JP2017221297A - Rice cooker and information terminal apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker that enables a user to check a residual time until rice cooking finishes even when a user is at a place away from the rice cooker.SOLUTION: A rice cooker includes a heating container where a cooking material is stored, a heating part for heating the heating container, an operation part for giving an instruction to start rice cooking, a display part for displaying various kinds of information, and a control part that executes heating control of the heating part, obtains information on a residual time required for rice cooking upon receipt of the instruction to start rice cooking from the operation part, and causes the display part to display it. The control part includes a communication part for transmitting the obtained residual time information for the completion of rice cooking to an information terminal device upon receipt of a communication request from the external information terminal device. The control device corrects information on the residual time for completion of the cooking according to the progress of the rice cooking. The communication part transmits the newest information on the residual time corrected by the control part to the information terminal device every time the communication request is received from the external information terminal device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker that can communicate with an external information terminal device, and an information terminal device that communicates with the rice cooker.

Conventionally, there is provided a remaining time timing means for receiving a start signal from the rice cooking start means and timing the remaining time of cooking rice, and the remaining time of rice cooked by this remaining time timing means is displayed on the remaining time display means. There is a vessel.
Such a rice cooker can inform the user how much rice cooking time is required from the start of cooking to the end of cooking (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-8-66307

  However, since the remaining time display means is provided in the main body of such a rice cooker, it is necessary for the user to go directly to the rice cooker in order to check the remaining time.

  The present invention is for solving the above problems, and the remaining time information is external information so that the remaining time until the end of cooking can be confirmed even if the user is away from the rice cooker. An object is to provide a rice cooker that can be transmitted to a terminal device and an information terminal device that communicates with the rice cooker.

In order to solve the above problems, in a rice cooker, a heating container that contains a cooked product, a heating unit that heats the heating container, an operation unit that instructs the start of cooking, a display unit that displays various types of information, When the heating control of the heating unit is performed and an instruction to start rice cooking is received from the operation unit, the control unit that obtains the remaining time information required for cooking rice and displays it on the display unit, and the control unit are from an external information terminal device When the communication request is received, it has a communication unit that transmits to the information terminal device the remaining time information required to complete the cooked rice, and the control unit displays the remaining time information required to complete the cooking according to the progress of cooking. The communication unit may be configured to transmit the latest remaining time information corrected by the control unit to the information terminal device every time a communication request is received from an external information terminal device.
Moreover, in an information terminal device, it has a terminal display part, a terminal control part, and a terminal communication part, and a terminal communication part receives the information which concerns on the rice cooking operation | movement transmitted from a rice cooker, A terminal control part May be configured to display information on the rice cooking operation received by the terminal communication unit on the terminal display unit.

  According to the present invention, even if the user is away from the rice cooker, the remaining time until the end of the rice cooking can be confirmed.

Schematic which shows the structure of the heat cooking system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The disassembled perspective view which shows the structure of the upper cover periphery of the heating cooker of FIG. The block diagram which shows the function structure of the heating cooker of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the initial standard time in the display part of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the initial standard time in the terminal display part of FIG. Of the display examples of the reference time on the display unit of FIG. 1, (a) is an explanatory diagram showing the initial reference time, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the correction reference time. Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the correction standard time in the terminal display part of FIG. Among the display examples in the display unit of FIG. 1, (a) is an explanatory diagram showing a correction guide time, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing a remaining time until cooking is completed. Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the remaining time until the completion of cooking in the terminal display part of FIG. The flowchart which shows operation | movement in case the heating cooker of FIG. 1 transmits / receives information directly between information terminal devices. The flowchart which shows the process performed with the information terminal device which receives information from the heating cooker of FIG.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration around the upper lid of the rice cooker 10 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the system of FIG. First, with reference to FIGS. 1-3, the whole structure of the system 200 which has the rice cooker 10 and the information terminal device 100 is demonstrated.

  The rice cooker 10 includes a heating unit 20, a heating control unit 21, a temperature detection unit 22, an upper lid 31, an operation panel unit 32, an operation unit 40, a display unit 50, a notification unit 60, a storage unit 70, and a control. Unit 75, communication unit 80, and heating container 90.

  The heating unit 20 includes, for example, a heating coil, and induction-heats a heating container 90 that contains a cooked product including water and rice. The heating control unit 21 performs heating control of the heating unit 20 based on a control command signal from the control unit 75. When the heating unit 20 is a heating coil, the heating control unit 21 performs induction heating of the heating container 90 by performing energization control of the heating unit 20. The heating unit 20 may be a sheathed heater or the like.

The temperature detection part 22 consists of a thermistor, for example, and detects the temperature of a foodstuff.
In the first embodiment, the temperature detector 22 is disposed so as to be in contact with the bottom surface of the heating container 90 formed of an inner pot. The temperature detection unit 22 detects the temperature of the bottom surface of the heating container 90 and transmits the detected temperature, which is the detected temperature, to the control unit 75.

The upper lid 31 has a recess 31A for incorporating the control unit 75, and a communication surface 31B that is a portion over which the user holds the information terminal device 100. The communication surface 31B is formed on the upper surface of the upper lid 31. The operation panel 32 has a plurality of setting buttons 32A including a rice cooking start button. The operation panel unit 32 is attached to the upper lid 31 so as to cover the recess 31A. The operation unit 40, the display unit 50, and the control unit 75 are incorporated in the recess 31 </ b> A of the upper lid 31, and the upper part is covered with the operation panel unit 32. At least a part of the communication unit 80 is disposed below the communication surface 31B. That is, the communication part 80 is provided in the upper cover 31 which comprises the upper surface of a rice cooker.
In this Embodiment, although the communication part 80 is provided in the upper cover 31, what is necessary is just to form the communication surface 31B in the upper surface of the site | part which comprises the upper surface of a rice cooker, and to arrange | position below this communication surface 31B. That is, the communication part 80 should just be provided in the upper surface side of a rice cooker. Thereby, the user can bring the information terminal device 10 closer to the communication unit 80 from above the rice cooker.

