JP7450169B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rice cooker.

As a conventional rice cooker, a fully automatic rice cooker that integrates a series of processes of storing rice, washing rice, and cooking rice is known. A conventional rice cooker includes a rice storage section for storing rice, a rice washing space for washing rice, and a rice cooking section (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-220047

In a conventional rice cooker, it is conceivable to provide a water storage section that stores water necessary for rice cooking in addition to a rice storage section that stores rice. However, when the rice cooker includes a water storage section, there are the following problems.

The first problem is that since the rice cooker includes a water storage section in addition to the rice storage section, the installation area of the rice cooker may become large.

The second problem is that if the water stored in the water storage section is warmed by the heat generated during rice cooking, problems may arise in terms of hygiene.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is capable of suppressing an increase in the installation area while providing a water container for storing water; An object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that can reduce temperature rise.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.
A rice cooker according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A pot and
a casing that accommodates the pot;
a water container provided in the housing and containing water;
a water supply unit that moves water contained in the water container into the pot;
a heating unit located below the pot and having a heating section that heats the pot and a holding section that holds the heating section;
The water container is located below the heating unit.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress an increase in the installation area even though a water container for storing water is provided, and it is also possible to reduce a temperature rise of water stored in the water container.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a rice cooker according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the rice cooker with the lid of the housing open. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the rice cooker shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing main parts of the rice cooker shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rice cooker in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the rice cooker as seen in the VI-VI direction of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the rice cooker taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 5. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the rice cooker shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the rice cooker with the lid of the rice container open. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the rice cooker shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a reinforcing member. Flowchart showing an example of a rice cooking process. A graph schematically showing the relationship between time (minutes) and temperature (° C.) inside the pot 2 in a pre-cooking process, a temperature raising process, a boiling process, and a steaming process.

A rice cooker according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A pot and
a casing that accommodates the pot;
a water container provided in the housing and containing water;
a water supply unit that moves water contained in the water container into the pot;
a heating unit located below the pot and having a heating section that heats the pot and a holding section that holds the heating section;
The water container is located below the heating unit.

According to this configuration, the water container is located below the heating unit. Therefore, the installation area of the rice cooker can be made smaller than in a configuration in which the water container is arranged horizontally alongside the heating unit.

According to this configuration, the water container is located below the heating unit. Heat is normally transferred upwards. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the water contained in the water container is heated by the heat generated in the heating unit.

The rice cooker according to one aspect of the present invention may further include a rice container that stores rice, and a rice feeding section that moves the rice stored in the rice container into the pot.

According to this configuration, the rice stored in the rice container is moved into the pot by the rice feeding section. Therefore, when cooking rice, the process of feeding the rice into the pot can be automated.

In plan view, the rice container may be located away from the water container.

It is preferable that the rice container has a vertically long shape with a narrow bottom and a long vertical direction rather than a horizontally long shape with a wide bottom and short vertically. This is due to the following reasons. When the rice container has a horizontally elongated shape, more rice remains on the bottom of the rice container without being sent into the pot. Therefore, it becomes difficult to use up the rice in the rice container. Furthermore, in order to use up the rice in the rice container, it is necessary to send the rice to the bottom of the rice container. To achieve this, it is conceivable to make the bottom of the rice container a sloped surface. When the rice container has a vertically elongated shape, it is easy to make the sloped surface into a shape that makes it easy to feed the rice downward, that is, a shape that is long vertically. If the rice container is located at a position overlapping the water container in plan view, the length of the rice container in the vertical direction will be shortened by the length of the water container. However, according to this configuration, the rice container is located away from the water container in plan view. Therefore, it is easy to make the rice container longer in the vertical direction. That is, according to this configuration, it is easy to configure the rice container in a shape suitable for single-use rice.

The casing may include an upper frame that constitutes an upper part of the casing and has an insertion opening through which the pot can be inserted from above and removed from above, and the rice container may be opened at the top. The rice container may have an inlet, and the inlet of the rice container may be located above the upper frame.

According to this configuration, rice cooking is performed with the pot inserted into the insertion opening of the upper frame. At this time, water such as steam generated during rice cooking adheres to the upper frame. According to this configuration, the input port is located above the upper frame. Therefore, water adhering to the upper frame can be prevented from entering the rice container through the inlet.

The input port of the rice container may be located above the pot inserted into the insertion port of the upper frame.

According to this configuration, rice cooking is performed with the pot inserted into the insertion opening of the upper frame. At this time, water such as steam generated during rice cooking adheres to the pot. According to this configuration, the input port is located above the pot inserted into the insertion port of the upper frame. Therefore, water adhering to the pot can be prevented from entering the rice container through the inlet.

According to this configuration, when the rice cooked in the pot is taken out, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the rice will accidentally enter the rice container.

The rice cooker according to one aspect of the present invention has a box shape open to the bottom, and has an input port closed position that closes the input port of the rice container and an input port open position that opens the input port of the rice container. The rice container may further include a top lid of the rice container that is movable to different positions, and the rice container may include a cylindrical portion that constitutes the upper part of the rice container and extends in the vertical direction, and the input port is The opening may be on the upper side of the cylindrical part, and the rice container top lid at the position where the inlet is closed may cover the side wall of the cylindrical part and the inlet from above.

According to this configuration, the rice container top lid at the input port closing position covers the side wall of the cylindrical portion and the input port from above. That is, when the rice container top lid is located at the input port closing position, the input port provided on the upper side of the cylindrical portion is inserted into the inner part of the box-shaped rice container top lid. This makes it possible to reduce the infiltration of water that occurs during rice cooking and adheres to the upper frame or pot into the rice container, compared to a structure in which a plate-shaped lid simply blocks the input port.

The casing may include a lower frame that constitutes a lower part of the casing and supports the water container, and the rice cooker according to one aspect of the present invention includes a lower frame that supports the heating unit and the lower frame in the vertical direction. The heating unit may further include a reinforcing member located between and supporting the heating unit and being supported by the lower frame.

According to this configuration, the pressure acting on the heating unit from the pot acts on the lower frame via the reinforcing member. This can reduce the possibility that the pressure will act on the water container.

The reinforcing member includes a horizontally extending portion located between the heating unit and the water container in the vertical direction, and extending downward from the horizontally extending portion, and is arranged to sandwich the water container in a plan view. A pair of longitudinally extending portions may be provided, the horizontally extending portion may support the holding portion, and the pair of longitudinally extending portions may be supported by the lower frame. Good too.

According to this configuration, the pressure acting on the heating unit from the pot acts on the vertically extending portion of the reinforcing member via the horizontally extending portion of the reinforcing member, and the pressure acting on the longitudinally extending portion of the reinforcing member is lowered. Acts on the frame. That is, the pressure acting on the horizontally extending portion located above the water container is transmitted to the vertically extending portion located away from the water container in plan view. Therefore, the possibility that the pressure acts on the water container can be reduced.

In plan view, the horizontally extending portion may be located away from the center of the pot.

Usually, a heating section or the like is placed below the center of the pot. Therefore, if the horizontally extending section is placed below the center of the pot, the heating section, etc. will need to be placed above the horizontally extending section by the amount of the horizontally extending section, and as a result, the pot will also move upwards. need to be placed. As a result, the rice cooker becomes longer in the vertical direction. According to this configuration, the horizontally extending portion is located away from the center of the pot in plan view. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the rice cooker from becoming longer in the vertical direction as described above.

The rice cooker according to one aspect of the present invention may further include a casing top lid rotatably supported by the casing, and the casing top lid may have a rotating tip portion that is connected to the casing top lid. The pot may be rotatable between a pot closed position where the pot is supported by a casing and covers the pot from above, and a pot open position where the rotating tip part separates from the casing and exposes the pot upward; When the housing top lid is located at the pot closing position, a supporting position of the horizontally extending portion with respect to the holding portion may be located directly below the rotating tip portion.

According to this configuration, when the housing upper lid rotates from the pan open position to the pan closed position, downward pressure is applied from the rotating tip of the housing upper lid to the upper frame. According to this configuration, when the housing upper lid is located at the pot closing position, the supporting position of the horizontally extending portion relative to the holding portion is located directly below the rotating tip portion. Therefore, the above-mentioned pressure can be received by the horizontally extending portion. As a result, it is possible to reduce the aforementioned pressure acting on the water container.

The rice cooker according to one aspect of the present invention may be a pressure rice cooker including a pressurizing section that pressurizes the inside of the pot.

According to this configuration, the rice cooker is a pressure rice cooker that cooks rice by pressurizing the inside of the pot. In a pressure rice cooker, by pressurizing the pot, pressure can be applied to the heating unit and water container located below the pot. However, according to this configuration, since the pressure acts on the reinforcing member via the heating unit, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the pressure acts on the water container.

Embodiments that are one aspect of the present invention will be described below. The embodiments described below are merely examples of the invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a rice cooker according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the rice cooker with the lid of the casing open. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the rice cooker of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing essential parts of the rice cooker of FIG. 1. In FIGS. 3 and 4, some of the components of the rice cooker have been removed to show the internal structure of the rice cooker. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the rice cooker of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the rice cooker as viewed in the VI-VI direction of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the rice cooker 1 includes a bottomed cylindrical pot 2, a housing 3 that houses the pot 2, an upper frame 4, a lower frame 5, and an upper frame 4. The rice cooker 1 includes an arranged hinge part 6, a lid body 7, a heating unit 8, and a control part 20 that controls the operation of the rice cooker 1 as a whole.

The pot 2 shown in FIG. 4 can be removed from the housing 3. As shown in FIG. 6, the housing 3 is provided so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the pot 2 with a gap therebetween. The upper frame 4, the control unit 20, etc. are arranged in the gap.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the upper frame 4 constitutes the upper part of the housing 3. As shown in FIGS. The upper frame 4 is provided so as to cover between the housing 3 and the pot 2 in plan view. In other words, the upper frame 4 has an insertion opening 41 into which the pot 2 is inserted at the center in a plan view. The pot 2 can be inserted into the insertion port 41 from above. Thereby, the pot 2 is accommodated in the housing 3 (see FIG. 2). The pot 2 housed in the housing 3 can be removed upward from the insertion port 41. Thereby, the pot 2 is removed from the housing 3.

The lower frame 5 constitutes the lower part of the housing 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper frame 4 and the lower frame 5 protrude in the width direction with respect to portions of the housing 3 other than the upper frame 4 and the lower frame 5. The width direction is the left-right direction when the rice cooker 1 is viewed from the front. The projecting portion of the upper frame 4 is formed with an opening into which a rice container 100, which will be described later, is inserted. The protruding portion of the lower frame 5 supports a rice container 100, which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the lid body 7 is attached to the hinge portion 6. As shown in FIGS. The lid body 7 is rotatable around the hinge part 6. The lid body 7 is rotatably supported by the housing 3. The lid 7 is an example of a housing upper lid.

The lid body 7 is rotatable between a pot open position shown in FIG. 2 and a pot closed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 6.

As the lid 7 rotates, the rotating tip 7A of the lid 7 moves toward and away from the upper frame 4 of the housing 3. That is, the lid body 7 covers the opening 2A (see FIG. 2) of the pot 2 in an openable and closable manner. The hinge part 6 is arranged at the rear of the rice cooker 1. Therefore, the rotating tip 7A of the lid 7 is located at the front of the rice cooker 1. As a result, the lid body 7 rotates to the pot open position, thereby opening the front side of the rice cooker 1 (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the user can easily access the pot 2 and pour rice into it.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the lid 7 is in the pot open position, the rotating tip 7A of the lid 7 is separated from the upper frame 4 of the housing 3. At this time, the lid 7 exposes the pot 2 upward.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, when the lid 7 is in the pot closing position, the rotating tip 7A of the lid 7 is supported by the upper frame 4 of the housing 3. At this time, the lid body 7 covers the opening 2A (see FIG. 2) of the pot 2 from above. As shown in FIG. 2, the lid 7 includes a fitting portion 71, and the upper frame 4 of the housing 3 includes a fitting portion 42. When the lid body 7 is in the pan-closed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the fitting part 71 and the fitted part 42 fit into each other. This prevents the lid 7 from unintentionally separating from the upper frame 4 of the housing 3.

As shown in FIG. 6, the rice cooker 1 includes a heating unit 8. The heating unit 8 includes a heating section 81 that heats the pot 2 housed in the housing 3, and a holding section 82 that holds the heating section 81.

The heating unit 81 is, for example, an induction heating (IH) type heating device. An induction heating (IH) type heating device includes a heating coil. The induction heating (IH) type heating device generates an eddy current in the metal pot 2 using a high frequency magnetic field generated when a high frequency current is passed through a heating coil. Thereby, the pot 2 is heated. The heating unit 81 is located below the pot 2. In this embodiment, the heating part 81 covers the lower surface of the pot 2 and the lower part of the outer surface of the pot 2.

The holding part 82 includes an overheat protection frame 821 and a protection frame cover 822. The overheat protection frame 821 covers the lower surface of the pot 2 from below and the outer surface of the pot 2 from the sides. The lower part of the overheat protection frame 821 is located between the pot 2 and the heating section 81. The protective frame cover 822 covers the lower surface of the pot 2 from below and the side surfaces of the pot 2 from the sides. The protective frame cover 822 covers the heating section 81 from below and from the sides. The protective frame cover 822 and the overheat protection frame 821 hold the heating section 81 in a sandwiched manner.

In this embodiment, the rice cooker 1 is a pressure rice cooker that cooks rice by pressurizing the inside of the pot 2. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the rice cooker taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, a pressure valve 15 is provided inside the lid body 7. The pressure valve 15 operates to open and close the hole 14 that communicates the inside of the pot 2 and the inside of the lid body 7 under the control of the control unit 20 . The inside of the lid body 7 communicates with the outside of the rice cooker 1. That is, when the hole 14 is opened by the pressure valve 15, the inside of the pot 2 is communicated with the outside of the rice cooker 1. On the other hand, when the hole 14 is closed by the pressure valve 15, the inside of the pot 2 is cut off from the outside of the rice cooker 1, and the inside of the pot 2 is sealed. In this state, when the water in the pot 2 boils, the inside of the pot 2 is pressurized. The pressure valve 15 is an example of a pressurizing section that pressurizes the inside of the pot 2.

In this embodiment, the rice cooker 1 is an automatic rice cooker that automatically transfers rice and water to a pot 2 to cook rice. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rice cooker 1 includes a rice container 100 that stores rice, a water container 300 that stores water, and a pot 2 that is housed in the housing 3. A supply section 500 for supplying rice and water is provided. The supply unit 500 includes a rice feeding unit 200 that supplies the rice contained in the rice container 100 into the pot 2, and a water feeding unit 400 that supplies water contained in the water container 300 into the pot 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rice container 100 is supported by the lower frame 5 of the housing 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the rice container 100 includes a container body 110, a cylindrical portion 120, an outer cover 140, and a lid 150.

The container body 110 has a box shape that is open upward. Rice is stored in the internal space 111 (see FIG. 4) of the container body 110.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the rice cooker of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 8, the container body 110 has an inclined side surface 112A at the lower part of the rear inner surface 112. As shown in FIG. The inclined side surface 112A is inclined so that the length of the container body 110 in the front-rear direction gradually decreases as it goes downward, when the rice cooker 1 is viewed in the width direction. The front-rear direction is a direction perpendicular to the front surface 3A of the casing 3 (see FIGS. 1 and 5), and is a direction extending vertically on the plane of the paper in FIG. The width direction is a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, and is a direction extending left and right on the paper surface of FIG. In this embodiment, while the inclined side surface 112A forming the lower part of the rear inner surface 112 of the rice container 100 is inclined, the front inner surface 113 (see FIG. 4) of the container main body 110 opposite to the rear inner surface 112 is inclined. , not inclined.

Note that the inclined side surface 112A may be formed not only at the lower part of the rear inner side surface 112 but also from the lower part to a region other than the lower part. For example, the inclined side surface 112A may be formed from the upper end to the lower end of the rear inner surface 112. Furthermore, the front inner surface 113 of the container body 110 may be inclined, or both the rear inner surface 112 and the front inner surface 113 of the container body 110 may be inclined. The rice supplied to the internal space 111 of the container body 110 slides on the inclined side surface 112A and gathers downward.

As shown in FIG. 8, the cylindrical portion 120 constitutes the upper part of the rice container 100. The cylindrical portion 120 extends upward from the upper end of the container body 110. That is, the cylindrical portion 120 extends in the vertical direction. The cylindrical portion 120 is open on the lower side and the upper side. The internal space of the cylindrical part 120 communicates with the internal space 111 of the container body 110 via the opening on the lower side of the cylindrical part 120. The internal space of the cylindrical portion 120 communicates with the outside via an input port 121 that is an opening on the upper side of the cylindrical portion 120 . Rice is supplied from the input port 121 to the internal space 111 of the container body 110 via the internal space of the cylindrical portion 120 .

