JP2020000548A - rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a rice cooker in which presence of a foreign matter between a pot and pot temperature detection means can be determined even in a condition in which the foreign matter cannot be detected in prior arts, by enhancing the accuracy of foreign matter detection.SOLUTION: The rice cooker comprises: a pot storing therein, rice and water as cooked objects; a barrel heater and heating coil heating the pot; rice cooking control means controlling the barrel heater and heating coil; a pot sensor detecting temperature of the pot; a display part reporting the occurrence of error when the error occurs. The rice cooking control means controls the barrel heater and the heating coil to perform a series of rice cooking steps in the order of: an immersing step (1) of heating the pot since start of rice cooking for promoting water absorption of rice; an immersing step (2) of stopping heating at prescribed pot temperature, and promoting water absorption of rice by remaining heat; a temperature rise step of boiling the rice cooking objects; a boiling continuation step of continuing the boiled state of the rice cooking object; and a steaming step of steaming the cooked rice. The rice cooker determines, according to change amount of temperature in the immersing step (2), presence of a foreign matter between the pot and the pot sensor based on whether or not the change amount is equal to or more than a threshold.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker that controls heating by detecting the temperature of a pot.

  The control of the rice cooker is determined by the temperature detection of each sensor, and if foreign substances are caught in these sensors, normal temperature detection will not be possible and cooking will be worse, and rice will be cooked with the pan empty. There is a risk of doing so. Therefore, when a foreign object is caught in the sensor, it is necessary to detect the fact and notify the user. To solve this problem, a threshold value is set by utilizing the fact that a difference in the amount of temperature change in the temperature raising process occurs depending on the presence or absence of foreign matter between the pan and the pan temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the pan. There has been proposed a rice cooker that determines the presence or absence of a foreign substance based on the amount of temperature change during the temperature process. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a pot for putting rice and water, a heating means for heating the pot, a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature in the pot, a boiling detection means for detecting the boiling of water in the pot, and a boiling source. A rice cooker comprising: a switching unit that receives an input from the detection unit and determines that a foreign object is trapped when the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit falls below a predetermined temperature after the water in the pan has boiled. Is disclosed.

JP-A-9-308571

  However, in the rice cooker of the cited document 1, there is a possibility that a difference occurs more than the presence or absence of a foreign substance due to various factors such as room temperature, water temperature, voltage, and the amount of cooked rice, which may cause erroneous detection. I could not cover the case. As a result, there is a risk that rice may be cooked in a state where there is a foreign substance between the pot and the pan temperature detecting means, or that rice may be cooked in an empty state of the pot.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that can enhance the accuracy of foreign object detection between a pot and a pot temperature detecting means and can determine the presence or absence of a foreign object even under conditions that could not be determined conventionally. And

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker in which the accuracy of foreign object detection is increased while the risk of erroneous detection is reduced in view of the above circumstances.

  2. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the pot contains rice and water as cooked items, heating means for heating the pot, control means for controlling the heating means, and a pot for detecting the temperature of the pot. A temperature detecting means, and a notifying means for notifying when an error has occurred, wherein the control means heats the pot from the start of rice cooking to promote water absorption of the rice, Heating the rice at a temperature of the pot, stopping the heating, promoting a water absorption of the rice by preheating, a heating step for boiling the cooked rice, and a continuation of boiling for continuing the boiling state of the cooked rice. The heating means is controlled so as to perform a series of cooking steps in the order of a cooking step and a steaming step of steaming the cooked rice, the control means having a first threshold value, and The temperature of the pan and the temperature of the pan are detected based on the amount of change in the temperature during the overstripping process Characterized by being configured to determine the presence or absence of foreign matter between the stage.

  3. The rice cooker according to claim 2, wherein the control means further has a second threshold value and a third threshold value, and determines the presence or absence of the foreign matter based on a change in temperature during the heating process, and the second threshold value. Is smaller than the value of the third threshold, and when the amount of change in the temperature is smaller than the first threshold in the second scouring stroke, the control means sets the value of the foreign substance by the third threshold. It is characterized in that it is configured to determine the presence or absence.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a high possibility that foreign matter is present in the second scouring process, which is a process before the temperature increasing process, and it is possible to increase the accuracy of foreign matter detection, and conventionally, it is not possible to make a determination. It is possible to determine the presence or absence of a foreign substance even under the conditions described above.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the accuracy of foreign object detection can be increased by sorting in the second scouring process and again determining the presence or absence of foreign material in the temperature increasing process. In addition, the threshold value used in the temperature raising step is changed according to the result of the determination in the second flushing step, and when the amount of change in temperature is smaller than the first threshold value in the second flushing step, the third threshold value is used. Judgment can improve the accuracy of foreign matter detection. On the other hand, if the amount of change in the temperature is larger than the first threshold value in the second scouring step, the second threshold value larger than the third threshold value is set because the possibility of the absence of foreign matter is high. By using the method, the accuracy of foreign substance detection can be increased and the risk of erroneous detection can be reduced.

It is a longitudinal section of a rice cooker in a 1st example of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the above. It is a timing chart showing transition of the detection temperature of a pan sensor same as the above. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of an error notification of foreign matter detection in the above. It is a top view of the principal part of the rice cooker in the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a longitudinal section of a rice cooker in a 3rd example of the present invention. It is a top view of the operation panel of the rice cooker in the 4th Example of this invention. FIG. 7 is a top view of the display unit when a selection screen for asking about cooking is displayed. FIG. 8 is a top view of the display unit when a selection screen for a process for performing control change is displayed. FIG. 6 is a top view of the display unit when a control change screen for the temperature raising step, the boiling continuation step, and the cooking step is displayed. FIG. 3 is a top view of the display unit when a screen for presenting a rough rice cooking time is displayed. It is a top view of a rice cooker in a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the above.

  Hereinafter, each embodiment of the rice cooker in the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In all of the drawings, common portions are denoted by common reference numerals.

  1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a rice cooker according to the present invention. The overall configuration of a rice cooker will be described with reference to FIG. 1. Reference numeral 1 denotes a rice cooker having a substantially rectangular shape in which a front surface and a rear surface, a left side surface, and a right side surface face each other when viewed from above, and an open top surface. 1 and a lid 3 that covers the upper opening of the main body 2 so as to be openable and closable. The main body 2 has a pot housing portion 4 having an open upper surface. When the lid 3 is opened, a bottomed pot 5 serving as a container for storing water and rice as objects to be cooked is placed in the pot housing portion 4. 4 so as to be detachably accommodated. The pot housing portion 4 is formed by combining a resin-made inner frame 6 and a metal inner frame ring 7 in a bowl shape, and is entirely formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape.

  The pot 5 has a main material 8 made of aluminum having good thermal conductivity, and a heating element 9 made of a magnetic metal plate such as a ferritic stainless steel joined from a lower side portion to a bottom portion on the outer surface of the main material 8. An outer surface of the inner frame ring 7 facing the outer surface of the pot 5 is provided with a body heater 11 using a cord heater as an example of a heating unit. Further, a heating coil 12 is provided on the outer surface of the inner frame 6 facing the bottom surface from the lower side surface of the pan 5 as a heating means for electromagnetically heating the heating element 9 of the pan 5.

  At the center of the bottom of the inner frame 6, a pan sensor 14 as a pan temperature detecting means is disposed so as to be in elastic contact with the bottom of the outer surface of the pan 5. The pot sensor 14 of the present embodiment is configured to detect the temperature of the pot 5 and to mainly control the heating temperature of the bottom of the pot 5 by the heating coil 12.

  On the front upper surface of the lid 3, a lid open button 15 is disposed in an exposed state. When the lid open button 15 is pressed, the engagement between the main body 2 and the lid 3 is released, and the upper part of the main body 2 is opened. The lid 3 is automatically opened around the hinge shaft 16 by a hinge spring (not shown) provided at the rear. In addition, a steam port unit 17 that discharges steam generated from an object to be cooked in the pot 5 to the outside of the rice cooker 1 is detachably mounted on the rear upper surface of the lid 3.

  On the upper surface of the lid 3, in addition to the lid opening button 15 and the steam port unit 17, an operation panel 20 serving as a display operation unit of the rice cooker 1 and the like are arranged. The operation panel 20 includes a display unit 18 for displaying various information related to cooking, and an operation unit 19 for starting rice cooking and selecting a time, a rice cooking course, and the like. On the lower surface, a control PC (Printed Circuit) board 47 provided with a display / operation control unit 46 which is a control unit of the operation panel 20 is arranged. The control PC board 47 has a conductive circuit portion in which a pattern is formed. By mounting a control IC or the like related to operation and display on the control PC board 47, display / operation control in cooperation with a heating control unit 40 described later is performed. Means 46 are configured.

