JP6131697B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  This invention relates to the steam hole packing structure which fits the pressure regulation unit of the cover body of a rice cooker.

  Recently, the demand for rice cookers has increased, and many functions have been added along with it. For example, an induction heating method using a work coil as a heating means has been adopted, and precise and efficient rice cooking control and subsequent Rice cookers are widely used as one of easy-to-use products, such as being able to reliably perform heat insulation control over a long period of time.

  A lid is provided above the main body of the rice cooker. In the lid body, a steam passage is formed which communicates with the inside of the inner pan and allows excess steam generated in the inner pan to escape to the outside during cooking, and the steam passage is provided in the upper part of the lid body. Communicated with the hole.

  This steam hole has a pressure regulating unit having a pressure regulating valve inside through an annular steam hole packing, or a steam hole unit having a large space instead of the pressure regulating unit (hereinafter referred to as “all”). The pressure unit is detachably fitted, and excess steam in the inner pot is discharged to the outside from a steam port provided on the upper surface of the pressure adjusting unit or the upper surface of the lid.

  By the way, in the conventional annular steam hole packing, a fitting part for fitting to the inner end part of the vapor hole of the lid body is fitted to the outer peripheral end, and the pressure adjusting unit is detachably fitted to the inner peripheral end. However, both the fitting part and the inner peripheral surface are circular (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  An example of the steam hole packing in which both the fitting portion and the inner peripheral surface are circular is shown in FIG. 9 (FIG. 9A is a plan view and FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view). The steam hole packing P is a member made of silicon rubber having the fitting portion 1 on the outer peripheral portion and the seal portion 2 on the inner peripheral portion.

  The fitting portion 1 has a circular and groove-shaped upper lid member fitting portion 1a having an upper opening above the upper portion, and a circular and groove-like lower opening at the lower portion. The under lid member fitting portion 1b has the same shape as the joint portion 1a, and the over lid member fitting portion 1a is fitted into a circular cylindrical portion depending on the lower surface of the inner end portion of the vapor hole of the over lid member. The fitting portion 1b for the lower lid member is fitted to a circular cylindrical portion standing on the upper surface of the inner end portion of the vapor hole of the lower lid member, and the vapor hole of the upper lid member and the lower lid member Clamp it with the steam hole and fix it. In the case of this example, when the lid upper member and the lid lower member are assembled to form the lid body, one vapor hole is formed inside the lid body by the vapor hole of the lid upper member and the vapor hole of the lid lower member. Will be.

  The seal portion 2 is located on the inner peripheral side of the fitting portion 1 and is a portion that is deformed and allows the fitting when the pressure adjusting unit is fitted. It has surface 3. The length in the radial direction and the thickness in the vertical direction are the same on the entire circumference.

  After the steam hole packing P is attached to the steam hole of the lid as described above, the circular cylindrical portion hanging from the lower end of the pressure adjusting unit is fitted to the inner peripheral surface 3 of the seal portion 2 of the steam hole packing P. The pressure adjustment unit will be installed.

  In this case, since the length in the radial direction of the seal portion 2 of the steam hole packing P is the same in the entire circumference, the seal portion 2 is deformed in substantially the same manner in the entire circumference, and the pressure adjustment unit can be attached and detached. After fitting, it adheres evenly to the entire outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion and eliminates steam leakage.

  By the way, since the inside of the above-described pressure adjusting unit penetrates into the interior and the inside becomes dirty, it is necessary to remove the inside from the steam hole packing P and wash the inside. In addition, the diameter D of the inner peripheral surface 3 of the steam hole packing P is made smaller than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion of the pressure regulating unit. However, if the length of the diameter D is reduced, the sealing force increases, but the pressure regulating unit. When the diameter D is increased, the pressure adjusting unit is easily attached and detached, but on the other hand, a new problem is caused that the sealing force is weakened.

  As described above, the steam hole packing P has a contradictory function. However, the difficulty in attaching / detaching the pressure adjusting unit can be solved by attaching / detaching it with a strong force, but there is a problem if the steam leaks due to insufficient sealing force. From the viewpoint of increasing the size, the conventional steam hole packing P is made with an emphasis on securing a proper sealing force.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-216011

  The object of the present invention is to solve the above problems. That is, the sealing force between the pressure adjusting unit and the steam hole packing is an appropriate sealing force as before, and a steam hole packing structure that facilitates the attachment and detachment of the pressure adjusting unit is provided.

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

In the invention according to claim 1, a main body forming an outer shell, an inner pot accommodated in the main body, a heating source provided in the main body, a lid, and a steam hole provided in the lid, In the rice cooker having a pressure adjusting unit for discharging the steam generated in the inner pot to the outside, an operation part provided on the front side, and a hinge part provided on the rear side, in the steam hole, The fitting portion of the annular steam hole packing is fitted, and the pressure regulating unit is detachably fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the steam hole packing, and between the inner peripheral surface and the fitting portion. The length is configured such that the operation part side and the hinge part side are long, or one of the operation part side and the hinge part side is long . The pressure regulating unit may or may not have a pressure regulating valve inside.

Further , the inner peripheral surface and the fitting portion may have different shapes.

Further, the inner peripheral surface is circular, the fitting portion may be configured as an oval shape. “Oval” includes not only an oval shape but also a track shape having an arc portion and a straight portion.

  The present invention is characterized in that the length between the inner peripheral surface of the steam hole packing and the fitting portion varies depending on the place. By the way, since the steam hole packing is made of silicon rubber and the fitting portion is fixed, the deformation amount of the portion increases as the length of the seal portion increases. Also, when removing the pressure adjustment unit from the steam hole packing, rather than lifting the entire pressure adjustment unit directly upward, lift one end of the outer periphery of the pressure adjustment unit with your fingers, etc. Removal in the form of lifting is common.

  The above configuration is one that makes a part of the length of the seal part longer than the other part, in other words, longer than the conventional part, and the amount of deformation can be increased by the length. As a result, the sealing force of the steam hole packing can be made appropriate as before, and the pressure adjusting unit can be easily attached and detached.

  In this case, for example, the long region is set in advance by aligning the position in the direction so that the rotation direction of the pressure adjusting unit (the direction in which the finger is pushed up) matches the long region. Become.

Whole sectional view of the rice cooker of the present invention Top view of part of lid The top view which shows the state which removed the cover upper member of the cover body Partial sectional view showing a state in which a member such as a pressure regulating valve is removed from the lid The perspective view which looked at the state which removed the cover part and the main-body part from the diagonal upper direction from the pressure regulation unit The perspective view which looked at the state which removed the cover part and the main-body part from the diagonally lower side of the pressure regulation unit (A) is a plan view of the steam hole packing, (B) is a sectional view of the steam hole packing. Top view of other steam hole packing Plan view and sectional view of conventional steam hole packing

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is an overall cross-sectional view of the rice cooker, FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views of a part of the lid, FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lid, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the pressure adjusting unit. 7 and 8 are plan views and the like of the steam hole packing. In FIG. 1, the left side with the operation unit is the front, the right side with the opposite hinge shaft is the rear, the direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction is the left-right direction, the upper side is the upper side, and the lower side is the lower side.

  The substantially whole rice cooker 20 (including rice cooker) is shown in FIG. The rice cooker 20 includes a main body 21 and a lid body 40. The main body 21 has an outer case 22 made of a synthetic resin integrally molded product, and an inner pot 23 such as a metal pan or earthen pot is detachably set in the outer case 22. An inner case 24 that is a protective frame along the shape of the inner pot 23 is provided on the outside of the inner pot 23.

  The inner case 24 is made of a heat-resistant synthetic resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, and has a sensor insertion hole for allowing a temperature sensor 25 made of a thermistor to face the center of the bottom.

  The upper end of the inner case 24 is integrally coupled to the upper end of the outer case 22 via a shoulder member 26 that is a shoulder portion. A bottom work coil 27 and a side work coil 28 which are heating means for induction heating the inner pot 23 are provided on the bottom outer surface of the inner case 24 and the curved outer surface from the bottom to the side. The bottom work coil 27 and the side work coil 28 are provided concentrically around the center of the bottom of the inner case 24 at each position of the bottom and curved portions of the inner case 24. The shoulder member 26 may be integrated with the main body 21 or may be a separate body.

  Below these bottom work coil 27 and side work coil 28, there is a coil support base 29 made of synthetic resin, and this coil support base 29 is attached to the inner case 24 with screws or the like, so that the bottom work coil 27 and The side work coil 28 is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position shown in the figure.

  The bottom part of the outer case 22 is formed integrally with the side part, and forms a container having an opening upward as a whole. A control board 32 is provided inside the rear of the outer case 22 so as to hang from the shoulder member 26.

  On the control board 32, electric parts such as a microcomputer and a power supply circuit for controlling heating means such as the bottom work coil 27 and the side work coil 28 are mounted. A cord winder 33 is provided on the rear side of the control board 32.

  The lid body 40 includes a resin lid upper member 41 and a lid lower member 42 that form an outer peripheral surface. A lock mechanism 43 is provided on the front side of the lid upper member 41. The lock mechanism 43 includes a lock lever 43a and a locking portion 43b that are also push buttons. When the lock lever 43a is pressed from above, a locking portion 43b positioned below the lock lever 43a is provided at the upper end of the main body 21. The engagement with the locking portion is released. Then, the lid 40 is opened by the spring force of a coil spring 62 and an auxiliary coil spring 63 which are hinge springs described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, various operation buttons 44 and a display unit 45 such as a rice cooking button, a reservation button, a cancel button, and a menu button are provided on the front side of the lid upper member 41, and the user presses the various operation buttons 44. Perform the desired cooking. Then, the operated menu or the like is displayed on the display unit 45.

  Further, on the rear side of the lid upper member 41, there is a recessed region R for mounting a pressure adjusting unit described later. The recessed area R is a substantially U-shaped area in plan view that is recessed from the rear side to the front side by substantially the same depth, and is a part of the vapor hole 46 at the front center of the recessed area R. It has a lid upper member side vapor hole 46a.

  The lid upper member-side steam hole 46a has a track shape, and has an inner peripheral end having a track-shaped lower cylindrical portion 46aa that hangs down slightly for a certain length. The lid upper member side steam hole 46a has the same shape as the lid lower member side steam hole 46b described later, and a steam hole packing 80 described later between the lower cylindrical portion 46aa and the upper cylindrical portion 46bb of the lid lower member side steam hole 46b. Pinch.

  The upper lid member side vapor hole 46a and the lower lid member side vapor hole 46b constitute one vapor hole 46. The shape of the vapor hole 46 may be an elliptical shape in addition to a track shape having an arc portion and a straight portion.

  The lid lower member 42 is a resin member similar to the lid upper member 41, and has a track-shaped lid lower member side vapor hole 46b from the center and rear of the lid lower member 42. The lid lower member side steam hole 46b has the same shape as the lid upper member side steam hole 46a located immediately below the lid upper member side steam hole 46a, and is provided with a slight length upward at the inner peripheral end thereof. It has a track-shaped upper cylindrical portion 46bb.

  As described above, the upper cylindrical portion 46bb sandwiches the steam hole packing 80 with the lower cylindrical portion 46aa, and the pressure regulating unit 70 described later is fitted into the steam hole packing 80.

  Further, the lid lower member 42 has a spherical valve 48 and a steam passage 50, and the steam in the inner pot 23 flows as indicated by a black arrow when the spherical valve 48 is opened, and the pressure adjusting unit 70. It penetrates into the inside and is separated and the contained rice cake is released to the outside through the steam port 72a.

  A reinforcing member 55 as shown in FIG. 3 is attached to the upper surface of the lid lower member 42 from above with a plurality of screws. The reinforcing member 55 is located at the left and right ends, extends in the front-rear direction, and connects the raised portions 55a and 55a having a gate-like cross section that is open downward and the lower ends of the raised portions 55a and 55a, and is partially cut out. It is a metal member consisting of a horizontal portion 55b having a top and reinforces the upper surface of the lid 40. By providing such a reinforcing member 55, it is possible to use rice cooking under pressure.

