JPH07275118A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve responsiveness for heat sensing and to attain a low cost by providing a temperature detector provided with a thermosensitive body mounted on the apex part of a thermosensitive supporting body and coming in contact with the bottom of a container by a spring force and forming the thermosensitive body with a metallic material with high hardness and high heat conductivity. CONSTITUTION:The temperature detector provided in the center of the housing frame cover of a rice cooker and installed in a loading hole 19 piercing through an X-X axis in the up and down directions is equipped with the thermosensitive body 13 by forming metal of copper or copper group with high heat conductivity and superior workability by press blanking work, etc., in cap shape. The thermosensitive body 13 is fixed solidly so as to hold a tablet part 15a at the apex part of the thermosensitive supporting body 15 on the apex part of which the tablet part 15a and a flat flange 18 are provided. A thermosensitive element 14 is adhered by pressing on the thermosensitive body 1 by a presser plate 14a on the back plane side by the pressing force of a coil spring 17 applied to the flange 18 according to the fixing of the thermosensitive body 13. Also, a fuse holding body 20 is fixed on the thermosensitive supporting body 15.

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 equipped with a temperature detector for contacting the bottom surface of a container to detect the temperature of the container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the configuration of a conventional cooking device, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional heat sensitive device. In FIG. 4, 6 is a protective frame, 9 is a pot, 10 is an induction coil, 11 is a coil support plate, 25 is an inverter circuit, and S is a heat sensitive device.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the structure of the heat-sensitive device S. In FIG. 5, 13 is a heat sensitive body, and 14 is a heat sensitive element. The heat sensitive body 13 is made of an aluminum alloy, and the heat sensitive element 14 is composed of a thermistor which receives heat from the heat sensitive body 13, substantially senses the temperature, and transmits the temperature to the circuit. Reference numeral 15 is a resin heat-sensitive support, 17 is a spring, 18 is a spring seat of the heat-sensitive support 15, 21 is a gap, and 19 is a hole. The upper part of the hole 19 is provided in the central part of the protective frame 6, and the lower part is deviated from the center to the left, and the left and right are asymmetrical. The heat-sensitive support 15 is formed in a shape that follows the asymmetrical hole 19, and is held in the hole 19 so as to be vertically movable.

The operation of the heat-sensitive device S of the conventional cooker having such a structure will be described below. The heat-sensitive body 13 is held on the end surface of the heat-sensitive support body 15 and is in contact with the pan 9 which is the body to be heated by the biasing force of the spring 17. Heat sensitive body 1 that comes into contact with the pan 9
3 conducts heat, and the heat-sensitive element 14 receives heat from the heat-sensitive body 13 and substantially senses its temperature to transmit it to the circuit. A sensed signal corresponding to the temperature is sent from the sensed circuit to the controller to control the heating of the pan 9.

[0005]

As described above, in the heat-sensitive device S of the conventional cooker, the heat-sensitive body 13 that comes into contact with the pan 9 is made of an aluminum alloy. Therefore, the thermal conductivity and workability are lower than those of copper-based metals, and there is a tendency for delay in heat detection and cracks in bent portions. In addition, the aluminum alloy (JIS alloy number 1100 ... Symbol A1100P) used for this kind of parts is surface-treated, which requires a treatment process, and the material cost is likely to increase accordingly.

On the other hand, the spring 1 is attached to the heat-sensitive body 13 in the shape of a heaven.
The expansion power by 7 is added. And the heat sensitive body 13
The bottom surface of the pot 9 made of a hard material comes into contact with the surface of the pot, and the temperature of the pot 9 during cooking is detected. Therefore,
There are scratches on the soft aluminum contact surface of the heat sensitive body 13,
Contact failure results in further delay in detection. Particularly, when rice and water are put into a rice cooker having a large rice-cooking capacity to cook rice, the load applied to the heat sensitive body 13 on the soft material side becomes large, and therefore the rice may be deformed when used for a long time. Other,
When water enters through the sliding gap of the heat sensitive body 13, there is a problem that the temperature detector may malfunction.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. It has a fast detection response, little contact failure and deformation, has a long life, and requires no surface treatment to prevent water from entering. It is an object to realize a rice cooker equipped with a temperature detector having various features such as prevention.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a temperature detector having a heat-sensitive body which is attached to the top of a heat-sensitive support by the elastic force of a spring and comes into contact with the bottom surface of a container housed in the housing of the main body. The rice cooker is composed of a heat sensitive body made of a metal material having high hardness, high thermal conductivity and good workability. In addition, the rice cooker is composed of a heat sensitive body made of a copper-based metal material.

