JP2013106817A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker allowing to notify a user of accurate rice cooking completion time, which can be set corresponding to each cooking menu, at the start of the cooking by allowing a margin for variation such as amounts of rice, to notify the user that the rice cooking can be completed because a control means completes the whole process of cooking, and to allow the user to select the cooking completion before the cooking completion time elapsed.SOLUTION: The rice cooker includes: an announce means 13 for announcing condition of the rice cooker; the cooking completion time 15 with the margin for variation in amount of rice cooked, or the like for each cooking course; the entire process completion time required for completing the whole cooking process; a timing means 14 for measuring the cooking completion time; and the control means 6 for performing cooking and heat retaining by controlling a pot heating means 5a and an inner lid heating means 5b, and operation of the timing means and the announcing means. It is determined that the cooking is completed when the entire process completion time has elapsed before the control means reaches the cooking completion time, and the determination is announced by the announce means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker that can tell a user a certain rice cooking end time and can select the rice cooking end before the rice cooking end time.

  In cooking at home, cooking with a rice cooker takes about an hour, and when cooking in accordance with the meal time determined in advance at each home, the end time of cooking can be accurately known at the start of cooking. And it can be calculated backwards and start cooking, which is very convenient.

  Conventionally, this type of rice cooker has added a function to estimate the rice cooking time according to the rice cooking menu and the cooked state set by the user in recent years and display the rice cooking time as the remaining rice cooking time from the beginning of rice cooking (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 2: shows the time chart which shows the rice cooking process of the conventional rice cooker. As shown in FIG. 2, the rice cooking process mounted in a rice cooker usually has a pre-cooking process, a cooking process, a boiling process, and a spotting process.

  Each of the pre-cooking process is a process for absorbing sufficient water (usually about 30% moisture content) in the rice, and the cooking process is a process for heating the pan with a predetermined heating power to bring the pan into a boiling state. In the boiling process, the heating power is controlled so that it does not spill and the water is absorbed into the rice while evaporating, and in the unevenness process, excess water is blown off by slight heating to adjust the moisture distribution of the whole rice and paste the starch This is a process for maintaining the temperature condition of 98 ° C. for 20 minutes necessary for the conversion following the boiling process.

  In the pre-cooking process and the unevenness process, the time required for one grain of rice to absorb water or gelatinize is determined, and it does not vary depending on conditions such as the total number. However, the cooking process varies in units of several minutes because the heat capacity of the cooked food changes depending on the total number. Furthermore, the boiling process estimates the total number from the time taken for the cooking process, and adjusts the heating power to keep boiling according to the total number, so it acts to reduce the variation due to the total number, In order to detect and finish the state where water has run out, the variation occurs.

  Therefore, the rice cooker does not recognize the variation at the start of cooking, so in order to present the exact rice cooking end time (remaining rice cooking time) to the user, the rice cooking end time with a margin of rice cooking time variation is set in advance. It is necessary to memorize it.

Japanese Patent No. 4062889

  However, in the configuration of the conventional rice cooker, the user waits for the end of the rice cooking for the adjustment time that is the difference between the rice cooking end time and the entire process end time.

The user may cook a side dish while cooking rice, and starts cooking by calculating backward from the cooking end time so that the cooking is completed almost simultaneously with the time when the rice is cooked. At this time, when the side dishes are completed before the end of cooking, there is a problem that the user may wait for the end time of cooking before starting dinner.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problem, notifies the user when all the processes are completed, informs the user that cooking can be completed even before the cooking end time, Depending on the end time of other cooking or the start time of meals, the timing of the end of cooking can be selected to some extent. For example, it is possible to reduce the situation of “side dishes are ready, but wait for the end of cooking” The purpose is to provide a vessel.

  The inventors of the present invention have found the following as a result of intensive studies to solve the conventional problems.

  In other words, in order to present the rice cooking end time to the user at the start of cooking, it is necessary to memorize the rice cooking end time with a margin for the variation in rice cooking time in the rice cooker. I found out that everything was finished. Based on this finding, the present invention has been conceived.

  In order to solve the conventional problem, the rice cooker of the present invention is configured to notify the user that the end of rice cooking is possible when the end of all the processes is detected before the rice cooking end time.

  By notifying that it is possible to finish before the rice cooking end time notified at the time of rice cooking start, the user can select the timing of rice cooking end to some extent according to the end time of other cooking. However, it is possible to reduce the situation of “waiting for the end of cooking”.

  Therefore, the rice cooker according to the present invention can provide a rice cooker that shortens the rice cooking time by giving a range to the rice cooking end time.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the rice cooker in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Time chart showing the rice cooking process of a conventional rice cooker

  1st invention is a rice cooker main body, the pan with which a rice cooker main body is equipped, the pan heating means for heating the said pan, the lid | cover which covers a rice cooker main body, and the inner lid | cover comprised by the lower surface of the said lid | cover. And an inner lid heating means for heating the inner lid, an informing means for informing the user of the state of the rice cooker, and a margin for variation due to the number of cooked rice set for each rice cooking course. Rice cooking end time, all process end time required to complete all rice cooking processes, time measuring means for measuring the rice cooking end time, the pan heating means, the inner lid heating means, the time measuring means, and the notification Control means for controlling the operation of the means to execute rice cooking and heat retention, the rice cooking can be completed by the end of the all process end time before the control means reaches the rice cooking end time. Judging by the notification means It has a structure for informing Te is, it is possible to provide a cooker to reduce the cooking time to have a width cooking end time.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in particular, in the first aspect of the present invention, a lid opening detection unit is provided, and when the control unit determines that rice cooking can be completed and the user opens the lid, the rice cooking is terminated and the process proceeds to heat retention By setting it as the structure which carries out, the rice cooking end time can be given width, rice cooking time can be shortened, and the rice cooker which can be made to heat-retain reliably irrespective of the rice cooking end time can be provided.

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

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the rice cooker in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a pan 2 is detachably disposed in the rice cooker body 1, and a pan heating means 5 a for heating the pan 2 is disposed outside the pan 2.

  A lid (not shown) is attached to the upper portion of the rice cooker body 1 so as to be freely opened and closed. An inner lid 4 that is in close contact with the pan 2 during rice cooking and heat insulation is disposed at the lower portion of the lid, and an inner lid heating means 5b that heats the inner lid 4 is disposed at the upper portion. A lid opening detecting means 16 for detecting the opening of the lid is provided.

  Moreover, the temperature detection means 8 can contact | abut to the approximate center part of the bottom of the pan 2, and can detect the temperature of the pan 2 by heat conduction. The control means 6 for controlling the pot heating means 5a and the inner lid heating means 5b executes the rice cooking process based on the temperature of the pot 2 obtained by the temperature detection means 8.

  As the notification means 13, an appropriate one for notifying the user, such as voice, sound, light such as an LED, display of a liquid crystal screen, vibration, or the like is provided. Moreover, the time measuring means 14 which measures time is arrange | positioned, and the completion | finish of rice cooking is judged, referring to the rice cooking completion time 15 memorize | stored in the memory | storage means (not shown).

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

  After the user puts rice to be cooked and water corresponding to the amount of rice into the pan 2 and sets it in the rice cooker body 1 and closes the lid, the rice cooking start button (not shown) on the operation input display unit (not shown) ) Is carried out to operate the rice cooking process. At this time, the rice cooking end time 15 stored in advance according to the rice cooking menu selected by the user is displayed as the remaining time on the operation input display unit, and the count-down display is performed by the time measuring means 14.

  The rice cooking process is divided into pre-cooking, cooking, boiling, and murashi in order of time. In the pre-cooking process, the control means 6 controls the pot heating means 5a based on the detected temperature of the temperature detecting means 8 so that the temperature of the pot 2 becomes a temperature suitable for water absorption of rice (eg 60 ° C.). Heat the rice and water in the pan.

