JPH08228917A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce cover closing force, to enhance the strength of the handle part of a rice cooker to secure a sufficiently easily holdable handle width. CONSTITUTION: The handle part 15 is provided on the upper part of the outer side face of the pot 11 and the top part 17 of the upper surface 16 of the handle part 15 is arranged on the side of an inner periphery 19 front the middle 20 of an outer periphery 18 and the inner periphery 19. Also, cover packing provided with a seal part whose outside diameter is approximately the same as the outside diameter of the handle part 15 is disposed. Thus, for the cover packing, a tip side part to be elastically deformed by weak loads is abutted to the top part 17 of the handle part 15 first. Thus, the repulsion of the cover packing at the time of closing a cover is minimized. Also, since the top part 17 is on the side of the inner periphery 19 than the middle 20, the base part of the handle part 15 becomes thick and the strength of the handle part 15 is enhanced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rice cooker in which a gap between a pot and a lid is sealed by a lid packing to prevent steam from leaking out during rice cooking, and in particular, the opening / closing property of the lid is improved so that the pot The present invention relates to a rice cooker with an improved handle portion strength.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in this type of rice cooker, the lower surface of the lid has elasticity in order to seal the gap between the pan and the lid, that is, the lid, and to prevent steam from leaking out during rice cooking. Equipped with lid packing. And when I close the lid,
The sealing portion of the lid packing comes into contact with the upper surface of the handle portion provided on the outer surface of the upper portion of the pot to seal the gap between the pot and the lid.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional rice cooker, when the sealing portion of the lid packing comes into contact with the upper surface of the handle portion when the lid is closed, the lid closing operation becomes heavy due to the repulsive force of the lid packing. It is a factor that deteriorates sex.
In addition, the pan is filled with a predetermined amount of rice to be cooked and water at the time of preparation for cooking rice, and the operation of accommodating the pan in the main body of the rice cooker by holding the pan in a heavy state is performed every time. Therefore, a weight is applied to the attachment portion of the handle portion of the pan during every rice cooking, and the attachment portion of the handle portion is required to have high strength. If the width of the handle is wide, it becomes easier to hold, but stronger strength is required. For this reason, the width of the handle portion is actually limited in terms of strength, and there is also a problem that the width is narrow and it is difficult to hold.

For example, in the case of the conventional pot 101 shown in FIG. 4,
Since the upper surface 103 of the handle portion 102 is formed flat, the base portion of the seal portion of the lid packing having a strong elastic deformation force is the upper surface 103.
, The lid closing force becomes stronger and the operability deteriorates. In addition, since the tip peripheral edge of the sealing portion of the lid packing contacts the upper surface 103 of the handle portion 102, if there is a wrinkle on the peripheral edge of the tip, steam may leak from the gap of the corrugation. On the other hand, FIG.
In the case of the conventional pan 111 shown in FIG. 1, the uppermost top 114 of the upper surface 113 of the handle 112 is the outer circumference 115 of the handle 112.
And is formed approximately in the middle of the inner circumference 116. Therefore, the handle part 1
The seal part of the lid packing facing the uppermost part 114 of 12 is the root side having a strong elastic deformation force, and this root part first comes into contact with the upper surface 113 of the handle portion 112, and the lid closing force is similarly strong. .

In view of the above problems, the present invention reliably prevents steam leakage during rice cooking, reduces the lid closing force, and increases the strength of the handle portion of the pan to make the handle width easy to hold. The purpose is to provide a rice cooker that can secure the rice.

[0006]

A rice cooker according to a first aspect of the present invention is provided with a pot having a handle portion protruding substantially horizontally on an outer surface of an upper portion, a lid for covering the pot, and a lower surface of the lid. And a lid packing having a seal portion having an outer diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the handle portion and contacting the upper surface of the handle portion, the upper surface of the handle portion having the highest position is the outer circumference and the inner circumference of the handle portion. It is configured to be arranged on the inner peripheral side with respect to the middle of.

Further, in the rice cooker of the invention of claim 2, in addition to the structure of claim 1, the upper surface of the handle part has an arc shape, and the arc radius from the uppermost part of the handle part to the outer circumference is: It is formed to have a larger radius than the arc from the top to the inner circumference.

[0008]

In the rice cooker of the first aspect of the present invention, when the lid is closed, the seal portion of the lid packing is such that the tip side portion elastically deformed by a weak load first comes into contact with the uppermost portion of the upper surface of the handle portion. . Therefore, the repulsive force of the lid packing when the lid is closed is minimized. The outer periphery of the lid packing located at the base of the seal has the same outer diameter as the outer periphery of the handle of the pot, but the vicinity of the outer periphery of the handle has a handle that comes into contact with the seal first. Since it is located below the uppermost portion, the outer peripheral portion of the seal portion, which has a strong elastic deformation force, does not first come into contact with the handle portion, and the force for closing the lid body becomes light. Furthermore, since the highest position of the upper surface of the handle is located closer to the inner side than the middle of the outer and inner circumferences of the handle, the root of the handle located near the inner surface of the top of the pot is located. Inevitably becomes thicker,
The handle becomes stronger.

