JPH04132521A - Electric rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To raise the heating temperature of a heating part without replacing art existing heating element by a method wherein air is supplied to the heating element from an air supply device at the same time or immediately after tire heating element is energized so that oxygen contained in air helps the heating element to radiate heat. CONSTITUTION:A heating unit 5 consists of a heating element 6 which directly heats a pot bottom 3a of an inner pot 3, a reflection plate 7 and an sir supply device 8. The heating element 5 is a pipe heater 6a formed into a plane spiral pattern, as shown on the drawing, or into a plane zigzag pattern. The air supply device 8 has an air supply pipe 8a communicating with the side of the heating element 5 and the air supply pipe 8a is connected to an air source 8b mounted on the bottom of an external frame 1. Air (oxygen) is supplied to the heating element 6 in order to assist the heating element 6 to radiate heat. With an increase in heat radiation from the heating element 6, the heating temperature of the pot bottom 3a can be considerably increased by the direct radiation heat from the heating element 6 and the reflection heat by the reflection plate 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application 1] The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker, and more particularly to its heating portion.

[Conventional technology] Conventionally, rice cookers are both gas-type and electric-type. A graph showing changes in rice cooking time and pot bottom heating temperature in a rice cooker and an electric rice cooker is shown.

From the table above and the graph in Figure 4, it can be easily understood that gas rice cookers have a higher heating temperature than electric rice cookers, and therefore have a shorter rice cooking time (and better rice cooking efficiency).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, gas rice cookers have safety problems such as gas leakage. Further, since piping work for gas pipes and the like is essential, there is a problem that the work is not only troublesome but also increases equipment costs.

On the other hand, electric rice cookers are widely used in homes and small restaurants because they are highly safe and do not require special electrical work, but the heating temperature is lower than that of gas rice cookers. Because of the low cooking time, there is a problem that the rice cooking time is long and the efficiency is low.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional electric rice cooker, and by making it possible to increase the heating temperature of the heating part without replacing the existing heating element, the rice cooking time can be reduced. The aim is to provide an efficient electric rice cooker.

[Means for Solving the Issues] In order to achieve the above object, the electric rice cooker of the present invention includes an inner pot for cooking rice, a heating element that heats the bottom of the inner pot by direct fire, It is characterized by comprising a reflecting plate that emits the heat of the heating body as reflected heat to the bottom of the pot, and an air supply mechanism to the heating body.

[Function] The heating element is heated by being energized and radiates a predetermined amount of heat to its entire circumference.

The heat radiated toward the bottom of the pot acts as an open flame and directly heats the bottom of the pot, and the heat radiated toward the reflector is reflected by the reflective surface and emits reflected heat to the bottom of the pot. Heat the bottom.

When air is supplied from the air supply mechanism to the heating element at the same time as or before or after energizing the heating element, oxygen in the air assists in heating the heating element, resulting in an amount of heat greater than the predetermined amount of heat of the heating element. This means that the heating power of the heating section will increase.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of the rice cooker of the first example of implementation, and
The figure shows an example of a heating body and an air supply mechanism in the pot bottom heating section in a plan view.

As shown in FIG. 1, an outer pot 2 is installed in an outer frame l that constitutes the outer shell of the rice cooker, and an inner pot 3 for cooking rice is installed in the outer pot 2.
is removably inserted into the interior, and one side of an outer cover 4 is disposed on the negative side of the opening edge of the outer frame 1 so that it can be rotated to open and close via a hinge (not shown), and can be detached and detached.

The outer lid 4 includes a handle 4a for opening, closing and moving, an inner i4b for opening and closing the opening of the inner pot 3, a hook for holding the lid closed, a steam cap, etc. (not shown).

The outer pot 2 is provided with a heating section 5 at its bottom.

The heating section 5 includes a heating body 6 that directly heats the pot bottom 3a of the inner pot 3, a reflector 7, and an air supply mechanism 8.

The heating body 6 is a vibrator heater 6a shown in the figure, for example.
As shown in the figure, they are formed by arranging them spirally or meanderingly on a plane.

This heating element 6 is connected to a cord 9 connected to a power source (not shown).
and are electrically connected via a switch (not shown) and each key provided on the operation panel 10 of the outer frame 1, and the power is turned on and off by operating the switch.

The reflecting plate 7 is formed into a flat plate shape, and is disposed horizontally at the bottom of the outer pot 2 and below the heating body 6,
The heat radiated downward from the heating body 6 is reflected upward by the reflecting surface 7a, and the inner pot 3 is heated as shown by the arrow a in FIG.
It is designed to emit reflected heat to the bottom 3a of the pot.

This flat reflecting plate 7 can be disposed by locking its peripheral edge 7b to the opening edge 2a of the outer pot 2, and fixing the locking portion with screws or the like (not shown).

Further, the heating body 6 is fixedly integrated with the reflecting plate 7 by a connecting member (not shown) at a required distance from the reflecting surface 7a in the vertical direction.

The air supply mechanism 8 is provided to supply air (oxygen) to the heating element 6 to assist in heating the heating element 6.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the air supply mechanism 8 has an air supply pipe 8a connected to one side of the heating section 5.
The air supply pipe 8a can be connected to an air supply source 8b disposed at the bottom of the outer frame 1.

Further, as shown in the second section, an annular air supply pipe 8a having a plurality of air injection holes 8C facing inward at required intervals is arranged along the inside of the heating section 5. established,
The air supply pipe 8a and the air supply source 8b are connected to a connecting pipe 8.
d so that air is supplied to the heating element 6 from the outer periphery.

Here, a blower such as a fan is used as the air supply source 8b.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of the rice cooker of the second embodiment.

The rice cooker of the first embodiment differs in the structure of the heating body 6 and the reflection plate 7, but is otherwise the same in all other respects.

That is, the heating body 6 of the second embodiment has the illustrated round bar-shaped heating wire 6b formed in the same shape as the first embodiment, and is appropriately selected depending on the application and the like.

In addition, the reflector plate 7 of the second embodiment has its lower portion recessed in an arc shape to match the shape of the heating element 6, and is provided with an arc groove 70 to improve heat reflection efficiency. The shape of the plate 7 is not limited to the above-mentioned shape; for example, the plate 7 may be curved into a wave shape.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured as described above, the oxygen in the supplied air assists the heating of the heating element, so the amount of heat radiated from the heating element is large. At the same time, the heating temperature at the bottom of the pot can be significantly raised by the direct fire caused by the radiant heat and the heat reflected by the reflector, which shortens the cooking time and makes it possible to make perfectly delicious rice. You can cook efficiently.

In addition, it is structurally simple and can be manufactured by simply adding a simple reflector and an air supply mechanism, and the heating element does not have a particularly large capacity, and can be provided at a low cost since it can be an existing one. I can do it.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a first embodiment of an electric rice cooker according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the other side of the heating body and air supply mechanism of the rice cooker, and FIG. FIG. 4, which is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the second embodiment, is a graph showing changes in rice cooking time and pot bottom heating temperature in a conventional gas rice cooker and an electric rice cooker. Main symbols in the figure 3, 6, ・Inner pot/heating body 3a, 7, ・Bottom, reflector plate 8, ・Air supply mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] It is equipped with an inner pot for cooking rice, a heating element that heats the bottom of the inner pot with direct flame, a reflector that emits the heat of the heating body as reflected heat to the bottom of the pot, and an air supply mechanism to the heating body. An electric rice cooker characterized by: