JP2000116508A - Heat insulating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To let negative ions act on a heat insulating process of cooked rice, to suppress propagation of bacteria contained in the cooked rice, to set the heat insulating temperature low, and to insulate heat safely with less heat insulating degradation by providing a means generating the negative ions for preventing the propagation of the bacteria in the cooked rice. SOLUTION: A negative ion generation means 1 receives corona discharge from an electrode of a high-voltage generation means 2 impressed to a high voltage so as to generate negative ions. Then, a heating part control means 6 controls the heating quantity to the heaving part 5 for heating a cooking jar and rice 8 based on a rice quantity by a weight sensor measuring means and the cooked rice temperature by temperature sensor measuring means 12 and at the same time controls the high-voltage generation means 2 via an energization control means so as to make the negative ion generation quantity of the negative ion generation means 1 to the decided quantity.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to keeping warm rice cooked and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, cooked rice cooked by a rice cooker, etc.
In order to prevent the growth of bacteria contained in cooked rice, the temperature was kept above the temperature at which the bacteria died. As a result, he could eat rice that was kept warm.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method, it is necessary to maintain a high heat retaining temperature in the rice cooker in order to sterilize bacteria contained in the cooked rice, so that the cooked rice turns yellow or There was a problem of heat retention deterioration such as smell peculiar to heat retention. Conversely, if the heat retention temperature is lowered to prevent the deterioration of cooked rice, there has been a problem that bacteria contained in cooked rice propagate as described above.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, heat retention deterioration of cooked rice is prevented by using negative ions in the process of keeping cooked rice.

[0005] It has been known that a substance such as oxygen which is ionized negatively causes a physiological disorder inside the bacterium such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, thereby suppressing the growth of the bacterium. By using the negative ions in the step of keeping the cooked rice, the growth of bacteria contained in the cooked rice can be suppressed. As a result, the rice keeping temperature can be set low, so that it is possible to provide a rice cooker that keeps the temperature safely and with little deterioration due to the heat retention.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to the first aspect of the present invention is to use a negative ion to suppress the growth of bacteria contained in cooked rice and to set a low heat retention temperature, so that the rice is safe and the rice is not deteriorated. It is to provide a rice cooker that keeps less delicious heat.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generating means is changed according to the temperature of the cooked rice. When the amount of negative ions from the negative ion generator is large, bacteria contained in cooked rice are also difficult to propagate, so that the heat retention temperature can be set low. Conversely, when the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generator is small, bacteria easily propagate, so that it is necessary to raise the heat retention temperature. As described above, it is possible to provide cooked rice that performs more secure heat retention by changing the heat retention temperature according to the amount of generated negative ions. Also, the lid of the rice cooker opened during the heat insulation,
Even if the temperature of the cooked rice drops, the growth of bacteria can be prevented by increasing the amount of negative ions generated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generating means varies depending on the amount of cooked rice, and the number of bacteria contained therein also varies depending on the amount of cooked rice. . Therefore, by setting the amount of negative ions corresponding to the amount of cooked rice, it is possible to provide cooked rice that performs more secure heat retention. In addition, even if the weight of cooked rice increases or decreases during the heat insulation, the amount of negative ions is set according to the weight, so that even if the weight changes, the heat of the cooked rice should be safe and less deteriorated. Can be.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the start time of the negative ion generating means is changed depending on the rice condition such as the temperature of the cooked rice and the amount of cooked rice. According to the configuration and operation of the above invention, the generation of negative ions is stopped under conditions where bacteria do not easily grow, and the negative ion generator is operated when the conditions are such that bacteria easily grow, Since an unnecessary operation of the apparatus is not performed, an energy-saving heat retaining apparatus can be provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generating means is changed according to the time from the start of heat retention, that is, the temperature of the heat retention.
According to the configuration and operation of the present invention, the bacteria are more likely to grow as the heat retention time is longer. Therefore, the growth of bacteria can be suppressed to a certain level or more by increasing the amount of negative ions generated as the heat retention time is longer. Therefore, even if you keep it warm for a long time,
You can keep rice cooked safely.

