JPH05146355A - Rice cooking jar with timer set and method for setting conditions for water absorption process - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the difference between the reservation time for the completion of rice cooking and the actual time of rice cooking by changing the condition of water absorbing process depending on the time set by a timer until the time of the initiation of rice cooking. CONSTITUTION:Time from the time T1 for initiation set by a timer until a time T2 for the initiation of the rice cooking is detected to set water absorbing time t. In this process, t1 designates water absorbing time by program, t2 rice cooking initiation time by an ordinary program control t3 reservation time, t4 rice cooking time including water absorbing process. When T is than a certain time t0, all T is set as a certain time To. In the case of 0<=T<T4, the water absorption time t= t1. When T4<=T<T0 it is represented by an equation I (a, b constants). In the case of T0<T, it is represented by t=0. Thus, time from the time set by the timer until the time of the initiation of rice cooking is detected. Depending upon the time, conditions for the water absorbing process can be set so that the difference between the time at which rice cooking is completed at the time of reservation and the actual time of the completion can be suppressed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rice cooker with a timer set, and more particularly to a technique for setting conditions in a water absorption process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Rice cookers currently on the market are a combination of an electric rice cooker and a heat retaining jar.
In such a rice cooker, a heater is provided at the bottom of the inner pot, and heating power is supplied to the heater to cook rice.

Further, for the purpose of cooking delicious rice, the temperature of the rice cooking pot is measured by a controller equipped with a temperature sensor and a microcomputer, and data of the temperature or the degree of temperature rise is input to the microcomputer to cook rice. A microcomputer-controlled automatic rice cooker has been developed that determines whether or not the rice is cooked and performs appropriate power control according to the rice cooking capacity. An automatic rice cooker that cooks rice under microcomputer control is a program that controls the microcomputer in order to sequentially absorb water, cook capacity, cook, boil, boil, boil, and boil. After controlling the rice cooking process such as the cooking process and the heat retaining process, the rice is cooked in the optimum state, and after the rice cooking control is performed, the heat retaining control state is set.

[0004] When the rice is cooked with the timer set,
Regardless of the timer set time, a fixed water absorption time is defined as the water absorption time step.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, when the reservation time is long (timer setting time is long), there is a problem that the water absorption of rice increases and the cooked rice becomes soft.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, when the water absorption time is changed according to the length of the reservation time, for example, when the water absorption time is made longer than the time determined by the program, the program of the microcomputer is Since rice is cooked under control, there is a problem that the rice is cooked quickly and the difference between the time when the rice is cooked at the reserved time and the time when the rice is actually cooked becomes large.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the difference between the cooking time and the actual cooking time at the reserved time. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of performing an ideal water absorption step and rice cooking step.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim (1) determines the cooking rice capacity, and the water absorption step, the cooking step, the boiling maintaining step, and the spotting operation are performed according to the judged cooking capacity. A rice cooker with a timer set for sequentially controlling the steps to cook rice, comprising means for changing the condition of the water absorption step according to the time from the timer setting time to the start of rice cooking.

The invention of claim (2) is a water absorption time setting method in a rice cooking method with a timer set having a water absorption step, wherein the time from the timer setting time to the start of rice cooking is detected, and the detected time is detected. The condition of the water absorption step is set according to the above.

[0012]

