JP4066958B2 - Electric rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker, and more particularly to an electric rice cooker in which standby power at the time of rice cooking reservation is made as small as possible.

  In recent years, discussions on environmental issues have increased, and there is a demand for energy saving (abbreviated as energy saving) and reduction of discharged carbon dioxide. By the way, since the electric rice cooker has a high penetration rate and high power consumption, there is a strong demand for energy saving in use.

  However, in the case of a general electric rice cooker, even in a standby state where neither rice cooking nor heat insulation is performed, the main power supply is in an ON state, and standby power is consumed. In order to reduce the power consumption due to the standby power, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been proposed.

  The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 turns on and off the main power supply by attaching and detaching the inner pot.

JP-A-11-276344.

  However, in the case of the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the inner pot is removed, the main power supply is stopped, but even in a state where the inner pot is mounted, It may be in a state. For example, at the time of rice cooking reservation, it is the same state as a standby state from the time of reservation setting to the start of rice cooking. Therefore, with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to suppress standby power consumption at the time of reservation.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to suppress standby power consumption during the reservation mode.

In this invention, as a 1st means for solving the said subject, the rice cooker main body which stores the inner pot which accommodates rice and water so that extraction is possible, the heating means which heats the said inner pot, and the said inner pot A temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the machine, a microcomputer function, and a backup power source that backs up the microcomputer function in the event of a power failure. In the rice cooker, when the reservation mode is selected, the main power is turned off until the start of rice cooking after the reservation mode selection operation, and it is configured to shift to the energy saving mode by the backup power source , When a power failure occurs during the energy saving mode, the energy saving mode is continued after the power is restored .

By configuring as described above, when the reservation mode is selected, the main power supply is turned off after the reservation mode selection operation until the rice cooking is started, and the mode is shifted to the energy saving mode using the backup power supply. Therefore, standby power consumption during the reservation mode is greatly suppressed. In addition, if a power failure occurs during the energy saving mode, the energy saving mode will continue after the power is restored after the power failure. it can.

In this invention, as a 2nd means for solving the said subject, the rice cooker main body which stores the inner pot which accommodates rice and water so that extraction is possible, the heating means which heats the said inner pot, and the said inner pot A temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the machine, a microcomputer function, and a backup power source that backs up the microcomputer function in the event of a power failure. It is a rice cooker, and when the reservation mode is selected, the main power is turned off after the reservation mode selection operation until the start of rice cooking, and the energy saving mode is switched to the backup power source. with, in the case where a power failure to the Ministry in saving mode is generated, and returns to the normal mode after power restoration, configured to shift to subsequent power saving mode That.

By configuring as described above, when the reservation mode is selected, the main power supply is turned off after the reservation mode selection operation until the rice cooking is started, and the mode is shifted to the energy saving mode using the backup power supply. Therefore, standby power consumption during the reservation mode is greatly suppressed. Moreover, if a power failure occurs during the energy saving mode, it will return to the normal mode after the power is restored, and then it will be shifted to the energy saving mode. Can be used.

According to the 1st means of this invention, the rice cooker main body which stores the inner pot which accommodates rice and water so that extraction is possible, the heating means which heats the inner pot, and the temperature which detects the temperature of the inner pot In the electric rice cooker configured to include a sensor, a microcomputer function, and a backup power source that backs up the microcomputer function to operate in the event of a power failure, and configured to select a reservation mode in which rice cooking is started after a predetermined time has elapsed after the reservation set. When the mode is selected, the main power is turned off after the reservation mode selection operation until the start of cooking, and the mode is selected to shift to the energy saving mode by the backup power source, and the reservation mode is selected. Sometimes, after the reservation mode selection operation until the start of rice cooking, the main power is turned off and it is made to shift to the energy saving mode by the backup power source. Because it was Unishi, there is an effect that the standby power consumption in the reservation mode becomes to be greatly suppressed. In addition, when a power failure occurs during the energy saving mode, the energy saving mode continues after the power is restored after the power failure. There is also an effect that it can be used.

According to the 2nd means of this invention, the rice cooker main body which stores the inner pot which accommodates rice and water so that extraction is possible, the heating means which heats the inner pot, and the temperature which detects the temperature of the inner pot In the electric rice cooker configured to include a sensor, a microcomputer function, and a backup power source that backs up the microcomputer function to operate in the event of a power failure, and configured to select a reservation mode in which rice cooking is started after a predetermined time has elapsed after the reservation set. When the mode is selected, the main power is turned off after the reservation mode selection operation until the start of cooking, and the mode is selected to shift to the energy saving mode by the backup power source, and the reservation mode is selected. Sometimes, after the reservation mode selection operation until the start of cooking, the main power is turned off and the system is shifted to the energy-saving mode using the backup power source. Because it was Unishi, there is an effect that the standby power consumption in the reservation mode becomes to be greatly suppressed. In addition, when a power failure occurs during the energy saving mode, it is configured to return to the normal mode after the power is restored, and then shift to the energy saving mode. There is also an effect that it can be used smoothly.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this electric rice cooker is configured to be able to freely take out an inner pot 3 that contains rice and water, and has a double structure rice cooker body 1 having a space portion 4, and And a lid 2 that covers the upper opening of the rice cooker body 1 so as to be freely opened and closed.

  The rice cooker body 1 includes a sheet metal outer case 5 constituting an outer wall, a synthetic resin bottom case 6 constituting a bottom wall, a synthetic resin shoulder member 7 constituting a shoulder portion, and an inner peripheral wall. And a bottomed cylindrical protective frame 8 made of synthetic resin, and the space 4 is formed surrounded by the outer case 5, the bottom case 6, the shoulder member 7 and the protective frame 8. . The inner pot 3 is accommodated in the protective frame 6 so as to be removable.

  A sensor hole 9 is formed at the center of the bottom surface of the protective frame 8 for allowing the temperature sensor 10 acting as temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the inner pot to face.

  An annular main IH coil 11 acting as a main heating means at the time of rice cooking so as to surround the sensor hole 9 is disposed corresponding to the bottom surface of the protective frame 8 and the curved portion between the bottom surface and the side peripheral surface. Has been. The main IH coil 11 generates an alternating magnetic field (in other words, an electromagnetic wave), generates an induced eddy current in the inner pot 3 by electromagnetic induction of the alternating magnetic field, and generates resistance heat of the induced eddy current. It is supposed to be used and heated. The inner pot 3 is made of a material (for example, a magnetic material) that can generate an induced eddy current by the main IH coil 11.

  The main IH coil 11 is sandwiched between a coil die 12 fixed to the bottom surface of the protective frame 8 and the bottom surface of the protective frame 8. Reference numeral 13 denotes a ferrite core, which acts to block the magnetic field generated by the main IH coil 11 so as not to affect the equipment existing below.

  A temperature sensor 10 is provided in the sensor hole 9 so as to be in contact with the bottom of the inner pot 3. Further, as will be described in detail later, sub-IH coils 14A and 14B that act as auxiliary heating means at the time of rice cooking and heat insulation are provided outside the side surface of the inner pot 3.

  Electronic components such as a power transistor and a rectifier diode bridge (not shown) for performing energization control of the main IH coil 11 are cooled at the bottom of the rice cooker body 1 (that is, the inner bottom of the bottom case 6). An electronic component cooling fan 16 that pumps cooling air to the heat sink 15 is disposed. Further, air inlets 17, 17... Are formed on the bottom wall (specifically, the bottom case 6) of the rice cooker body 1 so as to face the electronic component cooling fan 16. Reference numeral 18 denotes a control board on which the electronic components are arranged.

  On the other hand, the lid 2 is composed of a synthetic resin upper plate 19 constituting the outer surface and a vacuum double structure lower plate 20 constituting the inner surface. The lower plate 20 is configured such that a space between two upper and lower donut-shaped metal plates (for example, stainless steel plates) 20a and 20b is a vacuum space 21. The lid 2 is attached to the rice cooker body 1 via a hinge unit 22 formed on one side of the shoulder member 7 so as to be freely arc-turnable and detachable. That is, the lid 2 can be washed in a state where it is detached from the rice cooker body 1.

  And the cylindrical part 23 suspended from the said upper board 19 is formed in the center part of the said cover body 2, In this cylindrical part 23, it is for discharging | emitting the water vapor | steam generated at the time of rice cooking outside. A steam cap 25 having a steam discharge passage 24 is detachably attached.

  On the lower surface of the lid body 2, a heat radiating plate 26 made of a heat good conductor (for example, an aluminum alloy) for sealing the opening of the inner pot 3 when the lid body 2 is closed is attached. Reference numeral 27 is a seal packing that seals between the periphery of the heat sink 26 and the opening of the inner pot 3, and 28 is a seal packing that seals between the heat sink 26 and the lid lower plate 20.

  A shoulder heater 29 is provided on the shoulder member 7, and the outer peripheral edge of the heat radiating plate 26 is pressed against the shoulder heater 29 when the lid 2 is closed. It is supposed to be heated by heat conduction. The shoulder heater 29 includes a heater ring 30 having an inverted U-shaped cross section and a heating element 31 disposed in the heater ring 30. Reference numeral 31 a denotes a shoulder heater holder attached to the shoulder member 7 in order to hold the shoulder heater 29.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes a lock mechanism for maintaining the closed state of the lid body 2, and 33 denotes an operation panel unit provided with various operation keys, a liquid crystal display device, and the like.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the mounting structure of the aforementioned sub-IH coils 14A and 14B will be described.

  The sub-IH coils 14A and 14B are arranged such that the inner end portion of the shoulder member 7 and the upper end portion of the protective frame 8 are opposed to the side surface portion of the inner pot 3 (that is, the side surface portion constituting the vertical surface). The coil ring 34 is sandwiched and fixed between the coil storage portions 34a and 34b positioned at the top and bottom of the coil ring 34 in a vertically wound state. That is, two sub IH coils 14A and 14B arranged in the vertical direction are arranged outside the side surface of the inner pot 3.

  Of these sub IH coils 14A and 14B, the upper side sub IH coil 14A has a smaller number of turns than the lower side sub IH coil 14B. In this way, the balance between the electromagnetic induction to the inner pot 3 by the upper sub-IH coil 14A having a small number of turns and the electromagnetic induction to the inner pot 3 by the lower sub-IH coil 14B having a large number of turns is well maintained. It is possible to adjust the heating balance in the side surface of the inner pot 3 more easily. Of the sub IH coils 14A and 14B, it is desirable to set the maximum output of the upper sub IH coil 14A smaller than the maximum output of the lower sub IH coil 14B. Moreover, as for sub IH coil 14A of the upper side among sub IH coils 14A and 14B, it is desirable to position it above the maximum amount of rice cooking (the state of rice). The interval between the sub-IH coils 14A and 14B is preferably set to be narrower than the interval between the lower sub-IH coil 14B and the main IH coil 11. The sub-IH coils 14A and 14B are connected in parallel and can be energized simultaneously or selectively.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the operation panel unit 33 includes a rice cooking key 35, a reservation key 36, a cancel key 37, a heat retention key 38, a reheating key 39, a menu key 40, an hour key 41, a minute key 42, and a liquid crystal display. A device 43 is provided. Around the liquid crystal display device 43, various menus (“white rice”, “quick cook”, “brown rice”, “rice porridge” displayed by moving an arrow 43 a of the liquid crystal display device 43 according to the operation of the menu key 40. ”,“ Cooking ”,“ rice cake ”and“ pilaf ”). In addition, the liquid crystal display device 43 includes a time display unit 43b that displays the current time and a temperature display unit 43c that displays the temperature of the inner pot detected by the temperature sensor 10.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the electric rice cooker according to the present embodiment will be described based on the electrical circuit diagram shown in FIG. Note that portions corresponding to the respective portions shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  The electric power from the commercial AC power supply 44 is supplied to the main IH coil 11 and the sub-IH coils 14A and 14B through a temperature fuse 45 that detects and blows out the abnormal heating of the inner pot 3, a main power shut-off device 46 and a rectifier circuit 47 described later. To be supplied. Reference numeral 48 is a smoothing capacitor, and 49 and 50 are resonance capacitors.

  The main IH coil 11 and the sub IH coils 14A and 14B include power transistors 54 and 55 that are ON / OFF controlled by commands from a microcomputer unit (hereinafter abbreviated as a microcomputer) 51 through IGBT drive circuits 52 and 53, respectively. The control signal from is to be given.

  The microcomputer 51 controls the power transistors 54 and 55 according to a predetermined program, thereby controlling the energization to the main IH coil 11 and the sub IH coils 14A and 14B. This energization control is performed based on an output signal from the thermistor 56 built in the temperature sensor 10.

  The main power shut-off device 46 acts to shut off the main power from the commercial AC power supply 44 when the reservation mode is set by turning on the reservation key 36.

Reference numeral 57 denotes a lid opening / closing sensor (or vibration detection sensor) for detecting opening / closing of the lid body 2;
58 is a backup power source, and 59 is a speaker for voice notification.

Next, the energy saving mode control in the electric rice cooker according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
(I) Energy saving mode control I (see Fig. 5)
In step S1, the reserved rice cooked by the reservation key 36 is set, and when it is confirmed in step S2 that the reservation setting has been completed, the main power supply is turned off by the main power shut-off device 46 that has received a command from the microcomputer 51 in step S3. In step S4, the liquid crystal display device 43 displays that the energy saving mode is in progress. As shown in FIG. 6, this liquid crystal display may display “currently energized” so that it can be distinguished from a power outage. As shown in FIG. 7, either “energized” or “power outage” is displayed. May be distinguished from a power outage, and as shown in FIG. 8, the energy saving mode may be displayed as “standby power zero”.

  This state is continued until a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) before the reserved rice cooking is started in step S5. However, if an affirmative determination is made in step S5, the main instruction received from the microcomputer 51 in step S6. The power shut-off device 46 is restored and the main power is turned on (in other words, the normal mode is restored).

  And when it is confirmed in step S7 that the reserved rice cooking time has come, reserved rice cooking is started in step S8. In addition, you may make it start reservation rice cooking by turning ON a main power supply at the time of reservation rice cooking time.

According to the energy saving mode control I described above, when the reservation mode is selected, the main power supply is turned off until the cooking starts after the reservation mode selection operation, and the backup power supply 58 shifts to the energy saving mode. Thus, standby power consumption during the reservation mode is greatly suppressed. In addition, the operation returns from the reservation mode to the reserved rice start in the normal mode because the cooking mode is to be started after the predetermined time elapses after returning to the normal mode for a predetermined time before the start of the rice cooking (for example, 1 minute before). Transition can be performed smoothly. In addition, since the shift to the energy saving mode is performed by the screen display by the liquid crystal display device 43, it can be easily distinguished from the power failure.
(II) Energy saving mode control II (see Fig. 9)
This control is performed when the lid body 2 is opened / closed during the energy saving mode. In step S1, it is determined whether the lid body 2 is opened or closed by the lid opening / closing sensor 57, and a negative determination is made here. If so, it is determined in step S2 whether or not there has been a key operation (whether any key has been operated). In this determination, it is determined whether or not the reservation is canceled.

  If a negative determination is made in step S1 and step S2, the energy saving mode is continued, but if an affirmative determination is made in either step S1 or step S2, the energy saving mode is canceled in step S3 (in other words, the main power supply). In step S4, the return to the normal mode is notified by voice from the speaker 59, and the internal setting to the normal mode is made in step S5.

According to the energy saving mode control II described above, when the lid 2 is opened or closed or there is a key operation, the reservation mode is canceled and the normal mode is automatically restored. Can be reliably prevented. In addition, since the user is notified of the return to the normal mode by voice, the user can easily confirm.
(III) Energy saving mode control III (see Fig. 10)
This control is performed when vibration is generated by opening / closing the lid 2, attaching / detaching the inner pot 3 or moving the main body during the energy saving mode, and whether or not vibration is detected by the vibration detection sensor 57 in step S <b> 1. When a negative determination is made here, it is determined in step S2 whether or not a key operation has been performed (whether any key has been operated). In this determination, it is determined whether or not the reservation is canceled.

  If a negative determination is made in step S1 and step S2, the energy saving mode is continued, but if an affirmative determination is made in either step S1 or step S2, the energy saving mode is canceled in step S3 (in other words, the main power supply). In step S4, the return to the normal mode is notified by voice from the speaker 59, and the internal setting to the normal mode is made in step S5.

According to the above-described energy saving mode control III, when the reservation is canceled due to vibrations caused by opening / closing of the lid body 2, attachment / detachment of the inner pot 3, movement of the main body, etc., or key operation. Thus, the normal mode is automatically restored, and erroneous use can be reliably prevented. In addition, since the user is notified of the return to the normal mode by voice, the user can easily confirm.
(IV) Energy saving mode control IV (see Fig. 11)
This control is for when a power failure occurs during the energy saving mode. When it is confirmed in step S1 that an electrical outlet has been unplugged and a power failure has occurred, and in step S2, it has been confirmed that the power source has been restored. In S3, the energy saving mode is restored, and in step S4, the energy saving mode internal setting is made.

According to the energy saving mode control IV described above, if a power failure occurs during the energy saving mode, the energy saving mode will be continued after the power is restored after the power failure. Even can be used smoothly.
(V) Energy saving mode control V (see Fig. 12)
This control is for when a power failure occurs during the energy saving mode. When it is confirmed in step S1 that an electrical outlet has been unplugged and a power failure has occurred, and in step S2, it has been confirmed that the power source has been restored. In S3, the normal mode is restored. Next, when it is confirmed in step S4 that a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) has elapsed, the energy-saving mode is restored in step S5, and the energy-saving mode internal setting is made in step S6.

According to the energy saving mode control V described above, if a power failure occurs during the energy saving mode, it will return to the normal mode after the power is restored, and then it will be switched to the energy saving mode. Even in such a case, it can be used smoothly.
(VI) Energy saving mode control VI (see Fig. 13)
In step S1, reservation cooking by the reservation key 36 is set, and when it is confirmed that the reservation setting is completed in step S2, the counting of the energy saving timer is started in step S3, and the timer is counted up in step S4 (for example, If it is determined that 30 seconds have passed), the speaker 59 is notified by voice of the transition to the energy saving mode, the main power supply is turned off by the main power shut-off device 46 that has received a command from the microcomputer 51 in step S6, and the step In S7, the liquid crystal display device 43 displays that it is in the energy saving mode. This liquid crystal display is performed by the same method as described above (see FIGS. 6, 7 and 8).

  This state is continued until a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) before the reserved rice cooking is started in step S8, but if an affirmative determination is made in step S8, the main command received from the microcomputer 51 in step S9. The power shut-off device 46 is restored and the main power is turned on (in other words, the normal mode is restored).

  Then, when it is confirmed that the reserved rice cooking time has come in step S10, reserved rice cooking is started in step S11.

  According to the energy saving mode control VI described above, when the reservation mode is selected, the main power supply is turned off until the cooking starts after the reservation mode selection operation, and the energy saving mode by the backup power source 58 is shifted to. Thus, standby power consumption during the reservation mode is greatly suppressed. In addition, the operation returns from the reservation mode to the reserved rice start in the normal mode because the cooking mode is to be started after the predetermined time elapses after returning to the normal mode for a predetermined time before the start of the rice cooking (for example, 1 minute before). Transition can be performed smoothly. Further, since the shift to the energy saving mode is performed by voice notification by the speaker 59 and screen display by the liquid crystal display device 43, it is possible to easily distinguish from the power failure.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is an expansion half sectional view of the inner pot in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the operation panel part in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a connection circuit diagram of the electrical element in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the energy saving mode control I in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows one of the display examples of the liquid crystal display device in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows another one of the example of a display of the liquid crystal display device in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows another one of the example of a display of the liquid crystal display device in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the energy saving mode control II in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the energy saving mode control III in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the energy saving mode control IV in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the energy-saving mode control V in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the energy saving mode control VI in the electric rice cooker concerning embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 is a rice cooker body 2 is a lid 3 is an inner pot 10 is a temperature sensor 11 is a heating means (main IH coil)
14A and 14B are heating means (sub-IH coil)
36 is a reservation key 43 is a liquid crystal display device 51 is a microcomputer
57 is a lid opening / closing sensor (vibration detection sensor)
58 is a backup power supply

Claims (2)

Rice cooker body that contains rice and water in a removable manner, heating means that heats the inner pot, temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the inner pot, microcomputer function, and microcomputer function during a power failure And an electric rice cooker configured to be able to select a reservation mode for starting rice cooking after a predetermined time has elapsed after the reservation set, and when the reservation mode is selected, After the reservation mode selection operation until the start of rice cooking, the main power is turned off and the system is configured to shift to the energy-saving mode using the backup power source . If a power failure occurs during the energy-saving mode, the power is restored. An electric rice cooker configured to continue the energy saving mode later . Rice cooker body that contains rice and water in a removable manner, heating means that heats the inner pot, temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the inner pot, microcomputer function, and microcomputer function during a power failure And an electric rice cooker configured to be able to select a reservation mode for starting rice cooking after a predetermined time has elapsed after the reservation set, and when the reservation mode is selected, between after reservation mode selection operation until the start of cooking, turn OFF the main power, while configured to enter the energy-saving mode by said backup power supply, if the power failure to the Ministry in saving mode occurs, the power supply restoration after returning to the normal mode, electric rice cookers you characterized by being configured to transition to the subsequent power saving mode.

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