JP2013244052A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker which can shave the hull of unpolished rice, and by which a flexible texture and a good taste of the cooked unpolished rice can be presented.SOLUTION: A rice cooker includes: a temperature sensor which detects the temperature of an internal pan; first and second agitating arms which agitate unpolished rice and water in the internal pan; a driving motor 24 which drives the first and second agitating arms; and a control section 200. The control section 200 controls a heating section and the driving motor 24 based on a signal from the temperature sensor so that a water absorbing step wherein the unpolished rice is made to absorb water, a cooking step wherein the temperature of the internal pot is raised to the boiling temperature following the water absorbing step, a boiling step wherein the temperature of the internal pot is kept at the boiling temperature following the cooking step, and a steaming step following the boiling step can be performed. The control section has an unpolished rice agitating section 201 which drives the driving motor 24 to make the first and second agitating arms agitate the unpolished rice in such a manner that the hull of the unpolished rice may be shaven in the cooking step.

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker that can cook brown rice.

  Brown rice is rich in nutritional components including various minerals, and contains functional components that are antioxidants such as γ-aminobutyric acid, which is a kind of amino acid, inositol, ferulic acid, vitamin E, and phytic acid. For this reason, brown rice has been attracting attention in recent years as health-consciousness has increased. However, since rice is cooked and eaten with its outer skin, there are voices that people who are familiar with white rice have a poor texture and are hard to eat. . In response, many rice cookers have been proposed that have been devised to eat delicious brown rice.

  For example, in the rice cooker disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-18122 (Patent Document 1), a rotatable blade is provided in the inner pot, and the blade is rotated in the water absorption process to cause the blade to stir the brown rice in the inner pot. By doing this, the water is evenly absorbed into the brown rice to improve the taste of the cooked brown rice.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-18122 (FIG. 1)

  However, in the rice cooker of Patent Document 1 above, even if brown rice can absorb water uniformly, the temperature of the inner pot in the water absorption process is about 58 ° C. (see FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1). Even if it was stirred with a feather, the brown rice hull could not be removed.

  Therefore, in the rice cooker of the said patent document 1, the part of the outer skin of the cooked brown rice was hard, and there existed a problem that it did not become a favorable finish as a taste.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that can cut the hull of brown rice, and that the cooked brown rice can have a soft texture and good taste.

In order to solve the above problems, the rice cooker of the present invention is
An inner pot that contains brown rice and water,
A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the inner pot;
A heating unit disposed outside the inner pot, for heating brown rice and water in the inner pot;
A stirring unit for stirring the brown rice and water in the inner pot;
A drive unit for driving the stirring unit;
A water absorption process for absorbing the brown rice, a cooking process for raising the temperature of the inner pot to a boiling temperature following the water absorption process, and a boiling for maintaining the temperature of the inner pot at the boiling temperature following the cooking process. A control unit that controls the heating unit and the driving unit based on a signal from the temperature sensor so that a process and a steaming process following the boiling process are performed,
The said control part has the brown rice stirring means which drives the said stirring part and stirs the said brown rice in the said stirring part so that the hull | coating of brown rice may be shaved at the said cooking process.

  According to the said structure, in the cooking process which raises the temperature of the said inner pot to a boiling temperature, a brown rice stirring means drives a stirring part so that the hull | cooking of brown rice may be shaved, and makes a stirring part stir brown rice . Thereby, the outer skin of brown rice can be shaved reliably by the synergistic effect of the softening of the brown rice by the temperature rise of the inner pot and the rubbing of the brown rice by the stirring of the brown rice. Therefore, since the outer skin of the brown rice becomes thin, water can easily penetrate into the brown rice, and water absorption of the brown rice can be improved. As a result, the cooked brown rice can have a soft texture and a good taste.

  Moreover, since the texture of brown rice can be brought close to the texture of white rice by improving the water absorption of the brown rice, even those who eat only white rice can easily eat brown rice.

  Moreover, since the outer skin cut away from the brown rice remains in the inner pot and becomes part of the brown rice, the nutrients of the brown rice can be sufficiently ingested.

In the rice cooker of one embodiment,
The brown rice stirrer stops the drive of the stirrer before the water in the inner pot boils.

  According to the embodiment, since the driving of the stirring unit stops before the water in the inner pot boils, it is possible to prevent the stirring unit from continuing to be driven while the stirring unit receives excessive resistance. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the agitation unit and the drive unit will fail.

In the rice cooker of one embodiment,
The brown rice agitation means drives the agitation unit to cause the agitation unit to agitate the brown rice so that the outer skin of the brown rice is shaved in the water absorption step.

  According to the above embodiment, even in the water absorption process for absorbing the brown rice, the brown rice stirring means drives the stirring unit so that the outer skin of the brown rice is shaved, and causes the stirring unit to stir the brown rice. Thereby, by the cooking process following the said water absorption process, the outer skin of brown rice can be made thinner and the water absorption of brown rice can further be improved.

In the rice cooker of one embodiment,
The brown rice stirring means continues from the water absorption step to the cooking step and drives the stirring unit so that the outer skin of the brown rice is shaved, causing the stirring unit to stir the brown rice.

  According to the above embodiment, the stirring of the brown rice by the brown rice stirring means is continued from the water absorption step to the cooking step, so that the time for stirring the brown rice in the stirring portion can be extended and the hulled rice hull can be cut more reliably.

In the rice cooker of one embodiment,
The control unit maintains the temperature of the inner pot at the enzyme activation temperature in the water absorption step.

  Here, the “enzyme activation temperature” is a temperature at which the enzyme of brown rice is activated, and indicates a temperature within a range of 30 ° C. to 50 ° C.

  According to the above embodiment, in the water absorption process for absorbing water in the brown rice, the control unit maintains the temperature of the inner pot at the enzyme activation temperature, so that the nutrients of the brown rice can be increased.

In the rice cooker of one embodiment,
The said control part maintains the temperature of the said inner pot at the outer skin softening temperature by the said water absorption process.

  Here, the “outer skin softening temperature” is a temperature at which the outer skin of the brown rice softens, and indicates a temperature within a range of 60 ° C. to 80 ° C.

  According to the above embodiment, in the water absorption process for absorbing water into the brown rice, the control unit maintains the temperature of the inner pot at the outer skin softening temperature, so that the cutting of the brown rice outer skin is facilitated.

  According to the rice cooker of the present invention, the control unit drives the stirring unit so that the outer skin of the brown rice is shaved in the cooking process, and has the brown rice stirring means that stirs the brown rice in the stirring unit. Since the outer skin can be shaved reliably, the water inside the brown rice can easily penetrate and the water absorption of the brown rice can be improved. Therefore, the cooked brown rice can have a soft texture and a good taste.

  Moreover, since the texture of brown rice can be brought close to that of white rice by improving the water absorption of the brown rice, even those who eat only white rice can easily eat brown rice.

  Moreover, since the outer skin cut away from the brown rice remains in the inner pot and becomes part of the brown rice, the nutrients of the brown rice can be sufficiently ingested.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment of the present invention when the lid is closed. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the rice cooker when the lid is opened. FIG. 3 is a schematic bottom view of the rotating body of the rice cooker. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the stirring state of the first and second stirring arms of the rice cooker. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the rice cooker. FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the rice cooker. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the temperature change of the inner pot of the rice cooker and the ON / OFF change of the drive motor of the rice cooker. FIG. 8 is a bar graph showing the taste evaluation of brown rice using the first to third embodiments and the conventional rice cooker. FIG. 9 is a radar chart showing the results of the taste evaluation of brown rice using the first and second embodiments and the conventional rice cooker.

  Hereinafter, the rice cooker of this invention is demonstrated in detail by embodiment of illustration.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed obliquely from above.

  The rice cooker includes a rice cooker body 1 and a lid 2 attached to the rice cooker body 1 so as to be openable and closable. In addition to rice cooking, the rice cooker can cook boiled food and steamed food.

  An open button 3 for opening the lid 2 is provided on the front surface of the rice cooker body 1. On the other hand, the tip of the power cord 4 protrudes from the rear surface of the rice cooker body 1. Most of the power cord 4 is wound around a cord reel (not shown) in the rice cooker body 1 so that it can be pulled out.

