JP2008048766A - Pressure rice cooker and pressure rice cooking method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pressure rice cooker which attains an explosive stirring action by rapidly decompressing from a pressurized state, which excels in energy saving effect and which can adjust a degree of decompression and the stirring during boiling in accordance with a menu of an object to be cooked, and also to provide the cooking method. <P>SOLUTION: The pressure rice cooker is equipped with: a pot; a rice cooker body having an orifice, a heating means and a control means; a lid body for closing the pot and the orifice of the rice cooker body; a pressure valve mechanism for communicating or shutting off between the inside of the pot and the outside air for the lid body; and a pressure valve releasing mechanism for forcibly opening the pressure valve mechanism. The control means controls a heat quantity of the heating means to control cooking and heat insulation of the object to be cooked as well as controlling the opening action of the pressure valve mechanism, wherein the pressure valve mechanism is activated for an opening action by the pressure valve releasing mechanism during boiling to vary the pressure inside the pot. In this pressure rice cooker, the lid body is composed of a top lid, a lid cover, and an inner lid that is mounted on a frame body through the lid cover, and the inner lid is provided with a pressure regulating valve and a decompressing valve as the pressure valve mechanism. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker, and in particular, pressurization and decompression in the process of cooking rice, applying high temperature during pressurization to infiltrate heat and moisture into the rice core, and an explosion caused by rapid decompression from that state The present invention relates to a pressure-type rice cooker of a method in which rice is stirred by convection and a pressure-type rice cooking method using the rice cooker.

In recent years, the issue of global warming and environmental pollution has entered an era when global priority must be solved as a top priority issue. Since global warming is one of the causes of frequent natural disasters, numerical targets for global warming prevention, that is, CO ₂ emissions, are set in each country and region around the world, and the target is achieved. Various measures have been put forward for this purpose, and efforts are being made in Japan to achieve reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. Under such circumstances, electric appliances used in ordinary households are also targeted, and electric rice cookers are urgently required to save energy, and rice cookers that have been devised in various ways have been introduced in patent literature.

  Among them, as one of the conventional energy-saving measures in the rice cooker, for example, an electric rice cooker disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with a pressure device, and by this pressure device, a preheating process, a startup process, and a boiling process are provided. In a series of rice cooking processes, maintaining the inside of the pan in a pressure state, improving the water absorption and heat conduction in each process of the preheating process, the startup process, and the boiling process, and shortening the time required for cooking rice In addition, there are those that improve the cooked state of rice. Pressure cooked rice that raises the temperature by applying high pressure is characterized by being cooked quickly, having a strong stickiness and elasticity.

  Furthermore, the present applicant, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, repeatedly pressurizes and depressurizes during the rice cooking process, that is, heat is applied to the core of the rice by applying high temperature during pressurization, and from that state We have developed a rice cooker of the so-called “dori-style cooking” system that stirs rice by explosive convection caused by a sudden depressurization of rice, and passes the heat evenly. In this rice cooking method, rice is cooked at, for example, 1.2 atm and 105 ° C. at the time of pressurization, and is suddenly depressurized to 1 atm at the time of depressurization, depending on the food to be cooked. Then, in the case of rice, heat and moisture penetrate to the core of the rice during pressurization to extract sweetness and stickiness, and during decompression, large boiling occurs and the rice is agitated from the bottom of the pan. Is promoted and the rice is turned into alpha from the core, and the rice is heated to the center of the pan by stirring and cooked plump rice.

  Thus, in this type of rice cooker, when the water stored in the pan in which the rice is to be cooked is heated at the time of rice cooking and suddenly depressurized from the pressurized state, it boils all at once and causes intense thermal convection, Boiling heat penetrates into rice and can bring out deliciousness. In addition, rice agitated with boiling water is promoted to absorb water and can be converted into α from the core of each grain. In an induction heating rice cooker that heats a pan with an eddy current generated by a conventional induction heating coil, the temperature at the center of the pan was difficult to rise. However, in the above method, the rice in the center of the pan is heated to the center of the pan. Is also deliciously cooked, so you can quickly cook delicious plump rice. Moreover, the energy required for cooking rice can be saved.

In order to stir rice by causing explosive boiling during the decompression at the time of boiling, it is necessary to perform sudden and large decompression at once, but the conventional rice cooker uses a pressure regulating valve in the boiling maintenance process. The pressurization and decompression as shown in 1 were repeated. By the way, in the case of FIG. 1, the water absorption process which controls a heating means so that a to-be-cooked rice may be kept below the gelatinization temperature of rice, the rising process to heat up until the to-be-cooked rice becomes a boiling state, and the to-be-cooked rice is boiled. Boiling out of the rice cooking process consisting of a boiling maintenance process in which the pressure in the pan is changed by a pressure valve release mechanism during boiling, a steaming process in which rice is steamed after the boiling maintenance process, a cooking process and a steaming process In the maintenance step, pressurization and depressurization are repeated six times from around 1.2 atmospheres to around 1.0 atmospheres.
JP-A-6-22710 (paragraphs [0006] to [0009], FIG. 2) JP 2004-344568 A (paragraphs [0009] to [0012], FIG. 1)

  However, in the case of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, rice is cooked under pressure, but since the pressure is not reduced during boiling, there is no stirring action, and the heat from induction heating is different between the periphery and the center of the pan, up to the center. There was a risk of unevenness in the cooking status. In the case of Patent Document 2, the pressure reducing mechanism is provided, but the capacity is insufficient, and if the number of times of decompression is small, a sufficient stirring effect cannot be obtained and the decompression needs to be repeated many times. Since the efficiency of energy use at the time of boiling is insufficient, further improvement has been desired.

