JP2011239879A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker performing no cancellation when a user accidentally performs canceling operation and performing cancellation when a user intentionally performs canceling operation.SOLUTION: The rice cooker includes: a rice cooker body including a pot in which an object to be cooked is charged, a housing case in which the pot is housed, and heating means for heating the pot; a lid body mounted on the rice cooker body in a freely opening/closing manner; input means having a cancellation key provided in the rice cooker body or the lid body; and control means. The control means divides a rice cooking process into a plurality of steps, wherein a pressing and holding of the cancellation key is made valid and a single pushing is made invalid in specific steps (S4-S9 steps).

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker.

  Currently, rice cookers equipped with various functions are commercially available. For example, the pressure type rice cooker that cooks rice under pressure, the rice cooker equipped with the so-called rice cooking menu function that can cook rice according to the type of rice such as white rice and brown rice, etc. Rice cookers that can be cooked deliciously are available.

  Moreover, many techniques related to rice cookers have been disclosed in the patent literature. For example, the following patent literature 1 discloses a pressure rice cooker that cooks rice under pressure. More specifically, this rice cooker includes a pan into which the rice is to be cooked, a rice cooker body that houses the pan, a lid, a pressure valve that communicates with or shuts off the outside air from the pan, and a pressure. A pressure valve opening mechanism attached to the valve for forcibly opening the pressure valve from a closed state, and a control means for controlling the heating amount of the heating means and controlling the opening and closing operation of the pressure valve by the pressure valve opening mechanism. I have. In the rice cooker described in Patent Document 1, when cooking rice with “white rice / standard (normal) course”, the rice cooking process is a water absorption process, a startup process, a boiling maintenance process, an unevenness process 1, an additional cooking process, and an unevenness process. It is possible to cook rice by performing step 2 sequentially.

JP 2006-75654 A

  In the rice cooker of the said patent document 1, in order to cook rice deliciously, the rice cooking process is divided into plurality, and the control circuit of the rice cooker performs different control in each division. However, in a rice cooker described in Patent Document 1 or a general rice cooker marketed at a mass retailer or the like, when a user mistakenly performs a cancel operation during the rice cooking process, the following is performed: Problems arise.

  For example, if rice cooking is canceled during the rice cooking process, the rice cooking operation is terminated while the cooked rice is still boiled, but in this case, if the temperature of the rice cooker is high even if rice cooking is started again, Can't start and you have to wait until the temperature of the rice cooker drops. Moreover, if rice cooking operation is performed again from the beginning in the state of raw cooking, the problem that the taste of the cooked rice falls will arise.

  In the present invention, in order to solve such a problem, when a user erroneously performs a cancel operation, the cancel operation is not accepted, and when the user intentionally performs a cancel operation, the cancel operation is accepted. Is. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that can prevent a user's erroneous operation as much as possible and can reliably execute a cancel operation when the user really needs a cancel operation. It is in.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a rice cooker body having a pan into which the rice to be cooked is put in, a storage case in which the pan is stored, and a heating means for heating the pan, and the rice cooker body is opened and closed. In a rice cooker having a freely attached lid, input means provided on the rice cooker main body or the lid, and a control means, the input means has a cancel key, and the control means Control is performed to execute an operation corresponding to the operation of the cancel key when it is determined that the cancel key is continuously pressed for a predetermined time or more from the start of cooking rice to the end of cooking.

  Invention of Claim 2 is invention of Claim 1, When the said control means determines with the said cancellation key being pressed for less than predetermined time in the period except the period from the said rice cooking start to the rice cooking end. , And control to execute an operation corresponding to the operation of the cancel key.

  The invention according to claim 3 is a rice cooker body having a pan into which the rice to be cooked is charged, a storage case in which the pan is stored, and a heating means for heating the pan, and is opened and closed to the rice cooker body. In a rice cooker having a freely attached lid, input means provided on the rice cooker main body or the lid, and a control means, the input means has a cancel key, and the control means The rice cooking process is divided into a plurality of processes, and in a specific process, the long press of the cancel key is enabled and the short press is disabled.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the rice cooker according to claim 3, wherein in the process excluding the specific process, the control means makes long press and short press of the cancel key effective. And

  Invention of Claim 5 is a rice cooker main body which has the pan into which a to-be-cooked rice is thrown in, the storage case in which this pan is accommodated, and the heating means which heats the said pan, and opens and closes to a rice cooker main body In a rice cooker having a freely attached lid, input means provided on the rice cooker main body or the lid, and a control means, the input means has a cancel key, and the control means The rice cooking process is divided into a plurality of processes, and in a specific process, long press and short press of the cancel key are invalidated.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the rice cooker according to the fifth aspect, wherein the control means validates the long press of the cancel key in a process excluding the specific process.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the rice cooker according to claim 5, wherein the control means enables long press and short press of the cancel key in a process excluding the specific process. And

