JP2012095894A - Pressure rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pressure rise cooker capable of eliminating contamination or odor hardly accessible even though a pressure valve in a lid body or a storage tank is washed as it is.SOLUTION: In the pressure rise cooker having a pot, a rice cooker body having an opening part in which the pot is housed and a heater for heating a substance to be cooked in the pot, the openable/closable lid body, the pressure valve adjusting the pressure in the pot, and a controller executing a rise cooking course and a cleaning course, the controller executes a starting heating step for raising the temperature and heating water in the pot until the water is boiled and a boiling maintaining step maintaining a boiling state, executes a step for suddenly boiling the inside of the pot by opening the pressure valve for a predetermined time and the pressure is reduced to the atmospheric pressure at once in the boiling maintaining step after pressurizing the inside of the pot by heating the same in the starting heating step, stops heating after completion of the boiling maintaining step, makes the inside of the pot negative pressure by closing the pressure valve for a predetermined time after opening the pressure valve for a predetermined time, when the cleaning course is selected.

Description

  The present invention relates to a pressure-type rice cooker having a cleaning course for cleaning a pot and a lid portion of a rice cooker, and more particularly, a pressure-type rice cooker capable of cleaning an unreachable part when removing a lid or the like for cleaning. Related to the vessel.

  An electric rice cooker (hereinafter referred to as a rice cooker) is to cook a rice to be cooked by putting rice to be cooked in rice and water and heating the cooked rice in the pan. This type of rice cooker is roughly divided into a type that cooks the pressure in the pan at about normal pressure during cooking and a type that cooks by raising the pressure to a predetermined pressure. In recent years, these rice cookers have been equipped with microcomputers, which can be used to adjust various rice cooking courses, for example, rice rice cooking courses according to rice varieties such as white rice and brown rice, hard and soft. Now you can do your favorite rice cooking course that allows you to cook your favorite rice, and a rice cooking course that cooks cooked rice by adding ingredients and seasonings.

  In addition, in the pressure rice cooker, the cooked food in the pan is heated and the pressure in the pan is increased by the pressure valve provided on the lid to cook the rice. And the internal pressure is high. Furthermore, the conventional rice cooker is provided with a steam port for escaping steam generated during the rice cooking start-up heating process to the outside. Moreover, since the to-be-cooked food in a pot boils at the time of rice cooking, a spill occurs. This spill is a sticky paste-like juice that contains a umami ingredient and is usually called “mushroom” (hereinafter referred to as “mushroom”). Say).

  If this spill is discharged out of the pan as it is, the umami component will also be discharged, so the rice will not be cooked deliciously. Therefore, a storage tank is provided in the rice cooker to store the rice cake, and the rice cake is temporarily stored in the storage tank. When the inside of the pan becomes negative pressure after the start-up heating process, Rice cookers have been developed that return to the pot and cook deliciously.

  In such a rice cooker, when the number of times of rice cooking increases, dirt gradually accumulates in members such as a pan, an inner lid, a lid packing, etc., and the cooked rice may have a smell. Moreover, the same problem had arisen after running the cooked rice cooking course which adds ingredients, seasonings, etc. On the other hand, even when the rice cooker is not used for a certain period of time, dirt such as dust accumulates inside the rice cooker, and even if the pot and inner lid are washed with water before using the rice cooker, the parts that cannot be removed will become dirty. It was difficult to drop completely.

  Therefore, it has a cleaning function, and this cleaning function heats the water put in the pot of the rice cooker and maintains the boiling state or the boiling state for a certain period of time. Rice cookers that can reduce the odor are known.

