JPH07298986A - Automatic closing device for cover of rice cooker or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic closing device for the cover of a rice cooker of small size and with superior lock performance and also, capable of reducing a cost by the miniaturization of the rice cooker and making parts into common usage. CONSTITUTION:This device is equipped with a lock button 5 formed in an upward/downward moving body 15 supported with a case 6 slidably freely and to be engaged with a connecting projection 3 formed on a cover 2B supported with the main body 2A of the rice cooker in such a way that it can be rocked freely, a coil spring 4 which presses the lock button 5 in a locking direction A, a motor 7 fixed in the case 6, and a cam 14 turned by the motor 7 and which moves the upward/downward moving body 15 to an engaging position where the engaging projection 3 is engaged with the lock button 5 and a holding position where the cover 2B is set in a closed state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic closing device for automatically closing a lid that is openably and closably supported by a rice cooker body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The lid of a rice cooker is openably and closably supported by a main body in which a pot is housed, and both ends are locked to the lid and the main body.
Twisting coil springs, etc., which store energy when the lid is rotated in the closing direction, are provided with a tendency to rotate in the opening direction. The lid is provided with an inner lid, a seal packing and the like on the inner side thereof to prevent deterioration of heat retention. Also, in the main body,
The lid is provided with a lock button that is biased by a spring in a direction that engages with an engaging protrusion provided on the outside, and when the lid is rotated in the closing direction and the lock button gets over the locking protrusion, the lid closes. It is locked in the state.

[0003]

According to the rice cooker having such a structure, the torsion coil spring is energized by rotating the lid in the closing direction, so that the energizing force increases as the lid is closed. . Further, immediately before the lid is closed, the packing and the inner lid come into contact with the upper portion of the shuttle, so that the resistance against the rotation of the lid in the closing direction increases. Further, when the size of the rice cooker changes, the size of the lid, the center of rotation, and the like also change for each device, and therefore the turning torque in the closing direction differs depending on the device. If the lid is rotated by hand in the closing direction, the torque required to rotate the lid increases with rotation, or even if the torque varies depending on the device, allow a certain amount of force to be applied to the lid. There is no problem because the lid can be closed, but when the lid is rotated in the closing direction by a motor, etc., if the change in the torque required to rotate the lid is large, the lid closing operation may stop halfway. To be In order to prevent such a problem, a motor with a large torque can be avoided by using it as a drive source for the pivoting movement of the lid in the closing direction. However, using a motor with a large torque increases the occupied space. Since it is necessary to reinforce the rice cooker, it is not suitable for downsizing rice cookers or for small rice cookers. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic device for closing the lid of a rice cooker, which is small in size, has excellent locking performance, and can reduce the cost by downsizing the rice cooker and using common parts.

[0004]

Therefore, an automatic closing device for closing the lid fixed to the main body of the rice cooker of the present invention and swingably supported by the main body is a case constituting the exterior of the automatic closing device. An up-and-down moving body slidably supported by the body, a lock button provided on the up-and-down moving body and engageable with a locking projection formed on the lid, and both ends fixed to the body and the lock button. And an elastic body that biases the lock button in the lock direction, a motor fixed in the case, and the motor is rotated by the motor, and the vertical moving body is engaged by the lock button and the engagement protrusion. It has a cam gear for moving to an engagement position and a holding position for closing the lid, and a coil spring is used as the elastic body.

[0005]

When the motor rotates, the cam gear rotates in conjunction with the rotation, and the vertical moving body with the lock button fixed moves to the engaging position and the holding position. When the vertical moving body moves to the engagement position, the engagement projection rides over the lock button biased by the coil spring in the locking direction and is locked by the lock button. When the up-and-down moving body moves to the holding position, the engaging projections locked by the lock button move toward the holding position, and the lid is closed. Since the lock button is biased in the lock direction by the body and the coil springs whose both ends are fixed to the lock button, the biasing force in the lock direction changes as the lock button moves.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the automatic closing device indicated by reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1, one side 2b is rotatably supported by the main body 2A of the rice cooker 2 and the other side 2
The lid 2B having the engagement projection 3 formed on a is closed and locked to the main body 2A, and is mounted on the front surface 2D of the main body that faces the rotation side of the lid 2B. A cover 2E that curves forward is provided on the front surface 2D of the main body. Lid 2B
Is disposed above the main body 2A, and inside thereof is
The upper part 2 of the hook 2C which is housed in the main body 2A when the lid 2B is closed.
A seal packing P and an inner lid 2F that are in close contact with Ca are provided. Further, on one side 2b of the lid 2B, there is provided a torsion coil spring (not shown) which stores energy when the lid is rotated in the closing direction as shown by the arrow C, and the torsion coil spring moves in the opening direction indicated by the arrow O. The turning habit of is given. Further, the lid 2B is adapted to be rotated in the closing direction by a drive means such as a drive motor (not shown) provided in the main body 2A.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the automatic closing device 1 includes a motor 7, which is fixed in a case 6 which forms the exterior thereof, a cam gear 13 which interlocks with the rotation of the motor 7, and a case 6.
A movable plate 15 that is slidably supported by the movable gear 15 and that is engaged with the cam gear 13 as an up-and-down moving body; a lock button 5 that is provided on the movable plate 15 and that can engage with the engagement protrusion 3; It is fixed to the protrusion 5d formed inside and the other end 4
b is mainly composed of a coil spring 4 as an elastic body fixed to a spring receiving portion 16 provided on the cover 2E.

The case 6 includes a lower case 6A fixed to the front surface 2D of the main body and an upper case 6B fastened to the same.
Will be divided. The case 6 is substantially L when viewed from the front of the rice cooker 2.
The motor 7 is housed in an inflatable portion 6C located on the right side and having a shape. The drive shaft 7 a of the motor 7 has a second gear 1 rotatably supported by shafts 9 and 10 supported by the case 6.
A drive gear 8 for transmitting the rotation is fixed to a cam gear 13 via first and third gears 12. 2nd gear 11 and 3
The gear wheel 12 includes the large-diameter tooth portions 11a and 12a and the small-diameter tooth portion 11
In the two-stage gear having b and 12b, the small-diameter tooth portion 11b and the large-diameter tooth portion 12a, the large-diameter tooth portion 11a and the drive gear 8, and the small-diameter tooth portion 12b and the cam gear 13 mesh with each other, The rotation of the drive gear 8 is reduced and transmitted to the cam gear 13.

The movable plate 15 is provided with a guide groove 18 provided in the case 6 located on the side opposite to the motor 7, and has hinge portions 15a and 15b formed in a U-shape at the upper portion outside the case 6. It is slidably supported. Hinge part 1
A lock button 5 is rotatably supported on the shafts 5a and 15b by a shaft 5a. The lock button 5 is biased by the coil spring 4 in the lock direction indicated by arrow A. The moving plate 15 located in the case 6 has a cam gear 1
Projections 15A, 15 that are brought into contact with the cam 14 formed on
B is formed toward the inside of the case. Also, the protrusion 1
The movable body 15 located between 5A and 15B has a long hole 1
5d is formed.

The guide groove 18 is formed to extend in the up-down direction so that one of the guide grooves 18 is opened on the upper surface of the case 6 and communicates with the slit S formed on the side surface 6D of the case. Inside the case 6 located below the guide groove 18, a switch 17 for detecting the closed position of the lid 2B is arranged. The switch 17 is a lower end 15c of the moving plate 15.
When the arm portion 17a is pushed, the driving of the motor 7 is stopped so as to stop the downward movement of the moving plate 15.

The cam 14 is an eccentric cam having the shaft 9 as the center of rotation, and is formed from the cam gear 13 toward the projections 15A and 15B of the moving plate. The cam gear 13 rotates once to move the moving plate 15 in place. 3. The lock button 5 slides up and down to engage with the engagement protrusion 3 of the lid 2B that rotates in the closing direction.
To the engagement position shown by the solid line and the holding position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4 for holding the lid 2B in the closed state. The position of the cam 14 is normally set so that the moving plate 15 shown in FIG. 4 is pushed down so that the lock button 5 is located at the holding position. The motor 7 is placed in an inactive state when the lid 2B is in the open state,
When B rotates in the closing direction, the lock button 5 is engaged with the engaging projection 3
It is designed to be driven at the timing of engaging with.

The operation of the automatic closing device 1 having such a configuration will be described. First, when the lid 2B is rotated in the closing direction by a drive motor (not shown), the motor 7 is driven and the drive gear 8 rotates in order to engage the engagement protrusion 3 and the lock button 5. The rotation of the drive gear 8 is the 2nd gear 11 and the 3rd gear 12
Is transmitted to the cam gear 13 after being decelerated. When the cam gear 13 rotates, the cam 1 placed in the position shown in FIG.
4 rotates integrally with the cam gear 13 to push up the projection 15A to raise the moving plate 15, and move the lock button 5 placed in the holding position to the engaging position. At this time, since the coil spring 4 extends as the moving plate 15 rises, the biasing force of the lock button 5 in the locking direction becomes weak.

When the lock button 5 that has reached the engagement position and the engagement projection 3 that rotates from the closing direction are engaged, as shown in FIG. 5, the urging force in the lock direction is weakened. Is pushed by the tip 3a of the engaging projection and is rotated in the direction of arrow B, so that the engaging projection 3 easily gets over the front end 5c of the button and is locked (locked) by the lock button 5.

When the cam 14 pushes down the projection 15B by the rotation of the cam gear 13, the moving plate 15 moves downward, and the lock button 5 placed at the engaging position shown in FIG.
Moves in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. And the moving plate 1
When the lower end 15c of 5 pushes the arm portion 17a of the switch,
The closed position of the lid 2B is detected, the driving of the motor 7 is stopped, and the lid 2B is held in the closed state. At this time, since the coil spring 4 that was in the extended state is returned, the lock button 5
The urging force in the lock direction increases, and the engagement between the engagement protrusion 3 and the lock button 5 increases.

On the other hand, to open the lid 2B, the lock button 5
The upper part 5b of the is pushed in the direction of arrow B. Then, the lock button 5 and the engagement protrusion 3 are unlocked, and the lid 2B is rotated in the opening direction by the spring force of a torsion coil spring (not shown).

In this way, by raising the lock button 5 from the holding position for holding the lid 2B in the closed state, the inner lid 2F and the seal packing S interfere with the hook 2C and the lid 2B is rotated in the closing direction. The lock button 5 and the engagement projection 3 can be engaged before the energy of the torsion coil spring, which is stored during operation and gives the lid a tendency to rotate in the opening direction, reaches its peak. Further, at the time of this engagement, since the biasing force of the coil spring 4 that biases the lock button 5 in the locking direction becomes small,
Both can be easily engaged. The motor 7
In consideration of the breakdown of the above, a slip mechanism that does not transmit the load to the motor 7 when an excessive load is applied to the moving plate 15 and the motor 7 in the gear train connecting the drive gear 8 and the cam gear 13 May be provided.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the lock button is engaged with the engaging projection formed on the lid before the turning torque of the lid increases, the drive member for turning the lid in the closing direction. It is possible to reliably lock the lid in the closed state without increasing the size, and it is possible to avoid an increase in the size of the drive portion of the lid. Also, since it is not necessary to increase the size of the drive part,
The drive unit can be used for different types of rice cookers, common parts can be achieved, and cost can be reduced. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an automatic closing device for a lid of a rice cooker, which is small in size and excellent in locking performance, and which can achieve cost reduction by downsizing the rice cooker and sharing components.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rice cooker equipped with an automatic closing device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an automatic closing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an engagement position of a lock button.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a closing operation of the automatic closing device.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing an engaging operation of the engagement protrusion and the lock button.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Automatic closing device 2 Rice cooker 2A Main body 2B Lid 3 Engaging protrusion 4 Elastic body (coil spring) 5 Lock button 6 Case 7 Motor 13 Cam gear 15 Vertical moving body A Lock direction

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automatic closing device which is fixed to a main body of a rice cooker and closes a lid swingably supported by the main body, which is slidably supported by a case constituting an exterior of the automatic closing device. A vertical moving body, a lock button provided on the vertical moving body and engageable with a locking projection formed on the lid, both ends of the main body and the lock button are fixed, and the lock button is An elastic body that urges in the locking direction, a motor fixed in the case, and a vertical movement body that is rotated by the motor and that moves the vertical moving body to the engagement position where the lock button and the engagement protrusion engage with each other and the lid. Device for automatically closing a lid of a rice cooker or the like having a cam gear for moving to a holding position for closing the machine. 2. The device for automatically closing a lid of a rice cooker or the like according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is a coil spring.