JP2023002357A - rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a rice cooker accurately determining the amount of rice or water fed from a rice tank or a water tank into a pot.SOLUTION: A rice cooker incudes: a pot; a housing body housing the pot; a heating part heating the pot; a rice tank storing rice; a water tank storing water; a feed part feeding the rice in the rice tank and the water in the water tank into the pot; a weight detection part detecting a weight of at least one of the pot, the rice tank and the water tank; and a control part controlling the feed part to feed the rice and the water into the pot and controlling the heating part to perform a rice-cooking process. The control part determines the amount of the rice or the water fed from the rice tank or the water tank into the pot by the feed part, on the basis of the weight detected by the weight detection part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a rice cooker.

Conventionally, as this type of rice cooker, for example, a rice cooker described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-5668) is known. Patent Literature 1 discloses a rice cooker capable of automatically performing from supplying rice and water into a pot to cooking rice.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-5668

The rice cooker of Patent Literature 1 is configured such that water used for cooking rice is drawn from the water supply outside the rice cooker. Therefore, it is necessary to install the rice cooker near the water supply, and the installation position is restricted, or water supply work is required at the installation position of the rice cooker. In addition, the rice cooker of Patent Document 1 includes a lid unit that opens and closes the opening of the pot by rotating about a hinge shaft, and a storage part for storing rice is provided above the lid unit. there is With this configuration, when the lid unit rotates, a space is required to prevent it from coming into contact with the storage unit, which makes it difficult to reduce the size of the rice cooker in the height direction, and the ease of cleaning is poor.

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has studied a rice cooker that includes a rice tank for containing rice and a water tank for containing water, in addition to a housing for containing a pot. However, the rice cooker still has room for improvement in terms of more accurately determining the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or water tank to the pan.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a rice cooker capable of more accurately determining the amount of rice or water supplied from a rice tank or a water tank into a pot. It is in.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.
According to the invention, a pan and
a housing that accommodates the pot;
a heating unit that heats the pot;
a rice tank containing rice;
a water tank containing water;
a supply unit that supplies the rice in the rice tank and the water in the water tank into the pot;
a weight detection unit that detects the weight of at least one of the pot, the rice tank, and the water tank;
a control unit that controls the supply unit to supply rice and water into the pot and controls the heating unit to perform a rice cooking process;
with
The control unit determines the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or the water tank to the pot by the supply unit based on the weight detected by the weight detection unit.
Provide a rice cooker.

According to the present invention, the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or water tank to the pot can be determined with higher accuracy.

1 is a perspective view of a rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A1-A1 of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A2-A2 of FIG. 1; FIG. It is a side view which shows the rice cooker of FIG. 1 with a partial cross section. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing a state in which the bottom wall of the rice cooker of FIG. 1 is removed; 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration example of a weight detection unit; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a weight detection unit; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the rice cooker of FIG. 1; It is a flow chart which shows an example of operation of a rice cooker concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows an example of operation of a rice cooker concerning a 3rd embodiment of the present invention.

(Knowledge on which the present invention is based)
The present inventors have made intensive studies to more accurately determine the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or water tank into the pan, and as a result, have obtained the following findings.

As a method for determining the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or water tank to the pan, the following methods are conceivable.

For example, it is conceivable to determine the amount of rice fed from the rice tank into the pot based on the driving time of the rice feeding pump that feeds the rice from the rice tank into the pot. However, in this method, when the rice is fed from the rice tank into the pot, the gaps between the rice grains usually vary, so the accuracy of determining the amount of rice is low. Similarly, it is conceivable to determine the amount of water sent from the water tank into the pot based on the driving time of the water pump that sends water from the water tank into the pot. However, with this method, when water is sent from the water tank into the pot, random air bubbles may be generated in the water, resulting in low accuracy in determining the amount of water.

Further, for example, it is conceivable to provide a flow rate sensor in a water pipe that sends water from the water tank into the pot, and determine the amount of water supplied from the water tank into the pot by the flow rate sensor. However, for example, if water remains in the water pipe, there is a risk that germs will grow. For this reason, it is desired that a pipe having a diameter as small as possible is used for the water pipe. As the diameter of the water pipe decreases, it is difficult for the flow rate sensor to accurately determine the amount of water passing through the water pipe.

Accordingly, the inventors have found a configuration in which the weight detection unit detects the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or water tank into the pan. Weight sensing units (eg, weight sensors) are generally more accurate and less expensive than flow sensors. If the weight of at least one of the pot, the rice tank, and the water tank can be detected, the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or water tank to the pot can be determined more accurately by performing simple calculations. judgment becomes possible. Based on these new findings, the present inventors have arrived at the following inventions.

According to one aspect of the invention, a pan;
a housing that accommodates the pot;
a heating unit that heats the pot;
a rice tank containing rice;
a water tank containing water;
a supply unit that supplies the rice in the rice tank and the water in the water tank into the pot;
a weight detection unit that detects the weight of at least one of the pot, the rice tank, and the water tank;
a control unit that controls the supply unit to supply rice and water into the pot and controls the heating unit to perform a rice cooking process;
with
The control unit determines the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or the water tank to the pot by the supply unit based on the weight detected by the weight detection unit. .

According to this configuration, a weight detection unit that detects the weight of at least one of the pot, rice tank, and water tank is provided, and the amount of rice or water supplied into the pot is determined based on the weight detected by the weight detection unit. Since the determination is made, the amount of rice or water supplied into the pan can be determined with higher accuracy.

The weight detection unit includes a pot weight detection unit that detects the weight of the pot, and the control unit controls the supply unit after the weight of the pot is detected by the pot weight detection unit. At least one of rice and water is supplied into a pot, and the total weight of the pot and at least one of the rice and water supplied into the pot is detected by the pot weight detection unit, and the weight of the pot is determined based on the total weight. Differential weights may be configured to determine the amount of rice and/or water dispensed into the pan. According to this configuration, for example, even when the opening of the pot is closed with the lid so as to cover the pot, the influence of the contact between the pot and the lid can be reduced when detecting the weight of the pot and when detecting the weight of the pot. It will take both time and time to detect the gross weight. That is, the influence can be suppressed by subtracting the weight of the pan from the total weight. As a result, the amount of rice or water supplied into the pan from the rice tank or water tank can be determined with higher accuracy.

The weight detection unit includes a rice tank weight detection unit that detects the weight of the rice tank, and a water tank weight detection unit that detects the weight of the water tank. The amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or the water tank to the pot by the supply unit may be determined based on the weight detected by the detection unit or the water tank weight detection unit. good. According to this configuration, for example, the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or water tank to the pot is estimated based on the amount of decrease in weight detected by the rice tank weight detection unit or water tank weight detection unit. be able to. Moreover, since the weight detection unit detects the weight of the rice tank or the water tank, the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or the water tank to the pot can be determined with higher accuracy.

The weight detection unit includes a total tank weight detection unit that detects the total weight of the rice tank and the water tank, and the control unit controls the supply unit to supply rice and water to the pot. The amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or the water tank into the pot is determined by the supply unit based on the weight detected by the total tank weight detection unit. may be configured to According to this configuration, since rice and water are supplied to the pot at mutually different timings, the amount of rice in the rice tank and the amount of water in the water tank can be detected by one tank total weight detection unit. . As a result, when rice or water is being supplied from the rice tank or water tank to the pot, based on the amount of decrease in weight detected by the tank total weight detection unit, the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or water tank to the pot is determined. The amount of rice or water can be estimated. Moreover, since the weight detection unit detects the weight of the rice tank or the water tank, the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or the water tank to the pot can be determined with higher accuracy. Also, for example, if the total tank weight detection unit has such accuracy that the weight of the rice tank is smaller than the mass by a certain percentage, the total tank weight detection unit detects the weight of the water tank as well as the mass. It will be detected at a constant rate smaller than. Therefore, the ratio of rice and water supplied to the pan can be kept constant, and variation in rice cooking can be suppressed.

Further, the control unit may be configured to supply water from the water tank into the pot after controlling the supply unit to supply rice from the rice tank into the pot. According to this configuration, even if the rice piles up in the shape of a mountain in the pot, the shape of the pile can be broken by the water supplied into the pot after that, and the top surface of the piled rice can be made flatter. .

Further, the rice cooker may be a non-pressure rice cooker in which the rice cooking process is performed at a pressure in the pot of less than 1.05 atm. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the influence of the pressure generated in the pot on the weight detection section. As a result, the amount of rice or water supplied into the pan from the rice tank or water tank can be determined with higher accuracy.

Further, the control unit controls the supply unit to supply rice and water to the pot until the amount of rice and water determined based on the weight detected by the weight detection unit reaches a predetermined amount. It may be configured to continue to supply. According to this configuration, a more appropriate amount of rice or water can be supplied into the pot.

At least one of the rice tank and the water tank is detachably attached to the housing, and the control unit controls the housing after the rice tank or the water tank is removed from the housing. When reattached to the housing, it may be configured to determine that a predetermined amount of rice or water is contained in the rice tank or the water tank reattached to the housing.

Moreover, it may be configured to further include a remaining amount detection unit that detects the remaining amount of at least one of the rice in the rice tank and the water in the water tank.

Further, the control unit may be configured to determine the remaining amount of at least one of the rice in the rice tank and the water in the water tank based on the weight detected by the pot weight detection unit.

A selection unit that can select the amount of rice to be cooked, and a notification unit that issues a warning. When the amount of rice or water is less than the amount of rice or water corresponding to the amount of rice to be cooked selected by the selection unit, the notification unit may be controlled to issue a warning. According to this configuration, the user is notified of the timing of replenishing the rice in the rice tank or the water in the water tank without the user directly confirming the amount of rice in the rice tank or the remaining amount of water in the water tank. be able to.

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.

Further, hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, terms indicating directions such as “up”, “down”, “front”, “back” are used assuming the state of normal use, but the rice cooker according to the present invention It does not mean to limit the usage condition or the like.

(First embodiment)
The overall configuration of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A1-A1 of FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A2-A2 of FIG. 1. FIG. The rice cooker according to the first embodiment is a so-called fully automatic rice cooker that can automatically perform from supplying rice and water into a pot to cooking rice. In addition, in the first embodiment, as the rice to be cooked, rice that does not need to be washed, ie so-called wash-free rice is used. The rice cooker according to the first embodiment is a non-pressure rice cooker in which the pressure in the pot is less than 1.05 atmospheres.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rice cooker according to the first embodiment includes a housing 1, a lid body 2 covering the upper part of the housing 1, and a rectangular parallelepiped or It has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped water tank 3 and a rice tank 4 .

The housing 1 includes a rectangular parallelepiped or substantially rectangular parallelepiped body portion 11 and a rectangular parallelepiped or substantially rectangular parallelepiped base portion 12 on which the water tank 3 and the rice tank 4 are placed. The main body portion 11 and the base portion 12 have the same length in the front-rear direction Y, and are connected so that one side surface of each of them is in spatial communication. The housing 1, the body portion 11, and the base portion 12 each have a rectangular or substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above.

The base portion 12 is provided so as to extend laterally from the lower portion of one side surface of the main body portion 11 . The length of the base portion 12 in the height direction Z is set lower than the length of the main body portion 11 in the height direction Z. As shown in FIG. As a result, one side surface of the main body portion 11 is exposed to the outside. In the first embodiment, one side surface of the main body 11 corresponds to one side surface of the housing 1 . The water tank 3 and the rice tank 4 are provided along one side surface of the main body 11 exposed to the outside.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main body part 11 has a pot housing portion 11a for housing the pot 5 therein. A rotation shaft TA extending in the lateral direction X is provided at the rear upper portion of the main body portion 11 . The lateral direction X, the front-rear direction Y, and the height direction Z are orthogonal to each other. The lid body 2 is rotatably attached to the rotation shaft TA. The lid body 2 is configured to cover the opening of the pan 5 so as to be openable and closable by rotating around the rotation axis TA. In the first embodiment, the lid 2 has a cuboid or substantially cuboid shape.

As shown in FIG. 1 , in the closed state where the lid 2 covers the opening of the pan 5 , the length of the lid 2 in the front-rear direction Y is the same as the length of the main body 11 in the front-rear direction Y. In the closed state of the lid 2, the total length of the main body 11 of the housing 1 and the lid 2 in the height direction Z is the height of the base 12 of the housing 1 and the water tank 3 or the rice tank 4. Matches the total length in direction Z. In addition, in the closed state of the lid 2, the total length in the horizontal direction X of the main body portion 11 and the base portion 12 of the housing 1 is the width of the lid 2 and the water tank 3 (or the lid 2 and the rice tank 4). Match the total length in direction X. That is, in the closed state of the lid 2, the rice cooker according to the first embodiment has a cuboid or substantially cuboid shape.

The water tank 3 is a container that stores water. The rice tank 4 is a container for storing rice. The water tank 3 and the rice tank 4 are arranged in series from the front side to the rear side of the rice cooker, and at least one of them is detachable. In the first embodiment, both the water tank 3 and the rice tank 4 are detachable. Also, the water tank 3 is arranged on the front side of the rice cooker with respect to the rice tank 4 .

The water tank 3 is in fluid communication with the inside of the pot 5 through the water pipe 61 shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, the water pipe 61 extends through the rotation shaft accommodating portion TA1 that accommodates the rotation shaft TA. The water pipe 61 is provided with a water pump 62 shown in FIG. The water in the water tank 3 is supplied into the pan 5 through the water pipe 61 by driving the water pump 62 .

In addition, the rice tank 4 is in fluid communication with the rice input portion 72 through the rice feeding pipe 71 shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, the rice feeding pipe 71 extends through the rotating shaft accommodating portion TA1 that accommodates the rotating shaft TA. The rice feeding pipe 71 is provided with a rice feeding fan (not shown). By driving the rice feeding fan, the rice in the rice feeding pipe 71 is supplied into the rice input section 72 . The rice charging part 72 is a part that separates rice from the airflow of the rice feeding fan and charges the rice into the pot 5 . The bottom portion of the rice charging portion 72 is formed to have a tapered cross section protruding downward.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the rice tank 4 is provided with a rice feeding device 73 . The bottom of the rice tank 4 is formed to have a tapered cross section protruding downward. The rice feeding device 73 is connected to the lowest part of the rice tank 4 and provided so as to extend in the horizontal direction X. As shown in FIG. Also, the rice feeding device 73 communicates with the rice feeding pipe 71 shown in FIG. The rice feeding device 73 is configured to take in the rice in the rice tank 4 and feed it into the rice feeding pipe 71 .

In the first embodiment, a water pipe 61, a water pump 62, a rice feeding pipe 71, a rice feeding fan, a rice input unit 72, and a rice feeding device 73 allow the water in the water tank 3 and the rice tank to flow into the pan 5. An example of a supply unit that supplies rice in 4 is constructed.

As shown in FIG. 3 , a rice tank weight detector 81 for detecting the weight of the rice tank 4 is provided below the rice tank 4 . In the first embodiment, the rice tank weight detector 81 is configured to receive the weight of the rice tank 4 via the rice tank support 12 a provided inside the base 12 of the housing 1 . The rice tank support portion 12a is configured to be relatively movable in the height direction Z with respect to the base portion 12 of the housing 1 . Further, in the first embodiment, the rice tank weight detection unit 81 functions as an example of a remaining amount detection unit that detects the amount of rice remaining in the rice tank 4 . For example, the rice tank weight detection section 81 is configured to detect the weight of the rice tank 4 and the rice tank support section 12a, and to detect the total weight of the rice tank 4 containing rice and the rice tank support section 12a. ing. The rice tank weight detector 81 can detect the remaining amount of water in the water tank 3 by subtracting the weight of the rice tank 4 and the rice tank support 12a from the total weight.

Similarly, a water tank weight detector 82 for detecting the weight of the water tank 3 is provided below the water tank 3 . In the first embodiment, the water tank weight detection section 82 is configured to receive the weight of the water tank 3 via the water tank support section 12b provided inside the base section 12 of the housing 1 . The water tank support portion 12b is configured to be movable relative to the base portion 12 of the housing 1 in the height direction Z. As shown in FIG. Further, in the first embodiment, the water tank weight detection section 82 functions as an example of a remaining amount detection section that detects the remaining amount of water in the water tank 3 . For example, the water tank weight detection section 82 is configured to detect the weight of the water tank 3 and the water tank support section 12b, and to detect the total weight of the water tank 3 filled with water and the water tank support section 12b. ing. The water tank weight detector 82 can detect the remaining amount of water in the water tank 3 by subtracting the weight of the water tank 3 and the water tank support 12b from the total weight.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a partial cross section of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing a state where the bottom wall of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment is removed.

As shown in FIG. 4, a pot weight detection unit 83 for detecting the weight of the pot 5 is provided inside the main body 11 of the housing 1 and below the pot housing portion 11a. In the first embodiment, the pot weight detector 83 is configured to receive the weight of the pot 5 via the pot support portion 11b provided inside the body portion 11 of the housing 1 . The pot support portion 11b is configured to be relatively movable in the height direction Z with respect to the main body portion 11 of the housing 1 .

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the base 12 of the housing 1 is provided with two rice tank weight detectors 81 and two water tank weight detectors 82 . Further, the main body 11 of the housing 1 is provided with four pot weight detectors 83 . In the first embodiment, the rice tank weight detector 81, the water tank weight detector 82, and the pan weight detector 83 have the same structure. Hereinafter, the rice tank weight detection unit 81, the water tank weight detection unit 82, and the pot weight detection unit 83 will be referred to as the weight detection unit 8 unless otherwise distinguished.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration example of the weight detection unit 8, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the weight detector 8 includes a load cell 8A, and a lower case 8B and an upper case 8C that accommodate the load cell 8A. The load cell 8A is attached to the lower case 8B by screwing a screw 8D through a through hole 8Ca provided in the upper case 8C. Lower case 8B is fixed to the bottom wall of housing 1 . Further, the load cell 8A is attached to the upper case 8C by screwing a screw 8E through a through hole 8Ba provided in the lower case 8B. The upper case 8C is arranged to support the pot support portion 11b, the rice tank support portion 12a, or the water tank support portion 12b from below.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, on the upper wall of the lid 2, various rice cooking information such as the amount of rice to be cooked and the rice cooking course (polished rice course, brown rice course, etc.) are displayed. A display operation unit 21 is provided for selecting rice cooking information. The display operation unit 21 includes a liquid crystal display 21A for displaying various rice cooking information, and a plurality of buttons 21B for instructing the execution of rice cooking start, cancellation, reservation, etc., in addition to selection of rice cooking amount and rice cooking course. The user can refer to various rice cooking information displayed on the liquid crystal display 21A, select specific rice cooking information using a plurality of buttons 21B, and instruct the start of rice cooking. In the first embodiment, the display operation unit 21 is an example of a selection unit that can select the amount of rice to be cooked. In addition, in the first embodiment, the display operation unit 21 also functions as a notification unit that issues a warning. Specifically, when the remaining amount of rice in the rice tank 4 and the remaining amount of water in the water tank 3 are less than the remaining amounts of rice and water predetermined according to the rice cooking information, the display operation unit 21 issues a warning. is configured to emit The warning may be given by being displayed on the liquid crystal display 21A, or may be given by voice.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2 , a pot heating device 13 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pot accommodating portion 11 a of the housing 1 at a position facing the pot 5 . The pot heating device 13 is an example of a heating unit that heats the pot 5 . The pot heating device 13 is, for example, an induction heating coil that induction-heats the pot 5 when energized. A through hole is provided in the central bottom portion of the pot housing portion 11a of the housing 1, and a pot temperature sensor 14, which is an example of a temperature detection portion, is provided so as to come into contact with the central bottom portion of the pot 5 through the through hole. .

A controller 15 is provided inside the main body 11 of the housing 1 . The control unit 15 controls the water pipe 61, the water pump 62, the rice feeding pipe 71, the rice feeding fan, and the rice feeding device 73 to supply rice and water into the pot 5, and controls the pot heating device 13. to perform the rice cooking process. The control unit 15 includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of rice cooking sequences for cooking rice. Here, the "rice cooking sequence" means that the energization time, heating temperature, heating time, heating output, etc. are predetermined in each process when mainly four processes of preheating, raising temperature, maintaining boiling, and steaming are executed in order. It refers to the procedure for cooking rice. Each rice cooking sequence corresponds to one of a plurality of rice cooking courses. The control unit 15 controls the pot heating device 13 based on the rice cooking information selected by the display operation unit 21 and the temperature detected by the pot temperature sensor 14 to perform the rice cooking process.

The control unit 15 also includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of preparation sequences to be performed before starting the rice cooking process. Here, the "preparation sequence" refers to a procedure in which the driving time of each pump or fan, etc., is determined in advance in each step in executing each step including rice feeding and water feeding. The control unit 15 controls the water pipe 61, the water pump 62, the rice feed pipe 71, the rice feed fan, and the rice feed device based on the rice cooking information selected by the display operation unit 21 and the weight detected by the weight detection unit 8. 73 to execute each of the above steps.

Next, operation of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment.

First, in step S<b>1 , the user sets the water tank 3 containing water and the rice tank 4 containing rice on the base 12 of the housing 1 .

Next, in step S2, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the user operates the display operation unit 21 to select the rice cooking information and instruct to start cooking rice. When there is no selection of rice cooking information and no instruction to start rice cooking ("NO" in step S2), the control unit 15 waits without driving the pump or the like. On the other hand, if there is an instruction to select the rice cooking information and to start cooking rice ("YES" in step S2), the control unit 15 proceeds to step S3.

Next, in step S3, the control unit 15 detects the rice in the rice tank 4 and the water in the water tank 3 based on the weight detected by the rice tank weight detection unit 81 and the weight detected by the water tank weight detection unit 82. Detects (determines) the remaining amount of the battery.

Next, in step S4, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the remaining amounts of rice in the rice tank 4 and water in the water tank 3 are equal to or greater than the remaining amounts of rice and water predetermined according to the rice cooking information. judge. When the remaining amounts of rice in the rice tank 4 and water in the water tank 3 are less than the remaining amounts of rice and water predetermined according to the rice cooking information ("NO" in step S4), the control unit 15 , the process proceeds to step S5, and the display/operation unit 21 issues a warning. On the other hand, if the remaining amount of rice in the rice tank 4 and the remaining amount of water in the water tank 3 are equal to or greater than the remaining amounts of rice and water determined in advance according to the rice cooking information ("YES" in step S4), the control unit 15 proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the control unit 15 performs the rice feeding process and the water feeding process. The rice feeding process is a process of feeding the rice in the rice tank 4 into the pot 5 . In the rice feeding process, the control unit 15 drives the rice feeding device 73 for a predetermined time according to the rice cooking information to move the rice in the rice tank 4 into the rice feeding pipe 71 and the rice feeding fan. is driven to supply the rice in the rice feeding pipe 71 into the pot 5 through the rice charging portion 72.例文帳に追加The water feeding process is a process of feeding the water in the water tank 3 into the pot 5 . In the water feeding step, the control unit 15 drives the water pump 62 for a predetermined time according to the rice cooking information, and feeds the water in the water tank 3 into the pot 5 through the water pipe 61 . In addition, the rice feeding process and the water feeding process may be performed in order or may be performed simultaneously.

Next, in step S7, the control unit 15 determines the amounts of rice and water supplied from the rice tank 4 and the water tank 3 into the pot 5 based on the weight detected by the weight detection unit 8.

Next, in step S8, if the amounts of rice and water supplied into the pot 5 have not reached the amounts of rice and water that are predetermined according to the rice cooking information (“NO” in step S8), control The unit 15 returns to step S6 to continue the rice feeding and water feeding steps. On the other hand, when the amount of rice and water supplied into the pot 5 reaches the amount of rice and water predetermined according to the rice cooking information ("YES" in step S8), the control unit 15 performs step S9. proceed to

In step S9, the control part 15 performs a rice cooking process. In the first embodiment, the control unit 15 controls the pot heating device 13 based on the rice cooking information selected by the display operation unit 21 and the temperature detected by the pot temperature sensor 14 to perform the rice cooking process.

As described above, the rice cooker according to the first embodiment can automatically perform from supplying rice and water to the pot 5 to cooking the rice.

According to the rice cooker according to the first embodiment, the weight detection unit 8 that detects the weight of at least one of the pot 5, the rice tank 4, and the water tank 3 is provided, and based on the weight detected by the weight detection unit 8, It is arranged to determine the amount of rice or water that has been dispensed into the pan 5. By this. The amount of rice or water supplied into the pan 5 can be determined more accurately.

According to the rice cooker according to the first embodiment, since it is a non-pressure type rice cooker that performs the rice cooking process with the pressure in the pan 5 being less than 1.05 atmospheres, the pressure generated in the pan 5 causes the weight detection unit 8 to can reduce the impact of As a result, the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank 4 or the water tank 3 into the pot 5 can be determined with higher accuracy.

Further, according to the rice cooker according to the first embodiment, the control unit 15 controls the amount of rice and water determined based on the weight detected by the weight detection unit 8 to reach the predetermined amount. It is configured to keep supplying rice and water inside. As a result, a more appropriate amount of rice and water can be supplied into the pot 5 .

Further, according to the rice cooker according to the first embodiment, the rice tank weight detection unit 81 and the water tank weight are used as the remaining amount detection unit for detecting the amount of rice in the rice tank 4 and the amount of water in the water tank 3. A detection unit 82 is provided. In addition, the control unit 15 determines that the amount of rice in the rice tank 4 and the remaining amount of water in the water tank 3 are less than the amount of rice or water corresponding to the rice cooking information (cooking amount) selected by the display operation unit 21. When there is, it is configured to control the display operation unit 21 to issue a warning. As a result, for example, the user is replenished with rice in the rice tank 4 or water in the water tank 3 without directly checking the amount of rice in the rice tank 4 or the amount of water in the water tank 3. I can tell you the timing.

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 rice tank weight detection unit 81 and the water tank weight detection unit 82 are provided as the remaining amount detection unit for detecting the amount of rice in the rice tank 4 and the amount of water in the water tank 3. The invention is not so limited. The remaining amount detection unit may be, for example, a sensor that detects the height of the rice in the rice tank 4 or the height of the water in the water tank 3 .

Also, the amount of rice in the rice tank 4 or the amount of water in the water tank 3 can be estimated when the rice tank 4 or the water tank 3 is attached to the housing 1 . That is, it is generally assumed that the user stores a predetermined amount (for example, full tank amount) of rice or water in the rice tank 4 or the water tank 3 . Therefore, when the rice tank 4 or the water tank 3 is removed from the housing 1 and then reattached to the housing 1, the control unit 15 determines in advance the inside of the rice tank 4 or the water tank 3. It may be configured to determine that an amount (eg, 400 g) of rice or water is contained.

Also, the amount of rice in the rice tank 4 and the remaining amount of water in the water tank 3 can be calculated based on the rice and water supplied to the pot 5 . For example, when 100 g of rice is supplied from the rice tank 4 containing 400 g of rice to the pot 5, the remaining amount of rice in the rice tank 4 can be calculated to be 300 g (=400 g - 100 g). can. Further, if it is assumed that 10 g of rice remains in the rice feeding pipe 71, it can be calculated that the remaining amount of rice in the rice tank 4 is 290 g. Therefore, the amount of rice in the rice tank 4 and the amount of water in the water tank 3 may be determined based on the weight detected by the pot weight detection unit 83 . That is, the control unit 15 may be configured to determine the amount of rice in the rice tank 4 and the remaining amount of water in the water tank 3 based on the weight detected by the pot weight detection unit 83 .

Further, in the above description, the display operation unit 21 functions also as a notification unit that issues a warning, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the notification unit may be provided in another part of the housing 1, or may be provided in the rice tank 4 or the water tank 3. Moreover, the warning transmitted by the notification unit is not limited to being displayed on the rice cooker or transmitted as a voice from the rice cooker. For example, the warning transmitted by the notification unit may be displayed on a mobile information terminal such as a smartphone, or may be transmitted as a voice from the mobile information terminal.

(Second embodiment)
A rice cooker according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the rice cooker according to the second embodiment.

The rice cooker according to the second embodiment differs from the rice cooker according to the first embodiment in that steps S11 to S17 are performed instead of steps S6 to S8. Since steps S1 to S5 and step S9 are the same, steps S11 to S17 will be described below.

In step S<b>11 , the control unit 15 detects the weight of the pot 5 based on the weight detected by the pot weight detection unit 83 . In the second embodiment, the controller 15 detects the weights of the pot 5 and the pot supporter 11b based on the weight detected by the pot weight detector 83 .

Next, in step S12, the control unit 15 performs a rice transfer process. In the rice feeding process, the control unit 15 drives the rice feeding device 73 for a predetermined time according to the rice cooking information to move the rice in the rice tank 4 into the rice feeding pipe 71 and the rice feeding fan. is driven to supply the rice in the rice feeding pipe 71 into the pot 5 through the rice charging portion 72.例文帳に追加

Next, in step S<b>13 , the control unit 15 detects the weight of rice in the pot 5 based on the weight detected by the pot weight detection unit 83 . In the second embodiment, the control unit 15 subtracts the weight (pot 5, pot support 11b) detected in step S11 from the weight (pot 5, rice, pot support 11b) detected in step S13. Thus, the weight of rice in the pan 5 is detected.

Next, in step S14, when the amount of rice supplied into the pot 5 has not reached the amount of rice predetermined according to the rice cooking information (“NO” in step S14), the control unit 15 Returning to step S12, the rice transfer process is continued. On the other hand, when the amount of rice supplied into the pot 5 reaches the amount of rice predetermined according to the rice cooking information ("YES" in step S14), the control section 15 proceeds to step S15.

Next, in step S15, the control unit 15 performs a water supply process. In the water feeding step, the control unit 15 drives the water pump 62 for a predetermined time according to the rice cooking information, and feeds the water in the water tank 3 into the pot 5 through the water pipe 61 .

Next, in step S<b>16 , the controller 15 detects the weight of the water in the pot 5 based on the weight detected by the pot weight detector 83 . In the second embodiment, the control unit 15 changes the weight (pot 5, rice, pot support 11b) detected in step S13 from the weight (pot 5, rice, water, pot support 11b) detected in step S16. ), the weight of the water in the pot 5 is detected.

Next, in step S17, when the amount of water supplied into the pan 5 has not reached the amount of water predetermined according to the rice cooking information (“NO” in step S17), the control unit 15 It returns to step S15 and continues a water supply process. On the other hand, when the amount of water supplied into the pot 5 reaches the amount of water predetermined according to the rice cooking information ("YES" in step S17), the control unit 15 proceeds to step S9 to cook rice. Execute the process.

According to the rice cooker according to the second embodiment, after detecting the weight of the pot 5, the control unit 15 supplies the rice into the pot 5, and Detect weight. After that, the control unit 15 is configured to determine the amount of rice supplied into the pan 5 by subtracting the weight of the pan 5 from the total weight. As a result, for example, even when the opening of the pot 5 is closed with the lid 2 so as to cover the opening, the influence of the contact between the pot 5 and the lid 2 does not affect the detection of the weight of the pot 5. , when detecting gross weight. That is, the influence can be suppressed by subtracting the weight of the pan 5 from the total weight. As a result, the amount of rice supplied from the rice tank 4 into the pot 5 can be determined with higher accuracy.

Further, according to the rice cooker according to the second embodiment, after detecting the weight of the pot 5 and the rice, the control unit 15 supplies water into the pot 5 and supplies water into the pot 5 and the pot 5. Detect the total weight of rice and water. After that, the control unit 15 is configured to determine the amount of water supplied into the pan 5 by subtracting the weight of the pan 5 and the rice from the total weight. As a result, as described above, even when the opening of the pot 5 is closed with the lid 2, the influence of contact between the pot 5 and the lid 2 can be suppressed. As a result, the amount of water supplied from the water tank 3 into the pan 5 can be determined with higher accuracy.

Further, according to the rice cooker according to the second embodiment, the control unit 15 is configured to supply water from the water tank 3 into the pot 5 after supplying rice from the rice tank 4 into the pot 5. ing. As a result, even if the rice piles up in the shape of a mountain in the pan 5, the shape of the pile can be broken by the water supplied into the pan 5 after that, and the top surface of the piled rice can be made flatter.

In the second embodiment, the control unit 15 is configured to supply water from the water tank 3 to the pot 5 after rice is supplied from the rice tank 4 to the pot 5. The invention is not limited to this. For example, the controller 15 may be configured to supply rice from the rice tank 4 into the pan 5 after water is supplied from the water tank 3 into the pan 5 .

(Third embodiment)
A rice cooker according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the rice cooker according to the third embodiment.

The rice cooker according to the third embodiment differs from the rice cooker according to the first embodiment in that steps S21 to S26 are performed instead of steps S6 to S8. Since steps S1 to S5 and step S9 are the same, steps S21 to S26 will be described below.

In step S21, the control unit 15 performs a rice transfer process. In the rice feeding process, the control unit 15 drives the rice feeding device 73 for a predetermined time according to the rice cooking information to move the rice in the rice tank 4 into the rice feeding pipe 71 and the rice feeding fan. is driven to supply the rice in the rice feeding pipe 71 into the pot 5 through the rice charging portion 72.例文帳に追加

Next, in step S22, the control unit 15 detects the weight of the rice in the rice tank 4 based on the weight detected by the rice tank weight detection unit 81, and based on the weight, the rice supplied into the pot 5 is detected. to detect the weight of In the third embodiment, the control unit 15 subtracts the weight of the rice detected in step S22 from the remaining amount of rice in the rice tank 4 detected in step S3, so that the amount of rice supplied into the pot 5 is Detect (determine) the weight of rice.

Next, in step S23, if the amount of rice supplied into the pot 5 has not reached the amount of rice predetermined according to the rice cooking information (“NO” in step S23), the control unit 15 Returning to step S21, the rice transfer process is continued. On the other hand, when the amount of rice supplied into the pan 5 reaches the amount of rice predetermined according to the rice cooking information ("YES" in step S23), the control section 15 proceeds to step S24.

Next, in step S24, the control unit 15 performs a water supply process. In the water feeding step, the control unit 15 drives the water pump 62 for a predetermined time according to the rice cooking information, and feeds the water in the water tank 3 into the pot 5 through the water pipe 61 .

Next, in step S25, the control unit 15 detects the weight of the water in the water tank 3 based on the weight detected by the water tank weight detection unit 82, and the water supplied to the pot 5 based on the weight. to detect the weight of In the third embodiment, the control unit 15 subtracts the weight of the water detected in step S25 from the remaining amount of water in the water tank 3 detected in step S3, thereby Detect (determine) the weight of water.

Next, in step S26, when the amount of water supplied into the pan 5 has not reached the amount of water predetermined according to the rice cooking information (“NO” in step S26), the control unit 15 It returns to step S24 and continues a water supply process. On the other hand, when the amount of water supplied into the pot 5 reaches the amount of water predetermined according to the rice cooking information ("YES" in step S26), the control unit 15 proceeds to step S9 to start cooking rice. Execute the process.

According to the rice cooker according to the third embodiment, the controller 15 controls the weight detected by the rice tank weight detector 81 and the water tank weight detector 82 from the rice tank 4 and the water tank 3 to the pot 5 . configured to determine the amount of rice and water supplied to the According to this configuration, the amount of rice and water supplied from the rice tank 4 and the water tank 3 into the pot 5 is based on the amount of weight reduction detected by the rice tank weight detection unit 81 and the water tank weight detection unit 82. can be estimated. In addition, since the weights of the rice tank 4 and the water tank 3 are detected by the rice tank weight detection unit 81 and the water tank weight detection unit 82, the amount of rice and water supplied from the rice tank 4 and the water tank 3 into the pan 5 is calculated. can be determined more accurately.

Although the rice cooker according to the third embodiment includes the rice tank weight detection unit 81 and the water tank weight detection unit 82, the present invention is not limited to this. Only one of the rice tank weight detection unit 81 and the water tank weight detection unit 82 may be provided. The weight detection unit 8 may also include a total tank weight detection unit (not shown) that detects the total weight of the rice tank 4 and the water tank 3 . In this case, the control unit 15 supplies the rice and water into the pan 5 at mutually different timings, and based on the weight detected by the total tank weight detection unit, It may be configured to determine the amount of rice or water supplied. According to this configuration, rice and water are supplied to the pan 5 at mutually different timings, so that the amount of rice in the rice tank 4 and the amount of water in the water tank 3 are detected by one tank total weight detection unit. be able to. As a result, when rice or water is being supplied from the rice tank 4 or the water tank 3 to the pan 5, based on the amount of decrease in weight detected by the tank total weight detector, The amount of rice or water supplied within 5 can be estimated. Further, since the weight of the rice tank 4 or the water tank 3 is detected by the total tank weight detection unit, the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank 4 or the water tank 3 to the pot 5 can be determined with higher accuracy. can. Further, for example, if the total tank weight detection unit has such accuracy that it detects the weight of the rice tank 4 at a constant rate smaller than the mass, the total tank weight detection unit detects the weight of the water tank 3 as well. It will be detected at a constant rate smaller than the mass. Therefore, the ratio of the rice and water supplied into the pot 5 can be kept constant, and variations in rice cooking can be suppressed.

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

Since the rice cooker according to the present invention can more accurately determine the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or the water tank into the pot, for example, from supplying rice and water to the pot to cooking the rice. It is useful as a fully automatic rice cooker that can be automatically operated.

Reference Signs List 1 housing 2 lid 3 water tank 4 rice tank 5 pan 8 weight detector 8A load cell 8B lower case 8Ba through hole 8C upper case 8Ca through hole 8D screw 8E screw 11 main body 11a pan housing 11b pan support 12 base 12a Rice tank support part 12b Water tank support part 13 Pot heating device (heating part)
14 Pot temperature sensor (temperature detection part)
15 control unit 21 display operation unit (selection unit, notification unit)
21A liquid crystal display 21B button 61 water pipe 62 water pump 71 rice feed pipe 72 rice input unit 73 rice feed device 81 rice tank weight detector (residual amount detector)
82 Water tank weight detector (remaining amount detector)
83 Pot weight detector TA Rotating shaft TA1 Rotating shaft housing

Claims (11)

a pot and
a housing that accommodates the pot;
a heating unit that heats the pot;
a rice tank containing rice;
a water tank containing water;
a supply unit that supplies the rice in the rice tank and the water in the water tank into the pot;
a weight detection unit that detects the weight of at least one of the pot, the rice tank, and the water tank;
a control unit that controls the supply unit to supply rice and water into the pot and controls the heating unit to perform a rice cooking process;
with
The rice cooker, wherein the control unit determines the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or the water tank into the pan by the supply unit, based on the weight detected by the weight detection unit. The weight detection unit includes a pot weight detection unit that detects the weight of the pot,
After the weight of the pot is detected by the pot weight detection unit, the control unit controls the supply unit to supply at least one of rice and water into the pot, and the weight of the pot is detected by the pot weight detection unit. The total weight of at least one of the rice and water supplied into the pan is detected, and the amount of at least one of the rice and water supplied into the pan is calculated by subtracting the weight of the pan from the total weight. The rice cooker according to claim 1, which judges. The weight detection unit includes a rice tank weight detection unit that detects the weight of the rice tank and a water tank weight detection unit that detects the weight of the water tank,
The control unit controls the amount of rice or water supplied from the rice tank or the water tank to the pot by the supply unit based on the weight detected by the rice tank weight detection unit or the water tank weight detection unit. The rice cooker according to claim 1, which determines. The weight detection unit includes a total tank weight detection unit that detects the total weight of the rice tank and the water tank,
The control unit controls the supply unit to supply the rice and the water into the pot at mutually different timings, and based on the weight detected by the total tank weight detection unit, the rice tank is weighed by the supply unit. Alternatively, the rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the amount of rice or water supplied from the water tank into the pot is determined. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit controls the supply unit to supply rice from the rice tank into the pot, and then supplies water from the water tank into the pot. Rice cooker as described. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rice cooker is a non-pressure type rice cooker in which the pressure in the pot is less than 1.05 atm. The control unit controls the supply unit to supply rice and water into the pot until the amount of rice and water determined based on the weight detected by the weight detection unit reaches a predetermined amount. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 6, continuing. At least one of the rice tank and the water tank is detachably attached to the housing,
When the rice tank or the water tank is removed from the housing and then reattached to the housing, the control unit controls the inside of the rice tank or the water tank reattached to the housing. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a predetermined amount of rice or water is stored in the rice cooker. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a remaining amount detection unit that detects a remaining amount of at least one of the rice in the rice tank and the water in the water tank. 3. The rice cooker according to claim 2, wherein the controller determines the remaining amount of at least one of the rice in the rice tank and the water in the water tank based on the weight detected by the pot weight detector. a selection unit that can select the amount of rice to be cooked;
a reporting unit that issues a warning;
further comprising
When the remaining amount of at least one of the rice in the rice tank and the water in the water tank is less than the amount of rice or water corresponding to the amount of rice to be cooked selected by the selection unit, the control unit 11. The rice cooker according to claim 9 or 10, which controls the reporting unit to issue a warning.

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