JP5049667B2 - Electric rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker, and more particularly to a rice cooker having a cooked rice menu.

  At present, electric rice cookers have become a necessity in general households, and various types of rice cookers have been developed. In recent rice cookers, a microcomputer is incorporated, and various rice cooking menus are stored in this computer memory so that a user can select a rice cooking menu of choice and cook rice. Various types of rice cooking menus have been developed, such as a menu that can be selected according to the type of rice, such as white rice and brown rice, a menu that can be selected for various hardnesses, and a menu that is cooked or cooked.

  Among these rice cooking menus, rice-cooked rice is (i) a method in which seasoned ingredients such as soy sauce and raw ingredients are mixed and cooked in the washed rice, or (ii) a commercially available retort-cooked food in the washed rice. It is carried out by the method of adding and cooking. The retort food (ii) above is usually prepared by combining seasoned soup with soy sauce, bonito and kelp soup mixed with mirin, etc., and cooking ingredients such as potatoes that have been boiled with a deep season. It is packed in a bag.

  However, if this retort cooked food is used, this food contains liquid components, so if you add water to the cooked rice as usual and add this cooked food, The amount will increase, and you may not be able to cook as you like. For this reason, the cooking using this retort food is difficult to add and subtract water.

In order to solve this problem, cooked rice using a special dry seasoning material is introduced in Patent Document 1 below. In this cooked rice, first put rice and water in the kettle, then put the raw ingredients on the rice, sprinkle the dried seasoning material on the rice, cook the rice, and the rice with the solution of the dried seasoning material It is to be seasoned. In addition, this dry seasoning material is soy sauce 5.0-35.0 dry weight%, umami components 10.0-80.0 dry weight%, sugar 16.0-25.0 dry weight%, salt 10.0- 25.0% by dry weight is blended. Moreover, the following patent document 2 has described the cooking rice cooking which disperses the citrus peel on the cooked rice. This cooked rice is cooked with rice and kelp soup stock, salt, and citrus fruit juice in the rice cooker. Stir and citrus peel with a stirrer to make cooked rice.
Japanese Patent No. 3845324 (paragraphs [0016] to [0022], FIG. 1) JP 2004-89167A (paragraphs [0005] to [0008], FIG. 2)

  The above-mentioned (i) and (ii) cooked rice is cooked by mixing raw rice or retort food together with the rice that has been washed at the time of rice cooking, so that the inherent deliciousness of the ingredients is not utilized and the water is not hydrated. There are problems such as difficulty. For example, rice cooked by mixing fresh rice with washed rice will be seasoned with the same darkness as the rice and ingredients, and the ingredients will not be seasoned. In addition, it is conceivable to add a seasoning to the ingredients in advance, but this takes time and effort and the flavor is lost. In addition, retort foods that have been boiled together with pre-boiled ingredients and seasoned soup can not maintain the flavor and texture of ingredients such as mushrooms, so even if the cooked rice is ready, Unsatisfactory remains in the chipping and crunchiness of the ingredients. This is because the cooked utensil is heated at least three times when cooking the ingredients, at the time of heat sterilization when making the retort, and at the time of cooking rice cooking, so the flavor will be lost every time it is heated. is there. In particular, ingredients with important flavor and texture, such as seasonal matsutake mushrooms, will lose the taste of matsutake mushrooms. In this respect, the cooked rice of Patent Document 2 above mixes citrus fruits with cooked rice, so the scent of citrus fruits is evaporated, the appetite is increased, and the sweet and sour taste of citrus fruits drifts in the mouth as soon as it is eaten. Can be made. However, since this tool is limited to citrus peel, that is, a tool that does not require cooking, a tool that requires cooking cannot be used.

  This invention was made in order to solve the subject of such cooking rice cooking, and the objective of this invention is the rice cooking provided with the cooking rice menu which can be cooked taking advantage of the peculiar taste which an ingredient has. Is to provide a vessel.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of the rice cooker according to claim 1 of the present application is a heating means for heating a cooked rice in a pan, an opening in which the pan is accommodated, and a cooked rice in the pan. The rice cooker main body, a lid that can be opened and closed to close the opening of the rice cooker main body, selection means for selecting various rice cooking menus, and the heating means are controlled by the rice cooking menu selected by the selection means. A water absorption step of absorbing a predetermined amount of water in the cooked rice in the pan, a rising heating step of heating up the absorbed cooked rice until boiling, and maintaining the cooked rice in a boiling state And a control means for sequentially executing a steaming process for steaming the cooked food after the maintenance process. In the rice cooker, the steaming process is provided with a steaming standby period for temporarily interrupting the steaming process. , The control means When 炊 lump cooking menu is selected by the selection means, characterized in that the temporarily open the lid to the evaporated likeness waiting period to allow the insertion of 炊 inclusive tool into the inner bowl.

  The invention of claim 2 of the present application is characterized in that, in the rice cooker according to claim 1, the steaming standby period is set at a time when the internal pressure in the pan after the boiling maintenance step is reduced. To do.

  The invention of claim 3 of the present application is the rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means can open the lid and put in the cooker before shifting to the steaming standby period. It is characterized by notifying that there is.

  Invention of Claim 3 of this application is the rice cooker as described in any one of Claims 1-3. WHEREIN: The said control means controls the said heating means after the said steaming waiting period progress, and the temperature in the said pan is set. The cooker that has been raised and charged is cooked and the remaining steaming step is performed.

  Invention of Claim 5 of this application WHEREIN: In the rice cooker of Claim 4, when the said control means opens the said cover body and throws in the cooking tool before progress of the said steaming waiting period, The steaming waiting period is shortened, and the remaining steaming process is immediately executed.

  The invention of claim 6 of the present application is the rice cooker according to claim 4, wherein the control means does not open the lid and put in the cooking tool during the steaming standby period, and the steaming standby period is excessive. When this is done, the remaining steaming process is automatically executed.

  Invention of the rice cooker of Claim 7 of this application is a rice cooker main body which has the heating means which heats the cooking pot in which the pan into which a rice to be cooked is thrown in, the opening in which this pan is accommodated, and this pan, and this Select a lid that closes the opening of the rice cooker body, a pressure valve that is attached to the lid to adjust the internal pressure in the pan, a pressure valve opening mechanism that controls the pressure valve, and various rice cooking menus A water absorption step of controlling the heating means and the pressure valve opening mechanism by the selection means and the rice cooking menu selected by the selection means to absorb a predetermined amount of water in the cooked rice in the pan, and the water absorption Control means for sequentially executing a start-up heating process for heating the cooked rice until it is boiled, a boiling maintaining process for maintaining the cooked rice in a boiling state, and a steaming process for steaming the cooked rice after the boiling maintaining process And a pressure rice cooker equipped with The steaming step is provided with a steaming standby period for temporarily interrupting the steaming process, and the control means temporarily puts the lid in the steaming standby period when the cooking rice menu is selected by the selection means. It opens and enables the cooking tool to be put into the pan.

  The invention of claim 8 of the present application is the rice cooker according to claim 7, wherein, during the steaming standby period, the pressure valve is opened by the pressure valve opening mechanism after the boiling maintaining step, and the pressure in the pan is adjusted. It is set after unplugging.

  The invention of claim 9 of the present application is the rice cooker according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the control means is capable of opening the lid and charging the cooker before shifting to the steaming standby period. It is characterized by notifying a certain signal.

  The invention of claim 10 of the present application is the rice cooker according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the control means controls the heating means after elapse of the steaming standby period to control the temperature in the pan. The cooker that has been raised and charged is cooked and the remaining steaming step is performed.

  The invention of claim 11 of the present application is the rice cooker according to claim 10, wherein the control means is configured such that when the cooker is turned on and the lid is closed before the steaming standby period elapses, The steaming standby period is shortened, and the remaining steaming process is immediately executed.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the rice cooker according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the control means does not open the lid and throw in the cooker during the steaming standby period, and the steaming standby period is excessive. When this is done, the remaining steaming process is automatically executed.

  By providing the above configuration, the present invention has the following excellent effects. That is, according to the invention of claim 1, in the steaming process, a steaming standby period for temporarily suspending this process is provided, and the cooker is introduced during this standby period, so that cooking using the freshness, aroma, etc. of the ingredients can be performed. . In other words, the cooker is not completely boiled and can be raw or semi-raw, so if it is fresh, for example if it is a shellfish, it can be oysters, turban shells, beans, or potatoes. For example, seasonal products such as green peas and matsutake mushrooms can be used, and cooking using these fresh flavors and aromas becomes possible.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the steaming standby period is set at the time when the internal pressure in the pan after the boiling maintaining step is finished, so that the cooked rice may be scattered when the lid is opened. It is possible to safely put in tools.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the control means opens the lid and notifies the signal that the cooking device can be put in before shifting to the steaming standby period, it is easy to open the lid and put in the ingredients. become.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the control means controls the heating means after the elapse of the steaming standby period, heats the cooker that has been put in by raising the temperature in the pan, and then steams the cooker in a short time. The ingredients can be stewed.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the control means shortens the steaming standby period when the lid is opened and the cooking utensils are put in before the steaming standby period elapses, and the remaining steaming process is immediately performed. Therefore, the steaming process time can be shortened.

  According to the invention of claim 6, since the control means automatically starts the additional cooking when the opening of the lid and the addition of the cooking utensils are not made during the steaming waiting period and the waiting period is over, some circumstances Therefore, it is possible to cope with the case where the lid is not opened and the tool is not thrown in, and the rice cooking process is not hindered.

  According to invention of Claim 7, in a pressure type rice cooker, there can exist an effect similar to Claim 1.

  According to the invention of claim 8, the steaming standby period is set after the pressure valve is opened by the pressure valve opening mechanism after the boiling maintaining step is completed and the pressure in the pan is released, so when the lid is opened The cooked rice can be safely thrown in without being cooked.

  According to invention of Claims 9-12, in a pressure type rice cooker, each rice cooker can have the same effect as Claims 3-6.

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

  First, with reference to FIGS. 1-4, the structure and control means of the rice cooker which concern on embodiment of this invention are demonstrated. 1 shows a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a front view, FIG. 1 (b) is an enlarged view of the display portion of FIG. 1 (a), and FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pressure valve opening mechanism of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control means.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the rice cooker 1 has a pan 7 into which the rice to be cooked is put, an opening in which the pan 7 is accommodated in the upper portion, and the pot 7 inside to heat the cooked rice. A rice cooker main body (hereinafter referred to as a main body) 2 having heating means 5a and 5b for heating, and a lid body 10 having a locking mechanism pivotally supported on one side of the main body 2 so as to cover the opening and lock in a closed state. A pressure valve 13 that is attached to the lid 10 and adjusts the internal pressure in the pan 7, a pressure valve opening mechanism 18 that controls the pressure valve, and a display operation unit 25 that displays and selects various rice cooking menus. And a control means 24 for controlling the heating means 5a, 5b and the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 according to the selected rice cooking menu.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body 2 includes a box-shaped outer case 3 with a bottom and an inner case 4 that is accommodated in the outer case and in which the pan 7 is accommodated. A gap is formed between the inner case 4 and a control circuit board (not shown) constituting the control means 24 is disposed in the gap. The inner case 4 is provided with heating means 5a and 5b 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 5a and 5b, electromagnetic induction coils (hereinafter sometimes referred to as IH coils) wound in a donut shape are used. In addition, although the upper cover heater is provided also in the cover body 10, it is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. The pan 7 is a relatively deep bottom container into which a predetermined amount of cooked rice made of water and rice is put, and is made of a clad material of aluminum and stainless steel.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lid 10 includes an inner lid 11 that closes the opening of the pan 7, an outer lid 12 that closes the entire opening of the main body 2, and the like. One end of the lid 10 is pivotally supported by one end of the main body 2, and the other end is locked to the other end of the main body by a locking mechanism. In the upper part of the inner lid 11, a pressure valve 13 and a pressure valve opening mechanism 18 for opening the pressure valve are provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure valve 13 includes a valve seat 15 in which a valve hole 14 having a predetermined diameter is formed, a metal ball 16 placed on the valve seat 15 so as to close the valve hole 14, The cover 17 is configured to restrict the movement of the ball 16 and hold the ball 16 on the valve seat 15. The pressure valve opening mechanism 18 is attached to a cylinder 19a around which an electromagnetic coil is wound, a plunger 19b that slides in the cylinder 19a by excitation of the electromagnetic coil to move the ball 16, and a tip of the plunger. It consists of a spring and an operating rod 20. The pressure valve opening mechanism 18 is controlled by the control means 24. That is, when the electromagnetic coil is excited based on a command from the control means 24, the plunger 19b jumps out of the cylinder 19a and collides with the ball 16, and pushes the ball 16 in the lateral direction. By this extrusion, the ball 16 is moved from above the valve hole 14 to forcibly open the valve hole 14. Further, in this open state, when the excitation to the electromagnetic coil is stopped, the plunger 19b is pulled back into the cylinder 19a by a spring force, and this retraction eliminates the force that the plunger 19b pushes the ball 16 in the lateral direction. 16 returns onto the valve hole 14, and the valve hole 14 is closed by the ball 16. The outer lid 12 is provided with a steam port 21 that communicates the space between the inner lid 11 and the outer lid 12 and the atmosphere. The inner lid 11 is provided with a safety valve 22 for releasing the steam in the pan 7 to the outside through the steam port 21 when the pressure in the pan rises to an abnormal pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure. . Further, a steam temperature sensor 23 (see FIG. 3) is attached to the inner lid 11.

  Various types of rice cooking menus are displayed on the front wall of the main body 2, and a display operation unit 25 including a plurality of operation buttons for setting a predetermined menu or the like from the displayed menus is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the display operation unit 25 includes a display panel 8 on which various rice cooking selection menus and times are displayed, and a plurality of switch operation buttons 3 a to 3 f on the left and right and below the display panel 8. 9 is disposed. These operation buttons include a rice cooking start button 3a for operating the rice cooker, a reservation button 3b for making rice reservation, a cut button 3c for canceling the setting of rice cooking, a rice selection button 3d for selecting rice, and a menu for selecting a rice cooking menu. A button 3e, a course button 3f for selecting a course, and a cross-shift key 9 for selecting and determining a menu displayed on the display panel 8 are provided.

  These buttons and keys are operation buttons or the like constituting a push button type switch, and each switch (not shown) is operated by pressing this button or key. Of these operation buttons 3a to 3f, the menu button 3e is used to display various rice cooking menus on the display panel 8. When this button is pressed, the menu button 3e is usually soft, porridge, porridge, sushi, curry, cooking. A menu of rice cooking such as "Momo", "Okowa" and "Mochimochi" is displayed. The rice selection button 3d is used to select the type of rice, for example, one of white rice, non-washed rice, brown rice, germinated brown rice, and the like. Furthermore, the course button 3f is used to select umami warming, good night warming, cleaning, and the like. The cross-shift key 9 is used to select a predetermined menu from various menus displayed on the display panel 8. The displayed rice cooking menu, for example, normal, sautéed, soft, porridge, sushi, curry, The selection is made by moving the cursor (blinking display) up and down and left and right by operating the cross shift key 9 from mochi mochi, seasonal cooking (spring, summer, autumn, winter) or the like. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter displayed on the display panel 8 are used to cook delicious rice throughout the year. In addition, sweetness, stickiness, and hardness are displayed on the display panel 8, and each level can be set.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control means 24 includes hardware including a circuit board on which a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like are mounted, and includes a rice cooking / start button 3a, a menu selection button 3e, a rice cooking reservation button 3b, and a cancel / heat retention. The buttons 3c, the pan bottom temperature sensor 6, the steam sensor 23, and the like are connected to each other, and signals from these buttons and sensors are input to the CPU. The CPU is connected to first to fourth timers for measuring a predetermined time, ROM, and RAM. Further, heaters (IH coils) 5a and 5b, a pressure valve opening mechanism (solenoid) 19a ′, an indicator 8, and the like are connected to the output unit (driver). The ROM stores various rice cooking menus and programs for executing the menus. The first timer sets the water absorption time TA (t0) and measures the water absorption timer, the second timer sets the steaming time TB (t) and sets the steaming timer, and the third timer sets the time for the first steaming process IV ₁ TC (t1 + t2) timer for measuring is set, the fourth timer timer for measuring set waiting time IV ₂ TD (t3) is steaming, fifth timer, the time TE (t4 + t5 of the second steaming step IV ₃ ) Is a timer that counts time.

  Next, the outline of cooked rice will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, FIG. 5 is the curve figure which showed the temperature and pressure change in the pan in the cooking rice cooking process.

  The rice cooking process includes a water absorption process I in which a predetermined amount of water is absorbed by the rice at a predetermined water absorption temperature and time, a rising heating process II in which the cooked rice is heated to the boiling temperature after this water absorption, and a predetermined boiling maintenance power And boil maintaining step III for maintaining the boiling state for a predetermined time, and additional cooking step IV for steaming the cooked rice for a predetermined time after the completion of the boiling maintenance.

  In the water absorption process I, energization of the IH coil is turned on / off at predetermined time intervals, the temperature in the pan is set to the predetermined temperature θ1, and the predetermined time t0 is multiplied to cause the cooked rice to absorb a predetermined amount of water. The temperature θ1 is preferably not a fixed value but a predetermined width and a value in the range of 59.0 to 59.9 ° C. The water absorption time TA is, for example, 18 minutes. In the start-up heating process II, energization of the IH coil is turned on and the pressure valve 13 is closed, and the cooked rice after water absorption is heated to the boiling temperature. In the start-up heating step II, the pressure in the pan is increased from atmospheric pressure to approximately 1.2 atm. The cooked rice in the pan is brought to a boiling state by this heating and pressurization. In the next boiling maintenance step III, energization of the IH coil and opening / closing of the pressure valve 13 are performed at predetermined time intervals.

The pressure valve 13 is opened and closed in the boiling maintenance process III once or several times in the initial stage of the boiling maintenance process. By opening this pressure valve, the internal pressure in the pan is reduced from 1, 2 atm to almost atmospheric pressure. Due to this pressure change, the cooked rice is vigorously stirred in the pan and a bumping phenomenon occurs. Due to this bumping phenomenon, the rice grains in the pan are agitated. In particular, when the pressure valve is opened and closed in the initial stage of the boiling maintenance process, the rice grains are efficiently stirred because the water in the pan is increased at this stage. On the other hand, energization to the IH coil is turned on / off in synchronization with opening and closing of the pressure valve 13. That is, energization to the IH coil is turned on when the pressure valve is closed, and turned off when the pressure valve is opened. In the middle of the steaming step IV, a steaming standby period IV ₂ is provided in which steaming is temporarily suspended and a predetermined period of time is waited. That is, the steaming waiting period IV ₂ is provided between the first and second steaming steps IV ₁ and IV ₃ . For this reason, the time of the whole steaming process IV is made longer than the time of the standard steaming process. For example, when the time t of the standard steaming process is 16 minutes, the extension is about 2 minutes and 17 minutes. During this 2 minutes, it will be time to put in the cooker.

Among the steaming steps IV, the first steaming step IV ₁ is set to a predetermined time (t1 + t2), and the time t1 is set to a time for closing the pressure valve 13 and raising the temperature in the pan to make additional cooking. The subsequent time t2 is set to a time for opening the pressure valve 13 and preparing the state in which the pressure in the pan can be removed and the lid can be opened. In the first steaming step IV ₁ , after a predetermined time after the start of steaming, that is, after a predetermined time t1 after the end of the boiling maintenance step III, the pressure valve is opened to release the pressure in the pan, and the lid is opened after the predetermined time t2 Allow the body to open up. The relationship between the times t1 and t2 is set to t2> t1.

This time t2 is set in consideration of the safety that the cooked rice is not scattered by almost releasing the pressure in the pan 7 after opening the pressure valve 13 and eliminating the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the pan. This time is, for example, about 3 minutes. The time (t1 + t2) of the steaming process IV ₁ is 5 minutes in total, of which t1 is 2 minutes and t2 is 3 minutes. In addition, after the start of steaming, a signal that prompts that the lid can be opened and the cooker can be put in after a predetermined time (t1 + t2) has elapsed is notified. This notification is performed by blinking on the display operation unit 25 or the like. After this time (t1 + t2) has elapsed, the process proceeds to the waiting period IV ₂ steamed suspends the steaming process. When the steaming standby period IV _{2 is} entered, the pressure in the pan is released, and the energization to the IH coil is also turned off, so that the cooked rice can be opened safely without the rice being scattered outside. . Therefore, the lid is opened and a cooker previously cooked in the pan is put in. Although this cooker differs according to the kind of ingredient, it is not completely cooked, and raw or semi-living ingredients are used. For example, if the ingredient is a shellfish such as oyster or tuna, it is fresh raw, and if it is a legume such as green pea, it is seasonal. After switching on the ingredients into the pot, and close the lid, press the start cooking button, then it shifts to the steaming step IV _3.

During this time of steaming waiting period IV ₂ times, it is set to the maximum at time t3. This time t3 is the time required for a series of operations for opening the lid, charging the cooking tool, and closing the lid, and when the cooking is not performed even though the cooking rice menu is set. Therefore, it is set in consideration of these circumstances. That is, this time t3 requires a minimum time required for a series of operations for opening the lid, loading the tool, and closing the lid after the transition from the first steaming step IV ₁ to the steaming standby period IV _2. It becomes. This time takes around 1 minute from experience. On the other hand, after the transition from the first steaming step IV ₁ to the steaming standby period IV ₂ , if the lid is not opened, the cooking utensils are charged, the lid is closed, and the rice cooking button is not turned on, this time t3 is lengthened. If it is placed, a long time will be passed unnecessarily, the entire cooking time will become longer, and the temperature in the pan will be extremely lowered, the steaming will fail, and the cooking of the rice will be worsened. Therefore, in consideration of such a situation, it is necessary to set a time that does not adversely affect steaming even if interrupted, and this time t3 is preferably within 2 minutes from experience. As the time t3 of the steaming waiting period IV ₂ is smaller, the influence on steaming can be reduced. Therefore, the rice cooker is put in before the time t3 elapses and the rice cooking start button is closed. when is pressed, by shortening the time t3 of the waiting time IV _2, it shifts to the next steaming step IV _3. Since the waiting time is shortened, the time for the steaming process is shortened. In the second steaming step IV _3, boiled raw ingredients that are put into the pot first time t4 over, then cook by steam over time t5. When cooking the cooker, during the time t4 of the steaming process IV ₃ , the IH coil was energized and the pressure valve was closed to raise the temperature and the internal pressure of the pan. Simmer the ingredients. This time t4 is set to 5 minutes 2 seconds (320 seconds) from experience, for example. This time is the time to boil the ingredients. If it is 5 minutes and 20 seconds, the remaining heat in the pot is added and even the raw ingredients can be boiled using the freshness of the ingredients. After this cooking is completed, the energization to the IH coil is stopped and the pressure valve is opened, and the normal steaming is performed over the remaining steaming time t5.

When the cooked rice menu is selected by the display operation unit 25, the display panel is informed that the lid can be opened and the ingredients can be put into the pan, but the lid is not opened for some reason. The insert may not be inserted. In preparation for such a case, waiting for the maximum time t3, after this time has elapsed, automatically performed steaming migrated steaming to Step IV _3. At this time, rice is cooked in the same second steaming step IV ₃ as the cooker is put in the pot. That is, in the second steaming step IV ₃ , the steaming step is executed by increasing the pressure and temperature in the pan. This temperature rise is set to return the temperature lowered by the interruption of steaming to the original temperature and the temperature to boil the ingredients, but since there is no input of the cooking ingredients, it will be overheated by that amount, but the rice can be cooked to the extent that it can be cooked There will be no obstacles.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, the rice cooking process for executing the cooked rice cooking menu will be described. 7 to 9 are flowcharts of the rice cooking process of the cooked rice menu.

  First, before starting the cooked rice menu, a predetermined amount of cooked rice such as white rice, water, and predetermined soup stock is accommodated in the pan 7 and prepared for cooking. The pan 7 containing the cooked rice is housed in the inner case 4, the lid 10 is closed, and the main body 2 is locked and locked.

  If the rice cooking reservation is not made in step S1, the rice cooking / start button 3a is pressed in step S5, the inverter circuit is activated to energize the IH coil 5a, and rice cooking is started (steps S6 to S8). In addition, when making a rice cooking reservation, reservation time is set to a timer at step S2, and rice is cooked in rice cooking reservation mode (step S3, S4).

  By this energization, a high frequency current flows through the IH coil 5a attached to the bottom wall of the inner case 4, an eddy current is generated in the pan 7, the pan 7 generates heat, and heating of the cooked rice is started. At the same time, the control means 24 operates the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 to move the ball 16 to open the pressure valve 13 and execute the water absorption process I (steps S9 and S10). In the water absorption process I, the first timer is set with a water absorption time TA, for example, 18 minutes (steps S11 and S12). When the water absorption process I is started, the first timer starts measuring the water absorption time TA (t0 = 18 minutes) (step S13). During this water absorption time, the pan bottom temperature sensor 6 measures the pan bottom temperature K1, and energization of the IH coil 5a is turned on / off until the measured value K1 reaches a predetermined temperature (θ1) of 60 ° C. (actually 59.9 ° C.). Is performed (steps S14 to S18). When the first timer expires, the process proceeds to the next startup heating process II. In the start-up heating process II, heating is performed with full power so that the boiling state is reached in a short time and the pressure valve 13 is closed (steps S19 and S20). Full power heating control and pressure valve closing are performed by the control means 24. The pressure valve 13 closes the pressure valve 13 by the ball 16 by operating the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 and pulling back the plunger 19a. The pressure valve 13 is closed by the ball 16 rolling over the valve hole 14 by its own weight and closing the valve hole 14. In step S21, the steam temperature K2 is measured by the steam sensor 23. In step S22, it is determined whether or not the measured value K2 has reached 75 ° C. If the measured value K2 has been reached, the start-up heating process II is terminated, and then the process proceeds to the boiling maintenance process III (step S23). When proceeding to the boiling maintenance step III, the pressure in the pan 7 is set to a predetermined pressure equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure, for example, about 1.2 atm, and the rice grains boil at a saturation temperature corresponding to this pressure. From the initial stage of shifting to the boiling maintenance process III, the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 is operated by the control means 24 to forcibly open the pressure valve 13 a plurality of times (step S24). By the forced opening operation of the pressure valve, the pressure in the pan 7 is reduced to near atmospheric pressure. When the pressure in the pan 7 drops from the predetermined boiling pressure (about 1.2 atm) to the vicinity of the atmospheric pressure at once, the inside of the pan 7 becomes a severe bumping state. In this bumping state, bubbles are generated in the pan, and the rice grains are stirred by the bubbles. In addition, when predetermined time passes in this boiling maintenance process III, the amount of residual water in the pan 7 will decrease, a pressure fluctuation range will become small, and a bumping phenomenon will become weak. For this reason, forcible opening of the pressure valve 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 (step S25), the forcible opening of the pressure valve by the pressure valve opening mechanism 18 is stopped in step S26, the pressure valve 13 is closed, and the IH coil 5a is turned on. The energization is controlled to maintain the boiling state (steps S26 and S27). In step S28, the pan bottom temperature K3 is measured. When the pan bottom temperature K3 reaches a predetermined temperature, for example, 130 ° C. in step S29, it is determined that the water in the pan 7 has dried up and the forced dry-up has been completed. In step S30, the energization to the IH coil 5a is stopped, The process proceeds to the steaming step IV while keeping the valve 13 closed (steps S31 and S32).

This steaming process IV is divided into a first steaming process IV ₁ , a steaming waiting period IV ₂ and a second steaming process IV ₃ . First, the entire steaming time (t = 17 minutes) for performing the steaming process IV is set in the second timer in step S33, and the time (TB) of this second timer is counted in step S34 (step S34). Step S35 in the first steaming third timer (TC) set to time step IV ₁ counts the (t1 = 2 minutes), which opens the pressure valve 13 after a lapse of the 2 minutes (Step S36, S37). If in step S38 after five minutes to activate the alarm in step S39 steaming is shifted to the waiting period IV ₂ in. In step S40, a waiting period (TD = t2) is set in the fourth timer, and in step S41, the display panel 8 blinks within this time, so that the lid can be opened and the simmering tool is urged (step S42). At this point, the pressure valve is opened, the pressure inside the pan is almost released, the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the pan disappears, and the energization to the IH coil is also turned off, so that the cooked rice is scattered outside. Therefore, the lid can be opened safely, and the lid is opened and the cooker previously cooked in the pan is put in (steps S43 and S44). Depending on the type, raw or semi-lived ingredients are used, not completely boiled, eg fresh oysters, green peas, etc. If it ’s beans, Than it. Then, to close the lid, and turns on the cooking start button 3a (step S45, S46). Thus, steaming waiting period IV ₂ is completed (step S47). Next steaming step IV ₃ The input cooker is boiled over the time (t4) set in the fifth timer (step S48), which is performed by turning on the power to the IH coil and closing the pressure valve (step S48). (S49-S51) When the second steaming time is completed in step S49, the energization to the IH coil is turned off and the pressure valve is opened, and the steaming process is executed for a time difference of 2 minutes by the second timer. After the process is completed, the process proceeds to a heat retaining process to retain heat (steps S52 to S56).

In addition, although the display operation unit 25 or the like is notified of the introduction of the cooking tool, the lid may not be opened for some reason and the cooking tool may not be input. In this case, after the steaming waiting period IV ₂ is completed, the steaming is performed by moving to the next steaming process IV ₃ . In this case, the steaming process is performed by increasing the pressure and temperature in the pan within the cooking time t3. This temperature rise is set to return the temperature lowered by the interruption of steaming to the original temperature and the temperature to boil the ingredients, but since there is no input of the cooking ingredients, it will be overheated by that amount, but the rice can be cooked to the extent that it can be cooked There will be no obstacles.

  Although this invention demonstrated by the pressure type rice cooker, it is not limited to this pressure type rice cooker, A normal pressure type rice cooker may be sufficient. Further, the heating means is not limited to the IH heating method in which heating is performed by eddy current generated by the induction coil, and a heating plate in which a heater is mounted on the bottom of the pan or other heating methods may be used.

FIG. 1: shows the rice cooker which concerns on embodiment of this invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a front view, FIG.1 (b) is an enlarged view of the display part of Fig.1 (a). FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view in which the outer case and the like of the rice cooker in FIG. 1 are omitted. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pressure valve opening mechanism of FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control means. FIG. 5 is a curve diagram showing temperature changes and pressure changes in the pan in the cooking rice cooking process. FIG. 6 is a cooking rice flowchart. FIG. 7 is a rice cooking flowchart following FIG. FIG. 8 is a rice cooking flowchart following FIG. FIG. 9 is a rice cooking flowchart following FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Rice cooker 2 Rice cooker body 3 External case 4 Internal case 5a Heating means (IH coil)
5b Heating means (IH coil)
6 Pan bottom temperature sensor 7 Pan 10 Lid 11 Inner lid 12 Outer lid 13 Pressure valve 16 Ball 17 Cover 18 Pressure valve opening mechanism 22 Safety valve 21 Steam port 24 Control means 25 Display operation unit

Claims (12)

  A rice cooker body having a pan into which the cooked rice is put, an opening in which the pan is accommodated, and a heating means for heating the cooked rice in the pan, and an openable / closable lid that closes the opening of the cooker body A body, a selection means for selecting various rice cooking menus, a water absorption step for controlling the heating means by the rice cooking menu selected by the selection means to absorb a predetermined amount of water in the cooked rice in the pan, Start-up heating process for heating and heating the water-absorbed rice to be boiled, boiling maintaining process for maintaining the rice to be boiled, and steaming process for steaming the rice to be cooked after the maintenance process In the rice cooker provided with the control means, the steaming step is provided with a steaming standby period for temporarily suspending the steaming step, and the control means is selected when the cooking rice menu is selected by the selection means. The steam Cooker, characterized in that to allow the insertion of 炊 inclusive tool into said pot temporarily open the lid to the waiting period.   2. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the steaming standby period is set at a time point when the internal pressure in the pan after the boiling maintaining step is reduced.   3. The rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means informs that the lid can be opened and a cooker can be put in before the steaming standby period.   The said control means controls the said heating means after the said steaming waiting period progresses, heats the cooking utensil put in by raising the temperature in the said pan, and performs the remaining steaming process. Item 9. A rice cooker according to any one of items 1 to 3.   The control means shortens the steaming standby period and immediately executes the remaining steaming process when the lid is opened and the cooking utensils are put in before the steaming standby period elapses. The rice cooker according to claim 4.   The control means automatically performs the remaining steaming step when the steaming standby period is over without the lid being opened and the cooking utensils being charged during the steaming standby period. Item 4. A rice cooker according to item 4.   A pan into which the rice to be cooked is put, an opening in which the pan is accommodated, and a rice cooker body having heating means for heating the cooked rice in the pan, and a lid for closing the opening of the rice cooker body, A pressure valve that is attached to the lid to adjust the internal pressure in the pan, a pressure valve opening mechanism that controls the pressure valve, selection means for selecting various rice cooking menus, and rice cooking selected by the selection means A water absorption step of controlling the heating means and the pressure valve opening mechanism by a menu to absorb a predetermined amount of water in the cooked rice in the pan, and a temperature rising and heating until the cooked cooked rice is boiled. In a pressure rice cooker comprising an upper heating step, a boiling maintaining step for maintaining the cooked rice in a boiling state, and a control means for sequentially executing a steaming step for steaming the cooked rice after the boiling maintaining step, In the steaming step, the steaming A steaming standby period for temporarily interrupting the process is provided, and when the cooking rice menu is selected by the selection means, the control means temporarily opens the lid body during the steaming standby period and cooks in the pan. A rice cooker characterized by enabling the insertion of a noodle.   8. The rice cooking according to claim 7, wherein the steaming standby period is set after the pressure valve is opened by the pressure valve opening mechanism after the boiling maintaining step is completed and the pressure in the pan is released. vessel.   The said control means alert | reports the signal which opens the said cover body and can throw in a cooking tool before shifting to the said steaming standby period, The rice cooker of Claim 7 or 8 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The said control means controls the said heating means after the said steaming waiting period progresses, heats the cooking utensil put in by raising the temperature in the said pan, and performs the remaining steaming process. Item 10. A rice cooker according to any one of items 7 to 9.   When the cooker is put in and the lid is closed before the steaming standby period elapses, the control means shortens the steaming standby period and immediately executes the remaining steaming process. The rice cooker of Claim 10 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The control means automatically performs the remaining steaming step when the steaming standby period is over without the lid being opened and the cooking utensils being charged during the steaming standby period. Item 10. A rice cooker according to Item 10.

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