JP2000325228A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the stickiness of cooked rice by means of reducing the surplus moisture and to prevent it from being deteriorated by means of rapidly descending temp. to the warmth keeping one by discharging air in a pot till temp. becomes the prescribed warmth keeping one or a prescribed time elapses from the start of warmth keeping. SOLUTION: When outer air is supplied to the pot 2 by operating a blower after rice is cooked, air containing surplus moisture in the pot 2 is discharged to an outer part from the discharge holes 41 of a heat radiation plate 10 through a vapor cylinder 15. Then surplus steam in the pot 2 is discharged to the outer part, dew condensation onto the side surface of the pot 2 or a radiation plate unit 12 is prevented and the stickiness of cooked rice is prevented. Moreover, outer air with temp. being lower than that of one inside the pot 2 comes into the pot 2 so that the temp. of the rice in the pot 2 is rapidly lowered to the prescribed one. Cooked rice is largely deteriorated and discolored by oxidation or the like when a keeping time in high temp. is longer. Then deterioration and discoloration are suppressed by rapidly lowering the temp. to the prescribed warmth keeping one.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rice cooker used for general household or business use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional rice cooker, when the rice is cooked and the temperature is maintained, the power supply to the heating means is turned off to lower the temperature to a predetermined temperature and the temperature is maintained.
The rice was sticky without being able to sufficiently reduce the excess water of the rice in FF. In addition, in order to prevent excess water from evaporating and condensing on the lid and the side of the pot, the condensed water is dripped, and the heating means is intermittently energized in order to prevent the rice from swelling.

[0003]

However, in the rice cooker described above, since the excess water is prevented from sticking to the pot or the radiator plate by heating the heating means, the rice is heated more than necessary and the rice is deteriorated. As discoloration becomes remarkable,
Since the excess water in the pot cannot be forcibly discharged to the outside by heating, there is a problem in that dew condensation water easily adheres to a low temperature portion due to a temperature difference caused by unevenness in heating of the heating means. In addition, when air in the pot is exhausted indefinitely in order to prevent the adhesion of dew condensation water, there is a problem that moisture is excessively taken from rice and dried.

[0004] The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and reduces unnecessary moisture of rice to prevent stickiness of the rice, and quickly lowers the temperature to a heat retaining temperature to reduce deterioration of the rice. The purpose of the present invention is to prevent the drying of rice by restricting the discharge of air.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a main body, a pot removably stored in the main body, and a heating means provided in the main body for heating the pan. In a rice cooker having a temperature detecting means in the pan, a lid that covers the upper opening of the main body and is rotatably supported, and a discharge means for discharging air in the pan, the temperature is kept at a predetermined temperature from the start of the heat retention. The air in the pot is discharged until the temperature reaches or a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 comprises a main body,
A pan removably housed in the main body, a heating means provided in the main body for heating the pan, a temperature detecting means in the pan, and a pivotally supported pivotable cover for covering an upper opening of the main body. In a rice cooker having a lid and a discharge means for discharging air in the pan, the air in the pan is discharged during a temperature lowering step such as at the start of heat retention, thereby reducing excess moisture of rice and reducing stickiness. In addition to suppressing it, it prevents the steam coming out of the rice from condensing on the lid and the side of the pot, and it is not necessary to intermittently supply electricity to the heating means to prevent problems such as condensation water dripping and rice swelling, The temperature of the rice can be quickly lowered, and the deterioration of the rice can be reduced. Further, by performing the air exhaustion in the pot by setting a limit until the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature or until a predetermined time has elapsed, it is possible to prevent excessive deprivation of water from the rice and suppress drying of the rice. .

[0007] The invention according to claim 2 is to reduce the amount of air discharged from the pot as the amount of steam generated from the rice decreases as the temperature drops and the time elapses. The steam in the pot can be more efficiently discharged with less power consumption as compared with discharging the air at a constant discharge amount. In addition, it is possible to prevent excessive deprivation of water when the amount of generated steam is small, and it is possible to improve the heat retention state.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ON time and the OFF time can be changed even by a means for discharging air in the pan having only a constant discharge amount by intermittently discharging air from the pan. By doing so, the amount of air discharged from the pot per hour can be changed, so that it is not necessary to change the amount of discharge of the discharge means itself, and the discharge structure can be simplified. In addition, when the water in the pot is low, stop discharging the air in the pot, and when the water in the pot increases, discharge the air in the pot to discharge the extra water in the rice efficiently. Can be.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a main body 1 has an opening at an upper surface, a protection frame 3 serving as a storage portion for a pot 2 is provided inside the main body 1, and a heating means is provided outside the protection frame 3. An induction coil 4 is provided. 46 is the pot 2 when the pot 2 is stored
Is a means for detecting the temperature in the pot disposed so as to be in contact with.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a lid for covering the upper opening of the main body 1. The lid 5 is rotatably connected to a hinge member 7 integrally formed on an upper part of an upper frame 6 constituting the upper part of the main body 1 via a pin 8. Supported. 9 is an outer lid cover, and the outer lid cover 9 is a lid 5
Is fixed inside. A radiator plate 12 having a radiator plate 10 as a heating element and a pot packing 11 is detachably attached to the outer cover 9.
A lid induction coil 13 serving as a lid heating means supported by the outer lid cover 9 is located above the zero. The heat radiation plate 10 generates heat by the electromagnetic action of the lid induction coil 13.

When the lid 5 is closed, the pan packing 11 is pressed against the flange 14 of the pan 2 to hermetically close the pan 2.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a steam cylinder detachably provided on the lid 5, and a magnetic float 16 is provided below the steam cylinder 15 so that the float 16 can be moved at the time of cooking rice. SW at the position facing the float 16 inside
17 are arranged. When the rice reaches the float 16, the float 16 moves, and the reed SW 17 detects it and controls the output to the induction coil 4 as a heating means, thereby preventing the rice from leaking out. Further, it is configured to move when the lid 5 is opened and closed, and also serves as detection of opening and closing of the lid 5.

Further, a steam valve 19 is provided in the steam cylinder 15 so as to close an internal steam port 18.
A core plate 21 provided with a first magnet 20 is provided on the outer peripheral flange portion so as to be vertically movable, and the steam valve 19 is raised when the core plate 21 is raised. On the other hand, inside the lid 5, a steam valve drive unit 22 is provided,
The steam valve drive unit 22 has a rotatable rotor 24 provided with a second magnet 23 oriented opposite to the first magnet 20 at a position facing the first magnet 20.
And a steam valve drive motor 25 for rotating the rotor 24. By controlling the steam valve drive motor 25, the rotor 24 is rotated and the second magnet 2 is rotated.
When the third magnet 3 and the first magnet 20 are opposed to each other, the core plate 21 is raised by the repulsive force of the second magnet 23 and the first magnet 20, and the steam valve 19 is pulled up to open the steam port 18.

Further, a heat sink 10 on the lower surface of the outer lid cover 9 is provided.
On the side, a fan unit 27 of a blower 26 is rotatably supported between a fan case 28 and an outer cover 9. The fan case 28 is provided detachably from the outer cover 9. The motor unit 29 of the blower 26 is provided on the inside of the cover 5 of the outer cover 9. The blower 26 and the motor unit 29 constitute a discharging unit.

The motor section 29 has a motor magnet 3
0, by providing the fan magnet 31 in the fan unit 27, when the motor unit 29 is rotated, the fan unit 27 is rotated in a state where the motor unit 29 and the fan unit 27 are separated by the attraction of the motor magnet 30 and the fan magnet 31. Can be done. Therefore, the motor unit 29 and the fan unit 2
7 is completely separated by an outer lid cover 9 and the fan 2
Since there is no passage for steam or the like to enter the motor unit 29 from the position 7, safety is further improved.

Further, since the fan case 28 having the fan portion 27 is detachably provided from the outer cover 9, when the fan portion 27 becomes dirty, the fan portion 27 is moved to the outer cover 9.
It can be taken off and washed directly in water.

In the radiator plate unit 12, an intake valve 32 has a spring 33 and an air outlet 34 of the radiator plate unit is connected to the intake valve packing 3.
5 urges in the closing direction. A valve lever 36 is provided on the outer lid cover 9 above the intake valve 32 with a lever packing 37 to cover the lid 5.
It is installed to seal with the inside. Intake valve 3
The opening and closing of 2 is performed by pushing down a valve lever 36 with a cam 39 from a motor unit 29 of the blower 26 via a gear unit 38.

A gap 43 is provided between the main body 1 and the lid 5, and even if the lid 5 or the main body 1 is deformed or warped, the gap 43 is provided.
In order to ensure the above, a rib is provided in a portion where the main body 1 and the lid 5 face each other. Further, the heat sink unit 12 and the lid 5
A gap is provided between the outer cover 9 and the outer cover 9 constituting the lower part of the air passage to form the air passage 44.

The outside air is sucked into the blower 26 from the gap 43 between the lid 5 and the main body 1 through the blower passage 44, and the wind sent from the blower 26 flows from the blower port 34 of the heat sink unit 12 to the pan 2.
Sent inside. Thereby, outside air can be sent into the pot 2 without making a hole other than the steam port 18 on the outer surface of the lid 5.

The connection between the steam cylinder 15 and the heat radiating plate 10 is sealed by a steam plate packing 40 so that the exhaust gas in the pan 2 does not leak between the heat radiating plate unit 12 and the outer cover. The radiator plate 10 is provided with a connecting hole 41 that connects to the steam cylinder 15, and forms a steam passage 45. Further, between the heat radiating plate 10 and the fan case 28, an air outlet gasket 42 is provided.
The blast from 6 does not leak.

By arranging the blower port 34 and the blower 26 inside the cover induction coil 13, the space inside the cover 5 can be effectively used, and the heat insulation performance can be improved with a compact size.

When rice cooking is completed in the rice cooker configured as described above, the blower 26 is operated to send outside air into the pot 2. When outside air is sent into the pan 2, excess water in the pan 2 is discharged to the outside from the exhaust hole 41 of the radiator plate 10 through the steam tube 15 so that excess water vapor in the pan 2 is discharged to the outside. To prevent condensation on the side surface of the pot 2 and the radiator plate unit 12 to prevent sticky rice. In other words, the same effect can be obtained as if the rice was put in a wooden diaper and the extra moisture of the rice was absorbed by the tree to make the rice non-sticky. In addition, by discharging the air inside the pot 2 and putting in the outside air, the smell of the rice generated due to deterioration due to heat retention can be discharged to the outside. Can be done. Furthermore, when the outside air lower than the temperature in the pot 2 flows into the pot 2, the temperature of the rice in the pot 2 is reduced to a predetermined temperature (about 72 ° C., which can prevent rot in normal heat retention, and furthermore, heat retention in a low temperature region. 60 ° C if performed
Level). The longer the holding time at high temperature is, the greater the deterioration and discoloration due to oxidation and the like, and the deterioration and discoloration can be reduced by rapidly lowering the temperature to a predetermined temperature. In addition, since the operation is performed with a restriction until the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature or until a predetermined time has elapsed, it is possible to prevent excessive deprivation of water from the rice and improve the state of the rice.

Further, a large amount of steam is discharged in a high temperature region where the amount of steam generated from rice is large, and the amount of air discharged from the pot is reduced in accordance with the decrease in the amount of steam generated from rice, that is, the amount of steam discharged. By reducing power consumption, steam can be discharged from the pot more effectively with less power consumption compared to driving with a fixed amount of emissions, and furthermore, it is possible to prevent excessive moisture from being taken from the rice and reduce the state of the rice. Can be better.

It should be noted that not only the temperature-lowering step immediately after cooking rice, but also the temperature-lowering step after heating to eat rice during the heat-keeping, and the putrefactive bacterial nutrition In order to suppress the increase of cells, the fan 26 is also driven at the time of the temperature lowering step in the high / low temperature insulation where the temperature is kept at a high temperature (about 75 ° C.) every 4 to 6 hours to reduce the smell of rice. In addition, deterioration and discoloration can be suppressed.

Further, the intermittent operation of operating the discharge means to stop the operation once the humidity in the pot has been lowered by sending the outside air and lowering the humidity in the pan, and to start the operation again when the humidity in the pan has increased, is more effective. Vapor discharge can be performed.
In addition, even if the means for discharging air in the pot having only a fixed amount of discharge can change the amount of air discharge in the pot per time by changing the ON time and the OFF time. In addition, there is no need to change the discharge amount of the discharge unit itself, and the discharge unit can be simplified.

In the description of the present embodiment, the wind of the blower 26 is sent into the pan 2, but the air in the pan is sucked out, or the volume of the space in the pan is changed using a diagram valve or the like. The same effect can be obtained by a method of discharging steam in the pot by performing intake and exhaust.

Further, in the present embodiment, a method using induction heating has been described as a heating means, but the same applies when a sheathed heater, a halogen heater, or the like is used. In addition, the intake valve is provided on the radiator plate, and the intake valve is opened and closed by the output of the blower, but the position of the intake valve may be either the intake side or the blow side of the blower, and the drive of the intake valve is also for driving. A motor or a solenoid may be used.

[0029]

As described above, the first aspect of the present invention provides
A main body, a pot removably housed in the main body, a heating means provided in the main body for heating the pan, a lid that covers an upper opening of the main body and is pivotally supported so as to be openable and closable; In a rice cooker having a means for discharging air, during a temperature lowering step such as at the start of heat retention, the air in the pot is discharged until a predetermined temperature is reached or a predetermined time has elapsed, so that excess water of rice is To reduce stickiness and prevent steam from rice from condensing on the lid and the side of the pot, and to intermittently supply electricity to the heating means to prevent problems such as condensation water dripping and rice from spreading. Is unnecessary, the temperature of the rice falls quickly, and the deterioration of the rice can be reduced.In addition, since the operation of the discharge means is restricted, it is possible to prevent excessive moisture from being taken from the rice and to dry the rice. Can be prevented .

Further, the invention according to claim 2 discharges a large amount of steam in a high temperature region where a large amount of steam is generated from rice, and discharges air in the pot in accordance with a decrease in the amount of steam generated from rice. By reducing the amount of steam, that is, the amount of steam emitted, steam can be discharged from the pot more efficiently with less power consumption compared to operating at a fixed amount of emissions, and excess water is removed from rice. Prevents robbing and improves the condition of the rice.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 operates intermittently, in which the operation is stopped once when the humidity in the pan is lowered by driving the discharge means and the outside air is sent in, and the operation is restarted when the humidity in the pan rises. By doing so, steam can be more effectively discharged. In addition, even if it is a means for discharging air in the pot that only has a certain amount of discharge, ON time and OF
By changing the F time, the amount of air discharged from the pot per time can be changed, so that it is not necessary to change the amount of discharge of the discharge means itself, and the discharge means can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a rice cooker according to one embodiment of the present invention in a front-rear direction.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the rice cooker in a transverse direction.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the essential part in the horizontal direction when air is blown into the pot of the rice cooker.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of controlling the discharging means at a predetermined temperature of the rice cooker.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Pot 5 Lid 12 Heat sink unit 13 Lid induction coil 18 Steam port 26 Blower 34 Blow port 43 Gap 44 Blow path 45 Steam path 46 Pot temperature detecting means in a pot

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Toshihiro Fujita 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 72) Inventor Masahiro Koyama 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kazuma, Osaka Prefecture F-term in Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. GB08 GB12 GC32 GC40 GD02

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body, a pan removably stored in the main body, heating means provided in the main body for heating the pan, temperature detecting means in the pan, and an upper surface opening of the main body A lid that covers the part and is pivotally supported so as to be openable and closable, and a discharge means that discharges air in the pan.During the temperature lowering step during heat retention, until the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, or until a predetermined time elapses. A rice cooker that discharges air. 2. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the amount of air discharged from the pot is reduced as the temperature of the rice in the pot decreases or the time elapses. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the air in the pot is discharged intermittently.
Or the rice cooker according to 2.