JPH08126576A - Heat insulation pot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent boiled rice from becoming rotten, even if a heat insulation operation stops at an intermediate process. CONSTITUTION: A heat insulation means 63 selects the temperature of boiled rice between high and low levels, thereby performing a hot insulation operation. When a power failure occurs and, then, a power source is reset during the heat insulation operation, the means 63 resumes the operation via a power reset means 73. In this case, the means 63 sets hot insulation temperature at a high level. Also, when the temperature of the boiled rice drops, due to a power failure, the propagation of putrefying bacteria is accelerated. After the power source is reset after a failure, however, the heat insulation temperature is set at a high level. Thus, the propagation of the bacteria is restrained, thereby enabling the boiled rice to be prevented from becoming rotten.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat-retaining pot in which deterioration of rice in a heat-retaining state is reduced and the risk of decay of heat-retaining rice is prevented.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-1214, the temperature of rice is kept at about 45 to 55 in order to prevent deterioration of the heat retaining state during the heat retaining operation and to prevent the risk of rice rotting. A heat retention method is disclosed in which the temperature is switched between a low temperature of 70 ° C and a high temperature of approximately 70 to 75 ° C. In addition, as an application of such a heat-retaining method for rice, first, heat-retaining after cooking is performed at a low temperature of about 60 ° C., which can prevent aging of rice, and is also called Maillard reaction (amino-carbonyl reaction, melanoidin reaction, Mayer reaction, etc.): Sugar And the occurrence of offensive odor due to the Maillard reaction and the thermal decomposition of lipids and amino acids, as well as the suppression of rice from becoming hard and preventing the deterioration of the heat retention state. Next, after a lapse of a predetermined time, for example, 8 hours, approximately 72 ° C
By keeping the heat at the high temperature, even if the spoilage bacteria proliferate due to the low temperatures, spoiling the spoilage bacteria before the spoilage of the rice prevents the risk of spoilage of the rice. It has been commercialized.

Bacillus subtils (Bacillus Subtils), Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus Stearothermophi are generally known as spoilage bacteria which cause rice spoilage.
lus) is known to exist. These spoilage bacteria germinate well at 42 to 55 ° C in a short time and grow well, and in particular, Bacillus stearothermophilus grows even at 65 ° C. And putrefaction bacteria are 10 ^7- per 1 gram of rice
Rice grows rotten when it grows to 10 ⁸ . Further, these spoilage bacteria do not die at the growth temperature or higher and spores are formed.
It will die if heated at 40 ° C or higher for 1 hour or longer. Therefore, the spoilage bacteria are not killed even if the rice is heated to about 100 to 110 ° C. in cooking rice, etc., and the rice proliferates at each low temperature.

According to the experimental results, when the temperature was kept at 68 ° C. and the lid was not opened / closed, the rice did not decompose even after 20 hours. However, for example, in a general household, cook and keep warm in the morning (6:00 am), eat at noon (noon) and keep warm, and eat in the evening (6:00 pm).
If you eat at night (9:00 pm), the heat retention time will be 15 hours from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm, assuming that the lid will be opened and closed frequently during each meal. When tested, the temperature of the rice drops below 68 ° C,
Corrupt.

As described above, it is necessary to set the heat retention temperature depending on the difference in use conditions, and the heat retention temperature is currently set to 70 to 76 ° C. However, spoilage bacteria easily grow 4
Even if the temperature is between 2 and 55 ° C, that is, less than 60 ° C, there is little risk of spoilage when the temperature is kept for about 8 hours.
The method of keeping the temperature at low temperature for a while, and then keeping it at high temperature,
It is considered to be effective in preventing rice from rotting and improving heat retention.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned prior art, the low temperature retention temperature and the retention time after rice cooking are set mainly in consideration of the opening and closing of the lid, but during actual use, a power failure occurs during the temperature retaining operation. Occasionally, the container as a pot is removed from the body of the bowl, or the rice may be kept cold. In these situations, the temperature of the rice may drop below 60 ° C due to cooling, and the time cannot be specified. Therefore, when the heat-retaining operation is started again, the spoilage bacteria have already grown and the temperature of the above-mentioned 60 ° C. If the heat retention is continued at a low temperature, there is a risk that the rice will spoil before 8 hours have passed.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a point, and an object thereof is to switch the heat retaining temperature between a low temperature and a high temperature to improve the heat retaining state and to interrupt the heat retaining operation on the way. It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat-retaining pot that can prevent the risk of spoilage of rice even in the case of keeping cold or warm rice.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a warming pot, wherein warming means is provided for switching the temperature of rice between a low temperature and a high temperature to perform a warming operation, and power is restored from a power failure during the warming operation by the warming means. Then, a power failure recovery means for restarting the heat retention operation of the heat retention means is provided, and when the heat retention operation is restarted by the power failure restoration means, the heat retention means raises the heat retention temperature to a high temperature.

