JP2005230224A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker holding an inner pot on a weight detector with an optimal distance retained from an induction heating coil (IH coil), and regulating the rotation of the pot, when a pot is going to rotate. <P>SOLUTION: When the inner pot is put on the weight detector in contact with a pot detent provided in the inner wall surface of a body upper frame and stationary members provided in the left/right of the pot detent, this rice cooker can retain the inner pot at the optimal distance from the induction heating coil (IH coil), and stop the rotation of the pot by using the pot detent as a resistance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker in which an optimum water metering that matches rice metering is obtained by a weight measuring means so that desired rice cooking can be performed.

  Conventionally, this type of rice cooker puts an inner pan on the rice cooker, and weighs the whole weight of the inner pan, the cooked rice, and the rice heater with a weight measuring means to obtain an optimal water metering that matches rice metering. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 7 shows a rice cooker using a conventional weight sensor described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the rice cooker body 1 includes an inner pot 2, an inner container 3, a rice cooker 4, and a weight detection device 5. The weight detection device 5 includes a chassis 6, a leaf spring 7 with a strain gauge attached thereto, and a table 8. The chassis 6 of the weight detection device 5 is fixed to the bottom surface of the inner container 3, the chassis 6, the leaf spring 7, and the table 8 are attached substantially parallel to the bottom surface, and the rice cooking heater 4 is attached to the table 8. Is placed on the rice heater 4.

In the above configuration, when rice or water to be cooked is put in the inner pan and stored in the main body, the weight of the cooked rice is transmitted to the leaf spring 7 via the rice cooker 4 and the table 8 and is attached to the leaf spring 7. The weight of the cooked rice is detected by converting the amount of distortion into a voltage or the like.
Japanese Patent No. 2832455

  However, when trying to attach the same weight detection means as the conventional rice cooker to the induction heating rice cooker, the following problems occurred. In an induction heating rice cooker, when cooking rice, the pan itself is heated to a high temperature to cause convection of water in the pan, and the rice is heated by heat conduction by the convection. Therefore, in order to uniformly heat the rice and water in the pan and not cause uneven cooking, the positional relationship between the pan and the induction heating coil is fixed to an optimal state, and a predetermined state is determined according to the amount of rice cooked. It is necessary to cause convection of strength in the pan. For this reason, the induction heating coil often has a three-dimensional complicated shape. On the other hand, a storage unit (comprising an upper frame and an upper coil base) in which an induction heating coil is built is usually produced from a resin in view of moldability and mass productivity. Since the pot becomes hot and the heat resistance of the resin is not so high, in general, the induction heating rice cooker has a pan that is horizontally suspended at the upper end of the storage part by its flange, etc., and there is a gap between the pot and the storage part . Therefore, the same weight detection means as the conventional rice cooker could not be attached to the induction heating rice cooker.

  Also, when uncooked rice is cooked or when the rice is put into a bowl, the pan must not be rotated easily, but the conventional configuration is that the bottom of the pan rests on the table surface. The pan was restricted from rotating, but this configuration had a problem that it could not be adopted because the pan and the pan storage part of the main body were in contact.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem, accurately measuring the weight of the cooked food while keeping the distance between the induction heating coil and the pan constant in both the horizontal and vertical directions, and appropriately according to the measured value. An object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker using electromagnetic induction heating that performs thermal power control. Furthermore, it is intended to prevent the pan from rotating when the user tries to cook the cooked rice.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the present invention includes induction heating means for induction heating a pan, and a weight detection device provided in a storage portion for storing the pan, and the weight detection device includes a weight detection element. A strain generating body, a fixing base for fixing one end of the strain generating body, and a contact tube fixed to the other end of the strain generating body and abutting on a substantially central portion of the outer bottom portion of the pan. It is a rice cooker provided with a pan stopper of an elastic body that contacts the outer surface of the pan on the inner surface of the upper end, and a pair of stationary members on both sides of the pan stopper, and the pan was placed on the weight detection device. At the same time, the pan bottom is supported by a batting cylinder, and the pan rotation stopper provided on the inner wall surface of the main body storage unit is brought into contact with the upper end of the pan to secure the distance between the pan and the storage unit, so that the horizontal direction is also vertical The direction can also be maintained at an optimum distance from the induction heating means (IH coil). When you try to rolling, pan detent bent in the circumferential direction of the pot, and a resistor, it is possible to prevent rotation of the pan.

  According to the rice cooker of the present invention, the pan can be placed on the weight detection device and held at an optimum distance from the induction heating means (IH coil), and the user can use the cooked rice. In this case, the pan can be prevented from rotating.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a main body having an open top surface, a pan that is detachably stored in a storage portion of the main body, a lid that covers the storage portion so as to be opened and closed, and induction heating of the pan. And a weight detecting device provided in the storage portion, wherein the weight detecting device includes a strain generating body having a weight detecting element, a fixing base for fixing one end of the strain generating body, and the generating base. An elastic cylinder that is fixed to the other end of the strainer and has an abutment cylinder that abuts the substantially central portion of the outer bottom of the pan, and that contacts the outer surface of the pan on the inner surface of the upper end of the storage unit By providing a stopper and a pair of stationary members on both sides of the rotation stopper, when the pan is placed on the weight detection device, the pan bottom is supported on the inner wall surface of the main body storage portion by supporting the pan bottom with a batting cylinder Keep the stopper in contact with the top of the pan to ensure the distance between the pan and the storage area Even in the vertical direction, it can be held at an optimum distance from the induction heating means (IH coil), and when the pan tries to rotate, the pan detent will bend in the circumferential direction of the pan and stay stationary with the outer surface of the pan It can be pinched between the members and becomes a resistance, preventing the pan from rotating.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention is such that the pan support and the stationary member are integrated and detachable from the upper frame so that the support structure of the pan can be unitized. It is possible to accurately set the distance to the pan, and to reliably perform positioning and rotation prevention of the pan.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention can sufficiently prevent the rotation of the pan by increasing the contact resistance between the pan detent and the pan by expanding the tip of the pan detent from the middle. Is.

  In the invention according to claim 4 of the present invention, a step is provided on the upper surface of the stationary member, and the tip of the pan detent is brought into contact with the step, thereby reliably preventing the pan from rotating. It improves the pulling durability.

  The invention according to claim 5 of the present invention improves the accuracy of pan measurement by lowering the repulsive force of the pan detent, which is an elastic body, by bending the intermediate portion of the pan detent a plurality of times. Also, when the pan is about to rotate, the pan detent becomes a resistance, and the pan can be reliably prevented from rotating.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 shown in FIG. 1 is the main body of the rice cooker. The main body 10 is provided with a lid 20 that covers the upper surface thereof so as to be freely opened and closed. The housing part 30 of the main body 10 is composed of an upper frame 12 on the upper side and a coil base 13 on the lower side. Reference numeral 11 denotes a pan formed of a magnetic material such as stainless steel or iron. The pan 11 has a flange 11 a that protrudes outward from the upper end opening, and is placed in the storage unit 30 in a detachable manner by placing the flange 11 a in a state of being lifted from the upper end of the upper frame 12. The pan 11 has a gap between it and the storage unit 30 when stored. An induction heating coil (induction heating means) 14 for induction heating the pan 11 is disposed at a portion of the coil base facing the bottom of the pan 11. The induction heating coil 14 is a winding having a center substantially directly below the center of the bottom of the pan 11.

  A strain body 16 having a strain sensor (not shown) as a weight detection element attached to the bottom of the main body 10, a fixing base 17 for fixing the strain body 16, and the other end of the strain body 16 are fixed. The weight detection device 30 is provided that includes a batting cylinder 15 that receives the weight of the pan 11. A temperature detecting means 18 is provided in the abutting cylinder 15 and is urged by a coil spring. When the pan 11 is placed on the abutting cylinder 15, the temperature detecting means 18 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the pan 11. Reference numeral 19 denotes a pan stopper which is a silicon rubber sheet-like piece, one end of which is fixed to the upper frame 12 and the other end is an open end. Stationary members 21 are provided on both the left and right sides of the pan detent 19.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, three portions are equally arranged in the upper end opening of the upper frame 12 by the combination of the pan stopper 19 and the stationary member 21. The length from one end of the pan stopper 19 to the other end is equal to three places, that is, the horizontal distance between the inner wall of the upper frame 12 and the upper portion of the outer surface of the pan 11 is equal on the outer periphery of the pan opening. It is to make.

  22 is a control board and 23 is an operation board. A microcomputer (not shown) is mounted on the control board 22. The microcomputer controls the current for generating an alternating magnetic field in the induction heating coil 14 by software. The rice cooker of 1st Embodiment induction-heats the pan 11, and cooks the food 24 in the pan 11 by heating. The cooked food 24 is rice before cooking rice, water, cooked rice, or the like. 25 is an operation part of this rice cooker, 26 is a display part, 27 is LED which displays water addition, 28 is a confirmation button, 29 is a rice cooking button.

