JP2006141598A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker preventing overdrying and deterioration of the taste of boiled rice by optimal warming control according to the amount of the boiled rice and eliminating the trouble of a reheating control operation. <P>SOLUTION: A control means 8 has a high warming temperature and a low warming temperature for retaining the heat of cooked foods 3, repeatedly controls the high warming temperature and the low warming temperature for every predetermined time, and changes the values of the high warming temperature and the low warming temperature according to the amount of the cooked foods 3 respectively. This constitution can prevent the overdrying and the deterioration of the taste of the cooked foods by controlling the warming temperature by the optimal high warming temperature and low warming temperature according to the amount of the cooked foods and eliminate the trouble of the reheating control operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker having a function of keeping cooked rice.

  At present, the temperature for keeping cooked rice (cooked food) in a jar rice cooker is defined as 71 ± 6 ° C. by the JIS standard regardless of the amount of cooked rice. These jar rice cookers generally have a temperature detection means composed of a thermistor at the bottom of a pan for storing cooked rice, etc., and the controller controls the energization of the heat retaining heater by this output, thereby controlling the temperature of the cooked rice. It was configured to maintain the temperature within the standard. However, when the temperature is kept within the above temperature range for a certain period of time, there has been a problem of yellowing of rice and the generation of a strange odor, so various solutions have been taken.

  As one of them, starting from a low temperature holding temperature of 55 to 75 ° C., a high temperature holding temperature of 75 to 95 ° C. is repeated every certain time to prevent the deterioration of the taste of the cooked rice and spoilage. Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, there are also known ones that have a plurality of reheating control data setting means corresponding to the temperature and amount of cooked rice, and the user selects optimum reheating control individually by a selection switch (for example, , See Patent Document 2).
JP 7-298984 A JP-A-6-30844

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, when the heat retention control is performed in the case of a small amount of cooked rice, the outer surface is excessively dry in the case of a small amount of cooked rice. There was a problem of excessive curing. Moreover, in the structure of patent document 2, although optimal reheating control according to each amount of cooked rice can be performed, it is necessary to perform reheating control with a selection switch each time, and operation is complicated. There was a problem.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, performs optimal heat retention control according to the amount of cooked rice, prevents overdrying of cooked rice, does not deteriorate the taste, and is troublesome in reheating control operation. The purpose is to provide a rice cooker that eliminates.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the rice cooker of the present invention has a control means having a high temperature insulation temperature and a low temperature insulation temperature for keeping the food, and repeating the high temperature insulation temperature and the low temperature insulation temperature at regular intervals. And the values of the high temperature and the low temperature are changed according to the amount of the food.

  This makes it possible to prevent the overheating of the cooked food by preventing the overheating of the cooked food by controlling the optimum hot and cold temperature according to the amount of the cooked food, and eliminating the troublesome reheating control operation. It is something that can be done.

  The rice cooker of the present invention performs optimum heat retention control in accordance with the amount of food to be cooked, prevents over-drying of the food, does not deteriorate the taste, and eliminates the troublesome reheating control operation.

  1st invention heats the said main body with which the upper surface opened, the pan which can be detachably accommodated in the storage part of the said main body, and puts cooked foods, such as rice, the cover which covers the said storage part so that opening and closing is possible, and the said pan Heating means, temperature detection means for detecting the temperature in the pan and the pan, control means for controlling the heating means by output from the temperature detection means, and detection means for detecting the amount of food, The control means has a high temperature holding temperature and a low temperature holding temperature for holding the cooked food, and repeats the high temperature holding temperature and the low temperature holding temperature at regular intervals, and the high temperature holding temperature and the low temperature holding temperature according to the amount of the cooked food. By using a rice cooker that changes the value of each, the temperature is controlled by the optimum high and low temperature keeping temperature according to the amount of the cooked food, preventing over-drying of the cooked food without deteriorating the taste. , Ma In which it is possible to eliminate the trouble of re-heating control operation.

  According to a second invention, in the first invention, the detection means for detecting the amount of the cooked food is a weight detection means for detecting the total weight of the pan and the cooked food. By controlling the output means to reduce the value of the high temperature insulation temperature and low temperature insulation temperature respectively, even if the amount of food is reduced by eating the food being kept warm, the surface of the food being kept warm is overdried. A good state of taste without curing due to can be obtained.

  The third invention is the first or second invention, wherein the high temperature insulation temperature is set to the anti-corruption temperature, and the low temperature insulation temperature is set to be lower than the anti-corruption temperature, thereby suppressing the rotting of cooked rice in the high temperature insulation temperature range. In addition, the deterioration of the taste of cooked rice can be prevented and the good taste can be maintained in the low temperature keeping temperature range.

  According to a fourth invention, in the second or third invention, when the amount of the cooked product exceeds a certain amount, the values of the high temperature heat retention temperature and the low temperature heat retention temperature are increased. By reducing the value, when the amount of cooked food is relatively small, it is possible to perform heat retention with high efficiency with the minimum necessary power without consuming more heat retention power than necessary.

  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)
1 and 2 show a rice cooker according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rice cooker in this Embodiment is the main body 1 which the upper surface opened, the pan 4 which detachably accommodates in the storage part 2 of the said main body 1, and puts foodstuffs 3, such as rice, A lid 5 that covers the storage unit 3 so as to be openable and closable, a heating means 6 comprising an induction heating coil for heating the pan 4, a temperature detecting means 7 for detecting the temperature in the pan 4 and the pan 4, and the temperature detecting means 7 has a control means 8 for controlling the heating means 6 by an output from 7 and a detection means for detecting the amount of cooked food (included in the control means 8 in the present embodiment).

  And as shown in FIG. 2, the said control means 8 has the high temperature heat retention temperature and low temperature heat retention temperature which heat-maintain the foodstuff 3 (in this Embodiment "55 degreeC-75 degreeC" "65 degreeC-85 degreeC. And the high temperature insulation temperature and the low temperature insulation temperature are repeated every predetermined time (6 hours in the present embodiment), and the high temperature is changed according to the amount of food to be cooked. The values of the heat retention temperature and the low temperature heat retention temperature are changed (for example, changed from “55 ° C.-75 ° C.” to “65 ° C.-85 ° C.”).

  The storage part 2 of the main body 1 is composed of an upper frame 2a on the upper side and a coil base 2b on the lower side. The pan 4 stored in the storage unit 2 is formed of a magnetic material such as stainless steel or iron, and there is a gap between the pan 4 and the storage unit 2. An induction heating coil that constitutes the heating means 6 is disposed at a portion of the coil base 2b that faces the bottom of the pan 4 so that the pan 4 is induction-heated. The induction heating coil as the heating means 6 includes an outer coil disposed outside the coil base 2b and an inner coil disposed in the center. Each induction heating coil is a winding having a center substantially directly below the bottom center of the pan 4. The temperature detection means 7 is provided in contact with the bottom of the pan 4 and detects the temperature in the pan 4 and the pan 4. The control means 8 is equipped with a microcomputer (not shown) and controls the current for generating an alternating magnetic field in the induction heating coil constituting the heating means 6.

  Next, the rice cooking operation | movement by the rice cooker of an above-described structure is demonstrated.

  The cooking process is predominately chronologically pre-cooked, cooked, boiled, cooked, and steamed. In the pre-cooking step, the rice and water in the pan 4 are heated by the heating means 6 so that the temperature of the pan 4 becomes a temperature suitable for water absorption of rice (50 ° C.). Next, in the cooking step, the pan 4 is heated with a predetermined amount of heat until the temperature of the pan 4 reaches a predetermined value (100 ° C.). The detection means in the control means 8 determines the amount of rice cooking based on the temperature rise rate at this time. According to this determination result, in this embodiment, the total amount of the cooked food 3 is determined in three stages of 1 cup (1 go) to 2 cups, 2 cups to 4 cups, 4 cups or more, and the amount of heat suitable for each process. Control. In the boiling maintenance step, the rice and water are heated until the water in the pot 4 runs out and the temperature of the pot 4 reaches a predetermined value exceeding 100 ° C. Finally, in the steaming process, heating (cooking) according to the amount of cooked rice and stopping of heating are repeated a plurality of times during a fixed time. When the rice cooking process is completed, the heat insulation process is started.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the heat retaining step, the control means 8 performs temperature control in each temperature region for several hours (this embodiment) so that the low temperature heat retaining temperature is 55 to 75 ° C. and the high temperature keeping temperature is 75 to 95 ° C. Repeat for 6 hours). At the time of this low temperature heat retention, it is performed for the purpose of preventing spoilage at the time of high temperature heat insulation in order to prevent the taste deterioration of the cooked food 3 (rice cooked rice). At this time, in the case of the minimum amount (1 to 2 cups) based on the information on the total amount of cooked rice in the three stages obtained by the above-mentioned rice cooking amount determination, an intermediate amount (low temperature keeping temperature 55 ° C.-high temperature keeping temperature 75 ° C.) In the case of 2 to 4 cups), the low temperature insulation temperature is 65 ° C.—around the high temperature insulation temperature 85 ° C., and in the case of the maximum amount (4 cups or more), the low temperature insulation temperature is 75 ° C.—the high temperature insulation temperature is around 95 ° C. When the amount of cooked rice is relatively large, the setting is made high, and when the amount is small, the setting is made low. When the amount of cooked rice is kept warm, the surface portion is overdried and hardened to harden. In addition, since the rice cooker automatically performs the operation as described above instead of the operation switch or the like, the user does not forget the setting and the user does not feel complicated.

  In the present embodiment, the total amount of cooked rice is detected at a three-level level, but it is also easy to divide it finely, and in that case, finer heat insulation can be performed.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 shows a rice cooker according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The same elements as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in the figure, the rice cooker in the present embodiment has a weight detecting means 9 for detecting the total weight of the pan 4 and the food 3 as the detecting means for detecting the amount of the cooked food, and the total weight is reduced during the heat insulation. In this case, the control means 8 reduces the values of the high temperature insulation temperature and the low temperature insulation temperature in accordance with the output signal of the weight detection means 9.

  The weight detection means 9 includes a load cell 10, a sensor base (insulating member) 11, and a contact cylinder (detecting body) 12 that comes into contact with the bottom of the pan 4. The load cell 10 is a robust type load transducer (weight detection element). The load cell 10 incorporates a resistance wire strain gauge (not shown), and a change in resistance of the strain gauge when the load cell 10 is bent by a load is taken out as an electrical signal by a bridge circuit. Moreover, it has the pan detection means 13 which detects the presence or absence of the pan 4, and is attached to the base 14 fixed with a gap at the bottom of the coil base 2b together with the weight detection means 9.

  About the rice cooking operation | movement by the rice cooker of an above-described structure, although it is the same as that of Embodiment 1, it is during heat insulation by the output signal of the weight detection means 9 which detects the total weight of the pan 4 and the foodstuff 3. When the total weight is reduced, the control means 8 decreases the values of the high temperature insulation temperature and the low temperature insulation temperature. That is, if the amount of cooked food is reduced by eating the food 3 being kept warm, the temperature is kept at a suitable keeping temperature (for example, changing from “65 ° C.-85 ° C.” to “55 ° C.-75 ° C.”) Therefore, the cooked food 3 being kept warm can obtain a good state of taste that does not harden the surface due to overdrying.

  As detected by the weight detection means 9, when the amount of food exceeds a certain amount, the values of the high temperature insulation temperature and the low temperature insulation temperature are increased, and when the amount is less than the certain amount, the values of the high temperature insulation temperature and the low temperature insulation temperature are decreased. Then, when the amount of cooked food is relatively small, it is possible to maintain high efficiency with the minimum necessary power without consuming more heat than necessary.

  As described above, the rice cooker according to the present invention performs optimum heat retention control according to the amount of the cooked product, prevents overdrying of the cooked product, does not deteriorate the taste, and eliminates the troublesome reheating control operation. Therefore, it can be used not only for general households but also for uses such as commercial rice cookers.

Sectional drawing which shows the principal part which shows the rice cooker in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the amount of rice and heat retention temperature in the same rice cooker Main part sectional drawing which shows the rice cooker in Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Storage part 3 Cooking thing 4 Pan 5 Lid 6 Heating means 7 Temperature detection means 8 Control means 9 Weight detection means

Claims (4)

A main body having an open top surface, a pan that is detachably stored in a storage portion of the main body, and that contains cooked food such as rice, a lid that covers the storage portion so as to be openable and closable, a heating means that heats the pan, and the pan And a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature in the pan, a control means for controlling the heating means based on an output from the temperature detection means, and a detection means for detecting the amount of cooked food. The high temperature heat insulation temperature and the low temperature heat insulation temperature are kept, and the high temperature heat insulation temperature and the low temperature heat insulation temperature are repeatedly performed every predetermined time, and the values of the high temperature heat insulation temperature and the low temperature heat insulation temperature are respectively changed according to the amount of food. Rice cooker. The detection means for detecting the amount of the food is a weight detection means for detecting the total weight of the pan and the food. When the total weight is reduced during the heat insulation, the control means uses the output signal of the weight detection means to control the high temperature and low temperature heat insulation. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein each temperature value is decreased. The rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the high temperature insulation temperature is set to the anti-corruption temperature, and the low temperature insulation temperature is set lower than the anti-corruption temperature. The cooked rice according to claim 2 or 3, wherein when the amount of the cooked product exceeds a certain amount, the value of the high temperature insulation temperature and the low temperature insulation temperature is increased, and when the amount is less than the certain amount, the value of the high temperature insulation temperature and the low temperature insulation temperature is decreased. vessel.

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