JP5188337B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker designed to achieve a low temperature of steam discharged during rice cooking.

Conventionally, various types of rice cookers have been known. For example, in Patent Document 1, air (outside air) is blown to steam discharged during rice cooking to lower the temperature of the steam, and the steam mixed with the air is discharged from an exhaust port provided on the front side surface of the lid body. A rice cooker is disclosed. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a rice cooker that discharges steam mixed with the air from an exhaust port provided at the center of the upper surface of the lid body.
Japanese Patent No. 1823119 Japanese Patent No. 3560203

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the exhaust port is installed on the front side surface of the lid body, and the steam exhaust passage that guides the steam to the exhaust port is disposed over the entire length in the depth direction in the lid body. When providing an operation part and a display part in a lid body, it is necessary to install them above a steam exhaust passage. For this reason, it is difficult to reduce the thickness of the lid body, and the lid body is increased in size. In addition, when the lid body is enlarged, depending on the position of the center of gravity of the lid body, the rotational force when the lid body is opened (when the hinge is rotated) becomes large, and the rice cooker body becomes unstable. There is a risk of (for example, falling). For this reason, in the structure of the said patent document 1, there exists a subject that the usability of opening / closing operation | movement of a cover is bad.

  Moreover, in the structure of the said patent document 2, since the exhaust port is installed in the upper surface center part of a lid | cover main body, when arrange | positioning a rice cooker on shelf boards other than the uppermost stage of a multistage shelf, a rice cooker There is a risk that steam will condense on the lower surface of the shelf above and damage the shelf.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, to suppress the enlargement of the lid body, improve the usability of the lid opening / closing operation, and damage the shelf above the rice cooker. It is in providing the rice cooker which can be suppressed.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a substantially bottomed cylindrical rice cooker body having a pot storage portion formed therein,
A pan stored in the pan storage unit;
A pot heating device for heating the pot;
A lid body that can be rotated around a hinge shaft arranged at a part of the periphery of the opening of the rice cooker body to open and close the opening of the rice cooker body;
An air blower that is disposed within the lid body and sucks and blows outside air;
A blowing path for guiding outside air blown from the blowing device to an exhaust port provided on a side wall of the lid body;
A steam path for guiding the steam generated in the pan to the intake side or the outlet side of the blower;
A rice cooker that mixes the steam in the pan with the outside air and then discharges the steam to the outside.
The blower device and the blower path are disposed closer to the hinge shaft than the display unit installed in the lid body,
Exhaust direction restriction that restricts the flow of the mixed fluid of the steam and the outside air flowing into the exhaust port through the ventilation path in the vicinity of the exhaust port so as to move away from the hinge shaft as it goes from the inside of the lid body to the outside. Further comprising
The blower path is a cylindrical passage disposed substantially parallel to the hinge shaft,
The exhaust port is arranged to be shifted in a direction away from the hinge shaft than the air blowing path,
The exhaust direction restricting portion includes a wall member that is inclined or curved away from the hinge shaft as it goes from the inside to the outside of the lid main body and connects the blowing path and the exhaust port. provide.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a substantially bottomed cylindrical rice cooker main body having a pot storage portion formed therein,
A pan stored in the pan storage unit;
A pot heating device for heating the pot;
A lid body that can be rotated around a hinge shaft arranged at a part of the periphery of the opening of the rice cooker body to open and close the opening of the rice cooker body;
An air blower that is disposed within the lid body and sucks and blows outside air;
A blowing path for guiding the outside air blown from the blowing device to an exhaust port provided on the outer wall of the lid body;
A steam path for guiding the steam generated in the pan to the intake side or the outlet side of the blower;
A rice cooker that mixes the steam in the pan with the outside air and then discharges the steam to the outside.
The blower device and the blower path are disposed closer to the hinge shaft than the display unit installed in the lid body,
Exhaust direction restriction that restricts the flow of the mixed fluid of the steam and the outside air flowing into the exhaust port through the ventilation path in the vicinity of the exhaust port so as to move away from the hinge shaft as it goes from the inside of the lid body to the outside. Further comprising
The blower device provides a rice cooker that is configured to continue the operation for a certain time from the end of rice cooking when the temperature of the outside air sucked through the air inlet is lower than a preset temperature.

  According to the rice cooker of the present invention, the blower device and the blower path are arranged closer to the hinge shaft than the display unit installed in the lid body, so that the lid body can be downsized. It is possible to improve the usability of the lid opening / closing operation. In addition, since it includes an exhaust direction restricting portion that restricts the flow of the mixed fluid flowing into the exhaust port from the hinge shaft toward the outside from the inside of the lid body, the mixed fluid is located above the rice cooker. It can suppress that it collides with a shelf board and stays, and it can suppress that the said shelf board is damaged.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by the following embodiment.

<< First Embodiment >>
The structure of the rice cooker concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG.1 and FIG.2. FIG. 1: has shown sectional drawing of the rice cooker concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway top view of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rice cooker according to the first embodiment includes a substantially bottomed cylindrical rice cooker body 1 having a pot storage portion 1 a formed therein, and a pot 2 stored in the pot storage portion 1 a. And the lid body 3 attached to the rice cooker body 1 so that the opening of the rice cooker body 1 can be opened and closed, and the lid 2 is detachably attached to the inside of the lid body 3 (the side covering the opening of the pan 2). A substantially disc-shaped inner lid 4 capable of sealing the opening of the pot 2 and a pot heating device 5 for heating (induction heating) the pot 2.

  The pot storage portion 1 a of the rice cooker body 1 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape corresponding to the shape of the substantially annular upper frame 1 b fitted into the inner periphery of the upper opening of the rice cooker body 1 and the pot 2. The coil base 1c is integrally connected to the upper frame 1b at the upper opening side end.

  An inner bottom heating coil 5a and an outer bottom heating coil 5b constituting the pot heating device 5 are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the coil base 1c. The bottom heating coil 5a is arranged so as to face the periphery of the center of the bottom of the pan 2 via the coil base 1c, and the outside bottom heating coil 5b is a corner of the bottom of the pan 2 via the coil base 1c. It arrange | positions so that a part may be opposed.

  An opening is provided in the central portion of the bottom of the coil base 1c. A pan temperature sensor 6, which is an example of a pan temperature detection unit for measuring the temperature of the pan 2, is disposed in the opening portion so as to be able to contact the bottom of the pan 2.

  In the rice cooker main body 1, a control unit 7 for performing rice cooking by driving and controlling each unit and each device is installed. The control unit 7 performs drive control of each unit and each device in accordance with a user instruction performed using the operation unit 19 provided on the lid body 3.

  A hook 1 d that can be engaged with the hook 8 of the lid body 3 is provided on the upper part of the front wall of the rice cooker body 1 (upper left side in FIG. 1). A spring 1e is provided between the hook 1d and the upper frame 1b. The hook 1d is biased forward (left side in FIG. 1) by a spring 1e.

  The lid body 3 is provided with an inner lid temperature sensor 9 which is an example of an inner lid temperature detection unit, an inner lid heating device 10 such as a coil, and a hinge shaft A. The inner lid temperature sensor 9 is provided so as to be able to come into contact with the inner lid 4 and configured to detect the temperature of the inner lid 4. The inner lid heat device 10 is configured by a heating coil disposed in the lid body 3 so as to face the upper opening of the pan 2 through the inner lid 4, and the inner lid 4 is induction-heated under the control of the control unit 7. To do. The hinge axis A is an opening / closing axis of the lid body 3, and both ends of the hinge axis A are rotatably supported by the upper frame 1 c of the rice cooker body 1. The lid body 3 is urged in a direction to rotate away from the upper opening of the rice cooker body 1 by a rotating spring (not shown) such as a torsion coil spring provided in the vicinity of the hinge axis A.

  A part of the inner lid 4 is made of a metal such as stainless steel capable of induction heating. In order to discharge the steam generated in the pot 2 to the outside of the pot 2, the inner lid 4 is provided with a steam port 4a composed of a plurality of holes. A substantially annular inner lid packing 17 that is in close contact with the pan 2 when the lid body 3 is in a closed state is attached to the surface of the outer peripheral portion of the inner lid 4 on the pan 2 side. The inner lid packing 17 is made of an elastic body such as rubber.

  In addition, the lid body 3 has a display unit 18 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying various information such as a rice cooking menu and a rice cooking time, and an operation for instructing execution of a rice cooking menu selection, rice cooking start, cancellation, reservation, etc. A part 19 is provided. The operation unit 19 includes a plurality of buttons such as a rice cooking start button. The user can cook rice by instructing the start of cooking with the operation unit 19 while referring to the display content of the display unit 18. The control part 7 which received the instruction | indication of the rice cooking start controls the drive of the pan heating apparatus 5 and the inner cover heating apparatus 10 based on the memorized rice cooking program and the detected temperature of the pot temperature sensor 6 and the inner cover temperature sensor 9 ( Operate or stop) and execute the rice cooking process.

  In addition, the lid body 3 has a blower 11 that sucks and blows outside air through an air inlet 12 provided on the outer wall of the lid body 3, and air (outside air) blown from the blower 11 is provided on the outer wall of the lid body 3. A ventilation path 15 for guiding to the exhaust port 13 provided in the hood and a steam path 16 for guiding the steam generated in the pan 2 into the ventilation path 15 are provided.

  The blower 11 and the blower path 15 are disposed on the side closer to the hinge axis A than the display unit 18 and the operation unit 19 (the second half of the lid body 3). The air inlet 12 is composed of a plurality of slit-like through holes provided so as to penetrate the side wall of the lid body 3. The exhaust port 13 includes a plurality of slit-shaped through holes 13 a provided so as to penetrate the side wall of the lid body 3 facing the side wall provided with the intake port 12. The through-hole 13a is opened in a direction in which the side wall of the lid body 3 is inclined at a preset angle so as to be separated from the hinge axis A as it goes from the inside of the lid body 3 to the outside (sideward). Thereby, between each through-hole 13a, the inclined surface 14a which is an example of an exhaust direction control part is formed. The inclined surface 14a moves the flow of the mixed fluid of the steam and the outside air flowing into the exhaust port 13 through the air blowing path 15 away from the hinge axis A as it goes from the inside of the lid body 3 to the outside (in a diagonally forward direction of the rice cooker). )regulate.

  The air blowing path 15 is a cylindrical passage disposed substantially parallel to the hinge axis A. The blower path 15 connects the blowout side portion 11b of the blower 11 and the exhaust port 13 in a substantially straight line, and the cross-sectional area is substantially uniform.

  One end of the steam path 16 is connected to the steam port 4a of the inner lid 4 so that excess steam in the pan 2 can be discharged to the blowing path 15, and the other end is a part of the lower part (bottom surface) of the blowing path 15. Are connected to each other. A connection portion between the steam path 16 and the blower path 15 is located between the exhaust port 13 and the blowout side part 11 b of the blower 11.

  As the air blower 11, any structure may be used as long as it generates air, such as an axial fan, a sirocco fan, a scroll fan, and a turbo fan. From the viewpoint of cost, it is preferable to use an axial fan. In addition, it is preferable to use a sirocco fan from the viewpoint of minimizing the size of the lid body 3 and preventing a decrease in the air volume due to the air path pressure loss. Driving of the blower 11 is controlled by the control unit 7. The control unit 7 controls (operates or stops) the driving of the blower 11 according to the progress of the rice cooking program.

  In the first embodiment, the intake side portion 11a of the air blowing means 11 and the intake port 12 are installed so as to face each other as shown in FIG. 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. What is necessary is just to set it as the structure which ensures a fixed space between the inlet-side part 11a of the air blower 11, and the inlet port 12. FIG. In this case, for example, even if the intake side portion 11a of the blower 11 and the intake port 12 are arranged substantially at right angles, the intake air amount can be secured depending on the type of the blower 11 used.

  Moreover, in this 1st Embodiment, the steam path 16 is connected with the ventilation path 15 between the exhaust port 13 and the blowing side part 11b of the air blower 11, and the vapor | steam generated in the pan 2 is blown out of the air blower 11 However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the outlet of the steam path 16 may be positioned on the intake side of the blower 11.

  Next, the operation of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a temperature change of the pan in the rice cooking process and a driving state of the heating device (the pan heating device 5 and the inner lid heating device 10).

  First, when rice and water are set in the pan 2 by the user and the rice cooking menu is selected by the operation unit 19, when the rice cooking start is instructed, the rice cooking process is started by the control of the control unit 7. .

  Here, the rice cooking step is mainly composed of four steps of a pre-cooking step (also referred to as an immersion step), a temperature raising step (also referred to as a cooking step), a boiling maintenance step, and a steaming step. . During these steps, gelatinization of rice is promoted and rice is cooked. In this rice cooking process, the control unit 7 controls the pot heating operation of the pot heating device 5 and the inner lid heating device 10 according to the detected temperature of the pot temperature sensor 6 and the inner lid temperature sensor 9 and the rice cooking program corresponding to the rice cooking menu. Is done. In the first embodiment, a plurality of rice cooking menus are prepared according to the type of rice and the like, and a rice cooking program corresponding to each rice cooking menu is stored in the control unit 7.

  When the rice cooking process is started, first, the pre-cooking process is started. The pre-cooking process is a process in which the rice is absorbed by keeping the water at a constant temperature. In this pre-cooking process, the control unit 7 controls the temperature of the pan 2 so that the temperature of the water in the pan 2 does not become higher than the temperature at which gelatinization of rice begins (about 60 ° C.) or higher. Based on the detected temperature of the sensor 9, the pan heating device 5 and the inner lid heating device 10 are controlled. Thereby, water absorption of rice is promoted.

  When a preset time has elapsed from the start of the pre-cooking process, the process proceeds to the temperature raising process. The temperature raising step is a step in which the pot 2 is heated at once by the pot heating device 5 and the inner lid heating device 10 to bring the water in the pot 2 into a boiling state (about 100 ° C.). In this temperature raising step, the controller 7 controls the driving of the pot heating device 5 and the inner lid heating device 10 so that the pot 2 is rapidly ripened to bring the water in the pot 2 to a boiling state.

  When the temperature detected by the pan temperature sensor 6 reaches about 100 ° C. due to the temperature raising process, the process proceeds to the boiling maintenance process. The boiling maintaining step is a step of gelatinizing rice starch to raise the degree of gelatinization to about 50% to 60%. In this boiling maintenance step, the control unit 7 controls the pot heating device 5 and the inner lid heating device 10 so as to maintain the boiling state of the water in the pot 2. More specifically, the rice cooking control unit 15 performs duty control that repeats driving and stopping of the pot heating device 5 and the inner lid heating device 10 at regular time intervals to intermittently heat the pot 2.

  In this temperature raising step, water is continuously boiled, and a large amount of steam at about 100 ° C. is generated. When the inside of the pan 2 is filled with the generated steam, excess steam flows into the blower path 15 through the steam path 16. At this time, the control unit 7 detects that the water in the pan 2 has boiled by the pan temperature sensor 6 and starts driving the blower 11. Thereby, the air blower 11 draws in outside air from the air inlet 12 and blows the outside air toward the air outlet 13 (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2). The steam that has flowed from the steam path 16 into the blower path 15 is mixed with the outside air blown from the blower 11 in the blower path 15. The mixed fluid of the outside air and the steam is discharged from the exhaust port 13 of the lid body 3 to the outside of the rice cooker by the wind power of the blower 11. By mixing steam (about 100 ° C.) with outside air (for example, about 25 ° C.), the temperature of the discharged mixed fluid can be made lower than the temperature of the steam.

  In the first embodiment, the steam path 16 is connected to a part of the lower part (bottom surface) of the blower path 15, and the steam is lighter because it is hotter than the outside air, so it is discharged from the steam path 16. The steam naturally moves upward and is easily mixed with the outside air uniformly in the air blowing path 15.

  The mixed fluid exhausted from the exhaust port 13 is restricted by the inclined surface 14 a and flows away from the hinge axis A as it goes from the inside of the lid body 3 to the outside. At this time, when the rice cooker is arranged in the shelf C surrounded by the shelf board except for the front, the mixed fluid exhausted from the exhaust port 13 is the side wall of the shelf C as shown in FIG. Along the direction of arrow B1. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the mixed fluid from staying in the shelf C and to prevent problems such as the shelf board absorbing moisture and swelling. Moreover, since the temperature rise around a rice cooker can be prevented, for example, operation instability caused by the temperature rise of the components of the control unit 7 can be suppressed.

  When most of the water in the pan 2 disappears due to the implementation of the boiling maintenance step, the temperature in the pan 2 rises above the boiling point of water. When the pan temperature sensor 6 detects that the temperature in the pan 2 has reached the boiling point of water (for example, about 130 ° C.), the process proceeds to the steaming step. The steaming process is a process of evaporating excess water using preheating and raising the degree of gelatinization of rice to nearly 100%. In this steaming step, the controller 7 controls the pan heating device 5 and the inner lid heating device 10 so as to heat the pan 2 each time the temperature of the pan 2 falls below a certain temperature. More specifically, the control part 7 performs duty control which repeats the drive of the pot heating apparatus 5 and the inner cover heating apparatus 10, and a drive stop at a fixed time interval similarly to a boiling maintenance process, and heats the pot 2 intermittently. . In this steaming process, since steam is slightly discharged from the steam path 16, the control unit 7 controls the air blower 11 to continue driving.

  When a preset time has elapsed from the start of the steaming process, the steaming process is terminated (that is, all the rice cooking processes are terminated), and the process automatically shifts to the heat retaining process.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the air blower 11 and the air flow path 15 are disposed closer to the hinge axis A than the display unit 18 and the operation unit 19. It is possible to reduce the thickness of the first half of the cover, and to reduce the size of the entire lid body 3.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, since the blower 11 and the blower path 15 are arranged closer to the hinge axis A than the display unit 18 and the operation unit 19, the center of gravity position of the lid body 3 is the hinge axis. It will approach A. As a result, the rotational force when the lid body 3 is opened is smaller than that of the rice cooker of Patent Document 1, and the force required to open the lid body 3 can be reduced. There is no need to increase the force of a rotating spring (not shown). Therefore, troubles, such as a rice cooker falling down, can be suppressed and usability of opening and closing operation of lid body 3 can be improved. In addition, when the force of the rotating spring is increased, the force of the rotating spring works even when the lid body 3 is opened to an angle of about 90 ° with respect to the rice cooker body 1, and the rice cooker body 1 There is a risk of problems such as floating.

  In addition, according to the first embodiment, the inclined surface 14 a that regulates the flow of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 so as to be separated from the hinge axis A toward the outside from the inside of the lid body 3 is provided. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the mixed fluid from staying in the shelf C. Accordingly, problems such as deterioration of the shelf board and unstable operation of the control unit 7 can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, since the outside air blown from the blower 11 flows almost linearly toward the exhaust port 13, the blower performance of the blower 11 can be maximized. it can. Thereby, the possibility that the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 may stay in the shelf C can be further reduced.

  In addition, according to the first embodiment, since the intake port 12 and the exhaust port 13 are provided on the side wall of the lid body 3, even if the liquid or the like is accidentally dropped from above the lid body 3, The possibility of adhering to the blower 11 through the air inlet 12 and the air outlet 13 can be reduced.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said 1st Embodiment, It can implement in another various aspect. For example, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the blower 11 is disposed on the rear left side of the lid body 3 and the exhaust port 13 is disposed on the rear right side of the lid body 3. The air blower 11 may be disposed on the rear right side of the lid body 3 and the exhaust port 13 may be disposed on the rear left side of the lid body 3. By preparing a rice cooker having both of these configurations, the user can select an appropriate rice cooker according to the installation environment of the rice cooker.

  Further, since the steam path 16 is a path through which rice balls (viscous juice) can easily pass, it is preferable that at least a part of the steam path 16 be removable. Thereby, care of the steam passage 16 can be facilitated. Instead of the above-described configuration, a lid may be provided on the steam path 16 so that it is possible to open the lid when cleaning easily contaminated portions.

