JP5150198B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker, and more particularly to a rice cooker that effectively suppresses the release of water vapor and rice balls generated from the cooked rice during cooking.

  A rice cooker is a rice cooker that contains rice and water in a container and heats the cooked rice in the container to cook rice, especially in the case of a pressure cooker. In order to cook food by heating the object and increasing the pressure inside the container, the temperature inside the container is high and the internal pressure is high.

  Normally, steam and rice balls generated from cooked rice boiled by heating fill the rice cooker and the internal pressure rises excessively. A steam outlet is provided for escape. Therefore, water vapor and rice balls that are present inside the rice cooker at the time of heating and boiling are released at once from this steam outlet, but since the water vapor is hot, there is a risk of being burned by touching the human body. In addition, the released water vapor adheres to walls, ceilings, floors, and surrounding electrical equipment, resulting in inconveniences such as dirt, mold, rust, and shortening of equipment life. Moreover, if the sticky rice cake is blown out with the flavor component of rice, the rice cooker body will be soiled.

  Therefore, in order to avoid such a situation, rice cookers with various configurations have come out to prevent the release of water vapor and rice balls or to suppress the generation amount thereof.

  For example, in the following Patent Document 1, in a heating cooker for cooking water or a food containing water, a steam port for releasing steam filled in the cooker to the outside, and the steam port is discharged from the steam port. There is disclosed a device provided with a blowing means for diffusing water vapor and a blowing control means for performing diffusion of water vapor by the blowing means at least during boiling of water.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the heating cooker described in Patent Document 1 below has a suction port 103 located above the steam port 102 in the vicinity of the steam port 102 that discharges steam generated from the rice cooker 101 to the outside. A blower port 104 and a blower 105 for blowing air in a substantially horizontal direction are provided, and when the boiling temperature 90 ° C. of the cooked rice in the rice cooker 101 is detected by the temperature sensor 106, blowing by the blower 105 is started. Then, when 5 minutes have elapsed after the temperature sensor 106 detects the cooked temperature of 120 ° C. and the heating by the rice cooker 107 is stopped, the blowing by the blower 105 is stopped.

  According to this configuration, with a simple and inexpensive configuration, it is possible to prevent the human body from directly contacting the high-temperature water vapor discharged from the steam port, and to prevent the adverse effects of water vapor on the surroundings as described above.

  Patent Document 2 below includes a lid placed on the upper part of the main body, and the lid includes a steam cylinder for discharging water vapor in the main body and a blower, and blows air by the blower. Discloses a rice cooker made to flow out into a steam cylinder through a blower tube.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the rice cooker described in Patent Document 2 below includes a pot 202 that is detachably stored in the main body 201, and a lid 203 that covers the upper opening of the pot 202 so as to be freely opened and closed. The lid 203 is provided with a lid heating means 204 for heating the upper surface of the pan 202 and a pan temperature detecting device 205 for detecting the heating temperature of the upper surface, and a heating means for heating the pan 202 at the bottom of the main body 201. 206 and the bottom temperature detection device 207 are disposed, and a control unit 208 for controlling the lid heating unit 204 and the heating unit 206 in a timely manner during the rice cooking process is provided in the main body 201. Further, the lid 203 has a blower 209 and a blower. The pipe 210 is arranged, and the steam cylinder 211 arranged on the lid and the blower 209 are communicated with each other by the blower pipe 210.

According to this configuration, the blower pipe arranged in the lid causes the steam port arranged in the lid to communicate with the blower, and the blower takes air having a relatively lower humidity than water vapor from outside the main body into the lid. , Forcibly feed into the air duct. The air taken in the lid is mixed with the water vapor in the steam port and released to the outside of the main body, so that the water vapor released during the rice cooking can be prevented from condensing around the rice cooker.
JP-A-6-30847 (Claim 1, paragraphs [0006] and [0029]) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-97012 (Claim 1, paragraphs [0005] and [0014])

  The inventions of the rice cookers disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 can suppress the release of water vapor by sending wind to the vicinity of the water vapor outlet.

  However, according to the cooker disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, since the blower itself from the blower is performed in the horizontal direction with respect to the water vapor discharged from the steam port outside the cooker, it is discharged in the vertical direction. There is a possibility that generation of water vapor cannot be sufficiently suppressed only by the generated water vapor moving in the horizontal direction. That is, there is a risk that the water vapor may adhere to the wall or other electrical devices that exist in the horizontal direction and have an adverse effect even if there is no adverse effect of the water vapor above the cooking device. Moreover, since water vapor | steam is cooled outside, dew condensation will generate | occur | produce outside a cooker main body, and this dew condensation dripped on a floor and may contaminate a floor surface.

  Moreover, according to the rice cooker disclosed by the said patent document 2, the ventilation | blower by an air blower suppresses generation | occurrence | production of water vapor | steam by flowing out into the steam pipe | tube for discharging | emitting water vapor | steam via a ventilation pipe, and dew condensation around a rice cooker Therefore, the steam and the blown air are mixed for the first time at the point where the steam tube communicating with the steam port intersects with the blower pipe. However, this cannot sufficiently mix water vapor and air, which is insufficient to suppress the generation of water vapor.

  This invention was made | formed in order to solve such a subject, Comprising: The objective of this invention suppresses the discharge | release to the exterior of the water vapor | steam produced from the to-be-cooked rice during rice cooking, and the rice cake. It is to provide a rice cooker that can.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a rice cooker body having a container into which rice to be cooked is charged, an opening in which the container is accommodated, and a heating means for heating the rice to be cooked in the container, A controller that controls the heating means; and a lid that is pivotally supported on one side of the rice cooker body and covers the opening, wherein the lid closes the container and the entire opening. A rice cooker provided with a storage tank for storing moisture and a rice bowl produced from the cooked rice in the outer cover, wherein the storage tank has an outside air intake hole and an exhaust hole. And a return hole, a turbofan is provided in the storage tank, and an intake guide inclined at a predetermined angle for inducing outside air is formed in the outside air intake hole. The return hole is formed below the lower end portion of the intake guide, It is characterized in that mounted directly below the exhaust hole.

According to the present invention, the storage tank has the outside air intake hole and the exhaust hole, and the storage tank is provided with the turbo fan. Since the outside air taken in from the outside air intake hole by the fan is mixed in the entire space of the storage tank, the cooled water and rice cake are collected in the storage tank, and the water and the rice cake are removed from the exhaust hole. Since air is discharged, it is possible to effectively suppress the release of water vapor and rice balls generated during rice cooking to the outside. As a result, there is a risk of burns due to the release of water vapor and rice cake to the outside of the rice cooker, inconvenience due to adhesion to walls, ceilings and other electrical equipment in the surroundings, and unsanitary situations due to the rice cake falling on the lid or floor Can be reliably prevented.

In addition, according to the present invention, the storage tank has a return hole, so that the water vapor accumulated in the storage tank is cooled and the condensed moisture is reduced into the pot through the return return hole and cooked rice. The taste and freshness of things will increase.

Further , according to the present invention, the storage tank has an intake guide for inclining a predetermined angle to guide the wind taken from the outside air intake hole into the storage tank, and the non-return hole is a lower end of the intake guide. Since the air from which moisture has been removed by this intake guide is mixed with the wind from the outside air intake hole, it is easily discharged as warm air toward the exhaust hole. Moisture that has been cooled and condensed on the top is likely to fall into the lower return hole through the inclination of the intake guide .

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment shown below illustrates a pressure rice cooker as a rice cooker for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is intended to specify the present invention for this pressure rice cooker. And other embodiments within the scope of the claims are equally applicable.

  1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a pressure rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a storage tank of the pressure rice cooker of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a pressure according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of a type rice cooker.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the rice cooker 1 according to the present embodiment heats the pan 3 into which the rice to be cooked is put, the opening in which the pan 3 is accommodated, and the inside. A rice cooker main body (hereinafter referred to as a main body) 2 having a heating means 4 for heating the cooked rice, a lid 5 that is pivotally supported on one side of the main body 2 and covers the opening to be locked in a closed state; A pressure valve 6 that is attached to the lid 5 and adjusts the internal pressure in the pan 3, a pressure valve opening mechanism 7 that controls the pressure valve 6, a display operation unit 23a that displays and selects various rice cooking menus, Based on the selected rice cooking menu, the heating means 4 and the pressure valve opening mechanism 7 are controlled to heat the cooked rice in the pan 3 to a predetermined temperature and absorb a predetermined amount of moisture into the cooked rice over a predetermined time. Water absorption process I to be performed, rising heating process I to heat up the water-absorbed food to be boiled until boiling I, It is comprised with the boiling maintenance process III which maintains this to-be-cooked rice in a boiling state, and the control apparatus (illustration omitted) which performs the uneven process which steams a to-be-cooked rice after this boiling maintenance process III. Hereinafter, the structure of the rice cooker and the control device will be described.

  The main body 2 includes a bottomed box-shaped outer case 21 and an inner case 22 accommodated in the outer case 21, and a gap is formed between the outer case 21 and the inner case 22, and a control device is formed in the gap. A control circuit board or the like (not shown) is provided. The inner case 22 is provided with a heating means 4 at the bottom (not shown) and sides thereof, and a pan bottom temperature sensor (not shown) including a thermistor for detecting the pan bottom temperature at the bottom. As the heating means 4, an electromagnetic induction coil wound in an annular shape can be used in addition to a heating plate with a heater.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the main body 2 includes a display panel 23a that displays various rice cooking menus on its front surface, and operation buttons 23b to 23g that are arranged on the left and right and below the display panel 23a to select the rice cooking menu. A display operation unit 23 is provided. These operation buttons include a rice cooking / start button 23b for operating the rice cooker, a rice cooking reservation button 23c for making a rice cooking reservation, a cancel / warm button 23d for canceling the setting of rice cooking, a rice selection button 23e for selecting rice to be cooked, A menu selection button 23f for selecting a rice cooking menu, a course button 23g for selecting a course, and a cross shift key 23h for selecting and determining a menu displayed on the display panel 23a. These buttons and keys are operation buttons constituting a push button type switch, and each switch (not shown) is operated by pressing this button or key. Among these operation buttons 23b to 23g, the menu button 3f is for displaying various rice cooking menus on the display panel 23a, and when this button is pressed, various rice cooking menus such as softening and softening are usually displayed. . The rice selection button 23e 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 23g is used to select umami warming, good night warming, and the like. The cross-shift key 23h is used to select a predetermined menu from various menus displayed on the display panel 23a, and the cross-shift key 23h is operated from the displayed rice cooking menu, for example, normal, cauldron, soft rice cake, etc. The cursor (blinking display) is moved up and down and left and right for selection.

  The pan 3 is a relatively deep bottom container into which a predetermined amount of rice to be cooked made of water and rice is put, and is formed of a clad material of aluminum and stainless steel or the like and is installed inside the inner case 22.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lid 5 includes an inner lid 51 that closes the opening of the pot 3, an outer lid 52 that closes the entire opening of the main body 2, and the like. One side of the lid body 5 is pivotally supported by the main body 2 by a hinge mechanism h, and the other side is latched by the latching claw 8a of the lid body latching mechanism 8 being hooked on the latching portion 9 of the main body.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a storage tank 10 is provided on the upper portion of the outer lid 52 to store moisture and rice balls generated by cooling water vapor generated from the cooked rice. The storage tank 10 has a steam port 10a, a general return hole 10b, a storage portion 10c, an outside air intake hole 10d, and an exhaust hole 10e. A turbofan 11 is located in the vicinity of the exhaust hole 10e in the storage tank 10. Is provided. In addition, an intake guide 10f inclined at a predetermined angle is formed in the outside air intake hole 10d so as to induce outside air, and a general return hole 10b is formed below the lower end portion of the intake guide 10f.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the turbo fan 11 is attached directly below the exhaust hole 10 e, and wind is generated by rotating the wings by driving the motor 13. The rotation of the turbo fan 11 can agitate the outside air taken in from the outside air intake hole 10d and the water vapor and the rice cake produced from the cooked rice that flows in from the steam port 10a and stays in the storage tank 10. By this stirring action, the water vapor is cooled, becomes water droplets and accumulates in the reservoir 10c together with the water, and the moisture and rice balls accumulated in the reservoir 10c fall into the pot 3 through the return hole 10b. On the other hand, the air from which moisture and rice cake have been removed is exhausted through the exhaust hole 10 e by the blow of the turbo fan 11. An intake guide 10f is formed in the outside air intake hole 10d. Here, the water remaining in the storage tank is cooled by the outside air, passes through the lower end portion of the intake guide f, and passes through the lower return hole 10b. It will be returned more effectively in the pot 3. Thereby, while a water | moisture content and a rice bowl are effectively returned to the to-be-cooked rice in the pan 3, the water vapor | steam and rice bowl which come out from the exhaust hole 10e can be suppressed.

  Although FIGS. 1 and 2 show the turbo fan 11 provided in the vicinity of the exhaust hole 10e, it may be provided in the vicinity of the outside air intake hole 10d.

  The inner lid 51 is also provided with a pressure valve 6 and a pressure valve opening mechanism 7 for opening the pressure valve 6. The pressure valve 6 includes a valve seat 6b in which a valve hole 6a having a predetermined diameter is formed, a metal ball 6c placed on the valve seat 6b so as to close the valve hole 6a, and movement of the ball 6c. The cover 6d holds the ball 6c on the valve seat 6b by regulating. The pressure valve opening mechanism 7 includes a cylinder 7a around which an electromagnetic coil is wound, a plunger 7b for moving the ball 6c in and out of the cylinder 7a by excitation of the electromagnetic coil, and an operation attached to the tip of the plunger 7b. And a spring 7d provided between one end of the cylinder 7a and the operating rod 7c.

  The pressure valve opening mechanism 7 is controlled by a control device (not shown). That is, based on a command from a control device (not shown), when the electromagnetic coil is excited, the plunger 7b jumps out of the cylinder 7a and collides with the ball 6c, pushing the ball 6c in a predetermined direction. By this extrusion, the ball 6c moves on the valve seat 6b and forcibly opens the valve hole 6a. Further, in this open state, when excitation to the electromagnetic coil is stopped, the plunger 7b is drawn into the cylinder 7a by the biasing force of the spring, and by this retraction, the ball 6c returns to the valve hole 6a, and the valve hole 6a. Is closed by the ball 6c.

  The inner lid 51 is provided with a safety valve 12 for releasing the pressure in the pan 3 to the outside via the steam port 10a when the inside of the pan 3 rises to an abnormal pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure. In addition, a steam temperature sensor (not shown) is attached to the inner lid 51.

  The control device includes hardware including a circuit board on which a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like are mounted, and is connected to operation buttons 23b to 23g for selecting a rice cooking menu, a pan bottom temperature sensor, and a steam temperature sensor, respectively. Key and sensor signals are 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 a heating control means, a display panel control means, a pressure control means for controlling the heating means, the display panel and the pressure valve. Valve opening mechanism control means is executed.

  Next, a rice cooking process is demonstrated, referring the characteristic view which shows the temperature-pressure relationship in the rice cooking process of FIG.

  In the water absorption process I, the temperature at the bottom of the pot is detected by a pot bottom temperature sensor while measuring the water absorption time with a water absorption timer. At the same time, heating is started by the heating means, and at that time, the water absorption step I is performed with the pressure valves 7a and 7b opened. When the water absorption time reaches a predetermined water content TA (for example, 15 minutes), the rising heating process II is started.

  In the rising heating process II, heating is performed with the total heating amount, and at the same time, the plunger 7b is pulled into the cylinder 7a, the ball 6c of the pressure valve 6 is placed on the valve seat 6b, and the valve hole 6a is closed by the weight of the ball. The pressure P inside is increased. Then, the steam temperature is measured by the steam temperature sensor, and the heating is continued until the boiling start temperature is detected. This boiling start temperature is a temperature at which boiling is judged to start under the pressure condition by the metal ball 6c.

  When the boiling start temperature is reached, the process proceeds to a boiling maintenance step III where boiling is continued in the pan 3. Upon entering the boiling maintenance step III, the heating amount is immediately controlled, and the first pressure valve 6 is forcibly opened. After waiting for the forced open state of the pressure valve 6 to continue for a predetermined time, the pressure P in the pan is lowered to near atmospheric pressure. When the pressure P in the pan 3 drops from the pressurized state to the vicinity of atmospheric pressure, a severe bumping phenomenon occurs in the pan 3 and the rice grains are stirred. The predetermined time is set experimentally and is preferably about 2 to 6 seconds.

  When the first stirring is completed, the plunger 7b is pulled in, the pressure valve 6 is closed and the heating is performed again, and the system waits for the pressure in the pan 3 to recover. The time to recovery is determined experimentally. In the boiling maintenance process III, the pressure P in the pan when the pressure valve 6 is in a closed state where the pressure valve 6 is not forcibly opened by the plunger 7b is maintained at 1.10 to 2.20 atm. It is preferable to set. This is because if the pressure P is within this range, the bumping phenomenon due to the reduced pressure is effectively generated and sufficient stirring can be performed, and if the pressure is further increased, other problems such as the pressure resistance of the pressure rice cooker occur. It is.

  When the pressure P in the pan 3 recovers, it is checked whether the number of opening and closing of the pressure valve 6 is a preset number of times, and opening and closing is repeated until a predetermined number of times is reached. As the number of times the pressure valve is opened and closed increases, the amount of water remaining in the pan decreases, making it difficult for rice to move. Therefore, the opening operation time may be lengthened as the number of times increases. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the forcible opening drive of the pressure valve 6 is performed six times in the initial stage of the boiling maintenance process III where the amount of residual water is large and the rice easily moves. The opening operation is at least once, preferably about 3 to 6 times.

  The driving of the turbo fan 11 is effective for energy saving if it is operated only in the boiling maintenance process III where a large amount of water vapor is generated.

  When the boiling maintaining process III and the pressure valve “open” and “closed” processes are finished, the process proceeds to the heat retaining process through the unevenness process IV, the additional cooking process V, and the unevenness process 2 VI. The predetermined time t1 (for example, 4 minutes) in the unevenness 1 step IV is a time for returning the rice balls stored in the storage tank to the pot 3. t1 differs depending on the amount of cooked rice in the pan, that is, the amount of rice to be generated. In the Murase 1 process IV, the heating by the heating means 4 is stopped, and the pressure P in the pan is increased with the lapse of the stop time. Decreases. Due to this pressure drop, the inside of the pan becomes negative pressure, and moisture and rice balls fall onto a part of the cooked rice in the pan.

  In the additional cooking process V, heating by the heating means 4 is started, and additional cooking is performed for a predetermined time t2 (for example, 3 minutes). Here, since the pressure valve 6 is opened, the pressure P in the pan is further reduced, and this change in pressure causes a sudden bumping phenomenon. Moisture and rice balls that have fallen on the part spread throughout the cooked rice.

  In the unevenness 2 step VI, heating by the heating means 4 is turned on / off at a predetermined time interval, and excess water is evaporated after a predetermined unevenness time t3 (for example, 6 minutes).

  In the present embodiment, the pressure valve opening mechanism 7 is also used as a driving means for driving the operating member, but a driving mechanism for driving the operating member may be provided separately.

FIG. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the storage tank of the rice cooker of FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of the pressure rice cooker according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing a temperature-pressure relationship in the rice cooking process. FIG. 5 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a conventional pressure cooker. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing another conventional pressure cooker.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker 2 Main body 3 Pan 4 Heating means 5 Lid body 6 Pressure valve 7 Pressure valve release mechanism 8 Lid body latching mechanism 9 Locking part 10 Storage tank 10a Steam port 10b Steam return hole 10c Storage part 10d Outside air intake hole 10e Exhaust hole 10f Intake guide 11 Turbo fan 12 Safety valve 13 Motor 21 External case 22 Internal case 51 Inner lid 52 Outer lid

Claims (1)

A rice cooker body having a container into which the cooked rice is charged, an opening in which the container is accommodated, and a heating means for heating the cooked rice in the container, a control device for controlling the heating means, and the cooked rice A lid that is pivotally supported on one side of the container body and covers the opening, and the lid comprises an inner lid that closes the container and an outer lid that closes the entire opening, The lid is a rice cooker provided with a storage tank for storing moisture and rice balls generated from the cooked rice,
The storage tank has an outside air intake hole, an exhaust hole, and a general return hole, and a turbo fan is provided in the storage tank ,
The outside air intake hole is formed with an intake guide inclined at a predetermined angle for inducing outside air, the screw return hole is formed below the lower end of the intake guide, and the turbofan is directly below the exhaust hole. A rice cooker characterized by being attached to the rice cooker.

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