JP2022127352A - rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a rice cooker that allows cleaning property to be enhanced.SOLUTION: A rice cooker includes: a pot for putting a material to be cooked including water and rice; a pot heating part for heating the pot; a lid body for covering an upper part opening of the pot openably; a cylindrical body disposed above the pot for taking in fluid containing rice gruel that is generated from inside the pot when the pot heating part heats the pot; an electrostatic capacity detection part for detecting electrostatic capacity of the fluid; and a control part for controlling a heating amount of the pot heating part. The control part makes the heating amount of the pot heating part smaller than a heating amount that is determined beforehand when the electrostatic capacity detection part detects the electrostatic capacity of a first threshold or more.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a rice cooker capable of suppressing overcooking of rice (viscous broth).

Conventionally, as this type of rice cooker, for example, a rice cooker described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 3116861) is known. The rice cooker described in Patent Document 1 includes a steam cylinder provided in a lid for discharging steam generated in the pot, and a slime detection unit for detecting the rise of the slime in the steam cylinder. I have. The sticky detection unit includes a float, which is a cylindrical or spherical magnet provided to roll freely on the inclined portion of the bottom surface of the steam cylinder, and a float detection unit such as a reed switch that detects the movement of the float. . In the rice cooker described in Patent Document 1, the float rolls upward on the inclined portion pushed by the slime that has entered the steam cylinder, and when the float moves away from the float detection portion, the heating amount of the pot heating portion is reduced. It is configured to suppress the boil over of the baby by letting it.

Japanese Patent No. 3116861

However, in the conventional rice cooker, the float is incorporated in the steam cylinder, which complicates the structure of the steam cylinder and poses a problem of poor cleanability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a rice cooker capable of improving cleanability.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.
According to the present invention, a pot for containing food to be cooked containing water and rice;
a pot heating unit that heats the pot;
a lid body that covers an upper opening of the pot in an openable and closable manner;
a cylindrical body disposed above the pot and taking in a fluid containing slime generated from inside the pot when the pot heating unit heats the pot;
a capacitance detection unit that detects the capacitance of the fluid;
a control unit that controls the heating amount of the pot heating unit;
with
The control unit reduces the heating amount of the pot heating unit to be smaller than a predetermined heating amount when the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance equal to or greater than a first threshold for a predetermined time. provide utensils.

According to the rice cooker which concerns on this invention, cleanability can be improved.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rice cooker of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a graph showing changes in capacitance of fluid generated from the pot when water and rice are put in the pot and boiled, and when only water is put in the pot and boiled. 5 is a graph showing an example of change in capacitance of fluid generated from inside the pan when water and rice are placed in the pan and boiled, and an example of control of the heating amount of the pan heating unit. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a capacitance detection unit included in the rice cooker of FIG. 1;

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a pot for containing food to be cooked containing water and rice;
a pot heating unit that heats the pot;
a lid body that covers an upper opening of the pot in an openable and closable manner;
a cylindrical body disposed above the pot and taking in a fluid containing slime generated from inside the pot when the pot heating unit heats the pot;
a capacitance detection unit that detects the capacitance of the fluid;
a control unit that controls the heating amount of the pot heating unit;
with
The control unit reduces the heating amount of the pot heating unit to be smaller than a predetermined heating amount when the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance equal to or greater than a first threshold for a predetermined time. provide utensils.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, further comprising a storage unit for storing the number of times the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance equal to or greater than a first threshold for a predetermined time,
According to the first aspect, the control unit reduces the heating amount of the pot heating unit to be smaller than the predetermined heating amount when the number of times stored in the storage unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times. rice cooker.

A third aspect of the present invention provides the rice cooker according to the first or second aspect, wherein the capacitance detection unit includes a plurality of capacitance sensors arranged in the circumferential direction of the cylinder. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the capacitance detection unit includes a plurality of capacitance sensors arranged in the extending direction of the cylinder. rice cooker.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the capacitance detection unit detects the position of the capacitance sensor that has detected the capacitance equal to or greater than a second threshold for a predetermined time among the plurality of capacitance sensors. The rice cooker according to the third or fourth aspect, wherein it is determined whether or not the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold value is detected based on at least one of and the number.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, comprising a pressure adjustment unit that adjusts the pressure in the pot,
When the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance that is less than the first threshold, the control unit controls the capacitance to be higher than when the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance that is less than the first threshold. , the rice cooker according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the pressure adjustment unit is controlled so that the pressure inside the pot changes slowly.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, comprising a pressure adjustment unit that adjusts the pressure in the pot,
The control unit controls the pressure adjustment unit so that the pressure in the pot becomes constant or substantially constant when the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold, A rice cooker according to any one of aspects 1 to 5 is provided.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited by this embodiment. Also, in the drawings, substantially the same members are given the same reference numerals.

In addition, hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, terms indicating directions such as "up" and "down" are used assuming the state during normal use, but it is not intended to limit the usage state of the rice cooker according to the present invention. does not mean

<<Embodiment>>
A rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the invention. 2 is a perspective view of the rice cooker of FIG. 1. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rice cooker according to the present embodiment includes a substantially bottomed cylindrical rice cooker main body 1 in which a pot storage portion 1a is formed, and a pot storage portion 1a that accommodates water and rice. and a pan 2 for storing the food to be cooked including An outer lid 3 having a hollow structure capable of opening and closing an upper opening of the rice cooker body 1 is attached to the top of the rice cooker body 1 . A substantially disk-shaped inner lid 4 capable of sealing the upper opening of the pot 2 is detachably attached to the inner side of the outer lid 3 (the side covering the upper opening of the pot 2). In this embodiment, the outer lid 3 and the inner lid 4 constitute a lid that covers the upper opening of the pan 2 so as to be openable and closable.

A pot storage portion 1a of the rice cooker main body 1 is composed of an upper frame 1b and a coil base 1c. The upper frame 1b includes a tubular portion 1ba arranged so as to have a gap with respect to the side wall of the pot 2 stored therein, and an upper opening portion of the rice cooker main body 1 protruding outward from the upper portion of the tubular portion 1ba. and a flange portion 1bb fitted to the peripheral portion. The upper end of the tubular portion 1ba supports a flange portion 2a provided around the upper opening of the pan 2. As shown in FIG.

The coil base 1c is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom corresponding to the shape of the lower portion of the pot 2, and the upper portion thereof is attached to the lower end portion of the cylindrical portion 1ba of the upper frame 1b. A pot heating unit 5 for heating (induction heating) the pot 2 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the coil base 1c. The pot heating unit 5 is composed of a bottom heating coil 5a and a bottom heating coil 5b. The in-bottom heating coil 5a is arranged so as to face the periphery of the central portion of the bottom of the pan 2 via the coil base 1c. The bottom-outside heating coil 5b is arranged so as to face the corner portion of the bottom of the pot 2 via the coil base 1c.

An opening is provided in the central portion of the bottom of the coil base 1c. A pot temperature sensor 6, which is an example of a pot temperature detection unit for measuring the temperature of the pot 2, is arranged in the opening so as to be able to come into contact with the bottom of the pot 2 stored in the pot housing portion 1a. . Since the temperature of the pot 2 is substantially the same as the temperature of the food to be cooked in the pot 2, the temperature of the food to be cooked in the pot 2 can be detected by the pot temperature sensor 6 detecting the temperature of the pot 2. can.

The outer lid 3 includes an upper outer shell member 3 a and a lower outer shell member 3 b that form the outer shell of the outer lid 3 . The outer lid 3 also has a hinge shaft 3A. The hinge shaft 3A is a shaft for opening and closing the outer lid 3, and both ends thereof are rotatably fixed to the upper frame 1b of the rice cooker main body 1. As shown in FIG. A torsion coil spring 7 is attached around the hinge shaft 3A. The torsion coil spring 7 elastically urges the outer lid 3 in a direction away from the upper opening of the pan 2 (opening direction) around the hinge shaft 3A.

A lid opening device 8 is provided inside the outer lid 3 . The lid opening device 8 maintains a state in which the outer lid 3 closes the top opening of the pot 2 by engaging with a part of the rice cooker main body 1 . On the other hand, when the lid opening button 81 (see FIG. 2) provided on the rice cooker main body 1 or the outer lid 3 is pressed while the outer lid 3 blocks the top opening of the pot 2, the lid opening device 8 It rotates in the direction of the arrow A1 around the hook shaft 8A. As a result, the lid opening device 8 is disengaged from a portion of the rice cooker main body 1, and the outer lid 3 moves away from the upper opening of the pot 2 around the hinge shaft 3A due to the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 7. rotate to As a result, the outer lid 3 is in an open state in which the upper opening of the pot 2 is not blocked. In addition, the outer lid 3 is configured to stop the rotation, for example, when it rotates 90 degrees about the hinge shaft 3A from the position where the upper opening of the pan 2 is closed.

Further, inside the outer lid 3, there is provided a cylindrical body 9 which is arranged above the pot 2 and takes in the fluid including the slime generated from the inside of the pot 2 when the pot heating unit 5 heats the pot 2. there is In this embodiment, the shape of the cylinder 9 is cylindrical. An upper opening of the cylindrical body 9 is covered with an upper shell member 3a. The upper outer shell member 3a is provided with a communication hole 3aa that communicates the inside of the cylindrical body 9 with the outside of the rice cooker. The fluid taken into the cylindrical body 9 is discharged to the outside of the rice cooker through the communication hole 3aa. In addition, the inner lid 4 is provided with a communication hole (not shown) for taking in the fluid containing the sticky matter generated from the inside of the pan 2 into the inside of the cylindrical body 9 .

The cylindrical body 9 is provided with a capacitance detection unit 10 that detects the capacitance of the fluid flowing inside the cylindrical body 9 . The capacitance detection unit 10 is, for example, an electrostatic touch film attached along the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 9 .

Further, the inner lid 4 is provided with a pressure adjusting portion 11 for adjusting the pressure inside the pot 2 . The pressure adjustment unit 11 is configured to adjust the pressure inside the pan 2 by, for example, opening and closing a communication hole (not shown) provided in the inner lid 4 so as to communicate with the inside of the pan 2. there is More specifically, the pressure adjustment unit 11 is configured to be able to increase the pressure inside the pan 2 to a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure (for example, 1.2 atm) by closing the communication hole of the inner lid 4. . Further, the pressure adjustment unit 11 is configured to be able to lower the pressure inside the pot 2 to near atmospheric pressure (for example, 1.0 atm) by opening the communication hole of the inner lid 4 .

In addition, various information such as rice cooking course and rice cooking time are displayed on the outer lid 3, and a specific rice cooking course can be selected from multiple rice cooking courses such as polished rice course, brown rice course, and polished rice (soft) course. A display operation unit 12 is provided. The display operation unit 12 includes a liquid crystal display 12A that displays various information such as the rice cooking course and rice cooking time, and a plurality of buttons 12B that instruct the selection of the rice cooking course as well as the execution of rice cooking, cancellation, reservation, and the like. ing. While referring to various information displayed on the liquid crystal display 12A, the user can select a specific rice cooking course using a plurality of buttons 12B and instruct the start of rice cooking.

A control unit 13 is mounted inside the rice cooker main body 1 . The control unit 13 includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of rice cooking sequences for cooking rice. Here, the "rice cooking sequence" is mainly four steps of preheating, raising the temperature, maintaining boiling, and steaming in order, and the energization time, heating temperature, heating time, heating output, etc. are predetermined for each step. Refers to the cooking procedure. Each rice cooking sequence corresponds to one of a plurality of rice cooking courses. The control unit 13 controls the pot heating unit 5 and the pressure adjustment unit 11 based on the rice cooking course selected by the display operation unit 12 and the temperature detected by the pot temperature sensor 6, and executes the rice cooking process.

Next, in the rice cooker according to the present embodiment, the principle of suppressing boiling over of rice will be described. FIG. 3 shows changes in the capacitance of the fluid generated from the pot 2 when water and rice are put in the pot 2 and boiled, and when only water is put in the pot 2 and boiled. graph.

In FIG. 3, the dotted line represents the capacitance detected by the capacitance detection unit 10 when only water is put in the pot 2 and boiled (that is, the capacitance of the fluid flowing in the cylinder 9). showing. In FIG. 3, the thick solid line indicates the capacitance detected by the capacitance detection unit 10 when water and rice are put in the pot 2 and boiled.

When only water is put in the pot 2 and boiled, the fluid flowing through the cylindrical body 9 mainly contains steam and does not contain sticky matter. On the other hand, when water and rice are placed in the pot 2 and boiled, the fluid flowing through the cylindrical body 9 contains steam and sticky matter. That is, in FIG. 3, the difference in capacitance (pF) between the thick solid line and the dotted line is generated based on whether or not the fluid flowing through the cylinder 9 contains stickiness. When the fluid flowing through the cylindrical body 9 contains stickiness, the capacitance detected by the capacitance detection unit 10 is larger than when the fluid does not contain stickiness. The rice cooker according to the present embodiment is configured to determine whether or not the fluid flowing through the cylindrical body 9 contains slime based on this difference in capacitance, and to suppress boiling over of the slime. .

More specifically, in the present embodiment, when the capacitance detection unit 10 detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold for a predetermined time, the control unit 13 sets the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 in advance. It is configured to be less than the determined heating amount. FIG. 4 is a graph showing changes in capacitance of the fluid generated from the pan 2 when water and rice are placed in the pan 2 and brought to a boil, and an example of control of the heating amount of the pan heating unit 5. is. In FIG. 4, the first threshold is 2000 pF and the predetermined time is T1 (eg, 5 seconds).

First, when the pot 2 containing water and rice is heated by the pot heating unit 5, steam is included in the fluid generated from the pot 2 as the temperature of the pot 2 rises. This vapor gradually increases the capacitance detected by the capacitance detection unit 10 . After that, when the pan 2 is further heated by the pan heating unit 5, the fluid generated from the pan 2 contains slime. Due to this stickiness, the capacitance detected by the capacitance detection unit 10 rises sharply.

In this embodiment, when the capacitance detection unit 10 detects a capacitance of 2000 pF or more for a predetermined time T1, the control unit 13 reduces the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 to a value less than the predetermined heating amount. is configured to Here, the “predetermined amount of heating” is, for example, the amount of heating predetermined in the rice cooking sequence corresponding to the rice cooking course selected on the display operation unit 12 .

In this embodiment, the control unit 13 makes the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 smaller than a predetermined heating amount for a certain period of time T2. For example, the controller stops the heating by the pot heating unit 5 for a certain period of time T2 (sets the heating amount to zero). As a result, the boiled water returns from the cylindrical body 9 to the pot 2, and the boiled-over boiled water can be suppressed. Also, at this time, the capacitance detected by the capacitance detection unit 10 decreases to less than 2000 pF.

After that, when the controller 13 increases the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 again (for example, to a predetermined heating amount), the sticky rice returned to the pot 2 enters the cylinder 9 again. Due to this stickiness, the capacitance detected by the capacitance detection unit 10 rises sharply. When the capacitance detection unit 10 detects a capacitance of 2000 pF or more for a predetermined time T1, the control unit 13 makes the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 smaller than a predetermined heating amount. Thereafter, similarly, the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 is changed according to the capacitance detected by the capacitance detection unit 10 . As a result, the water and rice in the pot 2 are heated as much as possible while suppressing boiling over of the rice, so that the taste of the rice can be improved.

According to the rice cooker according to the present embodiment, when the capacitance detection unit 10 detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold for a predetermined time, the control unit 13 sets the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 in advance. It is configured to be less than the determined heating amount. That is, the rice cooker according to the present embodiment determines whether or not the sticky matter has entered the cylindrical body 9 based on the capacitance detected by the capacitance detection unit 10, and suppresses the boiling over of the sticky matter. is configured to According to this configuration, the area to which the sticky substance adheres can be limited to the inner surface of the cylindrical body 9 . As a result, the user can complete the cleaning of the parts for suppressing boil-over by simply removing the inner lid 4 from the outer lid 3 and cleaning the inner surface of the cylindrical body 9, for example. In addition, since there is no need to secure a space for rolling a float, which is a cylindrical or spherical magnet, unlike a conventional rice cooker, the cylindrical body 9 can be miniaturized and the area requiring cleaning can be reduced. Therefore, according to the rice cooker which concerns on this embodiment, cleanability can be improved. Further, since the cylindrical body 9 can be made smaller than the steam cylinder provided in the conventional cover, the size of the cover can be reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various other modes. For example, in the above description, the cylindrical body 9 is provided inside the outer lid 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. The cylindrical body 9 may be provided at a position where the fluid containing the sticky matter generated from the pan 2 can be taken in. For example, the cylinder 9 may be attached to the inner lid 4 . Further, the cylindrical body 9 does not need to be provided as a separate component, and may be provided integrally with the outer lid 3 or the inner lid 4, for example. The cylindrical body 9 should just form the flow path which takes in the fluid containing the sticky matter which generate|occur|produced from the inside of the pot 2 inside.

Moreover, although the capacitance detection unit 10 is attached to the cylindrical body 9 in the above description, the present invention is not limited to this. The capacitance detection unit 10 may be provided at a position where the capacitance of the fluid flowing inside the cylinder 9 can be detected.

Further, in the above, when the capacitance detection unit 10 detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold for a predetermined time, the control unit 13 immediately changes the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 to the predetermined heating value. Although it was intended to be configured to be less than the amount, the invention is not so limited. The slime gradually rises inside the cylindrical body 9 as a whole while changing its upper surface to undulate. Therefore, even if the capacitance detection unit 10 detects that the capacitance with respect to the top of the slime is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the slime does not immediately overflow. On the other hand, when the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 is reduced, the amount of heat applied to the water and the rice in the pot 2 is correspondingly reduced, which may lead to the deterioration of the taste of the rice. Therefore, for example, a storage unit (not shown) may be provided that stores the number of times the capacitance detection unit 10 detects capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold for a predetermined time. Further, the control unit 13 is configured to reduce the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 to be smaller than the predetermined heating amount when the number of times stored in the storage unit is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of times. good too. According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress the boiling over of the boiled rice and to suppress the decrease in the heat applied to the water and the rice in the pot 2 as much as possible, thereby suppressing the deterioration of the taste of the rice.

The capacitance detection section 10 may include a plurality of capacitance sensors 10a to 10h, as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of the capacitance detection unit 10. As shown in FIG. The capacitance detection unit 10 shown in FIG. 5 has a lateral direction along the extending direction of the cylindrical body 9 (vertical direction in FIG. 1) and a longitudinal direction along the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body 9 (horizontal direction in FIG. 1). installed along the Each of the capacitance sensors 10a-10h is configured to sense the capacitance of the fluid that comes into direct or indirect contact (for example, indirectly via the peripheral wall of the cylinder 9). By providing the capacitance detection unit 10 with a plurality of capacitance sensors 10a to 10h, the state of lameness can be detected more accurately.

Also, the capacitance detection unit 10 preferably includes a plurality of capacitance sensors arranged in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body 9, such as the capacitance sensors 10a to 10d. As described above, the poop gradually rises inside the cylindrical body 9 as a whole while changing its upper surface to undulate. For this reason, even if one electrostatic capacitance sensor detects that the capacitance with respect to the top of the slime is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the slime does not immediately boil over. By arranging a plurality of capacitive sensors in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body 9, it is possible to more accurately detect the state of the belly button.

Moreover, the capacitance detection unit 10 preferably includes a plurality of capacitance sensors arranged in the extending direction of the cylindrical body 9, such as the capacitance sensor 10a and the capacitance sensor 10e. For example, steam flowing inside the cylinder 9 may come into contact with the upper shell member 3a of the outer cover 3, be cooled, become water droplets, and flow down the inner surface of the cylinder 9 from above. For example, if the first threshold value is set low in order to more reliably suppress spillage of the liquid, water droplets may be erroneously detected as liquid. In this case, the timing of reducing the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 is advanced, and the amount of heat applied to the water and rice in the pot 2 is reduced, which may lead to the deterioration of the taste of the rice. By arranging a plurality of capacitance sensors in the extending direction of the cylindrical body 9, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of water droplets as sticky and more accurately detect the sticky state.

Further, the capacitance detection unit 10 detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the second threshold value for a predetermined time, among the plurality of capacitance sensors 10a to 10h, based on at least one of the position and the number of the capacitance sensors. may be used to determine whether or not a capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold is detected. For example, when three or more capacitance sensors have detected a capacitance equal to or greater than the second threshold for five seconds or more, the capacitance detection unit 10 determines that a capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold has been detected. You may Further, when there are three or more capacitance sensors that have detected a capacitance equal to or greater than the second threshold for five seconds or more, and one or more of them are on the pot 2 side, the capacitance detection unit 10 detects the first It may be determined that the capacitance equal to or greater than the threshold is detected. In addition, the number of capacitance sensors that detect the capacitance of the second threshold or more for 5 seconds or more is 3 or more, and the capacitance sensor that first detects the capacitance of the second threshold or more for 5 seconds or more is the pot 2 side, the capacitance detection unit 10 may determine that a capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold is detected. According to these constitutions, it is possible to suppress the boiling over of the rice and further suppress the reduction of the heat applied to the water and the rice in the pot 2, thereby suppressing the deterioration of the taste of the rice. Note that the "second threshold" may be the same as or different from the "first threshold".

Further, in the above description, when the capacitance detection unit 10 detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold for a predetermined time, the control unit 13 increases the heating amount of the pot heating unit 5 from the predetermined heating amount. Although configured to be small, the invention is not so limited. For example, if the pressure in the pan 2 suddenly fluctuates while stickiness is occurring, a phenomenon such as bumping may occur in the pan 2, resulting in a large amount of stickiness. Therefore, it is preferable that the pressure in the pot 2 is not changed abruptly, especially after the capacitance detection unit 10 detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold for a predetermined period of time. Specifically, in the case of the rice cooker including the pressure adjustment unit 11, the control unit 13 controls the capacitance when the capacitance detection unit 10 detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold for a predetermined time. The pressure adjustment unit 11 may be controlled so that the pressure inside the pot 2 changes more slowly than when the detection unit 10 detects a capacitance less than the first threshold. In addition, when the capacitance detection unit 10 detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold for a predetermined time, the control unit 13 controls the pressure adjustment unit 11 so that the pressure in the pan 2 becomes constant or substantially constant. may be controlled. According to such a configuration, it is possible to further suppress the boiling over of the pot, and further improve the cleaning performance.

Further, in the above description, the cylindrical body 9 has a cylindrical shape, but the present invention is not limited to this. The shape of the cylindrical body 9 may be, for example, polygonal or elliptical. In this case, the area for mounting the capacitance detection unit 10 can be made larger than when the cylindrical body 9 has a cylindrical shape. In addition, the cylindrical body 9 can be brought as close to the upper central portion of the pan 2 as possible.

By appropriately combining any of the various embodiments described above, the respective effects can be obtained.

Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with preferred embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, various variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Such variations and modifications are to be included therein insofar as they do not depart from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The rice cooker according to the present invention can improve cleanability, and is therefore useful, for example, as a rice cooker for domestic and business use.

Reference Signs List 1 rice cooker body 1A hinge portion 1a pan storage portion 1b upper frame 1ba cylindrical portion 1bb flange portion 1c coil base 2 pan 2a flange portion 3 outer lid 3A hinge shaft 3a upper outer shell member 3aa communication hole 3b lower outer shell member 4 inner lid 5 Pot heating unit 5a Bottom heating coil 5b Bottom heating coil 6 Pot temperature sensor (pot temperature detection unit)
7 Torsion coil spring 8 Lid opening device 8A Hook shaft 9 Cylindrical body 10 Capacitance detection unit 10a to 10h Capacitance sensor 11 Pressure adjustment unit 12 Display operation unit 12A Liquid crystal display 12B Button 13 Control unit 81 Lid open button

Claims (7)

a pot containing food to be cooked including water and rice;
a pot heating unit that heats the pot;
a lid body that covers an upper opening of the pot in an openable and closable manner;
a cylindrical body disposed above the pot and taking in a fluid containing slime generated from inside the pot when the pot heating unit heats the pot;
a capacitance detection unit that detects the capacitance of the fluid;
a control unit that controls the heating amount of the pot heating unit;
with
The control unit reduces the heating amount of the pot heating unit to be smaller than a predetermined heating amount when the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance equal to or greater than a first threshold for a predetermined time. vessel. Further comprising a storage unit for storing the number of times the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance equal to or greater than a first threshold for a predetermined time,
2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the number of times stored in said storage unit reaches a predetermined number of times or more, said control unit reduces the heating amount of said pot heating unit to be smaller than said predetermined heating amount. rice cooker. The rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the capacitance detection unit includes a plurality of capacitance sensors arranged in the circumferential direction of the cylinder. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said capacitance detection unit includes a plurality of capacitance sensors arranged in an extending direction of said cylinder. Based on at least one of the position and the number of the capacitance sensors that detect the capacitance equal to or greater than a second threshold for a predetermined period of time, the capacitance detection unit detects the The rice cooker according to claim 3 or 4, wherein it is determined whether or not the capacitance equal to or greater than a first threshold is detected. A pressure adjustment unit that adjusts the pressure in the pot,
When the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold, the control unit controls the capacitance to be higher than when the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance less than the first threshold. 6. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said pressure adjusting unit is controlled such that the pressure change in said pot becomes gentle. A pressure adjustment unit that adjusts the pressure in the pot,
wherein, when the capacitance detection unit detects the capacitance equal to or greater than the first threshold value, the control unit controls the pressure adjustment unit so that the pressure in the pan is constant or substantially constant. Item 6. The rice cooker according to any one of items 1 to 5.

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