  The inventor of the present application pays attention to the effective use of heat at the time of rice cooking of a pressure rice cooker from the point of energy saving, and as a result of various studies to solve the above problems, a decompression mechanism provided on the lid of the pan By providing two pressure valves, a pressure regulating valve and a pressure relief valve, as a pressure valve, sufficient agitation is performed even with a single pressure reduction, and heat energy in agitation during bumping can be used effectively, resulting in low loss. As a result, it has been found that the energy required for cooking rice can be reduced, and the present invention has been completed.

  That is, in the pressure rice cooker, an abrupt decompression from a pressurized state, an explosive stirring action can be obtained, and delicious rice can be cooked in a short time. It aims at providing a rice cooker and a pressure-type rice cooking method.

  Moreover, this invention can adjust the pressure reduction degree at the time of boiling according to the program of the menu of to-be-cooked rice, and can adjust it to the desired cooking state by adjusting the state of stirring, The pressure-type rice cooker And it aims at providing the pressure type rice cooking method.

In order to achieve the above object, a pressure rice cooker according to claim 1 of the present invention is a pan for containing a rice to be cooked containing water and rice, an opening for housing the pan, and a rice to be cooked in the pan. A rice cooker body having a heating means for heating the heating means and a control means for controlling the heating means, and a lid for closing the opening of the pan and the rice cooker body, and the pressure in the pot on the lid A pressure valve mechanism having an opening / closing mechanism for communicating or blocking the inside of the pan and the outside air so as to be substantially constant, and a pressure valve mechanism attached to the pressure valve mechanism for forcibly opening the pressure valve mechanism A pressure valve opening mechanism, and the control means controls the amount of heating of the heating means to perform rice cooking and heat retention control of the cooked rice, and controls the opening operation of the pressure valve mechanism by the pressure valve opening mechanism. The pressure valve mechanism is at least 1 by the pressure valve opening mechanism during boiling. In the pressure type rice cooker so as to change the pressure of the to opening operation in the pot,
The lid includes a front lid and a lid cover fixed to the upper and lower sides of the frame body, and an inner lid attached to the frame body via the lid cover, and the inner lid includes a pressure regulating valve as the pressure valve mechanism. And a pressure relief valve.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pressure rice cooker according to the first aspect, the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve of the inner lid have different diameters.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the pressure rice cooker according to the first or second aspect, wherein the pressure valve opening mechanism includes a driving means for driving the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve individually or simultaneously. It is characterized by.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the pressure rice cooker according to the first aspect of the present invention, the control means is configured to use two pressure adjustment valves and a pressure relief valve according to a program of a predetermined menu when releasing pressure during boiling. It is characterized by controlling the opening operation by combining any one or two of them.

The pressure type rice cooker according to claim 5 of the present invention is a pan for containing a rice to be cooked containing water and rice, an opening for housing the pan, a heating means for heating the rice to be cooked in the pan, and the heating. A rice cooker body having control means for controlling the means, and a lid that closes the opening of the pan and the rice cooker body, so that the pressure in the pan is substantially constant on the lid. And a pressure valve having an opening / closing mechanism for communicating or blocking between the inside of the pan and the outside air, and a pressure valve opening mechanism attached to the pressure valve for forcibly opening the pressure valve. The means controls the heating amount of the heating means to control rice cooking and heat retention of the cooked food, and also controls the opening operation of the pressure valve by the pressure valve opening mechanism, and the pressure valve opening mechanism controls the pressure during boiling. Open the valve at least once to change the pressure in the pan In the pressure type rice cooker,
The lid body includes a front lid and a lid cover fixed to the upper and lower sides of the frame body, and an inner lid attached to the frame body via the lid cover, and the inner lid has a through hole and the movable pressure. The pressure valve is provided with two communication holes having different diameters, one of which communicates with the through-hole. In the normal position, the pressure valve has a smaller diameter than the communication hole. The pressure valve is communicated with the through hole, and the pressure valve has a larger diameter communicating with the through hole at the moving position.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the pressure rice cooker according to claim 5, wherein the control means communicates the two through-holes of the pressure valve according to a program of a predetermined menu when releasing pressure during boiling. It is characterized in that the opening operation is controlled after moving between them.

The pressure-type rice cooking method according to claim 7 of the present invention is a pan for containing a rice to be cooked containing water and rice, an opening for housing the pan, a heating means for heating the rice to be cooked in the pan, and the heating. A rice cooker body having control means for controlling the means, and a lid that closes the opening of the pan and the rice cooker body, so that the pressure in the pan is substantially constant on the lid. And a pressure valve mechanism having an opening / closing mechanism for communicating or blocking the inside of the pan and the outside air, and a pressure valve opening mechanism attached to the pressure valve mechanism for forcibly opening the pressure valve mechanism. The pressure valve mechanism is a pressure-type rice cooking method in which the inside of the pan is sealed and pressurized and cooked using a pressure-type rice cooker comprising two pressure regulation valves and a pressure relief valve, and the following (1) The processes shown in (3) are sequentially performed.
(1) The water absorption process which accommodates to-be-cooked rice in the said pan, maintains the temperature below the gelatinization temperature of rice, and makes rice absorb water.
(2) A start-up heating step of heating and heating the cooked rice so that it boils.
(3) While maintaining the said to-be-cooked rice in a boiling state and maintaining the inside of the said pan in a pressurized state, according to a predetermined | prescribed program by the said opening / closing mechanism during the boiling state maintenance of the said pressure regulation valve and a pressure relief valve A boiling maintaining step of performing an operation of causing at least one opening operation to reduce the pressure in the pan to near atmospheric pressure to cause a bumping phenomenon.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the pressure rice cooking method according to claim 7, wherein the diameter of the valve opening of the pressure regulating valve is smaller than the diameter of the valve opening of the pressure relief valve.

The pressure-type rice cooking method according to claim 9 of the present invention is a pan for containing a rice to be cooked containing water and rice, an opening for housing the pan, a heating means for heating the rice to be cooked in the pan, and the heating. A rice cooker body having control means for controlling the means, and a lid that closes the opening of the pan and the rice cooker body, so that the pressure in the pan is substantially constant on the lid. A pressure valve having an opening / closing mechanism for communicating or blocking the inside of the pan and the outside air, and a pressure valve opening mechanism attached to the pressure valve for forcibly opening the pressure valve. The valve is movably provided on the inner lid of the lid, and the pressure cooker having two communication holes with different diameters through which either one communicates with a through-hole provided in the inner lid. A pressure type rice cooking method in which the inside is sealed and pressurized to cook rice, and the following (1) to (3) And executes a to step sequentially.
(1) The water absorption process which accommodates to-be-cooked rice in the said pan, maintains the temperature below the gelatinization temperature of rice, and makes rice absorb water.
(2) A start-up heating step of heating and heating the cooked rice so that it boils.
(3) While maintaining the to-be-cooked rice in a boiling state and maintaining the inside of the pan in a pressurized state, the two communication holes of the pressure valve according to a predetermined program by the opening / closing mechanism while maintaining the boiling state A boiling maintenance step of performing an operation of causing any one of the above to move to communicate with the through hole and opening the at least once to reduce the pressure in the pan to near atmospheric pressure to cause a bumping phenomenon.

  By providing the above configuration, the present invention has the following excellent effects. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the pressure valve mechanism and the pressure valve opening mechanism are provided, and the pressure valve opening mechanism is operated to open at least once by the pressure valve opening mechanism during the boiling by the control means, so that the pressure in the pan is increased. In a pressure rice cooker that has been changed, a pressure valve mechanism consisting of two pressure regulating valves and a pressure relief valve is provided on the inner lid, so that sudden pressure reduction can be caused from the pressurized state. It is possible to provide a pressure-type rice cooker that has an excellent energy-saving effect that can produce a delicious stirring rice in a short time. Moreover, since the pressure valve mechanism is composed of two pressure valves, the pressure reduction in the pan can be controlled.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve of the inner lid have different calibers, so that the degree of pressure relief by combination is arbitrary. Therefore, the decompression state can be adjusted according to the menu program.

  According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1 or 2, since the pressure valve opening mechanism drives the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve of the inner lid individually or simultaneously, the control is performed. The pressure valve mechanism can be operated according to the control of the means.

  According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the control means provides a pressure relief mechanism comprising two pressure valves, a pressure regulating valve and a pressure relief valve, for releasing pressure during boiling. Depending on the program of the predetermined menu, it is possible to control the decompression speed at the time of boiling according to the menu of the rice to be cooked by controlling the opening operation of only one or a combination of the two. By adjusting the stirring state, a pressure rice cooker that can be adjusted to a desired cooked state can be provided.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the pressure valve is provided so that its position is movable, and sudden pressure reduction can be caused from the pressurized state by communicating with two through holes having different diameters. It is possible to provide a pressure-type rice cooker that has an excellent energy-saving effect and can produce delicious rice in a short time.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the fifth aspect, the control means selects the through-hole communicating with the pressure valve according to the program of a predetermined menu when releasing pressure during boiling, and opens the operation. By controlling the above, it is possible to adjust the degree of pressure relief. Accordingly, the decompression state can be adjusted in accordance with the menu program.

  According to invention of Claim 7, in the pressure type rice cooking method by the pressure type rice cooker which provided two pressure valves, such as a pressure regulating valve and a pressure relief valve, in the above inner lid, it is predetermined at the time of pressure relief at the time of boiling. According to the menu program, only one or two of the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve are used in combination to control the reduced pressure state in the boiling maintenance process, so that a predetermined boiling and stirring state can be obtained. Can do. In addition, fine pressure adjustment is possible.

  According to the eighth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the seventh aspect of the invention, the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve of the inner lid have different calibers, so that the degree of pressure relief can be arbitrarily set by combination. Therefore, the decompression state can be adjusted according to the menu program.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the pressure valve in which the inner lid of the pressure rice cooker is movably provided as described above has two through-holes with different diameters communicating with each other. Can be changed according to the program of the predetermined menu, so that the communicating through hole can be changed, so that it becomes a pressure-type rice cooking method capable of controlling the reduced pressure state, so that a predetermined boiling and stirring state can be obtained. .

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies the pressure rice cooker and the pressure rice cooking method for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention is the pressure rice cooker and the pressure rice cooker. It is not intended to be specific to a method and is equally applicable to other embodiments within the scope of the claims.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a pressure rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lid of the pressure rice cooker shown in FIG. 2 when the front cover is removed, and FIG. 4 is a view of the pressure rice cooker shown in FIG. 2 when the front cover is removed. It is a top view which shows the other example of a cover body. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve in FIGS. 3 and 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a pressure rice cooker 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a pot 3 for containing a rice to be cooked containing water and rice, an opening for detachably storing the pot, and a pot in the pot. A rice cooker body 2 having a heating means such as an induction heating coil 51 for heating the cooked rice and a control means for controlling the heating means to cook the rice to be cooked and keeping warm, and an opening of the pot 3 and the cooker body 2 And a lid 4 for closing the part. The control means includes a pressure valve 7 having an opening / closing mechanism for communicating or blocking the inside of the pan and the outside air so that the pressure in the pan is substantially constant, and the pressure valve 7 attached to the pressure valve 7 forcibly opens the pressure valve. And a pressure valve opening mechanism 8 for controlling the heating amount of the heating means and controlling the opening operation of the pressure valve 7 by the pressure valve opening mechanism 8. The control means is configured to change the pressure in the pan by opening the pressure valve 7 at least once by the pressure valve opening mechanism 8 during boiling.

  The rice cooker main body 2 has a bottomed cylindrical inner case 21 formed of a nonmetallic material that accommodates the pot 3 therein, and an outer case 22 that covers the inner case. 3 is detachably accommodated. The inner case 21 has a flange 21a that protrudes to the outer periphery at its upper end. The pan 3 is formed with a flange 31 projecting outward at an upper end opening thereof, and the pan 31 is placed so as to be hooked on the flange 21 a of the inner case 21. The inner case 21 is provided with an induction heating coil 51 on the outer periphery near the bottom. The induction heating coil 51 is supported by a coil cover (not shown) formed of a heat resistant resin material so that the distance to the outer peripheral surface of the pan 3 is constant. In the inner case 21, a side heater 52 is disposed between the upper opening and the induction heating coil 51.

  The rice cooker body 2 has an operation plate 9 mounted on the front surface of the outer case 22. The operation plate 9 is provided with operation buttons such as a power switch 9a, a rice cooking start switch, a menu selection switch, and a heat retention switch (not shown), and a display panel 9b. The display panel 9b is operated and controlled. A rice cooking menu or the like controlled and selected by an electronic circuit provided on the substrate 10 is displayed.

  In the rice cooker body 2, a power supply control board 6 for supplying and controlling power to the induction heating coil 51, the side heater 52, the lid heater 53 and the like is disposed at a location close to the vent hole 23a. Electronic components such as an inverter 61 made of semiconductor elements, a switching element, and a timer element are mounted on the power supply control board 6. Among these electronic components, the inverter 61 generates heat during operation, and is cooled by the heat sink or the cooling fan 11. The rice cooker body 2 is provided with a temperature detection sensor 32 at the center of the bottom 23 so as to be in contact with the bottom surface of the pan 3. Further, either the rice cooker body 2 or the lid 4 is provided with an outside air temperature sensor (not shown) that detects the outside air temperature. The output of the outside air temperature sensor is input to the control means, and the cooling fan 11 is operated.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom 23 of the rice cooker main body 2 is formed with a vent hole 23a for sucking air and an exhaust hole 23b for discharging the sucked air on the left and right sides, and the vent hole 23a and the exhaust hole 23b are The bottom 23 is formed with a plurality of narrow grooves having a predetermined width and length, so-called slits. The cooling fan 11 is disposed at a position close to the vent hole 23a. The cooling fan 11 is operated by a motor (not shown), and cools the inverter with the air sucked from the vent hole 23a.

The lid body 4 has a configuration in which a front lid 41 and a lid cover 48 are respectively attached to the top and bottom of the frame body 42, and an inner lid 43 is detachably attached to the frame body via the lid cover 48. It is attached so that the upper opening part of the inner case 21 may be covered. The lid body 4 is pivotally supported on the rice cooker body 2 by using the frame member 42 with the hinge member 44 and the pivot pin 45, and the lid body 4 can be opened and closed to the rice cooker body 2. A lid heater 53 is provided between the frame body 42 and the inner lid 43 so as to be covered by the lid cover 48, and a lid temperature sensor 4 ₁ (not shown) is provided. A sensor for detecting the pressure and temperature of the pan is attached to a substantially central portion of the inner lid 43, and a pressure adjusting valve 7a for controlling the vapor pressure in the rice cooker body 2 to adjust the pressure to prevent blowing out, A safety valve 46 that is opened when the pan is abnormally pressurized due to a failure of the pressure regulating valve or the like to release the pan pressure is mounted. The pressure regulating valve 7a is actuated by a solenoid 81 in a boiling maintaining process in a series of rice cooking processes. The top lid 41 is detachably mounted with a spillover prevention lid 41c that prevents the cooked rice in the pan from spilling out and jumping out at once.

  Around the outer periphery of the inner lid 43, a pot packing 49 that seals the flange portion 31 of the pot and the inner lid 43 is supported and attached to the outer frame 50. Further, a locking member 47a formed at the upper end of the inner case 21 is provided on the opposite side of the hinge member 44, and is locked by a locking lever 47b provided on the frame body 42 to close the lid body 4. Supports the state. When the pan 3 is accommodated in the rice cooker body 2 and covered with the lid 4, the pan packing 49 is pressed against the opening edge of the pan 3 and the pan 3 is closed.

  The lid 4 has an inner lid 43 formed of a stainless steel material, an aluminum material, or a clad material made of both. The inner lid 43 is formed by press-molding a metal plate into a disk shape so that a step is formed between the peripheral portion and the inside, and the peripheral portion is made of a hard plastic via a rubber pot packing 49. An outer frame 50 is attached. The outer frame 50 is provided with a locking portion for mounting the inner lid. The pot packing 49 is in close contact with the flange portion 31 of the pot 3 and maintains pressure by sealing the pot 3. The pot packing 49 is preferably formed from silicon rubber having excellent durability and heat resistance.

  In this embodiment, for example, in such a pressure rice cooker, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, at least two pressure valves that are selectively operable are provided on the inner lid 43. Each pressure valve has valve holes with different diameters. 3 and 4 are plan views in which the front lid 41 is removed from the lid 4 and the inner lid 43 is viewed, and the frame 42 is assembled in a lattice shape. Two pressure regulating valves 7a and 7b, which are large and small pressure valves, are provided in the vicinity of the center of the inner lid 43, and these pressure valves are provided in the front lid 41 through holes near the center of the lid cover 48. Protruding. These pressure valves are driven by a solenoid 81 attached to the inside of the front cover 41. FIG. 3 shows a mechanism for driving the pressure regulating valve 7a and the pressure relief valve 7b by separate solenoids 81a and 81b, respectively, while FIG. 4 shows that the two pressure valves 7a and 7b are simultaneously driven by one solenoid 81c. The mechanism is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 5, each of the pressure regulating valve 7a and the pressure relief valve 7b includes a valve seat 72 having a valve hole 71 and a metal ball 73 placed on the valve seat 72 so as to close the valve hole by its own weight. And a cover 74 covering the ball 73, and these constitute a pressure valve opening / closing mechanism. These pressure valves 7 open and close the valve hole 71 as the ball 73 rests on or separates from the valve seat 72 due to the balance between the pressure in the pan and the weight of the ball 73. In the present embodiment, two such pressure valves 7 having different diameters of the valve hole 71 are provided, one of which always functions as the pressure regulating valve 7a, while the other one is a pressure relief valve. 7b is operated during forced decompression.

  The front lid 41 is provided with a solenoid 81 whose rod 82 is directed toward the ball to forcibly open the pressure valve. When the solenoid 81 is in a normal state where no driving output is received from the control means, the rod 82 protrudes from the cylinder 83 and pushes the ball 73 on the valve hole laterally to remove it from the valve hole 71 to forcibly open the valve hole. . Further, when the solenoid 81 receives a drive output from the control means, the rod 82 returns into the cylinder 83. At this time, the ball 73 returns onto the valve hole 71 by its own weight and closes the valve hole. Thus, the solenoid 81 operates as a pressure valve opening mechanism, and the pressure valves 7a and 7b and the pressure valve opening mechanism can forcibly reduce the pressure in the pan that has been pressurized during the rice cooking process.

  In this embodiment, since there are two large and small pressure valves 7 having different diameters, only the small pressure valve (pressure adjusting valve 7a), only the large pressure valve (pressure release valve 7b), and both large and small pressure valves (7a, 7b) are used. ) Can be operated in three combinations. During rice cooking, the pressure is released according to the program of the selected rice cooking menu, but the pressure valve 7 having a necessary diameter is selected according to the situation to operate the pressure valve opening mechanism. When a large pressure reduction is required abruptly, the two large and small valve holes may be opened simultaneously.

  The front lid 41 is further provided with a steam port 41d, which serves as a discharge port through which the inside of the pan communicates with the atmosphere via a valve hole to release the pressure and steam in the pan into the atmosphere.

  FIG.6 and FIG.7 is sectional drawing of the pressure type rice cooker which shows the other Example of this invention. The pressure-type rice cooker 1 of this embodiment is a pot 3 to be cooked by controlling the pan 3 for putting the cooked rice, the opening for housing the pan 3, the heating means for heating the cooked rice in the pot, and the heating means. The rice cooker main body 2 which has a control means which performs rice cooking and heat retention control, and the lid | cover 4 which closes the opening part of the pan 3 and the rice cooker main body 2 are provided. The lid 4 has a pressure valve 7 having an opening / closing mechanism for communicating or blocking the inside of the pan and the outside air so that the pressure in the pan 3 is substantially constant, and the pressure valve 7 attached to the pressure valve 7 is forcibly opened. A pressure valve opening mechanism 8 is provided for bringing the pressure valve into a state, and the above-mentioned control means controls the heating amount of the heating means and controls the opening operation of the pressure valve 7 by the pressure valve opening mechanism 8 so that the pressure during boiling is controlled. The pressure valve is opened at least once by the valve opening mechanism 8 to change the pressure in the pan. The lid 4 of the pressure rice cooker includes a front lid 41 and a lid cover 48 fixed to the top and bottom of the frame body 42 and an inner lid 43 attached to the frame body via the lid cover. The pressure valve is provided so as to be movable between the first position shown in FIG. 6 and the second position shown in FIG. 7, and when it is in the normal position, the pressure adjustment of the caliber used during normal pressure adjustment A valve 7a1 is formed, and a large-diameter pressure relief valve 7b1 is formed at the moved position.

  That is, the pressure valve 7 of the present embodiment has a valve seat 721 branched at the bottom, and two communication holes H1 and H2 having different diameters are formed. The pressure adjustment valve is in the first position shown in FIG. When working as 7a1, the communication hole H1 with a small diameter provided in the pressure valve 7 communicates with the through hole 43a of the inner lid 43 to adjust the pressure in the normal state. Further, when the rod 821 of the solenoid 81d advances in response to a signal from the control device during boiling, the pressure valve 7 is moved to the second position against the spring mechanism 84 as shown in FIG. A communication hole H2 having a large diameter communicates with the hole 43a, and changes to a large pressure release valve 7b1. When the pressure relief valve 7b1 is opened by the solenoid 81d, the pressure in the pan is reduced at once. Then, the pressure in the pan, which was 1.2 to 2.0 atm, suddenly drops to near atmospheric pressure, and the pan heated to a temperature higher than the boiling point becomes explosive boiling, that is, a sudden boiling state, that is, cooked rice. Stir things. By this stirring, uniformly delicious rice can be cooked in a short time.

  When only one movable pressure valve 7 is provided, the valve hole is only switched between small and large, but when two movable pressure valves 7 are provided, the valve of the pressure valve 7 is provided. A hole can be selected and operated from five combinations of small, small + small, small + large, large + large and large. The control means includes a pressure adjustment valve 7a1 having a caliber used for normal pressure adjustment at the normal position (first position) and a movement position (second position) according to a program of a predetermined menu when releasing pressure during boiling. The large-diameter pressure valve 7b1 is selected and the opening operation is controlled.

  Example 3 relates to a pressure rice cooking method using the pressure rice cooker as described in Example 1 or 2. That is, the lid 4 of the pressure rice cooker as in the first embodiment is mounted from the front lid 41 and the lid cover 48 fixed to the top and bottom of the frame body 42 and the inner lid 43 attached to the frame body via the lid cover. It is a pressure-type rice cooking method using a pressure-type rice cooker in which two pressure valves, a pressure regulating valve and a pressure relief valve, are provided in the inner lid 43. When releasing pressure during boiling, the pressure is adjusted according to the program of a predetermined menu. This is a pressure-type rice cooking method using only one or two of a regulating valve and a pressure relief valve. According to this method, various pressures can be adjusted by a program, and when the two are combined, a rapid pressure reduction can be obtained.

  The rice cooker body 2 is provided with a selection means S101 for selecting different rice cooking courses, and the control means consisting of hardware composed of CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. and software recorded in the hardware, The program according to the menu of the selected rice cooking course is executed. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, there are “brown rice / normal rice cooking course”, “white rice / normal rice cooking course”, “white rice / sushi rice cooking course” in the menu, and “white rice / normal rice cooking course” S103 is selected. As shown in the flowchart according to the selected course, a predetermined program is executed. Hereinafter, it explains according to the rice cooking process figure of FIG. 1, the flowchart of FIG.3 and FIG.8.

  In the water absorption step S106, the temperature at the bottom of the pan is measured with a temperature sensor while measuring the water absorption time with a water absorption timer. At the same time, heating is started by the heating means, and at that time, the water absorption step is performed with the pressure valves 7a and 7b opened. When the experimentally determined water absorption time reaches a predetermined moisture content (for example, 15 minutes), the operation proceeds to the start-up heating process.

  In the start-up heating step S112, heating is performed with the total heating amount, and at the same time, the rods of the solenoids 81a and 81b are drawn into the cylinder, and the metal ball 73 (FIG. 5) of the pressure valve is placed on the valve seat 72 by its own weight. It is closed (S113) and the pressure in the pan is increased. The steam temperature is measured with a steam sensor and heating is continued until the boiling start temperature is detected. The boiling start temperature is a temperature at which it is determined that boiling starts under the pressurizing condition by the metal ball 73 at the position where the steam sensor is attached.

  When the boiling temperature is reached, the process proceeds to a boiling maintenance step S116 in which boiling continues in the pan. When the boiling maintenance process is started, the heating amount is controlled immediately, and the first solenoids 81a and 81b forcibly open the pressure valves 7a and 7b. Next, heating is stopped, and the pressure in the pan is lowered to near atmospheric pressure after waiting for the forced open state of the pressure valve to continue for a predetermined time. In this embodiment, since the pressure regulating valve 7a and the pressure relief valve 7b can be opened simultaneously, rapid pressure reduction occurs. When the pressure in the pan drops from the pressurized state to atmospheric pressure at once, a severe bumping phenomenon occurs, and the rice grains are agitated by the convection generated. In addition, predetermined time is time when the pressure in a pan returns to atmospheric pressure and it can stir with the maximum boiling energy. If it is shorter than this, it does not return to atmospheric pressure, and the boiling energy is not sufficient. About 2 to 6 seconds is preferable. In the first stirring at which the stirring effect with the largest amount of water can be expected, the pressure is greatly reduced from the pressurized state to the vicinity of the atmospheric pressure, and the stirring is performed vigorously.

  When the first stirring is finished, the rods of the solenoids 81a and 81b are pulled in and heated so that the pressure valves 7a and 7b do not open, so that the pressure in the pan is restored and the next stirring is awaited. The time to program recovery is determined experimentally. It should be noted that the pressure in the pan when the pressure valves 7a and 7b are in a closed state where the pressure valves 7a and 7b are not forcibly opened by the solenoids 81a and 81b is set to be maintained at 1.10 to 2.20 atm. preferable. This is because if the pressure is within this range, a bumping state due to decompression occurs and sufficient stirring can be performed, and if the pressure is further increased, other problems such as pressure resistance of the pressure rice cooker occur. Good.

  When the pressure in the pan recovers, it is checked whether the number of opening and closing of the pressure valves 7a and 7b is a preset number of times, and the opening and closing is repeated until the predetermined number of times is reached (S117 to S120). As the number of times the pressure valve is opened and closed increases, the amount of water remaining in the pan decreases, making it difficult for rice to move. Therefore, the opening operation time may be lengthened as the number of times increases. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the pressure valve is forcibly opened six times in the initial stage of the boiling maintenance process where the amount of residual water is large and the rice easily moves. The opening operation is at least once, preferably about 3 to 6 times. According to the method of this embodiment, the pressure regulating valve 7a and the pressure relief valve 7b are opened at the same time, so the number of opening operations may be small.

  When the boiling maintaining step S116 and the pressure valve “open” and “closed” steps (S117 to S120) are finished, the process proceeds to the heat retaining step S147 through the steaming 1 step S139, the additional cooking step S142, and the steaming 2 step S144.

  In the above-mentioned pressure-type rice cooking method, the pressure valve 7 as shown in the second embodiment is provided so as to be movable between the normal position and the movement position, and in the normal position, a small diameter used for normal pressure adjustment. And a pressure rice cooker in which a large-diameter pressure relief valve is formed at the moving position. In that case, the control means of the pressure rice cooker uses the pressure valve for normal pressure adjustment as a small-caliber pressure adjustment valve in the normal position according to the program of a predetermined menu when releasing pressure during boiling, Alternatively, it can be selected to operate as a large pressure release valve at the moving position, and the opening operation can be controlled. In this case, the diameters are small and large, but if two similar sets are provided, the number of pressure valve combinations increases, and finer control can be performed.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the heating means is an induction coil has been described. However, the heating means is not limited to the IH heating means, and may be other heating means. The pressure valve may be of any type as long as it has a function of automatically opening when the pressure is higher than the set pressure and automatically closing when the pressure is lower than the set pressure. Furthermore, the pressure valve opening mechanism is not limited to a solenoid, and may be a mechanical mechanism even if the mechanism is an electromagnetic type as long as the valve is forcibly opened from a closed state. Also good.

  According to the present invention, since two valves, a pressure adjusting valve and a pressure relief valve having different calibers, are formed on the inner lid that covers the pan of the rice cooker body, the pressure can be reduced rapidly compared to the conventional one. Because of this, rapid boiling and stirring of the cooked rice are performed, and rice cooking can be performed quickly in the rice cooking maintenance process, so that energy can be used effectively and energy saving is effective.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the rice cooking process. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a pressure rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lid of the pressure rice cooker shown in FIG. 2 when the front cover is removed. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another example of the lid when the front lid is removed from the pressure rice cooker shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a pressure rice cooker showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a pressure rice cooker showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the pressure rice cooking method of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pressure type rice cooker 2 Rice cooker main body 3 Pan 4 Cover body 41 Front cover 42 Frame body 43 Inner cover 43a Through-hole 46 Safety valve 48 Cover cover 7a, 7a1 Pressure adjustment valve 7b, 7b1 Pressure release valve 71 Valve hole 72 Valve seat 73 Ball 74 Cover 81 Solenoid H1, H2 Communication hole

Claims (9)

A rice cooker body having a pan for containing the rice to be cooked containing water and rice, an opening for housing the pan, a heating means for heating the cooked rice in the pan, and a control means for controlling the heating means, A lid that closes the opening of the pan and the rice cooker body, and the lid opens and closes to communicate or block the inside of the pan and the outside air so that the pressure in the pan is substantially constant. And a pressure valve opening mechanism attached to the pressure valve mechanism for forcibly opening the pressure valve mechanism, wherein the control means controls a heating amount of the heating means. In addition to performing rice cooking and heat retention control of the food to be cooked, the opening operation of the pressure valve mechanism is controlled by the pressure valve opening mechanism, and the pressure valve opening mechanism is opened at least once by the pressure valve opening mechanism during boiling. In the pressure rice cooker that changes the pressure in the pan Te,
The lid includes a front lid and a lid cover fixed to the upper and lower sides of the frame body, and an inner lid attached to the frame body via the lid cover, and the inner lid includes a pressure regulating valve as the pressure valve mechanism. And a pressure type rice cooker characterized in that two pressure relief valves are provided.   The pressure rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve of the inner lid have different diameters.   3. The pressure rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the pressure valve opening mechanism includes a driving unit that drives the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve individually or simultaneously.   The control means controls the opening operation by combining any one or two of the pressure regulating valve and the pressure relief valve according to a program of a predetermined menu at the time of pressure relief during boiling. The pressure rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein A rice cooker body having a pan for containing the rice to be cooked containing water and rice, an opening for housing the pan, a heating means for heating the cooked rice in the pan, and a control means for controlling the heating means, A lid that closes the opening of the pan and the rice cooker body, and the lid opens and closes to communicate or block the inside of the pan and the outside air so that the pressure in the pan is substantially constant. A pressure valve having a mechanism, and a pressure valve opening mechanism attached to the pressure valve for forcibly opening the pressure valve, wherein the control means controls the heating amount of the heating means to cook rice Rice cooking and heat retention control and controlling the opening operation of the pressure valve by the pressure valve opening mechanism, the pressure valve opening operation by the pressure valve opening mechanism during boiling, the pressure in the pan In the pressure rice cooker,
The lid body includes a front lid and a lid cover fixed to the upper and lower sides of the frame body, and an inner lid attached to the frame body via the lid cover, and the inner lid has a through hole and the movable pressure. The pressure valve is provided with two communication holes having different diameters, one of which communicates with the through-hole. In the normal position, the pressure valve has a smaller diameter than the communication hole. The pressure-type rice cooker is characterized in that the pressure valve is in communication with the through hole, and in the moving position, the pressure valve has a larger diameter among the communication holes.   The control means controls the opening operation after moving between the two through holes communicating with the pressure valve according to a program of a predetermined menu when releasing pressure during boiling. 5. The pressure type rice cooker according to 5. A rice cooker body having a pan for containing the rice to be cooked containing water and rice, an opening for housing the pan, a heating means for heating the cooked rice in the pan, and a control means for controlling the heating means, A lid that closes the opening of the pan and the rice cooker body, and the lid opens and closes to communicate or block the inside of the pan and the outside air so that the pressure in the pan is substantially constant. And a pressure valve opening mechanism attached to the pressure valve mechanism for forcibly opening the pressure valve mechanism, wherein the pressure valve mechanism includes a pressure regulating valve and a pressure relief valve. It is the pressure type rice cooking method which uses the pressure type rice cooker which consists of two, and seals and pressurizes the inside of the said pan, Comprising: The process shown to the following (1)-(3) is performed sequentially. The pressure rice cooking method characterized.
(1) The water absorption process which accommodates to-be-cooked rice in the said pan, maintains the temperature below the gelatinization temperature of rice, and makes rice absorb water.
(2) A start-up heating step of heating and heating the cooked rice so that it boils.
(3) While maintaining the said to-be-cooked rice in a boiling state and maintaining the inside of the said pan in a pressurized state, according to a predetermined | prescribed program by the said opening / closing mechanism during the boiling state maintenance of the said pressure regulation valve and a pressure relief valve A boiling maintaining step of performing an operation of causing at least one opening operation to reduce the pressure in the pan to near atmospheric pressure to cause a bumping phenomenon.   The pressure type rice cooking method according to claim 7, wherein a diameter of the valve opening of the pressure regulating valve is smaller than a diameter of the valve opening of the pressure relief valve. A rice cooker body having a pan for containing the rice to be cooked containing water and rice, an opening for housing the pan, a heating means for heating the cooked rice in the pan, and a control means for controlling the heating means, A lid that closes the opening of the pan and the rice cooker body, and the lid opens and closes to communicate or block the inside of the pan and the outside air so that the pressure in the pan is substantially constant. A pressure valve having a mechanism, and a pressure valve opening mechanism attached to the pressure valve for forcibly opening the pressure valve, the pressure valve being provided movably on the inner lid of the lid body Pressure type rice cooking method in which the inside of the pan is sealed and pressurized and cooked using a pressure type rice cooker having two communicating holes with different diameters, one of which communicates with the through hole provided in the inner lid The steps shown in the following (1) to (3) are sequentially executed. Pressure type rice cooker method.
(1) The water absorption process which accommodates to-be-cooked rice in the said pan, maintains the temperature below the gelatinization temperature of rice, and makes rice absorb water.
(2) A start-up heating step of heating and heating the cooked rice so that it boils.
(3) While maintaining the to-be-cooked rice in a boiling state and maintaining the inside of the pan in a pressurized state, the two communication holes of the pressure valve according to a predetermined program by the opening / closing mechanism while maintaining the boiling state A boiling maintenance step of performing an operation of causing any one of the above to move to communicate with the through hole and opening the at least once to reduce the pressure in the pan to near atmospheric pressure to cause a bumping phenomenon.

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