JP5332844B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker capable of positioning an inner pot and bringing a shoulder heater into contact with a shoulder member at the same time by an resilient member. <P>SOLUTION: The rice cooker includes: a rice cooker body including the inner pot, an inner case for supporting the inner pot and heating means inside; and a lid openable/closable to the rice cooker body. The shoulder heater is mounted in the shoulder of the rice cooker body, and the resilient member is mounted under the shoulder heater. The inner pot is positioned by the resilient member butting to a side of the inner pot and the lower part of the shoulder heater, and the shoulder heater is urged upward. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker, and more particularly to a support structure for a shoulder heater and an inner pot.

  Conventionally, as a rice cooker, a metal inner pot is used, and the inner pot is housed in an inner case (protection frame) and is provided by an electromagnetic induction coil provided at the lower part of the inner case and generating electromagnetic induction in the inner pot. What cooks the optimal temperature suitable for the amount of rice cooking is known.

  In addition, in order to improve the cooking of rice, an inner pot made of a non-metallic material (for example, an earthen pot, a ceramic pot or a charcoal pot) is used as an inner pot, and an induction heating element is formed at the bottom of the inner pot and in the vicinity of the bottom. It is also known to heat the inner pot by heating the induction heating element with a magnetic field generated from an electromagnetic induction coil.

  By the way, when the rice cooker is kept warm, the temperature of the upper part of the inner pot tends to be low, and in particular, the inner pot made of a non-metallic material has a poor heat conduction, so that the temperature of the upper part of the inner pot is particularly difficult to rise. Dew is generated inside the inner pot, and this dew drops on the rice, causing adverse effects such as white blurring of the rice.

  In order to prevent such harmful effects, it is known to provide a shoulder heater on the shoulder of the rice cooker to increase the temperature of the upper part of the inner pot. The present applicant has already proposed an improved technique for a shoulder heater known in the art.

  A part of the main part of the improved technique is shown in FIG. If it demonstrates, as shown in a figure, the rice cooker 1 has the rice cooker main body 2 and the cover body 3, the inner pot 4 and the inner case 5 are arrange | positioned at the rice cooker main body 2, Furthermore, the shoulder member is the upper part. 6, and a shoulder heater 8 is provided in a space 7 formed between the upper end portion of the inner case 5 and the shoulder member 6.

  By the way, on the upper surface of the shoulder member 6 of the rice cooker 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the left and right sides perpendicular to the front-rear direction connecting the hinge unit and the lock mechanism are recessed from other horizontal planes for taking out the inner pot 4. Recesses (indicated by reference numeral 9 in FIG. 9) are formed, and the upper end portion of the inner pot 4 is easily affected by outside air even when the lid 3 is closed. Therefore, in the illustrated example, the shoulder heater 8 is brought into contact with the lower surface of each recess 9 so that heat from the shoulder heater 8 is easily transmitted to the recess 9 and the upper end of the inner pot is prevented from being exposed (Patent Document). 1).

  Further, the inner pot 4 is used by being housed in the inner case 5, but in particular, the inner pot made of a non-metallic material such as an earthen pot is difficult to unify the shape such as thickness, and is stored in the center of the inner case. However, in order to eliminate such a problem, it is also known to position the inner pot at the center of the inner case using an elastic member protruding in the central direction on the inner case (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2008-259557 A Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 7-102174

  However, the thing of the said patent document 1 requires a certain precision in order to make the shoulder heater 8 contact the lower surface of the recessed part 9 of the shoulder member 6, and a production cost rises so much to raise a precision. Further, for example, if the contact is insufficient, there is a problem that the effect cannot be sufficiently exhibited. Furthermore, although the thing of the said patent document 2 has a certain effect as positioning of an inner pot, it is a member only for that and has the problem of raising production cost as it is.

  The objective of this invention is providing the rice cooker which solves the said problem by making the positioning of an inner pot and the contact to the shoulder member of a shoulder heater perform simultaneously with an elastic member.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following configuration.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 1, it is a rice cooker which has a rice cooker main body which has an inner pot, the inner case which supports the said inner pot, and a heating means inside, and a cover body which can be opened and closed with respect to the said rice cooker main body, ,
A shoulder heater is provided at the shoulder of the rice cooker body, an elastic member is provided separately from the shoulder heater at the lower portion of the shoulder heater, and the elastic member is in contact with the side of the inner pot and the lower portion of the shoulder heater. The inner pan is positioned, the shoulder heater is biased upward, and the shoulder heater is brought into contact with a shoulder member constituting the shoulder portion .

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 1, while providing a shoulder heater in the shoulder part of a rice cooker main body, providing an elastic member in the lower part of a shoulder heater, positioning an inner pot with an elastic member, and energizing a shoulder heater upwards The upper part of the inner pot can be heated more efficiently. As a result, it is possible to prevent the adverse effect of dew adhering to the inner surface of the inner pot. Moreover, an inner pot can be positioned in the center of an inner case, As a result, the heating efficiency of an inner pot can be improved. Furthermore, the same elastic member can contact the shoulder portion of the shoulder heater and position the inner pot, thereby reducing the number of parts and the production cost.

In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, the elastic member is made into a plurality of members, each having a tongue-like portion on the inner pot side and a projecting portion on the shoulder heater side. And urging the shoulder heater upward can be performed more reliably.

In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, the elastic member is an annular body, and a plurality of tongue-shaped portions are formed on the inner pot side and one projecting portion is formed on the shoulder heater side. In addition to equalizing the upward biasing force of the shoulder heater, the attachment can be facilitated and the attachment time can be shortened.

Further , the elastic member is formed in an L-shaped cross section, that is, by forming a wall body perpendicular to the side opposite to the inner pot of the shoulder heater, it is possible to reduce the escape of the shoulder heater heat to the outside. The supply of heat in the direction of the inner pot can be increased, and the adverse effect that dew adheres to the inner pot inner surface can be further prevented.

Whole sectional drawing of the rice cooker of this invention (sectional view of the BB line direction of FIG. 2) The perspective view which looked at the shoulder member and inner case of this invention from diagonally upward The perspective view of the CC line cross section of FIG. Enlarged sectional view of part A in FIG. The perspective view of the elastic member of this invention Expanded sectional view of another example of part A in FIG. Plan view of another elastic member of the present invention Plan view of still another elastic member of the present invention Expanded sectional view of a conventional shoulder heater

  1 shows an overall cross-sectional view of the rice cooker, FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the shoulder member and the inner case seen obliquely from above, and FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the cross-section taken along the line CC in FIG. 1 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of part A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the elastic member. In addition, let the display panel side (left side of FIG. 1) of the rice cooker be the front side, the hinge member side (right side of FIG. 1) be the rear side, and the side orthogonal to the front-rear direction side (side orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 1). Left and right.

  The rice cooker S includes a rice cooker body 20 and a lid 40. The rice cooker body 20 includes a synthetic resin bottomed cylindrical inner case 22 in which an inner pot 21 is housed, a metal outer case 23 that forms the exterior, and a dish that forms the bottom of the synthetic resin. And a bottom member 24 made of metal, and these members are joined together by means of, for example, forced swallowing.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the inner case 22, a bottom coil 25 and a corner coil 26 made of work coils are arranged at the bottom and the corners from the bottom to the side, respectively. When the inner pot 21 is accommodated in the inner pot 21, a center sensor 27 with which the bottom of the inner pot 21 comes into contact is provided. The center sensor 27 detects the temperature of the inner pot 21, and the control device performs heating and heat retention control. . Further, an annular flange 22a having an L-shaped cross section is formed on the upper end portion of the inner case 22 so as to project outward, and an inner space 56 that houses the shoulder heater 58 and the elastic member 60 with the shoulder member 50 described later. Form. A rod-like body 22b and a fitting groove 22c for locking an elastic member 60 to be described later are formed on the bottom surface of the annular flange 22a.

  The inner pot 21 is made of an earthen pot, and can be self-heated by an eddy current induced by the bottom coil 25 and the corner coil 26 at a location facing the bottom coil 25 and the corner coil 26, such as a metal such as silver paste. An induction heating element made of metal is pasted. Then, when the inner pot 21 is set in the inner case 22 and a rice cooking switch is pressed, the center sensor 27 is turned on, the bottom coil 25 and the corner coil 26 are energized, and Joule heat is caused by the eddy current. As a result, the inner pot 21 is heated, and the contents such as cooked rice are cooked.

  A display panel 28 having various switches is provided on the front upper portion of the rice cooker body 20, and rice cooking desired by the user is performed by operating various switches on the display panel 28. Moreover, in the rice cooker main body 20, a cooling fin 29 for cooling a heating element such as an IGBT and a cooling fan 30 for sending cooling air to the cooling fin 29 are provided. Cooling.

  The rice cooker body 20 is provided with a handle 31 for carrying the rice cooker S, and further, a hinge member 32 is provided at the upper rear portion of the rice cooker body 20. The hinge member 32 is a member having a rectangular shape in plan view and a substantially arc-shaped cross section. The hinge member 32 is pivotally supported by the hinge pin 33, and engages with the rice cooker body 20 and the lid body 40. It is made rotatable by the action of a spring 34 that is pivotally supported. And if the lid lock member 35 provided in the front upper part of the rice cooker S is pressed, the lid 40 will be opened to the rear side by the force of the spring 34.

  The lid 40 is a synthetic resin member, and includes an upper plate 41 that forms an upper surface and a lower plate 42 that forms a lower surface. And the upper board 41 and the lower board 42 are formed in the form which each peripheral edge part contact | abuts.

  A pressure adjusting member 43 is detachably provided at the center of the lid 40. The pressure adjusting member 43 has a steam passage 44, a steam valve 45, and a steam port 46, and discharges excessive steam in the inner pot 21 from the steam port 46 to the outside during rice cooking.

  An inner lid 47 is detachably attached below the lower plate 42. The inner lid 47 receives heat from a shoulder heater 58 attached to the shoulder member 50 described later to prevent spillage and dew condensation. Further, a seal packing 48 is sandwiched around the outer peripheral edge of the inner lid 47, and abuts against the upper edge of the inner pot 21 when the lid body 40 is closed to prevent escape of heat in the inner pot 21. doing.

  By the way, a cylindrical shoulder member 50 made of synthetic resin that constitutes a shoulder portion is disposed on the upper portion of the outer case 23, and the shoulder member 50 has a plurality of latches provided at the lower outer periphery thereof. The piece is inserted into a locking hole provided in the upper outer periphery of the outer case 23, and both are firmly connected by means of forced fitting. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an inner pot opening 51 having the same diameter as the inner case 22 is formed in the center of the shoulder member 50, and a display panel opening 52 is formed on the front side thereof. A hinge pin mounting piece 53 is integrally formed on the side.

  The portion of the opening 51 for the inner pot of the shoulder member 50 is formed as a bowl-shaped cross section composed of a horizontal portion 54a and a circular vertical portion 54b which is circular in plan view and hangs down from the inner peripheral end of the horizontal portion 54a. The inner case 22 and the shoulder member 50 are integrally attached so that the inner surface of the inner case 22 and the inner surface of the vertical portion 54b are substantially flush with each other. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the inner case 22 and the shoulder member 50 are integrally attached.

  In the horizontal portion 54a of the shoulder member 50, as shown in FIG. 2, the left and right sides perpendicular to the front-rear direction connecting the hinge member 32 and the lid lock member 35 are recessed from other horizontal planes for taking out the inner pot 21. Recesses 55, 55 (the bottom is horizontal) are respectively formed. Although these recessed parts 55 and 55 are for taking out the inner pot 21, when the cover body 40 is closed, the area where the upper end part of the inner pot 21 contacts outside air increases, and it becomes easy to be influenced by outside air. In particular, it is necessary to heat such a part more efficiently.

  When the inner case 22 and the shoulder member 50 are attached integrally, an L-shaped annular flange 22a formed at the upper end of the inner case 22 and a bowl-shaped portion of the inner pot opening 51 of the shoulder member 50 Thus, an internal space 56 having a substantially rectangular cross section and an annular shape in plan view is formed.

  In the internal space 56, the shoulder heater 58 and the elastic member 60 are arranged in such a manner that the elastic member 60 is on the lower side and the shoulder heater 58 is on the elastic member 60. The shoulder heater 58 has a substantially annular shape (both ends are not connected) along the annular internal space 56, and lead wires are drawn from both ends, and the lead wires are provided in the rice cooker body 20. Electrically connected to the control circuit.

  The elastic member 60 is shown in FIG. The elastic member 60 is a rubber member having a main body 61, a tongue 62, a lower protrusion 63, and an upper protrusion 64, and a plurality of elastic members 60 are used. The main body 61 is a flat plate portion composed of a small rectangular portion and a large rectangular portion, and has a hole 65 near the small rectangular portion, and includes a lower protruding portion 63 and an upper protruding portion. 64 and the internal space 56. The main body 61 may have a single rectangular shape.

