JPH01259808A - Rice boiler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the assembling operability of parts attached to a console panel by disposing an operating box on the external periphery of a main body and upwardly disposing an operating part at the upper part of the main body thereby to improve the visual recognition of a display part and the operability of the operating part. CONSTITUTION:The upper face of the console panel 10 made of a synthetic resin is inclined downward slightly to a front part, on this upper face, a face plate attaching recessed part 11 is formed and at the prescribed positions of this face plate attaching recessed part 11 are formed an operating opening 12, a plurality of openings for displaying a rice boiling process and an opening 14 for displaying a digital timer respectively. Since the console panel 10 is disposed upward in the external periphery side part of a main part 1, the console panel 10 can be easily viewed from the upper part of the main body 1 and the visibility of a character such as 'heat insulation' attached to an operating part 21, the console panel 10 and a light emitted from a light emitting body 22 and the operability of the operating part 21 are improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a rice cooker with an improved arrangement structure of an operation panel having an operation section and a display section related to rice cooking operation.

[Technical background of the invention]

In conventional rice cookers, an operation panel is generally attached to the outer peripheral side surface of the main body along the outer peripheral side surface, and an operation section is provided on this operation panel so that it can be operated from the outside, and a display is provided inside the operation panel. A light-emitting body such as a lamp or a light-emitting diode is provided, and the operation section is operated to perform the rice cooking operation, and the light from the light-emitting body based on the operation is visually recognized through a window provided on the operation panel. This makes it possible to check the rice cooking process.

[Problems with background technology]

In general, rice cookers are usually placed on low places such as tables or sinks in order to scoop out the rice in the pot after cooking, and therefore the user's eye position is also affected. Usually it is higher than the main body. However, in this case, in the conventional device described above, the operation panel is provided at the bottom of the outer peripheral side of the main body along the outer peripheral side, and the operation panel is oriented horizontally, so if you are standing, your line of sight is not on the operation panel. On the other hand, the operation panel is tilted too far, making it difficult to see and operate the operation panel without bending over.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the visibility of the display section and the operability of the operation section on the operation panel, and further improve the assembly of parts attached to the operation panel. We offer a rice cooker that can be made into a container that is easier to handle.
It is about 4%.

[Summary of the invention]

In the present invention, an operation panel having an operation part and a display part related to rice cooking operation is provided on the outer peripheral side of the main body so as to face upward, and a cover is provided below the operation panel separately from the operation panel. The feature H is that the operation panel is provided in an optimal orientation, and the handling of the operation panel during assembly is improved.

[Embodiments of the invention]

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 is the main body, which is the outer case 2. It consists of an inner case 3, a bottom plate 4, etc. Although not shown, a heater is provided at the inner bottom of the inner case 3, and a pot is removably housed inside the inner case 3. be. Reference numeral 5 denotes an annular frame provided on the upper part of the outer case 2 and the inner case 3, and a rectangular frame 6, which is located on the outer surface of the upper part of the outer case 2 and is open on the outside, is integrally provided at a predetermined part of this. A pair of mounting pieces 7 are protruded from the lower part of the rectangular frame 6 and each have a screw hole 7a.

8 is an opening formed in the outer case 2 below the rectangular frame 6, and 9 is a recess formed in the bottom plate 4 and located further below the opening 80.

Now, reference numeral 10 denotes an operation panel made of synthetic resin, the upper surface of which has an inclined shape that descends forward, and four nameplate mounting parts 11 are formed on this upper surface. An opening 12 for operation, a plurality of openings 13 for displaying the rice cooking process, and an opening 14 for displaying a digital timer are formed at predetermined portions of the rice cooker. Further, a pair of mounting pieces 15 are formed at the lower part of the operation panel 10, corresponding to the mounting pieces 7 of the rectangular frame 6, each having a screw insertion hole 15a. Reference numeral 16 denotes a nameplate affixed to the nameplate mounting recess 1 of the operation panel 10, which has window portions 17, 18, .
19 are formed respectively, and among them, in particular, in the window 18 for displaying the rice cooking process, although not shown, characters indicating the rice cooking process, such as "cooking rice", are formed.

It is marked with "keep warm" etc. Reference numeral 20 denotes a printed circuit board screwed onto the back side of the operation panel 10 along the operation panel 10, and on the top surface thereof there is an operation section 21 for operation switches related to the rice cooking operation, and a display for displaying the process of the rice cooking operation. A light emitting body 22 and a digital timer 23 are arranged corresponding to the openings 12, 13, and 14 of the operation panel 10, respectively. Further, a lead wire 24 is led out from the lower surface of the printed circuit board 20, and the lead wire 24 is guided from the recess 9 of the bottom plate 4 into the main body l along the outer surface of the outer case 2. After the operation panel 10 has a nameplate 16 and a printed circuit board 20 attached thereto, it is attached to the front part of the rectangular frame 6 via the attachment pieces 7 and 15 with screws 25. , the operation panel 10 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the main body 1 and faces upward. On the other hand, reference numeral 26 designates a vertically elongated cover made of synthetic resin, which allows the tip of an abbreviated engagement protrusion 27 protruding from the inner surface of the upper part to be inserted into and engaged with the opening 8 of the outer case 2, and the upper end opening Remove the edge from the operation panel 1
It is attached by fitting into the lower part of the recess 9 of the bottom plate 4, and then press-fitting the lower part to the edge of the recess 9 of the bottom plate 4.
Therefore, the cover 26 is provided below the operation panel 10 separately from the operation panel 10 so as to cover the lead wire 24.