  According to the present invention, the cooking operation is not interrupted during the cooking process or during the cooking process even if the user accidentally operates the cancel operation. It is possible to avoid the problem that the rice that is not delicious is cooked as a result.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the control means determines that the cancel key is continuously pressed for a predetermined time or more from the start of rice cooking to the end of rice cooking, an operation corresponding to the operation of the cancel key is executed. Therefore, even if the user accidentally touches the cancel key during cooking, the cooking operation is not stopped.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when it is determined that the cancel key is pressed for less than a predetermined time in a period excluding the period from the start of rice cooking to the end of rice cooking, the control means performs an operation corresponding to the operation of the cancel key. Therefore, the operation of the cancel key is made effective during a period when there is no problem even if the cancel key is operated by mistake, thereby improving convenience.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, the control means divides the rice cooking process into a plurality of processes, and in a specific process, the long press of the cancel key is enabled and the short press is disabled. For this reason, even if the user accidentally touches the cancel key during rice cooking, the rice cooking operation will not be canceled. It is possible to stop the rice cooking operation.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means makes long press and short press of the cancel key effective in the steps except for the specific step. For this reason, in the period when there is no problem even if the cancel key is operated by mistake, the operation of the cancel key is made effective and the convenience is improved.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, the control means divides the rice cooking process into a plurality of processes, and disables the long press and short press of the cancel key in the specific process. For this reason, even if a user accidentally touches the cancel key during cooking, the rice cooking operation is not stopped, and even if the child operates the cancel key by mischief, the rice cooking operation is not stopped.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the control means validates the long press of the cancel key in the steps excluding the specific step. For this reason, in the period when there is no problem even if the cancel key is operated by mistake, the long press operation of the cancel key is made effective and the convenience is improved.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the control means enables the long press and the short press of the cancel key in the steps excluding the specific step. For this reason, in the period when there is no problem even if the cancel key is operated by mistake, the operation of the cancel key is made effective and the convenience is improved.

It is a front view of a rice cooker which is an example device to which the present invention is applied. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the rice cooker of FIG. It is a block diagram of a present Example apparatus. It is the characteristic view which showed the temperature change in the pan in the rice cooking process of a present Example apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement of a 1st Example apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement of a 2nd Example apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies a rice cooker for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to identify the present invention as this rice cooker. The present invention can be equally applied to the other embodiments included in the scope.

  Next, the rice cooker which is an Example apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below. FIG. 1 is a front view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rice cooker according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the left side in FIG. 2 is the front. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the rice cooker according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram of the rice cooker according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment apparatus of the embodiment apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment apparatus.

  First, a first embodiment of an embodiment apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below. The structure of the rice cooker which is a present Example apparatus is demonstrated below using FIG.1 and FIG.2.

  The rice cooker 1 includes a rice cooker body (hereinafter referred to as “main body”) 2 and an openable / closable lid 3 that covers the body 2. The main body 2 has a pot 4 composed of a deep-bottomed container into which rice and water to be cooked are put, an opening in which the pot 4 is accommodated above, and the pot 4 heated inside to prepare the cooked rice. It has a heating means 5 for heating the product, and further controls the rice cooking control unit 40 (not shown in FIG. 2), the operation unit 6 for operating the rice cooking menu, the operated rice cooking menu, and the time. A display unit 7 for displaying is provided on the front side.

  The operation unit 6 is composed of a rice cooking start / warm button 8, a rice cooking menu selection button 9, a rice cooking reservation button 10, a cancel button 11, and a cross key 12. By operating these operation buttons, rice is cooked in a menu desired by the user. Can be set to do.

  The main body 2 includes a bottomed box-shaped outer case 13 and a storage case 14 accommodated in the outer case 13, and a gap is formed between the outer case 13 and the storage case 14, and a control unit is formed in the gap. (Not shown) is provided. The pot 4 is accommodated in the storage case 14. The pan 4 is made of, for example, a clad material made of aluminum and stainless steel. The storage case 14 includes an upper case 15 made of iron on the upper surface of the side wall, and a lower case 16 made of a heat-resistant resin provided from the lower surface of the side wall to the bottom wall. A side heater 17 and a heating coil 18 are provided opposite to each other, and a pan bottom temperature sensor 19 including a thermistor for detecting the pan bottom temperature is provided at the bottom of the storage case 14.

