JPH05300830A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the controller to facilitate the operation in a rice cooker in which one of different cooking motions such as cooking for boiled rice, rice gruel, etc., can be selected. CONSTITUTION:A selected motion of usual cooking rice, rapid cooking rice, cooking of rice gruel, and heat retaining, is changed over in this order in every pushing of the rice cooking key 57. When the rice cooking key 57 is not operated for 30sec. the selection is decided to start the rice boiling motion or heat retaining motion.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rice cooker, and more particularly to an operating means for selecting a rice cooking operation and starting rice cooking.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a rice cooker, a container containing water and rice is heated by a heater to cook rice. However, the temperature of the container is detected by a temperature sensor, and the temperature is detected. The heater is controlled accordingly. Further, a rice cooker capable of selecting a plurality of types of rice cooking operations such as normal white rice cooked rice, porridge rice cooked rice, brown rice cooked rice, and cooked rice cooked has been conventionally known. In these plural types of rice cooking operations, the relationship between the detection by the temperature sensor and the control of the heater is different. For example, in white rice cooking, based on the temperature detection by the temperature sensor, the boiling of water in the container and the state where the water in the container is exhausted (dry-up) are detected, and at the boiling point and the dry-up point, respectively. Reduce the heating amount of the heater. On the other hand, rice cooked with porridge, for example, is one in which heating is continued for a long time with a low heating amount such that dry-up does not occur after boiling.

In this type of rice cooker, the user needs to perform a rice cooking operation selection operation in addition to a rice cooking start operation and the like. And in the conventional rice cooker, the display operation part had the structure as shown in FIG. That is, the display operation unit 1 has a rice cooking key 2, an off key 3, and a menu key 4, and a rice cooking indicator 5, a warming indicator 6, a white rice indicator 7, a rice cooker 8 and a porridge indicator. There is 9. Each of the keys 2, 3, and 4 is interlocked with a push button switch, is pressed, and returns to its original position after the pressing operation. In addition, the indicators 5, 6, 7, 8,
Reference numerals 9 each include a light emitting diode or the like. Next, the operation of the keys 2, 3 and 4 and the selection setting of the rice cooking operation will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 12 and 13. Off state after power is turned on (step S
In 1), the rice cooking operation is set to normal white rice cooking (step S2). Then, it is determined whether or not the user has pressed the menu key 4 (step S3), and if the menu key 4 is operated, the rice cooking operation setting is switched to rice porridge (step S4).
Then, it is determined again whether or not the menu key 4 has been pressed (step S5), and if there is an operation, the rice cooking operation setting is switched to normal white rice cooking (step S5).
S2). On the other hand, if the menu key 4 has not been operated in the determination in steps S3 and S5, the OFF key 3
It is determined whether or not is pressed (step S6),
If there is an operation, it is turned off (step S1). On the other hand, if the OFF key 3 has not been operated, it is determined whether or not the rice cooking key 2 has been pressed (step S7). If the rice cooking key 2 has not been operated, it is further set by the menu key 4. It is determined whether the rice cooking operation is white rice cooking or rice porridge cooking (step S8). If the setting is rice cooked with rice, the process returns to step S3, and if the setting is rice cooked with porridge, the process returns to step S5. On the other hand, step S7
If the rice cooking key 2 is operated in the determination of, the operation to be executed is set to the rice cooking operation set by the menu key 4 (step S9). Then, it is determined again whether or not the rice cooking key 2 has been pressed (step S10).
), If the rice cooking key 2 has not been operated, it is further determined whether or not the off key 3 has been pressed (step
S11), if there is an operation, it will be turned off (step
S1). On the other hand, if the OFF key 3 has not been operated, it is determined whether or not 30 seconds have passed since the last operation of the rice cooking key 2 (step S12). If 30 seconds have not passed yet, step S10 is performed.
If 30 seconds have passed, the setting of the operation to be executed is fixed and normal rice cooked with rice or rice cooked with porridge starts (step S13). Further, in the determination of step S10, if the rice cooking key 2 is operated, the setting of the operation to be executed is switched to quick rice cooking (step S14).
). Then, it is determined again whether the rice cooking key 2 has been pressed (step S15). If the rice cooking key 2 has not been operated, it is further determined whether the cut key 3 has been pressed (step S16). If there is an operation, it is turned off (step S1). On the other hand, if the OFF key 3 has not been operated, it is determined whether or not 30 seconds have passed since the last operation of the rice cooking key 2 (step S17). If 30 seconds have not passed yet, the process returns to step S15, and 30 seconds passes. If the time has passed, the setting of the operation to be executed is fixed, and the rice cooking is started (step S18). Further, in the determination of step S15, if the rice cooking key 2 is operated, the setting of the operation to be executed is switched to heat retention (step S19).
). Then, it is determined again whether the rice cooking key 2 has been pressed (step S20). If the rice cooking key 2 has not been operated, it is further determined whether the cut key 3 has been pressed (step S21). If there is an operation, it is turned off (step S1). On the other hand, if the OFF key 3 has not been operated, it is determined whether or not 30 seconds have passed since the last operation of the rice cooking key 2 (step S22). If 30 seconds have not passed yet, the process returns to step S20, and 30 seconds passes. If the time has elapsed, the setting of the operation to be executed is fixed and the heat retention starts (step S23). If the rice cooking key 2 is operated in the determination of step S20, the menu key 4
It is determined whether the rice cooking operation set by is rice cooked with rice or rice cooked with porridge (step S24). If the setting is rice cooked with rice, the process returns to step S3, and if the setting is rice cooked with porridge, the process returns to step S5. That is, in the conventional rice cooker, each time the menu key 4 is pressed, the rice cooking operation setting is alternately switched between normal rice cooked with rice and rice cooked with porridge. When the rice cooking key 2 other than the menu key 4 is pressed only once, the operation to be executed is the rice cooking operation set by the menu key 4, and when the rice cooking key 2 is pressed twice, the operation to be executed is And cooked rice and cooked rice key 2
When is pressed three times, the operation performed is kept warm, and when the rice cooking key 2 is pressed four times, selection by the menu key 4 can be performed again. Then, 30 seconds after the operation of the rice cooking key 2, the selected rice cooking or heat retaining operation actually starts. It should be noted that the display devices 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 corresponding to the selected operation are lit up, including during the selection operation. That is, any one of the indicators 6, 7, 8 and 9 is lit during the selection operation, and the rice cooking indicator 5 and any one of the indicators 7, 8 and 9 are lit during the rice cooking to keep warm. Inside, the heat retention indicator 6 lights up.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional rice cooker, when the ordinary cooked rice is cooked, the rice can be cooked only by operating the rice cooker key 2 without operating the menu key 4. You can start, but if you want to cook rice, press Menu key 4 and then cook rice 2.
You have to press to start cooking rice. Therefore,
There is a problem that it takes time and effort to operate a plurality of keys 2 and 5. Further, since the menu key 4 is provided in addition to the rice cooking key 2 for starting rice cooking, the area of the display operation unit 1 becomes large, and the display operation unit 1 is messy and neat in design. There were also problems such as. The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and in a rice cooker capable of selecting a plurality of types of rice cooking operations such as rice cooked with rice and rice cooked with porridge, the operation unit is simplified and the operability is improved. Intended to improve.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a container, a heater for heating the container, a temperature sensor, and the heater according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. A rice cooker that controls rice cooking operation while controlling, and this rice cooking control means is operated in a rice cooker capable of selectively controlling a plurality of types of rice cooking operations having different relations between detection by a temperature sensor and control of a heater. Each time the rice is cooked, the selection of the rice cooking operation is switched to start the rice cooking.

[0006]

In the rice cooker of the present invention, the heater heats the container containing water and rice during rice cooking, but the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the container and the like, and according to the detected temperature,
The rice cooking control means controls the heater. And for rice cooking operation, you can select multiple kinds of rice with different relation between detection by temperature sensor and control of heater, but this selection is done by operating the rice cooking start means for starting rice cooking before rice cooking. To do. That is, the selection of the rice cooking operation to be executed is switched each time the rice cooking starting means is operated.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the rice cooker of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 2, which is a cross-sectional view of the rice cooker, reference numeral 11 denotes a main body of the rice cooker whose upper surface is opened, and the main body 11 includes an inner case 12 and an outer case 13, and the like between the inner case 12 and the outer case 13. Insulation 14
Is provided. Further, a reflection plate 15 made of aluminum is provided at the bottom of the inner case 12. A container 16 having an open top is housed in the inner case 12 positioned on the reflection plate 15 so that the container 16 can be inserted and removed. 17 is a lid,
This lid body 17 is an outer lid 18 that opens and closes the upper opening of the main body 11.
And a lid frame 19 provided under the outer lid 18, and the lid frame
Inner lid provided on the lower side of 19 to open and close the upper opening of the container 16
20 and has a heat insulating material 21 between the outer lid 18 and the inner lid 20.
Is provided. The lid 17 is rotatably supported by the main body 11 by a hinge 22 located on the right side of the figure, and is always biased in the opening direction by a spring 23 provided at the hinge 22 portion. On the other hand, on the left side of the container body 11 in the figure, the lid 17 is disengaged and the lid 17 is
A clamp 24, which holds the clamp 24 in a closed state against the bias of 23, is pivotally mounted. The lid 17 is provided with a steam port 25 for communicating the inside of the container 16 with the outside. And container 16
Located above the reflector 15 located below the rice cooker 26
Is provided. Further, a body heater 27 is provided on the upper portion of the outer surface of the inner case 12. Further, a lid heater 28 is provided on the inner lid 20 located above the container 16.
The rice cooking heater 26 that heats the container 16 from below is 650
The body heater 27, which energizes at W and heats the container 16 from the side,
The lid heater 28 for heating the lid 17 is energized at 50 W and is energized at 20 W. Further, the container is placed at the center of the bottom of the inner case 12.
A temperature sensor 29 for detecting the outer surface temperature of 16 is provided. The temperature sensor 29 has a thermistor 31 built in a vertically movable heat sensitive plate 30, and the heat sensitive plate 30 is constantly urged upward by a coil spring 32 so as to be pressed against the outer lower surface of the container 16. Has been done. Along with this, a container switch 33 is provided in the lowermost part of the inner case 12 in the vicinity of a lower portion of the temperature sensor 29 and mechanically interlocks with the heat sensitive plate 30 to detect that the container 16 is mounted. There is. Further, on the lower surface of the outer case 13, there is provided a cord reel 36 which turns a power cord 35 having a plug 34 connected to the tip thereof. Further, a circuit board 37 is provided between the inner case 12 and the outer case 13 on the side of the container body 11, and an electric circuit unit 38 is mounted on the circuit board 37. A unitized display / operation unit 39 is provided near the electric circuit unit 36 and above the outer surface of the outer case 13. In addition, the fuse is attached to the top of the outer surface of the inner case 12.
40 are provided.

Next, the structure of the electric circuit will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 41 is a commercial AC power supply of 100 V, a transformer 42 is connected to this AC power supply 41, and this transformer 42 is connected to a microcomputer 44 with a built-in A / D converter via a constant voltage circuit 43. .. Thus, the microcomputer 44 is supplied with the 5V DC power supply. Further, a series circuit of the rice cooking heater 26 and the contact 45a of the relay 45 is connected between both electrodes of the AC power supply 41, and a parallel circuit of the body heater 27 and the lid heater 28 and a series circuit of the triac 46 are connected. To be done. The coil 45b of the relay 45 is connected to the microcomputer 44 via the relay drive circuit 47, and the gate of the triac 46 is connected to the triac drive circuit 48.
Is connected to the microcomputer 44 via.
With this configuration, the contact 45a is closed only when the coil 45b is energized via the relay drive circuit 47 according to the output signal from the microcomputer 44, and the rice cooker 26
When the TRIAC 46 is turned on according to the output signal from the microcomputer 44,
The body heater 27 and the lid heater 28 are energized to generate heat.
Furthermore, the thermistor 31 of the temperature sensor 29 is connected to the microcomputer 64 via an A / D converter (not shown), and the container switch 33, the rice cooking switch 49 and the off switch 50 are connected. Has been done. In addition, the microcomputer 44 is provided with a rice cooking indicator 52 including a light emitting diode via a display circuit 51.
The warming indicator 53, the white rice indicator 54, the cooked rice indicator 55 and the porridge indicator 56 are also connected. The relay 45,
The transformer 42, the triac 46, etc. are provided in the electric circuit unit 38, and the indicators 52, ..., 56 and the switches 49, 50 are provided in the display operation section 39. The panel surface of the display operation unit 39 is shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, 57 is a rice cooking key as a rice cooking starting means, and the rice cooking key 57 is the rice cooking key composed of a normally open push button switch. This is for closing the switch 49. Further, 58 is a cut-off key, and this cut-off key 58 is for closing the cut-off switch 50 which is a normally open type push button switch. Both keys 57 and 58 are pressed, and after pressing, they return to their original positions. Here, the wiring between the thermistor 31 and the container switch 33 and the electric circuit unit 38 will be described with reference to FIG. One pole of the thermistor 31 is the first
The lead wire 61 of the first positive terminal 62a of the connector 62
Electrically connected to. The second positive terminal 62b of the connector 62 is connected to the substrate 64 on which the container switch 33 is mounted by a second lead wire 63 and electrically connected to one contact of the container switch 33. There is. Similarly, the negative terminal 62c of the connector 62 is connected to the substrate 64 by a third lead wire 65 and electrically connected to the other contact of the container switch 33. Further, the other pole of the thermistor 31 is connected to the substrate by the fourth lead wire 66.
64, and is electrically connected to the negative terminal 62c of the connector 62 via the third lead wire 65. On the other hand, on the circuit board 37 on which the electric circuit unit 38 is mounted, one connector receiver 67 that is fitted and connected to the connector 62 during assembly is mounted. The connector receiver 67 has terminals 67a, 67b, 67c which come into contact with the terminals 62a, 62b, 62c of the connector 62, respectively. The third lead wire 65 is a common ground wire for the thermistor 31 and the container switch 33, and the first lead wire 61 is a 0-5V signal wire for the thermistor 31. The second lead wire 63 is a 0 to 5V signal wire of the container switch 33.
Further, the microcomputer 44, as shown in FIG.
According to the temperature detected by 29, the heaters 26, 27,
The rice-cooking control means 71 for controlling the rice-cooking operation while controlling the 28 is provided with the temperature-sensor 29.
It is possible to selectively control multiple types of rice cooking operations that have different relationships between detection by and control of heaters 26, 27, 28. Along with this, the microcomputer 44
The software switches the selection of the rice cooking operation executed each time the rice cooking key 57 as the rice cooking start means is operated, and starts the rice cooking operation of the selected rice cooking operation after a predetermined time after the rice cooking key 57 is operated. It has a function to make it. With such a configuration, the rice cooking switch 49, the operation input from the off switch 50, the temperature information from the temperature sensor 29,
The relay drive circuit 47, the triac drive circuit 48, the display circuit 51, etc. are controlled according to a program preset in the microcomputer 44 based on the presence / absence information of the container 16 from the container switch 33.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. At the time of cooking rice, first, with the lid body 17 opened, after accommodating the container 16 accommodating rice and water in the main body 11,
The lid 17 is closed. By the way, the heat sensitive plate 30 moves up and down when the container 16 is taken in and out of the container body 11, and the contact of the container switch 33 is opened and closed by the up and down movement of the heat sensitive plate 30. That is, in the state where the container 16 is taken out from the container body 11,
The heat sensitive plate 30 urged upward by the spring 23 rises, and the container switch 33 opens. On the other hand, the container 16
In the state where the container 16 is accommodated, the heat sensitive plate 30 is lowered by being pressed by the outer lower surface of the container 16 and the container switch 33 is closed. Then, with the container 16 housed and the lid 17 closed,
By pressing the rice cooking key 57, an operation such as rice cooking is selected and rice cooking or heat retention is started. Next, this will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7. After the power is turned on, it is in the off state (step S31) and all the indicators 52, ..., 56 are off, but it is judged whether or not the rice cooking key 57 is pressed (step S32), and the rice cooking is performed. If the key 57 is operated,
The white rice indicator 54 lights up, and the operation to be executed is set to normal white rice cooking (step S33). Then,
It is again determined whether or not the rice cooking key 57 has been pressed (step S34). If the rice cooking key 57 has not been operated, it is further determined whether or not the off key 58 has been pressed (step S35). If there is, it is turned off (step S31). On the other hand, if the OFF key 58 has not been operated, it is determined whether or not 30 seconds have passed since the last operation of the rice cooking key 57 (step S36). If 30 seconds have not passed yet, the process returns to step S34, and 30 seconds passes. If the time has passed, the setting of the operation to be executed is fixed and normal rice cooking starts (step S37). If the rice cooking key 57 is operated in the determination of step S34, the white rice display 54 is turned off, the quick cooking display 55 is turned on, and the setting of the operation to be performed is fast cooking rice. Is switched to (step S38). Then, it is again determined whether the rice cooking key 57 has been pressed (step S39). If the rice cooking key 57 has not been operated, it is further determined whether the cut key 58 has been pressed (step S40). If there is an operation, it is turned off (step S31). On the other hand, off key
If the operation of 58 is not performed, it is determined whether 30 seconds have passed since the last operation of the rice cooking key 57 (step S41),
If 30 seconds have not passed yet, the process returns to step S39, and if 30 seconds have passed, the setting of the operation to be executed is fixed and the rice cooked quickly starts (step S42). Also, step S3
If the rice cooking key 57 is operated in the judgment of 9,
The quick cooking indicator 55 is turned off and the porridge indicator 56 is lit, and the setting of the operation to be performed is switched to porridge cooking (step S43). Next, it is judged again whether or not the rice cooking key 57 has been pressed (step S44),
If the rice cooking key 57 was not operated, the off key 58
It is determined whether or not is pressed (step S45
), If there is an operation, it is turned off (step S31).
). On the other hand, if the OFF key 58 has not been operated, it is determined whether or not 30 seconds have elapsed since the last operation of the rice cooking key 57 (step S46). If 30 seconds have not elapsed, step S44
If 30 seconds have passed, the setting of the operation to be executed is fixed and rice porridge starts to be cooked (step S47).
If the rice cooking key 57 is operated in the determination of step S44, the porridge display 56 is turned off, the heat retention display 53 is lit, and the setting of the operation to be performed is switched to heat retention (step S44). S48). Further, it is again determined whether or not the rice cooking key 57 has been pressed (step S4
9) If the rice cooking key 57 is not operated, it is further determined whether or not the off key 58 is operated (step
S50), if there is an operation, it will be turned off (step
S31). On the other hand, if the OFF key 58 has not been operated, it is determined whether or not 30 seconds have passed since the last operation of the rice cooking key 57 (step S51). If 30 seconds have not passed, step S4
Return to step 9, and if 30 seconds have elapsed, fix the setting of the operation to be performed and start porridge rice cooking (step S52
). In addition, the rice cooking key 57
If the operation is performed, the process returns to step S33. In this way, each time the rice cooker key 57 is pressed within 30 seconds, the selection of the operation to be performed is switched in order of normal white rice cooked rice, quick cooked rice, rice porridge rice, and heat retention, and the rice cooked within 30 seconds. Key 57
If is not pressed, the selection is confirmed, then
The operation of the rice cooking key 57 is ignored and not accepted, and the rice cooking or the heat retention is started by the selected operation. That is, as a normal operation, by pressing the rice cooking key 57 only once,
You can start normal white rice cooking, and press the rice cooking key 57 two times in a row to select hot water cooking rice and start cooking.
By pressing the rice cooking key 57 three times in succession, porridge rice is selected and started, and by pressing the rice cooking key 57 four times in succession, heat retention is selected and started. Also, when the OFF key 58 is pressed during all operations, various settings are canceled and the state becomes OFF. During rice cooking, in addition to the white rice display 54, the quick rice display 55 or the porridge display 56, the rice display 52 is also turned on. On the other hand, while keeping warm, the rice cooking indicator 52 goes off,
The heat retention display 53 lights up.

Next, the actual control of the rice cooked with white rice and the subsequent heat retention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition,
In FIG. 8 and FIGS. 9 and 10 described later, the upper graph shows the temperature change detected by the temperature sensor 29, and the lower two graphs show the heaters 26, 27, 28.
It shows the timing of the power interruption. At the beginning of rice cooking, first, 8 minutes of hot water is cooked. In hot water cooking, first, only the rice cooking heater 26 is energized to heat the container 16 for 3 minutes, and then all the heaters 26, 27, 28 are cut off for 5 minutes. Next, the main cooking starts, but in the main cooking, all the heaters 26, 27, 28 are continuously energized. Then, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 29 reaches a temperature close to 100 ° C. and a predetermined time has passed, it is determined that the boiling time is reached, and after this boiling time, the rice cooking heater 26 disconnects electricity and energizes at intervals of 30 seconds. Repeatedly, the amount of heating decreases. After that, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 29 becomes 1
When it reaches 20 ℃, it is judged that it has been dried up, and it shifts to Murashi. The Murashi lasts for 15 minutes, during which the rice cooking heater 26 is cut off except for 30 seconds. On the other hand, the body heater 27 and the lid heater 28 are continuously energized until the end of the spotting. After the end of Muramushi, it automatically shifts to heat retention. In the heat retention, the rice cooking heater 26 is always cut off, but the body heater 27 and the lid heater 28 are controlled to be cut off and turned on so that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 29 is maintained at 71 ° C. On the other hand, rice cooked quickly
As shown in FIG. 9, the hot-cooking is omitted, and the time when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 29 reaches 110 ° C. is determined to be the dry-up time, and the time for the main cooking is slightly cut. Is the same as the above-mentioned ordinary cooked rice. As shown in FIG. 10, the rice porridge cooking control is the same as that of the normal rice cooked rice control up to the determination at the boiling point. After the boiling point, the rice cooking heater 26
The ratio of the energizing time is 2/5 for intermittent energizing for 10 minutes, the heating amount is reduced, and the ratio of the energizing time is 1/10 for the following 20 minutes
The power is turned on and off, and the heating amount is further reduced. Further, after 30 minutes from the boiling point, all the heaters 26, 27 and 28 are always in the power-off state, the unevenness is performed for 6 minutes, and then the heat retention is started. By such control, dry-up does not occur in cooked rice. The container switch 33
When the container is open, the container body 16 is not contained in the container body 11, and the container 16 is kept in an open state.
27 and 28 are cut off.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to select each operation of normal rice cooked with rice, hot rice cooked with hot water, heat retention, and rice cooked with porridge only by operating one rice cooking key 57 and the selected operation. Can be started, so the operation becomes easier. In addition, since a menu key different from the conventional rice cooking key is unnecessary, the panel surface of the display / operation unit 39 has a neat and good design. In addition, since the structure of the display operation unit 39 is simplified, the cost can be reduced. By the way, conventionally, the temperature sensor and the container switch are connected to the electric circuit unit by separate dedicated connectors. Therefore, it takes time and effort to fit and connect the two connectors during the assembling work, and four long lead wires for wiring are required, which makes the wiring process complicated. Also, two connector receivers are required on the electric circuit unit, which increases the size of the electric circuit unit. On the other hand, in the above embodiment, since the temperature sensor 29 and the container switch 33 are connected to the electric circuit unit 38 by one connector 62, the connecting work of the connector 62 is simplified. Also a temperature sensor
29 and the container switch 33 are located close to each other, and paying attention to the fact that the temperature sensor 29 and the container switch 33 can share the ground on the electric circuit,
And the negative electrode of the container switch 33 are connected to the substrate 64 by a short lead wire 66 and one lead wire 65
The following effects can be obtained by making the ground wire common to both. First, the temperature sensor 29 and the container switch 33 are connected to the connectors at the tips of the lead wires 61, 62 and 63.
Since the 62 and the container switch 33 are integrated at two places with the substrate 64, unlike the case where they are integrated only with the connector, the temperature sensor 29 is connected after connecting the lead wires 61, 63, 65, 66.
The container switch 33 and the container switch 33 are unitized to improve the cohesion. Therefore, it becomes easy to handle those parts, and it becomes easy to incorporate them into the container body 11. In addition, when the assembling work and the connecting work of the lead wires 61, 63, 65, 66 are performed at different places, it is convenient for carrying the parts after the connecting of the lead wires 61, 63, 65, 66. Further, since the connector 62 may have three terminals, not only when there are two connectors having two terminals as in the conventional case, but also each pole of the temperature sensor and the container switch is connected to the connector of four terminals by four lead wires. Compared to the case, the number of connections in the connector 62 is reduced and the housing of the connector 62 can be downsized. Also,
The connector receiver 67 also has the same advantage, and the electric circuit unit 38 can be downsized. Together with this, the housing of the connector 62, the terminals 62a and 62b in the connector 62
, 63c, lead wires 61, 63, 65, 66 and other materials can be used in a reduced amount. Furthermore, since the number of wires from the lower center position of the container 16 to the electric circuit unit 38 is reduced from four to three, the wiring process is simplified. And from these things, the cost can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made. For example,
In the above-described embodiment, the plural types of rice cooking operations having different relations between the detection by the temperature sensor 29 and the control of the heaters 26, 27, 28 are white rice cooking and porridge cooking, but brown rice cooking or cooked rice can be selected. It may be one. Note that, for example, the normal white rice cooked rice and the boiled rice cooked rice have different dry-up detection temperatures due to the difference in the conditions of the rice to be cooked. For example, in cooked rice, the time when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor reaches 120 ° C is determined as the dry-up time, but in cooked rice, the time when the temperature reaches 115 ° C, which is lower, is determined as the dry-up time.

[0013]

According to the present invention, it is possible to select a plurality of types of rice cooking operations having different relations between the detection by the temperature sensor and the control of the heater and to start the rice cooking only by operating one rice cooking starting means. As a result, the operation is simplified, and the rice cooking operation selection means different from the rice cooking start means is not required, so that the configuration of the operation unit is simple and neat, and the design is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a rice cooker of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall sectional view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the same display operation unit.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the same as above.

FIG. 5 is a wiring diagram of the temperature sensor and the container switch, and an electric circuit unit.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the above.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the same as above.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the temperature change and the on / off control of the heater when the white rice is cooked.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the temperature change and the on / off control of the heater when the rice is cooked slightly.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing a temperature change and a heater on / off control at the time of cooking rice with porridge.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a display operation unit showing an example of a conventional rice cooker.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the above.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the same as above.

[Explanation of symbols] 16 Container 26 Rice cooker (heater) 27 Body heater (heater) 28 Lid heater (heater) 29 Temperature sensor 57 Rice cook key (rice cook start means) 71 Rice cook control means

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Satoru Kitazawa 2570 Gosuda 1 Kaji City, Niigata Prefecture, Toshiba Heat Appliance Co., Ltd. (72) Kosaku Nakajima 2570 1 Gosuda Goza, Kamo City, Niigata Prefecture 1 Toshiba Heat Equipment Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container, a heater for heating the container, a temperature sensor, and rice cooking control means for controlling the rice cooking operation while controlling the heater according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. In the rice cooker in which the rice cooking control means can selectively control multiple types of rice cooking operations with different relations between the detection by the temperature sensor and the control of the heater, the selection of the rice cooking operation to be executed is switched every time it is operated, and the rice cooking is started. A rice cooker comprising a means for starting cooked rice.