  The tongue portion 62 is a substantially tongue-shaped portion formed integrally with the tip of the main body portion 61, and the thickness is reduced toward the tip. When the elastic member 60 is disposed in the internal space 56, the tongue-like portion 62 is formed in the horizontal direction formed on the contact surface between the upper end portion of the inner case 22 and the lower end portion of the vertical portion 54 b of the shoulder member 50. It is attached in a form projecting inward from the laterally long groove 66 (same or slightly longer than the lateral width of the tongue-like portion 62), that is, toward the inner pot 21 side. The elastic members 60 are provided at intervals of approximately 120 degrees at three positions D, E, and F in FIG. 2, and when the inner pot 21 is disposed in the inner case 22, the tongue-like portion 62 has the inner pot 21 in the inner case 22. Position it so that it is in the center of The number of elastic members 60 may be any number as long as it is three or more.

  When the elastic member 60 is disposed in the internal space 56, the hole 65 provided in the main body portion 61 is fitted into a rod-like body 22b that is erected substantially at the center of the annular flange 22a at the upper end portion of the inner case 22. The elastic member 60 is positioned.

  The lower protrusion 63 is a substantially rectangular portion in plan view formed by hanging from the lower surface of the main body 61 close to the tongue 62. When the elastic member 60 is disposed in the inner space 56, an inner case is formed. 22 is fitted into a substantially rectangular fitting groove 22c formed in the annular flange 22a at the upper end portion of 22 to prevent the elastic member 60 from rotating in the horizontal direction. Thus, the movement of the elastic member 60 is restricted by the rod-like body 22b and the fitting groove 22c of the inner case 22. If the elastic member 60 is restricted in movement by either the rod-like body 22b or the fitting groove 22c, only one of them may be used.

  The upper projecting portion 64 is a portion corresponding to the projecting projecting portion of the invention, and two of the upper projecting portions 64 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view are formed along the circumference. By the way, the height of the internal space 56 of the recesses 55, 55 is formed slightly smaller than the combined height of the main body 61 and the upper protrusion 64, and the elastic member 60 faces the internal space with the shoulder member 50 facing upward. When placed in 56, the upper protrusion 64 is attached in a state where it is pressed downward, that is, in such a manner that the upper surface of the shoulder heater 58 is always in contact with the bottom surfaces of the recesses 55, 55 of the shoulder member 50.

  The state is shown in FIG. That is, the shoulder heater 58 is always urged upward by the elastic member 60, particularly the upper protrusion 64, and abuts against the bottom surfaces of the recesses 55, 55 of the shoulder member 50 (abutment portion G in FIG. 3). Thus, this portion can be heated more efficiently. FIG. 4 shows the state of the shoulder member 50 other than the recesses 55 and 55. At locations other than the recesses 55, 55 of the shoulder member 50, there is a gap S between the upper surface of the shoulder heater 58 and the upper surface of the internal space 56. However, since there is no recess 55, 55 on the upper surface of the internal space 56 at that location, it will be located near the upper end of the inner pot 21, so that the heating effect on the upper end of the inner pan 21 is also sufficient at that location. .

  The recesses 55 and 55 may be eliminated, and the shoulder heater 58 may be brought into contact with the entire upper surface of the internal space 56. By setting it as such a form, the heating efficiency of the upper end part vicinity of the inner pot 21 can be raised more. Further, the upper protrusion 64 may be one. By forming the elastic member 60 in such a form, the entire circumference of the shoulder heater 58 can always be pushed up and fixed in the vicinity of the upper end portion of the inner pot 21 by always applying tension from below the shoulder heater 58. Therefore, the vicinity of the entire upper end portion of the inner pot 21 can be made warm and uniform temperature distribution, and the occurrence of dew can be suppressed. Further, since the elastic member 60 is locked by the lower protrusion 63 and the hole 65, the elastic member 60 is largely thermally deformed when the shoulder heater 58 is abnormally heated, and the shoulder heater 58 falls off the elastic member 60. Is prevented.

  FIG. 6 shows a modification of the elastic member 60. In this example, the elastic member 60 has an L-shaped cross section. That is, a wall body 67 having a rectangular shape in side view is erected integrally at the outer peripheral end of the main body 61 opposite to the tongue-shaped portion 62. In this case, the main body portion 61 eliminates the small rectangular portion and forms one large rectangular portion. By adopting such a shape, the heat of the shoulder heater in the vicinity of the elastic member 60 and the heat that escapes outward can be blocked by the wall body 67, so that the amount of heat toward the inner pot 21 can be increased. . Here, the L-shaped cross section is a shape in which the lower protruding portion 63 and the upper protruding portion 64 are omitted.

  FIG. 7 shows another modification of the elastic member. In this example, the elastic member is formed as one annular member. The figure is a plan view seen from above. The elastic member 70 is a single rubber member having a main body 71, a tongue 72, and an upper protrusion 74. In this case, since the elastic member 70 hardly rotates in the horizontal direction, the lower projecting portion is omitted.

  The main body 71 is an annular portion, has three holes 75 at an interval of approximately 120 degrees near the outer periphery thereof, and is disposed in the internal space 56 together with the lower protrusion 73.

  The tongue-like portion 72 is a substantially tongue-shaped portion formed integrally with the inner end of the main body portion 71, and is thicker toward the tip at a position near the hole 75 and at the inner peripheral end of the hole 75. Is formed in a thin shape. When the elastic member 70 is disposed in the internal space 56, the tongue-like portion 72 is formed in the horizontal direction formed on the contact surface between the upper end portion of the inner case 22 and the lower end portion of the vertical portion 54 b of the shoulder member 50. It is attached in a form that protrudes inward from the laterally long groove 66 (same or slightly longer than the lateral width of the tongue-like portion 72), that is, toward the inner pot 21 side. The elastic member 70 is provided at three positions of D, E, and F in FIG. 2 at an interval of approximately 120 degrees, and when the inner pot 21 is disposed in the inner case 22, the tongue-like portion 72 has the inner pot 21 in the inner case 22. Position it so that it is in the center of

  The hole 75 provided in the main body portion 71 is fitted to a rod-like body 22b standing up at substantially the center of the annular flange 22a at the upper end portion of the inner case 22 when the elastic member 70 is disposed in the internal space 56. The elastic member 70 is positioned.

  The upper projecting portion 74 is a portion corresponding to the projecting projecting portion of the invention, and has an annular shape in plan view as shown by hatching in FIG. When arranged in the space 56, the upper protrusion 74 abuts the upper surface of the shoulder heater 58 against the upper surface of the internal space 56. By forming the elastic member 70 in such a shape, the urging force of the shoulder heater 58 can be made uniform, and deformation of the shoulder heater 58 can be prevented. Further, the effect can be further enhanced by combining with the one in which the shoulder heater 58 is in contact with the entire upper surface of the internal space 56 without the concave portions 55 and 55.

  FIG. 8 shows another modification of the elastic member 70. The thing of this example adds the thing similar to the wall body shown in FIG. 6 to the thing of FIG. That is, an annular wall 77 is provided at the outer peripheral end of the main body 71. By doing in this way, the heat | fever escape to the outward of the shoulder heater 58 can be reduced more compared with the thing of FIG.

  The invention of the present application is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed in design without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, the inner pot has been described as a clay pot, but may be made of metal or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS S ... Rice cooker 20 ... Rice cooker main body 21 ... Inner pan 22 ... Inner case 22a ... Annular flange 22b ... Rod-shaped body 22c ... Fitting groove 23 ... Outer case 24 ... Bottom member 25 ... Bottom coil 26 ... Corner coil 27 ... Center sensor DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 28 ... Display panel 29 ... Cooling fin 30 ... Cooling fan 31 ... Handle 32 ... Hinge member 33 ... Hinge pin 34 ... Spring 35 ... Lid lock member 40 ... Lid body 41 ... Upper plate 42 ... Lower plate 43 ... Pressure regulating member 44 ... Steam Passage 45 ... Steam valve 46 ... Steam port 47 ... Inner lid 48 ... Seal packing 50 ... Shoulder member 51 ... Opening for inner pot 52 ... Opening for display panel 53 ... Hinge pin mounting piece 54a ... Horizontal part 54b ... Vertical part 55 ... Recessed part 56 ... Internal space 58 ... Shoulder heater 60 ... Elastic member 61 ... Body part 62 ... Tongue part 63 ... Lower protrusion part 64 ... Upper protrusion part 65 ... Hole 66 ... Horizontal slot 67 Wall 70 ... elastic member 71 ... main body 72 ... tongue 73 ... lower projecting portion 74 ... upper projecting portion 75 ... hole 77 ... wall

Claims (1)

A rice cooker having an inner pot, an inner case that supports the inner pot and a heating means inside, and a lid that can be opened and closed with respect to the rice cooker body,
A shoulder heater is provided on the shoulder of the rice cooker body,
An elastic member is provided separately from the shoulder heater at the bottom of the shoulder heater ,
The elastic member is in contact with a side portion of the inner pot and a lower portion of the shoulder heater, positions the inner pot, urges the shoulder heater upward, and causes the shoulder heater to constitute a shoulder member. Rice cooker characterized by abutting .

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