JP2013094569A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker with which the manufacturing cost is suppressed and a lid opening suppression structure can be configured with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: Since a lid opening button is covered with a cover 9 by sliding the cover 9 upward before starting a rice cooking operation, a user is prevented from erroneously depressing the lid opening button to open a lid 2 during the rice cooking operation. Thus, risk of the opening of the lid 2 is evaded, in a pressure rice cooker. In a normal rice cooker other than the pressure type, quality decline at the finish of rice cooking due to opening of the lid 2, is suppressed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker, and more particularly to a lid opening prevention structure during a rice cooking operation.

  As a conventional rice cooker, the open end of the pan is sealed with a lid, the inside of the pan is maintained in a high pressure state by a pressure adjustment mechanism provided on the lid, and a part of the operating body that moves by the action of the solenoid is part of the lid lock mechanism. Some have a structure that engages a part and locks the lid so that it does not open during pressure cooking (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4014545 (page 2-4, FIG. 3)

  However, the lock structure having a solenoid in the rice cooker described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the structure is complicated, the number of parts is large, expensive parts are required, and the manufacturing cost increases.

  This invention is made | formed in order to solve the above subjects, and it aims at obtaining a rice cooker which can suppress a manufacturing cost and can comprise a lid opening suppression structure with a simple structure.

  A rice cooker according to the present invention is attached to a main body in which an inner pot is accommodated, a lid that covers the opening of the inner pot so as to be openable and closable, an opening operation means for opening the lid, and the main body. And a movable cover capable of covering the opening operation means.

  According to the present invention, before the rice cooking operation is started, the opening operation means is covered with the movable cover, thereby preventing the user from operating the opening operation means accidentally and opening the lid during the rice cooking operation. can do.

It is an external appearance perspective view of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state which the lid | cover 2 opened in the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a front view of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a front view during the rice cooking operation | movement of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram in another form of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a front view of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a front view of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
(Appearance structure of rice cooker)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a rice cooker according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a lid 2 is opened in the rice cooker, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of the rice cooker. It is a front view. Hereinafter, the external configuration of the rice cooker according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main body 1 of the rice cooker according to the present embodiment forms a lid 2 that covers the upper surface of the rice cooker and an outer shell of the middle portion of the rice cooker, It has a main body side case 7 that encloses a heating coil (not shown) for induction heating the inner pot, and a main body bottom case 8 that is installed below the main body side case 7 and supports the main body 1.

  The main body 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

  The lid 2 is rotatably connected to the main body side case 7 on the rear side of the main body 1. The lid 2 includes an operation unit 4 and a display unit 6 on an upper surface thereof, and an inner lid 15 (see FIG. 2) on a lower surface thereof.

The operation part 4 is for starting the rice cooking process etc. with respect to cooking goods, such as the rice accommodated in the inner pot. The operation unit 4 is operated by the user to generate an operation signal and transmit the operation signal to a control device (not shown) built in the main body 1.
The display unit 6 displays the progress of the above-described rice cooking process, a clock display, an abnormality display, and the like.
The inner lid 15 covers the opening of the inner hook 13 when the lid 2 is closed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the main body side surface case 7 includes a lid opening button 5 and a cover 9 on the front surface, and the main body side surface case 7 is formed with a concave accommodating portion 14. Thus, the inner hook 13 can be stored in the storage portion 14 in a detachable manner.

The lid opening button 5 is for opening the lid 2 when pressed by the user.
The opening operation means for opening the lid 2 is a button type like the lid opening button 5, but is not limited to this. For example, other opening operation means such as a hook lever type may be used. There may be.

  The cover 9 is a slide type cover that is movable in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 3, when the cover 9 is slid upward, the lid opening button 5 is covered, and the lid opening button 5 cannot be operated. For example, the cover 9 has a configuration in which locking portions (not shown) are erected in the body side case 7 at both left and right ends of the plate-like cover portion, and the cover 9 is slid upward. The engaging portion may be configured to be locked in the main body side surface case 7 so as not to fall downward. In order to slide the cover 9 downward, the user may apply a predetermined load to the cover 9 so that the locking portion is unlocked.

  The cover 9 corresponds to the “movable cover” of the present invention.

(Cooking operation of rice cooker and lid opening prevention structure during rice cooking operation)
FIG. 4 is a front view of the rice cooker according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention during the rice cooking operation.
First, before starting the rice cooking operation in the rice cooker according to the present embodiment, the user slides the cover 9 downward and presses the lid opening button 5 with the lid opening button 5 exposed. The lid 2 is opened. Next, the user starts the rice cooking operation by sliding the cover 9 upward, covering the lid opening button 5 with the cover 9, and pressing the rice cooking start button in the operation unit 4 on the top surface of the lid 2. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, when the cover 9 is slid upward, the rice cooking process display unit 10 which is a liquid crystal panel is exposed. This rice cooking process display part 10 shows the state of the rice cooking operation | movement of the rice cooker which concerns on this Embodiment. In FIG. 4, as an example, the rice cooking process display unit 10 displays “cooking rice” to indicate that the rice cooking operation is being performed.
In addition, for example, the remaining time of the rice cooking operation may be displayed.

  Thus, since the cover opening button 5 is covered by the cover 9 being slid upward, the user accidentally depresses the cover opening button 5 and opens the cover 2 during the rice cooking operation. Can be prevented.

  When the rice cooking operation is completed, the rice cooking process display unit 10 turns off the display of “during cooking”. The user who recognizes that the rice cooking operation has ended slides the cover 9 downward, exposes the lid opening button 5, and makes the lid opening button 5 pressable. As a result, the user can press the lid opening button 5 to open the lid 2.

  In addition, although the rice cooking process display part 10 was made into the liquid crystal panel, it is not limited to this, For example, the rice cooking process display part 10 is comprised by the character display part (for example, displaying with a stamp etc.) "in cooking rice". It is good also as what is done. This makes it possible to further reduce the cost compared to adopting a liquid crystal panel as the rice cooking process display unit 10. That is, any configuration may be used as the rice cooking process display unit 10 as long as it is a display unit that can indicate that the rice cooking process is in progress.

(Effect of Embodiment 1)
As described above, since the cover opening button 5 is covered with the cover 9 by sliding the cover 9 upward before the rice cooking operation is started, the user opens the lid opening button 5 by mistake during the rice cooking operation. It is possible to prevent the lid 2 from being opened by pressing. As a result, in the case of a pressure-type rice cooker, the risk of opening the lid can be avoided, and in a normal rice cooker that is not pressure-type, the quality of cooked rice is reduced due to the lid opening. Can be suppressed.

  Moreover, since the user can grasp | ascertain the state of rice cooking operation | movement by exposing the rice cooking process display part 10 by sliding the cover 9 upwards, before the rice cooking operation | movement start, slide the cover 9 upwards. Thus, it is possible to evoke that the lid opening button 5 is covered with the cover 9.

  3 and 4, the lid opening button 5 is exposed when the cover 9 is slid downward, and the rice cooking process display unit 10 is exposed when the cover 9 is slid upward. Although it is configured, it is not limited to this and may be reversed.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sliding direction of the cover 9 is the vertical direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be configured to slide in other directions (for example, the horizontal direction). .

  In the state where the lid opening button 5 is exposed, that is, in the state where the lid opening button 5 is not covered by the cover 9 (the state where the cover 9 shown in FIG. 3 is slid downward), It is good also as what shall be locked electrically so that start operation of rice cooking operation cannot be performed. Specifically, this will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an excerpt of a block diagram for enabling an electrically locked state so that the start operation of the rice cooking operation in the operation unit 4 cannot be performed. As shown in FIG. 5, the operation unit 4 is connected to a control device 21 built in the main body 1, and an operation signal generated when the user operates the operation unit 4 is transmitted to the control device 21. The When the content of the operation signal is a rice cooking operation start or a heat insulation operation start, the control device 21 transmits a drive signal to the inverter circuit 22, and the inverter circuit 22 generates a high frequency to the heating coil 23 based on the drive signal. Apply current. When the high-frequency current flows through the heating coil 23, the inner pot 13 receives induction heating, and the rice cooking operation or the heat retaining operation is started. Further, it is assumed that a cover position detecting means 24 for detecting the position of the cover 9 is built in the main body 1, and the cover position detecting means 24 is connected to the control device 21. The cover position detection means 24 may be constituted by, for example, a proximity sensor that detects the aforementioned locking portion (not shown) that has entered the body side case 7 of the cover 9. And as mentioned above, what is necessary is just to set it as the following operation | movement in order to set it as an electrically locked state so that start operation of the rice cooking operation in the operation part 4 cannot be performed. That is, when the cover position detection unit 24 detects that the lid opening button 5 is not covered by the cover 9, the control device 21 invalidates the operation signal for starting the rice cooking operation transmitted from the operation unit 4. Alternatively, the drive signal may not be transmitted to the inverter circuit 22. And when the cover position detection means 24 detects that the lid opening button 5 is covered with the cover 9, the control device 21 performs the rice cooking operation when the operation signal for starting the rice cooking operation in the operation unit 4 is received. A drive signal for starting may be transmitted to the inverter circuit 22.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cover 9 is a slide type cover, but is not limited to this, and may be an openable cover, for example. In this case, the lid opening button 5 may be covered when the openable cover is closed, and the lid opening button 5 may be exposed when the cover is opened. Thus, it is sufficient if the cover can switch at least whether the cover opening button 5 is covered or exposed.

  Furthermore, although it is set as the structure with which the lid opening button 5, the cover 9, and the rice cooking process display part 10 were provided in the front surface of the main body side surface case 7 as FIG. 1-4 shows, it is not limited to this. . That is, the lid opening button 5, the cover 9, and the rice cooking process display unit 10 may be provided on the side surface of the main body side surface case 7 or on the front surface, side surface, or upper surface of the lid 2.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
The rice cooker which concerns on this Embodiment is demonstrated centering on the point which is different from the structure of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.
(Appearance structure of rice cooker)
FIG. 6 is a front view of a rice cooker according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
In FIG. 6, a state where the cover 9 is slid upward is shown, and the display lamp 11 is exposed instead of the rice cooking process display unit 10 of the first embodiment. This display lamp 11 shows the state of rice cooking operation | movement similarly to the rice cooking process display part 10 of Embodiment 1. FIG. In FIG. 6, the display lamp 11 is composed of three lamps. For example, it is indicated that rice cooking is being performed by lighting one of the lamps, and rice cooking is performed by lighting the second lamp. It may be indicated that the operation has been completed, and that an abnormality has occurred during the rice cooking operation by lighting the third lamp.

  Note that the configuration of the display lamp 11 shown in FIG. 6 is an example, and does not limit the number of lamps and the meaning of lighting of each lamp.

(Effect of Embodiment 2)
Although the rice cooker which concerns on this Embodiment replaces the rice cooking process display part 10 of Embodiment 1 with the display lamp 11, since the objective of the function is the same, it is the same as that of Embodiment 1. The effect of can be obtained.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
The rice cooker which concerns on this Embodiment is demonstrated centering on the point which is different from the structure of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.

(Appearance structure of rice cooker)
FIG. 7 is a front view of a rice cooker according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
In FIG. 7, a state where the cover 9 is slid upward is shown, and the operation unit 12 for rice cooking operation is exposed instead of the rice cooking process display unit 10 of the first embodiment. This operation part 12 for rice cooking operation | movement transferred a part or all of the operation means containing the operation button for start operation of rice cooking operation | movement from the operation part 4 with which the upper surface of the lid | cover 2 in Embodiment 1 was equipped. Is. Thereby, when the user starts the rice cooking operation, the cover 9 must be slid upward and the lid opening button 5 is not covered with the cover 9. The start operation cannot be performed.

(Effect of Embodiment 3)
As in the above configuration, when the user performs a rice cooking operation start operation, the cover 9 must be slid upward so that the cover 9 covers the lid opening button 5 and the rice cooking operation unit. Since 12 must be exposed, it is possible to reliably prevent the lid 2 from being opened by accidentally pressing the lid opening button 5 by the user during the rice cooking operation.

  Moreover, when the front part of the operation means is moved from the operation unit 4 in Embodiment 1 to the operation unit 12 for rice cooking operation, the upper surface of the lid 2 is in a flat state, so that the cleaning property is improved and the display unit 6 It becomes possible to enlarge the size and make it easier to see.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body, 2 lid | cover, 4 operation part, 5 lid opening button, 6 display part, 7 main body side surface case, 8 main body bottom case, 9 cover, 10 rice cooking process display part, 11 display lamp, 12 operation part for rice cooking operation | movement, 13 Inner hook, 14 accommodating portion, 15 inner lid, 21 control device, 22 inverter circuit, 23 heating coil, 24 cover position detecting means.

Claims (7)

A main body in which the inner pot is accommodated,
A lid that freely opens and closes the opening of the inner hook;
An opening operation means for opening the lid;
A movable cover attached to the main body and capable of covering the opening operation means;
A rice cooker characterized by comprising: It has a rice cooking process display that displays the state of rice cooking operation,
When the opening operation means is covered by the movable cover, the rice cooking process display part is exposed, and when the rice cooking process display part is covered, the opening operation means is exposed. The rice cooker according to claim 1. The said rice cooking process display part was comprised by the character display part which shows that it is during rice cooking operation. The rice cooker of Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. The said rice cooking process display part was comprised with the lamp | ramp which shows that it is during rice cooking operation. The rice cooker of Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. An operation unit for operating rice cooking operation;
The operation unit is exposed when the opening operation unit is covered by the movable cover, and the opening operation unit is exposed when the operation unit is covered. rice cooker. The rice cooker according to claim 5, wherein the operation unit includes start operation means for rice cooking operation. Cover position detecting means for detecting the position of the movable cover;
A control device for controlling the rice cooking operation;
With
The said control apparatus makes it possible to start rice cooking operation | movement, when it is detected by the said cover position detection means that the said movable cover has covered the said opening operation means. The rice cooker as described in any one of 6.

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