JP5463626B2 - Electric rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker including a plurality of microcomputer control units.

  Generally, in an electric rice cooker, a printed board called a microcomputer board is provided below the operation panel of the rice cooker body, and a printed board called a control board is provided in the front of the inner case inside the rice cooker body. Is provided with a microcomputer control unit for controlling a work coil and other necessary control objects that are inner pot heating means on the bottom side of the rice cooker body.

The microcomputer board and the control board are connected to each other through a necessary signal line (wire harness), and the microcomputer control unit is configured to use an IGBT on the control board via the microcomputer board and the necessary signal line. Thereby controlling the heating state, heating amount, and heating pattern of the final heating means such as the work coil (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-325331 A

  However, if all of the various control objects on the control board side are controlled by a single microcomputer control unit provided on the microcomputer board side, the required control capacity increases and the control speed of the IGBT also slows down. Problems arise.

  Therefore, recently, there is a microcomputer control unit provided on each of the microcomputer board side and the control board side, and control functions are shared by these first and second sets of microcomputer control units. By providing a plurality of microcomputer control units in this way, the necessary control capacity of each microcomputer control unit is reduced, the control content (program) is simplified, and the responsiveness of IGBT drive control is increased. Can do.

  However, maintaining each of the two sets of microcomputer control units at the same time until standby when they are not operating is twice as much as in the case of a single microcomputer control unit. In addition to requiring standby power consumption, the standby power consumption is further increased, for example, in the case where a voice speaker and a voice IC are provided so that voice guidance is performed during key operation or the like.

  The invention of the present application was made to solve such a problem, and at the time of standby operation other than during rice cooking or heat insulation operation, one of a plurality of microcomputer control units from a specific microcomputer control unit to another microcomputer control unit By instructing and shifting to the power saving standby mode, which consumes less power than the normal standby mode, the power consumption can be reduced as much as possible. An object of the present invention is to provide an electric rice cooker.

  The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above problems, and comprises the following effective problem solving means.

(1) First Problem Solving Means According to the first problem solving means of the present invention, desired control of a control target is performed using a plurality of microcomputer control units that can communicate with each other, and control of the control target is not performed. In standby mode, any specific microcomputer control unit among the above-mentioned microcomputer control units is instructed to shift to another microcomputer control unit to power saving standby mode, which consumes less power than in normal standby mode. In addition, the specific microcomputer control unit, after instructing the other microcomputer control unit to shift to the power saving standby mode, also performs the same power saving standby. On the other hand, when it is necessary to start heating, the power saving standby mode is canceled and the normal standby mode is restored. An electric rice cooker provided with a dedicated communication line for instructing and releasing the transition to the power saving mode separately from the normal communication line between the plurality of microcomputer control units, the specific microcomputer After instructing the other microcomputer control unit of the control unit to shift to the power saving standby mode, the transition to the power saving standby mode of the control unit is performed from the other microcomputer control unit to the power saving standby mode. It is characterized in that it is performed after a reply signal to the effect of transition is input.

  According to such a configuration, power consumption can be effectively reduced even in a standby state in which a plurality of microcomputer control units are employed, as compared with a case of standby in a normal standby mode.

  In addition, after the specific microcomputer control unit instructs other microcomputer control units to shift to the power saving standby mode, the specific microcomputer control unit itself shifts to the same power saving standby mode. .

  As a result, despite having a plurality of microcomputer control units, the power consumption of all the microcomputer control units can be made as small as possible, and the power consumption can be further reduced. it can.

  Of course, in this case, when the heating needs to be started, the power saving standby mode is canceled correspondingly and the normal standby mode is restored.

  Therefore, for example, when at least the rice cooker needs to be heated by turning on the rice cooking switch, reaching the rice cooking start time at the time of rice cooking, turning on the heat retention switch, etc., the power saving standby mode is automatically canceled. The normal operation state in which heating can be started can be restored.

  In addition to the normal communication line, a dedicated communication line for instructing and canceling the transition to the power saving mode is provided between the plurality of microcomputer control units, and the communication state necessary for the original control is provided. A command to shift to or cancel the power saving standby mode can be issued at a desired timing without hindering.

  Moreover, in those cases, the transition to the power saving standby mode after instructing the other microcomputer control unit of the specific microcomputer control unit to shift to the power saving standby mode is particularly This is performed after a reply signal indicating that the microcomputer control unit shifts to the power saving standby mode is input.

