JP2024150978A - Rice Cooking System - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a rice cooking system that allows the user to more easily select the history of past rice cooking settings and registered rice cooking settings. [Solution] The rice cooking system of the present invention includes a rice cooker 1 and a smartphone 6-1 that can communicate with the rice cooker 1 via a server 5. The smartphone 6-1 has a rice cooking history screen G2 that selectively displays rice cooking setting selection displays B35-1, B35-2, etc., which are rice cooking settings used in past rice cooking sessions of the rice cooker 1, and a favorites screen G3 that selectively displays individually registered rice cooking setting selection displays B35-11, B35-12, etc. The rice cooking settings of the rice cooker 1 that have received the rice cooking course information of the selected rice cooking setting selection display can be set using the rice cooking history screen G2 or favorites screen G3, and the smartphone 6-1 is configured to be able to change between the rice cooking history screen G2 and the favorites screen G3 with a single operation. [Selected Figure] Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a rice cooking system that includes an information terminal and a rice cooker that can communicate with the information terminal.

Conventionally, in a cooking system in which an information terminal and a cooking appliance can communicate with each other, cooking setting information for the cooking appliance is selected and operated on the information terminal and sent to the cooking appliance. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that when a certain cooking history is selected from a My Menu screen on a communication terminal that displays a list of past cooking history and cooking history that has been searched or viewed in the past, a detailed screen of the selected cooking history is displayed, and setting information of the selected cooking history is sent to the cooking appliance by operating on that screen. In this cooking system, a desired cooking history can be registered in a server from a list of cooking history displayed on the My Menu screen by the communication terminal, and when a certain cooking history is selected on the communication terminal from a My Recipe screen, which is a list screen of registered cooking history, a detailed screen of the selected cooking history is displayed, and setting information of the selected cooking history is sent to the cooking appliance by operating on that screen.

JP 2018-4139 A

In Patent Document 1, when switching between the My Menu screen and the My Recipe screen, it was necessary to operate the touch panel to switch to the home screen or menu screen, and then to select the My Menu screen or the My Recipe screen again, which was time-consuming and cumbersome.

In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide a rice cooking system that makes it easier to select from the history of past rice cooking settings and registered rice cooking settings.

The rice cooking system of the present invention comprises a rice cooker and an information terminal capable of communicating with the rice cooker, the information terminal having a rice cooking history screen that selectively displays the history of rice cooking settings, which are the rice cooking settings used in past rice cooking, and a favorites screen that selectively displays the individually registered rice cooking settings, the rice cooker can receive the history information selected on the rice cooking history screen or the individually registered rice cooking setting information selected on the favorites screen and set the received information as the current rice cooking setting, and the information terminal is characterized in that the rice cooking history screen and the favorites screen can be changed with a single operation.

According to the present invention, the rice cooking history table screen and the favorites screen can be easily changed and switched between, so that the rice cooking setting information to be sent to the rice cooker can be more easily selected using both the rice cooking history screen and the favorites screen.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a rice cooking system in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the rice cooker. FIG. 13 is a top view of the LCD displaying the top screen. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the information terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the server according to the first embodiment. 13A is a top view of the display means displaying a rice cooking history screen, and FIG. 13B is a top view of the display means displaying a favorites screen. FIG. 13 is a top view of the display unit displaying the favorites registration screen. 1A is a top view of the display unit displaying a favorites screen, and FIG. 1B is a top view of the display unit displaying a favorites deletion screen. FIG. 13 is a top view of the display means displaying the rice cooking setting transmission screen. 13A is a top view of the LCD displaying the rice cooking information receiving screen, and FIG. 13B is a top view of the LCD displaying the top screen.

Below, a preferred embodiment of the rice cooking system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that common parts are designated by common reference numerals throughout these drawings.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a rice cooking system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a rice cooker capable of cooking food S, and reference numeral 2 denotes a wireless LAN router acting as an access point that serves as a wireless terminal, with the rice cooker 1 being wirelessly connected to the wireless LAN router 2. The wireless LAN router 2 functions as a means for accessing a network 3, and is configured to exchange various types of information and data with the rice cooker 1 via the wireless LAN router 2.

6 is an information terminal with display and communication functions, and 7 is an access point that serves as a wireless terminal. Here, the information terminal 6 is composed of smartphones 6-1, 6-2 and tablet terminals 6-3 that are individually owned by each user who uses the rice cooker 1, and each is wirelessly connected to the access point 7. The access point 7 functions as a means for accessing the network 3, and various information and data are exchanged between the smartphones 6-1, 6-2 and tablet terminals 6-3 that constitute the information terminal 6 and the server 5 on the cloud 4 that is connected to the network 3 via the access point 7. Note that the wireless LAN router 2 and the access point 7 may be the same thing.

The rice cooking system 100 of this embodiment can be said to be a system in which a rice cooker 1 and n information terminals 6 are connected to a management server 5 via a network 3 (n is a natural number). The server 5 stores and holds information about all the rice cooking courses that can be used with the rice cooker 1. The rice cooking course information stored in the server 5 includes all the information a user needs to use the rice cooker 1 to cook rice using that course. The server 5 will be explained in more detail later.

In FIG. 1, three information terminals, namely smartphones 6-1 and 6-2 and a tablet terminal 6-3, are connected to a server 5 connected to the rice cooker 1 via a network 3. Currently, each household user who uses the rice cooker 1 owns one information terminal 6, so n information terminals 6 assigned to n users are connected to the rice cooker 1 (i.e., a one-to-many relationship). This allows each information terminal 6 to receive recipe information for menus that can be cooked with the rice cooker 1 via the network 3.

Next, the structure of the rice cooker 1 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. 11 is a main body, which is generally rectangular with a front, rear, left and right sides facing each other when viewed from above, and has an open top. 12 is a lid that can be opened and closed to cover the top opening of the main body 11, and like the main body 11, is generally rectangular with a front, rear, left and right sides facing each other when viewed from above, and has a generally flat top. The main body 11 has a pot housing section 13 with an open top, and when the lid 12 is opened, a bottomed pot 14, which serves as a container for holding water and rice, which is the food to be cooked S, is detachably housed in the pot housing section 13. The pot housing section 13 is constructed by combining a bowl-shaped resin inner frame 15 and other components, and the whole is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape.

The pot 14 has a main material 17 made of aluminum, which has good thermal conductivity, and a heating element 18 made of a magnetic metal plate such as ferritic stainless steel, which is joined to the outer surface of the main material 17 from the lower side to the bottom. In addition, a heating coil 21 is provided on the outer surface of the inner frame 15, which faces the lower side of the pot 14 to the bottom, as a heating means for electromagnetic induction heating of the heating element 18 of the pot 14. When a high-frequency current is supplied to the heating coil 21, the alternating magnetic field generated by the heating coil 21 causes the heating element 18 of the pot 14 to heat up, heating the food inside the pot 14 during cooking and keeping warm. A pot sensor 22, which serves as a pot temperature detection means, is disposed in the center of the bottom of the inner frame 15 so as to come into elastic contact with the outer bottom of the pot 14.

A hinge 23 is provided at the rear of the lid 12, which connects it to the main body 11. A lid operating body 24 is provided in an exposed state on the front upper surface of the lid 12. When the lid operating body 24 is pressed, the engagement between the main body 11 and the lid 12 is released, and the lid 12 opens with a hinge spring (not shown) provided at the upper rear of the main body 11, rotating around the hinge shaft 23-1 of the hinge 23.

A steam vent 25 is provided on the rear upper surface of the lid 12 to exhaust steam generated from the food S in the pot 14 to the outside of the rice cooker 1. In addition to the steam vent 25 and the lid operation unit 24, the upper surface of the lid 12 is also provided with a display means 28 consisting of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 26 as a screen display unit and an LED (Light Emitting Diode) display unit 27 as a status display unit for displaying various information related to rice cooking, and an operation means 29 consisting of a touch sensor and arranged above the LCD 26 for starting rice cooking and selecting the time and cooking course. In addition, a control PC (Printed Circuit) board 31 equipped with a display and operation control means 56 (see Figure 3) for controlling the operation and display is arranged on the underside of the display means 28 and the operation means 29.

The LED display unit 27 displays the actual status of the rice cooker 1. In this embodiment, the "reservation" LED display unit lights up when a reservation has been set, the "keep warm" step LED display unit lights up when the rice cooker is in the keep warm state, the "pressure" step LED display unit lights up when the inside of the pot 14 is pressurized from when pressure begins to be applied inside the pot 14 during cooking until the food S is cooked, and the fan-shaped Wi-Fi mark step LED display unit lights up when information can be transmitted and received by the transmitting and receiving means 59 described later. Therefore, even when the backlight of the LCD 26 is dimmed, the user can understand the current status of the rice cooker at a glance by checking the LED display unit 27. The LCD 26 will be described in detail later.

