JPH0366323A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent such a phenomenon as half-cooked rice by constituting a rice cooker so that a timer is operated at the time point when an inner rice-cooking pot is raised, and when the inner rice-cooking pot is installed within the prescribed time, the process before the inner rice-cooking pot is raised is restarted, but unless the inner rice-cooking pot is installed within the prescribed time, the warming control is stopped. CONSTITUTION:After rice cooking is started, whether an inner rice-cooking pot 3 is installed or not is decided in the warming process after the rice cooking and the steaming processes, and when it is raised and not loaded, the control is stopped, and whether it is raised in the warming process or not is decided by a warming process deciding means. Unless it is in the warming process, furthermore, whether the inner rice-cooking pot is installed in the rice cooker or not is decided, and when it is loaded, the control is restarted. Also, when the raising time point of the inner rice-cooking pot 3 is in the warming process, a timer is operated. When the inner rice-cooking pot 3 is installed immediately, the control is restarted. When time elapses in a state that the inner rice-cooking pot 3 remains raised, and the time when the inner rice-cooking pot 3 is not installed yet exceeds 30 seconds, the warming control is stopped. In the case rice and water are put newly into the inner rice-cooking pot and rice cooking is executed, since the rice cooker is returned already to a state before the start, half-cooking, etc., do not occur.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an improvement in a rice cooking method using a rice cooker.

[Prior Art] Rice cookers that heat and cook rice using electricity are now popular throughout the country and have become essential appliances in the kitchens of every household. Therefore, the enthusiasm of each manufacturer for developing this technology is amazing, and progress is literally being made every day. The main aim of development is how to cook rice into delicious rice, and to this end, constant development efforts are being made in every detail.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rice cooker, where 1 is the outer case and 2 is the outer case.
is a lid, 3 is an inner pot, 4 is a bottom heater, 5 is a lid heater, 6 is a body heater, 7 is a heat sink, 8 is a middle lid, 9 is rice, and 10 is water.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the heating curve for rice cooking.When cooking rice, first put a predetermined amount of rice and water in the inner pot 3, and turn on the switch at the 0 point, the bottom heater 4 turns on. Heat the inner pot 3 from the bottom. Inner pot 3 depending on heating
The temperature of the rice and water inside rises and when it reaches point P, it begins to boil. During boiling, the temperature of the cooked rice maintains the boiling point of 100°C, but as the cooking progresses and no more water evaporates at point Q,
The temperature of the rice rises rapidly as shown in the figure. The thermistor placed in contact with the bottom of the inner pot detects this rising temperature at the R point of 130°C, and the heating amount control circuit is activated to reduce the output of the bottom heater 4 to almost zero, and the unevenness process begins. . When the temperature drops during the unevenness process, the bottom heater is turned on again at point 8. When the predetermined time tl has passed during the unevenness process,
The body heater 6 and lid heater 5 are turned on to enter the heat retention process, and the heat retention process continues thereafter.

Note that all the operations of the rice cooker in the rice cooker process described above are automatically performed by a control program stored in the control device of the rice cooker. Therefore, the user simply puts a predetermined amount of rice and water into the inner pot and presses the switch on the rice cooker, and after a predetermined period of time, the rice is kept warm.

Further, during rice cooking, a predetermined position on the bottom of the inner pot contacts a predetermined contact point of the rice cooker, and the presence or absence of this contact is used for control and safety.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, when the inner pot of the rice cooker that is in the process of keeping warm while cooking rice is lifted by the rice cooker, that is, when the contact between the inner pot and the contact point disappears, as soon as the rice cooker stops keeping warm. Control of the process ceases, but the memory of being kept warm remains. Therefore, when the lifted inner pot is attached to the rice cooker and the contact is restored,
The heater and other parts of the rice cooker return to their warm state.

Note that FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control program for the conventional rice cooker. Start cooking rice (step 1)
After that, when the rice cooking process starts and the warming process starts, if you lift the inner pot 3 (step 2), the control will stop immediately (
However, the memory of being kept warm remains (step 4). Once the rear lock is attached (step 5)
), control is resumed but it remains warm (
Step 7). The memory of the thermal insulation state continues unless the lifted inner jacket is put on (Step 6).