  An inner lid assembly 21 as a lower member of the lid 3 is provided below the lid 3. The inner lid assembly 21 includes an inner lid 22 made of a metal material having a disk shape substantially the same diameter as the upper opening of the pan 5, and an inner lid 22 for sealing between the inner lid 22 and the pan 5. A lid packing 23 as an elastic member provided on the entire outer periphery of the pan 5 and a pressure adjusting section 24 for adjusting the internal pressure of the pan 5 are provided. When the lid 3 is closed as shown in FIG. 1, the lid packing 23 formed in an annular shape contacts the upper surface, which is the opening of the pot 5, and closes the pot 5 and the inner lid 22. Is closed, and the steam generated from the pot 5 is sealed.

  Inside the cover 3, a cover heater 33 as a cover heating means for heating the inner cover 22 and a thermistor-type cover temperature sensor 34 for controlling the temperature of the inner cover 22 by the cover heater 33 are provided. . Further, as a passage for discharging the steam generated in the pot 5 to the outside, a steam discharge path 25 that connects the steam port unit 17 and the pressure regulating unit 24 is formed. The pressure regulating unit 24 is provided with a pressure regulating valve 26 that opens and closes a steam discharge path 25 between the inside of the pot 5 and the steam port unit 17. The pressure regulating valve 26 has a ball shape and is interlocked with a solenoid 27 provided inside the lid 3. When discharging the steam in the pot 5 to the outside, the steam discharge path 25 is opened, and the pressure in the pot 5 is increased or reduced. When the pressure is reduced, the solenoid 27 rotates the pressure regulating valve 26 so as to close the steam discharge path 25. At the time of pressurization, the cooked rice in the pan 5 is heated by high-frequency power supply to the heating coil 12, and when the internal pressure of the pan 5 reaches a predetermined value, the steam discharge path 25 is opened against the weight of the pressure regulating valve 26. By doing so, the pressure in the pot 5 is maintained at or above the atmospheric pressure.

  Reference numeral 28 denotes a decompression means for lowering the inside of the pan 5 below the normal atmospheric pressure with the lid 3 closed to the main body 2. The pressure reducing means 28 accommodates the pan 5 in the pan container 4, energizes the solenoid 27 after closing the lid 3, and pressurizes the internal pressure of the closed pan 5 with the pressure regulating valve 26 closing the steam discharge path 25. Lower. When the pressure inside the pan 5 drops below a predetermined value from the atmospheric pressure, the operation of the decompression pump 29 serving as the operation source of the decompression means 28 is stopped, and the inside of the pan 5 is kept in a decompressed state. Furthermore, when returning the inside of the pan 5 from the reduced pressure state to the same pressure as the outside air, the operation of the reduced pressure pump 29 is stopped, and a path (not shown) communicating between the reduced pressure pump 29 and the inside of the pan 5 is opened. That is, the pressure reducing unit 28 also serves as a pressure returning unit that returns the inside of the pot 5 from the reduced pressure state to the same pressure as the outside air.

  In addition, a unitized heating board assembly 41 including a heating control means 40 is provided inside the main body 2. The heating control means 40 is a microcomputer (microcomputer) including a control IC 42 and a storage means 51 (see FIG. 2) for electrically controlling each part of the rice cooker 1 in combination with the display / operation control means 46. The body heater 11 receives the temperature detection signals from the pan sensor 14 and the lid temperature sensor 34 and the operation signal from the operation unit 19, and heats the pan 5 at the time of cooking rice and keeping the temperature. In addition to controlling the heating coil 12 and the lid heater 22 for heating the lid 3, the operation of the solenoid 27 and the operation of the pressure reducing pump 29 are each controlled. In particular, the heating control means 40 mainly controls the heating coil 12 based on the temperature detected by the pan sensor 14 to manage the temperature of the bottom of the pan 5, and mainly controls the lid heater 22 based on the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 34. By controlling, the temperature of the inner lid 24 facing the cooked food is controlled.

  Next, a control system of the heating control means 40 and the display / operation control means 46 will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, a heating control means 40 provided in the main body 2 includes a control IC 42 and a storage means 51 constituting a microcomputer, and each temperature detection signal from the pan sensor 14 and the lid temperature sensor 34, and a display / display In response to a control signal from the operation control means 46, the body heater 11 and the heating coil 12 for heating the pot 5 during cooking and keeping the temperature warm, and the lid heater 33 for heating the inner lid 24, respectively, are controlled, and the above-described pressure regulating valve is also controlled. The operation of the solenoid 27 for moving the motor 26 and the operation of the pressure reducing means 38 are controlled. In particular, the heating control means 40 mainly controls the heating coil 12 based on the temperature detected by the pan sensor 14 to manage the temperature of the bottom of the pan 5, and mainly controls the lid heater 22 based on the temperature detected by the lid sensor 34. Then, the temperature of the inner lid 24 is controlled. The heating coil 12, the lid heater 22, and the body heater 11 described above correspond to a heating unit 52 that heats the food placed in the pan 5.

  The heating control unit 40 includes a rice cooking control unit 53, a heat retention control unit 54, and a reserved rice cooking unit 55 in the control IC 42 as functions in the control sequence of the program read from the storage unit 51. The rice cooking control means 53 receives the instruction to start rice cooking from, for example, a rice cooking key of the operation unit 19, and performs a dip process for promoting water absorption of the rice put into the pan 5, and reduces the temperature of the rice to be cooked in a short time. The cooking process in the pot 5 is performed by sequentially performing a heating process for increasing the temperature, a boiling continuation process for maintaining the boiling state of the cooked rice, and a washing process for maintaining the rice at a high temperature such that the rice is not scorched. To cook rice at a desired pressure. Further, the heat retention control means 54 controls the rice inside the pot 5 to be kept at a predetermined heat retention temperature. Then, the reserved rice cooking means 55 has a timer function, and when a cook time (cooking end time) is set and a timer operation is started, a predetermined cook time is set so that rice is cooked at the set cook time. When the time comes, rice cooking control means 53 automatically starts the rice cooking, and at the time of completion of the cooking, the heat retention control means 54 starts the heat retention.

  On the other hand, the display / operation control means 46 includes a control IC 48 and a storage means 57 constituting a microcomputer, and receives an operation signal from the operation section 19 and a control signal from the heating control means 40 to display the display on the display section 18. It controls the operation and sends a control signal to the heating control means 40. The display / operation control means 46 includes, as a function in the control sequence of the program stored in the storage means 57, an operation section control means 58 for generating various control signals based on an operation signal from the operation section 19; The display operation control means 59 for controlling the display operation of the section 18 and the selection and setting of conditions selectable on the operation section 43 in cooperation with the operation section control means 58 and the display operation control means 59, for example, a plurality of cooking courses and rice cooking Condition setting means 60 for enabling selection and setting of a desired cooking course or rice cooking course from among the courses.

  Next, the operation of the rice cooker 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. First, the operation at the time of cooking rice according to the present embodiment will be described. Rice and water are put into the pot 5 as the food to be cooked, and the rice and water are set in the pot accommodating portion 4 of the main body 2, and then the lid 3 is closed. Before or after that, when the power plug of the rice cooker 1 is inserted into an outlet and energized, the rice cooker 1 is in an initial off (standby) state in which rice cooking and heat insulation are not performed, and the display / operation control means 46 performs a display operation. In cooperation with the control means 59, the current setting of the rice cooking course is displayed on the display unit 18. Each time the forward key or the return key of the operation unit 19 is operated, the operation signal is received by the operation unit control unit 58, and the setting of the rice cooking course is changed by the condition setting unit 60. The changed setting is displayed on the display unit 18 by the display operation control means 59 each time, and the user can visually confirm the changed setting.

  When, for example, a rice cooker key of the operation unit 19 is operated, the operation signal is accepted by the operation unit control unit 58, and the condition setting unit 60 stores the rice cooker course displayed on the display unit 18 as the rice cooker course set this time. 57, and sends the information of the heating pattern corresponding to the set rice cooking course to the heating control means 40. In response to this, the heating control means 40 is controlled by the rice cooking control means 53 incorporated in the control IC 42 in accordance with the set heating pattern of the rice cooking course, in which the cooking process in the pan 5 is performed, and the heating process is performed. Each rice cooking operation of the boiling continuation process and the muramura process is performed.

  Upon receiving the information sent from the display / operation control means 46, the rice cooking control means 53 controls the power supply to the heating coil 12 and the body heater 11 based on the temperature detection at the bottom of the pan 5 by the pan sensor 14, and controls the cooking power. The bottom part and the side part of the pan 5 are heated, and the water temperature in the pan 5 is raised to a predetermined temperature, for example, 45 to 60 ° C., to perform a dip step (1) for promoting water absorption of rice. When the pot sensor 14 detects that the temperature has reached the predetermined temperature, the rice cooking control means 53 controls the heating coil 12 and the body heater 11 to stop, and promotes water absorption by preheating (2). Perform The pouring process of the present embodiment is composed of two processes, a pouring process (1) and a pouring process (2), and is configured to maintain the water temperature in the pan 5 at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time, for example, 3 minutes. .

  During the soaking process, the rice cooking control means 53 controls the operations of the solenoid 27 and the pressure reducing means 28 so that the pressure in the pot 5 is reduced to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure. Specifically, when the smashing process is started, the rice cooking control unit 53 switches the solenoid 27 from the non-energized state to the energized state, and closes the steam discharge path 25 with the pressure regulating valve 26. Then, in this state, the path of the pressure reducing means 28 is opened, and the pressure reducing pump 29 is continuously operated to evacuate the inside of the closed pot 5 with the pressure reducing pump 29. Thereafter, when the pressure inside the pot 5 drops below the atmospheric pressure by a certain value, the operation of the pressure reducing pump 29 is stopped. In this manner, the inside of the pot 5 is kept in a reduced pressure state for a predetermined time, which is the entire period of the pouring process. Therefore, it is possible to make the rice absorb water sufficiently in the pot 5 during the hot-dip process.

  After that, when the filling process for a predetermined time is completed and the process proceeds to the next heating process, the rice cooking control unit 53 continuously energizes the heating coil 12 and the body heater 11 by heating until the boiling of the food is detected. By performing such control, the object to be cooked in the pan 5 is heated more strongly than in the hot-dip process, and the object to be cooked is heated to the boiling temperature in a short time. Here, the rice cooking control means 53 controls so as to close the path of the pressure reducing means 28 in order to maintain the inside of the pot 5 at a reduced pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure continuously from the dipping process. Therefore, even after the transition from the hot-dip process to the temperature-raising process, the pressure inside the pot 5 gradually increases due to heating or slow leak to the pot 5, but for a while, the depressurized state is maintained without operating the decompression pump 29. Can be maintained. In this way, the food in the pot 5 is kept in a decompressed state even in the temperature raising process after the dipping process, so that the water boils at a temperature of 100 ° C. or less during the temperature raising process. Therefore, by boiling the food under reduced pressure at the temperature of 60 ° C to 100 ° C, which is the gelatinization temperature of rice, the rice is fluttered by the bubbling bubbles and uneven heating is eliminated. By setting it in a state, water can be absorbed in a short time even to the core of rice.

  Next, the rice cooking control means 53 takes in the temperature detection signal from the pan sensor 14 and, when the detected temperature at the bottom of the pan 5 reaches 100 ° C. at which the predetermined temperature is reached, the food in the pan 5 boils under reduced pressure. When it is determined that the pressure is reduced, the solenoid 27 is temporarily de-energized and the pressure regulating valve 26 is retracted without closing the path of the pressure reducing means 28 and operating the pressure reducing pump 29. As a result, the steam discharge path 25 enters an open state in which the inside and outside of the pot 5 are communicated without sealing, and the inside of the pot 5 immediately returns to the same normal pressure as the outside air. Thereafter, when the rice cooking control means 53 switches the solenoid 27 to the energized state in a short time and the inside of the pot 5 is closed again, the object to be cooked is continuously heated strongly inside the pot 5, so that the The food is pressurized in the pot 5 until the pressure reaches the atmospheric pressure or more, for example, 1.2 atm, and the food can be boiled in the pressurized state. In this way, the rice cooking control means 53 switches the inside of the pot 5 from the depressurized state to the pressurized state higher than the atmospheric pressure at a stretch when it determines that the food to be cooked inside the pan 5 is boiled in the depressurized state during the heating process. In order to apply a pressure shock to the food, the operation of the solenoid 27, and thus the operation of the pressure regulating valve 26 constituting the pressure regulating unit 24, is controlled to temporarily open the steam discharge path 25. As a result, the cooked food is boiled at 105 ° C (1.2 atm), which is the optimum temperature for rice gelatinization in a pressurized state, to maintain the balance between hardness and stickiness of rice, and to glue rice to the core at once. Can be changed.

  Thereafter, the rice cooking control means 53 detects from the temperature detection signal from the pan sensor 14 that the temperature at the bottom of the pan 5 has reached a predetermined temperature or higher, for example, 90 ° C. or higher. When it is detected that the temperature has become equal to or higher than the temperature, for example, 90 ° C. or more, by the temperature detection signal from the lid temperature sensor 34, the boiling detection for detecting the boiling of the food in the pressurized state is started. Specifically, control is performed to continuously energize the heating coil 12 and the body heater 11 to strongly heat the object to be cooked inside the pot 5, while the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 34 is set to a predetermined time. Calculate the slope of the detected temperature as to whether it rises. Then, when the slope of the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 34 becomes a fixed value or less and stabilizes, the rice cooking control means 53 determines that the food in the pan 5 has boiled under pressure and continues the next boiling. Move to the process.

  When the process proceeds to the boiling continuation process, the rice cooking control means 53 controls the lid heater 33 to start the lid heating. In the lid heating, the amount of heating from the lid heater 33 is controlled by the detection temperature of the lid temperature sensor 34 so that the temperature of the inner lid 22 becomes a predetermined temperature, for example, 100 ° C. Further, when the process proceeds to the boiling continuation process, the rice cooking control means 53 controls the solenoid 27 to periodically switch off and on in order to repeatedly change the inside of the pot 5 between normal pressure and a temperature higher than the atmospheric pressure. The steam discharge path 25 is periodically opened and closed by the pressure valve 26.

  Then, the rice cooking control means 53 detects that the water inside the pot 5 has been exhausted during the boiling continuation process, and that a predetermined temperature rise has been caused by the temperature detection signal from the pot sensor 14 at the bottom of the pot 5, so that the pot sensor 14 Is detected based on the detected temperature. Here, when the temperature detected by the pan sensor 14 reaches a predetermined dry-up temperature, the cooking of the object to be cooked inside the pan 5 is detected, and the process proceeds from the boiling continuous process to the next washing process.

  During the drying process, the rice cooking control means 53 controls the power supply to the lid heater 22 based on the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 34 to control the temperature, thereby preventing dew on the inner lid 22 and preventing the inside of the pan 5 from being exposed. The heating coil 12 and the body heater 11 are controlled so as to maintain a high temperature so that the rice does not burn, and the temperature at the bottom of the pan 5 is controlled. The swinging process is continued for a predetermined time, for example, 12 minutes, and when the swinging process is completed, the process proceeds to a warming process by the warming control unit 54.

  Next, the operation of the rice cooker 1 having the above-described configuration, in particular, the operation relating to the error notification function will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. In step S11, the rice cooking control means 53 performs the cooking process (1). When the pot sensor 14 detects that the water temperature in the pot 5 has reached a predetermined temperature, the process proceeds to step S12, in which the cooking process ( Perform 2).

  In step S12, the rice-cooking control means 53 performs control to stop the heating coil 12 and the body heater 11, and the temperature in the pot 5 drops to stop heating. The temperature in the pan 5 is detected by the temperature detection signal from the pan sensor 14 and the amount of change in the temperature in the pan 5 during the sinking process (2) is calculated. Then, when the pre-stripping process for a predetermined time is completed, the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, the rice cooking control means 53 determines whether or not the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 during the scouring stroke (2) calculated in step S12 is equal to or larger than the threshold value A. In the baking process (2), when a foreign object is caught in the portion of the pot sensor 14 and the pot 5 is in the empty cooking state, the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 is small. In a normal state where no foreign matter is caught and rice and water are to be cooked inside the pot 5, the amount of change in the temperature inside the pot 5 is large. Therefore, in this embodiment, the threshold A is provided between the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 between the case of the empty cooking state and the case of the normal state. It is determined that the state is likely to be high.

