JP7277736B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the technology of rice cookers.

For example, as a conventional technology of a rice cooker, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-259610 (Patent Document 1) discloses that "an upper frame supporting an inner pot on a rice cooker main body has an upper frame standing wall facing the upper frame. provided between the outside of the body and the inside of the body, and a side wall having a handle mounting hole that communicates with the hole for inserting the handle provided in the body is provided between the outside of the upper frame standing wall and the inside of the body, has a reinforcing rib extending from the side wall to the inner pot side of the upper frame, and the side wall, the reinforcing rib, and the standing wall of the upper frame form a box-shaped handle mounting portion of the upper frame with an opening downward. Since the ribs are arranged below the opening of the handle mounting part of the upper frame to block the opening, the heat emitted from the outer surface of the inner pot can be retained inside the rice cooker body, and the temperature distribution of the entire inner pot can be improved. Since the uniformity can be achieved, it is possible to realize a rice cooker that exhibits excellent heat retention performance and energy saving effect."

JP 2010-259610 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker with a compact mounting structure for the handle.

A rice cooker according to the present invention includes a main body housing and handles rotatably attached to both left and right side surfaces of the main body housing, and holes are formed in each of the left and right side surfaces of the main body housing, A protrusion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the hole, the left and right bases of the handle are inserted into the hole, and recesses sandwiching the protrusion are formed on the outer peripheral surface of each of the left and right bases of the handle. is ,
The recesses are formed only in part of the outer peripheral surface of each of the left and right bases of the handle, and the rotation of the handle is restricted by the surfaces of the recesses coming into contact with the protrusions.

According to the above configuration, a rice cooker with a compact attachment configuration of the handle is provided. Moreover, according to the above configuration, the rotation of the handle is restricted.

Further, the rice cooker according to the present invention includes a main body housing and handles rotatably attached to both left and right side surfaces of the main body housing, and holes are formed in each of the left and right side surfaces of the main body housing. A convex portion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the hole portion, the left and right base portions of the handle are inserted into the hole portion, respectively, and the concave portion sandwiching the convex portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each of the left and right base portions of the handle. is formed and
The length of one of the left and right bases of the handle beyond the recess is greater than the length of the recess of the other of the left and right bases of the handle, and the length of the one of the left and right holes of the main body housing The depth behind the projection is greater than the depth behind the projection of the other hole on the left and right of the main body housing, and the length beyond the recess on one of the left and right bases of the handle. The depth is greater than the depth of the convex portion of the other hole on the left and right of the main housing.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to reduce the possibility of incorrectly attaching the right and left handles.

Further, the rice cooker according to the present invention includes a main body housing and handles rotatably attached to both left and right side surfaces of the main body housing, and holes are formed in each of the left and right side surfaces of the main body housing. A convex portion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the hole portion, the left and right base portions of the handle are inserted into the hole portion, respectively, and the concave portion sandwiching the convex portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each of the left and right base portions of the handle. is formed and
The side surface of the concave portion and the side surface of the convex portion are always in contact with each other, and the frictional force between the two serves as a braking force for turning the handle.

According to the above configuration, the handle slowly falls down.

1 is a front view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a plan view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the rice cooker according to the present embodiment, taken along the line II-II of FIG. 3 and cutting only the right half. Fig. 2 is an upper perspective view of a state in which a handle is inserted into a side wall that constitutes the rice cooker according to the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a plan view of a handle according to the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the base of the handle according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the fitting recess of the protective frame according to the present embodiment, viewed from below; It is a top view which shows the modification of a handle.

<Overall Structure of Rice Cooker>
A rice cooker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an induction heating pressure rice cooker, and as shown in FIGS. It consists of a mechanism 150 . These constituent elements are described in detail below.

1. Main body Main body 110, as shown in FIGS. 115 , a heat sink 116 , an operation panel 117 , a power circuit board 118 , a control circuit board 119 and an automatic winding type power cord unit 120 . These constituent elements are described in detail below.

(1) Housing The housing 111 is mainly composed of a side wall 111a, a bottom wall 111b, a shoulder member 111c, a protective frame 111d, and a substrate support member 111e. , a ferrite core assembly 121, a thermistor 114, a blower fan 115, a heat sink 116, a power circuit board 118, a control circuit board 119, an automatic winding type power cord unit 120, and the like. An operation panel 117 is arranged on the upper front side of the shoulder member 111c. Hereinafter, after detailed description of each component of the housing 111, the fastening structure of the shoulder member 111c, the protective frame 111d, and the board support member 111e will be described in detail.

The side wall 111 a is an enclosure wall that is substantially rectangular in plan view and covers the side surface of the main body 110 . A handle 112 is rotatably attached to the side wall 111a as shown in FIG.

The bottom wall 111b is a substantially square plate-like body, is fitted under the side wall 111a, and covers the opening under the side wall 111a. As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom wall 111b has an intake port Os for sucking in the air outside the housing 111 and an air intake port Os for discharging the air inside the housing 111 to the outside. An exhaust port (not shown) is formed. Note that, as shown in FIG. 3, a blower fan 115 is arranged directly above the air inlet Os. When the blower fan 115 is driven, external air is sucked into the housing 111 through the air intake port Os, and the air flow generated thereby causes the heated air inside to be discharged out of the system through the exhaust port.

The shoulder member 111c is a substantially rectangular frame, fitted on the upper side of the side wall 111a, and covers the edge of the opening on the upper side of the side wall 111a. As shown in FIG. 3, a protective frame 111d is attached to the lower side of the shoulder member 111c. As shown in FIG. 3, the protective frame 111d is attached to the shoulder member 111c by a flange portion FP (described later), and the flange portion FP projects the shoulder member 111c outward.

The protective frame 111d is a member that protects the outer circumference of the inner pot 130 and holds the shape of the shoulder member 111c. This protection frame 111d is mainly formed of an inner pot housing portion PA, a flange portion FP and a support portion SU. The inner pot housing portion PA is a bowl-shaped portion that covers the outer circumference of the inner pot 130 . As described above, the flange portion FP is arranged on the lower side of the shoulder member 111c, and stretches the frame-shaped portion on the rear side of the shoulder member 111c outward to extend the frame-shaped portion on the rear side of the shoulder member 111c. It keeps the shape of The support portion SU maintains the shape of the rear portion of the front frame-shaped portion of the shoulder member 111c by stretching the rear portion of the front frame-shaped portion of the shoulder member 111c outward.

The board support member 111e is a member that supports the control circuit board 119 and holds the shape of the front portion of the shoulder member 111c. ing.

(2) Handle The handle 112 is a member provided for the user to carry the rice cooker 100 by hand, and as shown in FIGS. 112R. The body portion 112a has a substantially U-shape. The left and right shaft portions 112L and 112R extend inward from both ends of the body portion 112a. A concave portion 112c is formed on the left shaft portion 112L on the main body portion 112a side. The right shaft portion 112R is also formed with a recess 112c on the main body portion 112a side. The left and right shaft portions 112L and 112R pass through the holes Px and Px formed in the upper portion of the longitudinal center on the left and right side surfaces of the side wall 111a, and pass through the fitting recesses Cp formed on the left and right side surfaces of the protective frame 111d. , Cp.

The fitting recesses Cp, Cp may be formed in the protective frame 111d itself, may be formed in a member fixed to the protective frame 111d, or may be formed in the sheet metal of the main body 110 itself. Alternatively, it may be formed in a member fixed to the sheet metal.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the left fitting recess Cp is open leftward and downward. The right fitting recess Cp is open rightward and downward.

In the present embodiment, a convex portion 111x is formed on the rear side of the rice cooker 100 in the left fitting concave portion Cp. The convex portion 111x is formed substantially at a right angle. As a result, when the left side of the handle 112 is attached to the main body 110, the protrusion 111x fits into the recess 112c so that the left side of the handle 112 cannot be easily removed from the main body 110. FIG.

Similarly, a convex portion 111x is also formed on the rear side of the rice cooker 100 in the right fitting concave portion Cp. The convex portion 111x is formed substantially at a right angle. As a result, even when the right side of the handle 112 is attached to the main body 110, the protrusion 111x fits into the recess 112c so that the right side of the handle 112 cannot be easily removed from the main body 110. FIG.

More specifically, when assembling the rice cooker 100, the main body 110 of the rice cooker 100 is turned upside down, and the left and right shaft portions 112L and 112R are passed through the holes Px and Px of the side wall 111a. Then, the handle 112 is positioned so that the body portion 112a side thereof is located behind the rice cooker 100, that is, the shaft portions 112L and 112R are located in front of the rice cooker 100, in other words, the concave portions 112c and 112c face backward. The left and right shafts 112L and 112R are inserted into the fitting recesses Cp and Cp from above. That is, the side wall 111a is attached to the protective frame 111d. At this time, the convex portions 111x and 111x are sandwiched between the recesses 112c and 112c in the fitting recesses Cp and Cp, and the shaft portions 112L and 112R are rotatable within the fitting recesses Cp and Cp. .

Particularly in this embodiment, the left and right shaft portions 112L and 112R are formed with recesses 112c and 112c on the main body portion 112a side of the handle 112, and are not formed on the opposite side. In other words, recesses are not formed over the entire periphery of the left and right shaft portions 112L and 112R, but recesses are formed partially. The projections 111x formed in the fitting recesses Cp, Cp are formed substantially at right angles. As a result, the handle 112 is rotatable from vertically upward to rearward, but the portions where the concave portions 112c and 112c are not formed interfere with the convex portions 111x and 111x of the fitting concave portions Cp and Cp. , the handle 112 is prevented from rotating forward or downward.

Further, in the present embodiment, the diameter of the left shaft portion 112L is larger than that of the right shaft portion 112R, and the diameter of the left hole Px of the side wall 111a is larger than the diameter of the right hole Px. formed larger. The diameter of the right hole Px of the side wall 111a is formed to be large enough to prevent the left shaft portion 112L from penetrating therethrough. That is, the left shaft portion 112L cannot be inserted into the right hole Px of the side wall 111a during assembly. As a result, even when the shape of the handle 112 is not symmetrical in the front-rear direction or left-right symmetry, it is possible to prevent the handle 112 from being assembled with the attachment of the handle 112 left-right reversed.

The diameters of the shaft portions 112L and 112R and the diameters of the holes Px and Px of the side wall 111a may be opposite to each other.

The structure for preventing the attachment of the handle 112 from being left-right reversed is not limited to the structure in which the diameters of the left and right shaft portions 112L and 112R are made different. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, by providing a convex portion 112z at the tip of the left shaft portion 112L, the distance from the concave portion 112c of the right shaft portion 112R to the tip of the shaft portion 112R is increased. The distance from the concave portion 112c to the tip of the shaft portion 112L may be formed longer. Further, the depth from the projection 111x of the right fitting recess Cp to the rear wall may be deeper than the depth from the projection 111x of the right fitting recess Cp to the rear wall. In this case, the depth from the projection 111x of the right fitting recess Cp to the back wall is formed shorter than the distance from the recess 112c of the left shaft 112L to the tip of the shaft 112L. In other words, the left shaft portion 112L cannot be inserted into the right fitting recess Cp during assembly. Even in this way, it is possible to prevent assembling with the attachment of the handle 112 left and right reversed.

Returning to FIGS. 7 and 8, in this embodiment, the side surfaces of the concave portions 112c, 112c of the shaft portions 112L, 112R of the handle 112 are pressed against the side surfaces of the convex portions 111x, 111x of the fitting concave portions Cp, Cp. is configured as As a result, when the handle 112 falls forward or backward from the vertical direction, a frictional force is generated between the facing surfaces of both, and the handle falls slowly without being held by the user.

In addition, steps 112y, 112y may be provided on the side surfaces of the concave portions 112c, 112c, or conversely, steps may be provided on the side surfaces of the convex portions 111x, 111x. This makes it possible to easily adjust the magnitude of the frictional force by adjusting the height and area of the step.

Furthermore, it may be configured such that a frictional force is generated between the base portions of the left and right shaft portions 112L and 112R and the side wall 111a. Specifically, two convex portions are provided at positions facing the vicinity of the base portions of the shaft portions 112L and 112R of the side wall 111a, that is, around the holes Px and Px, so that the base portions of the shaft portions 112L and 112R and the holes are arranged. Px and the convex parts around Px are made easy to rub against each other. This makes it possible to easily adjust the magnitude of the frictional force between the handle 112 and the side wall 111a by adjusting the height and width of the projection.

It should be noted that friction is generated not only on the contact surfaces described above, but also in a structure in which the tips of the shaft portions 112L and 112R and the inner walls of the fitting recesses Cp and Cp are brought into contact with each other to generate a frictional force therebetween. Alternatively, the configuration may be such that a frictional force is generated between the outer peripheries of the shaft portions 112L and 112R and the inner peripheries of the holes Px and Px of the side wall 111a.

(3) Heat Insulating Material Returning to FIGS. 3 and 4, the heat insulating material is wrapped around the side wall of the inner pot housing portion PA of the protective frame 111d and the outer periphery of the induction heating coil 113, and is generated from the inner pot 130 during rice cooking. It plays a role of suppressing heat from flowing out to the outside of the inner pot housing part PA.

(4) Induction Heating Coil The induction heating coil 113 is an induction heating source for induction-heating the inner pot 130, and as shown in FIGS. It is arranged outside the lower end of the side wall.

(5) Ferrite Core Assembly The ferrite core assembly 121 is arranged around the induction heating coil 113 as shown in FIG. The ferrite core plays a role of suppressing leakage of electromagnetic waves generated from the induction heating coil 113 when electricity is supplied.

(6) Thermistor The thermistor 114 is a temperature sensor, and as shown in FIG. protruding. The thermistor 114 is biased upward by a biasing member such as a coil spring. In other words, the thermistor 114 is arranged to be movable in the vertical direction. Also, this thermistor 114 is incorporated in an inner pot detection sensor (not shown). The inner pot detection sensor is for judging whether or not the inner pot 130 is present in the rice cooker. do. Upon receiving the detection signal, the microcomputer determines that the inner pot 130 is present in the rice cooker. Note that when the microcomputer determines that the inner pot 130 does not exist in the rice cooker, the rice cooking operation is not started. By the way, the thermistor 114 is supported by a substantially disk-shaped cover member 127 as shown in FIG. The cover member 127 is screwed to the bottom wall of the inner pot housing portion PA of the protective frame 111d.

(7) Blower Fan As described above, the blower fan 115 is disposed directly above the intake port Os formed in the bottom wall 111b of the housing 111 so that the rotation axis extends substantially in the vertical direction (Fig. 3). That is, when the blower fan 115 is driven, outside air is sucked from the intake port Os, flows into the housing, and is sent upward as it is. The external air sent upward passes through the heat sink 116 and is supplied to the power circuit board 118, the control circuit board 119, and the like to cool these members.

(8) Heat Sink The heat sink 116 is a component that efficiently exchanges heat with the outside air.

(9) Operation Panel The operation panel 117 is for determining and executing the operation method of the rice cooker 100, and as shown in FIGS. etc., and is arranged above the front side of the shoulder member 111c as described above.

(10) Power Supply Circuit Board The power supply circuit board 118 is a board that constitutes a power supply circuit, and several heat-generating components are mounted thereon. 3, the power supply circuit board 118 is housed in the front space SPf of the housing 111, like the control circuit board 119, which will be described later.

(11) Control Circuit Board The control circuit board 119 is a board that constitutes a control circuit, and has electronic components such as a microcomputer mounted thereon. 3, the control circuit board 119 is supported by a board support member 111e arranged above the heat sink 116 and below the operation panel 117 in the front space SPf of the housing 111. there is

(12) Automatic Winding Power Cord Unit The automatic winding power cord unit 120 is composed of a power cord, an automatic winding mechanism (not shown), etc., and is attached to the housing 111 as shown in FIG. It is housed in the rear space. The power cord consists of a plug (not shown) and an electric wire (not shown). The insertion plug is arranged at the tip of the electric wire. The electric wire is extendably wound around an automatic winding mechanism.

2. Inner Pot The inner pot 130 is a bowl-shaped pot that opens upward, is inserted through the opening of the shoulder member 111c, and is accommodated in the inner pot accommodating portion PA of the protective frame 111d with a predetermined gap. Here, the inner pot 130 is a multi-layer body (clad material) of various aluminum alloys and stainless alloys, and can be induction-heated by the induction heating coil 113 .

3. Lid Body The lid body 140 is mainly composed of an exterior body 141, an open/close button 142, a pressure adjustment mechanism 143, a reinforcing member 144, an inner lid 145 and a lever member 146, as shown in FIGS. . It is rotatably attached to the main body 110 via a hinge mechanism 150 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the exterior body 141 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member and accommodates an open/close button 142, a pressure adjustment mechanism 143, a lever member 146, and the like. Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the open/close button 142 is arranged on the exterior body 141 so that its upper surface is exposed above the exterior body 141 . Also, here, the exterior body 141 is reinforced with a reinforcing member so as to withstand the internal pressure during use. Further, an inner lid 145 is detachably arranged on the lower surface of the exterior body 141 .

The open/close button 142 is a rectangular button with rounded corners for opening and closing the cover 140 and is arranged above the lever member 146 . The open/close button 142 is biased upward by a coil spring (not shown).

The lever member 146 includes an abutment plate portion (not shown), a pair of left and right extended plate portions (not shown) extending downward from the front side of the abutment plate portion, and rearward from the lower portion of each extended plate portion. It is a metal plate member formed of a claw portion (not shown) extending toward and is pivotally supported by the exterior body 141, and is pushed upward by a coil spring (not shown) at the rear end of the contact plate portion. urged toward. Here, when the open/close button 142 is pushed down by the user, the open/close button 142 comes into contact with a portion of the contact plate portion of the lever member 146 on the rear side of the rotation shaft.

When the user wants to close the lid 140 , the user does not need to operate the open/close button 142 , and can simply push the lid 140 toward the main body 110 . At this time, the claw portion of the lever member 146 moves downward while contacting an inclined surface (not shown) formed on the shoulder member 111c. During this time, the lever member 146 rotates forward against the biasing force of the coil spring. When the pawl reaches a pawl receiving hole (not shown) formed in the shoulder member 111c, the pawl is fitted into the pawl receiving hole by the biasing force of the coil spring. In this manner, the lid 140 is closed. On the other hand, when the lid body 140 is to be opened, the user presses the open/close button 142 . Then, the lower end portion of the open/close button 142 contacts the contact portion of the lever member 146, and the lever member 146 rotates forward against the biasing force of the coil spring. At this time, the claw portion fitted in the claw receiving hole is pulled out from the claw receiving hole. Then, the lid 140 is lifted upward by the biasing force of the hinge mechanism 150, and the lid 140 is opened.

The pressure adjustment mechanism 143 adjusts the pressure inside the inner pot 130 to 1.03 to 1.3 atm when the lid 140 is closed and the rice is cooked under pressure. Further, the pressure adjusting mechanism 143 regulates the rotation of the lever member 146 so as not to open the lid 140 during the pressure rice cooking operation. In this embodiment, the pressure adjusting mechanism is not particularly limited, and a conventional one may be employed.

The reinforcing member is for increasing the strength of the lid body 140 . In the present embodiment, the reinforcing member is not particularly limited, and may be a metal plate itself or a metal plate having a complicated shape.

The inner lid 145 is a member for covering and sealing the upper portion of the inner pot 130 as shown in FIG.

4. Hinge Mechanism As described above, the hinge mechanism 150 attaches the lid 140 to the main body 110 so that the lid 140 is rotatable relative to the main body 110 . As described above, the hinge mechanism 150 biases the lid 140 in the opening direction.

It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of the claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning of equivalents of the scope of the claims. Also, configurations obtained by combining configurations of different embodiments described herein are also included in the scope of the present invention.

100: Rice cooker 110: Main body 111: Housing 111a: Side wall 111b: Bottom wall 111c: Shoulder member 111d: Protective frame 111e: Board support member 111x: Convex portion 112: Handle 112L: Shaft portion 112R: Shaft portion 112a: Main body portion 112c: concave portion 112y: step 112z: convex portion 113: induction heating coil 114: thermistor 115: ventilation fan 116: heat sink 117: operation panel 117a: panel body 118: power circuit board 119: control circuit board 120: automatic winding power supply Cord unit 121 : Ferrite core assembly 127 : Cover member 130 : Inner pot 140 : Lid 141 : Exterior 142 : Open/close button 143 : Pressure adjustment mechanism 144 : Reinforcing member 145 : Inner lid 146 : Lever member 150 : Hinge mechanism BT : Push button Cp : Fitting concave portion FP : Flange portion Os : Intake port PA : Inner pot housing portion Px : Hole SPf : Front side space SU : Support portion

Claims (3)

main housing,
A handle rotatably attached to both left and right side surfaces of the main body housing,
A hole is formed in each of the left and right side surfaces of the main housing,
A protrusion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the hole,
each of the left and right bases of the handle is inserted into the hole,
A concave portion sandwiching the convex portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each of the left and right base portions of the handle,
The recess is formed only on a part of the outer peripheral surface of each of the left and right bases of the handle,
Rotation of the handle is restricted by contact of the surface of the concave portion with the convex portion.
rice cooker . main housing,
A handle rotatably attached to both left and right side surfaces of the main body housing,
A hole is formed in each of the left and right side surfaces of the main housing,
A protrusion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the hole,
each of the left and right bases of the handle is inserted into the hole,
A concave portion sandwiching the convex portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each of the left and right base portions of the handle,
The length of one of the left and right bases of the handle beyond the recess is greater than the length of the recess of the other of the left and right bases of the handle,
one of the left and right holes of the main housing is deeper than the convex portion, and the depth is deeper than the convex portion of the other left and right holes of the main body housing;
The length beyond the concave portion of one of the left and right bases of the handle is greater than the depth of the convex portion of the other of the left and right holes of the main housing.
rice cooker . main housing,
A handle rotatably attached to both left and right side surfaces of the main body housing,
A hole is formed in each of the left and right side surfaces of the main housing,
A protrusion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the hole,
each of the left and right bases of the handle is inserted into the hole,
A concave portion sandwiching the convex portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each of the left and right base portions of the handle,
The side surface of the concave portion and the side surface of the convex portion are always in contact with each other, and the frictional force between the two acts as a braking force for turning the handle.
rice cooker .

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