According to the means of the invention described in claims (1) and (2), the time from the timer set time to the start of rice cooking is detected, and the condition of the water absorption step is determined according to the detected time. By setting, the condition of the normal program-controlled sucking process of the microcomputer is changed, so that the difference between the cooking time at the reserved time and the actual cooking time can be reduced. Thereby, the ideal water absorption process and rice cooking process can be performed.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a rice cooker body,
Reference numeral 2 is a lid portion of the rice cooker body 1, and 3 is a body portion of the rice cooker body 1. The main body 3 includes an inner pan 4, an inner pan container 5 for accommodating the inner pan 4, a rice cooker 6 at the bottom of the inner pan 6, a shoulder ring 7 provided on the shoulder of the inner pan container 5, an inner pan container. 5, a heat-retaining heater (hereinafter referred to as a shoulder heater) 8 provided in the shoulder ring 7 of the shoulder 5, a heat-retaining heater (hereinafter referred to as a heat-retaining heater) 9 provided in the body of the inner pot storage container 5, a microcomputer, etc. A control unit 10 and the like incorporating the above are provided inside. Further, the inner pot 4 has a shoulder portion in contact with the pot lid 4a and an upper portion covered with the pot lid 4a. The pot lid 4a is formed by molding a material having high thermal conductivity, for example, aluminum. The temperature sensor 25 is provided by being put in a sensor case arranged at a position in which the temperature sensor 25 is in close contact with the pan lid 4a. A temperature sensor 29 is provided at the bottom of the inner pot 4. Reference numeral 11 is a function display selection operation unit.

The function display selection operation unit 11 is arranged at an upper position of the rice cooker main body 1. The function display selection operation unit 11 has a plurality of operation key switches and various states as will be described later. Displaying a light emitting diode,
A 7-segment character display for displaying the time is provided. Operation key switches include hour key switch, minute key switch, reserved key switch, menu key switch, white rice cooked selection key switch, clock set key switch, start key switch, and cancel / heat retention key switch. ing.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the panel surface of the function selection operation unit 11. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 12 denotes a character display, which is, for example, a 4-digit numeral display liquid crystal module that displays characters of each display digit in 7 segments. The character display unit 12 displays the time and the reserved time when the reserved rice is cooked. 13a is a key switch for operating the hour digit, 13b is a minute key switch for operating the minute digit, 13c is a reservation key switch for instructing reservation,
13d is a menu key switch for instructing a rice cooking menu, 13e is a start key switch for instructing a rice cooking operation start or a reserved rice cooking operation start, and 13f is a cancel / heat retention key for canceling each operation (or setting heat retention during the waiting period) The switch, 13g, is a multi-type rice cooked rice selection key switch that selects your favorite rice from 5 kinds of rice cooked, such as soft rice, slightly soft rice, normal, slightly soft, and firm rice. 13h is a clock set key switch for setting the current time. Also, 1
Reference numeral 4 is a status display section for displaying the operation mode. The state display unit 14 is provided with a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that display various states of the rice cooker. As the states to be displayed, "reservation 1", "reservation 2", "white rice", "early cooking", in order to display the states of reservation mode distinction, rice cooking menu type of rice cooking control and heat insulation mode distinction, respectively. "Rice cooked", "rice", "brown rice", "porridge",
Light emitting diode (L
ED) is turned on to display various states.

The display of "separate cooking" is, for example,
"5: Soft turtle" ⇒ "4: A little soft turtle" ⇒ "3:
It is configured so that it can be adjusted in five stages: "normal" ⇒ "2: a little hard" ⇒ "1: hard". When the menu selection is "white rice", the light emitting diode (LED) lights up at the "normal" position first, and thereafter, each time the white rice cooked selection key switch 13g is pressed, "normal" ⇒ "a little warm" ”⇒“ Hard ”⇒“ Soft turtle ”⇒“ Slightly soft turtle ”⇒“ Normal ”, the display changes to rotate once, and the user can set it to the desired hardness. Once set, from the next time, the rice cooking conditions of that preference and its display position are stored in memory (the rice cooking conditions are also stored at the same time), and the rice cooking conditions of that preference and its display position are automatically set. To be done.

In addition, the above-mentioned "cooking" indicates the degree of hardness by numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (the smaller the number, the higher the degree of hardness), and the illuminance area of the light emitting diode. The degree of hardness is small. By doing so, since the degree of hardness of the cooked rice is visually displayed, it is possible to make the selected cooked rice condition easy to understand. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, as the cooking display means,
Although both the numerical display method and the illuminance area display method are used, it goes without saying that one of the numerical display method and the illuminance area display method may be used in the present invention.