Further, in the rice cooker according to the second aspect of the present invention, even if the upper surface of the handle portion has a smooth curved surface as a whole, and the uppermost portion, which is the highest position, is arranged more inward than the middle portion. , The appearance of the pot is not impaired. Moreover, since the material thickness of the outer edge of the handle portion is secured to some extent,
The strength of the handle does not decrease and becomes stronger. Also, in terms of appearance, the outer peripheral end of the handle portion is thick and can be seen at the top, which provides a visual sense of security.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1 showing an overall cross-sectional view of the rice cooker, 1 is a rice cooker main body, and this rice cooker main body 1 is
An outer frame 2 and a bottom plate 3 made of plastic forming the outer shell thereof and an inner frame 4 provided in the outer frame 2 and serving as a pot housing portion are provided. The outer frame 2 has a tubular shape with upper and lower surfaces opened, and the bottom plate 3 is fixed to cover the lower surface opening. On the other hand, the inner frame 4 is formed by pressing a plate made of an aluminum material having a high reflectance for infrared rays, and is formed in a bottomed tubular shape having an open upper surface. In addition, an inward flange portion 5 is formed on the upper portion of the outer frame 2, and the inward flange portion 5 has 6
Inner frame spacer 6 made of PA (polyamide 6) resin, etc.
Is provided. The flange portion 7 of the inner frame 4 is attached and fixed to the inner frame spacer 6 at the upper portion of the rice cooker body 1.

11 is a pot, which has excellent thermal conductivity,
In addition, it is mainly composed of an A3004 type aluminum material having excellent corrosion resistance, and rice and water, which are rice to be cooked, are accommodated therein. The shape of the pan 11 has an inclined side surface whose diameter increases from the lower part to the upper part, and the diameter of the lowermost part 12 of the bottom outer surface (the part that comes into contact when the pan 11 is placed on the table) is the lower part of the outer surface 13. It is formed in a bottomed tubular shape having a diameter of half or less. Also, the uppermost part 14 of the outer surface 13
A flange-shaped handle portion 15 that protrudes horizontally outward is formed on the entire circumference.

The detailed construction of the handle portion 15 will be further described with reference to FIG. 2. The upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15 is a pan 11
When the rice is stored in the rice cooker body 1, the uppermost part 17 at the highest position is the outer circumference 18 corresponding to the outermost peripheral surface of the handle part 15, and the pan.
It is arranged closer to the inner circumference 19 than the position of the middle 20 of the inner circumference 19 corresponding to the inner circumferential surface of the uppermost portion 14 of 11. That is, the diameter φA of the uppermost part 17 is (the diameter φB of the outer circumference 18 + the diameter φC of the inner circumference 19) ÷
The diameter is smaller than the diameter φD of the middle 20 calculated as 2, and the uppermost portion 17 is on the inner circumference 19 side of the middle 20. Also, the handle part 15
The upper surface 16 has an arc shape, and the arc radius R1 from the uppermost part 17 to the outer circumference 18 is the arc radius R2 from the uppermost part 17 to the inner circumference 19.
Formed larger than. For example, in this embodiment, the arc radius R1 is 10 mm and the arc radius R2 is 6 mm. The lower surface 21 of the handle portion 15 is formed in a shape that is not similar to the upper surface 16, and a flat horizontal portion 22 is formed near the outer periphery 18 side. The horizontal portion 22 faces the inner circumference 19 side of the lower surface 21 with a single arc (for example, the radius R3 of the arc is 4 mm), and the horizontal portion 22 has a shape in which the handle portion 15 is easy to hold. To

The inner surface of the pot 11 is blasted with alumina powder to roughen the surface, coated with a paint mainly composed of FEP resin and then dried (at 200 ° C. for about 15 minutes) to form a primer layer. To do. Next, a water level line is printed at a predetermined position on the surface of the primer layer by a pad printing or the like with a paint mainly composed of a FEP resin having a color different from that of the primer layer. Further, a transparent PFA resin-based paint is applied and then dried (at 380 ° C. for about 20 minutes) to form a coating layer mainly containing a fluorine-based resin on the inner surface of the pot 11. In addition, the outer surface of the pot 11 is blasted with alumina powder to roughen the surface, coated with a paint mainly composed of polyether sulfone resin and PTFE resin, and then dried (at 360 ° C. for about 15 minutes). A coating layer mainly composed of a fluorine resin is formed on the outer surface of the pot 11. Either the inner or outer coating layer of the pot 11 may be formed first. Further, the primer layer and the outer surface coating layer may have different color tones in the same color system, but preferably have the same color system, and the boundary between the coating layers inside and outside the pot 11 located at the outermost peripheral end of the handle portion 15 is defined. It is preferable to make it difficult to understand in terms of appearance. Also, pot 11
Both the inner and outer coating layers are preferably formed of a fluororesin. As a result, it is possible to obtain a pot 11 in which the adhesion of the coating films to each other is improved and which is difficult to separate from the boundary between the coating layers.