  A liquid crystal display unit 5 for displaying a cooking method, a cooking name, and the like, and an operation unit 6 having a brown rice cooking selection button 61 and a rice cooking start button 62 are provided at the front part of the upper surface of the lid 2. Further, the steam in the inner pot (see FIG. 2) 7 is discharged from the steam outlet 9 at the rear of the upper surface of the lid 2.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the rice cooker with the lid 2 opened.

  The rice cooker main body 1 stores an inner pot 7 having a thickness of 3 mm, for example, and a heated object such as brown rice 51 or water 52 enters the inner pot 7 (see FIG. 5). Further, a locked portion 8 is provided at the front portion of the upper surface of the rice cooker body 1. A locking portion 23 provided at the front portion of the lower surface of the lid 2 is releasably locked to the locked portion 8. Further, an induction heating coil 10 for induction heating the inner pot 7 is installed in the rice cooker body 1. The induction heating coil 10 is an example of a heating unit.

  The inner pan 7 is formed of a high heat conductive member such as aluminum, and a magnetic material such as stainless steel is attached to the outer surface of the inner pan 7 to improve heating efficiency. It is coated. The inner pot 7 generates heat when the induction heating coil 10 is energized during rice cooking. In addition, on the inner surface of the inner pot 7, a rice cooking wire (not shown) having a scale is marked. The user puts the water 52 in the inner pot 7 to a scale that matches the desired number of cooked rice.

  The lid body 2 includes an outer lid 21 positioned on the side opposite to the inner pot 7 side when the lid body 2 is closed, and an inner lid 22 positioned on the inner pot 7 side when the lid body 2 is closed. Have. A drive motor 24 is installed in the rear part of the outer lid 21. A connecting shaft 55 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is rotatably attached to the central portion of the outer lid 21. The connecting shaft 55 rotates by receiving the rotational driving force generated by the drive motor 24 through the small pulley 25, the timing belt 26, and the large pulley 27 (see FIG. 5). The drive motor 24 is an example of a drive unit.

  Moreover, the rotary body 11 is rotatably arranged between the rice cooker body 1 and the lid body 2. The rotating body 11 is detachably attached to the lid body 2. More specifically, one end of the rotating shaft 15 protrudes from the portion of the rotating body 11 on the lid 2 side (see FIG. 4). One end of the rotating shaft 15 is detachably connected to the connecting shaft 55 of the outer lid 21 and rotates integrally with the connecting shaft 55. The rotating shaft 15 is rotatable with respect to the rotating body 11.

  First and second stirring arms 12A and 12B are attached to the rotating body 11. The first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B are adjacent to the rotating body 11 in the radial direction and are in contact with the brown rice 51 in the inner pot 7 and the brown rice 51 in the inner pot 7 respectively. It is possible to take a separated non-stirring state. That is, each of the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B has a base end portion rotatably attached to the rotating body 11, and a distal end portion is separated from the rotating body 11 or approaches the rotating body 11. It is possible. The first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B are an example of a stirring unit.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the rotating body 11 as viewed from the inner pot 7 side.

  The rotating body 11 is equipped with a plurality of bevel gears that transmit the driving force of the drive motor 24 to the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B in order to rotate the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B. . More specifically, the rotator 11 has a resin lid member 13 and a resin inner pan member 14 detachably attached to the inner pan 7 surface of the lid member 13. ing. Between the lid member 13 and the inner pan member 14, the first and second stirring arm umbrella gears 30, the first stirring arm umbrella gears 31A, 32A, 33A, and the second stirring arm umbrella gear 31B are provided. , 32B, 33B. The rotational drive of the rotary shaft 15 is transmitted to the metal first stirring arm rotation shaft 34A via the first and second stirring arm umbrella gears 30 and the first stirring arm umbrella gears 31A, 32A, 33A. The second stirring arm umbrella gear 30 and the second stirring arm umbrella gears 31B, 32B, 33B are transmitted to the metal second stirring arm rotating shaft 34B. As a result, when the rotary shaft 15 rotates, the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B are rotated about the first and second stirring arm rotating shafts 34A and 34B. It is possible to switch from the non-stirring state shown to the stirring state shown in FIG. 4 or from the stirring state to the non-stirring state.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the part by the side of the inner pan 7 of the rotary body 11 has the narrow part 11a in the rotation center vicinity, and has the wide parts 11b and 11c wider than the narrow part 11a. At the end. The narrow width portion 11a is narrower than the wide width portions 11b and 11c. That is, the portion on the inner pan 7 side of the rotating body 11 has a shape like a flat gourd. The portion of the rotating body 11 on the inner pan 7 side has a first curved surface 16A having a circular arc shape in plan view on the first stirring arm 12A side, and a second curved shape having a circular arc shape in plan view on the second stirring arm 12B side. It has a surface 16B. Thus, the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B are adjacent to the rotating body 11 in the radial direction and have gaps S1 and S2 between the rotating body 11 in the non-stirring state. .

  Note that reference numeral 40 in FIG. 4 denotes a slide lock portion that is slidable in the directions of arrows S1 and S2 with respect to the rotating body 11. The sliding of the slide lock portion 40 in the directions of arrows S1 and S2 makes it impossible to release the connection of the rotary shaft 15 to the connecting shaft 55, or allows the connection of the rotary shaft 15 to the connecting shaft 55 to be released. .

  Further, in FIG. 4, the rice cooker body 1 and the lid body 2 are not shown in order to make the first and second stirring arms 12 </ b> A and 12 </ b> B in the stirring state easy to see.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the rice cooker cut along a vertical plane.

  The rice cooker body 1 has an outer case 41 and an inner case 42 that is disposed in the outer case 41 and in which the inner pot 7 is accommodated. The inner case 42 is formed of a material having heat resistance and electrical insulation. A temperature sensor 43 that contacts the bottom of the inner pot 7 is disposed at the center of the bottom of the inner case 42. The temperature sensor 43 sends a signal indicating the temperature of the inner pot 7 to the control unit 200.

  Further, a power supply unit 100 is disposed on the rear side (right side in FIG. 5) of the space between the outer case 41 and the inner case 42. The power supply unit 100 includes a power supply circuit 101, an induction heating coil inverter circuit 102 (see FIG. 6), and the like. The induction heating coil inverter circuit 102 generates an alternating magnetic field in the induction heating coil 10.

  The rice cooker body 1 also includes a weight sensor (not shown) that detects the weight of the inner pot 7. The weight sensor sends a signal indicating the weight of the inner pot 7 to the control unit 200.

  A control unit 200 is installed in the front end of the lid 2. The lid 2 is rotatably attached to the rear portion of the rice cooker body 1 via a hinge shaft 28 at the rear end. A spring 29 that urges the lid 2 in the opening direction is wound around the hinge shaft 28.

  The lid 2 is provided with a guide passage (not shown) for guiding the steam in the inner pot 7 to the steam outlet 9.

  FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the rice cooker. In FIG. 6, only main components are shown, and other components are not shown.

  The rice cooker has a control unit 200 including a microcomputer and an input / output circuit. The control unit 200 controls the liquid crystal display unit 5, the drive motor 24, the induction heating coil inverter circuit 102, and the like based on signals from the operation unit 6, the temperature sensor 43, and the like. For example, the control unit 200 absorbs the brown rice 51 to absorb water, a cooking process for increasing the temperature of the inner pot 7 to a boiling temperature (for example, 100 ° C.), and a boiling process for maintaining the temperature of the inner pot 7 at the boiling temperature. And the induction heating coil 10 and the drive motor 24 are controlled based on the signal from the temperature sensor 43 so that the steaming process is continuously performed in this order. The microcomputer has a timekeeping function.

  Moreover, the said control part 200 has the brown rice stirring part 201 comprised with software. The brown rice stirring unit 201 drives the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B so that the outer skin of the brown rice 51 is shaved in the water absorption process and the cooking process, and the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B. The brown rice 51 is stirred. The brown rice stirring unit 201 is an example of brown rice stirring means.

  Hereinafter, when cooking the brown rice 51 with the rice cooker of the said structure, operation which a user performs is demonstrated.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, after pressing the open button 3 to open the lid 2, the inner pot 7 is taken out from the rice cooker body 1.

  Next, the amount of brown rice 51 to be cooked is weighed. This measurement is performed in units of total or flaws. In addition, 1 go corresponds to 150 g, and 1 kg corresponds to 1500 g.

