JP3354492B2 - Pressure cooker - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pressure cooker, such as an electric rice cooker, for performing cooking by increasing the pressure in a pot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is known that cooking rice, boiled food, and the like by increasing the pressure in a pot results in a short and delicious cooked food.

A pressure regulating valve for keeping the inside of the pot at a predetermined pressure and a valve which opens when the inside of the pot becomes abnormally high pressure to open and communicate the inside of the pot with the atmosphere. A safety valve is provided.

Each of these valves operates independently of the user's intention, and does not particularly affect the operation of opening the lid.

However, apart from the above-mentioned valve, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 6957, a switching valve for communicating the inside of the pot with the atmosphere by an external operation is provided. The original purpose of this switching valve is to switch between cooking rice at normal pressure and cooking rice at high pressure, as described in the description of the prior art. When the lid is opened during the pressure cooking, the switching button is pressed to release the pressure in the pan, and then the locking button is pressed to release the locked state of the lid. (See page 4, line 5, line 41 to line 6, column 4, line 4)

[0006]

As described above, in the case of the pressure cooker, the lid cannot be opened unless the pressure in the pot is released to the atmosphere and brought to a normal pressure state. Is also often kept warm.

[0007] After the pressure cooking is completed, as in a pressure cooker, the switching valve is operated because the pressure does not naturally decrease in a short time, but this operation is troublesome.

In particular, after cooking is completed, the lid is frequently opened and closed, and every time the lid is opened, it is necessary to operate the switching valve to release the pressure in the pot to the atmosphere, which is inconvenient. This is because, in the case of a pressure cooker, the lid configuration is different from that of other normal-pressure cookers, so that the degree of sealing of the pot is high even after the completion of cooking, such as during warming.

Therefore, it is desirable that the switching valve be configured to automatically release the pressure in the pot when necessary, for example, after the completion of cooking. However, it is not possible to automatically release the pressure in all usage states. It is not possible, and for this reason, the switching valve needs to be able to be operated externally based on the user's intention.

In consideration of such various factors, the pressure in the pot is automatically released to the atmosphere when required at a minimum, and the pressure is released by an external operation when the user needs it, so that each function is effectively performed. Nothing was more convenient.

According to the present invention, the pressure in the pot is automatically released to the atmosphere at a minimum when necessary, and the pressure is released by an external operation as required to facilitate opening of the lid. The mechanism is shared and simplified, and the operation of the mechanism is smoothed.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a frame having an operation button on a front side, a pot which is provided in the frame and accommodates food, and an opening of the pot which is hermetically closed and covered by an external operation. An inner lid having a pressure relief valve that is pressed to allow communication between the inside of the pan and the atmosphere, and an outer lid provided above the inner lid and closely attaching the inner lid to the pan, wherein the outer lid has an upper surface. A rotatable pressure release button provided with a pivot portion on the operation button side, and a pivot portion of the front operation button disposed between a lower portion of the free end side of the pressure release button and above the pressure relief valve. A rotatable operating plate provided with a pivot at a position opposite to the above, a drive motor that operates after cooking is completed, and a slide plate having one side facing the operating plate and the other side connected to the drive motor. The pressure relief valve is provided by moving a slide plate by operating the drive motor and rotating an operation plate. And pressed Nabenai the atmosphere is to communicate.

[0013] The outer lid is rotatably supported on one side by a frame and is locked on the other side by a frame to hold a closed state and is opened by the operation button. Is disposed adjacent to the operation button.

[0014] The outer lid has stoppers provided below the pressure release button and above the operation plate.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a pressure cooker when an electric rice cooker is illustrated as one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view also focusing on the lid, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the inside of the pan is closed, and FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the pressure inside the pan is released by an external operation.

(1) is a frame having a bottom but not shown in detail, (2) is an operation button for locking a lid, which will be described later, provided on the front upper portion of the frame, and (3) is a frame. The pan (4) is provided so that it can be inserted and removed, and one side is pivotally supported by a shaft pin (5) on the rear side opposite to the operation button (2) of the frame (1), and the other side is operated as described above. The cover is provided to be freely hooked on the button (2). An inner cover (6) is detachably attached to a lower portion, and an outer cover (7) is provided above the inner cover (6).

The structure of the inner lid (6) will be described with reference to FIG. (8) is a sealed packing attached to the outer peripheral edge,
(9) is a protruding cylinder for mounting on the outer lid (7) protruding from the upper surface of the center, (10) is a steam vent hole, and (11) is a pressure release valve provided at a position further away from the protruding cylinder. , Steam vent (1
0), a valve body (12) is attached to a lower part thereof, and the lifting and lowering rod (14) constantly pushed upward by a first spring (13) to urge the cylinder cover (14) surrounding the outer side of the lifting and lowering rod. 15), a seat (17) having a steam passage (16) formed between the lifting rod (14), and a second spring (1) interposed between the seat and the cylinder cover (15).
8) and a contact plate (19) provided below the seat (17).
In a normal state, the first spring (13) causes the valve body (12) to hit the lower part of the abutment plate (19) to close the steam passage (16), and the elevating rod ( 14) is pressed down from above against the first spring (13) to lower the valve element (12) and open the steam passage (16).

Next, the structure of the outer lid (7) will be described with reference to FIGS. (20) is an outer plate, (21)
Is an inner plate formed with a space (22) formed below the outer plate, and (23) is a heat sink mounted below the inner plate,
The central portion has an engagement rubber (24). (25) is a ∩-shaped elastic packing attached to a portion located above the pressure relief valve (11), and (26) is the outer lid (7).
The pressure release button is exposed on the upper surface of the device, and one end is pivotally supported by a pivot portion (27) to a position close to the operation button (2) side, and the other end is a free end and a pressing piece ( 27), and the other end is constantly urged upward by a spring (not shown).

(28) is an operation plate having a substantially L-shaped side surface disposed between the lower side of the free end side of the pressure release button (26) and the upper side of the pressure release valve (11). 29) a pivot portion (30) is provided opposite to the operation button (2), the other end (32) having a step (31) is rotatable, and the lower end of the other end is provided. Is provided with a pressing rod (33), and a receiving wall (3) for pressing down the pressing rod (33) by receiving an external force from the side is provided on a side wall near the pivot portion (30).
4) is formed. The operating plate (28) is raised in a normal state by the restoring force of the elastic packing (25).

(35) is a stopper having one side fixed to the upper surface of the inner plate (21) and the other end provided below the pressure release button (26) and above the operating plate (28). A hook (36) is formed at the tip of the other end. (37) is a steam vent provided in the outer plate (20).

A pressing plate (38) is fixed to the upper surface of the inner plate (21). One side of the pressing plate is fixed to the frame (1) together with the shaft pin (5), and the other side of the pressing plate (shown in FIG. ) Is attached with a hook (39) which can be hooked freely. The hook can be released from the hook by the operation of the operation button (2) to open the lid (4).

Reference numeral (40) denotes a drive motor fixed on the upper surface of the pressure plate (38) and close to the shaft pin (5) side. The provided cam (42) is rotated half a turn. (43) is a slide plate extending left and right across the steam vent (37), and a pressing projection (44) provided on one side is attached to the operation plate (2).
8) A slide plate which is opposed to the receiving wall (34) and whose other side is connected to the cam (42) of the drive motor (40), wherein the pressing projection (44) is guide-fixed by a saddle (45). You.

Next, the operation will be described. The operation for cooking rice is as follows. First, a predetermined amount of rice and water are put in a pot (3), stored in the frame (1), and the lid (4) is attached with the inner lid (6) attached. It turns and hooks (39) the hooking piece to hold the closed state.

With the closing of the lid (4), the pressing plate (3)
8) The pressing force by the inner plate (21) and the radiator plate (2)
The inner lid (6) is pushed down through (3) to bring the hermetic packing (8) into close contact with the periphery of the opening of the pot (3).

During rice cooking, as shown in FIG. 4, the lifting rod (14) is raised by the urging force of the first spring (13), and the valve body (12) comes into close contact with the lower part of the contact plate (19). The steam passage (16) is closed.

In the course of rice cooking and the pressure in the pot increasing to some extent and the rice being pressure cooked, if the user needs to open the lid (4) at his will, as shown in FIG. When the pressure release button (26) is pressed from the front side of the frame (1) with the fingertip (F) to press the pressing piece (27) and the operating plate (28) is pressed down, the operating plate moves the pivot (30). While rotating as a fulcrum, the pressing rod (33) pushes down the upper part of the elastic packing (25). With this pushing-down operation, the lifting rod (14) is pushed down against the first spring (13), and the valve body (12) separates from the plate (19) to open the steam passage (16), and the inside of the pot is opened. The pressure of the steam passage (1
6), space (S) between inner lid (6) and heat sink (23)
(See FIG. 2) The air in the pan is released from the steam vent (37) to the atmosphere through the vent (37) to reduce the pressure in the pan.

The operation button (2) is depressed when the pressure in the pan is reduced, the hook (39) and the hook are released, and the lid (4) is rotated and opened.

When the pressure release button (26) is depressed, the lower surface of the pressure release button (26) is connected to the stopper (35) to prevent the operation plate (28) from rotating more than necessary.
Hit the top.

When the pressure release button (26) during rice cooking is not depressed, the step (31) of the operating plate (28) is brought into contact with the hook (36) of the stopper (35) and turned upward more than necessary. Stop moving.

When the pressure cooking (cooking) is completed, the drive motor (40) is automatically driven by a microcomputer (not shown) to rotate the cam (42), and the cam is rotated half a turn from the position shown in FIG. The slide plate (38) is moved to the left in FIG. Along with this movement, as shown in FIG.
4) pushes the receiving wall (34) to rotate the operating plate (28) and push down the elevating rod (14) by the pressing rod (33) to separate the valve body (12) from the plate (19) and the steam passage ( 16) is released to release the pressure in the pan to the atmosphere and rotate the lid (4).

[0031]

As described above, the present invention relates to a pressure release button pivotally supported, and a pressure release button disposed below the pressure release button and located at a position opposite to the operation button that allows the cover to be opened. A rotatable operation plate provided with a pivot portion, a drive motor that operates after cooking is completed, and a slide plate that is moved by the drive motor to rotate the operation plate, wherein the pressure release button and the slide plate move to move the inside of the pan. Can be released to the atmosphere. That is, the pressure in the pot can be automatically released and the lid can be opened, depending on the user's intention and at the minimum necessary time.

In particular, the pivot portion of the pressure release button is on the operation button side which allows the lid to be opened, and can be operated by natural pressing of the fingertip, and the pivot portion for operation is opposite to the pivot portion of the operation button. With the provision on the side, the force of the slide plate by the drive motor can be effectively transmitted to the operation.

Of course, in releasing the pressure in the pot, if the operation is performed by an external operation, the mechanism can be shared by simply adding a pressure release button.

Further, since the pressure release button is provided close to the operation button, a series of operations for releasing the pressure in the pan and opening the lid can be quickly performed by slightly moving the fingertip.

Further, since the outer lid is provided with a stopper for restricting the operation plate from moving more than necessary, the operation plate is always stationary at a predetermined position, and the operation is performed by either the pressure release button or the drive motor. Even in this case, the pressure relief operation can be reliably performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a pressure cooker when an electric rice cooker is used as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view centering on the lid.

FIG. 3 is an internal plan view of the lid.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the inside of the pot is sealed.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which pressure in the pot is released by an external operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 frame 2 operation button 4 lid 11 pressure release valve 16 steam passage 20 outer plate 21 inner plate 26 pressure release button 27 pivotal support 28 operating plate 30 pivotal support 35 stopper 40 drive motor 43 slide plate

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroaki Tanaka 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Norio Yamane 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Tottori Inside Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Minoru Okada 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-6-46957 (JP, A) 4708 (JP, U) Shokai Sho 56-78722 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47J 27/00 103 A47J 27/08

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A frame having an operation button on a front side, a pot which is housed in the frame and accommodates a cooking object, an opening of the pot is hermetically sealed, the pot is pressed by an external operation, and the inside of the pot and the atmosphere are opened. An inner lid having a pressure release valve that communicates with an inner lid, and an outer lid provided above the inner lid and bringing the inner lid into close contact with the pan, wherein the outer lid is exposed on the upper surface and is provided on the operation button side. A rotatable pressure release button provided with a pivot portion, and a pivot portion disposed below the free end side of the pressure release button and above the pressure release valve and at a position opposite to the pivot portion of the front operation button. Provided with a rotatable operating plate, a drive motor that operates after the completion of cooking, and a slide plate having one side facing the operating plate and the other side connected to the drive motor, and by operating the drive motor. Move the slide plate and rotate the operation plate to press the pressure relief valve to communicate the inside of the pot with the atmosphere Pressure cooker characterized by performing. 2. The pressure release button according to claim 2, wherein the outer lid is rotatably supported on one side by a frame and is rotatably supported on the other side by a frame. The pressure cooker according to claim 1, wherein the pressure cooker is disposed adjacent to the operation button. 3. The pressure cooker according to claim 1, wherein the outer lid has stoppers provided below the pressure release button and above an operation plate.