JPH04307010A - Heat-insulating rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent rice from smelling, by rapidly lowering the temperature of cooked rice up to the retaining temperature after completion of cooking to keep it from deteriorating and decoloring of the rice and further, periodically exhausting the odor kept in the rice bowl during retention of the temperature. CONSTITUTION:An exhaust air hole 10 and an inhale hole 11 opened to the outside air are provided at the upper face of a lid 2 and also a blowing out hole and a steam hole 12 are provided at the lower face of the lid 2. The exhaust air hole 10 is connected to the steam hole 12 and the inhale hole 11 is connected to the blowing hole 13 through a fan 16. The cooked rice is rapidly cooled up to the heat-retaining temperature after completion of cooking and excess steam is discharged. Moreover, the smell kept in the ricebowl generated from the rice during heat-insulating is discharged. And hence, deterioration, decolor, and smell came be suppressed as low as possible.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat-retaining rice cooker that automatically keeps rice warm after cooking.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional heat-retaining rice cookers employ a structure in which the heat-retaining heater and the lid heater are continuously energized during the steaming operation and after the steaming operation is completed. That is, during the steaming operation, the heat retaining heater is energized according to the temperature of the rice after steaming, and the lid heater is energized to prevent dew condensation on the underside of the lid.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] This solves the problem of rice becoming sticky due to condensation dripping from the underside of the lid, but even after steaming is complete, the heat retention heater and lid heater cause the rice to become more sticky than necessary. If the rice is heated to a temperature higher than the heating temperature for a long period of time, the quality and discoloration of the rice will be significant.
There was a problem in that the odor that had accumulated inside the rice cooker would adhere to the rice while it was being kept warm for a long time.

[0004] The present invention solves these conventional problems by rapidly lowering the rice to the temperature at which it is kept warm after the steaming operation is completed, thereby suppressing deterioration and discoloration of the rice, and also by preventing rice from being cooked while it is kept warm. It is designed to periodically discharge the odor accumulated in the pot to prevent the odor from adhering to the rice.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an exhaust hole and an intake hole that are open to the outside air on the top surface of the lid, a blowout hole and a steam hole on the bottom surface of the lid, and the exhaust hole is It is connected to a steam hole, and the intake hole is connected to a blowout hole through a fan.

[0006]

[Function] With this structure, the rice is quickly cooled down to the heat retention temperature after the steaming operation is completed, and excess steam is discharged. Furthermore, the odor components generated from the rice and accumulated in the pot while being kept warm are also discharged. Therefore, after steaming is completed, the rice is quickly cooled to the warming temperature, and excess water vapor and odors during warming are discharged, making it possible to suppress deterioration, discoloration, and odor adhesion of the rice as much as possible.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a lower part of the main body, and 2 is a lid part, and this lid part 2 is attached to the lower part 1 of the main body by means of a hinge 3 so as to be openable and closable. A rice cooking chamber 4 is provided in the lower part 1 of the main body, and a rice cooking heater 5 is installed as a heating means at the bottom of the rice cooking chamber 4 to heat a rice cooking pot 6. A rice cooking sensor 7 is installed in the center of the rice cooking heater 5 and is in contact with the bottom surface of the rice cooking pot 6. The rice cooking sensor 7 is made of a ferrite with a Curie point and a magnet, and when the rice is cooked, the ferrite loses its magnetism and serves to switch from rice cooking to steaming or warming. An inner lid 8 is attached to the lower surface of the lid part 2, and the inner lid 8 is normally placed on the upper end of the rice cooking pot 6. The inner lid 8 is provided with small holes 8a and 8b. A controller 9 is installed inside the lid. There are an exhaust hole 10 and an intake hole 1 on the top surface of the lid part 2.
1. A steam hole 12 and a blowout hole 13 are installed on the lower surface of the lid part 2. A tip 14 of the blowout hole 13 passes through the inner lid 8, and a valve 15 is attached to the tip 14, and the valve 15 is normally closed. The exhaust hole 10 is the steam hole 1
2, and the intake hole 11 is connected to the blowout hole 13 via a fan 16. A heat-retaining heater 17 is wound around the outer periphery of the rice cooking chamber 4. Reference numeral 18 denotes a lid heater, which is attached to the inner surface of the bottom plate of the lid portion 2. A hook 19 is attached to the lower end of the lid part 2, on the opposite side of the hinge 3, and is adapted to engage with a buckle 20 attached to the lower part 1 of the main body. A push button 21 releases the engagement between the hook 19 and the buckle 20.

Next, the operation will be explained. Add rice and water to the rice cooker 6 and press the rice cooking button to start cooking. When the rice is cooked, the temperature at the bottom of the rice cooking pot 6 rises and reaches the operating point of the rice cooking sensor 7. When the rice cooker sensor 7 operates, the rice cooker goes through a steaming operation and enters a warming state. During steaming, the heat retaining heater 17 and the lid heater 18 are sometimes energized. At the same time as the heat retention state is reached, the fan 16 operates and outside air is taken in from the intake hole 11.
The valve 15 is pushed open through the air outlet 13 to blow air into the rice cooking pot 6. As a result, the rice is quickly cooled down, and excess water vapor in the rice cooking pot 6 is discharged from the exhaust hole 10. When keeping the rice warm, the fan 16 operates periodically and the odor accumulated in the rice cooking pot 6 is discharged.

[0009] If rice is kept warm, it may change color, so-called yellowing, and have a strong warming odor. This factor is generally referred to as the aminocarbonyl reaction. The aminocarbonyl reaction is influenced by factors such as temperature, moisture, and pH, but the influence of temperature is particularly large. With conventional heat-retaining rice cookers, it takes more than two hours to reach the temperature (71±6°C) after cooking the rice. Then, yellowing occurred rapidly for 3 hours after the end of cooking. Therefore, according to the present invention, since the rice is quickly cooled after the rice is cooked, yellowing of the rice can be significantly suppressed compared to the conventional method. In addition, the odor accumulated in the rice cooking pot 6 during keeping warm is discharged by the regular operation of the fan 16, so that odor does not adhere to the rice during keeping warm for a long time as in the conventional case.

Although the fan 16 is installed inside the lid 2 in the embodiment of the present invention, it may be installed outside the lid. Moreover, although the exhaust air from the fan 16 is used, it goes without saying that the air in the rice cooker 6 may be exhausted using the intake air from the fan 16.

[0011]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention provides a steam hole and an intake hole on the upper surface of the lid, a lower steam hole and an air outlet hole on the lower surface of the lid,
The steam vent is connected to the lower steam vent, and the intake vent is connected to the blowout vent via a fan, so that after the rice is cooked, the rice is quickly cooled down to the keeping temperature, and excess water vapor and odors are removed during keeping warm. It is possible to realize a heat-retaining rice cooker that has excellent performance and can suppress deterioration, discoloration, and odor adhesion of rice as low as possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a heat-retaining rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Lower part of main body 2 Lid part 4. Cooking room 5　Rice cooking heater 6　Rice cooking pot 7 Rice cooking sensor 9 Controller 10 Exhaust hole 11 Intake hole 12 Steam vent 13 Blowout hole 16 Fan

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] Consisting of a lower part of the main body and a lid, the lower part of the main body includes a rice cooking chamber with a heating means installed at the bottom, a rice cooking pot, a rice cooking sensor in contact with the bottom of the rice cooking pot, and a control inside the lid. - Equipped with a fan, an exhaust hole and an intake hole that are open to the outside air on the top surface of the lid, and a blowout hole and a steam hole on the bottom surface of the lid, the exhaust hole is connected to the steam hole, and the intake hole is connected to the steam hole through the fan. A heat-retaining rice cooker connected to an air outlet.