JP2010178946A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker which exhibits high rice cooking performance by accurately transmitting temperature information to its first control means. <P>SOLUTION: The rice cooker includes: a pot 102 which is loaded into a rice cooker body 101; a heating means 105 which heats the pot 102; a lid 103 which covers the rice cooker body 101; a temperature sensor 107a which measures the temperature of the pot 102; the first control means 106 which controls the heating means 105 in response to the temperature information of the temperature sensor 107a; a second control means 114 which converts the temperature information which is detected by the temperature sensor 107a into digital signals by computing; a first signal line 115 which connects the output side of the temperature sensor 107a and the input side of the second control means 114; and a second signal line 116 which connects the output side of the second control means 114 and the input side of the first control means 106. The first signal line 115 is shorter than the second signal line 116. The temperature information is accurately transmitted to the first control means 106 by reducing irreversible deterioration of analog signals due to noise and the rice cooking performance is improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker that cooks rice while detecting the temperature of the pan.

  A conventional rice cooker of this type includes a temperature sensor for detecting a pot temperature that can be correlated with the temperature of rice and water. As this temperature sensor, a contact-type temperature sensor is generally used in which a part of the pan is brought into contact with the pan to detect the temperature by heat transfer. In addition, in order to detect the pan temperature with high accuracy, a rice cooker using an infrared sensor that detects infrared rays emitted from the pan and can detect the temperature in a non-contact manner has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  An accurate temperature sensor is important for controlling rice cooking by detecting the temperature of the pan, but depending on the temperature detection method of the temperature sensor, the calculation from the sensor output to the temperature information is complicated, and the temperature information of the temperature sensor This increases the burden on the main microcomputer that controls the heating of the heater.

  When the burden of temperature calculation is large and the calculation is not in time, it is necessary to reduce the acquisition frequency of the temperature information, and there is a problem that the temperature accuracy is deteriorated. In addition, when the main microcomputer is changed to one having excellent computing ability, the cost is greatly increased.

In order to solve the above problem, a sub-microcomputer that mainly processes the temperature calculation is added, and the sub-microcomputer performs A / D conversion and temperature information calculation on the input from the temperature sensor. By transmitting temperature information to the main microcomputer, it is possible to reduce the burden of complicated temperature calculation of the main microcomputer.
Japanese Patent No. 1862944

  However, in the configuration of the conventional rice cooker, in the arrangement configuration of the sub-microcomputer, the input from the temperature sensor to the sub-microcomputer handles an analog signal. There is a problem that noise is easily applied to an analog signal that cannot be easily restored. On the other hand, in a digital signal, signal degradation can be easily restored to some extent by error correction processing.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, reduces irreversible deterioration of an analog signal due to noise, and accurately transmits temperature information to a main microcomputer (first control means) to improve rice cooking performance. The purpose is to provide a rice cooker.

  In order to solve the conventional problem, the rice cooker of the present invention includes a rice cooker body, a pan equipped on the rice cooker body, a heating means for heating the pan, and a lid that covers the rice cooker body, A temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the pan, a first control unit that controls the heating unit according to temperature information of the temperature sensor, and a first unit that converts the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor into a digital signal by calculation. Two control means, a first signal line connecting the output side of the temperature sensor and the input side of the second control means, the output side of the second control means, and the first control means A second signal line connected to the input side, and the length of the first signal line is shorter than that of the second signal line, thereby reducing the irreversible deterioration of the analog signal due to noise and increasing the accuracy. Often temperature information is transmitted to the first control means to improve rice cooking performance. It is possible to provide on the cooker.

  The rice cooker of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that improves the rice cooking performance by reducing the irreversible degradation of the analog signal due to noise and accurately transmitting temperature information to the main microcomputer (first control means). It becomes possible.

  1st invention is a rice cooker main body, the pan equipped to the said rice cooker main body, the heating means which heats the said pan, the lid | cover which covers the said rice cooker main body, the temperature sensor which measures the temperature of the said pan, First control means for controlling the heating means in accordance with temperature information of the temperature sensor, second control means for converting temperature information detected by the temperature sensor into a digital signal by calculation, and output of the temperature sensor A first signal line connecting the input side of the second control means and a second signal line connecting the output side of the second control means and the input side of the first control means The length of the first signal line is shorter than that of the second signal line, and irreversible degradation of the analog signal due to noise is reduced and temperature information is accurately transmitted to the first control means. It is possible to provide a rice cooker with improved rice cooking performance That.

  In the second aspect of the invention, in particular, the first signal line of the first aspect of the invention is a shielded line that is not easily affected by electrical noise, and further reduces irreversible signal deterioration of an analog signal due to noise. It becomes possible to provide a rice cooker with improved rice cooking performance by accurately transmitting temperature information to the first control means.

  In particular, the third invention comprises at least a part of the first or second heating means by a heating coil for inductively heating the pan, and the magnetic shielding means for preventing the second control means from the magnetic field of the heating coil. Thus, it becomes possible to provide a rice cooker with improved rice cooking performance by reducing irreversible signal deterioration of an analog signal due to noise and accurately transmitting temperature information to the first control means.

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

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a rice cooker according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the rice cooker according to the present embodiment includes a substantially bottomed cylindrical rice cooker main body 101 in which a protective frame 109 is formed, and a magnetic body that is housed in the protective frame 109 and generates heat by induction heating. A pot 102 containing the above metal, a lid 103 that is attached to the rice cooker body 101 and that opens and closes the opening 101a of the rice cooker body 101, and is detachable on the inside of the lid 103 (the side that covers the opening 102a of the pot 102). It has a substantially disk-shaped inner lid 104 attached and capable of sealing the opening 102a of the pan 102, and a heating means 105 for inductively heating the pan 102 and the like.

  The heating means 105 includes a pan bottom heating coil 105 a attached to the outer peripheral surface of the protective frame 109, a pan side heating coil 105 b, and an inner lid heating coil 105 c described later provided in the lid 103.

  The pan bottom heating coil 105 a is disposed so as to face the periphery of the center portion and the corner portion of the bottom portion of the pan 102 through the protective frame 109.

As shown in FIG. 1, the temperature sensor unit 107 is configured to obtain a stable contact state by a repulsive force of a spring 108 at a substantially central portion outside the bottom surface of the pot 102. Regarding the arrangement configuration of the temperature sensor unit 107, the acquisition temperature is more stable because the installation temperature is more stable than the side surface of the pan 102 where the water level fluctuates depending on the total number of rice cooks. Easy to control.

  The temperature sensor unit 107 includes a temperature sensor 107 a for detecting the temperature of the pan 102 by heat transfer from the contact portion with the pan 102.

  In the present embodiment, the temperature sensor unit 107 is expressed as a contact type temperature sensor such as a thermistor used in a conventional rice cooker, but may be a temperature sensor that outputs an electrical signal correlated with temperature information. For example, other types of temperature sensors such as a thermocouple, a thermopile, and a thermistor bolometer may be used.

  In the rice cooker main body 101, a first control means 106 for performing rice cooking operation by driving and controlling each unit and each device is installed. The first signal line 115 that is an output signal line of the temperature sensor 107 a is connected to the input side of the second control means 114, and the output side of the second control means 114 is connected to the first signal line 116 by the second signal line 116. The control means 106 is connected to the input side.

  The second control means 114 specially performs temperature calculation which places a burden on the first control means 106. The second control means 114 is obtained by calculating temperature information using an analog output signal from the temperature sensor 107a as an input. It converts temperature information into a digital signal.

  With this configuration, the conversion from the output signal of the temperature sensor 107a requiring complicated calculation to temperature information can be performed without imposing a burden on the first control means 106 responsible for the drive control of the rice cooker.

  Further, when the temperature sensor 107a and the first control means 106 are connected, the second control means 114 is arranged so that the first signal line 115 is as short as possible, so that it is difficult to restore signal deterioration due to noise or the like. It is possible to reduce noise on the signal output from the temperature sensor 107a. It is possible to further reduce the influence of noise on the analog signal by making only the first signal line 115 configured short to be a shield line that is not easily affected by noise. Compared to a configuration in which all paths to the control means 106 are shielded lines, an increase in cost can be suppressed.

  On the contrary, the second signal line 116 becomes longer and easily affected by noise due to the above configuration, but the signal handled by the second signal line 116 is a digital signal for communication between microcomputers, so that the deterioration due to noise is caused. It can be easily restored by error correction processing. Therefore, it is possible to reduce deterioration due to noise in the entire path from the temperature sensor 107a to the first control means 106, and to perform accurate temperature measurement.

  From this, by arranging and configuring the first signal line 115 that handles analog signals as short as possible, signal deterioration due to noise can be reduced, and as a result of accurate temperature measurement, rice cooking performance can be improved. Moreover, although the function of the 1st control means 106 is arrange | positioned in the rice cooker main body 101 in FIG. 1, the structure arrange | positioned in the lid | cover 103 may be sufficient.

  The lid 103 includes an inner lid temperature sensor 111 that is an example of a lid temperature detecting device that detects the temperature of the inner lid 104, an inner lid heating coil 105c that is an example of an inner lid heating device, a hinge shaft 103a, and a steam cylinder. 110 is provided.

The first control means 106 is obtained by, for example, the temperature sensor unit 107 or the inner lid temperature sensor 111 in accordance with a user instruction performed using an input operation unit 112 described later provided on the lid 103. The heating means 105 is controlled according to the temperature information of the pan 102 and the inner lid 104.

  The inner lid heating coil 105 c installed in the lid 103 is configured to inductively heat the inner lid 104 under the control of the control means 106. The hinge shaft 103a is an opening / closing shaft of the lid 103, and both ends thereof are fixed to the rice cooker body 101 so as to be freely rotatable. The lid 103 is always urged in the opening direction by a rotating spring 103b provided in the vicinity of the hinge shaft 103a.

A part of the inner lid 104 is made of a metal such as stainless steel capable of induction heating, and in order to discharge the steam to the outside of the pan 102, a steam port 104b having a plurality of holes (for example, the opening area is 0). .5 cm ² ).

  A substantially annular inner lid packing 104 a that is in close contact with the pan 102 when the lid 103 is in a closed state is attached to the surface of the outer peripheral portion of the inner lid 104 on the pan 102 side. The inner lid packing 104a is made of an elastic body such as rubber.

  The steam cylinder 110 is detachably attached to the lid 103, and the steam that has come out of the steam port 104 b of the inner lid 104 passes through the steam cylinder 110 and is released to the outside of the rice cooker. ing. There is a magnet 110a inside the steam cylinder 110, and this magnet 110a is a rice ball that has a high viscosity when water or starch in the rice melts into the water when the lid 103 is opened or during cooking. It is configured to be movable toward the hinge shaft 103a when the steam cylinder 110 is raised.

  A magnetic force sensor 113 is provided in the vicinity of the magnet 110a inside the lid 103 so that it can detect whether the magnet 110a is in a predetermined position.

  On the outer surface of the lid 103, an input operation unit 112 for displaying various types of information such as a rice cooking menu and time, and starting, canceling, and making reservations for rice cooking is mounted.

  Then, by operating an operation button (not shown) or the like of the input operation unit 112, the rice cooking program built in the control means 106 built in the rice cooker body 101 is executed, and the heating means 105 is advanced to the rice cooking program. Operate and stop at the same time and cook rice.

  About the rice cooker in this Embodiment comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  First, predetermined rice and water are set in the pot 102, the input operation part 112 is operated, a rice cooking menu is selected, and a rice cooking start button (not shown) is pressed down, and a rice cooking process is started. The rice cooking process is a dipping process in which water is kept at a constant temperature and the rice absorbs water, a cooking process in which the pot 102 is heated at once by the heating means 105, and the water in the pot 102 is boiled, the water in the pot 102 It consists of a steaming process that suppresses heating while the rice is almost gone. During these processes, rice is gelatinized with rice being gelatinized.

  The control means 106 optimally controls the heating means 105 according to the temperature of the pan 102 detected by the temperature sensor unit 107, and cooks rice according to a predetermined rice cooking program. In the rice cooking program, multiple courses are prepared depending on the type of rice. When this steaming process ends, the cooking ends, and the process automatically shifts to the heat retaining process, so that the temperature of the cooked rice does not decrease, and the user can always obtain warm rice.

  Next, the detail of the operation | movement by rice cooking program execution is demonstrated below.

  When rice cooking is started, the soaking process is first started. The control means 106 heats the pot 102 with the heating means 105, detects the temperature of the pot 102 with the temperature sensor 107a, and adjusts it to a temperature at which rice gelatinization does not start (for example, less than about 60 ° C.). Promotes water absorption. Rice has the highest temperature in the range where gelatinization does not start, and if the temperature is continued for a certain time (for example, 30 minutes to 2 hours), the water absorption rate is likely to improve.

  On the other hand, since the cooking time is often required to cook delicious rice in as short a time as possible, the pot 102 is raised to a temperature at which gelatinization does not start in a short time.

  In the cooking process, water and heat are added to the rice to cause gelatinization. The control means 106 operates the heating means 105 to rapidly heat the pot 102 and bring the water in the pot 102 to a boiling state. When the water in the pot 102 gradually disappears, the temperature of the pot 102 continues to rise above 100 ° C. from the heated portion 2a, and it is determined that the water in the pot 102 has been exhausted by detecting about 130 ° C. Then, heating by the heating means 105 is stopped.

  In the steaming process, almost no water remains in the pan 102, and the paste 102 is maintained at a high temperature (for example, about 100 ° C.) while the excess water adhering to the rice is evaporated. Further progress will be made. At this time, the control means 106 operates the inner lid heating coil 105c while detecting the temperature of the upper space of the pot 102 with the inner lid temperature sensor 111, and continues to apply heat to the rice, and the progress of gelatinization. To promote.

  As described above, in each step of cooking rice, the accuracy of temperature detection is the most important. However, in this embodiment, the first signal line 115 that handles an analog signal that is difficult to restore signal deterioration due to noise is provided as much as possible. Since the second control means 114 is arranged so as to be shortened, deterioration due to noise can be reduced in the entire path from the temperature sensor 107a to the first control means 106, and accurate temperature measurement can be performed. This makes it possible to provide a rice cooker that accurately controls the temperature of the pan 103 and has improved rice cooking performance.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 2: is an expanded sectional view of the temperature sensor attachment part of the rice cooker in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. In addition, about the same part as the rice cooker in the said Embodiment 1, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Since the configuration and operation of the rice cooker in the present embodiment are the same as those described in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1, only the main points such as the configuration and operation in the present embodiment will be described below. .

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the temperature sensor unit 107 and the second control unit 114 are integrally configured and attached to the outer peripheral surface of the protective frame 109 to the second control unit 114. A magnetic shield 201 that suppresses the influence of the magnetic field produced by the pan bottom heating coil 105 a and the pan side heating coil 105 b, that is, a magnetic shield, is arranged around the second control unit 114.

  As a magnetic-shielding configuration, a high-conductivity and low-permeability material such as aluminum is disposed between the second control means 114 and the pan bottom heating coil 105a.

  As a result, it is possible to reduce the influence of noise on the temperature sensor 107 a, the first signal line 115, and the second control means 114 configured integrally with the temperature sensor unit 107. Further, the connection from the temperature sensor unit 107 to the first control means 106 is only the second signal line 116 which is a digital output of the second control means 114.

  Therefore, it is difficult to restore signal degradation due to noise, etc., noise that rides on the output signal of the temperature sensor 107a, which is an analog signal, can be reduced, and as a result of accurate temperature measurement with reduced signal degradation due to noise, rice cooking performance Can be improved.

  As mentioned above, since the influence of the noise between the temperature sensor and the control means which inputs the output is reduced, the other rice cooker according to the present invention controls the heating by the temperature information of the temperature sensor. It can be applied to other uses.

Sectional drawing of the rice cooker in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The expanded sectional view of the temperature sensor attachment part of the rice cooker in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Rice cooker body 102 Pan 103 Lid 103a Hinge shaft 103b Rotating spring 104 Inner lid 104a Inner lid packing 104b Steam port 105 Heating means 105a Pan bottom heating coil 105b Pan side heating coil 105c Inner lid heating coil 106 First control means 107 Temperature sensor unit 107a Temperature sensor 108 Spring 109 Protective frame 110 Steam cylinder 110a Magnet 111 Inner lid temperature sensor 112 Input operation unit 113 Magnetic sensor 114 Second control means 115 First signal line 116 Second signal line 201 Magnetic shielding means

Claims (3)

A rice cooker body, a pan equipped in the rice cooker body, a heating means for heating the pan, a lid covering the rice cooker body, a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the pan, and temperature information of the temperature sensor According to the first control means for controlling the heating means, second control means for converting the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor into a digital signal by calculation, the output side of the temperature sensor, and the second A first signal line connecting the input side of the control means; a second signal line connecting the output side of the second control means and the input side of the first control means; A rice cooker characterized in that the length of one signal line is shorter than that of the second signal line. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the first signal line is a shield line that is not easily affected by electrical noise. The at least one part of a heating means is comprised with the heating coil which induction-heats a pan, and provided with the magnetic-shielding means which shields a 2nd control means from the magnetic field of the said heating coil. The described rice cooker.

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