JP5482677B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker that regulates the pressure of a main body.

  In general, a rice cooker provided with a pressure regulator is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, while a pan is provided in the main body so that the pan can be freely stored and a lid is provided to cover the pan. In Patent Document 1, rice cooking is performed while the inside of the main body is regulated by a pressure regulating device.

  In addition, pressure reducing means for reducing the pressure inside the main body to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure is provided, and during the setting process, the pressure inside the main body is set to a reduced pressure state so as to cook rice.

JP 2006-350 A

  However, the structure of the conventional rice cooker described above has the following problems.

  There is known a rice cooker that improves the cooking performance by adjusting the pressure inside the body.

  However, in a rice cooker that only aims to reduce the pressure inside the main body without providing a pressure mechanism, the pressure inside the pan is not pressurized. If it arrange | positions, usability will worsen at the time of the cleaning of an inner cover, etc. Therefore, there has been a demand for a rice cooker capable of improving usability while improving the pressure reduction performance with a configuration in which the inside of the main body is not pressurized.

  In addition, in a rice cooker where the inside of the pan can be in either a pressurized state or a depressurized state, when the inside of the pan is in a pressurized state, the inner lid, and thus the lid, moves upward in response to the pressure from the inside of the pan. On the contrary, when the inside of the pan is decompressed, the inner lid, and thus the lid, receives a force in the opposite direction to the pressurized state and moves downward. Therefore, a desired sealing performance is required for the inner lid that deforms in the opposite direction upward or downward according to the pressure in the pan. That is, even if the inside of a pan is a pressurized state or a pressure-reduced state, the inside of a pan must be sealed. For that purpose, it is necessary to seal a hole provided in the inner lid and communicating with the inside of the pan.

  In order to freely open and close the hole provided in the inner lid, the inner lid is provided with an opening / closing means, and the opening / closing means is operated by an operating means provided in the lid. However, since the elastic means provided in the operating means itself varies, the stroke (movement distance) when the operating means pushes the opening / closing means fluctuates, and opening / closing of the hole by the opening / closing means may become unstable. . When such a phenomenon occurs, the inner lid moves downward when the pressure in the pan is reduced, creating a gap between the opening and closing means and the hole, and the pan cannot be kept sealed. On the contrary, when the inside of the pan is pressurized, the inner lid moves upward, and an excessive load is applied to the operation means, causing a problem in durability of the parts. In order to improve the durability of the parts, there is a method of forming the operation means or the like with metal parts, but this increases the product cost.

  Moreover, as mentioned above, in order to put the inside of the pan in a reduced pressure state, the inside of the pan needs to be sealed, but the pressure reduction value in the pan depends on the ability of the pressure reducing mechanism, and the inside of the pan is in a reduced pressure state. To keep the pressure value constant, an expensive pressure adjusting device is required. Therefore, when such a pressure adjusting device is provided, the product cost is significantly increased. On the other hand, if a pressure adjusting device is not provided, when the pressure reducing operation is continuously performed due to a failure of the pressure reducing means, the pressure in the pan remains reduced to a predetermined value or less, such as rice in the pan. The water is not properly absorbed and satisfactory cooking performance cannot be obtained.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that has a configuration in which the inside of the main body is not put into a pressurized state and can improve usability while improving the pressure reduction performance.

  In the rice cooker according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the holding portion or the cover portion constituting the pressure regulating means is attached to the lid cover without attaching the pressure regulating means to the inner lid, When you remove it from the lid and clean it, you don't feel heavy, and it improves usability. Further, by using the holding part and the cover part also as the attachment part to the lid, it is possible to suppress the increase in the number of parts and to reduce the product cost. Furthermore, the pressure adjustment means can be standardized by configuring the valve body, seat part, holding part, cover part, first passage part, and second passage part, and can be deployed to a wide variety of products. In this respect as well, an inexpensive rice cooker with reduced product cost can be provided.

Further, the first passage portion provided in the holding portion of the pressure adjusting means is provided by providing a first passage portion in the holding portion that holds the valve body, and connecting the first passage portion to the hole portion provided in the lid cover. The valve body can be opened and closed. In addition, by forming the valve body with a flexible material having elasticity, the holding part and the cover part and the seat part are sandwiched in a close contact state that does not communicate with the outside air, and when the accommodating part of the valve body moves, The valve body can also roll in a state of being in close contact with the seat. Therefore, the pressure regulation in the main body can be switched reliably, and the pressure reduction performance in the main body can be improved.

  In the rice cooker according to claim 2 of the present invention, when the decompression means communicating with the second passage portion is operated with the valve body opening the first passage portion, the air in the main body is discharged to the outside, and then The inside of the main body can be maintained in a reduced pressure state by moving the valve body, closing the first passage portion, and stopping the operation of the pressure reducing means. In this way, the pressure regulation in the main body can be switched more reliably by moving the valve body in relation to the operation of the decompression means, and the pressure reduction performance in the main body can be further improved.

  According to the rice cooker of claim 1 of the present invention, it is in a configuration in which the inside of the main body is not put into a pressurized state, so that the product cost can be reduced and the usability can be improved.

  Moreover, the pressure regulation in the main body can be switched reliably, and the pressure reduction performance in the main body can be improved.

  According to the rice cooker of claim 2 of the present invention, the pressure regulation in the main body can be switched more reliably by moving the valve body in relation to the operation of the decompression means, and the decompression performance in the main body can be improved. Further improvement can be achieved.

It is whole sectional drawing of the rice cooker in one Example of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the structure of a lid open button periphery same as the above. It is a top view of a rice cooker same as the above. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pressure adjusting unit and its periphery during pressurization. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pressure adjusting unit and its surroundings during pressure reduction. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part at the time of pressurization represented by a cross-section different from FIG. It is a perspective view inside a cover body of the state which removed the outer cover same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows a structure of the periphery of a clamp and a pressure regulating solenoid and an opening / closing solenoid. It is a perspective view which shows a solenoid for pressure regulation and its surrounding structure same as the above. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the opening / closing solenoid and the surrounding structure. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part when the open / close solenoid is not energized. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the main part when the inner lid assembly is mounted from the state shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the main part when the inner lid is deformed from the state shown in FIG. 12. It is a block diagram which shows an electrical structure same as the above. It is a timing chart showing the transition of the temperature and pressure in a pan, and the operation state of each part. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the modification of this invention, and shows the structure of the pressure regulation part and its periphery in the state which has closed the through-hole with the vacuum valve. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the pressure regulation part in the state which has opened the through-hole same as the above, and its periphery. FIG. 17 is a side view showing the configuration of the pressure adjusting unit and its periphery as seen from a direction different from FIG. 16. It is the top view and longitudinal cross-sectional view of the adjustment means in the state which shows another modification of this invention and does not fit a flange to a groove | channel. It is a top view and longitudinal cross-sectional view of the adjustment means in the state which made the flange fit in the groove | channel same as the above.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a rice cooker according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, based on FIG. 1, the structure of the rice cooker which is an example of this invention is demonstrated. In the figure, a main body 1 that forms the outline of a rice cooker is formed by an upper frame 2 that constitutes an upper surface and an upper side surface thereof, and a substantially cylindrical outer frame 3 that constitutes a side surface. A covering bottom plate 4 is provided. At that time, the upper frame 2 and the bottom plate 4 are formed of a synthetic resin such as PP (polypropylene), while the outer frame 3 is formed of a metal member such as stainless steel, for example, in order to improve cleanability and appearance quality. The Moreover, it is provided covering the bottom opening of the substantially cylindrical pan accommodating portion 6 formed integrally from the inner peripheral portion of the upper surface of the upper frame 2 and the pan accommodating portion 6, such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate). The inner frame 8 formed of a synthetic resin forms a pan container 9 made of a nonmagnetic material and having a bottomed cylindrical shape for accommodating a pan 11 described later.

  In the pot housing 9, a bottomed cylindrical pot 11 for storing a rice to be cooked such as rice or water is detachably accommodated. The pan 11 has a pan body 12 mainly made of aluminum having good thermal conductivity, and a heating element 13 made of a magnetic metal plate such as ferritic stainless steel joined from the lower side to the bottom of the outer surface of the pan body 12; Consists of. The reason why the heating element 13 is not provided from the center to the top of the side surface of the pan 11 is to reduce the weight of the pan 11. An annular flange portion 14 is formed around the upper end of the pan 11 so as to extend to the outer periphery thereof. In addition, it has the structure which does not provide a heating means in the outer periphery of the pan accommodating part 6. FIG.

  A heating coil 16 as heating means for electromagnetic induction heating of the bottom of the pan 11 is provided on the lower and bottom sides of the inner frame 8 facing the heating element 13 on the outer surface. When a high frequency current is supplied to the heating coil 16, the heating element 13 of the pan 11 is heated by the alternating magnetic field generated from the heating coil 16, and the cooked rice in the pan 11 and thus the pan 11 is heated. Yes.

  In addition, a temperature sensor 21 serving as a pan temperature detecting means is disposed in the center of the bottom of the inner frame 8 so as to elastically contact the outer surface of the bottom of the pan 11, and detects the temperature of the pan 11. The heating temperature of the bottom of the pan 11 by 16 is mainly controlled.

  A cord heater 26 for heating the upper part of the side surface of the pan 11, particularly the flange portion 14, is arranged in an annular shape at the upper end of the pan container 9. The cord heater 26 is an electric heater, and is held on a heater ring 27 as a heat dissipation suppressing member mounted and mounted on the upper end of the pan container 9 and covers the cord heater 26 from above. A flange heater is configured by including a metal plate 29 that is attached to the heater ring 27 and has both a fixing metal member made of, for example, an aluminum plate, which is excellent in thermal conductivity, and a heat radiating portion. The metal plate 29 is located opposite to the gap between the rice cooker body 1 and the lid 31. Then, the lower surface of the flange portion 14 of the pan 11 is placed on the upper surface of the metal plate 29, whereby the pan 11 is accommodated in the pan accommodating body 9 while being hung on the upper frame 2 of the main body 1. It is like that. Therefore, there is almost no gap between the pan 11 and the upper end of the pan housing 9 in which the pan 11 is housed. Moreover, the flange portion 14 of the pan 11 has an outer shape that is equal to or greater than the size of the cord heater 26, so that the cord heater 26 is covered with the flange portion 14 of the pan 11 from above. . However, although not shown in the drawing, the handle portion (flange portion 14) of the pan 11 is made non-contact, and by partially forming a gap, when cooking rice with water attached to the outer surface of the pan 11, Steam is discharged from the gap.

  The lid 31 is formed with an outer lid 32 as an outer part forming an outer shell of the upper surface, a lower surface which is an inner surface of the lid 31, a metallic heat sink 34 anodized with stainless steel or aluminum, and an outer lid 32. The main component is an outer lid cover 35 serving as a lid base material that is positioned below, covers the upper opening of the pan 11, and combines the outer lid 32 and the heat radiating plate 34 to form the skeleton of the lid 31. . A lid heater 36 as a lid heating means is provided on the upper surface of the heat radiating plate 34 inside the lid 31. The lid heater 36 may be an electric heating heater such as a cord heater or a heating coil by electromagnetic induction heating.

  A hinge portion 38 connected to the lid 31 is provided behind the upper frame 2. The hinge portion 38 is provided with a pair of holes (not shown) in the left-right direction when viewed from the front, and a hinge spring 40 formed of a torsion coil spring or the like is accommodated therein. On the other hand, an outer lid cover hinge hole (not shown) as a hinge receiving portion is also provided behind the outer lid cover 35 so as to face the hole provided in the hinge portion 38. By inserting a rod-shaped hinge shaft 41 in common with the hinge hole and the hole of the hinge portion 38, the main body 1 and the lid 31 are pivotally supported with the hinge shaft 41 as a fulcrum. Further, one end and the other end of the hinge spring 40 are hooked on the outer cover cover 35 and the outer frame 2, respectively, so that the cover body 31 is always urged in the opening direction.

  On the front upper surface of the lid 31, a lid opening button 46 is disposed in an exposed state. When the lid opening button 46 is pressed, the engagement between the lid 31 and the main body 1 is released and the lid is opened by the hinge spring 40. The body 31 opens automatically.

  Here, the configuration around the lid opening button 46 will be described in more detail based on the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2. A clamp 44 corresponding to the engaging portion is disposed on the lid 31. The clamp 44 is rotatably supported with respect to the outer lid cover 35 around a clamp shaft 45 provided inside the lid body 31. The lid opening button 46 corresponding to the lid opening / closing means is disposed in an exposed state from the front upper surface of the lid 31 so that the user can operate it. Clamp biasing means (not shown) such as a spring for biasing the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44 toward the lid opening button 46 is provided inside the lid 31 so that the lid opening button 46 is always upward. The force to push up is applied.

  In addition to the base end portion 44 </ b> A that contacts the lid opening button 46, the clamp 44 has a drooping portion 44 </ b> B that protrudes downward from a clamping hole 48 on the lower surface of the outer lid cover 35, and a substantial distal end portion of the clamp 44. It corresponds to an engaging portion 44C extending from the lower end of the hanging portion 44B to the inside of the main body 1 as a starting point. The clamp 44 is formed of a metal part such as stainless steel, and the engaging portion 44C is substantially L-shaped. By doing so, it is possible to obtain engagement with the clamp receiver 50 having a higher strength than when the clamp 44 is made of synthetic resin. Further, the engaging portions 44C are provided at substantially equal positions on the left and right sides from the center. The hanging portion 44B and the engaging portion 44C are provided on the lower side of the clamp 44 and are provided in a pair on the left and right. The clamp shaft 45 serving as the rotation center of the clamp 44 is disposed along the upper end of the hanging portion 44B, and the engaging portion 44C swings substantially in the front-rear direction of the main body 1.

  On the other hand, a clamp receiver 50 corresponding to an engagement receiving portion is disposed in front of the upper frame 2 and is located on the substantially opposite side of the hinge portion 38 provided on the upper frame 2. When closing to 1 side, the clamp 44 rotates around the clamp shaft 45 by the biasing force of the clamp biasing means and engages with the clamp receiver 50, thereby closing the lid 31 with respect to the main body 1. It is designed to hold the state. The clamp receiver 50 is formed of a metal part such as stainless steel. By doing so, compared with the case where the clamp receiver 50 is made of a synthetic resin, the engagement with the clamp 44 having a higher strength can be obtained. On the other hand, when opening the lid 31, the lid opening button 46 is pushed, the base end of the clamp 44 is pushed downward, the clamp 44 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the engaging portion 44 </ b> C is moved to the body 1. The engagement between the clamp 44 and the clamp receiver 50 is released by moving forward. The lower part of the clamp receiver of the upper frame 2 needs to have a depth that does not collide when the clamp 44 rotates about the clamp shaft 45. The clearance between the clamp 44 and the clamp receiver 50 is set to have a dimensional relationship that is larger than the normal engagement amount of the clamp 44 and the clamp receiver 50. Further, the dimensional relationship is set to be larger than the gap between the outer lid cover 35 and the upper frame 2.

  Here, the movable clamp 44 on the lid body 31 side is referred to as an engagement portion, and the fixed clamp receiver 50 on the main body 1 side is used as the engagement reception portion. The main body 1 may be provided with a movable engagement receiving portion.

  Reference numeral 55 denotes an inner lid assembly provided on the outer side, that is, the lower side of the heat radiating plate. This inner lid assembly 55 has a disk shape that is substantially the same diameter as the upper opening of the pan 11, and closes the gap between the pan 11 and the inner lid 56 with a metallic inner lid 56 anodized with stainless steel or aluminum. Therefore, a cover packing 57 made of an elastic member such as silicone rubber or fluorine rubber and a pressure adjusting unit 58 for adjusting the internal pressure of the inner hook are provided on the entire outer periphery of the inner cover 56. The inner lid 56 and the lid packing 57 are integrated by a packing base 59, whereby the inner lid assembly 55 is detachably provided on the inner surface of the outer lid cover 35. Further, the lid packing 57 formed in an annular shape contacts the upper surface of the flange portion 14 of the pan 11 when the lid 31 is closed (when the lid is closed), and the gap between the pan 11 and the inner lid 56 The steam generated from the pan 11 is sealed.

  Referring back to FIG. 1 again, the heat radiating plate 34 is used for performing temperature management of the inner lid 56 by the lid heater 36 as lid temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the inner lid 56 attached to the lid 31. A thermistor-type lid temperature sensor 61 is provided. Further, a steam port 146 that can be attached to and detached from the upper surface side of the lid 31 is provided at a portion closer to the upper surface rear side of the lid 31.

  The inner lid 56 includes a plurality of holes communicating with the inside of the pan 11, that is, communication holes 77 and 181. Further, as the opening / closing means for opening and closing these communication holes 77 and 181, a pressure adjusting unit 58 as a pressure adjusting means and an opening / closing valve 62 are provided separately. When the inner lid 56 is attached to the lower side of the outer lid cover 35, the pressure adjusting unit 58 and the on-off valve 62 are both provided facing the inlet side of the steam port 146. Communicate internally. The pressure adjusting unit 58 and the on-off valve 62 open or close the communication holes 77 and 181 to control the pressure in the pan 11.

  Here, the configuration of the pressure adjusting unit 58 that opens and closes the communication hole 77 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. The pressure regulating unit 58 includes a pressure regulating valve 65 for regulating pressure, a pressure regulating valve holder assembly 66 that holds the pressure regulating valve 65, and a dome-shaped pressure regulating valve cover 67 that covers the pressure regulating valve 65. The pressure regulating valve 65 is a material excellent in corrosion resistance and may be any component having a certain weight, and is formed of, for example, an austenitic stainless sphere.

  The pressure regulating valve holder assembly 66 includes a first holder 68, a second holder 69, a first pressure regulating packing 71 corresponding to a pressure reducing support member, a second pressure regulating packing 72, and a pressure from the inside of the pan 11. In order not to directly apply to the 1 pressure regulation packing 71, there is a valve support 73 below the first pressure regulation packing 71, corresponding to a pressure support member, and a valve support on the lower surface of the first pressure regulation packing 71. And a pressure regulating spring 74 as an elastic body that urges the valve support 73 in the direction in which the 73 abuts. The valve support 73 is provided with a pressure regulating hole 70 that abuts below the ball-shaped pressure regulating valve 65 when the inside of the pan 11 is pressurized. The pressure adjusting hole 70 is for communicating the pot 11 and the outside of the lid 31. When the steam in the pot 11 passes through the pressure adjusting hole 70, the pressure adjusting hole 70 is discharged from the steam port 146 to the outside air. Yes. The first holder 68 and the second holder 69 are provided with a convex engaging portion 75 and a concave engaged portion 76 for fitting each other. The first holder 68 and the second holder 69 are attached to a communication hole 77 provided in the inner lid 56 as a holding member for holding the first pressure regulating packing 71, the valve support 73, and the like. The first holder 68 is entirely formed in a cap shape, and has a through hole 68A at the center thereof. The first holder 68 has a peripheral portion 68B of the through hole 68A and an upper end portion 69A of the second holder 69. The base is clamped. The second holder 69 has a cylindrical shape. A flange 69B is formed on the lower side of the second holder 69 so as to abut the lower surface of the inner lid 56 around the communication hole 77. The ring-shaped first outer ring is formed on the upper outer periphery of the flange 69B. A concave groove 69 </ b> C for fitting the two pressure regulating packings 72 is formed. Furthermore, a projecting piece 69d having an L-shaped cross section is formed on the inner peripheral side of the second holder 69 in order to fit one end of the pressure adjusting spring 74.

  When assembling the pressure regulating valve holder assembly 66, first, the pressure regulating packing 72 fitted into the concave groove 69C of the second holder 69 is inserted into the communication hole 77 provided in the inner lid 56, and the inside of the second holder 69 is inserted. The valve support 73 is inserted from above the second holder 69 so as to sandwich the pressure adjusting spring 74 on the circumferential side. Next, the first pressure regulation packing 71 is placed on the valve support 73 so as to cover the valve support 73 and the upper end 69A of the second holder 69, and the first pressure regulation packing 71 is further sandwiched from this state. In this manner, the first holder 68 is covered from above, the engaging portion 75 and the engaged portion 76 are fitted to each other, and the first holder 68 is attached to the second holder 69. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the pressure regulating valve holder assembly 66 is assembled, the inner surface of the second holder 69 and the lower surface of the valve support 73 are directly opposed to the inside of the pan 11. The first pressure regulating packing 71 arranged on the upper side of the two holders 69 and the valve support 73 has a structure that does not require direct pressure from the inside of the pan 11.

  The pressure regulating valve 65 is held by the pressure regulating valve holder assembly 66 assembled in this manner, and the pressure regulating section 58 is configured by covering the pressure regulating valve cover 67 from above. At this time, the pressure regulating valve holder assembly 66 and the pressure regulating valve cover 67 may be attached by claw fitting or may be stopped using a fastening member such as a screw or a rivet. The pressure regulating valve cover 67 is for restricting the movement range of the pressure regulating valve 65, and is provided with a plurality of holes (not shown) for guiding the steam discharged from the pressure regulating hole 70 to the steam port 146. Further, since the inner lid 56 is sandwiched between the pressure regulating valve holder assembly 66 and the pressure regulating valve cover 67, the communication hole 77 of the inner lid 56 is not exposed.

  The opening area of the pressure regulating hole 70 of the valve support 73 is smaller than the area of the surface 80 that receives pressure directly from the inside of the pan 11 inside the leg 79 formed on the lower side of the valve support 73. Further, the pressure regulating valve 65 is held so as to close the pressure regulating hole 70. Therefore, the pressure in the pan 11 can be adjusted by the opening area of the pressure adjusting hole 70 and the weight of the pressure adjusting valve 65.

  As an operation source for adjusting the sealing degree of the lid 31 by moving the pressure regulating valve 65, that is, the internal pressure of the pan 11, the outer lid cover 35 in the lid 31 has a solenoid 78 for moving the pressure regulating valve 65 in the pressure regulating unit 58. Is provided. When the solenoid 78 is not energized, its tip is held in the advanced position and the pressure regulating valve 65 is retracted from the pressure adjusting hole 70, while when the solenoid 78 is energized, its tip is retracted and the pressure regulating valve 65 is adjusted. The pressure hole 70 is caused to roll by its own weight, the pressure adjusting hole 70 is closed, and the pressure is put into the pan 11.

  Both the first pressure regulating packing 71 and the second pressure regulating packing 72 are made of an elastic member such as silicone rubber. Accordingly, particularly when the pressure in the pan 11 shown in FIG. 5 is reduced, the pressure regulating valve 65 comes into close contact with the first pressure regulating packing 71 due to elastic deformation of the first pressure regulating packing 71, and the opening in the first pressure regulating packing 71. That is, the sealing performance of the hole 71A is improved.

  Here, the operation means of the pressure adjusting unit 58 will be described with further reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 in addition to FIGS. As described above, the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 that moves the pressure adjusting valve 65 in the pressure adjusting unit 58 by moving the plunger 151 in and out from the inside by the electromagnetic force is provided inside the lid 31. Similarly, the pressure adjusting frame 152 that moves together with the plunger 151 toward the outer lid cover 35 and the flexible pressure adjusting packing 153 that holds the inside of the lid 31 in a watertight state are also the outer lid in the lid 31. The cover 35 is provided. The pressure regulation packing 153 has a concave attachment portion 153A that faces the pressure adjustment portion 58 and fits to the periphery of an attachment hole provided in the outer lid cover 35. As shown also in FIG. 6, the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 and the pressure adjusting frame 152 are accommodated and arranged in a pressure regulating accommodating portion 154 formed in the lid 31 by the outer lid cover 35.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the pressure adjusting frame 152 includes a pressure adjusting operation portion 161 as an operation portion protruding toward the pressure adjusting valve 65, and a frame portion 162 provided so as to surround the pressure adjusting solenoid 78. And a clamp operation restricting portion 163 provided on the substantially opposite side of the pressure adjusting operation portion 161. The plunger 151 of the solenoid 78 and thus the pressure adjusting frame 152 are always positioned so as to push the pressure adjusting valve 65 in order to bring the inside of the pan 11 into a non-pressurized state, and in particular, the pressure adjusting frame 152 for operating the pressure adjusting valve 65. This portion is used as the pressure adjusting operation unit 161. In this way, when the lid 31 is to be opened, the inside of the pan 11 is communicated with the outside air, and a smooth lid opening operation can be obtained without being affected by negative pressure.

  In addition to the pressure adjusting unit 58 facing the communication hole 77, an open / close valve 62 that opens and closes the communication hole 181 is provided on the upper surface side of the inner lid 56 so as to face another communication hole 181. As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the on-off valve 62 includes an on-off valve shaft 201 that can move up and down, a shaft presser 202, a shaft spring 203 that is a coil spring that is an elastic body, and a lower portion of the on-off valve shaft 201. And a shaft packing 204 to be mounted on. The shaft retainer 202 has a cylindrical shape, and the lower end abuts around the communication hole 181 of the inner lid 56, while the on-off valve shaft 201 is inserted from the upper end. A shaft spring 203 is provided between a flange 201A formed on the outer periphery of the on-off valve shaft 201 and an upper end of the shaft presser 202, and always urges the on-off valve shaft 201 in a direction in which the shaft packing 204 is separated from the communication hole 181. To do. As described above, the open / close shaft 201 including the shaft packing 204 is constantly urged in the direction to open the communication hole 181 by the shaft spring 203, and this causes Oneva accumulated in the upper portion of the inner lid 56 to be connected to the communication hole 181. When the lid 31 is closed, the air is easily released from the inside of the pan 11 through the communication hole 181 to reduce the force applied when the lid is closed. Further, the shaft packing 204 provided facing the communication hole 181 is formed of a flexible material so as to reliably close the communication hole 181 when the on-off valve shaft 201 moves downward.

  205 is a cylindrical on-off valve cover that covers the outer periphery of the on-off valve shaft 201 and the shaft spring 203 and is attached to the upper part of the shaft presser 202. The on-off valve cover 205 may be attached to the pressure regulating valve cover 67, or may be provided separately from the pressure regulating valve cover 67.

  An on-off valve operating means 211 as an operating means is attached to the outer lid cover 35, located above the on-off valve 62. The on-off valve operating means 211 includes a first on-off shaft 212A and a second on-off shaft 212B as operation members 212 for operating the on-off valve 62, an on-off frame 175 that is a frame member that moves the operation member 212 up and down, Between the first opening / closing shaft 212A and the second opening / closing shaft 212B, an elastic member 215 made of a coil spring, a flexible seal member 217 for closing the hole 216 of the outer lid cover 35, and an upper portion of the seal member 217 And a cap 218 attached to. The seal member 217 is provided with a seal portion 221 that seals the inside of the lid 31 on the outer peripheral portion thereof, and a bottomed cylindrical operation portion 222 that covers the operation member 212 is provided at the center portion. The operation part 222 is in contact with the upper end surface of the on-off valve shaft 201. Here, the seal part 221 has a U-shaped cross section and is attached to the periphery of the hole part 216 of the outer lid cover 35. Further, the seal part 221 is arranged between the periphery of the hole part 216 and the outer periphery of the cap 218. Sandwiched between. Further, the seal portion 221 and the operation portion 222 are connected by a connecting portion 223 that is thinner than the seal portion 221 and the operation portion 222 and is rich in flexibility. The connecting portion 223 is formed in a shape having a curved cross section. However, if the operating portion 222 is movable in the same vertical direction as the on-off valve shaft 201 in conjunction with the operating member 212, the connecting portion 223 has a shape other than a curved shape. May be.

  An elastic member 215 is attached between the operation member 212 inserted through the cap 218 and the operation portion 222 of the seal member 217. Further, a hole 213 through which the operation member movable portion 188 of the opening / closing frame 175 passes and contacts is provided above the operation member 212.

  An annular groove 241 is formed on the upper outer periphery of the first open / close shaft 212A having a bottomed cylindrical shape, while a lower inner periphery of the second open / close shaft 212B is formed, and a claw 242 is fitted into the groove 241. The second opening / closing shaft 212B is mounted on the upper portion of the first opening / closing shaft 212A so as to be vertically movable with the elastic member 215 interposed therebetween. Here, by providing the groove 241 with a certain width, the movement range of the first opening / closing shaft 212A relative to the second opening / closing shaft 212B is regulated by the width of the groove 241. Thus, the operation member 212 is controlled. Is provided at a predetermined mounting position of the elastic member 215. In other words, the groove 241 and the claw 242 here are a regulation that uniformly regulates the upper and lower limits of the total length of the operation member 212 that can be changed in the vertical direction without depending on the elastic force and dimensional variation between the elastic members 215. It is provided as a means.

  Here, the configuration of the open / close frame 175 and its surroundings will be described based on FIGS. 7 and 8 and FIG. 10 described above, and is different from the pressure regulation housing portion 154 formed in the lid 31 by the outer lid cover 35. An open / close solenoid 172 is disposed in the open / close housing portion 171. Similarly to the pressure adjusting solenoid 78, the opening / closing solenoid 172 also has a configuration in which the plunger 173 is moved in and out by an electromagnetic force. The open / close frame 175 is accommodated in the open / close accommodating portion 171 together with the open / close solenoid 172, and is movable together with the plunger 173. As described above, the open / close frame 175 constituting the open / close valve operating means 211 operates with the open / close solenoid 172, preferably a solenoid, as a drive source, so that the open / close frame 175 can be reliably moved in the rice cooking process. Become. Similarly, the pressure adjusting frame 152 operates with the pressure adjusting solenoid 78, preferably a solenoid, as a driving source, so that the pressure adjusting frame 152 can be reliably moved in the rice cooking process.

  The operation member movable portion 188 is located between the operation member 212 and the plunger 173 of the opening / closing solenoid 172, and is formed in the shape of an arm piece integrally with the rear of the opening / closing frame 175. Further, in front of the opening / closing frame 175, a protruding clamp operation restricting portion 189 is provided so as to be positioned substantially opposite to the operation member movable portion 188. The operation member movable portion 188 has a shape having a height difference between the central portion 188A and the tip portion 188B, and is further set in a state of penetrating through a hole 213 provided in the operation member 212. In other words, the operation member movable portion 188 here forms a cam surface 188C at the contact portion with the operation member 212, and as the operation member movable portion 188 interlocked with the plunger 173 extends and retracts, By changing the position of the cam surface 188C with which the operation member 212 is in contact, the opening / closing shaft 186 and thus the opening / closing valve 182 move up and down.

  Reference numeral 251 denotes a safety valve provided on the inner lid 56 of the inner lid assembly 55. The safety valve 251 is opened when the pressure in the pan 11 is increased to an abnormal pressure that is equal to or higher than a set value for some reason, and the internal pressure of the pan 11 is decreased.

  When the inner lid assembly 55 is attached to the lower surface of the outer lid cover 35, the upper end surface of the on-off valve shaft 201 pushed upward by the shaft spring 203 comes into contact with the operation portion 222 of the seal member 217. At this time, the opening / closing solenoid 172 is in a non-energized state, and since the central portion 188A of the operating member movable portion 188 is positioned in the hole 213 of the operating member 212, the elastic member 215 is bent and the first of the operating member 212 is moved. The open / close shaft 212A is pushed upward. Therefore, the shaft packing 204 is separated from the communication hole 181 and the communication hole 181 is kept open. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, when the opening / closing solenoid 172 is not energized in the normal state, the operation member 212 comes into contact with the central portion 188A of the operation member movable portion 188, and the first opening / closing shaft 212A or the opening / closing valve of the operation member 212 Since the open / close valve shaft 201 of 62 is located above, the communication hole 181 formed in the inner lid 56 remains open.

  Conversely, as shown in FIG. 12, when a predetermined process of rice cooking is started and the opening / closing solenoid 172 is energized, the opening / closing frame 175 operates to operate the operation member movable portion 188 in the hole 213 of the operation member 212. Retreats and moves through, and the operation member 212 is held in contact with the distal end portion 188B of the operation member movable portion 188. As described above, the central portion 188A and the distal end portion 188B of the operating member movable portion 188 have a height difference, and the distal end portion 188B has the cam surface 188C with which the operating member 212 abuts lower than the central portion 188A. doing. Therefore, the operation member 212 and the operation portion 222 of the seal member 217 move downward while the operation member 212 maintains the entire length in a certain range by fitting the groove 241 and the claw 242, and the inner cover assembly 55 is provided. When the on-off valve shaft 201 is pushed downward by the operating portion 222 of the seal member 217, the shaft packing 204 attached to the tip of the on-off valve shaft 201 closes the communication hole 181. At this time, in order for the shaft packing 204 to reliably close the communication hole 181, the force by which the operating portion 222 of the seal member 217 pushes the on-off valve shaft 201 downward is that the shaft spring 203 biases the on-off valve shaft 201 upward. To be greater than the power to do. Further, in this embodiment, the stroke (movement distance) when the operating member movable portion 188 of the opening / closing frame 175 pushes the opening / closing valve shaft 201 is defined within a certain range by the fitting of the groove 241 and the claw 242. The shaft packing 204 can block the communication hole 181 stably.

  As described above, in the vicinity of the pressure regulating solenoid 78, a pressure regulating operation unit 161 for moving the pressure regulating valve 65 is provided behind the pressure regulating frame 152, while on the front side of the pressure regulating frame 152. A protruding clamp operation restricting portion 163 is provided. Similarly, an operation member movable portion 188 having a cam surface 188C is provided behind the opening / closing frame 175 in the vicinity of the opening / closing solenoid 172, and a protruding clamp operation restricting portion 189 is provided in front of the opening / closing frame 175. Is provided. Then, when the plunger 151 of the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 moves to the retracted position, such as by starting cooking rice and moving to a predetermined process of pressurizing, the clamp 44 moves in the direction of releasing the engagement from the clamp receiver 50. In order to restrict, the clamp operation restricting portion 163 is arranged so as to sink under the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, and when the plunger 173 of the opening / closing solenoid 172 moves to the retracted position, the clamp operation restricting portion 189 is It arrange | positions so that it may enter under the base end part 44A of the clamp 44. FIG. At this time, even if the clamp 44 is pushed by the lid opening button 46, the movement of the clamp 44 is restricted and the engagement with the clamp receiver 50 cannot be released.

  Conversely, when the plunger 151 of the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 is in the advanced position, the clamp operation restricting portion 163 is separated from the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, and the plunger 173 of the opening / closing solenoid 172 is in the advanced position. In addition, the clamp operation restricting portion 189 is separated from the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44. That is, when the clamp operation restricting portion 163 and / or the clamp operation restricting portion 189 are located below the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, the operation of the clamp 44 is restricted, and the clamp 44 is removed from the clamp receiver 50. Although the engagement cannot be released, when both the clamp operation restricting portion 163 and the clamp operation restricting portion 189 are separated from the lower side of the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, the operation of the clamp 44 is not restricted and the lid opening button 46 is pressed. When the moving operation is performed, the clamp 44 is detached from the clamp receiver 50 and the lid 31 is opened. The clamp operation restricting portions 163 and 189 may be any shape as long as they have a position and a shape for restricting the operation of the clamp 44 without being submerged below the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44. .

  81 is a pressure reducing means provided to lower the inside of the pan 11 below the normal atmospheric pressure with the lid 31 closed to the main body 1. The decompression means 81 includes a decompression pump 82 serving as a decompression drive source, and a tubular path 84 extending from the decompression pump 82 through the main body 1 and the lid 31 to the hole 83 provided in the inner lid 56. Further, an electromagnetic valve 87 as an opening / closing body for opening and closing the base end portion of the path 84 and a valve housing body 88 for housing the electromagnetic valve 87 are provided inside the lid body 31. Connected to the valve housing 88 is a cylindrical decompression packing 89 protruding downward from the heat radiating plate 34 toward the periphery of the hole 83 of the inner lid 56. Here, the hole 83 in the inner lid 56 is provided as a vacuum communication hole for evacuation, and the electromagnetic valve 87 is provided between the hole 83 and the decompression pump 82. The path 84 is formed of a pipe such as a rubber tube, for example, and connects between the pressure reducing pump 82 and the electromagnetic valve 87. In FIG. 1, the decompression pump 82 is provided at the rear part of the main body 1, but this may be provided at the rear part of the lid 31 as shown in FIG. 7.

  Then, when the inner lid assembly 55 including the inner lid 56 is attached to the lower surface of the lid body 31, the decompression packing 89 is hermetically abutted against the upper surface of the inner lid 56 while being elastically deformed, whereby the hole 83 and the decompression pump 82 are connected. A communication path 84 is formed. Further, when the lid 31 is closed with the inner lid assembly 55 attached, if the lid packing 57 is in close contact with the pan 11 and the communication holes 77 and 181 are closed, the sealed pan 11 and the electromagnetic pump 82 are closed. Communicates with each other via a path 84. When the decompression pump 82 is started from this state, the solenoid valve 87 and thus the path 84 are opened, and the air in the pan 11 is exhausted to the outside of the main body 1 through the path 84 and the decompression pump 82, and the inside of the sealed pan 11 The pressure drops. In addition, when the pressure in the pan 11 drops below the atmospheric pressure by a certain value, the electromagnetic valve 87 and thus the path 84 are closed to keep the pan 11 in a reduced pressure state. Furthermore, even when the pressure in the pan 11 rises due to the slow leak, the electromagnetic valve 87 and consequently the path 84 are opened, and the decompression pump 82 is activated to maintain the pan 11 in a state lower than the atmospheric pressure. .

  In such a depressurized state in the pan 11 lower than the atmospheric pressure, the air inside the leg 79 constituting the valve support 73 is sucked into the pan 11 and accordingly the pressure regulating valve 65 and the pressure regulating valve 65 are The valve support 73 to be placed and supported is lowered against the bias of the pressure adjusting spring 74. However, when the opening 70 of the valve support 73 moves to a position lower than the hole 71A of the first pressure regulating packing 71, the pressure regulating valve 65 is mounted on the first pressure regulating packing 71 in place of the previous valve support 73. And the hole 71A of the first pressure regulating packing 71 is closed, so that the inside of the pan 11 is secured and the pressure reduction can be continued (see FIG. 5).

  On the other hand, when the inside of the pan 11 is pressurized to atmospheric pressure or higher, for example during rice cooking, the inside of the valve support leg 79 receives direct pressure from the inside of the pan 11, so that the valve support 73 resists the weight of the pressure regulating valve 65. Rises. Here, when the opening 70 of the valve support 73 moves to a position higher than the hole 71A of the first pressure regulating packing 71, the pressure regulating valve 65 is replaced by the valve support 73 instead of the first pressure regulating packing 71 so far. The pressure regulating valve 65 that is placed and closes the pressure regulating hole 70 and that is placed on the valve support 73 rises in the same manner as the valve support 73. After the valve support 73 is lifted, the valve support 73 comes into contact with the first pressure regulating packing 71, thereby blocking the steam and the like trying to pass through the hole 71 </ b> A of the first pressure regulating packing 71, thereby maintaining the hermetic seal in the pot 11. Yes (see FIG. 4).

  Returning to FIG. 1 again, an operation panel 101 is provided at the front of the main body 1. Inside this operation panel 101 is an LCD 102 for displaying the time and the selected menu, an LED for displaying the current process, and an operation for starting cooking and selecting a menu, although none of them are shown in the figure. In addition to the switch 103 (see FIG. 5), a substrate on which a depressurization selection switch for selecting a depressurization state in the pan 11 is disposed. The operation panel 101 displays button names and the like to prevent dust and water from adhering to the control means that is an electronic component. The operation panel 101 may be provided on the front side of the lid 31.

  111 is a heating control means provided in the front inside the main body 1. The heating control unit 111 includes a heating element (not shown) for driving the heating coil 16, which is a heating unit, on a substrate. The element that drives the heating coil 16 is heated along with the oscillation of the heating coil 16, but has a use condition temperature that guarantees the operating state, and therefore needs to be used at a certain temperature or lower. For this purpose, the element that drives the heating coil 16 is thermally connected to a fin-like radiator 112 made of a material having good thermal conductivity such as aluminum and emits from a cooling fan 113 that is a cooling means. The element is driven within the operating temperature by applying wind to the radiator 112 to remove heat.

  The cooling fan 113 is disposed below or on the side of the radiator 112 attached to the heating control means 111. Also, a hole for discharging the air that is warmed by taking heat from the radiator 112 attached to the heating control means 111 to the outside of the main body 1 at the bottom or side of the main body 1. A plurality of (not shown) are provided. The heating control means 111 is housed inside the product, that is, in the main body 1, but may be disposed at any position on the outer periphery of the pan 11. Moreover, you may arrange | position the hole provided in the bottom part or side part of the main body 1 in any position. However, in recent years, there is a demand for miniaturization of products, and the heating control means 111 and the cooling fan 113 and the hole 114 for discharging warm air are arranged at substantially opposite positions across the pan 11. Is preferred. Further, a cord reel 116 for winding a power plug (not shown) is provided inside the main body 1.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 141 denotes a substrate attached to the back (inside) side of the lid opening button 46. On this substrate 141, an LED 142 as an alarm means that is turned on when the pressure reducing means 81 operates and a Hall element 143 as a magnetic detection element are mounted. As shown in FIG. 3, the LED 142 is provided opposite to the upper surface of the lid opening button 46, and the hall element 143 is provided on the outer lid 32 when the lid opening button 46 is not pressed. It is arranged to face the magnet 144 as a magnetic body. When the Hall element 143 tries to release the engagement between the clamp 44 and the clamp receiver 50, the Hall element 143 detects the operation by separating from the magnet 144 and outputs a detection signal to the heating control means 111 described later. Provided as a means. In addition, you may comprise the detection means which has an equivalent function with another sensor.

  LED 142 is continuously lit only when the pressure reducing means 81 is activated in the initial stage of rice cooking or heat retention, and the inside of the pan 11 is below atmospheric pressure, and when the inside of the pan 11 is below atmospheric pressure during the heat insulation step, When the engagement between the clamp 44 and the clamp receiver 50 is to be released, a detection output from the hall element 143 is received, blinks for a predetermined time, and is then provided as display means that turns off. Instead of the LED 142, other display means such as an LCD may be used, or a notification means such as a buzzer may be provided. In this case, the notification means may be configured in a similar manner or in conjunction with the process. In addition to the lid 32, the radiator plate 34, the outer lid cover 35, and the inner lid assembly 55 described above, the lid 31 has an upper surface of the outer lid 32 in order to improve the appearance quality as the lid 31. A three-dimensional metal lid 33 covering the part may be provided.

  Next, the control system will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 111 is the heating control means described above, which is provided on the lid opening button 46 in addition to the temperature information from the pan temperature sensor 21 and the lid temperature sensor 61 and the operation signal from the operation switch 103. In response to the detection signal from the hall element 143 and another hall element 191 that detects the opening and closing of the lid 31, the heating coil 16 that heats the bottom of the pan 11 during cooking and warming, and the side of the pan 11 Each of the cord heater 26 for heating and the lid heater 36 for heating the lid 31 is controlled, and the above-described decompression pump 82, solenoid valve 87, solenoids 78 and 172 provided inside the lid 31 and LED 142 The display means 128 including each is controlled. In particular, the heating control means 111 of the present embodiment mainly controls the heating coil 16 based on the temperature detected by the pan temperature sensor 21 to manage the temperature of the bottom of the pan 11 and based on the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 52. Then, the lid heater 26 is controlled so that the temperature of the heat radiating plate 34 and the inner lid 56 is controlled. The heating control means 111 includes, as a function on the control sequence of the program stored in its own storage means (not shown), a rice cooking control means 118 that heats the cooked food in the pan 11 during rice cooking, Insulation control means 119 for maintaining and heating the rice in the pan 11 to a predetermined temperature is provided.

  Here, the Hall element 191 that is a lid opening / closing detection means will be described. The Hall element 191 faces, for example, a magnet (not shown) that is a magnetic body provided at the rear of the lid body 31 so as to face the interior of the main body 1. Mounted on. Note that another sensor may be used instead of the Hall element 191 as long as the same function can be exhibited.

  The heat retention control means 119 here includes a timer means 120. When the heat retention operation starts, the timer means 120 is activated to measure the elapsed heat retention time, and this heat retention elapsed time is set to a preset time (for example, 1 hour). When the temperature reaches, the pressure in the pan 11 returns from the pressurized state to almost the atmospheric pressure, and the temperature in the pan 11 is reduced to the heat retention temperature, so that the so-called heat retention is in a stable state. In addition, the heating control means 11 receives a command for starting reserved rice cooking from the operation switch 103, and the rice cooking control means 118 so that the cooked rice in the pan 11 is cooked at a predetermined time previously stored in the storage means. Reservation rice cooking control means 121 capable of executing a reservation rice cooking course for controlling the cooking is provided. The predetermined time can be changed as appropriate by operating, for example, the hour key or minute key of the operation switch 103.

  Reference numeral 122 denotes a heating coil driving unit that incorporates a high-frequency inverter circuit that receives a control signal from the heating control unit 111 and supplies a predetermined high-frequency current to the heating coil 16. Separately from this, the output side of the heating control means 111 receives a control signal from the heating control means 111 and drives the lid heater 36 so as to heat the radiator plate 34 and the inner lid 56. 123, code heater driving means 124 for turning on the code heater 26, solenoid driving means 125 for turning on or off the solenoids 78, 172, pump driving means 126 for driving the decompression pump 82, and solenoid valve 89 on Alternatively, an electromagnetic valve driving means 127 for turning off and a display driving means 129 for driving the display means 128 are provided. At the time of cooking by the rice cooking control means 118 and at the time of heat retention by the heat retention control means 119, the heating to the bottom of the pan 11 by the heating coil 16 and the code heater 26 are detected by detecting each temperature from the pan temperature sensor 21 and the lid temperature sensor 61. The heating is performed on the side surface of the pan 11 and the lid 31 is heated by the lid heater 36. In addition, after the rice cooking by the rice cooking control means 118 is finished and the cooked food in the pan 11 is cooked as rice, it automatically shifts to heat insulation by the heat insulation control means 119, and the temperature detected by the pot temperature sensor 21 is reached. Based on this, by adjusting the heating of the pan 11 by the heating coil 16 and the cord heater 26, the rice is kept at a predetermined temperature (about 70 ° C. to 76 ° C.).

  In particular, supplementary explanation about the heating by the cord heater 26, until the temperature of the rice is lowered from about 100 ° C. to about 73 ° C. after the rice cooking, and when the temperature is stable at about 73 ° C., the code heater 26 is heated, Heat is radiated from the metal plate 29 into the space between the lid 31 and the main body 1 to suppress cooling due to intrusion of outside air from the gap, and the flange portion 14 of the pan 11 is heated. In addition, the cord heater 26 also heats the flange portion 14 of the pan 11 during the period when the rice is reheated during heat insulation, so that moisture generated by heating the rice is prevented from condensing on the upper part of the inner surface of the pan 11. ing.

  Furthermore, the heating control means 111 in the present embodiment is a period until the rice cooking at the time of standby of the reserved rice cooking by the reserved rice control means 121 or the time until the rice cooking control means 118 starts substantial rice cooking. Depressurization control to operate the decompression pump 82 and the decompression state maintaining electromagnetic valve 87 so that the inside of the pan 11 becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure after the period and the heat insulation control means 119 determine that the above-mentioned heat insulation is stable. A function as means 130 is also provided.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described based on the timing chart of FIG. In FIG. 15, each graph in the uppermost stage and the next stage shows changes in temperature and pressure in the pan 11, and hereinafter, the operation timing of the pressure regulating valve 65 (pressure regulating solenoid 78), the on-off valve 182 The operation timing of the (opening / closing solenoid 172) is shown (the painting state is on).

  In a cut-off state where rice cooking or heat insulation is not performed, both the pressure regulating solenoid 78 and the opening / closing solenoid 172 are in a non-energized (off) state. At this time, the plunger 151 of the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 is in the advanced position, the pressure adjusting valve 65 is moved so that the pressure adjusting hole 70 is opened, and the plunger 173 of the opening and closing solenoid 172 is also in the advanced position, The on-off valve shaft 201 moves upward so that the communication hole 181 of the inner lid 56 is opened. Therefore, the inside of the pan 11 communicates with the outside through the pressure adjusting hole 70 and the communication hole 181 and is maintained at atmospheric pressure. In addition, since both of the clamp operation restricting portions 163 and 189 are located away from the lower side of the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, the operation of the clamp 44 is not restricted, and if the lid opening button 46 is pushed, 44 is detached from the clamp receiver 50. That is, in the cut state, the lid 31 can be freely opened and closed.

  Thereafter, when rice and water to be cooked are put into the pan 11 and a rice cooking key of the operation switch 103 is operated, for example, rice cooking by the rice cooking control means 118 is started. Here, the rice cooking control means 118 is based on the temperature detection of the bottom of the pan 11 by the pan temperature sensor 21 in order to promote water absorption of the rice in the pan 11 before starting the substantial rice cooking. Then, the bottom and side portions of the pan 11 are heated by the cord heater 26, respectively, and the water temperature in the pan 11 is kept at about 45 to 60 ° C. for 15 to 20 minutes. During this time, the decompression pump 82 and the solenoid valve 87 of the decompression means 81 are operated, and when the inside of the pan 11 is below atmospheric pressure, both the pressure regulating solenoid 78 and the opening / closing solenoid 172 are energized (on). The plunger 151 of the pressure regulating solenoid 78 and the plunger 173 of the opening / closing solenoid 172 are moved to the retracted positions. As a result, the pressure adjustment operation part 161 is separated from the pressure adjustment valve 65, the pressure adjustment valve 65 closes the hole 71 </ b> A of the first pressure adjustment packing 71, and the operation member 212 comes into contact with the tip end part 188 </ b> B of the operation member movable part 188. Since the on-off valve shaft 201 is pushed downward and the shaft packing 204 closes the communication hole 181 of the inner lid 56, the inside of the pan 11 is secured. In addition, since the clamp operation restricting portions 163 and 189 are both under the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, even if the rotation of the clamp 44 is restricted and the lid opening button 46 is pushed, The engagement with the clamp receiver 50 is double-locked, and the lid 31 is prevented from opening.

  Further, when the start process is started, the decompression control means 130 turns on the decompression selection switch until just before the substantial rice cooking is started, and displays on the LCD of the display means 128 that the inside of the pan 11 is being decompressed. Thereby, the user can know that the inside of the pan 11 is being decompressed. Thereafter, the decompression control means 130 stops driving the decompression pump 82 and closes the solenoid valve 87 and consequently the path 84 to maintain the inside of the pan 11 in a decompressed state. After a lapse of time, the decompression control means 130 drives the decompression pump 82 again and opens the electromagnetic valve 87 and thus the path 84 to discharge air from the pot 11. By repeating such an operation, the pressure reducing pump 82 and the electromagnetic valve 87 are simultaneously turned on and off, and the pressure in the pan 11 is maintained at a value within a desired range.

  In this manner, the inside of the pan 11 is maintained in a reduced pressure state at the time of time. At the time of this pressure reduction, the pressure regulating valve 65 is placed on the first pressure regulating packing 71 and closes the hole 71A of the first pressure regulating packing 71, so that the inside of the pan 11 is secured. Therefore, the inside of the pan 11 can be depressurized in a sealed state at the time of passing, and the rice can sufficiently absorb water in the pan 11.

  After that, when the predetermined time is over, the rice cooking control means 118 starts a substantial rice cooking operation, the decompression control to the pan 11 by the decompression control means 130 is interrupted, the decompression selection switch is turned off, and the LCD The display indicating that the pressure is reduced is also stopped. At the same time, the decompression pump 82 and the electromagnetic valve 87 are turned off until the subsequent heat retention becomes stable.

  When shifting to the rice cooking process, the rice cooking control means 118 strongly heats the pan 11 by the heating coil 16 and performs boiling heating to the cooked rice. When the temperature of the bottom of the pan 11 becomes 90 ° C or higher during this boiling heating and the temperature of the lid 31 is stabilized at 90 ° C or higher, it is assumed that the inside of the pan 11 is in a boiling state, and the heating amount is reduced more than before. Shift to continuous boiling heating. During boiling heating, the rice cooking control means 118 turns off the solenoid 78 and retracts the pressure regulating valve 65 from the pressure regulating hole 70. As a result, the pan 11 is maintained at substantially atmospheric pressure, but the open / close solenoid 172 is still on, and the clamp operation restricting portion 189 is located below the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44 to open the lid 31. I can't do that.

  Note that the fact that the temperature of the lid 31 described above is stable at 90 ° C. or higher is detected by the rate of temperature increase of the detected temperature from the lid temperature sensor 61. In this boiling detection, the pan temperature sensor 21 and the lid temperature sensor 61 can confirm that both the bottom of the pan 11 and the lid 31 have reached 90 ° C. or more, and the pan 11 has completely boiled. Can be detected accurately.

  Further, when any of the bottom part of the pan 11, the side part of the pan 11 or the lid 31 reaches a detection temperature that is not normally 120 ° C. or higher, the heating control means 111 determines that there is some abnormality and cooks rice. The amount of heating in the heating is reduced so that all operations are stopped, or the operation is shifted to the unevenness described later, or the heat is kept to prevent abnormal heating. Conversely, either the bottom of the pan 11 or the lid 31 has reached 90 ° C. or more and a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) has passed, but either the bottom of the pan 11 or the lid 31 other than that. When the temperature is lower than 90 ° C, the pan temperature sensor 21 or the lid temperature sensor 61 in the low temperature state determines that the temperature detection accuracy has deteriorated for some reason (dirt, tilt, poor contact, etc.). Similarly, the amount of heating in rice cooking heating is reduced so that all operations are stopped, or the operation is shifted to unevenness, or the heat is kept, and this is dealt with.

  When shifting to continuation of boiling, the rice cooking control means 118 starts lid heating by the lid heater 36. The lid heating here is managed by the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 61 so that the temperature of the inner lid 56 becomes 100 to 110 ° C. And when the bottom of the pan 11 has a predetermined temperature rise, the cooking in the pan 11 is detected, the rice cooking process by the rice cooking control means 118 is terminated, and the heat insulation control means 119 shifts to the heat insulation process. It shifts to nomura. During unevenness, the lid heater 36 is cut off by temperature control based on the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 61 to prevent dew condensation on the inner lid 56, and the temperature is high enough that the rice does not burn (98-100 ° C). The temperature at the bottom of the pan 11 is controlled so that it is maintained. The unevenness is continued for a predetermined time (15 to 20 minutes), and when the unevenness is completed, the operation shifts to heat retention by the heat retention control means 119.

  When the temperature is kept warm, the heating coil 16 heats the bottom and the lower side of the pan 11 and is slightly higher than the temperature of the rice contained in the pan 11, and the lower surface of the lid 31 is heated by the lid heater 36. The temperature of the side of the pan 11 is controlled by the code heater 26 so that the rice does not dry and a large amount of dew does not adhere. The temperature of the rice in the pan 11 is maintained at 70 to 76 ° C. Even when the temperature is kept, the pan temperature sensor 21 and the lid temperature sensor 61 are abnormally high or abnormally low. Detects abnormalities and prevents this abnormal heating.

  As described above, when the boiling state in the pan 11 is detected, cooking (continuous boiling heating) and unevenness are performed continuously. While the rice cooking control means 118 stops the operation of the decompression means 81, both the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 and the opening / closing solenoid 172 are turned on, the communication hole 77 is closed by the pressure adjustment unit 58, and another communication hole 181 is provided. It closes with the on-off valve 62. Thereby, while cooking rice cooking is continued, the communication between the inside of the pan 11 and the outside is blocked, and the pressure in the pan 11 increases. At this time, since both the clamp operation restricting portion 163 and the clamp operation restricting portion 189 sink under the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, the engagement between the clamp 44 and the clamp receiver 50 is double-locked, and the lid body 31 cannot be opened.

  After that, when it is detected that the inside of the pan 11 has reached a predetermined pressure, the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 is switched from the on state to the off state, so that the pressure adjusting operation part 161 pushes the pressure adjusting valve 65. The pressure adjusting hole 70 is opened and the pressure in the pan 11 approaches the atmospheric pressure. In this state, the clamp operation restricting portion 163 of the pressure adjustment frame 152 moves to a position away from the lower side of the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, but the clamp operation restricting portion 189 of another opening / closing frame 175 continues to be clamp 44. Therefore, even if the clamp 44 is pushed by the lid opening button 46, the movement of the clamp 44 is restricted and the lid 31 cannot be opened.

  When shifting to the unevenness, the operation of gradually returning the inside of the pan 11 to the atmospheric pressure is performed in consideration of the fact that the lid 31 can be opened immediately after the start of the subsequent heat insulation. Then, the rice cooking control means 118 switches the pressure regulating solenoid 78 from the on state to the off state in the middle of the unevenness, retracts the pressure regulating valve 65 from the pressure regulating hole 70, opens the communication hole 77 and opens the inside of the pan 11 Return to atmospheric pressure. Thereafter, the opening / closing solenoid 172 is switched from the on state to the off state, and another communication hole 181 is opened. In this way, at least after opening the pressure adjusting hole 70, the lid 31 cannot be opened until the opening / closing solenoid 172 is turned off, and the inside of the pan 11 cannot return to atmospheric pressure. Inadvertent opening of the lid 31 can be prevented.

  Immediately after the unevenness that is substantial rice cooking is completed and the process proceeds to the heat retaining step, the inside of the pan 11 communicates with the outside through the pressure adjusting hole 70 and the communication hole 181 and is maintained at atmospheric pressure. At the same time, since both the clamp operation restricting portions 163 and 189 are located away from the lower side of the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, the lid 31 can be freely opened and closed.

  When the rice cooking process is completed, the heat retention control means 119 starts to measure the heat retention elapsed time by the timer means 120. At this time, the decompression control means 130 repeatedly performs decompression display for a short time using the LCD of the display means 128 until the heat retention elapsed time reaches a preset time, that is, until it is determined that the heat retention is stable. Make it. Thereby, the user can understand that the inside of the pan 11 has not yet shifted to the reduced pressure state after cooking. When the heat retention elapsed time reaches a preset time, the heat retention control unit 119 controls the decompression pump 82 and the electromagnetic valve 87 again so that the pressure in the pan 11 becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure by the pressure reduction control unit 130. . At the same time, the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 and the opening / closing solenoid 172 are simultaneously turned on in order to seal the inside of the pan 11. As a result, both the clamp operation restricting portion 163 and the clamp operation restricting portion 189 sink under the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, and the rotation of the clamp 44 is restricted. Such an operation may be performed when the pan temperature sensor 21 detects that the inside of the pan 11 has reached the predetermined temperature in the heat retaining step, not after the predetermined time of the heat retaining step.

  Thereafter, the decompression control means 130 stops driving the decompression pump 82 and closes the solenoid valve 87 and consequently the path 84 to maintain the inside of the pan 11 in a decompressed state. After a lapse of time, the decompression control means 130 drives the decompression pump 82 again and opens the electromagnetic valve 87 and thus the path 84 to discharge air from the pot 11. Thereafter, the above-described operation is repeated, and the pressure reducing pump 82 and the electromagnetic valve 87 are simultaneously turned on and off, and the pressure in the pan 11 is maintained at a value within a desired range.

  When the process proceeds to the heat retaining step, the heat retaining control means 119 receives the detection signals from the Hall elements 143 and 191. That is, during the operation control of the pressure reducing means 81 for reducing the pressure inside the pan 11, the user intends to open the lid 31 with the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 and the opening / closing solenoid 172 turned on simultaneously. When the lid opening button 46 is pushed, the clamp 44 is restricted in its rotation, but the lid opening button 46 is pushed slightly downward due to the elasticity of the clamp 44 and the hall element 143 is magnetized. Move away from 144. When the heat retention control means 119 receives the detection signal from the hall element 143 at this time, the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 and the opening / closing solenoid 172 are turned off in conjunction with each other, and both plungers 151 and 173 are advanced to adjust. While the pressure hole 70 and the communication hole 181 are opened, the rotation restriction on the clamp 44 is also released, and the lid 31 can be opened by continuing to push the lid opening button 46.

  After that, when the cooked rice is taken out of the pan 11 and the lid 31 is closed again, another hall element 191 detects the closed state of the lid 31 and sends the signal to the heat retaining control means 119. Send it out. In response to this, the heat retention control means 119 activates the pressure reducing means 81 again after a predetermined time and simultaneously turns on the pressure regulating solenoid 78 and the opening / closing solenoid 172 so that the lid 31 is not opened carelessly.

  Thus, by repeating the operation of opening and closing the two communication holes 77 and 181 provided in the inner lid 56, the pressure in the pan 11 can be freely changed. And by changing the pressure at the time of pressurization according to a rice cooking course or the amount of rice cooking, it becomes possible to vary the amount of cooking.

  Further, during the unevenness and heat retention process, when the pressure reducing means 81 is operated and the inside of the pan 11 is at atmospheric pressure or lower, the heating control means 111 sends a control signal for continuously lighting the LED 142 to the display driving means 129. Thereby, the user can recognize immediately that the lid 31 and the main body 1 are engaged and locked because the inside of the pan 11 is being decompressed. In addition, since there is a slight time lag from when the lid opening button 46 is intended to be pushed to when the lid 31 can actually be opened, the clamp 44 of the lid 31 and the clamp receiver 50 of the main body 1 When the Hall element 143 outputs a detection signal when it is intended to release the engagement of the LED, the LED 142 switches to a blinking operation. After a predetermined time has elapsed, if the LED 142 is automatically turned off, the lid is immediately turned off. The user can understand whether the body 31 does not open.

  In the above series of steps, when the inside of the pan 11 is in a pressurized state, the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 does not return to the normal position, or foreign matter is caught between the pressure adjusting valve 65 and the pressure adjusting hole 70. If this occurs, the pressure adjusting hole 70 and thus the communication hole 77 will not be opened, and the pressure in the pan 11 cannot be brought close to atmospheric pressure. If this state continues, the inside of the pan 11 rises above a predetermined pressure value at which the pressure regulating solenoid 78 returns, and the inner lid 56 itself is deformed upward. When this increased pressure reaches a predetermined value, the elastic member 215 provided in the on-off valve operating means 211 operates. In this embodiment, since a coil spring is used as the elastic member 215, if the pressure applied to the on-off valve shaft 201 from the pot 11 becomes larger than the force with which the elastic member 215 pushes the on-off valve shaft 201 downward, the shaft packing The on-off valve shaft 201 including 204 moves upward against the biasing of the elastic member 215 and opens the communication hole 181. Thereby, the pressure in the pan 11 can be brought close to the atmospheric pressure. Further, even if the on-off valve shaft 201 moves upward, the operation of the on-off frame 175 is not affected, and the operation member 212 is kept in contact with the tip 188B of the operation member movable unit 188. The clamp operation restricting portion 189 of the opening / closing frame 175 is held at a position where the operation of the clamp 44 is restricted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lid 31 from being inadvertently opened.

  Further, when the pressure reducing pump 82 and the electromagnetic valve 87 are operated, the pressure regulating valve 65 closes the pressure regulating hole 70 and the on-off valve 62 closes the communication hole 181. This is for sealing the inside of the pan 11 in a sealed state. As the inside of the pan 11 is depressurized to below atmospheric pressure, the inner lid 56 to which the on-off valve 62 is attached gradually elastically deforms downward. Here, if the operation portion 222 of the seal member 217 does not move up and down with respect to the operation member 212, when the inner lid 56 is deformed downward, the shaft spring 203 that has been compressed up to that time is the original length. If it returns to, the clearance gap will arise between the upper end surface of the on-off valve shaft 201, and the operation part 222 of the sealing member 217, and the sealing in the pan 11 will collapse. However, the on-off valve operating means 211 in this embodiment is configured such that the operating portion 222 of the seal member 217 is biased in a direction in which the operating portion 222 contacts the on-off valve shaft 201 by the elastic member 215 and can move up and down with respect to the operating member 212. Therefore, even when the inner lid 56 is deformed downward to the extent that the shaft spring 203 returns to its original length, the upper end surface of the on-off valve shaft 201 is connected to the operation portion 222 of the seal member 217. It is pushed and no gap is formed, and the inside of the pot 11 can be kept sealed.

  When the opening / closing frame 175 of the opening / closing valve operating means 211 is moved to a position where the operation member 212 is in contact with the distal end portion 188B of the operation member movable portion 188, the movement amount of the operation member 212 moving downward is defined as A. Further, from this state, as shown in FIG. 12, when the inner lid assembly 55 is mounted on the lower side of the lid 31, the amount by which the operating portion 222 of the seal member 217 pushes the on-off valve shaft 201 is B. The elastic member 215 made of a coil spring provided between the operation member 212 and the operation portion 222 of the seal member 217 is bent by the length of (A-B) in the state shown in FIG. Similarly to the bending of the elastic member 215, the connecting portion 223 of the seal member 217 is also bent so that the operation portion 222 can move up and down.

  When the pressure in the pan 11 is reduced to less than atmospheric pressure using the pressure reducing means 81, the inner lid 56 is deformed downward. The amount of deformation is C (see FIG. 13). At this time, assuming that the amount of deflection of the shaft spring 203 is almost negligible, the amount of deflection (AB) of the elastic member 215 is set to be larger than the amount of deformation C of the inner lid 56 during decompression. That's fine. When this is expressed by a mathematical formula, (A−B)> C. In this way, even if the opening / closing valve shaft 201 provided in the inner lid assembly 55 and the operation portion 222 of the sealing member 217 constituting the opening / closing valve operating means 211 provided in the outer cover cover 35 are about to begin to separate, The connecting portion 223 between the elastic member 215 which is bent and the seal member 217 extends, and no gap is generated between the on-off valve shaft 201 and the operation portion 222 of the seal member 217.

  Further, when the inside of the pan 11 is pressurized higher than the atmospheric pressure, the inner lid 56 is deformed upward, and the on-off valve shaft 201 of the on-off valve 62 attached to the inner lid 56 also moves upward. Since the on-off valve shaft 201 is restricted from moving upward by the operation member 212, the communication hole 181 does not open. Therefore, regardless of whether the inner lid 56 is deformed upward or downward as the inside of the pan 11 is pressurized or depressurized, the on-off valve 62 reliably closes the communication hole 181 and thus the pan The inside of 11 can be maintained well. Further, even if the inner lid 56 is deformed upward when the inside of the pan 11 is pressurized, the deformation force is alleviated by the shaft spring 203 and the elastic member 215, and the on-off valve shaft 201 and the operation member 212 are both made of metal parts. There is no need. Therefore, an increase in product cost can be suppressed. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to adopt a special structure that does not deform the inner lid 56, an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed in this respect as well, and the product size can be made compact.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the pan 11, the heating coil 16 as a heating means for heating the pan 11, the main body 1 that houses the pan 11 and the heating coil 16, the lid body 31 that covers the upper portion of the main body 1, An inner lid 56 that directly covers the pan 11 and is detachably provided on the lid 31 includes a hole 181 that is a hole communicating with the inside of the pan 11 that is a predetermined portion, and a hole that is a predetermined portion. The rice cooker provided with the opening / closing valve 62 as an opening / closing means for opening / closing 181 includes an opening / closing valve operating means 211 as an operation means for operating the opening / closing valve 62 to close the hole 181. The member 212 includes an elastic member 215 that is interposed between the first opening / closing shaft 212A and the second opening / closing shaft 212B that are movable members, and the operation member 212 is elastic means 215 by the groove 241 and the claw 242 that are restriction members. Are provided at predetermined mounting positions.

  In this way, even if the elastic force and dimension of the elastic member 215 vary individually, the operating member 212 of the on-off valve operating means 211 operates the on-off valve shaft 201 of the on-off valve 62 at a predetermined position. Therefore, the stroke when the operation member 212 operates the on-off valve shaft 201 is stabilized, and the hole 181 can be reliably closed by the shaft packing 204 of the on-off valve 62, resulting in a decrease in cooking performance in the pan 11 Can be suppressed.

  Further, the on-off valve operating means 211 here includes an operating member 212 for operating the on-off valve 62, an open / close frame 175 as a frame member for operating the operating member 212, a seal member 217, and an elastic member 215. The seal member 217 connects the seal portion 221 for sealing the hole 216 formed in the lid 31, the operation portion 222 that contacts the on-off valve shaft 201 of the on-off valve 62, and the seal portion 221 and the operation portion 222. An elastic member 215 is arranged between the operation member 212 and the operation portion 222 of the seal member 217. The connection portion 223 is rich in flexibility.

  In each of the above configurations, even if the main body 1 and thus the inside of the pan 11 is in a reduced pressure state lower than the atmospheric pressure, and the inner lid 56 is deformed in a direction away from the on-off valve operating means 211, the operation member 212 and The elastic member 215 between the seal member 217 urges the seal member 217 in a direction to contact the on-off valve shaft 201 of the on-off valve 62, and the on-off valve 62 can close the hole 181 more reliably. Further, when the pressure in the pan 11 rises above a predetermined value, the on-off valve 62 opens the hole 181 against the bias of the elastic member 215. The pressure can be adjusted easily.

  In this embodiment, the lid 31 is provided on the main body 1 provided with the heating coil 16 so as to be freely opened and closed, and includes a clamp 44 as a holding means for holding the lid 31 and the main body 1 in a predetermined closed state. The frame 175 moves to a position where the holding of the clamp 44 is prevented during the operation of the on-off valve operating means 211 in which the on-off valve 62 closes the hole 181. At this time, the position of the on-off frame 175 and the pressure rise in the pan 11 are increased. Thus, the position of the opening / closing frame 175 when the opening / closing valve 62 opens the hole 181 is the same.

  In this case, when the opening / closing valve shaft 201 of the opening / closing valve 62 is operated to close the hole 181, the opening / closing frame 175 moves to a position where the holding of the clamp 44 is prevented from being released, and then the pressure in the pan 11 rises above a predetermined value. However, even when the opening / closing valve 62 opens the hole 181 and attempts to return the inside of the pan 11 to the atmospheric pressure, the opening / closing frame 175 still remains at a position that prevents the holding of the clamp 44 from being released, and the clamp 44 does not move. It is like that. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lid 31 from being inadvertently opened before the inside of the pan 11 has returned to atmospheric pressure, and it is possible to prevent rice from being boiled. Even if the inner lid 56 is deformed when the inside of the pan 11 is pressurized, the deformation force is alleviated by the elastic member 215 between the operation member 212 and the operation portion 222 of the seal member 217, and the operation member 212 is It is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the on-off valve operating means 211 without using metal parts.

  In this embodiment, the opening / closing solenoid 172 as a solenoid for operating the opening / closing frame 175 is provided. However, the opening / closing valve 62 for opening / closing the hole 181 by operating the opening / closing frame 175 using the opening / closing solenoid 172 as a drive source. Can be moved reliably.

  Further, as in the present embodiment, if the pressure reducing means 81 for making the inside of the pan 11 lower than the atmospheric pressure is provided in advance in the rice cooker, for example, the pressure reducing means 81 is used in a sealed state at the time of heat retention. By depressurizing the inside of the pan 11, the oxygen concentration in the pan 11 is reduced, and the water evaporation of the cooked rice contained in the pan 11 can be prevented, the Maillard reaction and oxidation are sufficiently suppressed, and delicious rice Can be obtained for a long time.

  Next, with respect to a so-called vacuum rice cooker that does not include a pressurizing unit that puts the pan 11 in a pressurized state at atmospheric pressure or higher, the configuration of the main part inside the lid 31 will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the location which is common in the Example of the said FIGS. 1-15, and description of a common part is abbreviate | omitted as much as possible to avoid duplication.

  In this modified example, it is noted that the pressure adjusting unit 251 is incorporated in a state of being unitized inside the lid 31 instead of the pressure adjusting unit 58 provided in the inner lid 56. For this reason, the inner lid 56 is not provided with the pressure adjusting unit 58, and instead, only the hole 252 communicating with the inside of the pan 11 when the lid is closed is provided.

  The pressure adjusting unit 251 has a simplified configuration as compared with the pressure adjusting unit 58 described above because the pressure from the inside of the pan 11 is not applied. More specifically, the spherical vacuum valve 261 corresponding to the pressure regulating valve 65, the vacuum valve packing 262 provided as a seat portion for mounting the vacuum valve 261 as a valve body, and the vacuum valve 261 are adjusted by their own weight. Utilizing a substantially flat cover lower member 263 that holds the pressure part 251 so as not to come out from below, a dome-shaped cover upper member 264 that covers the vacuum valve 261 together with the cover lower member 263, and a fastener such as a screw 265 Then, the vacuum valve base 266 attached to the outer lid cover 35 is disposed in the internal space between the outer lid 32 and the outer lid cover 35 as a unitized assembly part of the pressure adjusting unit 251. As shown in FIG. 17, the vacuum valve base 266 may be formed integrally with the outer lid cover 35 as a part of the outer lid cover 35 in order to reduce the number of parts.

  The vacuum valve packing 262 includes a mounting surface 271 formed in a funnel shape so that the vacuum valve 261 rolls, and a through hole 272 provided in the center of the mounting surface 271, and a cover lower member The outer peripheral portion is sandwiched between 263 and the cover upper member 264. And, preferably, by forming the vacuum valve packing 262 with a flexible material having elasticity, the cover lower member 263 or the cover upper member 264 and the vacuum valve packing 262 are sandwiched in a close contact state not communicating with the outside air, The vacuum valve 261 also rolls with the vacuum valve packing 262 in close contact.

  The lower cover member 263 on which the vacuum valve packing 262 is placed is integrally formed with a cylindrical first passage portion 275 that communicates with the through hole 272 and thus the inside of the pressure adjusting portion 251. Separately from this, the cover upper member 264 is also integrally formed with a cylindrical second passage portion 276 communicating with the outside of the pressure adjusting portion 251. In the present embodiment, the second passage portion 276 and the decompression pump 82 are connected in communication by a tube 277 having flexibility. Further, another cylindrical third passage portion 278 is integrally formed on the vacuum valve base 266 constituting the bottom surface portion of the pressure adjusting portion 251 so as to face the hole 252 provided in the inner lid 56. The first passage portion 275 and the third passage portion 278 are connected in communication by a flexible tube 279, whereby a path from the inside of the pan 11 to the decompression pump 82 is formed.

  In order to allow communication between the hole 252 and the third passage portion 278, a communication hole 281 is formed between the vacuum valve base 266 or the outer lid cover 35 and the inner lid 56. In addition, in order to prevent air from leaking between these members, the packing member 282 attached to the periphery of the communication hole 281 of the heat sink 34 is in close contact with the vacuum valve base 266 or the outer lid cover 35 and the inner lid 56, respectively. Attached. As a result, a sealed space is formed between the hole 252 and the first passage portion 275.

  When the upper cover member 264 is covered from the upper part of the lower cover member 263 with the outer periphery of the vacuum valve packing 262 on which the vacuum valve 261 is placed being sandwiched, the pressure adjusting part 251 has an accommodating part 284 for accommodating the vacuum valve 261. It is formed. In addition to the first passage portion 275 and the second passage portion 276, the housing portion 284 forms a sealed space that does not communicate with the outside of the pressure adjustment portion 251. That is, the pressure adjusting unit 251 here is configured not to provide a communication part with the outside other than the first passage part 275 and the second passage part 276 so that air is not lost in the middle of the pressure reducing path. Yes.

  The housing portion 284 including at least the cover lower member 263 and the cover upper member 264 is provided to be movable in the lid 31. In order to realize this, a shaft 285 is provided at the lower part of the lower cover member 263, and a shaft support 286 that supports the shaft 283 in a rotatable state on the vacuum valve base 266 or the outer cover cover 35. Is provided. Therefore, the accommodating portion 284 can be swung within the lid 31 about the shaft 283. In addition, a pressure reducing operation portion 288 formed on the pressure adjusting frame 152 is attached to the accommodating portion 284 in place of the pressure adjusting operation portion 161, and the pressure adjusting frame 152 and the accommodating portion 284 are interlocked.

  In this modified example, as shown in FIG. 17, when the inside of the pan 11 does not need to be in a reduced pressure state, for example, in the cut-off state, the plunger 151 of the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 is in the advanced position, 284 is inclined to one side of the shaft 283 and the vacuum valve 261 moves away from the through hole 272 to open the through hole 272 and the first passage portion 275 connected thereto, and the plunger 173 of the opening / closing solenoid 172 is also At the advanced position, the on-off valve shaft 201 moves upward so that the communication hole 181 of the inner lid 56 is opened. Further, the decompression control means 130 does not drive the decompression pump 82. Therefore, the inside of the pan 11 communicates with the outside through the first passage portion 275 and the communication hole 181 and is maintained at atmospheric pressure. Further, since both the clamp operation restricting portions 163 and 189 are located away from the lower side of the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, the lid 31 can be freely opened and closed.

  In addition, even when it is not necessary to reduce the pressure in the same pan 11, when steam is generated from the pan 11, the plunger 173 of the open / close solenoid 172 remains in the advanced position, while the pressure adjusting solenoid 78 The plunger 151 is moved to the retracted position. Then, as shown in FIG. 16, the accommodating portion 284 moves to the center of the shaft 283, the vacuum valve 261 moves in a direction to close the through hole 272, and closes the through hole 272 and the first passage portion connected thereto. Therefore, the steam in the pan 11 does not reach the decompression pump 82 and is discharged to the outside from the communication hole 181 of the inner lid 56 through the steam port 146. In addition, since the clamp operation restricting portion 163 sinks below the base end portion 44A of the clamp 44, the rotation of the clamp 44 is restricted, and even if the lid opening button 46 is pushed, the clamp 44 and the clamp receiver 50 Is locked and the lid 31 is prevented from opening. Also at this time, the decompression control means 130 does not drive the decompression pump 82.

  Further, when the inside of the pan 11 is in a decompressed state, the decompression control means 130 drives the decompression pump 82 with the first passage 275 as shown in FIG. The plunger 173 of the solenoid 172 for opening / closing is moved to the retracted position in order to close it. Then, air can be discharged from the sealed pan 11 through the decompression pump 82, and the inside of the pan 11 can be brought into a state below atmospheric pressure. Thereafter, while the communication hole 181 is closed by the on-off valve 62, the decompression control means 130 stops driving the decompression pump 82 and moves the plunger 151 of the pressure regulating solenoid 78 to the retracted position, as shown in FIG. In addition, the inside of the pan 11 is maintained in a reduced pressure state by closing the through hole 272 and the first passage portion connected thereto by the vacuum valve 261. When a certain time elapses in consideration of the pressure increase due to the slow leak, the decompression control means 130 drives the decompression pump 82 again and opens the first passage portion 275 as shown in FIG. Exhaust air from inside. Thereafter, the above-described operation is repeated, the decompression pump 82 is turned on and off, and the pressure in the pan 11 is maintained at a value within a desired range. Since the plunger 173 of the opening / closing solenoid 172 is in the retracted position during decompression, even if the lid opening button 46 is pushed, the engagement between the clamp 44 and the clamp receiver 50 is locked, and the lid 31 is It will not open.

  In such a series of operations, since the pressure from the inside of the pan 11 is not applied to the pressure adjusting unit 251, a simple configuration in which the vacuum valve base 266 and the storage unit 284 are simply connected by the tube 279 can be achieved. In addition, by providing the entire pressure adjusting unit 251 not in the inner lid 56 but in the lid 31, the inner lid assembly 55 including the inner lid 56 is reduced in weight, and the usability during cleaning is improved. be able to.

  As described above, according to the present example, the pan 11, the main body 1 including the pan 11, the lid body 31 covering the main body 1, and the pressure adjusting unit 251 as pressure adjusting means are provided, In the rice cooker having no pressurizing means for pressurization, the pressure adjusting unit 251 includes a vacuum valve 261 that is a valve body, a cover lower member 263 as a holding unit that holds the vacuum valve 261, and a cover that covers the vacuum valve 261 The cover upper member 264 as a part is disposed inside the lid 31 and the cover lower member 263 is provided with a first passage portion 275 communicating with the pan 11 as a predetermined portion, and the cover upper member 264 is pressure-regulated. A second passage portion 276 communicating with the outside of the portion 251 is provided, and the vacuum valve 261 disposed in the first passage portion 275 is moved, thereby opening and closing the first passage portion 275.

  In this way, since the pressure adjusting unit 251 is disposed not inside the inner lid 56 but inside the lid 31, it does not feel heavy when the inner lid 56 is removed from the lid 31 and cleaning is performed. Will improve. In addition, the pressure adjustment in the pan 11 can be reliably switched by opening and closing the first passage portion 275 connected to the pan 11 from the cover lower member 263 of the pressure adjustment portion 251 by moving the vacuum valve 261, The pressure reduction performance in the pan 11 can be improved.

  In this case, the pressure adjusting unit 251 and any one of the pressure adjusting solenoids 78 as operating means for operating the pressure adjusting unit 251 are attached to the outer lid cover 35 inside the lid 31 so that the product Compactness can be realized and usability can be improved.

  In this example, a vacuum valve packing 262 as a seat portion on which the vacuum valve 261 is placed is provided on the cover lower member 263. As described above, since the vacuum valve 261 is placed on the vacuum valve packing 262 serving as a seat provided on the lower cover member 263, the vacuum passage 261 allows the first passage portion 275 to be moved by the vacuum valve 261. It can be reliably occluded. Therefore, it becomes possible to further improve the sealing performance in the pan 11 and thus the decompression performance in the pan 11.

  Further, the vacuum valve packing 262 is sandwiched between the lower cover member 263 and the upper cover member 264, and is also provided as a seal portion that is in close contact with the lower cover member 263 or the upper cover member 264. In this way, since the space between the cover lower member 263 and the cover upper member 264 surrounding the vacuum valve 261 is sandwiched by the vacuum valve packing 262 that is a seal portion, while simplifying the sealing structure as the pressure adjustment portion 251, The inside can be surely sealed. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the pressure reduction performance by realizing an inexpensive product cost and a compact product, and preventing the pressure adjusting unit 251 from communicating with the outside air.

  Particularly in this example, a single-part vacuum valve packing 262 in which a seat portion is formed integrally with the seal portion is incorporated in the pressure adjusting portion 251. In this case, since the vacuum valve 261 is placed on the vacuum valve packing 262 provided in the lower cover member 263, the first passage portion 275 can be reliably closed by the vacuum valve 261 using the dead weight of the vacuum valve 261. Can do. Therefore, it becomes possible to further improve the sealing performance in the pan 11 and thus the decompression performance in the pan 11. In addition, since the vacuum valve packing 262 also functions as a seal portion, the sealing structure as the pressure adjusting portion 251 can be further simplified, and a further inexpensive product cost can be realized.

  Furthermore, in this example, the pressure reducing means 81 for bringing the inside of the pan 11 into a pressure-reduced state lower than the atmospheric pressure is provided, and the pressure reducing means 81 is connected to and communicated with the second passage portion 276. In this way, when the decompression means 81 communicating with the second passage portion 276 is operated in a state where the vacuum valve 261 has opened the first passage portion, the air in the pan 11 is discharged to the outside, and then the vacuum valve 261 is turned on. By moving and closing the first passage portion 275 and stopping the operation of the decompression means 81, the inside of the pan 11 can be maintained in a decompressed state. Thus, in relation to the operation of the decompression means 81, by moving the vacuum valve 261, the pressure regulation in the pan 11 can be more reliably switched, and the decompression performance in the pan 11 can be further improved. it can.

  Further, the lid body 31 of the present example includes an outer lid 32 that forms the outer appearance, and an outer lid cover 35 that is positioned below the upper portion of the outer lid 32 and covers the pan 11; The pressure adjusting unit 251 includes a vacuum valve 261, a vacuum valve packing 262 as a seat, a cover lower member 263 that holds the vacuum valve 261, a cover upper member 264 that covers the vacuum valve 261, and a pan 11 that communicates with the pan 11. The first cover portion 275 and the second passage portion 276 communicating with the outside of the pressure adjusting portion 251, and the lower cover member 263 or the upper cover member 264 constituting the housing portion 284 are attached to the outer lid cover 35. .

  In this case, the cover lower member 263 or the cover upper member 264 constituting the pressure adjusting unit 251 is attached to the outer lid cover 35 without attaching the pressure adjusting unit 251 to the inner lid 56. When removing 56 from the lid 31 and performing cleaning or the like, it does not feel heavy and the usability is improved. Further, by using the cover lower member 263 and the cover upper member 264 also as the attachment portion to the lid 31, the increase in the number of parts can be suppressed and the product cost can be reduced. Furthermore, the pressure adjusting unit 251 can be standardized by being configured by a vacuum valve 261, a vacuum valve packing 262, a cover lower member 263, a cover upper member 264, a first passage portion 275, and a second passage portion 276. Since development to a product becomes possible, an inexpensive rice cooker with reduced product cost can be provided in this respect as well.

Further, in this example, the outer cover cover 35 is provided with a third passage portion 278 as a hole communicating with the pan 11 as a predetermined portion, and the first passage portion 275 provided in the cover lower member 263 is replaced with a tube 279, for example. The vacuum valve packing 262 is connected to the three passage portions 278 and is formed of an elastic material. When the housing portion 284 of the vacuum valve 261 moves, the vacuum valve 261 is formed in a funnel shape so that the vacuum valve 261 rolls in close contact. and a mounting surface 271, Ru is configured with a through-hole 272 provided at the center portion of the mounting face 271. The first passage portion 275 is provided in the lower cover member 263 that holds the vacuum valve 261, and the first passage portion 275 is connected to the third passage portion 278 provided in the outer lid cover 35, so that the cover of the pressure adjustment portion 251 is provided. The first passage portion 275 provided in the lower member 263 can be opened and closed by the vacuum valve 261. Moreover, by forming the vacuum valve packing 262 of a flexible material having elasticity, between the cover lower member 263 and a cover upper member 264 and the vacuum valve packing 262 is sandwiched in close contact without outside air communication, also vacuum When the accommodating portion 284 of the valve 261 moves, the vacuum valve 261 can also roll while being in close contact with the vacuum valve packing 262. Therefore, the pressure regulation in the pan 11 can be switched reliably, and the pressure reduction performance in the pan 11 can be improved.

  Furthermore, in this example, the pressure reducing means 81 for bringing the inside of the pan 11 into a pressure-reduced state lower than the atmospheric pressure is provided, and the pressure reducing means 81 is connected to and communicated with the second passage portion 276. In this way, when the decompression means 81 communicating with the second passage portion 276 is operated in a state where the vacuum valve 261 has opened the first passage portion 275, the air in the pan 11 is discharged to the outside, and then the vacuum valve 261 Is moved to close the first passage portion 275 and the operation of the decompression means 81 is stopped, whereby the inside of the pan 11 can be maintained in a decompressed state. Thus, in connection with the operation of the decompression means 81, by moving the vacuum valve 261, the pressure regulation in the pan 11 can be switched more reliably, and the decompression performance in the pan can be further improved. .

  The pressure adjusting unit 251 in this example has a configuration in which no communication unit is provided other than the first passage unit 275 and the second passage unit 276. That is, since the pressure adjusting unit 251 is not provided with any other communication part other than the first passage part 275 and the second passage part 276, it is possible to prevent the pressure adjustment part 251 from communicating with the outside air, In the configuration in which the inside of the pan 11 is not pressurized, the pressure reduction performance can be improved. Also, by providing a vacuum valve 261 inside the pressure adjustment unit 251, and moving the pressure adjustment unit 251 itself, the vacuum valve 261 can be moved to open and close the path between the pan 11 and the outside of the pressure adjustment unit 251, An inexpensive structure can be adopted as the depressurization switching means, and the product cost can be suppressed.

  In addition, in this example, the pressure adjusting unit 251 is disposed inside the outer lid 32 and the outer lid cover 35, so that the pressure adjusting unit 251 is surrounded not by the inner lid 56 but by the outer lid 32 and the outer lid cover 35. Therefore, when the inner lid 56 is removed from the lid 31 and cleaning is performed, the product can be made compact and the usability can be improved.

  Next, the configuration of the adjusting means 301 for controlling the pressure in the pan 11 to a predetermined value less than the atmospheric pressure will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20. The adjusting means 301 corresponding to this pressure adjusting mechanism is not limited to the rice cooker shown in FIGS. 1 to 18, and can be applied to any rice cooker provided with at least the pressure reducing means 81.

  The adjusting means 301 here is provided around a hole 302 provided in the inner lid 56, and includes an adjusting case 303, an adjusting spring 304, a valve body 305, and an adjusting washer 306. The adjustment case 303 has a cylindrical shape with an open upper surface, and is placed and fixed on the upper surface of the inner lid 56. An adjustment spring 304, a valve body 305, and an adjustment washer 306 are provided therein. The adjustment spring 304 disposed between the adjustment case 303 and the adjustment washer 306 has an elastic force that pushes the adjustment washer 306 upward. On the upper surface of the adjustment washer 306, a groove 307 is formed as a fitted portion into which a flange portion 314 of the adjustment shaft 311 described later can be fitted.

  The valve body 305 includes a rod-shaped adjustment shaft 311, a flange-shaped shaft retainer 312 attached to the lower end of the adjustment shaft 311, and an adjustment rubber attached to the lower end portion of the adjustment shaft 311 using the shaft retainer 312. 313. A flange 314 that can be fitted into the groove 307 is provided at the upper end of the adjustment shaft 311. The flange 314 is exposed when the inner lid assembly 55 is removed from the lid 31. By using the flange 314, the user can adjust the adjustment shaft 311 in the direction of the arrow A or A ′ shown in FIG. It can be rotated in the direction. The adjustment shaft 311 penetrates not only the hole 302 provided in the inner lid 56 but also the center part of the adjustment case 303 and the adjustment washer 306, and the adjustment rubber 313 facing the inside of the pan 11 has a larger shape than the hole 302. doing. For this reason, the flange 314 of the adjustment shaft 311 is normally pushed up against the upper surface of the adjustment washer 306 by the elastic force of the adjustment spring 304, and the adjustment rubber 313 is then brought into contact with the lower surface of the inner lid 56 to close the hole 302. It has a structure.

  Then, when the pressure in the pan 11 is reduced to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure by the pressure reducing means 81 and the pressure value in the pan 11 gradually decreases, the inner lid assembly 55 including the inner lid 56 is pulled to the pan 11 side and downward. Moving. Eventually, when the inner lid assembly 55 hits the pan 11 and can no longer move downward, the inner rubber assembly 313 tries to pull the adjustment rubber 313 away from the lower surface of the inner lid 56 against the elastic force of the adjustment spring 304. When the pressure in the pan 11 decreases and reaches a predetermined value, the adjustment rubber 313 is separated from the lower surface of the inner lid 56 and the hole 302 is opened, and the inside of the pan 11 communicates with the outside of the rice cooker through the hole 302. Therefore, the pressure in the pan 11 is not reduced below a predetermined value. When the pressure in the pan 11 is reduced to a certain level, whether the adjustment rubber 313 is separated from the inner lid 56 depends on the elastic force of the adjustment spring 314 and the normal length.

  The groove 307 of the adjustment washer 306 and the flange 314 of the adjustment shaft 311 correspond to an adjustment unit that varies the elastic force of the adjustment spring 314 that is an elastic means. Here, by rotating the adjusting shaft 311 in the direction of the arrow A or A ′, as shown in FIG. 19, the flange 314 is not fitted into the groove 307, or as shown in FIG. Can be fitted into the groove 307. In FIG. 19, the length under load of the adjustment spring 314 when the flange 314 is not fitted in the groove 307 is L, and in FIG. 20, the adjustment spring 314 when the flange 314 is fitted in the groove 307 When the length under load is L ′, the adjustment washer 306 is separated from the upper surface of the inner lid 56 by the amount corresponding to the depth of the groove 307 in the case of FIG. 20 compared to the case of FIG. L ′> L and the elastic force of the adjustment spring 314 is weakened. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 20, the force for closing the hole 302 by the pressure adjusting rubber 313 is weaker than in the case of FIG. In this way, by moving the adjustment washer 306 and changing the positional relationship between the flange 314 of the adjustment shaft 311 and the groove 307, the pressure lower limit value in the pan 11 in the reduced pressure state can be adjusted to an optimum value. .

  In this embodiment, a single groove 307 is formed in the adjustment washer 306, but a plurality of grooves 307 having different depths may be formed so that adjustment can be performed in any number of stages. Further, the configuration as the adjusting portion is not limited to the groove 307 and the flange 314 as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20.

  Thus, in the examples of FIGS. 19 and 20, the pan 11, the heating coil 16 that heats the pan 11, the main body 1 that includes the heating coil 16, the lid 31 that covers the main body 1, the main body 1, and thus the pan In the rice cooker provided with a decompression means 81 that makes the inside of 11 a decompressed state lower than the atmospheric pressure, the rice cooker is provided with an adjusting means 301 that does not reduce the pressure in the pan 11 to a predetermined value or less in the decompressed state. The pressure in the pan 11 is adjusted by an adjustment spring 304 that is an elastic member.

  That is, here, the elastic force of the adjustment spring 304 provided in the adjustment means 301 can be used so that the pressure in the pan 11 is not reduced below a predetermined value in a reduced pressure state. Therefore, even when the pressure reducing operation is continuously performed due to a failure of the pressure reducing means 81, for example, the pressure in the pan 11 can be prevented from being reduced to a predetermined value or less, and the pressure can be reduced without relying on an expensive pressure adjusting device. It is possible to appropriately set the pressure value in the pan 11 in a state and reduce the cooking cost while suppressing the product cost.

  Further, in this modified example, the groove 307 and the flange 314 are provided as an adjustment portion that changes the elastic force of the adjustment spring 304, so that the elastic force of the adjustment spring 304 can be changed using such an adjustment portion. Therefore, according to foodstuffs, menus, etc., the pressure value in the pan 11 in a decompressed state can be adjusted each time to improve cooking performance.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, It can change in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

1 body
11 Pot
31 Lid
32 outer lid
35 Outer cover (lid cover)
81 Pressure reducing means
261 Vacuum valve
262 Vacuum valve packing (seat)
263 Cover lower member (holding part)
264 Upper cover member (cover part)
271 Mounting surface
272 Through hole
275 1st passage
276 Second passage
278 Third communication part (hole)
284 containment

Claims (2)

In a rice cooker provided with a pan, a main body provided with the pan, a lid, and pressure regulating means,
The lid body includes an outer lid that forms an outer appearance, and a lid cover that is positioned other than above the outer lid and covers the pan,
The pressure regulating means includes a valve body, a seat part, a holding part that holds the valve body, a cover part that covers the valve body, a first passage part that communicates with the pan, and an outside of the pressure regulating means. And a second passage portion communicating with
The holding part or the cover part is configured to be attached to the lid cover,
The lid cover is provided with a hole communicating with the pan, the first passage part provided in the holding part is connected to the hole,
The seat portion is formed of an elastic member, and when the accommodating portion of the valve body moves, a placement surface formed in a funnel shape so that the valve body rolls in close contact, and the placement surface described above A rice cooker comprising a through hole provided at the center of the rice cooker. Comprising a decompression means for bringing the inside of the main body into a decompressed state lower than atmospheric pressure;
The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the decompression means is communicated with the second passage portion.