  Next, after putting the weighed brown rice 51 into the inner pot 7 and washing the rice, water 52 corresponding to the amount of the brown rice 51 is put into the inner pot 7. Here, the amount of water 52 that enters the inner pot 7 is greater than the amount of water 52 that enters the inner pot 7 when cooking white rice.

  Next, the said inner pot 7 is accommodated in the rice cooker main body 1, and the cover body 2 is closed.

  Next, the rice cooking selection button 61 shown in FIG. 1 is pressed, brown rice cooking is selected, and the rice cooking start button 62 is pushed. Thereby, electricity supply to the induction heating coil 10 is performed, and brown rice cooking starts. Simultaneously with the start of this brown rice cooking, temperature detection of the inner pot 7 is also started, and the temperature control of the inner pot 7 in the water absorption process, cooking process, boiling process and steaming process is performed. This cooking process, boiling process, and steaming constitute a heating process that promotes gelatinization of the brown rice 51. In these steps, the control unit 200 detects a change in the water temperature of the inner pot 7 based on the temperature of the inner pot 7 and performs control to keep the water temperature of the inner pot 7 constant when necessary. Here, the temperature control by the control unit 10 is repeatedly turned on and off to the induction heating coil 10 in accordance with a temperature control program stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown).

  By the way, when rice is cooked with the rice cooker, in the boiling process, the control unit 200 passes through the induction heating coil inverter circuit 102 so that the state in which the water temperature of the inner pot 7 reaches 100 ° C. can be continued for 15 minutes or more. To control the induction heating coil 10. After this state continues for 15 minutes or more, there is almost no free water in the inner pot 7, and the rice is sufficiently gelatinized to become cooked rice, so the process goes to the steaming process. In this steaming step, the control of the induction heating coil 10 by the control unit 200 is performed so that the temperature of the inner pot 7 does not become 90 ° C. or lower. Here, the above-mentioned cooked rice absorbs a slight amount of water remaining on the surface and changes to delicious cooked rice. When this steaming process is completed, rice cooking is completed.

  However, brown rice that is obtained simply by performing temperature control of the above-described rice cooking at the time of brown rice cooking is often not preferred.

  Then, the present inventors repeated earnest research about brown rice cooking, and as a result, it discovered that the taste of brown rice could be improved by giving fluidity to brown rice 51 at the time of brown rice cooking.

  Hereinafter, the operation | movement for providing fluidity | liquidity to the brown rice 51 with the said rice cooker is demonstrated.

  First, after the user presses the rice cooking selection button 61 shown in FIG. 1 to select brown rice rice cooking, and then presses the rice cooking start button 62, the control unit 200 receives a signal indicating the weight of the inner pot 7 from the weight sensor. Based on this, it is recognized that the inner pot 7 containing the brown rice 51 and the water 52 is stored in the rice cooker body 1.

  Next, the control unit 200 sends a signal to the induction heating coil inverter circuit 102 to energize the induction heating coil 10 and sends a signal to the drive motor 24 to view the drive shaft of the drive motor 24 from above. Rotate clockwise. Thereby, after the 1st, 2nd stirring arms 12A and 12B rotate downward and become the stirring state of FIG. 4, it rotates integrally with the rotary body 11, and the brown rice 51 in the inner pot 7 and water 52 is stirred. That is, fluidity is imparted to the brown rice 51.

  Next, if the said control part 200 determines with the temperature of the inner pot 7 exceeding 80 degreeC (for example, temperature in the range of 85 to 90 degreeC), the drive shaft of the drive motor 24 will be determined. Stop rotation. Thereby, rotation of the 1st, 2nd stirring arms 12A and 12B stops, and provision of fluidity to brown rice 51 stops.

  Next, the control unit 200 energizes the induction heating coil 10 and sends a signal to the drive motor 24 to rotate the drive shaft of the drive motor 24 counterclockwise as viewed from above. As a result, the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B are rotated upward to be in the non-stirring state of FIGS.

  Thus, although fluidity | liquidity can be provided to the said brown rice 51, the provision of the fluidity | liquidity to this brown rice 51 is carried out when the 3 units | sets of brown rice 51 are put in the inner pot 7 of the rotary body 11. The rotation speed is set to, for example, 150 rpm or more.

  FIG. 7 shows changes in the inner pot temperature during brown rice cooking of the rice cooker of the first embodiment, changes in the inner pot temperature during brown rice cooking of the rice cooker of the second and third embodiments, and a conventional rice cooker. It is a figure which shows the change of the inner pot temperature at the time of brown rice cooking. FIG. 7 also illustrates ON / OFF timing of the drive motor 24 in the rice cooker according to the first to third embodiments. Here, the drive motor 24 is ON when the drive shaft of the drive motor 24 is rotating clockwise as viewed from above. In addition, the rice cooker of the said 2nd Embodiment is different from the rice cooker of the said 1st Embodiment only in stirring control and temperature control. Moreover, the rice cooker of the said 3rd Embodiment is different from the rice cooker of the said 1st Embodiment only in stirring control. That is, the mechanical structure of the rice cooker of the said 2nd, 3rd embodiment is the same as the mechanical structure of the rice cooker of 1st Embodiment. The conventional rice cooker is a general constant pressure rice cooker that does not have a stirring function.

  In the rice cooker of the first embodiment, the control unit 200 is guided so as to maintain 40 ° C. after the temperature of the inner pot 7 rises from room temperature to 40 ° C. as an example of the enzyme activity temperature in the water absorption step. The heating coil 10 is controlled. Moreover, ON of the drive motor 24 continues from a water absorption process to a cooking process. Specifically, the drive motor 24 is turned ON simultaneously with the start of the water absorption process, and this ON is continued until the temperature of the inner pot 7 reaches about 88 ° C.

  In the rice cooker of the second embodiment, the control unit 200 performs induction heating so that the temperature of the water absorption process and the inner pot 7 rises from room temperature to 70 ° C. as an example of the skin softening temperature, and then maintains 70 ° C. The coil 10 is controlled. Moreover, ON of the drive motor 24 continues from a water absorption process to a cooking process. Specifically, the drive motor 24 is turned ON simultaneously with the start of the water absorption process, and this ON is continued until the temperature of the inner pot 7 reaches about 88 ° C. Here, the temperature of the inner pot 7 is set to be maintained at 70 ° C. When the temperature of the inner pot 7 exceeds 85 ° C. when the fluidity of the brown rice 51 is confirmed by changing the temperature, the same stirring is performed. Even if the force is added to the brown rice 51, the fluidity of the brown rice 51 is deteriorated, and adverse effects such as excessive stickiness for cooking rice are expected. If the temperature of the inner pot 7 is 70 ° C, the fluidity of the brown rice 51 is sufficient. It is because it is obtained.

  In the rice cooker of the said 3rd Embodiment, the control part 200 raises the temperature of the inner pot 7 from normal temperature to 40 degreeC as an example of enzyme activity temperature by a water absorption process similarly to the rice cooker of the said 1st Embodiment. After that, the induction heating coil 10 is controlled to maintain 40 ° C. Moreover, ON of the drive motor 24 continues from a water absorption process to a cooking process. Specifically, the drive motor 24 is turned on when a preset time has elapsed after the start of the water absorption process, and this ON is continued until the temperature of the inner pot 7 reaches about 88 ° C.

  In the said conventional rice cooker, after the temperature of an inner pot raises from normal temperature to 60 degreeC gently at the water absorption process, 60 degreeC is maintained.

  In the rice cooker of the said 1st-3rd embodiment, the brown rice 51 mutually rubs by providing the fluidity | liquidity to the brown rice 51 by the water absorption process and the cooking process. Thereby, since the outer skin of the brown rice 51 is gradually peeled and thinned, the water inside the brown rice 51 can easily penetrate and the water absorption of the brown rice 51 can be improved. As a result, the cooked brown rice can have a soft texture and a good taste.

  The present inventors have confirmed that the color of brown rice by the rice cooker of the first to third embodiments is lighter than the color of brown rice by the conventional rice cooker.

  Moreover, since the outer skin cut away from the brown rice 51 remains in the inner pot 7 and becomes a part of the brown rice, the nutrients of the brown rice 51 can be sufficiently consumed.

  In addition, since the rotation of the drive shaft of the drive motor 24 stops before the water in the inner pot 7 boils, the drive motor 24 is driven while the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B receive excessive resistance. Can be prevented from continuing. Therefore, the possibility that the first and second stirring arms 12A and 12B and the drive motor 24 are broken can be reduced.

  Moreover, in the said 1st, 3rd embodiment, since the control part 200 maintains the temperature of the inner pot 7 at 40 degreeC in the water absorption process which makes the brown rice 51 absorb water, the nutrient of the brown rice 51 can be increased.

  Moreover, in the said 3rd Embodiment, since the control part 200 maintains the temperature of the inner pot 7 at 70 degreeC in the water absorption process to which the brown rice 51 absorbs water, cutting of the outer skin of the brown rice 51 becomes easy.

  FIG. 8 is a bar graph showing the taste evaluation of brown rice cooked with the rice cooker of the first embodiment, brown rice cooked with the conventional rice cooker, and brown rice cooked with another conventional rice cooker. . This taste evaluation was performed using 14 adults as evaluators. The other conventional rice cooker is a general pressure rice cooker that performs the same temperature control as the conventional rice cooker and does not have a stirring function.

  There are two types of brown rice by the rice cooker of the first embodiment, when the amount of water 52 is large and when the amount of water 52 is small. Moreover, the brown rice by the said conventional rice cooker also has two types, the case where the water 52 is increased and the case where the water 52 is decreased. And the brown rice by the said other conventional rice cooker is a thing when water 52 is made normal, when it does not make water 52 more or less. Each evaluator ate these 5 types of brown rice, and asked them to order it in a delicious order. Here, the most delicious brown rice, that is, 5 points for the 1st place brown rice, 4 points for the 2nd place brown rice, 3 points for the 3rd place brown rice, 4th place brown rice Two points were given to the rice, and one point was given to the fifth-ranked brown rice. This average point was written on each bar of the bar graph, and the length of each bar was proportional to the average point.

  As a result, the two types of brown rice by the rice cooker of the first embodiment acquired the highest average score and the second highest average score. This is very easy to eat by adding fluidity to the brown rice 51 until the temperature of the inner pot 7 is higher than 80 ° C. and lower than 100 ° C. from the water absorption process to the cooking process. It is proof that I was able to cook. By giving fluidity to the brown rice 51, the outer skin of the brown rice 51 becomes thin, so that the water absorption of the brown rice 51 proceeds and gelatinization is promoted, and brown rice with a texture close to that of white rice can be obtained. This brown rice is easy to eat even for those who usually only eat white rice.

  FIG. 9 is a radar chart showing the results of the taste evaluation of the brown rice cooked with the rice cooker of the second embodiment and the brown rice cooked with the conventional rice cooker. This taste evaluation is performed on the unpolished rice cooked with the rice cooker of the first embodiment with respect to six items of “general”, “fragrance”, “sweetness”, “ease of eating”, “appearance” and “softness”. The standard, that is, the score when the score is 0 is evaluated in ± 3 levels. Further, the number of evaluators for the taste evaluation is 13 adults.

  As a result, the brown rice cooked with the rice cooker of the said 2nd Embodiment was equivalent or plus evaluation was obtained compared with the brown rice cooked with the rice cooker of the said 1st Embodiment. In particular, there was a significant difference in “fragrance”, “softness”, and “easy to eat”. Moreover, even with the brown rice cooked with the rice cooker of the said 1st Embodiment, compared with the brown rice cooked with the said conventional rice cooker, the equivalent or positive evaluation is obtained depending on the item.

  As apparent from the above, the rice cooker of the first to third embodiments can bring the texture of brown rice to the texture of white rice by shaving the outer skin of brown rice 51 during rice cooking. Even those who do not eat brown rice on a daily basis can feel that brown rice is easy to eat and can provide a healthy diet.

  In the first to third embodiments, fluidity is imparted to the brown rice 51 in both the water absorption process and the cooking process, but in the water absorption process, the fluidity is not imparted to the brown rice 51, while the cooking process. Then, fluidity may be imparted to the brown rice 51.

  In the said 1st-3rd embodiment, although the fluidity | liquidity was provided to the brown rice 51 continuously from the water absorption process to the cooking process, the fluidity | liquidity is provided to the brown rice 51 without continuing from the water absorption process to the cooking process. May be. For example, the imparting of fluidity to the brown rice 51 starts from the water absorption process and continues until a predetermined time before the water absorption process ends, and once stopped at the predetermined time, it resumes simultaneously with the start of the cooking process. You may make it do.

  In the first to third embodiments, the inner pot 7 is heated by induction heating using the induction coil 10, but the inner pot 7 may be heated by resistance heating using a heater. In this case, both the induction heating and resistance heating may be performed, or only resistance heating may be performed.

  In the said 1st-3rd embodiment, although the induction coil 10 was used as an example of a heating part, you may use a magnetron as an example of a heating part. In this case, the brown rice 51, the water 52, etc. can be heated with a microwave.

  In the said 1st-3rd embodiment, the high heat conductive member of the inner pot 7 may consist of materials, such as copper, aluminum, carbon, etc., and may consist of a composite material which combined them.

  In the first to third embodiments, the brown rice stirring unit 201 is configured by software, but may be configured by hardware such as a switch, a timer, a comparator, and an amplifier.

  Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, as in the first and second embodiments, the present invention can provide brown rice 51 with the same finish every time by imparting fluidity to the brown rice 51 from the beginning to the end of the water absorption process. .

  However, since it will get tired of brown rice with the same finish every day, the user will always give fluidity to the brown rice 51 in the water absorption process or intermittently give fluidity to the brown rice 51 in the water absorption process. You may make it selectable.

  When the fluidity is intermittently imparted to the brown rice 51 in the water absorption step, brown rice with a finish different from the case where the fluidity is always imparted to the brown rice 51 in the water absorption step is obtained. Specifically, when fluidity is intermittently imparted to the brown rice 51 in the water absorption step, a texture that is similar to brown rice can be left.

  As an example when fluidity is intermittently imparted to the brown rice 51 in the water absorption step, a method of alternately repeating fluidity imparting time 30 seconds and pause 30 seconds, or only after the inner pot temperature exceeds 60 ° C. There is a method of imparting fluidity to the brown rice 51.

  Moreover, since brown rice takes a long time to cook rice compared with white rice, you may make it possible to make a timer reservation for brown rice cooking.

  Moreover, you may apply this invention also to the rice cooker which provided the blade | wing on the bottom part of the inner pot like Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2008-18122.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker main body 2 Lid body 7 Inner pan 10 Induction heating coil 11 Rotating body 12A 1st stirring arm 12B 2nd stirring arm 21 Inner lid 22 Outer lid 24 Drive motor 43 Temperature sensor 51 Brown rice 52 Water 100 Power supply part 200 Control part 201 Brown rice stirring section

Claims (6)

An inner pot that contains brown rice and water,
A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the inner pot;
A heating unit disposed outside the inner pot, for heating brown rice and water in the inner pot;
A stirring unit for stirring the brown rice and water in the inner pot;
A drive unit for driving the stirring unit;
A water absorption process for absorbing water into the brown rice, a cooking process for raising the temperature of the inner pot to a boiling temperature following the water absorption process, and a boiling for maintaining the temperature of the inner pot at the boiling temperature following the cooking process A control unit that controls the heating unit and the driving unit based on a signal from the temperature sensor so that a process and a steaming process following the boiling process are performed,
The said control part has the brown rice stirring means which drives the said stirring part and stirs the said brown rice to the said stirring part so that the hull | coating of brown rice may be shaved by the said cooking process, The rice cooker characterized by the above-mentioned. In the rice cooker according to claim 1,
The brown rice stirrer stops the drive of the stirrer before the water in the inner pot boils. In the rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2,
The rice cooker characterized in that the brown rice agitating means drives the agitation unit to cause the agitation unit to agitate the brown rice so that the outer skin of the brown rice is shaved in the water absorption step. In the rice cooker as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3,
The brown rice stirring means continues from the water absorption step to the cooking step, and drives the stirring portion so that the outer skin of the brown rice is scraped, causing the stirring portion to stir the brown rice. rice cooker. In the rice cooker as described in any one of Claim 1 to 4,
The said control part maintains the temperature of the said inner pot at enzyme activation temperature by the said water absorption process, The rice cooker characterized by the above-mentioned. In the rice cooker as described in any one of Claim 1 to 4,
The said control part maintains the temperature of the said inner pot at the outer skin softening temperature by the said water absorption process, The rice cooker characterized by the above-mentioned.

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