The cylindrical portion 120 and the container body 110 are integrally formed. The cylindrical portion 120 and the container body 110, which are integrally formed, are inserted into an opening formed in the projecting portion of the upper frame 4. Thereby, the container main body 110 is located below the upper frame 4, and the cylindrical portion 120 is located above the upper frame 4. Therefore, the input port 121 of the cylindrical portion 120 is located above the upper frame 4 of the housing 3. Further, the input port 121 of the cylindrical portion 120 is located above the pot 2 inserted into the insertion port 41 of the upper frame 4. Note that the cylindrical portion 120, the container body 110, and the upper frame 4 may be formed integrally.

With the above configuration, the upper frame 4 projects from the lower end of the outer surface of the side wall 122 of the cylindrical portion 120 to the outside of the cylindrical portion 120 in plan view.

The outer cover 140 shown in FIG. 1 covers the sides of the container body 110 (see FIG. 3). This prevents the container body 110 from being exposed to the outside. On the other hand, the outer cover 140 is located below the cylindrical portion 120 and does not cover the cylindrical portion 120.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the rice cooker with the lid of the rice container open. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the lid 150 is attached to a hinge portion 160. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, the hinge section 160 is arranged at the rear of the cylindrical section 120. That is, the hinge part 160 is arranged at the rear of the rice cooker 1. The hinge portion 160 is supported by the container body 110. The lid body 150 is rotatable around the hinge part 160. The lid 150 is an example of a rice container top lid.

The lid body 150 is rotatable between an input port open position shown in FIG. 9 and an input port closed position shown in FIG.

The lid 150 has a box shape that is open at the bottom. The internal space of the lid 150 is larger than the cylindrical part 120 and can accommodate the cylindrical part 120.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the lid 150 is in the input port closing position, the lid 150 covers the input port 121 and the side wall 122 of the cylindrical portion 120 from above, and accommodates the cylindrical portion 120. At this time, the lid 150 closes the input port 121. Further, at this time, the inner surface 150A (see FIG. 9) of the lid 150 faces the side wall 122 of the cylindrical portion 120, and the inner top surface of the lid 150 faces the input port 121 of the cylindrical portion 120. ing. The lower end 150B of the lid 150 at the input port closing position is in contact with the upper surface of the upper frame 4 from above. Thereby, the lid body 150 in the input port closed position is supported by the upper frame 4.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the lid 150 is in the slot open position, the lower end 150B of the lid 150 is apart from the upper frame 4 except for the rear portion connected to the hinge part 160. At this time, the lid 150 exposes the cylindrical portion 120 to the outside and opens the input port 121.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rice feeding section 200 includes a rice measuring section 210 and a rice feeding path 220. The rice measuring section 210 measures the amount of rice supplied from the rice container 100 and supplies the specified amount of rice to the rice feeding route 220. The rice feeding path 220 is a path for transferring the rice supplied from the rice measuring section 210 to the pot 2.

The rice measuring section 210 includes a housing 211 in which a measuring blade is built-in, and a motor 212.

The metering blade is provided in the internal space of the housing 211 and is formed in a spiral shape around an axis extending in the horizontal direction. In this embodiment, the metering blade extends in the front-rear direction. The outer periphery of the metering blade is covered by a housing 211.

The motor 212 rotates the metering blade around the axis under the control of the control unit 20 (see FIG. 6). The driving force of the motor 212 is transmitted to the metering blade via a shaft (not shown).

The housing 211 has a rice container outlet. The rice container outlet is an opening formed in the housing 211 and facing forward. The internal space of the housing 211 communicates with the internal space 111 of the container body 110 of the rice container 100 via the rice container outlet. The axis of the metering vane intersects the rice container outlet.

The rice container 100 includes rice transfer blades. The rice transfer blade is arranged at the lower part of the internal space 111 of the container body 110. The rice transfer blade is formed in a spiral shape around the shaft. The axis of the rice transfer vane intersects the rice container outlet. The rice transfer blades are rotated by receiving driving force from the motor. Thereby, the rice stored in the internal space 111 of the container body 110 is supplied to the internal space of the casing 211 via the rice container outlet. That is, rice is supplied from the rice container 100 to the rice measuring section 210. Note that the axis of the rice transfer blade may or may not be coaxial with the measuring blade. Furthermore, the driving force may be transmitted to the rice transfer blade from the motor 212 in the same way as the measuring blade, or the driving force may be transmitted from a motor different from the motor 212.

The casing 211 has an entrance to the rice route. The rice feeding path entrance is an opening formed in the housing 211 and facing downward. The internal space of the housing 211 communicates with the rice feeding path 220 via the rice feeding path entrance.

The rice measuring section 210 includes an opening/closing lid that opens and closes the entrance of the rice feeding path. The opening/closing lid can be opened and closed by known means. For example, the opening/closing lid may be opened/closed by transmission of driving force from a motor under control of the control unit 20 (see FIG. 6). Further, for example, the opening/closing lid may be opened/closed by displacement by a cam mechanism according to the rotation of the metering blade.

By rotating around the axis, the metering blade transfers the rice stored in the internal space of the housing 211 toward the entrance of the rice feeding path along the axial direction. At this time, the opening/closing lid is opened and the rice feeding route entrance is opened. Therefore, the rice transferred by the metering blade is supplied to the rice feeding path 220 via the rice feeding path entrance.

In this way, the measuring blade can measure rice while moving it in the axial direction (horizontal direction). The rice to be fed to the rice feeding path 220 is measured, for example, based on the rotation amount or rotation time of the measuring blade. Note that in this embodiment, the rice is transferred horizontally, but the moving direction of the rice is not limited to the horizontal direction. For example, the axial direction of the metering blade is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction, so that the metering blade can also cause the rice to be transferred in a direction inclined with respect to the horizontal direction.

