JPH02147016A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily grasp the advance of a rice cooking process, etc., by inclining and providing a display panel part, which executes display concerning rice cooking operation, on the upper surface of a cover. CONSTITUTION:On the upper surface part of an operation panel 19, a sheet fitting recessed part 20 is formed as the base of a display panel part 19a which is inclined toward the side direction of a main body 1. On the upper surface of a printed circuit board 34 to be arranged between the operation panel 19 and an inner cover board 5, two operating switches, which executes operation concerning the rice cooking operation, and four light emitting elements 37-40 to display the process of the rice cooking operation are arranged so as to face to respective opening parts 21-26. On an elastically deformable sheet 41 to be attached to the sheet fitting recessed part 20, transparent window parts 44-47 are formed in parts, which face to the opening parts 23-26 for display, and a display panel part 19a is constituted. Accordingly, the visual confirmability of the display panel part can be improved and the advance of the rice cooking process, etc., can be easily grasped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a rice cooker that has an improved arrangement structure of a display panel section for displaying information regarding rice cooking operation.

(Prior Art) In conventional rice cookers, generally, an operation panel having a display panel is attached to the bottom of the outer peripheral side of the rice cooker body in a state that projects from the bottom, and the operation section can be operated from the outside on this operation panel. In addition, a light-emitting element such as a display lamp or a light-emitting diode is arranged in the display panel section, and the operation section is operated to perform rice cooking operation, and the light emitted from the light-emitting element is emitted based on the operation. The process of the rice cooking operation can be confirmed by visually checking through the window provided in the display panel section.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) 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. Therefore, the position of the user's eyes is also usually higher than the main body. However, in the above-mentioned device, the display panel section is located at the bottom of the outer peripheral side of the main body, so when standing, the line of sight is too diagonal to the display panel section, making it difficult to see the display panel section without bending down.
There was a drawback that it was not easy to keep track of the progress of the rice cooking process, etc.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to improve the visibility of the display panel section, and to improve the visibility of the display panel.
To provide a rice cooker that allows easy monitoring of the progress of a rice cooking process, etc.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The rice cooker of the present invention is characterized in that a display panel section for displaying information regarding the rice cooking operation is provided on the top surface of the lid in an inclined manner. It is something.

(Function) The display panel is located on the top surface of the lid and is inherently easy to see, and the display panel is also slanted so that the user can see the display panel without bending down. The display panel becomes more perpendicular to the surface, improving the visibility of the display panel.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, in FIG. 3 showing the overall appearance, 1 is the main body of the rice cooker, and 2 is a lid that is provided to the main body 1 so that it can be opened and closed via a well-known hinge mechanism 3. As shown in the enlarged view, it consists of an outer cover plate 4 and an inner cover plate 5, and a handle base 6 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4, and a handle cover is attached to the handle base 6 to cover the upper part. 7 is attached.

A plurality of engagement protrusions 8 are formed on the inner peripheral edge of the outer cover plate 4, while a plurality of engagement protrusions 8 are formed on the outer circumferential edge of the inner cover plate 5 in correspondence with the engagement protrusions 8. A mating recess 9 is formed, and the engaging protrusion 8 is held in an engaged state by the elasticity of the inner cover plate 5 and the outer cover plate 4 themselves. Reference numeral 10 denotes a stepped cylindrical steam venting cylinder having a large diameter part 10a and a small diameter part 10b at the top and bottom, and has flanges 1 at both the top and bottom ends, respectively.
1° 12 is formed, and a threaded portion 13 is further formed in the small diameter portion 10b.
and steam vent holes 14 are formed vertically. The steam venting cylinder 10 has an insertion hole 15 formed to protrude downward from one side of the outer cover plate 4 and an inner cover plate 5 corresponding to the insertion hole 15.
The nut member 17 is inserted into the hole 16 formed in the inner cover plate 5 from below the inner cover plate 5 with the flange 11 in contact with the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4. The nut member 17 is pressed against the inner cover plate 5, and the outer cover plate 4 and the inner cover plate 5 are sandwiched at one side thereof by such a mounting structure of the steam venting cylinder 10. Although not shown, an engagement protrusion for engaging the inner cover is provided on the lower surface of the inner cover plate 5.
An inner cover (not shown) is engaged and held on the lower surface of the inner cover plate 5 of the cover 2 by this engagement protrusion and the small diameter portion 10b of the steam venting cylinder 10. Reference numeral 18 denotes a lid heater provided at the center of the inner lid plate 5 of the lid 2 for keeping the inner lid warm. Reference numeral 19 denotes an operation panel that also serves as a display panel section 19a, which will be described in detail below. That is, the operation panel 19 is made of ABS resin, for example, and a seat mounting recess 20 is formed in the upper surface of the panel to serve as the base of the display panel section 19a that slopes toward the side of the main body 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the recess 20 has, for example, two operating openings 21.
22 and four display openings 23 to 26 are formed,
In addition, a U-shaped engagement groove 27 is formed on the outer edge (the left outer edge in FIG. 1), while a U-shaped engagement groove 27 is formed at the other lower part of the circumference, located slightly inside from the circumference. A protruding portion 28 is formed, and a boss portion 29 is integrally provided on the lower surface portion to protrude downward, and a female thread portion 30 is formed in the two boss portions. The operation panel 19 configured in this manner has the engagement groove 27 engaged with the edge of the opening 31 formed in the portion of the outer cover plate 4 located on the opposite side of the steam venting cylinder 10. The fitting protrusion 28 is fitted to bring the peripheral edge of the operation panel 19 into abutting engagement with the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4. In this state, the boss 29 of one operation panel is brought into contact with the inner cover plate 5. It is fixed to the inner cover plate 5 by a screw 33 inserted from below into a screw hole 32 formed protrudingly on the inner cover plate 5, thereby allowing the outer cover plate 4 and the inner cover plate 5 to be connected via the operation panel 19. A pinching force is applied between them to bind them together. Reference numeral 34 denotes a printed circuit board disposed between the operation panel 19 and the inner lid plate 5, and the upper surface of the printed circuit board has operating sections for, for example, two operation switches (not shown) for operations related to rice cooking operation. 35° 36 (see FIG. 2) and four light emitting elements 37 to 40 for displaying the process of the rice cooking operation are arranged so as to face the respective openings 21 to 26 for operation and display of the operation panel 19. has been done.

Lead wires (not shown) led out from the operation switches and light emitting elements 37 to 40 on the printed circuit board 34 are connected to lead wires introduced into the lid 2 from the main body 1. Reference numeral 41 denotes an elastically deformable sheet affixed to the sheet attachment recess 20 of the operation panel 19, and as shown in FIG. Direction marks 42, 43 for indicating the position are formed, and transparent windows 44 to 47 are formed in the portions facing the display openings 23 to 26, thereby forming the display panel portion 19a. There is. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 48 designates a clamp for releasing the lid 20 provided on the handle cover 7.

In the case of this embodiment with such a configuration, the display panel section 19a
Since it is configured to be provided on the top surface of the lid 2, there is no protrusion such as a conventional display panel on the outer peripheral side surface of the main body 1. As a result, the installation space of the main body 1 can be reduced and the main body The shape of No. 1 becomes smarter and can improve the appearance. In this case, the display panel section 19a is located on the top surface of the lid 2 and is inherently easy to see, and furthermore, since the display panel section 19a is tilted, the user's line of sight is directed to the display panel section 19a. The display panel section 19a becomes more perpendicular to the other hand, and the display panel section 19a becomes extremely easy to see.
Letters such as "heat retention" and light emitting elements 37 to 40
The visibility of the light emitted from the rice cooker can be significantly improved, making it easier to understand the progress of the rice cooking process, etc., and of course also improving the operability of the operating parts 35 and 36.

Incidentally, such an effect can also be obtained with a configuration in which the operation panel is integrally formed on the outer cover plate, but in this case, in order to repair the electrical components on the printed circuit board 34, it is necessary to remove the inner cover plate. It is necessary to remove the handle from the outer cover plate, which is really troublesome.In addition, in this case, if the operation panel is configured to protrude from the outer cover plate as in this embodiment, the handle base is separated from the outer cover plate due to the structure of the mold. This creates a problem that it must be formed separately. It is also possible to consider a configuration in which a separate operation panel is screwed to the outer cover plate, but in this case, if the operation panel is screwed to the outer cover plate from above,
Although removability is good, the screw heads are exposed to the outside and look bad.However, if the operation panel is screwed to the outer cover plate from the inside, the appearance will be better, but it will be difficult to remove it when removed. The operation panel cannot be removed unless the inner cover plate is removed from the cover plate, making it really troublesome to remove the operation panel.

However, in this embodiment, since the operation panel 19 is fixed to the inner cover plate 5 from below with the screws 33, the screws 3
3 is not exposed on the operation panel 19, which gives it a good appearance. When removing one operation panel, just remove the screws 33 and then attach the operation panel 19 to the opening of the outer cover plate 4. The operation panel 19 can be easily removed from the lid 2 by simply lifting it outward from the portion 31, and the operation panel 19 can be easily removed. Furthermore, when installing the operation panel 19, the engagement groove 27 of the operation panel 19 is engaged with the edge of the opening 31 of the outer cover plate 4, and then the fitting protrusion 28 is fitted into the opening 31. Place the peripheral edge of the operation panel 19 on the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4, and in this state insert the screw 33 into the screw hole 32 of the inner cover plate 5 to remove the operation panel 19.
Since the installation of the operation panel 19 is completed by simply tightening it to the boss portion 29 of the operation panel 19, the installation of the operation panel 19 is excellent.

Moreover, by fixing the operation panel 19 to the inner cover plate 5 with the screws 33 in this manner, a clamping force is created between the outer cover plate 4 and the inner cover plate 5 via the operation panel 19 at the same time as the operation panel 19 is attached. Since the structure is such that the lid 2 itself, including the operation panel 19, can be easily assembled, it is possible to easily assemble the lid 2 itself, including the operation panel 19. Because the force is applied, even if the engagement force between the engagement protrusion 8 of the outer cover plate 4 and the engagement recess 9 of the inner cover plate 5 decreases due to deformation of the outer cover plate 4 and the inner cover plate 5 during long-term use, ,
Compared to the conventional structure, the bonding state between the outer cover plate 4 and the inner cover plate 5 can be maintained stably, and since the peripheral edge of the operation panel 19 is pressed against the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4, Operation panel 1
The two peripheral edges are firmly attached to the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4 without being lifted up, giving a good appearance. In addition, especially in this embodiment, since the operation panel 19 is made of ABS resin,
Not only does the sheet 41 have good adhesion, but even if the boss portion 29 is integrally provided on the bottom surface of the operation panel 19, unlike the polypropylene that generally forms the outer cover plate, it does not stick to the top surface of the operation panel 19. The appearance of the operation panel 19 can be kept beautiful without causing flesh marks.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention has a structure in which a display panel section for displaying information regarding the rice cooking operation is provided on the upper surface of the lid at an angle, so that the user does not need to lower his/her back. This has excellent effects in that the line of sight becomes more perpendicular to the display panel without having to bend over, improving the visibility of the display panel and making it easier to understand the progress of the rice cooking process, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the lid, FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the operation panel,
FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view. In the drawings, 2 is a lid, 4 is an outer cover plate, 5 is an inner cover plate, 19 is an operation panel, 19a is a display panel part, 31 is an opening, 33 is a screw, 35.36 is an operation part, and 37-40 are It is a light emitting element.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rice cooker characterized in that a display panel section for displaying information regarding rice cooking operation is provided on the top surface of the lid in an inclined manner.