JP6847004B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rice cooker in which a drive power source and a drive circuit of a sub-heating means are improved.

Conventionally, the sub-heating means of the rice cooker uses the AC commercial power source (AC power) as it is as the power source of the sub-heating means. For example, in Patent Document 1, a main heating means that operates during rice cooking to heat a pot and a main heating means are provided separately, and operate during rice cooking or heat retention to prevent dew on the inner surface of the pot or lid. A sub-heating means for heating, a drive element for turning on / off the energization of the sub-heating means, and a microcomputer for controlling the operation of the drive element are provided, and the AC commercial power supply can be used as the drive power source for the sub-heating means as it is. The cooked rice cooker is disclosed.

A circuit example of such a rice cooker is shown in FIG. In the figure, 201 is a power plug to which an external AC commercial power supply is supplied, and 202 is a rectifier circuit that rectifies and smoothes the AC commercial power supply from the power plug 201. The pair of power supply lines from the power plug 201 are connected to the pair of input side terminals of the rectifier circuit 202, respectively, and the pair of input side terminals of the DC power supply circuit 203 are connected to the pair of output side terminals of the rectifier circuit 202. .. Further, the pair of output side terminals of the DC power supply circuit 203 are connected to the pair of input side terminals of the control circuit 204, whereby the DC power supply (DC power) from the rectifier circuit 202 is stabilized by the DC power supply circuit 203. The DC power supply is supplied to the control circuit 204.

Reference numeral 205 denotes a sub-heater corresponding to the above-mentioned sub-heating means, and reference numeral 206 is a heater drive element corresponding to the above-mentioned drive element. The series circuit of the subheater 205 and the heater drive element 206 is connected between the pair of power supply lines between the power supply plug 201 and the rectifier circuit 202. Further, 207 is a heater drive circuit that receives a control signal from the control circuit 204 and sends a drive signal to the heater drive element 206 to drive the heater drive element 206.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-274645

In the above circuit example, the AC commercial power supply from the power plug 201 is used as it is for the power supply of the sub-heater 205, whereas the DC power supply circuit 203 is a power supply device for operating the heater drive circuit 207 and the control circuit 204. Uses a DC power supply rectified and smoothed by the rectifier circuit 202, and on the output side of the rectifier circuit 202, the negative terminals of the rectifier circuit 202, the DC power supply circuit 203, and the control circuit 204 are all grounded terminals 208. As the GND level is grounded to the same potential.

Therefore, the AC power supply as the power supply for the sub-heater 205 and the DC power supply as the power supply for the control circuit 204 and the heater drive circuit 207 have different GND levels, and in order to control the drive of the heater drive element 206 connected to the sub-heater 205. By using the heater drive element 206 as a photocoupler, a phototriac, a relay, or the like, it is necessary to insulate the drive signal from the heater drive circuit 207, which causes a problem that the circuit configuration becomes expensive. Further, in the conventional rice cooker, a configuration in which one side of the AC power supply and the DC power supply for control is connected to each other has been proposed, but it is necessary to match the potentials of the AC power supply and the DC power supply to drive the subheater 205. However, there was a problem that the circuit configuration became complicated.

Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rice cooker capable of driving the sub-heating means without insulating the drive signal to the sub-heating means.

The rice cooker of the present invention includes a main heating means for heating a pot during rice cooking, a sub-heating means for heating during heat retention and prevention of dew during rice cooking, and a rectifier circuit for rectifying and smoothing an AC commercial power supply. a drive circuit for operating in DC power supply circuit, a control circuit for sending a control signal to the driving circuit, the driving signal from the driving circuit, Bei example and a driving element for oN / OFF the energization of the sub-heating means the sub-heating means is driven by the DC power source by rectifying and smoothing by the rectification circuit, the output side of the rectifier circuit, and the rectifier circuit, the DC power supply circuit, said control circuit, said drive circuit, said drive each negative terminal of the element, GND level is grounded to the same potential, characterized in that the stabilized DC power supply by the DC power supply circuit has a configuration shall be the power supply of the control circuit and the drive circuit.

Further, the rice cooker of the present invention includes a main heating means for heating a pot during rice cooking, a sub-heating means for heating during heat retention and prevention of dew during rice cooking, and a rectifier circuit for rectifying and smoothing an AC commercial power supply. , A drive circuit that operates in a DC power supply circuit , a control circuit that sends a control signal to the drive circuit, and a drive element that turns on / off the energization of the sub-heating means by the drive signal from the drive circuit. for example, the sub-heating means is driven by the rectified power source rectified by the rectifier circuit, at the output side of the rectifier circuit, and the rectifier circuit, the DC power supply circuit, said control circuit, said drive circuit, said drive each negative terminal of the element, GND level is grounded to the same potential, characterized in that the stabilized DC power supply by the DC power supply circuit has a configuration shall be the power supply of the control circuit and the drive circuit.

According to the invention of claim 1, by using a DC power source as the power source of the sub-heating means, the drive circuit operating with the DC power source and the GND level can be configured at a common potential, so that the drive circuit and the drive element are insulated. There is no need. Therefore, the sub-heating means can be driven with an inexpensive circuit configuration without using an expensive photo triac or relay.

According to the invention of claim 2, by using the rectifying power source as the power source of the sub-heating means, the drive circuit operating with the DC power source and the GND level can be configured at a common potential, so that the drive circuit and the drive element are insulated. There is no need. Therefore, the sub-heating means can be driven with an inexpensive circuit configuration without using an expensive photo triac or relay. In addition, the rectifier circuit can be configured only with diodes, which makes it possible to reduce costs and simplify the configuration.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by using an inexpensive bipolar transistor as the driving element instead of the expensive phototriac or relay, the cost can be effectively reduced and the sub-heating means can be driven.

According to the invention of claim 4, by using an inexpensive field effect transistor as the driving element instead of the expensive phototriac or relay, the cost can be effectively reduced to drive the subheating means. ..

It is a vertical sectional view of the rice cooker which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Same as above, it is a block diagram which shows the main electrical composition. Same as above, it is a circuit diagram which shows the circuit structure of a subheater. It is a block diagram which shows the main electric composition of the conventional rice cooker. It is a block diagram which shows the main electrical composition of the rice cooker which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the main electric composition of the rice cooker which shows the modification of the 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the main electrical composition of the rice cooker which shows another modification of the 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the main electrical composition of the rice cooker which shows another modification of the 2nd Embodiment. It is the schematic of the rice cooker which shows the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Same as above, it is a schematic view of the rice scoop storage part. Same as above, it is a circuit diagram of an ultraviolet LED and a rice scoop presence / absence detection sensor. The same is the flowchart which shows the ultraviolet irradiation procedure of the rice scoop storage part. It is the schematic of the rice cooker which shows the modification of the 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display of the LCD of the rice cooker which shows the 4th Embodiment of this invention. Same as above, it is a correspondence table showing the inspection completed / incomplete state for the display of the clock 10-minute digit display unit. It is a circuit diagram which shows the circuit structure around a sub-heater in a conventional rice cooker.

Hereinafter, each embodiment of the rice cooker according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, a common reference numeral shall be attached to a common part in all these drawings.

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the rice cooker of the present invention. First, the overall configuration of the rice cooker will be described with reference to FIG. 1. Reference numeral 1 denotes a rice cooker, which is composed of a main body 2 having an open top surface and a lid 3 which covers the upper surface opening of the main body 2 so as to be openable and closable. Is configured. The main body 2 has a pot accommodating portion 4 having an open upper surface, and when the lid 3 is opened, a bottomed pan 5 for accommodating water or rice to be cooked is attached to and detached from the pan accommodating portion 4. It is configured to be freely accommodated. The pot accommodating portion 4 is formed by combining a bowl-shaped resin inner frame 6, a metal inner frame ring 7, and the like, and is formed in a bottomed tubular shape as a whole.

The pot 5 uses aluminum having good thermal conductivity as the main material 8, and a heating element 9 made of a magnetic metal plate such as ferritic stainless steel is joined from the lower side portion to the bottom portion of the outer surface of the main material 8. On the outer surface of the inner frame ring 7 facing the outer surface of the pot 5, a body heater 11 using a cord heater is provided as an example of the heating means. Further, a heating coil 12 is provided on the outer surface of the inner frame 6 facing the bottom surface from the lower side surface of the pot 5 as a heating means for electromagnetically inducing heating the heating element 9 of the pot 5.

At the center of the bottom of the inner frame 6, a pot sensor 14 as a pot temperature detecting means is arranged so as to elastically contact the bottom of the outer surface of the pot 5. The pot sensor 14 of the present embodiment is configured to detect the temperature of the pot 5 and mainly control the temperature of the bottom of the pot 5 by the heating coil 12.

A lid open button 15 is arranged on the front upper surface of the lid 3 in an exposed state, and when the lid open button 15 is pressed, the engagement between the main body 2 and the lid 3 is released, and the upper part of the main body 2 is released. A hinge spring (not shown) provided at the rear automatically opens the lid 3 with the hinge shaft 16 as the center of rotation. Further, a steam port unit 17 that discharges steam generated from the object to be cooked in the pot 5 to the outside of the rice cooker 1 is detachably attached to the rear upper surface of the lid 3.

The lid 3 is formed by combining an outer lid 19 as an external component forming the upper outer shell thereof, a heat radiating plate 20 forming the lower surface of the lid 3, and the outer lid 19 and the heat radiating plate 20 to form a skeleton of the lid 3. The outer lid cover 21 as a lid base material forming the above is the main component. A lid heater 22 as a lid heating means is provided on the upper surface of the heat radiating plate 20 inside the lid 3.

An inner lid assembly 23 as a lower member of the lid 3 is detachably provided on the lower side of the heat radiating plate 20. The inner lid assembly 23 is a lid made of a metal inner lid 24 having a disk shape having substantially the same diameter as the upper opening of the pot 5 and an elastic member for sealing between the pot 5 and the inner lid 24. A packing 25, an inner lid ring 26 for mounting the lid packing 25 on the entire outer circumference of the inner lid 24, and a pressure adjusting portion 27 for adjusting the inner pressure of the pot 5 are provided. The ring-shaped lid packing 25 abuts on the upper surface of the pot 5 when the lid 3 is closed, closes the gap between the pot 5 and the inner lid 24, and seals the steam generated from the pot 5. To do.

A display operation unit 28 is provided on the substantially central upper surface of the lid 3. In addition to the time and time, the display operation unit 28 has an LCD 29 that displays the selected rice cooking course and separate cooking, an LED 30 that displays the current process (see FIG. 2), starts rice cooking, and selects a rice cooking course. A switch 31 (see FIG. 2) for making the lid 3 is arranged on the upper portion of the substrate 32 mounted inside the lid 3. Here, heating described later is performed by mounting a microcomputer (microcomputer) 48 (see FIG. 2) for controlling operations and displays and controlling each part of the rice cooker 1 on the patterned substrate 32. A display operation unit 28 linked with the circuit 40 is configured.

Reference numeral 33 denotes an operation panel provided so as to cover the upper part of the display operation unit 28. Button names and the like are displayed on the operation panel 33 to prevent dust and water from adhering to the electronic components LCD29, LED30, the switch 31 and the substrate 32. Further, when a touch sensor (not shown) is provided on the LCD 29 separately from the switch 31 provided on the substrate 32, the touch operation can be directly performed according to the display of the LCD 29.

The heat radiating plate 20 is provided with a thermistor-type lid sensor 34 for controlling the temperature of the inner lid 24 by the lid heater 22 as a lid temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the lid 3 particularly the inner lid 24. There is. Further, inside the lid 2, a steam discharge path 35 that communicates the steam port unit 17 and the pressure regulating portion 27 is formed as a passage for discharging the steam generated in the pot 5 to the outside. The pressure regulating portion 27 is provided with a pressure regulating valve 36 that opens and closes the steam discharge path 35 between the inside of the pot 5 and the steam port unit 17. The pressure regulating valve 36 has a ball shape and is interlocked with a solenoid 37 provided inside the lid 3, and when the steam in the pot 5 is discharged to the outside, the steam discharge path 35 is opened to pressurize or pressurize the inside of the pot 5. When the pressure is reduced, the solenoid 37 rolls the pressure regulating valve 36 so as to block the steam discharge path 35. At the time of pressurization, the rice to be cooked in the pot 5 is heated by high-frequency energization of the heating coil 12, and when the internal pressure of the pot 5 reaches a predetermined value, the steam discharge path 35 is opened against the own weight of the pressure regulating valve 36. By doing so, the pressure inside the pot 5 is maintained above the atmospheric pressure.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a decompression means 38 for lowering the inside of the pot 5 to lower than the normal atmospheric pressure with the lid 3 closed to the main body 2. The decompression means 38 accommodates the pot 5 in the pot container 4, closes the lid 3, energizes the solenoid 37, and in a state where the pressure regulating valve 36 blocks the steam discharge path 35, the internal pressure of the closed pot 5. To reduce. When the pressure inside the pot 5 drops below the atmospheric pressure, the operation of the pressure reducing pump 39, which is the operating source of the pressure reducing means 38, is stopped to keep the inside of the pot 5 in a reduced pressure state. Further, when returning the inside of the pot 5 from the decompression state to the same pressure as the outside air, the operation of the decompression pump 39 is stopped, and a path (not shown) communicating between the decompression pump 39 and the inside of the pot 5 is opened. That is, the depressurizing means 38 also serves as a pressure returning means for returning the inside of the pot 5 from the decompressed state to the same pressure as the outside air.

In addition, a unitized heating substrate assembly 41 including a heating circuit 40 is arranged inside the main body 2. In order to electrically control each part of the rice cooker 1, the heating circuit 40 cooperates with the display operation unit 28 to obtain each temperature detection signal from the pot sensor 14 and the lid sensor 34 and an operation signal from the switch 31. In response to this, the body heater 11 and the heating coil 12 that heat the pot 5 during rice cooking and heat retention, and the lid heater 22 that heats the lid 3 are controlled, and the operations of the solenoid 37 and the decompression pump 39 are controlled, respectively. .. In particular, in the present embodiment, the heating coil 12 is mainly controlled based on the detection temperature of the pot sensor 14 to control the temperature of the bottom of the pot 5, and the lid heater 22 is mainly controlled based on the detection temperature of the lid sensor 34. Therefore, the temperature of the inner lid 24 facing the cooked rice is controlled.

The heating circuit 40 includes a switching element 42 as a heat generating element for driving the heating coil 12, and the switching element 42 is configured to generate heat as the heating coil 12 oscillates. Therefore, the switching element 42 is attached to a radiator 43 made of a material having good thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and an electric cooling fan 44 serving as a cooling means is arranged below or on the side of the radiator 43. .. In the present embodiment, when the cooling fan 44 is driven, cold air is taken into the cooling fan 44 inside the main body 2 from an intake port (not shown) provided on the side surface of the main body 2, and this cold air is taken from the radiator 43. It is configured to take heat and discharge it to the outside of the main body 2 from an exhaust port (not shown).

Next, the control system of the heating circuit 40 and the display operation unit 28 will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, in addition to the above-mentioned microcomputer 48, LCD 29, LED 30, and switch 31, the display operation unit 28 applies a power supply voltage to a power failure detection circuit 49 that outputs a power failure signal when a power failure is detected, a power supply voltage to the microcomputer 48 when a power failure is detected, and the like. It is configured to include a backup circuit 50 to be supplied. The microcomputer 48 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 52, and a non-volatile flash memory 53, and is stored in the flash memory 53 as a program on a control sequence. , Rice cooking / heat retention program 54, display program 55, switch operation program 56, communication program 57, and flash memory control program 58.

The rice cooking / heat retention program 54 receives an instruction from the switch 31 to start cooking rice via the microcomputer 48, and raises the temperature of the cooked rice to boiling in a short time while promoting the absorption of water of the rice put into the pot 5. Heating to make the cooked food, boiling detection to detect the boiling of the cooked rice, continuous boiling to keep the cooked food boiling, cooking to cook the cooked rice into dry-up rice, and not burning the rice The rice cooking control function that cooks and heats the rice to be cooked inside the pot 5 at the desired pressure by sequentially executing each process of murashi that keeps the temperature of the rice in the pot 5 and keeps the rice inside the pot 5 at a predetermined heat retention temperature. It is equipped with a heat retention control function that controls the heat retention. Furthermore, when the rice cooking / heat retention program 54 sets the timer function and the cooking time (rice cooking end time) and starts the timer operation, the rice is cooked at the set cooking time, so that the rice is cooked at a predetermined time. In the front, it is equipped with a reserved rice cooking function that automatically starts rice cooking by the above-mentioned rice cooking control function and controls the heat retention by the above-mentioned heat retention control function at the time when the rice is cooked.

Further, the switch operation program 56 controls the operation input from the switch 31 serving as the operation unit and the touch sensor if provided, and the display program 55 is from the operation signal from the switch 31 and the heating circuit 40. In response to the above information, the display operation of the LCD 29 and the LED 30 serving as the display unit is controlled.

The communication program 57 is a program that communicates with an external device such as a personal computer P that is separate from the rice cooker 1, and the flash memory control program 58 rewrites the flash memory 53 by the program itself to perform some settings. It is a program for recording data and operation history.

The heating circuit 40 includes a load drive circuit 91 that drives the body heater 11, the lid heater 22, the cooling fan 44, and the like based on a control signal from the microcomputer 48, and an oscillation circuit and trigger detection corresponding to the drive circuit of the heating coil 12. An abnormal signal is sent to the microcomputer 48 when a surge (abnormally high voltage) is applied to the circuit 92, the input voltage / input current / regenerative current detection circuit 93 corresponding to the control signal detection circuit for driving the heating coil 12. Is output to stop the drive of the heating coil 12, and a circuit that detects the temperature of the pot 5 and the inner lid 24 during rice cooking and heat retention by receiving sensor signals from the pot sensor 14 and the lid sensor 34. It is provided with a temperature detection circuit 95 corresponding to the above, and a pressure adjustment circuit 96 for adjusting the pressure inside the pot 5 by driving a solenoid 37, a decompression means 38, or the like based on a control signal from the microcomputer 48.

Next, the circuit configuration of the sub-heater of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 61 denotes a power plug to which AC commercial power is supplied by connecting to, for example, a household outlet (not shown), and for example, AC100V power is supplied. Reference numeral 62 denotes a rectifier circuit for rectifying and smoothing the AC commercial power supply from the power plug 61. Again, the pair of power lines from the power plug 61 are connected to the pair of input side terminals of the rectifier circuit 62, respectively. The rectifier circuit 62 is usually composed of a diode and a smoothing capacitor, and converts an AC power source into a DC power source. However, by configuring only a diode, it can be converted into a full-wave rectifier or a half-wave rectifier power source. These DC power supplies or rectified power supplies are used as power supplies for the subheater 65, which will be described later.

A pair of input side terminals of the DC power supply circuit 63 are connected to the pair of output side terminals of the rectifier circuit 62. Further, the pair of output side terminals of the DC power supply circuit 63 are connected to the pair of input side terminals of the control circuit 64, whereby the DC power supply (DC power) from the rectifier circuit 62 is stabilized by the DC power supply circuit 63. The DC power supply is supplied to the control circuit 64.

In the present embodiment, a series circuit of the sub-heater 65 as the sub-heating means and the heater drive element 66 as the drive element for turning on / off the energization of the sub-heater 65 is between the power plug 61 and the rectifier circuit 62. It is connected not between the pair of AC power lines but between the pair of DC power lines between the rectifier circuit 62 and the DC power circuit 65. The sub-heater 65 is composed of the body heater 11 and the lid heater 22 described above in order to prevent dew on the inner surface of the pot 5 and the inner lid 24 during heat retention and rice cooking. Further, the subheater drive element 66 is configured by using a bipolar transistor or a FET (field effect transistor) as an inexpensive semiconductor element with a control terminal.

Reference numeral 67 denotes a heater drive circuit that receives a control signal from the control circuit 64, sends a drive signal to the heater drive element 66, and drives the heater drive element 66. The control circuit 64 is for controlling the operation and display, and each part of the rice cooker 1, in addition to the power transmission / disconnection control of the subheater 65, and corresponds to the above-mentioned microcomputer 48. The heater drive circuit 67 constitutes a part of the load drive circuit 91 described above.

In the present embodiment, the DC power supply from the rectifier circuit 62 is used as the power supply for the sub-heater 65, and the DC power supply stabilized by the DC power supply circuit 63 is used as the power supply for the control circuit 64 and the heater drive circuit 67. On the output side of 62, the negative terminals of the rectifying circuit 62, the DC power supply circuit 63, and the control circuit 64, as well as the negative terminals of the heater drive element 66 and the heater drive circuit 67, all have the same potential as the ground terminal 68 and have the same GND level. Is grounded to. Therefore, the drive signal from the heater drive circuit 67 can be directly supplied to the control terminal of the heater drive element 68 to turn on / off the energization of the sub-heater 65 without insulating the drive signal on the way.

Further, even if the rectified power supply from the rectifier circuit 62 is used as the power supply for the sub-heater 65, the heater drive element 66 and the heater drive circuit 67 are provided together with the negative terminals of the rectifier circuit 62, the DC power supply circuit 63, and the control circuit 64. Each negative terminal of the above can be similarly adjusted to the same GND level as the ground terminal 68, and the drive signal from the heater drive circuit 67 can be controlled by the heater drive element 66 without the need for insulation with respect to the control terminal of the heater drive element 66. It becomes possible to supply directly to the terminal.

In the above configuration, when the power plug 61 of the rice cooker 1 is connected to the outlet in the present embodiment, the AC commercial power supply applied to the power plug 61 is converted into a DC power supply by the rectifier circuit 62, and the DC power supply is converted into a DC power supply by the subheater 65. At the same time, it is stabilized by the DC power supply circuit 63 and supplied to the control circuit 64 and the heater drive circuit 67. In response to this, the CPU 51 incorporated in the microcomputer 48 serving as the control circuit 64 reads the display program 55 and the switch operation program 56 stored in advance in the flash memory 53, and then turns off the operation input from the switch 31. It shifts to the (standby) state.

Separately from this, the pot 5 containing the food to be cooked is set in the pot storage portion 4, the lid 3 is closed, and then the rice cooking key, which serves as a switch 31 and serves as a rice cooking start instruction means, is touch-operated. Here, if the rice cooker 1 is in the above-mentioned off state, the CPU 51 reads the rice cooking / heat retention program 54 stored in advance in the flash memory 53, and cooks the cooked food in the pot 5 into rice. A control signal is sent to the oscillation circuit and the trigger detection circuit 92 at a predetermined timing to control the drive of the heating coil 12 serving as the main heating means. In rice cooking heating, the pot 5 is mainly electromagnetically induced and heated by the heating coil 12, but after the water in the pot 5 has boiled, an auxiliary load is applied to prevent dew on the inner surface of the pot 5 and the inner lid 24. A control signal is also sent to the drive circuit 91 at a predetermined timing to cut off the electricity of the body heater 11 and the lid heater 22 serving as the sub heater 65 to heat the chillable parts of the pot 5 and the inner lid 24. Eventually, when the rice cooking and heating is completed, the cooked rice shifts to heat retention that maintains the cooked rice at a predetermined temperature, and in order to continue to prevent dew on the inner surface of the pot 5 and the inner lid 24, a control signal to the load drive circuit 91 is used. The body heater 11 and the lid heater 22 are cut off.

In the process from rice cooking to heat retention described above, when the heater drive circuit 67 sends a drive signal to the control terminal of the heater drive element 66 in response to the control signal from the control circuit 64, the heater drive element 66 conducts and subheaters. When the power supply of 65 is turned on and the transmission of the drive signal is interrupted, the heater drive element 66 becomes non-conducting and the sub-heater 65 is turned off. Here, in the present embodiment, the power supply of the sub-heater 65 is a DC power supply or a rectifier power supply from the rectifier circuit 62, so that the GND level of the heater drive element 66 and the heater drive circuit 67 is configured to have a common potential. It is not necessary to insulate the drive signal line between the heater drive element 66 and the heater drive circuit 67, and the sub-heater 65 can be installed in an inexpensive circuit configuration without using an expensive phototriac or relay as the heater drive element 66. Can be driven.

As described above, in the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment, the heating coil 12 as the main heating means for heating the pot 5 during rice cooking and the pot 5 during heat retention and rice cooking are prevented from being exposed. A sub-heater 65 as a sub-heating means, a rectifier circuit 62 for rectifying and smoothing an AC commercial power supply, a heater drive circuit 67 as a drive circuit that operates with a DC power supply from a DC power supply circuit 63, and a control signal to the heater drive circuit 67. The sub-heater 65 is a rectifier circuit in the one provided with the control circuit 64 for sending the sub-heater 65 and the heater drive element 66 as a drive element for turning on / off the energization of the sub-heater 65 by the drive signal from the heater drive circuit 67. It is driven by a DC power supply that has been rectified and smoothed by 62, and on the output side of the rectifier circuit 62, the rectifier circuit 62, the DC power supply circuit 63, the control circuit 64, the heater drive circuit 67, and each negative terminal of the heater drive element 66. is, GND level is grounded to the same potential, and the structure shall be the power supply of the DC power source controls the DC power stabilized by the circuit 63 the circuit 64 and the heater driving circuit 67.

In this case, by using a DC power supply as the power supply for the sub-heater 65, the GND level and the heater drive circuit 67 operating on the DC power supply can be configured to have a common potential. Therefore, between the heater drive circuit 67 and the heater drive element 66. The drive signal line does not need to be insulated. Therefore, the subheater 65 can be driven with an inexpensive circuit configuration without using an expensive photo triac or relay.

Alternatively, in the rice cooker 1 described above, the sub-heater 65 may be driven from an AC commercial power source by a rectified power source rectified by full-wave rectification or half-wave rectification.

Also in this case, by using the rectifying power supply as the power supply of the sub-heater 65, the heater drive circuit 67 operating with the DC power supply and the GND level can be configured to have a common potential, so that the heater drive circuit 67 and the heater drive element 66 are combined. The drive signal lines between them do not need to be isolated. Therefore, the subheater 65 can be driven with an inexpensive circuit configuration without using an expensive photo triac or relay. Further, the rectifier circuit 62 can be configured only with a diode, which makes it possible to reduce costs and simplify the configuration.

In these configurations, a bipolar transistor or FET is used as the heater drive element 66. Therefore, by using an inexpensive bipolar transistor or FET as the driving element instead of the expensive phototriac or relay, the cost can be effectively reduced to drive the subheater 65.

5 and 8 show a second embodiment of the rice cooker of the present invention. The same parts as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of the common parts will be duplicated and will be omitted as much as possible. In this embodiment, an electric double layer capacitor is connected in parallel with the lithium battery to the control microcomputer, and after the rice cooker is cut off, the battery power supply is not used for several hours, and the electricity stored in the electric double capacitor is used. , It is configured to extend the backup time in the event of a power failure with the same lithium battery capacity as before.

The circuit configuration of the conventional rice cooker will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 71 denotes a load such as a heater to which DC power is supplied from the DC power supply circuit 63, which corresponds to the heating coil 12 and the like described above. Further, reference numeral 72 denotes a control microcomputer for controlling operations and displays and controlling each part of the rice cooker 1, and corresponds to the above-mentioned microcomputer 48 and control circuit 67. The control microcomputer 72 here is configured such that the DC power supply from the DC power supply circuit 63 is supplied to supply the DC power supply to the LCD 29, and the load 71 and the LCD 29 are controlled by the control microcomputer 72. Reference numeral 73 denotes a lithium battery (primary battery), which corresponds to the backup circuit 50 described above and supplies backup power to the control microcomputer 72.

Conventionally, in a rice cooker, it is necessary to operate a control microcomputer 72 in order to display a clock or the like even during a power outage (power failure) of a commercial power source, and the above-mentioned backup power source is backed up by a lithium battery 73. However, due to recent energy saving and power saving, the time for disconnecting the power plug 61 from the outlet and cutting off the commercial power supply is increasing except for rice cooking and heat retention. Therefore, if the capacity of the lithium battery 73 that backs up the control microcomputer 72 during power interruption is the same as the conventional one, the lithium battery capacity will be exhausted before the product life, and in order to extend the backup time, the capacity is large. There was a problem that it was necessary to use a battery or several batteries.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the electric double layer capacitor 74 is connected in parallel with the lithium battery 73, and the DC power supply from the DC power supply circuit 63 is supplied to the electric double layer capacitor 74. It is adopted, and the electric double layer capacitor 74 is charged through the DC power supply circuit 63 when the commercial power supply is energized.

Explaining the operation of the rice cooker 1 having the above configuration, as described above, it is necessary to operate the control microcomputer 72 even when the commercial power supply is cut off, and a lithium battery is used as the power source for the control microcomputer 72 at that time. 73 is used, but the electric double layer capacitor 74 is connected in parallel with the lithium battery 73. The power supply for the control microcomputer 72 when the commercial power supply is cut off is configured to first use the electric double layer capacitor 74, and then use the power supply of the lithium battery 73 when the power supply of the electric double layer capacitor 74 is exhausted. Specifically, the electric double layer capacitor 74 is charged with a voltage higher than the voltage of the lithium battery 73 when the commercial power supply is energized, and the voltage from the electric double layer capacitor 74 is the lithium battery when the commercial power supply is cut off. When the voltage is higher than the voltage from 73, the electric double layer capacitor 74 supplies the microcomputer drive voltage to the control microcomputer 72, while when the voltage from the electric double layer capacitor 74 becomes lower than the voltage from the lithium battery 73, It is configured to supply the microcomputer drive voltage from the lithium battery 73 to the control microcomputer 72. Therefore, the control microcomputer 72 is backed up by the electric double capacitor 74 for a certain period of time, and a long commercial power failure (power outage) time can be guaranteed without using a large-capacity primary battery.

As described above, in the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment, the electric double layer capacitor 74 is connected in parallel with the lithium battery 73 for the control microcomputer 72 backup as the microcomputer when the commercial power supply is cut off, and the electric double layer capacitor 74 is connected. Is charged through the DC power supply circuit 63 when the commercial power supply is energized, uses the electricity stored in the electric double layer capacitor 74 when the commercial power supply is cut off, and uses the electricity of the lithium battery 73 when the electricity is exhausted. It is configured. Therefore, the control microcomputer 72 is backed up by the electric double capacitor 74 for a certain period of time, and a long commercial power failure (power outage) time can be guaranteed without using a large-capacity primary battery.

FIG. 6 shows a modified example of the second embodiment, in which the rice cooker 1 is configured by providing a constant voltage circuit 75 at the output of the electric double layer capacitor 74. Since other configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. In this modification, the electric double layer capacitor 74 is supplied with DC power from the DC power supply circuit 63, and the control microcomputer 72 is supplied with the microcomputer drive voltage via the constant voltage circuit 75. Here, the output voltage from the constant voltage circuit 75 is slightly higher than the voltage from the lithium battery 73, and the output voltage from the constant voltage circuit 75 is the voltage from the lithium battery 73 when the commercial power supply is cut off. When it is higher, the electric double layer capacitor 74 supplies the microcomputer drive voltage from the electric double layer capacitor 74 to the control microcomputer 72 via the constant voltage circuit 75, while the output voltage from the constant voltage circuit 75 becomes lower than the voltage from the lithium battery 73. At that time, the lithium battery 73 is configured to supply the microcomputer drive voltage to the control microcomputer 72. With this configuration, the voltage supplied to the control microcomputer 72 can be set to a constant voltage regardless of the magnitude of the charging voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 74.

As described above, in the embodiment of this example, the output of the electric double layer capacitor 74 connected in parallel with the lithium battery 73 is provided with a constant voltage circuit 75 having a voltage slightly higher than that of the lithium battery 73. Therefore, the voltage supplied to the control microcomputer 72 can be set to a constant voltage regardless of the magnitude of the charging voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 74.

FIG. 7 shows a further modification of the second embodiment, in which the rice cooker 1 is configured by providing a constant voltage circuit 75 at the input of the electric double layer capacitor 74. Since other configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. In this modification, the DC power supply from the DC power supply circuit 63 is supplied to the electric double layer capacitor 74 via the constant voltage circuit 75, and the voltage higher than the output of the constant voltage circuit 75 is not charged to the electric double layer capacitor 74. It is configured. Further, in this modification as well as in the above modification, the output voltage of the constant voltage circuit 75 is slightly higher than the voltage from the lithium battery 73, and when the commercial power supply is cut off, the electric double layer capacitor 74 is used. When the voltage is higher than the voltage from the lithium battery 73, the electric double layer capacitor 74 supplies the microcomputer drive voltage to the control microcomputer 72, while the voltage from the electric double layer capacitor 74 is lower than the voltage from the lithium battery 73. When it becomes, the lithium battery 73 is configured to supply the microcomputer drive voltage to the control microcomputer 72. With this configuration, the voltage supplied from the electric double layer capacitor 74 to the control microcomputer 72 is always below a certain voltage when the commercial power supply is cut off, and the backup voltage supplied is equal to or higher than the operating voltage of the control microcomputer 72. Can be prevented from becoming.

As described above, in the embodiment of this example, the constant voltage circuit 75 having a voltage slightly higher than that of the lithium battery 73 is provided at the input of the electric double layer capacitor 74 connected in parallel with the lithium battery 73, and the constant voltage circuit 75 is provided. It is configured so that the electric double layer capacitor 74 is not charged above the voltage. Therefore, the voltage supplied from the electric double layer capacitor 74 to the control microcomputer 72 when the commercial power supply is cut off can always be a constant voltage or less.

FIG. 8 shows a further modification of the second embodiment, in which the rice cooker 1 is used for the output of the lithium battery 73 and the electric double layer capacitor 74, which are power supply lines to the control microcomputer 72. , The diodes 76 and 77 are inserted, respectively. In this modification, the diode 76 is connected to the lithium battery 73 so that the anode side of the diode 76 is connected to the lithium battery 73 and the cathode side of the diode 76 is connected to the connection point side of the lithium battery 73 and the electric double layer capacitor 74. It is inserted and connected to the output. Similarly, the diode 77 connects the anode side of the diode 77 to the electric double layer capacitor 74, and the diode 77 connects the cathode side of the diode 77 to the connection point side of the lithium battery 73 and the electric double layer capacitor 74. It is inserted and connected to the output of the capacitor 74. Since other configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. With such a configuration, when the voltage from the electric double layer capacitor 74 is higher than the voltage from the lithium battery 73, it is possible to prevent the lithium battery 73 from being charged by the voltage from the electric double layer capacitor 74, and conversely, lithium. When the voltage from the battery 73 is higher than the voltage from the electric double layer capacitor 74, it is possible to prevent the electric double layer capacitor 74 from being charged by the voltage of the lithium battery 73.

As described above, in the embodiment of this example, diodes 76 and 77 are provided at the outputs of the lithium battery 73 and the electric double layer capacitor 74 connected in parallel with the lithium battery 73, respectively, and the lithium battery 73 and the electric double layer are provided. It is configured so that the electricity of the capacitors 74 does not flow to each other. Therefore, when the voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 74 is higher than the voltage of the lithium battery 73, the voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 74 is prevented from charging the lithium battery 73, and conversely, the voltage of the lithium battery 73 is electric. When the voltage is higher than the voltage of the double layer capacitor 74, it is possible to prevent the voltage of the lithium battery 73 from charging the electric double layer capacitor 74.

9 to 12 show a third embodiment of the rice cooker of the present invention. The same parts as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of the common parts will be duplicated and will be omitted as much as possible. In the present embodiment, the main body 2 is provided with a rice scoop storage unit 82 for storing the rice scoop, and the rice scoop is irradiated with ultraviolet rays in a state where the rice scoop is stored in the rice scoop storage unit 82.

Conventionally, a rice cooker has been proposed in which an irradiation unit of light having a bactericidal effect such as ultraviolet rays is installed in the rice cooker to suppress yellowing and putrefaction of cooked rice during heat retention and to deodorize the cooked rice. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-165916 describes a rice cooker that starts irradiating the cooked rice with visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 to 800 nm, which does not contain an infrared component, after the rice is cooked and heated. ing. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-355858 describes a rice cooker that emits sterilizing light to the cooked rice during the water absorption step or the heat retention step of the cooked rice. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-139696 describes a rice cooker that emits ultraviolet rays by irradiating microwaves during heating with microwaves during heat retention and irradiates the rice in a pot.

However, in the conventional rice cooker as described above, although there is a description about the sterilization of rice in the pot, there is no description about the sterilization of the rice scoop, and the sterilization of the rice scoop has not been thought of. It was. Since the rice scoop is exposed to the outside air, there is a possibility that germs will be attached to the rice, and if the rice is touched with the rice with germs, the germs will also be attached to the rice, causing yellowing and putrefaction.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the rice scoop is sterilized by irradiating both sides of the rice scoop with ultraviolet rays having a bactericidal effect.

Explaining the configuration of the present embodiment with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11, a rice scoop storage unit 82 is provided on the side surface of the main body 2 of the rice cooker 1, and the rice scoop storage unit 82 is configured to insert the rice scoop. Has been done. To elaborate on the configuration of the rice scoop storage unit 82, the 85 is a container for storing the rice scoop, which is detachably configured in the rice scoop storage unit 82 and can store water in addition to storing the rice scoop. The container 85 is composed of a bottom portion 85a, a container body 85b, and a collar portion 85c. In the present embodiment, the bottom portion 85a of the container 85 is formed in a mountain-shaped cross section, and is made of a material that transmits light such as an LED. The container body 85b has a plate-like front and rear surfaces facing both sides of the rice scoop when the rice scoop is inserted into the rice scoop storage portion 82, and the front and rear surfaces are made of a material that transmits ultraviolet rays, such as ultraviolet-transmitting glass. The ultraviolet LED 83, which will be described later, is configured to efficiently irradiate both sides of the rice scoop with ultraviolet rays from the outside of the container 85 through the front surface or the rear surface of the container 85. The collar portion 85c is a portion where a finger is put on the container 85 when the container 85 is attached / detached from the rice scoop storage portion 82 to grip the container. Even if the lower surface of the collar 85c is placed in the opening of the rice scoop storage 82 when the container 85 is stored in the rice scoop storage 82, the container 85 may be suspended from the rice scoop storage 82. Good. Further, the container 85 and the bottom 85a are configured to be held at an angle to the rice scoop storage portion 82, and if the rice scoop is inserted halfway in the rice scoop storage portion 82, even if the hand is released from the rice scoop there, the bottom 85a is reached by gravity. The rice scoop may be slid and inserted.

In addition to the container 85, the rice scoop storage unit 82 contains a rice scoop presence / absence sensor 84 for detecting rice scoops and an ultraviolet LED 83 as an ultraviolet irradiation means for irradiating ultraviolet rays. The control is performed by the control unit 81, which will be described later. The rice scoop presence / absence sensor 84 of the present embodiment uses a photo interrupter, and is located along the bottom 85a of the container 85 so that the light emitting unit 88 that emits light and the light receiving unit 89 that receives the emitted light face each other. The rice scoop is installed near the bottom 82a of the cross-sectional mountain shape of the rice scoop storage portion 82, and the rice scoop blocks the light from the light emitting unit 88 when the rice scoop is inserted to the bottom 85a. It is configured to detect rice scoops. The bottom portion 82a may be made of a material that transmits light such as an LED, and is configured by providing holes or the like in the vicinity of the light emitting portion 88 and the light receiving portion 89 so as not to block the light from the light emitting portion 88. You may.

The ultraviolet LED 83 constitutes an ultraviolet irradiation unit, and is provided inside the upper surface and the lower surface of the rice scoop storage unit 82, respectively, and ultraviolet rays are substantially perpendicular to the front surface or the rear surface of the container 85 housed in the rice scoop storage unit 82. It is arranged to irradiate the rice scoop, and is configured to irradiate both sides of the rice scoop with ultraviolet rays through the front surface or the rear surface of the container 85. In FIG. 10, four ultraviolet LEDs 83 are arranged inside the upper surface and inside the lower surface of the rice scoop storage unit 82, but ultraviolet rays are appropriately applied to both sides of the rice scoop stored in the rice scoop storage unit 82. It suffices to be irradiated, and does not limit the number, arrangement, or shape.

Reference numeral 81 denotes a control unit, which corresponds to the display operation unit 28 and the heating circuit 40 described above. The control unit 81 controls the ultraviolet LED 83 that irradiates the rice scoop with ultraviolet rays in response to the rice scoop detection signal from the rice scoop presence / absence detection sensor 84. The control unit 81 includes an ultraviolet irradiation control means having a timer function as a function on the control sequence of the program stored in the storage unit (not shown).

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of the ultraviolet LED 83 of the rice scoop storage unit 82 and the rice scoop presence / absence detection sensor 84. Explaining the configuration of the ultraviolet LED 83 with reference to FIG. 11A, a series circuit of the ultraviolet LED 83, the resistor 86, and the digital transistor 87 is inserted and connected between the power supply voltage terminal VDD and the common terminal 68, and the digital transistor 87 is connected. The control unit 81 is connected to the base terminal of the above, and the ON / OFF signal from the control unit 81 is input to this base terminal. Therefore, when an ON / OFF signal from the control unit 81 is input to this base terminal, a current flows between the collector and the emitter of the digital transistor 87, a current flows through the ultraviolet LED 83 to light it, and the control unit 81 to this base terminal turns on. When the input of the ON / OFF signal from is stopped, the current between the collector and the emitter of the digital transistor 87 stops flowing, and the current does not flow through the ultraviolet LED 83, and the light is turned off. Therefore, the ultraviolet LED 83 is turned on / off by the ON / OFF signal from the control unit 81.

Further, the configuration of the rice scoop presence / absence detection sensor 84 will be described with reference to FIG. 11B. A light emitting unit 88 is connected between the power supply voltage terminal VDD and the common terminal 68, and the light receiving unit 89 is connected in parallel with the light emitting unit 88. It is connected. Further, as described above, the light emitting unit 88 and the light receiving unit 89 are installed so as to face each other so that the light emitted from the light emitting unit 88 is incident on the light receiving unit 89. The control unit 81 is connected to the light receiving unit 89, and the rice scoop detection signal from the light receiving unit 89 is input to the control unit 81. Therefore, when the light from the light emitting unit 88 is blocked by the rice scoop, the light receiving unit 89 detects it, transmits the rice scoop detection signal to the control unit 81, and detects the presence or absence of the rice scoop by the photo interrupter.

Next, the operation of the rice cooker 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the power plug 61 of the rice cooker 1 is plugged into the outlet in step S11, the rice cooker 1 is energized and the power is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, the rice scoop presence / absence detection sensor 84 of the rice scoop storage unit 82 starts detecting the rice scoop. Here, when the rice scoop is not detected, the control unit 81 determines that the rice scoop is "none" and repeats step S12, causing the rice scoop presence / absence detection sensor 84 to repeatedly detect the rice scoop until the rice scoop is detected. When the rice scoop is detected by blocking the light from the light emitting unit 88, the light receiving unit 89 transmits the rice scoop detection signal to the control unit 81, and the control unit 81 determines that the rice scoop is "present". , Step S13.

When the rice scoop is detected and the process proceeds to step S13, the control unit 81 then starts detecting water in the container 85, and the control unit 81 sets the ultraviolet irradiation time of the ultraviolet LED 83 according to the result. Specifically, when the control unit 81 determines that there is water in the container 85, the process proceeds to step S14, and the control unit 81 sets the ultraviolet irradiation time of the ultraviolet LED 83 to 2 hours. Further, when the control unit 81 determines that there is no water in the container 85, the process proceeds to step S15, and the control unit 81 sets the ultraviolet irradiation time of the ultraviolet LED 83 to 3 hours. Regarding the detection of water, for example, the weight of the container 85 is detected by a weight sensor, and if the container 85 containing the rice cake is heavier than a predetermined weight, a signal is transmitted from the weight sensor to the control unit 81, and the control unit 81 transmits the container. It may be configured to determine that there is water in 85.

After setting the ultraviolet irradiation time, the process proceeds to step S16, the control unit 81 transmits an ON / OFF signal to the ultraviolet LED 83 by the ultraviolet irradiation control means, turns on the ultraviolet LED 83 to start the irradiation of ultraviolet rays, and also irradiates the ultraviolet rays. The timer function of the control means starts the countdown of the ultraviolet irradiation time. After that, when the process proceeds to step S17 and the ultraviolet irradiation end time elapses, the process proceeds to step S18, and the control unit 81 turns off the ultraviolet LED 83 with an ON / OFF signal to complete the ultraviolet irradiation. After that, the process proceeds to step S17, and the control unit 81 causes the rice scoop presence / absence detection sensor 84 to detect the rice scoop again. Here, when the rice scoop is detected, the control unit 81 determines that the rice scoop is "present" and proceeds to step S18, determines that the irradiation of the rice scoop with ultraviolet rays has been completed, and turns off the ultraviolet LED 83. Leave it to. When the rice scoop is not detected, the control unit 81 determines that the rice scoop is "none" and proceeds to step S12, and causes the rice scoop presence / absence detection sensor 84 to repeatedly detect the rice scoop until the rice scoop is detected. Repeat the rice scoop detection. With such a configuration, the ultraviolet irradiation is started after the rice scoop is detected, and the ultraviolet irradiation is ended after a certain period of time, which is effective in saving energy.

FIG. 13 shows a modified example of the third embodiment, in which the rice cooker 1 is provided with the rice scoop storage portion 82 protruding outside the main body 2, and is installed on the side surface of the main body 2. There is. The rice scoop storage unit 82 of this example can be inserted into the rice scoop from above. Since other configurations and actions and effects are common to the above-described third embodiment, overlapping description will be omitted. Even with such a configuration, the ultraviolet irradiation is started after the rice scoop is detected, and the ultraviolet irradiation is ended after a lapse of time, so that there is an energy saving effect. Further, regardless of the type of rice cooker, the rice cooker storage unit 82 can be additionally provided by externally attaching the rice scoop storage unit 82 to the existing rice cooker, so that the range of design can be expanded.

As described above, the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment is configured to include the rice scoop storage unit 82 in the main body 2 and irradiate the rice scoop with ultraviolet rays while the rice scoop is stored in the rice scoop storage unit 82 to sterilize the rice scoop. .. Therefore, the rice scoop can be stored and sterilized, and the rice scoop can be easily and surely sterilized by irradiating with ultraviolet rays.

Further, the ultraviolet irradiation means of the present embodiment is configured by using the ultraviolet LED 83, and the rice cooker 1 can be miniaturized.

Further, the ultraviolet LED 83 constituting the ultraviolet irradiation unit of the present embodiment is configured to be able to irradiate both sides of the rice scoop, and the sterilizing effect of the rice scoop can be increased.

Further, the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a rice scoop presence / absence detection sensor 84 as a sensor for determining whether or not the rice scoop is stored, and is configured to irradiate ultraviolet rays when it detects that the rice scoop is stored. Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of pressing a button to irradiate the rice cooker 1 and improve the usability of the rice cooker 1.

Further, the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment is configured to automatically end the ultraviolet irradiation within a certain period of time after the rice scoop is stored. Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of performing an operation to end the ultraviolet irradiation and improve the usability of the rice cooker 1. In addition, since the ultraviolet irradiation is terminated after a lapse of time, there is an energy saving effect.

Further, the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment is configured to change the ultraviolet irradiation time depending on whether the rice scoop storage portion 82 has water or not. Therefore, the sterilizing effect of the rice scoop can be stabilized.

A fourth embodiment of the rice cooker of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 14 to 15. The same parts as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of the common parts will be duplicated and will be omitted as much as possible.

Generally, home appliances such as rice cookers are also inspected during assembly. Examples of this inspection include inspection of the rated wattage of the home electric appliance, operation of a switch, inspection of a load such as a lamp, a motor, or a heater. If home appliances are shipped without these inspections, it will be a complaint, and in some cases, it will affect the safety of home appliances. In addition, if the rated wattage of home appliances is not within the range stipulated by law, it will be a violation of the law. However, in the conventional rice cooker, when a power failure occurs, the inspection status cannot be known, and there is a risk that an assembly error or an inspection forgetting may occur.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the assembly process of the rice cooker 1, a display dedicated to the process is displayed on the LCD 29 so that the model being assembled and the inspection status can be known. Since the control system of the rice cooker 1 of this embodiment is common to that of the first embodiment described above, duplicate description will be omitted.

Explaining the operation check of the rice cooker 1 in the assembly of the factory, first, in the board 32 and the heating board assembly 41, the load drive circuit 91, the oscillation circuit / trigger detection circuit 92, the input voltage / input current / regenerative current detection circuit 93, It is confirmed whether the surge detection circuit 94, the temperature detection circuit 95, the pressure adjustment circuit 96, and the like operate normally. In the subsequent assembly of the main body, adjustment and confirmation of the rated wattage of the rice cooker 1, confirmation of the reception of the key of the switch 31, heating coil 12, body heater 11, lid heater, which cannot be confirmed only by the substrate 32 and the heating substrate assembly 41. The operation of each heater of 22 is confirmed.

The reason why the above confirmation cannot be performed only with the substrate 32 and the heating substrate assembly 41 is that in the case of adjusting and confirming the rated wattage of the rice cooker 1, the heating coil 12 and the pan, which are parts other than the substrate 32 and the heating substrate assembly 41, are used. This is because there are variations depending on the characteristics such as 5, and when confirming the reception of the key, it may not be possible to operate due to the size of the panel or button on the operation panel 33 on the upper surface of the switch 31 or the installation error, and each heater. This is because when checking the operation, each heater may not be able to operate due to forgetting to connect the connector.

At the end of the inspection of the substrate 32 and the heating substrate assembly 41, the data sent from the personal computer P for inspection by the communication program 57 is written to the flash memory 53 by the flash memory control program 58, whereby the microcomputer 48 The display program 55 switches the screen of the LCD 29 from the clock display of the normal display to the process display which is a special display for the process as shown in FIG. 14, and at the same time, the inspection of the substrate 32 and the heating substrate assembly 41 is completed. Make sure you know what you are doing.

Specifically, when "8FHex" is set by using, for example, address 16 of the flash memory 53 in the microcomputer 48 as the process display mode setting data, the reservation of the LCD 29 and the display element of the number part are as shown in FIG. Switch to the process display. In the actual manufacturing process, this data is written at the end of the above-mentioned substrate inspection process. Therefore, since the LCD 29 of the rice cooker 1 displays the process, it can be seen that the inspection process of the substrate 32 and the heating substrate assembly 41 described above has been completed. While this process is displayed, the switch operation program 56 of the microcomputer 48 is configured so that the rice cooking key and the heat retaining key of the switch 31 are not accepted when the power is turned off, and the rice cooker cannot perform the rice cooking operation and the heat retaining operation. I am trying to do it. Further, when the LCD 29 is displaying an error or when the switch 31 is operated while the power is on, the process display of the LCD 29 is temporarily canceled by the display program 55 of the microcomputer 48, and the normal display is performed. It is configured so that the process display is not completely canceled until the inspection of (d) is completed. In this way, by displaying the process dedicated to the process on the LCD 29 in the process of assembling the rice cooker 1, it becomes possible to know the model and inspection status of the rice cooker 1 being assembled as described later, and it is possible to make an assembly error. Since it is possible to prevent forgetting to inspect, the quality can be improved.

In the process display of the LCD 29, the selection display unit 101 of reservation 1 and reservation 2, the clock 10 hour digit display unit 102, the clock 1 hour digit display unit 103, the clock 10 minute digit display unit 104, and the clock 1 minute digit display It is composed of a part 105. The selection display unit 101 of reservation 1 / reservation 2 displays energization / power failure, the selection display unit 101 of reservation 1 / reservation 2 lights up while the power is on, and the selection display unit 101 of reservation 1 / reservation 2 is lit during power failure. Turns off. Further, the clock 10-hour digit display unit 102 displays the capacity of the rice cooker 1, and displays "1" in the case of the 1.0L type rice cooker and "2" in the case of the 1.8L type rice cooker. The clock 1-hour digit display unit 103 represents a model identification display, and a predetermined number or symbol different for each model of the rice cooker is displayed. As described above, in the process display of the LCD 29, the capacity display and the model identification display that can identify the rice cooker 1 are performed, and these displays include numbers and symbols. Therefore, it is possible to prevent mistakes in incorporating the components of the rice cooker 1, such as a controller.

The clock 1-minute digit display unit 105 displays the number of times of energization, and displays the number of times of recovery from a power failure of 3 seconds or more in hexadecimal after the inspection of the board 32 and the heating board assembly 41 is completed, up to 16 times (16 times). For the second time, "F" is displayed). Here, it is configured not to count immediately after returning from the reset. In this way, when the rice cooker 1 has a power failure, the microcomputer 48 records the number of times the rice cooker has recovered from the power failure in the flash memory 53, updates the display content of the process display of the LCD 29, and displays the number of power failures with numbers or symbols to cook rice. It becomes possible to identify whether the rice cooker 1 is a new product or a rejected product (readjusted product), and it is possible to alert the operator who inspects and confirms the product, so that the quality can be improved.

The clock 10-minute digit display unit 104 displays the inspection progress, and (a) automatic rated watt adjustment that performs sensor inspection, data confirmation of flash memory 53, and clock adjustment in addition to watt adjustment, and (b) key of switch 31. The progress of the four items of confirmation of reception, (c) confirmation of heat retention wattage of rice cooker 1, and (d) confirmation of rated wattage of rice cooker 1 is displayed in hexadecimal. More specifically, with reference to FIG. 15, when “8FHex” is set in the process display data of the flash memory 53 as described above, the LCD 29 switches to the process display. At this time, since the rice cooker 1 has not performed any of the inspections (a) to (d), the display program 55 causes the clock 10-minute digit display unit 104 of the LCD 29 to display "0". After that, when the rice cooker 1 completes the inspection for confirming the reception of the key of the (b) switch 31, only the inspection of (b) is completed. Therefore, the display program 55 displays the clock 10-minute digit display unit 104. Switch to "2". In the process display of FIG. 14, since the clock 10-minute digit display unit 104 displays "3", the inspections of (a) and (b) have been completed in the rice cooker 1 displayed on the LCD 29. I understand. In this way, when (a) to (d) are carried out and all the inspections are completed, the display program 55 switches the display of the clock 10-minute digit display unit 104 to "F". In the present embodiment, at this time, the microcomputer 48 is configured by the display program 55 to switch the screen of the LCD 29 from the process display to the normal display so that it can be seen that all the inspections (a) to (d) have been completed. ing. This makes it possible to reliably prevent forgetting to inspect the key reception operation of the switch 31 of the rice cooker 1 and the rated wattage output. The display form of the process display of the LCD 29 and the inspection items of the rice cooker 1 are examples, and may be appropriately changed according to the specifications of the rice cooker.

As described above, the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment has the microcomputer 48, the non-volatile flash memory 53 provided outside or inside the microcomputer 48, and the LCD 29 as the LCD display unit, and the flash memory 53 has. When "8FHex", which is data different from the usual one, is written, the microcomputer 48 displays a process display having a content different from the usual one on the LCD 29, and when a specific operation is performed, the microcomputer 48 sends the specific operation to the flash memory 53. The operation is recorded and the display content of the LCD 29 is updated. When all the inspections of the specific operations (a) to (d) determined in advance are completed, the process display is restored to the normal display. It is configured as follows. For this reason, by displaying the process dedicated to the process on the LCD 29, the model and inspection status of the rice cooker 1 being assembled can be known, and mistakes in assembly and forgetting to inspect can be prevented, so that quality can be improved. become.

Further, in the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment, since the above-mentioned specific operation is a power failure, it is possible to identify whether the rice cooker 1 is a new product or a rejected product (readjusted product) by displaying the number of power failures of the rice cooker 1. It will be possible to improve the quality because it will be possible to alert the workers who inspect and confirm.

Further, in the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment, since the above-mentioned specific operation is the rated wattage output of the rice cooker 1, it is possible to reliably prevent forgetting to inspect the rated wattage output of the rice cooker 1.

Further, in the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment, since the above-mentioned specific operation is the reception operation of the switch 31 of the rice cooker 1, it is possible to surely prevent forgetting to inspect the reception operation of the key of the switch 31.

Further, in the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment, the above-mentioned process display includes a capacity display and a model identification display capable of identifying the rice cooker 1, and these displays include numbers and symbols. Therefore, it is possible to prevent mistakes in incorporating the components of the rice cooker 1, such as a controller.

Further, in the rice cooker 1 of the present embodiment, since the number of power outages is displayed including numbers and symbols in the above-mentioned process display, it becomes possible to identify whether the rice cooker 1 is a new product or a rejected product (readjusted product). , It will be possible to alert the workers who inspect and confirm, and improve the quality.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, a rice cooker may be configured by combining each part of the first to fourth embodiments. Further, in the fourth embodiment, the rice cooker has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to various cookers such as an IH (induction heating) cooker and an oven range. I do not care. Further, the configuration and shape of each part of the first to fourth embodiments are not limited to those shown in the drawings, and can be changed as appropriate.

1 Rice cooker 5 Pot 12 Heating coil (main heating means)
62 Rectifier circuit
63 DC power supply circuit
64 Control circuit 66 Heater drive element (drive element)
65 Sub-heater (sub-heating means)
67 Heater drive circuit (drive circuit)

Claims (4)

The main heating means that heats the pot when cooking rice,
A sub-heating means that heats to prevent dew during heat retention and rice cooking,
A rectifier circuit that rectifies and smoothes AC commercial power,
A drive circuit that operates with a DC power supply from a DC power supply circuit,
A control circuit that sends a control signal to the drive circuit,
In a rice cooker including a drive element that turns on / off the energization of the sub-heating means by a drive signal from the drive circuit.
The sub-heating means is driven by a DC power supply that has been rectified and smoothed by the rectifier circuit .
On the output side of the rectifier circuit, the rectifier circuit, the DC power supply circuit, the control circuit, the drive circuit, and each negative electrode terminal of the drive element are grounded to the same potential at the GND level.
Cooker, characterized in that the DC power stabilized by the DC power supply circuit has a configuration shall be the power supply of the control circuit and the drive circuit. The main heating means that heats the pot when cooking rice,
A sub-heating means that heats to prevent dew during heat retention and rice cooking,
A rectifier circuit that rectifies and smoothes AC commercial power,
A drive circuit that operates with a DC power supply from a DC power supply circuit,
A control circuit that sends a control signal to the drive circuit,
In a rice cooker including a drive element that turns on / off the energization of the sub-heating means by a drive signal from the drive circuit.
The sub-heating means is driven by a rectified power source rectified by the rectifier circuit .
On the output side of the rectifier circuit, the rectifier circuit, the DC power supply circuit, the control circuit, the drive circuit, and each negative electrode terminal of the drive element are grounded to the same potential at the GND level.
Cooker, characterized in that the DC power stabilized by the DC power supply circuit has a configuration shall be the power supply of the control circuit and the drive circuit. The rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a bipolar transistor is used for the driving element. The rice cooker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a field effect transistor is used for the driving element.

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