  The operation unit 40 receives setting operations such as rice types and cooking menus. The operation unit 40 can set rice varieties such as “white rice”, “washless rice”, and “brown rice”. In addition to the menu related to the cooking speed such as “normal” cooking at a normal speed, “early cooking” cooking at a faster time than usual as the cooking menu, the operation unit 40 also “rice porridge”, “cooking”, etc. The menu related to the cooking method can be set.

The operation unit 40 receives a rice cooking start instruction that instructs the start of rice cooking. The operation unit 40 is provided at a position corresponding to the plurality of setting buttons 32 </ b> A disposed on the operation panel unit 32. The user can set the rice type, the cooking menu, and the like by appropriately selecting and pressing the plurality of setting buttons 32A. The operation unit 40 is configured to receive a rice cooking start instruction when the user presses the rice cooking start button and transmits a rice cooking start signal to the control unit 75. The control unit 75 that has received the rice cooking start signal starts rice cooking based on the setting information set by the user.
Hereinafter, the time when the operation unit 40 receives a rice cooking start instruction, that is, the time when the control unit 75 receives a rice cooking start signal from the operation unit 40 and starts the heating control of the heating unit 20 is also referred to as “rice cooking start time”. .

  The display part 50 consists of liquid crystal panels, for example, and displays various display information. More specifically, the display part 50 switches and displays information, such as a rice seed | species and a cooking menu, according to selection operation and setting operation by a user. The display unit 50 displays information such as rice types and cooking menus set by the user. Furthermore, the display unit 50 displays a guide time that is a guide for the time required for completion of cooking and a remaining time until the completion of cooking.

  The notification unit 60 includes, for example, an audio speaker or a buzzer, and notifies the outside of various notification information such as completion of cooking. The notification unit 60 is configured to notify each notification information by voice or beep sound.

  The storage unit 70 stores various control programs by the control unit 75. The storage unit 70 stores various display information to be displayed on the display unit 50 and various notification information to be notified to the notification unit 60.

  In addition, the storage unit 70 stores the rice cooking time at the time of the maximum rice cooking amount and the rice cooking time at the time of the minimum rice cooking amount corresponding to the combination of the rice species and the menu. Specifically, for example, a reference time table that associates the combination of the rice species and the menu with the rice cooking time at the maximum rice cooking amount and the rice cooking time at the minimum rice cooking amount is stored in the storage unit 70.

  Furthermore, the storage unit 70 stores a rice cooking amount table in which the ascending speed information and the amount of cooking rice that is the amount of cooked food are associated with each combination of rice and cooking menu, and information related thereto. . Here, the rising speed information is information indicating the speed of the temperature rise of the cooked food before the cooked food is boiled after the start of cooking rice, and is obtained by the control unit 75 as described later. . In addition, the storage unit 70 stores a correction time table in which the amount of cooked rice and a correction time to be described later are associated with each combination of the rice type and the cooking menu, and information related thereto. Further, the storage unit 70 stores a remaining time table in which the amount of cooked rice and the remaining time until cooking is completed are associated.

  The control unit 75 performs heating control of the heating unit 20 and display control on the display unit 50 according to a program stored in the storage unit 70. The control unit 75 generates a control command signal based on setting information received from the operation unit 40 and transmits the generated control command signal to the heating control unit 21. That is, the control part 75 starts the heating control of the heating part 20 at the time of a rice cooking start, and starts cooking of a foodstuff.

  Moreover, the control part 75 calculates | requires and displays on the display part 50 the standard time used as the standard of the time required to complete cooking at the start of rice cooking, ie, the standard time until cooking of cooking. Further, the control unit 75 has a function of reducing the reference time displayed on the display unit 50 according to the elapsed time. In the first embodiment, the control unit 75 has a counting function for reducing the reference time displayed on the display unit 50 or the remaining time until the completion of cooking by one minute with the passage of time.

  Moreover, the control part 75 calculates | requires the rising speed information which shows the speed of the temperature rise before boiling of a foodstuff, and correct | amends the standard time currently displayed on the display part 50 based on the calculated | required rising speed information. is there.

  Here, the standard time before correction by the control unit 75 is referred to as initial standard time, and the standard time after correction by the control unit 75 is referred to as correction standard time. The initial reference time includes the reference time that the control unit 75 decreases every 1 minute before correction, in addition to the reference time that the control unit 75 obtains at the start of rice cooking. In particular, the reference time that the control unit 75 obtains at the start of rice cooking is also referred to as “start time reference time”. In addition to the reference time immediately after correction by the control unit 75, the correction reference time includes a reference time that the control unit 75 decreases after every minute has elapsed after correction.

  In this Embodiment 1, the control part 75 irradiates the setting information received from the operation part 40 with the standard time table in the memory | storage part 70, and is the rice cooking time at the time of the maximum rice cooking amount according to rice seed | species and a menu, and minimum It is comprised so that the rice cooking time at the time of rice cooking amount may be read. And the control part 75 calculates | requires the average of the rice cooking time at the time of the maximum rice cooking amount according to rice seed | species and a menu, and the rice cooking time at the time of the minimum rice cooking amount as initial standard time.

  However, the reference time table stored in the storage unit 70 may be, for example, a combination of a rice seed and a menu and a preset reference time for start. In this case, the starting reference time in the reference time table may be, for example, the rice cooking time when the rice cooking amount is intermediate between the maximum rice cooking amount and the minimum rice cooking amount. And the control part 75 may obtain | require the reference time at the time of starting by comparing the rice seed | species and menu information contained in setting information with a standard time table.

