JP7460433B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a rice cooker that allows rice to be cooked at a time that suits the user's lifestyle.

The amount of time available for preparing meals varies depending on the user's lifestyle, and is generally short on weekdays and long on weekends. Reflecting such lifestyles, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a rice cooker that allows the user to select a specific cooking time from multiple cooking times, each with a different cooking time, by operating a touch switch that serves as the operating unit, and heats the rice for cooking.

Among the multiple rice cooking courses, the quick cooking course, which is often selected on weekdays, takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes and heats the rice in the rice cooker using a heating device. You can then cook it into rice. The rice cooking time here is the time from when the user instructs the start of rice cooking by operating the operation unit to when the rice cooking ends. The rice cooker is equipped with a notification section such as a buzzer, and when the rice cooking is finished, the notification section notifies the completion of cooking of the rice to be cooked based on a control signal from a control section that controls the operation of the heating means.

JP 2018-117789 A

In the above-mentioned quick-cooking rice cooking course, although the rice cooks quickly, the core of the rice is hard when it is cooked, and the rice does not taste good even if the core is hard because the rice cooks quickly. Something happened. Also, since the rice can be cooked hard, even if I wanted it to have a softer texture, I couldn't choose the texture when using the quick-cooking rice cooking course. On the other hand, even on holidays when there is relatively time available, there is a user's need to eat freshly cooked delicious rice at the timing when the side dishes are ready. Therefore, for users, the "rice cooking time" from the start of rice cooking to the completion of cooking of the rice to be cooked is very important.

However, in conventional rice cookers, when a user operates the control unit to select a cooking course from multiple cooking courses that allows selection of different cooking methods, the user can set the cooking method for the food to be cooked in detail by selecting a preferred texture for that cooking course, such as hard or soft, but the cooking time depends on the cooking method for the food to be cooked and cannot be set by the user. As a result, it is not possible to cook rice to a preferred texture (different cooking methods) with a cooking time that suits the user's lifestyle.

On the other hand, the rice cooker has a control unit built-in a rice reservation function for cooking rice at a preset scheduled time. However, based on the current time counted by the control unit, if the reservation time from the current time to the reservation time is not longer than the reservation possible time (for example, 1 hour) set in advance according to the rice cooking course, the control If the reservation time is shorter than the available reservation time, the user cannot cook rice to the desired texture (cooked separately) at any desired cooking time.

In addition, with timer cooking, if the rice continues to soak after the food has dried up in order for the control unit to notify the user that the food is done at the set time, the rice can become hard or the rice around the inner pot can become watery due to over-steaming, resulting in dissatisfaction with the rice not being able to taste like it was freshly cooked.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that allows a user to set an arbitrary cooking time and cook rice to a desired texture.

The present invention relates to a rice cooker comprising a rice cooker main body equipped with a heating means, a display section and an operation section provided in the rice cooker main body, and a control section which controls the heating means to cook and heat food placed in the rice cooker main body. The operation section is equipped with a time selection section which allows the cooking time from the start of cooking the food to the completion of cooking to be set arbitrarily, and the cooking time set by the time selection section is displayed on the display section , and the control section is configured to control a series of steps for cooking and heating the food. The cooking device is configured to vary at least one of the time of the soaking process, which promotes the water absorption of the cooked food, and the time of the steaming process, which steams the cooked food after it has been dried up, according to the cooking time set by the time selection means, and the control unit is configured to make the time of the steaming process longer than the soaking process when the cooking time is shorter than a standard time, and to fix the time of the steaming process and lengthen the time of the soaking process when the cooking time is longer than the standard time .

According to the present invention, by operating the time selection means of the operation section, the user can set an arbitrary cooking time and cook the rice to be cooked.

According to the present invention, the rice to be cooked can be cooked in the optimal soaking process time and the uniforming process time according to the set cooking time without changing the cooking heating control for the rice to be cooked. It becomes possible.

According to the present invention, when the set cooking time is shorter than the standard time, the taste is improved by making the soaking step time longer than the soaking step time, and when the set cooking time is longer than the standard time, deterioration of the taste can be avoided by only making the soaking step time longer.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a rice cooker body in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the rice cooker unit consisting of the rice cooker main body and an information terminal. 1 is a plan view of an LCD showing all display elements on the first layer and its surroundings. FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same LCD showing all display elements of the second layer. FIG. 13 is a plan view of the display operation unit when the user sets the desired cooking time for the "white rice - targeted cooking" cooking course. It is a top view of the display operation unit when the user sets an arbitrary rice cooking time in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aim cooking" in the same example. It is a top view of the display operation unit when the user sets an arbitrary rice cooking time in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aim cooking" in the same example. FIG. 13 is a plan view of the display operation unit when the user sets the desired texture for the "white rice, targeted cooking" rice cooking course. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the display and operation unit when the user sets the desired texture in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aim-cooked" in the same example. FIG. 13 is a plan view of the display operation unit when the user sets the desired texture for the "white rice, targeted cooking" rice cooking course. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the display and operation unit when the user sets the desired texture in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aim-cooked" in the same example. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the cooking temperature curve and each cooking step in the cooking heating of the food to be cooked performed by the rice cooking control means. This is a diagram showing the relationship between the soaking time and the steaming time for the set cooking time in the "White rice - target cooking" rice cooking course.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the rice cooker of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, based on FIG. 1, the structure of the rice cooker main body 100, which is placed on a kitchen table or the floor, will be explained. 1 is a bottomed cylindrical inner pot that accommodates rice, water, and other food to be cooked. be. The inner pot 1 is mainly made of aluminum having good thermal conductivity, and a heating element 2 made of a magnetic metal plate such as ferritic stainless steel is joined from the lower side of the outer surface to the bottom. The main components of the body 3 forming the outer shell of the rice cooker main body 100 are an upper frame 4 forming an upper part and an upper side surface, and an outer frame 5 forming a side bottom surface. In this case, the upper frame 4 and the outer frame 5 are made of synthetic resin such as PP or ABS polycarbonate.

A concave inner pot accommodating section 6 is formed in the center of the body 3, and no heating means is provided around the outer periphery of the inner pot accommodating section 6, except for a heating coil 14, which will be described later. A cord heater 7 is provided at the upper end of the inner pot accommodating portion 6, and the cord heater 7 is covered with a metal plate portion 8 such as an aluminum plate having good thermal conductivity. These cord heater 7 and metal plate portion 8 constitute a flange heater 9 as a heat generating means.

The flange heater 9 is placed on the underside of the inner pot ring part 11, which extends from approximately the center of the inner pot 1 to the entire outer periphery, and the inner pot 1 is housed in the inner pot housing part 6 in a suspended state. The flange heater 9 heats the inner pot ring part 11 and the side of the inner pot 1 during cooking and keeping warm, and radiates heat from the metal plate part 8 into the gap between the lid body 12 and the body 3 and the gap between the inner pot 1 and the inner pot housing part 6, preventing the inner pot 1 from cooling and preventing moisture generated by heating from condensing on the upper inner surface of the inner pot 1.

A heating coil 14 is disposed on the bottom and lower side of the inner pot housing 6 facing the heating element 2 on the outer surface of the bottom of the inner pot housing 6 as a heating means for electrically inductively heating the inner pot 1. A thermistor-type inner pot temperature sensor 15 is disposed on the outer surface of the bottom of the inner pot 1, which detects the temperature at the bottom of the inner pot 1 and mainly controls the temperature at which the inner pot 1 is heated by the heating coil 14.

During cooking and keeping warm, the inner pot 1 is heated by the heating means. During keeping warm, the inner pot 1 is kept at a constant temperature by adjusting the heating coil 14, which serves as the heating means, according to the temperature detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15, which is in contact with the outer bottom surface of the inner pot 1. After cooking, until the temperature of the rice in the inner pot 1 drops to the keeping warm temperature (from about 100°C to about 73°C) and when the temperature is stable (about 73°C), the cord heater 7, which serves as the heating means, is heated, and heat is radiated from the metal plate 8 into the gap between the lid 12 and the body 3, suppressing cooling caused by outside air entering through the gap and heating the inner pot 1. Furthermore, during keeping warm, the inner pot 1 is heated during the period when hot reheating is being performed to reheat the rice in the inner pot 1, and the moisture generated by heating is prevented from condensing on the upper inner surface of the inner pot 1.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a lid body that is rotatably provided on the upper part of the body 3 and forms the outer shell of the rice cooker body 100 together with the body 3. The lid 12 that covers the upper opening of the inner pot 1 is equipped with a thermistor-type lid temperature sensor 16 that detects the temperature of the lid 12, especially an inner lid 36 (described later), and a lid heating means 17 such as a cord heater. The temperature of the inner lid 36 is mainly controlled by the lid heating means 17. Further, a cord heater 18 separate from the lid heating means 17 is provided on the inner surface of the lid 12 above the inner pot ring 11 and facing the outer surface of the inner pot 1. The cord heater 18 is fixed to an inner lid ring 19 made of a metal plate such as stainless steel or aluminum with aluminum foil tape or the like, and the cord heater 18 and the inner lid ring 19 function as an inner lid ring heater as a lid side heating means. It constitutes 20.

21 is a heating control means for controlling the temperature of the bottom, lower side, and upper side of the inner pot 1 and the bottom and side of the lid 12 by detecting the temperature of the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16 during cooking and keeping the rice warm. The heating control means 21 receives detection signals from the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16 and adjusts the operation of the heating coil 14, flange heater 9, inner lid ring heater 20, and lid heating means 17, which are the heating means, and constitutes a part of the control unit 71 described later.

A display operation unit 23 is provided in front of the top surface of the lid 12. The display operation unit 23 includes an LCD 24 that displays the time and the selected rice cooking course, an LED 25 that displays the current process, and a switch 26 that starts rice cooking and selects the rice cooking course. It is arranged on top of a substrate 27 installed inside the lid body 12. An operation panel 29 is arranged above the display operation unit 23 to display button names. This operation panel 29 also prevents dust and water from adhering to electronic components such as the LCD 24, LED 25, switch 26, and substrate 27. Furthermore, in addition to the push-type switches 26 arranged on the board 27, the operation panel 29 is also provided with an operation section using non-push-type switches 26, and can be directly operated by touch according to the display on the LCD 24. It is now possible to do so.

In this embodiment, when the switch 26 is operated to start cooking, the bottom and side of the inner pot 1 are heated by the heating coil 14 and the cord heater 7 based on the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 1 detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 in order to promote water absorption by the rice in the inner pot 1, and the water temperature is maintained at about 45 to 60°C for a predetermined time to perform soaking cooking. After that, the amount of heat from the heating coil 14 is increased to strongly heat the inner pot 1, and the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 is heated to boiling. During this boiling heating, if the bottom temperature of the inner pot 1 reaches a predetermined temperature or higher and the temperature of the inner lid 36 stabilizes at a predetermined temperature or higher (temperature rise rate detection) based on the detected temperatures from the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16, boiling is detected and the amount of heat is reduced to continue boiling heating. In this boiling detection, the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16 can confirm that both the bottom of the inner pot 1 and the lid body 12 have reached 90°C or higher, and it is possible to accurately detect that the inside of the inner pot 1 has completely boiled.

Additionally, if either the bottom of the inner pot 1 or the lid body 12 reaches a temperature of 120°C or higher, which is impossible under normal circumstances, it will be determined that an abnormality has occurred, and the amount of heating during rice cooking will be reduced and all operations will be stopped. To prevent abnormal heating, keep it warm or cause uneven heating as described below. In addition, even though either the bottom of the inner pot 1 or the lid 12 has been heated to 90°C or higher for a predetermined period of time (for example, 5 minutes), the bottom of the inner pot 1 or the lid 12 If the temperature is lower than 90℃, it is determined that the temperature detection accuracy of either the inner pot temperature sensor 15 or the lid temperature sensor 16 has deteriorated for some reason (dirt, tilt, poor contact, etc.), and the rice is heated. To prevent abnormal heating, either reduce the amount of heating in the OFF state where all operations are stopped, or move to the uneven state described later, or perform heat retention.

When boiling continues, the lid heating means 17 and inner lid ring heater 20 start heating the lid 12, particularly the inner lid 36. The heating of the lid 12 is controlled by the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 16 so that the temperature of the lid 12 is 100-110°C. When the bottom of the inner pot 1 reaches a specified temperature, it detects that the food inside the inner pot 1 has run out of water and moves on to steaming. During steaming, the temperature of the lid 12 is controlled to prevent dripping onto the upper inside surface of the inner pot 1, and the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 1 is controlled to keep it high (98-100°C) so that the rice does not burn. Then, when the specified steaming time is completed and the food is cooked, it moves to keeping warm.

To keep the rice warm, the heating coil 14 heats the bottom and lower side of the inner pot 1, while the lid heating means 17 heats the inner lid 36, which is the lower surface of the lid 12, to a temperature slightly higher than the temperature of the rice. The temperature of the side surface of the pot 1 is controlled by a flange heater 9 and an inner lid ring heater 20 so that the rice does not dry out and a large amount of soup does not adhere. The temperature of the rice in the inner pot 1 is maintained at 70 to 76 degrees Celsius, but even when the rice is kept warm, if the two sensors are abnormally high or low, the rice will detect an abnormality and prevent abnormal heating. The heating control means 21 is configured to perform the above operations.

A hinge section 31 that connects to the lid body 12 is provided at the rear of the upper frame 4. A hinge spring (not shown) formed of a torsion coil spring or the like is housed in this hinge section 31. A lid-opening button 32 is provided in an exposed state on the front upper surface of the lid body 12. When this lid-opening button 32 is pressed, the engagement between the lid body 12 and the body 3 is released, and the lid body 12 automatically opens with the hinge section 31 as the center of rotation.

The lid body 12 includes an outer lid 33 that serves as an external appearance component, and an outer lid cover 34 that forms the lower part of the outer lid 33. The outer lid cover 34 is provided with a metal heat radiating plate 35 made of anodized stainless steel or aluminum, and the heat radiating plate 35 is provided with a lid heating means 17. The lid heating means 17 may be an electric heater such as a cord heater, or an electromagnetic induction heating coil. An inner lid 36 made of anodized stainless steel or aluminum is provided on the outside of the heat sink 35. A lid packing 37 is provided on the outside of the inner lid 36 that forms the lower surface of the lid body 12 and is made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber or fluorine rubber and serves as a sealing member to close the gap between the inner pot 1 and the inner lid 36. The lid packing 37 is in contact with the upper surface of the inner pot 1. The inner lid 36 and the lid packing 37 are integrated by a packing base 38, and an inner lid assembly unit 39 is removably provided on the inner surface of the outer lid cover 34.

The hinge section 31 is provided with a hinge shaft 41 that pivotally supports the body 3 and the lid 12 so that they can be opened and closed freely. The hinge spring mentioned above is hooked onto the outer lid cover 34 and constantly urges the lid 12 in the open direction. A clamp 42 that is linked to the lid opening button 32 is disposed on the approximate opposite side of the hinge shaft 41, which is the center of rotation of the lid 12. The clamp 42 is pivotally supported by the outer lid cover 34 via a clamp shaft 43, and a clamp receiver (not shown) that engages with the clamp 42 is provided on the approximate opposite side of the hinge section 31 of the upper frame 4.

A clamp 42 provided on the lid body 12 rotates about a clamp shaft 43 as a central axis and engages with a clamp receiver provided on the body 3. Due to the engagement between the clamp 42 and the clamp receiver, the body 3 and the lid 12 are maintained in a closed state. On the other hand, when opening the lid body 12, the lid opening button 32 is pressed to rotate the clamp 42 in the opposite direction, and the engagement between the clamp 42 and the clamp receiver is released.

The inner lid assembly unit 39 is provided with a pressure adjustment section 45 that adjusts the pressure of the internal space 44 formed inside the rice cooker body 100. The pressure adjustment section 45 is mainly composed of a pressure adjustment valve 46, a pressure adjustment valve holder 47, and a pressure adjustment valve cover 48. The pressure adjustment valve 46 may be a part made of a material with excellent corrosion resistance and a certain amount of weight, for example, an austenitic stainless steel ball. The internal space 44 here refers to the space for containing the food to be cooked, surrounded by the inner surface of the inner pot 1 and the underside of the inner lid assembly unit 39 when the lid 12 is closed on the body 3.

The pressure regulating valve 46 is held by a pressure regulating valve holder 47. The pressure regulating valve holder 47 is provided with a pressure regulating hole 49 located below the pressure regulating valve 46, which connects the internal space 44 of the rice cooker body 100 to the outside of the lid body 12. In other words, steam generated from the food being cooked in the internal space 44 of the inner pot 1 passes through this pressure regulating hole 49 and is released into the outside air. The pressure regulating valve 46 is held so as to close the pressure regulating hole 49, and the pressure in the internal space 44 can be adjusted by the opening area of the pressure regulating hole 49 and the weight of the pressure regulating valve 46.

The pressure regulating valve 46 is held by a pressure regulating valve holder 47, and a pressure regulating valve cover 48 is placed over the pressure regulating valve 46. By inserting the pressure regulating valve holder 47 into the inner lid 36 and holding the attachment part of the pressure regulating valve holder 47 that protrudes below the inner lid 36 with the pressure regulating valve holder support member 50, the pressure regulating valve holder 47 attached to the inner lid 36 can be adjusted. 45. The pressure regulating valve cover 48 is for regulating the movement range of the pressure regulating valve 46, and is provided with a plurality of holes that guide steam released from the pressure regulating hole 49 to a steam port 51 provided at the top of the lid body 12. There is.

The outer lid cover 34 is provided with a frame 55 and a pressure adjustment packing 56 that are movable using a solenoid 54 as a drive source. The frame 55 is always in a position where it pushes the pressure adjustment valve 46 to open the pressure adjustment hole 49, and the internal space 44 in the inner kettle 1 is in a non-pressurized state. The position of the frame 55 at this time is referred to as the first frame position. In this way, when the lid body 12 is opened and closed, smooth operation can be obtained without being affected by the negative pressure in the internal space 44. The protruding part of the frame 55 that operates the pressure adjustment valve 46 is referred to as the pressure adjustment valve operating part 57, and a clamp operation restricting part 58 is provided on the substantially opposite side of the pressure adjustment valve operating part 57 of the frame 55. In the first frame position, the clamp operation restricting part 58 moves to a position where it does not restrict the rotation of the clamp 42.

When starting to cook the rice to be cooked, the frame 55 moves from the first frame position to the second frame position. At this time, the pressure regulating valve operating portion 57 of the frame 55 separates from the pressure regulating valve 46 and releases the pressure on the pressure regulating valve 46, whereby the pressure regulating valve 46 closes the pressure regulating hole 49. Further, the clamp operation regulating portion 58 of the frame 55 slips under the clamp 42 . The frame 55 does not have to go under, but may be in any position or shape as long as it restricts the operation of the clamp 42. By doing this, the rotation of the clamp 42 is restricted in the second frame position, and even if an attempt is made to press the lid opening button 32, the engagement between the clamp 42 and the clamp receiver is locked, so that the lid body 12 is locked. will not open.

A steam port 51 is provided at the rear of the top surface of the lid 12 to discharge steam generated within the inner pot 1 during rice cooking to the outside of the machine. During rice cooking, steam generated from the rice to be cooked in the internal space 44 of the inner pot 1 is discharged from the pressure regulating part 45 of the inner lid 36 with the pressure regulating hole 49 open, and the steam is released from the pressure regulating part 45 of the inner lid 36 inside the lid body 12. The steam is discharged from the steam port 51 through a steam passage 59 provided in the steam port 34 to the outside of the machine. The steam port 51 is configured to be detachable from the lid body 12.

The display operation unit 23 provided on the outer lid 33 includes a display section 61 consisting of an LCD 24 and an LED 25, and an operation section 62 consisting of a switch 26. The LCD 24, which serves as the display section 61, is arranged approximately in the center of the outer lid 33, and on the upper surface, which serves as the surface of the LCD 24, by selecting the display element 64 displayed on the LCD 24, you can set the rice cooking course, time, etc. with your fingertip or pen. A touch sensor 65 for performing the previous touch operation is arranged. The touch sensor 65 functions as a touch key, which is a non-pressable operation section 62, by being connected to a substrate 27 on which electronic components such as the LCD 24 are mounted.

The operations performed using the touch sensor 65 on the display section 61 include selecting and setting various rice cooking courses, setting the time and reservation time, and the start key 66A and the start key 66A, which are operated to instruct the start of rice cooking from the off state. , it does not include an off key 66B that is operated to cancel the heat retention or reservation and turn it off, and there is a push-type operation section 62 with a tact switch that cannot be operated by touch other than the display section 61. is installed.

In addition to the start key 66A, a push-type operation unit 62 that lights up the LED 25 can be used to display processes such as cooking rice, keeping warm, and making reservations. A heat retention key 66C, which is operated to reheat the food, a reservation key 66D, which is operated to cook the rice at a reserved time, and the like are installed at a location other than the display section 61. In addition, a cook key 66E, which is operated when selecting a quick cooking course that cooks the rice in a short time, is also installed at a location other than the display section 61. The push-type operation unit 62 includes a start key 66A, a keep warm key 66C, and a reservation key 66D, which are illuminated by the LED 25, as well as a cut key 66B and a turn key 66E, which are not illuminated by the LED 25. The switch 26 of the display operation unit 23 is configured in conjunction with the non-push type operation section 62 described above.

The operation section 62 is arranged on the front side of the upper surface of the lid body 12, and the design and embossed operation sheet 67 has the names of the keys 66 printed in correspondence with each key 66, and a display section on which the LCD 24 is arranged. A transparent window portion 68 without any design printed is formed on the transparent window portion 61 . A touch sensor 65 is disposed below the transparent window 68, and by touching the touch sensor 65, which serves as a non-pressable operation section 62, on the display element 64 such as the rice cooking course displayed on the LCD 24, the touch key can be pressed. It is possible to operate as Note that the display and operation unit 23 including the display section 61 and the operation section 62 described above may be provided on the front surface of the body 3 instead of on the top surface of the lid body 12.

Next, the electrical configuration of the rice cooker unit including the above-mentioned rice cooker main body 100 will be explained with reference to FIG. 4.

First, the electrical configuration of the rice cooker main body 100, which is the actual rice cooker, will be explained. 71 is a control unit that is built into the rice cooker main body 100 and is composed of a microcomputer and drive elements for each part. The input port of the control unit 71 is electrically connected to the operation unit 62 including the touch sensor 65 and keys 66, the inner pot temperature sensor 15 as an inner pot temperature detection means, the lid temperature sensor 16 as a lid temperature detection means, and the transmission/reception means 74 that enables transmission and reception with an information terminal 73 held by the user via the wired or wireless communication means 72. The output port of the control unit 71 is electrically connected to the display unit 61 including the LCD 24 and LED 25, the heating coil 14, the cord heaters 7, 18, and the lid heating means 17 as heating means for the rice to be cooked, the solenoid 54, the transmission/reception means 74, and the buzzer 75 as an alarm unit. The control unit 71 is built with a storage means 76 such as a memory that can be read and written to store various information and data.

The information terminal 73, which serves as a remote control unit, is configured as, for example, a smartphone or tablet terminal separate from the rice cooker main body 100, and, like the display operation unit 23 of the rice cooker main body 100, mainly comprises a display unit 77 that enables screen display such as an LCD, and an operation unit 78 using a touch sensor provided on the surface of the display unit 77. The information terminal 73 and the rice cooker main body 100 may be configured to be able to directly transmit and receive information via the communication means 72, or the transmission and reception means 74 of the information terminal 73 and the rice cooker main body 100 may both be connected to a network that serves as the communication means 72, and they may be configured to be able to transmit and receive information to and from each other via a management server (not shown) that is also connected to the network.

The control unit 71 has the function of receiving an operation signal from the operation unit 62 and detection signals from the inner pot temperature sensor 15 and the lid temperature sensor 16, and outputting control signals to the display unit 61, the heating coil 14, the cord heaters 7, 18, the lid heating means 17, the solenoid 54, and the buzzer 75 at a predetermined timing based on the timing from the built-in timing means (not shown). These functions are realized by the control unit 71 reading the programs recorded in the storage means 76 as a storage medium, but in this embodiment in particular, the control unit 71 is equipped with a program that causes the control unit 71 to function as a rice cooking control means 81 that heats the rice and water in the inner pot 1 to cook rice, a warming control means 82 that heats the rice in the inner pot 1 to a predetermined warming temperature, and a reservation cooking control means 83 that receives a command from the operation unit 62 to start reservation cooking and controls the rice cooking control means 81 to cook the food in the inner pot 1 at the preset reservation time.

The rice cooking control means 81, upon receiving an instruction to start cooking from the start key 66A, which serves as a rice cooking start instruction means, sequentially carries out the steps of soaking, which promotes the absorption of water by the rice in the food to be cooked placed in the inner pot 1, boiling heating, which raises the temperature of the food to boiling in a short period of time, continuing the boiling state of the food to bring it to a water-free dry-up state by continuing the boiling state of the food to bring it to a water-free dry-up state, and steaming, which maintains the temperature of the food in the dry-up state at a high level but not so high that it burns, and cooks the rice into rice, thereby heating and cooking the food contained in the internal space 44 at the desired pressure. In particular, in this embodiment, for all cooking courses that can be used to heat rice in the rice cooker main body 100, the control patterns for how the display unit 61, heating coil 14, cord heaters 7, 18, lid heating means 17, solenoid 54, and buzzer 75 are operated are stored in advance in the storage means 76. When the user selects a desired cooking course from among multiple cooking courses by operating the quick cooking key 66E or touch panel 65, and then operates the start key 66A to command the start of cooking, the rice cooking control means 81 reads the control pattern for the selected cooking course from the storage means 76, and appropriately controls the display unit 61, heating coil 14, cord heaters 7, 18, lid heating means 17, solenoid 54, and buzzer 75 to cook the food placed in the inner pot 1 while displaying from the display unit 61 and announcing from the buzzer 75.

The heat retention control means 82 controls the rice in the inner pot 1 to maintain it at a predetermined heat retention temperature, and regardless of the selected rice cooking course, when the rice cooking control means 81 finishes heating the rice to be cooked, The structure is such that the heat retention is automatically performed by the heat retention control means 82. Furthermore, when the heat retention key 66C is operated during heat retention, the heat retention control means 82 controls the operation of the heating coil 14 so that the rice in the inner pot 1 temporarily becomes higher than the heat retention temperature. It has the following functions. Furthermore, even if the heat retention key 66C is operated in the off state immediately after power is applied to the rice cooker main body 100, the rice to be cooked placed in the inner pot 1 can be kept warm by the heat retention control means 82. There is.

The reservation rice cooking control means 83 has a timer function, and when the user operates the operation unit 62 to set a reservation time equivalent to the end time of rice cooking and instructs the start of rice cooking, the rice cooking control means 81 automatically starts cooking rice a specified time before the reservation time so that the rice is cooked at the reservation time set by the timer function, and controls the rice cooking to end when the food to be cooked is cooked and the rice cooking is finished at the reservation time. In this embodiment, the timer means built into the control unit 71 counts the current time, and the reservation rice cooking control means 83 controls the rice cooking heating operation by the rice cooking control means 81 so that rice cooking ends when the current time reaches the reservation time set. However, when the user operates the operation unit 62 to instruct the start of rice cooking, if the reservation time from the current time to the reservation time set is shorter than the reservation possible time (for example, 60 to 65 minutes) according to the previously selected rice cooking course, the rice cooking control means 81 does not accept the reservation time set and immediately starts the rice cooking heating operation. In other words, the reservation rice cooking control means 83 is configured to have the rice cooking control means 81 cook the food to be cooked after the reservation time (i.e., the reservation time) only if the reservation time between the current time and the set reservation time is equal to or longer than the reservation possible time that is preset according to the rice cooking course.

In this embodiment, the user can set any reservation time by operating the touch sensor 65 and reservation key 66D, but if the control unit 71 does not incorporate a timer that counts the current time, the reservation cooking control means 83 may be configured to allow the user to set the reservation time, i.e., the time and minute after the rice cooking start command is issued, by operating the operation unit 62.

Next, the features of the LCD 24 described above will be explained with reference to Figures 5 and 6. The LCD 24 functions as a liquid crystal display device by passing a current through the display elements 64, which are electrodes printed on a transparent glass plate (not shown), and applying a voltage to the liquid crystal (not shown) sealed in the glass plate, causing the display elements 64 to light up in black. The LCD 24 of this embodiment uses a multi-layer LCD in which multiple glass plates, which serve as substrates on which the display elements 64 are printed, are stacked, thereby ensuring the number of display elements 64 used. Figure 5 shows all the display elements 64 on the first layer of glass substrate of the LCD 24, and Figure 6 shows all the display elements 64 on the second layer of glass substrate.

On the first layer of glass plate shown in Fig. 5, a display element 64A for displaying the time/hour, a display element 64B for adjusting the time/hour, and a display element 64C for selecting the rice cooking course are arranged as the main display elements 64. The display element 64B for adjusting the time/hour is configured by arranging a "back" display element 64B1 and a "forward" display element 64B2 on the left and right of the display element 64A for displaying the time/hour. The display elements 64C for selecting the rice cooking course are arranged horizontally at the top of the LCD 24 screen as the types of rice, with a display element 64C1 for "white rice," a display element 64C2 for "eco cooking," a display element 64C3 for "brown rice," a display element 64C4 for "barley rice," and a display element 64C5 for "multigrain rice," and arranged horizontally at the bottom of the LCD 24 screen as the cooking methods, with a display element 64C6 for "kamado master," a display element 64C7 for "target cooking," a display element 64C8 for "sweet cooking," a display element 64C9 for "lunch box," and a display element 64C10 for "white rice mix."

The second layer glass plate shown in FIG. 5 includes, following the first layer glass plate, a display element 64C for selecting a rice cooking course, a display element 64D for selecting a cooking type, and a display element for displaying a rice cooking type. 64E is arranged as the main display element 64. The display element 64C for selecting a rice cooking course includes a display element 64C11 for "small amount", a display element 64C12 for "cooking", and a display element 64C12 for "rice porridge" at the bottom of the screen of the LCD 24, following the first layer glass plate. '' display elements 64C13 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. The cooking selection display element 64D is configured by arranging a triangular display element 64D1 with the apex toward the left side and a triangular display element 64D2 with the apex toward the right side in a row at the bottom of the screen of the LCD 24. be done. The display elements 64E for displaying cooked food include a display element 64E1 for "hard", a display element 64E2 for "crisp", a display element 64E3 for "recommended", and " A display element 64E4 for "Mochimochi" and a display element 64E5 for "Soft" are arranged horizontally, and a plurality of spot-like display elements 64E6 are arranged horizontally below these display elements 64E1 to 64E5. arranged and configured.

Among the above-mentioned display elements 64, when the part of the touch panel 65 overlapping the display element 64B for time/time adjustment is touched, the set time or set time displayed on the display element 64A for time/time display can be increased or decreased to select any set time or set time. In other words, when the display element 64B for time/time adjustment is displayed on the LCD 24, the part of the touch panel 65 overlapping the display element 64B becomes the time/time selection means 85 that allows the set time or set time to be selected. Such stored times and stored times are stored and held in the storage means 76, and are read and written as necessary by the control unit 71. In addition, when the part of the touch panel 65 overlapping the display element 64C for rice cooking course selection is touched, the user can select one desired rice cooking course from among multiple rice cooking courses available for rice cooking heating in the rice cooker main body 100. In other words, when the display element 64C for selecting a rice cooking course is displayed on the LCD 24, the portion of the touch panel 65 that overlaps the display element 64C becomes the rice cooking course selection means 86 that allows the user to select any one of multiple rice cooking courses.

Among the multiple cooking courses whose control patterns are stored in the storage means 76, there is one that allows the selection of cooking modes that will result in a cooked rice with different textures, and different control patterns for each texture are stored in the storage means 76. When the user selects one of these cooking courses that allows the selection of cooking modes by touching the cooking course selection means 86, the cooking control means 81 causes at least the display element 64D for selecting cooking modes and the display element 64E for displaying cooking modes to be displayed on the LCD 24 of the display unit 61. In this state, by touching a portion of the touch panel 65 that overlaps the display element 64D for selecting cooking modes, the cooked rice texture displayed on the display element 64D for selecting cooking modes can be changed to select any desired texture. In other words, when the display element 64D for selecting cooking modes is displayed on the LCD 24, the portion of the touch panel 65 that overlaps the display element 64D becomes the cooking mode selection means 87 that allows the selection of any desired texture from among multiple textures.

Next, the operation of the rice cooker main body 100 having the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 to 15. First, to explain the operation when a rice cooking course with white rice as the type of rice is selected among multiple rice cooking courses, the inner pot 1 containing the rice and water to be cooked is placed in the rice cooker itself. 100, and after closing the lid 12, touch operation on the rice cooking course selection means 86 selects a rice cooking course in which the type of rice is white rice. Next, when the start key 66A is pressed, rice cooking by the rice cooking control means 81 starts. Here, the rice cooking control means 81 controls the heating coil 14 and the cord based on the temperature at the bottom of the inner pot 1 detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 in order to promote water absorption into the rice initially placed in the inner pot 1. A soaking process is performed in which the heater 7 is controlled to be turned on and off to heat the bottom and side parts of the inner pot 1, respectively, and the water temperature in the inner pot 1 is maintained at about 45 to 60° C. for a predetermined period of time. In addition, if the rice cooker main body 100 is equipped with a pressure reducing means (not shown), the rice cooking control means 81 controls the pressure inside the inner pot 1 to be in a reduced pressure state lower than atmospheric pressure during the soaking process. controls the operation of the pressure reducing means. By maintaining the internal space 44 in the inner pot 1 in a reduced pressure state during the soaking process, it becomes possible to make the rice sufficiently absorb water inside the inner pot 1 at the beginning of rice cooking.

When the soaking process is completed for a predetermined time and the process moves to the next boiling and heating process, the heating control means 81 continuously energizes the heating coil 14 and the cord heaters 7 and 18 to heat the food in the inner pot 1 more strongly than in the soaking process, and raises the temperature of the food to boiling in a short time. If the aforementioned pressure reduction means is incorporated in the rice cooker main body 100, the rice cooking control means 81 controls the operation of the pressure reduction means so that the inside of the inner pot 1 is maintained in a reduced pressure state lower than atmospheric pressure even in the boiling and heating process following the soaking process. As a result, in the boiling and heating process, the food in the inner pot 1 can be boiled in a reduced pressure state at 60°C to 100°C, which is the gelatinization temperature of rice, and the rice is stirred up by the bubbles generated by the boiling process to eliminate uneven heating. At the same time, the food is reduced pressure and the rice can absorb water to the core in a short time.

When the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 1 detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 during the boiling heating process reaches a predetermined temperature, for example 100°C, the rice cooking control means 81 determines that the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 has boiled under reduced pressure and returns the internal space 44 containing the food to normal pressure by connecting it to the outside. After that, the control unit 71 controls the operation of the solenoid 54 so that the pressure adjustment valve 46 of the pressure adjustment unit 45 closes the pressure adjustment hole 49, and the internal space 44 is sealed again. When the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 continues to be strongly heated, the food to be cooked is pressurized to a pressure above atmospheric pressure, for example 1.2 atm, and the food can be boiled under this pressurized state.

In this way, when the rice cooking control means 81 determines that the rice to be cooked in the inner pot 1 has boiled in a reduced pressure state during the boiling heating process, it immediately switches the inside of the inner pot 1 from a reduced pressure state to a pressurized state higher than atmospheric pressure. , a pressure shock is applied to the cooked food. By boiling the rice to 105℃ (at 1.2 atm), which is the optimum temperature for gelatinizing rice under pressure, the rice maintains a balance between hardness and stickiness, and the rice is cooked evenly to the core. It becomes possible to gelatinize.

In the subsequent boiling heating process, when the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 1 detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 reaches a predetermined temperature, for example 90°C or higher, and the temperature of the inner lid 36 detected by the lid temperature sensor 16 also reaches a predetermined temperature, for example 90°C or higher, and the slope of the temperature of the inner lid 36 (how much the detected temperature rises in a specified time) falls below a certain value and stabilizes, the rice cooking control means 81 determines that the food being cooked has boiled under pressure, and moves on to the next boiling continuation process.

When the boiling continuation process starts, the rice cooking control means 81 controls the heating coil 14 to be energized and de-energized at a predetermined energization rate, and causes the lid heating means 17 to start heating the inner lid 36 (lid heating). The lid heating here is controlled by the detection signal from the lid temperature sensor 16 so that the temperature of the inner lid 36 forming the internal space 44 in the inner pot 1 is 100 to 110°C. When the boiling continuation process starts, the rice cooking control means 81 periodically switches the solenoid 54 between the energized state and the de-energized state, and keeps the pressure in the internal space 44 within the inner pot 1 between atmospheric pressure and a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. Repeat to increase/decrease.

Then, when the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 1 detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15 gradually rises during the boiling continuation process and reaches a predetermined dry-up temperature, the rice cooking control means 81 determines that the water in the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 has run out and moves to the next steaming process. During the steaming process, the temperature of the inner lid 36 is controlled based on the detection signal from the lid temperature sensor 16, the lid heating means 17 is turned on and off, and condensation is prevented from forming on the inner lid 36. The temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 1 is controlled based on the detection signal from the inner pot temperature sensor 15 so that the food to be cooked inside the inner pot 1 is kept at a high temperature (98 to 100°C) so that it does not burn. The steaming process continues for a predetermined time, and when the predetermined time has elapsed and the food to be cooked in the inner pot 1 is cooked, the rice cooking control means 81 ends the series of rice cooking operations, the buzzer 75 notifies the user, and the next process of keeping the rice warm by the warming control means 82 is started to keep the rice at a predetermined temperature.

Next, when the user performs a touch operation on the rice cooking course selection means 86 described above, one of the rice cooking courses displayed on the LCD 24 as the display element 64C for selecting a rice cooking course is placed into the inner pot 1. How to set the cooking time and texture when the rice type is "White rice" and the cooking method is "White rice/Aim-daki" rice cooking course is selected. This will be explained in detail based on FIGS. 7 to 13.

7 to 9 respectively show the display operation unit 23 when the user U sets an arbitrary rice cooking time by touching the time/time selection means 85 in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aim-cooked". There is. Furthermore, FIGS. 10 to 13 each show the display operation unit 23 when the user U sets the desired texture by touching the cooking selection means 87 in the same rice cooking course of "white rice/aim-cooked". ing. Common to each of these figures, the rice cooking control means 81 displays a display for rice cooking course selection in order to make the user understand that the rice cooking course selected by the rice cooking course selection means 86 is "white rice/aim-cooked". Among the elements 64C, only the display element 64C1 for "white rice" and the display element 64C7 for "cooked rice" are displayed on the LCD 24. Further, as the setting time stored in the storage means 76 at the present time, the rice cooking control means 81 receives an instruction from the start key 66A and starts the rice cooking process in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aim cooking" selected by the rice cooking course selection means 86. The cooking time from the start of cooking to the end of the rice cooking through the series of steps described above is displayed on the LCD 24 using a display element 64A for time/time display.

Furthermore, the rice cooking course "White rice/Aim-cooked" is also one of the rice cooking courses that allows the user to select the desired texture. Therefore, in order to make the user understand the range of textures that can be selected in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aim-cooked", the rice cooking control means 81 selects a display element 64E2 for "crisp" among the display elements 64E for displaying the rice cooked separately. , a "recommended" display element 64E3 and a "chewy" display element 64E4 are displayed on the LCD 24, and the set preferred texture currently stored in the storage means 76 is displayed in one spot shape. It is displayed on the LCD 24 with element 64E6.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 7, if the user U wishes to shorten the cooking time from "45 minutes" displayed on the time/hour display element 64A, the user U can touch the part of the touch panel 65 overlapping the "Back" display element 64B1 as the time/hour selection means 85 to reduce the cooking time stored in the storage means 76 to "40 minutes". FIG. 8 shows the state of the display operation unit 23 at that time. In this embodiment, each time the user U touches the part of the touch panel 65 overlapping the "Back" display element 64B1, the cooking time stored in the storage means 76 can be reduced by 5 minutes, which is the unit time, down to as little as 30 minutes.

On the other hand, if the user U wants to lengthen the rice cooking time displayed on the display element 64A for time/time display, the user U touches the part of the touch panel 65 that overlaps the "Advance" display element 64B2 as the time/time selection means 85. Just operate it. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the rice cooking time displayed on the time/time display display element 64A is increased to "50 minutes" by such a touch operation. In the present embodiment, each time the user U touches the part of the touch panel 65 that overlaps the "proceed" display element 64B2, the rice cooking time stored in the storage means 76 is increased by 5 minutes to a maximum of 60 minutes. Can be done.

In the above-mentioned "white rice, target cooking" cooking course, the standard cooking time for the rice cooking control means 81 to cook the food to be cooked into rice is set to 45 minutes, and the user U can set the cooking time in the range of 30 to 60 minutes (i.e., within the standard cooking time ±15 minutes). Such standard cooking time and the range of cooking time that the user U can set vary depending on the cooking course selected with the rice cooking course selection means 86. In addition, in consideration of the operability for the user U, it is preferable to configure the respective parts of the touch panel 65 overlapping the "back" display element 64B and the "forward" display element 64B2 as two selection keys in the time/time selection means 85 to increase or decrease the cooking time, as in this embodiment, but it is also possible to configure it so that only a single selection key is used, and the cooking time is changed and selected each time this selection key is operated, such as 45 minutes → 50 minutes → 55 minutes → 60 minutes → 30 minutes → 35 minutes → 40 minutes → 45 minutes → ....

In the "white rice, target cooking" cooking course, the user can change the preferred texture displayed in the display element 64E for displaying different cooking methods from the standard "recommended" to a harder "crisp" or a softer "chewy" by touching the cooking method selection means 87. As an example, as shown in FIG. 10, if the user U wants a harder texture than the "recommended" displayed in the display element 64E for displaying different cooking methods, the user U can change the preferred texture stored in the storage means 76 to "crisp" by touching the part of the touch panel 65 that overlaps the display element 64D1 of the two display elements 64D1, 64D2 displayed for selecting different cooking methods as the cooking method selection means 87. FIG. 11 shows the state of the display operation unit 23 at that time. To allow the user U to understand that the preferred texture has been set to "firm," the rice cooking control means 81 displays a spot-shaped display element 64E6 directly below the "firm" display element 64E2, and to prevent the user U from setting a texture harder than "firm," the display element 64D displayed for selecting different cooking modes is limited to one display element 64D2, and the other display element 64D1 is hidden.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, if the user U wants to have a softer texture than "recommended" displayed on the display element 64E for different cooking methods, the user U can touch the part of the touch panel 65 that overlaps with the display element 64D2 as the different cooking method selection means 87, and change the preferred texture stored in the storage means 76 to "sticky". FIG. 13 shows the state of the display operation unit 23 at that time, and the rice cooking control means 81 displays a spot-shaped display element 64E6 directly below the display element 64E4 for "sticky" to let the user U understand that the preferred texture has been set to "sticky", and only the display element 64D1 is displayed as the display element for different cooking methods 64D, and the other display element 64D2 is hidden so that the user U cannot set a texture softer than "sticky".

In the above-mentioned "White rice/Aim-cooked" rice cooking course, the texture of the cooked rice is set to the standard texture "Recommended", a harder texture "Shakiri", or a softer "Mochimochi". However, in the rice cooking course where you can choose different cooking methods, you can choose between a ``firm'' texture that is harder than ``shakiri'' and a ``soft'' texture that is softer than ``mochimochi.'' There are things you can do. In that case, the display element 64E for displaying cooking types also displays the display element 64E1 for "hard" and the display element 64E5 for "soft", and the touch panel overlaps the display elements 64D1 and 64D2 displayed for selecting cooking types. By appropriately touching the area 65, it is possible to display one spot-like display element 64E6 directly below the "hard" display element 64E1 or directly below the "soft" display element 64E5. .

In addition, as in this embodiment, it is desirable to arrange the time/time selection means 85 and the separate cooking selection means 87 as separate selection means, but if the cooking time and separate cooking can be set as separate selection means, the complexity for the user U is reduced compared to when the operation unit 62 is composed of multiple selection means.

In the "white rice, targeted cooking" cooking course shown in Figures 7 to 13, regardless of which texture the user U sets by touching the cooking selection means 87, the cooking time can be set to a range of 30 to 60 minutes by touching the time/time selection means 85. After setting the cooking time and texture, by pressing the start key 66, which causes the LED 25 to flash, the rice cooking control means 81 reads out a control pattern corresponding to the set texture from the storage means 76 in the "white rice, targeted cooking" cooking course, and appropriately controls the operation of the heating coil 14, cord heaters 7, 18, lid heating means 17, and solenoid 54 so that the series of cooking steps from the soaking process to the steaming process described above ends within the set cooking time according to the control pattern, and the food in the inner pot 1 is cooked to rice.

Figure 14 shows, as an example, the relationship between the cooking temperature curve and each cooking process when the rice cooking control means 81 cooks rice in the "white rice, target cooking" cooking course. In the figure, Ta is the temperature detected by the inner pot temperature sensor 15, Tb is the temperature detected by the lid temperature sensor 16, Tc is the temperature of the rice placed in the inner pot 1 as the rice to be cooked, V is the voltage value input to the heating coil 14, and Ds is the rice cooking time. The rice cooking time Ds is the total time of the soaking process D1, the boiling heating process D2, the boiling continuation process D3, and the steaming process D4 from when the rice cooking control means 81 receives an instruction to start cooking from the start key 66A and starts cooking the rice placed in the inner pot 1 to when cooking of the rice to be cooked is completed (Ds = D1 + D2 + D3 + D4). In this embodiment, the user U can touch the time/time selection means 85 described above to set the rice cooking time Ds shown in FIG. 14 to any value within the range of 30 to 60 minutes.

FIG. 15 shows the relationship between the soaking step time D1 and the shading step time D4 with respect to the set rice cooking time Ds in the rice cooking course of "white rice/purpose cooking". When the rice cooking control means 81 receives the rice cooking time Ds arbitrarily set by the touch operation on the time/time selection means 85 by the user U, the rice cooking control means 81 performs the following steps in a series of steps D1 to D4 for cooking and heating the rice to be cooked. At least one of the time D1 for the soaking process and the time D4 for the uneven process is increased or decreased according to the set rice cooking time Ds.

More specifically, when the rice cooking time Ds is set to the standard 45 minutes in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aimedaki", the time D1 of the soaking process is 13 minutes, and the time D4 of the cooking process is 13 minutes. is 13 minutes. If a rice cooking time Ds (30 minutes, 35 minutes, 40 minutes) shorter than this standard time (=45 minutes) is set, the time allocation will give priority to the time D4 of the steaming process over the time D1 of the soaking process. Do the following. The reason for this is that when the rice cooking time Ds is short, the taste of the cooked rice will be better if the soaking process time D4 is longer than the soaking process time D1. On the other hand, if the rice cooking time Ds (45 minutes, 50 minutes, 55 minutes, 60 minutes) is set to be longer than the standard time, the time D4 of the uneven process is fixed at 13 minutes and the time D1 of the soaking process is extended. To go. In other words, with a long rice cooking time Ds, enough time D4 can be secured for the uneven cooking process, so if the soaking process time D1 is made longer, the cooked rice may become hard due to the uneven process time D4 being too long. This will prevent the food from becoming sticky and causing the food to taste bad.

In addition, by touch-operating the rice cooking course selection means 86, the user U selects a rice cooking course for which the type of rice is "white rice" and the cooking method is other than "aim-daki", such as "Kamado Meijin" or "sweet-cooked". Even in such a case, a desired texture can be selected from a plurality of textures by a touch operation on the cooking selection means 87, and a touch operation on the time/time selection means 85 can be performed for each selected texture. Accordingly, the rice cooking time Ds can be arbitrarily changed and set. In this case, when the rice cooking menu of "White Rice/Kamado Master" is selected, only the display element 64C1 of "White Rice" and the display element 64C6 of "Kamado Master" are displayed on the LCD 24 among the display elements 64C for rice cooking course selection. Then, when the rice cooking menu of "White rice/Sweet rice" is selected, only the "White rice" display element 64C1 and the "Sweet rice" display element 64C8 are displayed on the LCD 24 among the display elements 64C for rice cooking course selection. However, the setting range of the rice cooking time Ds at that time may be the same 30 to 60 minutes as the rice cooking menu for "White rice/Aim-cooked" depending on the selected rice cooking menu, or it may be different. good. Similarly, depending on the selected rice cooking menu, the desired texture setting range may be set to ``shakiri'', ``recommended'', ``mochimochi'', which is the same as the rice cooking menu for ``white rice/aimedaki'', or ``chewy''. It is also possible to have a broader range including "hard" and "soft".

In this embodiment, no matter which rice cooking time Ds is set by the time/time selection means 85, the rice cooking control means 81 assumes that the rice to be cooked is cooked at the same time as the end of the rice cooking, and the rice cooking process ends. At this timing, a control signal is output to the buzzer 75, so that the buzzer 75 can notify the completion of cooking of the rice to be cooked. Therefore, the rice-cooking notification time Dc from when the rice-cooking control means 81 receives an instruction to start rice cooking from the start key 66A and starts cooking the rice to be cooked until the buzzer 75 notifies the completion of cooking is as follows. The cooking time is essentially the same as the time from the start of cooking the rice to the completion of the cooking of the rice to be cooked. is equal to the rice cooking time Ds until the end of rice cooking (that is, rice cooking time Ds=cooking time=cooking completion notification time Dc), and the time/time selection means 85 substantially sets the rice cooking time or the cooking completion notification time Dc. This corresponds to an operation means to enable arbitrary settings. Further, the cooking time or the cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 is displayed on the LCD 24 as substantially the display element 64A for displaying the time/time.

As a result, the user U cannot check whether the food inside the inner pot 1 has actually been cooked unless he or she opens the lid 12 and looks inside the inner pot 1. Therefore, if some kind of notification is given by a notification section such as a buzzer 75 when cooking is complete, the user can check whether the rice has been cooked at the time set by the time/time selection means 85 without having to open the lid 12. The user U can also immediately check the cooked rice notification time Dc set by touching the time/time selection means 85 on the time/time display element 64A displayed on the LCD 24.

Regarding the rice cooking time Ds, the cooking completion notification time Dc, and the cooking completion time, what is the starting point for starting the cooking of the rice to be cooked, and what is the ending point for the end of cooking or the completion of cooking, in particular. Not limited. For example, a means other than the rice cooking control means 81 may set the starting point for starting cooking the rice to be cooked at a timing other than the timing at which the rice cooking start instruction is received from the start key 66A. Furthermore, the buzzer 75 may notify the completion of cooking with a certain time lag after the cooking of the rice to be cooked is completed and the rice is completely cooked.

On the other hand, as another variation, if the cooking completion time or cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 is equal to or longer than the standard time described above, the actual cooking time Ds by the rice cooking control means 81 can be left unchanged as the standard time while cooking is continued, and once the cooking time Ds has ended and the rice has switched to keeping warm, the buzzer 75 can be used to notify the completion of the food being cooked at the set cooking completion time or cooking completion notification time Dc. This allows the rice to be cooked to be consistently cooked to the same degree as if cooking had been completed at the standard time, at the point when the buzzer 75 makes the notification.

Including these modified examples, the rice cooker main body 100 of this embodiment allows the user U to operate the time/time selection means 85 of the operation unit 62 to arbitrarily set the cooking completion time and cooking completion notification time Dc and cook the food to be cooked. The cooking completion time and cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 may or may not be the same as the cooking time Ds from when the cooking control means 81 starts cooking the food to when cooking of the food is completed.

Hereinafter, explanation will be given on the assumption that the above-mentioned cooking completion notification time Dc is substantially the same as the cooking completion time. In this embodiment, when the user U touches the time/time selection means 85, the cooking completion notification time Dc is set to a constant value. The time can be increased or decreased in 5 minute increments. It is preferable that the longest cooking completion notification time Dc that can be set by the time/time selection means 85 is set to a time during which rice can be reserved for cooking by the rice reservation control means 83, that is, less than the reservation possible time.

