JP2010057668A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker for efficiently opening/closing an outer lid. <P>SOLUTION: The rice cooker includes: an inner pot for containing an object to be heated; a body for containing the inner pot; and an outside lid which is joined to a rear part of the body, freely openably/closably covers an upper surface of the body, and normally operates its force in the opening direction. The body has an opening part for containing the inner pot on the upper surface, a tank for taking in the steam generated from the inner pot and condensing the steam at a front part, and an outside lid engagement portion for engaging the outside lid provided between the tank and the opening part. The outside lid has a hook engageable with the outside lid engagement portion and an outer lid opening button for canceling an engagement state of the hook on the front surface. The outside lid covers the body upper surface including the inner pot and the tank in a state where it is engaged with the outside lid engaging portion and the hook. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker that performs cooking by heating an inner pot containing an object to be heated such as rice or water.

Conventionally, an inner pot for storing an object to be heated, a main body for accommodating the inner pot, and a rear portion of the main body, which covers the upper part of the main body so as to be freely opened and closed, and a force acts in a direction to always open. There is a rice cooker with an outer lid.
In such a rice cooker, the hook provided on the open end side of the outer lid is locked to the outer lid locking portion provided outside the opening for attaching and detaching the inner pot of the main body, thereby closing the upper part of the main body. In the state, the outer lid is held.
Then, by operating the outer lid release button arranged at the upper part of the position where the hook provided on the outer lid and the outer lid engaging portion are engaged, the locked state between the main body and the outer lid is released, and the operation is always performed. The outer lid is configured to be opened by a force for opening the outer lid. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.)

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2007-75412 (FIG. 1)

However, in the rice cooker with a built-in so-called condensing device that arranges a tank in the front part of the main body, leads the steam during cooking rice to this tank with a steam conduit provided in the outer lid, and returns it to water again, the conventional configuration If the outer lid latching part is installed behind the tank avoiding the tank due to space constraints, the position of the outer lid release button will be the same as the thickness of the tank provided at the front of the body. From the front to the back.
When the outer lid opening button arranged in this way is operated, the outer lid is always acting in the opening direction, so the outer lid opens at the same time as the button is operated and contacts the operator's hand and arm. Sometimes.
In other words, because the outer lid release button is on the back side of the outer lid, after operating the outer lid release button, the hand cannot be pulled out of the outer lid opening operation area (the area through which the outer lid passes when the outer lid is opened). Hands and arms may come into contact with each other, which may lead to a decrease in usability when the outer lid is opened.

  The present invention was made in order to solve the above-described problems, and provides a rice cooker that realizes improved operability when the outer lid is opened in a rice cooker in which a condensate tank is arranged in the front portion of the main body. The purpose is to do.

  The rice cooker according to the present invention includes an inner pot that holds an object to be heated, a main body that accommodates the inner pot, and a rear portion of the main body that covers the upper surface of the main body so that the upper surface can be freely opened and closed, and is constantly open. The main body has an opening on the upper surface for accommodating the inner pot, a tank for taking in and condensing steam generated from the inner pot at the front, the tank and the tank An outer lid locking portion that locks the outer lid provided between the openings, and the outer lid includes a hook that can be locked to the outer lid locking portion, and a hook that engages the hook on the front surface. An outer lid opening button for releasing the stop state, and the outer lid is in a locked state between the outer lid locking portion and the hook, and covers the upper surface of the main body including the inner pot and the tank, Solve the above problems.

According to the rice cooker according to the present invention, the outer lid opening button for releasing the engagement between the outer lid and the main body is located on the front surface of the outer lid, so that the outer lid opening button is used for the outer lid. It can be arranged at a position close to the person.
Thereby, the operator can operate the outer lid opening button from the outer lid opening end side, that is, from the outside of the outer lid opening operation region. Therefore, after operating the outer lid opening button, the hand can be naturally pulled out of the opening locus of the outer lid opening end, and it becomes difficult to touch the outer lid in the process of opening.

Embodiment 1
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a rice cooker 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram in a state where the outer lid is closed to the main body.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rice cooker body 2 with the tank 6 removed.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part in a state where the outer lid is closed to the main body.
FIG. 5 is an exploded view before integrating the outer lid, the inner lid, and the steam conduit.

As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the rice cooker 100 accommodates and heats the removable inner pot 1 (or it is also called "inner pot") in which the to-be-heated material to be cooked enters, and the inner pot 1. The main body 2 has an outer lid 3 which is coupled by a coupling portion 23 located at the rear portion 2b of the main body 2 and covers the upper portion of the main body 2 so as to be freely opened and closed.
Referring to FIG. 2, the structure of the connecting portion 23 between the outer lid 3 and the main body 2 is such that the outer lid 3 can freely open and close the upper portion of the main body 2 via a hinge 23 a and a spring 23 b provided at the rear portion of the main body 2. It is pivotally supported and attached.
It should be noted that force is always applied to the outer lid 3 in the opening direction by the elastic force of the spring 23b.

  Moreover, the opening part 2c which accommodates the inner pot 1 so that attachment or detachment is possible is formed in the upper part of the main body 2. As shown in FIG. Inside the main body 2, a heating coil 202 for heating the inner pot 1 is disposed at a position facing the inner pot 1 in a state where the inner pot 1 is housed, and a power supply substrate 203 for driving the heating coil is provided. Is provided.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, in the front part 2a of the main body 2, the steam generated in the inner pot 1 during rice cooking is taken in through a steam conduit 5 described later, and returned to water for storage. 6 is provided.
The tank 6 is attached so as to be fitted to a bottom plate 21 and a front surface 22 formed on the front portion 2a of the main body 2 in accordance with the outer shape of the tank. The bottom plate 21 extends from the lower portion of the front surface 22 and receives the bottom of the tank 6.

The tank 6 includes a tank body 61 having an upper opening, and a tank lid 62 that covers the upper portion of the tank body 61 so as to be freely opened and closed. The tank lid 62 is formed with a steam intake port 62a for taking in steam generated during rice cooking.
When the outer lid 3 closes the main body 2 to the steam intake port 62a, a steam conduit 5 disposed in the outer lid 3 described later is connected, and steam generated in the inner pot 1 is sent into the steam inlet 62a.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, an outer lid locking portion 201 capable of locking a hook 301 provided on the outer lid 3 described later is provided between the opening 2 c and the tank 6 at the upper portion of the main body 2. It has been.
The outer lid locking portion 201 is fixedly provided, and the portion that locks the hook 301 has a hook shape that opens to the front of the main body 2.

Next, the configuration of the outer lid 3 will be described.
The upper part 3d of the outer lid 3 is provided with an operation unit 308 for displaying various states of the rice cooking menu and rice cooker and performing various operations.
The operation unit 308 includes a liquid crystal display 308a that displays a rice cooking menu and various states of the rice cooker, an input unit 308b for performing various operations, and a substrate 308c to which these components are connected.
The operation unit 308 is positioned on the front side of the upper portion of the outer lid 3 so as to be as close to the user as possible so that the user can easily operate. As a result, the operation unit 308 has a vertical positional relationship with the tank 6 and the outer lid locking part 201 provided on the front part 2a of the main body 2 when the outer lid 3 is closed to the main body 2. .

Inside the outer lid 3, a hook 301 having a hook-shaped tip portion 301 b that can be locked from the front side of the rice cooker is provided on the outer lid locking portion 201 provided in the main body 2.
The hook 301 rotates via the support shaft 301a to the position of the outer lid 3 where the hook 301 can be engaged with the outer lid engaging portion 201 when the outer lid 3 is in the state of closing the main body 2. It is attached freely. That is, the hook 301 is attached so that the front end portion 3b is located inside the thickness of the tank 6 from the front surface 3d of the outer lid 3.
A coil spring or the like (not shown) is interposed between the hook 301 and the support shaft 301a, and can be locked to the outer lid locking portion 201 when no external force is applied to the hook 301. (The state of FIG. 4).

An opening 3c formed on the front surface 3b of the outer lid 3 is provided with an outer lid opening button 302 for opening the outer lid.
The outer lid opening button 302 has a button portion 302a facing an opening 3c formed on the front surface portion 3b of the outer lid 3 so that the user can push it in. The operation shaft 302 c extends from the button portion 302 a toward the inside of the outer lid, and the distal end portion 302 b is engaged with the hook 301.
Each part of the opening 3c and the outer lid opening button 302 is configured such that the button 302a operates horizontally toward the inside of the outer lid 3.

Thus, the tip portion 302b is configured to be able to operate the hook 301 when the user pushes the button portion 302a.
That is, the outer lid opening button 302 is a member that extends from the opening 3 c formed on the front surface of the outer lid 3 so as to straddle the tank 6 so that the hook 301 can be pressed, and the outer lid 3 is closed to the main body 2. Then, it is provided at a position sandwiched between the operation unit 308 and the tank 6.

Referring to FIG. 5, the outer lid 3 has, in addition to the above-described configuration, a steam conduit housing portion 303 corresponding to the shape of the steam conduit 5 that houses the steam conduit 5, and a steam conduit that fixes the steam conduit 5 therearound. A holding member 304 is provided.
Furthermore, in the area | region which arrange | positions the inner cover 4 of the outer cover 3, it has the heat sink 305 by which the heater was arrange | positioned on the back side, the inner cover temperature sensor 306, and the inner cover holding member 307 which fixes the inner cover 4.

The inner lid 4 includes a disk-shaped stainless steel 41, a packing 42 disposed around the disk-shaped stainless steel 41, a frame 43 that supports the disk-shaped stainless steel 41, and the like.
The frame body 43 of the inner lid 4 is provided with an inner lid locking portion 401 that fixes the inner lid 4 to the inner lid holding member 307 of the outer lid 3. The inner lid 4 is formed with a plurality of inner lid steam holes 402 through which steam passes.

The steam conduit 5 has a steam conduit locking portion 501. When the steam conduit 5 is received in the steam conduit receiving portion 303 of the outer lid 3, the steam conduit locking portion 501 meshes with the steam conduit holding member 304. By locking, it is fixed to the outer lid 3.
The steam conduit 5 includes a conduit base 51 and a conduit lid 52 that can be opened and closed with respect to the conduit gas 51. One end of the steam conduit 5 is connected to the inner lid steam hole 402 of the inner lid 4. At the other end of the inner lid connecting portion 502, a tank connecting portion 503 connected to the intake hole 62a of the tank 6 is provided.
When the outer lid 3 is closed to the main body 2, the steam conduit 5 configured in this way is connected to the intake hole 62 a of the tank 6, and the tank connection portion 503 is connected to the steam generated in the inner pot 1. It will be in an inflowable state.

If each part is constituted as described above, when the outer lid 3 is closed to the upper part of the main body 2, the hook 301 is engaged with the outer lid locking portion 201 of the main body 2 and locked. The upper part of the main body 2 is fixed (closed state).
That is, the front end portion 301b of the hook 301 is locked from the front side of the rice cooker to the outer lid locking portion 201 having a bowl shape opened to the front of the main body 2 so as to be in a vertical positional relationship. The outer lid 3 is fixed so as to cover the upper part of the main body 2.
Here, when the outer lid 3 is fixed in this manner, the elastic force of the spring 23b that constitutes the coupling portion 23 always applies the force in the direction in which the outer lid 3 is opened. A force that pulls up and down acts on the lid locking portion 201 and the hook 301, and the locked state can be maintained firmly.

As described above, when the outer lid 3 is closed to the main body 2, the outer lid 3 covers the upper portion of the tank 6, and the tank connecting portion 503 is connected to the intake hole 62 a of the tank 6, so The steam generated from the pot 1 can enter the tank.
Water is stored in the tank 6 in advance and used. When steam generated at the time of rice cooking flows into the tank in which the water is stored, the steam is cooled by water to return to the water state.

Next, when opening the outer lid 3, the button portion 302 a is pushed into the outer lid from the front side of the outer lid 3 by pressing the outer lid release button 302, which is located on the front surface of the outer lid 3. The end 302b presses the end of the hook 301.
Then, the pressed hook 301 rotates around the support shaft 301a in the direction of arrow A (see FIG. 5), and the engagement between the outer lid engagement portion 201 and the hook 301 is released, and the coupling portion The outer lid 3 is opened by the elastic force of the spring 23 b constituting the member 23.
Thereby, in particular, as in the present embodiment, the outer lid 3 is provided with various parts such as the inner lid 4 and the steam conduit 5, so that even if there is not enough space inside the outer lid 3, the outer lid 3. An outer lid opening button that can be operated from the front side of the camera can be provided.

Further, the tip end portion 302b of the operation shaft 302c of the outer lid release button 302 presses a position away from the support shaft 301a, which is a fulcrum of the hook 301, by a predetermined distance R, thereby rotating the hook 301.
Thereby, even if it is the outer cover latching | locking part 201 and the outer cover holding | maintenance part 301 to which the force of pulling up and down always acts with the spring 23b of the coupling | bond part 23, it is a fulcrum (support axis 301a) from the power point which the other end 302a presses. Since the is separated, the locking of the outer lid can be released with a weak force.

  Further, even in the rice cooker having the tank 6 provided in the front part of the main body as in the present embodiment, the front part of the outer cover 3 is disposed inside the outer cover 3 in which the outer cover 3 and the tank 6 overlap each other. By using the unlocking portion 302 extending from the front, the unlocking can be performed from the front surface 3 b side of the outer lid 3.

Therefore, since the outer lid opening button 302 can be provided on the front portion of the outer lid, the operation portion 308 can be disposed on the upper front side of the outer lid 3, and the user can easily operate the operation portion. It can be configured.
That is, the outer lid release button for releasing the lock between the outer lid and the main body is configured to be positioned on the front surface of the outer lid, so that the outer lid release button is positioned closest to the user of the outer lid. be able to.
Thereby, the operator can operate the outer lid opening button from the outer lid opening end side (the front surface 3b side of the outer lid 3), that is, from the outside of the outer lid opening operation region. Therefore, after operating the outer lid opening button, the hand can be naturally pulled out of the opening locus of the outer lid opening end, and it becomes difficult to touch the outer lid in the process of opening.

Next, when the conventional configuration is adopted in a rice cooker with a tank built in the front part of the main body, the outer lid locking part avoids the tank 6 due to restrictions on the built-in space, and between the inner pot 1 behind it. It is necessary to provide in.
Accordingly, the outer lid opening button is provided at a position from the front side to the back side of the outer lid upper surface by the thickness of the tank provided at the front part of the main body.
Here, the operation unit for performing various operations of the rice cooker is generally provided on the upper front side of the outer lid, which is a position excellent in operability, but in the case of a rice cooker adopting a conventional configuration, the outer lid The release button becomes an obstacle to the installation position of the operation unit, and the size and position of the display unit constituting the operation unit are restricted.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the outer lid opening button 302 is arranged such that the button portion 302a operated by the user faces the opening 3c formed in the front surface portion 3b of the outer lid 3, and the outer lid is opened from the button portion 302a. The operation shaft 302 c extends toward the inside, and the outer lid 3 is provided so that the tip end portion 302 b is engaged with the hook 301.
By comprising in this way, the outer lid | cover open button is provided in the front side of the outer lid 3, the space of a predetermined area | region can be ensured in the upper front part of the outer lid 3, and the operation part 308 of a rice cooker is arrange | positioned in this space be able to.

Embodiment 2
The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, about the same structure as Embodiment 1, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a rice cooker 200 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the second embodiment.
Embodiment 2 is a peripheral portion of the opening 3c formed in the front surface portion 3b of the outer lid 3, and the convex portion 3a is provided at a position surrounding the upper and side portions of the button portion 302a of the outer lid opening button 302. It is provided.

By providing the convex portion 3a as described above, it is possible to reduce the intrusion of dust into the gap between the outer lid opening button 302 and the outer lid 3, which is difficult to prevent even if the unlocking button is arranged on the outer lid. .
In addition, since the lower portion is not provided with a convex portion, even if dust or the like enters the gap between the outer lid opening button 302 and the outer lid 3, it is easily discharged to the outside of the outer lid 3.

The perspective view which shows the whole rice cooker 100 structure which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The block diagram in the state where the outer lid is closed to the main body. The perspective view of the state which removed the tank 6 from the rice cooker main body 2. FIG. The principal part enlarged view in the state where the outer lid is closed to the main body. The exploded view before integrating an outer cover, an inner cover, and a steam conduit. The perspective view which shows the whole rice cooker 200 structure which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 inner pan, 2 rice cooker body, 3 outer lid, 3a convex part, 4 inner lid, 5 steam conduit,
6 tank, 21 bottom plate of rice cooker body, 22 front surface of rice cooker body, 31 hinge,
32 Spring, 61 Tank body, 62 Tank lid, 62a Steam intake port,
100/200 rice cooker, 201 outer lid locking part, 202 heating coil,
203 power supply board, 301 outer lid holding member, 302 outer lid release button,
308 operation unit,

Claims (3)

An inner pot for storing an object to be heated, a main body for accommodating the inner pot,
An outer lid that is coupled to the rear part of the main body and covers the upper surface of the main body so as to be freely opened and closed, and in which a force is always applied in a direction of opening;
With
The main body includes an opening for accommodating the inner pot on the upper surface, a tank for taking in and condensing steam generated from the inner pot at the front, and the outer lid provided between the tank and the opening. An outer lid locking portion to be locked,
The outer lid has a hook that can be locked to the outer lid locking portion, and an outer lid release button that releases the locking state of the hook on the front surface,
The outer lid covers the upper surface of the main body including the inner pot and the tank in a locked state of the outer lid locking portion and the hook.
A rice cooker characterized by that.   2. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the outer lid opening button releases the hook from being locked by being pushed in from a front surface of the outer lid in a horizontal direction.   The rice cooker according to claim 1, further comprising an operation unit for operating the rice cooker on an upper front side of the outer lid.

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