JP6685177B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker.

  As a conventional rice cooker of this type, in the summary column of Patent Document 1, "a main body, an inner pot that can be detachably stored in the main unit and that contains rice that is a heated object, and a side outer periphery of the inner pot are provided. A vacuum container provided with a vacuum layer for covering, an induction heating means for heating the inner pot from the bottom surface, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the bottom face of the inner pot, a side wall of the inner pot provided between the inner pot and the vacuum container. A copper heater consisting of a resistance heating element capable of heating, a control unit for controlling the induction heating means and the copper heater based on the temperature information from the temperature sensor according to the amount of rice cooked and the rice cooking process, and the controller comprises During the steaming process of the rice cooking process, the temperature of the side surface of the inner pot is controlled to be heated to 100 ° C or higher. "

  In the summary column of Patent Document 2, "a main body having an opening on the upper surface, a lid for opening and closing the upper surface of the main body, a pot that is housed inside the main body and into which rice to be cooked can be put, and heating for heating the pot A coil, and a control means for controlling energization of the heating coil, the control means of the heating coil in the process until the dry-up peak temperature is reached in the dry-up process after the boiling maintaining process of cooking the rice to be cooked. Energization control is performed. "

JP, 2015-217055, A JP, 2015-33652, A

  In paragraph 0028 of Patent Document 1, a button for cooking a small amount of rice is disclosed. Further, paragraph 0016 of Patent Document 2 discloses a hardness level selection switch and a tenacity level selection switch.

  However, the above-mentioned conventional technology does not sufficiently disclose how to cook according to the amount of cooked rice (for example, to adjust the stickiness, hardness, water content, etc. of cooked rice according to the cooked rice).

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker capable of differently cooking rice regardless of the amount of rice cooked.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a main body, an inner pot in the main body, heating means for heating the inner pot, an inverter circuit for supplying power to the heating means, It has a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the inner pot, an operating section for setting a small amount of rice cooked, and a control means for controlling the inverter circuit, and the control means is normally rice cooked or has a feeling of stickiness more than the ordinary rice cooked. In the hot rice cooked rice, in the heating step of heating the rice in the inner pot, the control circuit controls the inverter circuit by changing it so as to increase the control heating power during the heating step. The control heating power is set to be substantially the same when it is set by the operation unit and when it is not set by the operation unit, and when it is set by the operation unit, the energization rate after the change is more than before the change of the control heat power. Is large, when the setting is not set in the operation unit, the energization rate after the change is smaller than before the change in the control heating power, both before and after the change in the control heating power, when set in the operation unit. The rice cooker is characterized in that the inverter circuit is controlled so that the slope of the temperature rise of rice in the heating step becomes the same regardless of the amount of rice cooked, when it is not set by the operation unit.
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  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a rice cooker capable of differently cooking rice according to preference regardless of the amount of rice cooked.

Sectional drawing of the state which closed the outer cover of the rice cooker which concerns on one Example of this invention. Sectional drawing of the state which opened the outer cover of the rice cooker of FIG. The perspective view which looked at the dew condensation saucer and the inner lid from the outer lid side. The perspective view seen from the inner pan side of a condensation saucer and an inner lid. It is a control system diagram of the rice cooker which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation part of the rice cooker which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the heat power at the time of rice cooking and the energization rate which concern on one Example of this invention. It is an explanatory view of rice cooking normally concerning one example of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of rice cooked sharply which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of rice cake rice with which it concerns on one Example of this invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the rice cooker of one embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rice cooker of FIG. 1 with an outer lid 2 open.

  Reference numeral 1 is a main body of the rice cooker, and 2 is an outer lid that covers the upper opening of the main body 1 from above. The outer lid 2 opens and closes with the outer lid rotating shaft 1a as a fulcrum. Reference numeral 3 denotes an inner pot housed in the main body 1, 4 denotes an inner lid attached to the lower surface of the outer lid 2, and an inner lid made of stainless steel for covering the upper opening of the inner pot 3 and 5 denotes a dew condensation tray attached to the lower surface of the inner lid 4. Reference numeral 12 denotes an induction heating coil heating means for inductively heating the inner pot 3, 13 denotes a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot 3, and 24 is an inverter circuit for heating means according to the output of the control means 6 described later. The electric power supplied to 12 is controlled.

  7 is an inner lid steam passage provided in the inner lid 4, 8 is an outer lid steam passage provided in the outer lid 2 and communicating with the exhaust port 23, 9 is an inner lid steam passage provided in the inner lid 4 to the outer lid steam passage 7. A pressure adjusting unit 10 for controlling the discharge of steam to the passage 8 is a lid heating means provided on the outer lid 2 and heating the inner lid 4 and the condensation tray 5. The pressure adjusting unit 9 receives an electric signal from the control unit 6 described later and operates a solenoid or the like to mechanically open and close the passage to enable or disable the application of pressure to the inner pot 3. . In addition, the passage is closed by a ball by enabling the application of pressure, the pressure in the inner pot 3 that passes by the weight of the ball is limited, and when the application of pressure is disabled, the ball is removed from the passage and the pressure is reduced. It invalidates. The dew collection hole 51 and the dew receiving section 52 will be described in detail later.

  Here, the inner pot 3 is detachably accommodated in the upper opening of the main body 1, the inner lid 4 is detachably attached to the outer lid 2, and the dew condensation tray 5 is detachably attached to the inner lid 4. The inner pot 3 has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and the upper end portion thereof is bent substantially horizontally so that it can be easily attached to and detached from the main body 1.

  The lid heating means 10 and the heating means 12 are controlled by the control means 6, and the information obtained from the temperature detection means 13 is used for the control.

  Next, a method of mounting the dew condensation tray 5 on the inner lid 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inner lid 4 and the dew condensation tray 5 as viewed from the direction of the outer lid 2. The dew condensation tray 5 covers almost the entire surface of the inner lid 4, and has an aluminum dish 5a whose upper and lower surfaces are coated with a fluororesin, a rising wall 5b provided on the outer periphery thereof, and a resin fitted therein. The frame 5c and the seal packing 5d provided along the rising wall 5b. When the dew condensation tray 5 is attached to the inner lid 4, the tank 11 (see FIG. 1) sealed by the seal packing 5d is formed between the two. Further, the dew condensation tray 5 is provided with two types of holes, that is, a plurality of small holes arranged in a substantially concentric circle, that is, a vapor passage hole 5j and a rectangular dew collection hole 51.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the inner lid 4 and the dew tray 5 viewed from the direction of the inner pot 3. The dew condensation tray 5 is provided with an upper hook 5g that is biased upward by a spring (not shown) and a lower hook 5h. After fitting into the tool 4d, the upper hook 5g is pushed down against the spring 5f to fit into the upper receiver 4c of the inner lid 4, and the spring 5f returns to the upper position so that the upper hook 5g moves upward. It is fixed to the receiver 4c. In this way, the dew condensation tray 5 can be detachably attached to the inner lid 4.

  The main body 1 is provided with an operation unit 7 for the user to perform setting operations and confirmation of setting contents. The main body 1 is provided with a control means 6 provided with a microcomputer, which is provided with a function as a rice cooker by a control program stored in a memory, and when the power is turned on, the microcomputer is activated to perform various inputs. The signal is taken in and it functions as a rice cooker.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control means 6 controls the heating power of the heating means 12 via the inverter circuit 24 based on the input information from the operating section 7 and the temperature information of the temperature detecting means 13, and the heating power of the lid heating means 10 is controlled. Also control. The control means 6 is provided with a small amount button 16 for setting a small amount of rice so that a small amount of rice can be cooked deliciously.

The operation unit 7 will be described with reference to FIG.
The operation unit 7 includes a menu button 15, a small amount button 16 (details will be described later), a rice cooking button 17 for starting rice cooking, a display unit 22 for displaying set contents, a reservation button 21 for setting a reservation timer, An adjustment button 20 for adjusting the time with a clock setting or a reservation timer, a rice button 14 for selecting the type of rice, a heat retaining button 19 for selecting heat retention and switching of heat retention methods, and an off button 18 for stopping the operation are provided.

  The menu button 15 is used to select how the rice is cooked, according to the user's preference and purpose of the rice, and is selected from the crisp, normal, and mochi-mochi to set the cooking. As mentioned above, rice can be cooked separately into three types, “sharky”, “normal”, and “mochimochi”. Based on the results obtained from the taste survey of the applicant, rice can be cooked based on “normal”. The rice can be divided into "sharky" cooked rice with a low degree of gelatinization and high elasticity for each grain, and "mochimochi" cooked rice with a high degree of gelatinization of rice and a soft, chewy texture for each grain. is there.

  The small amount button 16 is selected when cooking rice for 1st and 2nd meals, and is for cooking rice corresponding to 1st and 2nd meals. The display unit 22 displays a small amount of small rice cooking settings such as 1 small amount and 2 small amounts.

  The rice button 14 enables cooking rice according to the type of rice.

  The rice cooker of the present embodiment includes the above configuration, and its operation will be described below.

  First, the operation of generating condensed water from steam generated during rice cooking and heating the condensed water to generate water vapor will be briefly described.

  First, when the user puts an appropriate amount of rice and water in the inner pot 3 and closes the outer lid 2, the inner lid 4 closes the upper portion of the inner pot 3 to form a sealed space. At this time, the tank 11 including the inner lid 4 and the dew condensation tray 5 is also included in this space.

  After that, when the user operates the rice cooking button 17, which is the start of rice cooking, rice cooking is started and the heating means 12 is energized to heat the inner pot 3. However, at this time, the lid heating means 10 is not energized.

  Steam (low-temperature steam) is generated when the inside of the inner pot 3 exceeds 60 ° C., and it contacts the inner peripheral surface of the inner pot 3 to cause dew condensation due to the temperature difference. Due to the dew condensation, the surface of the dew condensation tray 5 facing the inner pot 3 receives heat, so that the temperature of the dew tray 5 rises in a state close to the temperature of the hot water inside the inner pot 3.

  At this time, the inner lid 4 is almost entirely covered with the dew condensation receiving tray 5, and since the steam (low-temperature steam) does not come into contact with the inner lid 4 and the frame 5c of the dish portion 5a is made of resin, dew condensation is caused. Although the radiant heat from the tray 5 is received, the heat conduction from the condensation tray 5 is small and the temperature is lower than that of the condensation tray 5.

  Eventually, when the inner pot 3 boils, steam (100 ° C.) is generated and the pressure rises, and the tank 11 composed of the inner lid 4 and the condensation receiving tray 5 through the vapor circulation hole 5j and the dew collecting hole 51 of the condensation receiving tray 5 Steam flows into.

  At this time, since the pressure adjusting unit 9 is opened, this steam is discharged to the outside through the inner lid steam passage 7, the pressure adjusting unit 9, and the outer lid steam passage 8, but from the inner lid steam passage 7. Since the opening area of the steam flow hole 5j of the dew condensation tray 5 is large, the pressure in the inside of the inner pot 3 and the pressure in the gap between the dew tray 5 and the inner lid 4 are almost equal to each other, and the steam is transferred to the tank 11 between the dew tray 5 and the inner lid 4. Will be full.

  In addition, since the vapor circulation hole 5j and the dew collection hole 51 of the dew condensation tray 5 are at positions not facing the inner lid vapor passage 7, the vapor does not go out directly from the inner lid vapor passage 7 and the dew tray 5 Then, the tank 11 of the inner lid 4 is filled with steam. The filled vapor has a temperature lower than that of the dew condensation tray 5 and is condensed on the surface of the inner lid 4 opposite to the dew condensation tray 5 which is hard to be heated, and is condensed into water droplets and accumulated on the dew condensation tray 5. Since the inner lid 4 does not easily get warm and the lid heating means 10 is not performing the heating operation, the steam touching the inner lid 4 is dissipated, and the inner lid 4 is continuously condensed to form water droplets. Collect on top. As described above, during rice cooking, water is stored in the tank 11 formed by the dew condensation tray 5.

Next, the operation at the time of steaming performed after the rice cooking is completed will be described.
When shifting to steaming, the lid heating means 10 is energized to heat the inner lid 4, and the water droplets dripping from the lower surface of the inner lid 4 and accumulated in the dew condensation tray 5 are heated to become steam.

  At this time, since the pressure adjusting unit 9 is closed, the steam does not flow out of the exhaust port 23 through the outer lid steam passage 8 and the steam flow hole 5j and the dew collection hole of the dew condensation tray 5 are caused by the steam pressure. Steam is uniformly supplied from 51 to the whole of the inner pot 3, and the inside of the inner pot 3 is filled with the steam. As a result, the entire inside of the inner pot 3 can be steamed sufficiently to finish the rice deliciously.

  Even during the heat retention, as in the case of steaming, the steam is uniformly supplied to the entire inside of the inner pot 3, so that the inside of the inner pot 3 is humidified by the steam and the rice can be kept warm while suppressing the drying.

  The control of the energization of the heating means 12 and the lid heating means 10 in the above-mentioned steps from rice cooking to heat retention is performed by the control circuit 14 which inputs the temperature information from the temperature detecting means 13 which detects the temperature of the inner pot 3. Be seen.

Next, the rice cooking operation at the time of separate cooking will be described.
FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 show the temperature and the time lapse of electric power when rice is cooked with three pieces of white rice set, and the menu button 15 is used to set the cooking separately. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram in which “normal” is selected, FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram in which “shaky” is selected, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram in the case where “mochimochi” is selected.

  The differences between the different types of cooking will be described by comparing each operation with the rice cooking process (soaking, heating, steaming).

  In the soaking process, the rice absorbs a lot of water, which makes the cooked rice more chewy. As for the water absorption of rice, the longer the rice is soaked in water, the more the water absorption of rice increases. It is also known that the rate of water absorption of rice can be increased by increasing the temperature during soaking. The “normal” cooked rice shown in FIG. 8 is generally cooked by many people, and is heated when being soaked that the cooking time does not become too long to promote the absorption of rice water.

  The heating process following the soaking process is a process of cooking rice. Unlike the other rice cookers, only the "sharky" rice cooked in Fig. 9 is heated at a high heat and cooked in about 3 minutes. By heating with high thermal power, the water boils quickly and the temperature detecting means 13 detects dry-up. Therefore, the rice cooks quickly and the rice does not absorb much water. In the “normal” rice cooking of FIG. 8 and the “mochimochi” rice cooking of FIG. 10, first heating is performed with a weak heating power, and then heating is performed with a stronger heating power in two stages. In “normal” rice cooking, the temperature of the entire inner pot 3 is raised so as to remove excess water so that the rice is cooked fluffy. In the "mochimochi" rice cooking, the temperature of the entire inner pot 3 is raised to promote the absorption of water by the rice, while the rice is cooked fluffy.

  In the steaming process subsequent to the heating process, although not shown, the supply amount of steam is changed according to the cooking. There is a small amount of "shaky" rice, which prevents steam from adding excessive moisture to the rice and heating it to increase the stickiness of the rice. Most of the steam is supplied as "mochi-mochi" rice, and by supplying a large amount of steam, steam is supplied to the rice below the inner pan 3 to supply a large amount of water to the rice, which makes the rice feel more chewy. .

  By supplying steam in the steaming process, the pressure in the inner pot 3 can be kept high for a long time, so that the temperature of the rice can be heated to 100 ° C. or higher. Is heated to 100 ° C. or higher to promote α-starch formation (degree of α-formation) of rice and increase the deliciousness when eaten. In the rice cooker of the present embodiment, the average temperature of the rice in the steaming process during "normal" rice cooking is maintained high at about 100.9 ° C to cook delicious rice.

  Further, by supplying steam in the steaming step, the steam causes re-condensation on the surface of the rice after heat exchange, supplies water to the rice, and prevents the rice from drying when heated to 100 ° C. or higher. In addition, the moisture that has condensed on the surface of the rice is absorbed by the rice, and the texture of the rice becomes softer and the sticky feeling becomes stronger.

  Also, as the water used for the steam, the water that has condensed the steam during cooking is used, so the steam water used during the heating in the steaming process described above circulates from the steam to the condensed water and then to the steam. Used.

  Further, at the time of heating, the lid heating means 10 and the heating means 12 are controlled so that the pressure in the inner pot 3 becomes equal to or lower than the pressure adjusted by the pressure adjusting section 9 so that the steam is not discharged from the main body as much as possible. Therefore, the influence of the steam discharged from the rice cooker on the environment is minimized, and the condensed water used during steaming can be replenished.

Next, a small amount of cooked rice will be described.
The rice cooking control is performed as described above, in which rice is deliciously cooked according to the standard rice cooking amount (3 go). On the other hand, even if the amount of rice is different, by controlling the heating amount (thermal power) (see Fig. 7) so that the slope of the temperature rise of the rice in the above-mentioned heating process becomes the same, small amount of rice ( It is possible to cook delicious rice even in 1st go and 2nd go).

  Hereinafter, "normal" and "mochimochi" rice cooked in two stages will be described.

  In both "normal" rice cooking and "mochi mochi" rice cooking, the inverter circuit 24 for heating the inner pot 3 is controlled to control the heating amount (heating power) of the heating means 12 including a heating coil. Two types of control are used for the control used here. First, ON / OFF of the electric power supplied to the heating means 12 is controlled to control the ratio of ON time and OFF time to adjust the heating amount (thermal power), and secondly, to control the energization rate. This is for controlling the magnitude (output) of the control thermal power, which is the heating amount when the control is ON.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in each amount of cooked "normal" cooked rice, the control heating power of the first-stage thermal power (W1) is approximately 500 W and the control thermal power of the second-stage thermal power (W2) is approximately 800 W. By adjusting the energization rate of ON / OFF energization by the controlled heating power, the slope of the temperature rise of rice in the heating process is set to be the same regardless of the amount of cooked rice.

  In each rice cooked amount of "mochimochi" rice, the control fire power of the first stage heat power (W4) is approximately 500 W and the control fire power of the second stage heat power (W5) is approximately 800 W, and it is turned ON / OFF by each control fire power. By adjusting the energization rate, the temperature rise of rice during the heating process is set to be the same regardless of the amount of rice cooked.

  In “normal” rice cooking and “mochimochi” rice cooking, the starch in the rice is mixed with water due to the long soaking process, and the convection of the water deteriorates. Therefore, the heating power at the time of heating and the heat from the heating unit heated by the heating means 12 are used. It is necessary to control the heating unevenness of the whole rice by conduction, and it is realized by controlling the current flow rate to control the slope of the temperature rise. It should be noted that it is preferable that the heating power to be controlled is set to the maximum heating power that does not deteriorate heating spots.

  From the above, in the rice cooker of the present embodiment, the main body, the inner pot in the main body, the heating means for heating the inner pot, the inverter circuit for supplying power to the heating means, the temperature of the inner pot Heating the rice in the inner pot regardless of the amount of rice cooked, depending on the temperature detection means for detecting, the operation unit for setting a small amount of rice, and the case where the operation unit is set and the case where the operation unit is not set. Control means for controlling the inverter circuit so that the temperature rise in the process falls within a predetermined range. As a result, regardless of the amount of cooked rice, cooked rice suitable for each cooked mode such as "normal" and "mochimochi" can be realized.

  Moreover, the said control means adjusts the electricity supply rate of the said heating means of the said heating process according to the said rice cooking amount. As a result, it is possible to reduce the heating unevenness and further realize rice cooking suitable for each rice cooking mode.

  Further, the heating unit is provided with an operation unit for setting a small amount of rice, and the magnitude of the control heating power of the heating unit is the same when it is set by the operation unit and when it is not set by the operation unit. The energization factor of is smaller when it is set by the operation unit than when it is not set by the operation unit. As a result, it is possible to reduce the heating unevenness and further realize rice cooking suitable for each rice cooking mode.

  As a means for equalizing the slope of the temperature rise of rice in the above-mentioned heating step, a means for storing and controlling the thermal power set in advance according to the amount of rice, and a temperature detection value detected by the temperature detecting means 13 It is also possible to use a means for adjusting the thermal power (conductivity) according to the above.

  According to the present embodiment described above, it is possible to cook according to the preference regardless of the amount of cooked rice.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body 2 ... Outer lid 3 ... Inner pot 4 ... Inner lid 6 ... Control means 7 ... Operation part 9 ... Pressure adjusting part 10 ... Lid heating means 12 ... Heating means 13 ... Temperature detecting means 15 ... Menu button 16 ... Small amount button 24 ... Inverter circuit

Claims (1)

Body and
An inner pot inside the body,
Heating means for heating the inner pot,
An inverter circuit for supplying electric power to the heating means,
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the inner pot,
An operation part for setting small amount of rice,
A control means for controlling the inverter circuit,
The control means controls the inverter circuit by changing the control heat power in the middle of the heating process for heating the rice in the inner pot in the normal rice cooker or the rice cooker having a stickier feeling than the normal rice cooker. Is what
The control means makes the control heating power almost the same when it is set by the operation part and when it is not set by the operation part at the beginning of heating in the heating step, and changes the control heat power when set by the operation part. The duty ratio after the change is larger than before, and the duty factor after the change is smaller than before the change of the control heating power when not set in the operation unit, both before and after the change of the control heating power, in the case where if it had been set by the operation unit not set in the operation unit, wherein the controller controls the inverter circuit so that the inclination becomes also the temperature rise of the rice in the heating step regardless of the rice amount Rice cooker.

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