  Specifically, when the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 during the soaking process (2) is equal to or greater than A, the rice cooking control means 53 operates in the normal state where no foreign matter is caught in the pot sensor 14. It is determined that the possibility is high, and the process proceeds to step S19. On the other hand, when the amount of change in the temperature is smaller than A, the rice cooking control means 53 determines that a foreign object is trapped in the portion of the pot sensor 14 and there is a high possibility that the rice is in the empty cooking state, and determines in step S14. Move to

  In step S <b> 14, the rice cooking control unit 53 performs a temperature raising process, and strongly heats the food in the pot 5. Here, the rice cooking control means 53 of the present embodiment detects the temperature in the pot 5 based on the temperature detection signal from the pot sensor 14 as in step S12, and how much the detected temperature of the pot sensor 14 rises in a predetermined time. The amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S15, the rice cooking control means 53 determines whether or not the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 during the predetermined time of the temperature-raising process calculated in step S14 is equal to or larger than the threshold value C. In the temperature increasing step, similarly to the hot-dip step (2), foreign matter is interposed in the pot sensor 14 and the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 is small in an empty cooking state. In the normal state, no foreign matter is caught in the portion 14 and the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 is large. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the threshold C is provided between the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 between the case of the empty cooking state and the case of the normal state. In addition to the result of step S13 of FIG.

  Specifically, when the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 during a predetermined time of the temperature raising step is equal to or more than C, the rice cooking control unit 53 differs from the result of step S13 described above in that It is determined that it is in the normal state where no foreign matter is caught, and the process proceeds to the boiling continuation process of step S17, and then proceeds to the spotting process of step S18. On the other hand, when the amount of change in the temperature is smaller than C, the rice cooking control means 53 is in an empty cooking state, in which a foreign object is caught in the pot sensor 14 in addition to the result of step S13 described above. And the process moves to step S16. As described above, the accuracy of foreign matter detection as to whether foreign matter is trapped is improved by re-determining the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 also in the temperature raising step in addition to the hot-draining step (2). Can determine the presence / absence of a foreign substance even under conditions that could not be determined.

  In step S16, the rice cooking control unit 53 determines that a foreign substance has been detected in the pot sensor 14, stops the rice cooking operation, and sends the foreign substance detection information to the display / operation control unit 46. In response to this, the display operation control means 59 of the display / operation control means 46 displays a foreign object detection error on the display unit 18 as the notification means to notify the user. Here, when the rice cooker 1 is provided with a buzzer or the like, the buzzer or the like may also be configured to notify a foreign object detection error.

  Also in step S19, similarly to step S14, the rice cooking control means 53 performs a temperature increasing process, and strongly heats the food in the pan 5. Further, the temperature in the pan 5 is detected by the temperature detection signal from the pan sensor 14, and the amount of change in the temperature in the pan 5 as to how much the detected temperature of the pan sensor 14 rises in a predetermined time is calculated. Move to

  Also in step S20, similarly to step S15, the rice cooking control means 53 determines whether or not the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 during the predetermined time of the heating process calculated in step S14 is equal to or greater than the threshold value B. . In the present embodiment, a threshold B smaller than the threshold C in step S15 is provided between the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 between the case of the empty cooking state and the case of the normal state. If the amount of change is equal to or greater than the threshold value B, it is determined that the state is the normal state together with the result of step S13. This is because the step S19 is a temperature-raising step to which a transition is made after determining whether or not a foreign object is once caught in the step S13 and determining that there is a high possibility that the state is a normal state where no foreign object is caught. In consideration of the risk of erroneous detection, the threshold value B is set to a value smaller than the threshold value C, so that it is easier to determine the normal state than in step S15.

  Specifically, when the amount of change in the temperature in the pot 5 during a predetermined time of the temperature-raising step is B or more, the rice-cooking control unit 53 checks the portion of the pot sensor 14 together with the result of step S13 described above. It is determined that it is in a normal state in which no foreign matter is caught in the boiler, and the process shifts to the boiling continuation process of step S22, and then shifts to the swing process of step S23. On the other hand, when the amount of change in the temperature is smaller than B, the rice cooking control means 53 determines that, unlike the result of the above-described step S13, a foreign object is caught in the pot sensor 14 and the rice is in the empty cooking state. Judge and proceed to step S21. Here, the threshold value B is smaller than the threshold value C in step S15, so that it is easier to determine that the state is the normal state than in step S15.

  As described above, the rice cooker 1 according to the present embodiment includes the pot 5 that accommodates rice and water therein as the items to be cooked, the body heater 11 and the heating coil 12 as heating means for heating the pot 5, the body heater, Rice cooking control means 53 as a control means for controlling the heating coil 11 and the heating coil 12, a pot sensor 14 as a pot temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the pot 5, and a display unit as a notifying means for notifying when an error has occurred 18. The rice cooking control means 53 comprises: a cooking step (1) as a first cooking step for heating the pot 5 from the start of rice cooking to promote water absorption of rice; and heating at a predetermined pot 5 temperature. Stopping, a soaking process (2) as a second soaking process for promoting water absorption of rice by preheating, a heating process for boiling the cooked food, a boiling continuation process for continuing the boiling state of the cooked food, Steam the cooked rice to cook The body heater 11 and the heating coil 12 are controlled so as to perform a series of rice cooking steps in the order of the rice drying step, and the rice cooking control means 53 has a threshold value A as a first threshold value. Is configured to determine whether there is a foreign substance between the pot 5 and the pan sensor 14 based on whether the change amount is equal to or larger than the threshold value A. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a high possibility of foreign matter in the inrush step (2), which is a step before the temperature increasing step, and to improve the accuracy of foreign matter detection. You can judge.

  In addition, the rice cooking control means 53 of the present embodiment further has a threshold B as a second threshold and a threshold C as a third threshold, and determines the presence or absence of a foreign substance based on the amount of change in the temperature during the heating process. The value of the threshold value B is smaller than the value of the threshold value C, and the rice cooking control means 53 is configured to determine the presence or absence of a foreign substance based on the threshold value C when the amount of change in temperature is smaller than the threshold value A in the scouring process (2). ing. For this reason, the accuracy of foreign matter detection can be improved by sorting in the dip step (2) and again determining the presence or absence of foreign matter in the temperature raising step. In addition, the threshold value used in the temperature-raising process is changed according to the result of the determination in the inrush process (2). If the amount of change in the temperature is smaller than the threshold value A in the inrush process (2), the threshold C is used to determine The accuracy of detection can be increased, and the presence or absence of a foreign substance can be determined even under conditions that could not be determined conventionally. On the other hand, if the change in temperature is larger than the threshold value A in the retouching process (2), there is a high possibility that there is no foreign substance. Can be reduced.

  FIG. 5 shows a rice cooker according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those of the rice cooker of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same description is omitted as much as possible to avoid duplication. In the rice cooker according to the present embodiment, when the user puts the pot and improves after the rice cooker notifies the error of the absence of the pot, the error of the absence of the pot is released in the operation at the time of the improvement. Configuration.

  In the rice cooker 1 of the first embodiment, when the user starts cooking rice without the pan 5 in the pan storage section 4, the rice control section 53 sends a signal to the display / operation control section 46. Then, the display operation control means 59 of the display / operation control means 46 illuminates the display element 65 of "no inner hook" on the display unit 18 to notify the error. When a buzzer as a notifying means is electrically connected to the output side of the display / operation control means 46, the display operation control means 59 controls the buzzer to notify an error. Here, the reported error of the absence of the pan is automatically canceled within a predetermined time, or is canceled by performing a predetermined key operation on the operation unit 19.

However, if the reported error of the absence of the pot is automatically canceled in a fixed time, the user does not know what the notification has been made, and the display on the display unit 18 is automatically changed. This may confuse the user. Further, there is a possibility that the user may not easily understand the configuration in which the error of the pan-less state reported by performing a predetermined key operation on the operation unit 19 may be difficult for the user to understand. If the user does not understand the error, the error in the state without the pot may not be canceled forever and may remain, which may lead to a complaint. Thus, in the rice cooker 1 ^II of the present embodiment, when the user presses the lid open button 15 for opening the lid 3 when the pan 5 is stored in the rice cooker 1, or when the opening / closing of the lid 3 is detected. It is configured such that an error in the panless state is released.

Figure 3 is a top view of a main part of the cooker 1 ^II of the present embodiment. A lid open button 15 and an operation panel 20 are provided on the upper surface of the lid 3, and the display unit 18 of the operation panel 20 is shown in a full display state. The display operation of the display unit 18 is controlled by the display operation control means 59 of the display / operation control means 46. In the rice cooker 1 ^II , the pot detecting means (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of the pot 5 by detecting the current flowing through the heating coil 12 when the heating coil 12 is temporarily operated to generate heat is provided with a heating control means. The signal from the pan detection means is taken in by the heating control means 40 and sent to the display / operation control means 46, and based on this signal, the display operation control means 59 is provided. Controls the lighting and extinguishing of the display element 65 of “no inner pot”. For this reason, the display element 65 of “without inner pot” is configured as a notifying means for notifying that a panless state in which the pan 5 is not stored in the pan storage section 4 is detected.

Further, the rice cooker 1 ^II of the present embodiment is provided with a lid opening / closing detecting means for detecting the opening / closing of the lid 3. In this embodiment, a cover opening button detecting means (not shown) for detecting that the cover opening button 15 as the cover opening means is pressed acts as a cover opening / closing detecting means. The lid open button detecting means is electrically connected to the input side of the display / operation control means 46, and a signal from the lid open button detecting means is taken into the display / operation control means 46, and the "no inner pot" When the display element 65 is displayed on the display section 18, the display operation control means 59 controls based on this signal to turn off the display element 65 of "no inner pot". For this reason, the lid open button 15 is configured as an error canceling means for canceling the error in the no-pan state. The lid opening / closing detecting means is not limited to this as long as it is configured to detect opening / closing of the lid 3, and for example, an angle detecting means for detecting the angle of the lid 3 may be adopted as the lid opening / closing detecting means.

  The operation unit 19 includes an off key 66, a rice cooking key 67, a cooking method setting key 68, a forward key 69, and a return key 70 which are arranged side by side on a lower portion of the operation panel 20. A brown rice / barley rice key 71 and a heat retention key 72 arranged side by side on the left side of the table, a book furnace / shoruma key 73 and a reservation key 74 arranged side by side on the right side of the operation panel 20.

  The cut-off key 66 is operated to stop cooking rice and keeping warm. When the cut-off key 66 is pressed, the operation unit control means 58 receives an operation signal from the cut-off key 66 and sends it to the heating control means 40. In addition, the rice cooking control means 53 performs control to stop heating the object to be cooked in the main body 1 and turn it off.

  The rice cook key 67 is operated when rice cooking is started as described above. When the rice cook key 67 is pressed, the operation unit control means 58 receives an operation signal from the rice cook key 67 and receives the operation signal from the heat control means 40. And the rice cooking control means 53 controls the start of rice cooking for the food in the main body 1.

  The cooking method setting key 68 is operated to set the type of rice and the cooking method. When the cooking method setting key 68 is pressed once, the operating section control means 58 causes the cooking method setting key 68 to operate. When the operation signal from the rice cooker setting key 68 is pressed twice, the operation section control means 58 receives the operation signal from the rice cooker setting key 68, Then, the screen shifts to a cooking selection screen.

  The forward key 69 and the back key 70 are operated when setting a rice type and a cooking method on a rice type selection screen and a rice cooking method selection screen. It is operated to adjust the time.

  The heat keeping key 72 is operated when keeping the heat. When the heat keeping key 72 is pressed, the operation section control means 78 receives the operation signal from the heat keeping key 72 and sends it to the heating control means 40 to keep the heat keeping. The control means 54 performs control to start the heat retention and reheating of the food in the main body 1.

  The reservation key 74 is operated when performing reserved rice cooking. When the reservation key 74 is pressed and the reservation time and the rice cooking course are confirmed and then the rice cooking key 67 is pressed, the operation unit control means 78 causes the rice cooking key 62 to operate. And sends the operation signal to the heating control means 40. The rice cooking control means 53 starts the rice cooking so that the cooked food in the main body 1 is cooked at the preset reservation time by the reserved rice cooking means 55, and also keeps warm. It is configured to control so that the heat retention by the control means 54 is started.

  In addition, the brown rice / wheat rice key 71 is operated when the rice type is set to “brown rice” or “wheat rice”. This is operated when setting to "Sokuuma". By operating these keys and pressing the rice cooker key 67 with a specific rice type or rice cooker selected, the rice cooker settings As in the case of setting by pressing the key 68, a rice cooking course combining the selected rice type and cooking method is set, and the cooked rice in the pot 5 is cooked by the set rice cooking course. It is configured to heat.

Next, the operation of the rice cooker 1 ^{II having the} above-described configuration, particularly regarding an error in the state without a pot, will be described. When the rice cook key 67 is pressed, the operation section control means 58 receives an operation signal from the rice cook key 67 and sends it to the heating control means 40, and the rice cook control means 53 performs control to heat the heating coil 12. Here, in a case where there is no pot in which the pot 5 is not stored in the pot storage section 4, the pot detecting means detects that there is no pot 5, and a signal from the pot detecting means is taken into the heating control means 40 and displayed. Sent to the operation control means 46, the display operation control means 59 controls the display element 65 of "no inner pot" to light on the display unit 18, and the display element 65 of "no inner pot" is displayed on the display unit 18. Is displayed.

When the user confirms the display element 65 of “no inner pot” displayed on the display unit 18, the user pushes the lid open button 15 to store the pan 5 in the pan storage unit 4, and the main body 2 and the lid 3 are pressed. By releasing the engagement with the cover 3, the lid 3 is automatically opened. Here, when the lid open button detecting means detects that the lid open button 15 has been pressed, a signal from the lid open button detecting means is taken into the display / operation control means 46, and the display operation control means 59 sets the The display element 65 "None" is controlled to be turned off. Therefore, when the user closes the lid 3, the display element 65 of “no inner pot” displayed on the display unit 18 is turned off, and it can be confirmed that the error without the pot has been released. Therefore, the user can release the pot 5 when the pan 5 is stored in the pan storage section 4 without understanding the method of resetting the error in the no-pan state, and the display element 65 indicating “no inner pot” is displayed on the display section 18. There can be without feeling as an error even if lit, even with an error of no pot state, continue to accept the rice cooker 1 ^II.

When the rice cooker key 67 is pressed without the pan 5 in the pan storage section 4 after the error of the pan-less state is released, the above-described procedure is performed again, and the pan detection means changes the pan 5 The display operation control means 59 controls the display unit 65 to turn on the display element 65 indicating “no inner hook” on the display unit 18, and the display element 65 indicating “no inner hook” is again displayed on the display unit 18. by display, configured as rice cooker 1 ^II the user is notified that the back without pan state.

  Further, in the above configuration, when the display element 65 of “no inner pot” is displayed on the display unit 18, by pressing the off key 66 in the sense of turning off the display element 65 of “no inner pot”. The configuration may be such that the error without the pot is released, and the display element 65 of “without the inner pot” can be turned off with a feeling without understanding the method of releasing the error without the pan. In this case, even if the lid open button 15 is subsequently pressed, the display element 65 of “no inner pot” has already been turned off, so the display operation control means 59 turns off the display element 65 of “no inner pot”. The control is performed as it is.

As described above, in the rice cooker 1 ^II of the present embodiment, the main body 2 accommodating the pan 5, the lid 3 that opens and closes the upper opening of the main body 2, and the pan detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the pan 5 And a display element 65 of "no inner pot" as a notification means for notifying that a pot-less state is detected when the pot 5 is cooked without being stored in the pot storage section 4 of the main body 2. after notification by the display element 65 of the "no inner hook", it operates the lid opening button 15 as the cover opening means, or switching of the operation unit 19 having a plurality of keys 66 to 74 provided in the cooker 1 ^II By operating the key 66, the display element 65 of "no inner pot" is turned off, and the error of the no-pot state is released.

Therefore, by using the lid open button 15 as an error release means for releasing an error without the pan, the lid 3 is opened by pressing the lid open button 15 without understanding how to release the error without the pan. In the operation required to improve the no-pot state of the rice cooker 1 ^II , in which the pot 5 is stored in the pan storage section 4, the error of the no-pot state can be released, and the user may have a problem with the release method. Can be eliminated. In addition, by using the off key 66 as an error canceling means, even when the cover opening button 15 is not operated and the cover opening / closing detecting means does not operate, the error in the panless state can be canceled.

FIG. 6 shows a rice cooker according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Note that the same components as those of the rice cookers of the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same description is omitted as much as possible to avoid duplication. In the rice cooker 1 ^III of the present embodiment, the second pot 77 is housed inside the pot 5, and the pot 5 and the second pot 77 are integrally heated.

The range of recipes for rice cooking courses, such as the types of rice that can be used in rice cookers and how to cook them, has been increasing. For example, using the rice cooker 1 ^II of the second embodiment, cooking with seasoning added Rice can be cooked, and cooking other than rice can be performed.

However, when the rice cooker 1 ^II cooks cooked rice with added seasoning or cooks other than rice, the smell of ingredients other than seasoning and rice mainly adheres to the pot 5, and then the rice is cooked. If you are cooking rice rice only, such as white rice by using the vessel 1 ^II, there is a possibility that this smell is attached to the rice was rice, there is that this odor is a concern at the time of rice. In addition, when cooking other than rice, there are a certain number of users who are reluctant to use the same pot as for cooking rice only with rice. Therefore, the rice cooker 1 ^III of the present embodiment is provided with the second pot 77, and by providing a dedicated pot used for cooking cooked rice and cooking other than rice, the pot 5 for cooking only rice is used. The above-mentioned resistance that the user has by not using the same pot as the pot 5 that only cooks rice while reducing odor transfer when cooking rice other than rice and cooking rice other than rice. Eliminating the feeling and widening the range of use of rice cooker 1 ^III .

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rice cooker 1 ^III . Reference numeral 68 denotes a bottomed second pot serving as a container capable of storing water, rice, seasonings, materials other than rice, and the like, which are to be cooked. The outer shape of the second pan 77 is substantially the same as the inner shape of the pan 5, and a water level line is provided on the inner surface of the second pan 77 in the same manner as the pan 5. The second pan 77 is housed in the pan 5 by being attached to the pan 5 so as to be used as an integral pan. At this time, the rice cooking control means 53 and the heat retention control means 54 are configured to control the amount of heating assuming that the thickness of the pot to be heated by the heating means 52 is increased due to the use as the integral pot. Is done. The height of the second pot 77 is preferably such that the second pot 77 does not deform by contacting the lid packing 23 when the lid 3 is closed, and closes the gap between the pot 5 and the inner lid 22. Does not interfere with function. In addition, a handle portion may be formed on the inner surface of the second pot 77 to take a hand when detaching from the pot 5.

When the rice cooker 1 ^III of the present embodiment cooks only rice, rice is cooked only in the pot 5. On the other hand, when cooking rice using a seasoning, such as cooked rice, for example, first attach the second pan 77 to the pan 5 and bring the outer surface of the second pan 77 into contact with the inner surface of the pan 5. Unite. Next, rice, water, and a seasoning are put into the second pot 77 as cooked rice, and the lid 3 is closed. The subsequent operation is the same as that of rice-cooked rice only, and is omitted because it has been described above. At this time, since the rice cooking control means 53 and the heat retention control means 54 control the amount of heating assuming that the thickness of the pan increases, the rice cooking control means 53 and the heat retention control means 54 perform the rice cooking using the seasoning only with the pan 5 alone. You can cook rice.

After that, when cooking rice only again, remove the second pot 77 from the pot 5 and put rice and water in the pot 5 as a food to be cooked, thereby reducing the smell of cooked rice using seasonings. Let me. In addition, when cooking other than rice is performed, it is the same as the case of cooking rice using a seasoning, and a description thereof will be omitted. It should be noted that, contrary to the rice cooker 1 ^III of the present embodiment, when cooking rice using a seasoning, rice is cooked only in the pot 5, and when only rice is cooked, the second pot 77 is attached to the pot 5. It may be configured to cook rice.

As described above, the rice cooker 1 ^III of the present embodiment includes the pot 5, the heating means 52 for heating the pot 5, the rice cooking control means 53 and the heat retention control means 54 of the heating control means 40 for controlling the heating means 52, and , A second pot 77 which is housed inside the pot 5 and houses the object to be heated. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the odor of the object to be heated from being attached to the pot 5 accommodated in the pot accommodating portion 4 of the main body 2 and reduce the odor of cooked rice.

  The second pan 77 of the present embodiment is connected to the pan 5 by being attached thereto, and is integrally heated by the heating means 52, so that the pan 5 and the second pan 77 can be heated as an integral pan. Since the distance between the heating means 52 and the integral pot does not change, it is possible to minimize the influence of attaching the second pot 77 during heating during rice cooking or heat retention.

7 to 11 show a rice cooker according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The components common to the rice cookers of the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same description will be omitted as much as possible to avoid duplication. In the rice cooker 1 ^{IV according to the} present embodiment, the user can change the rice cooking process arbitrarily, so that the user can adjust the rice cooker to his / her desired cooking condition, and can respond to various user preferences. . In addition, a configuration is adopted in which the options for that purpose are conveyed in an easy-to-understand manner, so that the user can change the cooking to a satisfactory one and reduce dissatisfaction of the cooking.

  Conventionally, when the user is dissatisfied with the rice cooked, for example, according to the description in the instruction manual, before the start of rice cooking, add additional rice to water or adjust the water level with respect to the water level line. By doing so, it was close to the desired cooked food. However, the types of water, rice, and people's preferences are so diverse that they could not be fine-tuned to suit the user's situation. In addition, the action of adding rice to water is only equivalent to cooking rice with reserved rice, and the water level for the water level line varies depending on the number of trials. On the other hand, it is not always possible to obtain a satisfactory response, and therefore, there is no way to do this when the user is dissatisfied with the cooked rice cooker.

Therefore, in the rice cooker 1 ^IV of the present embodiment, a configuration in which the user can arbitrarily change the rice cooking process can cope with a usage situation that could not be covered conventionally. In addition, by making changes by the user himself, it is possible to obtain an unprecedented response, and the user can improve himself when he / she is dissatisfied with cooking.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the operation panel 20 'of the rice cooker 1 ^IV of the present embodiment. The operation panel 20 'of this embodiment is provided with an initialization key 81 for returning each parameter to an initial value in rice cooking control described later, in addition to the operation panel 20 of the second embodiment. The operation unit 19 ′ of this embodiment is configured by providing a touch sensor 82 on the display unit 18 in addition to these keys 66 to 74 and 81, and performing a direct touch operation in accordance with the display on the display unit 18. Is possible. The touch sensor 82 is connected to the control PC board 47 so as to function as a touch key that is a non-pressing type operation unit. In the present embodiment, an operation as a touch key is enabled by touching the touch sensor 82 on the display element 83 displayed on the display unit 18.

Next, the operation of the rice cooker 1 ^{IV having} the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. When rice is cooked using the rice cooker 1 ^IV , the process automatically shifts to a heat-retention process by the heat-retention control means 54 after the completion of the rice cooking. FIG. 8 shows a display mode of the display unit 18 at this time.

  Numeral 83-1 is a display element for the heat retention time for displaying the time elapsed during the heat retention, and displays the elapsed time since the shift to the heat retention process. The warming time display element 83-1 is displayed on the display unit 18 until the warming process ends, for example, when the off key 66 is pressed. In FIG. 8, the elapsed time is displayed in units of time, but the elapsed time may be displayed in units of minutes.

  83-2 is a display element having a character string of "Is this cooked enough?", Together with a display element 83-3 of "YES" and a display element 83-4 of "NO". 18 is displayed. In this way, by automatically displaying the selection screen for asking about the completion of cooking on the display unit 18 after the completion of the cooking of rice, it is possible to easily convey to the user the option of whether or not to change the control. Can be. Here, when a touch operation is performed on the display element 83-3 of “YES”, an operation signal from the touch sensor 82 disposed on the display element 83-3 is received by the operation unit control means 58, and the display operation control means 59 Control is performed to turn off the display elements 83-2 to 83-4, and the display is not displayed on the display unit 18, and only the heat retention time display element 83-1 is continuously displayed on the display unit 18. In this case, the display elements 83-2 to 83-4 are controlled by the display operation control means 59 so as not to be displayed on the display unit 18 until the completion of the next rice cooking. On the other hand, when a touch operation is performed on the "NO" display element 83-4, an operation signal from the touch sensor 82 disposed on the display element 83-4 is received by the operation section control means 58, and the display operation control means 59 controls the display unit 18 to shift to a screen for selecting a process for performing a control change.

  Note that if neither the display element 83-3 of “YES” nor the display element 83-4 of “NO” is touched and the off key 66 is pressed without selection, an operation signal from the off key 66 is output. It is received by the operation part control means 58 and sent to the heating control means 40, and the heat keeping process by the heat keeping control means 54 is completed. On the other hand, the display elements 83-2 to 83-4 are continuously displayed on the display unit 18 by the display operation control means 59. Here, when the off key 66 is pressed again, the operation signal from the off key 66 is accepted by the operation unit control means 58, and the operation unit control means 58 determines that the display element 83-3 of "YES" is selected. After the determination, the display operation control means 59 controls to turn off the display elements 83-2 to 83-4, and the display elements 18 are not displayed.

  FIG. 9 shows a display mode of the display unit 18 displaying a screen for selecting a process for performing a control change. 83-5 is a display element having a character string of "Please select the rice cooking process to be changed", a display element 83-6 of "heating process", a display element 83-7 of "boiling continuation process", It is displayed on the display unit 18 together with the display element 83-8 of "cooking process" and the display element 83-9 of "determination". Here, when a touch operation is performed on any of the display elements 83-6 to 83-8, an operation signal from the touch sensor 82 arranged on the display element 83-3 is received by the operation unit control unit 58, and the display is performed. Control is performed to shift to the rice cook process control change screen selected by the operation control means 59. Specifically, when the display element 83-6 of the “heating step” is selected, the display element 83-7 of the “boiling continuation step” is selected on the screen shown in FIG. In this case, when the display element 83-9 of "cooking process" is selected on the screen shown in FIG. 10B, the control for shifting to the screen shown in FIG. Do. When a touch operation is performed on the display element 83-9 of "OK", an operation signal from the touch sensor 82 arranged on the display element 83-3 is received by the operation section control section 58, and the operation section control section 58 performs control. It is determined that the change has been completed, and the display operation control means 59 performs control to shift to a screen for presenting an approximate rice cooking time.

  FIG. 10 shows a display mode of the display unit 18 displaying a rice cooker control change screen. Here, FIG. 10 (A) shows a control change screen of the heating process, FIG. 10 (B) shows a control change screen of the boiling continuation process, and FIG. 10 (C) shows a control change screen of the cooking process.

  In FIG. 10A, reference numeral 83-11 denotes a display element having a character string of “Please select the hardness of the heating process”, and a display element 83-12 for selecting the hardness of the heating process; Are displayed on the display unit 18 together with the display element 83-13 of "", the display element 83-14 of "soft" and the display element 83-15 of "determination". The display element 83-12 for selecting the hardness of the heating process is composed of nine indicators. By selecting any one of the nine indicators, the cooked rice that can be controlled during the heating process is prepared. Hardness can be adjusted. The indicator displayed in black is the setting of the currently selected control, and when shifting from the screen for selecting the process of performing the control change, the setting is read from the storage unit 57 by the condition setting unit 60, and The display operation control means 59 controls so that the indicator of this setting is displayed in black. The indicator in which the character string of "initial" is displayed is the control setting selected at the time of shipment from the factory, and can be used as a guide when the user changes the control. When the indicator displaying the “initial” character string is selected and displayed in black, the “initial” character string is displayed in reverse.

  Here, when a touch operation is performed on the “hard” display element 83-13, an operation signal from the touch sensor 82 arranged on the display element 83-13 is received by the operation unit control unit 58, and the display operation control unit The indicator displayed in black by 59 is moved to the left by one. Similarly, when a touch operation is performed on the "soft" display element 83-14, the indicator is displayed in black by the display operation control means 59. Control is performed to move the indicator to the right by one. With this configuration, the user can arbitrarily select a setting, and the “hard” display element 83-13 is formed as a triangle pointing to the left and is arranged on the left side of the display element 83-12. The display element 83-14 of "soft" is formed as a triangle pointing to the right and is arranged on the right side of the display element 83-12, so that the indicator displayed in solid black moves to the left, The user can easily understand at a glance that the setting is softer as he moves to. The indicator may be selected by directly touching the indicator on the display element 83-12.

  When a touch operation is performed on the “decision” display element 83-15 after selecting the indicator of the display element 83-12, an operation signal from the touch sensor 82 disposed on the display element 83-13 is received by the operation unit control unit 58. Then, the changed control settings are stored in the storage means 57 by the condition setting means 60, and then the display operation control means 59 shifts to a screen for selecting a process for performing the control change shown in FIG. With this configuration, when there is an intention to change the control of another process, it is not necessary to postpone the control change until after the next rice cooking is completed.

  In FIG. 10B, reference numeral 83-17 denotes a display element having a character string of "Please select the" continuation of boiling process "stickiness", and a display element for selecting the viscosity of the continuous boiling process 83-18, "weak". Are displayed on the display unit 18 together with the display element 83-19 of "strong", the display element 83-20 of "strong" and the display element 83-15 of "determination". On the control change screen of the boiling continuation process, similarly to the control change screen of the temperature increasing process described above, the setting of the currently selected control is displayed by an indicator displayed in black, and the display element 83-"weak" is displayed. By performing a touch operation on the display element 83-20 of “19” or “strong”, a desired setting can be selected by moving the indicator displayed in black. Then, by touching the display element 83-15 of "OK" after selecting the indicator of the display element 83-18, the changed control setting is stored in the storage means 57 by the condition setting means 60, and then the display operation is performed. The control means 59 shifts to a screen shown in FIG. 9 for selecting a process for performing a control change.

  In FIG. 10C, reference numeral 83-22 denotes a display element having a character string of “Please select the hardness of the“ cooking process ””, and a display element 83-23 for selecting the hardness of the cooking process; Are displayed on the display unit 18 together with the display element 83-24 of ".", The display element 83-25 of "soft" and the display element 83-15 of "decision." On the control change screen of the cooking process, similarly to the control change screen described above, the setting of the currently selected control is displayed by an indicator displayed in black, and the display element 83-24 of “HARD” and “ By performing a touch operation on the display element 83-25 of "soft", the indicator displayed in black can be moved to select a desired setting. Then, by touching the display element 83-15 of "OK" after selecting the indicator of the display element 83-23, the changed control setting is stored in the storage means 57 by the condition setting means 60, and then the display operation is performed. The control means 59 shifts to a screen shown in FIG. 9 for selecting a process for performing a control change.

  After the screen shifts to the screen for selecting the process for performing the control change from the rice cook process control change screen, when the touch operation is performed on the "OK" display element 83-9, the screen shifts to the screen for presenting the estimated rice cook time. At this time, pressing the off key 66 terminates the warming process. However, since the changed control setting is stored in the storage means 57 at the time when the display element 83-15 of "OK" is touched on the control change screen of the rice cooking process, the display element 83-9 of "OK" is displayed. The setting changed by the user is not erased by touching the button or pressing the off key 66.

  FIG. 11 shows a display mode of the display unit 18 displaying a screen for presenting the estimated rice cooking time. Reference numeral 83-27 denotes an estimated rice cooking time display element for displaying an indication of the estimated rice cooking time. The estimated rice cooking time is calculated by the condition setting means 60 based on the rice cooking control settings stored in the storage means 57, and the display operation control means is provided. 59 displays the calculated time. Here, this estimated rice cooking time is a result calculated by adding the estimated time allocated during the control, which is stored in advance in the storage means 57, and is stored in the storage means 57 after the change. Since the control setting is stored, the estimated rice cooking time displayed on the estimated rice cooking time display element 83-27 also indicates the time on which the changed control setting is reflected.

  After changing the control of the rice cooking process and storing it in the storage means 57, the user operates the initialization key 81 to return all the control settings to the initial values. When the initialization key 81 is pressed, the operation signal from the initialization key 81 is accepted by the operation unit control means 58, and the "initial" indicator is selected by the condition setting means 60 in all the control settings of the rice cooking process, and stored. The setting of the initial value is stored in the means 57. Further, the settings of the initial values may be stored in the storage unit 57 in advance, and all the settings may be switched to the initial values when the initialization key 81 is pressed. With this configuration, all control settings can be returned to the initial values at an arbitrary timing without shifting to the rice cook process control change screen, and there is no need to postpone until the next rice cook is completed.

As described above, in the rice cooker 1 ^IV of the present embodiment, the pot 5 for storing the cooked food, the heating means 52 for heating the pot 5, the heating control means 40 for controlling the heating means 52, and the display / operation control The pan 5 includes a means 46, a display unit 18 for displaying various information related to cooking, and an operation unit 19 'for starting rice cooking or selecting a time, a rice cooking course, and the like. The rice cooking process is performed on the food to be cooked, and the taste of the food after cooking can be output to the rice cooker 1 ^IV . Therefore, the user himself / herself can output information that he / she is satisfied with by outputting the information himself / herself.

Further, in the rice cooker 1 ^IV of the present embodiment, the output of the taste impression is configured so that the setting of the control of the rice cooking process is arbitrarily changed by the user, and the user makes a change that the user can understand. be able to.

Further, in the rice cooker 1 ^IV of the present embodiment, the rice cooking process in which the control settings can be changed are a heating process, a boiling continuation process, and a cooking process, and a control change screen for the heating process and a control change for the boiling continuation process. By dividing the screen, the control change screen of the cooking process, and the rice cooking process in which the control settings can be changed, even if the user does not understand the mechanism of the rice cooker 1 ^IV in detail, the rice hardness can be changed. Changing the stickiness of rice on the control change screen of the heating process and the control change screen of the cooking process can be easily performed on the control change screen of the boiling continuous process.

Further, in the rice cooker 1 ^IV of the present embodiment, the change in the setting of the control of the rice cooking process indicates the degree to which the change affects the cooking, and in the temperature increasing process, the hardness selection display element 83-12 of the temperature increasing process is used. During the boiling continuation process, the display element 83-18 for selecting the stickiness of the boiling continuation process is displayed on the display unit 18 and during the cooking process, the display element for selecting the hardness of the cooking process 83-23 is displayed. The user can easily select the control setting of the effect desired by the user by visualizing the influence of the control setting after the change.

In the rice cooker 1 ^IV of the present embodiment, after the user changes the setting of the control of the rice cooking process, the estimated rice cooking time, which is an indication of the rice cooking time, is displayed on the display unit 18 based on the changed setting. It is configured to shift to a screen that presents a guideline of rice cooking time to be estimated, and to aim at the cooking time by displaying the estimated rice cooking time that is changed by changing the control setting Can be.

In the rice cooker 1 ^IV of this embodiment, the initial value setting is stored in the storage unit 57 of the display / operation control unit 46 in advance, and when the initialization key 81 is pressed, all the control operations are performed at an arbitrary timing. Is configured to be able to return to the initial value. Therefore, when the user himself / herself does not remember the settings or when returning the changed control settings to the original initial values, the user can quickly perform the operation by pressing the initialization key 81.

12 and 13 show a rice cooker according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The components common to the rice cookers of the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same description will be omitted as much as possible to avoid duplication. In the rice cooker 1 ^V of the present embodiment, a display panel 91 made of electronic paper is provided on the top surface and a receiving unit 92 for receiving information from the outside is provided. It can be customized to the pattern.

  Conventionally, rice cookers of various designs and colors have been sold by various manufacturers. Each manufacturer also sells a rice cooker dedicated to a mass retailer, so that the user can select a desired rice cooker from many options.

  However, the preferences of the users are diversifying year by year, and the conventional rice cookers cannot cover all the preferences of the users. In addition, there is a rice cooker that adopts a method of changing the external appearance of the same product to a desired color by replacing a cover on the outside of the main body 2 or the lid 3 with the concept of changing clothes. It was necessary to prepare the outer cover, and it was difficult for the user himself to replace the outer cover. Therefore, in this embodiment, a display panel 91 made of, for example, electronic paper is provided on the top surface of the lid 3, and a receiving unit 92 for receiving information from the outside is provided so as to be able to cooperate with the portable information terminal. The desired appearance can be arbitrarily changed. Further, since the information designed by the user himself can be transmitted from the portable information terminal, the user's various preferences can be satisfied.

FIG. 12 is a top view of the rice cooker 1 ^V of the present embodiment. The lid 3 ′ according to the present embodiment does not have the display unit 18 or the operation unit 19 provided on the top surface, and instead has the display panel 91 and the lid except for the lid open button 15 and the steam port unit 17. It is arranged and arranged on the entire top surface of 3 '. Display panel 91 is configured, for example, an electronic paper, by reducing the display portion of the display panel 91, thereby suppressing an increase in size of the outer shape of the rice cooker 1 ^V. When electronic paper is used, power consumption and battery consumption can be suppressed.

Next, a control system of the rice cooker 1 ^V will be described with reference to FIG. The rice cooker 1 ^V of the present embodiment further includes a display panel 91 and a receiving unit 92 in addition to the rice cooker 1 of the first embodiment. The receiving unit 92 is made of, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), is electrically connected to the display / operation control unit 46, receives information from the outside such as a portable information terminal, and sends it to the display / operation control unit 46. Is what you do. The display panel 91 is also electrically connected to the display / operation control means 46, and receives a control signal from the display operation control means 59 to display a design on the display panel 91. With this configuration, for example, information can be transmitted to the rice cooker 1 ^V by cooperating with a portable information terminal, and information on the appearance of the rice cooker 1 ^V can be obtained by the portable information terminal. The user can arbitrarily change the display of the display panel 91 to a desired design.

Next, the operation of the rice cooker 1 ^{V having} the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. When the user operates and sets the operation unit 19, for example, the “polka dot” design of FIG. 12A previously stored in the storage unit 57 is displayed on the display panel 91 by the display operation control unit 59. You. When the display on the display panel 91 is changed to, for example, a special design by a designer, for example, the design of “lightning bolt” in FIG. 12B, the information of the design of “lightning bolt” is transmitted by, for example, a portable information terminal. When transmitted to the receiving section 92, the receiving section 92 sends this information to the display / operation control means 46 and stores it in the storage means 57. Thereafter, this information is displayed on the display panel 91 by the display operation control means 59, and the display on the display panel 91 is changed to the design of "lightning". The same applies to the case where the user himself creates the design of the display panel 91. For example, when creating the design of “Nico Nico” in FIG. 12C and changing to this design, the design of “Nico Nico” is used. When the information is transmitted to the receiving unit 92 by, for example, a portable information terminal, the receiving unit 92 sends the information to the display / operation control unit 46 and causes the storage unit 57 to store the information. Thereafter, this information is displayed on the display panel 91 by the display operation control means 59, and the display on the display panel 91 is changed to the design of "Nico Nico". As described above, in the rice cooker 1 ^V of this embodiment, the design displayed on the display panel 91 can be selected from a plurality of candidates, and the user can arbitrarily change the desired design in cooperation with the portable information terminal. Since the information designed by the user can be transmitted from the portable information terminal and displayed on the display panel 91, the user can satisfy various preferences.

As described above, in the rice cooker 1 ^V of the present embodiment, the main body 2 that accommodates the pan 5, the lid 3 ′ that opens and closes the upper opening of the main body 2, and the outer surface of the rice cooker 1 ^V are provided. Display panel 91, a display operation control means 59 for controlling the display of the display panel 91, and a receiving section 92 for receiving information from a portable information terminal as an external device. It has a configuration that can change the appearance of the cooker 1 ^V with information from the portable information terminal. Therefore, information input to the portable information terminal can be transmitted to the rice cooker 1 ^V, can be customized to a desired pattern of the user the appearance of the rice cooker 1 ^V in association with the portable information terminal.

Further, in the rice cooker 1 ^V of this embodiment, the appearance is changed at the top surface of the lid 3 ′, and the appearance is changed at the top surface of the lid 3 ′ which is most visible in the rice cooker 1 ^V. Can be customized to satisfy the user's various patterns.
A wide variety of user preferences can be satisfied.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the features of the first to fifth embodiments may be combined. Further, the numerical values and the like illustrated in the embodiments are merely examples, and may be appropriately changed according to the specifications of the rice cooker and the like.

1 rice cooker 5 pot 11 body heater (heating means)
12 heating coil (heating means)
14 Pot sensor (pan temperature detecting means)
18 Display (notification means)
53 Cooking rice control means (control means)
A threshold (first threshold)
B threshold (second threshold)
C threshold (third threshold)

Claims (2)

A pot containing rice and water inside to be cooked,
Heating means for heating the pan,
Control means for controlling the heating means,
Pan temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the pan,
Notification means for notifying when an error has occurred,
The control means is configured to heat the pot from the start of rice cooking to promote water absorption of the rice, and to stop the heating at a predetermined pot temperature, and to promote the water absorption of the rice by preheating. 2, a heating step of boiling the cooked rice, a boiling continuation step of continuing the boiling state of the cooked rice, and a drying step of steaming the cooked cooked rice. Controlling the heating means to perform the rice cooking process,
The control unit has a first threshold value, and is configured to determine the presence or absence of foreign matter between the pan and the pan temperature detection unit based on a change in temperature during the second overrunning process. Rice cooker. The control means further has a second threshold value and a third threshold value, and determines the presence or absence of the foreign matter based on an amount of change in the temperature during the temperature increasing process,
The value of the second threshold is smaller than the value of the third threshold,
The control means is configured to determine the presence or absence of the foreign matter based on the third threshold value when the amount of change in temperature is smaller than the first threshold value in the second scouring stroke. Item 4. The rice cooker according to Item 1.

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