  The lid 3 includes a detachable inner lid 20 that is pivotally attached to the main body 2 by a hinge on one side, and an outer lid 21 that covers the outside. Further, the lid body 3 includes a lid heater 22 made of a wire heater, a pressure valve 23, a pressure valve opening mechanism 24, a safety valve 25, a negative pressure valve (not shown), a steam passage 26, and the temperature of steam introduced from the pressure valve. A steam temperature sensor 27 for detection is provided.

The pressure valve 23 includes a metal pressure adjusting ball 31, a pedestal 32, and a cover 33. The pressure valve opening mechanism 24 includes a solenoid that forcibly moves the pressure adjusting ball 31, and is wound with an electromagnetic coil. A cylinder 34, a plunger 35 that moves in the cylinder 34 by excitation of an electromagnetic coil, an operating rod, and a spring are included.
The pedestal 32 of the pressure valve 23 has a hole 36 in the center, and when the pressure in the pan 4 is increased, the pressure adjusting ball 31 is designed to be placed in the middle of the pedestal 32 due to its own weight and to block the hole 36 and stabilize. ing. When the pressure adjusting ball 31 closes the hole 36, the pot 4 and the inner lid 20 are sealed with the packing 37 attached around the inner lid 20 and the pressure adjusting ball 31 of the pressure valve 23. . When the plunger 35 is controlled by the control unit to release the sealed state, the plunger 35 pushes the pressure adjusting ball 31 from above the hole 36 of the base 32.

  In addition, the lid 3 is provided with a safety valve 25 that releases the pressure in the pan 4 to the outside when the vapor pressure in the pan 4 rises to an abnormal pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure. Further, a steam temperature sensor 27, which is a temperature sensor, is attached to the steam passage 26 of the lid 3 at a position closer to the ejection port than the pressure valve 23.

  38 is a rice tank, which is provided in a detachable manner in communication with the steam passage above the lid 3, and stores rice balls generated during rice cooking. Therefore, the inside of the rice tank 38 has a multi-layer structure in which a separation structure is provided from above and below to separate the steam and the rice bowl, and only the steam is emitted from the ejection port 39.

  Next, each circuit configuration of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

  The control unit 40 controls each circuit and is composed of, for example, a semiconductor microprocessor, and is connected to the heating coil 18, the upper lid heater, the side heater 17, the solenoid, the display unit 7, the temperature sensor 19, and the like described above.

  The operation unit 6 is composed of a rice cooking start / warm button 8, a rice cooking menu selection button 9, a rice cooking reservation button 10, a cancel button 11, and a cross key 12. By operating these operation buttons, rice is cooked in a menu desired by the user. Can be set to do.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rice cooking process of the apparatus of this embodiment includes a water absorption process I for sucking water into the cooked rice in the pan 4, a heating process II for rapidly heating the absorbed rice cooked food, It is divided into a boiling process III for maintaining the cooked rice in a boiling state, and a steaming process IV for steaming the cooked food for a predetermined time after the boiling process III.

  A more specific operation will be described below with reference to FIG. First, if a user performs rice cooking start operation, the water absorption process I will start in S1 step. In the water absorption process I (steps S1 to S3), the control unit 40 maintains the water absorption temperature at a predetermined temperature, for example, around 60 ° C. for a certain time, for example, 15 minutes, and controls the temperature so that the rice can easily absorb water. To do. In this water absorption step I, the pressure valve 23 is opened. When the control unit 40 determines that the cancel button is pressed during the water absorption process I, the control unit 40 ends the rice cooking operation.

  In step S2, the control unit 40 makes the cancel operation valid. That is, when the cancel button 11 is pressed, the rice cooking operation can be stopped halfway. Note that the pressing of the cancel button 11 here refers to either a pressing operation (so-called short press) for a short time (for example, less than 1 second) or a pressing operation (so-called long press) for a long time (for example, 1 second or more). Shall also refer to.

  In step S3, when it is determined that the cancel button 11 has been pressed, the control unit 40 ends the rice cooking operation. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, when the water absorption process I ends, the control unit 40 proceeds to the heating process II (steps S4 to S7).

  In this heating process II, the control part 40 performs quantity determination of the amount of rice cooking. The amount of cooked rice is determined, and the control condition is changed depending on the amount of cooked rice in the process after the heating step II according to the determined amount of cooked rice. In the heating step II, the pressure valve 23 is closed, the heating means 5 performs heating with full power, and the temperature in the pan 4 rises suddenly. At that time, since the inside of the pan 4 is sealed by the pressure valve 23 and the packing 37, the pressure in the pan 4 rises and enters a pressurized state.