Table 1 shows the outline of the contents of the rice cooking conditions with the desired hardness.

[0020]

[Table 1]

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a control unit using the microcomputer 20.
In FIG. 3, 6 is a rice cooking heater, 8 is a shoulder heater, 9 is a warming heater, 10 is a control unit, 11 is a function display selection operation unit, and 25 is a temperature sensor for the lid provided on the pot lid (hereinafter, lid sensor). Further, 29 is a bottom temperature sensor (hereinafter referred to as a bottom sensor) provided in the bottom portion of the inner pot. As described above, the function display selection operation unit 11 includes a 7-segment character display 12,
The operation key switches 13 (13a to 13h) and the light emitting diode of the status display unit 14 are provided. Further, 15 is a commercial AC power supply, and 16 is a thermal fuse. The control unit 10 includes a triac 18 and a relay 17 for controlling energization of the rice cooking heater 6, a triac 19a for controlling energization of the warming heater 9, a triac 19b for controlling energization of the shoulder heater 8, a microcomputer 20, and a clock mechanism 2.
1, a buzzer 22 and the like are provided. The temperature sensor (lid sensor 25) provided on the lid of the inner pot is composed of a thermistor or the like. Further, the temperature sensor (bottom sensor 29) at the bottom provided on the bottom of the pot is also composed of a thermistor or the like. These temperature sensors detect the temperature and output an electric signal corresponding to the temperature. The electric signal corresponding to the temperature is input to the analog / digital conversion port of the microcomputer 20. The microcomputer 20
Processing unit (CPU), memory (RAM), program memory (ROM), input port having analog / digital conversion function, multiple input ports for receiving key switch input, output port for outputting control output signal and display control signal Etc. are built in, and according to the program stored in the program memory, a predetermined output signal is output from the output port in response to the input from the input port. That is, the microcomputer 20 includes the respective temperature sensors (lid sensor 25, bottom sensor 29), clock mechanism 2
1. To receive the input from the operation key switch 13 and perform a series of processes according to a built-in processing program to send a control signal to a triac for controlling energization of a heater and to display a state of an operation mode or the like. Then, a lighting control signal is sent to the light emitting diode of the status display unit 14.
Further, the time signal from the clock mechanism 21 is input to the microcomputer 20, the time is displayed on the character display 12, and the microcomputer 20 is provided with a signal for determining the reserved time when the timer reserved rice is cooked. Is entered.

Next, the operation of the cooked rice heat insulation jar thus constructed will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the outline of the overall control flow of the microcomputer 20. Figure 3
And FIG. 4 will be described.

When the power is turned on, pre-processing for rice cooking control is performed (step 31). In this pre-processing of rice cooking control,
Initialization processing for resetting various internal registers, timers, etc. of the microcomputer 20 is performed, rice cooking operation instruction data such as rice cooking menu setting, rice cooking reservation time setting, etc. is performed, and then the start key switch 13e (Fig. When 2) is turned on (or at the reserved time in the case of reserved rice cooking), the relay 17 is turned on and the rice cooking heater circuit is turned on for controlling rice cooking (step 3).
2). Next, the rice cooking process control is performed (step 33). As a result, a rice cooking operation for cooking rice is performed. When the rice cooking operation is completed, the relay 17 is turned off (step 3
4) The rice cooking heater circuit is turned off to enter the heat retention control mode in which heat retention control is performed to keep the cooked rice warm.
In the heat retention control mode, the process from step 35 is performed.

In this heat retention control mode, normal heat retention control is performed (step 35), and it is determined whether or not there is a temperature abnormality (step 36). If the temperature is abnormal, error processing such as error notification and error display is performed (step 37),
The whole process ends. Also, in step 36,
If the temperature is not abnormal, the process returns to step 35 to repeat the normal heat retention control.

Next, the general operation of the processing of rice cooking control by the microcomputer control thus constructed will be described.

When a desired amount of rice and water corresponding thereto are put in the inner pot 4 and the start key switch 13e (FIG. 2) is turned on, the microcomputer 20 of the control unit 10
According to the processing steps of the rice cooking program stored in the program memory (ROM) therein, power control for heating in the rice cooking process is started. At this time,
The microcomputer 20 converts the voltage output from the lid sensor 25 and the bottom sensor 29 into a digital amount from the input port A / D of the analog / digital conversion function, inputs the digital amount, and converts the voltage into a temperature. Then, various rice cooking processes are controlled based on the temperature determination result. In this rice cooking process, in the initial stage of rice cooking, a water absorption process is performed in which rice is absorbed by reducing heating power. Next, the heating power is increased, the rice cooking capacity determination at a predetermined temperature is performed, the temperature is rapidly raised, a boiling step of boiling is performed, and a boiling maintaining step of continuing boiling is performed. Following this boiling maintaining step, the rice absorbs enough water and the water in the bottom of the inner pot disappears.
When the temperature reaches 0 ° C., this temperature is detected by the bottom sensor 29, the microcomputer 20 turns off the heater for heating, and ends the boiling maintaining step.

Next, during a predetermined time, the first spotting process, the first additional cooking process, the second stripping process, the second additional cooking process, etc. are performed, and finally the heat retention process is reached and the rice cooking process is completed. To do. When the rice cooking process control is completed, the process proceeds to the heat retention process control.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a rice cooking temperature curve (rice cooking curve) showing a temperature change of the inner pot when the normal rice cooking process is controlled by the control of the microcomputer 20 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, a region A shows a water absorption process, a region B shows a cooking process including a rice cooking capacity determination process, and a region C shows a boiling holding process. Further, the area D shows the purging process including the additional cooking process. In the cooking process in the region B, the heating power is increased, the temperature is rapidly raised to the boiling point, and the heating power is controlled to an appropriate heating power according to the determined cooking capacity, so that the boiling is appropriately continued to cook the rice.

Next, a method of setting water absorption process conditions according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the water absorption process condition setting method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The method of setting the conditions of the water absorption process of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the time T from the timer set start time T ₁ to the rice cooking start time T ₂ is detected, and the water absorption time (condition of the water absorption step) t is set according to the detected time T. At this time, in FIG. 6A, the water absorption time according to the program is t ₁ (for example, 10 minutes), the timer set start time is T ₁ , and the rice cooking start time under the normal program control of the microcomputer is T ₂ (T ₃ −T). ₄ ), the reserved time is T ₃ , the rice cooking time including the water absorption process is T ₄ , and the timer set start time T ₁ is subtracted from the rice cook start time T ₂ (T
₂₋ T ₁ ) is T, and when T is larger than a fixed time T ₀ (for example, 120 minutes), all T is set to a fixed time T ₀ (for example, 120 minutes), and when the rice is cooked by the timer set. The water absorption time t is represented by t = t ₁ when 0 ≦ T <T ₄ , is represented by the following empirical formula (1) when T ₄ ≦ T ≦ T ₀ , and is represented by t when T ₀ <T. = 0. t = a + bT (1) The constants a and b are experimentally obtained as follows.
In this experiment, the water absorption time under normal program control of the microcomputer is 10 minutes, the rice cooking time is 50 minutes,
The fixed time T ₀ was 120 minutes.

(A): As shown in (B) of FIG. 6, when the rice cooking start time is 5:30 pm and the cooked time without reservation time is 6:30 pm, the result of the experiment The water absorption time t was 10 minutes. In this case, 0 ≦ T <T ₄
(T = 0 minutes).

(B): As shown in (c) of FIG. 6, when the timer is set at 4:30 pm and the cooking time is 6:30 pm (reserved time), the result of the experiment ,
The water absorption time t was 5 minutes. In this case, T = (T ₂ −
Since T ₁ ) = 60 minutes, this applies to the case of T ₄ ≦ T ≦ T ₀ , and the water absorption time t is calculated by the equation (1). Therefore, the equation (1) is expressed by the following equation (2). 5 = a + 60b (2) In this case, since the reservation time is 6:30 pm, rice cooking will be started at 5:35 pm.

(C): As shown in (d) of FIG. 6, when the timer is set at 3:30 am and the cooking time is 6:30 pm (reserved time), the result of the experiment ,
The water absorption time t was 0 minutes. In this case, T = 120 minutes, which corresponds to the case of T ₀ <T, and the equation (1) is represented by the following equation (3). 0 = a + 120b (3) From the simultaneous equations of the equations (2) and (3), the constant a = 10,
The constant b = -1 / 12.

In this case, since the reserved time is 6:30 pm, rice cooking will start at 5:40 pm.

(D): As shown in (e) of FIG. 6, when the timer is set at 8:30 am and the cooking time is 6:30 pm (reserved time), T = 600. This corresponds to the case of T ₀ <T, and the water absorption time t is 0 minutes.

In this case, since the reserved time is 6:30 pm, rice cooking will start at 5:40 pm.

The water absorption time t is calculated in advance by the formula (1), stored in a memory (ROM) in a table corresponding to T, and read out as necessary. Alternatively, each time T is calculated and set by a timer, and the water absorption time t is calculated by the formula (1)
You may ask at.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a method for setting water-absorption process conditions according to one embodiment based on the principle of the present invention with a memory.

In this water absorption process condition setting method, as shown in FIG. 7, white rice timer cooked rice is set (step 1).
01), and a buzzing buzzer is notified (step 102),
The reserved time, reserved LED, and white rice indicator light (LED) are turned on (step 103). Next, a time T (= T ₂ −T) obtained by subtracting the timer set start time T ₁ from the rice cooking start time T ₂ in the normal program control of the microcomputer.
₁ ) is calculated (step 104), and the calculated T is 0.
It is determined whether or not the range is ≦ T <T ₄ (step 10
5) If the determination result is in the range of 0 ≦ T <T ₄ (YES), the water absorption time t is set to t ₁ (for example, 10 minutes) (t = t ₁ ) (step 106), and the rice cooking start time T is set. Wait until ₂ (step 110). If the result of the judgment in step 105 is not in the range of 0 ≦ T <T ₄ (NO), it is judged whether or not the obtained T is in the range of T ₄ ≦ T ≦ T ₀ (step 107), The result of the determination is T ₄ ≦ T ≦ T ₀
If it is in the range (YES), the water absorption time t corresponding to T is stored in the memory (ROM) in the table (formula t = a
Calculated from the list of values calculated by + bT) (step 10
8) Wait until the rice cooking start time T ₂ (step 11)
0). Stand by until the rice cooking start time T ₂ . If the result of step 107 is not within the range of T ₄ ≦ T ≦ T ₀ (NO), the water absorption time t is set to 0 (t = 0 ₁ ) (step 109) and the rice cooker waits until the rice cooking start time T ₂ . (Step 110). When cooking start time T ₂ arrives, starts the cooking (step 111), then turns off the reservation LED (step 112), proceeds to the water absorption step (113).

The processing procedure of the water absorption process condition setting method in the case of not having the memory storing the table is the same as the other steps except that step 104 in FIG. 7 is replaced with step 104A surrounded by a dotted line.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the water absorption step of this embodiment. In FIG. 8, 2/14, 6/14, 8/14 of the rice cooking heater 6 and the heat retention heater 9,
The display of 9/14, 12/14, etc. means that the maximum energization time is 14 seconds, of which 2 seconds energization, 6 seconds energization, 8 seconds energization, 9 seconds energization, and 12 seconds energization.

In this water absorption step, as shown in FIG. 8, when rice cooking is started, the rice cooking LED is turned on (step 20).
1), it is determined whether the temperature of the bottom sensor 29 is 25 ° C. or lower (step 202), and if it is 25 ° C. or lower (YES),
The 6/14 of the rice cooking heater 6 and the 8/14 of the heat retention heater 9 are energized (turned on) and the process returns to step 202 (step 20).
3). If it is 25 ° C or higher (NO), it is judged whether or not the temperature of the bottom sensor 29 is 38 ° C or lower (step 204), 3
If it is 8 ° C or lower (YES), 2/14 of the rice cooking heater 6
And energize 12/14 of the heat insulation heater 9 and step 202
(Step 205). If it is 38 ° C or higher (N
O), turn off the rice cooking heater 6 (step 20).
6), it is determined whether the temperature of the bottom sensor 29 is 41 ° C. or lower (step 207), and if it is 41 ° C. or lower (YES),
The warming heater 9 is energized (step 209), and if it is 41 ° C. or higher (NO), the rice cooking heater 6 is turned off (step 206). Next, it is determined whether t seconds have passed in this state (step 210), and if t seconds have passed (YES), the process proceeds to the cooking process (step 211).
If t seconds have not elapsed (NO), the process returns to step 202.

As can be seen from the above description, according to this embodiment, the time T from the timer setting time to the start of rice cooking is detected, and the water absorption time (condition of the water absorption step is determined according to the detected time T). ) T, the water absorption time t of the normal program control of the microcomputer is changed, so that the difference between the cooking time at the reserved time and the actual cooking time can be reduced. Thereby, the ideal water absorption process and rice cooking process can be performed.

Although the present invention has been specifically described based on the embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. .. Although the water absorption time is covered as the condition of the water absorption step in the above-mentioned embodiment, for example, the water temperature in the water absorption step may be used.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, the time from the timer setting time to the start of rice cooking is detected, and the condition of the water absorption step is set according to the detected time. Since the conditions of the normal program-controlled water absorption process of the microcomputer are changed, it is possible to reduce the difference between the cooking time at the reserved time and the actual cooking time. Thereby, the ideal water absorption process and rice cooking process can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a panel surface of a function selection operation unit of the present embodiment,

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a control unit using the microcomputer of the present embodiment,

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the overall control flow of the microcomputer of the present embodiment,

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a rice cooking temperature curve showing the temperature change of the inner pot when the normal rice cooking process is controlled by the control of the microcomputer of the present embodiment,

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the principle of a method for setting water absorption process conditions according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of a water absorption process condition setting method according to the present embodiment, which is provided with a memory,

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a water absorption step of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Rice cooker main body, 2 ... Lid part, 3 ... Main body part, 4 ... Inner pot, 4
a ... pan lid, 5 ... inner pan storage container, 6 ... rice cooker, 7 ... shoulder ring, 8 ... shoulder heater, 9 ... heater heater, 10 ... control unit, 11 ... function display selection operation unit, 12 ... character display , 13 ... operation key switch, 13a ... hour key switch, 13b ... minute key switch, 13c ... reservation key switch, 13d ... menu key switch, 13e ... start key switch, 13f ... cancel / heat retention key switch, 13g
... White rice cooking selection key switch, 13h ... Clock set key switch, 14 ... Status display section, 15 ... Commercial AC power supply, 16 ... Thermal fuse, 17 ... Relay, 18, 19
a, 19b ... Triac, 20 ... Microcomputer, 21 ... Clock mechanism, 22 ... Buzzer, 25 ... Temperature sensor (lid sensor), 29 ... Temperature sensor (bottom sensor).

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A rice cooker with a timer set, which performs rice cooking capacity determination, and sequentially controls the water absorption step, the cooking step, the boiling maintaining step, and the muddling step according to the determined rice cooking capacity to cook rice, which is a timer. A rice cooker comprising means for changing the conditions of the water absorption step depending on the time from the set time to the start of rice cooking. 2. A water absorption time setting method in a rice cooking method with a timer set having a water absorption step, wherein the time from the timer setting time to the start of rice cooking is detected, and the condition of the water absorption step is detected according to the detected time. A method for setting conditions of a water absorption process, characterized by setting