  Moreover, in the said 1st Embodiment, it detected that the water in the pan 2 boiled with the pan temperature sensor 6, but operated the air blower 11, However, This invention is not limited to this. What is necessary is just to make it the air blower 11 drive, when a vapor | steam flows in into the ventilation path 15. FIG. For example, the air blower 11 may be driven by detecting that the water in the pot 2 has boiled by another sensor such as the inner lid temperature sensor 9. Further, the driving of the air blower 11 may be automatically started when a certain time has elapsed since the transition to the temperature raising step.

  Moreover, in the said 1st Embodiment, although the vapor | steam path | route 16 was connected with the lower part (bottom surface) of the ventilation path | route 15, this invention is not limited to this. Any structure that can mix steam and air substantially uniformly may be used. For example, the same effect can be obtained by connecting the steam path 16 to a side surface near the bottom surface of the air blowing path 15. Further, even if the connection place of the steam path 16 is not near the bottom surface of the air blowing path 15, it can be realized by appropriately adding a rib or the like in the air blowing path 15.

  Moreover, the inlet 12 should just be provided so that the performance of the air blower 11 can fully be exhibited according to the kind of air blower 11, ie, a pressure loss may be reduced, and a position and a shape are not specifically limited. In addition, the inside of the lid body 3 is not usually a completely sealed space but communicates with the outside of the lid body 3 through a gap existing somewhere in the lid body 3. For this reason, if there is no hindrance to the ventilation of the air blower 11, there is no need to provide the air inlet 12 in particular. That is, the gap may be used as the air inlet 12.

  In the above description, driving of the blower 11 is started at the start of the boiling maintenance step, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, since steam (steam) is slightly generated in the temperature raising step, the driving of the blower 11 may be started during the temperature raising step. Note that the steam generated at this time has a lower temperature and a smaller amount than the steam generated in the boiling maintenance step, and therefore it is not necessary to drive the blower 11.

<< Second Embodiment >>
The rice cooker concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 4: is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The difference between the rice cooker of the second embodiment and the rice cooker of the first embodiment is that a shielding wall 14b and an exhaust path front extension wall 14c are further provided in the vicinity of the exhaust port 13. . In the second embodiment, the inclined surface 14a, the shielding wall 14b, and the exhaust path front extending wall 14c constitute an example of the exhaust direction restricting portion.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the shielding wall 14 b is arranged so as to block a part of the plurality of slit-like through holes 13 a constituting the exhaust port 13 on the hinge axis A side. Further, the exhaust path front extension wall 14c is disposed so as to extend the wall on the side away from the hinge axis A of the exhaust path 15 and in the vicinity of the exhaust port 13 so as to be further away from the hinge axis A. A through hole 13a having the same area as the through hole 13a closed by the shielding wall 14b is formed in the side wall of the lid body 3 located in the region expanded by the exhaust path front extending wall 14c. In other words, the exhaust port 13 is arranged so as to be shifted in a direction away from the hinge axis A with respect to the air blowing path 15, and the shielding wall 14 b and the exhaust path front extension wall 14 c are hinge axes as they go from the inside of the lid body 3 to the outside. The air flow path 15 and the exhaust port 13 are connected so as to be inclined or curved away from A.

  In the rice cooker according to the second embodiment, the flow of the mixed fluid flowing into the exhaust port 13 through the exhaust path 15 is caused from the inside of the lid body 3 by the shielding wall 14b and the exhaust path front extension wall 14c in addition to the inclined surface 14a. It is controlled so that it leaves | separates from the hinge axis | shaft A as it goes outside. Therefore, the flow of the mixed fluid can be surely directed to the front of the rice cooker and the air volume can be ensured as compared with the case where only the inclined surface 14a is regulated.

  When the rice cooker according to the second embodiment is stored in the shelf C as shown in FIG. 4 and cooked, the flow of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is reduced. And can be more reliably directed to the front of the rice cooker. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the stay of steam (mixed fluid) in the shelf C, and to further suppress problems such as deterioration of the shelf board and unstable operation of the control unit 7. Moreover, since the reduction | decrease of an airflow is suppressed by installation of the exhaust path front expansion wall 14c, the cooling performance of a steam | vapor does not fall.

<< Third Embodiment >>
The rice cooker concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 5: is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The difference between the rice cooker of the third embodiment and the rice cooker of the second embodiment is that an exhaust direction guiding member 14d is provided in the vicinity of the exhaust port 13 instead of the inclined surface 14a and the shielding wall 14b. Is a point. In the third embodiment, the exhaust path front extending wall 14c and the exhaust direction guiding member 14d constitute an example of the exhaust direction restricting portion.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the exhaust direction guiding member 14d is a plate-like member provided so as to divide the exhaust port 13 into a plurality of slit-like through holes 13a. The exhaust direction guiding member 14d is attached in a state in which a portion located on the side close to the blower 11 is parallel to the blower passage 15 and is inclined or curved so as to be separated from the hinge axis A as it goes from the inside of the lid body to the outside. It has been. The exhaust direction guiding member 14d is provided in parallel to the thickness direction of the lid body 3 (in FIG. 5, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface). 5 shows an example in which two exhaust direction guiding members 14d are provided, it is sufficient that at least one or more exhaust direction guiding members 14d are provided.

  The end of the exhaust direction guiding member 14 d closer to the blower 11 is located closer to the exhaust port 13 than the portion where the steam path 16 is connected to the blower path 15. In addition, it is preferable that the edge part by the side near the air blower 11 of the exhaust direction induction member 14d is a shape which reduces resistance with respect to airflow like a semicircle cross section and a blade | wing cross section. Thereby, the pressure loss generated when the airflow is divided by the exhaust direction guiding member 14d can be minimized.

  In the third embodiment, the flow of the mixed fluid flowing into the exhaust port 13 through the air blowing path 15 proceeds toward the exhaust port 13 while being divided into three by the two exhaust direction guiding members 14d, and the inclination of the exhaust direction guiding member 14d or The curved surface is regulated so as to be separated from the hinge axis A from the inside of the lid body 3 toward the outside. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of steam (mixed fluid) in the shelf C, and it is possible to suppress problems such as deterioration of the shelf board and unstable operation of the control unit 7. On the other hand, when there is no exhaust direction guiding member 14d, there is a possibility that the pressure distribution of the mixed fluid may be biased in the vicinity of the exhaust port 13. This uneven pressure distribution causes a pressure loss in the air blowing path 15 and causes a reduction in the air volume.

