JPH0581247B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a fully automatic rice cooking device, and in particular, the present invention relates to a fully automatic rice cooking device, and in particular, a rice cooking device including a rice storage, a measuring device, a rice washing device, and a rice cooker in a box body. The present invention relates to a fully automatic rice cooking device comprising a control device that controls each rice cooking device element, and configured such that the control device controls each rice cooking device element to automatically measure rice, wash rice, and cook rice. .

[Conventional technology]

This is an automatic machine that is equipped with a storage device for polished rice, a measuring device, a rice washing device, etc., and automatically handles processes related to preparation before cooking, such as measuring rice, washing rice, and adjusting water level, according to a predetermined program. being developed. For example, the "automatic rice preparation device" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-276520 relates to an automatic machine that automatically performs a series of tasks to prepare stored rice for cooking.

Furthermore, a lot of technological development has been carried out regarding automatic rice cookers that control rice cooking after washing rice is placed in a rice cooker.
For example, rice cooking control technology using microcomputer control is an example of this.

Furthermore, the field of technological development related to such rice cookers is not limited to technological development related to the rice cooker itself.
The field of rice cookers has also been expanded, and around the same time as the above-mentioned development of automatic machines, proposals have also been made for a complete rice cooking device that can be used by incorporating an automatic rice cooker into a kitchen set. . For example, the "rice cooking device" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 181112/1987 includes a rice storage device, a rice measuring device, a rice washing device, etc. for each rice cooking device element so that the automatic rice cooker can be incorporated into a kitchen set and used. This is a proposal to unitize individual rice cooking device elements.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, a rice cooker is a rice cooker that combines the individual rice cooker elements mentioned above, such as the rice storage device, rice measuring device, and rice washing device, into a unit so that the automatic rice cooker can be used by incorporating it into a kitchen set. It consists of a rice storage unit equipped with a metering and discharging device, a rice washing unit equipped with a rice washing means, and a rice cooking unit equipped with a rice cooking means,
The feature is that each unit is housed in a cabinet with at least approximately the same width, and these units can be stacked one on top of the other, or
They can be arranged side by side.

Each unit with these rice cooker elements is
Each unit is operated independently and manually, and although proposals have been made to automate each unit and to automate the units by combining them, each unit is operated automatically. It is not designed to be carried out, and each unit is not designed to automatically work in conjunction with each other.

Therefore, users of such rice cooking devices should organically link the operations of each unit, such as fully automatic rice preparation process control, rice cooking control, and warming process control, to fully automatically control the rice cooking process. A fully automatic rice cooking device that can control rice cooking is desired.

Moreover, one of the useful functions provided in a rice cooker is a timer reservation rice cooking function. When performing timer reservation cooking, wash the rice, put it in a rice cooker with a predetermined amount of water, and prepare for cooking. Then, use the time setting key, reservation key, etc. to start cooking from the desired reservation time. Give the timer reservation rice instructions to start. The rice cooker starts the timer reservation rice cooking operation, and when the set reservation time comes, starts the control operation of the rice cooking process. In timer reservation rice cooking, if the time from the timer reservation setting to the start time of the rice cooking operation is long, water and rice may remain in the rice cooker's rice pot for this long period of time. As a result, the starch dissolves from the rice, which tends to burn on the bottom of the rice cooker when cooking, and the rice cannot be cooked deliciously, making it impossible to use a timer to cook rice over a long period of time.

Therefore, such a rice cooker is configured such that the reservation time for timer reservation rice cooking can be set up to half a day (12 hours).

Therefore, even if the user of the rice cooker desires to set the reservation time for timer reservation rice cooking beyond one day, such rice cookers cannot perform reservation cooking for a long time. That is, there is a problem in that it is impossible to pre-cook rice by placing washed rice and water in a rice cooker for a long time due to food hygiene problems such as spoilage.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic rice cooker that can automatically perform a series of rice cooking steps to cook rice by reservation for a long period of time exceeding one day.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the fully automatic rice cooking device of the present invention includes rice cooking device elements consisting of a rice storage, a measuring device, a rice washing device, and a rice cooker in a box body, and a control for controlling each rice cooking device element. a measuring step in which the control device takes out and weighs the rice to be cooked from the rice storage; a rice washing step in which the weighed rice is washed; a rice preparation step in which the washed rice is set in a rice cooker and the amount of water is adjusted; A fully automatic system that automatically cooks rice by sequentially controlling each process: the rice cooking process, in which the rice cooker is given an instruction to start cooking and the rice is monitored, and the warming process, which is monitored to keep the rice warm after cooking. The rice cooking device has a control device that includes a clock mechanism that measures the month, day, hour, and minute, and a device that receives a rice cooking reservation instruction specifying a reservation time that exceeds one day, and when the clock mechanism reaches the reserved rice cooking time, performs a series of rice cooking. It is characterized by comprising a reservation rice cooking control means for starting control of the process.

[Effect]

According to this, a fully automatic rice cooking device has a clock mechanism that measures the month, day, and time, and a clock mechanism that receives a rice cooking reservation instruction specifying a reservation time that exceeds one day, and when the reserved rice cooking time arrives, the clock mechanism performs a series of rice cooking. The control device is equipped with a rice reservation control means for starting control of the process.

When the time output from the clock mechanism reaches the reserved rice cooking time, the reservation rice cooking control means of the control device starts controlling each successive process of the rice cooking operation, and takes out the rice to be cooked from the rice storage and weighs it. A measuring process, a rice washing process in which the weighed rice is washed, a rice preparation process in which the washed rice is set in a rice cooker and the amount of water is adjusted, a rice cooking process in which the rice cooker is given an instruction to start cooking and the rice cooking is monitored, and a rice cooker. The rice is cooked automatically by sequentially controlling each step of the keeping warm process of monitoring the heat keeping state after cooking the rice.

In this rice cooking control for reservation rice cooking, after the reservation time arrives, control of each step of the series of rice cooking operations starts from the measuring step of taking out the rice to be cooked from the rice storage and weighing it, so the reservation time for reservation rice cooking starts. Even if the rice is cooked for a long time, which is scheduled for more than one day, food hygiene problems such as spoilage will not occur, and the starch will not dissolve from the rice that has been washed and prepared. Even when cooking rice, it can be cooked deliciously. Furthermore, by setting the scheduled time for the rice to be cooked, the reservation time can be easily set. In this case, when the reservation rice cooking control means starts the reservation rice cooking control, the reservation rice cooking control means calculates the rice cooking start time at which the reservation rice cooking time becomes the scheduled time of completion of cooking, and when the clock mechanism reaches the rice cooking start time, it starts each step of the series of rice cooking. Start control.

In this way, it is possible to eliminate restrictions on the reservation time of the user's timer reservation rice cooking, and it is also possible to perform reservation rice cooking for a long time. For example, even if you are away on a week-long trip, you can set a reservation to cook rice a week later so that you can eat it when you get home. This makes the rice cooker even more convenient to use.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a fully automatic rice cooking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 1, 1 is the fully automatic rice cooking device main body, 2 is the rice storage measuring unit, 3 is the rice washing unit, 4 is the rice cooking unit, and 5 is the rice cooking unit.
is the operation display panel, 6 is the exhaust fan unit,
7 is an automatic rice cooker, and 8 is a main power switch with a power indicator lamp. The fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 includes a rice storage, a measuring device, a rice washing device,
and a rice cooker, and a control device for controlling each rice cooker element. Each rice cooking device element provided in the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 is divided into a rice storage measuring unit 2, a rice washing unit 3, and a rice cooking unit 4. The rice storage and measuring unit 2 is provided with rice storage and rice cooking device elements such as a measuring device, and a control device is provided inside the box body of the rice storage and measuring unit 2. Inside the rice washing unit 3, a rice washing device having a rice washing tank is provided. Furthermore, an automatic rice cooker 7 is detachably provided inside the rice cooking unit 4. The automatic rice cooker 7 provided inside the rice cooking unit 4 is
It is a jar-type automatic rice cooker that can be taken outside as is and used as a heat-retaining jar for cooking rice. That is, a microcomputer automatic rice cooker having the same shape as a normal commercially available microcomputer automatic rice cooker is attached to the rice cooking unit 4 and used as the automatic rice cooker 7. Also,
Inside the rice cooking unit 4, there is a lid opening/closing mechanism that opens and closes the lid of the automatic rice cooker 7, and a control device for controlling the automatic rice cooker 7 and the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1 when the automatic rice cooker 7 is installed. An optical transceiver serving as an optical communication path for data communication is provided.

On the front side of the box body of the rice washing unit 3, an exhaust fan unit 6 and a main power switch 8 with an energization indicator lamp are provided. Further, an exhaust duct for exhausting water vapor is provided from the inside of the rice washing unit 3 to the front thereof, and one end thereof is connected to the exhaust fan unit 6. The other end of the exhaust duct is connected to the rice cooking unit 4 with the automatic rice cooker 7 attached, and the rice cooking unit 4 connected to the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1.
When set in the box main body of the automatic rice cooker 7, the automatic rice cooker 7 is positioned so as to face the steam outlet at the top.

The boxes of each of these rice storage and measuring unit 2, rice washing unit 3, and rice cooking unit 4 are stored in the box body of the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 in a drawer shape in three tiers, and each unit is fully automatic rice cooking unit. It can be freely pulled out from the box body of the device body 1, and can be pulled out for inspection, confirmation of setting, etc.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a fully automatic rice cooking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the front view of FIG. 2, a part of the internal structure of the fully automatic rice cooking device is shown through and shown by imaginary lines (two-dot chain lines). Second
In the figure, 1 is the fully automatic rice cooking device main body, 2 is the rice storage and measuring unit, 3 is the rice washing unit, 4 is the rice cooking unit, 5 is the operation display panel, 6 is the exhaust fan unit, 7 is the automatic rice cooker, and 8 is the main unit. This is the power switch. These are the ones explained in FIG. 9 is an exhaust fan, 20 is a rice storage, 21 is a measuring device, 30 is a rice washing device, and 39 is an exhaust duct. Further, 46 is a slide motor, and 47 is a slide rail. Further, 48 is an optical transceiver on the side of the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1 that performs optical communication, and 49 is an optical transceiver on the side of the fully automatic rice cooker 7. They face each other to form an optical signal communication path for communicating control data between the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1 and the automatic rice cooker 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rice storage unit 2 includes a square pyramid-shaped rice storage 20 and a cylindrical measuring device 21 integrally installed at the bottom of the rice storage 20. There is. Measuring device 2 at the bottom of the rice storage 20
1 consists of a measuring drum whose cylindrical side surface is partially open, a motor that rotationally drives the measuring drum, and an encoder that detects the amount of rotation of the measuring drum. In the weighing device 21, when the measuring drum rotates and the open part of the cylindrical side of the measuring drum faces the rice storage in the upper part, the rice storage 20
A certain amount (measuring drum capacity) of rice is received from the measuring drum, and when the measuring drum rotates and the open part faces downward, the rice received by the measuring drum is dropped into the rice washing device 30 at the bottom, and this process is repeated until the rice is washed. Weigh the amount. Every rotation of the measuring drum, a predetermined amount of rice falls into the rice washing device 30 of the rice washing unit 3, and a predetermined amount of rice is measured.

A rice washing device 30 is provided inside the rice washing unit 3. Further, an exhaust fan unit 6 is provided on the front side of the box body of the rice washing unit 3, and an exhaust duct 39 is provided with one end connected to the exhaust fan unit 6. The other end of the exhaust duct 39 is located at the steam exhaust port on the top of the lid of the automatic rice cooker 7 attached to the rice cooking unit 4, and when the automatic rice cooker 7 performs rice cooking operation, the exhaust fan unit 6 is The automatic rice cooker 7 is driven to discharge steam released from the steam outlet at the top of the automatic rice cooker 7. In addition, when the automatic rice cooker 7 is in the warming operation,
The exhaust fan unit 3 is driven intermittently to exhaust the small amount of water vapor released during the heat retention operation.

In addition, in the rice cooking unit 4, an automatic rice cooker 7 attached to the rice cooking unit 4 by a lid opening/closing mechanism is used.
After opening the lid and putting the washed rice from the rice washing device 30 into the rice cooking pot of the automatic rice cooker 7 and adding a predetermined amount of water, the lid is closed and rice cooking is started. A slide motor 46 and a slide rail 47, which are part of the lid opening/closing mechanism for this purpose, are provided in the rice cooking unit 4. The lid opening/closing mechanism provided here will be described later. In addition, an optical transmitter/receiver 49 for optical communication is provided on the back side of the bottom of the automatic rice cooker 7, and correspondingly, an optical transmitter/receiver 49 is provided at a predetermined position of the trolley that moves on the slide rail 47 of the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1. A transceiver 48 is provided. These optical transceivers 4
Control data is communicated between the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1 and the automatic rice cooker 7 via 8 and 49.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of an operation display panel provided on the front side of the box body of the fully automatic rice cooker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation display panel 5 includes a plurality of operation switches for giving instructions for controlling the entire rice cooking process, and a plurality of light emitting diodes for displaying the status of the fully automatic rice cooking device. A display section is provided. Additionally, a liquid crystal display section is provided that displays 7-segment numbers for displaying the month, day, calendar, and time. These operation switches and the operation display sections of each display section include a month, date and time setting display section 11, a rice cooking menu setting section 12, a rice cooking amount setting section 13, and a hardness (rice cooking water amount) setting section 1.
4, rice washing setting section 15, rice cooking operation mode display instruction setting section 16, and rice cooking element device set confirmation display section 17, which are arranged so that control data can be set sequentially from left to right.

In this way, the control data for controlling the entire rice cooking process can be individually set in each zone of the operation display section, and the set contents are displayed, and the rice cooking operation mode instruction setting section 16 displays the operation mode during the rice cooking operation. do. In addition, the rice cooking element device set confirmation display section 17
In this case, the set state of each device unit can be confirmed by schematically displaying symbols corresponding to the positions of each device unit.

That is, in the rice cooking element device set confirmation display section 17, the symbol of each rice cooking element device is displayed, and the setting abnormality of the corresponding rice cooking element device is indicated in accordance with the written position of the symbol of each rice cooking element device. Issuing diodes 17a, 17 to display
b, 17c, and 17d are provided. The issuing diode 17a displays an abnormal setting in the rice storage and measuring unit, the light emitting diode 17b displays an abnormal setting in the rice washing unit, the light emitting diode 17c indicates an abnormal setting in the automatic rice cooker, and the light emitting diode 17d indicates an abnormal setting in the rice washing unit. Displays a setting error in the setting position of the rice cooker rail.

Therefore, before using the operation display panel 5 to input control data for each step of rice cooking control, the user must turn on the light emitting diode 17a of the rice cooking element device set confirmation display section 17 on the operation display panel 5. By checking the display states of 17d to 17d, it is possible to easily confirm the setting of the rice cooking element device.
If there is an abnormality, the light emitting diode provided corresponding to the written position of the symbol of each rice cooking element device emits light, so that the rice cooking element device unit having the set abnormality can be easily determined from the symbol notation. Thereby, it is only necessary to further inspect the rice cooker element unit for which a setting abnormality has been determined.

In addition to the operation display section, the operation display panel 5 is provided with a valve opening switch, a shower water supply switch, and a rice storage switch for maintaining the mechanism of the fully automatic rice cooker. Operate the switch to operate the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1 during maintenance, and check the mechanical parts of the water supply system, valve opening/closing system, and metering/discharging system.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the mechanical parts of each unit of the fully automatic rice cooking device. With reference to FIG. 4, the mechanical parts of each of the rice storage and measuring unit 2, the rice washing unit 3, and the rice cooking unit 4 will be explained.

As mentioned above, the rice storage and measuring unit 2, the rice washing unit 3, and the rice cooking unit 4 are arranged in three stages in the box body of the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 in the front and back direction (in the left and right direction in FIG. 4). It is stored in a drawer that can be freely pulled out.

The rice storage 20 provided in the rice storage measuring unit 2 is provided with a first sensor 20a in the upper part and a second sensor 20b in the lower part, vertically spaced apart from each other at the lower part of the side surface of the rice storage main body. The first sensor 20a and the second sensor 20b constitute a rice detection device that detects the remaining amount of rice in the rice storage 20.
The second sensor 20b turns on when rice is detected, and turns off when no rice is detected. When starting the rice cooking operation, the remaining amount of rice is detected by the rice detection device and then the operation is started. A measuring device 21 for discharging a predetermined amount of rice from the rice storage 20 is directly connected to the lower part of the rice storage 20. The measuring device 21 is
It is composed of a measuring drum, a motor 22 that rotationally drives the measuring drum, and an encoder 23 that detects the amount of rotation of the measuring drum. The operation of the mechanism for weighing rice using this weighing device 21 is as described in the explanation with reference to FIG. The amount of rotation of a measuring drum rotationally driven by a motor 22 is controlled by an encoder 23, and a predetermined amount of rice is weighed according to the predetermined amount of rotation, and is fed into the rice washing device 30 in the rice washing unit 3 on the lower side.

The rice washing unit 3 is provided with a rice washing device 30 at a lower position that receives weighed rice discharged from the measuring device 21 of the rice storage and measuring unit 2. The rice washing device 30 is composed of a rice washing tank having a double structure of an outer rice washing tank 31 and an inner rice washing tank 32, and a stirring mechanism including a stirring blade 33 and a rice washing motor 34. The weighed rice is stored in the rice washing inner tank 32, water is further put into the rice washing inner tank 32, and the rice is washed by rotationally driving the stirring blade 33 by the rice washing motor 34. The rice washing outer tank 31 forms a drainage channel system for receiving and draining overflow water when washing rice. Although only a portion of the water supply channel system for washing rice is shown in the diagram,
It is composed of a water supply valve 24, a water supply pipe 25, and a water supply nozzle 26. Water supply control to the rice washing device 30 is performed by controlling the water supply valve 24 based on a sensor signal from the water level sensor 27.

A rice discharge port 35 is provided at the bottom of the rice washing inner tank 32 and the rice washing outer tank 31. The rice discharge port 35 is opened and closed by a rice discharge valve 36. The opening/closing mechanism of the rice discharging port 35 by the rice discharging port 36 is constituted by a vertical movement mechanism of a valve rod that is integrally connected to the rice discharging port 36 and projects upward. This vertical movement mechanism is such that the upper end of the valve rod is engaged with an arm through the hollow part of the center rod of the stirring blade 33, and further engaged with the discharge valve cam mechanism 37. The rice discharging valve 36 is moved up and down via a valve rod by the motor drive of the rice discharging valve cam mechanism 37, and opens and closes the rice discharging port 35.

A drain port 38 is provided at the lower part of the rice washing inner tank 32, and the drain port 38 is surrounded by a mesh having a predetermined mesh. The outlet 38 is connected to an outlet (not shown), and the drain is provided with a drain valve (not shown). By controlling the drain valve and the water supply valve 24, water is supplied to the rice washing device, the rice is washed, and the dirty water is drained. Incidentally, a drainage system for overflow water formed by the outer rice washing tank 31 is also connected to a drainage channel connected to the drain port 38 in the same way. This allows overflow water to be drained.

The rice washing unit 3 is also provided with an exhaust duct 39, one end of which is located below the rice washing device 30, and the other end of which is located at the exhaust fan unit 6. Intake port 39a of exhaust duct 39
is installed at almost the same position as the rice discharge port 35 of the rice washing device 30, and the exhaust port 39b is located at the front of the rice washing unit 3. An exhaust fan unit 6 is provided in the middle of the exhaust duct 39. An exhaust fan unit 6 controls the drive of an exhaust fan to exhaust water vapor generated from the automatic rice cooker 7.

The rice cooking unit 4 is equipped with a lid opening/closing mechanism 40 at the rear of the box as a mechanism for opening and closing the lid 7a of the automatic rice cooker 7 in order to load the rice washed by the rice washing device 30 into the automatic rice cooker 7. This lid opening/closing mechanism 40
The opening/closing motor 41, the first link 42, the second link 43, the third link 44, and the lifting motor 45
The lid 7a of the automatic rice cooker 7 is opened by pressing the notch of the lid 7a on the upper front surface of the automatic rice cooker 7 using a link mechanism. The automatic rice cooker 7 here is a microcomputer automatic rice cooker that includes an inner pot and an outer pot, and performs rice cooking control and heat retention control under microcomputer control. The automatic rice cooker 7 has a main body and a lid 7a that can be opened and closed by a hinge with a built-in spring. The lid 7a is locked by a notch, and when the notch is pressed to unlock the lid 7a, the lid 7a is configured to open automatically by a built-in spring. A pressure outlet 7b is provided in the center of the lid 7a for discharging water vapor generated during cooking and keeping rice warm, and internal steam can be discharged from the pressure outlet 7b.

The rice cooking unit 4 is also provided with a slide motor 46 and a slide rail 47 for moving the automatic rice cooker 7 in the front and rear directions in conjunction with the operation of the lid opening/closing mechanism 40. The automatic rice cooker 7 is placed on a cart that moves on a slide rail 47 and moves in the front and rear directions in relation to the operation of the lid opening/closing mechanism 40. That is, in order to open the lid 7a, the automatic rice cooker 7 first moves to the rear position where the lid opening/closing mechanism 40 is installed, and the lid 7a is opened. Next, the rice washing apparatus 30 moves to the front of the lower device of the rice washing apparatus 30 in order to receive the washed rice from the rice washing apparatus 30 through the rice discharging port 35 and to prepare the rice therein. After storing rice and a predetermined amount of water in the rice cooking pot at this front position, the rice cooker moves back again to close the lid 7a using the lid opening/closing mechanism 40.
After the lid 7a is closed by the lid opening/closing mechanism 40 at the rear, the rice cooker moves forward again, and preparations for the rice cooking operation are completed. When performing the rice cooking operation, the automatic rice cooker 7 is moved forward and positioned at the front by opening the pressure outlet 7b in the center of the lid 7a of the automatic rice cooker 7.
This is because the position is the same as the intake port 39a of the exhaust duct 39. As a result, the automatic rice cooker 7 is positioned at the front, and water vapor generated during rice cooking and heat retention is discharged to the outside through the exhaust duct 39.

The cart running on the slide rail 47 is provided with a power outlet of a strong electric circuit to which the power supply plug of the automatic rice cooker 7 is connected. When the automatic rice cooker 7 is placed on the trolley, the power supply plug is inserted into the outlet on the trolley. Further, when the automatic rice cooker 7 is set at the fixed position on the cart, the optical transmitter/receiver 49 provided on the back side of the lower part of the automatic rice cooker 7 faces the optical transmitter/receiver 48 provided on the cart side, and the automatic rice cooker 7 7 and the control device 29 of the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1, an optical communication path for communication of control data is formed. In addition, the control device 29 for controlling each rice cooking device element in the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 is installed in the space behind the upper part of the box body of the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 (in the upper right corner here). .

The control device 29 connects the control data signal transmission path through the optical transceivers 48 and 49 when the automatic rice cooker 7 is set at a predetermined position of the rice cooking unit 3 of the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1. , controls the entire rice cooking process of the fully automatic rice cooking device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic circuit of a control device that controls each rice cooking device element in the fully automatic rice cooking device main body.

In FIG. 5, 50 indicates a control circuit of the control device 29 on the side of the fully automatic rice cooker main body (hereinafter referred to as the main body control circuit), and 60 indicates a control circuit on the side of the automatic rice cooker 7 (hereinafter referred to as the rice cooker control circuit). (referred to as a circuit). 51 is a main body control section, 52 is an audio output section, 53 is a display input section, 54 is a sensor input section, 5
5 is a drive output section, 56 is a photocoupler serving as an optical transmitter/receiver, 57 is a commercial AC power supply, and 58 is a breaker for preventing the inflow of excessive current. 59 is an outlet for the electric circuit of the automatic rice cooker 7.
61 is a rice cooking control section, 62 is a photocoupler, 63 is a temperature sensor, 64 is a rice cooking heater, 65 is a heat-retaining heater, and 66 is a display input section.

The main body control circuit 50 of the control device 29 on the side of the main body of the fully automatic rice cooker is centered around a main body control section 51 that is composed of a microcomputer and performs overall control processing, and each unit that inputs and outputs control data with the main body control section 51. It is configured by connecting peripheral circuits.
That is, a voice output section 52 outputs voice guidance to the user, a display input section 53 processes display inputs to the operation display panel, and inputs from a plurality of sensors for detecting the operation of each mechanism section are provided. A sensor input section 54 that receives the sensor input section 54 and a drive output section 55 that drives and controls mechanical sections such as a control motor and actuator are connected to respective input/output ports of the microcomputer of the main body control section 51.

Furthermore, the main body control section 51 has a built-in clock mechanism for measuring month, day, and time, and an input/output port for data communication. Clock data from the clock mechanism is displayed on the time set display section 11 in the display input section 53, and input/output ports are used to control rice cooking in the automatic rice cooker 7 via photocouplers (optical transceivers 48, 49) 56, 62. It is coupled to the control circuit 60 and performs communication for exchanging control data between the main body control circuit 50 and the rice cooker control circuit 60.

The rice cooking control circuit 60 includes a temperature sensor 63, a rice cooking heater 64,
A heat-retaining heater 65 and a display input section 66 are connected to each other. A display input section 66 is connected to the rice cooking control section 61, but this is because the automatic rice cooker 7 equipped with this rice cooking control circuit 60 is not incorporated into the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1, but is operated independently. This is a display input operation section used during operation. When the automatic rice cooker 7 is incorporated into the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 and a series of rice cooking processes such as measuring rice, washing rice, and cooking rice are performed fully automatically,
Not used.

In the rice cooking control circuit 60 of such an automatic rice cooker 7, hardware such as a microcomputer configuring the rice cooking control unit 61, a thermistor of the temperature sensor 63, a triax circuit that controls the rice cooking heater 64 and the heat retention heater 65, and its drive circuit are used. The configuration is similar to that which has been developed and used in the past, and detailed explanation will be omitted. The display input section 66 is, for example, an operation display panel that is provided on the front side of the main body of the automatic rice cooker 7 and includes a 7-segment character display, an operation key switch, a light emitting diode for displaying the status, and the like.

First, the operation of the rice cooking control circuit 60 of the automatic rice cooker 7 configured as described above will be explained. In the operation of this control circuit 60, the automatic rice cooker 7 is not incorporated into the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 and rice cooking control is performed independently, and the automatic rice cooker 7 is operated in a fully automatic rice cooking device. There is a second rice cooking control mode in which the rice cooking control mode is incorporated into the main body 1 and rice cooking control is performed.

In the first rice cooking control mode, rice and water that have been washed in advance are placed in a pot of rice, and the rice cooking operation is started by inputting a rice cooking start instruction from the display input section 66.
In this case, in the middle of the rice cooking control, a sum judgment is performed to determine the rice cooking capacity from the degree of temperature rise, and the heating power of the rice cooking heater is controlled in accordance with the determined rice cooking capacity.