The operation means 29, which is made up of a touch sensor, is configured such that a plurality of components are arranged as touch keys, for example, each of which is made up of a transparent electrode section made of a conductive polymer and a contact section connected to the control PC board 31, and when any of a plurality of button display sections displayed on the LCD 26 is touched, the touch key arranged above that button display section and corresponding to that button display section is touched and that button display section is selected.

An inner lid assembly 33 is disposed under the lid 12 as a lower member of the lid 12. The inner lid assembly 33 is made of a metal material having a disk shape with approximately the same diameter as the upper opening of the pot 14, and includes an inner lid 34 that covers the upper opening of the pot 14, a lid packing 35 as an elastic member provided around the entire outer circumference of the inner lid 34 to seal between the inner lid 34 and the pot 14, and a pressure adjusting section 36 that adjusts the internal pressure of the pot 14. The annular lid packing 35 abuts against the upper surface of the pot 14, which is the opening, when the lid 12 is closed as shown in FIG. 3, to close the gap between the pot 14 and the inner lid 34 and seal the steam generated from the pot 14.

Inside the lid 12, a lid opening/closing detection means 37 is provided near the hinge 23 to detect the opening/closing of the lid 12. The lid opening/closing detection means 37 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. Inside the lid 12, a lid heater 41 is provided as a lid heating means for heating the inner lid 34, and a thermistor-type lid temperature sensor 42 is provided for controlling the temperature of the inner lid 34 by the lid heater 41. Inside the lid 12, a steam exhaust path 43 is formed that connects the steam port 25 and the pressure adjustment section 36 as a passage for releasing steam generated in the pot 14 to the outside.

The pressure adjusting section 36 is provided with a pressure adjusting valve 44 that opens and closes the steam exhaust path 43 between the inside of the pot 14 and the steam port 25. The pressure adjusting valve 44 is ball-shaped and works in conjunction with a solenoid 45 provided inside the lid 12. When steam in the pot 14 is to be released to the outside, the pressure adjusting valve 44 opens the steam exhaust path 43, and when the inside of the pot 14 is to be pressurized or depressurized, the solenoid 45 rotates the pressure adjusting valve 44 to close the steam exhaust path 43. When pressurizing, the food S in the pot 14 is heated by high-frequency current flowing through the heating coil 21, the food S boils, and steam is generated. When the internal pressure of the pot 14 reaches a predetermined value due to the steam filling the pot 14, the pressure adjusting valve 44 opens the steam exhaust path 43 against its own weight, thereby maintaining the pressure in the pot 14 at or above atmospheric pressure.

48 is a pressure reducing means for lowering the pressure inside the pot 14 below normal atmospheric pressure when the lid 12 is closed on the main body 11. The pressure reducing means 48 reduces the internal pressure of the sealed pot 14 by accommodating the pot 14 in the pot accommodating body 3, closing the lid 12, and then energizing the solenoid 45 to cause the pressure regulating valve 44 to block the steam exhaust path 43, and operating the pressure reducing pump 49, which is the operating source of the pressure reducing means 48. When the pressure inside the pot 14 drops below atmospheric pressure by a certain value, the operation of the pressure reducing pump 49 is stopped, and the inside of the pot 14 is kept in a reduced pressure state. Furthermore, when the inside of the pot 14 is to be returned from the reduced pressure state to the same pressure as the outside air, the operation of the pressure reducing pump 49 is stopped, and a path (not shown) that communicates between the pressure reducing pump 49 and the inside of the pot 14 is opened. In other words, the pressure reducing means 48 also serves as a pressure return means for returning the inside of the pot 14 from the reduced pressure state to the same pressure as the outside air. In addition, the pressure inside the pot 14 may be returned from a reduced pressure state to the same pressure as the outside air by rotating the pressure adjustment valve 44 with the solenoid 45 to open the steam exhaust path 43, in which case the pressure adjustment unit 36 functions as a pressure return means.

In addition, a unitized heating board assembly 52 including a heating control means 51 is disposed inside the main body 11. The heating control means 51 is configured to include a microcomputer (microcomputer) equipped with a control IC 53 and a memory means 58 (see FIG. 4) in order to electrically control each part of the rice cooker 1 in combination with the display/operation control means 56, and here, upon receiving each temperature detection signal from the pot sensor 22 and the lid temperature sensor 42, and a signal from the display/operation control means 56 which has received an operation signal from the operation means 29, it controls the heating coil 21 which heats the pot 14 during cooking and keeping warm, and the lid heater 41 which heats the inner lid 34, respectively, and also controls the operation of the solenoid 45 and the pressure reducing pump 49, respectively. In particular, the heating control means 51 is configured to control the temperature of the bottom of the pot 14 by mainly controlling the heating coil 21 based on the temperature detected by the pot sensor 22, and to control the temperature of the inner lid 34 facing the food being cooked by mainly controlling the lid heater 41 based on the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 42.

Next, the main control system of the rice cooker 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. In the figure, the heating control means 51 equipped in the main body 11 includes a control IC 53 constituting a microcomputer, a storage means 54 such as a readable and writable memory that stores various information and data, and a timer means (not shown), and receives temperature detection signals from the pot sensor 22 and the lid temperature sensor 42, a detection signal from the lid opening/closing detection means 37, and a control signal from the display/operation control means 56 described below, to control the heating coil 21 that heats the pot 14 during cooking and keeping warm, and the lid heater 41 that heats the inner lid 34, respectively, and also controls the operation of the solenoid 45 that operates the pressure regulating valve 44 and the pressure reducing pump 49 of the pressure reducing means 48.

The heating control means 51 has a rice cooking control means 61 and a warming control means 62 in the control IC 53 as functions in the control sequence of the program read from the storage means 54. The rice cooking control means 61, upon receiving an instruction from the operation means 29 to start cooking rice, sequentially executes a soaking process to promote the water absorption of the rice put into the pot 14, a boiling heating process to raise the temperature of the food to boil in a short time, a boiling continuing process to keep the food to boil, and a soaking process to keep the rice at a high temperature but not burnt, thereby controlling the rice cooking by heating the food S in the pot 14 at a desired pressure. The warming control means 62 controls the rice as the food S in the pot 14 to be kept at a predetermined warming temperature.

On the other hand, the display and operation control means 56 includes a control IC 57, a memory means 58, a timing means (not shown), and the like that constitute a microcomputer, and receives operation signals from the operation means 29, control signals from the heating control means 51, and information received by the transmission/reception means 59 to control the display operation of the display means 28, transmit control signals to the heating control means 51, and transmit information to the server 5 and the information terminal 6.

The transmission/reception means 59 is composed of a communication module and the like, and enables the transmission and reception of information with a server 5 on the cloud 4 and an information terminal 6 owned by a user via a wired or wireless network 3. Therefore, the transmission/reception means 59 functions as a communication means capable of transmitting and receiving information.

The display and operation control means 56 has a display control means 63 and a condition setting means 64 in the control IC 57 as functions in the control sequence of the program stored in the storage means 58. The display control means 63 generates various control signals based on operation signals from the operation means 29, and also controls the display operation of the display means 28. The condition setting means 64 cooperates with the display control means 63 to enable the selection and setting of conditions selectable by the operation means 29, for example, the selection and setting of a desired rice cooking course from among multiple rice cooking courses with settings for rice type, cooking method, hardness, and water hardness.

In the rice cooker 1 of this embodiment, the rice cooking course corresponding to each rice setting, cooking method setting, hardness setting, and water hardness setting is stored in the storage means 58, and the rice setting, cooking method setting, hardness setting, and water hardness setting of the stored rice cooking course are selectably displayed on the display means 28, and by making these settings, the rice cooking course is selected and set. Then, when the setting of this rice cooking course is transmitted from the display/operation control means 56 to the heating control means 51, the rice cooking control means 61 of the heating control means 51 controls the heating of the heating coil 21 and the lid heater 41 and the solenoid 45 and the pressure reduction pump 49, that is, controls the rice cooking, for each rice cooking setting of this rice cooking course, so that the deliciousness of the cooked rice can be further enhanced by performing appropriate rice cooking. Therefore, these rice settings, cooking method settings, hardness settings, and water hardness settings function as rice cooking settings.

Figure 5 shows a top view of the display means 28, and the upper side of each drawing will be described as "top", the lower side as "bottom", the left side as "left", and the right side as "right". Additionally, the front side of each drawing will be described as "front" and the back side as "back". In Figure 5, the LCD 26 is displaying the top screen G1. When the user inserts the power plug provided in the main body 11 into a household outlet, the necessary power is supplied to each part of the rice cooker 1. At this time, the display control means 63 causes the LCD 26 to display the layout of the top screen G1 as shown in Figure 4 as the normal initial screen to be displayed on the LCD 26 after a predetermined time has elapsed or when a predetermined start-up display screen is displayed.

Referring to FIG. 5, the top screen G1 is described. At the top, a menu key display area A1 is formed, displaying four button displays B1 to B7 arranged side by side. Here, the "Rice" button display B1 includes a text display D1 that reads "Rice" and a text display D2 that reads "▼". The "How to Cook" button display B3 includes a text display D3 that reads "How to Cook" and a text display D4 that reads "▼". The "Firmness Adjustment" button display B5 includes a text display D5 that reads "Firmness Adjustment" and a text display D6 that reads "▼". The "Water Hardness" button display B7 includes a text display D7 that reads "Water Hardness" and a text display D8 that reads "▼".

In addition, under the menu key display area A1, a rice cooking information display area A2 is formed in which four setting indicators D11 to D14 are displayed side by side. Here, the "Rice" setting indicator D11 displays information about the rice that has been set, and is located behind the "Rice" button indicator B1, and in FIG. 4, "White rice, random brand" is displayed. The "Cooking method" setting indicator D12 displays information about the cooking method that has been set, and is located behind the "Cooking method" button indicator B3, and in FIG. 4, "Kamado Master" is displayed. The "Hardness adjustment" setting indicator D13 displays information about the hardness adjustment that has been set, and is located behind the "Hardness adjustment" button indicator B5, and in FIG. 4, "Recommended" is displayed. The "Water hardness" setting indicator D14 displays information about the water hardness that has been set, and is located behind the "Water hardness" button indicator B7, and in FIG. 4, "40 to 60" is displayed.

Below the rice cooking information display area A2, a text display D15 called "cooking time" is displayed, suggesting that the numbers displayed on the clock display D16 are the cooking time, and displays the time required for rice cooking, the remaining time until the actual cooking is completed, and the cooking completion time, which is the expected time when the rice cooking will be completed. In FIG. 4, a clock display D16 showing "about 38 minutes", the time required for rice cooking calculated from the settings of the rice cooking information display area A2, and a button display B17 including a text display D17 that says "start cooking" are displayed side by side.

Also, at the bottom of the top screen G1, a setting button display B18 including a text display D18 reminiscent of a gear image, a button display B19 including a text display D19 saying "keep warm", a button display B20 including a text display D20 saying "reserve", a time display D21 showing the current time, and a button display B22 including a text display D22 saying "off" are displayed side by side.

The "OFF" button display B22 is operated when stopping cooking or keeping rice warm. When the "OFF" button display B22 is touched, the display control means 63 receives an operation signal from the operation means 29 arranged above the "OFF" button display B22 and sends it to the heating control means 51. The rice cooking control means 61 then controls the cooking information display area A2 to stop heating the food in the pot 14 and the scheduled cooking and switch it to the off state, and the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to display the top screen G1 with the settings from the most recent time rice was cooked, i.e., the settings stored in the memory means 58. In addition, when the "OFF" button display B22 on the top screen G1 is touched, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to discard the rice settings, cooking method settings, hardness adjustment settings, and water hardness settings that were set before cooking and are currently displayed in the rice cooking information display area A2, and to display the settings in the rice cooking information display area A2 as they were when the rice was most recently cooked, that is, the settings stored in the storage means 58.

The "Start cooking" button display B17 is operated when starting cooking rice. When the "Start cooking" button display B17 is touched, the condition setting means 64 stores the rice settings, cooking method settings, hardness settings, and water hardness settings currently displayed in the rice cooking information display area A2 in the memory means 58 as the settings for this rice cooking course, and the rice cooking control means 61 controls the start of cooking the food to be cooked in the main body 11 with the settings for this rice cooking course stored in the memory means 58.

The "keep warm" button display B19 is operated when keeping the food warm. When the "keep warm" button display B19 is touched, the keep warm control means 62 sends an appropriate control signal to the heating coil 21 and lid heater 41 to start keeping warm and reheating the food inside the main body 11.

The "Rice" button display B1 is operated to select the type and brand of rice to be cooked. When the "Rice" button display B1 is touched, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to display a rice selection screen (not shown). When a type and brand of rice is selected on this rice selection screen, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to return to the top screen G1 and display the selected type and brand of rice on the text display D11.

The "cooking method" button display B3 is operated to select the type of cooking method for the food to be cooked. When the "cooking method" button display B3 is touched, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to display a cooking method selection screen (not shown). When the cooking method for the food to be cooked is selected on this cooking method selection screen, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to return to the top screen G1 and display the selected cooking method for the food to be cooked on the text display D12.

The "hardness adjustment" button display B5 is operated to select the type of texture of the rice to be cooked. When the "hardness adjustment" button display B5 is touched, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to display a hardness selection screen (not shown), and when a rice texture is selected on this cooking method selection screen, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to return to the top screen G1 and display the selected rice texture on the text display D13.

The "Water Hardness" button display B7 is operated to select the hardness of the water to be cooked. When the "Water Hardness" button display B7 is touched, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to display a water hardness selection screen (not shown). When the water hardness is selected on this water hardness selection screen, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to return to the top screen G1 and display the selected water hardness on the text display D14.

The setting button display B18 is operated to set up the rice cooker, and when the setting button display B18 is touched, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to display a setting screen (not shown).

The "Reservation" button display B20 is operated when scheduling rice cooking. When the "Reservation" button display B20 is touched, the display control means 63 controls the display means 28 to display a reservation setting screen (not shown). A reservation is set on this reservation setting screen. When the reservation cooking is started, the rice cooking control means 61 starts cooking so that the food inside the main body 11 is cooked at the set reservation time, and the keep-warm control means 62 starts keeping the food warm.

In addition, the display control means 63 may receive cooking course information as cooking settings individually registered in each information terminal 6 from a favorite information providing unit 90 of the server 5 described later, and control the display means 28 to display the cooking course information selectably as a favorite setting selection screen. In this case, the display control means 63 may be configured to control the display means 28 so that the screen can be moved from the top screen G1, the rice selection screen, the cooking method selection screen, the hardness selection screen, or the water hardness selection screen.

To explain the operation of this embodiment when cooking rice, first rice and water are placed in the pot 14 as the food to be cooked S, and the pot 14 is then placed in the pot housing 13, after which the lid 12 is closed. Around the same time, when the main body 11 of the rice cooker 1 is energized, the main body 11 goes into an initial off (standby) state in which no cooking or warming is taking place, and the display/operation control means 56 controls the LCD 26 to display the current cooking course setting in the rice cooking information display area A2 on the top screen G1.

Now, when the operation means 29 is operated to set the rice cooking course and the "Start cooking" button display B17 on the top screen G1 is touched, the condition setting means 64 stores the rice settings, cooking method settings, hardness settings, and water hardness settings currently displayed in the rice cooking information display area A2 in the memory means 58 as the settings for this rice cooking course, and transmits this rice cooking course setting to the heating control means 51. Upon receiving this rice cooking course setting, the rice cooking control means 61 of the heating control means 51 performs each of the rice cooking operations for the food S in the pot 14, which are the soaking cooking process, boiling heating process, continued boiling process, and steaming process, in accordance with the heating pattern of the set rice cooking course.

Specifically, when the information sent from the display/operation control means 56 is received, the process proceeds to the soaking process, and the rice cooking control means 61 controls the operation of the solenoid 45 and the pressure reducing means 48 so that the pressure inside the pot 14 is reduced below atmospheric pressure during the soaking process. When the soaking process begins, the rice cooking control means 61 switches the solenoid 45 from a non-energized state to an energized state, and closes the steam exhaust path 43 with the pressure regulating valve 44. In this state, the rice cooking control means 61 opens the path of the pressure reducing means 48 and operates the pressure reducing pump 49 continuously, performing a vacuum by removing the air inside the sealed pot 14 with the pressure reducing pump 49. After that, the rice cooking control means 61 controls the pressure reducing pump 49 so that the pressure inside the pot 14 is maintained at a reduced pressure below a certain value. In this way, the inside of the pot 14 is kept in a reduced pressure state throughout the entire period of the soaking process.

The rice cooking control means 61 also controls the heating of the pot 14 by turning on and off the heating coil 21 based on the temperature of the bottom of the pot 14 detected by the pot sensor 22, thereby promoting the absorption of water by the rice. The set temperature maintained at this time is preferably 40 to 60°C. After that, when the specified time for the soaking cooking process has elapsed, the soaking process ends and the process moves to the next boiling heating process.

When the process moves to the boiling heating process, the rice cooking control means 61 controls the heating coil 21 to be continuously energized, heating the rice cooking object S in the pot 14 more strongly than in the soaking cooking process, and raising the temperature of the rice cooking object S to the boiling temperature in a short time. Here, the rice cooking control means 61 controls the path of the pressure reducing means 28 to be blocked in order to maintain the inside of the pot 14 in a reduced pressure state lower than atmospheric pressure after the soaking cooking process. Therefore, even after the process moves from the soaking cooking process to the boiling heating process, the pressure inside the pot 14 gradually increases due to heating to the pot 14 and slow leakage, but the reduced pressure state can be maintained for a while without operating the pressure reducing pump 49. In this way, the rice cooking object S inside the pot 14 is kept in a reduced pressure state even in the heating process after the soaking cooking process, so that the water boils at a temperature of 100°C or less during the heating process. Therefore, by boiling the food item S under reduced pressure at 60°C to 100°C, which is the gelatinization temperature of rice, the bubbles caused by the boiling make the rice dance, eliminating uneven heating, and by placing the food item S under reduced pressure, the rice can absorb water all the way to the core in a short time.

Next, the rice cooking control means 61 takes in the temperature detection signal from the pot sensor 22, and when the detected temperature at the bottom of the pot 14 reaches the predetermined temperature of 100°C, it determines that the food S inside the pot 14 has boiled under reduced pressure, closes the path of the pressure reducing means 28, does not operate the pressure reducing pump 49, and temporarily de-energizes the solenoid 45 to retract the pressure regulating valve 44. As a result, the steam exhaust path 43 is in an open state that communicates the inside and outside of the pot 14 without sealing it, and the inside of the pot 14 immediately returns to normal pressure, the same as the outside air. After that, the rice cooking control means 61 switches the solenoid 45 to a conductive state in a short time and seals the inside of the pot 14 again, and the food S continues to be strongly heated inside the pot 14, so the inside of the pot 14 is pressurized. At this time, the pressure P is preferably within 1.2 atmospheres.

In this way, when the rice cooking control means 61 determines that the food S inside the pot 14 has boiled under reduced pressure during the boiling and heating process, it instantly switches the inside of the pot 14 from a reduced pressure state to a pressurized state higher than atmospheric pressure, and controls the operation of the solenoid 45 and, in turn, the pressure adjustment valve 44 constituting the pressure adjustment section 36 to temporarily open the steam exhaust path 43 in order to apply a pressure shock to the food S. In this way, by boiling the food S at 105°C (at 1.2 atmospheres), which is the optimal gelatinization temperature for rice in a pressurized state, it is possible to ensure a balance between the hardness and stickiness of the rice and to gelatinize the rice all at once, all the way to the core.

After that, when the rice cooking control means 61 detects that the pot temperature has reached a predetermined temperature or higher, for example, 90°C, from the temperature detection signal from the pot sensor 22, and also detects that the lid temperature t2 has reached a predetermined temperature or higher, for example, 90°C, from the temperature detection signal from the lid temperature sensor 42, it starts control of boiling detection to detect boiling of the food to be cooked under pressure. The rice cooking control means 61 continues to control the heating coil 21 to be continuously energized to strongly heat the food to be cooked S inside the pot 14, while calculating the slope of the detected temperature, that is, how much the detected temperature of the pot sensor 22 and the detected temperature of the lid temperature sensor 42 rise in a predetermined time. Specifically, when the rice cooking control means 61 calculates that the rise in the pot temperature, which is the temperature of the bottom of the pot 14, from the detected temperature of the pot sensor 22 has reached a predetermined temperature rise rate or lower, for example, 3°C or lower in 120 seconds, it determines that boiling due to a change in the temperature rise rate of the pot temperature has been detected. In addition, when the rice cooking control means 61 calculates that the rise in the lid temperature, which is the temperature of the inner lid 8, from the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 42 has fallen below a predetermined temperature rise rate, for example, 1°C or less in 60 seconds, it determines that boiling due to a change in the rate of temperature rise of the lid temperature has been detected.

At this time, the rice cooking control means 61 continues from the boiling heating process by controlling the solenoid 45 so that the inside of the pot 14 is pressurized at the pressure set for the food S to be cooked, allowing the food S to continue boiling in this pressurized state. When the rice cooking control means 61 detects boiling due to a change in the rate of temperature rise of the pot temperature and also detects boiling due to a change in the rate of temperature rise of the lid temperature, it moves on to the next boiling continuation process.

When the process moves to the boiling continuation process, the rice cooking control means 61 controls the heating coil 21 to be energized or cut off so that the pot temperature is maintained at a predetermined temperature, such as 98°C or higher, based on the temperature detected by the pot sensor 22, and controls the lid heater 41 to be continuously energized so that the lid temperature is maintained at a predetermined temperature, such as 98°C or higher, based on the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 42, thereby continuing the boiling state of the food S to be cooked. In addition, when the process moves to the boiling continuation process, the rice cooking control means 61 periodically controls the solenoid 45 to be energized or cut off, and periodically opens and closes the steam exhaust path 43 with the pressure regulating valve 44, in order to repeatedly change the pressure inside the pot 14 between normal pressure and a pressure P higher than atmospheric pressure.

When the water inside the pot 14 runs out during the continuing boiling process and the rice cooking control means 61 calculates from the temperature detected by the pot sensor 22 that the temperature rise at the bottom of the pot 14 exceeds a predetermined temperature rise rate, such as 0.5°C or more in 10 seconds, it determines that it has detected a change in the rate of temperature rise of the pot temperature. Furthermore, when the temperature detected by the pot sensor 22 reaches a predetermined dry-up temperature, the rice cooking control means 61 determines that it has detected that the food S inside the pot 14 is done. When the rice cooking control means 61 detects a change in the rate of temperature rise of the pot temperature or that the food S is done, the continuing boiling process ends and the process moves to the next steaming process.

During the steaming process, the rice cooking control means 61 controls the temperature by turning the lid heater 41 on and off according to the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 42, preventing condensation on the inner lid 34, and controls the temperature at the bottom of the pot 14 by continuously turning the heating coil 21 on and off for the steaming process time set to maintain a high temperature so that the rice inside the pot 14 does not burn. At this time, the rice cooking control means 61 is configured to control the solenoid 45 so that the inside of the pot 14 is pressurized with pressure P, continuing from the boiling continuation process. When the steaming process is completed, the process proceeds to the warming process by the warming control means 62.

When the user touches the "off" button display B22 during the warming process, the warming control means 62 stops the warming process and switches it to the off state. The condition setting means also determines that the rice cooking process is complete, and transmits the current rice cooking course settings stored in the memory means 58 to the server 5 via the transmission/reception means 59 as the current rice cooking settings.

The main configuration of the rice cooker 1 has been described above, but this is merely one example, and the configuration may include, for example, a pressure sensor capable of detecting the pressure inside the pot 4, or the configuration may omit the pressure reducing means 48, for example.

Figure 6 shows the external configuration of a smartphone 6-1, which is a representative example of an information terminal 6. In the figure, the main components of the smartphone 6-1 are a display means 71 capable of displaying a screen, a push-type operation button 72, and a communication module 73. A touch panel 74 is provided on the surface of the display means 71, and the operation button 72 and the touch panel 74 constitute an operation means 75 that enables operation from the smartphone 6-1. The communication module 73, which serves as the terminal communication means, is mounted inside the main body of the smartphone 6-1 as a transmitter/receiver that enables wireless communication with the access point 7. The smartphone 6-1 also has other communication means such as a microphone and speaker, and image capture means such as a camera, but these are not shown here.

Figure 7 shows the main electrical configuration of the smartphone 6-1. In the figure, 77 denotes a terminal control means constituted by a microcomputer, and as is well known, this terminal control means 77 includes a CPU as a processing means, a storage means 80 such as a readable and writable memory that stores various information and data, a timer as a timekeeping means, an input/output device, etc. An operation means 75 and a communication module 73 are electrically connected to the input port of the terminal control means 77, and a display means 71 and a communication module 73 are electrically connected to the output port of the terminal control means 77.

The terminal control means 77 has a function of receiving an operation signal from the operation means 75, and outputting a display control signal to the display means 71 at a predetermined timing based on the timekeeping from the clock means, based on the information acquired from the communication module 73. This function is realized by starting a program such as an application recorded in the storage means 80 as a storage medium, and in this embodiment in particular, the terminal control means 77 is provided with a program that causes it to function mainly as a communication control unit 78 and a display control unit 79.

The communication control unit 78 mainly controls operations related to the communication module 73, and by operating the communication module 73 as necessary, has the function of sending various information and data from the terminal control means 77 to the server 5 via the network 3, and conversely, importing various information and data from the server 5 to the terminal control means 77 via the network 3.

The display control unit 79 mainly controls the operation related to the display of the display means 71, and has the function of switching and displaying various screens on the display means 71. In particular, in this embodiment, when the communication module 73 receives information on rice cooking settings and information on the history of rice cooking settings from the server 5, the display control unit 79 is configured to reflect the information on the rice cooking settings and information on the history of rice cooking settings on the screen displayed by the display means 71.

Figure 8 shows the main electrical configuration of the server 5, which is an example of an information processing device. In the figure, 81 is a server control means composed of a microcomputer, and as is well known, this server control means 81 is equipped with a CPU as a calculation means, a memory as a storage means, a timer as a timekeeping means, an input/output device, etc. An operation means 82 that enables operations from the administrator of the recipe provision management system 100 and a communication module 83 that enables connection to the network 3 are electrically connected to the input port of the server control means 77, and a communication module 83 that enables connection to the network 3 are electrically connected to the output port of the server control means 81, and a communication module 83 and a display means 84 that can display on a screen are electrically connected to the output port of the server control means 81. The communication module 83, which is the server communication means, is installed in the server 5 as a transmission/reception unit that enables communication with the rice cooker 1 and the information terminal 6 via the network 3.

The server control means 81 is configured to read the programs stored in the memory as a storage medium and mainly function as an equipment information registration unit 86, a rice cooking course information registration unit 87, a rice cooking course information provision unit 88, a rice cooking history information provision unit 89, and a favorite information provision unit 90. In addition to these programs, the memory built into the server control means 81 is provided with an equipment information storage unit 92 that stores equipment information that associates the information terminal 6 held by the user with the rice cooker 1 used by the user, a total rice cooking course information storage unit 93 that stores and saves rice cooking course information related to the rice cooker 1 that can be connected to the server 5, a rice cooking history storage unit 94 that stores rice cooking history, which is a history of rice cooking settings as settings of rice cooking courses, transmitted from the rice cooker 1, and a favorite information storage unit 95 that stores rice cooking settings that are individually registered in favorites and transmitted from the information terminal 6. The rice cooking course information referred to here includes all display information for displaying information related to the rice cooking course on the display means 71 of the information terminal 6, and rice cooking information such as the rice cooking control conditions required to cook the food S to be cooked in the rice cooker 1 that can cook the food S using that rice cooking course.

When the first identification information for identifying the information terminal 6 or the user and the second identification information for identifying the rice cooker 1 used by the user are input from the information terminal 6 held by the user, the device information registration unit 86 associates the first identification information with the second identification information and stores and registers the device information in the device information storage unit 92. Specifically, for example, when a user who owns the smartphone 6-1 shown in FIG. 1 uses the rice cooker 1 as an information terminal 6 accessed by the server 5 via the network 3, when device information in which the unique first identification information input from the smartphone 6-1 to identify the user or the smartphone 6-1 and the unique second identification information input from the smartphone 6-1 to identify the rice cooker 1 are associated with each other is transmitted from the smartphone 6-1 to the server 5, the device information registration unit 86 stores and registers this device information in the device information storage unit 92 of the server 5.

The rice cooking course information registration unit 87, in response to an operation input from the operation means 82 by the administrator, additionally stores and registers new rice cooking course information that has not been stored and registered in the total rice cooking course information storage unit 93 in the total rice cooking course information storage unit 93, or partially changes the information on the rice cooking course stored and registered in the total rice cooking course information storage unit 93 and overwrites and updates the information in the total rice cooking course information storage unit 93. Specifically, when the administrator operates the operation means 82 to register new rice cooking course information, the administrator inputs display information for displaying the characteristics of the rice cooking course, including the rice setting, cooking method setting, hardness setting, and water hardness setting, on the LCD 26 of the rice cooker 1 or the display means 71 of the information terminal 6, and rice cooking heating information, including information on rice cooking control required to cook rice with the rice cooker 1 capable of cooking rice, and the like, and the rice cooking course information registration unit 87 stores and registers such rice cooking course information in the total rice cooking course information storage unit 93.

The rice cooking course information providing unit 88 extracts and transmits one or more pieces of rice cooking course information from all the rice cooking course information stored in the all rice cooking course information storage unit 93 to the rice cooker 1 that can access the server 5 via the network 3. Therefore, the rice cooker 1 can extract and store even a rice cooking course that is not stored in the storage means 58 from the all rice cooking course information storage unit 93 of the server 5. In addition, in this embodiment, when the user operates the operation means 75 of the smartphone 6-1 in the above example to transmit the selected rice cooking history information and the selected, individually registered rice cooking setting information to the server 5 via the network 3, the rice cooking course information providing unit 88 of the server 5 is configured to compare the received rice cooking history information and the individually registered rice cooking setting with all the rice cooking course information stored in the all rice cooking course information storage unit 93, extract the corresponding rice cooking course information, and transmit it to the rice cooker 1.

The rice cooking history information providing unit 89 stores the rice cooking history transmitted from the rice cooker 1 that can access the server 5 via the network 3 in the rice cooking history storage unit 94, and also transmits it to the information terminal 6. Specifically, for example, when the rice cooker 1 finishes cooking rice and moves to the keep-warm process, and the user touches the "OFF" button display B22 on the top screen G1, the display/operation control means 56 of the rice cooker 1 transmits the rice cooking settings for the current rice cooking course stored in the storage means 58 to the server 5 via the transmission/reception means 59. The rice cooking history information providing unit 89, upon receiving this, stores the transmitted rice cooking settings in the rice cooking history storage unit 94 as the history of rice cooking settings for the current rice cooking course. Thereafter, when a request to display the rice cooking history for the rice cooker 1 already registered by the device information registration unit 86 is sent to the server 5 via the network 3 by the user operating the operation unit 75 of the smartphone 6-1, the rice cooking history information providing unit 89 of the server 5 sends information on the rice cooking history stored in the rice cooking history storage unit 94 of the server 5 to the smartphone 6-1. The display control unit 79 of the smartphone 6-1 receiving this information can suitably display the rice cooking history of the rice cooker 1 on the display unit 71. The rice cooking history stored in the rice cooking history storage unit 94 is also sent to the other information terminals 6, that is, the smartphone 6-2 and the tablet terminal 6-3, which are stored and registered in association with the rice cooker 1 in the device information storage unit 92, and can also be displayed on the display unit 71 of the smartphone 6-2 and the tablet terminal 6-3. At this time, information on the rice cooking history from the same rice cooker 1 is sent to the smartphones 6-1, 6-2 and the tablet terminal 6-3, so the same rice cooking history is displayed on the display means 71 of all the information terminals 6 of the smartphones 6-1, 6-2 and the tablet terminal 6-3.

The favorite information providing unit 90 stores in the favorite information storage unit 95 the rice cooking settings individually registered in the favorites transmitted from the information terminal 6 that can access the server 5 via the network 3. For this reason, the favorite information providing unit 90 stores in the favorite information storage unit 95 the information of the individually registered rice cooking settings transmitted from each information terminal 6, such as the smartphones 6-1, 6-2 and the tablet terminal 6-3, in association with the unique first identification information of each information terminal 6 stored and registered in the device information storage unit 92. By configuring in this way, in the smartphones 6-1, 6-2 and the tablet terminal 6-3, the rice cooking settings individually registered in the favorites of each information terminal 6 are stored in the favorite information storage unit 95 in association with each information terminal 6, so that in each information terminal 6, the smartphones 6-1, 6-2 and the tablet terminal 6-3, the rice cooking settings individually registered in the favorites are displayed on the display means 71. The favorite information providing unit 90 may be configured to transmit the individually registered rice cooking settings stored in the favorite information storage unit 95 to the rice cooker 1 when a request to display the individually registered rice cooking settings is transmitted from the rice cooker 1 already registered by the device information registration unit 86 to the server 5 via the network 3.

Next, we will explain in detail the operation of the rice cooking system 100 configured as above.

Figure 9 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display means 71 when an application is started by operating the operating means 75 of the smartphone 6-1. (A) shows the rice cooking history screen G2, and (B) shows the favorites screen G3.

When a user operates the operation means 75 of the smartphone 6-1 to start the application, the communication control unit 78 transmits device information to the server 5 via the network 3 using the communication module 73. The device information transmitted at this time may include individually registered rice cooking settings stored in the storage means 80. When the server 5 receives this device information, it compares it with the device information registered in the device information storage unit 92, and controls the communication module 83 to transmit information about the matched device to the smartphone 6-1. The information transmitted at this time may include past rice cooking settings of the rice cooker 1 stored in the rice cooking history storage unit 94 and individually registered rice cooking settings stored in the favorite information storage unit 95. When the smartphone 6-1 receives this device information, the application is launched.

First, referring to FIG. 9(A), the rice cooking history screen G2 is described. At the top of the screen, a text display D31 called "Favorites/Rice Cooking History" and a button display B32 containing a text display D32 called "x" are displayed side by side. Below the text display D31 called "Favorites/Rice Cooking History" and the button display B32 called "x", a rice cooking setting screen display area A3 is formed in which two tab displays B32 and B33 are displayed side by side. The currently selected tab display, for example, the tab display B33 called "Rice Cooking History" in FIG. 9(A) is displayed as a lit-up display in color, and the other tab display, for example, the tab display B34 called "Favorites" in FIG. 9(A) is displayed as a grayed-out display as an unlit display. Here, the tab display B33 called "Rice Cooking History" contains the text display D33 called "Rice Cooking History". The button display B34 called "Favorites" contains the text display D34 called "Favorites".

Below the rice cooking setting screen display area A3 is a rice cooking history display area A4 in which rice cooking setting selection indicators B35-1, B35-2, etc. are displayed vertically as rice cooking history, displaying past rice cooking settings. Here, each rice cooking setting selection indicator B35-1, B35-2, etc. includes rice cooking setting indicators D35-1, D35-2, etc. that display rice cooking course settings including rice settings such as "White rice, random brand" and "Cooking method, Kamado Master", cooking method settings, hardness settings, and water hardness settings, rice cooking date and time indicators D36-1, D36-2, etc. that display the date and time stored in the rice cooking history storage unit 94 of the server 5 as the name of each rice cooking setting indicator B35-1, B35-2, etc., and image indicators P37-1, P37-2, etc. of a heart mark that indicates whether or not the setting has been registered as a favorite.

The "x" button display B32 is operated to discard the settings on the current screen, for example the rice cooking history screen G2 or the favorites screen G3, and return to the previous screen or the top screen (not shown). When the "x" button display B32 is touched, the display control unit 79 of the smartphone 6-1 controls the table display means 71 to discard the settings currently displayed on the display means 71 and return to the top screen.

The rice cooking history display area A4 divides each rice cooking setting and the stored date and time into block-shaped rice cooking setting selection displays B35-1, B35-2, etc., and divides them into a list so that the user can easily see the overview of the rice cooking history, which is the rice cooking settings of past rice cooking courses. When the operation means 75 of the smartphone 6-1 is operated to move to the rice cooking history screen G2, the communication control unit 78 of the smartphone 6-1 sends a display request for the rice cooking history to the server 5. When the rice cooking history information providing unit 89 of the server 5 receives this display request signal, it sends the rice cooking history information stored in the rice cooking history storage unit 94 of the server 5 to the smartphone 6-1. Then, when the display control unit 79 receives the rice cooking history information, it reflects the rice cooking history information received this time in the rice cooking history information stored in the storage means 80, and displays the rice cooking history display area A4 as shown in FIG. 9 (A) on the display means 71.

In this embodiment, the number of pieces of rice cooking history information stored in the storage means 80 is a predetermined number, such as a maximum of 10 pieces, and therefore the number of rice cooking setting selection displays B35-1, B35-2, etc. displayed in the rice cooking history display area A4 is also a predetermined number, such as a maximum of 10 pieces. When this predetermined number is exceeded, the oldest rice cooking history information is erased in order, and the predetermined number is retained. However, this is just one example, and the present invention is not limited to this. In this embodiment, the rice cooking history information is displayed from top to bottom in order from newest to oldest, and therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 9(A), the setting of the rice cooking setting display D35-1 displayed on the rice cooking setting selection display B35-1 is configured to be the history of the most recent rice cooking settings, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In this embodiment, a predetermined number of rice cooking setting selection displays, for example 10, can be registered as favorites from among the rice cooking setting selection displays displayed in the rice cooking history display area A4 of the rice cooking history screen G2, and a list of the registered rice cooking setting selection displays can be displayed in the favorite rice cooking setting display area A5 of the favorite screen G3, as shown in FIG. 9 (B). Explaining the favorite screen G3 with reference to FIG. 9 (B), the text display D31 of "Favorites/Rice Cooking History" and the "x" button display B32 are displayed side by side at the top, and below that, the rice cooking setting screen display area A3 is formed, and the "Favorite" tab display B34 is displayed lit up. And below the rice cooking setting screen display area A3, the favorite rice cooking setting display area A5 is formed, which displays the rice cooking setting selection displays B35-11, B35-12, ..., which display the rice cooking settings individually registered in the favorites, side by side. Each of the rice cooking setting selection displays B35-11, B35-12... has the same configuration as the rice cooking setting selection displays B35-1, B35-2..., and includes, for example, rice cooking setting displays D35-11, D35-12... that display the rice cooking course settings, name displays D36-11, D36-12... as the names of each rice cooking setting display, and heart mark image displays P37-11, P37-12....

Here, we will explain how to register the rice cooking setting selection display B35-1, B35-2, etc. as favorites. When registering one of the rice cooking setting selection display B35-1, B35-2, etc., for example the rice cooking setting selection display B35-2, when the user touches one of the heart mark image display P37-1, P37-2, etc., for example the image display P37-2, the display control unit 79 of the smartphone 6-1 controls the display means 71 to pop up and display a favorite registration screen G4 as shown in FIG. 10.

To explain the favorites registration screen G4 with reference to FIG. 10, a favorites registration pop-up display PU41, in which the name of the rice cooking setting selection display to be registered as a favorite can be entered, and a keyboard display area A6 for entering characters and symbols into the favorites registration pop-up display PU41 are displayed one above the other, with the rest of the screen other than the registration pop-up display PU41 and the keyboard display area A6 being grayed out. Note that the keyboard display area A6 is a well-known technology in the field of smartphones, so it will not be described in detail here.

At the top of the favorites registration popup display PU41, a text display D41 is displayed saying "Add to favorites. Add rice cooking settings to favorites." In addition, below the text display D41, a text display D42 saying "Name" which suggests that the input field display D43 is a place where the name of the rice cooking setting selection display is entered, and an input field display D43 which displays characters and symbols entered using the keyboard display area A6 are displayed side by side. At the bottom of the favorites registration popup display PU41, a button display B44 including a text display D44 saying "Cancel" and a button display B45 including a text display D45 saying "Register" are displayed side by side. In this embodiment, 15 full-width characters and symbols can be entered into the input field display D43, and the types of characters, symbols, and pictograms depend on the model of the smartphone 6-1, but these are just examples.

The "Cancel" button display B44 is operated to discard the settings on the current favorite registration screen G4 and return to the previous screen, the rice cooking history screen G2 or the favorites screen G3. When the "Cancel" button display B44 is touched, the display control unit 79 controls the display means 71 to discard the settings currently displayed on the display means 71 and return to the previous screen, the rice cooking history screen G2 or the favorites screen G3.

The "Register" button display B45 is operated to register the rice cooking setting selection display as a favorite with the settings currently on the favorites registration screen G4. When the "Register" button display B45 is touched, the display control unit 79 stores the settings currently displayed on the display means 71 in the storage means 80, transitions to the favorites screen G3, and controls the display means 71 to add and display the rice cooking setting display D35-11, which is the rice cooking setting display D35-11 that is the character or symbol entered in the input field display D43, to the favorites rice cooking setting display area A5.

Returning to the explanation of how to register as a favorite, on the favorite registration screen G4, when the user uses the keyboard display area A6 to input, for example, the text "For school lunch 1234" and the rice ball emoticon into the input field display D43 and then touches the "Register" button display B45, the display control unit 79 associates the text "For school lunch 1234" and the rice ball emoticon with the rice cooking setting display D35-2 as the rice cooking setting of the selected rice cooking setting selection display B35-2 and stores them in the memory means 80. The display control unit 79 also controls the display means 71 to switch to the favorite screen G3 as shown in FIG. 9B, change the contents of the rice cooking setting display D35-1 to the rice cooking setting display D35-11, change the contents of the name display D36-11 to the contents entered in the input field display D43, for example, "For dinner every day (rice ball emoji)," and display the rice cooking setting selection display B35-11, which is colored, for example, in pink to indicate that it has been registered, at the top of the favorite rice cooking setting display area A5, and display the previously registered rice cooking setting selection display B35-12, etc., one after the other in order downward. Note that if the "Register" button display B45 is touched with nothing entered in the input field display D43, the contents of the name display may be stored in the storage means 80 in a predetermined format, for example, "Favorite 1."

At this time, when the "Rice Cooking History" tab display B33 is touched to switch to the rice cooking history screen G2, the display control unit 79 controls the display means 71 to display the heart mark image display P37-2 of the registered rice cooking setting selection display B35-2 in a colored display indicating that it has been registered. In this way, the rice cooking history of the rice cooker 1 can be registered as favorites, and even if the number of pieces of rice cooking history information exceeds a predetermined number and rice cooking history information such as the rice cooking setting selection display B35-1 is erased from the rice cooking history display area A4 of the rice cooking history screen G2, the rice cooking setting is displayed in the favorite rice cooking setting display area A5 of the favorite screen G3 as an individually registered rice cooking setting such as the rice cooking setting selection display B35-11, so that the favorite rice cooking setting can be called up at any time.