Further, the rice cooker is formed by forming the heat sensitive body with an austenitic stainless steel material.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a tubular heat-sensitive support which moves up and down in a mounting hole provided in a bottom portion of a housing frame of the main body,
A spring that gives elastic force to the heat-sensitive support, a heat-sensitive body that is attached to the top of the heat-sensitive support by the elastic force of the spring and comes into contact with the bottom surface of the container housed in the housing of the main body, and abuts on the back surface of the heat-sensitive body A temperature detector having a heat-sensitive element, and a collar portion for holding and fixing a cap-shaped heat-sensitive body is provided on the top of the heat-sensitive support, and a peripheral portion extending in a parallel direction below the collar portion is provided. The rice cooker has a flat flange that is close to the inner circumference of the mounting hole and forms the upper spring seat of the spring.

[0011]

When the container is taken out from the container storage portion of the main body and the inside is empty, the heat-sensitive support body of the temperature detector receives the elastic force of the coil spring and holds and secures the top flange portion. Project into the container storage. In this state, the upper surface of the flat flange formed on the heat-sensitive support is in contact with the lower surface of the bottom housing frame, and the upper limit position of the vertical movement of the heat-sensitive support is maintained while closing the gap leading to the bottom of the main body. If there is a case where water droplets intrude through the gap of the mounting hole of the container storage portion, they are drained to the outside through the flange-shaped spring seat of the heat-sensitive support.

After the container containing the polished rice and an appropriate amount of water is set in the main body, the lid is closed. The heat sensitive body made of metal with a high thermal conductivity that protruded into the container storage part from the mounting hole by receiving the expansion force of the spring in the container set,
Press down on the bottom of a container containing rice and water while pressing it down. The heat-sensitive material pressed onto the bottom surface is quickly thermally coupled to the container, and the temperature of the heat-sensitive material becomes substantially equal to the temperature of the container.
The temperature of the heat-sensitive body also rises corresponding to the temperature of the container that heats up and rises, and the rice-cooking temperature that rises as the cooking progresses is detected by the heat-sensitive element in contact with the back surface of the heat-sensitive body without any ocre.

[0013]

【Example】

Example 1. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the temperature detector of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a top view of the heat sensitive body of FIG. In FIG. 1, 1 is a rice cooker body, 2 is an outer case of the body 1, 3 is an upper frame, 4 is a side storage frame, 5 is a heater, and 6 is a bottom storage frame. The outer case 2, the upper frame 3, and the bottom storage frame 6 are all resin-molded, and the side storage frame 4 is made of metal.

The upper frame 3, the annular side surface storage frame 4 and the container-shaped bottom surface storage frame 6 are connected to each other to form a bowl-shaped container storage portion 7 inside the main body 1. Reference numeral 9 is a container for cooking rice, which is stored in the container storage portion 7 so as to be freely taken out. The container 9 was formed by joining the inner aluminum and the outer stainless 2
A clad material having a layered structure is used, a collar portion is formed on the peripheral edge of the upper end, and a fluororesin coating film is formed on the inner surface.

Reference numeral 10 is an induction heating coil, 11 is a housing frame cover, and 12 is ferrite. The induction heating coil 10 includes an inner coil 10a and an outer coil 10b which are closely wound in a spiral shape.
It consists of two parts. The inner coil 10 a and the outer coil 10 b that form the induction heating coil 10 are arranged on the outer bottom surface of the bottom housing frame 6 along the shape of the container 9. Further, in the center of the storage frame cover 11 and the bottom storage frame 6,
A circular mounting hole 19 is provided which vertically penetrates on the XX axis.

Reference numeral S denotes a temperature detector arranged in the mounting hole 19. The structure of the temperature detector S is shown enlarged in FIGS. 2 and 3, 13 is a temperature detector S
, A heat sensitive element 14 such as a thermistor, 14a
Is a pressing plate having a spring property, and 15 is a heat-sensitive support. Heat sensitive body 1
Copper or copper-based metal having high heat conductivity and excellent workability is used as the material of No. 3, and is formed into a cap shape by punching with a press or the like. 16 is a thermal fuse, 17
Is a coil spring, 18 is a flange, and 20 is a fuse holder.

The heat-sensitive support 15 is attached to the mounting hole 1 as shown.
It is formed in a substantially symmetrical structure around the X-X axis of 9. A flange 15a is formed on the top of the heat-sensitive support 15, and a flange 18 that is flat in the direction parallel to the flange 15a is formed on the way.
Is provided. The flat flange 18 has both a spring seat function for receiving spring pressure and a stopper function for regulating the upper limit position of vertical movement. A cap-shaped heat-sensitive body 13 is fixed to the top of the heat-sensitive support 15 while holding the collar 15a. As the heat sensitive body 13 is fixed, the heat sensitive element 14 is pressure-bonded to the heat sensitive body 13 by the holding plate 14a on the back surface side.

Flange 18 constituting upper spring seat 18a
The expansion force of the coil spring 17 interposed between the opposing groove-shaped lower spring seats 18b is evenly applied to the lower surface of the. Further, the fuse holder 20 is fixed to the heat-sensitive support body 15 by a screw (not shown). Fuse holder 2
The temperature fuse 16 above 0 is for preventing an abnormal excessive rise in temperature near the bottom surface of the container 9 due to fusing.

In FIG. 1, 22 is a lid, 23 is a hinge mechanism, and 2
4 is an inner lid. The lid 22 is connected to the upper frame 3 on the main body 1 side by a hinge mechanism 23, and rotates about the hinge mechanism 23 as a fulcrum to open and close the upper portion of the main body 1. Reference numeral 26 is a cord reel attached to the bottom of the main body 1, and 27 is a plug for power supply.

The operation of the embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration will be described below.
It will be described next. After pouring the polished rice and water into the container 9, it is set in the main body 1 and the inner lid 24 is attached to the lid body 22 and closed. When the container 9 is set, the heat-sensitive body 13 which has received the expansion force of the spring 17 and protruded from the mounting hole 19 into the container storage portion
While being pressed down by the container 9 containing rice and water, it is pressed onto the bottom surface. The cord is pulled out from the cord reel 26, and the plug 27 is connected to a power outlet. While watching the display of the operation control section of the lid 22, press the rice cooking start key. At the start of rice cooking, the inner coil 10a and the outer coil 10b of the induction heating coil 10 are energized.

A high-frequency exciting current flows through the inner coil 10a and the outer coil 10b by energization, and the generated alternating magnetic flux is linked to the container 9 to generate Joule heat based on the eddy current. The water in the container 9 is heated by the heat generated in the container 9 by such an electromagnetic induction action. By heating the container 9, the temperature of the water inside rises. When the rice cooking progresses and the water boils, the water in the container 9 decreases, and the temperature detected by the temperature detector S reaches the rice cooking end temperature, the heating controller automatically stops energizing the induction heating coil 10. Rice is cooked.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the heat sensitive body 13 of the temperature detector S is made of a copper-based metal material having a higher thermal conductivity than aluminum and excellent workability. Therefore, the heat transfer rate is high and the response is excellent, and the surface treatment such as aluminum is unnecessary. Further, since the workability such as bending is excellent, it is possible to configure the thin plate-shaped heat sensitive body 13 and reduce the cost. Further, since it is thin, the heat capacity is reduced, the response is further improved, and the detection sensitivity can be increased.

Further, since the heat sensitive body 13 is fixed by holding the collar portion 15a on the top of the heat sensitive support body 15, the heat sensitive body 1 is fixed.
The fixing of No. 3 is stable, and the fixing does not loosen even if the load of the container at the time of rice cooking is applied, and it is possible to endure long-term use. Further, since the heat-sensitive support 15 is provided with the flat flange 18, the elastic force of the coil spring 17 acts uniformly to move the heat-sensitive support 15 stably up and down.

On the other hand, as described above, the temperature detector S is provided so as to be vertically movable within the sliding gap between the heat sensitive body 13 and the mounting hole 19. Then, after cooking rice, water droplets attached to the container washed together with the tableware may intrude from. However, the water that has entered through the sliding gap is
It is blocked by the flange 18 which is projected in the middle of the process and dried by the heat when cooking rice. Even if water flows in, it will run down along the outer periphery of the flange 18 and the heat-sensitive support 15
It will be drained downward from the flange part of. Therefore, it is possible to prevent water from entering the electronic components provided near the center of the inner bottom portion of the main body 1.

Embodiment 2 In another embodiment of the present invention, the heat sensitive body 13 of the temperature detector S is
For example, austenitic stainless steel (non-rust steel) such as SUS 304 is used. If stainless steel is used for the heat-sensitive body 13, the hardness is higher than that of aluminum, and even if it contacts the bottom of the container 9 at the time of rice cooking, which uses a magnetic material and has a large load, it is not damaged or deformed like the conventional temperature detector S. It almost disappears. Therefore, not only will there be no contact failure due to scratches on the heat-sensitive body 13, but it will not rust due to steam or water droplets. In particular, when austenitic stainless steel (non-magnetic property) is used, the temperature detector S based on the magnetic flux of the induction heating coil is used in the case of a magnetic induction type rice cooker.
There is a feature that can prevent internal heat generation.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the induction type rice cooker that heats the container by the electromagnetic induction action of the induction heating coil has been described as an example, but a heater for heating the container by a resistance wire heater is used. The present invention can also be applied to the case of a rice cooker of the type. Further, although the case where the storage frame connects the two members of the side surface storage frame and the bottom surface storage frame has been described, the present invention can be implemented even if the storage frame is a bowl-shaped and integral type.