As an example, in the above-mentioned "white rice, targeted cooking" rice cooking course, when the user U presses the reservation key 66D from the display state of the LCD 24 shown in FIG. 7, the reservation cooking control means 83 reads out the reservation time as the set time stored in the storage means 76 and displays it as the display element 64A for time/hour display on the LCD 24. Next, when the user U touches the time/hour selection means 85 as necessary to change the setting of the reservation time displayed on the display element 64A for time/hour display, and then presses the start key 66A, the reservation cooking control means 83 cooperates with the rice cooking control means 81 to cook the food in the inner pot 1 at the set reservation time only if the reservation time between the current time and the set reservation time is equal to or longer than the reservation possible time (e.g., 65 minutes) set for the "white rice, targeted cooking" rice cooking course. On the other hand, if the user U touches the time/time selection means 85 without pressing the reservation key 66D, the cooking done notification time Dc displayed on the time/time display element 64A can be set every 5 minutes to 60 minutes, which is the longest time before the reservation is possible. This allows the user U to set the cooking done notification time Dc at regular intervals by operating the time/time selection means 85, and since the longest cooking done notification time Dc that can be set with the time/time selection means 85 is shorter than the cooking time, the user U can set any cooking done notification time Dc and cook the food to be cooked without overlapping with the reservation cooking function.

On the other hand, the shortest cooking completion notification time Dc that can be set by the time/time selection means 85 means that the rice cooking control means 81 can heat the standard amount of rice placed in the inner pot 1 and cook it into rice. It is preferable to do this for as long as possible. Therefore, in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aim-cooked" shown in FIG. If the rice to be cooked is a standard amount, for example, 3 cups, the rice can be finally cooked into rice by the rice cooker main body 100 by the completion notification time Dc.

As shown in each of Figures 7 to 13, before the user U presses the start key 66A and before cooking of the food to be cooked begins, the rice cooking control means 81 causes the LCD 24 to display the arbitrary cooking done notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 as the time/time display element 64A. However, after the user U presses the start key 66A and cooking of the food to be cooked begins, the remaining time until cooking of the food to be cooked ends or the remaining time until the set cooking done notification time Dc is reached is displayed as the time/time display element 64A on the LCD 24. After cooking of the food to be cooked begins, the remaining time is displayed on the LCD 24 in units of, for example, one minute, allowing the user U to check the progress of cooking.

After the user U presses the start key 66A, the rice cooking control means 81 reads out a control pattern from the memory means 76 that corresponds to the set texture for the rice cooking course, for example "white rice, targeted cooking", and appropriately controls the operation of the heating coil 14, cord heaters 7, 18, lid heating means 17, solenoid 54 and buzzer 75 in accordance with the control pattern so that the food placed in the inner pot 1 is cooked to the set texture in the set cooking time Dc and an alarm is sounded by the buzzer 75. At this time, the rice cooking control means 81 controls the operation of the solenoid 54 that rotates the pressure regulator 46, and adjusts the pressure in the internal space 44 with the pressure regulator 45 so that the pressure in the internal space 44 when the cooking selection means 87 selects a harder texture, for example "crisp," is lower than or equal to the pressure in the internal space 44 when the cooking selection means 87 selects a standard texture, for example "recommended," and the pressure in the internal space 44 when the cooking selection means 87 selects a softer texture, for example "sticky," is higher than or equal to the pressure in the internal space 44 when the cooking selection means 87 selects the "recommended" texture.

As a result, when the user U selects the "crisp" texture using the cooking selection means 87, the pressure in the internal space 44 that accommodates the rice to be cooked is set to the pressure in the internal space 44 when the user U selects the "recommended" texture. By adjusting the pressure in the pressure regulating part 45 so that the pressure is lower than or equal to that of 44, it is possible to cook the rice into hard rice with less stickiness. Conversely, when the user U selects the "chewy" texture using the cooking selection means 87, the pressure in the internal space 44 that accommodates the cooked rice is set to the internal space when the "recommended" texture is selected. By adjusting the pressure in the pressure regulating section 45 to be higher than or equal to the pressure in 44, it is possible to cook the rice to be sticky and soft, and to achieve the desired texture selected by the cooking selection means 87. It can be cooked into rice.

The rice cooking control means 81 adjusts the amount of heat and pressure applied to the internal space 44 during each cooking process so that cooking of the food is completed by the cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85. However, if rice cooking is performed when the cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 is shorter than the standard time and there is a large amount of food contained in the internal space 44, it may happen that cooking of the food has not yet finished in the middle of the soaking process when the cooking completion notification time Dc has elapsed. At this time, if the set cooking completion notification time Dc is given priority and cooking of the cooked food is forcibly ended at that time, the deliciousness of the rice will be lost, so the rice cooking control means 81 continues the soaking process until the cooked food is cooked, and when the specified soaking process time D4 has elapsed and the cooked food is cooked, the rice cooking ends and the buzzer 75 is sounded to provide delicious cooked rice to the user U.

Preferably, when the rice cooking control means 81 heats the rice to be cooked in the rice cooking course of "white rice/aim cooking", for example, the rice to be cooked is set at the finished cooking notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85. If the rice has not finished cooking, the rice cooking time Ds that can be set using the time/time selection means 85 shown in FIG. Until the minimum time D4 (i.e. 9 minutes) has elapsed, the rice cooking process is continued until the rice to be cooked is cooked, and the rice is cooked until the minimum time D4 (i.e. 9 minutes) has elapsed. When the cooking of the rice is completed, the rice cooking is ended and the buzzer 75 is activated to output a notification. As a result, while ensuring the minimum time D4 of the steaming process, the rice cooking continues without stopping until the rice to be cooked is cooked, thereby providing the user U with deliciously cooked rice without deteriorating the taste. can.

Further, display elements 64 equivalent to those shown in FIGS. 7 to 13 are displayed on the display section 77 of the information terminal 73, and the time/time selection means 85 and the rice cooking course selection means are displayed on the operation section 78 of the information terminal 73. 86 or a cooking selection means 87. By configuring the rice cooker body 100 to receive the rice-cooking notification time Dc set on the operation unit 78 of the information terminal 73 by the transmitting/receiving means 74 of the rice cooker body 100 and import it into the rice cooking control means 81, the user U can When you set an arbitrary cooking completion notification time Dc using the operation unit 78 of the information terminal 73 at a remote location, this is received by the transmitting/receiving means 74 of the rice cooker main body 100, and the rice to be cooked is notified at the cooking completion notification time Dc. The rice to be cooked placed in the inner pot 1 can be cooked so that the buzzer 75 notifies the completion of cooking.

As described above, in this embodiment, the rice cooker body 100 includes the heating coil 14, the cord heaters 7 and 18, and the lid heating means 17 as heating means, and the display section 61 and the operation panel provided on the rice cooker body 100. 62, a control section 71 that controls the operation of the heating means to cook and heat the rice placed in the rice cooker main body 100, and receives a control signal from the control section 71 to control the cooking of the rice In a rice cooker equipped with a buzzer 75 as a notification unit that notifies completion, the operation unit 62 has a function that allows the rice cooking to be started after the rice cooking is started by the rice cooking control means 81 of the control unit 71, for example. A time/time selection means 85 is provided as a time selection means that allows the cooking time until the cooking is completed to be arbitrarily set as the cooking completion notification time Dc until the buzzer 75 notifies the completion of the cooking. The cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 is displayed on the LCD 24 serving as the display section 61 as a display element 64A for time/time display.

In this case, the user U can operate the time/time selection means 85 of the operation unit 62 as appropriate to set an arbitrary cooking completion notification time Dc at which the buzzer 75 will notify the user that the food is ready, and then cook the food.

In addition, the rice cooking control means 81, which is the control unit 71 of the present embodiment, performs a soaking process in which the water absorption of the rice to be cooked is promoted immediately after starting rice cooking, in a series of processes D1 to D4 for heating the rice to be cooked. At least one of the time D1 and the time D4 of the steaming process in which the rice to be cooked is steamed after being in a dry-up state is varied in accordance with the cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85. There is.

Therefore, without changing the rice cooking heating control for the rice to be cooked by the rice cooking control means 81, the rice to be cooked can be cooked at the optimal soaking process time D1 and the steaming process time D4 according to the set cooking completion notification time Dc. It becomes possible to cook rice.

In addition, the rice cooking control means 81 of the present embodiment prioritizes the rice cooking process so that the shorter the rice cooking notification time Dc is than the set standard time, the longer the time D4 of the steaming process is than the time D1 of the soaking process. The time D4 of the unevenness process is fixed and the time D1 of the soaking process is lengthened as the cooking completion notification time Dc becomes longer than the standard time.

In other words, when the cooked rice notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 is shorter than the standard time, it is better to make the time D4 of the steaming process longer than the time D1 of the soaking process. It tastes better. Conversely, if the cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 is longer than the standard time, the time D4 for the unevenness process can be secured sufficiently, so only the time D1 for the soaking process is lengthened. This will prevent the taste of the cooked rice from becoming bad.

Further, the operation unit 62 of the present embodiment includes a rice cooking course selection unit 86 that allows any rice cooking course to be selected from among the plurality of rice cooking courses whose control patterns are stored in the storage unit 76 of the control unit 71; Further, when the rice cooking course selection means 86 selects a rice cooking course in which cooking can be selected, a rice cooking selection means 87 that enables selection of an arbitrary texture from two or more plural textures; The time/time selection means 85 is configured to arbitrarily set the cooking completion notification time Dc for each texture selectable by the cooking selection means 87.

In this case, when the user U selects a rice cooking course that allows cooking selection by the rice cooking course selection means 86, no matter which texture is selected from among the plurality of textures by the cooking selection means 87, the time/ By setting an arbitrary cooking completion notification time Dc by the time selection means 85, it becomes possible to cook the rice to the selected desired texture.

The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further characterized in that the rice cooking control means 81 of this embodiment is equipped with a reservation rice cooking control means 83 that cooks the food in the inner pot 1 after the reservation time only if the reservation time is equal to or longer than the reservation available time, and the time/time selection means 85 is configured to be able to set the cooking completion notification time at regular intervals and at the longest, to a time shorter than the reservation available time.

This allows the user U to set the time for the rice to be notified when the rice is ready at regular intervals using the time selection means, and to set any desired time Dc for the rice to be notified when the rice is ready, without overlapping with the timer cooking function.

Furthermore, the rice cooking control means 81 of the present embodiment displays an arbitrary cooking completion notification time set by the time/time selection means 85 on the display section 61, for example, the LCD 24, until the cooking of the rice to be cooked starts. It is displayed as the display element 64A for time/time display, and after the cooking of the rice to be cooked starts, the remaining time until the cooking of the rice to be cooked ends, or until the set cooking completion notification time Dc is reached. The remaining time is displayed on the LCD 24 as a display element 64A for time/time display.

In this case, after cooking of the food starts, the remaining time until cooking ends or the remaining time until the cooking completion notification time Dc is reached is displayed on the LCD 24 of the display unit 61, allowing the user U to check the progress of cooking.

In this embodiment, the rice cooker body 100 is further provided with an internal space 44 in which the food to be cooked is housed, and a pressure adjustment unit 45 including a pressure adjustment valve 46 that adjusts the pressure in the internal space 44. The rice cooking control means 81 controls the operation of the solenoid 54 that rotates the pressure adjustment valve 46, so that the pressure in the internal space 44 when a harder texture is selected with the separate cooking selection means 87 is lower than or equal to the pressure in the internal space 44 when a standard texture is selected with the separate cooking selection means 87, and the pressure in the internal space 44 when a softer texture is selected with the separate cooking selection means 87 is higher than or equal to the pressure in the internal space 44 when a standard texture is selected with the separate cooking selection means 87.

This makes it possible to cook rice to the desired texture selected by the cooking selection means 87.

Further, the rice cooking control means 81 of the present embodiment controls the rice to be cooked if the cooking of the rice to be cooked is not completed when the cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 has elapsed. It is designed to continue cooking until the food is cooked.

In other words, if priority is given to the cooked rice notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 and the cooking of the rice to be cooked is forcibly finished at that time, the deliciousness of the rice will be spoiled. If the cooking of the rice to be cooked is not finished when the notification time Dc has elapsed, the rice cooking is continued without ending until the rice to be cooked is cooked, thereby ensuring delicious cooked rice.

In addition, the time/time selection means 85 of this embodiment is configured to set the cooking done notification time Dc at the shortest time possible, which is equal to or longer than the time required for the rice cooking control means 81 to heat the food to be cooked and finish cooking the rice.

In this case, the shortest cooking completion notification time Dc that can be set by the user using the time/time selection means 85 is the time during which the rice to be cooked can at least be cooked into rice by heating the rice to be cooked by the rice cooking control means 81. That's all. Therefore, even if the shortest cooking notification time Dc is set, the rice to be cooked can be finally cooked into rice by the cooking completion notification time Dc.

In addition, in this embodiment, the rice cooking control means 81 is configured to continue cooking rice until the minimum time D4 of the steaming process, which steams the food after it has been dried up, has elapsed and the food is cooked if the cooking of the food has not finished when the cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 has elapsed.

In other words, if the cooking of the food has not finished when the cooking completion notification time Dc set by the time/time selection means 85 has elapsed, the minimum time D4 for the soaking process is ensured, and cooking continues without terminating until the food is cooked, ensuring delicious cooked rice without compromising taste.

Furthermore, the rice cooker main body 100 of the present embodiment is configured to be capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from an information terminal 73 corresponding to a remote control unit equipped with an operation unit 78 serving as a remote control unit via a transmitting/receiving means 74. The rice cooker main body 100 is configured so that the rice cooker body 100 can receive the rice-cooked notification time Dc set on the operating section 78 of the information terminal 73.

This allows the user U to set an arbitrary cooking done notification time Dc using the information terminal 73 while in a location away from the rice cooker main body 100, and to cook the food placed in the inner pot 1.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The numerical values illustrated in the embodiment are merely examples, and may be changed as appropriate depending on the specifications of the rice cooker. Further, the notification section is not limited to audible notification such as the buzzer 75, and may be configured to provide visual notification using, for example, the LCD 24 or the LED 25 of the display section 61.

7, 18 Cord heater (heating means)
14 Heating coil (heating means)
17 Lid heating means (heating means)
44 Internal space 45 Pressure adjustment unit 61 Display unit 62 Operation unit 71 Control unit 73 Information terminal (remote control unit)
78 Operation unit (remote control unit)
83 Scheduled rice cooking control means 85 Time/time selection means (time selection means)
86 Rice cooking course selection means 87 Cooking mode selection means 100 Rice cooker body

Claims (9)

A rice cooker body equipped with a heating means;
A display unit and an operation unit provided on the rice cooker body;
A control unit that controls the heating means to cook and heat the food placed in the rice cooker body.
The operation unit is provided with a time selection means for allowing the cooking time from the start of cooking the food to the completion of cooking of the food to be cooked to be set arbitrarily,
The cooking time set by the time selection means is displayed on the display unit ,
The control unit is configured to vary at least one of the time of a soaking process for promoting water absorption of the cooked rice and the time of a steaming process for steaming the cooked rice after it has been dried up, in a series of processes for cooking and heating the cooked rice, according to the cooking time set by the time selection means;
The control unit is configured to make the time of the steaming process longer than the time of the soaking process when the cooking time is shorter than the standard time, and to fix the time of the steaming process and make the time of the soaking process longer when the cooking time is longer than the standard time . The operation unit further includes a rice cooking course selection means for selecting an arbitrary rice cooking course from among a plurality of rice cooking courses, and a cooking selection means for selecting an arbitrary texture from among a plurality of textures when a rice cooking course that allows selection of cooking courses is selected by the rice cooking course selection means,
2. The rice cooker according to claim 1 , wherein the time selection means is configured to allow the cooking time to be set arbitrarily for each texture selectable by the cooking selection means. The control unit includes a reservation cooking control means for cooking the food to be cooked after the reservation time only when the reservation time is equal to or longer than the reservation possible time,
3. The rice cooker according to claim 1 , wherein the time selection means is configured to set the cooking time at regular intervals and to be shorter than the reservation-available time at the longest. The control section causes the display section to display an arbitrary cooking time set by the time selection means until the cooking of the rice to be cooked starts, and after the cooking of the rice to be cooked starts. Claims 1 to 3 are characterized in that the remaining time until the cooking of the rice to be cooked is finished or the remaining time until a set cooking time is reached is displayed on the display section. A rice cooker listed in any one of the above. An internal space provided in the rice cooker body in which the food to be cooked is accommodated;
A pressure adjusting unit that adjusts the pressure in the internal space,
The rice cooker according to claim 2, characterized in that the pressure adjusting unit is configured so that when a harder texture is selected with the cooking selection means, the pressure in the internal space is lower than or the same as the pressure in the internal space when a standard texture is selected with the cooking selection means, and when a softer texture is selected with the cooking selection means, the pressure in the internal space is higher than or the same as the pressure in the internal space when a standard texture is selected with the cooking selection means . The control unit may be configured to continue cooking rice until the rice to be cooked is cooked if the rice to be cooked is not finished when the cooking time set by the time selection means has elapsed. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the time selection means is configured to set the cooking time to the shortest time possible, which is equal to or longer than the time required for the control unit to heat the food to be cooked and turn it into rice. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, if cooking of the food to be cooked has not finished when the cooking time set by the time selection means has elapsed, the control unit continues cooking until a minimum time for a steaming process in which the food to be cooked is steamed after being in a dry - up state has elapsed and the food to be cooked is finished. The rice cooker main body is configured to be capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from a remote control unit equipped with a remote control unit,
The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , characterized in that the rice cooker main body can receive the cooking time set by the remote control unit.

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