Further, the warming pot according to claim 2 has a container for containing rice, a heat retaining means for performing a heat retaining operation by switching the temperature of the rice between a low temperature and a high temperature, and the heat retaining means during the heat retaining operation. And a container returning means for restarting the heat retaining operation of the heat retaining means when the container is reattached after the container is lost,
When the warming operation is restarted by the container returning means, the warming means is configured to raise the warming temperature.

Further, in the heat-retaining pot according to the third aspect, only the rice-warming means for performing a rice-cooking operation, the heat-retaining means for performing a heat-retaining operation by switching the temperature of the rice between low temperature and high temperature, and the heat-retaining operation by the heat-retaining means are performed. A heat retention starting means for starting the heat retention means, wherein the heat retention means lowers the heat retention temperature when performing the heat retention operation subsequent to the rice cooking operation by the rice cooking means, and lowers the heat retention temperature when the heat retention operation is started by the heat retention start means. It is configured to have a high temperature.

Further, the warming kettle according to claim 4 further comprises temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the rice or the container containing the rice according to claim 1, 2 or 3, and the warming operation by the warming means. When the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature at the time of resuming operation or when the heat retaining operation means starts the heat retaining operation, the heat retaining means is configured to lower the heat retaining temperature for a predetermined time.

[0012]

According to the constitution of claim 1, when the heat retaining operation is stopped due to a power failure, the temperature of the rice is lowered and the growth of the spoilage bacteria is increased. However, since the heat retaining temperature of the rice is set to a high temperature when the heat retaining operation is restarted, The growth of spoilage bacteria is suppressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the heat insulation operation is stopped by detecting the absence of the container, the temperature of the rice decreases and the growth of spoilage bacteria increases, but the heat insulation of the rice is restarted when the heat insulation operation is restarted. Since the temperature is set to a high temperature, the growth of spoilage bacteria is suppressed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if the cold rice in which spoilage bacteria are prone to grow is kept warm, the heat-keeping temperature of the rice is set to a high temperature when the heat-keeping operation is started by the heat-retention starting means, so that the rottenness is deteriorated. Bacterial growth is suppressed.

Further, according to the structure of claim 4, when the temperature of the rice or the container for holding the rice is high at the time of restarting the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining means or at the start of the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining start means, first, Since the heat retention temperature is set to a low temperature for a predetermined time, it is possible to prevent the rice from spoiling while suppressing the aging of the rice.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, in FIG. 1 showing an overall cross-sectional view of an IH heating type rice cooker applied in the present embodiment, reference numeral 1 is a main body of a pot having an open top surface, which is an inner frame 2 serving as a pot housing portion.
And an outer frame 3 made of plastic surrounding the inner frame 2. Reference numeral 4 designates a pan serving as a container mainly containing an aluminum material which stores rice to be cooked with rice and water during the rice cooking operation and stores rice during the heat retaining operation. The pan 4 is supported by the upper end of the inner frame 2 in a suspended state when the inner frame 2 is housed. At the bottom of the outer surface of the pan 4 and at the bottom of the side surface,
A heat generating layer 5 made of a magnetic metal material for heating the is provided.

Reference numerals 6 and 7 are pan heating means for heating the pan 4, and induction heating of the heating layer 5 is provided at the outer bottom surface and the lower side surface of the inner frame 2 at a predetermined distance from the heating layer 5. For induction coil. A coil cover 8 is attached and fixed to the outside of the induction coils 6 and 7, and a ferrite core 9 made by sintering a material having a high transmittance for preventing leakage of magnetic flux is formed on the induction coils 6 and 7. A plurality of them are provided orthogonally to the winding direction of. Further, a magnetic shield 10 made of an aluminum material is provided outside the ferrite core 9 so as to face the outside of the induction coils 6 and 7.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a pan sensor provided in contact with the bottom surface of the pan 4. The pan sensor 11 is for detecting the temperature of the outer surface of the pan 4, and is a heat-sensing unit including a negative characteristic thermistor.
11a and a spring 11b as an elastic member are combined. Further, inside the pan sensor 11, a pan detection sensor 12 for detecting the presence or absence of the pan 4 is provided. Pan detection sensor 12
Utilizes that the thermistor circuit (not shown) is short-circuited and the resistance value becomes extremely small when the heat-sensitive part 11a is lifted up when the pot 4 is removed from the inner frame 2,
The presence or absence of the pan 4 is detected. Also, in the lower part of the inner frame 2,
A thermal fuse 13 is provided. Reference numeral 14 is a control board provided in the lower portion of the container body 1, and for example, an inverter circuit (not shown) for supplying a predetermined high frequency current to the induction coils 6 and 7 is built therein.

