JP4056986B2 - Anti-spill device for rice cookers - Google Patents

Description

  In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus for preventing spillage from a rice cooker suitable for being provided in a lid of a pressure rice cooker.

  Boiled spills generated in the rice cooker are mixed with the steam generated in the rice cooker with viscous starch (so-called rice balls) and discharged from the rice cooker lid steam outlet without the rice balls fully removed. It is generated by. For this reason, conventionally, a device has been devised that separates and captures rice balls mixed with steam by providing a spill prevention device for capturing rice balls in the lid of the rice cooker.

  As such a rice cooker spill prevention device, the steam cooker has a steam passage in the lid of the rice cooker that allows the inside of the rice cooker to communicate with the outside of the rice cooker. There is a type in which a trapping chamber provided with a steam inlet for ejecting mixed steam and a labyrinth serving as a path to the steam port is provided (Patent Document 1).

The mixed steam is ejected from the steam inlet to the lower surface of the steam port member, and is condensed by removing heat from the steam port member in contact with the outside air. As a result, the rice ball is separated together with the water droplets, and the rice ball is retained in the lower part of the trapping chamber. Further, the rice bowl remaining in the steam is separated and trapped in the labyrinth and stays in the lower part of the trapping chamber. As a result, only the steam is discharged from the steam port.
JP-A-9-140568 (see paragraphs 0006 to 0008, FIG. 3)

  By the way, recently, a pressure regulating valve for controlling the pressure in the rice cooking pot is provided at the upstream end of the steam passage so that the cooking condition of the rice can be adjusted to the user's preference, and the pressure in the rice cooking pot is set to 1.0 to Pressure rice cookers that can be freely adjusted between about 1.3 atmospheres have become widespread. In such a pressure-type rice cooker, unless the inside of the rice cooking pan can be quickly depressurized, the pressure control is not successful and a desired cooking condition cannot be obtained. For this reason, even when the inside of the rice cooker is opened at the maximum set pressure and mixed steam suddenly spouts into the steam passage, it is necessary to smoothly discharge the steam to the outside of the apparatus.

  However, in the case where the one shown in Patent Document 1 is provided in a pressure rice cooker, in order to smoothly discharge the steam to the outside, the mixed steam does not receive excessive inflow resistance at the steam inlet. It is necessary to determine the diameter of the steam inlet according to the maximum set pressure.

  However, in the pressure rice cooker as described above, rice may be cooked at the minimum set pressure. In this case, even if the valve is open, the mixed steam slowly flows into the steam passage, and the diameter of the steam inlet is adapted to the maximum set pressure, so that the mixed steam flows into the steam inlet. Does not erupt vigorously.

  Therefore, the problem shown in Patent Document 1 is that it is difficult to apply to the pressure rice cooker as described above because the labyrinth does not function effectively unless the mixed steam reaches the steam opening member vigorously. was there.

  Also, generally, when the amount of rice in the rice cooking pan (rice cooking capacity) is full, such as when the rice cooking capacity is large, steam is mixed, but when the rice cooking capacity is small (about 1 go), The inside of the rice cooker foams, and the foam flows along the inner surface of the rice cooker and flows into the steam passage.

  Since the foam has a foam film containing starchy rice, it is difficult to break. Further, unlike the liquid rice cake, this foam does not stick to the wall surface, so it is difficult to be separated and captured by the labyrinth. Therefore, the thing shown by patent document 1 had the problem that foam was spilled out when rice cooking capacity was a small amount.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker spill preventive device capable of jetting mixed steam at a desired rate into the trapping chamber and preventing foam spilling.

  As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is provided with a steam passage for connecting the inside of the rice cooker to the outside of the rice cooker in the lid of the rice cooker. In this configuration, a moving member that restricts the steam inlet from the steam passage to the generally trapping chamber and a drive mechanism that moves the moving member in an adjustable manner in the restricting direction are provided.

  Specifically, the moving member may be arranged to face the opening of the steam inlet with a gap, and the steam inlet may be narrowed by changing the width of the gap. Here, if a sharp portion is provided at the portion of the moving member facing the steam inlet, the foam is broken at the sharp portion, so that the bubble is prevented from being spilled.

  The steam inlet may be formed of an elastic ring member, and the steam inlet may be narrowed by reducing the diameter of the steam inlet with the moving member.

  The drive mechanism can be constituted by an electric mechanism. For example, a drive mechanism using a motor or a drive mechanism using a solenoid can be employed.

  According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the moving member for restricting the steam inlet from the steam passage to the generally trapping chamber and the drive mechanism for moving the moving member in the restricting direction are provided. When the moving member is moved and the steam inlet is squeezed, the flow path of the throttle portion becomes narrower, and generally mixed steam is accelerated when passing through the throttle portion. Therefore, when installing the labyrinth-equipped rice trapping chamber in the pressure rice cooker, the diameter of the steam inlet is determined in accordance with the maximum set pressure, and the steam inlet according to the steam pressure in the steam passage is determined. When the throttle condition is adjusted, the flow rate of the mixed steam is increased or decreased according to the throttle condition, so that the mixed steam is jetted into the trap capturing chamber at a desired momentum.

  In addition, when the steam inlet is narrowed, the flow path to the trap chamber is narrowed, so that foam can be prevented from flowing into the trap chamber.

  Here, if the degree of restriction of the steam inlet is changed according to the rice cooking capacity, the spillage of both the foam and the foam is prevented.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the mixed steam is increased in accordance with the degree of restriction of the steam inlet, so that the mixed steam is ejected into the trap capturing chamber at a desired momentum. Can be obtained. Further, according to the present invention, since the foam is prevented from flowing into the trapping chamber by narrowing the steam inlet, the apparatus for preventing spillage for rice cookers that can prevent the foam from spilling can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a pressure rice cooker equipped with a device for preventing spillage according to the present invention. This pressure rice cooker includes a rice cooker body 1, a lid 3 attached to the rice cooker body 1 by a hinge 2 so as to be opened and closed, a handle 4 attached to both sides of the rice cooker body 1, and a rice cooker. It consists of a rice cooker 5 stored in the main body 1.

  2, the lid 3 is attached to the lid ring 6, the lid upper member 7 that is detachably fitted on the upper surface of the lid ring 6, and the lower surface of the lid ring 6, and the center is at the center. In order to control the pressure in the opened heat sink 8 and the rice cooker 5, a pressure adjusting valve 9 provided on the central opening of the heat sink 8 is provided. The valve seat 9 a and the valve box 9 b of the pressure regulating valve 9 are attached to the heat radiating plate 8.

  Further, a steam passage 10 is provided in the lid 3 for communicating the inside of the rice cooker 5 with the outside of the vessel. The steam passage 10 passes through the inside of the lid ring 6 from the pressure regulating valve 9 and has a cylindrical catch chamber 11 at its end. The trapping chamber 11 is provided with a tab retaining portion 12 in the form of a flat plate on the lower surface for storing the separated tombs, and the opening peripheral edge 14 of the lid upper member 7 is disposed through the packing 15 at the upper end opening 13. Are mated. A steam port member 16 that covers the upper surface of the trapping chamber 11 is detachably attached to the opening periphery 14. The steam port member 16 is provided with a steam port 17 communicating with the outside of the vessel and a labyrinth 18 serving as a route to the steam port.

  A steam retaining portion 12 is provided with a steam inlet 19 from the steam passage 10 to the twisted trapping chamber 11. When the pressure regulating valve 9 is opened, the mixed steam is jetted from the steam inlet 19 into the trapping chamber 11 through the steam passage 10 and cooled by the lower surface of the steam port member 16. As a result, the rice balls are separated and captured, and in the labyrinth 18, the rice balls remaining in the steam are separated and captured, and only the steam is discharged from the steam port 17.

  In addition, a moving member 20 for constricting the steam inlet 19 is disposed facing the lower opening 19a of the steam inlet 19 with a gap. The diameter of the steam inlet 19 is determined according to the case where the pressure regulating valve 9 is opened at the maximum set pressure.

  The moving member 20 is composed of a lever member in which a facing portion 20a facing the lower opening 19a of the steam inlet 19 is provided on one end side and a gear portion 20b connected to the drive mechanism 21 is provided on the other end side. The facing portion 20 a is disposed in the steam passage 10, and the gear portion 20 b and the drive mechanism 21 are disposed outside the steam passage 10 via a seal 22. Thereby, complication of steam passage 10 is prevented and the cleaning nature can be kept good.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drive mechanism 21 moves the moving member 20 in an adjustable manner in the aperture direction, and is fixed to a drive source including a pulse motor 23 and an output shaft 23 a of the pulse motor 23. The transmission mechanism is composed of a drive gear 24. The pulse motor 23 is fixed to the lid upper member 7 via an attachment frame 25. The mounting frame 25 is formed with a bearing hole 27 through which a pin 26 serving as a rotation shaft of the moving member 20 is inserted, and the gear portion 20b is formed with a pin hole 27 '. The pin 26 is inserted through the bearing hole 27 and the pin hole 27 ′ in a state where the gear portion 20 b and the drive gear 24 are engaged with each other. The drive mechanism 21 is preferably composed of an electric mechanism that employs a control motor, a solenoid, or the like that generates a holding torque that can keep the moving member 20 at a fixed position as a drive source, in terms of good controllability. .

  The moving member 20 is moved to be adjustable in the aperture direction by controlling the rotation angle of the pulse motor 23. Specifically, the moving member 20 is rotated around the pin 26 according to the forward rotation or reverse rotation amount of the pulse motor 23, and accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4, the gap between the facing portion 20 a and the steam inlet 19. The width varies, and the degree of throttling of the steam inlet 19 is adjusted. Further, when the moving member 20 is at a desired throttle position, the position is maintained by the holding torque of the pulse motor 23.

  In the pressure rice cooker having the above-described configuration, the steam pressure in the steam passage 10 fluctuates corresponding to the pressure in the rice cooker 5 when the pressure regulating valve 9 is activated. Therefore, when the degree of throttling of the steam inlet 19 is adjusted by changing the gap width between the lower opening 19a of the steam inlet 19 and the facing portion 20a according to the steam pressure in the steam passage 10, the mixture of the mixed steam is reduced. Since the flow velocity is increased or decreased according to the gap width, the mixed steam is ejected into the trapping chamber 11 at a desired momentum.

  Moreover, if the throttle condition of the steam inlet 19 is changed in accordance with the rice cooking capacity, it is possible to prevent the spillage in both forms. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the rice cooking capacity is large, such as when cooking a full amount of rice, the moving member 20 has the largest gap width between the lower opening 19a of the steam inlet 19 and the facing portion 20a. Maintained at position A. The position A is the initial position of the moving member 20. Here, when the steam pressure in the steam passage 10 is low, the position A <B <C <D of the moving member 20 is changed by moving the moving member 20 between the positions B to D according to the pressure. In this order, mixed steam is spouted into the trapping chamber 11 vigorously.

  On the other hand, when the rice cooking capacity is small, such as when cooking about a unit of rice, the moving member 20 is maintained at a position D where the gap width between the lower opening 19a of the steam inlet 19 and the facing portion 20a is minimized. . Here, when the vapor pressure in the vapor passage 10 is high, the moving member 20 may be vibrated between the positions A to D according to the pressure. Thereby, since the steam pressure in the steam passage 10 is released, the inside of the rice cooker 5 is depressurized, and it is prevented that the foam flows into the trapping chamber 11 if the foam is twisted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, it is preferable to provide a sharp portion 28 on the facing portion 20 a of the moving member 20. Thereby, since the foam which reached on the facing part 20a is broken one after another by the sharp part 28, it is further prevented that a foam flows in into the capture chamber 11 if it turns.

  By the way, when cooking with a rice cooker, it is desirable that excess water evaporates quickly when steamed. Moreover, at the initial stage of heat insulation, it is desirable for the rice temperature to fall quickly in order to improve the heat insulation performance. Therefore, it is preferable to move the moving member 20 to the position A side at the time of steaming or at the initial stage of heat insulation to loosen the degree of throttling of the steam inlet 19. Thus, adjusting the degree of squeezing of the steam inlet 19 can improve the cooking of the rice and improve the heat retaining performance.

  Furthermore, when the temperature is stable, it is desirable to block heat exchange between the inside of the rice cooker 5 and the outside and prevent the rice from drying. Therefore, when the heat retention is stable, the moving member 20 is moved to the position D to increase the degree of throttling of the steam inlet 19 or to fully close the steam inlet 19. In this way, adjusting the degree of squeezing of the steam inlet 19 can prevent the rice from becoming unpleasant and reduce heat retention power.

  A second embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the second embodiment, the steam inlet 30 from the steam passage 10 to the trapping chamber 11 is made of an elastic ring member, and the cylindrical throttle portion 31 is It extends below the lower surface.

  On one side of the throttle portion 31, the facing portion 20 a of the moving member 20 is arranged in the orthogonal direction. Further, on the other side of the throttle portion 31, a support portion 32 that prevents the throttle portion 31 from being bent when the facing portion 20a is pressed is provided by projecting the lower surface of the staying portion 12.

  The facing portion 20a of the moving member 20 is in contact with the side surface of the throttle portion 31 at the initial position, and when the drive gear 24 is rotated, the moving member 20 is rotated around the pin 26. Is moved back and forth. When the facing portion 20a advances, the throttle portion 31 is crushed and the aperture of the throttle portion 31 is reduced. Adjustment of the degree of throttle of the steam inlet 30 is performed by adjusting the amount of diameter reduction of the throttle portion 31. In the second embodiment, the facing portion 20a can be moved back and forth by connecting the moving member 20 to a solenoid plunger.

The partial fracture | rupture display figure of the rice cooker provided with the overflow prevention apparatus of 1st Embodiment which concerns on this invention. The elements on larger scale of the fracture | rupture display part of FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a drive mechanism portion of the spill prevention device of FIG. 1. The elements on larger scale which show the throttle state of the steam inlet of FIG. The elements on larger scale which show another example of the facing part of the spill prevention apparatus of FIG. The elements on larger scale of the overflow prevention apparatus of 2nd Embodiment concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker main body 2 Hinge 3 Lid 4 Handle 5 Rice cooker 6 Lid ring 7 Lid upper member 8 Heat sink 9 Pressure regulating valve 9a Valve seat 9b Valve box 10 Steam passage 11 Stick capture chamber 12 Stick trap part 13 Upper end opening part 14 Opening peripheral edge 15 Packing 16 Steam port member 17 Steam port 18 Labyrinth 19, 30 Steam inlet 19a Lower side opening 20 Moving member 20a Face part 20b Gear part 21 Drive mechanism 22 Seal 23 Pulse motor 23a Output shaft 24 Drive gear 25 Mounting frame 26 Pin 27 Bearing hole 27 ′ Pin hole 28 Sharp portion 31 Restriction portion 32 Support portion

Claims (6)

In the rice cooker lid, a steam passage is provided that allows the inside of the rice cooker to communicate with the outside of the rice cooker, and the steam passage is provided with a trapping chamber, and steam from the steam passage to the ontake trapping chamber is provided. A moving member for restricting the inlet and a drive mechanism for moving the moving member in an adjustable direction in the restricting direction are provided , and when the moving member is at a desired restricting position, the driving mechanism is maintained at that position. A spill-proof device for rice cookers.   In the rice cooker lid, there is provided a steam passage that allows the inside of the rice cooker to communicate with the outside of the rice cooker, and the steam passage is provided with a trapping chamber, and steam from the steam passage to the ontake trapping chamber is provided. An apparatus for preventing spillage from a rice cooker, comprising: a moving member that squeezes the inlet; and a drive mechanism that moves the moving member in an adjustable manner in the squeezing direction, and changes the degree of squeezing of the steam inlet according to the rice cooking capacity. 3. The apparatus for preventing spilling over rice cookers according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the moving member is arranged to face the opening of the steam inlet with a gap, and the steam inlet is throttled by changing the width of the gap. 4. The apparatus for preventing spillage from rice cookers according to claim 3 , wherein a sharp portion is provided at a portion of the moving member facing the steam inlet. 3. The apparatus for preventing spilling over rice cookers according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the steam inlet is made of an elastic ring member, and the diameter of the steam inlet is reduced by the moving member. The said drive mechanism consists of an electric mechanism, The spill-out prevention apparatus for rice cookers in any one of Claim 1 to 5 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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