Also, referring to FIG. 11, a method for canceling the registration of a rice cooking setting selection display object registered as a favorite will be described. As described above, the individually registered rice cooking setting selection display object is, for example, the rice cooking setting selection display object B35-1 on the rice cooking history screen G2 in FIG. 9 (A), or the heart mark image display object included in the rice cooking setting selection display object B35-11, B35B-12, etc. displayed in the favorite rice cooking setting display area A5 on the favorite screen G3 in FIG. 9 (A), which is displayed in color. Here, when the user touches any of the colored heart mark image displays, for example the heart mark image display object P37-11 on the rice cooking setting selection display object B35-11, the display control unit 79 of the smartphone 6-1 controls the display means 71 to pop up and display the favorite deletion screen G5.

Explaining the favorites deletion screen G5 with reference to FIG. 11 (B), a favorites deletion pop-up display PU51 is displayed, and everything other than the favorites deletion pop-up display PU51 is grayed out. At the top of the favorites deletion pop-up display PU51, a text display D51 is displayed saying "Do you want to delete your favorite? Deleted content cannot be restored." In addition, at the bottom of the favorites deletion pop-up display PU51, a "Cancel" button display B44 and a button display B52 containing a text display D52 saying "Delete" are displayed side by side.

The "Delete" button display B52 is operated to cancel the registration of a rice cooking setting selection display that is currently registered as a favorite, and when the "Delete" button display B52 is touched, the display control unit 79 controls the display means 71 to delete information about the currently selected rice cooking setting selection display from the memory of the storage means 80. Therefore, when moving to the favorites screen G3, the display control unit 79 controls the display means 71 so that the rice cooking setting selection display corresponding to the rice cooking setting selection display that has been deleted from the memory of the storage means 80 is not displayed in the favorite rice cooking setting display area A5.

Returning to the explanation of the method for canceling the registration of the rice cooking setting selection display, when the "Delete" button display B52 is touched on the favorites deletion screen G5, the display control unit 79 deletes information on the rice cooking setting selection display including the selected image display of a heart mark, for example, the rice cooking setting selection display B35-11 including the image display P37-11 of a heart mark, from the storage of the storage means 80. The display control unit 79 also controls the display means 71 to move to the favorites screen G3 and not display the rice cooking setting selection display corresponding to the deleted rice cooking setting selection display, for example, the rice cooking setting selection display B35-11 in this case, in the favorites rice cooking setting display area A5. Therefore, the display control unit 79 controls the display means 71 to display a number of rice cooking setting selection displays displayed in the favorites rice cooking setting display area A5 that is reduced by one compared to before the registration of the rice cooking setting selection display was canceled.

At this time, when the "Rice cooking history" tab display B33 is touched to switch to the rice cooking history screen G2, the display control unit 79 controls the display means 71 to display the heart mark image display P37-2 of the rice cooking setting selection display B35-2 corresponding to the rice cooking setting selection display B35-11 whose registration has been cancelled as a blank display indicating that it has not yet been registered. In this way, the registration of a rice cooking setting selection display registered as a favourite can be easily cancelled. Furthermore, the registration of an individually registered rice cooking setting selection display can be easily cancelled not only from the favourites screen G3 but also from the rice cooking history screen G2.

Next, we will explain how to cook rice in the rice cooker 1 using the rice cooking settings displayed on the rice cooking setting selection display on the rice cooking history screen G2 or the favorites screen G3.When a location other than the heart mark image display on the rice cooking setting selection display in the rice cooking history display area A4 on the rice cooking history screen G2 or the favorite rice cooking setting display area A5 on the favorites screen G3 is touched, for example a location other than the image display P37-12 on the rice cooking setting selection display B35-12 in the favorite rice cooking setting display area A5, the display control unit 79 of the smartphone 6-1 controls the display means 71 to display a pop-up rice cooking setting transmission screen G6. Here, by touching the "Rice cooking history" tab display B33 or the "Favorites" tab display B34 in the rice cooking setting screen display area A3 of the rice cooking history screen G2 or the favorites screen G3, you can easily change and switch between the rice cooking history screen G2 and the favorites screen G3, so you can use both the rice cooking history screen G2 and the favorites screen G3 to more easily select the rice cooking setting selection display as the rice cooking setting information to send to the rice cooker 1.

Explaining the rice cooking setting transmission screen G6 with reference to Figure 12, a transmission pop-up display PU61 is displayed, and everything other than the transmission pop-up display PU61 is displayed in gray. At the top of the transmission pop-up display PU61, a selection source display D61 that indicates whether the rice cooking setting selection display to be transmitted is selected from the rice cooking history screen G2 or the favorites screen G3, and an "x" button display B32 are displayed side by side. In addition, below the selection source display D61 and the "x" button display B32, a rice cooking date and time display or name display of the selected rice cooking setting selection display, such as the name display D36-12 "Daily dinner", and a button display B62 including a text display D62 "Edit" are displayed side by side. Below the rice cooking date and time display or name display and the "Edit" button display B62, the rice cooking setting display of the selected rice cooking setting selection display, such as the "Daily dinner" rice cooking setting display D35-12, is displayed. Also, below the send pop-up display PU61, a button display B63 including a text display D63 saying "Send rice cooking course" is displayed.

The "Edit" button display B62 is operated when changing and editing the description of the name display of the selected rice cooking setting selection display. When the "Edit" button display B62 is touched, the display control unit 79 controls the display means 71 to transition to the favorites registration screen G4. Note that in this embodiment, the name display of the rice cooking setting selection display selected from the favorites screen G3 can be edited, while the rice cooking date and time display of the rice cooking setting selection display selected from the rice cooking history screen G2 cannot be edited. However, this is one example, and the rice cooking date and time display may be edited.

The "Send cooking course" button display B63 is operated when sending the cooking settings of the cooking setting display displayed on the display means 71 to the rice cooker 1. When the "Send cooking course" button display B63 is touched, the communication control unit 78 of the smartphone 6-1 controls the communication module 73 to send information about the cooking settings of the cooking setting display displayed on the display means 71, for example, in this case, information about the name display D36-12 "For daily dinner" and the cooking setting display D35-12, to the server 5. Note that the information sent at this time may include the past cooking settings of the rice cooker 1 stored in the cooking history storage unit 94 and the individually registered cooking settings stored in the favorite information storage unit 95.

When the rice cooking setting information of the rice cooking setting display unit is received by operating the "Send rice cooking course" button display unit B63 on the rice cooking setting sending screen G6, the rice cooking course information providing unit 88 of the server 5 compares the rice cooking setting information from the smartphone 6-1 with all the rice cooking course information stored in the all rice cooking course information storage unit 93, extracts the relevant rice cooking course information, and sends it to the rice cooker 1.

When rice cooking course information is received from the server 5, the display control means 63 of the rice cooker 1 controls the LED display unit 27 to light up the process LED display unit with the Wi-Fi mark, and also controls the LCD 26 to display the rice cooking information reception screen G7. Referring to FIG. 13(A) to explain the rice cooking information reception screen G7, a text display D71 stating "Information has been received from the 'IoLIFE app'" is displayed at the top. Below the text display D71, a button display B72 containing a text display D72 stating "Cancel" and a button display B73 containing a text display D73 stating "OK" are displayed side by side.

The "Cancel" button display B72 is operated to return to the previous screen, the top screen G1, without reflecting the rice cooking course information sent from the server 5 on the top screen G1. When the "Cancel" button display B44 is touched, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the display control unit 79 controls the display means 71 to discard the rice cooking course information sent from the server 5 and return to the top screen G1, which displays the rice cooking course settings currently stored in the storage means 58.

The "OK" button display B73 is operated to return to the previous screen, the top screen G1, without reflecting the rice cooking course information sent from the server 5 on the top screen G1. When the "OK" button display B73 is touched, the display control unit 79 controls the display means 71 to transition to the top screen G1, which displays the rice cooking course information settings sent from the server 5, i.e., the rice cooking setting information of the rice cooking setting display sent from the smartphone 6-1, as shown in FIG. 13(B), for example.

When the "Start Cooking" button display B17 on the top screen G1 is touched, the condition setting means 64 stores the rice setting, cooking method setting, hardness setting, and water hardness setting currently displayed in the rice cooking information display area A2, i.e., the information on the rice cooking setting display sent from the smartphone 6-1, in the storage means 58 as the setting for the current rice cooking course, and transmits this setting for the rice cooking course to the heating control means 51. Upon receiving this setting for the rice cooking course, the rice cooking control means 61 of the heating control means 51 performs each of the cooking operations for the food S in the pot 14, which are the soaking cooking process, boiling heating process, continued boiling process, and steaming process, in accordance with the heating pattern of the set rice cooking course. In this way, the information on the rice cooking setting display selected from the rice cooking history screen G2 or favorites screen G3 on the smartphone 6-1 is transmitted to the rice cooker 1 and can be used as the setting for the current rice cooking course.

After that, when the rice cooking process is completed and the rice cooker 1 moves to the keep-warm process, and the user touches the "off" button display B22, the keep-warm control means 62 stops the keep-warm process and switches the rice cooker 1 to the off state. The condition setting means determines that the rice cooking process is completed, and transmits the current rice cooking course setting stored in the storage means 58 to the server 5 as the current rice cooking setting via the transmission/reception means 59. When the server 5 receives the rice cooking course information, which is information about the rice cooking course setting, the rice cooking history information providing unit 89 stores this rice cooking course information in the rice cooking history storage unit 94 as rice cooking history. The rice cooking history information providing unit 89 then controls the communication module 83 to transmit the rice cooking settings of the rice cooker 1, which reflect the rice cooking history, to the smartphone 6-1 when transmitting the information to the smartphone 6-1.

As described above, the rice cooking system 100 of this embodiment includes a rice cooker 1 and a smartphone 6-1 as an information terminal 6 capable of communicating with the rice cooker 1 via the server 5. The smartphone 6-1 displays a rice cooking history screen G2 as a rice cooking history display means that selectively displays rice cooking setting selection displays B35-1, B35-2, etc., which are displayed in the rice cooking history display area A4 as the history of rice cooking settings, which are the rice cooking settings used in past rice cooking operations by the rice cooker 1, and a rice cooking setting selection display B35-11, B35-12, etc., which are the rice cooking settings that have been individually registered as favorites. and a favorites screen G3 as a favorites display means for displaying the rice cooking settings. By selecting the rice cooking setting selection display on the rice cooking history screen G2 or favorites screen G3 and performing a send operation, it is possible to set the rice cooking settings of the rice cooker 1 that has received the rice cooking course information on the rice cooking setting selection display. The smartphone 6-1 is configured to be able to change between the rice cooking history screen G2 and the favorites screen G3 with a single operation by selecting the "Rice cooking history" tab display B33 or the "Favorites" tab display B34 in the rice cooking setting screen display area A3 on the rice cooking history screen G2 or favorites screen G3.

By configuring it in this way, it is possible to more easily select the rice cooking setting selection display as information on the rice cooking settings to be sent to the rice cooker 1 using both the rice cooking history screen G2 and the favorites screen G3.

In addition, the rice cooking setting selection display bodies B35-11, B35-12... displayed on the favorites screen G3 of this embodiment are configured so that the name display bodies D36-11, D36-12... as the names of the rice cooking setting display bodies D35-11, D35-12... are registered together with the rice cooking setting display bodies D35-11, D35-12... which display the rice cooking course settings as the rice cooking settings, and even after the registration, the description of the name display bodies D36-11, D36-12... can be changed on the favorites registration screen G4. Therefore, even if the rice cooking setting selection display body is once registered as a favorite, the name display body can be edited, and the user can easily edit it to a preferred name.

In addition, the rice cooker 1 of this embodiment is configured so that when the rice cooking process ends, the rice cooker moves to the warming process, and the "OFF" button indicator B22 is operated to complete the rice cooking process, the current rice cooking course settings stored in the memory means 58 are saved as the rice cooking history, and transmitted to the server 5 by the transmission/reception means 59. This allows the rice cooking history, which is the settings of past rice cooking courses, to be saved automatically, improving convenience.

In addition, in this embodiment, the rice cooking setting selection display B35-11, B35-12... as individually registered rice cooking settings can be configured to register the rice cooking setting selection display B35-1, B35-2... displayed in the rice cooking history display area A4 as the history of rice cooking settings displayed in the rice cooking history display area A4. Therefore, only a certain number of rice cooking setting selection display B35-1, B35-2... are stored, and when the certain number is exceeded, the oldest information is deleted. The desired rice cooking course information can be saved as a favorite, improving convenience.

The rice cooker 1 of this embodiment can communicate with multiple information terminals 6, such as smartphones 6-1, 6-2 and tablet terminals 6-3, via the server 5. On the smartphones 6-1, 6-2 and tablet terminals 6-3, the rice cooking history screen G2 displays rice cooking setting selection displays B35-1, B35-2, etc., as the same rice cooking history on all information terminals 6, and the favorites screen G3 displays rice cooking setting selection displays B35-11, B35-12, etc., as the rice cooking settings that are individually registered on each information terminal 6.

This configuration allows the rice cooking history of the rice cooker 1 to be checked on any of the multiple information terminals 6, improving convenience. In addition, since it is possible to register rice cooking settings that are individually registered for each information terminal 6 owned by each user, each user can register their desired favorite rice cooking settings, further improving convenience.

The rice cooker 1 of this embodiment may also have a favorite setting selection screen that is configured to receive rice cooking course information as rice cooking settings individually registered on the smartphones 6-1, 6-2 or tablet terminal 6-3 by the favorite information providing unit 90 of the server 5 and display it selectably on the display means 28, and this favorite setting selection screen may be accessible from each of the rice cooking setting screens, such as the top screen G1 of the rice cooker 1, the rice selection screen, the cooking method selection screen, the hardness selection screen, and the water hardness selection screen. By configuring it in this way, it becomes possible to select rice cooking settings individually registered on the smartphones 6-1, 6-2 or tablet terminal 6-3 even in the rice cooker 1, improving convenience.

In addition, in the program such as the application of this embodiment, the rice cooker 1 and the microcomputer as the computer of the information terminal 6 capable of communicating via the server 5 are configured to function as the rice cooking history screen G2 as a rice cooking history display means that selectively displays the rice cooking setting selection displays B35-1, B35-2, etc. used in past rice cooking with the rice cooker 1, the favorites screen G3 as a favorites display means that selectively displays the rice cooking setting selection displays B35-11, B35-12, etc. that are individually registered as favorites, the rice cooking setting transmission screen G6 as a rice cooking instruction means that instructs the rice cooking setting of the rice cooker 1 by selecting the rice cooking setting selection display on the rice cooking history screen G2 or the favorites screen G3, the button display B63 of "Send rice cooking course" on the rice cooking setting transmission screen G6 as a rice cooking instruction means that instructs the rice cooking setting of the rice cooker 1 by selecting the rice cooking setting selection display on the rice cooking history screen G2 or the favorites screen G3, and the rice cooking setting screen display area A3 as a display change means that changes the rice cooking history screen G2 and the favorites screen G3 by accepting a single operation of touching the tab display B33 of "Rice cooking history" or the tab display B34 of "Favorites".

By configuring it in this way, it is possible to more easily select the rice cooking setting selection display as information on the rice cooking settings to be sent to the rice cooker 1 using both the rice cooking history screen G2 and the favorites screen G3.

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

1 Rice cooker 6 Information terminal 6-1 Smartphone (multiple information terminals)
6-2 Smartphones (multiple information terminals)
6-3 Tablet terminal (multiple information terminals)
100 Rice cooking system B35-1, B35-2 Rice cooking setting selection display (rice cooking setting history)
B35-11, B35-12 Rice cooking setting selection indicator (individually registered rice cooking settings)
D35-11, D35-12 Name display (name)
G2 Cooking history screen G3 Favorites screen

Claims (7)

A rice cooker and an information terminal capable of communicating with the rice cooker,
The information terminal includes:
A rice cooking history display means for selectively displaying a history of rice cooking settings that are the rice cooking settings used in past rice cooking operations;
A favorite display means for displaying the individually registered rice cooking settings in a selectable manner,
The rice cooking setting of the rice cooker can be set by the rice cooking history display means or the favorite display means,
The rice cooking system is characterized in that the information terminal is capable of changing between the rice cooking history display means and the favorites display means with a single operation. The history displayed on the favorites display means is registered with the name of the rice cooking setting together with the rice cooking setting,
The rice cooking system according to claim 1, characterized in that the name can be changed even after the registration. The rice cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the rice cooker records the history when cooking is completed. The rice cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the individually registered rice cooking settings can register the history of the rice cooking history display means. The rice cooker is capable of communicating with a plurality of the information terminals,
The rice cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, in the multiple information terminals, the rice cooking history display means displays the same history in all of the information terminals, and the favorite display means displays the rice cooking settings individually registered in each of the information terminals. The rice cooker has a favorite setting selection screen that displays the individually registered rice cooking settings in a selectable manner,
The rice cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the favorite setting selection screen can be accessed from each of the rice cooking setting screens of the rice cookers. A computer that is an information terminal that can communicate with the rice cooker.
A rice cooking history display means for selectively displaying a history of rice cooking settings, which are the rice cooking settings used in past rice cooking operations;
A favorite display means for displaying the individually registered rice cooking settings in a selectable manner;
a rice cooking instruction means for instructing the rice cooker to select the rice cooking setting when the rice cooking setting is selected by the rice cooking history display means or the favorite display means;
a display change means for changing the rice cooking history display means and the favorites display means by accepting a single operation;
A program characterized by causing the program to function as a

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