JPH0443152Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

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

(Prior art) Generally, when cooking rice using a rice cooker, the user uses a rice cooking pot to wash the rice in a sink, then measures out a predetermined amount of water along with the polished rice and puts it in the pot. This pot is placed in a rice cooker to cook rice.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the user has to sharpen the rice himself, which is labor-intensive, and when the rice is sharpened, the outer surface, which is rich in nutrients, is scraped off and cannot be washed away. There was a problem where the In addition, in order to store the appropriate amount of water in the pot according to the amount of rice, the user must measure the amount of water themselves based on the water level line provided on the circumference of the pot, which is time-consuming. In addition, measuring in this way lacks accuracy and often results in the wrong amount of water being put into the pot, resulting in too little water being left in the cooked rice, or conversely, the amount of water being too low. There was a problem that there was too much of it, and the cooked rice turned into a porridge-like consistency. In addition, some models have an automatic measuring function that automatically measures the amount of rice and the appropriate amount of water corresponding to the amount of rice, but this has the disadvantage of requiring a complicated and expensive automatic measuring device. .

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that can automatically wash rice and does not require measuring the amount of water.

[Structure of the invention] (Means for solving the problems) The present invention includes a water supply means for supplying water into the pot 10 by the operation of the water supply valve 23, and a water supply means for supplying water into the pot 10 by the operation of the drain valve 15.
0, a heater 9, and a control means 42, the control means 42 opens the water supply valve 23 and the drain valve 15 to wash the rice, and then closes the water supply valve 15. 23 and drain valve 15
The rice is cooked in the closed state, and after the water temperature in the pot reaches a boiling state and a substantially fixed period of time has elapsed, the drain valve 15 is opened and the excess boiling water in the pot 10 is drained. It's a rice cooker.