  In step S5, the control unit 40 validates only the long press of the cancel button in the heating process II, and disables the operation when the cancel button is short pressed. Here, the long press refers to a press operation for a longer time (for example, 1 second or longer) than a press operation (for example, a short press) for a short time (for example, less than 1 second).

  In the subsequent step S6, the control unit 40 displays on the display unit 7 that only the long press of the cancel button is valid. This display may be configured to display a message such as “valid only for long press”, or may be configured to display a specific icon.

  In step S7, when it is determined that the cancel button 11 has been pressed for a long time, the control unit 40 advances the process to step S8 if it is not likely to stop the rice cooking operation.

  In step S8, the control unit 40 ends the heating process II and proceeds to the boiling process III (steps S8 to S9). In the boiling process III, the control unit 40 enables only the long press of the cancel button as in the heating process II, and disables the operation when the cancel button is pressed shortly. Then, the display unit 7 continues to display that only the long press of the cancel button is valid.

  In the boiling step III, energization of the heating coil 18 and opening / closing of the pressure valve 23 are performed at predetermined time intervals. That is, the pressure valve 23 is opened and closed by the control of the pressure valve opening mechanism 24, and the pressure valve 23 is opened and closed once or several times in the initial stage of the boiling step III. With the opening of the pressure valve 23, the pressure in the pan 4 is reduced from a pressurized state of 1.2 atm to almost near atmospheric pressure. This pressure change causes a so-called bumping phenomenon in which the inside of the pan 4 boils violently.

  Due to this bumping phenomenon, the cooked rice such as rice grains in the pan 4 is stirred. In particular, when the pressure valve 23 is opened and closed in the initial stage of the boiling process III, the rice grains are efficiently stirred at this stage because there is much water in the pot 4. On the other hand, energization of the heating coil 18 is turned on / off in synchronization with opening and closing of the pressure valve 23. That is, energization of the heating coil 18 is turned on when the pressure valve 23 is closed, and turned off when the pressure valve 23 is opened. The energization of the heating coil 18 may be asynchronous with the opening / closing of the pressure valve 23.

  In the boiling process III, when the water in the pot 4 is exhausted, the temperature of the pot 4 rises to 130 ° C. Due to this temperature rise, the water in the boiling pan 4 disappears and forced dry-up occurs. When the dry-up is detected, the control unit 40 stops energizing the heating coil 18 and proceeds to the steaming process IV (steps S10 to S13) in step S10.

  In step S9, if it is determined that the cancel button has been pressed for a long time, the control unit 40 ends cooking, and if not, proceeds to step S10.

  In step S10, the control unit 40 proceeds to the steaming step IV. Control part 40 will open a pressure valve, if it shifts to steaming process IV. In addition, the timer count is started, and the heating means 5 is turned off except for the lid heater 22 for a predetermined time, for example, 4 minutes. When the energization is turned off in this manner, the temperature in the pan 4 is lowered, and the pressure in the pan 4 is also lowered as the temperature is lowered. At that time, when the pressure valve 23 is opened, the negative pressure valve (not shown) acts to reduce the powder collected in the powder tank 38 into the pan.

  When rice balls are reduced into the pan, the control unit 40 shifts to additional cooking in the steaming process IV. In the additional cooking, the heating coil 18 is energized for a predetermined time to raise the temperature in the pan 4. Subsequently, energization of the heating coil 18 is turned off after a predetermined time has elapsed. When the steaming process ends, the rice cooking process ends, and the process proceeds to the heat retaining process.

  In step S11, the control unit 40 validates the pressing of the cancel button 11 as in step S2, and in step S12, the control unit 40 erases the display indicating that only the long press of the cancel button 11 on the display unit 7 is valid. To control.

  In subsequent S13 step, when the control unit 40 determines that the cancel button 11 has been pressed, the cooking process ends.

  Thus, in 1st Example, only the long press of the cancellation button 11 was permitted in the heating process and the boiling process. For this reason, even if a user accidentally touches the cancel button 11, the rice cooking operation is not stopped.

  However, in the first embodiment, the rice cooking operation is stopped when the child pushes the cancel button 11 with mischief. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the rice cooking operation is not stopped even if the child pushes the cancel button 11 with mischief.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6: is the flowchart which showed the rice cooking process of the rice cooker which concerns on Example 2 of this invention.

  The rice cooker 1 according to the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment only in a part of the canceling operation during the rice cooking process, and the other configurations are the same. Only the parts different from the example apparatus will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the rice cooking process of the rice cooker 1 of Example 2, the rice cooking process of the rice cooker 1 of Example 1 and rice cooking control are the same, and only cancellation operation is different, Therefore Only cancellation operation is demonstrated. .

  In the first embodiment apparatus, the depressing of the cancel button is effective in the water absorption process and the steaming process, whereas only the long press of the cancel button is effective in the heating process and the boiling process. In the process, pressing of the cancel button is enabled, and in the heating process and the boiling process, both the short press and the long press of the cancel button are disabled. More specifically, when entering the heating process in step S23, the control unit 40 does not accept any pressing of the cancel button 11, and when entering the steaming process in step S29, the control unit 40 accepts the pressing of the cancel button 11. It becomes.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, both the short press and the long press of the cancel button 11 are invalidated in the heating step and the boiling step (in other words, the cancel button 11 is not effective at all). For this reason, even if the child operates the cancel button 11 with mischief, the rice cooking operation is not stopped. In the second embodiment, the operation of the cancel button 11 is invalidated in the heating process and the boiling process. However, if an emergency such as a sudden temperature rise occurs, the operation of the cancel button is forcibly performed. (Both short press and long press) may be enabled.

  In the second embodiment, the control unit 40 is in a state of accepting both the short press and the long press of the cancel button 11 in the steps S22 and S32. However, in the steps S22 and S32, the control unit 40 determines that the cancel button 11 It is good also as a structure which receives only a long press.

  Although the Example of this invention demonstrated with the pressure type rice cooker, it is not limited to this pressure type rice cooker, A normal pressure type rice cooker may be sufficient. Further, the heating means is not limited to the IH heating method in which heating is performed by eddy current generated by the induction coil, and a heating plate in which a heater is mounted on the bottom of the pan or other heating methods may be used.

  Further, in this embodiment, the rice cooking process is divided into a plurality of processes, and the pressing operation of the cancel button 11 is disabled or only the long pressing is enabled only in a specific process. However, only the long pressing operation of the cancel button 11 is enabled in all processes. It is good also as a structure which invalidates a short press operation. Furthermore, it is good also as a structure which makes effective only the long press operation of the cancellation button 11 only during rice cooking, and makes the short press operation of the cancellation button 11 effective except during rice cooking.

1: Rice cooker 2: Rice cooker body (main body)
3: Lid 4: Pan 5: Heating means

Claims (7)

A rice cooker body having a pan into which the rice to be cooked is charged, a storage case in which the pan is stored, and a heating means for heating the pan;
In a rice cooker having a lid attached to the rice cooker body so as to be freely opened and closed, input means provided on the rice cooker body or the lid, and control means,
The input means has a cancel key;
The control means controls to execute an operation corresponding to the operation of the cancel key when it is determined that the cancel key is continuously pressed for a predetermined time or more between the start of cooking and the end of cooking. Rice cooker.   When the control means determines that the cancel key is pressed for less than a predetermined time in a period excluding the period from the start of rice cooking to the end of rice cooking, the control means performs control to execute an operation corresponding to the operation of the cancel key. The rice cooker of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. A rice cooker body having a pan into which the rice to be cooked is charged, a storage case in which the pan is stored, and a heating means for heating the pan;
In a rice cooker having a lid attached to the rice cooker body so as to be freely opened and closed, input means provided on the rice cooker body or the lid, and control means,
The input means has a cancel key;
The said control means divides a rice cooking process into a some process, and makes the long press of the said cancellation key effective and makes a short press invalid in a specific process, The rice cooker characterized by the above-mentioned. It is a rice cooker of Claim 3,
In the process excluding the specific process, the control means makes long press and short press of the cancel key effective. A rice cooker body having a pan into which the rice to be cooked is charged, a storage case in which the pan is stored, and a heating means for heating the pan;
In a rice cooker having a lid attached to the rice cooker body so as to be freely opened and closed, input means provided on the rice cooker body or the lid, and control means,
The input means has a cancel key;
The said control means divides a rice cooking process into a some process, and makes the long press and short press of the said cancellation key invalid in a specific process, The rice cooker characterized by the above-mentioned. It is a rice cooker of Claim 5,
In the process excluding the specific process, the control means validates a long press of the cancel key. It is a rice cooker of Claim 5,
In the process excluding the specific process, the control means makes long press and short press of the cancel key effective.

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