In the second rice cooking control mode, the rice to be cooked is measured under the control of the mechanical part of the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1, and the washed rice and a predetermined amount of water are automatically poured into the rice cooking pot. and data communication is performed between the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1 and the automatic rice cooker 7,
Along with the input of control data for the amount of measured rice, control data for specifying the start of rice cooking is input, and the rice cooking operation is started. Therefore, in this case, the total number is not determined during rice cooking control, and the heating power of the rice cooking heater is energized according to the amount of rice cooked according to the control data received from the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 through data communication. Take control.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of the rice cooking control flow of the rice cooking control circuit 60. This will be explained with reference to FIG.

When the rice cooking control circuit 60 of the automatic rice cooker 7 is powered on, the microcomputer of the rice cooking control section 61 of the rice cooking control circuit 60 performs initialization processing such as initial reset, and in step 70, determines whether the rice cooking is fully automatic or not. Determine. That is, it is determined whether the rice cooking control is performed in the first rice cooking control mode (not fully automatic) or the rice cooking control (fully automatic) in the second rice cooking control mode. If it is not determined to be fully automatic in step 70,
Since the process waits for the rice cooking start switch from the display input section 66 of the rice cooking control circuit 60 in the automatic rice cooker 7 to be displayed, the process proceeds to step 71, where it is determined whether the rice cooking start switch has been turned on.
If it is not determined in step 71 that the rice cooking start switch is on, the process returns to step 70 and repeats the process from step 70.

If it is determined in step 70 that the rice cooker is fully automatic, the process proceeds to step 72, where the control data received through data communication from the main body control circuit 50 of the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1 is stored, and the next step is started. At 73, a fully automatic memory indicating the second rice cooking control mode described above is set, and the process proceeds to the next step 74. In addition, in step 70, it is determined that the rice cooking device is fully automatic when control data is received from the main body control circuit 50 of the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1. .

In the next step 74, a water absorption process is performed.
The water absorption process is a process in which the water in the rice cooker is heated and the rice is sufficiently absorbed. Next, step
In 75, to determine the completion of the water absorption process
Determine whether 500 seconds have elapsed. step
Until 500 seconds are determined in step 75, the process returns to step 74 and the water absorption process in step 74 is repeated.

After 500 seconds have passed and the water absorption process has finished,
Proceeding to the next step 76, the rice cooking heater is turned on and the temperature is raised to T0°C, which is the reference temperature for determining the rice cooking capacity. Step 77 determines whether this T0℃ has been reached.
Determine by. If it is determined in step 77 that the temperature is below T0°C, the process returns to step 76 to continue turning on the rice cooking heater.

If it is determined in step 77 that T0° C. has been exceeded, it is determined in step 78 whether or not fully automatic memory (set) is set. If it is not in the fully automatic memory, the mode is the first rice cooking control mode, and the rice cooking capacity is determined in this automatic rice cooker 7, so the process proceeds to step 80, where the total number determination process is performed and data on the rice cooking capacity is obtained. After that, cook to 100℃. Then proceed to the next step 82,
In the process starting from step 82, heating power is determined according to the rice cooking capacity, and processing is performed to continue boiling with the optimum heating power.

Further, if it is determined in step 77 that T0°C has been exceeded, and furthermore, it is determined in step 78 that the rice is fully automatic memory, this means that the second Since this is the rice cooking control mode, there is no need to determine the rice cooking capacity in this case. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 79, where the reference temperature for temperature determination is set to 100° C., and the rice is cooked without performing a summation determination. That is, in step 79, if the temperature is below 100°C, the process returns to step 76 and the rice cooking heater continues to be turned on. In this case, the rice cooking heater continues to be turned on in a loop of step 76 → step 77 → step 78 → step 79 → step 76. If it is determined in step 79 that the temperature has exceeded 100°C, then the process proceeds to step 81, where fully automatic memory data conversion processing is performed. This converts the control data sent from the fully automatic rice cooking device main unit 1 into data in the same format as the data indicating the rice cooking capacity obtained through the process of determining the number of rice (for example, temperature rise time data according to heat capacity). do. Then, the process proceeds to the next step 82, and in the process from step 82, heating power is determined according to the rice cooking capacity, and processing is performed to continue boiling with the optimum heating power. In other words, the ranges of rice cooking capacity data determined as a sum through the determination processes in steps 82, 83, and 84 are divided into a, b, c, and d.
Steps 85, 86, and 86 are performed according to the determined ranges a, b, c, and d.
87, and step 88, energization control of the rice cooking heaters is performed using the heating power of the corresponding rice cooking heater A, rice cooking heater B, rice cooking heater C, and rice cooking heater D to perform heating control to maintain boiling.

This kind of heating control that maintains boiling maintains boiling, and as the rice cooker continues to boil, the rice absorbs enough water and the water at the bottom of the rice cooker disappears, causing the temperature of the rice cooker to rise rapidly. and continue until it is determined that the temperature has reached 130℃. In other words, this is a step
89, it is determined whether the temperature of the rice cooker is 130℃ or less, and while it is determined to be 130℃ or less,
Returning to step 82, the process from step 82 is repeated. For example, if the rice cooking capacity is determined to be in range b in the sum determination process or the fully automatic memory data conversion process, this is determined in step 83, and in step 86 the rice cooking capacity is determined to be within range b. energization control, and then step 89
The system determines whether the temperature is below 130°C and performs heating control to maintain boiling. Until it is determined in step 89 that the temperature exceeds 130℃, the steps are as follows: step 89 → step 82 → step 83 → step 86 → step 89
The processing loop is repeated. If it is determined in step 89 that the temperature has exceeded 130°C, then in step 90, a shading process is performed, and in the next step 91, a warming process is performed, and the process ends. In addition, in the unevenness process of step 90, the first unevenness process, the first additional cooking process,
A second unevenness process, a second additional cooking process, etc. are performed. Then, the next step 91 is a heat retention process. usually,
This heat retention process continues until the operation switch instructs to cancel the heat retention.

Next, the operation of the main body control circuit 50 on the side of the fully automatic rice cooking device main body 1 will be explained.

7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, and 7f are flowcharts showing an outline of the rice cooking control flow of the main body control circuit 50.

First, reference is made to FIG. 7a. When the power is turned on in step 101, the next step starts.
At 102, the current time is displayed. Next, in step 103, an initial reset is performed to reset the work registers, etc., and perform initialization processing. Next, in step 104, the menu switch (menu SW), the rice cooking switch (rice cooking SW)
It is determined whether or not both are turned on at the same time. This step 104
The determination process is a process of determining whether or not to perform maintenance test program processing. Menu
If the SW and rice cooking SW are turned on at the same time, the process proceeds to test program processing (105). Since the test program processing is not directly related to the present invention, a description thereof will be omitted here.

As determined in step 104, menu SW, rice cooking SW
If they are not simultaneously on, the process proceeds to step 106, where it is determined whether there is an error bit. If there is an error bit, in step 107 error processing is performed according to the content of the error bit, and the process returns to step 106 to determine whether or not there is an error bit. If it is determined that there is an error bit again, in step 107 error processing is performed again according to the error bit. In this way, the presence of an error bit indicating the content of the error that has occurred here is determined (step 106), and the corresponding error processing is performed (step 107).

When it is confirmed in step 106 that there are no error bits, the process proceeds to step 108, where it is determined whether the process counter has been cleared. If the process counter is not cleared, the step
Proceeding to step 109, process counter destination search processing is performed.
This process counter search process is to compensate for power outages, and after checking power outages, setting failures, etc., the search process is performed according to the contents of the process count that advances according to the overall progress stage of rice cooking process control. , perform processing to continue rice cooking process control or error processing. If the subroutine for process counter destination search processing in step 109 completes the return process, the process starts from step 106. If clearing of the process counter is confirmed in step 108, the process then proceeds to step 110 in FIG. 7b.

See Figure 7b. Next, in step 110, process initial processing is performed. The process initial process is a process for checking whether moving members such as the control motor and actuator are located at the initial position (home position) in each mechanical part of the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1. .
If each moving member is not located at the initial position, in this process initial process, each moving member is driven to move to the initial position. When the process initial of step 110 is completed,
Next, the process proceeds to step 111, where a process is performed to determine whether or not there is an abnormality in the process initial. In the process of step 111, if it is determined that there is an abnormality in the process initial, the process returns to step 106. Also, if there is no abnormality in the process initial, the next step 112
Then, in step 113, it is determined whether the clock switch is turned on, and only when the clock switch is turned on, the current time is set in step 114. Perform the processing to do. Next, in step 115, it is determined whether the reservation switch is on. If the reservation switch is not on, then in step 116 it is determined whether the menu switch is on, and if the menu switch is not on, it is further determined in step 117 whether the heat retention switch is on. . If the heat retention switch is not on, then step 122 is performed to confirm the power outage, and the process returns to step 110 to repeat the process from step 110 starting from the process initialization.

If it is determined in step 115 that the reservation switch is on, then in the next step 120 it is determined whether or not the pot is removed and the memory is set. If the pot removal memory is set, proceed to step 121.
An error notification is performed, and in the next step 122, power failure confirmation processing is performed, and the process returns to step 110.

If the rice cooker is removed and the memory is not set in step 120, it can be confirmed that the rice cooker has been removed and the rice cooker has been properly cleaned.After confirming this, the amount of stored rice is checked in step 123, and then Check the water level in step 124, and then
125 to determine whether there is an error. If there is an error, the process returns to step 106 (FIG. 7a) and the process starts again from step 106. If there is no error in step 125, the flashing of the previous course is processed in step 126, and the process returns to step 146 (Figure 7d).
The process proceeds to step 146 and performs the process in the reservation rice cooking mode.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 117 that the heat retention switch is on, the process proceeds to the heat retention process (118; FIG. 10).

If the process proceeds to step 116 and it is determined that the reservation switch is not on but the menu switch is on, the process proceeds to step 119.
In order to perform the fully automatic rice cooking control process in the immediate operation mode instead of the reservation mode, the process proceeds to the menu selection process described later. i.e. step 119
Then, it is determined whether or not the pot removed memory is set. If the pot removed memory is set, the process proceeds to step 121 to notify an error. In the next step 122, a power outage confirmation process is performed, and the process proceeds to step 110. return. In addition, if the pot is removed in step 119 and the memory is not set, the automatic rice cooker 7 is temporarily removed from the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1, the rice cooker is removed once, and it is confirmed that the rice cooker is properly cleaned. After confirming this, proceed to the next step.
Check the amount of rice stored in step 127, and then proceed to step 128.
, check the water level. Next, step
129 to determine whether there is an error. If there is an error, the process returns to step 106 (FIG. 7a) and the process starts again from step 106. If there are no errors in step 129, the process proceeds to step 130 (Figure 7c).

Reference is now made to Figure 7c. When performing the process in the fully automatic rice cooking control mode of the immediate operation mode, the process starts from step 130. In step 130, the previous course flashing is processed and the next step is started.
A power outage confirmation is performed in step 131, and further, a course selection process is performed in step 132. This course selection process is a process for selecting a course of operation for each rice cooking process in fully automatic rice cooking control.

As is clear from FIG. 3, the process of course selection is as follows:
White rice, quick-cooked, cooked, 1 cup of rice porridge, 2 bowls of rice porridge
When selecting the amount of rice to be cooked, the user selects the amount of rice to be cooked for each cup from 2 to 10 cups. You can also select the degree of hardness of the cooked rice from ``hard'' to ``soft'' on a scale of 10. This “hardness”
The selection instruction gives instruction data on the amount of water when cooking rice. Furthermore, the degree of washing the rice is set in three stages.

Continuing the explanation by returning to FIG. 7c again, when the course selection processing in step 132 is completed, the next step 133 is the setting failure confirmation processing. The setting failure confirmation process is a process to confirm whether the rice storage measuring unit, rice washing unit, rice cooking unit, automatic rice cooker of the rice cooking unit, etc. are set in the normal position. In step 133, when the set failure confirmation process is completed, the next step is
Proceeding to step 134, it is determined whether the cancellation switch has been turned on. If it is determined that the cancel switch is on, the process proceeds to step 135, where the course LED (course display light emitting diode) on the operation display panel is turned off, and then, in step 136, the process counter is set to (00). Then, the process returns to step 106 to start the process from the beginning. If the cancel switch is not determined to be on in step 136, the process advances to step 137.
Determine whether there is a set failure. If there is a setting failure here, the process returns to step 131 and continues again.
Perform processing from 131 power outage confirmation. If there is no setting failure, it is determined in step 138 whether the reservation switch has been turned on. Here, if it is determined that the reservation switch is on, the operation switches to the reservation rice cooking mode, so step 146
Proceed to and perform the fully automatic rice cooking control process in the reservation rice cooking mode.

Furthermore, if the reservation switch is not determined to be on in the determination process of step 138, then the next step is
Proceed to step 139 to determine whether the start switch is turned on. If it is not determined that the start switch is on, the process returns to step 131, repeats the processes from step 131 to step 139, and waits for the start switch to be turned on. When it is determined in step 139 that the start switch is turned on, the process proceeds to the next step 140, where rice cooker communication processing is performed. The rice cooker communication process here is a process for confirming that the fully active rice cooker 7 is set in the rice cooking unit 4. Next, step 141
At this point, lock the pedestal and proceed to the next step 142.
It is determined whether there is a lock abnormality or not. If it is determined in this judgment that the pedestal lock is abnormal, in step 143, the course LED on the operation display panel is turned off and the process is started from the beginning.
Return to step 106. If no lock abnormality is determined in step 142, the process proceeds to step 144, where the course data is stored and the next step 145 is performed.
, turn on the course LED. After step 145, the process advances to step 172 in FIG. 7e, and continues to the rice weighing process, rice washing process, etc. from step 172.

On the other hand, continuing from step 126 of FIG. 7b or branching from the decision step of step 138 of FIG. 7c, processing in the reservation rice cooking mode from step 146 of FIG. 7d continues.

To explain with reference to FIG. 7d, first, in step 146, reservation 1 or 2 is blinked, and then in step 147, the reserved time and cooking completion display are blinked. Next, check for power outage in step 148,
In step 149, the time of the reservation time is set. With this time setting for reservation time, it is also possible to set time for reservation time that exceeds one day. When setting the month and day of a reservation, for example, the month and day of the reservation are set by simultaneously pressing the clock key and the hour key, and then by simultaneously pressing the clock key and the minute key, respectively. Then, the hour and minute are set by pressing the hour key and the minute key. There are two ways to set this reservation time: the first reservation mode, which sets the start time of the rice cooking operation, and the second reservation mode, which sets the scheduled time for the rice to finish cooking. Configure settings.
When the time setting of the reservation time is completed in step 149, next, in step 150, course selection processing is performed. Next, in step 151, a set failure is confirmed.
Next, in step 152, reservation switching processing is performed.
Next, in step 153, it is determined whether the cancellation switch was turned on due to an error in the reservation settings, etc.
If the cancel switch is turned on, the step
Go to step 154 to turn off the flashing display, then go to step 155 to set the process counter to (00).
The process returns to step 106 in order to control the rice cooking process from the beginning from the error check.

If the cancellation switch is not determined to be on in step 153 and the reservation time, course selection, etc. have been set, then in step 156 it is determined whether or not there is a setting failure and the set contents are consistent. Make sure it is valid, then step 157
It is determined whether the start switch for starting the operation of the reservation rice cooking mode has been turned on. If the start switch is turned on, the next step is
Proceeding to step 158, the reservation time is compared with the current time to check whether the set reservation times are consistent. For example, if the reservation time is inconsistent with the previous date and time in the past, proceed to step 159.
Proceed to , output the voice message "Reservation not possible", and
Returning to step 148, the process for setting the reservation rice cooking mode from step 148 is performed again. The process of resetting the reserved rice cooking mode by returning to step 148 is as follows:
If it is determined in step 156 that there is a setting failure, but if it is not determined that the start switch is on, the process returns to step 148 and the reservation rice cooking mode is reset.

Further, if the reservation time is checked in step 158 and the reservation time is OK (accurate), the process then proceeds to step 160 to perform rice cooker communication processing. The rice cooker communication process here is a process for confirming that the fully active rice cooker 7 is set in the rice cooking unit 4. Next, in step 161, the gantry lock is processed, and in the next step 162, it is determined whether or not there is a lock abnormality. If this judgment determines that the pedestal lock is abnormal, the step
In step 163, in order to turn off the blinking display and start processing from the beginning from error check processing,
Return to step 106. If no lock abnormality is determined in step 162, the process proceeds to step 164.
The course data is memorized, and in the next step 165, the reserved time and cooking completion indicators are turned on. Next, in step 166, the reservation LED, course
Turn on the LED. Then, in the next step 167, processing during the reservation timer (subroutine processing) is performed.

In the subroutine for processing during the reservation timer, the contents of the process counter are set to (02), which indicates that the reservation timer is in progress, and while checking the power outage, it monitors whether the current time from the clock mechanism has become the reservation time. , returns when the reserved time has arrived.

When the reservation timer has finished processing and the reservation time has arrived, the next step 168 is to display the reservation LED, reservation time,
Turn off the cooking completion indicator. Next, step
At step 169, it is determined whether or not the end of the reservation is due to the cancel switch. If the end of the reservation is due to the cancel switch, the process advances to step 170, the course LED is turned off, and the process counter is set to (00) at step 171. Then, the process returns to step 106 to perform the process from the beginning from the error check.

If it is confirmed in step 169 that the reservation has not ended due to the cancellation switch, then the process advances to step 172 in FIG.
The process continues with rice preparation processes such as measuring the rice and washing the rice.

With reference to FIG. 7e, the rice cooking preparation process performed subsequently before starting the rice cooking operation will be described.

First, in step 172, the "Rice washing in progress" LED on the display
Turn on the light, then slide backward at step 173 (03)
Then, in the next step 174, it is determined whether an error occurred in the previous slide backward processing.
Next, in step 175, the lock cam operation (04) is processed, and in step 176, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the lock cam operation processing. Next, in step 177, the lid opening process (05) is performed, and then in step 178, it is determined whether or not an error occurred in the lid opening process. Next, proceed to step 179 to process the lock cam storage (06), and then proceed to step 180.
In this step, it is determined whether or not the lid has been opened normally based on the detection output of the lid opening sensor. If the lid opening operation is not performed normally, proceed to step 181.
In step 181, it is determined by the operation counter whether or not this lid opening operation is checked for the third time. If it is the third time or less, the process returns to step 175 and the lid opening operation is performed again in the process from step 175. If the lid opening operation check in step 181 passes the third check, the process proceeds to step 182, sets an error bit (08), and proceeds to step 219 (seventh step), which will be described later.
Proceed to Figure f), turn off the "Rice Washing" LED, and end the rice washing process with an error. Similarly to the process flow from step 182, if the rice washing process is to be terminated due to an error, step 174,
There are cases where it is determined that there is an error in steps 176 and 178. In this case as well, the process proceeds to step 219, where the "Rice Washing" LED is turned off, and the process of the rice washing process is terminated due to an error.

In addition, if it is determined in step 180 that the lid opening operation was performed normally, the next step is
Proceed to step 192 to confirm again that there are no errors, and then proceed to step 193 to perform the slide advance (07) process. In the next step 194, it is determined whether an error occurred in the slide advance processing. Next, a measuring step (08) in which the rice to be cooked in step 195 is weighed.
In the next step 196, it is determined whether an error occurred in the weighing process. If it is determined that there is an error in these error determination steps 192, 194, and 196, the "Rice Washing" LED is turned off in the same way as described above, and the process of the rice washing process is ended with an error (Step 219). 7th f
Proceed to Figure).

As a result, in the rice cooking unit 4, the automatic rice cooker 7 placed on the trolley on the slide rail moves backward, the lid opening/closing mechanism 40 opens the lid of the automatic rice cooker 7, and the rice cooker 7 moves forward again to weigh and wash the rice. It will be in a position where it can receive the rice. Subsequently, the rice to be cooked is measured in the rice storage measuring unit 2, and the rice is placed in the rice washing device 30 of the rice washing unit 3. Subsequently, the rice washing device 30 is controlled to wash the rice.

To control the rice washing device 30, first, in step 197, rice washing step 1 (09) is performed, and in step 198, rice polishing step 1 is performed.
Step (0A) is carried out, then in step 199 a second rice washing process (0B) is carried out, in step 200 a second rice polishing process (0C) is carried out, and then in step 201 a third rice washing process (09) is carried out. Next, in step 202, overflow (0E) is processed, and after the rice washing process is completed, the next step 203 is to perform a drainage process (0F). When the rice washing process is completed through this series of processes, the process then proceeds to the rice discharging process of step 204 in FIG. 7F.

The explanation will be continued with reference to FIG. 7f. Next, in step 204, the drainage process (10) is carried out.
In the next step 205, it is determined whether an error occurred in the previous slide backward movement process. Next, step
206 performs the water adjustment process (11), and then
In step 207, it is determined whether or not there was an error in the water adjustment process. Next, in step 208, tank cleaning (12) is performed, and in the next step 209, it is determined whether an error occurred in the tank cleaning process. Furthermore, in the next step 210, the slide backward movement (13) is performed, and in step 211, it is determined whether or not an error has occurred. Next, step 212 is the lid closing process (14)
Then, in step 213, the lid sensor detects the state of the automatic rice cooker and determines whether the lid is closed. If the lid is not closed, the process proceeds to step 214, where it is determined by the operation counter whether this is the third time the lid closing operation has been checked. If it is the third time or less, return to step 212,
The lid closing process in step 212 is performed again, and the next step 213 is checked for the lid closing process. When it is determined in step 214 that the lid closed state check in step 213 has exceeded the third check, the process proceeds to step 215, sets an error bit (11) to display an error in this case, and proceeds to step 219. Proceed, turn off the "Rice Washing" LED, and end the rice washing process with an error. Then, the process returns to step 106 to perform the process from the beginning starting from the error check.

If the lid is closed in step 213, the process proceeds to step 216, where it is again determined whether or not there is an error, and then in step 217, the process of sliding the lid forward (15) is performed. Then, in the next step 218, it is determined whether an error occurred in the slide advance processing. If it is determined in step 218 that there is an error, the process proceeds to step 219, where the "Rice Washing" LED is turned off, the processing of the rice washing process ends with an error, and the process starts from the beginning from the error check. To do this, return to step 106. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 218 that there is no error, the process proceeds to step 220, and the
The LED is turned off, the rice washing process is completed, and the next rice cooking process is started.

Through such control processing, after the rice is washed by the rice washing device 30, the washed rice is stored in the automatic rice cooker 7 located at the bottom of the rice washing device 30 with the lid opened, and the washed rice is stored in a predetermined manner. Add enough water to adjust the water level. Next, the automatic rice cooker 7 is moved backward, the lid of the automatic rice cooker 7 is closed by the lid opening/closing mechanism 40, and the automatic rice cooker 7 is moved forward again and positioned at a predetermined position for rice cooking so that the steam generated during rice cooking can be discharged. Then, the rice cooking preparation process is completed.

When the rice cooking preparation process is completed in the control process up to step 220, the rice cooking process from step 221 is then performed.

In the subsequent rice cooking process, first, in step 221, it is determined whether or not the menu is set to cooked rice. When the rice is ready to be cooked, the rice cooking control operation is temporarily interrupted in order to perform an operation of putting ingredients to be cooked into the rice cooking pot of the automatic rice cooker 7. For this reason, in step 222, "cooking" is displayed.
After processing the blinking of the LED, in the next step 223, processing for waiting for restart (16) is performed.

In the restart waiting processing subroutine, the content of the process counter is set to (16), which indicates that the restart waiting processing is in progress, and while checking for power outage and setting failure, a message is sent to the user at predetermined intervals. Performs processing to generate a buzzer sound to call attention. During this process, it is monitored whether or not the start switch is turned on, and when the start switch is turned on, a setting failure is checked again and the process returns.

Performs the process of waiting for restart (16) in step 223, temporarily interrupts the rice cooking control operation, and
While waiting for the start switch to be turned on again, if the user puts the ingredients to be cooked in the rice cooker into the rice cooker and turns on the start switch, the process skips step 223.
Proceed to step 224. Further, if the rice is not determined to be cooked rice in the process of determining whether it is cooked rice in the previous step 221, the process proceeds to step 224.

In the process of step 224, the "cooking" LED is turned on to indicate that the rice cooking process has started, and in step 225, the rice cooking process (17) is performed.

The process during rice cooking (17) will be described later, but communicates with the rice cooker, sends an instruction to start cooking to the automatic rice cooker 7, starts the rice cooking operation, and controls the exhaust fan during this time. Automatic rice cooker 7 during rice cooking operation
In addition to exhausting the steam generated from the rice cooker, it also monitors the time and displays the time until the rice is ready to be eaten after the rice cooking operation is completed.

When the rice cooking process in step 225 is completed, the "Rice Cooking" LED is turned off in step 226 to indicate that the rice cooking process has been completed.
In the next step 227, it is determined whether an error occurred during the rice cooking process. If it is determined that there is an error, the process returns to step 106 to perform the process from the beginning starting from the error check. Also, if it is not determined that there is an error, the next step 228
Perform the treatment during heat retention (18).

The process during keeping warm (18) in step 228 will be described later, but is continued while the automatic rice cooker 7 is keeping warm, and during this time, the exhaust fan is controlled to be driven intermittently. When the warming process ends due to the cancellation switch being turned on or an error occurring, the process returns to step 106 to start the process from the beginning.

In the main routine of the control processing flow of the main body of the fully automatic rice cooker, typical subroutine processing for controlling each mechanical section and individual processing of each step will be described below.

FIGS. 8a and 8b are flowcharts showing the subroutine processing for confirming a set failure. This setting failure confirmation process is frequently performed in the main routine of the control process flow of the fully automatic rice cooker main body, and the set state of each unit of the mechanical section in the fully automatic rice cooker main body 1 is confirmed. The results of the confirmation process performed in the set failure confirmation process are displayed on the rice cooking element device set display section 17 in one display zone on the operation display panel 5, showing the symbols of the fully automatic rice cooker main body and each device unit. is schematically displayed, and each set confirmation display is provided corresponding to the set position of the symbol of each equipment unit on the display section.
Displayed by LED. From this, it is easy to determine the type of each device unit that has a set failure.

Referring to FIGS. 8a and 8b, the process for confirming a set failure will be described. In this process, each of the automatic rice cooker setting, the rice cooker rail setting position, and the rice storage storage setting position is checked for setting defects.

First, in order to confirm the setting status of the automatic rice cooker, in step 301, it is determined whether rice cooker communication is performed normally. If it is determined in step 301 that the rice cooker communication is normally performed between the fully automatic rice cooker main body and the automatic rice cooker, the automatic rice cooker 7 is set in the rice cooking unit 4, and then the automatic rice cooker It is determined that the power plug No. 7 is inserted into the outlet and is electrically operable. Rice cooker communication is done in step 301.
If OK, the set state of the inner pot can be determined by the sensor of the automatic rice cooker 7 based on the contents of the rice cooker communication, so it is then determined in step 302 whether or not there is an inner pot. If you have an inner pot, use rice cooking unit 4.
Since it can be determined that the automatic rice cooker 7 is properly set, in step 305, the ``defective setting position display'' LED corresponding to the display position of the automatic rice cooker is turned off. In addition, if it is not determined in step 302 that there is an inner pot, step
Proceeding to step 303, the "setting failure" LED is blinked, and then in step 304, the "setting failure position display" LED corresponding to the display position of the automatic rice cooker is blinking.

Next, check for improper setting of the rice cooker rail set position. Therefore, in step 306, it is determined whether the rice cooker rail set position is OK (normal position). The rice cooker rail set position is
If it is OK, the process proceeds to step 309, and the "defective setting position display" LED corresponding to the display position of the rice cooker rail set position is turned off. Also, step 306
If it is not determined that the rice cooker rail set position is OK, the process proceeds to step 307, where the ``poor setting'' LED flashes, and then, in step 308, the ``poor setting position'' corresponding to the displayed position of the rice cooker rail set position is displayed. "Display" blinks the LED.

Next, check for improper setting of the rice storage storage setting position. Therefore, in step 301, it is determined whether the rice storage set position is OK (normal position). If the rice storage set position is OK,
Proceeding to step 313, the "defective setting position display" LED corresponding to the display position of the rice storage set position is turned off. In addition, if it is not determined in step 310 that the rice storage set position is OK, the process proceeds to step 311, where the "setting failure" LED is blinked,
Next, in step 312, the "setting failure position display" LED corresponding to the display position of the rice storage set position is displayed.
flashes.

As a result, it was confirmed that there was a setting failure in each of the individual positions of the automatic rice cooker setting, the rice cooker rail setting position, and the rice storage storage setting position, so a "setting failure found" flag was set in the overall sense. Therefore, in step 314, it is determined whether all the "setting defective position display" LEDs are turned off. If all “Poor Set Position Indicator” LEDs are not turned off, proceed to step 315;
The ``setting failure'' flag is set and the process returns to the main routine. In addition, if all the “Poor Set Position Display” LEDs are off,
The process advances to step 316, where the "setting failure" flag is set, and at the next step 317, the "setting failure" LED is turned off, and the process returns to the main routine.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the subroutine processing of the rice cooking process. In the rice cooking process performed on the side of the fully automatic rice cooker main body, rice cooker communication is performed to send a rice cooking start instruction to the automatic rice cooker 7 to start the rice cooking operation, and during this time, the exhaust fan is controlled. Then, the water vapor generated from the automatic rice cooker 7 during the rice cooking operation is exhausted, and the time is monitored to display the time until the rice cooking operation is completed and the rice is ready to be eaten.

First, in this process, a process counter is set to (17) in step 401 to indicate that rice is being cooked. Next, in step 402, the pedestal lock is processed, and then in step 403, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the pedestal lock. If there is an abnormality in the frame lock, the system immediately returns to the main routine. In this case, it is not a normal return but an abnormal return, so in the main routine, as mentioned above, the processing of the rice cooking process is completed, so the "Rice cooking process" indicating the end of the rice cooking process is displayed.
The LED is turned off (step 226), then it is determined that there is an error (step 227), and the process starts from the error check process (returns to step 106).

If it is determined in step 403 that there is no gantry lock abnormality, then in the next step 404 a rice cooking start communication is performed to start the rice cooking operation in the automatic rice cooker 7. Thereby, the automatic rice cooker 7 starts the rice cooking control process according to the rice cooking control process flow shown in FIG. In the fully automatic rice cooker, after the rice cooking start communication is performed in step 404, a power outage confirmation process is performed in the next step 405, and then it is determined whether the rice cooker communication for the rice cooking start communication performed in step 406 is OK or not. Determine. If there is no reception response in the rice cooker communication and the rice cooker communication is not OK, it is determined in the next step 407 whether or not a time-up has occurred.If it is not a time-up, the process returns to step 405 to process power failure confirmation and restart the rice cooker. Even if the predetermined time-up period that repeats the communication confirmation judgment process,
There is no reception response for rice cooker communication, and rice cooker communication is OK.
If this is not determined and a time-up occurs in step 407, the process proceeds to step 408, where an error bit (E12) is set to indicate the error state. Then, turn off the “minutes left” display and
Return to main routine. In this case as well, it is not a normal return but an abnormal return.As a result, in the main routine, as mentioned above, the rice cooking process ends, so the "Rice Cooking" LED indicating the end of the rice cooking process is turned off. (step
226), then it is determined that there is an error (step 227), and the process starts from the error check process from the beginning (returns to step 106).

Also, in step 406, there is a response to the rice cooker communication within a predetermined time-up period, and
When rice cooker communication is determined to be OK, automatic rice cooker 7
Now, normal rice cooking control operation has started.
In the next step 410, the exhaust motor is turned on and the exhaust fan unit is driven to start exhausting the steam generated from the automatic rice cooker 7.

Next, in step 411, a power outage confirmation process is performed.
In the next step 412, in order to judge whether the rice is cooked, the cooking time display section shows " 00 minutes remaining."
It is determined whether or not "minutes" is displayed. If " 00 minutes left" is not displayed to indicate when the rice has finished cooking, the process proceeds to step 413, where it is determined whether or not the rice cooking menu is for cooking. Determine whether it is a process. If the rice cooking menu is "Takikomi" and the rice cooking process starts, proceed to step 415 and select "Additional". The "minute" display is turned on, and then the process returns to step 411, and the process from step 411 is repeated. Furthermore, if it is determined in step 413 that the process is not a cooking process, or if it is not determined in step 414 that it is a leveling process, the process returns to step 411 and repeats the process from step 411.

If the rice is cooked and it is determined in step 412 that the cooking time display shows " 00 minutes remaining", the process advances to step 416.
"After The minute display lights up. Next step 417
Process the buzzer notification 3 in step 3, and then proceed to step
In 418, it is determined whether the loop counter has reached 8 times or not. If it has not reached 8 times, a power failure is confirmed in step 419, and the process of returning to step 417 is repeated. As a result, the buzzer notification 3
This process is repeated eight times, and after notifying that the rice is cooked, the process returns to the main routine. In this case, it is a normal return.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the subroutine of the warming process. This warming process performed on the side of the fully automatic rice cooker main body is performed in response to the rice cooking process being performed normally, the rice cooking operation of the automatic rice cooker 7 being completed, and the automatic rice cooker 7 entering the warming operation. This is a process that This process during keeping warm is continued while the automatic rice cooker 7 is keeping warm, and during this time, control such as intermittent driving of the exhaust fan is performed. If the cancel switch is turned on or an error occurs,
When the warming process is completed, the warming process subroutine is returned. In addition, during the heat-keeping process, in the case of rice porridge cooking, the keep-warm lamp is lit blinking, and in the case of regular rice cooking, the keep-warm lamp is lit continuously to distinguish the state of the rice being kept warm. Display separately.

This will be explained with reference to FIG. In this heat-keeping process, first, in step 501, a process counter is set to (18) to indicate that the heat-keeping process has started. Next, in step 502, data is set during heat retention. Next, turn off the unit lock motor. Next, in step 504, the exhaust motor is turned on and the exhaust fan unit is driven to start exhausting the steam generated from the automatic rice cooker 7.

Next, in step 505, it is determined whether the rice cooking menu is porridge cooking. If it is rice porridge, the process proceeds to step 517, where the heat retention lamp flashes. Then, in the next step 518,
Determine whether the cancellation switch is turned on.
If the cancel switch is not on, keeping warm will continue, so proceed to step 521, determine whether the rice cooker is initialized, and proceed to the next step.
522 determines whether there is a rice cooker. step
If the rice cooker is determined to be the initial rice cooker in step 521, or if the presence of the rice cooker cannot be confirmed in step 522,
In order to end the process during heat retention, the process advances to step 515.

In these determination steps, if the rice cooker is not the rice cooker initial and there is a rice cooker, you can continue keeping warm, so proceed to step 523, process the intermittent drive of the fan, and then proceed to the next step 524. Perform the power outage confirmation process in step 518.
Return to Then, the process from step 518 is repeated to continue the process during heat retention in this case.

If it is determined in step 518 that the cancel switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step 519 to cancel the warming process and cancel the warming process for the automatic rice cooker, and in the next step 520, the buzzer notification 1 is The process then proceeds to step 515.
Then, in step 515, the heat retention lamp is turned off,
At step 516, the contents of the process counter are set to (00) and the process returns to the main routine.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 505 that the rice is not rice porridge, then in the next step 506,
It is determined whether the automatic rice cooker 7 is set to keep warm. If it is not determined that the rice cooker is keeping warm, an error (E12) in step 525 is displayed.
Next, in step 507, the heat retention lamp is turned on. In this case, since the rice is kept warm normally, the heat retention lamp is lit continuously.

Then, in the next step 508, it is determined whether the cancellation switch is turned on. If the cancel switch is not on, the process will continue keeping warm, so the process will proceed to step 511, where it will be determined whether the rice cooker is initialized or not, and the process will proceed to the next step.
512 determines whether there is a rice cooker. step
If it is determined in step 511 that the rice cooker is the initial value, or if the presence of the rice cooker cannot be confirmed in step 512, step
Proceed to 515.

In addition, in the determination steps of step 511 and step 512, if the rice cooker is not the initial rice cooker and there is a rice cooker, it is possible to continue keeping warm, so proceed to step 513, and in step 513, the process of intermittent fan drive is performed. conduct. Next, a power outage confirmation process is performed in step 514, and the process returns to step 508. and,
The process from step 508 is repeated to continue the process during heat retention in this case. When it is determined in step 508 that the cancel switch is turned on, the step 508 interrupts the warming process and ends it.
Proceeding to step 509, processing for canceling heat retention for the automatic rice cooker is performed, and further, processing for buzzer notification 1 is performed in the next step 510, and the processing advances to step 515. Then, in step 515, the heat retention lamp is turned off. step 519
Set the contents of the process counter to (00) and return to the main routine.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing flow for intermittent fan drive performed in the subroutine of the warming process. The intermittent fan drive process is a control routine for drive control of the exhaust fan unit. In this process, in step 601, 10
It is determined whether or not 10 minutes have elapsed, and if 10 minutes have not elapsed, immediately returns. Also, if 10 minutes have passed since entering step (18),
Proceed to step 602 and set the exhaust fan operating time to 10.
It is driven in an intermittent driving pattern of turning on for seconds and turning off for one minute.

In this way, the intermittent drive of the exhaust fan during the warming process is started after a predetermined period of time from the start of the control of the warming process, and the intermittent drive of the exhaust fan is The drive period during which the exhaust fan is driven is shorter than the rest period during which the exhaust fan is not driven.

Therefore, in such processing during heat retention, the exhaust fan is operated intermittently to reduce drive noise, and the exhaust fan is operated with a lower exhaust capacity to reduce exhaust noise. make low.

As mentioned above, the fully automatic rice cooking device here is
The box body includes a rice storage and measuring unit with a built-in rice storage and measuring device, a rice washing unit with a built-in rice washing device, and a rice cooking unit with a built-in automatic rice cooker, and controls the devices of each unit. A main body control circuit serving as a control device is provided. The main body of the control device The control device takes out and weighs the rice to be cooked from the rice storage, a rice washing process in which the weighed rice is washed, a rice preparation process in which the washed rice is set in an automatic rice cooker and the amount of water is adjusted; The rice cooking process, in which the automatic rice cooker is instructed to start cooking and the rice cooking operation is monitored, and the warming process, in which the automatic rice cooker monitors the rice keeping status after cooking, are sequentially controlled. It is a fully automatic rice cooking device that performs such control. When controlling all rice cooking processes, this main body control circuit checks each drive unit, communicates control data with the automatic rice cooker, and detects the status of the automatic rice cooker. At the same time, sequence control is performed for all rice cooking processes. In that case, the communication path for data communication is such that the optical transmitter/receiver provided on the side of the fully automatic rice cooker body and the optical transmitter/receiver provided on the side of the automatic rice cooker are installed in positions close to each other and facing each other. Forms an optical signal communication path.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a main part explaining an optical signal communication path for control data communication between the fully automatic rice cooking device main body and the automatic rice cooker.

Referring to FIG. 12, an automatic rice cooker-side optical transceiver 49 is provided on the back side of the base of the automatic rice cooker 7.
Further, on the side of the fully automatic rice cooker main body, the automatic rice cooker 7 is mounted on a cart 47a on which a slide rail is placed.
An optical transmitter/receiver 48 on the main body side of the fully automatic rice cooker is provided in a case 48a that projects into the space on the back side of the stand.

When the automatic rice cooker 7 is set at a predetermined position in the rice cooking unit, the fully automatic rice cooking device main body side optical transmitter/receiver 48 and the automatic rice cooker side optical transmitter/receiver 49 are close to each other and face each other, and the fully automatic rice cooking is started. An optical signal communication path 68 is formed between the device main body and the automatic rice cooker 7. The optical signal communication path 68 serves as a communication path for communicating control data. The optical signal communication path 68 has a short distance, and since the space behind the stand of the automatic rice cooker 7 is protected from outside light from the surroundings, it has high noise resistance and can communicate using optical signals. Therefore, it is sufficiently resistant to dielectric noise and radio wave noise from the strong electric circuit that controls the energization of the rice cooking heater.

Although the present invention has been specifically described above based on Examples, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned Examples, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the fully automatic rice cooking device of the present invention, it is possible to receive a rice cooking reservation instruction specifying a reservation time for more than one day, and to perform reservation rice cooking for more than one day. The device becomes easier to use. The reserved time may be set at either the start time of the rice cooking operation or the expected time at which the rice is cooked.

In this rice cooking control for reservation rice cooking, after the reservation time arrives, control of each step of the series of rice cooking operations starts from the measuring step of taking out the rice to be cooked from the rice storage and weighing it, so the reservation time for reservation rice cooking starts. Even if the rice is cooked for a long time, which is scheduled for more than one day, food hygiene problems such as spoilage will not occur, and the starch will not dissolve from the rice that has been washed and prepared. Even when cooking rice, it can be cooked deliciously. Thereby, it is possible to eliminate restrictions on the reservation time for timer reservation rice cooking, and it is also possible to perform reservation rice cooking for a long time.
For example, even if you are away on a week-long trip, you can still have a meal when you return home.
It is also possible to set a reservation for cooking rice to be cooked one week later.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a fully automatic rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the fully automatic rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a front view showing an example of an operation display panel provided on the front side of the box body of a fully automatic rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the mechanism of each unit of the fully automatic rice cooker. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the electronic circuit of the control device that controls each rice cooking device element in the fully automatic rice cooking device main body, and FIG. 6 is a rice cooking control circuit of the rice cooking control circuit. Flowchart showing the outline of the flow, No. 7a
Figures 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e,
FIG. 7F is a flowchart showing the outline of the rice cooking control flow of the main body control circuit 50, and FIGS. 8A and 8B are flowcharts showing the subroutine processing of the setting failure confirmation process. 9th
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of the subroutine for processing during rice cooking; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the subroutine for processing during warming;
Figure 1 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of intermittent fan drive performed in the warming process subroutine, and Figure 12 is an optical signal communication path for control data communication between the fully automatic rice cooker main body and the automatic rice cooker. FIG. In the figure, 1... Fully automatic rice cooking device body, 2... Rice storage measuring unit, 3... Rice washing unit, 4... Rice cooking unit, 5... Operation display panel, 6... Exhaust fan unit, 7... Automatic rice cooker, 8... Main power switch, 9... Exhaust fan, 11... Time set display section, 12... Rice cooking menu setting section,
13... Rice cooking amount setting section, 14... Hardness (rice cooking water level) setting section, 15... Rice washing setting section, 16... Rice cooking operation mode instruction setting section, 17... Rice cooking element device set confirmation display section, 20... ... Rice storage, 21 ... Measuring device, 22 ... Measuring drum motor, 23 ... Encoder, 24 ... Water supply valve, 30 ... Rice washing device,
31...Rice washing outer tank, 32...Rice washing inner tank, 33...
Stirring blade, 34...Rice washing motor, 35...Rice discharging port, 36...Rice discharging valve, 37...Rice discharging valve cam mechanism,
38... Drain port, 39... Exhaust duct, 40...
Lid opening/closing mechanism, 41... opening/closing motor, 42... first
Link, 43...Second link, 44...Third link, 45...Elevating motor, 46...Slide motor, 47...Slide rail, 48...Full automatic rice cooker main body side optical transceiver, 49... Automatic rice cooker side optical transmitter/receiver, 50...Main body control circuit, 51...Main body control section, 52...Audio output section, 53...Display input section, 54...Sensor input section, 55...Drive output section, 56...Photocoupler (optical transmitter/receiver),
57... Commercial AC power supply, 58... Breaker, 59
...Outlet, 60...Rice cooker control circuit, 61
...Rice cooking control unit, 62...Photocoupler, 63...
...Temperature sensor, 64...Rice cooking heater, 65...Warming heater, 66...Display input section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rice storage, a measuring device, a rice washing device,
and a rice cooker, and a control device that controls each rice cooking device element, and the control device takes out and weighs rice to be cooked from a rice storage storage, and a rice washing process in which the weighed rice is washed. , a rice preparation process in which washed rice is placed in a rice cooker and the amount of water is adjusted; a rice cooking process in which the rice cooker is given an instruction to start cooking and the rice cooking is monitored; and a warming process in which the rice cooker's heat retention status after cooking is monitored. It is a fully automatic rice cooker that sequentially controls each step of the process and cooks rice automatically, and the control device has a clock mechanism that measures the month, day, hour, and minute, and a rice cooking reservation that specifies a reservation time that exceeds one day. A fully automatic rice cooking device characterized by comprising a reservation rice cooking control means that receives an instruction and starts controlling each step of a series of rice cooking when a clock mechanism reaches a reservation rice cooking time. 2. When the reservation rice cooking control means starts reservation rice cooking control, it calculates the rice cooking start time at which the reservation rice cooking time becomes the scheduled time of completion of cooking, and when the clock mechanism reaches the rice cooking start time, it controls each step of a series of rice cooking. The fully automatic rice cooking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: