JPH03191919A - Automatic rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable rice to be cooked with an optimum water quantity by judging the net cooking rice quantity based on the weight of the rice in a pot detected through a weight detecting means fitted onto the bottom of the pot, after the rice is shifted to the pot through a control means, and by feeding rice cooking water according to the cooking rice quantity to the pot. CONSTITUTION:By a control means 3, rice corresponding in quantity to an input is discharged from a rice container section 2. After the rice is contained in a rice washing section 4 and rice bran content is removed therefrom, the rice is shifted to a pot 5. After that, by a weight detecting means 8, the weight of the pot 5 and the weight of the rice after washed in the pot 5 are measured, and then a net cooking rice quantity is established. After that, by the control means 6, a feed water section 6 is controlled, and water is fed to the pot 5, and by the weight detecting means 8, the weight of the pot 5 and an object contained in the pot 5 is measured, and by the control means 3, it is judged whether water in an optimum water quantity for rice cooking is fed to the pot 5, or not. When the water of optimum quantity is not yet fed to, then by the feed water section 6, water feed is repeated. As a result, with the optimum cooking rice water quantity for the cooking rice quantity, the rice is cooked, and the rice can be tastily boiled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic rice cooker that washes and cooks a predetermined amount of rice input by a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIG. 3 shows the basic configuration of an automatic rice cooker that has been proposed by the present inventors. Note that the solid line arrows in FIG. 3 indicate the flow of signals, and the double line arrows indicate the flow of rice. In FIG. 3, the user inputs the amount of cooked rice using the input section 31. The rice pot section 32 receives a signal from the control means 33 and discharges the input amount of cooked rice to the rice washing section 34.

The rice washing section 34 functions to remove the bran from the rice sent from the rice pot section 32 and transfer the rice into the pot 35. Here, the rice bran is scraped off by rubbing the rice against a polishing tool without using water. Further, the water supply section 36 receives a signal from the control means 33 and supplies cooking water into the pot 35 . 3 pots per unit time
The amount of water supplied to 5 is measured by a flow meter 37,
It is sent to the control means 33 as an electrical signal. Rice is cooked by energizing the heater 3B and heating the pot 35.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the user inputs the desired amount of cooked rice using the input section 31. When the amount of rice to be cooked is input and determined, the control means 33 determines the amount of water required for cooking rice according to the amount of rice to be cooked (step 41). The control means 33 discharges the input amount of cooked rice from the rice pot section 32.

Here, in order to discharge the input amount of cooked rice, the discharge port of the rice pot section 32 is opened for a time proportional to the amount of rice to be discharged (step 42). The rice enters the rice washing section 34,
After the bran is removed, it is transferred to the pot 35 (step 43). Subsequently, the control means 33 controls the water supply unit 36 to start supplying water to the pot 35 (step 44). Next, the control means 33 controls the water supply unit 33 until water corresponding to the target amount of rice cooking water determined by the input rice cooking amount is supplied to the pot 35.
Work 6. Whether or not the target amount of water has been supplied to the pot 35 is determined by measuring the flow rate with a flow meter 37 to determine the amount of water. If the target amount of water has not been supplied yet, the water supply section 36 repeats the water supply. If the target amount of water has already been supplied, the process moves to the next step 46 (step 45). Next, the water supply is ended (step 46). Subsequently, rice is cooked while adjusting the amount of power supplied to the heater 38 according to the amount of rice inputted in step 41 (step 47).

After finishing cooking, the rice is kept warm (step 48).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional automatic rice cooker proposed by the inventors, based on the amount of cooked rice input by the user, that amount of cooked rice is discharged from the rice pot part 32, and the rice is washed. After that, rice cooking water corresponding to the input amount of cooked rice is supplied to the pot 35 to cook rice. Further, when cooking rice, the amount of power of the heater 38 is adjusted according to the amount of rice input by the user. However, in this conventional example, due to variations in the amount of undischarged rice in the rice bin section 32 and variations in the rice washing rate (degree of washing rice without water),
The net amount of rice fed into the pot 35 is not exactly the same as the amount of cooked rice input by the user. Further, the amount of rice stored in the rice pot section 32 may be smaller than the input cooking amount, and in this case, the amount of rice supplied to the pot 35 is obviously different from the cooking amount input by the user. For this reason, if rice cooking water is supplied in accordance with the input amount of rice to be cooked, the amount of water may be too much or too little, resulting in the finished rice being too soft or too hard. Also, based on the input rice cooking amount, the heater 3
If you adjust the amount of electricity supplied in step 8, the heat for cooking rice may be too strong or too weak.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its first object is to detect the net amount of rice fed into the pot and cook the rice using the amount of rice cooking water that is optimal for the amount of rice to be cooked. Also,
The second purpose is to cook rice using the optimum amount of electricity for the amount of rice to be cooked.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, the present invention includes a control means that detects the weight of the rice in the pot using a weight detection means attached to the bottom of the pot after the rice is transferred to the pot. The first problem-solving means is to determine the net amount of rice to be cooked and to supply cooking water to the pot according to the amount of rice to be cooked. Moreover, in order to achieve the second objective, the control means is configured to control the rice after transferring it to the pot.
The second method for solving the problem is that the net amount of rice cooked is determined by detecting the weight of rice in the pot using a weight detection means, and the amount of electricity supplied to the heater during rice cooking is adjusted according to the amount of rice cooked. This is what I did.

Effects of the present invention By the first problem-solving means described above, the net amount of rice fed into the pot can be detected by the weight detection means, and rice can be cooked with the optimum amount of cooking water, making it possible to cook more delicious rice. . Furthermore, by detecting the net amount of rice using the second problem-solving means, the amount of electric power applied to the heater during rice cooking can be adjusted according to the amount of rice cooked, and more delicious rice can be cooked.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Note that the solid line arrows in FIG. 1 indicate the flow of signals, and the double line arrows indicate the flow of rice.

In FIG. 1, the user inputs the amount of cooked rice using the input section 1. The rice pot section 2 receives a signal from the control means 3 and discharges the input amount of cooked rice to the rice washing section 4. The rice washing section 4 functions to remove the bran from the rice sent from the rice pot section 2 and transfer the rice into the pot 5. Here, the rice bran is scraped off by rubbing the rice against a polishing tool without using water. Also,
The water supply section 6 receives a signal from the control means 3 and supplies cooking water into the pot 5. Rice is cooked by energizing the heater 7 and heating the pot 5. Weight detection means 8 is provided at the bottom of pot 5, detects the weight of pot 5 and the contents within pot 5, and sends a detection signal to control means 3. Here, the weight detection means 8 is a device that detects weight by providing a pair of electrodes like a general scale, changing the distance between the electrodes depending on the weight, and converting the capacitance between the electrodes into an electrical signal. Alternatively, a device that converts weight into an electrical signal using a strain gauge is used. The display section 9 receives a signal from the control means 3, displays that the rice bin section 2 is out of rice, and allows the user to check when the rice is out.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG. First, input the amount of rice desired by the user into input section 1.
(Step 11).

The control means 3 discharges the input amount of cooked rice from the rice bin section 2 (step 12). The rice enters the rice washing section 4, and after the rice bran is removed, it is transferred to the pot 5 (step 13).
). Subsequently, the weight detection means 8 detects the weight of the pot 5 and the weight of the pot 5.
The weight of the rice after washing is measured, and the net amount of rice cooked is determined by this. The optimum amount of water for cooking rice can be determined from this amount of rice. Here, rice:water weight ratio = 1:1
．． 45 (step 14). Next, it is determined whether the determined rice cooking amount is one rank or more smaller than the input rice cooking amount. Here, one rank is the minimum unit of the amount of cooked rice that the user can input, and here it is 0.5 cup. (Step 15). If there is a difference of one rank or more, it is determined that the rice bin section 2 is out of rice, and the display section 9 indicates that there is no rice (step 16). Subsequently, the control means 3 controls the water supply unit 6 to supply water to the pot 5 (step 17). The weight detection means 8 detects the pot 5 and the pot 5.
The weight of the contents in the pot 5 is measured, and the control means 3 determines whether or not the optimum amount of water for cooking rice has been supplied to the pot 5. If the optimum amount of water is not yet supplied, the water supply unit 6 repeats the water supply. If the optimum amount of water has already been supplied, the process moves to the next step 19 (step 18).

Next, the water supply is ended (step 19).

Next, rice is cooked while adjusting the amount of electric power supplied to the heater 7 according to the amount of cooked rice determined in step 14. That is, when the amount of rice to be cooked is small, the amount of electric power is decreased, and when the amount of rice to be cooked is large, the amount of electric power is increased (step 20). After finishing cooking, keep the rice warm (Step 2)
1).

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the net amount of rice supplied to the pot 5 can be detected, and more delicious rice can be cooked with the optimum amount of water for cooking and the amount of power applied to the heater. In addition, since the weight detection means 8 measures the water supplied into the pot 5,
The net amount of water in the pot 5 can be measured more accurately without installing other water amount detection means such as a flow meter, and the optimum amount of rice cooking water can be supplied. Furthermore, rice bin section 2
The weight detection means 8 can also detect that there is no rice left inside, and can also notify the user.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above embodiments, according to the present invention, the net amount of rice fed into the pot can be detected by the weight detection means, rice can be cooked using the amount of rice cooking water that is optimal for the amount of rice to be cooked, and , it is possible to provide a high-performance automatic rice cooker that can cook rice with the amount of heater current that is optimal for the amount of rice to be cooked, and can cook more delicious rice.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an automatic rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an automatic rice cooker, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an automatic rice cooker conventionally proposed by the inventors, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the same automatic rice cooker. 1... Input section, 2... Rice bin section, 3.
... Control means, 4 ... Rice washing section, 5 ...
... Pot, 6 ... Water supply section, 7 ... Heater, 8 ... Weight detection means.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A pot, a weight detection means for measuring the amount of rice and water in the pot, a heater for heating the pot, an input section for the user to input the amount of rice to be cooked, and a predetermined amount of rice for storing the rice. a rice washing section that removes bran from the rice discharged from the rice bin, washes the rice, and transfers the washed rice to the pot; and a water supply section that supplies water into the pot. , control means for receiving a weight signal from the weight detection means to control the electric power of the heater and the water supply section, and for discharging rice in the amount of cooked rice inputted by the input section from the rice pot section; The means is such that after rice is transferred to a pot, the amount of rice to be cooked is determined by detecting the weight of the rice in the pot by the weight detection means, and cooking water corresponding to the amount of rice to be cooked is supplied to the pot, and then the rice is cooked. An automatic rice cooker. (2) After the rice is transferred to the pot, the control means determines the amount of rice to be cooked by detecting the weight of the rice in the pot using the weight detection means, and adjusts the amount of electricity supplied to the heater during rice cooking in accordance with the amount of cooked rice. The automatic rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the rice cooker is configured to: