JP4633152B2 - Cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a heating cooker that condenses and recovers steam generated during cooking.

In general, a rice cooker is provided with a display unit for displaying an operation state or the like in order to inform a user of an operation state or the like of the rice cooker. When the display unit is installed in a rice cooker, it is necessary to prevent the display unit from being heated to a high temperature and to be broken, and it is naturally necessary to arrange the display unit with high visibility.
In addition, in the conventional rice cooker, steam generated during cooking is led into a built-in water tank containing cooling water to be condensed, and the steam is collected in the water tank without releasing the steam to the outside. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-106532 (first page, FIG. 2)

  However, in the rice cooker that performs steam recovery as described above, the steam passage part from the steam generation part to the water tank becomes high temperature, so the temperature of the rice cooker body is likely to rise compared to the one that does not perform steam recovery, There is a possibility that the temperature of the display part rises and it becomes easy to break down, and countermeasures are required.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and prevents the failure of the display unit due to the temperature rise during cooking of the heating cooker, and the cooking device with good visibility of the display unit The purpose is to obtain.

A heating cooker according to the present invention includes an inner pot for storing an object to be heated, a lower casing for detachably storing the inner pot, an upper lid for opening and closing an upper surface of the lower casing, and an interior of the upper lid. Is installed in the steam pipe that guides the steam generated from the inside of the pan to the outside of the pan, the water tank that collects the steam guided by the steam conduit, condenses and stores it, and the front of the lower housing And a water amount detecting means for detecting the amount of water in the aquarium, and the aquarium is detachably arranged together with the decorative plate attached to the outer surface of the aquarium on the right or left side of the lower housing Then, the height of the water surface in the water tank is displayed on the display unit in accordance with the height position of the water surface based on the detection result of the water amount detection means.

According to this invention, while arrange | positioning a display part in the front surface of the lower housing | casing which comprises a heating cooker, a water tank is a right side surface or left side surface of the lower housing | casing except the front surface of the lower housing | casing in which a display part is arrange | positioned. By arrange | positioning, while being able to prevent the failure of a display part accompanying the temperature rise of a heating cooker, the visibility of a display part can be obtained.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a rice cooker that is a heating cooker according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and shows a state in which an upper lid is opened. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rice cooker of FIG. 1 with the upper lid closed. FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. In addition, illustration of the base 60 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG.3 and FIG.4. In addition, in the following drawings including FIGS. 1 to 4, the relationship between the sizes of the constituent members may be different from the actual ones.

  The rice cooker 1 includes a lower casing 10 having an opening in the upper part, an inner pot 11 that accommodates an object to be heated and is detachably accommodated in an upper opening of the lower casing 10, and an electromagnetic induction heating of the inner pot 11 The induction heating coil 12 (see FIG. 3) and a predetermined amount of water are stored, and steam generated when the object to be heated in the inner pot 11 is heated is allowed to flow into the water to be cooled and condensed. A water tank 20 for collecting steam and an upper lid 50 that is rotatably supported by the lower housing 10 by a hinge portion 40 and covers the upper opening of the lower housing 10 and the upper surface of the water tank 20 so as to be openable and closable. .

  The water tank 20 can store a predetermined amount of water therein, and has a steam supply port 21 provided on the removable top surface 20c of the water tank 20, one end communicating with the steam supply port 21, and the other end being a water tank. The insertion tube 22 is open in the water stored in 20. The water tank 20 is installed on a concave pedestal 60 provided in the lower housing 10, and the water tank 20 can be attached and detached by opening the upper lid 50. In addition, although the example which has arrange | positioned the water tank 20 to the right side surface of the lower housing | casing 10 is shown here, it is not restricted to this, The side surface except the front surface 10a (Here, the example of a right side surface is illustrated.) Should just be arranged. The reason for the “side surface excluding the front surface 10a” will be described later. Moreover, the arrangement structure of the water tank 20 is not limited to the structure that is placed on the pedestal 60 provided in the lower housing 10 as shown in FIG. It is good also as a structure which provides separately the latching | locking part which latches the housing | casing 10 and the water tank 20, or a structure which forms a storage part in the lower housing | casing 10, and inserts the water tank 20 from upper direction. Here, the front surface 10 a of the rice cooker 1 is a direction in which the user can easily operate the rice cooker 1 in the side surface of the rice cooker 1, and indicates a direction in which the user faces when using the rice cooker 1. Is. In Embodiment 1, the direction which provided the display part 70 mentioned later for a user confirming operation | movement of the rice cooker 1 is made into the front surface 10a.

  The upper lid 50 detachably holds an inner lid 51 that closes the upper opening of the inner pot 11 during cooking and a steam conduit 53 through which steam generated in the inner pot 11 passes. The inner lid 51 is configured to be in close contact with the upper surface of the inner pot 11 via the lid packing 52, and has a configuration in which steam does not leak to the outside from between the upper lid 50 and the upper surface of the lower housing 10. . The inner lid 51 has a small hole 54 for discharging steam generated from the inner pot 11 during cooking to the steam conduit 53. The shape and number of the small holes 54 are not particularly limited as long as the vapor can pass therethrough. The inner lid 51 is provided with a lid sensor 51a for detecting the initial water temperature and boiling of the object to be heated during cooking. The lid sensor 51a only needs to be able to measure the temperature of the object to be heated accommodated in the inner pot 11, and the type and installation location are not particularly limited thereto.

  One end of the steam conduit 53 provided in the upper lid 50 communicates with a portion where the small hole 54 provided in the inner lid 51 is formed, and the other end communicates with a steam discharge port 55 provided on the lower surface of the upper lid 50. The steam generated in the inner pot 11 is received through the small hole 54 and guided to the steam outlet 55. The steam conduit 53 also has a function of separating and recovering a viscous fluid (hereinafter referred to as a rice ball) containing components such as rice starch contained in the steam from the steam.

  The steam discharge port 55 is joined to the steam supply port 21 provided on the top surface 20 c of the water tank 20 when the upper lid 50 is closed, and allows the steam generated in the inner pot 11 to flow into the water tank 20. Here, a packing 56 is fixed around the steam discharge port 55. By closing the upper lid 50, the packing 56 is pressed against and closely contacts the upper surface of the water tank 20, and the upper lid 50 and the upper surface of the water tank 20 are in close contact with each other. Steam is prevented from leaking to the outside.

  The steam that has flowed into the water tank 20 from the steam supply port 21 flows into the water stored in the water tank 20 through the steam supply port 21 and the insertion pipe 22, is cooled by the surrounding water, and is condensed. It is recovered in the water tank 20 as it is.

  The upper lid 50 is connected to the rice cooker body 10 by a hinge portion 40 provided on the rear side of the lower housing 10, and the front side of the upper lid 50 rotates in the vertical direction with the hinge portion 40 as a fulcrum. The upper lid 50 has an engaging portion 57 that engages with the hook 31 provided on the lower housing 10 on the front (front) side of the surface facing the lower housing 10. So that it can be locked and disengaged. In order to release this lock, the lock release button 58 provided on the front surface of the upper lid 50 is pushed, and the engagement between the engagement portion 57 and the hook 31 is released. In addition, on the upper surface of the upper lid 50, an operation unit 59 that includes various operation switches such as a rice cooking switch and a reservation switch and receives an instruction from the user is provided.

  On the front surface of the lower housing 10, a display unit 70 that displays the setting status and operating state of the rice cooker, the water level of the water tank 20, and the like is provided. Specifically, the display unit 70 is configured with, for example, a liquid crystal panel, electroluminescence, a plasma display, and the like, and is unitized with an electronic circuit that drives the display unit 70, a control circuit configured with a microcomputer, and the like. A display device 71 is configured. As shown in FIG. 3, the display device 71 is arranged inside the front surface 10a of the lower housing 10, and the lower housing portion 10c facing the display unit 70 on the front surface 10a is made of a transparent material. The display on the display unit 70 can be confirmed from the outside. Based on a signal from a control device that controls the rice cooker 1 as a whole, the display unit 70 displays the setting status and operating state of the rice cooker 1 (for example, “rice cooking”, “heat retention”, “reservation”, time), and the like. .

  In addition, a seal member 80 such as packing is interposed at a joint portion between the front surface 10a and the upper surface 10b of the lower housing 10. This is provided as a countermeasure when the water in the water tank 20 is accidentally spilled when the water tank 20 is attached or detached, and the display device 71 gets wet when water enters the lower housing 10. This is to prevent the display device 71 from failing. In this example, the seal member 80 is provided between the front surface 10a and the upper surface 10b. However, the position where the seal member 80 is provided is not limited to this position. It is assumed that the display device 71 is disposed at an appropriate position corresponding to the display, that is, a position necessary for preventing the display device 71 from getting wet.

Here, the present invention is characterized in that a configuration for preventing the temperature rise of the display device 71 is employed, and the configuration of the characteristic portion will be described below.
Since it is necessary to arrange the display device 71 in a place that is easy for the user to see, the display device 71 is generally often arranged on the upper lid 50. However, the upper lid 50 has a high temperature because it has the vapor conduit 53 inside as described above. Therefore, in this example, it is disposed on the front surface 10 a of the lower housing 10. Further, since the temperature of the water tank 20 gradually increases in the process of condensing steam, the water tank 20 is preferably disposed at a position away from the display device 71, and the lower housing in which the display device 71 is disposed. It arrange | positions on the side surface side except the front surface 10a of the body 10. FIG. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress a temperature rise of the display device 71 and prevent a failure due to the temperature rise. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the water tank 20 is arranged on the right side surface of the lower housing 10, but any side surface other than the front surface 10 a of the lower housing 10 may be used. Next, FIG. 5 shows an example in which the lower housing 10 is provided on the rear surface side.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the water tank 20 is provided on the rear surface side of the lower housing 10. In FIG. 5, the same parts as those in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, by providing the water tank 20 on the rear side, the distance from the display device 71 can be increased as compared with the case where the water tank 20 is provided on the left and right side surfaces, and further temperature rise prevention of the display device 71 can be expected. .

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.3 and FIG.4, the heat insulating materials 90 and 91 are provided between the display apparatus 71 and the inner pot 11, and between the display apparatus 71 and the water tank 20. As shown in FIG. As described above, by providing the heat insulating materials 90 and 91 between the inner pot 11 and the water tank 20 and the display device 71 that are at a high temperature, the heat of the inner pot 11 and the water tank 20 is prevented from being transmitted to the display device 71. Thus, the temperature rise of the display device 71 can be further suppressed.

  Further, the steam supply port 21 of the water tank 20 is a part where the high-temperature steam directly flows in, and is therefore the highest temperature part in the water tank 20. Since the position of the steam supply port 21 is the rear side of the upper surface of the water tank 20 as shown in FIG. 1 in this example, the temperature rise preventing effect of the display device 71 can be improved as compared with the case where it is provided on the front side of the upper surface of the water tank 20. Can be expected.

  Further, in order to prevent the failure of the display device 71, it is also effective to prevent the temperature of the water tank 20 from rising more than necessary, in addition to the method of disposing the display device 71 away from the high temperature portion as described above. Since the temperature of the water tank 20 gradually increases in the process of condensing steam, it is necessary to store an appropriate amount of water so that steam condensate can be stably performed. This is because if the amount of water is small, the water in the water tank 20 becomes hotter than necessary due to the recovered steam. For this reason, in this example, the water level detection means 100 which detects the water level in the water tank 20 is provided, a detection signal is output to the control circuit of the display apparatus 71, and the water level is displayed on the display part 70.

The configuration of the water level detecting means 100 is arbitrary, but here, a sensor including a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit is used. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a light emitting unit 100 a and a light receiving unit 100 b are provided on the side of the lower housing 10 facing the water tank 20, and the water tank 20 (consisting of a transparent plate) is formed from the light emitting unit 100 a. The reflected light reflected by the decorative plate 20a outside the water tank 20 is received by the light receiving unit 100b. On the other hand, when there is no water in the optical path between the light emitting unit 100a and the light receiving unit 100b, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 100a is refracted by the inner side surface 20b of the water tank 20, and the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 100b is reduced. . Based on the difference in the amount of received light, it is detected whether water has entered the position where the water level detecting means 100 is installed. A plurality of such light emitting units 100a and light receiving units 100b are installed in the height direction to constitute the water level detecting means 100 to detect the water level. Then, by displaying the detected water level, that is, the amount of water on the display device 71, the user may be prompted to discard the water in the water tank 20, or conversely, the water tank 20 may be replenished with water. it can.
In the present embodiment, the water level in the water tank 20 is detected. However, a water amount detecting means for detecting the water amount in the water tank 20 may be provided to detect the water amount.

  Although the display format of the water level is arbitrary, for example, when the water tank 20 is arranged on the right side surface or the left side surface of the lower housing 10, as shown in FIG. 6, the front surface of the lower housing 10, that is, the display unit 70. Since the water tank 20 is provided on the side surface adjacent to the side surface of the lower housing 10 provided with a part of the water tank 20 faces the front surface of the lower housing 10, and the height position of the water level of the water tank 20 is indicated by an arrow. indicate. In such a display format, it is possible to visually notify the water surface position.

  Here, the first embodiment has been described for the purpose of preventing the temperature rise of the display device 71, but the present invention also aims to improve the visibility of the display device 71. In the following second embodiment, a mode related to improvement in the visibility of the display device 71 will be described.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
The rice cooker of this Embodiment 2 improves the visibility of the display device 71 with respect to the viewing angle from above.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing rice cooker 1 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, the same parts as those in FIG.
The rice cooker according to the second embodiment is provided with the display device 71 inclined on the front surface 10a of the lower housing 10 so that the display device 71 protrudes away from the front surface 10a as it goes downward.
By comprising in this way, the visibility from upper direction can be improved.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another configuration example for improving the visibility of the display device 71, and shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the rice cooker.
As shown in FIG. 8, a light guide plate 110 that guides outgoing light from the display device 71 upward is disposed on the front surface of the display device 71. By providing the light guide plate 110 in this manner, visibility from above can be improved without actually tilting the display device 71 as shown in FIG.

  In addition, although Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 show the example which implemented this invention to the rice cooker, for example, it was equipped with the steam collection | recovery mechanisms and display parts, such as the cooker for stew provided with the steam | steam collection | recovery mechanism. If it is a heating cooker, the same effect can be acquired.

It is a perspective view which shows the rice cooker of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view of the state where the upper lid of the rice cooker of Drawing 1 was closed. It is an AA schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. It is a BB schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example which provided the water tank in the rear surface side. It is a figure which shows an example of the display format of a water level. It is a perspective view which shows the rice cooker of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structural example for improving the visibility of a display apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker, 10 Lower housing | casing, 10a Front surface, 10b Upper surface, 11 Inner pan, 12 Induction heating coil, 20 Water tank, 20a Decorative plate, 20b Inner side surface, 21 Steam supply port, 22 Insertion pipe, 31 Hook, 40 Hinge part , 50 Upper lid, 51 Inner lid, 51a Lid sensor, 52 Lid packing, 53 Steam conduit, 54 Small hole, 55 Steam outlet, 56 Packing, 57 Engagement part, 58 Lock release button, 59 Operation part, 60 Base, 70 Display unit, 71 display device, 80 seal member, 90, 91 heat insulating material, 100 water level detecting means, 100a light emitting unit, 100b light receiving unit, 110 light guide plate.

Claims (8)

An inner pot for storing the object to be heated;
A lower housing for detachably storing the inner pot;
An upper lid covering the upper surface of the lower housing so as to be freely opened and closed;
A steam conduit that is provided inside the upper lid and guides the steam generated from the inner pot to the outside of the inner pot;
A water tank for collecting and condensing and storing the steam guided by the steam conduit;
A display unit disposed on a front surface of the lower casing and displaying an operation state;
Water amount detecting means for detecting the amount of water in the aquarium;
With
The water tank is detachably arranged together with the decorative plate attached to the outer surface of the water tank on the right or left side of the lower housing,
The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the height of the water surface in the water tank is displayed on the display unit in accordance with the height position of the water surface based on a detection result of the water amount detection means .   The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is provided with a heat insulating means between either the inner pot or the water tank, or both.   The cooking device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the steam conduit is arranged on a rear side in the upper lid.   The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display portion is inclined so as to protrude forward as it goes downward.   The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a light guide plate that guides light emitted from the display unit upward is disposed on a front surface of the display unit.   2. A seal member is provided in the gap to prevent water from entering through gaps between the members constituting the lower casing and preventing the water from entering the display section. The cooking device according to any one of claims 5 to 5.   The cooking device according to claim 6, wherein the seal member is provided at a joint portion between a front surface and an upper surface of the lower housing. The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the water amount detection means includes a plurality of water level detection means .

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