  For example, the rice cooker disclosed in Patent Literature 1 below heats the inner pot, a pot lid that covers the inner pot so that it can be opened and closed, a pot packing that is disposed at the lower part of the pot lid and abuts on the upper surface opening of the inner pot, and A pot heating means, and has a course of boiling water in the inner pot for a predetermined time in order to reduce the smell of at least the inner pot, the pot lid, and the pot packing. And a water vapor | steam is generate | occur | produced by a control means driving a pot heating means and boiling the water put into the inner pot for a fixed time. When this water vapor hits the inner pot surface, the pot lid, and the pot packing, the odor is extracted by the water vapor, and the odor adhering and penetrating to the inner pot surface, the pot lid, and the pot packing can be reduced.

  Patent Document 2 below discloses an inner pot, a main body that accommodates the inner pot in a removable manner, a lid attached to the main body, a pan heating means that heats the inner pot, and a lid heating means that heats the lid. Pan temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the inner pot, lid temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the lid, pot heating means and lid heating means based on the temperature detected by the pot temperature detecting means and the lid temperature detecting means In the rice cooker comprising the control means for boiling the water put in the inner pot, the control means heats the water in the inner pot by the pot heating means and the lid heating means. The boiling rice process is performed by stopping the heating by the lid heating means when the boiling temperature is detected by the lid temperature detecting means and reducing the amount of heating by the pan heating means and maintaining the boiling for a predetermined time. A cooker is disclosed. Thus, since the heating by the lid heating means is stopped in the boiling maintenance step, the vapor passing through the vapor passage in the lid is not dried, and the vapor passage in the lid can be sufficiently cleaned by the wet steam. It becomes like this.

  In addition, the rice cooker disclosed in Patent Document 2 below includes pressure adjusting means for adjusting the inside of the inner pot to a constant pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure in the boiling process and the boiling maintaining process. Since the temperature of the water in the pan exceeds 100 ° C., the cleaning property is improved. On the other hand, since steam is not released during boiling, it is safe without adversely affecting the surroundings.

  Moreover, the electric rice cooker disclosed by the following patent document 3 detects the temperature of an inner pot, the rice cooker main body which stores the inner pot which accommodates rice and water, the heating means which heats an inner pot, and an inner pot A cooking mode that cooks rice according to a predetermined cooking curve, a heating mode that keeps the rice at a predetermined temperature, and a predetermined amount of water in the inner pot for heating Is an electric rice cooker configured to selectively select a cleaning mode for cleaning the inner pan etc., and when the cleaning mode is selected, it reaches a set temperature that is higher than the heat retention temperature but does not cause boiling. A temperature raising step for heating and a first temperature holding step for holding for a predetermined time at a first predetermined temperature equal to or lower than a set temperature after completion of the temperature raising step are characterized.

  In the electric rice cooker disclosed in Patent Document 3 below, when the cleaning mode is selected, the water stored in the inner pot is heated to a set temperature that is higher than the heat retention temperature but does not cause boiling. Then, since the first predetermined temperature below the preset temperature is maintained for a predetermined time, in the first temperature holding step after the temperature raising step, the components in the rice cooker body including the inner pot are exposed to a high temperature. The odor attached due to repeated cooking is greatly reduced. Further, during the cleaning control, since it is held for a predetermined time at a first predetermined temperature which is higher than the heat retention temperature but does not lead to boiling, the power consumption can be suppressed and the generated water vapor can be suppressed. The amount will be as small as possible.

Japanese Patent No. 3446515 Japanese Patent No. 3029429 Japanese Patent No. 40669957

  The rice cookers and the like disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 3 are those of a normal pressure type, and by performing cleaning, it is possible to reduce dirt and odors such as pots and inner lids. However, in a pressure-type rice cooker, the lid is provided with a pressure valve, a steam port and a large reservoir tank for increasing the pressure in the pan, and the structure is complicated. Was insufficient.

  In addition, the rice cooker disclosed in Patent Document 3 can be washed by removing the lid and can be expected to have a sufficient cleaning effect even in cleaning control without boiling. In a pressure rice cooker with a complicated lid structure, completely remove dirt and foreign matter from places that are hard to reach even if the lid is washed, such as the ball area around the pressure valve. It was difficult.

  The rice cooker disclosed in Patent Document 2 is a pressure cooker, and the inside pot is pressurized to a pressure equal to or higher than the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the boiling temperature rises and the cleaning property is improved. Although the steam flow path is blocked by the pressure adjusting ball, when the internal pressure rises above a certain level, the safety valve provided on the inner lid opens and steam flows through the steam flow path, but the dirt around the pressure adjusting ball is completely removed. The amount of steam was not enough to drop it.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to execute not only a pan and an inner lid but also a pressure valve inside the lid body by performing a cleaning course. An object of the present invention is to provide a pressure rice cooker that can remove dirt and odors in places that are difficult to reach even after washing, such as a storage tank.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a pan into which the cooked rice is put, an opening in which the pan is accommodated, and a heating means for heating the cooked rice in the pan. Pressure rice cooker comprising: a rice cooker body having a lid, an openable / closable lid that closes the opening of the rice cooker body, a pressure valve for adjusting the pressure in the pan, and a control means for executing the rice cooking course and the cleaning course In the container, when the cleaning course is selected, the control means executes a rising heating process for heating and heating the water in the pan until boiling, and a boiling maintaining process for maintaining the boiling state. In the upper heating step, after heating and pressurizing the inside of the pan, in the boiling maintenance step, the step of opening the pressure valve for a predetermined time and reducing the pressure to atmospheric pressure at once is performed a plurality of times. End of the boiling maintenance process Heating was discontinued, after which the pressure valve is opened for a predetermined time, characterized in that the negative pressure within the pot the pressure valve is closed a predetermined time.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the pressure rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the control means opens the pressure valve for a predetermined time in the boiling maintenance process to reduce the pressure to atmospheric pressure all at once. The step of bumping the pot is performed a plurality of times.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the pressure rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lid body is provided with a storage tank for temporarily storing a rice bowl that is blown out during execution of the rice cooking course, When the cleaning course is selected, the water containing the dirt removed in the storage tank is stored, and the water containing the dirt stored in the storage tank is stored in the pan when the inside of the pan is set to a negative pressure. It is characterized by being returned to.

  According to the invention of the pressure rice cooker according to claim 1, in the cleaning course, after heating and pressurizing the inside of the pan, heating is stopped and the inside of the pan is bumped by reducing the pressure to atmospheric pressure at once. High-temperature steam blows out vigorously, and this steam can remove dirt and foreign matters in places that are difficult to reach.

  Further, according to the pressure rice cooker of the present invention, by opening the pressure valve after completion of the boiling maintenance process, dirt swollen by high-temperature steam accumulates in the storage tank, and then the pressure valve is closed and the inside of the pan is negatively pressurized. As a result, the accumulated dirt falls into the pan, so that dirt in the vicinity of the pressure valve can be reliably removed.

  Moreover, according to the invention of the pressure type rice cooker of Claim 2, it becomes easier to remove the stuck dirt by making the inside of the pan bump a plurality of times.

  Moreover, according to invention of the pressure type rice cooker of Claim 3, the storage tank which temporarily stores the rice cake which blows off at the time of execution of a rice cooking course can be utilized as a water | moisture content storage means containing the dirt removed in the cleaning course. Therefore, the cleaning course can be effectively executed without providing a special configuration for the cleaning course.

It is a front view of the rice cooker which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the rice cooker of FIG. It is the expanded sectional view which expanded the pressure valve opening mechanism of FIG. It is the temperature curve figure which showed the temperature in the pan in a cleaning course, and the operating condition of a pressure valve. It is a flowchart figure of a cleaning course. It is a flowchart figure of the cleaning course following FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, embodiment shown below illustrates the pressure type rice cooker for actualizing the technical idea of this invention, Comprising: This invention is not intended to specify this pressure type rice cooker. The present invention is equally applicable to other embodiments included in the scope of claims.

  The structure of the pressure type rice cooker which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 1 is a front view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the rice cooker of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pressure valve opening mechanism of FIG.

  The pressure 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 an object, and further includes a control unit (not shown) for controlling rice cooking, an operation unit 6 for operating the rice cooking menu, and a display unit 7 for displaying the operated rice cooking menu. It is provided on the front side.

  The operation unit 6 includes a rice cooking menu selection button 8, a rice cooking start / heat retention button 9, a reservation button 10, a cancel button 11, and a cross key 12, and is set to perform rice cooking and cleaning by appropriately operating these operation buttons. It can be done.

  The main body 2 includes a bottomed box-shaped outer case 13 and a storage case 14 (see FIG. 2) accommodated in the outer case 13, and a gap is formed between the outer case 13 and the storage case 14. A control device (not shown) constituting a control unit (control means) is disposed in the gap. 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 lid 3 includes a detachable inner lid 16 that is pivotally attached to the main body 2 at one end by a hinge 15, and an outer lid 17 that covers the outside. The inner lid 16 includes a pressure valve 18 and a pressure valve. An opening mechanism 23 is formed. In addition, the inner lid 16 is provided with a safety valve 24 that opens to release the pressure in the pan when the inside of the pan 4 is abnormally pressurized, for example, when the pressure valve 18 fails during rice cooking and does not open. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure valve 18 includes a valve seat 20 having a pressure hole 19, a metal ball 21 that closes the pressure hole 19 by its own weight on the valve seat 20, and a cover 22 that covers the ball 21. It consists of. This pressure valve 18 is forced by the control of the pressure valve opening mechanism 23 when the ball 21 is moved to or away from the pressure hole 19 due to the balance between the pressure in the pan 4 and the weight of the ball 21. When the ball 21 is moved, the pressure hole 19 is opened and closed.

  The pressure valve opening mechanism 23 is attached to a cylinder 23a around which an electromagnetic coil is wound, a plunger 23b that moves in and out of the cylinder by excitation of the electromagnetic coil, and a tip of the plunger 23b. The operating rod 25 and a spring 26 provided between one end of the cylinder and the operating rod 25 are configured.

  The pressure valve opening mechanism 23 is controlled by the control means 27 (see FIG. 2). That is, when the pressure valve opening mechanism 23 does not receive the output from the control means 27, the plunger 23 b protrudes from the cylinder 23 a and pushes the ball 21 on the pressure hole 19 in the lateral direction of the pressure hole 19. 19 is forcibly released. When receiving the output of the control means 27, the plunger 23b is pulled into the cylinder 23a. At this time, the ball 21 returns to the pressure hole 19 by its own weight and closes the pressure hole 19. When the pressure valve opening mechanism 23 operates in this manner, the pressure in the pan 4 that has been pressurized during the rice cooking process can be forcibly reduced by the opening operation of the pressure valve 18 by the plunger 23b.

  The outer lid 17 is detachably mounted with a storage tank 28 for temporarily storing a spilled rice ball. The inside of the storage tank 28 has a multi-chamber structure provided with a separation structure from above and below to separate the steam and the rice bowl, and only the steam can pass through the steam port 28a. The rice ball accumulates in the storage tank 28 in the start-up heating process and the boiling maintenance process, and when the pressure in the pot 4 decreases in the steaming process, it is reduced into the pot 4 by a negative pressure valve (not shown). ing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main body 2 includes selection means 29 for selecting various rice cooking courses with the rice cooking menu selection button 8. As is well known, the control means 27 is composed of hardware composed of a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like, and software for executing the contents of the flowcharts to be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a temperature sensor 30 b for detecting the temperature at the bottom of the pot that also functions as a rice cooking amount detection unit is attached to the bottom of the pot 4, and the lid 3 has steam at an appropriate position. A steam sensor 30a serving as a boiling detection means for detecting temperature is attached, and the output of each sensor 30a, 30b is sent to the control means 27. In addition, since it is already well-known to detect the amount of rice cooking in a pan by the output of the temperature sensor 30b, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a filter 31 that is detachably attached to the valve seat 20 and has a plurality of small holes is attached to the lower portion of the pressure valve 18. By attaching the filter 31, it is possible to prevent the rice grains flowing at a stroke in the pot when the pressure valve 18 is opened from being blocked by the filter 31 and released into the outside air.

  Next, the control process by the control means 27 in the pressure rice cooker 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, FIG. 4 which is a temperature curve diagram, and FIGS. 5 and 6 which are flowchart diagrams. However, it omits about the control process at the time of rice cooking, and demonstrates the control process regarding a cleaning course. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the operation status of the pressure valve in correlation with the pan bottom temperature curve (thick line) and the steam temperature curve (dotted line) detected by the pan bottom temperature sensor in the cleaning course. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the cleaning course control process, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the cleaning course control process subsequent to FIG.

  First, the pan 4 filled with a predetermined amount of water is stored in the main body 2, the lid 3 is closed, and the operation section 6 is operated to select a cleaning course (S1). When the cleaning course is started (S2), the start-up heating process I is started (S3), and the heating means 5 is energized (S4). When the heating means 5 is energized, a high-frequency current flows through the bottom heater of the heating means 5, and an eddy current is generated in the pot 4 so that the pot generates heat. At the same time, the plunger 23b is drawn into the cylinder 23a by the pressure valve opening mechanism 23, the pressure valve 18 is closed by closing the pressure hole 19 by the ball 21 by its own weight, and the pressure in the pan is increased to a pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure. (S5). Further, a timer (not shown) starts measuring a predetermined time T1 (S6). When the inside of the pan 4 is pressurized and boiled, the steam sensor 30a detects the steam temperature θ (S7), and when the steam temperature θ reaches a predetermined temperature θ1 (for example, 75 ° C.) (S8), the control device goes to the boiling maintenance process II. Transition (S9).

  In the boiling maintenance step II, the heating means 5 is energized (S10), and the control valve 27 is operated by the control means 27 to open the pressure valve 18 intermittently a predetermined number of times (S11). In the present embodiment, specifically, the operation of changing the pressure intermittently by opening the pressure valve 18 by the pressure valve opening mechanism 23 is performed a plurality of times. That is, the pressure valve 18 is forcibly opened a plurality of times, and the pressure in the pan is reduced to the atmospheric pressure at once by communicating from the state where the pressurized pan and the atmosphere are shut off. When the inside of the pan is pressurized, the boiling point of the water in the pan rises, and the temperature in the pan is higher than 100 ° C., which is the boiling point of water at normal pressure. Each time the pressure in the pan is greatly reduced, a bumping phenomenon occurs and steam is generated in the pan, and hot steam from the opened pressure valve vigorously hits the pressure hole 19, valve seat 20, ball 21, etc. It ejects through the tank 28 and the steam port 28a.

  In this way, high temperature steam can be applied to the pressure valve 18, the storage tank 28, etc., so that the dirt adhering to the part that cannot be reached even if it is removed and washed around, such as around the ball 21, can be removed. it can. The number of times the pressure valve is opened may be one time or a plurality of times, but by performing it a plurality of times, it becomes easier to remove sticking dirt. In addition, the storage tank 28 stores moisture including the removed dirt. After the opening control of the pressure valve 18 a predetermined number of times, the pressure valve is closed and the remaining boiling maintenance process II is continued.

  When the timer measures a predetermined time T1 (for example, 30 minutes) (S12), the process proceeds to the end step III (S13), the heating is stopped (S14), and the pressure valve 18 is opened by the pressure valve opening mechanism 23. (S15), and starts measuring the predetermined time T2 (S16). Since the heating is stopped, the temperature in the pan gradually decreases, and the pressure valve 18 is opened, so that the steam in the pan 4 is discharged, and the pressure in the pan 4 approaches normal pressure.

  When the timer measures a predetermined time T2 (for example, 3 minutes) (S17), it starts counting the predetermined time T3 (S18), and the pressure valve 18 is closed again by the pressure valve opening mechanism 23 (S19). When the pressure valve 18 is closed, the pressure in the pan 4 is reduced to a negative pressure state, and moisture including dirt stored in the storage tank 28 is returned into the pan 4 through the negative pressure valve. In this way, the removed dirt falls into the pan, so that the dirt can be reliably removed.

  Thereafter, when the timer measures a predetermined time T3 (for example, 2 minutes) (S20), the pressure valve 18 is opened (S21), and the cleaning course is ended. By reopening the pressure valve 18 before the end of the cleaning course, the inside of the pan becomes normal pressure again, and the lid can be easily opened and closed.

  As described above, the pressure-type rice cooker of the present invention can be used for steaming by heating and pressurizing the inside of the pan in the cleaning course, opening the pressure valve and reducing the pressure to atmospheric pressure all at once. However, it is possible to remove dirt and foreign objects in places that are difficult to reach by this vapor.

In addition, moisture containing dirt swollen by high-temperature steam is stored in the storage tank, and the pressure valve is opened after the boiling maintenance process is completed, so that the pressure in the pan is reduced to atmospheric pressure, and then the pressure valve is closed. By making the negative pressure, the accumulated dirt falls into the pan, so that dirt around the pressure valve can be reliably removed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pressure type rice cooker 2 ... Rice cooker main body 3 ... Cover body 4 ... Pan 5 ... Heating means 6 ... Operation part 7 ... Display part 8 ... Rice cooking menu selection button 9 ... Rice cooking start / heat retention button 10 ... Reservation button 11 ... Cancel Button 12 ... Cross key 13 ... Outer case 14 ... Storage case 15 ... Hinge 16 ... Inner lid 17 ... Outer lid 18 ... Pressure valve 19 ... Pressure hole 20 ... Valve seat 21 ... Ball 22 ... Cover 23 ... Pressure valve release mechanism 23a ... Cylinder 23b ... Plunger 24 ... Safety valve 25 ... Actuation rod 26 ... Spring 27 ... Control means 28 ... Storage tank 28a ... Steam port 29 ... Selection means 30a ... Steam sensor 30b ... Temperature sensor 31 ... Filter

Claims (3)

A pan into which the cooked rice is put,
A rice cooker body having an opening in which the pan is accommodated and heating means for heating the cooked rice in the pan;
An openable and closable lid that closes the opening of the rice cooker body;
A pressure valve for adjusting the pressure in the pan;
In a pressure rice cooker comprising a control means for executing a rice cooking course and a cleaning course,
The control means, when the cleaning course is selected, executes a rising heating step of heating up the water in the pan until boiling and a boiling maintaining step of maintaining the boiling state, the rising heating step In the boiling maintenance step, after the inside of the pan is heated and pressurized, the pressure valve is opened for a predetermined time to reduce the pressure to atmospheric pressure at once, and the inside of the pan is bumped, and the boiling maintenance step After the completion, heating is stopped, the pressure valve is opened for a predetermined time, and then the pressure valve is closed for a predetermined time to make the inside of the pan have a negative pressure.   2. The pressure type according to claim 1, wherein the control means performs the step of opening the pressure valve for a predetermined time and reducing the pressure to atmospheric pressure at a stroke to bump the inside of the pan a plurality of times in the boiling maintenance process. rice cooker. The lid is provided with a storage tank for temporarily storing rice balls that are spilled during the cooking course,
When the cleaning course is selected, moisture containing dirt removed in the storage tank is stored,
The pressure-type rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein moisture containing dirt stored in the storage tank is returned to the pan when the inside of the pan is set to a negative pressure.

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