JPH04193117A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform deodorization with ozone as necessary by providing a rice cooking control means controlling the inputs of heating means heating a container for rice cooking or heat insulation, an ozone generating means and an ozone generation control means controlling it. CONSTITUTION:A rice cooking control means 51 controlling the inputs to heaters 23, 24 serving as heating means heating a container for rice cooking or heat insulation, an ozone generating means 21, mode selecting means 45, 46 selecting the automatic mode automatically generating ozone or the manual mode generating ozone via a manual action, and an ozone generation control means 52 controlling the ozone generating means 21 in the mode selected by the mode selecting means 45, 46 are provided. The ozone generation control means 52 controls the ozone generating means 21 for a deodorizing action in the automatic mode or the manual mode according to the selected mode.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a rice cooker equipped with a deodorizing function.

(Prior art) In general, a rice cooker uses a rice cooker to heat the rice and water stored in a container to cook the rice, and then heats the cooked rice using a heat-retaining heater to keep it at a predetermined temperature. It is configured to cook rice in multiple menus, such as white rice, cooked rice, brown rice, and rice porridge, under the control of a microcomputer.

By the way, it is known that when rice is kept warm for a long time, fatty acids such as linoleic acid and oleic acid in the rice oxidize and produce a bad odor, and this odor reduces the taste of the rice kept warm. When cooking rice using seasonings, the odor from the seasonings permeates into the main body and creates an odor, and this odor tends to reduce the taste of the rice that is subsequently cooked. A rice cooker equipped with a deodorizing device using activated carbon has been proposed in order to prevent deterioration in taste due to unpleasant odors.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The above-mentioned conventional technology has a problem in that it is inconvenient to use because it is necessary to periodically replace the deodorizing device.

Therefore, it may be possible to omit periodic replacement of the deodorizing device by equipping the rice cooker with a deodorizing device that generates ozone.

By the way, ozone (03) is a faint blue gas with a garlic-like odor, and when dry oxygen or air is passed through a silent discharge by applying a high voltage, part of the oxygen changes to ozone. It has been recognized to have sterilizing, whitening, and deodorizing effects through chemical decomposition, such as deodorizing by decomposing trimethylamine, etc. It is used for sterilizing and bleaching foods and drinks as it is harmless to food and drink, and is used to deodorize inside refrigerators. It is also used for purposes. However, concentrated ozone poses a risk to the respiratory system, and at 0.001 to 0.02 pp-, it gives off a slight odor, and at 0.001 to 0.02 pp-, a slight odor is felt. I feel irritation in my nose and throat due to lppm.
Exposure to 3 to 6 RIil at 0.2 to 0.5 ppm reduces vision, and irritation to the respiratory tract occurs at 0.5 ppm. Furthermore, exposure to 1 to 2 pp■ for 2 hours causes headache and chest pain;
~10ppm causes increased pulse rate and anesthesia symptoms, and 50ppm
Then, just one hour of dew can be life-threatening. For this reason, in Japan, the ozone concentration in the usage environment is regulated to 0.7 pps or less. On the other hand, ozone has a half-life, and ozone gas alone can last approximately 12 hours in dry ice or 48 hours in water.
The ozone concentration will be halved after 30 minutes, and in a state where chemical reactions are occurring with other gases, the ozone concentration will be halved in about 30 minutes.

Ozone with such characteristics has not been used to deodorize rice cookers. This is because when using ozone to deodorize a rice cooker, it may be better not to use ozone to deodorize depending on the rice cooking menu, and you may also want to change the time period or amount of ozone generation depending on your preference. For rice-cooked menus where the aroma of seasonings and ingredients is important, ozone eliminates those aromas, so it is preferable not to deodorize with ozone.
In addition, people who dislike the odor of ozone are better off not deodorizing, so it is possible to deodorize with ozone as needed, and there is no function that allows you to select automatic or manual deodorization. In such cases, an ozone deodorizing device cannot be effectively used as a rice cooker.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that can perform deodorization using ozone as needed, and can also select between automatic and manual deodorization.

[Structure of the Invention] (l! Means for Solving the Problem) The rice cooker of the present invention is a rice cooker that controls the input of the heaters 23 and 24, which are heating means for heating the container 4, to cook rice or keep it warm. means 51, ozone generation means 21, mode selection means 45, 46 for selecting an auto mode in which ozone is automatically generated or a manual mode in which ozone is generated by manual operation, and this mode selection means 45.
．． 46 in the mode selected by the ozone generating means 2.
1, and an ozone generating means 52 for controlling the ozone generation 1lIjI11.

(Function) With the above configuration, ozone is generated when the user operates the mode selection means 45, 46 as necessary.
I! The J means 52 controls the ozone generating means 21 in automatic mode or manual mode according to the selected mode to execute a deodorizing operation.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, an outer case 1 and an inner case 2 constitute a container body 3, and a container 4 is removably housed in the inner case 2. A heating space 5 is formed between the inner case 2 and the container 4, which communicates the bottom and the peripheral side thereof.
A peripheral flange 6 is formed outward at the opening periphery so as to partition the heating space 5 .

An outer M7 is pivotally mounted on the container body 3 to open and close the upper opening, and an inner lid 9 is provided inside the outer lid 7 to close the upper opening of the container 4 via a packing 8. The outer cover 7 and the inner cover 9 constitute a cover body 10. The lid body 10 has an air passage 1 that communicates with an air supply port 12 that introduces outside air through a filter 11 and an ozone supply port 13 that supplies ozone gas toward the top opening of the container 4.
4 is formed, and in this air passage 14, a ceramic discharge body 15 and a fan 16 for generating ozone are arranged. As shown in FIG. 4, the ceramic discharge body 15 is constructed by forming a discharge electrode 18 made of titanium oxide (Ti 02 ) or the like on the surface of a plate-shaped insulator 17 made of aluminum oxide (AQ 203) or the like by plasma spraying or the like. Dielectric electrode 18△ made of copper (Cl) etc. on the back surface
, the discharge electrode 18 is (+), and the dielectric electrode F8 is
By applying a high voltage of about 1.5 KV and about 1KH2 between the picture electrodes 78 and 18A with A as (=), a creeping discharge is caused on the surface of the insulator 17 as shown in FIG. 5, thereby generating ozone gas. It is something that generates. Further, the ozone supply port 13 is provided with a valve 20 that is opened and closed by a solenoid 19, and the discharge body 15, the fan 16, and the valve 20 constitute an ozone generation means 21. Further, the lid body 10 is provided with a steam port 22. A rice cooking heater 23 as a heating means is provided at the inner bottom of the inner case 2 and is located within the heating space 5.
A heat-retaining heater 24 serving as a heating means is provided on the upper surface. Further, a cup-shaped heat sensitive part 25 is provided at the bottom of the inner case 2 so as to be in elastic pressure contact with the outer bottom of the container 4, and a temperature sensor 25A is provided inside this heat sensitive part 25. Furthermore, a power supply unit 27 is provided inside the container body 3 via a heat insulating material 26, and an Ill till unit 28 is provided within the lid body 10 via a heat insulating material 26.
is provided.

Further, the container body 3 is provided with a lid open detection means 29 consisting of a limit switch that detects the opening of [10].

FIG. 3 shows an operation panel 30 provided on the container body 3 or the lid 10, which includes an operation section 31 and a display section 32. The display section 32 is a current time display section 3 consisting of an LCD.
3, a cooking completion time display section 34, a menu display section 35 consisting of white rice, cooked rice, brown rice, and porridge, and mode display sections 36 to 40 consisting of LEDs, 36 for a timer, 37 is for rice cooking, 38 is for keeping warm, 39 is for clean indicating that manual mode processing is in progress, 4 is for cleaning
0 is for clean auto indicating that auto mode processing is in progress. The operation unit 31 includes an off switch 41, a rice cooking switch 42,
Timer cooking switch 43, menu switch 44, clean switch 45 as a mode selection means for starting ozone generation, clean auto switch 46 as mode selection means for setting ozone generation to automatic, clock switch 47 for setting the time, timer advance switch 48 and a timer return switch 49. Each time the menu switch 44 is pressed, the selected menu display section 3 is displayed.
5 is surrounded by a frame 50.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the rice cooker.
This has a microcomputer 53 equipped with a rice cooking Ilj control means 51 and an ozone generation control means 52 shown in FIG. 1, and this microcomputer 53 includes a CPU 54. Timer circuit 55. Memory 56. It has an input circuit 51, an output circuit 58, etc., and
The memory 56 stores multiple types of rice cooking programs, multiple types of ozone generation programs, and the like. and,
The rice cooking control means 51 includes a temperature sensor 25A and an A/D converter 5.
Based on the temperature detection signal from the temperature detection means 60 consisting of
In addition to executing a series of rice cooking operations and warming, the display section 32 is controlled via the display drive circuit 62.

The ozone generation control means 52 detects a failure of the fan 16 based on a mode selection signal from the clean switch 45 and the clean auto switch 46, which are mode selection means, a lid open detection signal from the lid open detection means 29, and a change in motor lock current. Based on the failure detection signal from the fan failure detection means 63, the discharge body 15 is controlled via the discharge body drive circuit 64, the fan 16 is controlled via the fan drive circuit 65, and the valve is further controlled via the valve drive circuit 66. 20 , a buzzer 68 via a buzzer drive circuit 67 , and a display section 32 via a display drive circuit 62 .

Next, the operation of the above structure will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11.

First, the microcomputer 53 performs the mode setting process shown in FIG. 7 based on mode selection signals from the clean switch 45 and clean auto switch 46, which are mode selection means. In step 1), it is determined whether the clean auto switch 46 is ON or not. If it is ON, it is determined in Step 2 whether the clean switch 45 is ON.

Then, in step 2, the clean switch 45 is turned OFF.
If it is determined to be F, the process proceeds to step 3, where it is determined whether or not to start keeping warm, and at the time of starting keeping warm, the deodorizing mode is set in step 4. On the other hand, when it is determined in step 2 that the clean switch 45 is ON, the process moves to step 5 and the auto mode is set. Also, when it is determined that the clean auto switch 46 is OFF in step 1, the process moves to step 6, where it is determined whether the clean switch 45 is on, and when it is ON, the process moves to step 7, and the manual mode is switched on. is set, and when it is OFF, the process moves to step 8 and is set so that deodorization is not performed.

In this way, deodorization is performed by operating the clean switch 45 and clean auto switch 46, which are selection means, as necessary, and auto mode, manual mode, or deodorization mode is set depending on the switch operation, and the microcontroller Reference numeral 53 controls the ozone generating means 21 according to the set mode, and the control of each mode will be explained below.

As shown in Figure 8, in the auto mode, it is first determined whether or not the rice is being kept warm (step 1), and when the rice is being kept warm after cooking is completed or by only keeping warm, the process moves to step 2 and ozone generation is turned on. control. This ozone generation ON control is performed via the discharge body drive circuit 64 at the electrodes 18 of the discharge body 15. A predetermined high voltage is applied between T8A to generate ozone, and the fan 16 is operated via the fan drive circuit 65, and the valve 20 is operated via the valve drive circuit 66.
to open. As a result, the ozone generated in the air release unit 15 is gasified by the outside air introduced into the air passage 14 by the fan 16 as shown by the arrow in FIG. ,
Odor molecules generated from the rice 69 in the air inside the container 4 cause a chemical reaction in this ozone gas that oxidizes and decomposes the odor molecules, and the gas resulting from this chemical reaction is released from the steam port 22 and deodorized. be done. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 1 that the heat is not being kept warm, the process proceeds to step 3 where ozone generation remains OFF, and the process proceeds to step 4 where the buzzer 68 is immediately sounded via the buzzer drive circuit 67. Notify the user that ozone will not be generated. When ozone generation is turned ON in step 2, it is determined in step 5 whether 5 minutes have passed since the start of ozone generation, and if 5 minutes have passed, ozone generation is turned OFF in step 6. Take control.

This ozone generation OFF control cuts off the power to the discharge body 15, stops the fan 16, and closes the valve 20. This closing operation of the valve 20 causes steam to flow into the air passage 14.
prevent intrusion into After that, the process moves to step 7, where it is determined whether 30 minutes have passed since ozone generation was turned off, and if 30 minutes have passed, it is determined whether or not the clean switch 45 is turned off, at step 8, and the ozone generation is turned off.
, FF, it is determined in step 9 whether 12 hours have elapsed since the start of heat retention, and if 12 hours have not elapsed, the process moves to step 2. In this way, you can protect yourself!
Ozone generation is turned on for 5 minutes until 12 hours have passed since the start.
The ozone generation OFF control is repeated for 30 minutes, and when it is determined in step 9 that 12 hours have elapsed, in step 10 the ozone generation is turned OFF and the auto mode is completed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the clean switch 45 is OFF during this time, the routine proceeds to step 8 according to rYEsJ, and the auto mode is immediately completed in step 10.

In the manual mode, as shown in FIG. 9, it is determined in steps 1 to 4 whether the process is off, keeping warm, cooking, or timer operation. Then, when it is determined that the power is off in step 1, ozone generation is turned on in step 5.
At the same time, in step 6, it is determined whether 15 minutes have passed since the start of ozone generation, and when 15 minutes have passed, in step 7, ozone generation is controlled to be OFF, and the manual mode is completed. let Also step 2
If it is determined that the temperature is being kept warm at step 8, ozone generation is controlled to ON at step 8, and at step 9 it is determined whether 10 minutes have elapsed, and when 10 minutes have elapsed, step 7 is performed. Transition to complete manual mode.

On the other hand, if it is determined that rice is being cooked in step 3, or if it is determined that the timer is operating in step 4, the process moves to step 10, where ozone generation is turned off, and the buzzer 68 is sounded in step 11. This notifies the user that ozone will not be generated.

In the deodorizing mode, as shown in FIG. 10, in step 1 it is determined whether two hours have passed since the start of heat retention, and if it has passed, ozone generation is controlled to be turned on in the sutube 2.
After this, in step 3 it is determined whether 10 minutes have elapsed or not, and if it is determined that 10 minutes have elapsed, in step 4 ozone generation is zero. After that, in step 5 it is determined whether one hour has elapsed, and if it has elapsed, the clean auto switch 46 is turned off in step 6.
Determine whether it is F or not, and if it is OFF, step 7
It is determined whether 12 hours have elapsed since the start of heat retention, and if not, the process moves to step 2. In this way, until it is determined in step 7 that 12 hours have passed since the start of heat retention, control of ozone generation ON for 10 minutes and ozone generation OFF for 1 hour is repeated, and 12 hours have passed since the start of heat retention.
After the elapse of time, in step 8, ozone generation is turned off to complete the deodorizing mode. During this time, if it is determined in step 6 that the clean auto switch 46 is OFF, the deodorizing mode is immediately completed in step 8 according to the YESJ routine in step 6.

The microcomputer 53 further performs the ozone generation interruption process shown in FIG. This is because when ozone generation is turned ON in step 1, in step 2 it is determined whether or not the fan has stopped due to a failure based on the signal from the fan failure detection means 63, and in step 3, the lid open detection means Based on the signal from 29, it is determined whether the lid body 10 is opened or not. If the door 16 is in the operating state and the lid body 10 is in the closed state, the process moves to step 1 to control the ozone generation ON. If it is determined in step 2 that the fan has stopped, or if it is determined that the lid is open in step 3, the process moves to step 4 and the ozone generation O
FF is controlled, and in this way, during the ozone generation ON control in each mode, it continues to judge whether or not to stop the fan in step 2 and whether or not to open the lid in step 3.
Ozone generation is immediately turned off when the fan stops or the lid is opened.
This control prevents ozone gas from being released directly toward the human body when the lid body 10 is opened, and prevents ozone gas from being released from the air supply port 12 due to failure of the fan 16, posing a danger to the human body. prevent.

As described above, in this embodiment, the clean switch 45 or the clean auto switch 46 which is the mode selection means is used.
The deodorizing operation by ozone generation can be performed only when the button is operated, and the manual mode can be set by pressing the clean switch 45, and the alt mode can be set by pressing the clean auto switch 46 and the clean switch 45. Therefore, it is possible to select a mode by operating a switch, which improves the usability of the deodorizing function.

For example, in normal rice cooking, clean auto switch 4
6 and the clean switch 45 to set the auto mode, when heating is started after rice cooking is completed, ozone deodorizing operation is automatically performed, and the bad odor caused by keeping the rice 69 warm is eliminated. In addition, in a rice cooking menu where the aroma of seasonings and ingredients is important, such as when cooking is selected by operating the menu switch 44, deodorization may not be performed without operating the clean switch 45 and clean auto switch 46. In such a case, by pressing the clean switch 45 while the rice is turned off after cooking and keeping it warm, the deodorizing operation in manual mode can be executed to eliminate the odor that has permeated the main body 3 of the rice cooker.

Furthermore, if the user dislikes the ozone odor, the user can not perform deodorization, and when necessary, by pressing the clean switch 45, deodorization can be performed according to the user's preference. In this case, as an effect of the embodiment, the deodorizing mode can be set by pressing only the clean auto switch 46, and since the ozone generation ON and OFF times are different depending on the auto mode, manual mode, and deodorizing mode, you can set it according to your preference. You can select and use the FR interval and amount. In addition, in each mode, ozone is not generated during rice cooking and when the timer is operating, so the discharge body 15 does not deteriorate due to steam or heat, and the ozone concentration does not decrease, eliminating unnecessary ozone generation. It can also be prevented from occurring. Furthermore, as an effect of the embodiment, since outside air is introduced and ozonized gas is supplied into the container 4, the container 4
The odor inside and inside the rice cooker is reduced to clean air, and since outside air is supplied, it becomes dry ozone gas.
And since the ozone gas is at a lower temperature than the inside of the container body 3, it becomes steam.

A stable ozone concentration can be ensured without causing a decrease in the amount of ozone generated due to heat.

FIG. 12 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and explanations of the same parts are omitted. In this embodiment, the air supply port 12 in FIG. , the filter 11 is omitted, and instead of it, air supply ports 12A and 12B are formed at the bottom of the outer case 1 and the inner case 2, respectively, and the side of the inner case 2 and the air passage 14 are connected by a communication pipe 70. As a result, in the first embodiment, outside air is introduced into the air passage 14 through the filter 11, whereas in this embodiment, the heated air in the heating space 5 is introduced into the communication pipe 10. The ozone gas is introduced into the air passage 14 through the ozone supply port 13 into the container 4, thereby making it possible to raise the temperature of the air blown for supplying ozone gas from the ozone supply port 13 into the container 4, thereby suppressing an increase in the energization rate of the heat-retaining heater 24. .

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, the ozone generation means can be applied to various types, and the mode selection means is provided with a deodorization switch and a mode switch, and pressing the deodorization switch sets the execution of deodorization, and each time the mode selection switch is pressed, the mode is set to auto mode. , manual mode, etc. can be set in sequence. Further, the heating means is not limited to the heater, and other heating means may be selected as appropriate. Further, in FIG. 11, means for detecting valve failure may be provided so that ozone generation OFF control can be performed even in the event of valve failure. Further, by providing a deodorizing agent in the steam port, the gas which has undergone a chemical reaction with ozone gas can be released as clean air through the deodorizing agent.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention comprises a rice cooking control means for cooking or keeping rice warm by controlling the input of a heating means for heating a container, an ozone generation means, and an ozone generation means for automatically generating ozone in an auto mode or manual operation. By providing a mode selection means for selecting a manual mode for generating ozone, and an ozone generation control means for controlling the previous two ozone generation means in the mode selected by this mode selection means, deodorization by ozone can be performed as necessary. It is possible to provide a rice cooker in which deodorization can be performed automatically and in which automatic and manual deodorization can be selected.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 11 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a block diagram, Figure 2 is a sectional view of the rice cooker, Figure 3 is a front view of the operation panel, Figure 4 is a front view of the discharge body, Figure 5 is a plan view showing the discharge state of the discharge body, Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the rice cooker, Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of mode setting processing, Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of auto mode processing, and Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of manual mode processing. 10 is a flow chart showing the flow of deodorizing mode processing, FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the flow of ozone generation interruption processing, and FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the main parts of a rice cooker showing the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4... Container 21... Ozone generation means 23... Rice cooking heater (heating means) 24... Heat retention heater (heating means) 45... Clean switch (mode selection means) 46... Clean auto switch (Mode selection means) 51...Rice cooking control means 52...Ozone generation control means Patent Applicant: Toshiba Heat Appliances Co., Ltd. Agent
Person Patent Attorney Ushiki Godo Patent Attorney Usui 1) Long Section 4 Part 12 Figure 118fgJ

Claims (1)

[Claims] Select the rice cooking control means that controls the input of the heating means that heats the container to cook rice or keep it warm, the ozone generation means, and the auto mode that automatically generates ozone or the manual mode that generates ozone by manual operation. A rice cooker comprising: a mode selection means; and an ozone generation control means for controlling the ozone generation means in the mode selected by the mode selection means.