(Function) In the present invention, water is supplied into the pot 10 by opening the water supply valve 23 and the drain valve 15 with unwashed rice 39 stored in the pot 10, and the rice 39 in the pot 10 is not watered. The washed-off dirt is discharged to the outside together with the water 40 by the drainage means, and the rice is washed.Then, the water supply valve 23 and the drain valve 15 are closed, and the rice is drained into the pot 10 as appropriate. When a certain amount of water 40 remains, the heater 9 is turned on to start cooking rice, and after the inside of the pot 10 has reached a boiling state and approximately a certain period of time has elapsed, the drain valve 15 is opened to drain the contents of the pot 10. The system is controlled so that excess boiling water is drained to finish cooking.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a rice cooker. In the figure, 1 is a main body, and this main body 1 includes a flat base 2 having a bottom portion 2a, and a substantially cylindrical outer frame 3 standing upright on the base 2. , an inner frame 4 having a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape disposed within the outer frame 3, a frame body 5 connecting the upper ends of the inner frame 4 and the outer frame 3, and a bottom portion 4a of the inner frame 4. The heat shielding body 7 is supported by a heating plate 6 through a heat shielding body 7 and is located between the inner frame 4 and the outer frame 3. A heat insulating material 8 is interposed between them. Said inner frame 4
The heating plate 6 is attached to the bottom 4a of the rice cooker so as to fit with the outer surface thereof, and a rice cooking motor 9 is embedded in the heating plate 6. Reference numeral 10 denotes a pot, and this pot 10 has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape whose diameter gradually decreases toward the bottom 10a, and a plurality of water holes 11 located on the same circumferential line are provided at the upper part of the circumferential side wall.
is formed, and a plurality of drainage holes 11a are formed in the lower part of the peripheral side wall. This pot 1
0 is placed on the bottom 4a of the inner frame 4, and when it is installed, a gap 12 of a predetermined width is formed between the circumferential side wall of the pot 10 and the circumferential side wall of the inner frame 4. It's summery. In this case, a drainage channel 13 communicating with the gap 12 is formed from the lower part of the peripheral wall of the inner frame 4 to the bottom wall, and a drainage hole 14 communicating with the drainage channel 13 is formed at the bottom of the inner frame 4. There is. This drain hole 14 has a drain solenoid valve 1.
5 is connected to one end of a drainage pipe 16, and a drainage hose 17 is connected to the other end of this drainage pipe 16. And overflow hole 11, drainage hole 11
a, the gap 12, the drainage channel 13, the drainage electromagnetic valve 15, and the drainage pipe 16 constitute a drainage means. Reference numeral 18 denotes a hollow lid body consisting of an outer plate 19 and an inner plate 20, and this lid body 18 is pivoted vertically via a hinge portion 21 so as to open and close the top opening of the main body 1. It is set up. 22 is a water supply pipe having a water supply electromagnetic valve 23 disposed inside the lid 18, and one end of this water supply pipe 22 protrudes outside the lid 18 to form a connecting portion 22a.
At the other end, a mounting tube portion 22b is formed which faces downward at a substantially right angle. Further, the distal end portion of the attachment tube portion 22b passes through the center of the inner plate 20 and projects downward. Further, one end of a water supply hose 24 is connected to the connecting portion 22a, and the other end of this water supply hose 24 is connected to a water faucet 25 serving as a water supply source. Further, the lid body 18 is provided with a steam venting portion 26 so as to communicate between the inside and outside. Reference numeral 27 denotes a holding member that also serves as a water supply port and is fitted and attached to the tip of the mounting pipe part 22b of the water supply pipe 22. This holding member 27 is formed into a cylindrical shape from heat-resistant rubber or the like, and the upper end is attached to the above-mentioned mounting pipe part. An engaging stepped portion 27a is formed to engage with an engaging protrusion 22c formed at the tip of 22b, and a tapered nozzle portion 27b whose diameter gradually decreases downward is formed at the lower end. The water supply pipe 22, the water supply electromagnetic valve 23, and the holding member 27 constitute a water supply means. 28 is a groove 27c formed on the outer peripheral surface of the pressing member 27.
This inner cover 2 is removably fitted into the inner cover 2.
8 is provided with a steam vent hole 28a, and when the lid body 18 is closed, the inner lid 28 is closed to the pot 10.
It is configured to elastically close the top opening of the. In this case, a flange 10a is formed upright on the periphery of the upper opening of the pot 10, and this flange 1
0a is pressed against a gasket 29 attached to the inner plate 20 to form a seal. Reference numeral 30 denotes a circuit board provided within the base 2, and an electronic component 31 constituting a control circuit consisting of a microcomputer is attached to this circuit board 30. 32 is a shielding wall integrally formed on the base 2 to partition the drain pipe 16 side and the circuit board 30 side; 33 is a heat-retaining heater attached to the upper outer periphery of the peripheral side wall of the inner frame 4; and 33a is the lid body 18. A heat-retaining heater 34 is provided on the upper surface of the inner plate 20 of the inner frame 4.
A temperature sensor such as a thermistor is provided on the outer surface of the central part of the bottom 4a, 35 is a handle attached to the lid 18, and 36 is pivotally mounted on the handle 35 to connect the lid 18.
A clamp member 37 is a power cord wire for holding the power cord in a closed state. Reference numeral 38 denotes a rice item to be boiled, which is made up of rice 39 and water 40.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration.
In the figure, 41 is an A/D converter which together with the temperature sensor 34 constitutes a temperature detection means, which detects the temperature of the pot 10 and outputs a temperature detection signal according to the detected temperature. Output. 42
is a control means consisting of a microcomputer, which, as is well known, includes a CPU 43, a timer circuit 44, a memory 45, an input circuit 46, and an output circuit 47.
etc. This control means 42 controls the heaters 9, 33, 3 according to the control program it owns.
3a, water supply solenoid valve 23 and drainage solenoid valve 15
The boiling state and the dry-up state are detected based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. 48
is a drive circuit which turns on and off the heaters 9, 33, 33a based on the heater on signal and heater off signal given from the control means 42, and also turns on and off the water supply solenoid valve 23 based on the valve open signal and valve close signal. and opens and closes the drainage solenoid valve 15.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, a predetermined amount of unwashed rice 39 is placed in the pot 10, and the pot 10 is set in the inner frame 4 of the main body 1, and then the top opening of the main body 1 is closed with the lid 18 and the lid is closed. The body 18 is held closed by a clamp member 36. As a result, the inner lid 28 closes the top opening of the pot 10, and the tip of the mounting tube 22b presses the presser member 27, whereby the presser member 27 elastically presses the inner lid 28. As a result, the peripheral edge of the inner lid 28 presses against the peripheral edge of the opening of the pot 10. Further, the flange 10a on the periphery of the opening of the pot 10 comes into pressure contact with the gasket 29 to seal the inside of the pot 10. Also, the water faucet 25 is opened.

When the start switch (not shown) is turned on, the control means 42 outputs a valve opening signal for the drainage solenoid valve 15 to open the drainage solenoid valve 15 via the drive circuit 48, and then the control means 42 outputs a valve opening signal for the water supply solenoid valve 32 to drive the drive circuit 4.
8, the water supply solenoid valve 23 is opened. As a result, water 40 from the faucet 25 is transferred to the water supply hose 2.
4 to the water supply pipe 22, and the water 4
0 is received by the presser member 27 through the attachment pipe portion 22b, and is supplied into the pot 10 from the nozzle portion 27b of the presser member 27. In this case, since the nozzle part 27b of the presser member 27 is formed in a tapered shape, the water from the nozzle part 27b becomes a jet stream with a high velocity and collides with the rice 39 housed in the pot 10, and the water The rice 40 flows convectionally from above to below and then from below to above, and as a result, the rice 39 is stirred and washed. The water level in the pot 10 gradually rises by such water supply into the pot 10, but when this water level reaches the overflow hole 11, the excess water overflows from the overflow hole 11 and flows down into the inner frame 4. The waste water is temporarily stored in the gap 12 and flows down to the drain pipe 16 through the drain hole 14, and is further discharged to the outside of the main body 1 via the drain hose 17. As a result, dirt adhering to the outer surface of the rice 39 is washed off and washed away with overflowing water. After such rice washing has been carried out for a predetermined time _T1 , for example, 5 minutes, the control means 42 first outputs a valve closing signal for the water supply solenoid valve 23 to close the water supply solenoid valve 23, and then the control means 42 outputs a valve closing signal for the water supply solenoid valve 23, and then the control means 42 outputs a valve closing signal for the water supply solenoid valve 23. outputting a valve close signal for the valve 15 to close the drainage solenoid valve 15;
This causes the rice washing operation to stop. In this case, water remains in the gap 12 between the inner frame 4 and the pot 10. Further, the timing of closing the water supply electromagnetic valve 23 and the drainage electromagnetic valve 15 when the rice washing operation is stopped is controlled so that an amount of water corresponding to approximately the maximum amount of rice to be cooked remains in the pot 10. Further, the water supply solenoid valve 23 and the drainage solenoid valve 15 may be closed when a water level sensor (not shown) detects that the water level has reached a predetermined amount.

Next, the control means 42 outputs a heater-on signal for the rice-cooking heater 9 to turn on the rice-cooking heater 9 via the drive circuit 48. When the rice-cooking heater 9 operates to generate heat, the heating plate 6 is heated and the bottom 4a of the inner frame 4 is heated, thereby heating the bottom 10b of the pot 10 that is in contact with the bottom 4a, and the rice 3 in the pot 10 is heated.
9 and water 40 are heated, the water 40 in the gap 12 is also heated, and rice cooking by indirect cooking is started. Thereafter, the water temperature in the pot 10 gradually rises, and when the water temperature in the pot 10 reaches a boiling state of 98° C. or higher, it is detected as a boiling state based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection means. On the other hand, after this boiling state, the water 40 in the pot 10 is actively absorbed into the rice 39, and the rice 39 is actively gelatinized. Next, the control means 42 outputs a valve opening signal for the drain electromagnetic valve 15 to open the drain electromagnetic valve 15 when a predetermined time T ₂ , for example, 5 minutes has passed since the boiling state was detected, and accordingly the pot Excess boiling water in the main body 10 is discharged to the outside of the main body 1 through the drain hole 11a, the drain channel 13, and the drain pipe 16.

After a while after the excess boiling water in the pot 10 is discharged, the temperature of the pot 10 rises rapidly, and a dry-up state is detected based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection means, and the rice cooking heater 9 is turned off. Then, the process moves to the warming process or the heating process. Note that the drainage solenoid valve 15 is closed after a predetermined period of time has passed after the transition to the warming stroke or the uneven stroke.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by controlling the opening/closing of the water supply solenoid valve 23 and the drainage solenoid valve 15 by the control means 42, when the start switch is turned on, the water faucet 25 is automatically opened. water 40 is jetted into the pot 10 from the nozzle part 27b via the water supply pipe 22 and the holding member 27, and the water flow washes off dirt on the outer surface of the rice 39 in the pot 10, and further removes dirt from the inside of the pot 10. The surplus water flows from the overflow hole 11 to the outside through the gap 12 and the drain pipe 16. However, due to improvements in rice polishing and storage techniques in recent years, it has become increasingly known that commercially available non-glutinous rice does not need to be thoroughly polished, just by rinsing off the dirt on its outer surface. According to the configuration in which the rice is washed by supplying water to the inside of the rice 39, the rice can be washed automatically with running water, and the rice washing does not require any effort from the user, and since the outer surface of the rice 39 is not scraped, nutrients are removed. can be secured.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, after washing the rice, the pot 1
It is controlled by the control means 42 to start cooking rice as it is in a state where water 40 corresponding to approximately the maximum amount of rice remains in the boiling state, and the time _T2 after the boiling state has elapsed, for example, 5 minutes. At this point, the draining electromagnetic valve 15 is opened to drain excess boiling water in the pot 10, so that the rice 39 absorbs an appropriate amount of moisture. Therefore, when rice cooking starts, the rice 3 in the pot 10 increases as the water temperature in the pot 10 rises.
9 starch gradually changes from β starch to α starch (hereinafter referred to as gelatinization), and when all of the starch is gelatinized, it becomes edible rice. And rice 39
The gelatinization starts when the water temperature in the pot 10 is 55 to 70℃, but within this temperature, the degree of gelatinization is very small, and becomes active when the water temperature reaches a boiling state of 98℃ or higher. It is known that the water 40 in the pot 10 is actively absorbed into the rice 39 under such boiling conditions, and the rice is cooked after a required period of time. When the water temperature in the pot 10 reaches a boiling point, there is a sufficient amount of water 4 in the pot 10.
According to the structure in which rice 39 remains and the surplus is subsequently discharged, an appropriate amount of water 40 is initially stored in the pot 10, but the rice 39 The right amount of water can be absorbed without too much or too little water, and as a result, rice can be cooked with good taste without leaving any cores or turning into porridge. No effort is required from the user to measure the amount of water relative to the amount of rice. In addition, after the water temperature in the pot 10 reaches a boiling state, the drain solenoid valve 15 is opened and the pot 10 is heated.
Time to drain excess boiling water within T ₂ ,
If the time is slightly shorter than the predetermined time, the amount of moisture absorbed by the rice 39 can be slightly suppressed and the rice will be slightly hard. Conversely, if the time is slightly longer than the specified time, the amount of moisture absorbed by the rice 39 will be slightly increased and the rice will be slightly soft. can cook rice.

As described above, according to this embodiment, there is 3 rice in the pot 10.
The rice is washed and cooked automatically by simply putting the pot 10 containing only the ingredients 9 in the main body 1 and turning on the start switch or setting the timer. This eliminates the work of washing rice and measuring the amount of water that was previously used, and does not require any effort on the part of the user. Moreover, the single drainage electromagnetic valve 15 can drain water during rice washing and drain excess boiling water during rice cooking, resulting in a simple configuration. Further, since there is no need to accurately measure the amount of rice to be put into the pot 10, it becomes easy to automatically put the rice 39 into the pot 10. Further, there is no need for a complicated and expensive automatic measuring device to automatically measure the amount of rice and the appropriate amount of water corresponding thereto.

4 to 6 show other embodiments of the present invention, in which the same parts as in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals and explanations of the same parts are omitted. FIG. 4 shows the drain pipe 22 and the drain pipe. The drain pipe 1 has a drain hole 14 provided at the center of the bottom of the inner frame 4 and a drain solenoid valve 15.
The ends of the main body 1 are communicated with each other, and the drain pipe 16 horizontally projects outward from the lower part of the main body 1. on the other hand,
The water supply pipe 22 is constituted by a flexible pipe, passes vertically between the outer frame 3 and the inner frame 4 of the main body 1, passes near the hinge portion 21 of the lid body 18, and is curved toward the center. Water supply pipe 22
One end of the mounting tube part 22 is inserted into the holding member 27.
b, and the other end projects horizontally from the lower part of the main body 1 to the outside at a location near the drain pipe 16 via a water supply electromagnetic valve 23. In addition, the water supply pipe 22
A spring 49 is wound around the curved portion to form a hinge portion 50. Further, a spring 51 is provided between the inner lid 28 and the inner plate 20.

As described above, in this embodiment, the water supply pipe 22 and the drainage pipe 16 are made to protrude to the outside of the main body 1 through approximately the same location at the bottom of the main body 1, so that the water supply pipe 22 and the drainage pipe 16 are extended from the lid body 18 to the outside as shown in FIG. 22 protrudes outside and the end of the water supply pipe 22 is connected to the water supply hose 24, the structure of the lid body 18 is simpler, and the water supply hose 24 does not get in the way when the lid body 18 is opened or closed. 18 is easy to open and close. Furthermore, since the water supply electromagnetic valve 23 and the drainage electromagnetic valve 15, which are relatively heavy, are provided on the bottom side of the main body 1, the structure has good stability. Moreover, since the water supply hose 24 and the drainage hose 17 are concentrated in one place, they do not get in the way.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration shown in FIG. 4 in which the water supply pipe 22 is disposed only on the main body 1 side, and a nozzle portion 52 is attached to the end of the water supply pipe 22 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction and detachable. is attached, and its nozzle part 52 is made to face the opening side of the upper surface of the pot 10 of the inner frame 4. As a result, the water supply pipe 22 is not related to the lid 18, so the structure of the lid 18 is simpler and the opening/closing operation of the lid 18 is easier. Moreover, since the nozzle portion 52 can be rotated horizontally, if it becomes an obstacle when taking out and taking out the pot 10, it may be rotated horizontally as appropriate. Further, a drainage hole 11a is provided at the bottom of the pot 10.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration shown in FIG. 5 in which one more drainage channel is provided, where the drainage pipe 16 is branched in the middle and one side is connected to the drainage hole 14 of the inner frame 4 as in FIG. 5. The other drainage pipe 16a is further extended upward along the side through the bottom of the inner frame 4, and communicated with the drain hole 53 provided at the height of the top opening of the pot 10 in the inner frame 4. ing.
Therefore, in the above embodiment, the drain hole 14 is clogged,
Alternatively, if the amount of water supplied into the pot 10 is abnormally larger than a predetermined value, there is a risk of overflowing from the gap between the main body 1 and the lid 18, but in this embodiment, even in such a case, Since water can be drained from the drain hole 53 to the outside via the drain pipe 16a, overflow can be prevented.

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, although each function of the control means is obtained by the control means comprising a microcomputer, it may also be obtained by an individual electronic circuit.

[Effects of the invention] The present invention automatically and efficiently washes and cooks rice by controlling the opening and closing of the water supply valve and drain valve, thereby eliminating the troublesome rice washing and measuring of the amount of water that the user had to perform on his/her own. We can provide rice cookers that can.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the schematic structure of the rice cooker, Fig. 3 is a graph showing the rice washing and rice cooking process, and Figs. 4 to 6 are other examples. FIG. 9... Heater, 10... Pot, 15... Drain valve (drainage means), 23... Water supply valve (water supply means), 42
...control means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a water supply means for supplying water into the pot by operating a water supply valve; a drainage means for discharging water in the pot by operating a drain valve; Control in which rice is cooked with a water supply valve and a drain valve closed, and after the water temperature in the pot reaches a boiling state and a substantially fixed period of time has elapsed, the drain valve is opened to drain excess boiling water in the pot. A rice cooker characterized by comprising means.