  The operation in the above configuration will be described. When the lid 20 is opened and the main body is turned on, the microcomputer and the weight detection device 30 are energized. Since the weight of the pot 11 is stored in advance, the microcomputer detects the presence or absence of the pot 11. For example, in a state where an empty pan is contained, a display of “measuring rice” appears on the display unit 26 on the front surface of the main body. Next, when the confirmation button 28 for confirming the rice weighing is pressed, the display unit 26 displays the amount of rice and the water being added or subtracted. In the case of washing-free rice, when water is poured into the pan 11, the LEDs 27 are sequentially lit from the left. When rice is just put in, the LED at the leftmost position lights up. The center is normal water, the right is softer than the center, and the left is harder than the center. After setting the desired water level, press the rice cooking button to start cooking and cook the rice with the set hardness. When washing the rice, after pressing the confirmation button 28, the pan 11 is taken out, washed with rice, and the pan 11 is installed in the main body 10 again. At this time, the pan 11 is supported at the substantially center of the bottom of the pan by the batting cylinder 15, and at the same time, the upper portion of the outer surface of the pan 11 comes into contact with the pan detent 19 of the silicon rubber sheet provided on the upper frame 12. By contacting the pan detent 19, the horizontal distance between the inner wall of the upper frame 12 and the upper portion of the outer surface of the pan 11 becomes equal on the outer periphery of the pan opening. Therefore, the pan 11 is supported by the batting cylinder 15 and the pan detent 19 contacts the upper part of the outer surface of the pan 11, whereby the distance between the pan 11 and the induction heating coil 14 is kept constant.

  Next, the pot 11, rice and water are weighed. As in the case of non-washed rice, when water is added to the pan 11, the LEDs 27 are sequentially lit from the left, so that the rice is adjusted to the desired water level and the rice cooking button 29 is pressed to start rice cooking. After cooking the rice, when the pan 11 is about to rotate by the rice paddle operation when the rice is loosened or the rice is served in the bowl, The bend along the outer surface of the pan 11 is sandwiched between the upper outer surface of the pan 11 and the stationary member 21. As a result, the friction increases and the rotation of the pan 11 can be prevented.

(Embodiment 2)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6. FIG. A plurality of holes 40 are provided at the upper end of the upper frame 12, and a cap 41 is attached to the hole 40. Under the cap 41, the pan stopper 19, the left and right stationary members 21, and claws 42 are provided at both ends, and the lower ends of the guides 43 provided in the holes 40 of the upper frame 12 are engaged with each other. Is fixed to the upper end of the upper frame 12.

  The operation in the above configuration will be described. As in the first embodiment, when the pan 11 is installed on the main body 10, the pan 11 is supported by the batting tube 15 at the substantial center of the pan bottom, and at the same time, the pan detent 19 provided on the upper frame 12 is provided with the pan 11. In contact with the upper outer surface of

  Then, the pan stopper 19 and the stationary members 21 provided on both the left and right sides thereof are integrated with the cap 41 so that the pan can be freely attached to and detached from the upper frame 12, so that the pan is adjusted to the distance between the pan 11 and the upper frame 12. 11 and the stationary member 21 provided on the left and right sides of the pan detent 19 and the pan detent 19 can be accurately set, and the pan can be positioned reliably.

  As shown in FIG. 4, by making the tip 19a of the pan detent 19 wider than the middle portion 19b, the contact resistance force between the pan detent 19 and the outer surface of the pan 11 is increased. The rotation can be sufficiently prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the step 21 a is provided on the upper surface of the stationary member 21, and the tip of the pan detent 19 is in contact with the step on the upper surface 21 a of the stationary member 21, thereby reliably preventing pan rotation. The pulling durability of the pan detent 19 is improved.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the accuracy of pan weighing is improved by lowering the repulsive force of the sheet-like elastic body by bending the intermediate portion 19b of the pan stopper 19 a plurality of times. Moreover, when the pan 11 tries to rotate, the tip 19a of the pan detent 19 becomes a resistance, and the pan 11 can be reliably prevented from rotating.

  The rice cooker according to the present invention is useful as a rice cooker for home use or business use.

Sectional drawing of the rice cooker in Embodiment 1 and 2 of this invention Plan view Exploded perspective view of the main part Perspective view of the main part The same plan view The same plan view Sectional drawing which shows the conventional rice cooker

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Pan 14 Induction heating means 15 Baffle 16 Straining body 17 Fixing stand 19 Pan detent 20 Lid 21 Stationary member 30 Storage part 31 Weight detection apparatus

Claims (5)

A main body having an open top surface, a pan that is detachably stored in the storage portion of the main body, a lid that covers the storage portion so as to be openable and closable, induction heating means that induction-heats the pan, and the storage portion A weight detecting device, wherein the weight detecting device includes a strain generating body having a weight detecting element, a fixing base for fixing one end of the strain generating body, the other end of the strain generating body and the pan. A stopper cylinder that contacts the substantially central portion of the outer bottom portion of the storage portion, and a pair of elastic pan stoppers that contact the outer surface of the pan on the inner surface of the upper end of the storage portion, and a pair of both sides of the pan stopper A rice cooker with a stationary member. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the pan detent and the stationary member are integrated and detachable from the upper frame. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the pan detent is widened from the middle. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein a step is provided on the upper surface of the stationary member, and a tip portion of the pan rotation stopper comes into contact with the step. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein an intermediate portion of the pan rotation stopper is bent a plurality of times.

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