The invention according to claim 6 provides a rice cooker for preserving cooked rice which has a negative ion effect with a simple configuration by controlling the negative ion generating means in a discontinuous manner, that is, by controlling the on / off pattern. can do.

[0012]

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described.
This will be mainly described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes negative ion generating means for generating negative ions, and generates negative ions by corona discharge from an electrode applied to a high voltage of the high voltage generating means 2. The high voltage generating means 2 generates a high voltage (several kV) used for generating negative ions.

Reference numeral 3 denotes an energization control unit which adjusts the amount of electric power to the high voltage generation unit 3 according to a control signal from the negative ion control unit 4. Reference numeral 4 denotes a rice cooker in which rice 8 is cooked. The heating unit 5 heats the rice cooker 4 and the rice 8, and adjusts the amount of heating according to a heating unit control signal from the heating unit control unit 6.

The weight sensor 7 installed at the bottom of the rice cooker 4 measures the weight of the rice cooker 4 and the rice 8 and is converted into the weight of the rice 8 by the weight sensor measuring means 9 and outputs the value. The temperature sensor 11 installed on the lid 10 of the rice cooker measures the temperature in the rice cooker 4 and is converted by the temperature sensor measuring means 12 into the temperature of cooked rice.

The heating section control means 6 controls the amount of rice to be heated by the weight sensor measuring means 9 and the temperature of the cooked rice by the temperature sensor measuring means 12 to an optimum value.

The negative ion control means 12 determines an optimal negative ion quantity from the input of the rice quantity by the weight sensor measuring means 9 and the rice temperature by the temperature sensor measuring means 12 in the same manner as the heating section control means 6. A control signal is output to the power supply control means 3 so that the amount of negative ions generated by the generation means 1 becomes the determined amount.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described. First, the relationship between the temperature of cooked rice T and the amount of generated negative ions F by the temperature sensor measuring means 12 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the rice temperature T is plotted on the horizontal axis, and the negative ion generation amount F is plotted.
Is plotted on the vertical axis.

[0018] Negative ions have the characteristic that the growth of microorganisms can be prevented without discoloring the food itself. Therefore, by using negative ions in the step of keeping cooked rice in the rice cooker, it is possible to prevent the growth of bacteria contained in the cooked rice.

In a conventional rice cooker, to keep bacteria harmful to humans from multiplying, the temperature of the rice was constantly or temporarily increased to sterilize bacteria contained in cooked rice. But,
If the temperature at which the rice is kept warm is high, there is a problem of deterioration of the heat retention such as yellowing of the cooked rice and smell peculiar to the heat retention.

However, when negative ions are used, the propagation of bacteria can be suppressed, so that the rice can be kept at a temperature at which there is little deterioration due to heat retention. When the heat retention temperature is high (7
0 ° or more) or when the heat retention temperature is low (30 ° or less)
In the case of, it is considered that the amount of negative ions required is small because bacteria do not easily propagate.

FIG. 2 illustrates the above considerations. By determining the optimum amount of negative ions Ft from the heat retention temperature T according to FIG. 2, it is possible to keep the heat efficiently and with little heat retention deterioration without using useless negative ions. Also,
Even when the lid of the rice cooker is opened during the heat insulation and the temperature of the cooked rice drops, the propagation of bacteria can be prevented by increasing the amount of negative ions generated.

The operation of the negative ion control means 12 relating to the heat retention temperature T will be described with reference to FIG. The first negative ion amount determination unit 20 determines the optimum negative ion amount Ft from the temperature relational expression storage unit 21 storing the relational expression of FIG. 2 with the temperature T in the rice cooker 4 by the temperature sensor measuring means 12. . Further, the first negative ion control unit 22 outputs a first control signal to the energization control means 3 so as to have the determined negative ion amount Ft.

Next, the relationship between the weight of cooked rice W and the amount of generated negative ions Fw by the weight sensor measuring means 9 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the amount of negative ions F is plotted on the horizontal axis of the rice weight W.
The graph is shown with w as the vertical axis.

[0024] The amount of negative ions required to suppress the growth of bacteria contained in cooked rice depends on the number of bacteria, and the greater the number of bacteria, the greater the amount of negative ions. In addition, since the number of bacteria is almost proportional to the weight of cooked rice, it is understood that the heavier the cooked rice, the larger the amount of required negative ions.

FIG. 4 illustrates the above considerations. By determining the required amount of negative ions Fw from the weight W of the cooked rice according to FIG. 4, even if the weight of the cooked rice changes, the apparatus can safely keep the cooked rice warm. Can be provided.

The operation of the negative ion control means 12 relating to the weight W of cooked rice will be described with reference to FIG. The second negative ion amount determination unit 30 determines the optimum negative ion amount Fw from the weight relational expression storage unit 31 storing the relational expression of FIG. Further, the second negative ion control section 32 outputs a second control signal to the power supply control means 3 so as to have the determined negative ion amount Fw.

Next, the starting time t for starting the negative ion generating means is described.
FIG. 6 illustrates the relationship between the temperature and the temperature T of cooked rice. FIG.
In the figure, the horizontal axis indicates the warming time t and the vertical axis indicates the temperature T of the cooked rice, and the time course of the temperature of the cooked rice is illustrated.

As shown in FIG. 6, immediately after the rice cooking process is completed and the process shifts to the warming process, the temperature of the cooked rice is high, so that bacteria contained in the cooked rice are difficult to propagate. Therefore, a certain threshold temperature Th at which the propagation of bacteria starts is set, and the negative ion generating means is not operated until the temperature of the cooked rice reaches the temperature, but the negative ion generating means is operated below the threshold temperature Th.

Therefore, no wasteful energy is added to the negative ion generating means 1, so that energy can be saved. Until the temperature of the cooked rice reaches the threshold temperature Th, the cooked rice can be eaten more deliciously and safely because there is no deterioration of the cooked rice and no propagation of bacteria.

The negative ion control means 12 in the above step will be described with reference to FIG. The negative ion generation start unit 40 compares the cooked rice temperature T in the rice cooker 4 by the temperature sensor measuring means 12 with the threshold value Th by the threshold temperature storage unit 41, and when the rice temperature T falls below the threshold value Th, the negative ion The generating means 1 is operated.

Next, the time from the start of the operation of the negative ion generating means 1, that is, the relationship between the negative ion time tf and the negative ion generation amount Ff will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 illustrates the amount of negative ions generated, with the horizontal axis representing the negative ion time tf and the vertical axis representing the amount of generated negative ions Ff.

As described above, by using negative ions in the step of keeping rice cooked, it is possible to prevent the growth of bacteria contained in cooked rice. However, if the growth of some bacteria cannot be prevented for some reason, the bacteria will divide once every about 20 minutes, and the number of bacteria will increase over time. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, as time elapses after the operation of the negative ion generating means 1 is started, the amount of generated negative ions Ff is also increased to prevent the propagation of the bacteria.

The negative ion time tf of the negative ion control means 12
FIG. The third negative ion amount determination unit 50 determines the optimum negative ion amount Ff from the negative ion time tf measured by the negative ion time measurement unit 51 and the time relational expression of FIG. . Further, the third negative ion control section 52 outputs a third control signal to the power supply control means 3 so as to reach the determined negative ion generation amount Ff.

The first embodiment comprises negative ion generating means for generating negative ions for preventing the growth of bacteria in cooked cooked rice,
It is a rice cooker with a heating unit, a pot, a sensor, etc., and a rice cooker with a rice cooker that cooks raw rice into rice.
According to this configuration, the growth of bacteria contained in the cooked rice can be suppressed by using the negative ions, so that a rice cooker that is safe and performs a delicious warming with less deterioration of the rice is provided.

In the first embodiment, the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generating means is changed according to the temperature of cooked rice. According to the configuration and operation of the first embodiment, when the amount of negative ions from the negative ion generator is large, the amount of bacteria breeding is also small, so that setting a low heat retention temperature can suppress deterioration of cooked rice. . Conversely, when the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generator is small, bacteria easily propagate, so that it is necessary to raise the heat retention temperature.
As described above, it is possible to provide cooked rice that performs more secure heat retention by changing the heat retention temperature according to the amount of generated negative ions. In addition, even if the temperature of the cooked rice drops due to opening the lid of the rice cooker during the heat insulation, the propagation of bacteria can be prevented by increasing the amount of negative ions generated.

Further, the first embodiment has a configuration in which the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generating means is changed by the amount of cooked rice to be kept warm. Depending on the amount of cooked rice, the number of bacteria contained therein also changes. Therefore, by setting the amount of negative ions corresponding to the amount of cooked rice, it is possible to provide cooked rice that performs more secure heat retention. Further, even if the weight of cooked rice increases or decreases during the heat retention, the amount of negative ions corresponding to the weight is set, so that the cooked rice can be safely kept warm even when the weight changes.

In the first embodiment, the start time of the negative ion generating means changes according to the rice condition such as the temperature of the cooked rice and the amount of cooked rice. According to the configuration and operation of the first embodiment, the device stops generating negative ions under conditions where it is difficult for bacteria to proliferate, and operates the device for generating negative ions under conditions that facilitate the growth of bacteria. Since the unnecessary operation of the negative ion device is not performed, it is possible to provide an energy-saving heat retaining device.

Further, in the first embodiment, the negative ion generation amount of the negative ion generating means is changed according to the time from the start of the heat keeping, that is, the heat keeping temperature.
According to the configuration and operation of the first embodiment, the longer the heat-retention time, the easier the bacteria grow, so the longer the heat-retention time, the more negative ions are generated, thereby suppressing the growth of the bacteria to a certain level or more. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to keep rice cooked safely even if it is kept for a long time.

(Embodiment 2) A second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the output of the negative ion generating means is a discontinuous output of an on / off pattern. Therefore, the configuration and operation of the second embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the configuration and operation of the first embodiment, and the other configuration and operation will be the same as those of the first embodiment.

The configuration of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 60 denotes a negative ion binary energization control unit. When receiving a control signal from the negative ion control unit 3, the amount of electric power supplied to the negative ion generation unit 1 is adjusted to the amount of negative ions indicated by the control signal. On / off control.

Reference numeral 61 denotes on-time storage means for storing a relational expression between the amount of negative ions F and the on-time ton.
A DUTY time storage means 62 stores one cycle time of an ON / OFF cycle.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of negative ions and the ON time, with the horizontal axis representing the amount of negative ions F and the vertical axis representing the ON time ton. From FIG. 11, the ON time Ton is made longer as the required amount of negative ions F increases. For example,
Assuming that the amount of negative ions in the ON state is Fon and one cycle time, that is, the duty time tduty, the average of the amount of negative ions generated during the one cycle time tduty is F = (ton / tduty) · Fon. . Generally, it is easy to use a relay, a switch, or the like as a means for controlling on / off of a power device, and to realize the control. Therefore, the above-described configuration for on / off control of the amount of generated negative ions is simple and can be easily realized.

In the above description, as a method for obtaining a necessary amount of negative ions by on / off control of the negative ion generating means, 1
The on-time of the cycle was changed, but the point is that the required amount of negative ions can be obtained by on / off control of the negative ion generating means. The effect remains the same.

The negative ion binary current supply control means 60 stores the negative ion amount F and the on-time storage means 6 by the negative ion control means 4.
1 is stored from the relational expression between the negative ion amount F and the on-time ton in FIG.
The ON time ton during the TY time tduty is determined.

In the second embodiment, the output of the negative ion generating means is a discontinuous output of an on / off pattern.
According to the configuration and operation of the second embodiment, a control system for controlling the amount of generation of negative ions in an on-off pattern can be realized with a simple configuration, so that it is possible to easily realize a rice cooker having the effect of negative ions.

[0046]

As described above, the first aspect of the present invention provides
Equipped with negative ion generating means that generates negative ions that prevent the growth of bacteria in cooked cooked rice, etc., the heat retention temperature can be set low while suppressing the growth of bacteria contained in cooked rice, so it is safe and rice It is possible to provide a rice cooker that keeps delicious heat with little deterioration of the rice.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generator is changed according to the temperature of the cooked rice, so that the amount of negative ions from the negative ion generator is included in the cooked rice. Since the bacteria are also difficult to propagate, the heat retention temperature can be set low. Conversely, when the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generator is small, bacteria easily propagate, so that it is necessary to raise the heat retention temperature.
As described above, it is possible to provide cooked rice that performs more secure heat retention by changing the heat retention temperature according to the amount of generated negative ions. In addition, even if the lid of the rice cooker is opened during the heat insulation and the temperature of the cooked rice drops, the propagation of bacteria can be prevented by increasing the amount of negative ions generated.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 has a configuration in which the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generating means is changed by the amount of cooked rice, and the number of bacteria contained in the rice is also varied depending on the amount of cooked rice. Change. Therefore, by setting the amount of negative ions corresponding to the amount of cooked rice, it is possible to provide cooked rice that performs more secure heat retention. In addition, even if the weight of cooked rice increases or decreases during the heat insulation, the amount of negative ions is set according to the weight, so that even if the weight changes, the heat of the cooked rice should be safe and less deteriorated. Can be.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is configured such that the start time of the negative ion generating means is changed according to the rice conditions such as the temperature of the cooked rice and the amount of cooked rice. According to the configuration and operation of the above invention, the generation of negative ions is stopped under conditions where bacteria do not easily grow, and the negative ion generator is operated when the conditions are such that bacteria easily grow, Since an unnecessary operation of the apparatus is not performed, an energy-saving heat retaining apparatus can be provided.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the amount of negative ions generated by the negative ion generating means is set to the time after the start of heat retention,
That is, the configuration changes according to the heat retaining temperature. According to the configuration and operation of the present invention, the bacteria are more likely to grow as the heat retention time is longer. Therefore, the growth of bacteria can be suppressed to a certain level or more by increasing the amount of negative ions generated as the heat retention time is longer. Therefore, it is possible to keep rice cooked safely even if it is kept for a long time.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rice cooker for storing cooked rice having a negative ion effect with a simple configuration by controlling the negative ion generating means in a discontinuous manner, that is, by controlling the on / off pattern. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of negative ions and the temperature of cooked rice in the heat retention device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a negative ion control means in the heat retaining device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of cooked rice and the amount of negative ions in the heat retention device.

FIG. 5 is another block diagram of the negative ion control means in the heat retaining device.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart of the start of negative ions in the heat retaining apparatus.

FIG. 7 is still another block diagram of the negative ion control means in the heat retaining device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of negative ions and the amount of negative ions in the heat retention device.

FIG. 9 is still another block diagram of the negative ion control means in the heat retaining device.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a rice cooker according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Negative ion generating means 2 High voltage generating means 3 Electricity control means 4 Negative ion controlling means 5 Heating unit 6 Heating controlling means 7 Weight sensor 8 Rice 9 Weight sensor measuring means 10 Rice cooker 11 Temperature sensor 12 Temperature sensor measuring means 20 First Negative ion amount determination unit 21 Temperature relational expression storage unit 30 Second negative ion amount determination unit 31 Cooked rice amount relational expression storage unit 40 Negative ion start unit 41 Threshold value storage unit 50 Third negative ion determination unit 51 Negative ion time measurement unit 52 Time relational expression storage unit 60 Negative ion binary control means 61 DUTY time storage means 62 ON time storage means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4B055 AA05 BA14 BA55 BA62 CC01 GD04 4B066 AA05 AB01 AB10 BC20 BD01 DD02 DD43 DD44

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A warming device comprising negative ion generating means for generating negative ions for preventing the propagation of bacteria in cooked rice. 2. The heat retention device according to claim 1, wherein the negative ion generating means changes the amount of negative ions generated according to the temperature of the cooked rice. 3. The heat retention device according to claim 1, wherein the negative ion generating means changes the negative ion generation amount according to the amount of cooked rice. 4. The warming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the negative ion generating means changes the generation start time of the negative ions in accordance with the state of the cooked rice, such as the temperature of the cooked rice and the amount of cooked rice. 5. The heat retention device according to claim 1, wherein the negative ion generation means changes the amount of the generated negative ions in accordance with the lapse of time after the start of the heat retention. 6. The heat retention device according to claim 1, wherein the negative ion generating means makes the negative ion output amount discontinuous.