JP4601499B2 - Pressure cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pressure cooker, and more particularly, to a pressure cooker including a lid with a locking mechanism that prevents the lid from opening unexpectedly and a locking means for the locking mechanism.

  A pressure cooker, for example, a pressure rice cooker, puts a rice-cooked food consisting of rice and water into a container, heats the rice-cooked food in the container and cooks the food by boosting the inside of the container. The inside of the container is hot and the internal pressure is high. For this reason, if the lid of the container is opened unexpectedly at the time of rice cooking, hot water and heated cooked rice scatters outside, and there is a risk of causing burns to the user. Usually, a lid lock mechanism is attached so that the lid does not open unexpectedly during operation of the rice cooker (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).

  FIG. 7 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a pressure cooker described in the following Patent Document 1, and FIG. 8 shows an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part of FIG.

  The pressure cooker 50 includes a container main body 51 and a lid body 52, and the lid body 52 is locked to the opening 51 a of the container main body 51 in a closed state by a lock mechanism 53.

  The lock mechanism 53 includes a lock lever 55 pivotally attached to the cover body cover 54, a lateral hole 52a formed on the side surface of the cover body on which the protrusion 55a at the lower end of the lock lever 55 is engaged, The safety rubber valve 56 fits into a hole 52b formed directly below the upper end of the lock lever 55, and a float valve 57 that is inserted into a vertical hole of the safety rubber valve 56 and can move up and down.

  In the cooking device 50, when the operation switch is turned on, the internal pressure in the container body increases. As the internal pressure rises, the float valve 57 moves upward and pushes up one end of the lock lever 55. Then, the lock lever 55 rotates around the shaft 58, and the protrusion 55 a at the lower end of the lock lever 55 protrudes from the lateral hole 52 a on the side surface of the lid body to the inside of the side surface of the lid body 52, 55a is arranged side by side with the protrusion (not shown) of the container body. Even when trying to rotate the lid relative to the container main body, the protrusion 55a of the lock lever 55 is engaged with the edge of the protrusion of the container main body, and the cover and the container main body are fitted. Accordingly, the lid 52 cannot be removed from the container main body 51.

  Therefore, this cooker ensures safety because the fitting between the container body and the lid cannot be removed while the internal pressure is applied in the container body.

  Moreover, the applicant of this application has also acquired the patent of the rice cooker provided with such a cover body locking mechanism (refer the following patent document 2).

  This rice cooker has a rice cooker body that contains an inner pot and has a heat source for heating the inner pot, a lid that pivots on one side of the rice cooker body, and is openable and closable above the inner pot. An inner lid that covers the opening, and a lock device that is located on the opposite side of the lid from the pivot side and holds the lid in a closed state. A locking plate having a latching part and a latching piece in part, a lock release button provided on the upper part of the rice cooker body and latching to the latching piece, and a stopper latching on the latching part In the closed state of the lid body, the locking plate is configured such that the latching portion bites into the stopper obliquely and locks as the inner lid floats due to the pressure increase in the inner pot. It is a thing.

According to this rice cooker, as the pressure in the inner pot rises, the latching part of the locking plate bites into the stopper diagonally, and the latching (locked state) between the lid and the rice cooker body is ensured, and unexpectedly The lid will not open and the cooked rice in the pan will not splash outside.
Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-74658 (FIGS. 3, 4 and claims for utility model registration) Japanese Patent No. 2816112 (FIGS. 1, 3 and claims)

  In the pressure cookers described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the pressure in the container increases, the locked state becomes stronger, and the lid body is not unexpectedly opened during operation.

  However, in this type of pressure cooker, although it is locked by covering the opening of the container main body with a lid during use, it may not be locked securely, and may be in a semi-locked state, for example. The cause is due to the carelessness of the user, for example, when the user is not surely locked when closing the lid, or the elbow etc. touches the release button accidentally even after being locked. The majority of things.

  Here, when the lid is in a semi-locked state, when the cooker falls or during operation of the cooker, the lid opens unexpectedly and the food in the container is scattered outside. There is. In particular, when rice cooking is started in a half-locked state, the pressure inside the container increases with the rice cooking process, the lid opens easily, and the heated cooking object scatters outside and hits the user. Risk of burns.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the object of the present invention is that the lid body is in a semi-locked state at the start of the operation of the cooker or within a predetermined time from the start of the operation. The object is to provide a pressure cooker that prevents the above-mentioned problem and improves safety.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a container into which an object to be cooked is placed, an opening in which the container is accommodated, a heating means for heating the object to be cooked in the container, and a locking part . a cooking device body having, cooking the cooker when pivotally supported on one side of the body to cover the opening and the lid equipped with both released top button, the food by controlling the heating means A pressure cooker provided with a control device, wherein the cooker body and the lid are locked by a locking mechanism, and the locking mechanism is locked by either the cooker body or the lid. A locking member that locks the locking member, and a locking means that locks the locking member, wherein the locking member is formed with a protruding piece that contacts the release button at the upper end, and formed at the lower end of the cooker body A locking claw for locking to the locking portion is formed, and the locking member is a spring. More engagement pawl is biased in the direction of engaging the locking portion, the locking means comprises a lock controller means for actuating the locking member and該施lock member for restricting the movement of the locking member, wherein The locking member is brought into contact with the locking member at the start of the operation of the pressure cooker or within a predetermined time from the start of the operation, thereby restricting the movement of the locking member.

According to the present invention, the lid can be reliably locked in a time zone in which the pressure in the container has not yet risen, and a user's burn accident caused by the unexpected opening of the lid during cooking can be prevented . Furthermore, since the release lever can be formed on the upper surface of the lid, it is possible to secure an area for arranging the operation unit, the display unit, and the like on the front surface of the pressure cooker.

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies a pressure cooker for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to identify the present invention as this pressure cooker. Other embodiments within the scope of the claims are equally applicable.

  1 is a front view of a pressure cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cooking device of FIG. 1 with the outer case removed, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of portion A of FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the operation of the locking means, FIG. 4 (a) is a view of the state before locking, and FIG. 4 (b) is a view of the state after locking.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the pressure cooker 1 includes a container 7 into which a rice to be cooked is put, an opening into which the container 7 is inserted, and the container 7 by heating the container 7 inside. A cooker body 2 having a heating means 5 for heating the lid, a lid 10 with a locking mechanism pivotally supported on one side of the cooker body 2 to cover the opening and lock in a closed state, and the lid 10 A pressure valve 13 that adjusts the internal pressure in the container 7, a pressure valve opening mechanism 18 that controls the pressure valve 13, a display operation unit 30 that displays and selects various rice cooking menus, A water absorption step of controlling the heating means 5 and the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 based on the rice cooking menu to heat the cooked rice in the container 7 to a predetermined temperature and to absorb a predetermined amount of moisture into the cooked rice over a predetermined time; A rising heating step of heating and heating the absorbed cooked rice until it boils, Boiling maintaining step of maintaining the boiling state to be rice product, and the control unit 31 sequentially executes the rice was cook by steam steaming step after the boiling step of maintaining, in being configured.

  Hereinafter, the structure and control device of the pressure cooker 1 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cooker main body 2 includes a box-shaped outer case 3 with a bottom and an inner case 4 accommodated in the outer case 3, and includes an outer case 3 and an inner case 4. A gap is formed between the control circuit boards and the like (not shown) constituting the control device 31. The inner case 4 is provided with a heating means 5 at the bottom 4a and side 4b, and a pan bottom temperature sensor 6 comprising a thermistor for detecting the pan bottom temperature at the bottom 4a. As the heating means 5, an electromagnetic induction coil wound in an annular shape is used.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the cooking appliance main body 2 is provided with a display operation unit 30 including a display panel for displaying various rice cooking menus and an operation button for selecting the rice cooking menu on the front surface 3a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the container 7 is a relatively deep bottom container into which a predetermined amount of cooked rice made of water and rice is put, and is formed of a clad material of aluminum and stainless steel. It is installed inside.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lid 10 includes an inner lid 11 that closes the opening of the container 7, an outer lid 12 that closes the entire opening of the cooker body 2, and the like. One side of the lid 10 is pivotally supported by the cooker body 2 by a hinge mechanism, and the other side is latched by a latching portion of the cooker body by a lid latch mechanism 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the lid locking mechanism 20 includes locking means 20a and locking means 20b. The locking means 20 a includes a locking member 22, a spring 24, and a fixing portion 25. The locking member 22 has a locking claw 22 a that is locked to the locking portion 4 c of the inner case 4 at one end and a protruding piece 22 b at the other end, and a part between both ends is covered by the fixing portion 25. It is composed of a plate-like lever pivoted on the body 10. In addition, although the latching | locking part 4c was formed in the inner case 4 of the cooking appliance main body 2, when the latching member 22 is pivotally supported by the cooking appliance main body 2 by the fixing | fixed part 25, the latching | locking part 4c is lid | cover. It may be formed on the body 10.

  The locking member 22 is urged by a spring 24 in a direction in which the locking claw 22 a is locked to the locking portion 4 c of the cooker body 2. Further, the protruding piece 22b of the locking member 22 is brought into contact with one end of the release button 23 when the release button 23 is pressed down. When the release button 23 is pushed down when the locking means 20b is not operating, the locking member 22 rotates about the fixing portion 25, and the locking claw 22a is released from the locking portion 4c to open the lid 10. it can.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the locking means 20b includes a locking member 26 that restricts the movement of the locking means 20a, and a locking control means 27 that operates the locking member 26. The After the locking claw 22a is locked to the locking portion 4c, the locking control means 27 excites an electromagnetic coil (not shown) in the cylinder 27b to operate the plunger 27a to be pulled into the cylinder 27b, and the predetermined is brought into contact with the locking member 22 in the timing elevated locking member 26 to the X ₁ direction. Thus, the locking member 22 is restricted its movement, since it is not moving in the X ₂ direction, never locking is disengaged from the engaging portion 4c be pressed accidentally release button 23, more reliably And the cover body 10 can be firmly locked to the cooker main body 2. Since the locking member 22 does not operate even when the release button 23 is pressed in the locked state, the locked state of the locking means 20b can be released only by the locking control means 27.

  The inner lid 11 is provided with a pressure valve 13 and a pressure valve opening mechanism 18 that opens the pressure valve 13. The pressure valve 13 restricts movement of the valve seat 13b in which a valve hole 13a having a predetermined diameter is formed, a metal ball 13c placed on the valve seat 13b so as to close the valve hole 13a, and the ball 13c. By doing so, it is comprised with the cover 13d which hold | maintains the ball | bowl 13c on the valve seat 13b.

  The pressure valve opening mechanism 18 is controlled by the control device 31. That is, based on a command from the control device 31, when the electromagnetic coil is excited, the plunger 19b jumps out of the cylinder 19a and collides with the ball 13c, pushing the ball 13c in the lateral direction. By this extrusion, the ball 13c moves on the valve hole 13a and forcibly opens the valve hole 13a. Further, in this open state, when excitation to the electromagnetic coil is stopped, the plunger 19b is drawn into the cylinder 19a by the urging force of a spring (not shown), and this retraction causes the plunger 19b to move the ball 13c laterally. The pushing force is lost, the ball 13c returns to the valve hole 13a, and the valve hole 13a is closed by the ball 13c.

  The outer lid 12 is provided with a steam port 41 that communicates between the inner lid 11 and the outer lid 12. In addition, the inner lid 11 is provided with a safety valve 42 for releasing the pressure in the container 7 to the outside through the steam port 41 when the pressure of the steam in the container 7 rises to an abnormal pressure higher than a predetermined pressure. It has been. Further, a steam temperature sensor (not shown) is attached to the inner lid 11.

  The control device 31 includes hardware including a circuit board on which a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like are mounted, and is connected to a menu key, a start key, a reservation key, a pan bottom temperature sensor, and a steam sensor, respectively. This signal is input to the CPU. The CPU is connected to a timer for measuring a predetermined time, a rice cooking menu detection means, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU controls the heating means, the display panel, and the pressure valve opening mechanism. The pressure valve opening mechanism control means is executed.

  Next, the rice cooking process by the rice cooking menu of this pressure cooker is demonstrated with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5, FIG. In addition, although various rice cooking menus are displayed on a display panel, below, white rice and a standard rice cooking menu are demonstrated.

First, in step S <b> 101, the container 7 filled with a predetermined amount of water and white rice is stored in the inner case 4 by the user, and the lid 10 is closed to be locked. Next, in step S102, the rice cooking menu is selected by the operation of the display operation unit 30, and rice cooking is started. When the operation of the pressure cooker 1 starts, the lid 10 is locked in step S103 by locking the locking claw 22a with the locking portion 4c of the cooking device body 2 by the biasing force of the spring 24. When locked, the locking control means 27 of the locking means 20b pushes the locking member 26 and abuts against the locking member 22 in step S104 to lock. This locked state continues until the end of the rice cooking process.
After locking, a high frequency current is applied to the heating means 5 attached to the outer bottom wall and the outer wall of the inner case 4 in step S105, an eddy current is generated in the container 7 and the container is heated, and the cooked rice The heating of is started. As described above, the lid 10 is locked and locked before the heating is started, so that heating is started in a half-locked state and then the lid 10 is unexpectedly opened. Damage can be prevented.

  Next, the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 is operated by the control device 31 to move the ball 13c, the pressure valve 13 is opened in step S106, and the water absorption step is executed in step S107. When execution of this water absorption process is started, a water absorption timer (not shown) starts measuring the water absorption time T1 in step S108, and then in step 109, the pot bottom temperature K1 is measured by the pot bottom temperature sensor 6. The measurement of the pan bottom temperature K1 is performed until a predetermined temperature is reached. When it is confirmed in step S110 that the pan bottom temperature has reached a predetermined value, for example, 55 ° C., the heating amount of the heating means 5 is controlled by the control device 31 in step S111. The water absorption time is measured while controlling and keeping the cooked rice at a predetermined temperature. This water absorption step is continued for a predetermined water absorption time T1, for example, 10 minutes.

  If predetermined water absorption time T1 (10 minutes) passes in step S112, it will progress to step S113 and will transfer to a starting heating process. In this start-up heating process, the heating means 5 is fully heated (full power heating) so as to be in a boiling state in a short time, and the control valve 31 operates the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 to pull back the plunger 19b. The pressure valve 13 is closed by the ball 13c. That is, in step S114, the ball 13c rolls on the valve hole 13a by its own weight to close the valve hole 13a, and the pressure valve 13 is closed. In this state, the pressure in the container 7 is increased until the pressure rises to a pressure value at which the ball 13c can be pushed up through the valve hole 13a. Therefore, the pressure of the steam in the container 7 at this time can be appropriately adjusted by setting the weight of the ball 13c and the size of the valve hole 13a.

  In this start-up heating process, in step S115, the steam temperature K2 is measured by a steam temperature sensor (not shown). And when this steam temperature K2 reaches predetermined temperature, for example, 75 degreeC in step S116, it will become the temperature which a to-be-cooked rice causes a boiling phenomenon, and a starting heating process is complete | finished. The pressure in the container 7 at this time is controlled by the pressure valve 13 and becomes a predetermined pressure equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure, for example, about 1.2 atmosphere. And as shown in FIG. 6, a boiling maintenance process is started in step S117.

  If it transfers to a boiling maintenance process, the pressure in the container 7 will become a predetermined pressure more than atmospheric pressure, for example, about 1.2 atmospheres, and a to-be-cooked rice will boil at the saturation temperature corresponding to this pressure.

  In addition, when the boiling maintenance process is started, the pressure valve 13 is opened by moving the ball 13c by operating the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 by the control device 31 immediately in step S118. In this opening operation, heating of the heating means 5 is stopped in step S119, and the forced opening operation of the pressure valve 13 is continued for a predetermined time, for example, 4 seconds in step S120. The forced opening operation of the pressure valve 13 reduces the pressure in the container 7 to near atmospheric pressure.

  Thus, in the boiling maintenance step, when the pressure in the container 7 is reduced from the predetermined boiling pressure (about 1.2 atm) to near atmospheric pressure at once, the inside of the container 7 is in a violent bumping state. In this bumping state, bubbles are generated in the container, and the cooked rice is stirred by the bubbles. As a result, the cooked rice is heated uniformly and cooked.

  The predetermined time for forcibly opening the pressure valve 13 is set to a time (ie, about 4 seconds) such that the pressure in the container 7 returns to approximately atmospheric pressure by the first forced opening operation of the pressure valve 13. . By setting the time for forcibly opening the pressure valve 13 to atmospheric pressure in this way, the maximum agitation energy can be obtained. In addition, after the pressure valve 13 is forcibly opened for the predetermined time (4 seconds), the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 is operated in step S121 to close the pressure valve again, and in step S122, the pressure valve 13 is closed for a predetermined time. In S123, for example, heating is performed again for 28 seconds. This heating time (28 seconds) is a time required for the pressure in the container 7 to recover to the aforementioned predetermined pressure (about 1.2 atmospheres). This time is obtained experimentally in advance.

  In step S124, the forced opening of the pressure valve 13 by the pressure valve opening mechanism is repeated a plurality of times, for example, six times. In addition, if time passes in the boiling process shown to S122, S123, the residual water amount in the container 7 will reduce, a pressure fluctuation range will become small, and a bumping phenomenon will become weak. For this reason, forcibly opening the pressure valve 13 is effective when concentrated in the initial stage of the boiling maintenance process.

  When the operation of opening the pressure valve 13 a plurality of times is finished, the forcible opening of the pressure valve 13 by the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 is stopped and the pressure valve 13 is closed in step S125. And the boiling state by the heating means 5 is continued in step S126, and the pan bottom temperature K3 is measured in step S127. In step S128, when the pan bottom temperature K3 reaches a predetermined temperature, for example, 130 ° C., it is determined that the water in the container 7 has dried up and the forced dry-up has been completed. The

  Subsequently, in step S130, the process is first shifted to the steaming process 1, and the steaming time T2 is started. In step S131, when a predetermined steaming time T2 elapses for a predetermined time, for example, 4 minutes, the pressure valve 13 is forcibly opened by the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 in step S132, and the process proceeds to the additional cooking step. If it enters into this additional cooking process, while reheating with the heating means 5 and evaporating the water adhering to the surface of rice, the additional cooking (reheating) time T3 is measured in step S133. And if predetermined | prescribed additional cooking time T3, for example, 3 minutes, pass in step S134, the heating operation by the heating means 5 will be stopped, it will transfer to the steaming process 2, and the steaming time T4 will be timed in step S135. When the steaming time T4 elapses in step S136 for a predetermined time, for example, 5 minutes, rice cooking is terminated in step S137, the process proceeds to a heat retaining process in step S138, and the rice cooking process in the white rice / standard menu is terminated. When the rice cooking process is finished, the locking member 26 is lowered by the locking control means 27 and the locked state is released. In addition, although the cancellation | release of the locked state continued in the present Example until the end of a rice cooking process, it is good also as canceling | released a locked state in predetermined time from the start of rice cooking before completion | finish of a rice cooking process.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pressure cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cooking device of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of portion A in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the operation of the locking means, FIG. 4 (a) is a view of the state before locking, and FIG. 4 (b) is a view of the state after locking. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for using the pressure cooker. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure for using the pressure cooker. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional pressure cooker. FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the main part of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pressure cooker 2 Cooker main body 3 External case 4 Internal case 5 Heating means 6 Pan bottom temperature sensor 7 Container 10 Lid body 11 Inner lid 12 Outer lid 13 Pressure valve 18 Pressure valve opening mechanism 19a Cylinder 19b Plunger 20 Lid body locking mechanism 20a Locking means 20b Locking means 22 Locking member 22a Locking claw 22b Projection piece 23 Release button 24 Spring 25 Fixing part 26 Locking member 27 Locking control means 30 Display operation part 31 Control device 41 Steam port 42 Safety valve

Claims (1)

A cooker main body having a container into which a food item is charged, an opening in which the container is accommodated, a heating means for heating the food item in the container, and a locking portion; a when being pivoted to the side to cover the opening and the lid equipped with both released top button, a pressure cooker with a control device for cooking control to the food said heating means ,
The cooker body and the lid are locked by a locking mechanism, and the locking mechanism is locked by a locking member that is locked by a locking portion of the cooker body or the lid. Locking means for locking the member,
The locking member has a protruding piece that contacts the release button at the upper end, and a locking claw that locks to the locking portion formed in the cooker body at the lower end.
Further, the locking member is biased by a spring in a direction in which the locking claw is locked to the locking portion,
The locking means includes a locking member for restricting movement of the locking member, and a locking control means for operating the locking member,
The pressure cooker characterized in that the locking member is brought into contact with the locking member at the start of the operation of the pressure cooker or within a predetermined time from the start of the operation to restrict the movement of the locking member.

Images