  The control unit 75 has a function of causing the heating unit 20 to sequentially execute a preheating process, a high fire process, a low fire process, a dry-up process, and an unevenness process. Moreover, the control part 75 has a function which performs the uneven process which is the last process of cooking. Here, the preheating step is a step for promoting water absorption into rice. A high heat process is a process of heating a cooked food rapidly. The low heat process is a process of maintaining the boiling state of the cooked product. The dry-up process is a process in which moisture is absorbed and gelatinized to the center of rice, and excess water in the heating container is evaporated. The unevenness process is a process for unevenly finishing the state in the heating container 90 by unevenly cooking the cooked rice.

In the process leading up to the unevenness process, there is a process that moves to the next process on condition that a predetermined defined temperature is reached, and the change in the temperature of the food depends on the environment, etc. Prior to the uneven process, the time required to complete cooking is not fixed. For this reason, the control part 75 makes the display of the display part 50 until it enters into the uneven process become a standard time display which shows that the time required for completion of cooking is not decided.
In the first embodiment, in order to make the user visually recognize that the display is the reference time display, the control unit 75 adds information indicating the reference time to the initial reference time and the correction reference time, and displays it on the display unit 50. Display. For example, a character display such as “about” or “approximately” is added to the display of the reference time.

On the other hand, since the time required for the unevenness process is uniquely determined according to the rice type, the cooking menu, and the amount of cooked rice, the time required for completing the cooking is determined when entering the unevenness process. Therefore, when entering the unevenness process, the control unit 75 refers to the remaining time table in the storage unit 70 and obtains the remaining time until completion of cooking as a fixed time required for completion of cooking. Then, the obtained remaining time until completion of cooking is displayed on the display unit 50 instead of the reference time. In that case, the control part 75 switches the display of the display part 50 from the standard time display to the remaining time display which shows that the time required for completion of cooking was decided.
In the first embodiment, the control unit 75 deletes information (character display such as “about”) indicating the approximate time from the display unit 50 so that the user can visually recognize that the display is the remaining time display.
Hereinafter, the remaining time until completion of cooking is also simply referred to as “remaining time”.

  Here, as the rising speed information obtained by the control unit 75, for example, a rising time required for the cooked food to rise from the reference temperature to a set temperature that is equal to or lower than the boiling temperature can be employed. In this case, the control unit 75 refers to the reference temperature and the set temperature in the storage unit 70, counts the rising time based on the detected temperature transmitted from the temperature detecting unit 22, and sets the measured rising time to the rice cooking amount table. The amount of cooked rice is calculated by illuminating.

  By the way, the temperature of the cooked food at the start of cooking varies depending on the external environment and the like. For this reason, the reference temperature is preferably set to be lower than the set temperature and higher than the temperature of the cooked food at the start of cooking rice throughout the year. In this way, since the control unit 75 can uniformly acquire the rising time, it is possible to improve the accuracy of correction of a reference temperature described later. The reference temperature may be the temperature of the cooked food at the start of rice cooking, that is, the detected temperature transmitted from the temperature detection unit 22 to the control unit 75 at the start of rice cooking. The reference temperature may be the temperature of the cooked food when the control unit 75 starts a high-fire process described later.

  On the other hand, the set temperature is set to a temperature that is higher than the reference temperature and equal to or lower than the temperature at which the cooked product boils. In this Embodiment 1, preset temperature is set to the temperature (for example, 100 degreeC) at which a foodstuff boils. If it does in this way, the control part 75 can obtain | require the stable rising time with few fluctuations.

  Further, as the rising speed information obtained by the control unit 75, for example, temperature change information indicating the amount of change in the temperature of the cooked food per certain time may be employed. In this case, the control part 75 calculates | requires temperature change information by dividing the difference temperature which is a difference of reference | standard temperature and preset temperature by the time until a foodstuff reaches preset temperature from the time of rice cooking start. Moreover, the control part 75 calculates | requires the amount of rice cooking in light of the calculated | required temperature change information in a rice cooking amount table.

  And the control part 75 calculates | requires correction | amendment time by illuminating the rice cooking amount calculated | required by the above in a correction | amendment time table. Here, in the correction time table stored in the storage unit 70, as the correction time associated with the amount of cooking rice, for example, the reference time for starting, and the correction reference time set according to the rice type, menu, and rice cooking amount It is possible to employ a difference correction time that indicates the difference between.

  For example, when the amount of cooked rice is relatively small, the reference time displayed at the start of rice cooking is longer than the time until the actual cooking, so the control unit 75 corrects to subtract the reference time from the storage unit 70. The difference correction time instructing is read. For example, if the difference correction time is minus 5 minutes, the control unit 75 performs correction to reduce the reference time displayed on the display unit 50 by 5 minutes.

  On the other hand, when the amount of cooked rice is relatively large, the reference time to be displayed at the start of rice cooking is shorter than the time until the actual cooking, so the control unit 75 adds the reference time from the storage unit 70. The difference correction time instructing is read. For example, if the difference correction time is plus 8 minutes, the control unit 75 performs correction to increase the reference time displayed on the display unit 50 by 8 minutes.

  Moreover, as correction time, you may employ | adopt the correction standard time itself set according to the rice seed | species, the menu, and the amount of rice cooking. In such a case, the control unit 75 performs correction to replace the initial standard time displayed on the display unit 50 with the correction standard time read from the standard time table as it is.

  In the first embodiment, the rice cooking amount table and the correction time table correspond to combinations of rice types and cooking menus, respectively. That is, the control unit 75 corrects the reference time displayed on the display unit 50 in accordance with the rice type and cooking menu set in the operation unit 40.

