JP2007252639A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker which facilitates the securing operation of an operation button to a lid body and dispenses with a decoration plate in the case where an outer lid member is made from a resin. <P>SOLUTION: A notched shaft receiving portions 61 turnably held by inserting the hinge shaft 52 of the operation button 50 in a radial direction are formed in a lid ring member 24 to which an outer lid member 22 of a lid body 2 is secured, projections 64 of the lid ring member 24 side and the projecting receiving portions 55 of the operation button 50 side are positioned in an engaging preparing position with a hinge shaft 52 inserted, thereby the hinge shaft 52 is prevented from moving to coming off side relative to the shaft receiving portions 61, the projections 64 are arranged in positions where they do not contact with the hinge shaft 52 inserted into the shaft receiving portions 61, a resilient member 70 is interposed between the lid ring member 24 and the operation button 50, the outer lid member 22 is made of the resin, and an appearance face 22a of the lid body 2 is formed in the outer face. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker, and in particular, to an attachment structure of an operation button that is pressed when a lid unlocking operation is performed on a rice cooker body.

  Conventionally, as a lid of a rice cooker, there is one that includes a lid ring member to which a lid hook is attached and an outer lid member that covers the lid ring member from the outside. Said operation button is attached with respect to the cover body so that rotation around the hinge axis is possible.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the operation button 100 is provided with a button portion 101 exposed to the outer lid member 110, a hinge shaft 102 that is the center of rotation of the button portion 101, and a torsion coil spring 120. And a spring mounting portion 103 to be provided.

  A support seat 111 that holds the operation button 100 is formed on the inner surface of the outer lid member 110. The support seat 111 includes a projection 113 that forms a gap s between the seat 112 that protrudes from the inner surface of the outer lid member 110 and the front edge of the seat (the left side in FIG. 10 is the front). A pair of protruding walls 114 for restricting the axial movement of the spring mounting portion 103 and a pair of shaft abutting portions 115 for restricting the axial movement of the hinge shaft 102 are configured.

  When the operation button 100 is attached, the tapered portion 104 formed at the rear end edge of the spring mounting portion 103 is pushed into the gap s of the support seat portion 111. This pushing operation is a state in which one projecting piece portion 121 of the torsion coil spring 120 is applied to the inner surface side of the spring mounting portion 103 and the other projecting piece portion 122 is applied to the inner surface of the outer cover member 110 and is bent (that is, twisted). (Torque generated state) is maintained. When the tapered portion 104 passes through the gap s of the support seat portion 111, the hinge shaft 102 is fitted into the pair of shaft abutting portions 115, and the spring mounting portion 103 and the pair of projecting walls 114 are close to each other in the axial direction. When the operation button 100 is laid down so that the button portion 101 fits into the hole of the outer lid member 110 from this state, the projection 113 of the support seat portion 111 fits into the engagement hole 105 formed in front of the tapered portion 104, The tapered portion 104 fits in a space formed by the seat portion 112 and the projection portion 113 of the support seat portion 111. Thereby, the installation operation of the operation button 100 is completed.

  In the attached state, the torsion coil spring 120 is interposed between the outer lid member 110 and the operation button 100, and the button portion 101 of the operation button 100 is placed in the hole of the outer lid member 110 due to the torque bias. It is held in the fitted state (standby position). When the button unit 101 is pushed in from this standby position, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 10, the button unit 101 rotates and sinks around the hinge shaft 102, and the protruding portion 106 of the button unit 101 moves the lid hook 130. Thereby, the engagement with respect to the rice cooker main body of the cover hook 130 is cancelled | released.

  At the time of the pushing, the tapered portion 104 also rotates, but the gap s has a width that does not drop out reliably even when the tapered portion 104 rotates. When the push of the button unit 101 is released, the operation button 100 is returned to the standby position by the torque bias of the torsion coil spring 120 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-20850 A

  However, in the rice cooker like the above-mentioned patent document 1, the seat part 112 of the operation button 100, the protrusion part 113, a pair of protrusion wall 114, and a pair of axial part 115 are formed in the inner surface of the outer cover member 110 intricately. Therefore, when the resin outer lid member is used, sink marks are generated on the outer surface side of the outer lid member. Since this sink mark is conspicuous in appearance, it is necessary to attach a decorative plate 140 that covers the sink mark to the outer lid member 110.

  Moreover, in the rice cooker like patent document 1 mentioned above, it is necessary to provide the width | variety of the clearance gap s narrowly so that the taper part 104 may not drop | omit from said clearance gap s. Therefore, there is room for improvement in that it is difficult to push the tapered portion 104 into the gap s and the mounting workability of the operation button 100 is poor.

  Furthermore, in the rice cooker like patent document 1, since there is no torque urging | biasing of the torsion coil spring 120, since the operation button 100 hangs down and falls easily from the support seat part 111, on account of assembly work, It is necessary to interpose the torsion coil spring 120 between the outer lid member 110 and the operation button 100 in a torque-biased state simultaneously with the attachment, which also contributes to a deterioration in workability.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to facilitate the operation of attaching the operation buttons, and to make it possible to omit the decorative plate when the outer lid member is made of resin.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises an operation button for releasing the engagement of the lid hook on the lid body, the hinge button serving as a rotation center is provided on the operation button, and the operation button is pushed by a lid operation. In a rice cooker that rotates to the release side and rotates to the standby position when the pressure is removed, a notch that allows the hinge shaft to be inserted in a radial direction into a lid ring member to which the outer lid member of the lid is attached The hinge shaft is pulled out by aligning the projection on the lid ring member side and the projection on the operation button side with an engagement preparation position with the hinge shaft inserted. The protrusion is arranged at a position where it does not contact the hinge shaft inserted into the bearing, and the operation button is returned to the standby position between the lid ring member and the operation button. Is obtained by employing the configuration, characterized in that that an elastic member is interposed.

In the above configuration, the lid ring member to which the outer lid member of the lid body is attached has a notch-shaped bearing portion into which the hinge shaft can be inserted in the radial direction, and the lid ring is inserted with the hinge shaft inserted. Since the protrusion on the side of the member and the receiving part on the operation button side are aligned with the ready position for engagement, the movement of the hinge shaft on the withdrawal side is prevented, so that the tightening margin of the bearing part is loosened or eliminated. I can. That is, the operation button can be attached to the lid ring member simply by inserting the hinge shaft into the bearing portion with a light force and engaging the projection and the projection.
Furthermore, in the said structure, since the said hinge axis | shaft is maintained by the said bearing part, even if there is no urging | biasing by an elastic member, it can be made to mount separately from the forced fitting operation | work of the said operation button. This also improves the workability of attaching the operation buttons.
Here, since the protrusion is arranged at a position where it does not come into contact with the hinge shaft inserted into the bearing portion, the insertion work space for the hinge shaft is not narrowed by the protrusion.
Therefore, according to the above configuration, the operation of attaching the operation button can be easily performed.

  As the elastic member, a torsion coil spring can be used, but this type of spring is difficult to perform as described above. Here, in the said structure, since the said hinge axis | shaft is maintained by the said bearing part even if there is no urging | biasing by an elastic member, another kind of spring can be employ | adopted.

Specifically, the elastic member is a compression coil spring, and each of the lid ring member and the operation button is formed with a spring holding portion that fits to an end of the elastic member, and the spring holding on the operation button side. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the portion is opposed to the spring holding portion on the lid ring member side by rotation around the hinge axis.
According to this configuration, since the spring holding portion is formed on each of the lid ring member and the operation button, there is no problem of sink marks on the outer lid member. In addition, since the spring holding portion on the operation button side is opposed to the spring holding portion on the lid ring member side by rotation around the hinge shaft, the operation shaft is inserted into the bearing portion and then the operation is performed. The elastic member is interposed between the operation button and the lid ring member by fitting the elastic member to the button or the spring holding part on the lid ring member side and rotating the operation button. Therefore, the operation of attaching the operation button becomes easier.

  As described above, since the operation button is attached to the lid ring member, there is no structure for attaching the operation button to the outer lid member. Therefore, even if the outer lid member is made of resin, the occurrence of sink marks on the outer surface is prevented.

  Therefore, in the above configuration, the decorative plate can be omitted by adopting a configuration in which the outer lid member is made of resin and the outer surface of the lid is formed on the outer surface.

As described above, the present invention includes an operation button for releasing the engagement of the lid hook on the lid body, and the operation button is provided with a hinge shaft serving as a rotation center, and the operation button is pushed toward the lid hook release side by a pushing operation. In a rice cooker that rotates and rotates to the standby position when the pressure disappears, a notched bearing that allows the hinge shaft to be inserted in a radial direction into a lid ring member to which the outer lid member of the lid is attached The hinge shaft is prevented from moving out by aligning the lid ring member side protrusion and the operation button side protrusion in the engagement preparation position with the hinge shaft inserted. The elastic member is arranged so that the protrusion is not in contact with the hinge shaft inserted into the bearing portion, and the operation button is returned to the standby position between the lid ring member and the operation button. The adoption of the configuration is interposed, it is possible to facilitate the mounting operation of the operation button for the lid.
In addition, the present invention further employs a configuration in which the outer lid member is made of resin, and the outer surface of the outer cover member is formed on the outer surface thereof, so that a decorative plate can be obtained when the outer lid member is made of resin. Can be omitted.

Hereinafter, the rice cooker which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on an accompanying drawing.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the rice cooker according to this embodiment can be opened and closed with respect to the outer shell shoulder portion 11 by the hinge mechanism by the lid body 2 that closes to the outer shell shoulder portion 11 of the rice cooker body 1. Is provided.

  This lid 2 is a resin-made outer lid member in which an inner lid 21 that closes the inner pot 3 accommodated in the rice cooker body 1 and an outer appearance surface 22 a that is continuous with the outer appearance surface 11 a of the outer shell shoulder portion 11 are formed. 22, a heater cover 23 that radiates heat to the inner lid 21, and a resin lid ring member 24 that serves as a mounting base for the outer lid member 22, the heater cover 23, and the like.

  The inner lid 21 is detachably attached by pushing the elastic ring portion through a shaft portion protruding from the heater cover 23.

  The outer lid member 22 is attached by forcibly fitting the edge of the outer lid member 22 into the engagement groove of the lid ring member 24.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the heater cover 23 has a circular outer periphery, and projecting pieces 23a cut and raised on one surface side are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. A slit 23b for connecting the ground to the heater cover 23 is formed in the plurality of projecting pieces 23a.

  On the other hand, on the surface of the lid ring member 24 on the outer lid member 22 side, as shown in FIG. 4, an insertion hole 25 corresponding to the protruding piece 23a and a slit 23b as shown in FIG. 5 are formed. A nut fitting recess 26 formed in a portion near the center of the insertion hole 25 corresponding to the projecting piece 23a is formed. The nut fitting recess 26 is configured to prevent the fitted nut from rotating. Further, the nut fitting recess 26 has a front end portion of the bolt 30 penetrating therethrough and a nut fitting hole having a diameter larger than that of the front end portion.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the heater cover 23 is formed by bending the projecting piece portion 23 a so as to cover the nut 27 fitted in each nut fitting recess 26, and then grounding the ground terminal 28 and the spring washer 29 on the slit 23. These holes are placed so as to communicate with the nut 27 in the axial direction, the bolt 30 is passed from above the washer 29, and the bolt 30 and the nut 27 are screwed together, whereby the bolt 30, the nut 27, and the spring washer. 29 and the ground terminal 28 are integrated. Thereby, the ground is connected to the heater cover 23.

  In the mounting structure of the heater cover 23, the projecting piece 23a, the nut 27, the ground terminal 28, and the bolt 30 are all arranged on the surface of the lid ring member 24 on the outer lid member 22 side. For this reason, unlike the case where the heater attachment surface is grounded with a bolt nut or rivet, the nut 27 and the bolt 30 are not exposed when the inner lid 21 is removed, and the appearance of the lid 2 is not impaired. Moreover, there is no fear that steam leaks through the rivet holes or bolt holes. Further, in the mounting structure of the heater cover 23 described above, the heater cover 23 can be attached to the lid ring member 24 by integrating the bolt 30, the nut 27, and the spring washer 29 even when the ground connection is omitted. it can. For this reason, it is not necessary to prepare two types of heater covers according to the necessity of ground connection.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lid 2 is automatically engaged with the recess 11 b of the outer shell shoulder 11 by the closed rotation of the lid 2 in addition to the heater cover 23 and the like. A lid hook mechanism 40 that locks the body 2 in the closed state and an operation button 50 that releases the engagement of the lid hook mechanism 40 are provided.

  In this embodiment, the lid hook mechanism 40 includes a lid hook 41 that is slidably attached to the lid ring member 24 forward and backward (left and right in the drawing) between the engagement position and the engagement release position. An elastic member 42 is interposed between the lid hook 41 and the lid ring member 24 so as to bias the lid hook 41 to the engagement position.

  Usually, the hook member 41 is in the engaged position by the bias of the elastic member 42 (see FIG. 8 as appropriate). When the lid hook 41 is retracted against the elastic member 42 by the force of contact with the outer shell shoulder 11 during the closing rotation of the lid body 2 and is returned to the engagement position by its elastic repulsion, the outer shell shoulder It engages with the recess 11 b of the part 11.

  The operation button 50 includes a button part 51 exposed to the outside through a hole in the outer lid member 22, a hinge shaft 52 serving as the center of rotation, and an arm part for providing a rotation radius around the button part 51 and the hinge shaft 52. 53.

  The lid ring member 24 is formed with a pair of rear-opening bearing portions 61 so as to protrude from the surrounding grid-like rib structure 62 and to be positioned behind the lid hook mechanism 40.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the bearing portion 61 rotatably supports the outer diameter of the hinge shaft 52 by an arc surface that is in sliding contact with the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the hinge shaft 52, and the open end width w thereof is the hinge shaft 52. It has a fastening allowance w1 with respect to the outer diameter. The tightening allowance w1 is set to be loose so that the hinge shaft 52 does not deviate from the arc surface by an external force applied until the operation button 50 is attached. For this reason, the hinge shaft 52 can be inserted into the bearing portion 61 in the radial direction from the rear with a light force. Further, the operation button 50 is held alone by the bearing portion 61 in a state where the hinge shaft 52 is inserted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, an elastic member 70 made of a compression coil spring is interposed between the lid ring member 24 and the arm portion 53 of the operation button 50.

  In the lid ring member 24, a columnar spring holding portion 63 that is fitted to the inner periphery of one end portion of the elastic member 70 is formed in front of the bearing portion 61. On the other hand, the arm portion 53 is formed with an annular spring holding portion 54 that is fitted to the outer periphery of the other end portion of the elastic member 70.

  The rotation radius r1 at the center of the inner peripheral surface of the spring holding portion 54 on the arm portion 53 side is between the coil axis C of the elastic member 70 fitted to the spring holding portion 63 and the hinge shaft 52 inserted into the bearing portion 61. It is the same length as the parallel distance L1. For this reason, when the operation button 50 is rotated around the hinge shaft 52 and has an angle orthogonal to the coil axis C, the spring holding portion 54 faces the spring holding portion 63 on the lid ring member 24 side. Therefore, one end portion of the elastic member 70 is fitted in the spring holding portion 63 on the lid ring member 24 side and is installed in a standing state in advance, and then the operation button 50 is rotated to hold the other end portion of the elastic member 70 in the spring state. It can be fitted to the portion 54. That is, in the above configuration, the elastic member 70 can be quickly attached without being compressed by selecting any time before or after the hinge shaft 52 is inserted into the bearing portion 61.

  The lid ring member 24 is formed with a pair of protrusions 64 spaced forward from the bearing 61 and parallel to the axial direction of the hinge shaft 52. Since the protrusion 64 is spaced forward from the bearing portion 61, it does not come into contact with the hinge shaft 52 inserted in the radial direction with respect to the bearing portion 61 opened rearward.

  The height of the protrusion 64 arranged as described above is set to be higher than the elastic member 70 (in a natural length state) fitted to the spring holding portion 63.

  On the other hand, a pair of receiving portions 55 are formed in the arm portion 53 as through holes parallel to the axial direction of the hinge shaft 52. The rotation radius r <b> 2 of the hole center of the protrusion 55 is the same as the parallel distance L <b> 2 between the protrusion 64 and the hinge shaft 52. Moreover, the inner diameter of the protrusion 55 is formed larger than the outer diameter of the protrusion 64 as a whole.

  The relationship between the rotation radius r2 and the parallel distance L2 enables the projecting portion 55 to face the projecting portion 64 by the rotation of the operation button 50 around the hinge shaft 52. The diameter margin of the protrusion 55 relative to the protrusion 64 enables the protrusion 55 to be fitted into the protrusion 64 by the rotation of the operation button 50 around the hinge shaft 52. Further, the height margin of the protrusion 64 with respect to the elastic member 70 is that the protrusion 64 fits into the protrusion 55 before the other end of the elastic member 70 is engaged with the spring holding portion 54 of the operation button 50. It is possible.

  According to the above-described configuration, the operation button 50 is attached by inserting the hinge shaft 52 into the bearing portion 61, fitting one end of the elastic member 70 into the spring holding portion 63, and rotating the operation button 50 to move the elastic member. Only the rotation operation of fitting the other end portion of 70 to the spring holding portion 54 (when the fitting is already done, the projection 64 is already fitted to the projection receiving portion 55) is possible, which can be carried out quickly.

  And in the attachment state of the said operation button 50, as shown to Fig.8 (a), (b), the engagement preparation position which the protrusion 64 and the receiving part 55 face with a little clearance over the perimeter. To suit. For this reason, even if the operation button 50 tries to move back and forth or in the axial direction, the protrusion 64 and the receiving portion 55 are immediately brought into contact with each other, so that the movement is prevented. Accordingly, movement of the hinge shaft 52 with respect to the bearing portion 61 on the withdrawal side (rearward movement in this embodiment) is prevented.

  Then, when the outer lid member 22 is attached to the lid ring member 24, the button portion 51 is maintained in a state (standby position) fitted into the hole of the outer lid member 22 by the support of the arm portion 53 by the elastic member 70. The

  In the standby position, the cam portion 56 formed on the button portion 51 faces the cam surface formed on the lid hook 41.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when the button portion 51 is pressed and rotates and settles around the hinge shaft 52, the cam portion 56 pushes the cam surface of the lid hook 41 backward, and the lid hook 41 is disengaged. Retracted to position. During this time, the protrusion 64 and the protrusion 55 do not prevent the operation button 50 from rotating, and the elastic member 70 is compressed. When the pressing of the button part 51 is released from this state, the operation button 50 is returned to the standby position shown in FIG. 8A under the torque bias due to the elastic repulsion of the elastic member 70.

  In this embodiment, since the mounting structure of the operation button 50 is entirely on the lid ring member 24 side, the inner surface of the outer lid member 22 is formed in a gently curved shape. Therefore, in this embodiment, since the occurrence of sink marks on the outer appearance surface 22a formed on the resin outer lid member 22 is prevented, the decorative plate can be omitted.

  In this embodiment, the open side of the bearing portion 61 can also be formed in the forward or oblique direction. Further, the direction and height of the bearing 61 and the outer diameter of the hinge shaft 52 can be changed as appropriate.

  In this embodiment, since the operation button 50 is independently held by the bearing portion 61 with the hinge shaft 52 inserted, the operation of aligning the protrusion 64 and the protrusion 55 with the engagement preparation position is performed. It can be done easily. In this embodiment, since the projection 64 and the projection 55 have a function of preventing the hinge shaft 52 from being pulled out, the fastening allowance W1 can be eliminated.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the protrusion 64 should just be in the position which does not contact the hinge axis | shaft 52 inserted in the bearing part 61. FIG.

  In this embodiment, as long as the rotation of the operation button 50 is not hindered and the removal of the hinge shaft 52 relative to the bearing 61 is prevented, the engagement between the protrusion 55 and the protrusion 64 is prevented. The structure can be changed as appropriate. For example, the projecting portion 55 can be formed in a recessed hole shape, a rib shape, or the like.

  In this embodiment, the elastic member 70 is attached at a different time from the insertion operation of the hinge shaft 52. For example, the hinge shaft 52 is inserted with the elastic member 70 fixed to the operation button 50 side. You may comprise.

The exploded perspective view of the operation button with which the rice cooker which concerns on embodiment is equipped Partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the rice cooker according to the embodiment Enlarged perspective view of the heater cover shown in FIG. The perspective view which shows a mode that the heater cover of FIG. 3 was inserted in the lid ring member of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a protruding piece with a slit in FIG. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a use state of the nut fitting hole of FIG. Operational diagram showing mounting structure of operation button of FIG. (A) Partial enlarged sectional view of the operation button in FIG. 2, (b) Partial enlarged sectional view showing the relationship between the protrusion and the receiving portion in the state of FIG. 8 (a) Operational diagram showing a state where the operation button is pressed from the state of FIG. Main part enlarged vertical sectional view showing a conventional operation button mounting structure The principal part expansion perspective view which shows the support seat part of the outer cover member of a prior art example

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker body 2 Lid 3 Inner pan 11 Outer shell shoulder 11a Appearance surface 11b Recess 21 Inner lid 22, 110 Outer cover member 22a Appearance surface 23 Heater cover 23a Projection piece 23b Slit 24 Lid ring member 25 Insert hole 26 Nut Fitting recess 27 Nut 28 Ground terminal 29 Spring washer 30 Bolt 40 Lid hook mechanism 41 Lid hook 42, 70 Elastic member 50, 100 Operation button 51, 101 Button part 52, 102 Hinge shaft 53 Arm part 54, 63 Spring holding part 55 Projection part 56 Cam part 61 Bearing part 62 Grid-like rib structure 64 Projection part 70 Elastic member 103 Spring mounting part 104 Taper part 105 Engagement hole 106 Projection part 111 Support seat part 112 Seat part 113 Projection part 114 Projection wall 115 Shaft support Part 120 torsion coil spring 130 lid hook 140 decorative plate

Claims (3)

An operation button for releasing the engagement of the lid hook is provided on the lid body, and a hinge shaft serving as a rotation center is provided on the operation button, and the operation button rotates to the lid hook release side by a pushing operation, and waits when the pressure is released. In the rice cooker that rotates to the position side,
A notch-shaped bearing portion into which the hinge shaft can be inserted in the radial direction is formed on the lid ring member to which the outer lid member of the lid is attached, and the projection on the lid ring member side with the hinge shaft inserted. By aligning the projection part and the receiving part on the operation button side with the engagement preparation position, movement of the hinge shaft on the withdrawal side is prevented, and the protruding part does not come into contact with the hinge shaft inserted into the bearing part. A rice cooker comprising an elastic member disposed at a position and returning the operation button to a standby position between the lid ring member and the operation button.   The elastic member is a compression coil spring, and each of the lid ring member and the operation button is formed with a spring holding portion that fits an end of the elastic member, and the spring holding portion on the operation button side is rotated around the hinge axis. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the rice cooker is opposed to the spring holding part on the lid ring member side by rotation.   The rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer lid member is made of resin, and an outer surface of the lid is formed on an outer surface thereof.

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