  The rear end of the horizontal portion 55b of the reinforcing member 55 has a first cut-and-raised piece 56 that is cut and includes a vertical portion and a horizontal portion. And the long end part 63a of the postscript auxiliary coil spring 63 is supported by the lower surface of this horizontal part.

  The horizontal portion 55b of the reinforcing member 55 is formed with two small second raised portions 57 having a vertical portion and a horizontal portion at a predetermined distance in the left-right direction, and two coil springs 62 to be described later. , 62 are supported respectively.

  A metal hinge shaft 60 is provided at the rear portion of the lid lower member 42. Shaft support holes 61 and 61 are formed in the rear end portions of the raised portions 55a and 55a of the reinforcing member 55, respectively, and both ends of the hinge shaft 60 cannot be rotated in the shaft support holes 61 and 61, respectively. Mounted.

  The hinge shaft 60 has two coil springs 62 and 62 that are symmetrical and have the same spring force, and have a long end 62a having a long length and a short end 62b having a short length, respectively. The auxiliary coil spring 63 having a spring force weaker than that of the coil springs 62 and 62 and having a long end portion 63a having a long length and a short end portion 63b having a short length (see FIG. 1) is inserted.

  The long end portions 62a and 62a of the two coil springs 62 and 62 are supported by the second cut and raised pieces 57 and 57, the short end portions 62b and 62b are supported on the shoulder member 26 side, and the auxiliary coil spring 63 is supported. The long end 63a is supported by the first cut and raised piece 56, and the short end 63b is supported on the shoulder member 26 side.

  The auxiliary coil spring 63 is a spring having a weaker spring force than the pair of coil springs 62, 62. By providing the auxiliary coil spring 63, the overall spring force is increased. Is opened at a high speed, and immediately after the finger is released from the lock lever 43a when the lid is opened, it is possible to prevent the lid 40 from being locked again and to apply a braking action to the lid 40 near the fully opened position. Thus, the impact when fully opened can be reduced. However, the auxiliary coil spring 63 may not be provided.

  The pressure adjustment unit will be described. There are pressure regulating units that have a pressure regulating valve inside and those that do not have a pressure regulating valve, but the present invention covers both. The pressure regulating unit 70 described below is the latter type, and has a wide pressure regulating space in which pressure is regulated by lowering the temperature instead of the pressure regulating valve.

  FIGS. 5 and 6 are exploded perspective views of the main body 71 and the lid 72 of the pressure adjusting unit 70. FIG. The pressure adjustment unit 70 is made of resin and includes a main body 71 and a lid 72.

  The main body 71 is a container-like member having an upper opening and a rectangular shape in plan view. The bottom surface of the main body 71 is inclined downward from the rear end toward the front end, and has a wide internal space 73 inside. The internal space 73 has a function of collecting the rice cake and returning it to the main body 21 side.

  A bottomed, circular cylindrical body 74 is provided on the bottom of the front side of the main body 71 so as to hang downward from the bottom, and a circular cylindrical projection is provided at the center of the cylindrical body 74 with a lower opening. The body 75 is concentrically provided with a predetermined distance from the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 74, and forms a ring-shaped space 76 between the cylindrical body 74.

  The cylindrical projecting body 75 extends to substantially the same height as the main body 71, and has an upper end opening 75a that opens toward the rear side at the upper end. Further, the lower end has a lower end opening 75b. When the pressure adjustment unit 70 is attached to the lid 40, the lower end opening 75b communicates with the vapor passage 50 of the lid 40.

  The bottom of the ring-shaped space 76 has a hole (not shown), and a donut-shaped and thin check valve 77 that covers this opening but does not cover the lower end opening 75b. When a certain amount of the rice cake separated in the internal space 73 is accumulated in the ring-shaped space 76, the collected rice cake is returned to the main body 21 side through the steam passage 50. However, entry of steam from the steam passage 50 is prevented.

  Further, the front side surface of the main body 71 has a push button 71a protruding forward, and a locking projection 71b that moves rearward when the push button 71a is pressed. It has two U-shaped locking pieces 71c and 71c protruding to the side.