  The control unit 75 has a function of notifying the notification unit 60 of information indicating the completion of cooking when cooking is completed. Note that when the initial reference time is corrected, the control unit 75 may cause the notification unit 60 to notify at least one of the corrected reference time and the information indicating that the correction has been performed. Further, when the remaining time is obtained, the control unit 75 may cause the notifying unit 60 to notify at least one of the obtained remaining time and information indicating that the remaining time has been determined. The control unit 75 may appropriately use a sound, a beep sound, and the like according to the function of the notification unit 60 and the usage of the notification.

  The control unit 75 is connected to the communication unit 80 and performs information communication with the external information terminal device 100 via the communication unit 80. The control unit 75 counts in seconds. For example, in a long-time process, even if a time lag occurs between the control unit 75 and the information terminal device 100, the synchronization is performed by performing re-communication. Can be made. The control unit 75 transmits guide time information indicating the initial guide time and the correction guide time to the information terminal device 100 via the communication unit 80. The control unit 75 transmits remaining time information indicating the remaining time to the information terminal device 100 via the communication unit 80.

Communication unit 80 includes an antenna for performing wireless communication and a memory for storing information on rice cooker 10. The antenna of the communication unit 80 is located below the communication surface 31 </ b> B formed on the upper surface of the upper lid 31, and performs short-range wireless communication with the information terminal device 100. That is, short-range wireless communication can be performed between the communication unit 80 and the information terminal device 100 by bringing the information terminal device 100 close to the communication surface 31B.
Here, short-range wireless communication is NFC (Near Field Communication), for example, and is a short-range wireless communication standard in which a communication distance represented by ISO / IEC 14443, ISO / IEC 15693, or the like is about 10 cm or less. When the rice cooker 10 starts cooking, the cooker 10 writes the reference time, which is remaining time information indicating the remaining time until the completion of rice cooking, in the memory of the communication unit 80. Each time the remaining time information is updated by the control unit 75, the information is written in the memory of the communication unit 80.

The information terminal device 100 is a so-called smartphone that is a high-function mobile phone, for example, and includes a terminal display unit 150, a terminal control unit 175, and a terminal communication unit 180. The terminal display unit 150 has a function of displaying cooking related information including a reference time or remaining time and information related thereto. In addition, the terminal display unit 150 displays information such as rice types and cooking menus. The terminal communication unit 180 communicates with the communication unit 80. The terminal control unit 175 displays cooking related information on the terminal display unit 150 based on the reference time and the remaining time transmitted from the control unit 75 via the communication unit 80 and the terminal communication unit 180.
That is, when the information terminal device 100 acquires the information on the reference time and the remaining time, the information terminal device 100 displays these times on the terminal display unit 150 and performs countdown display as time passes.

  Therefore, when the user holds the information terminal device 100 over the communication surface 31B, the communication unit 80 and the terminal communication unit 180 can perform information communication at a short distance using short-range wireless communication.

  The control unit 75 can be realized by hardware such as a circuit device that realizes each function described above, or can be realized as software executed on a microcomputer such as a DSP or an arithmetic device such as a CPU. it can. In addition, the storage unit 70 can be configured by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory, or the like.

(Display examples and information communication)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the initial reference time on the display unit 50. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the initial approximate time on the terminal display unit 150. FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram showing an initial standard time, and FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram showing a standard correction time, in a display example of the standard time on the display unit 50. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the correction standard time on the terminal display unit 150 of FIG. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams showing the correction standard time in the display examples on the display unit 50, and FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram showing the remaining time until cooking is completed. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the remaining time until completion of cooking in the terminal display unit 150.
With reference to FIGS. 4-9, the example of a display in the display part 50 and the terminal display part 150 is demonstrated using information communication with the rice cooker 10 and the information terminal device 100. FIG.

  When cooking rice, the user performs various settings via the operation panel unit 32. Then, after the setting is completed, when the user presses the rice cooking start button, the rice cooker 10 starts cooking, and the control unit 75 displays the initial reference time on the display unit 50 as shown in FIG. At that time, the control unit 75 causes the display unit 50 to display a light of “about” on the upper left portion of the initial standard time as information indicating that the standard time is displayed. FIG. 4 illustrates a case where the initial reference time is 45 (minutes). In addition, the display unit 50 shows the characters “white rice” as the rice type and the characters “normal” as the cooking menu.

  Next, when communication is performed between the rice cooker 10 and the information terminal device 100, the control unit 75 indicates to the terminal control unit 175 the initial reference time via the communication unit 80 and the terminal communication unit 180. Send time information. At that time, the control unit 75 synchronizes the display on the display unit 50 and the display on the terminal display unit 150. Then, the terminal control unit 175 causes the terminal display unit 150 to display the initial reference time as shown in FIG. Also on the terminal display unit 150, “about” is shown as information indicating that the time is the reference time.

  Here, before correcting the initial standard time, the control unit 75 transmits the initial standard time to the information terminal device 100 only once when receiving a communication request from the information terminal device 100. That is, before correcting the initial reference time, that is, before the temperature of the food reaches the set temperature, only the first communication request is received even when there are multiple communication requests from the information terminal device 100. Is valid and does not respond to the second and subsequent communication requests.

  The control unit 75 obtains a correction time with reference to the storage unit 70 when a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of cooking and the temperature of the cooked food reaches the set temperature, and the initial reference time of the display unit 50 is illustrated, for example, in FIG. Correct as follows. FIG. 6 illustrates a case where the temperature of the cooked food reaches the set temperature when “15 (minutes)” has elapsed since the start of cooking rice, and FIG. 6A shows the display unit 50 before correction. Indicates “30 (minutes)” as the initial reference time. In FIG. 6B showing the display unit 50 after correction, “25 (minutes)” is shown as the reference time for correction.

