JPH053166Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] [Field of application and overview of the invention] The invention relates to a rice cooker, and by simply performing model rice cooking while manually adjusting the heat power, the rice cooker learns the model rice cooking operation and performs the same. To make rice reproducible and to easily repeatedly cook rice of a quality that meets the taste of the user of the appliance.

[Prior art and issues] Rice cookers whose operations are controlled by a built-in microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) have become widespread, and recent commercial rice cookers are capable of automatically cooking rice using the heat power freely adjusted by the user of the appliance. Instruments have emerged that allow for reversal.

And with this one, the rice cooking data is externally connected.
It can be stored in an IC or ROM capsule, and rice cooking data that meets the requirements of the appliance user can be stored in the IC.
For example, a method is used in which the manufacturer writes the information.

However, the rice cooking data stored in the above IC etc. is set based on the temperature inside the rice cooker, etc.
Before writing rice cooking data etc. to an IC, etc., it is necessary to manually perform model rice cooking in advance, measure the temperature inside the rice cooker that changes over time during the model rice cooking, and create rice cooking data. Become. For this reason, the conventional method has a problem in that the work required to set the rice cooking data in the microcomputer becomes complicated.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above points, and allows rice cooking data to be stored in the microcontroller simply by performing model rice cooking manually.
The objective is to make it easy to set rice cooking data.

[Means] The technical means of the present invention for solving the above problem is as follows: ``Learning switch 3 operated when learning model rice cooking, proportional valve 50 inserted in series in gas circuit 41 to gas burner 40, and manual cooker. 60 and
A temperature sensor 10 detects the temperature inside the rice cooking pot 1 heated by the gas burner 40, and a temperature signal outputted by the temperature sensor 10 is sequentially outputted over time during learning of model rice cooking when the learning switch 3 is operated. Temperature recording unit 2 to store and learning switch 3
A proportional valve control means is provided to control the opening of the proportional valve 50 so that the temperature signal output from the temperature recording section 2 and the temperature signal detected by the temperature sensor 10 are equal during normal rice cooking when the temperature sensor 10 is not operated. Sometimes, when learning model rice cooking, the stored temperature signals are sequentially read out in the order in which they were stored in the temperature recording section 2 and applied to the proportional valve control means.
That's true.

[Effect] The above technical means works as follows.

First, the learning operation of model rice cooking will be explained.

When the learning switch 3 is operated, the temperature sensor 10
The temperature signal inside the rice cooker 1 detected by the temperature recording section 2
In this state, model rice cooking is performed while operating the manual rice cooker 60. That is, the rice cooking operation is carried out by the user of the appliance, who manually adjusts the amount of gas supplied to the gas burner 40 by operating the manual cooker 60, and adjusts the firepower based on his own experience until the rice is cooked. This is what we do.

Then, the temperature sensor 10 detects the temperature inside the rice cooking pot 1 that changes over time according to the manual rice cooking operation, and the temperature signal detected by the temperature sensor 10 is
The data are sequentially written into the temperature recording section 2 as time passes. That is, a signal indicating the temperature inside the rice cooking pot 1 from the start to the completion of rice cooking is stored in the temperature recording section 2.

In this manner, according to the above technical means, necessary rice cooking data is stored in the temperature recording section 2 by simply performing manual model rice cooking, thereby completing the learning operation of the model rice cooking.

Next, the operation of reproducing the model rice cooking learned above will be explained.

When the rice cooking operation is started without operating the learning switch 3, the temperature signals are read out in the order in which they were stored from the temperature recording unit 2 which stored the temperature signals over time during learning of the model rice cooking. That is, signals that match the temperature signal in the rice cooker pot 1 that changes over time during the model rice cooking are sequentially read out and reproduced, and the reproduced signals are applied to the proportional valve control means.

Then, the proportional valve control means controls the combustion amount of the gas burner 40 by controlling the opening of the proportional valve 50 so that the reproduced temperature signal and the temperature signal inside the rice cooker pot 1 detected by the temperature sensor 10 become equal. do. As a result, the temperature inside the rice cooking pot 1 is controlled in the same manner as in the model rice cooking described above, and thereby the learned model rice cooking operation can be reproduced.

[effect] The present invention has the following unique effects.

Since the rice cooking data is stored in the temperature recording section 2 simply by manually performing the model rice cooking, the work of setting the rice cooking data can be performed extremely easily.

[Example] Next, an example of the above-described present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The structure of the rice cooker according to the embodiment of the present invention is as shown in FIG. A door 12, a support shelf 13 for placing the rice cooker 1, and a gas burner 40 as a heat generating part 4 for heating the rice cooker 1 are provided.
Further, a temperature sensor 10 composed of a thermistor is in contact with the bottom wall of the rice cooker 1.

An operating section 14 and a display section 15 are disposed in an easily operated part such as the front section of the rice cooker A, and these operating section 14 and display section 15 have a structure as shown in FIG. .

The operation unit 14 includes a learning switch 3 that is operated when the microcomputer 70 learns manual model rice cooking.
A power switch 16 is also provided. The operation section 14 also includes a time setting knob 17 that is operated when setting the current time or setting a reservation time for rice cooking, and a button that indicates that the operation of the time setting knob 17 is an operation for setting the reservation time. A reservation declaration switch 18 is provided which is operated to declare the time, and a clock switch 19 which is operated to declare that the operation of the time setting knob 17 is to set the current time. In addition, the operation unit 14 includes a reservation switch 20 that is operated when cooking rice on a timer, a rice cooking switch 21 that is turned on when cooking rice that is not on a timer, and a rice cooking switch 21 that is used to select the type of rice to be cooked, such as rice porridge cooking or regular rice cooking. A menu switch 22 and a reservation time call switch 23 that sequentially calls a plurality of reservation times stored in a microcomputer 70, which will be described later, are provided. The rice cooking menu switch 22 is operated not only to select the rice cooking type described above, but also to reproduce a model rice cooking operation that is performed based on the knowledge and experience of the appliance user and stored in the microcomputer 70. It's summery.

Next, the display unit 15 includes a time display 24 that displays the reserved time, etc., and a rice cooking menu display that displays whether the rice cooking type selected by operating the rice cooking menu switch 22 is normal rice cooking or porridge cooking etc. 25
A status indicator 26 is provided to indicate the operating state of the appliance, such as whether the appliance is in timer cooking or in learning mode.

Next, in the gas circuit 41 to the gas burner 40,
As shown in FIG. 3, a manual cock 60 and a main valve 61
Further, the proportional valves 50 are inserted in this order from the upstream side. In addition, near the gas burner 40,
An igniter 62 that continuously fires sparks to the gas burner 40 to perform an ignition operation, and an ignition confirmation thermistor 63 that detects whether the gas burner 40 is in a combustion state are provided. The outputs of the ignition confirmation thermistor 63 and the temperature sensor 10 that detects the temperature inside the rice cooker 1 are applied to a controller 7 made up of a microcomputer 70 and the like, and are also applied to a source inserted into the gas circuit 41. The operation of the valve 61, the proportional valve 50, and the igniter 62 for igniting the gas burner 40 is controlled by the controller 7. The controller 7 also includes a rice cooker A.
An operating section 14 for operating the rice cooker and a display section 15 for displaying the rice cooking status and the like are connected.

The proportional valve 5 inserted into the operating section 14, the display section 15, and the gas circuit 41 to the gas burner 40
The detailed configuration of the controller 7 that controls the 0, etc. is as shown in FIG.

On the input side of the microcomputer 70, an A/D converter 27,
27, 27 are provided, and each A/D converter 2
7, the outputs of a temperature sensor 10 for detecting the temperature inside the rice cooker 1, an ignition confirmation thermistor 63, and a time setting knob 17 are applied separately.

Further, each switch such as the power switch 16 and the learning switch 3 is directly connected to the input port of the microcomputer 70, and furthermore, the output side of the microcomputer 70 controls the proportional valve 50 inserted into the gas circuit 41. The output of the D/A converter 28 is applied to the proportional control circuit 29 together with the output of the temperature sensor 10, and the proportional control circuit 29 controls the proportional valve 50. The opening degree of the valve is controlled. In this embodiment, the proportional control circuit 29 and the proportional valve 50 correspond to the proportional valve control means described in the technical means described above.

Next, the output port of the microcomputer 70 is connected to the main valve 61 and the igniter 6 via the drive circuits 31 and 32.
2 are connected separately, and the time display 2
4 is connected to the output port of the microcomputer 70 via the 7-segment driver 33. In addition, five light emitting diodes 251 to 255 forming the rice cooking menu display 25 and a status display 2 indicating that the appliance is performing learning operation, timer rice cooking, etc.
The four light emitting diodes 261 to 264 constituting the unit 6 are connected to the output port of the microcomputer 70. Furthermore, a power supply circuit 34 from a commercial power source is connected to the microcomputer 70.

In addition, the ROM 72 built into the microcomputer 70 and
The structure of the memory consisting of RAM 73 is shown in Fig. 6, and includes first and second order rice cooking memories M1 and M2 which store data of model rice cooking which the user of the appliance freely adjusts the heat power. Part is battery 7
It is secured in the RAM73 part that was backed up in 4. Further, standard rice cooking memories M3, M4, and M5 are secured in the ROM 72 to store standard rice cooking data such as porridge cooking, mixed rice, and regular rice cooking. Further, the RAM 73 has a work area E required for temporarily storing data necessary for rice cooking work.

Next, the operation of the rice cooker of the above embodiment will be explained according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

(About the learning operation of model rice cooking) First, turn on the power switch 16, then turn on the learning switch 3, and then turn on the rice cooking menu switch 2.
Press 2 to select 1st order rice cooking memory M1 or 2nd order rice cooking memory in RAM73 memory.
Select which M2 to write the model rice cooking data to, and thereby determine the writing start address of the rice cooking data. In the following description, it will be assumed that the first order rice cooking memory M1 has been selected by operating the rice cooking menu switch 22. Also, the first order rice cooking memory M1
Assume that the start address of is N.

When the rice cooking switch 21 is pressed in this state, the first address of the first order rice cooking memory M1 is written to the memory AD in the work area E. Further, when the model rice cooking starts, the microcomputer 70 starts learning the operation of the model rice cooking. The program control then checks at branch 81 whether the learning switch 3 has been pressed.

When learning switch 3 is found to be pressed,
Open the main valve 61, fully open the proportional valve 50, and then clear the interval measurement timer T (using the timer built into the microcomputer 70) for measuring the time interval for temperature measurement. .

Next, at branch 82, the cleared interval measurement timer T is used to wait for 30 seconds, and after waiting for the 30 seconds, the temperature inside the rice cooker 1 read from the temperature sensor 10. from the first address N to the succeeding address N of the first order rice cooking memory M1
+1, N+2, etc. are written sequentially at 30 second intervals. During the model rice cooking learning operation in which this data writing operation continues, the appliance operator adjusts the firepower based on his own experience while adjusting the opening degree of the manual cooker 60. Then, the temperature inside the rice cooking pot 1 that changes over time due to the operation of the appliance operator (the temperature that changes as shown in FIG. 7 due to manual rice cooking by the appliance operator, for example) changes every 30 seconds. The sampled rice is written into the first order rice cooking memory M1, and eventually, when the rice cooking is finished and the rice cooking switch 21 is turned on again, the main valve 61 is closed and the model rice cooking operation is completed.

(Regarding reproduction cooking of model rice cooking) When reproducing the same temperature control as the above model rice cooking, first operate the rice cooking menu switch 22 to call up the contents of the first order rice cooking memory M1 during the above learning operation. Do it like this. Then,
At the time of rice cooking control, which will be described later, data is read from the first address N of the first order rice cooking memory M1 and the automatic rice cooking control operation is started. Then, in this state, the rice cooking switch 21 is operated without turning on the learning switch 3.

Then, at the branch 81, the instrument control moves to the step on the right side of FIG. 5, the main valve 61 is opened, and the interval measuring timer T for measuring the time interval is cleared.

Next, the memory addresses N, N+1, determined by the selection of the first order rice cooking memory M1,
Read out the temperature data stored in N+2... at 30 second intervals (same time interval as the time interval used to record the temperature inside rice cooker 1 during the learning operation of model rice cooking),
While monitoring this and the output of the temperature sensor 10 that monitors the temperature inside the rice cooker 1, make sure that the temperature inside the rice cooker 1 becomes equal to the temperature data written in the above addresses N, N+1, N+2... The combustion amount of the gas burner 40 is automatically controlled. That is, at branch 85, the temperature inside the rice cooker 1 and the addresses N, N+
If the temperature inside the rice cooker 1 is lower than the target temperature read from 1, N+2..., the proportional valve 50
The opening degree of the proportional valve 50 is increased, and conversely, when the temperature inside the rice cooker 1 is high, the opening degree of the proportional valve 50 is reduced.

As a result, during the automatic rice cooking, the rice cooking operation performed while operating the manual rice cooker 60 during the model rice cooking described above can be reproduced.

In the above embodiment, the first and second order rice cooking memories M1 and M2 secured in the RAM 73 correspond to the temperature recording unit 2 described in the technical means section.

In addition, the rice cooker of the above embodiment is capable of pre-ordered rice cooking, which starts the rice cooking operation when the set time arrives, and special rice cooking such as porridge cooking. 23, several types of reserved times stored in advance in the microcomputer 70 are sequentially recalled, and the recalled reserved times are displayed on the time display 24. and,
If you turn on the reservation switch 20 in this state,
The rice cooking operation will start from the time displayed on the time display 24. Also, time setting knob 1
7 and presses the reservation declaration switch 18, the time set by the time setting knob 17 is displayed on the time display 24, and the rice cooking operation starts from that time.

Furthermore, when the rice cooking menu switch 22 is operated to select rice porridge cooking or regular rice cooking, the light emitting diodes 251 that constitute the rice cooking menu display 25 light up to display the set state, and the corresponding rice cooking operation It is done.

In the above embodiment, only the reserved rice cooking time is displayed on the time display 24.
The elapsed cooking time and the temperature inside the pot may be displayed in this area.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a liquid crystal display section 45 is provided on the display section 15 formed on the front part of the rice cooker A, and the temperature inside the rice cooker pot 1 during rice cooking and the microcomputer 70 are displayed on the liquid crystal display section. A temperature graph showing the temperature data in the first order rice cooking memory M1 and the second order rice cooking memory M2 recalled from the above may be displayed.

Further, a flow counter for measuring the amount of gas consumed by the gas burner 40 may be provided in the gas circuit 41, and the output of the flow counter may be displayed on the display section 15 so that the amount of gas consumed can be identified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of rice cooker A of the present invention, Figure 2
The figure is an explanatory diagram of the operation section 14 and the display section 15.
4 is an explanatory diagram of the control circuit, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the control program, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the memory configuration in the microcomputer 70, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the temporal change in the amount of heat generated by the gas burner. Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment, and in the figure, 1... rice cooker, 2... temperature recording section, 3... learning switch, 10... temperature sensor, 40... gas burner, 41 ... Gas circuit, 50 ... Proportional valve, 60
...Manual trick.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A learning switch 3 operated when learning model rice cooking, a proportional valve 50 and a manual cooker 60 inserted in series in a gas circuit 41 to a gas burner 40, and the temperature inside the rice cooking pot 1 heated by the gas burner 40 are detected. Temperature sensor 10 and learning switch 3
When learning model rice cooking in which the learning switch 3 is operated, a temperature recording section 2 sequentially stores the temperature signal output from the temperature sensor 10 as time passes, and during normal rice cooking without operating the learning switch 3, the temperature signal is output from the temperature recording section 2. Proportional valve control means is provided to control the opening degree of the proportional valve 50 so that the temperature signal detected by the temperature sensor 10 becomes equal to the temperature signal detected by the temperature sensor 10, and during the normal rice cooking operation, the order stored in the temperature recording unit 2 during learning of model rice cooking is provided. A rice cooker that sequentially reads out the stored temperature signals and applies them to a proportional valve control means.