  The lid 72 is a plate-like member having a rectangular shape in plan view, and has a steam port 72a penetrating in the vertical direction on the upper surface thereof. A C-shaped shielding plate 72b hangs downward on the inner surface. The shielding plate 72b is disposed so as to face the upper end opening 75a of the cylindrical projecting body 75, applies steam that enters the internal space 73 from the upper end opening 75a, and separates the included screws.

  Further, the front side surface of the lid portion 72 has a locking groove 72c for engaging with the locking projection 71b of the main body portion 71, and on the rear side thereof, the U-shaped locking of the main body portion 71. Two locking hooks 72d and 72d for engaging the pieces 71c and 71c are provided.

  The main body portion 71 and the lid portion 72 are assembled by engaging the engagement protrusions 71b with the engagement grooves 72c after engaging the U-shaped engagement pieces 71c, 71c with the engagement hooks 72d, 72d. Unit 70 is completed.

  Then, the completed pressure adjusting unit 70 is attached to the recessed region R on the rear side of the lid upper member 41. For the attachment, the outer peripheral surface 74a of the cylindrical body 74 of the pressure adjusting unit 70 is previously provided in the steam hole 46. Is carried out in such a manner that it is pushed from above into the inner peripheral surface 82a of the steam hole packing 80 fitted therein.

  The steam hole packing 80 will be described. The steam hole packing 80 is a bilaterally symmetric silicon rubber annular member having a fitting portion 81 on the outer peripheral portion and a seal portion 82 on the inner peripheral portion.

  The fitting portion 81 has a track-shaped and groove-shaped lid upper member fitting portion 81a opened upward at the upper side, and a track-shaped and groove-shaped fitting portion opened downward at the lower side, and the lid upper member The upper lid member fitting portion 81a has the same shape as the lower lid member fitting portion 81b. In addition, although this fitting part 81 is demonstrated as a groove | channel, when the other party is a groove | channel, it becomes the protrusion piece protruded upwards.

  The seal portion 82 is located on the inner peripheral side of the fitting portion 81 and is a portion that is deformed to allow the fitting when the pressure adjusting unit 70 is fitted, and has a circular shape with a diameter D on its inner circumference. It has an inner peripheral surface 82a. The diameter D of the inner peripheral surface 82a corresponds to the diameter D of the conventional example in FIG.

  The thickness of the seal portion 82 in the vertical direction is the same throughout the entire circumference, but the length in the front-rear direction and the length in the left-right direction are different. That is, the length T in the front-rear direction is the longest, the length t in the left-right direction is the shortest, and the length from the front-rear direction to the left-right direction is gradually shortened.

  Note that the length t in the left-right direction corresponds to the length t in the conventional example of FIG. 6, that is, the length at which an appropriate sealing force can be obtained. By adopting such a form, the sealing force can be made the same as the conventional one.

  Further, at the left and right ends of the steam hole packing 80, plate-like bodies 83, 83 having a rectangular shape in a side view hanging down are provided. These plate-like bodies 83 and 83 are for alignment, and are inserted into two grooves (not shown) provided at predetermined positions on the lid lower member 42 at a predetermined distance.

Therefore, the steam hole packing 80 is always attached so that the long side is in the front-rear direction. The reason is that, when removing the pressure adjusting unit 70, a finger is put on the rear end portion of the pressure adjusting unit 70 and a force is applied in the front-rear direction to remove it .

  By forming the steam hole packing 80 in such a form, when a force in the front-rear direction is applied to the steam hole packing 80, the seal part 82 in the longest front-rear direction part is easily deformed, and the pressure-control unit 70 is attached / detached. Becomes easier.

  In this case, if the long portion of the seal portion 82 is provided on the front side and the rear side in the front-rear direction, the front-rear direction side is easily deformed. Although it is preferable to be large, the long portion may be on either the front-rear direction side.