  The control unit 75 maintains the state where the character “about” is lit on the display unit 50 before and after the correction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the display unit 50 displays the characters “about” at the upper left of both the initial reference time and the correction reference time.

  Next, when communication is performed between the rice cooker 10 and the information terminal device 100, the control unit 75 indicates to the terminal control unit 175 via the communication unit 80 and the terminal communication unit 180 a standard indicating the correction standard time. Send time information. At that time, the control unit 75 synchronizes the display on the display unit 50 and the display on the terminal display unit 150. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the terminal control unit 175 causes the terminal display unit 150 to display “25 (minutes)”, which is a correction guide time, together with the characters “about”.

Here, after correcting the initial reference time, that is, after the temperature of the cooked food reaches the set temperature, the control unit 75 validates all communication requests and receives communication requests from the information terminal device 100. Each time, the correction guide time is transmitted to the information terminal device 100.
In the information terminal device 100, each time the correction standard time is received, the terminal control unit 175 updates the standard correction time displayed on the terminal display unit 150.

  Further, when the process is further advanced and the unevenness process is started, the control unit 75 obtains the remaining time until the cooking is completed, and switches the display of the display unit 50 from the reference time display to the remaining time display. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 75 displays the remaining time on the display unit 50 instead of the correction guide time, and at that time, the display of “about” is turned off from the display unit 50. In FIG. 8A illustrating the state before switching the display of the display unit 50, “15 (minutes)” which is a correction guide time is shown together with the characters “about”, and the display of the display unit 50 is switched. In FIG. 8 (b) showing the state after this, the character “about” is deleted and “15 (minutes)” which is the remaining time is shown. Therefore, after moving to the unevenness process, the user who visually recognizes the display unit 50 in which the characters “about” have disappeared can recognize that the display has been switched to the fixed time display.

  The control unit 75 according to the first embodiment causes the display unit 50 to display a corrected guide time obtained by correcting the initial guide time before switching to the remaining time display. In addition, the control unit 75 has a function of reducing the correction guide time displayed on the display unit 50 according to the elapsed time. For this reason, even if the reference correction time and the remaining time before and after moving to the unevenness process are the same as shown in FIG. 8 or a deviation occurs, the deviation is displayed without correcting the initial reference time. Smaller than the case.

  Next, when communication is performed between the rice cooker 10 and the information terminal device 100, the control unit 75 indicates the remaining time to the terminal control unit 175 via the communication unit 80 and the terminal communication unit 180. Send information. At that time, the control unit 75 synchronizes the display on the display unit 50 and the display on the terminal display unit 150. Then, the terminal control unit 175 causes the terminal display unit 150 to display “15 (minutes)” that is the remaining time, as illustrated in FIG. 9. At that time, the terminal control unit 175 does not display the characters “about” on the terminal display unit 150. Therefore, after moving to the unevenness process, the user who has visually recognized the terminal display unit 150 in which the “about” character has disappeared can recognize that the display has been switched to the fixed time display.

  In the first embodiment, the rice cooker 10 may be configured not to update the reference time of the display unit 50 until the communication unit 80 and the terminal communication unit 180 communicate with each other. This is because usability is deteriorated if a flaw occurs between the display on the display unit 50 and the display on the terminal display unit 150 without synchronizing the display on the display unit 50 and the display on the terminal display unit 150.

(Operation of rice cooker when short-range communication is performed)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation when the rice cooker 10 directly exchanges information with the information terminal device 100. With reference to FIG. 10, operation | movement in case rice cooker 10 and the information terminal device 100 perform near field communication using near field communication is demonstrated. In the following description of the operation, it is assumed that the set temperature is set to a temperature at which the cooked product boils. Therefore, the rising speed information obtained by the control unit 75 is information indicating the speed of boiling.

  First, the operation unit 40 receives the setting of the rice species and menu by the user (FIG. 10: Step S101). Next, when the user presses the rice cooking start button on the operation panel unit 32, the operation unit 40 transmits setting information and a rice cooking start signal to the control unit 75. The control unit 75 receives the rice cooking start signal and transmits a control command signal corresponding to the setting information to the heating control unit 21. And the rice cooker 10 starts rice cooking because the heating control part 21 starts the heating control of the heating part 20 according to a control command signal (FIG. 10: step S102). Moreover, the control part 75 calculates | requires the reference time at the start according to a rice seed | species and a menu based on setting information, and displays it on the display part 50 (FIG. 10: step S103). At this time, the rice cooker 10 writes the reference time until the completion of rice cooking in the memory of the communication unit 80 when rice cooking is started.

  Next, when there is a communication request from the information terminal device 100, that is, for example, when the user holds the information terminal device 100 over the communication surface 31B (FIG. 10: Step S104 / YES), the control unit 75 performs the heating control. In a continuous state, the reference time information indicating the initial reference time is transmitted to the information terminal device 100, and the display on the display unit 50 and the display on the terminal display unit 150 are synchronized. Thereby, the initial reference time is displayed on the terminal display unit 150 (FIG. 10: step S105). On the other hand, the control part 75 continues the heating control of the heating part 20 (FIG. 10: step S106), when there is no communication request | requirement from the information terminal device 100 (FIG. 10: step S104 / NO) before the food boils. ). The control unit 75 controls the heating of the heating unit 20 without transmitting information to the information terminal device 100 even if there is a communication request again from the information terminal device 100 until the boiling is detected. continue.

  Next, the controller 75 detects boiling from the temperature detected by the temperature detector 22 (FIG. 10: Step S107). Then, when there is a communication request from the information terminal device 100 (FIG. 10: Step S108 / YES), the control unit 75 obtains the ascending speed information in a state where the heating control is continued, and includes the obtained ascending speed information. And calculate the correction time. Further, the control unit 75 corrects the initial reference time displayed on the display unit 50 according to the correction time to obtain a correction reference time (FIG. 10: Step S109).

  Next, the control unit 75 transmits the reference time information indicating the correction reference time to the information terminal device 100 via the communication unit 80, and synchronizes the display on the display unit 50 and the display on the terminal display unit 150. As a result, the corrected reference time is displayed on the terminal display unit 150 (FIG. 10: step S110). On the other hand, the control unit 75 continues the heating control of the heating unit 20 when there is no communication request from the information terminal device 100 before entering the unevenness process (FIG. 10: step S108 / NO) (FIG. 10: step S111). ).

  Then, the control part 75 calculates | requires the remaining time until it finishes cooking, when entering a nonuniformity process. Thereby, the remaining time until cooking is decided (FIG. 10: step S112). Next, when there is a communication request from the information terminal device 100 (FIG. 10: Step S113 / YES), the control unit 75 causes the display unit 50 to display the remaining time instead of the correction guide time, and from the display unit 50. Erase the information indicating that it is the approximate time display. That is, the control unit 75 switches the display on the display unit 50 from the reference time display to the remaining time display (FIG. 10: Step S114).

  Next, the control unit 75 transmits remaining time information indicating the remaining time to the information terminal device 100 via the communication unit 80, and synchronizes the display on the display unit 50 and the display on the terminal display unit 150. Thereby, cooking related information such as the remaining time that does not include the character “about” is displayed on the terminal display unit 150 (FIG. 10: step S115). And the control part 75 alert | reports to the effect of rice cooking completion from the alerting | reporting part 60, when the time which an unevenness process requires passes, and the rice cooker 10 completes rice cooking (FIG. 10: step S117).

  On the other hand, if there is no communication request from the information terminal device 100 until the unevenness process is completed (FIG. 10: step S113 / NO), the control unit 75 does not switch the display of the display unit 50. That is, the control unit 75 continues the unevenness process without transmitting the remaining time information to the information terminal device 100 (FIG. 10: Step S116).

And the control part 75 alert | reports the effect of rice cooking completion from the alerting | reporting part 60, when the unevenness process is completed, and the rice cooker 10 completes rice cooking (FIG. 10: step S117).

As mentioned above, as for the rice cooker 10 in this Embodiment 1, the control part 75 is displayed on the display part 50 based on the rising speed information which shows the speed of the temperature rise before boiling of a foodstuff. Since the reference time is corrected and updated, the difference between the reference time and the time until the actual cooking is completed can be reduced at a relatively early stage of the cooking process.

  By the way, in the past, in order not to deviate between the approximate time and the actual cooking time, for example, the time of the unevenness process at the end of the rice cooking process was extended or shortened, and the appearance was cooked as indicated by the estimated time of cooking. The method to show to is also taken. However, when such a method is adopted, drying due to excessive evaporation or wateriness due to insufficient evaporation is caused, so that it is not suitable for cooking deliciously. In this respect, the rice cooker 10 does not extend or shorten the time of the unevenness process, and therefore can provide a more delicious cooked product to the user.

  Moreover, when the rice cooker 10 communicates directly with the information terminal device 100 by near field communication etc., the control part 75 transmits the standard time corrected at the time of communication to the information terminal apparatus 100, and the display of the display part 50 and information The display on the terminal device 100 is synchronized. Therefore, even when the user leaves the rice cooker after holding the information terminal device 100 over the communication surface 31B, the user uses the reference time or the remaining time displayed on the display unit 50 as the terminal of the information terminal device 100. This can be grasped by visually recognizing the display unit 150.

  That is, in the rice cooking system of this Embodiment 1, since the reference | standard time until more accurate cooking is synchronously displayed on the rice cooker 10 and the information terminal device 100, the user is near the rice cooker 10. Even if you are far away, you can see a more accurate estimated time in real time.

  Moreover, in the said description, although the control part 75 calculated | required correction | amendment time based on the calculated | required rice cooking amount after calculating | requiring the amount of rice cooking from the rice cooking amount table, it is not limited to this. . For example, the storage unit 70 may store table information in which ascending speed information and correction time are associated with each combination of rice type and cooking menu as a correction time table. Then, the control unit 75 may directly obtain the correction time by comparing the obtained ascending speed information with the correction time table.

(Operations of information terminal equipment for short-range communication)
Next, with reference to FIG. 11, operation | movement of the information terminal device 100 at the time of acquiring the remaining rice cooking time is demonstrated. FIG. 11 shows the operation of the information terminal device 100 that performs near field communication with the rice cooker.
First, when the user operates the information terminal device 100 and gives an instruction to acquire the remaining rice cooking time, the terminal control unit 175 starts an operation of acquiring the remaining rice cooking time from the rice cooker 10, and the process proceeds to S202. Transition.

Next, in S202, the terminal control unit 175 communicates between the communication unit 80 and the terminal communication unit 180 when the user brings the information terminal device 100 close to the communication surface 31B. ”Or“ remaining time data ”or“ heat retention elapsed time data ”is determined.
The terminal control unit 175 proceeds to S203 when any of the above data is acquired in S202, and proceeds to S206 when any of the above data is not acquired.
The terminal control unit 175 determines whether the “guide time” or “remaining time”, which is the remaining rice cooking time, is counted down in S206 or whether the elapsed time of the heat retention time is counted up. The terminal control unit 175 proceeds to S208 if any of the above counts is performed, and proceeds to S202 if any of the above counts is not performed.

Next, in S203, the terminal control unit 175 reads “reference time data”, “remaining time data”, or “heat retention elapsed time data”, and proceeds to S204. In step S204, the terminal control unit 175 compares the data read in step S203 with the held data, and proceeds to step S205.
In S205, if the comparison result in S204 is “read data = retained data” or “no retained data”, the terminal control unit 175 proceeds to S208, and “read data ≠ retained data”. In this case, the process proceeds to S207.
In S207, the terminal control unit 175 corrects the retained data with the read data, and proceeds to S208.

As described above, when the terminal control unit 175 counts down to the completion time of rice cooking, or when counting the elapsed time since the start of heat insulation, the terminal control unit 175 re-registers the rice cooker. When the state data is read, if the data being counted is different from the newly read data, a process of replacing the newly read data is performed. That is, the time lag in the information terminal device 100 can be corrected.
For example, after starting the rice cooking operation, when the display unit 50 of the rice cooker 10 displays “about 45 minutes later”, the information terminal device 100 acquires the state data from the rice cooker 10. And in the information terminal device 100, it counts down to the end of rice cooking based on the acquired data, and when the display on the terminal display unit 150 becomes “about 30 minutes”, the data of the state of the rice cooker 10 to the information terminal device 100 again. Capture. If the data imported from the rice cooker 10 is “about 28 minutes” when the information is imported again, the time displayed on the terminal display unit 150 is changed from “about 30 minutes” to “about 28 minutes”. Change to

(When cooking rice)
Next, the case where the state of the rice cooker 10 is during rice cooking after S208 will be described.
In S208, the terminal control unit 175 proceeds to S209 when cooking rice. In S209, the terminal control unit 175 displays the time until the completion of rice cooking on the terminal display unit 150 based on the “guide time data” or “remaining time data” acquired from the rice cooker 10, and proceeds to S210.

In S210, the terminal control unit 175 starts counting down “reference time data” or “remaining time data” that is the time until rice cooking is completed, and then proceeds to S211. In addition, the time display until the completion of rice cooking displayed on the terminal display unit 150 is updated with the countdown.
In S211, the terminal control unit 175 determines whether or not the time until the end of the rice cooking for which the countdown is performed has ended. If the terminal control unit 175 determines that the count up to the end of cooking is complete, the terminal control unit 175 proceeds to S212. If the terminal control unit 175 determines that the count up to the end of cooking is not complete, the terminal control unit 175 proceeds to S202.
In S212, the terminal control unit 175 displays that the rice cooking has been completed on the terminal display unit 150, shifts to S213, and ends the process.

(When not cooking rice)
Next, the case where the state of the rice cooker 10 is not being cooked after S208 will be described.
In S208, the terminal control unit 175 proceeds to S214 when not cooking rice. In S214, the terminal control unit 175 proceeds to S215 when it is determined that the temperature is being kept based on the data on the state of the rice cooker read from the rice cooker 10, and proceeds to S219 when it is determined that the temperature is not being kept.
In S219, the terminal control unit 175 displays the state on the terminal display unit 150 based on the state data of the rice cooker read from the rice cooker 10, and proceeds to S202.

  Next, in S215, the terminal control unit 175 displays the elapsed time since the start of the heat retention on the terminal display unit 150 based on the “data on the elapsed time of heat insulation” read from the rice cooker 10, and proceeds to S216. To do. In S216, the terminal control unit 175 starts counting up the elapsed time from the start of the heat retention, and proceeds to S217. In addition, the heat retention time currently displayed on the terminal display part 150 is updated with count-up.

In S217, the terminal control unit 175 determines whether or not the elapsed time since the start of heat retention has reached the upper limit. In S217, the terminal control unit 175 proceeds to S202 when the elapsed time since the start of heat retention has not reached the upper limit, and when the elapsed time since the start of heat retention has reached the upper limit of the heat retention time. The process proceeds to S218.
In S218, the terminal control unit 175 displays on the terminal display unit 150 that the elapsed time since the start of heat insulation has reached the upper limit, and proceeds to S213 to end the process.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, the rice cooking operation is described as “cooking rice” and “warming”, but the process of the rice cooking operation is, for example, “charging (preheating process)”, “main cooking (high heat process) , Low heat process) "" Murashi during (Mura process) "may be finely divided and finely controlled for each state. As an example of this control, the terminal control unit 175 makes an announcement such as “I entered the Murase process. Rice will be cooked in XX minutes.” By notifying the more accurate cooking time in advance, it is possible to efficiently prepare meals.
In particular, after entering the unevenness process, the unevenness time will be a fixed time according to the menu, so you can notify the fixed time instead of the approximate time, so accurately notify the time until cooking be able to.

Furthermore, in the information terminal device 100, when the information about the rice cooking time is read from the rice cooker 10 when the rice cooking is started and the read information is displayed on the terminal display unit 150, the time until the rice cooking is completed is counted down, You may make it alert | report the period when much water vapor | steam comes out during rice cooking operation | movement. Notification during a period in which a large amount of water vapor is generated is displayed on the terminal display unit 150 or by voice.
By comprising in this way, since water vapor | steam is comparatively high temperature, a user can call attention when reading information by making the information terminal device 100 approach the communication surface 31B of the rice cooker 10 again. .

Furthermore, when the information terminal device 100 approaches the rice cooker 10 during a period in which a large amount of water vapor is produced during the rice cooking operation, a warning alerting attention to water vapor is performed on the rice cooker 10 side and the information terminal device 100 side. Also good. By comprising in this way, when a user reads information from the rice cooker 10 with the information terminal device 100, it can read safely from the heat | fever of water vapor | steam.
In addition, the detection of the approach of the information terminal device 100 is detected when the change of the magnetic force of the antenna which comprises the communication part 80 of the rice cooker 10 produced when the information terminal device 100 is brought close to the communication part 10 is detected. Is provided with a proximity sensor and a human sensor, and when these sensors detect the approach of the information terminal device 100.