[0027]

The present invention comprises a temperature detector having a heat sensitive body which is attached to the top of the heat sensitive support by the elastic force of the spring and comes into contact with the bottom surface of the container housed in the housing of the main body. A rice cooker made of a metal material having high hardness, high thermal conductivity and good workability was constructed. Further, a rice cooker in which the heat sensitive body is formed of a copper-based metal material is configured. As a result, the heat transfer rate is high and the response is excellent, and the surface treatment such as aluminum is unnecessary. Further, since it is excellent in workability such as bending, it is possible to form a thin plate-shaped heat sensitive body and reduce the cost. Further, since it is thin, the heat capacity is reduced, the response is further improved, and the detection sensitivity can be increased.

Further, a rice cooker was constructed in which the heat sensitive body was formed of an austenitic stainless steel material. According to this configuration,
Even if a magnetic material is used for the heat sensitive body and it comes into contact with the bottom of a container when cooking rice with a large load, there is almost no scratch or deformation unlike the conventional heat sensitive device. Therefore, not only will there be no contact failure due to scratches on the heat-sensitive body, but it will not rust due to steam or water droplets. Furthermore, it is less susceptible to magnetism in the case of the electromagnetic induction type.

Further, according to the present invention, a tubular heat-sensitive support which moves up and down in a mounting hole provided at the bottom of the housing frame of the main body,
A spring that gives elastic force to the heat-sensitive support, a heat-sensitive body that is attached to the top of the heat-sensitive support by the elastic force of the spring and comes into contact with the bottom surface of the container housed in the housing of the main body, and abuts on the back surface of the heat-sensitive body A temperature detector having a heat-sensitive element, and a collar portion for holding and fixing a cap-shaped heat-sensitive body is provided on the top of the heat-sensitive support, and a peripheral portion extending in a parallel direction below the collar portion is provided. The rice cooker is provided with a flat flange that is close to the inner circumference of the mounting hole and constitutes the upper spring seat of the spring. As a result, since the heat-sensitive body is fixed by holding the brim at the top of the heat-sensitive support, the fixation of the heat-sensitive body is stable, and the fixation does not loosen even if the load of the container during rice cooking is applied. Can withstand long-term use. Further, the elastic force uniformly acts on the spring seat, and the heat-sensitive support moves stably up and down. Further, even if water enters from the mounting hole, it is possible to prevent the water from entering the temperature detector.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the heat-sensitive body which comes into contact with the container and senses the temperature is less likely to be scratched, has less contact failure and deformation, has a long life, and requires no surface treatment. It is possible to realize a unique rice cooker.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural explanatory view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the temperature detector of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the heat sensitive body of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional cooking device.

FIG. 5 is a structural explanatory view of a heat-sensitive device of a conventional cooking device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 main body, 4 side storage frame, 6 bottom storage frame, 7 container storage part, 9 container, 10 induction heating coil, 11 storage frame cover, 19 mounting hole, 13 heat sensitive body, 14 heat sensitive element, 15 heat sensitive support, 15a Tsuba Part, 16 temperature fuse, 17 spring, 20 fuse holder, 18 flange, 18a upper spring seat, 18b lower spring seat, S temperature detector.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A temperature detector having a heat sensitive body, which is attached to the top of the heat sensitive support body by the elastic force of a spring and comes into contact with the bottom surface of a container accommodated in the accommodating portion of the main body, wherein the heat sensitive body has a high hardness. A rice cooker characterized by being formed of a metal material having high thermal conductivity and good workability. 2. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the heat sensitive body is formed of a copper-based metal material. 3. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the heat sensitive body is formed of an austenitic stainless steel material. 4. A tubular heat-sensitive support that moves up and down in a mounting hole provided at the bottom of a housing frame of the main body, a spring that gives elastic force to the heat-sensitive support, and the heat-sensitive material by the elastic force of the spring. A temperature detector having a thermosensitive element attached to the top of a support body and in contact with the bottom surface of a container accommodated in the accommodating portion of the main body; and a temperature detector having a thermosensitive element in contact with the back surface of the thermosensitive element, A brim portion for holding and fixing a cap-shaped heat sensitive body is provided on the top portion of the support body, and a peripheral portion extending in a parallel direction below the brim portion is brought close to the inner periphery of the mounting hole, and Rice cooker characterized by having a flat flange that constitutes the upper spring seat.