  According to the rice cooker according to the third embodiment, since the exhaust direction guiding member 14d that divides the flow of the mixed fluid is provided, the pressure distribution is uneven when the flow of the mixed fluid is regulated in the blower passage 15. Can be suppressed. Thereby, the fall of the air volume can be minimized, and the exhaust direction of the mixed fluid can be regulated forward (downward in FIG. 5) while ensuring the maximum air volume. Therefore, the cooling of the steam and the prevention of the stay of the steam (mixed fluid) in the shelf C can be achieved at a high level.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a duct 14 e may be attached to the outer surface of the outer wall of the lid body 3. Thereby, the flow of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 can be more reliably regulated so as to be separated from the hinge shaft A as it goes from the inside of the lid main body 3 to the outside. Further, since the duct 14e regulates the flow of the mixed fluid outside the lid body 3, the air volume of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 can be prevented from being reduced. Therefore, the front portion (the lower portion in FIG. 6) of the duct 14e can be disposed at an angle close to parallel to the exhaust port 13. As a result, the flow of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 can be directed along the side wall of the lid body 3 so as not to contact the wall surface of the shelf C, as indicated by an arrow B2 in FIG. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the vapor (mixed fluid) from staying in the shelf C.

<< 4th Embodiment >>
The rice cooker concerning 4th Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG.7 and FIG.8. FIG.7 and FIG.8 is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning 4th Embodiment of this invention. The difference between the rice cooker of the fourth embodiment and the rice cooker of the second embodiment is that an exhaust port area adjusting unit 20 is provided in the vicinity of the exhaust port 13 instead of the shielding wall 14b. In the fourth embodiment, the inclined surface 14a, the exhaust path front extension wall 14c, and the exhaust port area adjusting unit 20 constitute an example of the exhaust direction regulating unit.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the exhaust port area adjusting unit 20 includes a knob 20 a that protrudes from the side wall of the lid body 3, and a shielding plate portion 20 b that can slide along the inner side surface of the side wall of the lid body 3. It has. The user can adjust the opening area of the exhaust port 13 by closing the latter half portion (on the hinge axis A side) of the exhaust port 13 by holding the knob 20a and sliding the shielding plate portion 20b.

  When the exhaust port area adjustment unit 20 is located at the position shown in FIG. 7, the opening area of the exhaust port 13 is maximized. In this case, the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is discharged at a low wind speed. On the other hand, when the exhaust port area adjusting unit 20 is located at the position shown in FIG. 8, the opening area of the exhaust port 13 is minimized. In this case, the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is discharged at a high wind speed.

  Next, the effect | action and effect that the opening area of the exhaust port 13 can be adjusted are demonstrated.

  For example, when the rice cooker concerning the said 1st Embodiment is installed in the shelf C, the mixed fluid discharged | emitted from the exhaust port 13 is the front of a rice cooker along a shelf board as shown to arrow B1 of FIG. To be discharged. In this case, since the mixed fluid and the shelf board are in contact with each other, there is a possibility that condensation occurs on the wall surface of the shelf board. On the other hand, the amount of steam contained in the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 decreases because the amount of water in the pan 2 decreases as the rice cooking process proceeds. Specifically, the amount of steam contained in the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is smaller in the steaming process than in the boiling maintenance process. For this reason, even if dew condensation occurs on the wall surface of the shelf board during the boiling maintenance process, it can be dried with a mixed fluid having a low vapor content during the steaming process.

  However, at the end of the steaming process, the condensation on the wall surface of the shelf may not be completely dried. In this case, according to the above configuration, the user can arbitrarily reduce the opening area of the exhaust port 13, so that the wind speed of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 can be increased to increase the condensation drying rate. it can. On the other hand, when there is no shelf on the side of the rice cooker, the user can increase the opening area of the exhaust port 13, so the air velocity of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is reduced and You can cook rice without worrying about the wind.

  In addition, in the said 4th Embodiment, although the exhaust port area adjustment part 20 was comprised so that the latter half part of the exhaust port 13 might be plugged up, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the exhaust port area adjustment unit 20 may be configured to close the lower portion of the exhaust port 13. In this case, the flow of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is regulated so as to be separated from the hinge shaft as it goes from the inside of the lid body 3 to the outside, and as it goes toward the top wall side in the thickness direction of the lid body 3. It is regulated so as to be separated from the hinge axis A. That is, the flow of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is regulated obliquely upward toward the front of the rice cooker body 1.

  The following can be considered as an effect | action and effect at the time of comprising in this way. For example, the rice cooker may be arranged in a place where other appliances such as a microwave oven are present on the side of the rice cooker. For example, in a microwave oven, a vent hole is provided on the side wall. For this reason, when the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 enters the inside of the microwave oven through the vent hole, there is a possibility that condensation occurs inside the microwave oven and causes a failure. When configured as described above, the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 can be prevented from entering the inside of the microwave oven through the vent hole.

  The flow of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is not limited to the exhaust port area adjusting unit 20 to restrict the flow of the mixed fluid obliquely upward toward the front of the rice cooker body 1. For example, the restriction may be performed using the duct 14e described in the third embodiment.

<< 5th Embodiment >>
The rice cooker concerning 5th Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 9: is sectional drawing of the rice cooker concerning 5th Embodiment of this invention. The rice cooker of the fifth embodiment is different from the rice cooker of the first embodiment in that an outside air temperature detection unit 21 such as a thermistor is provided on the inner surface of the top wall of the lid body 3.

  The outside air temperature detection unit 21 detects the temperature of the top wall of the lid body 3 at the start of cooking rice and inputs the temperature information to the control unit 7. The temperature of the top wall of the lid body 3 at the start of rice cooking is substantially the same as the temperature around the rice cooker, that is, the outside air temperature. The controller 7 determines the outside air temperature (the ambient temperature of the rice cooker) based on the temperature information input from the outside air temperature detector 21. For example, when the outside air temperature is 5 ° C. to 10 ° C., the amount of dew condensation on the wall surface of the shelf plate increases, and water droplets are likely to remain on the wall surface even at the end of cooking. For this reason, in the fifth embodiment, when the outside air temperature is lower than a preset temperature (for example, 15 ° C.), the control unit 7 blows air so that the blower 11 continues to operate for a certain time from the end of rice cooking. The apparatus 11 is controlled.

  According to the rice cooker according to the fifth embodiment, when the rice cooker is installed in the shelf C and cooked, if the outside air temperature is lower than a preset temperature (for example, 15 ° C.), a certain time from the end of the rice cooking. By continuing the operation of the blower 11 (for example, 10 minutes), it is possible to completely dry the condensation on the wall surface of the shelf board. Therefore, the dew condensation prevention performance at the time of rice cooking in the shelf C can be improved without being influenced by the use environment temperature of the rice cooker.

  In addition, what is necessary is just to set arbitrarily the drive continuation time of the air blower 11, and the preset temperature based on the performance etc. of the air blower 11. Moreover, you may make it set the drive continuation time of the air blower 11 finely according to external temperature.

<< 6th Embodiment >>
The rice cooker concerning 6th Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG.10 and FIG.11. FIG. 10: is sectional drawing which shows the state which installed the rice cooker concerning 6th Embodiment of this invention in the shelf. FIG. 11: is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning 6th Embodiment of this invention. The difference between the rice cooker of the sixth embodiment and the rice cooker of the fifth embodiment is that the exhaust port 13 is provided on the top wall instead of the side wall of the lid body 3, and the exhaust direction guidance is provided in the vicinity of the exhaust port 13. It is a point provided with 14 f of exhaust direction guidance members which are examples of a section. Since it is the same about other points, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same structure and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted and demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the exhaust direction guiding member 14f is a plate-like member provided so as to divide the exhaust port 13 into a plurality of slit-like through holes 13a. The exhaust direction guiding member 14f is provided with at least one (two in this case) so as to extend in parallel with the hinge axis A. Further, the exhaust direction guiding member 14f is attached in an inclined state so as to be separated from the hinge axis A as it goes from the inside of the lid body 3 to the outside (upward).

  Accordingly, the flow of the mixed fluid flowing into the exhaust port 13 through the air blowing path 15 proceeds toward the exhaust port 13 while being divided by the exhaust direction guiding member 14f, and the arrow B3 in FIG. 10 is indicated by the inclined surface of the exhaust direction guiding member 14f. Regulated in direction. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of steam (mixed fluid) in the shelf C, and it is possible to suppress problems such as deterioration of the shelf board and unstable operation of the control unit 7. Moreover, even when a microwave oven is placed on the side of the rice cooker, the exhaust port 13 is provided on the top wall, so that the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is prevented from entering the inside of the microwave oven. be able to.

  In addition, on the surface orthogonal to the hinge axis A, the angle θ at which the exhaust direction guiding member 14f is inclined with respect to the thickness direction (vertical direction in FIG. 10) of the lid body 3 is about 30 ° or more and less than 90 °. preferable. When the inclination angle θ is less than 30 °, a part of the flow of the mixed fluid that has collided with the shelf above the rice cooker goes not to the front of the rice cooker but to the rear where the power cord or the like is located, and the shelf C There is a risk of staying inside. Moreover, in this case, condensation may occur near the power cord arranged behind the rice cooker, which may cause problems such as a tracking phenomenon.

  More preferably, the inclination angle θ is about 30 ° or more and 40 ° or less. When the tilt angle θ is set to 40 ° to 90 °, the mixed fluid flows at a position close to the top wall of the lid main body 3, so that the display of the display unit 18 provided on the top wall of the lid main body 3 is performed. There is a risk of problems such as the surface becoming clouded with steam in the mixed fluid.

  In the sixth embodiment, the exhaust direction guiding member 14f is provided so as to be inclined with respect to the thickness direction of the lid body 3, but may be provided so as to be curved. In this case, the curved surface of the exhaust direction guiding member 14f is such that the flow direction of the mixed fluid discharged from the exhaust port 13 is inclined with respect to the thickness direction of the lid body 3 (preferably inclined at an angle of 30 ° to 40 °). What is necessary is just to form.

<< 7th Embodiment >>
Next, the rice cooker concerning 7th Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 12: is sectional drawing of the rice cooker concerning 7th Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 13: is a functional block diagram of the rice cooker concerning 7th Embodiment of this invention. The rice cooker according to the seventh embodiment is different from the rice cooker according to the sixth embodiment in that it further includes a blower control unit 22.

  Conventionally, the blower 11 is controlled to be driven (start and stop) so as to continue to blow outside air with a constant wind force in the boiling maintenance process and the steaming process. However, in this case, the state in which the noise value due to the driving of the blower 11 is high occupies, for example, nearly half of the rice cooking time. For example, when the rice cooker is operated during sleep using the timer function, the state where the noise level is high continues for a long time.

  For this reason, the rice cooker concerning this 7th Embodiment determines the quantity of the vapor | steam which passes the vapor | steam path | route 16, and the ventilation control part 22 which controls the wind power (fan rotation speed) of the ventilation apparatus 11 based on the said determination result. It has. The air blow control unit 22 is connected to the control unit 7 and configured to be able to control the air blower 11 according to the control operation of the control unit 7. Below, the specific determination method of the said vapor | steam amount by the ventilation control part 22 and the wind power control of the air blower 11 are demonstrated.

(Wind control based on the cooking process)
As described in the first embodiment, steam is generated from the pot 2 mainly in the boiling maintaining step. Since the amount of steam generated depends on the remaining amount of water in the pan 2, the first half of the boiling maintenance step is the largest and gradually decreases thereafter. More specifically, when the duration of the boiling maintenance process is about 15 minutes, the amount of steam generated for 5 minutes from the start of the boiling maintenance process is large. On the other hand, in the steaming process, since most of the water in the pan 2 is absorbed or evaporated by the rice, the amount of steam generated is small compared to the boiling maintenance process. Therefore, the amount of steam passing through the steam path 16 can be determined according to the progress of the rice cooking process.

For this reason, in this 7th Embodiment, the ventilation control part 22 determines the quantity of the vapor | steam which passes the vapor | steam path | route 16 based on the progress of a rice cooking process, and controls the wind force of the air blower 11 based on the said determination result. . More preferably, the blower control unit 22 performs control to lower the wind force of the blower device 11 at least once during the boiling maintenance process, and further performs control to lower the wind force of the blower device 11 when shifting to the steaming process. For example, the air blow control unit 22 sets the wind force of the blower 11 in the first half (5 minutes) of the boiling maintenance process to 0.3 m ^3, and the wind force of the blower 11 in the second half (10 minutes) of the boiling maintenance process is 0. 25 m ^3, and the wind force of the blower 11 in the steaming process is 0.15 m ³ . Thereby, a state with a high noise value can be made only into the first half of the boiling maintenance process, and can be significantly shortened compared with the past. Further, the amount of power consumption can be reduced by the amount that the wind power of the blower 11 is lowered.

(Wind control based on cooking rice menu)
Further, the amount of steam generated from the pot 2 varies depending on the rice cooking menu. The rice cooking menu is information indicating the type of rice and how to cook it, such as white rice, non-washed rice, brown rice, and rice porridge. For example, the water absorption rate and the water absorption rate differ between white rice and brown rice. Therefore, the amount of steam passing through the steam path 16 can be determined by the rice cooking menu selected by the operation unit 19.

  For this reason, in this 1st Embodiment, the ventilation control part 22 determines the quantity of the steam which passes the steam path | route 16 based on the rice cooking menu selected in the operation part 19, and the air blower 11 based on the said determination result. To control the wind power. More preferably, when the menu with less steam generation is selected as the rice cooking menu, the air blowing control unit 22 performs control to lower the wind power of the blower 11 than when the menu with more steam generation is selected. . Thereby, in consideration of the amount of steam generated depending on the rice cooking menu, the wind force of the blower 11 can be finely controlled, and the state where the noise value is high can be significantly shortened compared to the conventional case.

(Wind control based on the weight of the food)
Further, the amount of steam generated from the pot 2 also varies depending on the total number of rice to be cooked. The greater the total number of rice to be cooked, the more water is needed in the pot 2. Therefore, it is possible to determine the amount of steam passing through the steam path 16 by determining the weight of rice and water contained in the pan 2 (the weight of the object to be cooked).

  For this reason, in this 7th Embodiment, the ventilation control part 22 determines the quantity of the vapor | steam which passes the vapor | steam path | route 16 based on the weight of a to-be-cooked item, and controls the wind force of the air blower 11 based on the said determination result. . More preferably, the ventilation control part 22 performs control which reduces the wind force of the air blower 11, when the weight of a to-be-cooked item is smaller than the preset weight. Thereby, it is possible to finely control the wind force of the blower 11 in consideration of the amount of steam generated depending on the weight of the object to be cooked, and the state where the noise value is high can be significantly shortened compared to the conventional case.

  In addition, as a detection method of the weight of a to-be-cooked object, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the weight sensor 23 which is an example of a weight determination part is provided, and the weight of the whole pan 2 which accommodates to-be-cooked object is measured, There is a method of detecting by subtracting the weight of the pan 2 measured in advance from the weight. Moreover, since the time required for the temperature raising process (time for boiling the food to be cooked) differs depending on the weight of the food to be cooked, the weight of the food to be cooked may be detected by measuring the time required for the temperature raising process. Good. In addition, as the weight sensor 23, various forms conventionally known can be used. For this reason, the detailed description about the structure of the weight sensor 23 is abbreviate | omitted here.

(Wind control based on the number of spills)
Further, the amount of steam generated from the inside of the pan 2 can be known from the number of spills of the cooking object from the inside of the pan 2. That is, the spilled food from the pot 2 occurs because the amount of water present in the pot 2 is large. On the other hand, in the boiling maintaining step, the pan 2 is intermittently heated by the pan heating device 5 and the inner lid heating device 10 as described above. For this reason, as long as the amount of water present in the pan 2 is large, spilling of the food to be cooked occurs each time the pan 2 is heated. That is, the greater the amount of water present in the pan 2, the greater the number of spilled food items from the pan 2.

  For this reason, in this 7th Embodiment, the ventilation control part 22 determines the quantity of the vapor | steam which passes the vapor | steam path | route 16 based on the frequency | count of the spilling of the to-be-cooked material from the inside of the pan 2, and it blows based on the said determination result. The wind power of the device 11 is controlled. More preferably, the air blow control unit 22 controls the wind force of the air blower 11 after the certain time based on the number of spills within a certain time from the start of the boiling maintenance step. Thereby, the wind force of the air blower 11 can be finely controlled based on the amount of steam passing through the steam path 16, and the state where the noise value is high can be significantly shortened as compared with the prior art.

  As a method for detecting the number of spills, for example, there is a method of detecting by a spill sensor 24 which is an example of a spill detector provided in the steam path 16 as shown in FIG. Note that various types of conventionally known sensors can be used as the spill sensor 24. For this reason, detailed description of the configuration of the spill sensor 24 is omitted here.

(Wind control based on pan heating operation of pan heating device)
The steam is mainly generated from the pot 2 when the pot heating device 5 is heating the pot 2. More specifically, the pot heating device 5 is driven in a boiling maintaining process and a steaming process in which the pot heating apparatus 5 intermittently heats the pot 2 to maintain the temperature of the cooking object in the pot 2 almost constant. Is the time. Therefore, the amount of steam generated from the pot 2 can be known from the pot heating operation of the pot heating device 5.

  For this reason, in this 7th Embodiment, the ventilation control part 22 determines the quantity of the vapor | steam which passes the vapor | steam path | route 16 based on the pan heating operation | movement of the pan heating apparatus 5, and the wind power of the ventilation apparatus 11 based on the said determination result. To control. More preferably, the blower control unit 22 increases or decreases the wind force of the blower 11 based on the timing of starting and stopping the driving of the pot heating device 5 in at least one of the boiling maintenance step and the steaming step. Thereby, the wind force of the air blower 11 can be reduced except the time slot | zone when steam mainly generate | occur | produces, and the state where a noise level is high can be shortened significantly conventionally.

  In this case, the air blow control unit 22 synchronizes the timing for starting the driving of the pot heating device 5 and increasing the wind force of the air blowing device 11, and the timing for stopping the driving of the pot heating device 5 and the timing of decreasing the wind force of the air blowing device 11. You may do it. In addition, since there is a slight time lag between the timing when the pot heating device 5 starts driving and the timing when the steam in the pot 2 flows into the blowing path 15, the wind force of the blowing device 11 is increased or decreased in consideration of this. You may determine the timing to perform. Moreover, you may make it the ventilation control part 22 control the drive start and drive stop of the air blower 11 based on the timing of the drive start of the pan heating apparatus 5, and a drive stop. Also in this case, as described above, the driving start timing of the pan heating device 5 and the driving start timing of the blower device 11 and the driving stop timing of the pan heating device 5 and the driving stop timing of the blower device 11 may be synchronized. However, the timing may be determined in consideration of the time lag.

  During rice cooking, when the noise value was measured at a point about 1 m in front of the rice cooker, the noise value during driving of the blower 11 was 38 dB (decibel), whereas the drive of the blower 11 was stopped. The noise value at the time was 32 dB. That is, the noise value can be lowered by 6 dB by stopping the driving of the blower 11 in a time zone in which steam is not mainly discharged.

  In addition, in the boiling maintenance step, when rice was cooked using a rice cooker in which the timing of driving start and driving stop of the pan heating device 5 and the timing of driving start and stop of the blower device 11 were synchronized, The total power consumption at the end of cooking was 215 Wh. In addition, the rotation speed of the fan of the air blower 11 was set to 3,000 rpm at the time of the drive of the pan heating apparatus 5, and was set to 0 rpm at the time of the drive stop of the pan heating apparatus 5 at this time. On the other hand, when rice was cooked using a conventional rice cooker in which the fan of the blower 11 was continuously driven at a rotation speed of 3,000 rpm, the total power consumption at the end of cooking was 220 Wh. That is, from the measurement result, the total power consumption of 5 Wh is reduced as compared with the prior art by synchronizing the timing of the start and stop of driving of the pan heating device 5 with the timing of start and stop of driving of the blower 11. You can see that you can.

  As mentioned above, according to the rice cooker concerning this 7th Embodiment, according to the quantity of the steam which passes the steam path | route 16, the wind force (rotation speed of a fan) of the air blower 11 is controlled (specifically, it passes the steam path | route 16). When the amount of steam is smaller than a preset amount, the wind power of the blower 11 is lowered), so that the time during which the noise level is high can be shortened by the amount of time the wind power is lowered. it can. Further, the total power consumption can be reduced by the amount that the wind power of the blower 11 is lowered.

  Note that the determination of the amount of steam may be performed based on at least one of the progress of the rice cooking process, the rice cooking menu, the weight of the food to be cooked, the number of spills, and the pot heating operation of the pot heating device. There may be a determination based on all of them. In this case, the amount of the steam can be determined more accurately, the wind force of the blower 11 can be controlled more finely, and the state where the noise value is high can be significantly shortened compared to the conventional case.

  In addition, you may connect the timer part 17 (refer FIG. 13) to the ventilation control part 16 in order to control the drive time of the air blower 11. FIG. Thereby, it becomes possible to control the air blower 11 according to the preset drive time or drive stop time.

<< Eighth Embodiment >>
Next, the rice cooker concerning 8th Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. The difference between the rice cooker according to the eighth embodiment and the rice cooker according to the seventh embodiment is that the blower control unit 22 controls the wind force of the blower 11 based on the amount of steam passing through the steam path 16. Instead, the wind force of the blower 11 is controlled based on the temperature detected by the outside air temperature detection sensor 21.

  As described above, the steam generated from the pot 2 is mixed with the outside air sucked by the blower 11 and discharged to the outside. Therefore, when the outside air temperature is high, the temperature of the mixed fluid discharged outside becomes high. In this case, the temperature of the mixed fluid can be lowered by increasing the wind force of the blower 11 and increasing the proportion of the outside air in the mixed fluid.

  For this reason, in the eighth embodiment, the blower control unit 22 controls the wind force of the blower 11 based on the temperature detected by the outside air temperature detection sensor 18. More preferably, when the outside air temperature is lower than a preset temperature (for example, 15 ° C.), the air blowing control unit 22 lowers the wind force of the blower 11 than when the outside air temperature is equal to or higher than the preset temperature. Thereby, it is possible to finely control the wind force of the blower 11 in consideration of the outside air temperature, and it is possible to greatly reduce the state where the noise value is high as compared with the related art.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said each embodiment, It can implement in another various aspect. For example, in the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the steam path 16 is configured to have a bent portion instead of a straight line, so that the outside air blown from the blower 11 directly passes through the steam path 16. To prevent intrusion. When the outside air blown from the blower 11 enters the pot 2, the following problem occurs. That is, steam is generated from the pan 2 during the rice cooking process in which water is absorbed while heating the rice to change the starch of the rice from the β state to the α state (step for promoting gelatinization). . When outside air flows into the pan 2 during this process and the water temperature decreases, gelatinization of the rice is inhibited and the taste of the finished rice is reduced. In addition, in the said 6th Embodiment, although it comprised so that the vapor | steam path | route 16 had a bending part, what is necessary is just the structure which prevents that the external air ventilated from the air blower 11 penetrate | invades into the pan 2 directly. For example, the steam path 16 may be configured to have an expansion space.

  It is to be noted that, by appropriately combining any of the various embodiments, the effects possessed by them can be produced.

  The rice cooker according to the present invention is easy to use with the lid operation by suppressing the enlargement of the lid body, and can be cooked without damaging the shelf board in a state where the rice cooker is arranged in the shelf. Useful in general.

It is sectional drawing of the rice cooker concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the temperature change of the pan in a rice cooking process, and the drive state of a heating apparatus. It is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning the modification of the rice cooker of FIG. It is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning 4th Embodiment of this invention. In the rice cooker of FIG. 7, it is a partially cutaway top view which shows the state which moved the exhaust-port area adjustment part. It is sectional drawing of the rice cooker concerning 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which installed the rice cooker concerning 6th Embodiment of this invention in the shelf. It is a partially notched top view of the rice cooker concerning 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the rice cooker concerning 7th Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the rice cooker concerning 7th Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which provided the weight sensor and the overflow sensor to the rice cooker concerning 7th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker main body 1a Pan storage part 2 Pan 3 Lid main body 4 Inner lid 5 Pan heating apparatus 6 Pan temperature sensor 7 Control part 8 Hook 9 Inner lid temperature sensor 10 Inner lid heating apparatus 11 Blower 12 Inlet 13 Exhaust 14a Inclined Surface 14b Shielding wall 14c Exhaust path front extending wall 14d Exhaust direction guiding member 14e Duct 14f Exhaust direction guiding member 15 Air blowing path 16 Steam path 20 Exhaust port area adjusting unit 21 Outside air temperature detecting unit 22 Air blowing control unit 23 Weight sensor 24 Overflow sensor

Claims (2)

A substantially bottomed rice cooker body with a pot storage part formed inside,
A pan stored in the pan storage unit;
A pot heating device for heating the pot;
A lid body that can be rotated around a hinge shaft arranged at a part of the periphery of the opening of the rice cooker body to open and close the opening of the rice cooker body;
An air blower that is disposed within the lid body and sucks and blows outside air;
A blowing path for guiding outside air blown from the blowing device to an exhaust port provided on a side wall of the lid body;
A steam path for guiding the steam generated in the pan to the intake side or the outlet side of the blower;
A rice cooker that mixes the steam in the pan with the outside air and then discharges the steam to the outside.
The blower device and the blower path are disposed closer to the hinge shaft than the display unit installed in the lid body,
Exhaust direction restriction that restricts the flow of the mixed fluid of the steam and the outside air flowing into the exhaust port through the ventilation path in the vicinity of the exhaust port so as to move away from the hinge shaft as it goes from the inside of the lid body to the outside. Further comprising
The blower path is a cylindrical passage disposed substantially parallel to the hinge shaft,
The exhaust port is arranged to be shifted in a direction away from the hinge shaft than the air blowing path,
The said exhaust direction control part is a rice cooker provided with the wall member which inclines or curves so that it may leave | separate from the said hinge axis | shaft as it goes to the exterior from the inside of the said lid body, and connects the said ventilation path and the said exhaust port. A substantially bottomed rice cooker body with a pot storage part formed inside,
A pan stored in the pan storage unit;
A pot heating device for heating the pot;
A lid body that can be rotated around a hinge shaft arranged at a part of the periphery of the opening of the rice cooker body to open and close the opening of the rice cooker body;
An air blower that is disposed within the lid body and sucks and blows outside air;
A blowing path for guiding the outside air blown from the blowing device to an exhaust port provided on the outer wall of the lid body;
A steam path for guiding the steam generated in the pan to the intake side or the outlet side of the blower;
A rice cooker that mixes the steam in the pan with the outside air and then discharges the steam to the outside.
The blower device and the blower path are disposed closer to the hinge shaft than the display unit installed in the lid body,
Exhaust direction restriction that restricts the flow of the mixed fluid of the steam and the outside air flowing into the exhaust port through the ventilation path in the vicinity of the exhaust port so as to move away from the hinge shaft as it goes from the inside of the lid body to the outside. Further comprising
The blower is a rice cooker configured to continue operation for a certain time from the end of rice cooking when the temperature of the outside air sucked through the air inlet is lower than a preset temperature.

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