A heating substrate 15 is provided on the rear surface of the container body 1 in the space between the inner frame 2 and the outer frame 3. This heating board
A switching element 16 such as an IGBT element, which is a means for electrically connecting and disconnecting the above-described inverter circuit and induction coils 6 and 7, is provided as a control circuit at 15. Switching element
A radiator 17 made of a thermally coupled member excellent in thermal conductivity is provided at 16. An exhaust port 18 is provided on the upper rear surface of the outer frame 3.
In addition, the outer frame 3 is provided with an intake port 19 at the lower rear portion thereof.

Reference numeral 21 is a lid that covers the upper opening of the pan 4 so as to be openable and closable. The lid body 21 is, for example, an outer lid 22 made of polypropylene resin, an outer lid cover 23 provided along the outer periphery of the lower side of the outer lid 22, and is attached to the lower side of the outer lid 22 while forming a space. Heat sink made of aluminum material
An inner lid 26 is attached to the lower part of the heat radiating plate 24 so as to detachably close the upper opening of the pan 4 via an inner lid retainer 25. Further, 27 is a ring-shaped lid packing between the outer lid cover 23 and the heat dissipation plate 24, and when the lid body 21 is closed,
The lower end of the lid packing 27 comes into close contact with the upper flange portion of the pan 4. A clamp button 28 is provided on one side of the lid body 21, and the lid button body is operated by pushing the clamp button 28.
The lid 21 with the hinge 30 provided on the other side of the 21 as the center of rotation
Can be opened. On the other hand, a heat sink that forms the lower surface of the lid
On the upper surface of 24, a lid heater 31 made of a cord heater or the like is provided as a lid heating means for heating the radiator plate 24 during rice cooking and heat retention.
And a lid sensor including a negative characteristic thermistor as lid temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heat sink 24.
32 are provided. The lid heater 31 constitutes a parallel circuit mainly with a body heater 33 formed of a code heater or the like provided on the outer surface upper portion of the inner frame 2 for keeping heat. Incidentally, 34 is a steam port for discharging the above from the pan 4 to the outside, and 35 is an operation panel provided on the upper portion of the outer lid 22 and the front surface of the outer frame 3.

Next, the circuit configuration of the rice cooker will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 41 denotes a microcomputer mounted on the control board 14, which is, as is well known, a control device 42 and an arithmetic device which constitute a microprocessor.
In addition to 43, a timer device 44 and a storage device 45 including a ROM and a RAM are provided. Microcomputer 41
An input device 46 composed of an A / D converter is connected to the input side of the control panel 35 through the input device 46 together with the pan sensor 11, lid sensor 32 and pan detection sensor 12 described above.
An operation switch 47, which is an operation means provided in, is connected. On the other hand, an output device 48 is connected to the output side of the microcomputer 41, and through this output device 48, the induction heating means 49 for electromagnetically heating the pan 4 and the body heater 33 and the lid heater 31 are simultaneously provided. The heater driving means 50 and the like having a switch means such as a triac for controlling the ON / OFF of electricity is connected. In addition to these components, the output device 48 includes an LCD / LED display unit that includes an LCD that is a liquid crystal display that displays time and the like, and an LED that displays operating states such as rice cooking and heat retention.
The display drive means 52 for controlling the display of 51 is connected, and the buzzer drive means 54 for controlling the ringing of the buzzer 53 for notifying the end of cooking rice is connected. Microcomputer 41
Is an operation signal of the operation switch 47 for starting rice cooking, heat retention, etc., temperature data from the pan sensor 11 and the lid sensor 32, a pan detection signal from the pan detection sensor, and a timing device 44 built in the microcomputer 41. The induction heating means 49, the lid heater 31, the body heater 33, the LCD / LED display means 51, and the buzzer 53 are controlled according to a control sequence preset in the storage device 45 based on the time information from the. Reference numeral 55 denotes a power failure backup means such as a lithium battery connected to the output device 48, which has a function of holding the content stored in the storage device 45 of the microcomputer 41 at the time of power failure by the microcomputer driving means 56. .

A high frequency current is supplied to the induction heating means 49 on the basis of an output signal from the microcomputer 41, and a high frequency current is controlled while varying the high frequency current value and controlling the interruption / disconnection of the induction coils 6, 7. A current adjusting means 57 is provided. Then, an alternating magnetic field is generated in the induction coils 6 and 7, and an eddy current is generated in each of the heat generation layers 5 facing the induction coils 6 and 7, and the eddy currents are converted into Joule heat. Is heated to heat the pot 4.

Next, the structure of the processing procedure of the control sequence stored in the storage device 45 of the microcomputer 41 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. In the figure, 61
Is heating control means for executing a series of operations from rice cooking to heat retention according to a control sequence. The heating control means 61 is a rice-cooking means 62 which is a rice-cooking control means for automatically performing a rice-cooking operation from the start of rice-cooking to the turning of the rice, and a heat-retention control means for keeping the rice contained in the pan 4 at a predetermined heat-retention temperature. It is equipped with a barrel warming means 63 and these rice cooking means
Either one of the heat insulation means 62 and the heat insulation means 63 is configured so that the induction coils 6 and 7 as the heat insulation heating means, and the body heater 33 and the lid heater 31 are electrically disconnected and controlled.

The heat retaining means 63 selectively switches the temperature of the rice between a low temperature and a high temperature to prevent the risk of spoilage of the rice while preventing the deterioration of the heat retaining state during the heat retaining operation and performs the heat retaining operation. Have a function. That is, the heat retention means 63 is
The heat-retaining temperature of rice is 70 to 79 ° C, preferably 70 to 76
It is provided with a high temperature heat retaining means 64 for setting a high temperature of 60 ° C. and a low temperature heat retaining means 65 for setting a heat retaining temperature of rice to a low temperature of 60 to 69 ° C., preferably 60 to 66 ° C. Further, 66 is a heat retention time measuring means for measuring the heat retention elapsed time by using the timer device 44, and based on the heat retention elapsed time from this heat retention time measuring means 66, the heat retention means 63 is either a high temperature heat retaining means 64 or a low temperature heat retention means. The heat retention operation is switched by the means 65.

The operation switch 47 includes a rice cook start switch 67 as a rice cook start means for starting a rice cook operation, a heat retention start switch 68 as a heat retention start means for starting only a heat retention operation, and a heating control means 61 in the middle of operation. An off switch 69 is provided as an operation interrupting means for interrupting the operation.
In this, when the rice cooking start switch 67 is pushed, the rice warming operation by the heat insulating means 63 is performed subsequent to the rice cooking operation of the rice cooking means 62. When the heat retaining means 63 performs the heat retaining operation subsequent to the rice cooking operation by the rice cooking means 62, first, the heat retaining operation of the rice is set to a low temperature through the low temperature retaining means 65 to perform the heat retaining operation, and then the heat retaining time is set. After a predetermined low temperature keeping time with a low risk of rotting by the means 66, for example, 6 hours, the keeping temperature of the rice is set to a high temperature through the high temperature keeping means 64 to perform the keeping operation. On the other hand, when the warming start switch 68 is pressed, the rice cooking means 62 does not perform the rice cooking operation, but only the heat retaining means 63 performs the heat retaining operation. When the heat retention operation is started by the heat retention start switch 68 from the off state, the heat retention means 63 selects the high temperature heat retention means 64 and sets the heat retention temperature of the rice to a high temperature to perform the heat retention operation.

Reference numeral 71 denotes a pan temperature detecting means corresponding to a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the pan 4, that is, the temperature of the rice in the pan 4, which comprises the pan sensor 11 and the input device 46 of the microcomputer 41. It is configured by combining. Again 72
Is a lid temperature detecting means configured by a combination of the lid sensor 32 and the input device 46. Reference numeral 73 is a power failure recovery means configured by combining the power failure backup means 55, the microcomputer driving means 56 and the input device 46, which is a heat retention means.
When the power is restored from a power failure during the heat retention operation by 63, the power retention is detected and the heat retention operation by the heat retention means 63 is restarted. When the heat retention means 63 restarts the heat retention operation by the power failure recovery means 73, the high temperature heat retention means 64 is selected to set the heat retention temperature to a high temperature. In addition, 74 is a pan detection sensor 12
Is a pot returning means corresponding to a container returning means configured by combining the input device 46 with the input device 46. When the pot 4 is re-installed after it is lost during the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining means 63, the pot 4 It has a function of detecting reattachment and restarting the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining means 63. In this case as well, when the warming operation is restarted by the pan returning means 74, the warming means 63 also selects the high temperature warming means 64 and sets the warming temperature to a high temperature.

The heat-retaining means 63 is used when the power is restored and the pan 4 is used.
If the warming operation is restarted when re-installing, the pot temperature detecting means 71
It is determined whether or not the temperature of the pan 4 detected in step 1 exceeds a predetermined temperature, for example, 70 ° C. which is a high heat retention temperature. Further, also when the heat retention operation by the heat retention start switch 68 is started, the heat retention means 63 similarly determines whether or not the temperature of the pan 4 detected by the pan temperature detection means 71 exceeds a predetermined temperature. If the pot temperature detecting means 71 is below a predetermined temperature, the heat retaining means 63 selects the high temperature retaining means 64 to set the heat retaining temperature to a high temperature to perform the heat retaining operation.
If the temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature, the heat retention means 63 performs the heat retention operation by setting the heat retention temperature to a low temperature by the low temperature heat retention means 65. That is, the warming means 63 has a temperature detected by the pan temperature detecting means 71 at a predetermined temperature or lower when the warming operation by the power failure recovering means 73 or the pan returning means 74 is restarted or when the warming operation by the warming start switch 68 is started. If so, it has a function of setting the heat retention temperature to a high temperature by the high temperature heat retention means 64.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
And it demonstrates based on the flowchart of FIG. First,
In the flowchart of FIG. 4, when rice cooking is started by the rice cooking start switch 67 (step S1), the rice cooking means 62 starts heating the rice to be cooked in a predetermined heating pattern based on the control sequence stored in the storage device 45. .
That is, the rice cooking means 62 uses the hot water cooking process of keeping the water temperature in 4 at 50 ° C. based on the temperature information from the pan sensor 11 and the lid sensor 32 (step S2), and the pan 4 is heated by strong heating.
The rice cooking step of boiling the water in the inside to gelatinize the rice and (step S3) are sequentially performed. Then, in the rice cooking process of step S3, the temperature of the bottom of the pan 4 is set to 1 by the pan sensor 11.
When the temperature reaches 15 ° C., it is determined that the cooking is completed (step S4), and step S shown in the flowchart of FIG.
Move to 5 Murashiri stroke. In this Murashi process, pan 4
Is maintained at a high temperature of 98 ° C or higher so that the gelatinization of rice is completely promoted.

After 15 minutes of the Murashi process, the rice cooking means
A series of rice cooking operations by 62 is completed (step S6), and the next heat retaining operation by the heat retaining means 63 starts. This rice cooking means
When the warming operation by the warming means 63 is performed subsequent to the rice cooking operation by 62, the warming means 63 selects the low temperature warming means 65 to keep the temperature of the rice in the pan 4 at a low temperature of 60 to 66 ° C. Is performed (step S7). After that, the process proceeds to step S8, and when the low temperature heat retention time from the end of the rice cooking operation has passed 6 hours by the heat retention time timer 66, the heat retainer 63 selects the high temperature heat retainer 64 and Insulation is performed to keep the temperature of the rice at a high temperature of 70 to 77 ° C (step S9). This step S7 to step S9
In the heat retention process up to (5), the on / off control to the induction coils 6 and 7 is performed so that the temperature detected by the pan sensor 11 becomes a predetermined heat retention temperature. That is, the heat retention means 63 sets the heating amount to the induction coils 6 and 7 at 500 W and repeats the operation of energizing for 1 second and disconnecting for 10 seconds, and the temperature detected by the pan sensor 11 is changed in the process of this operation. When the temperature becomes higher than the predetermined heat retention temperature, the temperature control is performed by omitting the energization for 1 second. Further, based on the temperature detected by the lid sensor 32, the body heater 33 and the lid heater 31 are turned on and off so that the lower surface of the inner lid 26 is not condensed. The above steps S1 to S9 are a normal processing procedure.

Next, in the process from the purging stroke of step S5 to the high temperature heat retention of step S9, each procedure in the case where a power failure, a state without the pan 4 occurs, or the off switch 69 is pushed is described. explain. First, the processing procedure when a power failure occurs will be described. When a power failure occurs in step S11, the power supply is cut off, and thus the uneven or warming operation up to that point is stopped (step S12). However, when the heat retention elapsed time is measured by the heat retention time counting means 66,
The power failure backup means 55 continues the power failure. Then, in step S13, the power failure recovery means 73
When the return of the power source is detected by, the heat retaining means 63 determines whether or not the temperature of the pan 4 detected by the pan temperature detecting means 71 is lower than 45 ° C. (step S14). In this step S14, if the temperature of the pan 4 is lower than 45 ° C., the heat retaining operation is stopped and the state shifts to the off state (step S32). On the other hand, if the temperature of the pan 4 is 45 ° C. or higher, it is determined in step S15 whether the temperature of the rice in the pan 4 is a predetermined temperature, that is, 55 ° C. or higher. Here, the temperature of the rice is 55
If the temperature is lower than ° C, the process proceeds to step S9, and the heat retention means 63 sets the heat retention temperature to a high temperature by the high temperature heat retention means 64 to perform heat retention. On the other hand, if the temperature of the rice is above 55 ℃,
In the next step S16, the heat retention means 63 determines whether or not the heat retention time from the end of the rice cooking operation including the power failure time has exceeded 6 hours by the time measurement of the heat retention time counting means 66. If 6 hours have passed since the end of the rice cooking operation, the process proceeds to step S9, where the high temperature retaining means 64 sets the heat retaining temperature to a high temperature to retain heat, and 6 hours have elapsed since the completion of the rice cooking operation. If not, step S
7, the low temperature heat retaining means 65 sets the heat retention temperature to a low temperature to perform heat retention.

Next, the processing procedure when the pot 4 is not present will be described. In step S21, when the pan detection sensor 12 detects a state where the pan 4 is not present, in step S22, the uneven wiping or heat retaining operation up to that point is stopped. afterwards,
In step S23, when the pan returning means 74 detects that the pan 4 has been reattached, the process proceeds to step S24, and the heat retaining means.
63 judges whether or not the temperature of the pan 4 is lower than 45 ° C.
At this time, if the temperature of the pan 4 is less than 45 ° C., the heat retaining means
Reference numeral 63 stops the heat retention operation and shifts to the off state (step S3
2) If the temperature of the pan 4 is 45 ° C. or higher, step S2
In 5, it is determined whether the temperature of the rice in the pan 4 is 55 ° C. or higher. Here, if the temperature of the rice is 55 ° C. or higher, or even if the temperature of the rice is lower than 55 ° C., if 6 hours have elapsed from the end of the rice cooking operation in the next step S26, the process proceeds to step S9. After the transition, the high temperature keeping means 64 sets the keeping temperature to a high temperature to keep it warm. If 6 hours have not elapsed from the end of the rice cooking operation in step S26, the process proceeds to step S7, and the low temperature heat retaining means 65 sets the heat retention temperature to a low temperature to perform heat retention.

Further, a processing procedure when the off switch 69 is pushed will be described. In step S31, when the off switch 69 is pushed, the uneven or heat retaining operation is stopped and the off state is set (step S32). afterwards,
When the heat retention start switch 68 is pressed in step S33, the heat retention means 63 causes the pan temperature detection means 71 to
It is determined whether or not the temperature of the rice in the pan 4 detected by the pan sensor 11 is a predetermined temperature, that is, 70 ° C. or higher (step S34). Here, if the temperature of the rice is 70 ° C or higher, the heat retaining means 63 erroneously presses the off switch 69 or uses it as a jar (transfer the rice cooked by another rice cooker to the pan 4 to keep it warm. The temperature is kept at a low temperature by the low temperature keeping means 65 and the temperature is kept (step S35). Further, in step S34, if the temperature of the rice is lower than 70 ° C., or in step S35, the low temperature heat retention time by the heat retention means 65 is 4
After a lapse of time, the high temperature heat retaining means 64 sets the heat retention temperature to a high temperature to perform heat retention (step S36).

As described above, in this embodiment, in consideration of the number of times the lid 21 is opened and closed, the rice is kept warm at a low temperature of 60 to 66 ° C. for a predetermined time (6 hours) after the completion of the rice cooking operation so that the rice does not age. By doing so, the browning of the rice and the offensive odor due to the Maillard reaction are suppressed, including the subsequent heat retention, and after the predetermined low temperature heat retention time (6 hours) has elapsed, the heat retention temperature of the rice is 70 to 76 By switching to a high temperature of ℃, the growth of spoilage bacteria at low temperature is suppressed and the spoilage of rice is prevented. That is,
Since the heat retaining means 63 of this embodiment switches the heat retaining temperature between the high temperature and the low temperature according to the elapsed time after the completion of the rice cooking operation, only the high temperature of 70 to 76 ° C. after the completion of the rice cooking operation as in the conventional case. It is possible to improve the condition of the rice during the long-time heat retention for 12 to 15 hours, as compared with the heat insulation.

Further, if the temperature of the rice is lowered by stopping the heat retaining operation in the state where there is no power outage or the pan 4, the growth of spoilage bacteria increases, but in the present embodiment, the high temperature heat retaining means 64 of the heat retaining means 63 Since the heat retention temperature of rice is set to a high temperature when the heat retention operation is restarted, even if a power outage or a state without the pan 4 occurs, it is possible to prevent the decay of rice by suppressing the growth of spoilage bacteria.

That is, the heat retaining means 63 for performing the heat retaining operation by switching the temperature of the rice between the low temperature and the high temperature, and the heat retaining means 63.
And a power failure recovery means 73 for restarting the heat retention operation of the heat retention means when the power is restored from the power failure during the heat retention operation by the power retention recovery means 73 so that the heat retention means 63 raises the heat retention temperature to a high temperature. With this configuration, it is possible to switch the heat retention temperature between the low temperature and the high temperature to improve the heat retention state, and to prevent the risk of rotting rice even when the heat retention operation is interrupted midway due to the occurrence of a power failure.

Further, the pan 4 for containing rice and the heat retaining means 63 for performing heat retaining operation by switching the temperature of the rice between low temperature and high temperature.
And a pan returning means 74 for restarting the heat retaining operation of the heat retaining means 63 when the pan 4 is re-mounted after the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining means 63 is restarted, and when the heat retaining operation is restarted by the pot returning means 74, The warming means 63 is configured to raise the warming temperature, thereby switching the warming temperature between the low temperature and the high temperature to improve the warming state, and at the same time, the state without the pan 4 is generated and the warming operation is interrupted halfway. Even in this case, it is possible to prevent the risk of rotting rice.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the heat retaining operation is performed subsequent to the rice cooking operation, first, in order to prevent the aging of the rice due to the Maillard reaction, the low temperature retaining means 65 sets the heat retaining temperature to a low temperature to maintain the temperature. If you want to start the heat retention operation by operating the heat retention start switch 68, that is,
When only the heat retaining operation is performed without performing the rice cooking operation, the heat retaining temperature is set to a high temperature to perform the heat retaining operation, unless the temperature of the rice has not dropped so much. In this case, even if the cold rice in a state in which the spoilage bacteria easily grow is kept warm, since the heat retention temperature is set to a high temperature when the heat retention start switch 68 is operated, the growth of the spoilage bacteria is suppressed to prevent spoilage of the rice. be able to.

That is, the rice cooking means 62 for performing the rice cooking operation.
And a heat retention means 63 for performing a heat retention operation by switching the temperature of the rice between low temperature and high temperature, and a heat retention start switch 68 for starting only the heat retention operation by the heat retention means 63.
Is configured to lower the heat retention temperature when the heat retention operation is continued after the rice cooking operation by the rice cooking means 62, and to increase the heat retention temperature when the heat retention operation is started by the heat retention start switch 68. It is possible to improve the heat retention state by switching between low temperature and high temperature and prevent the risk of spoilage of rice even when keeping cold rice.

By the way, when the heat retaining means 63 unconditionally sets the heat retaining temperature to a high temperature when the heat retaining operation is resumed when the power is restored or the pot 4 is reattached, the heat retaining operation in which the heat retaining temperature is set to a low temperature is hardly performed. , The heat retention temperature is forcibly switched to a high temperature, which may accelerate the aging of rice. Also, when the warming operation is started by operating the rice cooking start switch 68, if the warming means 63 unconditionally sets the warming temperature to a high temperature, the off switch 69 may be used by mistake, or immediately after cooking. When the rice is transferred, it is forcibly kept warm at a high temperature, which accelerates the aging of the rice.

In view of this, in this embodiment, when the temperature detected by the pan temperature detecting means 71 is below a predetermined temperature, ie, 55 ° C., at the time of restarting the heat insulating operation when the power is restored or the pan 4 is reattached, the heat insulating means 63 is used. Sets the heat retention temperature to a high temperature, and if the temperature detected by the pan temperature detection means 71 is 55 ° C or higher,
The heat-retaining means 63 sets the heat-retaining temperature to a low temperature within a range of 6 hours from the end of the rice cooking operation where the risk of decay is low. Further, even at the start of the heat retention operation by the heat retention start switch 68, if the temperature detected by the pan temperature detection means 71 is lower than a predetermined temperature, that is, 70 ° C., the heat retention means 63 sets the heat retention temperature to a high temperature and detects the pan temperature. If the temperature detected by the means 71 is 70 ° C. or higher, the heat retaining means 63 sets the heat retaining temperature to a low temperature within the range of 4 hours in which the risk of decay after the heat retaining switch 68 is lessened. Thus, even when the temperature of the rice in the pan 4 is high at the time of restarting the heat retention operation by the heat retention means 63 or at the start of the heat retention operation by the heat retention start switch 68, after first setting the heat retention temperature to a low temperature Since the heat retention temperature is set to a high temperature, it is possible to prevent the rice from rotting while suppressing the aging of the rice.

That is, in this embodiment, the pot temperature detecting means 71 for detecting the temperature of the rice is further provided, and when the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining means 63 is restarted or the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining start switch 68 is started, the pot temperature detecting means 71 is provided. The temperature detected by
When the temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the heat retaining means 63 is configured to lower the heat retaining temperature for a predetermined time.
When the heat retention operation is restarted by, or the heat retention start switch
If the rice is at a high temperature at the start of the heat retention operation by 68, it is possible to first set the heat retention temperature to a low temperature for a predetermined time to improve the heat retention state.

Further, when the time keeping of the heat retaining time which has been continued until then is interrupted when a power failure occurs or the pot 4 is not present, the heat retaining temperature is set to a low temperature when the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining means 63 is resumed thereafter. In this case, there is a risk that the low-temperature heat retention time becomes unnecessarily long and the rice rots. In this embodiment, in order to solve these problems, the warming time measuring means 66 is configured to measure the warming time from the end of the rice cooking operation even when a power failure occurs or the pan 4 is absent. However, even if the heat retention temperature is set to a low temperature when the heat retention operation by the heat retention means 63 is resumed thereafter, the accumulated time for keeping the temperature at the low temperature does not become unnecessarily long, so it is unnecessary to keep the rice warm for a long time. Can prevent the corruption of.

