JPH0751161A - Automatic rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate nonuniformity in the water absorption of rice by equalizing the temperature of water inside a rice cooking pot in a pre-cooking process. CONSTITUTION:A lid 10 is provided with an exhaust path 13 communicating with the inside of a rice cooking pot 2, a pressure reducing exhausting means 15 is connected to the exhaust path 1 3 and during the pre-cooking process, water is boiled while reducing pressure by reducing the pressure inside the rice cooking pot 2 with the pressure reducing exhausting means 15. With this boiling, water is stirred, and the temperature of water inside the rice cooking pot 2 is equalized. By equalizing the temperature of water, rice is uniformly turned to a suitable water absorbing temperature, and water absorbing non- uniformity is eliminated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic rice cooker using electricity or gas as a heat source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of automatic rice cooker has a structure as shown in FIG.

The figure shows an electric automatic rice cooker, in which a rice cooker 2 housed in a main body 1 has heating means 4, 5 attached to an outer pan 3.
The heating means 4 and 5 are heated by the rice cooking process control means 6
The energization is controlled by.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rice cooking process includes a pre-cooking process a in which water is heated to an appropriate temperature for absorbing water to promote water absorption of rice, and a rising process in which water is rapidly boiled following the pre-cooking process. It is composed of a warming step b, a boiling maintaining step c for maintaining the boiling, and a purging step d for weakening the heating and performing the unevenness.

[0005]

In such a conventional automatic rice cooker, in the pre-cooking process, water is heated to an appropriate temperature for absorbing water to promote the water absorption of rice. There was a problem that it was difficult to raise the temperature uniformly, and the water absorption of rice was uneven, resulting in uneven cooking of rice.

That is, in the pre-cooking process, water and rice are heated with a weak heating power in order to bring the water and rice to a proper temperature for absorbing water.
Therefore, the water in the rice cooking pot 2 is heated by the conduction heat from the rice cooking pot 2 and the convection due to the difference in density of the heated water, which causes boiling due to strong heating such as the temperature rising process and the boiling maintaining process. It cannot be expected that the water temperature will be made uniform by stirring the water by the strong convection caused by the bubbles. Moreover, since the convection flows between the rice grains, the resistance increases and it takes time to uniformly heat the water and the rice in the rice cooking pot 2. In particular, since the central outer bottom surface of the rice cooking pot 2 is the contact portion of the temperature detecting means 7, the heating from the heating means 4 becomes weaker in the central portion, and convection is less likely to occur, so that the central portion of the rice cooking pot 2 inside. The temperature rise in the department tended to be delayed.

In order to eliminate such uneven water absorption of rice, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-137652, rice grains which have been washed and have water adhering to the surface are put in a container which can be sealed, There is disclosed a water-absorbing device for washing rice in which moisture is quickly permeated to the inside of rice grains to quickly reach saturated moisture by depressurizing the inside. But,
This product promotes the water absorption of the rice during draining after washing the rice, and does not promote the water absorption by heating the rice to an appropriate temperature for water absorption.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-187115, a main body of a cooking pot and a lid provided with a vent are detachably attached to an airtight state, and a decompression device is attached to the vent of the lid so as to be fixed or detachable. , A structure of a reduced pressure cooking pot in which the inside of the cooking pot is decompressed so that delicious flavor can be imparted by utilizing osmotic pressure is shown. However, this is a seasoning utilizing osmotic pressure, and is not a method for promoting water absorption by heating rice to a proper water absorption temperature.

The present invention solves the above problems, and provides an automatic rice cooker capable of making the temperature of water in a rice cooker uniform during a precooking process and eliminating unevenness in water absorption of rice. Has an aim.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a rice cooking pot heated by heating means, a lid for sealing the opening of the rice cooking pot, and the rice cooking pot provided on the lid. And an exhaust passage communicating with the inside and outside of the rice cooker, a depressurizing exhaust means connected to the exhaust passage for depressurizing the inside of the rice cooking pot, and a rice cooking stroke control means for controlling the rice cooking stroke.

Further, a decompression chamber is provided between the exhaust passage and the decompression exhaust means, and an opening / closing valve for opening / closing the exhaust passage is provided in the exhaust passage.

Further, during the cooking process before the rice cooking process,
The inside of the rice cooker is decompressed once or a plurality of times by the decompression evacuation means.

[0013]

In the above structure, the decompression evacuation means is actuated by the rice cooking process control means while the pre-cooking process of the rice cooking process is in progress, so that the decompression evacuation device decompresses the inside of the rice cooking pan to remove the water in the rice cooking pan. Boil under reduced pressure at a suitable temperature for water absorption. Due to this boiling, the water in the rice cooking pot is agitated and a uniform temperature suitable for absorbing water is obtained.

[0014]

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

The same parts as those shown in the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment.

In the figure, 10 is a lid that can be opened and closed, and covers the opening 11 of the rice cooking pot 2 with a packing 12 in an airtight manner. Reference numeral 13 denotes an exhaust passage provided in the lid 10, and an inner lid 14
To communicate the inside of the rice cooker 2 with the outside air. Reference numeral 15 denotes a decompression exhaust means connected to the exhaust path 13, which is operated by the rice cooking process control means 6 to exhaust the inside of the rice cooking pot 2 to reduce the pressure. Reference numeral 16 is a steam discharge passage provided in the lid 10 for discharging steam generated during the rice cooking process. Reference numeral 17 denotes an opening / closing valve that opens and closes the steam discharge path 16 and returns the reduced pressure inside the rice cooking pot 2 to the atmospheric pressure when opened.

In the above configuration, when rice and water are accommodated in the rice cooking pot 2 and rice cooking is started, the rice cooking process control means 6
A series of rice cooking processes including pre-cooking, heating, maintaining boiling, and purging is performed.

In the pre-cooking process of this series of rice cooking processes, when the water temperature in the rice cooking pot 2 reaches the appropriate water absorption temperature of rice, the rice cooking process control means 6 operates the depressurizing and exhausting means 15 by a signal from the temperature detecting means 7. . As a result, the decompression / exhaust means 15 evacuates and decompresses the inside of the rice cooking pot 2. The value of this reduced pressure is set to such an atmospheric pressure that the water in the rice cooking pot 2 will boil under reduced pressure at an appropriate temperature for absorbing water. Therefore, when the pressure in the rice cooking pot 2 is reduced to that value, the boiling point of the water is lowered and the water is boiled under reduced pressure to stir the water in the rice cooking pot 2. By this agitation, the water in the rice cooking pot 2 is made uniform to the water absorption suitable temperature of rice, and accordingly, the rice is also uniformly heated to the water absorption suitable temperature and absorbs water evenly.

After boiling the water in the rice cooking pot 2 under reduced pressure in this way, the rice cooking process control means 6 opens the opening / closing valve 17 to return the inside of the rice cooking pot 2 to the atmospheric pressure, and the subsequent rice cooking process. To proceed.

(Embodiment 2) Next, FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment.

Only points different from those shown in the first embodiment will be described. In the figure, 18 is a decompression chamber,
It is connected between the exhaust passage 13 and the reduced pressure exhaust means 15. The decompression chamber 18 is decompressed in advance by the decompression / exhaust means 15 in a state where the opening / closing valve 19 provided in the exhaust passage 13 for opening / closing the exhaust passage 13 is closed, and by opening the opening / closing valve 19, the rice cooker 2 The inside of the rice is rapidly depressurized to the pressure of boiling water at a suitable temperature for absorbing water.

The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In the pre-cooking step a of the series of rice-cooking steps from the pre-cooking step a to the Murashi step d, the water in the rice-cooking pot 2 is heated to a temperature suitable for absorbing rice by the pre-cooking heating. Exhaust passage 1 in the meantime
The on-off valve 19 of No. 3 is closed (a1), and the decompression evacuation means 15 is operated (a2) to decompress the decompression chamber 18. At the same time, the opening / closing valve 17 of the steam discharge path 16 is closed (a3). Rice cooker 2
When the water in the rice is heated to a temperature suitable for absorbing rice, the opening / closing valve 19 of the exhaust passage 13 is opened (a4), and the inside of the rice cooking pot 2 is rapidly depressurized by depressurizing the depressurizing chamber 18 in advance. In this decompression, the value of the decompression in the decompression chamber 18 is set in advance so that the water in the rice cooking pot 2 will boil under reduced pressure at a suitable temperature for absorbing rice. Therefore, the water which has reached the appropriate temperature for absorbing water of the rice due to the rapid pressure reduction in the rice cooking pot 2 is rapidly boiled (a5) to stir the water in the rice cooking pot 2. By this agitation, the water in the rice cooking pot 2 is made uniform to the proper water absorption temperature of rice, and accordingly, the rice is also uniformly heated to the proper water absorption temperature and absorbs water evenly. Then, after boiling under reduced pressure for an appropriate time, the opening / closing valve 17 of the steam discharge passage 16
Is opened (a6) to return the inside of the rice cooking pot 2 to the atmospheric pressure, and the subsequent rice cooking process proceeds.

The flow from the on-off valve closing (a1) to the steam path opening (a6) may be performed only once, or may be repeated a plurality of times, and the rice absorbs water evenly at an appropriate temperature for water absorption. Any number of times is necessary.

In the above embodiment, the pressure in the rice cooker 2 is reduced in the pre-cooking process, but the process may be performed in the process up to the boiling maintaining process c in order to eliminate uneven water absorption of rice. It's good.

[0025]

As is apparent from the above description of the embodiments, according to the present invention, the rice is cooked during the cooking process until the precooking, the temperature rise, the boiling maintenance, and the boiling steam maintenance of the Murashi rice cooking process. The inside of the pan was decompressed to boil water under reduced pressure, and the water in the rice cooking pan was agitated to make the temperature uniform, so that the uneven water absorption of rice should be eliminated, and as a result, the uneven cooking should be eliminated. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an automatic rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the automatic rice cooker according to the second embodiment.

[Figure 3] Flow chart showing the rice cooking process

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a conventional example automatic rice cooker.

[Fig. 5] Flow chart showing the rice cooking process

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Rice cooker 4, 5 Heating means 6 Rice cooking process control means 10 Lid 11 Opening 13 Exhaust passage 15 Reduced pressure exhaust means 18 Reduced pressure chamber 19 Open / close valve

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rice cooker heated by heating means, a lid for sealing the opening of the rice cooker, an exhaust passage provided in the lid for communicating the inside and outside of the rice cooker, and connected to the exhaust passage. An automatic rice cooker comprising: a depressurizing exhaust unit for depressurizing the inside of the rice cooking pot and a rice cooking process control unit for controlling a rice cooking process. 2. The automatic rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein a decompression chamber is provided between the exhaust passage and the decompression exhaust means, and an opening / closing valve for opening and closing the exhaust passage is provided in the exhaust passage. 3. The automatic rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the rice cooking pot is decompressed by the decompression exhaustion means during the cooking process before the rice cooking process. 4. The automatic rice cooker according to claim 3, wherein decompression is performed once or a plurality of times.