JPH0543714Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker, and more specifically, a shoulder operation box that houses an operation circuit and is operated from the outside is provided in the shoulder of the device body. This relates to electric rice cookers.

(Prior Art) Electric rice cookers are broadly divided into those in which the operation surface is provided on the side surface of the container body and those in which the operation surface is provided on the shoulder of the container body. Recently, the applicant and others have attempted to form a unit by housing the electronic parts and circuits involved in the operation on the operation surface in an operation box a as shown in FIG. 7, thereby improving sealing performance and ease of assembly. There is. This operation box a is positioned from below the container body a to the back side of the shoulder portion d of the container body a with the bottom of the container body b of the electric rice cooker open, and the claw e engages with the shoulder portion d. Attach as appropriate by fitting or screwing with screw f,
The operating part g of the operating box a is made to protrude from the outer surface of the shoulder so that it can be operated from the outside.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, even if an abnormality occurs in the electronic components h or circuits in the operation box a and an attempt is made to repair or replace them, in the electric rice cooker once assembled, the device body b It is difficult and inconvenient to work because the bottom part of the container must be removed and the user must reach into the narrow and deep annular space k between the outer shell i, which forms the outer and inner walls of the container b, and the inner container. be. In the case of the operation box a provided on the shoulder d of the device body b, the operation surface faces upward, making it easy to see and operate, but it is located at the top of the annular space, making it more difficult to operate.

Therefore, the present invention aims to improve the operation box and mounting structure of the electric rice cooker, which is convenient to operate and has an operation box on the shoulder of the appliance, to prevent abnormalities in the electronic components and circuits inside the operation box. An object of the present invention is to provide an electric rice cooker that has a simple structure that can be easily repaired and replaced even when the rice cooker is used, and that causes no problems in use.

(Means for solving the problem) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention
In an electric rice cooker in which an operation box that accommodates an operation section circuit and is operated from the outside is provided in a shoulder of the container body, an opening for receiving the operation box from the outside is provided in the shoulder, and the operation box is placed in the opening. is fitted from the outside and attached to the opening in the shoulder with the operation surface at the outer end, and a nameplate sheet is affixed to the operation surface of the operation box extending to the boundary with the opening in the shoulder. It is something.

(Function) According to the above structure of the present invention, the operation box is fitted into the opening of the shoulder of the container from the outside and the operation surface at the outer end is attached to the opening, so the operation box is inserted from the outside of the container. Although it is convenient for maintenance work because it can be installed and removed,
The operation box is installed from the inside of the container and faces the outside of the container, and the operation surface does not protrude from the outside of the container. This can be avoided and made convenient to use.

In addition, a nameplate sheet is attached to the operation surface of the operation box facing the outside of the device, extending to the boundary with the shoulder opening, covering the boundary between the operation box and the shoulder opening. Therefore, it is possible to form a single operation surface with a good appearance without being affected by the external fitting of the operation box, and it is also possible to seal the boundary portion.

Moreover, since the operation box is separate from the shoulder of the container, there are no problems with molding it in any orientation compared to when it is integrated into the container. By removing it from the outside, you can not only access the circuits and electrical equipment inside the control box, but also have the advantage of being able to fully open the shoulder opening to perform maintenance work on the wiring between the control box and the inside of the unit. be.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

As shown in the overall cross section in FIG. 1, there is a container body 3 consisting of an outer case 1 made of a metal plate and an inner container 2 made of metal, and a metal rice cooking pot 4 housed in this container body 3.
and a container lid 6 made of resin which is pivotally connected to the rear of the container body 3 by a hinge pin 5 so as to be openable and closable.

A heating plate 8 in which a rice cooking heater 7 is embedded is applied to the upper surface of the bottom of the inner container 2 of the container body 3 and is attached with screws 9. Rice is cooked by placing the rice cooking pot 4 on the heating plate 8 and heating it. In addition, a center sensor 12 is provided in the center hole 11 of the heating plate 8, and is pressed by a spring (not shown) to the bottom of the rice cooker 4 placed on the heating plate 8.
Detects the temperature of rice cooker 4. A heat insulating heater 13 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the body of the inner container 2, and the inner container 2
The rice in the rice cooker 4 is gently heated from around the rice cooker 4 through the rice cooker to keep it warm. The outer case 1 and the inner container 2 have their mouths connected to each other by a shoulder member 14 made of resin, thereby suppressing heat from the inner container 2 from being conducted to the outer case 1.