A conventional rice cooker control program is configured as described above. Therefore, in a rice cooker that is in the process of keeping warm, there is no problem if the lifted inner pot is returned to the keeping warm state, but for example, if the inner pot that is in the keeping warm state is removed from the rice cooker,
If you add new rice and water to the rice cooker after processing the rice inside and try to cook rice, press the cancel button to cancel the memory of the warm state and do not press the rice cooking start button again. However, if you just put the inner pot back into the rice cooker, the rice cooker will return to its memorized warming process when you put it back, so the rice in the inner pot will be raw. As these cases have been repeated from time to time by careless users,
Countermeasures have been requested for some time.

The present invention was made to solve the above problems, and
To provide a rice cooker in which a control program in a warming process of rice cooking is configured to stop the control and return to the state before the start when a predetermined period of time has elapsed after lifting the inner pot.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the rice cooker according to the present invention includes a heat retention process determining means, and a control program for the heat retention process is configured as follows.

That is, when the determination means determines that the time at which the inner pot is lifted is not within the warming process, the control is resumed as soon as the inner pot is attached to the rice cooker.

If it is determined that the time when the inner pot is lifted is within the warming process, a timer is activated when the inner pot is lifted, and if the inner pot is attached within a predetermined time, the inner pot is lifted. The previous process is restarted, but if the inner pot is not attached within a predetermined time, the heat retention control is stopped.

Effect C: Since the rice cooking control program of the rice cooker is configured as described above, if you lift the inner pot during the warming process, the control program will disappear after a predetermined period of time and return to the state before the start, so the rice cooking will continue to warm. There is no such thing as cooking rice under such conditions, and the phenomenon of raw rice being cooked has also disappeared.

[Embodiments of the invention] The rice cooker according to the present invention is equipped with a heat retention process determining means.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a control program that is an embodiment of the present invention. After starting rice cooking (step 10), in the heating process after rice cooking and uneven cooking, it is determined whether or not the inner pot is attached (step 11), and if it is lifted and not attached, the control is stopped (step 12).
The heat retention process determining means determines whether the lifting occurred during the heat retention process (step 13).

If the time of lifting the inner pot is not within the warming process, it is further determined whether or not the inner pot is attached to the rice cooker (Step 18), and if it is attached, the control is resumed (Step 1).
). If the time when the inner pot is lifted is within the warming process, the timer is activated (step 14), but if the inner pot is attached immediately, the timer is activated (step 15), and if the inner pot is attached immediately, the control is resumed (step 1). ). However, time passed while the inner pot was lifted, and 30 minutes passed without the inner pot being attached.
When the seconds pass (step 16), the heat retention control is stopped (
Step 17).

In the control program according to the present invention, if the inner pot is lifted during the heat retention process and 30 seconds elapse without the inner pot being attached, the heat retention control is stopped and the state returns to the state before the start.

Therefore, if it takes a long time, such as when you take the inner pot out of the rice cooker during the warming process and process the cooked rice, then add new rice and water to the inner pot and start cooking, the rice cooker will return to the state before starting. Therefore, there is no need to worry about cooking rice while keeping it warm and cooking it raw.

Note that although the elapsed time is 30 seconds in this embodiment, it is not limited to this number.

[Effects of the Invention] In the present invention, the control program for the heat retention process of the rice cooker is configured as described above, so that when 30 seconds elapse after lifting the inner pot during the heat retention process, the heat retention control is stopped and the state returns to the state before the start. Therefore, the phenomenon of cooking rice while keeping it warm does not occur, and therefore, cooking the rice raw can be completely prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a control program in a warming process of rice cooking according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a rice cooker, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a conventional control program. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Rice and water are stored in an inner pot, and the rice and water in the inner pot are heated by a heater provided at the bottom of the inner pot and in the lid to cook, steam, and keep the rice warm. A rice cooker that cooks rice through a process and is equipped with a timer and a determination means for determining whether or not the inner pot is in contact with a predetermined contact in the rice cooker. The control program in the process determines whether or not the time point when the inner pot leaves a predetermined contact point of the rice cooker is within the heat retention process using the heat retention process determination means, and if the above-mentioned time point is not within the heat retention process, It is determined whether or not the contact of the rice cooker in the inner pot is in contact with the contact point, and if it is in contact, the control is resumed. If the above point is within the warming process, the timer is activated and the inner pot is in contact. If there is contact, the control is restarted, and if the inner pot does not come into contact with the above contact and a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the timer is activated, the heat retention control is stopped. A rice cooker characterized by: