JPH07194485A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the inside of the device main body from being damped by steam and to prevent the generation of dirt and the propagation of miscellaneous germs by providing an exhaust fan on a box body and controlling the exhaust fan to drive after the lapse of a prescribed time from start of an insulation process of the rice cooker. CONSTITUTION:Each unit of a unit 2 for measuring the stored rice, unit 3 for washing the rice, and rice cooking unit 4 is housed so as to be pulled freely in the front and back directions in the three stages in the box body of a rice cooker main body 1. In the unit 3, an exhaust duct 39 is provided one end of which is located at the lower part of a rice washing device 30 and the other end of which is located at the exhaust fan unit 6. A rice discharge port 35 of the rice washing device 30 is arranged almost at the same position as a suction hole 39a of the exhaust duct 39. The exhaust port 39 is located in front of the rice washing unit 3. The exhaust fan unit 6 is provided on the way of the exhaust duct 6. The unit 6 drives the exhaust fan to exhaust the steam generated from a rice cooker 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rice cooker, and more particularly to a rice cooker provided with a rice cooker in a box body so as to automatically measure rice, wash rice, and cook rice.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A storage device for rice polished, a weighing device, a rice washing device, etc. are provided, and the processing of the steps related to the preparation of rice such as weighing, washing rice, and adjusting the amount of water is automatically performed by a predetermined program. Automatic machines for processing have been developed. For example, an "automatic rice preparation device" described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-276520 relates to an automatic machine that automatically performs a series of work for making stored rice ready for cooking.

Further, many technologies have been developed in the past regarding the technology of the rice cooker for controlling the rice cooking after the washed rice has been placed in the rice cooking pot. For example, the rice cooking control technology by the microcomputer control has been proposed. , An example of the exhibition type.

Further, the field of technical development related to such a rice cooker is expanded not only to the technical development related to the rice cooker main body but also to the peripheral field of the rice cooker. Around the same time, there has been proposed an overall rice cooker that can be used by incorporating the rice cooker into a kitchen set. For example, JP-A-59-181112
The "rice cooker" described in the gazette is a unit of individual rice cooker elements such as rice storage device, rice weighing device, and rice washing device of each rice cooker element so that the rice cooker can be used by incorporating it in a kitchen set. It is a proposal to change.

The rice cooking unit, which is unitized for a kitchen set and incorporates a rice cooker, is provided with an exhaust fan for exhausting water vapor generated during rice cooking. If an exhaust fan with sufficient exhaust capacity is installed in the rice cooking unit, the device structure of the rice cooking unit becomes large in size, and noise during operation of the exhaust fan increases, which may cause discomfort to the user. It has also been proposed to provide a steam discharge nozzle that effectively discharges water vapor from the rice cooker without using an exhaust fan, as in the "automatic rice cooker" described in JP-A-62-26030.

[0006]

By the way, as described above, in the conventional automatic rice cooking device provided with the exhaust device for discharging steam, the method for discharging steam by the exhaust device is as follows.
When the inside of the rice cooking unit body with the built-in rice cooker reaches a predetermined temperature due to steam, it drives an exhaust fan to exhaust water vapor.In addition, a steam discharge nozzle is provided to prevent the steam from escaping from the nozzle. The steam is discharged to the outside by a high-speed flow. These are for discharging steam to the outside only while the rice cooker is cooking rice.

[0007] Therefore, in such an exhaust device, no consideration is given to the steam generated during the heat retention after the rice is cooked, and the inside of the main body is damaged by the steam generated during the heat retention after the rice is cooked. There is a problem of getting damp.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker capable of preventing the growth and contamination of various bacteria due to the inside of the main body of the apparatus being moistened by water vapor generated during heat retention.

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

[0010]

The outline of the representative ones of the inventions disclosed by the present application will be briefly described as follows.

That is, in a rice cooker having a rice cooker inside the box body, an exhaust fan for discharging steam generated from the rice cooker to the outside of the box body is provided in the box body, and an exhaust fan is provided for the rice cooker. It is a rice cooker provided with a control means for controlling the driving after a predetermined time has passed after the control of the heat retention process.

[0012]

According to the above-mentioned means, the box body is provided with the exhaust fan for discharging the steam generated from the rice cooker to the outside of the box body, and the exhaust fan is controlled for a predetermined time after the control of the heating process of the rice cooker is started. Since the driving control is performed after the above, it is possible to prevent the growth and contamination of various bacteria due to the inside of the main body of the apparatus being moistened by the steam generated during the heat retention.

[0013]

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a rice cooker body, 2 is a rice storage weighing unit, 3 is a rice washing unit,
Reference numeral 4 is a rice cooking unit, 5 is an operation display panel, 6 is an exhaust fan unit, 7 is a rice cooker, and 8 is a main power switch with an electricity display lamp. The rice cooker main body 1 includes each rice cooker element including a rice storage, a weighing device, a rice washing device, and a rice cooker in a box body, and a control device that controls each rice cooker element. Each rice cooking device element provided in the rice cooking device main body 1 is separately provided in each unit of a rice storage weighing unit 2, a rice washing unit 3, and a rice cooking unit 4. The rice storage weighing unit 2 is provided with a rice storage and a rice cooker element of a weighing device inside, and a control device is provided inside the box of the rice storage weighing unit 2. Inside the rice washing unit 3, a rice washing device having a rice washing tank is provided. Also,
Inside the rice cooking unit 4, a rice cooker 7 is detachably installed. Rice cooker 7 provided inside the rice cooking unit 4
Is a jar type rice cooker that can be taken out as it is and also used as a rice heating jar. That is,
The same shape as a normal commercially available microcomputer rice cooker,
It is attached to the rice cooking unit 4 and used as the rice cooker 7. Further, inside the rice cooking unit 4, a lid opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the lid of the rice cooker 7, and communication of control data between the rice cooker 7 and the control device of the rice cooker main body 1 when the rice cooker 7 is mounted. And an optical transceiver that serves as an optical communication path.

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 electricity display lamp are provided. Further, an exhaust duct for exhausting water vapor, one end of which is connected to the exhaust fan unit 6, is provided from the inside of the rice washing unit 3 to the front surface. At the other end of the exhaust duct, the rice cooker 7 is attached to the rice cooker unit 4, and the rice cooker unit 4 is the rice cooker body 1
In the state of being set in the box body, it is arranged so as to face the water vapor discharge port on the upper part of the rice cooker 7.

The box body of each unit of the rice storage weighing unit 2, the rice washing unit 3, and the rice cooking unit 4 is housed in the box body of the rice cooking device body 1 in a three-tiered manner, and each unit is a rice cooking device. It can be pulled out freely into the box body of the body 1, and can be pulled out for inspection and set confirmation.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the front view of FIG. 2, a part of the internal configuration of the rice cooking device is seen through and drawn as shown by a virtual line (two-dot chain line). In FIG. 2, 1 is a rice cooker body, 2
Is a rice storage weighing unit, 3 is a rice washing unit, 4 is a rice cooking unit, 5 is an operation display panel, 6 is an exhaust fan unit, 7 is a rice cooker, and 8 is a main power switch. These are described in FIG. 9 is an exhaust fan, 20
Is a rice storage, 21 is a weighing device, 30 is a rice washing device, and 39 is an exhaust duct. Reference numeral 46 is a slide motor, and 47 is a slide rail. Reference numeral 48 is an optical transmitter / receiver on the rice cooker body 1 side for optical communication, and 49 is an optical transmitter / receiver on the rice cooker 7 side. This is opposed to each other and forms an optical signal communication path for communication of control data between the rice cooker body 1 and the rice cooker 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the rice storage weighing unit 2, a quadrangular pyramid-shaped rice storage 20 and a cylindrical weighing device 21 are integrally connected to the lower portion of the rice storage 20. ing. The weighing device 21 at the bottom of the rice storage 20 is composed of a weighing drum having a cylindrical side surface partially open, a motor for rotationally driving the weighing drum, and an encoder for detecting the amount of rotation of the weighing drum. There is. In the weighing device 21, by rotating the weighing drum, when a part of the open side of the cylindrical side surface of the weighing drum faces the upper rice storage, a fixed amount (measuring drum capacity) of rice is received from the rice storage 20. When the measuring drum rotates and the open portion faces downward, the rice received by the measuring drum is dropped on the lower rice washing device 30, and this is repeated to measure the amount of rice. A fixed amount of rice drops into the rice washing device 30 of the rice washing unit 3 every one rotation of the measuring drum, and a predetermined amount of rice is weighed.

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 one end of the exhaust duct 39 is connected to the exhaust fan unit 6.
Is provided. The other end of the exhaust duct 39 is located at the steam outlet of the lid of the rice cooker 7 attached to the rice cooker unit 4, and drives the exhaust fan unit 6 when the rice cooker 7 performs the rice cook operation. Then, the steam released from the steam outlet of the upper part of the rice cooker 7 is discharged.

Further, when the rice cooker 7 is in the heat retaining operation, the exhaust fan unit 3 is driven for a predetermined time after the control of the heat retaining step is started, and the steam slightly emitted during the heat retaining operation is discharged.

In the rice cooking unit 4, the lid of the rice cooker 7 attached to the rice cooking unit 4 is opened by the lid opening / closing mechanism, and the washed rice from the rice washing device 30 is put into the rice cooker of the rice cooker 7. After adding a predetermined amount of water, close the lid and start cooking rice. The rice cooking unit 4 is provided with a slide motor 46 and a slide rail 47 which are part of the lid opening / closing mechanism for this purpose. The lid opening / closing mechanism provided here will be described later. An optical transmitter / receiver 49 for performing optical communication is provided on the back side of the bottom of the rice cooker 7, and the optical transmitter / receiver 48 is also provided at a predetermined position of the carriage that moves on the slide rail 47 of the rice cooker main body 1 in correspondence with this. Is provided. Control data is communicated between the rice cooker body 1 and the rice cooker 7 via the optical transceivers 48 and 49.

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

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation display panel 5 comprises a plurality of operation switches for giving instructions for controlling the whole rice cooking process and a plurality of light emitting diodes for displaying the state of the rice cooking device. A display unit is provided. Further, a liquid crystal display unit for displaying 7-segment numbers for time display is provided. These operation switches, the operation display units of the respective display units, the time set display unit 11, the rice cooking menu setting unit 12, the rice cooking amount setting unit 13, the hardness (rice cooking water adjustment) setting unit 14, the rice washing setting unit 15, the rice cooking operation. The mode display instruction setting unit 16 and the rice cooking element device set confirmation display unit 17 are divided into zones and arranged so that the control data may be sequentially set from the left side to the right side.

As described above, the control data for controlling the entire rice cooking process can be individually set in each zone of the operation display unit, the set contents are displayed, and the rice cooking operation mode instruction setting unit 16 operates during the rice cooking operation. Display the mode. Further, in the rice cooking element device set confirmation display section 17, the set state of each device unit can be schematically confirmed corresponding to the position of each device unit.

That is, in the rice cooking element device set confirmation display section 17, symbols of each rice cooking element device are written,
Corresponding to the notation position of the symbol of each rice cooker element,
Light emitting diodes 17a, 17b, 17c, and 17d are provided to display a set abnormality of the corresponding rice cooking element device. The light emitting diode 17a indicates a setting abnormality of the rice storage weighing unit, the light emitting diode 17b indicates a setting abnormality of the rice washing unit, the light emitting diode 17c indicates an abnormality of the rice cooker set, and the light emitting diode 17d indicates a slide rail (rice cooking). The setting error of the setting position of the equipment rail) is displayed.

Therefore, before the user inputs the control data of each step of rice cooking control using the operation display panel 5, the light emitting diode of the rice cooking element device set confirmation display 17 on the operation display panel 5 is used. 17a-17
By confirming the display state of d, it is possible to easily confirm the set of the rice cooking element device. When there is an abnormality, the light emitting diode provided corresponding to the symbol notation position of each rice cooking element device emits light, so that the rice cooking element device unit having the abnormal set can be easily determined from the symbol notation. Thereby, the rice cooker element unit for which the set abnormality has been determined may be further inspected.

In addition to the operation display section, the operation display section panel 5 is provided with a valve opening processing switch, a shower water supply switch, and a rice storage processing switch for performing maintenance of the mechanical section of the rice cooker, By operating these switches, the rice cooker main body 1 is operated at the time of maintenance to check the mechanical parts of the water supply system, the valve opening / closing system, and the metered rice discharging system.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view for explaining the mechanical portion of each unit of the rice cooker. With reference to FIG. 4, the mechanical portion of each unit of the rice storage weighing unit 2, the rice washing unit 3, and the rice cooking unit 4 will be described.

As described above, each unit of the rice storage weighing unit 2, the rice washing unit 3, and the rice cooking unit 4 is
The rice-cooking device main body 1 is housed in three boxes in the front-back direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4) so as to be freely drawn out.

The rice storage 2 provided in the rice weighing unit 2
In 0, it is vertically separated from the bottom side of the box body of the rice storage main body,
An upper first sensor 20a and a lower second sensor 20b are provided. First sensor 20a and second sensor 20
b constitutes a rice detection device for detecting the remaining amount of rice in the rice storage 20, and the first sensor 20a and the second sensor 20b are turned on when they detect rice respectively, and are turned off when they no longer detect rice. become. When the rice cooking operation is started, the operation is started after the remaining amount of rice is detected by the rice detecting device.
Below the rice storage 20, a weighing device 21 for discharging a predetermined amount of rice in the rice storage 20 is directly connected and installed. The weighing device 21 includes a weighing drum, a motor 22 that rotationally drives the weighing drum, and an encoder 23 that detects the amount of rotation of the weighing drum. The movement of the mechanism for weighing rice with this weighing device 21 is as described in the description with reference to FIG. The amount of rotation of the weighing drum that is rotationally driven by the motor 22 is controlled by the encoder 23, and a predetermined amount of rice set by the predetermined amount of rotation is weighed and put into the rice washing device 30 in the lower rice washing unit 3.

The rice washing unit 3 includes a rice storage weighing unit 2
A rice washing device 30 is provided at a lower position for receiving the weighed rice discharged from the weighing device 21. The rice washing device 30
It is composed of a double-structured rice washing tank including an outer rice-washing tank 31 and an inner rice-washing tank 32, and a stirring mechanism of 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 in the rice-washing inner tank 32, and the stirring blade 33 is rotated by the rice-washing motor 34 to wash the rice. The rice washing outer tub 31 forms a drainage channel system for receiving overflow water and draining the overflowed water when the rice is washed. The water supply channel system for washing rice is composed of a water supply valve 24, a water supply pipe 25, and a water supply nozzle 26, although only a part is shown. The water supply control for the rice washing device 30 is performed by controlling the water supply valve 24 with a sensor signal from the water level sensor 27.

A rice discharge port 35 is provided in the lower portion of the inner rice washing tank 32 and the outer rice washing tank 31. The rice discharging port 35 is the rice discharging valve 3
It is opened and closed by 6. The opening / closing mechanism of the rice discharge port 35 by the rice discharge valve 36 is configured by a vertical movement mechanism of a valve rod that is integrally connected to the rice discharge valve 36 and projects upward. In this vertical movement mechanism, the upper end of the valve rod is engaged with the arm through the hollow portion of the center rod of the stirring blade 33, and the discharge valve cam mechanism 3
7 is a mechanism to be engaged. The rice discharge valve 36 is moved up and down via a valve rod by the motor drive of the rice discharge valve cam mechanism 37 to open and close the rice discharge port 35.

A drain port 38 is provided in the lower portion of the rice rinsing tank 32, and the discharge port 38 is covered with a net having a predetermined mesh. The discharge port 38 is connected to a drainage channel (not shown), and a drainage valve (not shown) is provided in the drainage channel. By controlling the drainage valve and the water supply valve 24, water is supplied to the rice washing device, the rice is washed, and dirty water is drained. The drainage system of the overflow water formed by the outer washing basin 31 is similarly connected to the drainage channel connected to the drainage port 38.
As a result, overflow water is drained.

The rice washing unit 3 includes a rice washing device 30.
An exhaust duct 39 whose one end is located at the lower end and the other end is located at the exhaust fan unit 6 is provided. The intake port 39a of the exhaust duct 39 is used for the rice washing device 3
It is installed at almost the same position as the rice discharge port 35 of No. 0, and the exhaust port 39b is the front surface of the rice washing unit 3. The exhaust fan unit 6 is provided in the middle of the exhaust duct 39. The exhaust fan unit 6 controls the drive of the exhaust fan to exhaust the steam generated from the rice cooker 7.

In the rice cooking unit 4, a lid opening / closing mechanism 40 is provided at the rear of the box body as a mechanism for opening and closing the lid 7a of the rice cooker 7 for charging the rice cooked by the rice washing device 30 into the rice cooker 7. The lid opening / closing mechanism 40 includes an opening / closing motor 41, a first link 42, a second link 43, a third link 44, and a lifting motor 45. The lid mechanism is used to cover the lid on the upper front surface of the rice cooker 7. Press the notch 7a to open the lid 7a of the rice cooker 7. The rice cooker 7 here is a microcomputer rice cooker that includes an inner pot and an outer pot and that controls rice cooking and heat retention by microcomputer control. The rice cooker 7 has a main body and a lid 7a which can be opened and closed by a hinge having a spring built therein. The lid 7a is locked by a notch, and when the notch is pressed and unlocked, the lid 7a is automatically opened by a spring incorporated therein.
A pressure discharge port 7b is provided in the center of the lid 7a for discharging the steam generated during cooking and keeping the temperature of the rice, and the steam inside can be discharged through the pressure discharge port 7b.

The rice cooking unit 4 includes a lid opening / closing mechanism 4
A slide motor 46 and a slide rail 47 for moving the rice cooker 7 in the front-back direction are provided in relation to the operation of 0. The rice cooker 7 is placed on a trolley that moves on the slide rail 47, and moves in the front-rear direction in relation to the operation of the lid opening / closing mechanism 40. That is, the rice cooker 7 first moves to the rear position where the lid opening / closing mechanism 40 is installed to open the lid 7a, and the lid 7a is opened. Next, rice washing device 3
In order to receive and prepare the rice washed from 0 from the rice discharge port 35, the rice is moved forward of the lower position of the rice washing device 30. After the rice and a predetermined amount of water are stored in the rice cooking pot at this front position, the lid opening / closing mechanism 40 then moves backward again to close the lid 7a. Then, after closing the lid 7a by the lid opening / closing mechanism 40 at the rear part, the lid 7a is moved forward again, and the preparation for the rice cooking operation is completed. When performing the rice cooking operation, it is the lid 7a of the rice cooker 7 that moves the rice cooker 7 forward and positions it in the front part.
This is because the pressure discharge port 7b at the central portion of is located at the same position as the intake port 39a of the exhaust duct 39. As a result, the rice cooker 7 is located in the front, and the steam generated during the rice cooking operation and the heat retention is discharged to the outside through the exhaust duct 39. The trolley that travels on the slide rail 47 is provided with an outlet for a high-power circuit to which the power supply plug of the rice cooker 7 is connected. When the rice cooker 7 is placed on the dolly, the power plug is inserted into the outlet on the dolly. Also, rice cooker 7
When the is set to the fixed position of the dolly, the optical transceiver 49 provided on the back side of the lower part of the rice cooker 7 faces the optical transceiver 48 provided on the dolly side to control the rice cooker 7 and the rice cooker main body 1. An optical communication path for communication of control data is formed with the device 29. A control device 29 for controlling each rice cooker element in the rice cooker body 1 is installed in a space (upper right part here) behind the upper part of the box body of the rice cooker body 1.

When the rice cooker 7 is set at a predetermined position of the rice cooker unit 3 of the rice cooker main body 1, the control device 29 connects the signal transmission paths of the control data via the optical transmitters / receivers 48, 49 of each other. , Controls the entire rice cooking process of the rice cooking device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic circuit of a control device for controlling each rice cooker element in the rice cooker body.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 50 denotes a control circuit of the control device 29 on the rice cooker body side (hereinafter, referred to as body control circuit), and 60 denotes a control circuit on the rice cooker 7 side (hereinafter, rice cooker control circuit). Referred to as). Reference numeral 51 is a main body control unit, 52 is a voice output unit, 53 is a display input unit, 54 is a sensor input unit, 55 is a drive output unit, 56 is a photocoupler that serves as an optical transceiver, 57 is a commercial AC power supply, and 58 is an excessive current. It is a breaker that prevents the inflow of. Reference numeral 59 is an outlet for the electric circuit of the rice cooker 7. 61 is a rice cooking control unit, 62 is a photocoupler, 63 is a temperature sensor, 64 is a rice cooking heater, 65 is a heat retention heater, and 66 is a display input unit.

The main body control circuit 50 of the control device 29 on the side of the main body of the rice cooker has a main body control section 51 which is composed of a microcomputer and which performs overall control processing, and inputs and outputs control data to and from the main body control section 51. Each peripheral circuit is connected and configured. That is, a voice output unit 52 that outputs voice guidance to the user, a display input unit 53 that processes display input to the operation display panel, and inputs from a plurality of sensors for detecting the operation of each mechanism unit. A sensor input unit 54 for receiving and a drive output unit 55 for driving and controlling a mechanical unit such as a control motor and an actuator,
The main body control unit 51 is connected to each input / output port of the microcomputer.

Further, the main body control section 51 has an input / output port for data communication, and is connected to the rice cooking control circuit 60 of the rice cooker 7 through the photocouplers (optical transceivers 48, 49) 56, 62. The main body control circuit 50 and the rice cooker control circuit 60 are connected to each other to perform communication for exchanging control data.

The rice cooking control circuit 60 is constructed by connecting a temperature sensor 63, a rice cooking heater 64, a warming heater 65, and a display input unit 66 to each input / output port of a rice cooking control unit 61 composed of a microcomputer. ing. A display input unit 66 is connected to the rice cooking control unit 61 when the rice cooker 7 including the rice cooking control circuit 60 operates independently without being incorporated in the rice cooking device body 1. It is a display input operation unit used for. The rice cooker 7 is not used when the rice cooker 7 is incorporated in the rice cooker main body 1 and the operations of a series of rice cooking steps such as weighing rice, washing rice, and cooking rice are performed automatically.

In the rice cooking control circuit 60 of the rice cooker 7 as described above, a microcomputer constituting the rice cooking control unit 61, a thermistor of the temperature sensor 63, a triac circuit for controlling the rice cooking heater 64 and the warming heater 65, and a drive circuit thereof are included. The hardware configuration is the same as the one that has been developed and used in the past, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The display input unit 66 is, for example, a 7-segment character display provided on the front surface of the main body of the rice cooker 7,
It is an operation display panel that consists of operation key switches and light-emitting diodes that display status.

First, the operation of the rice cooking control circuit 60 of the rice cooker 7 thus configured will be described. In the operation of the control circuit 60, the rice cooker 7 is not incorporated in the rice cooker main body 1 but the first rice cooker control mode in which rice cooker control is independently performed, and the rice cooker 7 is incorporated in the rice cooker main body 1. , Rice cooking control with the second rice cooking control mode when rice cooking control is performed.

In the first rice-cooking control mode, previously washed rice and water are put in a pan-cooking pan, 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 course of rice cooking control, the sum of the rice cooking capacities is determined from the degree of temperature increase, and the heating power of the rice cooking heater is controlled according to the determined rice cooking capacity.

In the second rice-cooking control mode, the rice to be cooked is weighed by the control of the mechanical portion of the rice-cooking device main body 1, and the washed rice and a predetermined amount of water are automatically added to the rice-cooking pan. Then, data communication is performed between the rice cooker main body 1 and the rice cooker 7, and the control data for starting the rice cooking is input together with the input of the control data of the amount of rice weighed, and the rice cooking operation is started. Therefore, in this case, the summation determination is not performed during the rice cooking control, and the energization control of the heating power of the rice cooking heater is performed according to the rice cooking amount according to the control data received from the rice cooking device main body 1 side through the data communication. .

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

When the rice cooker control circuit 60 of the rice cooker 7 is powered on, the microcomputer of the rice cooker control unit 61 of the rice cooker control circuit 60 performs initialization processing such as initial reset, and in step 70, whether or not the rice cooker is fully automatic. To determine. That is, it is determined whether the above-mentioned rice cooking control in the first rice cooking control mode (non-automatic) or rice cooking control in the second rice cooking control mode (fully automatic). If it is not determined to be fully automatic in step 70, it waits for a rice cooking start instruction from the display input section 66 of the rice cooking control circuit 60 in the rice cooker 7, so the process proceeds to step 71 and the rice cooking start switch is turned on. Determine whether or not If it is not determined in step 71 that the rice cooking start switch is on, step 7
Returning to 0, the processing from step 70 is repeated.

If it is determined in step 70 that it is fully automatic, the process proceeds to step 72, in which data is stored for the control data received by the data communication from the main body control circuit 50 of the rice cooker main body 1, and the next step is performed. Step 7
In 3, the fully automatic memory indicating the above-mentioned second rice cooking control mode is set, and the process proceeds to the next step 74.
It is to be noted that, in step 70, it is determined to be fully automatic when the control data is received from the main body control circuit 50 of the rice cooker main body 1, and the automatic control is determined to be triggered by the reception of the control data.

In the next step 74, the water absorption process is performed. The water absorption process is a process of warming the water in the rice cooker so that the rice absorbs water sufficiently. Next, in step 75, it is determined whether or not 500 seconds have elapsed to determine the end of the water absorption process. In step 75,
Until 500 seconds is determined, the process returns to step 74 and the process of the water absorption step of step 74 is repeated.

When the water absorption process is completed after 500 seconds, the process proceeds to the next step 76, the rice cooking heater is turned on, and the temperature is raised to T0 ° C. which is a reference temperature for determining the rice cooking capacity. Whether or not the temperature has reached T0 ° C. is determined in step 77. When it is determined in step 77 that the temperature is T0 ° C. or lower, the process returns to step 76 and the rice cooking heater is continuously turned on.

If it can be judged in step 77 that the temperature exceeds T0 ° C., it is judged in step 78 whether or not the memory is a fully automatic memory (set). If it is not the fully automatic memory, it is the first rice-cooking control mode, and the rice-cooking capacity is determined in this rice-cooker 7. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 80, and the sum-judgment processing is performed to obtain the rice-cooking capacity data. , Cook up to 100 ℃. Then, the process proceeds to the next step 82, and in the process from step 82, the heating power is determined according to the rice cooking capacity, and the process is performed to continue boiling with the optimum heating power.

Also, if the temperature exceeds T0 ° C., step 77
If it is determined to be fully automatic memory in step 78, this is the second rice cooking control mode in which rice cooking control is performed according to an instruction from the rice cooking device body 1. Therefore, in this case, the rice cooking capacity There is no need to judge. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 79, where the reference temperature for temperature determination is 100 ° C.
As a result, the rice is cooked without making the summation judgment. That is, in step 79, if the temperature is 100 ° C.,
Returning to step 76, the rice cooking heater is continuously turned on. In this case, step 76 → step 77 → step 78
→ In the loop of step 79 → step 76, the rice cooking heater is continuously turned on. When it is determined in step 79 that the temperature exceeds 100 ° C., the process proceeds to step 81,
Performs automatic memory data conversion processing. This converts the control data transmitted from the rice cooker main body 1 into the data of the same format as the data indicating the rice cooking capacity obtained by the sum number determination process (for example, the temperature rise time data according to the heat capacity). Then, proceed to the next step 82,
In the process from step 82, the heating power is determined according to the rice cooking capacity, and the process is performed to continue boiling with the optimum heating power. That is, the ranges of the rice cooking capacity data that are summed up by the determination processing of steps 82, 83, and 84 are determined by a, b, c, and d, and the determined ranges a, b, c, Step 8 according to d
5. In step 86, step 87, and step 88, heating for maintaining boiling by performing energization control of the rice cooking heater by the heating power of the corresponding rice cooking heater A, rice cooking heater B, rice cooking heater C, and rice cooking heater D corresponding thereto. Take control.

In such heating control for maintaining the boiling, the boiling is continued, the boiling state of the rice cooking pot continues, the rice absorbs water sufficiently, the water at the bottom of the rice cooking pot disappears, and the temperature of the rice cooking pot rises. The temperature rises sharply until the temperature reaches 130 ° C. That is, in step 89, it is determined whether the temperature of the rice cooking pot is 130 ° C. or lower, and 130
While it is determined that the temperature is equal to or lower than ° C, the process returns to step 82 and the process from step 82 is repeated. For example, if the rice cooking capacity is determined to be in the range b in the processing of summation determination or the processing of full-automatic memory data conversion, this is determined in step 83.
In step 86, energization control of the rice cooking heater by the heating power of the rice cooking heater B is performed, and in step 89, it is determined whether the temperature is 130 ° C. or lower, and heating control for maintaining boiling is performed. Until step 89 determines that the temperature exceeds 130 ° C., step 89 → step 82 →
The processing loop of step 83 → step 86 → step 89 is repeated. If it is determined in step 89 that the temperature exceeds 130 ° C., then in step 90,
The purging process is performed, and in the next step 91, the heat retaining process is performed and the process ends. It should be noted that in the purging process of step 90, the first purging process, the first
The additional cooking process, the second stripping process, the second additional cooking process, etc. are performed. Then, the heat retention step of the next step 91 is reached. Usually, the process of the heat retention process is continuously performed until the operation switch is instructed to cancel the heat retention.

Next, the operation of the main body control circuit 50 on the rice cooker main body 1 side will be described.

FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 10, FIG. 11, and FIG. 12 are flowcharts showing an outline of the flow of rice cooking control of the main body control circuit 50.

First, referring to FIG. When power is turned on in step 101, the next step 102
At, the current time is displayed. Next step 103
Initial reset is performed by resetting the work register and so on, and initialization processing is performed. Next, step 1
In 04, it is determined whether the menu switch (menu SW) and the rice cooking switch (rice cooking SW) are simultaneously turned on.
The determination process of step 104 is a determination process of whether or not to perform the test program process for maintenance. If the menu SW and the rice cooking SW are simultaneously turned on, the process proceeds to the test program process (105). Since the test program processing is not directly related to the present invention, its explanation is omitted here.

At step 104, the menu SW,
If the rice cooking SWs are not simultaneously turned on, the process proceeds to step 106 and it is determined whether or not there is an error bit. If there is an error bit, error processing is performed in step 107 according to the content of the error bit, and the process returns to step 106 again to determine whether or not there is an error bit. If it is determined again that there is an error bit, step 107
Then, the error processing according to the error bit is performed again. In this manner, the existence of an error bit indicating the content of the error generated here is sequentially determined (step 106), and the error processing corresponding to it is performed (step 107).

When it is confirmed in step 106 that there is no error bit, the process proceeds to step 108 and it is determined whether or not the process counter is cleared. If the process counter has not been cleared, the process proceeds to step 109 to perform a process counter destination search process. This process counter destination search processing is for compensating for a power failure.
After checking the power failure, checking the set failure, etc., processing for continuing the rice cooking process control or error processing is performed according to the content of the process count that progresses according to the overall stage of the rice cooking process control. When the process counter destination search processing subroutine of step 109 ends the return, the processing is performed from step 106. When it is confirmed in step 108 that the process counter is cleared, the process proceeds to step 110 in FIG.

Referring to FIG. Next, in step 110, process initial processing is performed. The process initial process is a process for confirming whether or not a moving member such as a control motor or an actuator is located at an initial position (home position) in each mechanical portion of the rice cooker body 1. When each moving member is not located at the initial position, in the process of this process initial, the drive for moving each moving member to the initial position is performed.
When the process initial in step 110 is completed, the process proceeds to step 111, and a process of determining whether or not the process initial is abnormal is performed. In the processing of step 111,
When it is determined that the process initial is abnormal, the process returns to step 106. If there is no abnormality in the process initials, the process proceeds to the next step 112, the process of checking the state of the rice cooker is performed, then in step 113, it is determined whether or not the clock switch is turned on, and the clock switch is turned on. Only when it is determined, in step 114, the process of setting the current time is performed. Next, in step 115, it is determined whether the reservation switch is on. If the reservation switch is not on, it is then determined in step 116 whether the menu switch is on. If the menu switch is not on,
Further, in step 117, it is determined whether or not the heat retention switch is on. If the insulation switch is not on, then
The power failure confirmation processing of step 122 is performed, and step 11
Returning to 0, the process from the process initial of step 110 is repeated.

When it is determined in step 115 that the reservation switch is turned on, it is determined in the next step 120 whether or not the pan is removed and the memory set is set. If the pan is removed and the memory is set, the process proceeds to step 121, an error is notified, a power failure confirmation process is performed in the next step 122, and the process returns to step 110. If the pan is removed in step 120 and the memory is not set, it can be confirmed that the rice pan has been removed once and the rice pan has been washed normally. After confirming this, the rice storage amount is checked in step 123. In step 124, the amount of water is checked, and in step 125, it is determined whether there is an error. If there is an error, return to step 106 (FIG. 7) and repeat step 1
The processing from 06 is performed. If there is no error in step 125, the blinking process of the previous course is performed in step 126, the process proceeds to step 146 (FIG. 10), and the process in the reserved rice cooking mode from step 146 is performed.

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 (118; FIG. 16) process.

If it is determined in step 116 that the reservation switch is not on and the menu switch is on, the process proceeds to step 119.
Since the fully automatic rice cooking control process is performed in the immediate operation mode instead of the reservation mode, the process proceeds to the menu selection process described later. That is, in step 119, it is determined whether or not the pan is removed and the memory set is set. If the pan is removed and the memory is set, the process proceeds to step 121, an error is notified, and a power failure confirmation process is performed in the next step 122. , Return to step 110. Also, if the pan is removed in step 119 and the memory is not set, it can be confirmed that the rice cooking pan has been removed once and the rice cooking pan has been washed normally. After confirming this, in step 127 the amount of rice stored Is checked, and in step 128, the water amount is checked. Next, in step 129, it is determined whether or not there is an error. If there is an error, the process returns to step 106 (FIG. 7) and the process from step 106 is performed again. If there is no error in step 129, next step 130
Proceed to (Fig. 9).

Next, refer to FIG. When performing the processing of the fully automatic rice cooking control mode of the immediate operation mode, the processing from step 130 is performed. In step 130, the process of blinking the previous course is performed, the power failure is confirmed in the next step 131, and further the process of course selection is performed in step 132. This course selection process is a process of selecting a course for the operation of each rice cooking process in the fully automatic rice cooking control. As will be apparent from FIG. 3, the course selection process is such that when selecting a menu for cooking rice, white rice,
There are 5 types of menu selections: early cook, cook, 1 porridge, and 2 porridge. When selecting the amount of cooked rice, the amount of cooked rice per 2 cups to 10 cups is selected. In addition, the degree of "hardness" of cooked rice is selected from "hard" to "soft" in 10 steps. This “hardness” selection instruction gives instruction data of the amount of water addition and reduction when cooking rice. In addition, the degree of rice washing is set in three stages.

Returning to FIG. 9 again and continuing the description, when the course selection process of step 132 is completed, the set defect confirmation process of step 133 is performed next. The process for confirming the set defect is a process for confirming whether or not the rice storage weighing unit, the rice washing unit, the rice cooking unit, the rice cooker of the rice cooking unit, etc. are set in the normal position. Step 1
In 33, when the processing for confirming the setting failure is completed, the process proceeds to step 134, and it is determined whether or not the cancel switch is turned on. If it is determined that the cancel switch is on, the process proceeds to step 135, the course LED (course display light emitting diode) of the operation display panel is turned off, and then the process counter is set to (00) in step 136. In order to start the process from the beginning, step 106
Return to. If it is not determined in step 136 that the cancel switch is on, the process proceeds to step 137, and it is determined whether there is a setting failure. If there is a set defect here, step 1
Returning to step 31, the processing from the power failure confirmation in step 131 is performed. If there is no set defect, it is determined in step 138 whether the reservation switch is turned on. here,
If it is determined that the reservation switch is ON, the operation is switched to the reserved rice cooking mode, so the process proceeds to step 146 to perform the fully automatic rice cooking control processing in the reserved rice cooking mode.

If the reservation switch is not judged to be ON in the judgment processing of step 138, then the processing advances to step 139, where it is judged whether or not the start switch is ON. If it is not determined that the start switch is on, the process returns to step 131, the processing from step 131 to step 139 is repeated, and the start switch is turned on. In step 139,
When it is determined that the start switch is on, the process proceeds to the next step 140, and rice cooker communication processing is performed. The rice cooker communication process here is a process for confirming that the rice cooker 7 is set in the rice cooker unit 4. Next, step 1
At 41, the gantry is locked and the next step 142
Determines whether there is a lock abnormality. If it is determined that the gantry lock is abnormal, then step 1
In step 43, the course LED on the operation display panel is turned off, and the process is started from the beginning. If no lock abnormality is determined in the determination of step 142, the process proceeds to step 144, the course data is stored, and the course LED is turned on in the next step 145. Then, after step 145, the process proceeds to step 172 of FIG. 11, and the processing from step 172 such as the rice weighing step and the rice washing step is continued.

On the other hand, continuing from step 126 in FIG.
Alternatively, the process branches from the determination step of step 138 of FIG. 9 to continue the processing in the reserved rice cooking mode from step 146 of FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 10, first, at step 146, the reservation 1 or 2 is blinked, and then at step 147, the reservation time and the cooking completion display are blinked. Then, in step 148, the power failure is confirmed, the time is set in step 149, and the course selection process is performed in step 150. Next, in step 151, a set defect is confirmed, and in the next step 152, reservation switching processing is performed. Next, in step 153, it is determined whether or not the cancel switch is turned on due to an incorrect reservation setting, etc., and if the cancel switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step 154 to turn off the blinking display, In step 155, the process counter is set to (00), and the process from the beginning from the error check is performed. Therefore, the process returns to step 106.

If the cancel switch is not judged to be on in step 153 and the reservation time, course selection, etc. are set, it is then judged in step 156 whether or not there is a setting failure, and the set contents are After confirming that it is valid without any contradiction, it is then determined in step 157 whether or not the start switch for starting the operation of the reserved rice cooking mode is turned on. If the start switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step 158, the reserved time is compared with the current time, and it is checked whether the set reserved times are consistent. If the reservation times are inconsistent, the process proceeds to step 159, the voice message "cannot be reserved" is output, the process returns to step 148, and the reservation rice cooking mode setting process from step 148 is performed again. In the reset rice cooking mode resetting process after returning to step 148, if it is determined in step 156 that there is a setting failure, and if the start switch is not determined to be on, the process similarly returns to step 148 to make a reservation. Perform the rice cook mode reset process.

If the reservation time is checked (OK) in the check judgment of the reservation time in step 158, the process proceeds to step 160 to perform rice cooker communication processing. The rice cooker communication process here is a process for confirming that the full-motion rice cooker 7 is set in the rice cooker unit 4. Next, in step 161, the gantry lock process is performed, and in the next step 162, it is determined whether or not there is a lock abnormality. If it is determined by this determination that the gantry lock is abnormal, the blinking display is turned off in step 163, and the process from the beginning from the error check process is performed. Therefore, the process returns to step 106. If the lock abnormality is not determined in the determination in step 162, the process proceeds to step 164, the course data is stored, and in the next step 165, the reservation time and the cooking completion display are turned on. Next, in step 166, the reserved LED and the course LED are turned on. Then, in the next step 167, processing during the reservation timer (processing of the subroutine) is performed.

In the subroutine of the processing in the reservation timer,
The content of the process counter is set to (02) indicating that the reservation timer is in progress, and while confirming the power failure, it is monitored whether or not the current time is the reservation time, and when the reservation time is reached, the process returns.

When the processing in the reservation timer is completed and the reservation time comes, next, in step 168, the reservation LED, the reservation time, and the cooking completion display are turned off. Next, step 16
In step 9, it is determined whether or not the end of the reservation is due to the cancellation switch being turned on. If the end of the reservation is due to the cancellation switch being turned on, the process proceeds to step 170, the course LED is turned off, and the process counter is set to (00 ) And return to step 106 to perform the process from the beginning from the error check.

If it is confirmed in step 169 that the reservation is not completed due to the cancellation switch being turned on, the process proceeds to step 172 of FIG. 11 to prepare rice for the rice measuring step, the washing step and the like from step 172. Continue to processing.

With reference to FIG. 11, a rice cooking preparation process before the start of the subsequent rice cooking operation will be described.

First, in step 172, the "washing rice" LED on the display is turned on, then in step 173, the slide reverse (03) process is performed, and in the next step 174, is there an error in the previous slide reverse process? Determine whether or not.
Next, in step 175, the lock cam operation (04) is performed, 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 in the next step 178, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the lid opening process. Subsequently, in step 179, the lock cam storage (06) process is performed, and then, in step 180, it is determined whether the lid is normally opened by the detection output of the lid opening sensor.
If the opening operation of the lid is not performed normally, step 18
In step 181, the operation counter determines whether or not the opening operation of the lid is checked for the third time. If it is the third time or less, the process returns to step 175, and the opening operation of the lid is performed again by the processing from step 175. In addition, in the check of the opening operation of the lid in step 181, if the third check is exceeded, the process proceeds to step 182, the error bit (08) is set,
Proceed to step 219 (Fig. 12) described below, and "under washing rice"
The LED is turned off, and the processing of the rice washing process ends in error.
Also, similar to the processing flow from step 182,
When the processing of the rice washing process ends in error, step 17
4, step 176, step 178, it may be determined that there is an error. Also in this case, similarly, the process proceeds to step 219, the "during rice washing" LED is turned off, and the processing of the rice washing step is ended in error.

If it is determined in step 180 that the lid opening operation has been normally performed, then step 1
In step 92, it is confirmed that there is no error, and in step 193, the slide forward (07) process is performed. In the next step 194, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the slide forward processing. Next, in step 195, the processing of the weighing step (08) of weighing rice for cooking rice is performed, and in the next step 196, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the processing of the weighing step. These error determination steps 192 and
If it is determined in step 194 or step 196 that there is an error, the "in rice washing" LED is turned off and the processing of the rice washing process is ended in error as in the above step 219.
Proceed to (Fig. 12).

As a result, in the rice cooking unit 4, the rice cooker 7 mounted on the carriage on the slide rail moves backward,
The lid of the rice cooker 7 is opened by the lid opening / closing mechanism 40, and the rice cooker 7 is advanced again to a position where the weighed and washed rice can be received. Subsequently, the rice to be cooked is weighed by the rice storage weighing unit 2 and put into the rice in the rice washing device 30 of the rice washing unit 3. Then, the rice washing device 30 is controlled to wash the rice.

To control the rice washing apparatus 30, first, step 1
In step 97, 1 step of washing rice (09) is performed, in step 198, 1 step of polishing rice (0A), and then in step 199, washing rice 2
Step (0B) is performed, and in Step 200, 2 steps of polishing (0
Perform C). Next, in step 201, 3 steps of washing rice (09)
I do. Then, in step 202, an overflow (0
When the process of E) is performed and the process of washing rice is completed, the process of the drainage process (0F) is performed in the next step 203. When the rice washing process is completed by this series of processes, the process proceeds to the rice discharging process of step 204 in FIG.

The description will be continued with reference to FIG. Next, in step 204, the rice removal process (10) is performed,
In the next step 205, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the process of the backward movement of the previous slide. Next, in step 206, the process of water addition / reduction process (11) is performed, and in step 207, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the process of the water addition / reduction process. Next, in step 208, tank cleaning (12) processing is performed, and in the next step 209, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the tank cleaning processing. Further, in the next step 210, the process of slide backward (13) is performed, and in step 211, it is determined whether or not there is an error. Then step 21
In step 2, the lid closing step (14) is performed, and then step 2
In 13, the lid sensor detects the state of the rice cooker,
It is determined whether the lid is closed. If the lid is not closed, the process proceeds to step 214 and step 2
At 14, the operation counter determines whether or not the closing operation of the lid is checked for the third time. If it is the third time or less, the process returns to step 212, and step 21 is performed again.
The lid closing step 2 is performed, and the lid closing state is checked in the next step 213. If 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, the error bit (11) indicating the error in this case is set, and step 219 Then, the "Under rice washing" LED is turned off, and the processing of the rice washing process ends in error. Then, in order to perform the process from the beginning from the error check, step 1
Return to 06.

When the lid closed state can be determined in the determination in step 213, the process proceeds to step 216, it is determined again whether or not there is an error, and then the slide forward movement (15) process is performed in step 217. . And the next step 21
At 8, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the slide forward processing. If it is determined in step 218 that there is an error, the process proceeds to step 219, where “lean rice is washed” LE.
D is turned off, the process of the rice washing process is terminated with an error, and the process from the beginning from the error check is performed. Therefore, the process returns to step 106. On the other hand, when it is determined in step 218 that there is no error, the process proceeds to step 220, the "during rice washing" LED is turned off, the series of rice washing steps are finished, and the next rice cooking step is performed. Process.

By such control processing, the rice washing device 30
After the rice is washed by the above, the washed rice is stored in the rice cooker 7 which is located at the lower part of the rice washing device 30 and whose lid is opened, and a predetermined amount of water is added to the rice cooker 7. Next, rice cooker 7
Is moved backward, the lid of the rice cooker 7 is closed by the lid opening / closing mechanism 40, and the rice cooker 7 is moved forward again and is positioned at a predetermined position where rice is cooked so that steam generated during rice cooking can be discharged. finish.

When the rice cooking preparation process is completed by the control processes up to step 220, the rice cooking process from step 221 is performed next.

In the subsequent rice cooking process, first, at step 221, it is determined whether or not the menu is cooked rice. When it is cooked rice, the operation of putting the cooker in the rice cooker of the rice cooker 7 is performed, so that the rice cooking control operation is temporarily interrupted. Therefore, in step 222, the "boiled rice" LED blinking process is performed, and in the next step 223, the process of waiting for restart (16) is performed. In the subroutine for waiting for restart,
The content of the process counter is set to (16) indicating that the process is waiting for restarting, and a buzzer sound is generated to call the user's attention every predetermined time while confirming power failure and setting failure. Perform processing. During this process, monitor whether the start switch is turned on,
When the start switch is turned on, the defective set is checked again and the process returns.

Waiting for restart in step 223 (16)
Process, the rice cooking control operation is temporarily interrupted by this process, and while waiting for the start switch to be turned on again, the user inserts the cooked rice cooker into the rice cooker and start. When the switch is turned on, the process of step 223 is skipped and the process proceeds to step 224. If it is not determined as cooked rice in the processing of determining cooked rice in the previous step 221, step 22
Go to 4.

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

Although the processing during cooking rice (17) will be described later, rice cooker communication is performed, an instruction to start cooking rice is transmitted to the rice cooker 7 to start the rice cooking operation, and the exhaust fan is controlled during this time. Then, the steam generated from the rice cooker 7 is discharged during the rice cooking operation, and the time is monitored, and the time until the rice is ready to be eaten is displayed.

When the process of cooking rice in step 225 is completed, the "cooking rice" LED is turned off to indicate that the process of the rice cooking process is completed in step 226, and the next step 227 indicates that the rice is being cooked. It is determined whether or not there is an error in the processing. If it is determined that there is an error, the process returns to step 106 to perform the processing from the beginning from the error check. If it is not determined that there is an error, the process of the next step 228 during heat retention (18) is performed.

In the process of keeping warm (18) in step 228, when the process of keeping warm is completed because the cancel switch is turned on or an error has occurred, the process returns from step 106 to perform the process from the beginning.

In the main routine of the control processing flow of the rice cooker body as described above, the control processing for each mechanism and the processing of a typical subroutine for individual processing of each step will be described below.

FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are flowcharts showing the processing of the subroutine of the processing for checking the set defect. This process of confirming the set defect is frequently performed in the main routine of the control process flow of the rice cooking device body to confirm the set state of each unit of the mechanical portion of the rice cooking device body 1. The result of the confirmation processing performed in the processing for confirming the set defect is a schematic representation of the rice cooking device body and each symbol of each device unit in the rice cooking element device set display portion 17 of the display zone of one section on the operation display panel 5. It is graphically displayed, and is displayed by each set confirmation display LED provided corresponding to the set position of the symbol of each device unit of the display section. From this, it is possible to easily discriminate what each of the device units is in the setting failure.

With reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, the process for confirming the set defect will be described. In this process, each set defect of the rice cooker set, rice cooker rail set position, and rice storage set position is confirmed.

First, in order to confirm the state of the rice cooker set, it is determined in step 301 whether rice cooker communication is normally performed. When it is determined in step 301 that rice cooker communication is normally performed between the rice cooker body and the rice cooker, the rice cooker 7 is set in the rice cooker unit 4, and the power plug of the rice cooker 7 is further connected. It is determined that it is plugged into an outlet and is electrically operable. If the rice cooker communication is OK in step 301, the setting state of the inner pot can be determined by the sensor of the rice cooker 7 according to the contents of the rice cooker communication. Next, in step 302, it is determined whether or not the inner pot is present. . If there is an inner pot, it can be determined that the rice cooker 7 of the rice cooker unit 4 is normally set, so in step 305, the "set defect position display" LED corresponding to the display position of the rice cooker is turned off. . If it is not determined in step 302 that there is an inner pot, the process proceeds to step 303, the "set defect" LED blinks, and then in step 304, the "set defect position display" corresponding to the display position of the rice cooker is displayed. "LED
Blinking.

Next, the defective setting of the rice cooker rail setting position is confirmed. Therefore, in step 306, it is determined whether or not the rice cooker rail set position is OK (normal position). If the rice cooker rail set position is OK,
Proceeding to step 309, the "set defect position display" LED corresponding to the display position of the rice cooker rail set position is turned off. If the rice cooker rail set position is not determined to be OK in step 306, step 30
7, the "set defect" LED blinks, and then in step 308, the "set defect position display" LED corresponding to the display position of the rice cooker rail set position blinks.

Then, the defective setting at the rice storage setting position is confirmed. Therefore, in step 310, it is determined whether the rice storage set position is OK (normal position). If the rice storage set position is OK, step 31
Proceeding to step 3, the "set defect position display" LED corresponding to the display position of the rice storage set position is turned off. If it is determined in step 310 that the rice storage set position is not OK, the process proceeds to step 311 and “set failure” is detected.
The LED blinks, and then, in step 312, the "set defect position display" corresponding to the display position of the rice storage set position.
Flash the LED.

As a result, it was possible to confirm a set defect at each position of the rice cooker set, the rice cooker rail set position, and the rice storage set position. Step 3 to set
At 14, it is determined whether all "set defect position display" LEDs are off. If all the "set defect position display" LEDs have not been turned off, the process proceeds to step 315, the "set defect present" flag is set, and the process returns to the main routine. In addition, if all the "set defect position display" LEDs are off,
Proceeding to step 316, the "set defect" flag is reset, and in the next step 317, the "set defect" LED is turned off, and the process returns to the main routine.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing the processing of the subroutine of the rice cooking processing. In the rice cooking process performed on the rice cooker body side, rice cooker communication is performed, a rice cook start instruction is transmitted to the rice cooker 7, and the rice cook operation is started, and the exhaust fan is controlled during this time. The steam generated from the rice cooker 7 is discharged during the rice cooking operation, and the time is monitored to display the time until the rice cooking operation is completed and the rice can be eaten.

First, in this process, the process counter is set to (17) in step 401 to indicate that the process is in the process of cooking rice. Next, in step 402, the gantry lock process is performed, and then in step 403, it is determined whether or not there is a gantry lock abnormality. If there is something wrong with the gantry lock, it immediately returns to the main routine. in this case,
This is an abnormal return, not a normal return, so this
In the main routine, as described above, the processing of the rice cooking process is completed.
The LED is turned off (step 226), it is then determined that there is an error (step 227), and the process from the beginning of the process of error check is performed (step 10).
Return to 6.)

If it is determined in step 403 that there is no gantry lock abnormality, rice cooking start communication is performed in step 404 to start the rice cooking operation in the rice cooker 7. As a result, the rice cooker 7 starts the processing of rice cooking control according to the processing flow of rice cooking control shown in FIG. In the rice cooker, after the rice cook start communication in step 404 is performed, the power cut confirmation process is performed in the next step 405, and then it is determined whether the rice cooker communication in the rice cook start communication performed in step 406 is OK. To do. 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 the time is up. If it is not, the process returns to step 405 to perform the power failure confirmation processing, Repeat the determination process for confirmation of rice cooker communication. Even if the predetermined time-up time has passed, there is no reception response of rice cooker communication, and rice cooker communication is O
If it is not determined to be K and the time is up in step 407, the process proceeds to step 408, and the error bit (E12) is set to indicate the error state here. And, "after The "minute" display is turned off, and the process returns to the main routine. In this case as well, since the return is an abnormal return rather than a normal return, this causes the main routine to end the process of the rice cooking process as described above, and thus turns off the "during rice cooking" LED (step). 226), it is then determined that there is an error (step 227), and the process from the beginning of the process of error check is performed (return to step 106).

Further, in step 406, there is a reception response of rice cooker communication within the predetermined time-up time,
If the rice cooker communication is determined to be OK, the rice cooker 7 has started a normal rice cooker control operation, and therefore the next step 41
At 0, the exhaust motor is turned on and the exhaust fan unit is driven to start exhausting the steam generated from the rice cooker 7.

Next, in step 411, a power failure confirmation process is performed.
Then, in the next step 412, the rice is cooked
In order to determine the00
It is determined whether or not "minute" is displayed. When cooked
To indicate00If the minutes are not displayed,
Proceed to step 413 and see if the cooked rice menu is cooked.
If it is cooked, determine whether
At 414, it is determined whether or not it is a purging process. Cooking rice
If the meal is cooked and you start the
Proceed to step 415 The minute display is lit and the next
To step 411, and the processing from step 411 is performed.
Repeat. In addition, in the judgment of step 413,
If it is not determined to be uneven, in step 414, uneven
Even if the process is not determined, the process returns to step 411.
Therefore, the processing from step 411 is repeated.

After the rice is cooked, the determination in step 412
When the cooking time is displayed in the00Minutes display
If it is determined that the
"after Turn off the "minute" display. Next, in step 417, buzz
-Perform notification 3 processing, then go to step 418
Determine whether the loop counter has reached 8 times
If it is not 8 times, the power failure is confirmed in step 419.
Then, the process of returning to step 417 is repeated.
As a result, the process of buzzer notification 3 is repeated eight times.
And inform the cooked rice, then return to the main routine.
To In this case, the return is normal.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the processing flow of the subroutine for the heat retention processing. The process during the heat retention performed on the side of the rice cooker body is a process performed in response to the process during the rice cook being normally performed, the rice cooker 7 ending the rice cooker operation, and the rice cooker 7 entering the heat retainer operation. Is. The process during the heat retention is continued while the rice cooker 7 is still warm, and the exhaust fan is controlled during this period. When the cancel switch is turned on, an error occurs, or the like, the process during the heat retention ends, and the subroutine for the heat retention process returns. In addition, in the process of keeping warm, in the case of rice cooked with porridge, the heat-retaining lamp blinks and in the case of normal rice cooking, the heat-retaining lamp is lit continuously to show the state of warm rice. Display separately.

Description will be made with reference to FIG. In the process during the heat retention, first, in step 501, the process counter is set to (1) to indicate that the process during the heat retention is started.
Set to 8). Next, in step 502, data set during heat retention is performed. Next, turn off the unit lock motor (OF
F). Next, in step 504, the exhaust motor is turned on, the exhaust fan unit is driven, and exhaust of the steam generated from the rice cooker 7 is started.

Next, in step 505, it is determined whether or not the rice cooking menu is rice porridge rice. If it is porridge rice, the process proceeds to step 517, and the heat retention lamp is blinked. Then, in the next step 518, it is determined whether or not the cancel switch is turned on. If the cancel switch is not turned on, keeping warm is continued, so next step 5
In step 521, it is determined whether the rice cooker is initial, and in step 522, it is determined whether the rice cooker is present. If it is determined in step 521 that the rice cooker is initial, and if it is not possible to confirm the presence of the rice cooker in step 522, the process during the heat retention is terminated, and thus step 5
Proceed to 15.

In these determination steps, if there is a rice cooker instead of the rice cooker initials, it is possible to continue keeping the temperature as it is, so the flow proceeds to step 523 and step 52.
In step 3, the intermittent driving of the fan is performed, and the next step 524 is performed.
Then, the power failure confirmation process is performed, and the process returns to step 518. Then, the processing from step 518 is repeated, and the processing during the heat retention in this case is continued.

When it is determined in step 518 that the cancel switch is turned on, the process during the heat retention is interrupted and terminated. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 519 to perform the heat retention cancellation process for the rice cooker, and in the next step 520, the buzzer is activated. The process of notification 1 is performed, and the process proceeds to step 515. Then, in step 515, the heat retention lamp is turned off, in step 516, the content of the process counter is 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 cooked, then in step 506, it is determined whether or not the rice cooker 7 is kept warm. If the rice cooker is not kept warm by this judgment, step 5
25 errors (E12) are displayed, and then step 50
At 7, the heat retention lamp is turned on. In this case, since the rice is normally kept warm, the heat retaining lamp is continuously lit.

Then, in the next step 508, it is determined whether or not the cancel switch is turned on. If the cancel switch is not turned on, the process continues while keeping warm, so proceed to step 511, determine in step 511 whether it is a rice cooker initial, and in the next step 512 check if there is a rice cooker. judge. If it is determined in step 511 that the rice cooker is initial, or if it is not possible to confirm the presence of the rice cooker in step 512, the process during heat retention is ended, and the process proceeds to step 515.

Further, step 511 and step 51
If there is a rice cooker instead of the initials of the rice cooker in the judgment step of 2, it is possible to continue keeping the heat as it is.
In step 513, the fan intermittent drive process is performed in step 513. Next, the power failure confirmation process of step 514 is performed, and the process returns to step 508. And step 5
The process from 08 is repeated, and the process during heat retention in this case is continued. When it is determined in step 508 that the cancel switch is turned on, the process during the heat retention is interrupted and ended. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 509, the heat retention cancellation process for the rice cooker is performed, and the buzzer notification 1 is issued in the next step 510. Processing is performed and the process proceeds to step 515. And
In step 515, the heat insulation lamp is turned off, and in step 51
In step 6, the content of the process counter is set to (00) and the process returns to the main routine.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the processing flow of intermittent fan drive performed in the subroutine of the heat retention processing. The intermittent fan drive process is a control routine for drive control of the exhaust fan unit. In this process, in step 601, it is determined whether or not 10 minutes have elapsed after the step (18) of the heat retention step has been performed. If 10 minutes have not elapsed, the process immediately returns. If 10 minutes have passed after the step (18), the process proceeds to step 602, and the exhaust fan is driven in an intermittent drive pattern in which it is turned on for 10 seconds and turned off for 1 minute. .

As described above, the intermittent drive of the exhaust fan in the heat retention process is started a predetermined time after the control of the heat retention step is started, and the intermittent drive of the exhaust fan is performed by the exhaust gas. The drive period for driving the fan is shorter than the rest period for stopping the drive of the exhaust fan.

Therefore, in such a process during heat retention, the exhaust fan is intermittently driven to reduce the drive noise, and the exhaust fan is reduced in the exhaust capacity to operate. Lower.

As described above, the rice-cooking device includes the rice-storing weighing unit in which the rice storage and the weighing device are incorporated in the box body, the rice-washing unit in which the rice-washing device is incorporated, and the rice cooker. And a rice cooker unit, and a main body control circuit serving as a control device for controlling the devices of each unit is provided. The control unit main body control unit takes out the rice to be cooked from the rice storage and weighs it, the washing process to wash the weighed rice, the rice preparation process to set the washed rice in the rice cooker and adjust the water content. The rice cooking process that gives the rice cooking start instruction to the rice cooker to monitor the rice cooking operation and the heating process that monitors the heat retention state of the rice cooker after the rice is cooked are sequentially controlled to control all the rice cooking processes. It is a rice cooker for automatic machines. When controlling the whole rice cooking process, such a main body control circuit checks each drive unit and performs data communication of control data with the rice cooker while detecting the state of the rice cooker. , Performs sequence control for all rice cooking processes. In that case, the communication path for data communication is such that the optical transmitter / receiver provided on the rice cooker body side and the optical transmitter / receiver provided on the rice cooker side are installed close to each other and face each other. Forming a path.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of an essential part for explaining an optical signal communication path for control data communication between the rice cooker body and the rice cooker.

Referring to FIG. 18, a rice cooker-side optical transmitter / receiver 49 is provided on the back side of the base of the rice cooker 7, and a carriage 4 on which a slide rail is mounted on the rice cooker body side.
7a, a rice cooker main body side optical transmitter / receiver 4 is provided in a case 48a having a shape projecting into a space behind the base of the rice cooker 7.
8 are provided.

With the rice cooker 7 set at a predetermined position in the rice cooking unit, the optical transceiver 4 on the rice cooker body side
8 and the rice cooker side optical transmitter / receiver 49 face each other in close proximity to each other, and an optical signal communication path 6 between the rice cooker main body and the rice cooker 7 is provided.
8 is formed. The optical signal communication path 68 serves as a communication path for communication of control data. The optical signal communication path 68 has a short distance, and the space on the back side of the base of the rice cooker 7 is in a state in which outside light does not enter from the surroundings. Since it is performed, it is sufficiently strong against dielectric noise and radio wave noise from the high-voltage circuit that controls the energization of the rice cooking heater.

Although the present invention has been specifically described based on the embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. .

[0118]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

The box body is provided with an exhaust fan for discharging the steam generated from the rice cooker to the outside of the box body, and the exhaust fan is controlled to be driven after a predetermined period of time from the start of the heat retention step of the rice cooker. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the growth and contamination of various bacteria due to the inside of the main body of the apparatus being moistened by the steam generated during the heat retention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the rice cooker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

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 rice cooker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a mechanical portion of each unit of the rice cooking device.

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

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of rice cooking control of a rice cooking control circuit 60.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of rice cooking control of the main body control circuit 50.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of rice cooking control of the main body control circuit 50.

9 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of rice cooking control of the main body control circuit 50. FIG.

10 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of rice cooking control of the main body control circuit 50. FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of rice cooking control of the main body control circuit 50.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of rice cooking control of the main body control circuit 50.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process of a sub-routine of a process for checking a set defect.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the processing of a subroutine of processing for confirming a set defect.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a process of a sub-routine of a process of cooking rice.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of a subroutine of heat retention processing.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of fan drive performed in a subroutine of heat retention processing.

FIG. 18 is a main-portion cross-sectional view illustrating an optical signal communication path for control data communication between a rice cooker body and a rice cooker.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Rice cooker main body, 2 ... Rice storage weighing unit, 3 ... Rice washing unit, 4 ... Rice cooking unit, 5 ... Operation display panel, 6
... Exhaust fan unit, 7 ... Rice cooker, 8 ... Main power switch, 9 ... Exhaust fan, 11 ... Time set display section, 1
2 ... rice cooking menu setting part, 13 ... rice cooking amount setting part, 14 ...
Hardness (cooking water control) setting part, 15 ... Rinsing setting part, 16
... rice cooking operation mode instruction setting unit, 17 ... rice cooking element device set confirmation display unit, 20 ... rice storage, 21 ... weighing 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, 3
3 ... Stirring blade, 34 ... Rice washing motor, 35 ... Rice discharging port, 36
... rice discharge valve, 37 ... rice discharge valve cam mechanism, 38 ... drainage port, 39
... Exhaust duct, 40 ... Lid opening / closing mechanism, 41 ... Opening / closing motor,
42 ... 1st link 43 ... 2nd link, 44 ... 3rd link, 45 ... Lifting motor, 46 ... Slide motor, 47 ...
Slide rail, 48 ... Optical transmitter / receiver on the rice cooker body side, 4
9 ... Rice cooker side optical transceiver, 50 ... Main body control circuit, 51 ...
Main body control unit, 52 ... Voice output unit, 53 ... Display input unit, 5
4 ... Sensor input unit, 55 ... Drive output unit, 56 ... Photocoupler (optical transceiver), 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 unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rice cooker having a rice cooker inside the box body, wherein the box body is provided with an exhaust fan for discharging steam generated from the rice cooker to the outside of the box body, and an exhaust fan is provided for the rice cooker. A rice cooker characterized by comprising a control means for controlling the driving after a predetermined time has passed after the control of the heat retention step.