JP2024098781A - Rice Cooker and Rice Cooker System - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a rice cooker that starts rice cooking automatically after a rice cooking preparation state continues for a predetermined time.SOLUTION: A rice cooker 100 includes transmission/reception means 74 capable of communicating an information terminal 73, rice cooking control means 81 for controlling cooking of rice to be cooked, and time counting means 79 for counting time. The time counting means 79 counts an elapsed time as a rice cooking preparation time from the transmission of remote operation rice cooking permission signal and the preparation for cooking of rice to be cooked. The rice cooking control means 81 starts a rice cooking process by a signal for starting rice cooking by the remote operation in the case where it receives the signal for starting rice cooking by the remote operation from the information terminal 73 when the elapsed time is less than a predetermined time T, and starts the rice cooking process when the predetermined time T elapses in the case where the rice cooking control means does not receive the signal for starting rice cooking by the remote operation from the information terminal 73.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a rice cooker and a rice cooker system that can communicate with other external devices such as information terminals.

One such rice cooker known in the art is one that can start cooking rice remotely via an information terminal. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a rice cooker that starts cooking rice when the user operates an external device terminal.

For example, cited document 2 discloses an electric rice cooker that includes an information terminal device that can access the electric rice cooker via the Internet, and that allows users to download application programs to the information terminal device and use the display and operation buttons of the information terminal device to perform settings such as rice cooking timers. When a user completes setting the timer time, etc., the setting information is sent to the electric rice cooker via the Internet, and when the electric rice cooker's microcomputer detects that the timer time has arrived, it controls the electric rice cooker to start cooking rice.

JP 2013-123569 A JP 2006-271460 A

For example, when starting rice cooking or scheduled cooking remotely, rice and water are often placed in the pot and preparation for cooking is completed, and the operation is performed a long time later. Therefore, if the user accidentally forgets to operate the remote control, forgets the external device terminal or information terminal device, the battery runs out, radio interference occurs in the vicinity, or some other problem occurs with the external device terminal or information terminal device, making it impossible to remotely operate the rice cooker or electric rice cooker, rice cooking will not start until the problem is resolved or the user returns home, and there is a risk that the rice, water, and other ingredients in the pot will deteriorate due to the rice being soaked for a long time.

In addition, when starting rice cooking remotely, if the distance between the user and the rice cooker is too great, the user may not be able to reach their home where the rice cooker is located in time for the rice cooking to finish, and time may pass since the rice cooking is complete. This means that the user may not be able to eat freshly cooked rice unless the rice cooking finishes at the same time as the user returns home.

In addition, after putting rice and water in the pot and reserving the rice, you may want to change the reservation details while you are out. While the electric rice cooker in Patent Document 2 discloses that you can use an information terminal device to remotely operate the settings such as rice cooking reservation and reserve rice cooking, it does not disclose how you can remotely change the reservation details.

The present invention aims to provide a rice cooker that automatically starts cooking rice after a predetermined time has elapsed in the rice cooking preparation state.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that can control rice cooking based on the distance between the rice cooker and an external device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that allows the reservation details to be changed remotely before starting.

The rice cooker of the present invention is equipped with a communication means capable of communicating with an external device, a control means for controlling the cooking of the food to be cooked, and a timing means for measuring time, and the timing means measures the cooking preparation time from when the food to be cooked is prepared for cooking, and if a cooking start instruction is received from the external device when the cooking preparation time is less than a predetermined time, starts the cooking process in response to the cooking start instruction, and if a cooking start instruction is not received from the external device, starts the cooking process when the predetermined time has elapsed.

The rice cooker of the present invention also includes a communication means capable of communicating with an external device, a control means for controlling the cooking of the food to be cooked, a rice cooking instruction receiving unit for receiving rice cooking information related to rice cooking from the external device, and a distance information receiving unit for receiving distance information between the external device and the rice cooker, and the control means includes a rice cooking possibility determination unit for determining whether or not to perform rice cooking control based on the rice cooking information based on the distance information received by the distance information attachment unit when the rice cooking information is received by the rice cooking instruction receiving unit.

The rice cooker of the present invention is also equipped with a communication means capable of communicating with an external device, a control means for controlling the cooking of the food to be cooked, a rice cooking instruction receiving section for receiving rice cooking information related to rice cooking from the external device, and a reservation rice cooking receiving section for receiving reservation rice cooking, and is characterized in that when the reservation rice cooking receiving section has accepted the rice cooking reservation and the rice cooking instruction receiving section receives the rice cooking information before the rice cooking, the control means controls the rice cooking based on the rice cooking information.

According to the rice cooker of the present invention, once a specified time has elapsed, rice cooking begins without remote control or timer cooking, so the rice does not soak for longer than the specified time, and deterioration of the ingredients in the inner pot can be suppressed.

In addition, the rice cooker of the present invention determines whether or not to start cooking rice based on information about the distance between the rice cooker and an external device owned by the user, thereby reducing the gap between the time cooking is completed and the time the user returns home.

In addition, with the rice cooker of the present invention, the scheduled cooking time can be changed until the scheduled cooking of the food to be cooked begins, improving user convenience.

1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow when remote control is started by an information terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of operations that follow when remote control by an information terminal is permitted, according to the first embodiment. As above, this is a graph showing the time-dependent changes in the detected temperature of the inner pot temperature sensor, the output of the heating coil during the rice cooking process, the output of the heating coil during the warming process, and the output W of the pressure reduction pump during the rice cooking process and the warming process of automatic rice cooking performed after a predetermined standby time has elapsed. 7 is a graph showing the time course of the temperature detected by the inner pot temperature sensor in the warming process of FIG. 6, the output of the heating coil in the warming process, and the output of the pressure reducing pump. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a rice cooker system according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of operations that follow when remote control by an information terminal is permitted, according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow when remote control of a rice cooker in a second embodiment of the present invention is started by an information terminal. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a rice cooker system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of operations that follow when remote control by an information terminal is permitted, according to the first embodiment. 1A is a top view of the information terminal when remote operation by the information terminal is permitted, and FIG. 1B is a top view of the information terminal when remote operation by the information terminal is rejected.

Each embodiment of the rice cooker of the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that common parts are designated by common reference numerals throughout these drawings.

Figures 1 to 7 show a first embodiment of a rice cooker 100 according to the present invention. First, referring to Figure 1, the structure of the rice cooker 100, which is placed on a kitchen counter or floor, will be described. Reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical inner pot with a bottom that contains rice, water, and other food to be cooked. The inner pot 1 is mainly made of aluminum, which has good thermal conductivity, and a heating element 2 made of a magnetic metal plate such as ferritic stainless steel is joined to the bottom of the outer surface from the lower side. The main components of the body 3 that forms the outer shell of the rice cooker 100 are an upper frame 4 that forms the upper part and upper side part, and an outer frame 5 that forms the side and bottom part. The upper frame 4 and outer frame 5 are made of synthetic resin such as PP or ABS polycarbonate.

A concave inner kettle housing section 6 is formed in the center of the body 3. A cord heater 7 is provided at the upper end of this inner kettle housing section 6, and the cord heater 7 is covered with a metal plate section 8 such as an aluminum plate that has good thermal conductivity. The cord heater 7 and metal plate section 8 constitute a flange heater 9 that serves as a heat generating means.

The flange heater 9 is placed on the underside of the inner pot ring part 11, which extends from approximately the center of the inner pot 1 to the entire outer periphery, and the inner pot 1 is housed in the inner pot housing part 6 in a suspended state. The flange heater 9 heats the inner pot ring part 11 and the side of the inner pot 1 during cooking and keeping warm, and radiates heat from the metal plate part 8 into the gap between the lid body 12 and the body 3 and the gap between the inner pot 1 and the inner pot housing part 6, preventing the inner pot 1 from cooling and preventing moisture generated by heating from condensing on the upper inner surface of the inner pot 1.

A heating coil 14 is disposed on the bottom and lower side of the inner kettle housing 6 facing the heating element 2 on the outer surface of the bottom of the inner kettle housing 6 as a heating means for electromagnetic induction heating of the inner kettle 1. In addition, a thermistor-type inner kettle temperature sensor 15 is in contact with the outer surface of the bottom of the inner kettle 1, which detects the temperature at the bottom of the inner kettle 1 and mainly controls the heating temperature of the bottom of the inner kettle 1 by the heating coil 14.

During cooking and keeping warm, the inner pot 1 is heated by the heating means. During keeping warm, the inner pot 1 is kept at a constant temperature by adjusting the heating coil 14, which serves as the heating means, according to the temperature detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15, which is in contact with the outer bottom surface of the inner pot 1. After cooking, until the temperature of the rice in the inner pot 1 drops to the keeping warm temperature (from about 100°C to about 73°C) and when the temperature is stable (about 73°C), the cord heater 7, which serves as the heating means, is heated, and heat is radiated from the metal plate 8 into the gap between the lid 12 and the body 3, suppressing cooling caused by outside air entering through the gap and heating the inner pot 1. Furthermore, during keeping warm, the inner pot 1 is heated during the period when hot reheating is being performed to reheat the rice in the inner pot 1, and the moisture generated by heating is prevented from condensing on the upper inner surface of the inner pot 1.

The inner kettle housing 6 may be provided with an inner kettle presence/absence detection means, which may be, for example, an optical sensor or a tactile switch, for detecting whether the inner kettle 1 is set in the inner kettle housing 6.

12 is a lid body that is rotatably provided on the upper part of the body 3 and forms the outer shell of the rice cooker 100 together with the body 3. The lid body 12 that covers the upper opening of the inner pot 1 is equipped with a thermistor-type lid temperature sensor 16 that detects the temperature of the inner lid 36 of the lid body 12 and a lid heating means 17 such as a cord heater, and the temperature of the inner lid 36 is mainly controlled by the lid heating means 17. In addition, a cord heater 18 separate from the lid heating means 17 is provided on the inner side surface of the lid body 12 above the inner pot ring part 11 and facing the outer side surface of the inner pot 1. The cord heater 18 is fixed to the inner lid ring 19 made of a metal plate such as stainless steel or aluminum with aluminum foil tape, and the cord heater 18 and the inner lid ring 19 constitute the inner lid ring heater 20 as a lid side heating means.

21 is a heating control means for controlling the temperature of the bottom, lower side, and upper side of the inner pot 1 and the bottom and side of the lid 12 by detecting the temperature of the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16 during cooking and keeping the rice warm. The heating control means 21 receives detection signals from the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16 and adjusts the operation of the heating coil 14, flange heater 9, inner lid ring heater 20, and lid heating means 17, which are the heating means, and constitutes a part of the control unit 71 described later.

Figure 2 shows a top view of the rice cooker 100. Referring to the figure, 23 is a display operation unit, which is provided on the front of the top surface of the lid 12. The display operation unit 23 is configured by arranging an LCD 24 that displays the time and the selected cooking course, an LED 25 that displays the current process, and a push-type switch 26 for starting cooking and selecting a cooking course on the upper part of a board 27 equipped inside the lid 12. An operation panel 29 on which the names of the switches 26 are displayed is arranged above the display operation unit 23. This operation panel 29 also prevents dust, water, steam, etc. from adhering to the electronic components LCD 24, LED 25, switch 26, and board 27. In addition to the push-type switch 26 arranged on the board 27, the operation panel 29 also has a touch sensor 30 as a non-push-type switch on the upper surface that becomes the surface of the LCD 24, and it is possible to directly touch and operate the touch sensor 30 in accordance with the display displayed on the LCD 24. Therefore, the touch sensor 30 functions as a touch key by being connected to a substrate 27 on which electronic components such as an LCD 24 are mounted.

In this embodiment, when the start of cooking is commanded by operating the start key 26A, which is one of the switches 26, the bottom and side of the inner pot 1 are heated by the heating coil 14 and the cord heater 7 based on the temperature detection of the bottom of the inner pot 1 by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 in order to promote water absorption by the rice in the inner pot 1, and the water temperature is maintained at about 45 to 60°C for a predetermined time, in a soaking cooking process. After that, the amount of heat from the heating coil 14 is increased to strongly heat the inner pot 1, and a boiling heating process is performed in which the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 is heated to boiling. During this boiling heating process, based on the temperatures detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16, if the bottom temperature of the inner pot 1 reaches a predetermined temperature or higher and the temperature of the inner lid 36 stabilizes at a predetermined temperature or higher (temperature rise rate detection), the heating control means 21 determines that boiling has been detected, and the next process, the boiling continuation process, in which the amount of heat from the heating coil 14 is reduced to continue boiling, is performed. In detecting boiling, the heating control means 21 determines that boiling has been detected by detecting, using the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16, that both the bottom of the inner pot 1 and the lid body 12 have reached 90°C or higher, so it can accurately detect when the food being cooked in the inner pot 1 has completely boiled.

Here, when the heating control means 21 detects from the inner pot temperature sensor 15 or the lid temperature sensor 16 that either the bottom of the inner pot 1 or the lid body 12 has reached an abnormal temperature of 120°C or higher, which is not normally possible, it determines that an abnormality has occurred and reduces the amount of heat from the heating coil 14 during rice cooking, switches off the heating coil 14 by stopping all operation of the heating coil 14, transitions to the steaming process described below, or transitions to the keeping warm process, thereby preventing abnormal heating. In addition, if the heating control means 21 detects from the temperature detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 or the lid temperature sensor 16 that a predetermined time, for example, 5 minutes, has elapsed since either the bottom of the inner pot 1 or the lid body 12 reached 90°C or higher, while the other of the bottom of the inner pot 1 or the lid body 12 is at a low temperature below 90°C, it determines that the temperature detection accuracy of either the inner pot temperature sensor 15 or the lid temperature sensor 16 has deteriorated for some reason, such as dirt, tilt, or poor contact, and reduces the amount of heat from the heating coil 14 during rice cooking, switches to an off state in which all operation of the heating coil 14 is stopped, transitions to a soaking process described below, or transitions to a warming process to prevent abnormal heating.

When the process moves to the continuing boiling process, the lid heating means 17 and the inner lid ring heater 20 start heating the lid body 12, particularly the inner lid 36. The heating of the lid body 12 is managed by the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 16 so that the temperature of the lid body 12 is 100-110°C. Here, when the heating control means 21 detects that the bottom of the inner pot 1 has reached a specified temperature rise as detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15, it determines that it has detected that the food being cooked in the inner pot 1 has dried up, that is, the water has run out, and moves to the steaming process.

During the steaming process, the temperature is controlled by heating the lid 12 to prevent the soup from getting on the upper inside surface of the inner pot 1, and the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 1 is controlled to be kept high enough to prevent the rice from burning, for example at 98-100°C. Once the steaming process is completed for a specified period and the food is cooked, the rice moves on to the keeping warm process.

During the warming process, the heating coil 14 heats the bottom and lower side of the inner pot 1, while the lid heating means 17 heats the inner lid 36, which forms the underside of the lid body 12, to a temperature slightly higher than that of the rice. The flange heater 9 and inner lid ring heater 20 control the temperature of the sides of the inner pot 1 so that the rice does not dry out and so that too much sauce does not adhere to it. The temperature of the rice in the inner pot 1 is kept at 70-76°C, but if the two sensors are abnormally high or low relative to each other as mentioned above, even during warming, the heating control means 21 determines that an abnormality has occurred and prevents abnormal heating. The heating control means 21 is configured to perform the above operations.

The lid body 12 is mainly composed of an outer lid 33, which is an external part, and an outer lid cover 34, which forms the lower part of the outer lid 33. A metal heat sink 35 made of stainless steel or aluminum anodized is provided on the outer lid cover 34, and the lid heating means 17 is provided on the heat sink 35. The lid heating means 17 may be an electric heater such as a cord heater, or an electromagnetic induction heating coil. An inner lid 36 made of metal made of stainless steel or aluminum anodized is arranged on the outside of the heat sink 35. A lid packing 37, which is a sealing member made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber or fluororubber that seals the gap between the inner pot 1 and the inner lid 36, is provided on the outside of the inner lid 36, which forms the lower surface of the lid body 12, and is configured so that the lid packing 37 abuts against the upper surface of the inner pot 1 when the lid body 12 is closed. The inner lid 36 and the lid gasket 37 are integrated by a gasket base 38 to form an inner lid assembly unit 39, which is removably attached to the inner surface of the outer lid cover 34.

A hinge section 31 that connects to the lid body 12 is provided at the rear of the upper frame 4. This hinge section 31 has a hinge spring (not shown) formed of a torsion coil spring or the like, and a hinge shaft 41 that connects the hinge blades together. A lid-opening button 32 is provided in an exposed state on the front upper surface of the lid body 12. When this lid-opening button 32 is pressed, the engagement between the lid body 12 and the body 3 is released, and the lid body 12 automatically opens with the hinge shaft 41 as the center of rotation.

The hinge shaft 41 supports the body 3 and the lid 12 so that they can be opened and closed freely, and the hinge spring mentioned above is hooked onto the outer lid cover 34, constantly biasing the lid 12 in the open direction. A clamp 42 that is linked to the lid opening button 32 is located on the approximate opposite side of the hinge shaft 41, which is the center of rotation of the lid 12. The clamp 42 is supported on the outer lid cover 34 by a clamp shaft 43, and a clamp receiver (not shown) that engages with the clamp 42 is provided on the approximate opposite side of the hinge portion 31 of the upper frame 4.

The clamp 42 provided on the lid 12 rotates around the clamp shaft 43 as the central axis and engages with the clamp receiver provided on the body 3. The engagement between the clamp 42 and the clamp receiver keeps the body 3 and the lid 12 in a closed state. Conversely, to open the lid 12, the lid opening button 32 is pressed to rotate the clamp 42 in the opposite direction, and the engagement between the clamp 42 and the clamp receiver is released.

The inner lid assembly unit 39 is provided with a pressure adjustment section 45 that adjusts the pressure of the internal space 44 formed inside the rice cooker 100. The pressure adjustment section 45 is mainly composed of a pressure adjustment valve 46, a pressure adjustment valve holder 47, and a pressure adjustment valve cover 48. The pressure adjustment valve 46 may be a part made of a material with excellent corrosion resistance and a certain amount of weight, for example, an austenitic stainless steel ball. The internal space 44 here refers to the space for containing the food to be cooked, surrounded by the inner surface of the inner pot 1 and the underside of the inner lid assembly unit 39 when the lid 12 is closed on the body 3.

The pressure regulating valve 46 is held by a pressure regulating valve holder 47. The pressure regulating valve holder 47 is provided with a pressure regulating hole 49 located below the pressure regulating valve 46, which connects the internal space 44 of the rice cooker 100 to the outside of the lid 12. Therefore, steam generated from the food being cooked in the internal space 44 of the inner pot 1 passes through this pressure regulating hole 49 and is released into the outside air. The pressure regulating valve 46 is held so as to close the pressure regulating hole 49, and the pressure in the internal space 44 can be adjusted by the opening area of the pressure regulating hole 49 and the weight of the pressure regulating valve 46.

The pressure regulating valve 46 is held by the pressure regulating valve holder 47, and the pressure regulating valve cover 48 is placed over them. The pressure regulating valve holder 47 is inserted into the inner lid 36, and the mounting portion of the pressure regulating valve holder 47 protruding below the inner lid 36 is held by the pressure regulating valve holder support member 50, thereby forming the pressure regulating portion 45 attached to the inner lid 36. The pressure regulating valve cover 48 is used to regulate the range of movement of the pressure regulating valve 46, and is provided with multiple holes that guide the steam released from the pressure regulating hole 49 to the steam port 51 provided at the top of the lid body 12.

The outer lid cover 34 is provided with a frame 55 and a pressure adjustment packing 56 that are movable using a solenoid 54 as a drive source. The frame 55 is always in a position where it pushes the pressure adjustment valve 46 to open the pressure adjustment hole 49, and the internal space 44 in the inner kettle 1 is in a non-pressurized state. The position of the frame 55 at this time is referred to as the first frame position. In this way, when the lid body 12 is opened and closed, smooth operation can be obtained without being affected by the negative pressure in the internal space 44. The protruding part of the frame 55 that operates the pressure adjustment valve 46 is referred to as the pressure adjustment valve operating part 57, and a clamp operation restricting part 58 is provided on the substantially opposite side of the pressure adjustment valve operating part 57 of the frame 55. In the first frame position, the clamp operation restricting part 58 moves to a position where it does not restrict the rotation of the clamp 42.

When cooking of the food begins, the frame 55 moves from the first frame position to the second frame position. At this time, the pressure regulating valve operating part 57 of the frame 55 separates from the pressure regulating valve 46, releasing the pressure on the pressure regulating valve 46, which causes the pressure regulating valve 46 to close the pressure regulating hole 49. The clamp operation restricting part 58 of the frame 55 also slides under the clamp 42. The frame 55 does not have to slide under, as long as it is in a position and shape that restricts the operation of the clamp 42. In this way, the rotation of the clamp 42 is restricted in the second frame position, and even if the lid opening button 32 is pressed, the engagement between the clamp 42 and the clamp receiver is locked, so that the lid body 12 cannot be opened.

A steam vent 51 is provided at the rear of the upper surface of the lid 12 to exhaust steam generated in the inner pot 1 during cooking to the outside of the machine. When cooking rice, steam generated from the food in the internal space 44 of the inner pot 1 is exhausted from the pressure adjustment part 45 of the inner lid 36 with the pressure adjustment hole 49 open, passes through a steam passage 59 provided in the outer lid cover 34 inside the lid 12, and is exhausted to the outside of the machine from the steam vent 51. In this embodiment, the steam vent 51 is configured to be detachable from the lid 12.

The display operation unit 23 provided on the outer lid 33 includes a display section 61 consisting of an LCD 24 and LEDs 25, and an operation section 62 consisting of a switch 26 and a touch sensor 30. The LCD 24 that constitutes the display section 61 is located approximately in the center of the outer lid 33, and the touch sensor 30 is configured so that by selecting the display displayed on the LCD 24, the rice cooking course, time setting, etc. can be performed by touch operation with a fingertip or the tip of a pen.

In this embodiment, the operations performed with the touch sensor 30 on the display unit 61 include the selection and setting of various cooking courses, and the setting of the time and reservation time. On the other hand, the start key 26A operated to command the start of cooking from the off state, and the off key 26B operated to cancel the keep warm or reservation and switch to the off state, are not displayed on the display body of the LCD 24, but are installed in a place other than the display unit 61 as a push-type operation unit 62 using a tactile switch that cannot be operated by touch.

In addition, as a push-type operation unit 62 that lights up the LEDs 25 provided on the switch 26 to display the processes such as cooking, keeping warm, and reservation, in addition to the start key 26A, a keep warm key 26C that is operated to start keeping warm from the off state or to reheat the food to be cooked during keeping warm, and a reservation key 26D that is operated to cook the food to be cooked at the reserved time are installed in a location other than the display unit 61. In addition, a quick cooking key 26E that is operated when selecting a cooking course that cooks the food to be cooked in a short time is also installed in a location other than the display unit 61. The push-type operation unit 62 is composed of the start key 26A, keep warm key 26C, and reservation key 26D that are illuminated by the illuminated LEDs 25, as well as the off key 26B and quick cooking key 26E that are not illuminated by the LEDs 25, and together with the non-push-type operation unit 62 described above, the switch 26 of the display operation unit 23 is configured.

The operation panel 29 is decorated with a design and embossed, and the operation unit 62 is located on the front side of the top surface of the lid 12. The operation panel 29 also has the names of the switches 26 printed on it corresponding to each switch 26, and a transparent window 68 with no design printed on it is formed on the display unit 61 where the LCD 24 is located. A touch sensor 30 is located below this transparent window 68, and touching the touch sensor 30, which serves as the non-push type operation unit 62, on a display such as a rice cooking course displayed on the LCD 24 enables operation as a touch key. The display operation unit 23 including the display unit 61 and operation unit 62 described above may be configured to be provided on the front surface of the body 3, rather than on the top surface of the lid 12.

65 is a pressure reducing means for lowering the pressure inside the inner pot 1 below normal atmospheric pressure when the lid 12 is closed on the body 3. The pressure reducing means 65 reduces the internal pressure of the sealed inner pot 1 when the inner pot 1 is housed in the pot container 3, the lid 12 is closed, and the solenoid 54 is energized so that the pressure adjusting valve 46 closes the pressure adjusting hole 49. When the pressure inside the inner pot 1 drops below atmospheric pressure by a certain value, the operation of the pressure reducing pump 66, which is the operating source of the pressure reducing means 65, is stopped, and the inside of the inner pot 1 is kept in a reduced pressure state. Furthermore, when the inside of the inner pot 1 is to be returned from the reduced pressure state to the same pressure as the outside air, the operation of the pressure reducing pump 66 is stopped, and a path (not shown) that communicates between the pressure reducing pump 66 and the inside of the inner pot 1 is opened. In other words, the pressure reducing means 65 also serves as a pressure returning means for returning the inside of the inner pot 1 from the reduced pressure state to the same pressure as the outside air.

Next, the electrical configuration of the rice cooker unit including the above-mentioned rice cooker 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

First, the electrical configuration of the rice cooker 100, which is essentially the rice cooker, will be explained. 71 is a control unit incorporated inside the rice cooker 100 and configured to include a microcomputer, storage means 76 such as a readable and writable memory that stores various information and data, a clock means 79 that keeps track of the time and rice cooking, and drive elements for each part. The input port of the control unit 71 is electrically connected to an operation unit 62 including a switch 26 and a touch sensor 30, an inner pot temperature sensor 15 as an inner pot temperature detection means, a lid temperature sensor 16 as a lid temperature detection means, a lid opening/closing detection means 63 that detects the opening and closing of the lid 12, and a transmission/reception means 74. The output port of the control unit 71 is electrically connected to a display unit 61 including an LCD 24 and an LED 25, a heating coil 14 as a heating means, cord heaters 7 and 18, and a lid heating means 17, a solenoid 54, a transmitting/receiving means 74, a pressure reducing means 65, and a buzzer 75 as an alarm unit.

The lid opening/closing detection means 63 detects the opening/closing of the lid 12, and is provided near the hinge portion 31 inside the lid 12. The lid opening/closing detection means 63 may be of any detection type, such as optical, mechanical, or magnetic, as long as it can output a detection signal corresponding to the opening/closing of the lid 12. The transmission/reception means 74 enables the transmission and reception of information to and from an information terminal 73 held by a user via a communication means 72, such as a wired or wireless network.

The information terminal 73 as an external terminal that serves as a remote control body is configured as, for example, a smartphone or tablet terminal separate from the rice cooker 100, and mainly includes a display unit 77 that enables screen display such as an LCD, and an operation unit 78 using a touch sensor provided on the surface of the display unit 77, similar to the display operation unit 23 of the rice cooker 100. An information processing program such as an application program is stored in the storage medium of the information terminal 73, and the information processing program is started up to function, thereby transmitting and receiving information with the transmission and reception means 74 via the communication means 72. The information terminal 73 and the rice cooker 100 may be configured to be able to transmit and receive directly via the communication means 72, or the information terminal 73 and the transmission and reception means 74 of the rice cooker 100 may both be connected to a network that serves as the communication means 72, and may be configured to be able to transmit and receive information to and from each other via a management server (not shown) that is also connected to the network. Instead of the information terminal 73, for example, a personal computer or other device that is installed indoors and can be connected to a network may be used as an external terminal.

The control unit 71 receives operation signals from the operation unit 62, information from the transmission/reception means 74, temperature detection signals from the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16, and detection signals from the lid opening/closing detection means 63, and has the function of outputting control signals to the display unit 61, the heating coil 14, the cord heaters 7, 18, the lid heating means 17, the solenoid 54, the pressure reduction means 65, and the buzzer 75 at a predetermined timing based on the timing from the timing means 79, and transmitting information from the transmission/reception means 74. These functions are realized by the control unit 71 reading the programs stored in the storage means 76 as a storage medium, but in this embodiment in particular, the control unit 71 is equipped with a program that causes the control unit 71 to function as a rice cooking control means 81 that heats the rice and water in the inner pot 1 to cook rice, a warming control means 82 that heats the rice in the inner pot 1 to a predetermined warming temperature, and a reservation cooking control means 83 that receives a command from the operation unit 62 to start reservation cooking and controls the rice cooking control means 81 to cook the food in the inner pot 1 at the preset reservation time.

The rice cooking control means 81, upon receiving an instruction to start cooking from the start key 26A, which serves as a rice cooking start instruction means, sequentially executes the following steps to perform the rice cooking process in which the food contained in the internal space 44 is heated and cooked at the desired pressure: a soaking process to promote the absorption of water by the rice in the food to be cooked placed in the inner pot 1; a boiling and heating process to raise the temperature of the food to boiling in a short period of time; a boiling continuation process to keep the food boiling and bring it to a water-free dried-up state; and a steaming process to keep the food in a dried-up state at a high temperature that does not burn it, and cook it into rice. In particular, in this embodiment, for all cooking courses that can be used for cooking rice in the rice cooker 100, control patterns for how to operate the display unit 61, heating coil 14, cord heaters 7, 18, lid heating means 17, solenoid 54, and buzzer 75 are stored in advance in the storage means 76, and the user can set and select any desired cooking course from among multiple cooking courses by operating the quick cooker key 26E or the touch panel 30, and then, by operating the start key 26A, When an instruction to start cooking rice is given, the settings and the selected cooking course are stored in the memory means 76, and the rice cooking control means 81 reads out the control pattern for that cooking course from the memory means 76, and by appropriately controlling the display unit 61, heating coil 14, cord heaters 7 and 18, lid heating means 17, solenoid 54, and buzzer 75, the rice cooking operation is performed for the food to be cooked placed in the inner pot 1, while the display unit 61 displays information and the buzzer 75 notifies the user.

The warming control means 82 controls the rice in the inner pot 1 to be kept at a predetermined warming temperature. Regardless of the selected cooking course, when the rice cooking control means 81 finishes cooking the food to be cooked, the warming control means 82 automatically starts keeping the rice warm. The warming control means 82 also has a reheating function that controls the operation of the heating coil 14 so that the temperature of the rice in the inner pot 1 is temporarily higher than the warming temperature when the warming key 26C is operated during warming. Furthermore, even if the warming key 26C is operated in the off state immediately after the rice cooker 100 is turned on, the food to be cooked placed in the inner pot 1 can be kept warm by the warming control means 82. In this embodiment, the warming control means 82 also has a function of reducing the pressure inside the inner pot 1 during the warming process.

The reservation cooking control means 83 has a timer function, and when reservation cooking is set by operating the operation unit 62, such as the reservation time corresponding to the time when rice cooking should be finished and the rice cooking course, and rice cooking start is instructed, the reservation cooking control means 83 stores the reservation cooking settings in the storage means 76, and automatically starts rice cooking using the rice cooking control means 81 a specified time before the reservation time so that the rice is cooked at the reservation time set by the timer function, and performs a reservation cooking process in which the food to be cooked is cooked into rice at the reservation time, rice cooking is completed, and the rice moves to a keeping warm process. In this embodiment, the timer 79 built into the control unit 71 counts the current time, and the reserved cooking control unit 83 controls the operation of the rice cooking control unit 81 so that rice cooking ends when the current time reaches the reserved time set. However, when the user instructs the operation unit 62 to start cooking rice, if the reserved time from the current time to the reserved time set is shorter than the reserved time (for example, 60 to 65 minutes) according to the previously selected rice cooking course, the rice cooking control unit 81 does not accept the reserved time set, and immediately starts the rice cooking operation. In other words, the reserved cooking control unit 83 is configured to cook the food to be cooked into rice after the reserved time (i.e., the reserved time) by the rice cooking control unit 81 only if the reserved time from the current time to the reserved time set is equal to or longer than the reserved time set in advance according to the rice cooking course.

Next, referring to Figures 4 to 7, the operation of the rice cooker having the above configuration, particularly when cooking rice by remote control, will be described in detail. For convenience of explanation, only the description of cooking rice by remote control will be mentioned from here. Here, Figure 4 shows the flow when remote control is started by the information terminal 73, Figure 5 shows the flow after remote control by the information terminal 73 is permitted, Figure 6 shows a graph showing the transition of the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 as the temperature of the inner pot 1, the output W _S of the heating coil 14 as the pot heating means in the rice cooking process, the output W _K of the heating coil 14 in the heat-retaining process, and the output W _P of the vacuum pump 66 in the heat-retaining process of automatic rice cooking performed after a predetermined waiting time T has elapsed, and Figure 7 shows a graph showing the transition of the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 in the heat-retaining process of Figure 6, the output W _K of the heating coil 14 in the heat-retaining process, and the output W _P of the vacuum pump 66.

Referring to Figure 4, the operation of the rice cooker 100 and information terminal 73 up until the start of rice cooking by remote control will be described. The food to be cooked, for example rice and water when cooking white rice, is placed in the inner pot 1, and after this is set in the inner pot housing 6 of the body 3, the lid 12 is closed. Around the same time, when the power plug of the rice cooker 100 is inserted into an outlet and power is applied, the rice cooker 100 goes into an initial off (standby) state in which neither the rice cooking process nor the warming process is being performed. Then, when the rice cooking course is selected and set using the operation unit 62 at this time, the settings of these rice cooking courses are stored in the memory means 76.

When the user operates the operation unit 78 of the information terminal 73 to start up an information processing program, a remote control signal is sent from the information terminal 73 to the rice cooker 100 via the communication means 72. When the control unit 71 receives this remote control signal via the transmission/reception means 74, the process proceeds to step S0, and the control unit 71 proceeds to step S1 to determine whether remote control is possible.

In step S1, the control unit 71 determines whether the lid body 12 is currently open or closed based on a detection signal from the lid opening/closing detection means. If the control unit 71 determines that the lid body 12 is currently closed ("No" in step S1), it proceeds to the next step S2.

On the other hand, if the control unit 71 determines that the lid 12 is currently open ("Yes" in step S1), it proceeds to step S5 and sends a signal to the information terminal 73 via the communication means 72 to refuse remote cooking. When the information terminal 73 receives this signal, it notifies the user that remote cooking cannot be started, for example by displaying a pop-up message on the display unit 77 stating "Remote cooking is currently not possible." Note that the system may also be configured to display the reason why remote cooking cannot be started, for example, "Remote cooking is currently not possible because the lid is open."

When an inner kettle presence/absence detection means is provided, a step may be added in which the control unit 71 determines whether the inner kettle 1 is currently set in the inner kettle housing portion 6 based on a detection signal from the inner kettle presence/absence detection means.

In step S2, the control unit 71 determines whether the rice cooker 100 is currently keeping warm. If the control unit 71 determines that the rice cooker 100 is not currently functioning as the keep-warm control means 82 and is not keeping warm (step S2: "No"), it proceeds to the next step S3. On the other hand, if the control unit 71 is functioning as the keep-warm control means 82 and is determining that the rice cooker is keeping warm (step S2: "Yes"), it proceeds to step S5 and sends a signal to the information terminal 73 via the communication means 72 to refuse remote cooking, and the information terminal 73 notifies the user that remote cooking cannot be started.

In step S3, the control unit 71 determines whether or not rice is currently being cooked. If the control unit 71 determines that it is not currently functioning as the rice cooking control means 81 and is not cooking rice ("No" in step S3), it proceeds to the next step S4, where it sends a signal to the information terminal 73 via the communication means 72 to permit remote cooking, and starts timing the predetermined time T with the timing means 71. When the information terminal 73 receives this signal to permit remote cooking, it notifies the user that rice cooking can be started remotely, for example by displaying a rice cooking start button on the display unit 77. When rice cooking is started remotely, it may be configured so that not only the information to start cooking rice, but also information on cooking settings such as the selection and setting of the cooking course can be sent at the same time. On the other hand, the control unit 71 functions as the rice cooking control means 81, and when it determines that rice cooking is in progress ("Yes" in step S3), it moves to step S5 and sends a signal to the information terminal 73 via the communication means 72 to refuse remote cooking, and the information terminal 73 notifies the user that rice cooking cannot be started remotely.

Next, referring to FIG. 5, the operation of the rice cooker 100 during remote cooking will be described. When the control unit 71 sends a signal permitting remote cooking in step S4, the process proceeds to step S11. In step S11, the control unit 71 determines whether or not timer reservation is currently in progress. Here, the control unit 71 is not currently functioning as the reserved cooking control means 83, and if it determines that timer reservation is in progress, i.e., reserved cooking is not in progress ("No" in step S11), it proceeds to the next step S13. On the other hand, the control unit 71 is functioning as the reserved cooking control means 83, and if it determines that reserved cooking is in progress ("Yes" in step S11), it proceeds to step S12 and is configured to continue the reserved cooking process.

In step S13, the control unit 71 determines whether the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 is mixed rice or not, based on the cooking course settings stored in the memory means 76. If the control unit 71 determines that the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 is not mixed rice ("No" in step S13), the process proceeds to step S18, and the rice cooker 100 goes into standby mode. On the other hand, if the control unit 71 determines that the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 is mixed rice ("Yes" in step S13), the process proceeds to step S14, cooking of the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 is started, and the process proceeds to step S15.

In this embodiment, if the cooking course selected, set, and stored in the storage means 76 is for seasoned rice or a menu similar to seasoned rice that uses easily spoiled meat or seafood as ingredients, cooking is started immediately. When cooking seasoned rice, the waiting time before cooking starts is shorter than when cooking white rice, suppressing deterioration of the water caused by soaking the rice and ingredients in water for a long time and deterioration of the soaked rice and ingredients, and suppressing deterioration of seasoned rice, which is more susceptible to deterioration than white rice. Also, if the user has scheduled cooking with the knowledge of the above-mentioned risk of deterioration, the scheduled cooking is continued as explained in steps S11 and S12, so as not to hinder the user's wishes and to prevent usability from becoming poor.

In step S15, the rice cooking control means 81 determines whether the inner pot 1 is being heated in empty cooking with no food in the internal space 44 of the inner pot 1. When the rice cooking process starts, the rice cooking control means 81 performs the soaking process, during which the rice cooking control means 81 detects the temperature rise rate of the inner pot 1 based on the temperature detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15. If it is determined that the temperature rise rate of the inner pot 1 is within a predetermined temperature rise rate ("No" in step S15), the rice cooking control means 81 determines that there is food in the internal space 44 and that empty cooking is not being performed, and proceeds to step S16. The rice cooking control means 81 continues to execute the rice cooking process to continue cooking the seasoned rice.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the rate of temperature rise of the inner pot 1 exceeds the predetermined rate of temperature rise and that the temperature is rising more rapidly than during normal cooking ("No" in step S15), the rice cooking control means 81 determines that the inner pot 1 is empty and that the inner pot 1 is being heated with no food being cooked in the internal space 44, and proceeds to step S17. The rice cooking control means 81 stops the rice cooking process and turns off the rice cooker 100 to prevent empty cooking.

In step S18, the rice cooker 100 is in a standby state. The process then proceeds to step S19, where the control unit 71 determines whether a predetermined time T has elapsed in the standby state, i.e., whether the elapsed time that the timing means 71 has started timing from step S4 has elapsed a predetermined time T, such as 13 hours. If the control unit 71 determines that the elapsed time since the remote control rice cooking permission signal was sent has not elapsed the predetermined time T (step S19: "No"), the process proceeds to step S21. On the other hand, if the control unit 71 determines that the elapsed time since the remote control rice cooking permission signal was sent has elapsed the predetermined time T (step S19: "Yes"), the process proceeds to step S20, where the rice cooking control means 81 executes automatic rice cooking to immediately perform the rice cooking process with the rice cooking course settings stored in the storage means 76.

In this embodiment, if a predetermined time T has elapsed since the remote control rice cooking permission signal was sent during the waiting period until the rice cooker 100 receives a signal to start cooking rice by remote control in step S21, automatic cooking is performed to start cooking the food in the inner pot 1 regardless of the presence or absence of the signal. This suppresses deterioration of the water and rice soaked in water caused by soaking rice in water for a long time by cooking rice before the deterioration, and also suppresses cooking rice using deteriorated water or rice. Note that the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the control unit 71 may be configured to measure the elapsed time from when the lid body 12 is closed by the detection signal of the lid opening/closing detection means 63 before moving to step S0 and set it to the predetermined time T, or may be configured to measure the elapsed time from when the information processing program is started and set it to the predetermined time T. In addition, if an inner kettle presence/absence detection means is provided, the control unit 71 may be configured to count the elapsed time from when the inner kettle 1 is set in the inner kettle housing 6 based on a detection signal from the inner kettle presence/absence detection means, and set the time to a predetermined time T.

To explain automatic rice cooking with reference to FIG. 6, when automatic rice cooking is started, the rice cooking control means 81 first performs a boiling and heating process with the rice cooking course settings stored in the memory means 76. This is because it is assumed that the rice has already absorbed sufficient water since it has already been soaked in water for a predetermined time T, such as 13 hours. Note that automatic rice cooking may also be configured to perform a soaking process. After the boiling and heating process, the rice cooking control means 81 executes a continuous boiling process and a soaking process in that order, just like in a normal rice cooking process, and when the rice cooking process is completed, it moves to a keeping-warm process by the keeping-warm control means 82.

The heat retention process will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The heat retention control means 82 starts timing using the clock means 71 and performs an initial heat retention process to manage the temperature of the inner pot 1 by controlling the heating coil 14 to be turned on and off based on the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 so that the temperature of the rice to be cooked is maintained at a predetermined temperature, for example 90°C or higher. When the heat retention control means 82 determines by the clock means 71 that a predetermined time, for example 10 minutes, has elapsed, it transitions to the next heat retention reduction process.

In the heat retention lowering process, the heat retention control means 82 controls the heating coil 14 on and off based on the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 to manage the temperature of the inner pot 1, and lowers the temperature of the rice in the pot 4 to a heat retention temperature of, for example, 73°C ±3°C over a predetermined time H, such as 60 minutes, after the start of the heat retention process. During the heat retention lowering process, the heat retention control means 82 controls the solenoid 54 so that the pressure adjustment valve 46 closes the pressure adjustment hole 49, and at the same time controls the pressure reduction pump 66 of the pressure reduction means 65 so that the rice in the inner pot 1 is depressurized and deaerated to a degree that does not boil, for example, by setting the pressure of the internal space 44 in the inner pot 1 to 0.9 atm when the temperature of the inner pot 1 is 95°C, and setting the pressure of the internal space 44 in the inner pot 1 to 0.7 atm when the temperature of the inner pot 1 is 85°C. The rice cooker 100 may be provided with a pressure detection means such as a pressure sensor that detects the pressure in the internal space 44 in the inner pot 1, and the warming control means 82 may be configured to control the pressure reducing pump 66 based on the pressure detection by the pressure detection means and the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15. When the warming control means 82 determines by the timing means 71 that a predetermined time H has elapsed since the start of the warming process and that the temperature of the rice in the inner pot 1 has dropped to the warming temperature based on the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15, it proceeds to the next warming maintenance process.

In the heat retention process, the heat retention control means 82 controls the heating coil 14 to be turned on or off based on the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15, so that the temperature of the food to be cooked is maintained at the heat retention temperature. During the heat retention process, the heat retention control means 82 continues from the heat retention lowering process by controlling the solenoid 54 so that the pressure adjustment valve 46 closes the pressure adjustment hole 49, and at the same time controls the pressure reduction pump 66 of the pressure reduction means 65 so that the pressure in the internal space 44 in the inner pot 1 is set to 0.6 atm when the temperature of the inner pot 1 is the heat retention temperature of 73°C, and so that the rice in the inner pot 1 is decompressed and deaerated to a degree that does not cause it to boil. In this way, by decompressing and deaerating the internal space 44 in the inner pot 1 even during the heat retention process, oxygen is removed during deaeration, and oxidation of the cooked rice is suppressed. In addition, since the inside of the inner pot 1 is sealed to maintain the reduced pressure state, the moisture in the rice is not released outside the machine, suppressing the rice from drying out and suppressing the deterioration of the taste.

Returning to FIG. 5, in step S21, the control unit 71 determines whether or not a signal to start cooking remotely has been received. If the control unit 71 determines that a signal to start cooking remotely has not been received via the transmission/reception means 74 ("No" in step S21), the process returns to step S18. On the other hand, if the user operates the operation unit 78 of the information terminal 73 in step S4, and a signal to start cooking remotely has been sent from the information terminal 73 to the rice cooker 100, and the control unit 71 determines that the signal to start cooking remotely has been received ("Yes" in step S21), the control unit 71 proceeds to step S22 to determine whether or not cooking can be started remotely.

In step S22, the control unit 71 determines whether the signal to start cooking remotely is (1) a signal instructing to start cooking remotely, or (2) a signal to set timer-programmed cooking remotely, or a signal to change the setting of timer-programmed cooking. When the control unit 71 determines that the signal to start cooking remotely received in step S21 is (1) (step S22: "(1)"), it moves to step S24, where cooking is started for the food in the inner pot 1, and the process moves to step S25.

On the other hand, if the control unit 71 determines in step S21 that the signal to start cooking remotely is (2) ("(2)" in step S22), it proceeds to step S23, where the reserved cooking control means 83 stores the received reserved cooking setting in the storage means 76, or changes the reserved cooking setting stored in the storage means 76 based on the received reserved cooking setting. After that, it returns to step S11, and since the control unit 71 is functioning as the reserved cooking control means 83 and reserved cooking is in progress, it proceeds to step S12, and is configured to carry out the reserved cooking process with the reserved cooking setting stored in the storage means 76.

In step S25, similar to step S15, the rice cooking control means 81 judges whether the rice cooker is empty, in which the inner pot 1 is heated when there is no food in the internal space 44 of the inner pot 1. If it is judged that the temperature rise rate of the inner pot 1 is within a predetermined temperature rise rate (step S25: No), the rice cooking control means 81 judges that there is food in the internal space 44 and that the rice cooker is not empty, and proceeds to step S26, where the rice cooking control means 81 continues to execute the rice cooking process and continues cooking. On the other hand, if it is judged that the temperature rise rate of the inner pot 1 exceeds a predetermined temperature rise rate (step S25: No), the rice cooking control means 81 judges that the rice cooker is empty, in which the inner pot 1 is heated when there is no food in the internal space 44, and proceeds to step S17, where the rice cooking control means 81 stops the rice cooking process to prevent empty cooking and turns off the rice cooker 100.

As described above, the rice cooker 100 of this embodiment is equipped with a transmitting/receiving means 74 as a communication means capable of communicating with an information terminal 73 as an external device, a rice cooking control means 81 as a control means for controlling the cooking of the food to be cooked, and a timing means 79 for measuring time. The timing means 79 measures the elapsed time as the rice cooking preparation time from when the food to be cooked is prepared by sending a signal permitting remote rice cooking, and when the elapsed time is less than a predetermined time T, the rice cooking control means 81 starts the rice cooking process in response to a remote rice cooking start signal received from the information terminal 73 as an instruction to start rice cooking, and starts the rice cooking process when the predetermined time T has elapsed if it does not receive a remote rice cooking start signal from the information terminal 73.

By configuring it in this way, when a predetermined time T has elapsed since the signal permitting remote cooking is sent, the process moves to step S20, and the rice cooking control means 81 starts cooking rice without remote control or timer cooking, so the rice does not soak for longer than the predetermined time, and deterioration of the ingredients in the inner pot 1 can be suppressed.

In addition, in the control unit 71 of this embodiment, the rice cooking control means 81 performs the rice cooking process, and then the warming control means 82 starts the warming process, so deterioration of the cooked rice in the inner pot 1 can be suppressed.

In addition, in the rice cooker 100 of this embodiment, when the food to be cooked is white rice, the predetermined time T is, for example, 13 hours, whereas when the food to be cooked is seasoned rice, the predetermined time T is, for example, 0 minutes, and the predetermined time T is changed based on the type of food to be cooked. Therefore, in the case of seasoned rice or a menu that uses meat or seafood that is easily spoiled similar to seasoned rice, by starting cooking immediately, deterioration of the water and the rice and ingredients soaked in water caused by soaking the rice and ingredients in water for a long time can be suppressed, and deterioration of seasoned rice, which is more susceptible to deterioration than white rice, can be suppressed in advance.

The rice cooker 100 of this embodiment is also equipped with a pressure reduction means 65 as a degassing means for reducing the pressure inside the pot that contains the cooked rice, and the pressure reduction means 65 is configured to perform degassing during the warming process, and since oxygen is removed during degassing, oxidation of the cooked rice can be suppressed. In addition, the inside of the inner pot 1 is sealed to maintain a reduced pressure state, and moisture in the rice is not released outside the machine, so the rice is prevented from drying out and the deterioration of its taste is suppressed.

In addition, in the rice cooker system including the rice cooker 100 and the information terminal 73 of this embodiment, the external device is the information terminal 73 operated by the user of the rice cooker 100, and the rice cooker 100 can be remotely operated using the information terminal 73 that is regularly used, improving user convenience.

Figures 8 and 9 show a modified version of the first embodiment. In this modified version, the predetermined time T until automatic rice cooking is started is changed according to the water temperature, which is the temperature of the food being cooked in the inner pot 1. The rice cooker 100 is also capable of sending and receiving information to and from a cloud-based server 101 and an NTP (Network Time Protocol) server 102 via the communication means 72, and is also configured to be able to remotely display the water temperature in the inner pot 1 of the rice cooker 100 on the display unit 77 of the information terminal 73.

Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of the rice cooker system of this modified example. In the figure, the rice cooker 100 installed in the house R is configured to exchange various data with the server 101 and NTP server 102 connected to the communication means 72, as well as with the information terminal 73, via the communication means 72.

The server 101 stores information about rice cooking, such as information about all rice cooking courses. In addition, the transmission/reception means 74 of the rice cooker 100 and the server 101 are configured to be able to transmit and receive information about rice cooking, such as information about updated rice cooking courses, via the communication means 72.

The NTP server 102 is a server that acquires and distributes accurate time information. The transmission/reception means 74 of the rice cooker 100 is configured to be able to receive information related to time, such as accurate time information, from the NTP server 102 via the communication means 72.

Conventionally, rice cookers are known to be configured to keep time using a clock signal that uses, for example, a crystal oscillation IC and a crystal resonator, and to continue keeping time using a backup lithium battery during a power outage when the rice cooker is not powered. However, this configuration can cause inconsistencies in the way the rice cooker's clock advances, and if the difference between the correct time and the time on the rice cooker's clock becomes large, the user has to manually adjust the time on the clock using the rice cooker's clock time adjustment function. As a result, if the time on the clock is out of sync and not adjusted, there is a problem that the food to be cooked may not be cooked at the desired time because the rice cooker's clock time is used for the scheduled cooking.

Therefore, in this modified example, the clock time of the rice cooker is adjusted using the NTP server 102, and the clock time of the rice cooker is automatically set when the rice cooker 100 is connected to the communication means 72. Some models of the information terminal 73 are equipped with a function to automatically adjust the clock time using an NTP server published by a telecommunications carrier or the like. By sharing the clock times of the information terminal 73 and the rice cooker 100, the clock times of the information terminal 73 and the rice cooker 100 can be synchronized during scheduled cooking to eliminate the difference, and erroneous operation such as incorrect timing of the specified time T until automatic cooking, for example, mistaking the standby time for 12 hours for 13 hours, resulting in unexpected scheduled cooking can be prevented.

In this modified example, after the control unit 71 sends a signal permitting remote cooking, the control unit 71 sends information on the water temperature, which is the temperature of the food being cooked, to the information terminal 73 via the communication means 72 based on the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15. By starting an information processing program on the information terminal 73, the water temperature in the inner pot 1 of the rice cooker 100 can be remotely displayed on the display unit 77 of the information terminal 73. Therefore, even if the user is in a location far from the rice cooker 100, the user can check the water temperature, which is the temperature of the food being cooked in the inner pot 1, on the information terminal 73, and can grasp the general status of the rice cooker 100, for example, when the water temperature is 100°C, the rice cooker 100 is in the middle of the rice cooking process.

Figure 9 shows the flow of operations that occur when remote operation by the information terminal 73 is permitted in the rice cooker 100 of this modified example. In this modified example, after the rice cooker 100 enters standby mode in step S18, the length of the predetermined time T until automatic cooking begins is changed depending on the water temperature, which is the temperature of the food being cooked.

To explain in more detail with reference to the figure, in step S18 the rice cooker 100 is in standby mode. In this modified example, the process then proceeds to step S31, where the control unit 71 determines whether the current water temperature based on the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, such as 25°C. If the control unit 71 determines that the water temperature is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature ("Yes" in step S19), the process proceeds to step S19, where the control unit 71 determines whether the elapsed time since the timing means 71 began timing from step S0 has exceeded a predetermined time T, such as 13 hours. On the other hand, if the control unit 71 determines that the water temperature exceeds the predetermined temperature ("No" in step S19), the process proceeds to step S32.

In step S32, the control unit 71 determines whether the elapsed time since the timing means 71 started timing from step S0 has elapsed a predetermined time Ts, for example 8 hours, which is shorter than the predetermined time T. If the control unit 71 determines that the elapsed time since the information processing program was launched has not elapsed the predetermined time Ts (step S32: "No"), the control unit 71 proceeds to step S21. On the other hand, if the control unit 71 determines that the elapsed time since the information processing program was launched has elapsed the predetermined time Ts (step S32: "Yes"), the control unit 71 proceeds to step S20, and the rice cooking control means 81 is configured to execute automatic rice cooking, which immediately performs the rice cooking process with the rice cooking course settings stored in the storage means 76.

In this way, in the rice cooker 100 of this modified example, during the standby period for cooking rice by remote control, the water temperature based on the temperature t detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 is remotely displayed on the information terminal 73, and when the water temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature, the time elapsed in the standby state is shortened from the predetermined time T to a predetermined time Ts compared to when the water temperature is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature. In particular, in summer, when the water temperature is high, there is a risk of early deterioration of the water and deterioration of the rice soaked in the water, but by cooking rice before such deterioration occurs, such deterioration is prevented in advance. In addition, in this modified example, the water temperature, which is the temperature of the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1, can be confirmed on the information terminal 73, and the general status of the rice cooker 100 can be grasped, so that the information terminal 73 can notify the user that automatic cooking has been performed in the rice cooker 100, and the user can easily understand that automatic cooking has been performed because the water temperature is high to prevent spoilage and is not a misuse.

As described above, the rice cooker 100 of this modified example is equipped with the inner pot temperature sensor 15 as a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the food to be cooked based on the temperature of the inner pot 1, and is configured to change the predetermined time T to the predetermined time Ts based on the water temperature, which is the temperature of the food to be cooked before the start of the rice cooking process, detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15. This makes it possible to prevent deterioration of the water or rice soaked in the water by cooking the rice before such deterioration occurs.

Figure 10 shows a second embodiment of the rice cooker 100 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the rice cooker is configured to allow remote control rice cooking only when the rice cooker is in standby mode during scheduled rice cooking.

The main states of the rice cooker 100 when the power plug is inserted into an outlet and power is turned on include the "off state" (standby state) in which neither the rice cooking process nor the keeping-warm process is being performed, the "pre-programmed rice cooking standby state" in which the rice cooking control means 81 waits until rice cooking is started after the rice cooking control means 81 is instructed to start cooking by setting the pre-programmed rice cooking process, the "rice cooking state" in which the rice cooking process is performed by the rice cooking control means 81, and the "warm state" in which the warming process is performed by the warming control means 82. During remote control, the user can easily know whether the rice cooker 100 is in the "off state", "pre-programmed rice cooking standby state", "rice cooking state", or "warming state" by checking the operating state of the rice cooker 100 on the information terminal 73, for example, the water temperature, which is the temperature of the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1. Also, when in the "cooking state", "keep warm state" or "waiting for scheduled cooking", the inner pot 1 is temporarily heated, for example as in step S15 or step S25 described above, and the temperature rise rate of the inner pot 1 is detected by the temperature detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15, so it is possible to determine whether there is rice and water or cooked rice or other food in the inner pot 1. On the other hand, when in the "off state", it is not possible to determine whether there is food in the inner pot 1.

The "off state" can be one of three states: (1) there is nothing in the internal space 44 of the inner pot 1; (2) there is cooked rice in the internal space 44; and (3) there is food to be cooked, such as rice and water, in the internal space 44 before cooking. In state (1), the "off state" should continue because heating the inner pot 1 would result in empty cooking, and in state (2), it is assumed that the user has stopped keeping the cooked rice warm at their own discretion and deliberately switched to the "off state," so the "off state" should continue. On the other hand, in state (3), the user can start cooking rice remotely or set a timer to start cooking at their own discretion.

As a method for determining whether or not there is something to be cooked in the inner pot 1 when the rice cooker 100 is in the "off state", for example, if the inner pot 1 is temporarily heated and the temperature rise rate of the inner pot 1 is detected as described above, in (1) or (2) where the "off state" that does not require heating should be continued, there is a risk that the rice cooker 100 will become unnecessarily hot or the rice in the inner pot 1 will burn, etc., by temporarily heating the inner pot 1, there is a risk that the rice cooker will become empty even if only temporarily, that the rice cooker 100 will become unnecessarily hot, or that the rice in the inner pot 1 will burn. In addition, there are known methods for monitoring the inside of the inner pot 1 with a monitoring means such as a CCD camera, and a method for detecting the weight of the inner pot 1 with a weight detection means such as a weight sensor, but there are problems such as the size of the rice cooker 100 increasing, the structure becoming complicated, and the cost increasing. In addition, with the method of detecting the weight of the inner pot 1 with a weight detection means, it was difficult to determine whether the thing to be cooked in the inner pot 1 is rice and water before cooking, or rice after cooking. Therefore, in this embodiment, remote control cooking is only possible when the rice cooker is in standby mode for scheduled cooking.

Figure 10 shows the flow when remote control is started by the information terminal 73. With reference to this figure, the operation of the rice cooker 100 and the information terminal 73 until the start of rice cooking by remote control will be described. The food to be cooked is placed in the inner pot 1, which is then set in the inner pot housing 6 of the body 3, and the lid 12 is closed. Around this time, when the power plug of the rice cooker 100 is inserted into the outlet and power is applied, the rice cooker 100 is turned off. Then, when the start key 26A is operated after setting the reservation cooking such as the reservation time and cooking course using the operation unit 62, the reservation cooking control means 83 stores the reservation cooking setting in the storage means 76 and transitions to a reservation standby state in which the timer function waits until a predetermined time before the reservation time so that the rice is cooked at the reservation time set by the timer. Therefore, the reservation cooking control means 83 also has the function of a reservation cooking reception unit that accepts reservation cooking.

When the user operates the operation unit 78 of the information terminal 73 to start up the information processing program, a remote control signal is sent from the information terminal 73 to the rice cooker 100 as described above in the first embodiment. When the control unit 71 receives the remote control signal, the process proceeds to step S0. The control unit 71 starts timing using the timing means 71 and proceeds to step S41 to determine whether remote control is possible.

In step S41, the control unit 71 determines whether the rice cooker 100 is currently off. Here, the control unit 71 is currently functioning as either the rice cooking control means 81, the keep-warm control means 82, or the scheduled rice cooking control means 83, and if it determines that the rice cooker 100 is not off ("No" in step S41), it proceeds to the next step S2. On the other hand, if the control unit 71 is not functioning as any of the rice cooking control means 81, the keep-warm control means 82, or the scheduled rice cooking control means 83 and determines that the rice cooker 100 is off ("Yes" in step S41), it proceeds to step S5, where it sends a signal to the information terminal 73 via the communication means 72 to refuse remote cooking, and the information terminal 73 notifies the user that the scheduled rice cooking cannot be set or changed remotely.

In step S2, the control unit 71 determines whether the rice cooker 100 is currently in the keep-warm state, as in the first embodiment. If the control unit 71 determines that the rice cooker 100 is not currently in the keep-warm state (step S2: No), it proceeds to the next step S3. If the control unit 71 determines that the rice cooker 100 is currently in the keep-warm state (step S2: Yes), it proceeds to step S5.

In step S3, as in the first embodiment, the control unit 71 determines whether the rice cooker 100 is currently cooking rice. If the control unit 71 determines that the rice cooker 100 is not currently cooking rice (step S3: "No"), it proceeds to the next step S42, and if the control unit 71 determines that the rice cooker 100 is currently cooking rice (step S3: "Yes"), it proceeds to step S5.

In step S42, the control unit 71 determines whether the rice cooker 100 is currently in a reserved rice cooking standby state. If the control unit 71 determines that the rice cooker 100 is currently functioning as the reserved rice cooking control means 83, but has not started cooking rice using the rice cooking control means 81, and is in a reserved rice cooking standby state ("Yes" in step S42), it proceeds to the next step S4 and sends a remote control rice cooking permission signal to the information terminal 73 via the communication means 72. On the other hand, if the control unit 71 determines that the rice cooker 100 is not in a reserved rice cooking standby state ("No" in step S42) because it is not functioning as the reserved rice cooking control means 83, or is functioning as the reserved rice cooking control means 83 and has started cooking rice using the rice cooking control means 81, it determines that the state of the rice cooker 100 may have changed before proceeding to step S42, and returns to step S41, and performs the determination again in steps S41, S2, and S3. If the process returns to step S41 multiple times, for example, three times, the process proceeds to step S5, and the control unit 71 may be configured to send a signal to the information terminal 73 via the communication means 72 to refuse remote cooking. In this case, the control unit 71 may be configured to also display the reason why remote cooking cannot be started, such as "The state of the rice cooker cannot be confirmed."

Then, in step S4, the user operates the operation unit 78 of the information terminal 73, and the information terminal 73 sends a signal to the rice cooker 100 to change the settings of the reserved rice cooking (2) as described in the first embodiment. When the control unit 71 determines that the signal to change the settings of the reserved rice cooking (2) has been received via the transmission/reception means 74, the reserved rice cooking control means 83 changes the settings of the reserved rice cooking stored in the storage means 76 based on the received settings of the reserved rice cooking, as described in step S23. The reserved rice cooking control means 83 is then configured to carry out the reserved rice cooking process with the settings of the reserved rice cooking stored in the storage means 76.

As described above, the rice cooker 100 of this embodiment includes the transmission/reception means 74 as a communication means capable of communicating with the information terminal 73 as an external device, the rice cooking control means 81 as a control means for controlling the cooking of the food to be cooked, the transmission/reception means 74 as a rice cooking instruction receiving section that receives a signal for changing the settings of the reserved rice cooking (2) as rice cooking information related to rice cooking from the information terminal 73, and the reserved rice cooking control means 83 as a reserved rice cooking receiving section that accepts the reserved rice cooking. When the transmission/reception means 74 receives a signal for changing the settings of the reserved rice cooking (2) before the rice cooking process is performed by the rice cooking control means 81 in a state where the reserved rice cooking is accepted by the reserved rice cooking control means 83, the control section 71 is configured to change the settings of the reserved rice cooking based on the signal for changing the settings of the reserved rice cooking (2) and control the rice cooking.

This configuration improves user convenience because the scheduled cooking time can be changed until the scheduled cooking of the food begins.

11 to 13 show a third embodiment of a rice cooker 100 according to the present invention. Conventionally, scheduled cooking using a timer function has been mainly used for the purpose of completing the rice cooking process at a specified timing, such as breakfast or dinner time. In other words, when scheduled cooking is performed, there is often not much time between the completion of cooking and the user eating the rice, which is the food being cooked. However, when starting rice cooking remotely or setting or changing the cooking time remotely, this is mainly done by operating the information terminal 73 from a location far from the rice cooker 100, such as outdoors when you are out or in a house far from home. However, if you remotely start cooking or set the cooking time from a location that is too far from the rice cooker 100, you may not be able to get home in time to finish cooking, and you may be late in arriving at the house R where the rice cooker 100 is installed, which could result in you not being able to eat freshly cooked rice, or a delay in loosening the cooked rice after cooking could cause the grains of rice to stick together, which could result in a deterioration in the taste of the rice.

Therefore, in this embodiment, if the distance from the rice cooker 100 to the information terminal 73' exceeds a predetermined distance D, rice cooking cannot be started by remote control.

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the rice cooker system of this embodiment. The information terminal 73' of this embodiment has a GPS signal receiving unit that receives GPS signals, which are radio waves from multiple artificial satellites G, and a position measuring unit that measures position information such as the three-dimensional position (longitude, latitude, and altitude) of the information terminal 73' from the GPS signal, and the current position of the information terminal 73' is obtained by the measurement of this position measuring unit. In addition, in the rice cooker 100 of this embodiment, the position information of the rice cooker 100 is stored in the storage means 76. Note that the position information of the rice cooker 100 may be configured to download the position information of the house R from a cloud server or a specified homepage as the position information of the rice cooker 100 via the communication means 72, or may be configured to be manually input by the user. The rice cooker 100 may also be configured to have a GPS signal receiving unit and a position measuring unit, like the information terminal 73'.

Figure 12 shows the flow when remote operation is started by the information terminal 73'. This embodiment differs from the flow of the first embodiment shown in Figure 4 in that step S51, which follows step S3, is added.

When the user operates the operation unit 78 of the information terminal 73' to launch an information processing program, information on the current location of the information terminal 73' is sent to the rice cooker 100 via the communication means 72 together with a remote control signal. Then, when the control unit 71 receives the information on the current location of the information terminal 73' and the remote control signal via the transmission/reception means 74, the process proceeds to step S0. Then, as described in the first embodiment, the process proceeds to steps S1 to S3, and if the control unit 71 determines in step S3 that rice is not currently being cooked ("No" in step S3), the process proceeds to the next step S51.

In step S51, the control unit 71 calculates the distance between the rice cooker 100 and the information terminal 73' and determines whether this distance exceeds a predetermined distance D, such as 4 km. The control unit 71 calculates the distance between the information terminal 73' and the rice cooker 100 by comparing the information on the current location of the information terminal 73' received when moving to step S0 with the location information of the rice cooker 100 stored in the storage means 76. In this case, the distance may be the straight-line distance between the information terminal 73' and the rice cooker 100, or may be the straight-line distance multiplied by a predetermined coefficient, and is not particularly limited. The control unit 71 then determines whether the calculated distance exceeds a predetermined distance D, such as 4 km. Therefore, the control unit 71 also has the function of a rice cooking possibility determination unit that determines whether to perform rice cooking control based on a signal to start cooking by remote control, based on the information on the current location of the information terminal 73' received by the transmission/reception means 74.

Here, if the control unit 71 determines that the calculated distance does not exceed the predetermined distance D ("No" in step S51), it proceeds to the next step S4 and sends information about the reserved cooking, such as the reserved time stored in the storage unit 76, and a signal for remote cooking permission to the information terminal 73' via the communication means 72. When the information terminal 73' receives the information about the reserved cooking and the signal for remote cooking permission, as shown in FIG. 13 (A), the display unit 77 of the information terminal 73' displays, for example, a cooking reservation time display D1 that displays the reserved time stored in the storage unit 76, a "reservation time change" button display D2 that is operated when changing the setting of the reserved time stored in the storage unit 76, a "reservation start" button display D3 that is operated when starting reserved cooking by timer reservation remotely, and a "cooking start" button display D4 that is operated when starting cooking by remote control, to notify the user that cooking can be started remotely. Note that these displays on the display unit 77 are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

On the other hand, if the control unit 71 determines that the calculated distance exceeds the predetermined distance D ("Yes" in step S51), it proceeds to step S5 and sends, for example, the calculated distance or a signal of refusal of remote cooking to the information terminal 73 via the communication means 72. When the information terminal 73' receives the calculated distance or the signal of refusal of remote cooking, as shown in FIG. 13(B), the display unit 77 of the information terminal 73' displays a text display element D5 of "Cannot cook rice", a distance display D6 that displays the calculated distance, a prohibition mark display D7 that suggests that remote cooking is not possible, and a remote control distance display D8 that displays the predetermined distance D at which remote cooking is possible, to notify the user that cooking cannot be started by remote control. Note that these displays on the display unit 77 are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

Note that the present invention is not limited to these, and these configurations are merely examples. For example, as described in step S22 of the first embodiment, the signal for starting cooking by remote control includes (1) a signal for instructing to start cooking by remote control, and (2) a signal for setting or changing the setting of cooking by timer reservation by remote control. The purpose of use is different between (2) timer reservation cooking, which sets or changes cooking by timer reservation in advance to match the time of eating, and (1) remote control cooking, which cooks rice according to the situation or convenience at the time from outside the home. In particular, in (1) remote control cooking, it is assumed that there is a high possibility that there will be a difference between the time cooking is completed and the time the user arrives at the house R and eats the rice, compared to (2) timer reservation cooking, so that in (1) remote control cooking, there is a high possibility that the user will not be able to eat delicious freshly cooked rice. Therefore, for example, the display unit 77 of the information terminal 73' described in step S4 may be configured not to display the "Start cooking" button display D4, so that if the distance from the rice cooker 100 to the information terminal 73 exceeds a predetermined distance D, (1) only remote cooking is not possible, but (2) timer-programmed cooking can be performed.

The predetermined distance D may also be configured to be changeable. For example, if the total time for the rice cooking process is 45 minutes, the distance that can be traveled home with a travel time of 30 minutes may be set to 2 km on foot, 4 km by bicycle, or 10 km by car, and the predetermined distance D may be selected from these values.

Furthermore, the configuration in which cooking cannot be started by remote control if the distance from the rice cooker 100 to the information terminal 73' exceeds a predetermined distance D may be applied to an automatic rice cooker configured to automatically add an appropriate amount of rice and water to the pot just before cooking, or to an electric pot or pressure cooker configured to automatically cook various dishes such as boiled pumpkin, braised pork, boiled pork, and soup, and the food to be cooked is not limited to white rice and may be applied to cooking brown rice.

As described above, the rice cooker 100 of this embodiment is equipped with the transmission/reception means 74 as a communication means capable of communicating with the information terminal 73' as an external device, the rice cooking control means 81 as a control means for controlling the cooking of the food to be cooked, the transmission/reception means 74 as a rice cooking instruction receiving unit that receives a signal to start cooking remotely from the information terminal 73' as rice cooking information related to rice cooking, and the transmission/reception means 74 as a distance information receiving unit that receives information on the current position of the information terminal 73' as distance information between the information terminal 73' and the rice cooker 100. When the control unit 71 receives the signal to start cooking remotely via the transmission/reception means 74, it determines whether or not to perform rice cooking control based on the signal to start cooking remotely based on the information on the current position of the information terminal 73' received by the transmission/reception means 74.

By configuring it in this way, the control unit 71 determines whether or not to start cooking rice depending on the distance D between the information terminal 73' owned by the user and the rice cooker 100, thereby reducing the gap between the time when cooking is completed and the time when the user returns home.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and modifications, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the first to third embodiments and modifications may be combined. Furthermore, the numerical values given in the embodiments are merely examples, and may be modified as appropriate depending on the specifications of the rice cooker.

1 Inner pot 15 Inner pot temperature sensor (temperature detection means)
65 Pressure reducing means (pressure reducing and degassing means)
73, 73' Information terminal (external device)
74 Transmission/reception means (communication means, rice cooking instruction receiving unit, distance information receiving unit)
79 Timing means 81 Rice cooking control means (control means)
83 Reservation rice cooking control means (reservation rice cooking reception unit)
100 Rice cooker

Claims (8)

A communication means capable of communicating with an external device;
A control means for controlling cooking of the food to be cooked;
A timing means for measuring time,
The timing means measures the rice cooking preparation time from when the rice cooking preparation for the food to be cooked is completed,
When the rice cooking preparation time is less than a predetermined time, the control means
When a rice cooking start instruction is received from the external device, the rice cooking process is started in response to the rice cooking start instruction,
If a rice cooking start instruction is not received from the external device, the rice cooker starts the rice cooking process when the predetermined time has elapsed. The rice cooker according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means starts a warming process after the rice cooking process is completed. A temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the food to be cooked is provided,
2. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is changed based on the temperature of the food to be cooked before the start of the rice cooking process detected by the temperature detection means. The rice cooker according to claim 1, characterized in that the specified time is changed based on the type of food being cooked. A vacuum degassing means is provided for decompressing and degassing the inside of the pot that contains the food to be cooked,
The rice cooker according to claim 2, wherein the decompression and degassing means performs the decompression and degassing during the warming process. A communication means capable of communicating with an external device;
A control means for controlling cooking of the food to be cooked;
A rice cooking instruction receiving unit that receives rice cooking information related to rice cooking from the external device;
a distance information receiving unit that receives distance information between the external device and the rice cooker,
The control means is characterized in that the rice cooker includes a rice cooking feasibility determination unit that, when the rice cooking information is received by the rice cooking instruction receiving unit, determines whether or not to perform rice cooking control based on the rice cooking information based on the distance information received by the distance information receiving unit. A communication means capable of communicating with an external device;
A control means for controlling cooking of the food to be cooked;
A rice cooking instruction receiving unit that receives rice cooking information related to rice cooking from the external device;
A rice cooking reservation reception unit that receives rice cooking reservation information,
The control means controls rice cooking based on the rice cooking information when the rice cooking instruction receiving unit receives the rice cooking information before the rice cooking when the rice cooking reservation receiving unit has accepted the rice cooking reservation. A rice cooker system including the rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and the external device,
The rice cooker system, wherein the external device is a mobile terminal operated by a user of the rice cooker.

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