Furthermore, when the communication part 80 is provided in the upper surface of the rice cooker 10, a user operates the operation part 40 with the information terminal device 100 still on the upper surface of the rice cooker 10, and rice cooking start Even if the instruction is given, the control unit 75 does not start the rice cooking operation, but “notifies that the information terminal device 100 is still placed on the upper surface of the rice cooker 10” or “ You may make it perform the notification of instruct | indicating to leave | separate from an upper surface (upper surface of an upper cover). The form of notification may be performed by displaying characters and pictures on the display unit 50, or by sound from sound notification means such as a speaker.
By comprising in this way, the information terminal device 100 can be kept away from the water vapor | steam discharge | released during rice cooking.
In addition, the detection method of the information terminal device 100 is, for example, an antenna that configures the communication unit 80 of the rice cooker 10 that is generated when the information terminal device 100 is brought close to the communication unit 80 or a radio wave is emitted from the information terminal device 100. It is better to use a change in magnetic force.

Furthermore, when the communication part 80 is provided in the upper surface of the rice cooker 10, after the rice cooking operation | movement start, when the information terminal device 100 is still on the upper surface of the rice cooker 10, it is information with respect to a user. You may make it alert | report that the terminal device 100 is still set | placed on the upper surface of the rice cooker 10. FIG. Furthermore, after performing this notification, when the information terminal device 100 remains placed on the upper surface of the rice cooker 10, it may be switched to heating control that reduces the amount of water vapor released.
By comprising in this way, the information terminal device 100 can be kept away from the water vapor | steam discharge | released during rice cooking. Further, even when the information terminal device 100 is placed on the upper surface of the rice cooker 10, the risk of failure of the information terminal device 100 due to water vapor is reduced by performing heating control that reduces the amount of water vapor released. The rice cooking operation can be performed.
The period in which the amount of water vapor released is large is the period from the main cooking process to the spotting process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Rice cooker, 20 Heating part, 21 Heating control part, 22 Temperature detection part, 31 Top cover, 31A Groove part, 31B Communication surface, 32 Operation panel part, 32A Setting button, 40 Operation part, 50 Display part, 60 Notification part, 70 Storage unit, 75 control unit, 80 communication unit, 90 heating container, 100 information terminal device, 150 terminal display unit, 175 terminal control unit, 180 terminal communication unit

Claims (12)

A heating container for storing the food,
A heating unit for heating the heating container;
An operation unit for instructing the start of cooking,
A display unit for displaying various information;
When the heating control of the heating unit is performed and an instruction to start rice cooking is received from the operation unit, a control unit that displays information on the remaining time required for cooking rice to be displayed on the display unit, and
The control unit has a communication unit that transmits to the information terminal device the remaining time information required to complete the rice cooking when the communication request is received from the external information terminal device.
The control unit corrects the remaining time information required for the completion of cooking according to the progress of cooking rice,
Each time the communication unit receives a communication request from an external information terminal device, the latest time remaining information corrected by the control unit is transmitted to the information terminal device.   2. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the control unit corrects remaining time information required for completion of heating according to the progress of rice cooking, and causes the display unit to display the corrected remaining time information. The communication unit is provided on the upper surface side of the rice cooker, and performs communication by bringing an information terminal device close to the rice cooker.
The said control part alert | reports, when the instruction | indication of the start of rice cooking is made from the said operation part in the state which detected the state in which the information terminal device was adjoining or put on the upper surface of the said rice cooker, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Item 9. A rice cooker according to item 1. The communication unit is provided on the upper surface side of the rice cooker, and performs communication by bringing an information terminal device close to the rice cooker.
The control unit starts cooking rice even when an instruction to start cooking is given from the operation unit in a state where an information terminal device is in proximity to or placed on the upper surface of the rice cooker. It is not, The rice cooker of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. The communication unit is provided on the upper surface side of the rice cooker, and performs communication by bringing an information terminal device close to the rice cooker.
When the control unit is instructed to start rice cooking from the operation unit in a state where the information terminal device is in proximity to or placed on the upper surface of the rice cooker, the information terminal device is placed on the upper surface of the rice cooker. And performing heating control that reduces the amount of steam released when the state of detecting the state where the information terminal device is close to or placed on the upper surface side of the rice cooker is continued. The rice cooker according to claim 1. A terminal display;
A terminal control unit;
Having a terminal communication unit,
The terminal communication unit receives information related to the rice cooking operation transmitted from the rice cooker,
The said terminal control part displays the information regarding the rice cooking operation | movement which the said terminal communication part received on the said terminal display part, The information terminal device characterized by the above-mentioned. The information related to the rice cooking operation received by the terminal communication unit is the remaining time information required for completion of rice cooking,
The said terminal control part displays the remaining time information required by the completion of rice cooking on the said terminal display part, The information terminal device of Claim 6 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The said terminal control part displays the remaining time information required by the completion of rice cooking on the said terminal display part based on the newly acquired information, when the information which concerns on rice cooking operation is received newly. Information terminal device as described in 1.   The said terminal control part counts down the remaining time information required until the completion of rice cooking which the said terminal communication part received, and displays it on the said terminal display part, The Claim 7 or Claim 8 characterized by the above-mentioned. Information terminal equipment.   The said terminal control part displays the rice cooking operation in progress on the said terminal display part based on the information regarding the received rice cooking operation | movement, The information terminal device of Claim 6 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The said terminal control part alert | reports the remaining rice cooking time required by the completion of rice cooking, when the rice cooking operation in progress enters into the uneven process.   12. The information terminal according to claim 11, wherein the terminal control unit notifies that the rice cooking operation has a large amount of water vapor release when the ongoing rice cooking operation enters a period in which the amount of water vapor release is large. machine.