JPH0330731A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To change the time of a previous cooking process and enable rice to be cooked by shifting the process to a cooking process, when the output of a temperature detecting means is received and a heating means is controlled and the previous cooking of rice cooking is executed and output from a timer means is received. CONSTITUTION:By a setting means 6, a previous cooking time stored in a storing means 5 is changed, and by a selecting means 7, from a plurality of the previous cooking times stored in the storing means 5, an arbitrary time is selected. By a timer means 8, output from a start means 4 is received, and the previous cooking time selected by the selecting means 7 is received from the storing means 5 and is measured. By a control means 9, the output of the timer means 8 is received and the previous cooking process of rice cooking is executed, and when the output of a temperature detecting means 3 is received, then the process is controlled to be shifted to a cooking process. By the setting means 6, the time of the previous cooking process of the rice cooking stored in the storing means 5 can be changed to an arbitrary time, and so in case of cooking hardish, the previous cooking time is shortened, and in case of cooking rather soft, the time is made longer. In the storing means 5, a plurality of the previous cooking times are stored, and so by the selecting means 7, the previous cooking time can be arbitrarily selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a rice cooker used in general households.

Conventional technology In conventional rice cookers, when cooking rice, the rice must be soaked in water for a certain period of time as a preliminary preparation, otherwise the rice will not be well-done if it does not absorb enough water. It was common to have a process of keeping the water at a constant temperature and soaking it for a certain period of time.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such conventional rice cookers, the only way to adjust the doneness of cooked rice is to perform or omit the "pre-cooking process." There was a problem in that it was not possible to arbitrarily change the pre-cooking time.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that solves these problems.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the rice cooker of the present invention includes a container for holding rice and water, a heating means for heating the container, and a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature in the container. , a starting means for inputting the start of rice cooking, a storage means for storing a plurality of pre-cooking times, a setting means for changing the pre-cooking times stored in the storage means, and a setting means for changing the pre-cooking times stored in the storage means. a selection means for selecting an arbitrary time from a plurality of pre-cooking times; a timer means for receiving an output from the starting means and measuring the pre-cooking time selected by the selection means from the storage means; Upon receiving the output, execute a pre-cooking step of rice cooking; upon receiving the output of the temperature detection means, control the heating means to execute pre-cooking of the rice; and then proceed to the cooking step when receiving the output from the timer means. and a control means for controlling the operation.

Effect By having the above structure, the time of the "pre-cooking process" of cooking rice stored in the storage means can be changed to an arbitrary time by the setting means, so that if the rice is hard, the pre-cooking process can be changed to any time according to the user's preference. You can shorten the cooking time, or lengthen the pre-cooking time if the meat is soft.

Moreover, since this storage means stores a plurality of pre-cooking times, the selection means can arbitrarily select the pre-cooking time stored therein, thereby making it possible to cook rice.

Embodiment Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a container for storing rice and water, 2 is a heating means for heating this container 1,
3 is a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature in the container 1, 4 is a start means for inputting the start of rice cooking, 6 is a storage means for storing a plurality of pre-cooking times, and 6 is stored in this storage means 6. 7 is a selection means for selecting an arbitrary time from a plurality of pre-cooking times stored in the storage means 6; 8 is a means for receiving the output from the starting means 4; A timer means 9 receives the pre-cooking time selected by the selection means A from the storage means S and measures the pre-cooking time. This is a control means that controls the cooking process to proceed when the output is received.

FIG. 2 shows a specific circuit diagram of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 1o is a heater that heats the container 1, and 11 is a relay that energizes the heater 10. , 12 is a relay drive unit that drives the relay 11, 13 is a start key for inputting the start of rice cooking, 14 is a setting key for changing the pre-cooking time, and 15 is a memory for storing the pre-cooking time for rice cooking. A selection key for selecting an arbitrary pre-cooking time from the means 5; 1e is a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the container 1; 17 is an A/D converter for A/D converting the signal from the thermistor 16; 18 is the start key 13; , an input section for inputting signals from the setting key 14, the selection key 16, and the A/D converter 17; an output section 19 for opening and closing contacts of the relay 11 to energize the heater 10; 20 is a control unit that controls the output unit 19 according to a signal input from the input unit 18; 21 is a microcomputer configured by the input unit 18, the output unit 19, and the control unit 20; Dechiru.

FIG. 3 shows the main part of the flowchart of the microcomputer 21, and the operation will be explained based on this flowchart.

First, in step 31, the key is manually pressed, and in step 32, it is determined whether the pressed key is the start key 13. If it is not the start key 13, in step 33, it is determined whether or not the setting key 14 was pressed. If not, it is determined in step 37 whether the selection key 1g5 has been pressed, and if it has not been pressed, the process returns to step 31. Steps 31 to 40 are repeated until the start key 13 is pressed. If the setting key 14 has been pressed in step 33, the process advances to step 34 and the pre-cooking time is increased by one rank. Next, in step 36, it is determined whether this counter exceeds a predetermined number, and if it does, step 36
Initialize this counter with . If it has not been exceeded, return to step 31. If the selection key 16 has been pressed in step 37, proceed to step 38 and increment the selection counter by 1.
Increase rank. Next, in step 39, it is determined whether this counter has exceeded a predetermined number, and if it has, then in step 4o, this counter is initialized. If it has not been exceeded, return to step 31. Start key 1 in step 32
If 3 has been pressed, the process advances to step 41, and in step 37, the temperature of the container 1 is input from the thermistor 16. If it is determined in step 42 whether the pre-cooking temperature has been exceeded, then in step 43 the power supply to the heater 1o is stopped.

If not, the heater 100 is energized in step 44. Next, in step 46, the timer means 8 measures the time, and in step 46, it is determined whether the pre-cooking time has ended.If the end time has not been reached, the process returns to step 41, and steps 37 to 46 are repeated. If it is the end time of pre-cooking in step 46, then in step 47 the process proceeds to the cooking process and the rice is cooked.

With the above operation, by pressing the setting key 14, you can arbitrarily change the pre-cooking time, and by pressing the selection key 16,
Since you can select any time from the multiple pre-cooking times stored in your memory, you can cook the rice of your choice.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the "pre-cooking" function can be adjusted according to the user's preference, such as when the rice cooking time is to be shortened, when the rice is allowed to absorb water before cooking, or when the rice is desired to be adjusted to the degree of doneness of the rice. It is now possible to cook rice by changing the cooking time as desired, which improves usability, and it is also possible to remember and select the changed pre-cooking time, so you can quickly set the doneness of the rice to your preference. It provides equipment.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a rice cooker showing an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a specific circuit diagram of the rice cooker, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the microcomputer in the rice cooker. 1... Container, 2... Heating means, 3...
...Temperature detection means, 4...Start means, 6.
...Storage means, e...Setting means, 7...
...Selection means, 8...Timer means, 9...
...Control means, 21...Microcomputer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A container for holding rice and water, a heating means for heating the container, a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature in the container, a start means for inputting the start of rice cooking, and a plurality of pre-cooking times are stored. a storage means, a setting means for changing the pre-cooking time stored in the storage means, a selection means for selecting an arbitrary time from a plurality of pre-cooking times stored in the storage means, and a starting means. a timer means which receives an output and measures the pre-cooking time selected by the selection means from the storage means; and a timer means which receives the output of the timer means and executes a pre-cooking process of rice and receives the output of the temperature detection means. A rice cooker comprising a control means for controlling the heating means to perform pre-cooking of rice and then to shift to a cooking step when receiving an output from the timer means.