The rice feeding path 220 is piped from below the rice measuring section 210 to above the upper frame 4 of the housing 3 with the rear part of the rice cooker 1 facing upward, and runs above the upper frame 4 in a substantially horizontal direction. The pipes are piped up to the top of 2. One end of the rice feeding path 220 communicates with the rice feeding path entrance of the casing 211 of the rice measuring section 210. The other end of the rice feeding path 220 communicates with the rice separating device 170.

The rice separating device 170 is arranged above the pot 2. The rice separating device 170 is laterally communicated with the rice feeding path 220 and the exhaust path 180. The rice separating device 170 also communicates with the inside of the pot 2 at the bottom. The rice separating device 170 is equipped with a rice feeding fan. The rice feeding fan is an intake fan that transfers the rice and air in the rice feeding path 220 to the rice separating device 170 by sucking the air in the rice feeding path 220. Air drawn into the rice separator 170 from the rice feed path 220 advances to the exhaust path 180. The rice sucked into the rice separator 170 from the rice feeding path 220 falls into the inside of the pot 2 due to its own weight and does not proceed to the exhaust path 180. As a result, the rice and air sucked into the rice separator 170 from the rice feed path 220 are separated by 9 in the rice separator 170. The air separated in the rice separator 170 is discharged to the outside of the rice cooker 1 via an exhaust path 180. The rice separated in the rice separator 170 is discharged into the pot 2. Since the structure of the rice separator 170 for separating rice and air is well known, further detailed explanation of the internal structure of the rice separator 170 will be omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 3, the water container 300 is provided inside the housing 3. Water container 300 has an internal space. Water is stored in the internal space of the water container 300.

The water container 300 is located at the front lower part of the housing 3. The water container 300 is supported by the lower frame 5 of the housing 3. That is, the water container 300 is located above the lower frame 5.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the water container 300 is located below the pot 2 and the heating unit 8. In plan view, the water container 300 overlaps with the pot 2 and the heating unit 8. In this embodiment, a part of the water container 300 overlaps with the pot 2 and the heating unit 8 in plan view, but the entire water container 300 may overlap with the pot 2 and the heating unit 8.

The water container 300 is located next to the rice container 100. In other words, the rice container 100 is located away from the water container 300 in plan view.

As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 3 includes an opening/closing door 31. As shown in FIG. The opening/closing door 31 is provided at the lower part of the front surface 3A of the housing 3. When the opening/closing door 31 is opened, a water container 300 (see FIG. 3) arranged inside the housing 3 is exposed to the outside. The water container 300 is detachably housed inside the housing 3. The user can pull forward and take out the water container 300 exposed to the outside in order to replenish water.

As shown in FIG. 4, the water supply unit 400 includes a water supply channel 410 for transferring water from the water container 300 to the pot 2, and a water supply pump 420 for moving water.

The water supply channel 410 is piped from the lower part of the water container 300 to above the upper frame 4 of the housing 3 with the rear part of the rice cooker 1 facing upward, and extends above the upper frame 4 along a substantially horizontal direction to the pot 2. It is piped to the top. One end of the water supply channel 410 communicates with the water supply channel entrance 310. The water supply channel inlet 310 is formed at the lower part of the side wall of the water container 300. The internal space of the water container 300 communicates with a water supply channel 410 via a water supply channel inlet 310. The other end of the water supply channel 410 communicates with the inside of the pot 2.

The water pump 420 is, for example, a gear pump, a tubing pump, or the like that can control the direction of water supply. By driving the water pump 420, water contained in the water container 300 is supplied to the inside of the pot 2 via the water channel 410. The amount of water supplied into the pot 2 is performed, for example, based on the driving time of the water pump 420.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the rice cooker of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 10, the rice cooker 1 includes a reinforcing member 9.

The reinforcing member 9 is located below the heating unit 8 and above the lower frame 5. In other words, the reinforcing member 9 is located between the heating unit 8 and the lower frame 5 in the vertical direction.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the reinforcing member. As shown in FIG. 11 , the reinforcing member 9 includes a pair of longitudinally extending portions 91 and a laterally extending portion 92 . In this embodiment, the pair of longitudinally extending portions 91 and laterally extending portions 92 are integrally formed.

As shown in FIG. 10, the longitudinally extending portion 91A, which is one of the pair of longitudinally extending portions 91, is located to the right of the water container 300 when the rice cooker 1 is viewed from the front. The other longitudinally extending portion 91B of the pair of longitudinally extending portions 91 is located to the left of the water container 300 when the rice cooker 1 is viewed from the front. That is, the pair of longitudinally extending portions 91 are arranged to sandwich the water container 300 in a plan view.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the horizontally extending portion 92 extends in the width direction. One end of the horizontally extending portion 92 in the width direction is connected to the upper end of the vertically extending portion 91A. The other end of the horizontally extending portion 92 in the width direction is connected to the upper end of the longitudinally extending portion 91B. In other words, the pair of longitudinally extending portions 91 extend downward from the laterally extending portions 92 .

As shown in FIG. 10, a plate member 18 is connected to the lower part of each of the pair of longitudinally extending portions 91 by screws 19. As shown in FIG. The lower end of the plate member 18 is bent. The lower end of this bent plate member 18 is supported by the lower frame 5 of the housing 3. That is, in this embodiment, the pair of longitudinally extending portions 91 are supported by the lower frame 5 via the plate member 18. Note that the pair of longitudinally extending portions 91 may be directly supported by the lower frame 5.

The horizontally extending portion 92 is located between the heating unit 8 and the water container 300 in the vertical direction. In other words, the horizontally extending portion 92 is located directly below the heating unit 8 and directly above the water container 300. In other words, the horizontally extending portion 92 overlaps the heating unit 8 and the water container 300 in plan view.

In this embodiment, the laterally extending portion 92 is curved, as shown in FIG. The horizontally extending portion 92 includes a pair of inclined portions 921 and a central portion 922 . The pair of inclined portions 921 constitute both ends of the laterally extending portion 92 in the width direction. The central portion 922 is located between the pair of inclined portions 921.

An outer end in the width direction of one of the pair of inclined parts 921 is connected to the longitudinally extending part 91A. The outer end in the width direction of the other of the pair of inclined portions 921 is connected to the longitudinally extending portion 91B. An inner end in the width direction of each of the pair of inclined portions 921 is connected to the center portion 922 . Each of the pair of inclined parts 921 is inclined with respect to the width direction so that as it approaches the center part in the width direction, it is located forward. The central portion 922 extends along the width direction.

With the above configuration, in plan view, the horizontally extending portion 92 is curved so as to be located forward as it moves away from the longitudinally extending portion 91, as shown in FIG. The horizontally extending portion 92 bent forward in plan view is located forward from the center of the pot 2. Note that the horizontally extending portion 92 may be curved so as to be located at the rear as it moves away from the longitudinally extending portion 91.

As shown in FIG. 11, a through hole 93 is formed at the boundary between the central portion 922 and the inclined portion 921 in the laterally extending portion 92. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the holding part 82 of the heating unit 8 includes a supported part 823. The supported portion 823 is formed on the outer surface of the protective frame cover 822 and extends downward. A lower end portion of the supported portion 823 is inserted into a through hole 93 of the laterally extending portion 92 . The supported part 823 includes a large diameter part 823A having a larger diameter than other parts of the supported part 823 above the lower end of the supported part 823. The large diameter portion 823A is supported on the upper surface of the laterally extending portion 92. In other words, the horizontally extending portion 92 supports the holding portion 82 of the heating unit 8 . Note that the position where the through hole 93 is formed is not limited to the above-mentioned position, and the through hole 93 can be formed at any position of the laterally extending portion 92. Further, the supported portion 823 is provided at a position directly above the through hole 93.

In this embodiment, the supported portion 823 is located directly below the rotating tip 7A of the lid 7 in the pot closing position, as shown in FIG. In other words, when the lid body 7 is located at the pot closing position, the through hole 93 formed at the supporting position of the horizontally extending portion 92 with respect to the holding portion 82 is located directly below the rotating tip portion 7A. Note that the supported portion 823 may be located directly below the fitting position between the fitting portion 71 of the lid 7 and the fitting portion 42 of the upper frame 4 of the housing 3.

The control unit 20 controls the overall operation of the rice cooker 1. For example, the control unit 20 includes a program stored in a storage unit (not shown) and a processor 22 (see FIG. 6) that reads and executes the program. In this embodiment, the control unit 20 includes a printed circuit board 21 and electronic components mounted on the printed circuit board 21, as shown in FIG. The electronic components are, for example, the processor 22, the storage section, the heat sink 23, and various other electronic components 24.

The printed circuit board 21 is arranged behind the water container 300 and the pot 2. The surface of the printed circuit board 21 faces backward. The back surface of the printed circuit board 21 faces forward. The processor 22, storage section, heat sink 23, and various other electronic components 24 are mounted on the surface of the printed circuit board 21.

Note that the control unit 20 may control the overall operation of the rice cooker 1 by using wired logic whose program cannot be rewritten. In this case, the control unit 20 may include an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) as an example of wired logic instead of the CPU and the storage unit, or in addition to at least one of the CPU and the storage unit.

Hereinafter, the rice cooking process of the rice cooker 1 executed under the control of the control unit 20 will be explained. When the control unit 20 acquires information on the rice cooking instruction from outside the control unit 20, it starts the rice cooking process. For example, information on rice cooking instructions is transmitted from the input section to the control section 20 in response to input of rice cooking instructions by the user through input sections such as switches and touch panels provided on the casing 3 and lid 7 of the rice cooker 1. Sent. Further, for example, the rice cooking instruction information may be input by a user on an external device such as a smartphone or a personal computer, and may be sent from the external device to the control unit 20 of the rice cooker 1. In this case, the rice cooker 1 and the external device are configured to be able to communicate by wire or wirelessly.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the rice cooking process. As shown in FIG. 12, the rice cooking process is started when the rice cooking instruction as described above is received (S10). The rice cooking process includes a rice feeding process S20, a water feeding process S30, a pre-cooking process S40, a temperature raising process S50, a boiling process S60, and a steaming process S70.

In the rice feeding step S20, the control unit 20 determines the amount of rice required for rice cooking in accordance with the rice cooking instruction. The control unit 20 controls the rice feeding unit 200 to feed the determined amount of rice from the rice container 100 into the pot 2.

In the water supply step S30, the control unit 20 determines the amount of water required for rice cooking in accordance with the rice cooking instruction. The control unit 20 controls the water supply unit 400 to send the determined amount of water from the water container 300 into the pot 2.

The rice feeding process S20 and the water feeding process S30 may be performed in parallel. The water feeding process S3 may be performed before the rice feeding process S2.

FIG. 13 is a graph schematically showing the relationship between the time (minutes) and the temperature inside the pot 2 (°C) in the pre-cooking process, temperature raising process, boiling process, and steaming process.

As shown in FIG. 13, in the pre-cooking step S40, the control unit 20 controls the heating unit 81 to heat the pot 2. At this time, the control unit 20 maintains the temperature inside the pot 2 below the gelatinization temperature (for example, 55 degrees) and causes the rice to absorb water. The control unit 20 recognizes the temperature inside the pot 2 based on information input from a temperature sensor (not shown).

The temperature sensor is arranged below the pot 2 and adjacent to the pot 2. The temperature sensor is arranged below the center of the pot 2 in plan view. The temperature sensor detects the temperature inside the pot 2 by detecting the temperature at the bottom of the pot 2. The temperature sensor outputs information regarding the detected temperature.

In the temperature raising step S50, the control unit 20 controls the heating unit 81 to heat the pot 2 more strongly than in the pre-cooking step S40, increasing the temperature inside the pot 2 and bringing the inside of the pot 2 into a boiling state. .

In the boiling step S60, the control unit 20 controls the heating unit 81 to heat the pot 2 weaker than in the temperature raising step S50. However, the heating intensity by the heating unit 81 is maintained at a level that maintains the boiling of the water in the pot 2.

In the boiling step S60, the control unit 20 opens and closes the pressure valve 15. By closing the pressure valve 15, the pressure inside the pot 2 increases. In addition, in FIG. 13, the pressure in the pot 2 increases three times by closing the pressure valve 15 three times, but the number of times the pressure valve 15 is closed is not limited to three times. When the pressure valve 15 is opened, the pressure inside the pot 2 suddenly drops to near atmospheric pressure, causing bumping. The rice grains are agitated by the bubbles created by the bumping.

When the water in the pot 2 is absorbed by the rice and boiled, the temperature in the pot 2 increases due to heating and becomes higher than the boiling point of water (100° C.). The control unit 20 controls the heating unit 81 to stop heating the pot 2 when the temperature inside the pot 2 reaches a temperature higher than the boiling point of water (for example, 120° C.). The period during which heating of the pot 2 is stopped is the steaming step S70.

In the steaming step S70, the control unit 20 closes the pressure valve 15 for a short time and controls the heating unit 81 to heat the pot 2 for a short time. As a result, water droplets adhering to the lower surface of the lid 7 that covers the pot 2 from above are vaporized.

According to this embodiment, water contained in the water container 300 is moved into the pot 2 by the water supply section 400. Therefore, in order to cook the rice in the pot 2, there is no need to supply water from an external water source such as tap water.

According to this embodiment, the water container 300 is located below the heating unit 8. Therefore, the installation area of the rice cooker 1 can be made smaller than in a configuration in which the water container 300 is arranged horizontally alongside the heating unit 8.

According to this embodiment, the water container 300 is located below the heating unit 8. Heat is normally transferred upwards. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the water contained in the water container 300 is heated by the heat generated in the heating unit 8.

According to this embodiment, the rice stored in the rice container 100 is moved into the pot by the rice feeding section 200. Therefore, when cooking rice, the process of feeding rice into the pot 2 can be automated.

It is preferable that the rice container has a vertically long shape with a narrow bottom and a long vertical direction rather than a horizontally long shape with a wide bottom and short vertically. This is due to the following reasons. When the rice container has a horizontally elongated shape, more rice remains on the bottom of the rice container without being sent into the pot. Therefore, it becomes difficult to use up the rice in the rice container. Furthermore, in order to use up the rice in the rice container, it is necessary to send the rice to the bottom of the rice container. To achieve this, it is conceivable to make the bottom of the rice container a sloped surface. When the rice container has a vertically elongated shape, it is easy to make the sloped surface into a shape that makes it easy to feed the rice downward, that is, a shape that is long vertically. If the rice container is located at a position overlapping the water container in plan view, the length of the rice container in the vertical direction will be shortened by the length of the water container. However, according to this embodiment, the rice container 100 is located away from the water container 300 in plan view. Therefore, it is easy to make the rice container 100 longer in the vertical direction. That is, according to this embodiment, it is easy to configure the rice container 100 into a shape suitable for single-use rice.

According to this embodiment, rice cooking is performed with the pot 2 inserted into the insertion opening 41 of the upper frame 4. At this time, water such as steam generated during rice cooking adheres to the upper frame 4. According to this embodiment, the input port 121 is located above the upper frame 4. Therefore, water adhering to the upper frame 4 can be prevented from entering the rice container 100 through the input port 121.

According to this embodiment, rice cooking is performed with the pot 2 inserted into the insertion opening 41 of the upper frame 4. At this time, water such as steam generated during rice cooking adheres to the pot 2. According to this embodiment, the input port 121 is located above the pot 2 inserted into the insertion port 41 of the upper frame 4. Therefore, water adhering to the pot 2 can be prevented from entering the rice container 100 through the input port 121.

According to this embodiment, the input port 121 is located above the pot 2 inserted into the insertion port 41 of the upper frame 4. When the rice cooked in the pot 2 is taken out, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the rice will accidentally enter the rice container 100 through the input port 121.

According to the present embodiment, the lid 150 in the input port closing position covers the side wall 122 of the cylindrical portion 120 and the input port 121 from above. That is, when the lid body 150 is located at the input port closing position, the input port 121 provided on the upper side of the cylindrical portion 120 is inserted into the inner part of the box-shaped lid body 150. This makes it possible to reduce the infiltration of water that occurs during rice cooking and adheres to the upper frame 4 and the pot 2 into the rice container 100, compared to a configuration in which a plate-shaped lid simply blocks the input port 121.

According to this embodiment, the pressure acting on the heating unit 8 from the pot 2 acts on the lower frame 5 via the reinforcing member 9. Thereby, the possibility that the pressure acts on the water container 300 can be reduced.

According to this embodiment, the pressure acting on the heating unit 8 from the pot 2 acts on the longitudinally extending portion 91 of the reinforcing member 9 via the laterally extending portion 92 of the reinforcing member 9, and The pressure acting on the mounting portion 91 acts on the lower frame 5. That is, the pressure acting on the horizontally extending portion 92 located above the water container 300 is transmitted to the vertically extending portion 91 located away from the water container 300 in plan view. Therefore, the possibility that the pressure will act on the water container 300 can be reduced.

Usually, the heating section 81 and the like are arranged below the center of the pot 2. Therefore, if the horizontally extending part 92 is placed below the center of the pot, the heating part 81 etc. need to be placed above the horizontally extending part 92, and accordingly 2 also needs to be placed above. As a result, the rice cooker 1 becomes longer in the vertical direction. According to this embodiment, the horizontally extending portion 92 is located away from the center of the pot 2 in plan view. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the rice cooker 1 from becoming longer in the vertical direction as described above.

According to this embodiment, when the lid body 7 rotates from the pan open position to the pan closed position, downward pressure acts on the upper frame 4 from the rotation tip 7A of the housing upper lid. According to this embodiment, when the lid body 7 is located in the pot closing position, the supporting position of the horizontally extending portion 92 with respect to the holding portion 82 is located below the rotating tip portion 7A. Therefore, the above-mentioned pressure can be received by the horizontally extending portion 92. As a result, the aforementioned pressure acting on the water container 300 can be reduced.

According to this embodiment, the rice cooker 1 is a pressure rice cooker that cooks rice by pressurizing the inside of the pot 2. In a pressure rice cooker, when the pot 2 is brought into a pressurized state, pressure can act on the heating unit 8 and the water container 300 located below the pot 2. However, according to the present embodiment, since the pressure acts on the reinforcing member 9 via the heating unit 8, the possibility that the pressure acts on the water container 300 can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the rice cooker 1 includes the rice container 100 and the rice feeding section 200, but it may not include the rice container 100 and the rice feeding section 200. In this case, the rice is fed into the pot 2 manually, for example, by the user.

In this embodiment, the rice container 100 is located away from the water container 300 in plan view. However, in plan view, the rice container 100 and the water container 300 may overlap.

In this embodiment, the input port 121 of the cylindrical portion 120 is located above the upper frame 4 of the housing 3 and the pot 2 inserted into the insertion port 41 of the upper frame 4. However, the height of the input port 121 may be less than or equal to the height of the upper frame 4 or may be less than or equal to the height of the pot 2.

In this embodiment, the lid 150 opens and closes the input port 121 of the rice container 100 by rotating, and the lid 7 exposes and closes the pot 2 by rotating. However, the means for moving the lid 150 and the lid 7 is not limited to rotation. For example, the lid 150 and the lid 7 may be moved by sliding instead of rotating. Further, for example, the lid 150 and the lid 7 may be moved by being attached and detached.

The shape and position of the reinforcing member 9 are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. The reinforcing member 9 only needs to be located between the heating unit 8 and the water container 300 in the vertical direction, support the heating unit, and be supported by the lower frame 5.

In this embodiment, the rice cooker 1 is a pressure-type rice cooker, but it may be a rice cooker other than a pressure-type rice cooker.

Note that by appropriately combining any of the various embodiments described above, the effects of each embodiment can be achieved.

Although the present invention has been fully described with reference to preferred embodiments and with appropriate reference to the drawings, various variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood that such variations and modifications are included insofar as they do not depart from the scope of the invention according to the appended claims.

1 Rice cooker 15 Pressure valve (pressurizing part)
2 Pot 3 Housing 4 Upper frame 41 Insertion slot 5 Lower frame 7 Lid (upper lid of housing)
7A Rotating tip part 8 Heating unit 81 Heating part 82 Holding part 9 Reinforcing member 91 Vertical extension part 92 Lateral extension part 100 Rice container 120 Cylindrical part 121 Inlet 122 Side wall 150 Lid body (top lid of rice container)
200 Rice feeding section 300 Water container 400 Water feeding section

Claims (9)

A pot and
a casing that accommodates the pot;
a water container provided in the housing and containing water;
a water supply unit that moves water contained in the water container into the pot;
a heating unit located below the pot and having a heating section that heats the pot and a holding section that holds the heating section;
the water container is located below the heating unit ,
The casing includes a lower frame that constitutes a lower part of the casing and supports the water container,
further comprising a reinforcing member located between the heating unit and the lower frame in the vertical direction, supporting the heating unit and being supported by the lower frame,
The reinforcing member is
a horizontally extending part located between the heating unit and the water container in the vertical direction;
a pair of vertically extending portions extending downward from the horizontally extending portion and arranged to sandwich the water container in plan view;
The horizontally extending part supports the holding part,
The pair of longitudinally extending portions are supported by the lower frame of the rice cooker. a rice container for storing rice;
The rice cooker according to claim 1, further comprising a rice feeding unit that moves the rice stored in the rice container into the pot. The rice cooker according to claim 2, wherein the rice container is located away from the water container in plan view. The casing includes an upper frame that constitutes an upper part of the casing and has an insertion opening through which the pot can be inserted from above and removed from above;
The rice container has an input port opened on the upper side,
4. The rice cooker according to claim 2, wherein the inlet of the rice container is located above the upper frame. The rice cooker according to claim 4, wherein the input port of the rice container is located above the pot inserted into the insertion port of the upper frame. The top lid of the rice container is further provided with a top lid of the rice container, which has a box shape open to the bottom and is movable between an input port closing position for closing the input port of the rice container and an input port opening position for opening the input port of the rice container. Prepare,
The rice container includes a cylindrical portion that constitutes an upper part of the rice container and extends in the vertical direction,
The input port is an opening on the upper side of the cylindrical part,
6. The rice cooker according to claim 4, wherein the rice container top lid at the input port closing position covers the side wall of the cylindrical portion and the input port from above. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the horizontally extending portion is located away from the center of the pot in plan view. further comprising a housing top lid rotatably supported by the housing,
The housing top cover is
A pot closed position in which the rotating tip of the housing top cover is supported by the housing and covers the pot from above, and a pot open position in which the rotating tip separates from the housing to expose the pot upward. It can be rotated to
Any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when the housing top lid is located at the pot closing position, a supporting position of the horizontally extending portion with respect to the holding portion is located directly below the rotating tip portion. The rice cooker described in. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the rice cooker is a pressure rice cooker including a pressurizing section that pressurizes the inside of the pot.

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