Further, in the present embodiment, the rice cooking start switch
Even when 68 is operated, if the temperature of the rice detected by the pan temperature detecting means 71 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (70 ° C.), the heat retaining means 63
Tries to perform the heat retention operation by setting the heat retention temperature to a low temperature, but the low temperature insulation time (4 hours) in this case is less than the low temperature insulation time (6 hours) when the rice cooking operation is switched to the heat insulation operation. Set short. Therefore, the off switch 69
Even if you accidentally use the rice, or if you move the rice immediately after cooking, you can prevent the aging of the rice by securing a low temperature heat retention time and switch the heat insulation temperature to a high temperature early. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent the rice in the pan 4 from spoiling and to improve the heat retention state.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, although an IH heating type rice cooker has been described as an example in the embodiments, the present invention can be applied to all heat retaining pots having a heat retaining function as at least a jar.

[0045]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a warming device for switching the temperature of rice between low temperature and high temperature to carry out a warming operation, and when the power is restored from a power failure during the warming operation by the warming means, the warming means. And a power failure recovery means for restarting the heat retention operation, and when the heat retention operation is restarted by the power failure recovery means, the heat retention means is configured to raise the heat retention temperature to a low temperature and a high temperature. It is possible to improve the heat retention state by switching and prevent the risk of rice spoilage even if the heat retention operation is interrupted midway due to the occurrence of a power failure.

Further, the warming pot according to claim 2 is a container for containing rice, a heat retaining means for performing a heat retaining operation by switching the temperature of the rice between a low temperature and a high temperature, and the heat retaining means during the heat retaining operation. And a container returning means for restarting the heat retaining operation of the heat retaining means when the container is reattached after the container is lost,
When the warming operation is resumed by the container returning means, the warming means is configured to raise the warming temperature to a high temperature, and the warming temperature is switched between low temperature and high temperature to improve the warming state and the state without the container. Even when the heat retention operation is interrupted due to the occurrence of the problem, it is possible to prevent the risk of rotting rice.

Further, in the warming pot according to the third aspect, only the cooking means for performing the cooking operation, the warming means for performing the warming operation by switching the temperature of the rice between the low temperature and the high temperature, and the warming operation by the warming means only. A heat retention starting means for starting the heat retention means, wherein the heat retention means lowers the heat retention temperature when performing the heat retention operation subsequent to the rice cooking operation by the rice cooking means, and lowers the heat retention temperature when the heat retention operation is started by the heat retention start means. It is configured to have a high temperature, and it is possible to improve the heat retention state by switching the heat retention temperature between low temperature and high temperature, and prevent the risk of spoilage of rice even when heat is kept cold.

Further, the warming pot according to claim 4 is the structure according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the rice or the container containing the rice. If the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature when the heat retaining operation is restarted or when the heat retaining operation means starts the heat retaining operation, the heat retaining means is configured to lower the heat retaining temperature for a predetermined time. Yes, even if the rice is at a high temperature when the warming operation is restarted by the warming means or when the warming operation is started by the warming start means, the warming state is further improved by first setting the warming temperature to a low temperature for a predetermined time. It is possible to plan.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a rice cooker showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the same.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a processing procedure of a control sequence of the above.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure from the start of rice cooking to the end of rice cooking.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure after the above-mentioned Murashi process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Pan (container) 62 Rice cooking means 63 Heat retention means 68 Heat retention start switch (heat retention start means) 71 Pot temperature detection means (temperature detection means) 73 Power failure restoration means 74 Pot restoration means (vessel restoration means)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A warming means for switching the temperature of rice to a low temperature and a high temperature to perform a warming operation, and a power failure recovery means for restarting the warming operation of the warming means when power is restored from a power failure during the warming operation by the warming means. A heat-retaining pot, wherein the heat-retaining means raises the heat-retaining temperature when the heat-retaining operation is restarted by the power failure recovery means. 2. A container for storing rice, a heat retaining means for performing a heat retaining operation by switching the temperature of the rice between a low temperature and a high temperature, and when the container is re-installed after the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining means. A warming pot comprising: container returning means for restarting the warming operation of the warming means, wherein the warming means raises the warming temperature when the warming operation is restarted by the container returning means. 3. A rice cooking means for performing a rice cooking operation, a heat retaining means for performing a heat retaining operation by switching the temperature of the rice between a low temperature and a high temperature, and a heat retaining starting means for starting only the heat retaining operation by the heat retaining means, The heat retaining means lowers the heat retaining temperature when the heat retaining operation is continued after the rice cooking operation by the rice cooking means, and raises the heat retaining temperature when the heat retaining operation is started by the heat retaining starting means. . 4. The temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the rice or the container containing the rice is further provided, and the temperature detecting means detects the temperature when the heat retaining operation is restarted by the heat retaining means or when the heat retaining operation is started by the heat retaining starting means. The warming pot according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein when the temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the warming means lowers the warming temperature for a predetermined time.