JP2001190400A - Automatic rice cooking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooking device capable of separating rice from water until a predetermined time before the start of rice cooking in a programmed operation. SOLUTION: The automatic rice cooking device is comprised of a water tank 10, a water feeding valve 11 to open and close the water outlet of the water tank 10, a rice storage part 12 fixed inside a main body 8, a rice inserting valve 13 to open and close the rice outlet of the rice storage part 12, a lid closing means 14 to close the lid 4 of a rice cooker 1 placed inside the main body 8, and a control means 15 to control each drive means. As rice and water are not inserted into an oven 2 until a predetermined time before the start of rice cooking in a programmed operation, it is possible to control a water immersion time and to determine rice cooking conditions with a fixed water immersion time.

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 in ordinary households for automatically charging rice and water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in the external view of FIG. 11 and the external view of FIG. It has means 3 (not shown), lid 4, and control means 6 (not shown) having an operation unit 5. The user puts a desired total number of rice into the kettle 2 and water in an amount corresponding to the amount of rice, usually in accordance with the scale line 7 displayed inside the kettle 4, closes the lid 4, and operates the operation unit. The rice cooking is started by the operation of step 5. In response to the operation, the control means 6 operates the heating means 3 in a predetermined sequence.
In the case of the reservation driving, the user sets and reserves a timer time using the operation unit 5 so that the rice cooking is started or ended at a desired time or time.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional rice cooker, the water immersion time is appropriately set to 30 minutes to 2 hours in order to make the rice absorb water. In the case of reserved driving, there is a case where rice is cooked in the evening and rice is cooked the next morning, and rice and water are both put in the kettle for more than 8 hours. When rice is immersed in water for a long time, at normal temperature, the water absorption of rice increases up to 2 hours, and the amount of rice solids eluted in water increases up to 6 hours. ing. Therefore, it is desirable to change the rice cooking conditions according to the water immersion time, such as the amount of water absorbed by the rice and the amount of solids eluted, but the conventional rice cooker has a problem that the water immersion time cannot be constant.

[0004]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a water supply valve for opening and closing a drain port of a water supply tank or a rice input valve for opening and closing a rice discharge port of a rice storage unit. At the time of reservation driving, until a predetermined time before rice cooking starts,
The rice and water were kept separate so that the rice flooding time could be controlled.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that at least one of a water supply valve for opening and closing a drain port of a water supply tank and a rice input valve for opening and closing a rice discharge port of a rice storage unit is provided. At the time of reservation operation, rice and water are divided into a kettle and a water supply tank or a rice storage unit until a predetermined time before rice cooking starts, and a water supply valve or a rice input valve is operated at an arbitrary time. Can be put into the kettle to control the rice flooding time.

The water supply tank according to the second aspect of the present invention is a detachable water supply tank that has an elongated shape with a smaller area than the inner volume of the rice cooker and can be installed and removed from the main body. Further, the main body is provided with a water supply tank receiving portion for setting the detachable water supply tank. In conventional rice cookers, the amount of water was measured at the water level of a large kettle,
Although the slight displacement of the water level caused a large variation in the amount of water, the water supply tank of the present invention has a smaller area and an elongated shape compared to the internal volume of the rice cooker, so the water tank can be placed in the kettle to raise the water level. Less variance than measuring. Furthermore, since the water supply tank is removable, the water supply tank can be carried to a water tap or the like, thereby facilitating water supply.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the water supply valve is a water supply pump. In the case of the water supply valve, the position of the water supply tank must be located above the rice cooker kettle. If a pump is used, this positional relationship can be freely set, and the height of the main body can be reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, one end is attached by a hinge or the like, and the other end is urged by a spring or the like in the opening direction.
A lid opening means for pressing an open button for releasing the hook, and a slide for moving while pressing the lid in the closing direction, with respect to the lid of the rice cooker configured to be kept closed by hooking so as not to open when closed. It has a lid closing means made of a member, and can easily open and close the lid using a lid opening mechanism of the rice cooker, and can easily realize automatic rice and water injection.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the portion of the end of the lid closing means that comes into contact with the lid is provided at a position that limits the opening angle of the fully opened lid to a small angle in the middle. Since the inside of the lid is restricted from being fully opened, there is no need to secure a space for fully opening the lid, and the body can be made smaller.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the discharge port is located in the pot when water or rice is charged into the pot, and moves to a position where opening and closing does not hinder opening and closing. Since the opening angle of the lid can be set irrespective of the angle, the main body can be lowered by setting the angle as small as possible.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the rice cooker is removably installed, and the rice cooker is pulled out of the main body.
It has a sliding rice cooker stand that can be housed inside the main body. By making it detachable, a commercially available single rice cooker can be used, and a dedicated rice cooker is not required. In addition, it becomes easy to move the rice cooker to a table or the like. Further, the rice cooker can be easily moved by the sliding rice cooker stand, and the setting and removal of the pot can be easily performed.

[0012]

(Embodiment 1) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance, and FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram.

In the figure, portions common to the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an automatic rice cooker main body, which includes a rice cooker 1 installed in the main body 8, a water supply tank 10, a water supply valve 11 for opening and closing a drain port of the water supply tank 10, and a storage fixed in the main body 8. The rice unit 12, a rice input valve 13 for opening and closing a rice outlet of the rice storage unit 12, a lid closing unit 14 for closing the lid 4 of the rice cooker 1 installed in the main body 8, and a control for controlling each driving unit. Means 1
5, the water supply tank is transparent, and the scale 9 is displayed at a position facing the outside of the main body 8 so as to be easily seen. A water supply unit including the water supply tank 10 and the water supply valve 11 is referred to as a water supply unit 22, and a rice supply unit including the rice storage unit 12 and the rice input valve 13 is referred to as a rice supply unit 23.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, the user opens the lid 4 of the rice cooker 1 so that rice and water can be charged. A desired amount of washed or drained rice or commercially available non-washed rice (rice that can be cooked without washing) is put into the rice storage unit 12, and a water amount corresponding to the amount of rice is put into the water supply tank 10. Using the operation unit 15a of the control means 15 and the operation unit 5 of the rice cooker 1, rice cooking is started when rice is cooked immediately, and reserved operation is selected when rice is cooked after a predetermined time. Immediately or after a predetermined time has elapsed, the control means 15 opens the rice input valve 13 and discharges the rice in the rice storage unit 12 into the kettle 2. Next, the water supply valve 11 is opened to discharge water into the kettle 2. After charging the rice and water into the kettle 2, the lid closing means 14 is operated to close the lid 4. In accordance with the time, the control means 6 (not shown) of the rice cooker 1 operates the heating means 3 (not shown) of the rice cooker 1 in a predetermined sequence to cook rice.

As described above, in the present embodiment, rice and water are not charged into the kettle 2 until a predetermined time before the start of rice cooking in the reserved operation, except when it is desired to cook rice immediately. The time can be controlled, and the rice cooking conditions with a constant flooding time can be determined. Further, the water supply tank 10 is transparent, and a scale is provided at a position where it can be easily seen from the outside. If the water level is measured using the scale, the water can be easily measured.

In this embodiment, the case where both the water supply means 22 and the rice supply means 23 are provided is described.
When only the water supply means 22 is used, the rice immersion time can be managed by putting rice in the kettle 2 of the rice cooker 1 in advance. In the case of only the rice feeding means 23,
By previously putting water into the pot 2 of the rice cooker 1, it is possible to control the rice immersion time.

(Embodiment 2) Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is an internal configuration diagram. In the figure, portions common to the conventional example and the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.
The water supply tank 10 is a detachable water supply tank 10 a that can be installed and removed detachably from the main body 8, and has an elongated shape with a smaller area than the inner volume of the pot 2 of the rice cooker 1. The main body 8 is provided with a water supply tank receiving portion 16 for setting the detachable water supply tank 10a.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The user removes the detachable water supply tank 10a,
The detachable water supply tank 10a is carried to a water tap or the like, and the water level is measured using a scale provided in a transparent detachable water supply tank at a position easily visible from the outside according to the amount of rice. The detachable water supply tank 10a filled with water is returned to a predetermined position. As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 4, the water supply tank receiving portion 16 supports the removable water supply tank 10a by pushing and opening a valve 10c at a water supply port of the removable water supply tank 10a. The water in the detachable water supply tank 10a is pushed open.
c and is poured into the water supply tank receiving portion 16. In the case of the reservation operation, the control means 15 opens the rice input valve 13 and discharges the rice in the rice storage unit 12 into the kettle 2 after a predetermined time has elapsed.
Next, the water supply valve 11 is opened to discharge water into the kettle 2. After charging the rice and water into the kettle 2, the lid closing means 14 is operated to close the lid 4.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the removable water supply tank 10a is used, the water supply tank can be transported to a water tap or the like, thereby facilitating water supply. In addition, detachable water tank 1
0a has a smaller area and an elongated shape compared to the inner volume of the rice cooker, so that the variation in the water amount is smaller than when the water level is measured in a rice cooker.

(Embodiment 3) Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram. In the figure, portions common to the conventional example and the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The water supply valve 11 is a water supply pump 11a. Water valve 1
In the case of 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the position of the water supply tank 10 needs to be located above the pot 2 of the rice cooker 1, but if the water supply pump 11a is used, this positional relationship can be set freely. 5, the height of the main body can be reduced.

(Embodiment 4) Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an internal configuration diagram. In the figure, portions common to the conventional example and the first, second, and third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. One end is attached by a hinge 24 or the like, and the other end is urged by a spring or the like in an opening direction. A lid opening means 18 for pressing an open button 17 to release the hook 21, and a sliding member 14 for moving in a closing direction by pressing the lid 4 to be opened by the spring or the like.
a having a lid closing means 14 made of a. The lid opening means 18 is constituted by, for example, a solenoid or the like, and has a structure for performing a mechanical push operation. FIG. 7 shows an example of the lid closing means 14, in which the rotary arm 14c is rotated by the motor 14d, and the sliding member 14a moves in the closing direction while pressing the lid 4.

With the above-described configuration, when the cover 4 is opened, the cover opening means 18 is operated, and the open button 1 of the rice cooker 1 is operated.
Press 7 to open lid 4. When the lid 4 is closed, the lid closing means 14 is actuated, pushed by the sliding member 14a, and the lid 4 rotates about the hinge 24 at one end as a fulcrum, and is closed at the position where the hook 21 at the other end is engaged. Become. By using the lid opening mechanism of the rice cooker 1, automatic opening of the lid 4 can be easily realized using the lid opening means 18, and the rice cooker 1 is set with the lid 4 previously opened by the user. There is no need to set the rice cooker 1 with the lid 4 closed. Further, the lid 4 can be closed by the lid closing means 14. The lid 4 of the rice cooker 1 can be opened and closed by the lid opening means 18 and the lid closing means 14, and the automatic supply of rice and water is realized together with the water supply means 22 and the rice supply means 23.

(Embodiment 5) Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an internal configuration diagram. In the drawing, portions common to the conventional example and the first, second, third, and fourth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. A portion 14b of the end of the lid closing means 14 that contacts the lid 4 is provided at a position that limits the opening angle of the fully opened lid 4 to a small angle in the middle.

When the cover 4 is closed, the cover opening means 18 is operated, and the open button 17 of the rice cooker 1 is pressed to open the cover 4. The lid 4 is an end portion 14b of the sliding member 14a of the lid closing means 14.
, And the open state is maintained at the predetermined open angle. After rice and water are put into the kettle 2, the lid closing means 14 is operated to close the lid 4.

As described above, even when the lid 4 is opened, the opening angle is limited by the sliding member 14a of the lid closing means 14, so that a large space for opening and closing the lid 4 is provided in the main body 8. The main body 8 can be made small because there is no need to secure it inside.

(Embodiment 6) Hereinafter, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an internal configuration diagram. In the figure, portions common to the conventional example and the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. When water and rice are charged into the kettle 2, the rice and water are received from the rice discharge port 25 of the rice input valve 13 and the water discharge port 26 of the water supply valve 11 or the water supply pump 11 a, and the rice and water are guided into the kettle 2. The outlet 27 is located above the shuttle 2 so as to fall down, and has a loading cylinder 19 that operates to move the outlet 27 to a position where opening and closing does not hinder opening and closing when the lid 4 is opened and closed. The charging cylinder 19 is fixed to a motor shaft as shown in FIG. 9, and rotates in a horizontal direction by a predetermined angle. When rice and water are charged, the charging cylinder 19 is operated to move the discharge port 27 of the charging cylinder 19 upward in the pot 2. When the rice input valve 13 is opened, the rice in the rice storage unit 12 falls and is received by the input cylinder 19, and is introduced into the kettle 2 from the discharge port 27 along the cylinder. Next, when the water supply valve 11 is opened, the water in the water supply tank 10 or the detachable water supply tank 10a and the water in the water supply tank receiving portion 16 fall, are received by the charging cylinder 19, and are injected into the kettle 2 from the discharge port 27 along the cylinder. You. After charging rice and water into kettle 2, charge cylinder 1
9 is operated and the outlet 2 is located at a position where opening and closing of the lid 4 is not hindered.
7 moves, and the lid 4 is closed by the lid closing means 14.

With the above arrangement, the discharge port 27 is located in the pot 2 when water or rice is charged into the pot 2, and moves to a position where opening and closing does not hinder the opening and closing of the lid. Since the opening angle of the lid 4 can be set irrespective of the positions of the water 25 and the water outlet 26, the main body 8 can be lowered by setting the angle as small as possible.

(Embodiment 7) Hereinafter, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an external perspective view.
In the figure, portions common to the conventional example and the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. A detachable rice cooker 1a is provided, and a sliding rice cooker stand 20 is provided that allows the detachable rice cooker 1a to be pulled out of the main body 8 or housed inside the main body 8. The user sets the empty rice cooker 2 in the removable rice cooker 1a after washing, puts the removable rice cooker 1a on the sliding rice cooker stand 20 protruding out of the main body 8, and slides inside the main body 8 by sliding. To be stored. The power supply to the detachable rice cooker 1a is performed by connecting an electrical connection portion when the rice cooker 1a is placed on the slide rice cooker stand 20, or by a user automatically connecting a power plug (not shown) of the rice cooker 1 to the automatic rice cooker. It shall be connected to a power outlet (not shown) provided in the main body 8. By making the rice cooker 1 detachable, a commercial rice cooker can be used, and a dedicated rice cooker is not required. In addition, it becomes easy to move the rice cooker to a table or the like. Further, the rice cooker can be easily moved by the sliding rice cooker stand, and the setting and removal of the pot can be easily performed.

[0030]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, rice and water are divided into a kettle and a water supply tank or a rice storage unit up to a predetermined time before the start of rice cooking at the time of reservation driving, and the rice is stored at an arbitrary time. By operating a water supply valve or a rice charging valve, the rice can be charged into the kettle, and the rice immersion time can be controlled.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the variation is less than when water is measured by putting water in a kettle. Furthermore, since the water supply tank is removable, the water supply tank can be carried to a water tap or the like, thereby facilitating water supply.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the positional relationship between the water supply tank and the rice cooker can be freely set, and the height of the main body can be reduced.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the lid can be easily opened and closed by using the lid opening mechanism of the rice cooker, and rice and water can be automatically introduced.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is no need to secure a space for fully opening the lid, and the main body can be made smaller.

According to the invention described in claim 6, the main body can be made smaller by setting the angle as small as possible.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a commercially available single rice cooker can be used, and a dedicated rice cooker is not required.
In addition, it becomes easy to move the rice cooker to a table or the like.
Further, the rice cooker can be easily moved by the sliding rice cooker stand, and the setting and removal of the pot can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an automatic rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of the same.

FIG. 3 is an internal configuration diagram of an automatic rice cooker according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a configuration of the water supply tank receiving portion.

FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram of an automatic rice cooker according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an internal configuration diagram of an automatic rice cooker according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the lid closing means.

FIG. 8 is an internal configuration diagram of an automatic rice cooker according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an internal configuration diagram of an automatic rice cooker according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of an automatic rice cooker according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of a conventional rice cooker.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of a conventional rice cooker with a lid opened.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker 2 Kettle 3 Heating means 4 Lid 5 Operation part 8 Main body 9 Scale 10 Water supply tank 10a Removable water supply tank 11 Water supply valve 11a Water supply pump 12 Rice storage part 13 Rice input valve 14 Lid closing means 14a Sliding member 14b End Reference Signs List 15 control means 15a operation part 16 water supply tank receiving part 17 open button 18 lid opening means 19 charging cylinder 20 sliding rice cooker stand 21 hook 22 water supply means 23 rice supply means 24 hinge 25 rice discharge port 26 water discharge port 27 discharge port

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Nakae 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Term (reference) 4B055 AA07 BA36 BA61 CA68 CA69 CA75 CB09 CB14 CC28 CC63 EA01 EA03

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A rice cooker installed in a main body, and a lid closing means for closing a lid of the rice cooker, and a water supply valve for opening and closing a drain port of a water supply tank, or a rice discharge port for a rice storage unit. An automatic rice cooker having at least one of rice feed valves. 2. A water supply tank having an elongated shape having a small area compared to the inner volume of a rice cooker, and being detachable from a main body, the main body having a water supply tank receiving portion for setting the water supply tank. The automatic rice cooker according to claim 1 provided. 3. The automatic rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the water supply valve is a water supply pump. 4. A lid for a rice cooker in which one end is attached by a hinge or the like and the other end is urged by a spring or the like in an opening direction and is kept closed by hooking so as not to open when closed. 2. The automatic rice cooker according to claim 1, further comprising lid opening means for pressing an open button to release the hook, and lid closing means comprising a sliding member which moves while pressing the lid in the closing direction. 5. A part which is in contact with the lid at the end of the lid closing means,
2. The automatic rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the automatic rice cooker is provided at a position where the opening angle of the lid to be fully opened is limited to a small angle in the middle. 6. The water or rice charging cylinder according to claim 1, wherein when the water or rice is charged into the kettle, the discharge port is located in the kettle, and the water or rice charging cylinder is moved to a position where opening and closing does not hinder opening and closing. Automatic rice cooker. 7. The sliding rice cooker stand according to claim 1, wherein the rice cooker is detachably installed, and the rice cooker has a sliding rice cooker stand that can be pulled out of the main body or housed inside the main body. Automatic rice cooker.