  As a result, a specific microcomputer control unit may be switched to the power saving standby mode for the first time after the other microcomputer control unit instructed to shift to the power saving standby mode has reliably shifted to the power saving standby mode. Therefore, for some reason such as trouble, even if the other microcomputer control unit that instructed the shift to the power saving standby mode has not shifted to the power saving standby mode, only itself shifts to the power saving standby mode. Such inconvenience is avoided.

  As a result of the above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electric rice cooker that has as much energy saving performance as possible with low power consumption.

1-6 has shown the structure of the electric rice cooker which concerns on the best embodiment of this invention provided with the above characteristics.

(Configuration of the rice cooker body)
First, in the electric rice cooker according to the best mode of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, an inner pot (rice cooker or heat insulating container) 3 is a pot made of a non-metallic material (for example, a ceramic earthen pot). ) And the curved surface between the bottom wall portion 3a and the side wall portion 3b surface is capable of self-heating by eddy current induced inside, for example, Metal first and second induction heating elements G1 and G2 such as silver paste are individually attached.

  That is, the electric rice cooker has an inner pot 3 having the same configuration, a dish-shaped bottom wall portion 4 made of a lower synthetic resin and an upper cylindrical portion formed so that the inner pot 3 can be arbitrarily set. An inner case (protective frame) 46 composed of a side wall 6, a bottomed cylindrical outer case 1 that is an outer casing for holding the inner case 46, and the outer case 1 and the inner case 46 are integrally formed. It is comprised from the cover unit (lid body) 2 provided in the upper part of the made rice cooker main body so that opening and closing is possible.

  A coil cover 93 is provided on the lower side of the bottom wall portion (bottom portion) 4a of the inner case 4, the ferrite core 7 is disposed at the lower portion thereof, and the bottom wall portion 3a of the inner pot 3 is disposed at the upper portion thereof. Corresponding to the positions of the induction heating elements G1 and G2 on the lower surface side and the side curved surface side, there are provided first and second sets of work coils C1 and C2 in which litz wires are wound concentrically. Thus, when energized, an eddy current is induced in the first and second induction heating elements G1 and G2 of the inner pot 3 to heat the inner pot 3. The first and second work coils C1 and C2 are connected to each other in series, for example.

  The dish-shaped bottom wall portion 4 of the inner case 46 has a sensor portion fitting port of the center sensor formed at the center of the bottom surface portion 4a, and a donut-shaped heat shield on the upper surface of the outer peripheral side of the sensor portion fitting port. Is provided (not shown). Further, a flange-like step portion 4c projecting outward in the predetermined width radial direction is provided on the upper end side of the outer peripheral side surface portion 4b, and the lower end 6b side of the upper side tubular side wall portion 6 is provided on the step portion 4c portion. The engagement is placed.

  On the other hand, the upper end 6 a of the upper cylindrical side wall 6 is connected and fixed to the shoulder member 11 at the upper end of the rice cooker main body via the inner frame member 9.

  Then, one end of the work coil circuit C having the first and second work coils C1 and C2 is connected to a power supply line via a rectifier circuit and smoothing circuits 35 and 36 as shown in a control circuit diagram of FIG. The other ends are connected to the collectors of the IGBTs (power transistors for driving the work coil) of the IGBT drive circuit 42, respectively.

  Further, a side heater (heat insulation heater) H1 that functions as a heating means during rice cooking and heat insulation is provided on the outer periphery of the upper side cylindrical side wall portion 6 of the inner case 46. The entire inner pot 3 is heated effectively and uniformly. A side temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting the temperature of the side heater H1 is provided in the side heater H1.

  Then, these two types of heating means C1, C2, and H1 and a lid heater H2 on the lid unit 2 side, which will be described later, are connected to a control IC (microcomputer control unit) on the control board CB side as shown in the control circuit diagram of FIG. ) An appropriate rice cooking function and an appropriate heat-retaining function can be realized by appropriately controlling the drive by the HIC and the microcomputer control unit 32 on the microcomputer board MB side.

  On the other hand, the above-mentioned rice cooking, timer reservation for the heat retention function, selection of rice cooking and heat retention menu, operation settings such as heating output, heating time, heat retention temperature, heat retention time in each process corresponding to each menu, the electric rice cooker body 2 is performed by the user via various input switch groups (operation key groups) 22a to 22j of the operation panel 20 as shown in FIG. The second work coils C1 and C2, the side heater H1, and the lid heater H2 are appropriately controlled.

  The operation switches (operation keys) 22a to 22j on the operation panel 20 include, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a rice cooking switch 22a (its ON display portion 23a), a timer reservation switch 22b (its ON display portion 23c), and a cancel switch. 22c, hour / minute setting switch 22e for timer reservation, rice cooking menu selection switch 22f, rice selection switch 22g, voice guide switch 22h for selecting and executing a voice guide function such as menu setting or once set menu , A heat retention switch 22i (its ON display portion 23d), a fire burn level setting switch 22j, and the like.

  In addition, in the central portion of the operation panel 20, each menu for rice cooking and heat insulation, the type of rice, the level of hot rice, the image necessary for adjusting the sound volume at the time of voice guide selection setting, the set heat retention temperature, the setting A liquid crystal display unit 21 is provided for displaying the heat retention time, the current time, the remaining time until cooking is completed, an empty cooking notification, and various other necessary items.

  The operation of each switch corresponding to the operation function and the display function of the operation panel 20 is located above the space between the outer case 1 and the inner case 46 on the back surface of the operation panel 20 in the outer case 1. A switch board, a liquid crystal display, a microcomputer control unit 32, and a microcomputer board (microcomputer board) MB provided with their input / output control circuits are installed in an inclined state along the panel surface.

  The microcomputer board MB compresses and lays out the audio circuit (audio speaker drive circuit 60) together, and the shoulders are connected and fixed across the upper portions of the outer case 1 and the inner case 46. Inclined along the surface of the operation panel 20 on the upper side of the microcomputer board cover 81 extending in a U shape from the lower surface side of the member 11 to the bottom member 1b below the outer case 1 (up to the support rib support rib 72). The microcomputer board mounting portion 81a is mounted on the upper surface side recessed groove portion.

  The microcomputer board cover 81 has a lower portion bent from the microcomputer board mounting portion 81a in a U-shape and extends vertically on the support rib 72 of the bottom member 1b, and the vertical flat plate portion is connected to the mounting portion 81b of the audio speaker 61. It has become. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, a dynamic voice speaker 61 having a large horn portion enlargement angle has a driving portion (voice coil portion) on the front side and a horn portion (cone portion). Is attached with the back facing. The audio speaker 61 is attached to the audio speaker attachment portion 81b by fixing it with screws 63 via an elastic member (damper) 65 such as a foam material to the inside of a U-shaped (hat-shaped) sheet metal member 62. The method is adopted.

  The input / output terminal 61a of the voice coil section of the voice speaker 61 is extended to the lower part of the upper microcomputer board mounting part 81a via a short lead wire 61b, and the voice circuit of the microcomputer board MB side is inserted in the same part. The output terminal 79 is detachably connected.

  Further, on the front side of the inner case 4, the IGBT, choke coil, and control IC (control board CB) for driving and controlling the first and second work coils C1 and C2, the side heater H1, the lid heater H2, and the like. Side microcomputer control unit) HIC, side heater drive circuit 33, lid heater drive circuit 24, rectifier circuit consisting of diode bridge for power supply voltage rectification, resonance capacitor, smoothing capacitor of smoothing circuit, heat sink 73, and other control components A control board (control board) CB is provided upright in the vertical direction.

  The control board CB is attached to the front side of the control board cover 82 that extends vertically in the vertical direction on the front side of the inner case 46 and is fixed upright.

  The cooling fan 17 is installed on the lower base member 1b of the control board CB and the heat sink 73 so that the suction side corresponds to the air suction grille 71 provided on the bottom member 1b. When the cooling fan 17 is driven, the air sucked from the lower air suction grill 71 is blown upward along the heat sink 73, the control board CB, and the audio speaker mounting portion 81b to cool those portions. Thereafter, the microcomputer board MB further flows around the inner case 4 while cooling.

  Of course, the cooling air from the cooling fan 17 is also diverted to the bottom side of the inner pot 3, and also cools the heat generating portions such as the first and second work coils C1, C2.

  The outer case 1 includes, for example, a cylindrical cover member 1a formed of a metal member in the vertical direction, a synthetic resin shoulder member 11 coupled to the upper end of the cover member 1a, and the cover member 1a. The bottom portion as a whole is composed of the bottom member 1b made of the synthetic resin integrated at the lower end portion, and has a heat insulating and ventilating space portion of a predetermined width between the bottom wall portion 4 of the inner case 46. It is comprised by the cylindrical body.

  On the other hand, reference numeral 2 denotes a lid unit, and the lid unit 2 is fitted on the inner side of the outer cover 12 and an outer cover 12 made of a synthetic resin having an outer peripheral surface and a pressure adjusting pipe at the center. A synthetic resin inner frame 13 provided integrally, a packing 14a and a metal heat radiating plate 16a provided in the inner opening of the inner frame 13, and a lid heater provided on the upper surface of the heat radiating plate 16a H2 and a metal inner lid 16b provided below the heat radiating plate 16a. Further, packings 14a and 14b are respectively provided below the outer peripheral edge of the heat radiating plate 16a and below the outer peripheral edge of the inner lid 16b. The inner lid 16b is connected to the opening edge of the inner pot 3 via the packing 14b. It is made to contact the upper surface part of the part 3c.

  The lid unit 2 is rotatably attached to the shoulder member 11 on the rear end side of the upper part of the outer case 1 via a hinge mechanism (not shown). A lock mechanism 10 is provided that engages with a predetermined position to open and close the lid unit 2 in the vertical direction.

  Therefore, in this structure, at the time of rice cooking, the inner pot 3 is moved from the bottom wall portion 3a to the side wall portion 3b side by eddy current generated by driving the first and second sets of work coils C1 and C2. The provided first and second induction heating elements G1 and G2 generate heat to heat a portion from the bottom wall portion 3a to the side wall portion 3b of the inner pot 3, and the side wall of the inner pot 3 by the side heater H1. The part 3b is heated, and the upper part of the inner pot 3 is further heated by the lid heater H2.

  On the other hand, the microcomputer control unit of the microcomputer board MB is provided with desired recognition means for determining the user's instruction content input via the input switches 22a to 22j. Depending on the user's instructions, desired rice cooking or heat retention function, heat insulation OFF function, desired rice cooking (or heat retention) menu, predetermined heating pattern (heating output, heating time) corresponding to the rice cooking or heat retention menu, burn level Is set, and the rice cooking heating control means or the thermal insulation heating control means and the thermal insulation OFF control means are appropriately operated to perform desired rice cooking or thermal insulation control and thermal insulation OFF control.

  Therefore, the user can use the above input switches 22a to 22j to cook rice or keep warm, timer reservation, reservation time setting, white rice or brown rice, early cooking, rice porridge, sushi, cooked food, etc., normal heat keeping mode or energy saving heat keeping If the selected setting contents of various functions such as the mode, the heat insulation OFF mode, the firewood adjustment mode, etc. are input, the corresponding function contents are automatically transmitted to the setting unit such as the rice cooking and heat insulation heating pattern via the recognition means in the microcomputer control unit. Accordingly, the corresponding rice cooking or heat insulation heating control, heat insulation OFF control, and fire control are appropriately performed.

  As mentioned above, in the electric rice cooker of this embodiment, it consists of the inner pot 3, the outer case 1, and the inner case 46, and the rice cooker main body which accommodates the inner pot 3 so that extraction is possible, The upper part of this rice cooker main body A lid 2 that covers the opening so that it can be opened and closed; first and second work coils C1 and C2 that are heating means for heating the inner pot 3; and voice notification means for notifying information such as necessary voice. A control board that is provided between an audio speaker 61 and the outer case 1 and the inner case 46 of the rice cooker body, and controls the first and second work coils C1, C2 and the audio speaker 61. In an electric rice cooker comprising a CB and a microcomputer board MB, an audio circuit is compressed and laid out on the microcomputer board MB side, and an audio speaker 61 is connected in the vicinity of the microcomputer board MB provided with the audio circuit.

  According to such a configuration, the audio speaker 61 is provided in the vicinity of the microcomputer board MB and can be connected to the microcomputer control unit 32 of the microcomputer board MB at the shortest distance, so that the wiring distance is reduced as much as possible. In addition, the wiring work is facilitated, the amount of necessary wiring can be reduced, and the influence of ambient heat and electromagnetic noise can be avoided as much as possible.

  In addition, in the case of the same configuration, the audio circuit is compressed and laid out on the microcomputer board MB itself, and the audio speaker 61 is connected in the vicinity of the microcomputer board MB integrally provided with the audio circuit. This eliminates the need for an audio circuit board such as the above, so that the space factor can be increased accordingly, the audio speaker 61 can be installed in a smaller space, and the number of wires and the wiring length can be saved. Work becomes easier.

  Moreover, in the same configuration, the cooling fan 17 that sucks air through the bottom member 1b side air suction grill 71 is provided below the microcomputer board MB and the voice speaker 61, and the voice speaker 61 includes the same cooling fan. The seventeen air suction grills 71 are configured to emit sound as sound emission ports.

  As described above, if the sound emission opening is made by using the air suction grille 71 of the cooling fan 17 provided on the bottom member 1b side, it is not necessary to separately form a dedicated sound emission opening, which is convenient.

  In this case, the audio speaker 61 is installed with its flat surface parallel to the air flow from the cooling fan 17.

(Configuration of the rice cooker body side control circuit)
Next, FIG. 3 shows a control board CB-side control IC (microcomputer control unit) HIC and a microcomputer board MB-side microcomputer control for controlling rice cooker main body side or heat insulation, voice guide, etc. configured as described above. The structure of the control circuit part centering on the unit 32 is shown.

  First, the control board CB is configured around a control IC (microcomputer control unit) HIC. For example, an inner pot temperature detection circuit 43 that detects the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 3 and a work coil C (work coil circuit). Driving circuit 42 for driving IGBT, inner pot detection circuit 44 for detecting the set state of inner pot 3, main clock signal (8 MHz) oscillation circuit 59, side heater driving circuit 33 for driving side heater H1, and lid heater H2 are driven. Lid heater drive circuit 24, work coil rectification smoothing circuits 35, 36, DC power supply rectification smoothing circuit (rectifier, smoothing capacitor) 49, input voltage detection circuit 52, fan motor drive circuit 16, energy saving circuit 57, input current detection Circuit 47, zero cross signal detection circuit 48, synchronous trigger circuit 40, DC power supply circuit 51, microcomputer power supply circuit 53, power supply Like noise filter circuit 70 are provided, respectively.

  And first, the inner pot temperature detection circuit 43 and the inner pot detection circuit 44 provided corresponding to the inner pot temperature detection sensor of the bottom 3a side center sensor part of the inner pot 3 include the inner pot by the inner pot temperature detection sensor. 3 temperature detection signals are input.

  The IGBT drive circuit 42 corresponding to the work coil circuit C is controlled by the control board CB side control IC (microcomputer control unit) HIC and the microcomputer board MB side microcomputer control unit 32 according to, for example, each step of the rice cooking process. By appropriately changing the output value (wattage) of the first and second work coils C1, C2 and the energization rate (for example, n seconds / 16 seconds) at the same output value, in each step of the rice cooking process. The heating temperature and heating pattern of the inner pan 3 are appropriately variably controlled in consideration of the amount of rice cooked, and feedback control is performed to realize cooking of rice without uniform water absorption and heating unevenness.

  The feedback control by the control board CB side control IC (microcomputer control unit) HIC and the microcomputer control unit 32 of the microcomputer board MB is performed by a feedback value adjustment circuit and feedback control corresponding to the output state of the work coil circuit C (C1, C2). This is done based on the control signal of the circuit.

  Further, by controlling the side heater drive circuit 33 and the lid heater drive circuit 24 by the control IC (microcomputer control unit) HIC and the microcomputer board MB side microcomputer control unit 32, respectively, for example, according to each step of rice cooking or heat insulation. The heating temperature and heating pattern of the inner pot 3 in each step of rice cooking or heat insulation by appropriately changing the energization rate (for example, n seconds / 16 seconds) at predetermined output values of the side heater H1 and the lid heater H2 respectively. It is designed to be variably controlled in consideration of the actual amount of cooked rice.

  That is, the microcomputer board MB is also configured with the microcomputer control unit 32 as the center. For example, the sub clock signal (32.768 KHz) oscillation circuit 55, the reset circuit 54, the main clock signal (8 MHz) oscillation circuit 59, and the driving of the audio speaker 61 are driven. The circuit 60, the EEPROM 58, the liquid crystal display unit 21, the backlight control circuit 19, the operation display LEDs 23a to 23d, the various operation switches 22a to 22j, and the like are connected to be able to input and output.

  The control board CB side control IC (microcomputer control unit) HIC and the microcomputer board MB side microcomputer control unit 32 are, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a normal control signal transmission / reception line b, a zero cross synchronization signal transmission / reception line c, In addition to the microcomputer power line (20V) d and the ground line e, a dedicated communication line a for transmitting / receiving a command signal for transition to the power saving WAIT mode and a command command for returning from the power saving WAIT mode to the normal standby mode, which will be described later, is provided. So that they can communicate with each other.

(Adoption of power saving WAIT mode)
By the way, when the microcomputer control unit is provided on each of the microcomputer board MB side and the control board CB side as described above and the control function is shared by the first and second sets of microcomputer control units, individual microcomputer control units are provided. However, the control contents (program) can be simplified and the response of the IGBT drive control can be improved. However, in the standby state where no control is performed, the above two sets of microcomputer control units Is maintained in an operable state at the same time, in addition to requiring standby power consumption twice that of a single microcomputer control unit, in this embodiment, as described above. In addition, it is equipped with a voice speaker and voice IC to provide voice guidance during key operations, etc., further increasing standby power consumption There is a problem.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in consideration of such circumstances, during the standby operation other than during rice cooking or heat insulation operation, the normal standby mode is performed from the above-described microcomputer board MB side microcomputer control unit to the control board CB side microcomputer control unit. A power-saving WAIT mode (with a considerably lower power consumption than in the normal standby mode) is output by outputting a command signal for shifting to the power-saving WAIT mode, which consumes considerably less power than the normal standby mode. When a return signal is input from the control board CB side to shift to the power saving WAIT mode, the device itself shifts to the same power saving WAIT mode and waits as much as possible. It has a power saving standby control mode for reducing power consumption.

  In the power saving WAIT mode, each of the control board CB side microcomputer control unit HIC and the microcomputer board MB side microcomputer control unit 32 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. Are transferred in a mutually related manner, but are canceled when the rice cooking switch 22a is turned on, the heat retaining switch 22i is turned on, and the timer rice cooking start reservation time is reached, and the normal standby mode is restored.

  The flow chart of FIG. 5 shows the control signal of the control board CB side microcomputer control unit HIC and the control action of the microcomputer board MB side microcomputer control unit 32 on the left and right, and shows the communication status between them. (32.768 KHz), each operating state changes in time series from the top to the bottom.

<Transition control to power saving WAIT mode>
First, the initial state of the flowchart of FIG. 5 is a power failure state in which no AC power is connected to the AC power plug 30 of the rice cooker body power circuit described above.

  Now, in this power failure state, when an AC power supply (AC · 100V / 200V) is connected to the AC power plug 30, first, the control board CB side microcomputer control unit is detected by the zero cross signal detection circuit 48 in FIG. In response to this, the microcomputer control unit of the control board CB is activated correspondingly (see step S1 of the control board CB side flow), and communication with the microcomputer board MB side microcomputer control unit is thereby started. (Refer to step S2 of the flow on the control board CB side).

  At the start of the communication, the microcomputer control unit on the control board CB side first forms a zero cross synchronization signal (ZC synchronization signal) C synchronized with the inputted zero cross signal, and the zero cross synchronization signal C is sent to the microcomputer board MB side. Output to the microcomputer control unit. Then, the DC power (20 V) from the microcomputer power supply circuit 53 is also supplied to the microcomputer board MB side microcomputer control unit that receives this, and the power supply state is restored from the power failure state (see step S1 of the microcomputer board MB side flow). ). Correspondingly, communication is started every cycle of 100 ms, and a command signal is transmitted to the control board CB side microcomputer control unit.

  The microcomputer control unit on the control board CB that has received the command signal further performs necessary communication every 100 ms by transmitting a necessary command signal to the microcomputer control unit on the microcomputer board MB side.

  This state is a standby state similar to the conventional one. However, for example, when a predetermined time of 10 minutes elapses in the standby state, the microcomputer control unit on the microcomputer board MB side saves power for shifting to the power saving WAIT mode. Bit is set to H (high), and a power saving WAIT mode transition command command signal is transmitted to the microcomputer control unit on the control board CB side (see step S2 of the microcomputer board MB side flow). Then, in response to this, the microcomputer control unit on the control board CB side returns a response signal to the effect that the microcomputer control unit shifts to the above-described power saving WAIT mode to the microcomputer control unit on the microcomputer board MB side. To the power saving WAIT mode, and the microcomputer board MB side microcomputer control unit also shifts itself to the power saving WAIT mode (see step S3 in the flow on the control board CB side and step S3 in the flow on the microcomputer board MB side, respectively). ).

  Thus, the operation modes of the microcomputer control units on the control board CB side and the microcomputer board MB side are both maintained in the above-described power saving WAIT mode with the least power consumption. During this time, the microcomputer control unit on the microcomputer board MB side repeats the operation of returning from the power saving WAIT mode every minute, for example, for updating the clock display, and again shifting to the power saving WAIT mode after updating the clock display ( (Refer to step S4 of the microcomputer board MB side flow).

  On the other hand, in such a state where the power saving WAIT mode is maintained, for example, (1) when the rice cooking switch 22a is turned on, (2) when the heat retention switch 22i is turned on, (3) timer reserved rice cooking If the rice cooking start time is set and the rice cooking start time is reached, the power saving WAIT mode is canceled and the normal standby state is restored (flow on the microcomputer board MB side). And a command signal for instructing the control board CB side microcomputer control unit to return from the power saving WAIT mode to the normal standby mode (step S5 of the microcomputer board MB side flow). reference).

  Then, the power saving bit set to H (High) is returned to L (Low) (see step S6 in the flow on the microcomputer board MB side), and the microcomputer board MB side on the control board CB side again. Communication with the microcomputer control unit is performed every 100 ms (normal two-way communication capable of cooking rice or maintaining heat).

  On the other hand, the control board CB side microcomputer control unit also responds to this and cancels the power saving WAIT mode so far in response to the normal standby mode return command signal from the microcomputer board MB side. Return to the standby mode (see step S4 of the flow on the control board CB side).

  Thereafter, communication with the microcomputer control unit on the microcomputer board MB side is performed again every 100 ms (normal two-way communication capable of cooking rice or maintaining heat).

  Thereby, control of each process of rice cooking or heat retention instruct | indicated at that time is performed.

<Return to normal standby mode due to factors other than heating start>
As described above, when there is a heating start factor such as ON of the rice cooking switch 22a or ON of the heat retention switch 22i or ON of the rice cooking switch 22a due to arrival of the timer cooking start time at the time of timer reservation cooking, as described above, the power saving WAIT mode However, other than this, for example, the setting operation of the hour / minute switch 22e corresponding to the ON of the timer reservation switch 22b or the time adjustment of the clock display is required. Even when the hour / minute switch 22e is turned on, it is necessary to cancel the power saving WAIT mode within a series of processing execution time required for input and return to the normal standby mode within the same time.

  Now, the flowchart of FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the power-saving WAIT mode release and the return control to the normal mode in such a case (see steps S4 to S8 on the microcomputer board MB side).

  In this case, after a lapse of a series of processing execution times for the input, when a predetermined time of 10 minutes elapses, the mode is again returned to the power saving WAIT mode.

  Other configurations and operations are the same as those in FIG.

It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the structure of the electric rice cooker main body which concerns on best embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the operation panel of the electric rice cooker body. It is a control circuit diagram of the electric rice cooker body. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the electric rice cooker. It is a flowchart which shows the transfer to the power saving WAIT mode of the electric rice cooker, and the return operation | movement from the mode. It is another flowchart from the example different from FIG. 5 which shows transfer to the power saving WAIT mode of the electric rice cooker, and return operation | movement from the mode.

  C1, C2, C are work coils, H1 is a side heater, H2 is a shoulder heater, 1 is an outer case, 2 is a lid unit, 3 is an inner pot, 20 is an operation panel, 21 is a liquid crystal display, 22a is a rice cooking switch, 22h is a voice guide switch, 22i is a heat retention switch, CB is a control board, and MB is a microcomputer board.

Claims (1)

  A desired microcomputer control unit is controlled by using a plurality of microcomputer control units that can communicate with each other and in a standby mode in which the control target is not controlled. The other microcomputer control unit can be instructed to switch to the power saving standby mode, which consumes less power than in the normal standby mode, and can be canceled. After instructing the other microcomputer control unit to shift to the power saving standby mode, the microcomputer itself shifts to the same power saving standby mode, but cancels the power saving standby mode when it is necessary to start heating. Thus, the normal standby mode is restored and a normal communication line is established between the plurality of microcomputer control units. A rice cooker provided with a dedicated communication line for instructing and canceling the transition to the power saving mode separately from the other microcomputer control unit of the specific microcomputer control unit. The transition to the power saving standby mode after instructing the transition to the standby mode is performed after the reply signal indicating the transition to the power saving standby mode from the other microcomputer control unit is input. An electric rice cooker characterized by being.

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