  The vapor hole packing 80 is attached as follows. First, the plate-like bodies 83 and 83 of the steam hole packing 80 are fitted into a groove (not shown), and the lid lower member fitting portion 81 b is fitted to the upper cylindrical portion 46 bb of the lid lower member 42. Next, the upper lid member 41 is attached above the lower lid member 42, and the lower cylindrical portion 46 aa of the upper lid member 41 is fitted into the upper lid member fitting portion 81 a of the vapor hole packing 80 so that the vapor hole packing 80 is attached. The upper cylindrical portion 46bb and the lower cylindrical portion 46aa are clamped and fixed.

  Thereafter, the outer peripheral surface 74 a of the cylindrical body 74 of the pressure adjusting unit 70 is fitted into the inner peripheral surface 82 a of the steam hole packing 80. When removing the pressure adjustment unit 70, put a finger on the rear end of the lid 72, move the finger diagonally upward on the front side, and lift the pressure adjustment unit 70 diagonally upward toward the front side. Will be removed.

  FIG. 8 shows a modification of the steam hole packing. In this example, the inner peripheral surface 82a of the fitting portion 81 and the seal portion 82 is made circular, and the inner peripheral surface 82a of the seal portion 82 is eccentric, so that the seal portion 82 has a long T region and a length. The short t region is formed.

  And the thing of this example is arrange | positioned so that the up-down direction of a figure may become the front-back direction of a rice cooker. Also in this example, the same effect as in FIG. 7 can be obtained.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment, and can be appropriately changed in design without departing from the gist of the invention.For example, the shape of the inner peripheral surface of the steam hole packing has been described as circular, As long as it is the same as the shape of the fitting portion of the pressure adjusting unit, any shape, for example, a polygon, etc. may be used, and the shape of the fitting portion may be elliptical or other shapes. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Rice cooker 21 ... Main body 22 ... Outer case 23 ... Inner pan 24 ... Inner case 25 ... Temperature sensor 26 ... Shoulder member 27 ... Bottom work coil 28 ... Side work coil 29 ... Coil support stand 32 ... Control board 33 ... Code Winding device 40 ... Lid 41 ... Upper lid member 42 ... Lower lid member 43 ... Lock mechanism 43a ... Lock lever 43b ... Locking portion 44 ... Operation button 45 ... Display portion 46 ... Steam hole 46a ... Upper lid member side steam hole 46aa ... Lower cylindrical portion 46b ... Lower lid member side steam hole 46bb ... Upper cylindrical portion 48 ... Spherical valve 50 ... Steam passage 55 ... Reinforcement member 55a ... Raised portion 55b ... Horizontal portion 55c ... Notched hole 56 ... First cut and raised piece 56a ... Vertical portion 56b ... Horizontal portion 57 ... Second cut and raised piece 60 ... Hinge shaft 61 ... Shaft support hole 62 ... Coil spring 62a ... Long end portion 62b ... Short end portion 63 ... Auxiliary coil Spring 63a ... Long end portion 63b ... Short end portion 70 ... Pressure adjusting unit 71 ... Main body portion 71a ... Push button 71b ... Locking projection 71c ... U-shaped locking piece 72 ... Lid portion 72a ... Steam port 72b ... Shielding plate 72c ... Locking groove 72d ... Locking hook 73 ... Internal space 74 ... Cylindrical body 74a ... Outer peripheral surface 75 ... Cylindrical protrusion 75a ... Upper end opening 75b ... Lower end opening 76 ... Ring-shaped space 77 ... Check valve 80 ... Steam hole packing 81... Fitting portion 81 a... Lid upper member fitting portion 81 b... Lid lower member fitting portion 82... Seal portion 82 a.

Claims (1)

A main body forming an outer shell, an inner pot accommodated in the main body, a heating source provided in the main body, a lid, a steam hole provided in the lid, and steam generated in the inner pan In a rice cooker having a pressure adjusting unit for discharging the gas to the outside, an operation part provided on the front side, and a hinge part provided on the rear side ,
The steam hole is fitted with a fitting portion of an annular steam hole packing,
The pressure regulating unit is detachably fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the steam hole packing,
The length between the inner peripheral surface and the fitting portion is such that the operation portion side and the hinge portion side are long, or one of the operation portion side and the hinge portion side is long. vessel.

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