According to this section-embodiment having such a configuration, the operation panel 1
0 is provided upward on the outer circumferential side of the main body 1, so when the main body 1 is placed on a table, sink, or other place lower than the user's eye level during normal use, the user can easily stand without bending over. The line of sight is not too oblique to the operation panel 10, the operation panel 10 can be clearly seen from above the main body 1, and the operation panel 21. Operation panel 10
It is possible to improve the visibility of the text such as "keep warm" attached to the screen and the light emitted from the light emitting body 22, and of course, the operability of the operation unit 21 can also be improved. Also,
Since the operation part 21 is operated by applying a downward pressing force to the operation part 21, unlike a conventional operation part in which the side part of the main body is pressed sideways, the operation part 21 is not depressed. The main body 1 does not shift laterally during operation. Furthermore,
In the conventional case where the operation part of the operation panel is oriented horizontally, when another object is moved near the side of the main body, there is a risk that the object will come into contact with the operation part and cause it to be operated incorrectly. In this embodiment, since the operating portion 21 is oriented upward, it is possible to prevent objects from coming into contact with the operating portion 21 as much as possible.

By the way, when the operation panel 10 is oriented upward as in this embodiment, it is conceivable to provide a cover integrally with the operation panel to cover the lead wires led downward from the printed circuit board in the operation panel. In this case, there is a problem that the mold becomes large and it is difficult to assemble the name plate and the printed circuit board. In this regard, according to this embodiment, since the operation panel 10 and the cover 26 are provided separately, the mold for the operation panel 10 can be made smaller, and the mold for the cover 26 can also be made smaller, thus improving productivity. Moreover, since the operation panel 10 is small and easy to handle, the work of assembling the nameplate 16 and the printed circuit board 20 to the operation panel 10 can be carried out easily.

4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention,
In this second embodiment, the operation panel 28 and the cover 2
The mounting structure of No. 9 is different from that of the first embodiment described above. That is, the frame body 5 does not have the rectangular shape ++6 in the first embodiment, and an abbreviated engagement protrusion 30 is provided protruding from the lower inner surface of the operation panel 28. On the other hand, cover 29
The upper part thereof is formed to have a length extending to the frame body 5, and an operation panel mounting step part 32 having an opening 31 is formed in the upper part. Therefore, in this second embodiment,
The operation panel 28 is attached to the operation panel mounting step 32 of the cover 29.
The engagement protrusion 30 is attached to the outer case 2 by engaging its tip end with the opening 33 of the outer case 2.

According to the second embodiment having such a configuration, in addition to obtaining the same effects as the first embodiment described above, the upper part of the cover 29 can be fixed when the operation panel 28 is attached. The structure can be simplified, and since the mounting part of the operation panel 28 is the cover 29 in this case, if the mounting relationship between the operation panel 28 and the cover 29 is standardized, the operation panel 28 can be attached to the main body 1. It can be made common regardless of the size of the outer case 2, that is, the shape of the outer circumferential surface depending on the size of the rice cooking capacity.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, the present invention is provided with an operation panel facing upward on the outer circumferential side of the main body for operating an operation section and a display section related to rice cooking operation, and a cover below the operation panel. is provided separately from the operation panel, so that when the main unit is placed on a relatively low place such as a table or sink during normal use, it is possible to stand without bending over. The visibility of the display section on the operation panel can be improved in its original state, and the operability of the operation section can be improved. Also, the mold for the operation panel and the mold for the cover can be made smaller, which improves manufacturability. Moreover, it has the excellent effect that the work of assembling parts such as a name plate and a printed circuit board to the operation panel can be carried out in a simple manner.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main part, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view, and FIG. 5 and 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3. In the drawings, 1 is the main body, 10 is the operation panel, 21 is the operation section,
22 is a light emitter (display section), 23 is a digital timer (display section), 26 is a cover, 28 is an operation panel, and 29 is a cover. Applicant Toshiba Thermal Appliances Co., Ltd. Toshiba Corporation No. 1 Thief 2 M Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Procedure Amendment

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An operation panel with an operation section and a display section related to rice cooking operation is provided on the outer peripheral side of the main body so as to face upward, and a cover is provided below the operation panel separately from the operation panel. A rice cooker characterized by: