranged in the operation unit is printed with the selectable heat retention set time, and the display unit of the operation unit displays which heat retention set time is selected. rice cooker.

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