A metal inner lid 15 is provided inside the container lid 6 to close the opening of the rice cooking pot 4. The container lid 6 has a hollow structure made of resin, and a steam vent 16 is provided in the center. A perforated plate 17 is attached to the upper opening of the steam vent 16. A steam venting port 18 is also provided in the center of the inner lid 15, and a pressurized steam venting pipe 19 made of resin is provided above the steam venting port 18. This pressurized steam venting pipe 19 has a downwardly directed annular stepped portion 19a at its upper end that elastically engages with an inner peripheral protrusion 22a of an annular seal packing 22 attached to the lower inner periphery of the steam venting port 16, whereby the steam It is detachably connected to the outlet 16. The pressurized steam release pipe 19 has a built-in pressure regulating valve 21, and a passage structure is formed between the pressure regulating valve 21 and the perforated plate 17 to release steam while maintaining the inside of the rice cooker 4 at a predetermined pressure. are doing.

Seal packing 22 is pressurized steam vent pipe 1
It has a seal lip 22b that is crimped to the shoulder portion 19b of 9, and when the pressurized steam venting pipe 19 is inserted into the steam venting port 16 and the inner lid 15 is attached to the container lid 6, the container lid 6 is closed. The inner lid 15 is replaced by the container lid 6.
When approaching the shoulder portion 19b, the pressure is applied to the shoulder 19b, and the space between the steam vent hole 16 and the pressurized steam vent pipe 19 is firmly sealed, preventing steam and steam from entering between the container lid 6 and the inner lid 15. To prevent this, and to make it easier for an inner lid 15 to be crimped onto a rice cooking pot 4.
A seal packing 23 is provided at a portion of the inner lid 15 that is press-fitted to the rice cooking pot 4. The container lid 6 is provided with a seal packing 24 for pressing the inner lid 15, which faces the portion of the inner lid 15 that is crimped onto the rice cooking pot 4. It is sandwiched between the container lid 6 and the container lid 6 by means of a reflective plate 25. The seal packing 24 presses the inner lid 15 downward against the container lid 6 to press the inner lid 15 to the rice cooking pot 4 at a predetermined pressure at the seal 23 portion.

The container lid 6 is pivotally connected to the rear part of the container 3 by the hinge pin 5 to the rear bearing 31 of the shoulder member 14, and the container lid 6 is connected to the pivot base 6a to which the pivotal connection is made. The pivot base 6a and the main body 6b are divided into the base 6a and the main body 6b which can be attached and detached.
A and the protrusion 6c of the main body portion 6b are elastically engaged to be locked in the coupled state. This elastic engagement generates a click sound to inform the user that the two have been connected, and provides appropriate resistance when separating the two, thereby preventing accidental separation. A spring 33 attached to the pivot base 6a around the hinge pin 5 is actuated between the pivot base 6a and the container body 3 to bias the container lid 6 in the opening direction.

A stopper 34 is provided at a portion of the shoulder member 14 facing the free end, which is the front portion of the container lid 6, and is biased so as to project toward the inner periphery of the container 3. Opposed to this, an engagement recess 35 is provided on the side peripheral surface of the free end of the container lid 6, and when the container lid 6 is closed, the engagement recess 35 engages with the stopper 34, and the container lid 6 is closed. Lock the lid 6 in the closed state. Shoulder member 14
The operation button 36 of the stopper 34 is provided so as to be exposed on a part of the upward facing front panel 37, and when the operation box 36 is pushed down, the stopper 34 is moved back and the lid 6 of the container body is unlocked. Therefore, the container lid 6 is automatically opened by the bias of the spring 33.

The shoulder member 14 is made of a general-purpose resin such as polypropylene or ABS resin. On the upper surface of the shoulder member 14, as shown in FIGS. A shoulder heater 39 is provided via the shoulder heater 39.
The shoulder heater mounting portion of the shoulder member 14 has an upward annular groove 4.
It is said to be 1. This annular groove 41 has a heat dissipation hole 42 at its bottom, and has flanges 43 with a small protrusion at the opening edges on the inner and outer peripheries. The shoulder ring 38 has an engaging recess 44 on its inner and outer periphery that is force-fitted into the flanges 43, 43, and a flange 45 and a pawl 46.
By force-fitting the shoulder ring 38 into the annular groove 41 from above, the engagement recess 44 is force-fitted into the flange 43 and integrated into the shoulder member 14.

The shoulder ring 38 has a groove 47 on its upper surface into which the shoulder heater 39 is fitted, and a heat radiation hole 4 at the bottom of the groove 47.
8 is provided. The groove 47 is the shoulder heater 39
The inner circumferential wall is higher than the shoulder heater 39, and the inner circumferential side of the shoulder heater 39 is engaged with the engaging claw 51 provided at the upper part of the groove side circumferential surface. Shoulder heater 3
By force-fitting the shoulder heater 39 into the groove 47, the shoulder heater 39 can be securely fixed within the groove 47.

The inner lid 15 extends further outward from the portion where it is crimped onto the rice cooker 4, and is in pressure contact with the upper surface of the shoulder heater 39 to receive heat conduction. When keeping warm, the heat-retaining heater 13 and shoulder heater 39 are activated, and the rice-cooking heater 7 is used at a low temperature.
Since the heat of the shoulder heater 39 is mainly conducted to the inner lid 15, the three heaters heat the rice in the rice cooker 4 almost uniformly from around it and keep it warm.

Both the heat retention heater 13 and the shoulder heater 39 are sheathed heaters, and both are used as they are commercially available. However, since the shoulder heater 39 is exposed on the outside, it may be plated or colored. The shoulder heater 39 also has an end 39a connected to the shoulder ring 38 for connection to a power supply circuit.
is pulled out to the back side of the shoulder ring 38 through holes 48 formed in the mutually adjacent ends of the grooves 47,
Furthermore, it is pulled out to the back side of the shoulder member 14 through a hole (not shown) opened at the bottom of the annular groove 41 of the shoulder member 14. A seal push 49 that seals between the end portion 39a of the shoulder heater 39 and the hole 48 of the shoulder ring 38 is fitted.
This is to prevent water or the like from entering the inside of the container body 3 from the drawer portion to the back side of the container body 3.

A bottom member 51 made of resin is attached to the lower end of the exterior case 1 in a force-fitted manner. A downward recess 52 is provided in the rear half of the bottom member 51, and a power cord storage box 53 is attached to this recess 52 to accommodate a cord reel (not shown). A downward facing circuit box 54 is provided in the front half of the bottom member 51.
are integrally formed and house a power supply circuit board 55. The entire lower surface of the bottom member 51 is closed by a metal lid plate 56.

The container body 3 is designed such that the front part having the front panel 37 on the shoulder member 14 has a larger space between the outer case 1 and the inner container 2 than the other part,
The front panel 37 is sufficiently wide to form an operation surface. The space on the back side of the front panel 37 is used to provide an operation box 61 made of resin for operating various functions. The operation box 61 houses an operation board 62 equipped with electrical components and circuits for performing various operations, displaying the operations, and displaying the status of the operations related to the operations, as well as a microcomputer and the like for controlling the operations. The specific configuration of the operation box 61 can be designed in various ways depending on the mounting structure of the installed electric circuit and electrical equipment, or the mounting structure of the base body 3 to the shoulder member 14. It is also possible to set up a control panel, and the specific state of the operation surface formed by the user is also free.

As a result, complicated circuit configurations are integrated into this operation box, wiring within the container body 3 is simplified, and the influence of heat from the rice cooking heater 7 is alleviated, resulting in safety. A metal heat shield plate 63 is attached to the top surface of the top plate 54a of the circuit box 54 with a heat insulating space 64 in between to protect the electronic components inside the circuit box 54 from the heat influence from the rice cooker heater 7. There is.

The operation box 61 includes a container-shaped operation box base 64 and an opening 6 of the operation box base 64.
4a and an operation box lid 65 that closes the opening 64a. Operation box base 6
4, as clearly shown in FIG. 3, has a flange 64b on the outer periphery of the opening 64a, and a lead wire outlet 64c at the bottom. Additionally, a flange 64b is provided on the outer periphery of the operation box base 64.
and the engaging recess 64 by the claw 64e opposite thereto.
f is formed. The front panel 37 of the shoulder member 14 is provided with an opening 66 capable of receiving the operation box base 64. The operation box base 64 is fitted into the opening 66 from above, and the engagement recess 64f is forcefully fitted into the edge of the opening 66 with the flange 64b fitted into the recess 67 around the opening 66 so that they are flush. As a result, the operation box base 64 is fixed to the shoulder member 14.

The operation box lid 65 has an operation surface 65d on its upper surface, a peripheral wall 65a that is inserted into the inner periphery of the operation box base 64, and a recess 64i formed on the upper surface of the flange 64b of the operation box base 64. It has flanges 65b that fit together and become flush. The operation surface 65d is provided with operation buttons 71 and a display window 72. As shown in FIG. 4, the operation button 71 is integrally formed with the operation box lid 65 so as to be continuous via a resin spring 71a, and can be pressed down by the elasticity of the resin spring 71a, and returns to the initial state when the operation is released. It is starting to return to .

An engagement recess 65e formed by a plurality of ribs 65c is formed on the inner periphery of the peripheral wall 65a of the operation box lid 65. As a result, an operation board 76 equipped with a display panel 73, a tact switch 74, other electronic components, and a microcomputer 75 for controlling the operation, display, and operation of the electronic rice cooker is attached to the peripheral wall 6.
5a and forcefully fit into the engagement recess 65a, the operation surface 65d and the operation board 76 can be integrated in an appropriate positional relationship. Therefore, the operation button 71, the tactile switch 74 operated by it, the display window 72, and the display panel 73 can be set to appropriate positional relationships and distances.

The operation surface 65d of the operation box lid 65 and the upper surface of the flange 64b of the operation box base 64 are flush with each other.
is exposed. This exposed fitting boundary part 7
A nameplate sheet 78 made of a resin film is pasted to the range of the operation surface 65d including 7, specifically, to the exposed surface range of the flange 64b of the operation box base 64. As a result, the operation surface 65d is decorated with a uniform appearance, and the fitting boundary portion 77 can be sealed to prevent water from entering. Operation box 6 formed by
A nameplate sheet 78 affixed to the operation surface 65d, which is the outer end of the operation box 61 and the shoulder member 1,
It extends to the fitting boundary portion facing the outside with the opening 66 of No. 4, and this boundary portion can be covered so as not to be exposed to the outside to form one operation surface with good appearance. This boundary can also be sealed. Furthermore, corresponding displays and explanations can be provided for each operation button 71 and various display sections.

The lead wire outlet 64c at the bottom of the operation box base 64 is filled with a sealing material 79, and the engaging portion 8
A cap 82 is attached by force-fitting 1a and 81b together.

The nameplate sheet 78 may be applied so as to reach the upper surface of the shoulder member 14.

(Effects of the invention) According to the invention, the operation box is fitted from the outside into the opening in the shoulder of the instrument body, and the operation surface is attached to the opening, and can be attached and removed from the outside of the instrument body for maintenance work, etc. Although it is convenient, it does not have an operating surface that protrudes from the outside of the container, causing it to get caught or become bulky, similar to the case where it is attached from the inside of the container and faces the outside of the container. It can also be made convenient for occasional use.

In addition, the boundary between the operation box and the shoulder opening is exposed to the outside by a nameplate sheet that is attached to the operation surface facing the outside of the operation box body and extends to the boundary with the shoulder opening. Since the area is covered, it is possible to form a single operation surface with a good appearance without being affected by the external fitting of the operation box, and the boundary area can be sealed, so there is no need for special sealing members or sealing work. It is possible to eliminate the inconvenience of water intrusion from the boundary portion facing the outer surface by not doing so.

Moreover, the operation box is separate from the shoulder of the instrument body, and can be installed in any direction on this shoulder.The operation box can be removed from the outside and the circuits and equipment inside the operation box can be accessed from the shoulder when it is fully opened. Through the opening, maintenance work on the wiring between the operation box and the body can be performed from the outside.

Therefore, without the disadvantages of having the operation box fitted from the outside of the vessel, the fact that it is a separate body from the shoulder part can be used to facilitate maintenance work, and the separate body Structurally, it is possible to provide a convenient structure that allows flexibility in the direction in which the operation box is provided without impairing the moldability of the shoulder portion.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an electronic rice cooker showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the front exterior, Fig. 3 is an exploded sectional view of the operation box mounting part, and Fig. 4 is an operation button. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the shoulder heater mounting portion, FIG. 6 is a partially exploded perspective view of the shoulder heater mounting portion, and FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view showing the conventional operation box mounting structure. It is. 3... Body, 14... Shoulder member, 61... Operation box, 65... Operation box lid, 65c... Rib, 65d... Operation surface, 65e... Engagement recess, 6
6...Opening, 78...Nameplate sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] An electric rice cooker in which an operation box that accommodates an operation circuit and is operated from the outside is provided in the shoulder of the container, an opening in the shoulder that allows the operation box to be received from the outside. The operation box is fitted into this opening from the outside, and the operation surface at the outer end is attached to the opening in the shoulder, and the operation surface of the operation box is provided with a nameplate sheet that extends to the boundary with the opening in the shoulder. An electric rice cooker characterized by pasting.