JP5340025B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker provided with a steam processing tank, and more particularly to a rice cooker configured to prevent cooling water in the steam processing tank from flowing back into the rice cooker body.

  A conventional rice cooker is provided with a tank filled with cooling water outside the rice cooker body so that water vapor generated during rice cooking is not released around the rice cooker body. There are some which are made to dissipate in cooling water and to condense water (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP-A-3-231613 (page 2, FIG. 1)

  In the rice cooker of patent document 1, when an inner pot became a negative pressure, there existed a problem that the cooling water in a tank would flow backward in an inner pot.

  This invention was made in order to solve said subject, and it aimed at providing the reliable rice cooker in which the cooling water in a steam processing tank does not flow backward in a rice cooker main body. It is.

A rice cooker according to the present invention is provided in a rice cooker body, an inner pot that is detachably accommodated in the rice cooker body and heated by heating means provided in the rice cooker body, and can be freely opened and closed in the rice cooker body. And a steam treatment tank that is detachably installed on the side wall of the rice cooker body and contains cooling water for condensing steam generated during rice cooking. When a body is closed, a steam conduit that communicates the inside of the rice cooker body and the steam processing tank is disposed, and an air hole that communicates with the outside air and the inside of the steam processing tank is provided in the upper lid of the steam processing tank, A communication pipe that connects the steam conduit and the inside of the steam processing tank is provided, and the communication pipe and the steam processing tank are disposed above the level of the cooling water that is placed in the steam processing tank on the wall surface of the communication pipe. Provide a through hole that communicates with the inside of the rice cooker body. Force is plugging the through holes is higher than the atmospheric pressure, when the pressure該炊rice vessel body is lower than atmospheric pressure are those provided with a check valve for unplugging the through hole, the check valve Has a plate-like valve body, and a portion of the valve body including a portion facing the through hole of the communication pipe is thinner than the other portions .

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the reliable rice cooker which can prevent reliably that the cooling water in a steam processing tank flows backward into the rice cooker main body can be obtained.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which open | released the cover body of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the steam processing tank of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between the inner cover of FIG. 1, a steam conduit, and a steam processing tank. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the steam processing tank of FIG. It is an assembly drawing of FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is CC sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the check valve of FIG. 8. It is action | operation explanatory drawing of the non-return valve of FIG. It is a graph which shows the correlation with the temperature curve at the time of rice cooking of a rice cooker, and a heating source. It is explanatory drawing of the principal part of the steam processing tank of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the other example of the principal part of the steam processing tank of Embodiment 2. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the principal part of the steam processing tank of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the check valve of FIG. 14. It is action | operation explanatory drawing of the non-return valve of FIG.

[Embodiment 1]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the rice cooker according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention has an inner pot 2 detachably housed inside the rice cooker body 1, and the front surface of the rice cooker body 1. A tank support 1a projects from the lower side. Although not shown, the inner pot 2 is heated by heating means such as an induction heating coil provided in the rice cooker body 1, and the temperature sensor provided in the rice cooker body 1 detects the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 2. Is done.

  Moreover, the lid 3 which covers the upper part is attached to the rice cooker main body 1 through a hinge so that opening and closing is possible. An inner lid 4 provided with a lid sensor 5 made of, for example, a thermistor for detecting the ambient temperature in the inner pot 2 is detachably mounted on the lower surface of the lid 3. Further, the inner lid 4 is provided with a steam inlet 6, and one end of a steam conduit 7 disposed in the lid body 3 is connected to the steam inlet 6.

  A steam processing tank 10 is detachably installed on the tank support 1 a on the front side of the rice cooker body 1. The other end of the steam conduit 7 is connected to recover steam generated during cooking in the inner pot 2. Cooling water W at a predetermined water level for watering is placed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the steam processing tank 10 has substantially the same width and height as the rice cooker body 1, has a narrow width in the front-rear direction and is long in the horizontal direction, and has an upper portion that opens and has cooling water. The tank main body 11 into which the steam is put, the steam conduit receiving port 13 is provided on one side, the upper lid 12 fitted to the upper opening of the tank main body 11 to close the opening, and the steam conduit receiving port 13 are integrally attached. A communication pipe 14 that hangs into the tank main body 11, a trumpet-shaped sound deadening member 15 attached to the lower end of the communication pipe 14, and a tank cover 16 attached to cover the front side of the tank main body 11. It has become. The upper lid 12 is provided with a plurality of vent holes 12a for communicating the inside of the tank body 11 and the outside air.

As shown in FIG. 7, four valve mounting holes 17 are provided in the upper portion of the side wall of the communication pipe 14, and the valve mounting holes 17 are positioned above the water level of the cooling water W. A through hole 18 is provided.
When the lid 3 is closed, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the other end to which the seal member 8 of the steam conduit 7 provided in the lid 3 is attached is the upper lid 12 of the steam treatment tank 10. It is comprised so that it may communicate with the vapor | steam conduit | pipe receptacle 13 provided in this.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a check valve 19 is attached to the inner side (steam passage side) of the upper side wall of the communication pipe 14 provided integrally with the upper lid 12 by a fitting structure.
The check valve 19 is made of a material having flexibility such as silicon rubber, for example, and as shown in FIG. 9, is a rectangular and thin plate-like valve body 20 and a valve for connecting the communication pipe 14 on one surface. Four valve mounting fitting protrusions 21a and 21b (hereinafter, simply referred to as 21) each provided in a pair corresponding to the upper and lower portions corresponding to the hole 17, and these valve mounting fitting protrusions 21 is composed of an annular convex portion 23 which is provided so as to surround the outer periphery of the through hole 18 of the communication pipe 14 and which is larger than the through hole 18. The valve mounting fitting projection 21 includes a body 22 that is slightly longer than the wall thickness t of the wall surface of the mounting portion of the check valve 19 of the communication pipe 14 and a head that has been expanded in diameter. The annular protrusion 23 may be omitted.

  This check valve 19 has the valve body 20 inside (steam passage side) and the heads of the four valve mounting fitting projections 21 in the four valve mounting holes 17 provided on the side wall of the communication pipe 14. Each of them is elastically fitted, and the annular protrusion 23 is brought into contact with the periphery of the through hole 18. As a result, the check valve 19 is attached to the side wall of the communication pipe 14 in a state in which the annular protrusion 23 closes the periphery of the through hole 18 and is prevented from coming off. At this time, a slight gap is formed between the head of the valve mounting fitting projection 21 and the side wall of the communication pipe 14. The annular protrusion 23 can enhance the sealing performance with the through hole 18 and can increase the rigidity of the check valve 19.

Next, the rice cooking effect | action of the rice cooker which concerns on this Embodiment comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.
A predetermined amount of rice and water (rice to be cooked) is put in the inner pot 2 and set in the rice cooker body 1, the lid 3 is closed, and the rice cooking operation is started. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 11, if the preheating process whose temperature of the inner pot 2 is 55 degreeC passes fixed time, it will transfer to a rice cooking process. When the rice cooking process is started, the temperature of the inner pot 2 rises to near 100 ° C. in a short time due to strong fire, which is due to partial boiling of the cooked rice at the bottom of the inner pot 2.

  After that, if heating is continued by heating means at around 100 ° C. due to low heat, the whole cooked rice starts boiling and steam is vigorously generated, and the inner pot 2 is filled with water vapor. When the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 2 rises rapidly, for example, reaches the rice cooking completion temperature of 124 ° C., the process proceeds to the steaming step.

  In this way, when the inner pot 2 is filled with water vapor, the water vapor in the inner pot 2 reaches the communication pipe 14 from the steam inlet 6 of the inner lid 4 through the steam conduit 7, It is dissipated in the cooling water put in the steam treatment tank 10 through the water and condensed. At this time, since water vapor having a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure passes through the communication pipe 14, the valve body 20 of the check valve 19 is connected to the communication pipe 14 so as to close the through hole 18 of the communication pipe 14, as shown in FIG. 14 is pressed against the wall surface.

  In the steaming step, the pressure in the inner pot 2 becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the valve body 20 of the check valve 19 has four valve mounting fitting protrusions 21 due to negative pressure. As a shaft, it moves in the direction of the arrow (inside) so as to open the through hole 18 of the communication pipe 14, and at the same time, outside air is taken into the tank body 11 from the vent hole 12 a provided in the upper lid 12, and this outside air checks The 19 valve bodies 20 are further moved in the direction of the arrow to reliably open the through hole 18. Thereby, the outside air that has passed between the valve body 20 and the wall surface from the through hole 18 enters the inner pot 2 (rice cooker body 1) from the steam intake 6 through the communication pipe 14 and the steam conduit 7, and the inner pot. By making the pressure in 2 the same as the external pressure, the reverse flow of the cooling water is prevented.

In the present embodiment (including other embodiments), it is desirable that the hole area of the through hole 18 provided in the communication pipe 14 is larger than 1/6 of the aperture area of the communication pipe 14, and the communication is maximum. It may be the same size as the aperture area of the tube 14. In the present embodiment, the aperture area of the communication pipe 14 is 135 mm ² , and the hole area of the through hole 18 is 24 mm ² .
Thus, the reason why the hole area of the through hole 18 of the communication pipe 14 is made larger than 1/6 of the caliber area of the communication pipe 14 is, for example, about 1/8 of the caliber area of the communication pipe 14. Since it does not enter sufficiently and there is a possibility of causing a back flow of the cooling water, the hole area of the through hole 18 is set in a range from 1/6 of the diameter area of the communication pipe 14 to the same size as the diameter area of the communication pipe 14. As a result, the check valve 19 operates reliably and the backflow of the cooling water can be prevented.

  According to the present embodiment, since the check valve 19 is securely attached to the communication pipe 14 by the four valve mounting fitting projections 21, the upper lid 12 and the communication pipe of the steam processing tank 10 after the completion of rice cooking. When the inside of 14 is cleaned with a brush or the like, the check valve 19 is not peeled or deformed even if the brush touches the check valve 19, and the through hole 18 can be opened and closed in a stable state at all times. It can be carried out. Further, since the check valve 19 does not warp or turn over due to secular change, reliability can be maintained over a long period of time.

  In addition, since the upper lid 12 of the steam treatment tank 10 is provided with a plurality of vent holes 12a, even if one of them is blocked by rice grains or the like, the remaining vent holes 12a are used as described above. The check valve 19 can be operated. Although the figure shows a case where two vent holes 12a are provided, at least one is necessary, and three or more may be provided.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing the main part of the steam processing tank of the rice cooker according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The same parts as those in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
In the present embodiment, in the check valve 19 (FIG. 9) of the steam processing tank 10 according to the first embodiment, the surface of the valve body 20 on which the valve mounting fitting protrusion 21 is provided is flattened. The thin-walled portion 24a is formed by forming a concave surface on the inner surface (steam passage side) of the through-hole 18 and in a wider range than the through-hole 18.

  According to the present embodiment, when the pressure in the inner pot 2 drops below atmospheric pressure in the steaming step, the thin portion 24a of the valve body 20 of the check valve 19 bulges inward due to negative pressure, and the communication pipe 14 The through hole 18 is opened. At the same time, outside air is taken into the tank main body 11 from the vent hole 12a provided in the upper lid 12, and the thin portion 24a of the check valve 19 is further bulged by this outside air, so that the through hole 18 is reliably opened. As a result, the outside air that has passed through the through hole 18 enters the inner pot 2 from the steam inlet 6 through the communication pipe 14 and the steam conduit 7, and is cooled by making the pressure in the inner pot 2 equal to the atmospheric pressure. Prevent backflow of water.

  FIG. 13 shows another example of the present embodiment. The surface on the inner side of the valve body 20 of the check valve 19 is formed flat, and the surface on the side where the valve mounting fitting projection 21 is provided. A range that is wider than the through hole 18 (in the drawing, the inside of the annular convex portion 23 is shown) is formed in a concave shape, and the thin portion 24b (in the following description, the thin portion 24a, 24b is referred to as 24), and the operation thereof is substantially the same as in the case of FIG.

  In the present embodiment, substantially the same effect as in the case of the first embodiment can be obtained, but furthermore, by providing the thin portion 24 on the valve body 20 of the check valve 19, the through hole can be obtained even with a light force. 18 can be opened reliably.

[Embodiment 3]
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a main part of the steam processing tank of the rice cooker according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, in the check valve 19 (FIG. 9) of the first embodiment, the body 22 a of the pair of valve mounting fitting protrusions 21 a provided on the upper portion of the valve body 20. the length L _1, which substantially equally formed with the thickness t of the communicating pipe 14 of the part mounting, the body portion 22b of the pair of valve attachment fitting projection 21b provided in the lower portion of the length L _2, It is longer than the body portion 22a of the upper valve mounting fitting projection 21a, and is formed such that L ₁ <L ₂ .

  When the check valve 19 configured as described above is attached to the communication pipe 14, as shown in FIG. 14, the head of the upper valve fitting fitting projection 21 a abuts against the wall surface of the communication pipe 14, The valve mounting fitting protrusion 21 b is located at a head portion with a gap between the wall surface of the communication pipe 14 and the valve body 20 closes the through hole 18.

  According to the present embodiment, when the pressure in the inner pot 2 falls below the atmospheric pressure in the steaming step, the check valve 19 is caused by the negative pressure, as shown in FIG. The lower part is displaced to the steam passage side (inner side) about the axis, and the through hole 18 is opened. At the same time, outside air is taken into the tank main body 11 from the vent hole 12a provided in the upper lid 12, and the outside air moves the lower part of the valve body 20 of the check valve 19 further inward, thereby reliably opening the through hole 18.

Thereby, the outside air that has passed through the through hole 18 enters the inner pot 2 from the steam inlet 6 through the communication pipe 14 and the steam conduit 7, and the pressure in the inner pot 2 is made the same as the external pressure, Prevent backflow of cooling water. In the above description, the length L ₂ of the body portion 22b of the lower valve mounting fitting projection 21b of the check valve 19 is the length of the body portion 22a of the upper valve mounting fitting projection 21a. L ₁ longer L ₁ <shows the case of forming the L _2, L ₁ Conversely> may be L _2.

  Also in the present embodiment, substantially the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rice cooker main body, 1a Tank support stand, 2 Inner pan, 3 Lid body, 4 Inner lid, 6 Steam inlet, 7 Steam conduit, 10 Steam processing tank, 11 Tank body, 12 Upper lid, 12a Vent, 13 Steam conduit Receiving port, 14 communication pipe, 17 valve mounting hole, 18 through hole, 19 check valve, 20 valve body, 21a upper valve mounting fitting protrusion, 21b upper valve mounting fitting protrusion, 22a, 22b Body part, 23 annular convex part, 24 thin part.

Claims (5)

A rice cooker body, an inner pot detachably accommodated in the rice cooker body and heated by a heating means provided in the rice cooker body, a lid provided in the rice cooker body so as to be opened and closed, and the rice cooker A steam treatment tank that is detachably installed on the side wall of the cooker body and that contains cooling water for condensing steam generated during rice cooking,
When the lid is closed to the lid, a steam conduit is provided for communicating the inside of the rice cooker body and the steam treatment tank,
A vent hole communicating with the outside air and the inside of the steam treatment tank is provided in the upper lid of the steam treatment tank, and a communication pipe communicating the steam conduit and the inside of the steam treatment tank is provided.
A through hole for communicating the communication pipe and the steam treatment tank is provided above the level of the cooling water placed in the steam treatment tank on the wall surface of the communication pipe,
But the pressure in the rice cooker main body is higher than atmospheric pressure by plugging the through-holes, when the pressure該炊rice vessel body is lower than the atmospheric pressure in which a check valve for unplugging the through hole Yes,
The check valve has a plate-shaped valve body,
Of the valve body, the portion including the portion facing the through hole of the communication pipe is thinner than the other portions . A rice cooker body, an inner pot detachably accommodated in the rice cooker body and heated by a heating means provided in the rice cooker body, a lid provided in the rice cooker body so as to be opened and closed, and the rice cooker A steam treatment tank that is detachably installed on the side wall of the cooker body and that contains cooling water for condensing steam generated during rice cooking,
When the lid is closed to the lid, a steam conduit is provided for communicating the inside of the rice cooker body and the steam treatment tank,
A vent hole communicating with the outside air and the inside of the steam treatment tank is provided in the upper lid of the steam treatment tank, and a communication pipe communicating the steam conduit and the inside of the steam treatment tank is provided.
A through hole for communicating the communication pipe and the steam treatment tank is provided above the level of the cooling water placed in the steam treatment tank on the wall surface of the communication pipe,
But the pressure in the rice cooker main body is higher than atmospheric pressure by plugging the through-holes, when the pressure該炊rice vessel body is lower than the atmospheric pressure in which a check valve for unplugging the through hole Yes,
The check valve includes a thin plate-like valve body formed of a flexible material, and a pair of valve attachments provided on one surface of the valve body and above and below the through hole of the communication pipe. The rice cooker is characterized by comprising valve fitting fitting protrusions that are fitted to the holes in a retaining state . A rice cooker body, an inner pot detachably accommodated in the rice cooker body and heated by a heating means provided in the rice cooker body, a lid provided in the rice cooker body so as to be opened and closed, and the rice cooker A steam treatment tank that is detachably installed on the side wall of the cooker body and that contains cooling water for condensing steam generated during rice cooking,
When the lid is closed to the lid, a steam conduit is provided for communicating the inside of the rice cooker body and the steam treatment tank,
A vent hole communicating with the outside air and the inside of the steam treatment tank is provided in the upper lid of the steam treatment tank, and a communication pipe communicating the steam conduit and the inside of the steam treatment tank is provided.
A through hole for communicating the communication pipe and the steam treatment tank is provided above the level of the cooling water placed in the steam treatment tank on the wall surface of the communication pipe,
But the pressure in the rice cooker main body is higher than atmospheric pressure by plugging the through-holes, when the pressure該炊rice vessel body is lower than the atmospheric pressure in which a check valve for unplugging the through hole Yes,
A rice cooker comprising a valve body of the check valve on a wall surface side of the communication pipe provided with an annular convex portion surrounding the through hole of the communication pipe that is larger than the through hole .   Of each pair of valve mounting fitting projections provided above and below the check valve body, the valve mounting fitting projection on one side is used for valve mounting on the other side. The rice cooker according to claim 2, wherein the rice cooker is formed longer than the body of the fitting protrusion.   The hole area of the through-hole provided in the said communicating pipe was made into the range of the aperture area of this communicating pipe from 1/6 of the aperture area of the said communicating pipe, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. rice cooker.

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