  Next, in the cooking step, the pan 2 is heated with a predetermined amount of heat by the pan heating means 5a until the temperature of the inner lid 4 reaches a predetermined value (for example, 80 ° C.).

  At this time, the amount of cooked rice is determined based on the difference in temperature increase rate due to the difference in load such as the total number. In the case of a 5.5-cooked rice cooker, the minimum total number (0.5 go) and the maximum total number (5.5 go), there is a difference of about 4 minutes in the time taken to complete the process.

  Here, it is known that it is necessary to maintain the rice that has absorbed water to the center at 98 ° C. for 20 minutes in order to gelatinize the rice into a delicious rice.

  Therefore, in the boiling process, until the water in the pot 2 runs out and the temperature of the pot 2 reaches a predetermined value exceeding 100 ° C., the time until the water runs out according to the amount of cooked rice determined in the cooking process is the same depending on the total number. The pot heating means 5a is energized so as to obtain a heating amount stored in advance, and the rice and water are heated.

However, since the amount and type of rice varies depending on the user, the time until the water runs out is not constant.

  Next, in the unevenness process, the heating means 5 is controlled to an extent that keeps the temperature of the rice at a predetermined temperature (for example, 98 ° C.).

  Since the unevenness process is a process defined by temperature and time, the end time of the boiling process varies, so that the end time of all processes varies. And since the rice cooking completion time 15 which a rice cooker memorize | stores is set with allowance in order to show the completion | finish of rice cooking correctly to a user, the rice cooking completion time 15 is large compared with the whole process completion time.

  Therefore, when all the processes are completed, the notification means 13 notifies the user that the rice cooking can be completed. A combination of notifications appealing to a plurality of senses such as sound, visual sense such as LED and liquid crystal display, and hearing may be used.

  And when rice cooking completion time 15 passes, the control means 6 will start heat retention control, and will temperature-control the inside of a pan to predetermined heat retention temperature. When the lid opening detection means 16 detects that the rice cooker lid has been opened by the time the rice cooking end time has passed after the user has been notified that the rice cooking can be completed, it is determined that the user has selected the rice cooking end. The control means 6 starts the heat retention control.

  As mentioned above, the rice cooker in this invention is complete | finished in the rice cooking completion time shown at the time of a rice cooking start, and the timing of rice cooking completion is notified to some extent by being notified that all the processes of rice cooking were completed. You can choose.

  Thereby, the user can select the timing of the end of cooking to some extent in accordance with the end time of other cooking, and for example, it is possible to reduce the situation of “side dish is completed but wait for the end of cooking”.

  As described above, since the rice cooker according to the present invention can be finished in a time substantially earlier than the end time presented to the user, time adjustment with other cooking is possible, and it is effective for the use of the cooker.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker main body 2 Pan 4 Inner lid 5a Pan heating means 5b Inner lid heating means 6 Control means 8 Temperature detection means 13 Notification means 14 Timing means 15 Cooking rice end time 16 Lid opening detection means

Claims (2)

The rice cooker body,
A pan equipped in the rice cooker body;
A pot heating means for heating the pot;
A lid covering the rice cooker body;
An inner lid provided on the lower surface of the lid;
An inner lid heating means for heating the inner lid;
Informing means for informing the user of the state of the rice cooker;
The rice cooking end time that is set for each rice cooking course and has room for variation due to the total number of rice cooking, etc.,
All process completion times required to complete all rice cooking processes,
Time measuring means for measuring the rice cooking end time;
Control means for controlling the operation of the pan heating means and the inner lid heating means, the time measuring means and the notification means to perform rice cooking and heat retention,
The rice cooker is characterized in that it is determined by the notifying means that it is determined that rice cooking can be completed by the end of the all process end time before the control means reaches the rice cooking end time. The rice cooker according to claim 1, further comprising a lid opening detection unit, wherein when the user opens the lid after judging that the control unit is capable of terminating rice cooking, the rice cooking is terminated and the process proceeds to heat retention. .

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