CN113017396A - Rice cooker and rice washer - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a rice cooker and a rice washer. The rice washing drainage unit comprises: a stirring blade rotating inside the container to stir the rice and the water; a drain pipe, at least a part of which is integrated with the stirring blade, the drain pipe being provided with a drain port in the container to drain water in the container; and a drain strainer provided so as to cover the drain port of the drain pipe, the drain strainer having strainer openings as a plurality of through-holes and a plurality of strainer projections formed across the strainer openings. According to the technique of the present invention, water can be efficiently supplied and drained to rice in the container, and a desired rice washing operation can be performed.

Description

Rice cooker and rice washer

Technical Field

The invention relates to a rice cooker with a rice washing function and a rice washing machine.

Background

Japanese patent laying-open No. 63-288112 (hereinafter, referred to as patent document 1) discloses an automatic rice cooker that automatically performs water supply and drainage, rice washing, and rice cooking by putting measured rice into a rice cooker and operating a control panel. The automatic rice cooker of patent document 1 has a rotary shaft projecting downward from a lid of a rice cooker main body that houses a rice cooker, and a stirring member is provided at a tip of the rotary shaft. The stirring member in the rice cooker of patent document 1 is in a curved bar shape and is disposed inside the rice cooker when the lid of the rice cooker main body is closed. A pipe communicating with the water supply and discharge device is provided at the bottom of the rice cooker, and water is supplied to and discharged from the rice cooker through the pipe. The rice cooker repeatedly performs the following rice washing actions: a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the rice cooker, the stirring member is rotated for a predetermined time to wash rice, and then water is drained. After the rice washing operation, water required for cooking is supplied to perform a rice cooking operation. The stirring member in patent document 1 is disposed in the rice cooker during the rice cooking operation, and is detached and cleaned after the rice cooking operation is completed.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a rice cooker and a rice washer capable of efficiently performing a rice washing operation of supplying water into a container, stirring rice in the container, and draining water after stirring, repeatedly.

A rice cooker according to one embodiment of the present invention includes:

a container containing rice and water;

a rice washing drainage unit which rotates inside the container and drains water inside the container;

the rice washing drainage unit comprises:

a stirring blade rotating inside the container to stir the rice and the water;

a drain pipe, at least a part of which is integrated with the stirring blade, having a drain port disposed in the container, and discharging water in the container; and

a drain filter provided so as to cover a drain port of the drain pipe,

the drain strainer has a strainer opening that is a plurality of through-holes, and a plurality of strainer projections formed across the strainer opening.

In addition, the rice washer of one embodiment of the present invention includes:

a container containing rice and water;

a rice washing drainage unit rotating inside the container to drain water inside the container,

the rice washing drainage unit comprises:

a stirring blade rotating inside the container to stir the rice and the water;

a drain pipe, at least a part of which is integrated with the stirring blade, the drain pipe being provided with a drain port in the container to drain water in the container; and

a drain filter provided so as to cover a drain port of the drain pipe,

the drain strainer has a strainer opening that is a plurality of through-holes, and a plurality of strainer projections formed across the strainer opening.

According to the present invention, water can be efficiently supplied and discharged to rice in a container, and a desired rice washing operation can be performed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a schematic configuration of a rice cooker (initial state) according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a schematic configuration of a rice cooker (a state when rice is washed) according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a rice washing and draining unit according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the container and the rice washing drainage unit of embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a drain strainer according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a rice washing drainage unit according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of a drain pipe of the rice washing drain unit of embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of an agitating blade of the rice washing and draining unit according to embodiment 1.

FIG. 9 is a view schematically showing a state in which rice grains are intercepted by the drainage filter during rice washing.

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a rice washing drain unit of the rice cooker of embodiment 2.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing a drain filter according to a modification of the other embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing a drain filter according to another modification of the other embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing a drain filter according to still another modification of the other embodiment.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing a drain filter according to still another modification of the other embodiment.

Detailed Description

(findings which form the basis of the present disclosure, etc.)

At the time of the present invention proposed by the inventor, an automatic rice cooker for supplying and discharging water, washing rice and cooking rice is configured such that a pipe is provided at the bottom of a container for storing rice and water, and the water is supplied and discharged when rice is washed by the pipe. In such a configuration, since water is drained through the pipe provided at the bottom of the container during rice washing, it is necessary to pass powder such as rice bran generated during rice washing through the pipe at the bottom of the container during stirring of rice, and to leave rice grains to be washed in the container.

As described above, in order to pass the fine powder and leave the large rice grains in the container, a filter or the like having a desired mesh is generally used. However, in a general filter, powder such as rice bran, starch, and small crushed rice generated during rice washing easily blocks the mesh, and it is difficult to efficiently wash desired rice in a rice washing operation in which water supply and drainage are repeated a plurality of times. In addition, since such a filter is immediately clogged, it is necessary to keep track of the cleaning of the filter. The inventors have found these problems and have formed the subject of the present invention in order to solve them.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a rice cooker and a rice washer provided with a drainage filter, in which rice washing operations of supplying water into a container, stirring the rice in the container, and draining water after stirring are efficiently performed, the drainage filter allows fine powder such as rice bran, starch, and small broken rice generated during rice washing to pass therethrough, so that rice grains necessary for cooking remain in the container after rice washing, and the occurrence of clogging can be greatly suppressed.

First, various aspects of the rice cooker and the rice washer of the present invention will be described.

A rice cooker according to a first aspect of the present invention includes:

a container containing rice and water;

a rice washing drainage unit rotating inside the container to drain water inside the container,

the rice washing drainage unit comprises:

a stirring blade rotating inside the container to stir the rice and the water;

a drain pipe, at least a part of which is integrated with the stirring blade, having a drain port disposed in the container, and discharging water in the container;

a drain filter provided so as to cover a drain port of the drain pipe,

the drain strainer has a strainer opening that is a plurality of through-holes, and a plurality of strainer projections formed across the strainer opening.

In the rice cooker according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the strainer protrusion may be formed with a curved surface having a predetermined height from the strainer opening.

In the rice cooking device according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the filter openings may have a long shape and be arranged in parallel, and the filter protrusions may be provided to extend in parallel to a longitudinal direction of the filter openings and be formed adjacent to both sides of the filter openings.

In the rice cooker according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the filter projections may have a long shape and be arranged in parallel, and the plurality of filter openings may be arranged in a row in a longitudinal direction along the longitudinal direction of the filter projections.

In the rice cooker according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the filter projections may be formed adjacent to both sides of the filter opening, and the plurality of filter projections and the plurality of filter openings may be arranged in a vertical row, respectively.

In the rice cooker according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the drain filter may be attached to the drain pipe via the stirring blade.

A rice cooking device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention may be configured such that, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the drain pipe includes an inner pipe for discharging water inside the container and an outer pipe integrally formed with the stirring blade,

the drain filter is attached to the inner pipe, whereby the outer pipe following the agitating blade is held rotatably.

In the rice cooker according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the interval between the adjacent filter projections may be shorter than the minor axis of rice.

A rice cooking device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention may be the rice cooking device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the rice is caught by the plurality of filter protrusions.

A rice washing machine according to a tenth aspect of the present invention includes:

a container containing rice and water;

a rice washing drainage unit rotating inside the container to drain water inside the container,

the rice washing drainage unit comprises:

a stirring blade rotating inside the container to stir the rice and the water;

a drain pipe, at least a part of which is integrated with the stirring blade, having a drain port disposed in the container, and discharging water in the container; and

a drain filter provided so as to cover a drain port of the drain pipe,

the drain strainer has a strainer opening that is a plurality of through-holes, and a plurality of strainer projections formed across the strainer opening.

In the rice washing machine according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the filter projection in the tenth aspect may have a predetermined height from the filter opening and be formed of a curved surface.

In a rice washing machine according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the filter openings in the tenth or eleventh aspect may have a long shape and be arranged in parallel, and the filter protrusions may be provided to extend in parallel to a longitudinal direction of the filter openings and be formed adjacent to both sides of the filter openings.

In the rice washing machine according to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the filter protrusions in the tenth or eleventh aspect may have a long shape and be arranged in parallel, and the plurality of filter openings may be arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction of the filter protrusions.

In a rice washing machine according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the filter projections in the tenth or eleventh aspect may be formed adjacent to both sides of the filter opening, and the plurality of filter projections and the plurality of filter openings may be arranged in a vertical row, respectively.

In the rice washing machine according to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the tenth to fourteenth aspects, the drain filter may be attached to the drain pipe via the stirring blade.

A rice washing machine according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention may be configured such that, in any one of the tenth to fourteenth aspects, the drain pipe includes an inner pipe for discharging water in the container and an outer pipe integrally formed with the stirring blade,

the drain filter is attached to the inner pipe, whereby the outer pipe following the agitating blade is held rotatably.

The embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, unnecessary detailed description may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of already known matters and repetitive descriptions of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid over-verbose explanation below, which will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

The drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter recited in the claims.

Hereinafter, a rice cooker in which a heating source is induction heating will be described as a specific embodiment of the rice cooker of the present invention with reference to the drawings. The rice cooker of the present invention is not limited to the structure of the rice cooker described in the following embodiments, and may be a structure of a rice cooker based on a technology equivalent to the technical idea having the technical features described in the following embodiments.

Note that the numerical values, shapes, structures, steps (processes, modes), and the order of the steps and the like shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the contents of the present disclosure. Among the components of the following embodiments, components that are not recited in the independent claims representing the uppermost concept will be described as arbitrary components. For ease of understanding, the drawings mainly schematically show the respective constituent elements.

(embodiment mode 1)

Next, a rice cooker according to embodiment 1 will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 9 of the drawings. The rice cooker in embodiment 1 has a structure including a rice cooking mechanism and a rice washing mechanism with a rice box, and is a fully automatic rice cooker that automatically performs water supply, rice metering, rice supply, rice washing, and rice cooking in this order.

[1-1. Overall Structure ]

Fig. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional views schematically showing a schematic structure of a rice cooker according to embodiment 1. The rice cooker shown in fig. 1 shows an initial state where water supply and rice supply are not performed. Fig. 2 schematically shows a state when water supply and rice supply for washing rice are performed.

In fig. 1 and 2, a rice cooking device according to embodiment 1 includes: a rice cooker main body 1 capable of accommodating the inner container 3; and a lid portion 2 openably and closably provided at an upper portion of the rice cooker main body 1. In the rice cooker shown in fig. 1 and 2, the left side is a front side where the lid portion 2 of the rice cooker is opened, and the right side is a back side of the rice cooker. In embodiment 1, a rice cooker body 1 and a lid 2 constitute a casing, and an inner container 3 as a container is housed inside the casing.

The rice cooker body 1 is provided with a housing part 5, and the housing part 5 has an outer pot 4 housing the inner container 3. The outer pot 4 has a substantially cylindrical shape with an open top surface and a bottom. A heating source 6 for heating the inner container 3 is disposed in the housing 5. As the heat source 6, for example, in the case of the induction heating method, an induction heating coil is disposed outside the outer pot 4 (outside the side surface and/or outside the bottom surface) accommodating the inner pot 3.

A pot bottom temperature sensor 7 is disposed on the bottom surface of the outer pot 4, and the pot bottom temperature sensor 7 is in contact with the bottom of the inner pot 3 housed in the outer pot 4. The pan bottom temperature sensor 7 is biased vertically upward by a spring or the like as an elastic member, for example. When the inner container 3 is accommodated in the outer pot 4, the bottom of the inner container 3 presses the pot bottom temperature sensor 7, and the state that the inner container 3 is accommodated in the outer pot 4 is detected.

A lid 2 is openably and closably attached to an upper portion of the rice cooker main body 1. The lid portion 2 is rotatably supported by a lid hinge 8, and the lid hinge 8 is biased in the opening direction by an elastic member, for example, a spring, provided on the back surface side of the rice cooker body 1. A hook button 9 (lid opening switch) is disposed on the front side of the rice cooker body 1, the hook button 9 is pivotally supported, and the hook button 9 is engaged with a part of the lid 2 to maintain the lid 2 in a closed state.

An operation display portion 10 is provided on the front side of the lid portion 2, and the operation display portion 10 displays operations for a user to start a cooking operation and various settings of the cooking operation for the rice cooker, and various information in the rice cooker. The operation display unit 10 is an input interface, and various embodiments are conceivable as the input interface. For example, the input interface may be constituted by a mechanical operation member. In addition, the input interface may be configured by a transparent plate-like operation member provided above the display. The transparent plate-like operating member may be a contact-type member or a noncontact-type member.

An inner lid 11 for closing the inner container 3 when the lid 2 is closed is detachably attached to the lower surface of the lid 2. The inner container 3 and the inner lid 11 are sealed by an inner lid sealing member 12. Since the inner lid 11 is attached to the lower surface of the lid portion 2 in this way, when the lid portion 2 closes the rice cooker main body 1, the hook button 9 engages with the lid portion 2, and the inner liner 3 inside the housing portion 5 is closed by the inner lid 11 of the lid portion 2.

In the lid portion 2, an inner lid steam port 13 as a through hole is formed in the inner lid 11 in order to discharge steam generated in the inner container 3 during cooking and keeping warm. The inner lid steam port 13 communicates with a steam path 14 serving as a steam passage inside the lid portion 2 and a steam port 15 for discharging steam to the outside of the rice cooker. The steam port seal 16 seals between the inner lid steam port 13 of the inner lid 11 and the steam path 14 of the lid section 2.

A rice bin 17 having a bottomed cylindrical shape is disposed on the lid portion 2. The rice box 17 can hold a predetermined amount of rice 18. A rice bin cover 19 is provided on the upper part of the rice bin 17. The rice bin cover 19 is configured to be able to open and close an opening in the upper portion of the rice bin 17. When the rice 18 is replenished to the rice bin 17, the rice bin cover 19 is opened to open the upper surface of the rice bin 17.

A rice supply path 22 is connected to a lower portion of the rice bin 17 via a rice metering unit 20 and a rice conveying unit 21. The inner lid 11 is formed with an inner lid supply opening 23 as a through hole. The gap between the inner lid rice-supplying opening 23 and the rice-supplying path 22 is sealed by a rice-supplying opening sealing member 24. By driving the rice conveying unit 21, a predetermined amount of rice 18 measured by the rice measuring unit 20 is supplied to the inside of the inner container 3.

In the present embodiment, the structure in which the lid portion 2 is rotated and the upper portion of the storage portion 5 is opened is described, but since there are many components of the lid portion 2 and the lid portion 2 is made of a heavy material, there is a possibility that a fall or the like may occur at the time of opening after the lid portion 2 is rotated in the opening direction. Therefore, in order to safely and reliably place the lid portion 2 in the open state, a structure in which the weight balance between the rice cooker main body 1 and the lid portion 2 is taken into consideration, a mechanism for opening only the upper portion of the storage portion 5 by rotating the lid portion 2, or the like may be provided.

In the present embodiment, the entire lid portion 2 provided at the upper portion of the rice cooker body 1 is configured to be rotated by the lid hinge 8 to open the upper portion of the receiving portion 5, but the present disclosure may be configured such that only a part of the lid portion 2 is rotated to open only the upper portion of the receiving portion 5. For example, the storage unit 5 may be horizontally pulled out to the near side (front side) from the rice cooker body 1, or only a part (near side) of the lid portion 2 may be lifted up to reliably open the upper surface opening of the outer pot 4 of the storage unit 5 when the storage unit 5 is pulled out from the rice cooker body 1. When a part (near side portion) of the lid portion 2 is lifted, a heavy object such as the rice bin 17 on the back side of the heavy object of the lid portion 2 can be maintained at the original position.

[1-2. Water supply and drainage Structure in Rice washing ]

The rice cooker of the present embodiment has a rice cooking mechanism and a rice box 17, and is configured to automatically perform each operation of "rice supply" from the rice box 17 to the inner container 3, "rice washing" with water supply and drainage of the inner container 3, and "rice cooking" based on a heating program set after water amount adjustment in this order. Next, a water supply and drainage structure of the rice cooker of the present embodiment when washing rice will be described.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, a through hole is formed in a substantially central portion of the inner lid 11, and a drain pipe 25 is provided to penetrate through the through hole. A drain filter 26A is disposed at the lower end of the drain pipe 25. The drain filter 26A provided so as to cover the drain port, which is the lower end opening of the drain pipe 25, is configured to pass fine powder, such as rice bran, starch, and small broken rice, or dirt, which is not larger than the size of rice grains, during washing of rice, and to discharge the powder and dirt into the drain pipe 25.

The drain pipe 25 is connected to a drain path 28 via a drain path connector 27. A drain pump 29 for draining water is provided in the drain path 28. The water after washing rice passing through the drain path 28 is discharged to the outside of the rice cooker through the drain port 30 by driving the drain pump 29. The drain port 30 may be connected to an external drain path (not shown) to drain water after washing rice to an external kitchen washing table or the like.

As described above, the drain filter 26A is provided at the lower end of the drain pipe 25 penetrating the inner lid 11. A rod-shaped stirring blade 31 extending in the horizontal direction is provided below the drain pipe 25. The stirring blade 31 is extended from the lower portion of the drain pipe 25 to both sides. The length of the stirring blade 31 in the longitudinal direction (horizontal direction) is set so that both ends (extending end portions) of the stirring blade 31 are positioned close to the inner surface of the liner 3. Therefore, the drain filter 26A is provided so as to protrude downward at a substantially central portion of the stirring blade 31. The lower surface of the drain filter 26A is substantially flat and is disposed parallel to the horizontal plane. The lower surface of the drain filter 26A serves as a water level line during draining during rice washing.

The drain filter 26 may be fitted into a recess of the stirring blade 31 so that the bottom surface of the stirring blade 31 is flat. With this configuration, as will be described later, a more preferable configuration is obtained when the stirring blade 31 is rotated at a low speed to flatten the surface of the washed rice.

An oil seal 35 is provided on the lower surface of the lid portion 2 so as to cover the storage portion 5 of the rice cooker main body 1 at a portion contacting the outer surface of the water discharge pipe 25, thereby preventing rice cooking steam from leaking into the lid portion 2. Also, an oil seal 35 is provided inside the cover portion 2 at the connection portion of the drain pipe 25 and the drain path connector 27, preventing drain leakage of the drain path connector 27.

In the rice cooker of the present embodiment, the drain pipe 25 and the stirring blade 31 are integrally formed. Here, the drain pipe 25 and the stirring blade 31 are integrally configured to mean that the drain pipe 25 and the stirring blade 31 are integrally and simultaneously operated, and are not particularly configured by one member. That is, the drain pipe 25 and the stirring blade 31 may be configured by different members and fixed to each other. The drain pipe 25 and the stirring blade 31 are configured to be vertically movable inside the inner tub 3 accommodated in the accommodating portion 5 of the rice cooker body 1, and are configured to rotate about the drain pipe 25 as a rotation axis.

In the present embodiment, the drain pipe 25, the drain filter 26A, and the stirring blade 31 are referred to as a rice washing and draining unit 34.

In the rice cooker of the present embodiment, the stirring blade rotation driving part 32 for rotating the rice washing drain unit 34 and the stirring blade up-down driving part 33 for moving the rice washing drain unit 34 up and down are provided inside the lid part 2. The stirring blade vertical driving unit 33 is configured to vertically move the stirring blade 31 in the inner container 3 while maintaining the parallel state with the rotation surface. The stirring blade rotation driving unit 32 and the stirring blade vertical driving unit 33 are configured to be individually driven and controlled or simultaneously driven and controlled in accordance with the order.

The stirring blade rotation driving unit 32 and the stirring blade vertical driving unit 33 are constituted by a plurality of gears, and a motor is used as a gear driving source. The rice washing drainage unit 34 rotates and/or moves up and down by the rotation driving of the motor as the gear driving source, and the rotation driving gear and/or the up and down driving gear rotates.

In order to move the rice washing and draining unit 34 in the vertical direction (vertical direction) inside the lid portion 2, a vertical driving rail 36 and a vertical driving gear 37 extending in the vertical direction are fixed to the lid portion 2. The stirring blade rotation driving unit 32 and the stirring blade vertical driving unit 33 are integrally configured, and the stirring blade vertical driving unit 33 is configured to be engaged with the vertical driving gear 37 and to move up and down. The stirring blade rotation driving unit 32 is guided by the vertical driving rail 36, and the stirring blade vertical driving unit 33 can vertically move the stirring blade 31 extending in the longitudinal direction in parallel in the inner container 3.

The inner lid 11 is provided with an inner lid water supply port 38 as a through hole for supplying water to the inner bag 3. The inner lid water supply port 38 is connected to a water supply path 39 disposed inside the lid portion 2. The inner lid water supply port 38 and the water supply path 39 are sealed by a water supply port sealing member 40. The water supply path 39 is connected to a water supply port 42 protruding to the outside of the rice cooker body 1 through a water supply valve 41.

The water supply port 42 is connected to a water supply pipeline (not shown) via an external water supply path (not shown), and a desired amount of water can be supplied to the inner tank 3 by controlling the driving of the water supply valve 41. That is, the water supply valve 41 is driven to open the path to supply water into the inner container 3, and the water supply valve 41 is driven to close the path to stop the supply of water into the inner container 3.

In the present embodiment, the drain path 28 connected to the drain pipe 25, the water supply path 39 connected to the inner lid water supply port 38, and the rice supply path 22 connected to the inner lid rice supply port 23 are formed of a material and/or a structure that can respond to the vertical movement of the drain pipe 25 and the opening and closing movement of the lid portion 2, and are flexible or stretchable, for example.

The driving portion in the rice cooker of the present embodiment performs control by a program and a sequence stored in the control portion 43 provided in the rice cooker main body 1. The control unit 43 of the present embodiment may be any unit as long as it can control the rice cooker of the present disclosure. The control unit 43 can be implemented in various ways. For example, a processor may be used as the control unit. If a processor is used as the control unit, various processes can be executed by causing the processor to read a program from a storage medium storing the program and causing the processor to execute the program. Therefore, the processing content can be changed by changing the program stored in the storage medium, and thus the degree of freedom in controlling the change of the content can be increased.

[1-3. Structure of Rice washing Drain Unit ]

Next, the structure of the stirring blade 31 in the rice washing and draining unit 34 will be explained. Fig. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the rice washing and draining unit 34 which rotates and moves up and down inside the inner tub 3. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the rice washing and draining unit 34 disposed inside the inner tub 3.

As shown in fig. 3, the stirring blade 31 is a rotary body having a rotation axis a with a center axis of the drain pipe 25 extending in the vertical direction as a rotation center. Therefore, the stirring blade 31 is configured to rotate on a rotation plane B as a horizontal plane. That is, the stirring blade 31 rotates at a lower position in the inner liner 3 with the center of the stirring blade 31 extending in the horizontal direction as the rotation center, while maintaining the horizontal direction (see fig. 4).

As described above, the stirring blade 31 has a structure in which the rotation axis a extending in the vertical direction at the center of the inside of the inner container 3 as a container is the rotation center. The stirring blade 31 has a rod shape extending horizontally from the rotation axis a, and the front surface of the stirring blade 31 in the rotation direction C is formed by an upward inclined surface D. The proximal end 31a of the stirring blade 31 on the rotation axis a side and the extended end 31b of the inner container 3 on the side surface side have the same shape in cross section parallel to the rotation direction, and the proximal end 31a and the extended end 31b of the stirring blade 31 are formed to have substantially the same thickness (see fig. 4). The stirring blade 31 configured as described above is disposed at a position below the inner tub 3 during rice washing, and the rice washing operation is performed by rotating the stirring blade 31 by the rotating operation of the drain pipe 25.

The stirring blade 31 may have a shape that is thicker toward the extended end 31 b. This is because the more the rice 18 inside the inner tub 3 in washing the rice is, the more the rice amount is outside the tub, and therefore, by making the stirring blade 31 thicker outside the tub, the more the movement of the rice 18 can be made, and the degree of washing the rice (degree of removal of dirt) can be further improved. Conversely, the agitating blade 31 may be configured to be thinner toward the extended end portion 31 b. Thus, by making the stirring blade 31 thinner toward the outer side of the tub, the torque for driving the stirring blade 31 during rice washing can be reduced.

As shown in fig. 4, a drain filter 26A is provided on the lower surface of the central portion of the stirring blade 31 at the lower end of the drain pipe 25, and powder and dirt such as rice bran, starch, and small broken rice contained in the drain water during rice washing are passed through the drain filter 26A, and rice grains necessary for cooking are held in the inner tub 3 while being intercepted.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the lower surface (surface corresponding to the bottom of the pot of the inner pot 3) of the drain strainer 26A according to the present embodiment. The drain filter 26A shown in fig. 5 shows a portion exposed from the central portion of the lower surface of the stirring blade 31. As described later, in the present embodiment, the drain filter 26A is attached by fixing means such as screwing so as to cover the drain port that is an opening at the lower end portion of the drain pipe 25. The fixing means is configured to fix the drain filter 26A to the drain pipe 25 with the stirring blade 31 interposed therebetween. Therefore, forgetting to attach the drain filter 26A to the drain pipe 25 can be reliably prevented. The rotational direction of the screwing at this time is opposite to the rotational direction of the drain pipe 25, and the drain filter 26A is prevented from being attached and detached during rotation.

Further, as the fixing means, for example, a hook may be provided so as to protrude from the drain strainer 26A so that the drain strainer 26A engages with the inside of the drain pipe 25, and the hook may be engaged with a hole in the inside of the drain pipe 25. In this configuration, the end of the hook can be pressed inward from the outside of the drain pipe 25 and removed.

As shown in fig. 5, the drain strainer 26A of the present embodiment has a strainer opening 26b as a plurality of vertically long through-holes formed in parallel on a surface (a lower surface in the attached state of the drain strainer 26A shown in fig. 4) of a strainer base portion 26c having a flat surface as a main body thereof. These filter openings 26b become drain holes. The width of the filter opening 26b perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is set to a value smaller than the size (length, width, thickness) of rice grains to be cleaned, and for example, rice bran or rice flour (ground rice) that has a large influence on taste is discharged together with water so as not to discharge the rice 18, and is preferably set to 0.2mm to 2.0 mm. In order to discharge the rice bran and the crushed rice together with water without discharging the rice 18, it is preferable that the discharge diameter is 1.0mm to 2.0 mm.

On the surface of the filter base portion 26c, an elongated filter projection 26a is formed along the longitudinal edge of the filter opening 26 b. That is, the filter openings 26b are formed with the longitudinal filter protrusions 26a adjacent to each other on both sides. The interval between the filter projections 26a arranged in parallel and adjacent to each other is, for example, similarly to discharge rice bran or rice flour (ground rice) having a large influence on taste together with water so as not to discharge the rice 18, and is preferably 0.2mm to 2.0 mm. In order to discharge the rice bran and the crushed rice together with water without discharging the rice 18, it is preferable that the discharge diameter is 1.0mm to 2.0 mm. The interval between adjacent filter projections 26a is preferably shorter than the minor axis of the meter 18. Therefore, the rice 18 is intercepted by the filter 26A through the plurality of filter protrusions 26A. Therefore, rice bran and rice flour can be discharged without discharging rice 18.

The filter projection 26a has a predetermined height from the surface (filter opening 26b) of the filter base portion 26 c. The height of the filter projection 26a from the surface of the filter base portion 26c is similarly set to be, for example, 1.0mm to 2.0 mm. The height of the filter projection 26a is preferably 1.0mm or more to sufficiently secure a drainage passage from the side surface side filter, and is preferably 2.0mm or less to effectively drain water to the bottom of the pot. This is because the water of the pot bottom corresponding to the height of the filter protrusion 26a is not discharged. The filter opening 26b and the specific numerical values related to the filter opening 26b are exemplified, and the drain filter 26A may be replaced so as to be changeable according to the type of rice to be cooked.

The filter projection 26a is formed to have a length in the longitudinal direction longer than that of the adjacent filter opening 26b, and both end portions (26aa) in the longitudinal direction are formed by curved surfaces. In the drain strainer 26A of the present embodiment, a male screw 26e (see fig. 6) for screwing to the drain pipe 25, for example, may be formed as a fixing means on the rear surface (upper surface in the attached state of the drain strainer 26A shown in fig. 4) of the strainer base portion 26 c.

As described above, the filter openings 26b of the drain filter 26A in the present embodiment are arranged in parallel with each other in a longitudinal shape, and the filter protrusions 26A are provided to extend in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the filter openings 26b and are formed adjacent to both sides of the filter openings 26 b.

Fig. 6 schematically shows a vertical cross section of the rice washing and draining unit 34 of the present embodiment. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the drain pipe 25, showing a key 25a serving as a rotation stop portion when attached to the stirring blade 31. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the stirring blade 31, showing the key groove 31c for locking the key 25a of the drain pipe 25.

As shown in fig. 6, a key 25a is provided at the outer periphery of the lower end portion of the drain pipe 25 in a protruding manner, and a female screw 25b is formed at the inner periphery thereof. The drain filter 26A is attached to the rice washing and draining unit 34 by screwing the male screw 26e of the drain filter 26A to the female screw 25b of the drain pipe 25 via the stirring blade 31, and the stirring blade 31 is reliably fixed at a predetermined position. That is, since the drain filter 26A is attached to the drain pipe 25 via the stirring blade 31, the stirring blade 31 is reliably attached to the rice washing and draining unit 34 by attaching the drain filter 26A. Therefore, the drain filter 26A is prevented from starting the rice washing operation without being mounted on the rice washing drain unit 34.

With the above configuration, the rice washing operation is performed in a state where the drain filter 26A is attached to the rice washing and draining unit 34, and rice grains to be washed are intercepted by the drain filter 26A. As described above, the elongated strainer projection 26A is provided along the elongated strainer opening 26b on the drain strainer 26A. That is, the filter protrusions 26a having a height are formed adjacent to both sides of the filter opening 26 b. The width of the filter opening 26b and the distance between the filter projections 26a on both sides across the filter opening 26b are set to be smaller than the size of rice grains to be cleaned.

Fig. 9 schematically shows a state where rice grains 180 are caught by the drain filter 26A at the time of washing rice. As shown in fig. 9, when the water after washing rice is discharged through the drain pipe 25 at the time of washing rice, the rice grains 180 after washing are caught by the filter protrusions 26a arranged in parallel and adjacent to each other. At this time, fine powder or dirt such as rice bran, starch, and small crushed rice smaller than the size of the rice grains 180 passes through the filter projections 26a arranged in parallel, and flows out from the filter opening 26b to the drain pipe 25. As shown in fig. 9, even if the washed rice grains 180 are caught by the filter projections 26A arranged in parallel, the filter projections 26A have a height from the filter base 26c in the drain filter 26A, so that water can flow into the drain pipe 25 from between the longitudinal ends 26aa of the filter projections 26A arranged in parallel with the filter opening 26 b. That is, the surface of the filter projection 26A of the drain filter 26A facing the bottom of the inner container 3 is a front filter, and the surface facing the side surface of the inner container 3 is a side filter.

When the rice washing and draining unit 34 drains water, suction from the drain pipe 25 is mainly concentrated on the front side filter of the drain filter 26A. Therefore, the rice grains 180 are easily caught by the front side filter of the drain filter 26A, and the rice grains 180 are hardly caught by the side filter. In the present embodiment, the size of the end portions 26aa of the adjacent filter projections 26a constituting the side surface side filter is smaller than the size of the rice grains 180, and the respective end portions 26aa are formed in a curved surface, so that the rice grains 180 can be particularly suppressed from being caught by the side surface side filter.

[1-4. actions during Rice washing ]

In the rice cooker of the present embodiment, the rice washing operation is performed after the water supply, the rice metering, and the rice supply. The rice cooker rinses before the rice washing action. In the rice washing and draining unit 34, the stirring blade 31 is disposed at an upper position near the inner surface of the inner lid 11 in the initial stage (see fig. 1). The rice washing and draining unit 34 moves the drain pipe 25 to a lower position in a stage before rice is supplied, and arranges the stirring blade 31 at the lower portion of the drain pipe 25 at a lower position near the bottom surface of the inner tub 3 (see fig. 2).

Rinsing is performed by supplying a predetermined amount of water and rice to the inner tub 3 and immediately draining water from the inner tub 3. This is because the dirt attached to the surface of the rice 18 is attached to the water drained at this time, and prevents the rice 18 in the inner tub 3 from absorbing the sewage. In the rinsing operation, the water may be stirred by the stirring blade 31 in the inner tub 3 at the time of feeding the water into the inner tub 3 or immediately after feeding the water. That is, the stirring blade rotation driving unit 32 may be driven to stir the rice by the stirring blade 31 while supplying the rice, so that the dirt and the like attached to the rice 18 may be removed by the water flow. In this way, the degree of rice washing (degree of soil removal) is further improved by draining water immediately after removing the soil by slightly stirring the rice 18.

After the drainage for rinsing is completed, a predetermined amount of water for washing rice is supplied to the inner tub 3. When a predetermined amount of water for washing rice is supplied to the inner tub 3, the rice washing and draining unit 34 is driven to rotate the stirring blade 31. The rotation speed of the stirring blade 31 during the rice washing is, for example, in the range of 30 to 120rpm at a low speed. If the rotation speed is less than 30rpm, the dirt is not sufficiently removed, and if it is more than 120rpm, more broken rice is generated. In addition, the rotation speed may be changed according to the type of rice. The rice 18 is moved up and down by the low-speed rotation of the stirring blade 31, and the rice is rubbed against each other, thereby performing desired rice washing. After the rice washing operation, a drainage operation for discharging the sewage is performed. In this way, rice is washed by repeating the rice washing operation and the draining operation a predetermined number of times.

As described above, after the rice is washed a predetermined number of times by the rice washing and draining unit 34, the drain pipe 25 of the rice washing and draining unit 34 is moved upward and disposed at the initial position. At this time, the stirring blade 31 disposed in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the inner container 3 (lower position) is moved upward from the washed rice 18 and disposed in the vicinity of the inner lid 11 (upper position) as the initial position. Further, when the stirring blade 31 moves upward, the rice grains 180 attached to the stirring blade 31 and the like may be shaken off while rotating at a low speed (for example, 30 to 120 rpm). The stirring blade 31 may be rotated at a low speed (for example, 30 to 120rpm) to smooth the surface of the washed rice.

[1-5. Effect, etc. ]

The rice cooker of the present embodiment using the rice washing and draining unit 34 having the above-described configuration can efficiently perform the rice washing operation of supplying water to the inside of the inner tub 3 as a container, stirring the rice in the container, and draining the water after the stirring. By using the drain filter 26A in the present embodiment, fine powder such as rice bran, starch, and small broken rice generated during rice washing can be reliably passed through, and rice grains 180 necessary for cooking can be reliably left in the container after rice washing. Further, the drainage filter 26A in the present embodiment can greatly suppress the occurrence of clogging, and therefore, can reliably perform a desired rice washing process at the time of rice washing.

The stirring blade 31 in the rice cooker of the present embodiment has been described as having a structure of rotating in one direction, but the present disclosure is not limited to this structure. For example, the rotation direction C of the stirring blade 31 may be a structure that rotates in two directions, i.e., both clockwise and counterclockwise directions on the rotation surface B. In this case, the stirring blades 31 are formed on both sides so that the inclined surfaces D face upward with respect to both rotational directions C so as to be able to correspond to both directions of the rotational surface B.

In the rice cooker of the present embodiment configured as above, rice grains 180 existing at the same height as stirring vanes 31 move upward along inclined surface D by stirring vanes 31 rotating in rotation direction C inside inner tub 3 as a container. As a result, rice grains 180 present above the height of stirring vanes 31 move in conjunction with rice grains 180 moving along inclined surface D. Therefore, as the stirring blade 31 rotates, the entire rice in the container (inner container 3) moves vertically, and a part of the rice also moves in the rotation direction C. By moving the rice in this manner, the rice grains 180 and the rice grains 180, the rice grains 180 and the stirring blade 31, or the rice grains 180 and the inner surface of the container (inner tub 3) rub against each other. As a result, the rice bran component can be removed from the rice in the container, and the desired rice washing can be performed.

In addition, since the rice can be moved in conjunction with the whole rice even if the stirring blade 31 is slowly rotated at a low speed in the rice washing of the rice cooker of the present embodiment, the load applied to the rice 18 can be reduced, and as a result, the problem of the rice grains 180 breaking or the like can be solved. Further, since the rice grains 180 present at the same height as the stirring blade 31 move along the inclined surface D, the load applied to the rice grains 180 when the rice grains 180 contact the stirring blade 31 is small, and the torque for moving the stirring blade 31 in the rotation direction C can be reduced.

The stirring blade 31 of the present embodiment may be configured to be raised while rotating inside the container (inner tub 3) when the container is raised from a lower position, which is a rice washing position, and returned to an upper position, which is an initial position, inside the container after rice washing is completed. With this configuration, rice grains that may adhere to the stirring blade 31 can be shaken off when the stirring blade 31 is raised. Therefore, in the present embodiment, rice can be prevented from being cooked while rice grains are carried on the stirring vanes 31.

Further, when the stirring blade 31 is raised in the container after the rice washing is completed, the stirring blade stops moving upward at the surface position of the washed rice 18 and rotates at the position, so that the surface of the washed rice can be smoothly leveled. In this way, the rice to be cooked can be cooked more deliciously by leveling the surface of the rice washed by the lower surface of the stirring blade 31.

(embodiment mode 2)

Next, a rice cooker according to embodiment 2 will be explained. The rice cooker of embodiment 2 is a fully automatic rice cooker which automatically performs water supply, rice metering, rice supply, rice washing, and rice cooking in this order, as in the rice cooker of embodiment 1. The rice cooking device according to embodiment 2 is different from the rice cooking device according to embodiment 1 in the structure of the rice washing and draining unit.

[2-1. Structure of Rice washing Drain Unit ]

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a rice washing drain unit 340 in the rice cooker of embodiment 2. The rice washing drain unit 340 in the rice cooker of embodiment 2 includes the drain pipe 250 vertically penetrating the inner lid 11, the stirring blade 310 formed in a rod shape extending in the horizontal direction, and the drain filter 26A, as in the rice washing drain unit 34 in embodiment 1.

As shown in fig. 10, the drain pipe 250 of the rice washing drain unit 340 of the present embodiment has a double pipe structure, and includes an outer pipe 250a and an inner pipe 250 b. The drain pipe 250 and the stirring blade 310 have a structure that can be moved up and down inside the inner tank 3 housed in the housing portion 5 of the rice cooker body 1, similarly to the structure of embodiment 1 described above, and the stirring blade 310 has a structure that rotates about a central axis of the outer pipe 250a extending in the vertical direction as a rotation axis (see fig. 1 and 2). The outer pipe 250a is formed integrally with the stirring blade 310. Here, the outer pipe 250a and the stirring blade 310 being integrally formed means that the outer pipe 250a and the stirring blade 310 operate simultaneously as one body, and are not particularly limited to being formed of one member. That is, the outer pipe 250a and the stirring blade 310 are formed of different members and fixed to each other.

As shown in fig. 10, the drain filter 26A is attached by a fixing means such as screw fastening so as to cover the drain port of the lower end portion of the inner pipe 250 b. Further, by screwing the drain filter 26A to the lower end portion of the inner pipe 250b, the outer pipe 250a and the stirring blade 310 are rotatably held by the inner pipe 250b and the drain filter 26A.

In the present embodiment, the stirring blade 310 is configured to rotate about the outer pipe 250a of the rice washing and draining unit 340 as a rotation axis. Therefore, the outer tube 250a is rotationally driven by the stirring blade rotation driving unit 32 provided inside the lid unit 2, as in embodiment 1. The agitating blade vertical driving unit 33 provided inside the lid 2 is configured to vertically drive the inner tube 250b and the outer tube 250a to vertically move the rice washing drain unit 340. As in embodiment 1, the stirring blade vertical driving unit 33 is configured to vertically move the stirring blade 310 in the inner liner 3 while maintaining the parallel state with the rotation surface. The stirring blade rotation driving unit 32 and the stirring blade vertical driving unit 33 are driven and controlled in sequence or simultaneously.

In the rice washing drain unit 340 configured as described above, the drain pipe 250 is a double pipe structure composed of the outer pipe 250a and the inner pipe 250 b. A slight gap is formed between the outer tube 250a and the inner tube 250 b. In fig. 10, the gap between the outer tube 250a and the inner tube 250b is exaggeratedly depicted. In the present embodiment, the male screw 26e of the drain filter 26A is screwed into the female screw 250ba formed in the lower end portion of the inner pipe 250b, and is thereby attached to the integral structure of the outer pipe 250a and the stirring blade 310. As shown in fig. 10, the integral structure of the outer pipe 250a and the stirring blade 310 is held between the step 250bb formed in the upper portion of the inner pipe 250b and the rear surface (upper surface in fig. 10) of the drain strainer 26A. Therefore, even if the integral structure of the outer pipe 250a and the stirring blade 310 is rotationally driven, the inner pipe 250b and the drain filter 26A are not rotationally driven at the same time. That is, the inner pipe 250b and the drain strainer 26A are in a state of movably holding the integral structure of the outer pipe 250a and the stirring blade 310.

Since the rice washing and draining unit 340 is configured as described above, the integral structure of the outer pipe 250a and the stirring blade 310 can be removed by removing the drainage filter 26A from the inner pipe 250b, and the rice washing and draining unit 340 can be disassembled and cleaned after the rice cooking operation is finished.

The drain pipe 250 of the rice washing drain unit 340 of the present embodiment has a double pipe structure, and the integral structure of the outer pipe 250a and the agitating blade 310 slightly vibrates up and down and left and right with respect to the inner pipe 250b and the drain filter 26A during the rice washing operation. Therefore, although it is considered that the dirt enters between the outer tube 250a and the inner tube 250b and between the drain filter 26A and the stirring blade 310, the dirt can be expected to flow out by vibration and water flow at the time of rice washing. As described above, these stains can be dealt with by disassembling, washing, and discharging the rice unit 340 after the rice cooking operation is completed.

[2-2. Effect, etc. ]

The rice cooker of the present embodiment using the rice washing and draining unit 340 configured as described above can efficiently perform a rice washing operation of supplying water to the inside of the inner tub 3 as a container, stirring the rice in the container, and draining the water after stirring. The rice washing and draining unit 340 of the present embodiment is configured to rotate and drive the integral structure of the outer pipe 250a and the agitating blade 310, and has a structure in which the inner pipe 250b does not rotate. Therefore, the drain structure inside the cover 2 has no rotating portion, and the drain structure can be simplified. In the rice cooker of the present embodiment, the rice washing and draining unit 340 has a structure that can be easily disassembled and cleaned, and has a structure that is easy to handle.

(other embodiments)

As described above, embodiments 1 and 2 have been described as examples of the technique disclosed in the present application. However, the technique of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and can be applied to embodiments in which changes, substitutions, additions, omissions, and the like are made. Further, each of the components described in embodiments 1 and 2 can be combined to form a new embodiment.

Therefore, other embodiments are exemplified below.

In embodiments 1 and 2, as an example of the rice washing and draining unit provided inside the rice cooker, a structure in which the drain pipe has a single pipe structure and a double pipe structure has been described. As an example of another embodiment, a modified example of the drain filter fixed to the drain pipe will be described.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing a lower surface (a surface corresponding to the bottom of the pot of the inner pot 3) of a drain filter 26B as a modification of the other embodiment. The drain strainer 26B shown in fig. 11 shows a portion exposed from the center of the lower surface of the stirring vanes 31 and 310 (see fig. 6 and 10). The drain filter 26B is attached by fixing means such as screwing or hooking (engaging) so as to cover the opening of the lower end portion of the drain pipe 25 or 250, and the drain pipe 25 or 250 and the stirring blade 31 or 310 are fixed by the fixing means.

As shown in fig. 11, the drain strainer 26B is different from the drain strainer 26A in embodiment 1 in that a plurality of vertically long grooves, i.e., strainer openings 26B, are formed in a short length on the surface (lower surface in the attached state shown in fig. 4) of the strainer base portion 26 c. In the drain strainer 26B, a plurality of strainer openings 26B are formed in a row in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal strainer protrusions 26 a. As a result, the rigidity of the drain filter 26B is higher than that of the drain filter 26A. In the drainage filter 26B shown in fig. 11, the filter projections 26a have a long shape and are arranged in parallel, and the plurality of filter openings 26B are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction of the filter projections 26 a. In the drain filter 26B configured as described above, the opening shape of the filter opening 26B as the drain hole is not curved, and a predetermined shape can be reliably maintained.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing a lower surface (a surface corresponding to the bottom of the pot of the inner pot 3) of a drain filter 26C as another modification of the other embodiment. The drain strainer 26C shown in fig. 12 shows a portion exposed from the center of the lower surface of the stirring vanes 31 and 310 (see fig. 6 and 10). The drain filter 26C is attached by fixing means such as screw fastening or hook fastening (engagement fastening) so as to cover the opening of the lower end portion of the drain pipe 25 or 250, and the drain pipe 25 or 250 and the stirring blade 31 or 310 are fixed by the fixing means, as in the other embodiments. In the drain strainer 26C shown in fig. 12, the strainer projections 26a are formed adjacent to both sides of the strainer openings 26b, and the plurality of strainer projections 26a and the plurality of strainer openings 26b are arranged in a vertical row, respectively.

The drain strainer 26C shown in fig. 12 is similar to the drain strainer 26B shown in fig. 11 in that a plurality of longitudinally short strainer openings 26B are formed in a longitudinal row, and longitudinally short strainer projections 26a are formed on both sides of the strainer openings 26B. In the drain strainer 26C shown in fig. 12, the strainer projection 26a has the same longitudinally shorter length as the shorter strainer opening 26b, and is formed on both sides of the strainer opening 26 b. As a result, since a large number of vertically long filter projections 26a are formed on the surface of the filter base portion 26c, and the filter projections 26a have a predetermined height and sandwich the filter opening 26b, water during rice washing flows in between the curved end portions 26aa of the filter projections 26a adjacent to the filter opening 26b serving as a drain hole (see fig. 9). Therefore, clogging of the drainage filter 26C during rice washing can be suppressed.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing a lower surface (a surface corresponding to the bottom of the pot of the inner pot 3) of a drain filter 26D as a further modification of the other embodiment. The drain strainer 26D shown in fig. 13 shows a portion exposed from the center of the lower surface of the stirring vanes 31 and 310 (see fig. 6 and 10). The drain filter 26D is attached by fixing means such as screw fastening or hook fastening (engagement fastening) so as to cover the opening of the lower end portion of the drain pipe 25 or 250, and the drain pipe 25 or 250 and the stirring blade 31 or 310 are fixed by the fixing means, as in the other embodiments.

In the drain filter 26D shown in fig. 13, the filter opening 26b serving as a drain hole has a hole shape and is formed of a plurality of circular holes. The hole shape of the filter opening 26b is not limited to a circular hole, and may be a long hole, an elliptical hole, a rectangular hole, or the like. A plurality of filter projections 26a, which are projections, are formed on four sides of the filter openings 26 b. The filter projection 26a shown in fig. 13 is a circular projection, but the shape of the filter projection 26a is not limited as long as it is formed with a gap around the filter opening 26 b. The filter protrusions 26a and the filter openings 26b are preferably formed in a curved surface in consideration of rice breakage during rice washing, water flow during water discharge, and water discharge efficiency.

In the drainage filter 26D shown in fig. 13, a plurality of filter projections 26a are formed on four sides of the filter opening 26b, and the plurality of filter projections 26a have a predetermined height on the surface of the filter base portion 26c, so that water flows in from a plurality of gaps between the filter projections 26a adjacent to the filter opening 26b serving as a drainage hole when washing rice. Therefore, clogging of the drainage filter 26C during rice washing can be suppressed.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing a lower surface (a surface corresponding to the bottom of the pot of the inner pot 3) of a drain filter 26E as a further modification of the other embodiment. The drain strainer 26E shown in fig. 14 shows a portion exposed from the center of the lower surface of the stirring vanes 31 and 310 (see fig. 6 and 10). The drain filter 26E is attached by a fixing means such as screw fastening or hook fastening (engagement fastening) so as to cover the opening of the lower end portion of the drain pipe 25 or 250, and the drain pipe 25 or 250 and the stirring blade 31 or 310 are fixed by the fixing means, as in the other embodiments.

The drain strainer 26E shown in fig. 14 is a comparative example of the drain strainer 26B shown in fig. 11. As shown in fig. 14, in the drain strainer 26E, a plurality of filter openings 26B, which are long grooves, are formed in a short surface of the strainer base portion 26c, similarly to the drain strainer 26B. In the drain strainer 26E, strainer projections 26a on both sides of a strainer opening 26b formed in a row in the vertical direction are formed in a rectangular shape. That is, as shown in fig. 14, the filter projection 26a has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In the filter projection 26a formed in this way, water during rice washing also flows between the end portions 26aa of the filter projection 26a, and clogging of the drainage filter 26E can be suppressed. Since the filter projections 26a in the drainage filter 26E shown in fig. 14 have a rectangular shape, that is, an angular shape, rice grains may come into contact with an angle and become broken rice at the time of washing rice or drainage. Therefore, in the structure of the drain filter 26E shown in fig. 14, it is preferable that the corner portion has a curved surface structure.

The filter projections 26a described in each embodiment can be selected as a predetermined height from the surface of the filter base portion 26c according to the size (length, width, thickness) of rice grains to be cleaned. In each embodiment, the height of the filter projection 26a from the surface of the filter base portion 26c is generally set to a value smaller than the size of rice grains to be cleaned, and is set to a height of, for example, 1.0mm to 2.0 mm. The height of the filter projection 26a is preferably 1.0mm or more to sufficiently secure a drainage passage from the side surface side filter, and is preferably 2.0mm or less to effectively drain water from the bottom of the pot. This is because the water of the pot bottom corresponding to the height of the filter protrusion 26a is not discharged.

In embodiments 1 and 2 and other embodiments, a rice washing and draining unit provided in a fully automatic rice cooker is described as an example of the rice cooker. The present invention may be configured to wash rice by stirring the rice with the stirring blade and discharging the water before cooking. Therefore, the rice washing drain unit of the present invention may not include an internal structure of the rice cooker, and may be applied to a machine used for washing rice or a rice washing machine used for washing only rice. Therefore, the structure having the rice washing function described in embodiments 1 and 2 and other embodiments is configured as a rice washing machine. Since the stirring blade of the rice washing and draining unit of the present invention can effectively wash rice even by rotating at a low rotation speed, it can be applied to a rice washing machine that discharges water by manually rotating the stirring blade.

The present invention has been described in each embodiment with a certain degree of detail, but the structures are illustrative, and the disclosure of the embodiments should be changed in detail. In the present invention, substitutions, combinations, and changes in the order of elements in the respective embodiments can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as claimed.

Further, the above-described embodiments are intended to exemplify the technology in the present disclosure, and therefore, various modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, and the like can be made within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof.

The present invention can be applied to a rice cooker and a rice washer having a rice washing function, can be a rice washing mechanism which suppresses clogging during drainage and has high rice washing performance, and can provide a device having a market value.

Claims (16)

1. A rice cooker, comprising:

a container containing rice and water;

a rice washing drainage unit rotating inside the container to drain water inside the container,

the rice washing drainage unit comprises:

a stirring blade rotating inside the container to stir the rice and the water;

a drain pipe, at least a part of which is integrated with the stirring blade, having a drain port disposed in the container, and discharging water in the container;

a drain filter provided so as to cover a drain port of the drain pipe,

the drain strainer has a strainer opening that is a plurality of through-holes, and a plurality of strainer projections formed across the strainer opening.

2. The rice cooker of claim 1,

the filter protrusion has a predetermined height from the filter opening and is formed of a curved surface.

3. The rice cooker as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the filter openings have a long shape and are arranged in parallel, and the filter protrusions extend in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the filter openings and are formed adjacent to both sides of the filter openings.

4. The rice cooker as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the filter protrusions have a longitudinal shape and are arranged in parallel, and the plurality of filter openings are arranged in a longitudinal row along a longitudinal direction of the filter protrusions.

5. The rice cooker as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the filter protrusions are formed adjacent to both sides of the filter opening, and the plurality of filter protrusions and the plurality of filter openings are arranged in a vertical row, respectively.

6. The rice cooker as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the rice cooker is configured such that the drain filter is attached to the drain pipe via the stirring blade.

7. The rice cooker as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the drain pipe includes an inner pipe for discharging water in the container and an outer pipe integrated with the stirring blade,

the rice cooker is configured such that the drain strainer is attached to the inner pipe, and the outer pipe following the stirring blade is rotatably held.

8. The rice cooker as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the interval between the adjacent filter protrusions is shorter than the minor axis of a meter.

9. The rice cooker as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the rice cooker is configured such that rice is intercepted by the plurality of filter protrusions.

10. A rice washer, comprising:

a container containing rice and water;

a rice washing drainage unit rotating inside the container to drain water inside the container,

the rice washing drainage unit comprises:

a stirring blade rotating inside the container to stir the rice and the water;

a drain pipe, at least a part of which is integrated with the stirring blade, having a drain port disposed in the container, and discharging water in the container; and

a drain filter provided so as to cover a drain port of the drain pipe,

the drain strainer has a strainer opening that is a plurality of through-holes, and a plurality of strainer projections formed across the strainer opening.

11. The rice washer of claim 10,

the filter protrusion has a predetermined height from the filter opening and is formed of a curved surface.

12. The rice washer of claim 10 or 11,

the filter openings have a long shape and are arranged in parallel, and the filter protrusions extend in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the filter openings and are formed adjacent to both sides of the filter openings.

13. The rice washer of claim 10 or 11,

the filter protrusions have a longitudinal shape and are arranged in parallel, and the plurality of filter openings are arranged in a longitudinal row along a longitudinal direction of the filter protrusions.

14. The rice washer of claim 10 or 11,

the filter projections are formed adjacent to both sides of the filter opening, and the plurality of filter projections and the plurality of filter openings are arranged in a vertical row, respectively.

15. The rice washer of claim 10 or 11,

the rice washing machine is configured such that the drain filter is attached to the drain pipe via the stirring blade.

16. The rice washer of claim 10 or 11,

the drain pipe includes an inner pipe for discharging water in the container and an outer pipe integrated with the stirring blade,

the rice washing machine is configured such that the drain filter is attached to the inner pipe, and the outer pipe following the stirring blade is rotatably held.

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