The outer shape of the pot 11 is the molten aluminum forging method,
Molded by aluminum die casting method, casting method, etc., pan
The inner surface of 11 is formed as a smooth surface without unevenness. Further, by these molding methods, the upper surface 16 and the lower surface 21 of the handle portion 15 can be formed in different shapes. That is, in the pan 11 obtained by pressing an aluminum plate, since the thickness of the material is uniform, there is a disadvantage that the upper surface 16 and the lower surface 21 of the handle portion 15 cannot be formed unless they have similar shapes, The effects of the invention of the present application, which will be described later, are less likely to be exhibited.

The other structure will be described again with reference to FIG. 1. A bulging portion 31 bulging upward is formed in the central portion of the bottom surface of the inner frame 4, and an opening is formed in the upper surface portion of the bulging portion 31. The part 32 is formed. Further, the inner bottom of the inner frame 4 has a rice cooking heater such as a sheathed heater as a heating means for radiantly heating the pot 11.
33 is provided in a non-contact state with the pan 11. Rice cooker 33
Are provided in a state of being separated from the inner frame 4 by the heater base 34. A plate support 35 made of a steel plate is fixed on the inner bottom surface of the inner frame 4 between the bulging portion 31 and the rice cooking heater 33. The plate support 35 supports the plate support 35 from the bottom so as to conduct heat. A plate-shaped heater plate 36 made of an aluminum material having excellent properties is provided. The heater plate 36 is located above the rice cooking heater 33 and contacts the outer bottom surface of the pan 11 when the pan 11 is housed in the inner frame 4 in order to conduct the heat received to the pan 11. ing. In addition, this heater plate 36 heats the side surface of the pot 11 to cook rice.
In order to form a heating space 37 that is heated by radiant heat of 33, a pot
The outer diameter is smaller than the outer shape of the outer side surface 13 of 11, and the outer diameter is formed larger than the rice cooking heater 33 in order to prevent the rice cooking heater 33 from being exposed. A gap 38 for supplying the radiant heat of the rice cooking heater 16 to the heating space 37 is formed between the outer surface of the heater plate 36 and the inner surface of the inner frame 4.

At the upper part of the outer surface of the inner frame 4, the inner frame 4
A body heater 41 including a cord heater and the like for keeping heat is provided. Reference numeral 42 denotes a pan sensor which is a temperature detecting means for detecting the outer surface temperature of the pan 11, which is provided via a spring 43 so as to be vertically movable and urged upward. The pan sensor 42 protrudes above the heater plate 36 through the opening 32 of the inner frame 4 and elastically contacts the outer bottom surface of the pan 11. The pan sensor 42 has a built-in thermosensitive element such as a negative temperature thermistor that detects the outer surface temperature of the pan 11. Reference numeral 44 denotes a power supply board provided at the bottom of the rice cooker main body 1. This power supply board 44 has a pan switch 45 in addition to a constant voltage circuit for driving a microcomputer, a driving means for the rice cooker heater 33, and the like.
Is also equipped. This pan switch 45 has a switch lever 46
The pan sensor 42 is interlocked with the pan sensor 42, and the presence or absence of the pan 11 is detected by interlocking with the vertical movement of the pan sensor 42.
Reference numeral 47 is a cord reel for winding the power cord.
On the other hand, an operation board 51 is provided in front of the inner frame 4. The operation board 51 is supported by an operation panel 52 attached to the front surface of the outer frame 2, and has an LED display 53 and an LCD.
The display unit 54 and the operation switch 55 are provided.

Reference numeral 61 is a lid for opening and closing the upper opening of the rice cooker body 1. The lid 61 is rotatably supported on the upper rear side of the outer frame 2 by a hinge shaft 62 in the left-right direction. A hinge spring 63 provided on the hinge shaft 62 urges the hinge shaft 62 in the opening direction. The lid 61 is held in a closed state by the clamp device 64 against the hinge spring 63. The lid 61 includes an outer lid 66, a back plate 67 fixed to the lower side of the outer lid 66, a heat radiating plate 68 made of an aluminum member fixed to the lower side of the back plate 67, and the heat radiating plate 68. The inner lid 70 is detachably engaged with the inner lid holder 69 on the lower side. The inner lid 70 is made of an aluminum member,
The upper surface opening of the pan 11 is openably and closably closed.

An annular lid packing 71 made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber is provided between the outer peripheral portion of the heat dissipation plate 68 and the back plate 67. The structure of the lid packing 71 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3. The lid packing 71 has the same sectional shape, the sealing area with the pot 11 is maximized, and the outer shape of the lid 61 is not as large as possible. Thus, the outer diameter of the outer peripheral portion 72 is formed to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the outer periphery 18 of the pot 11. Further, the lid packing 71 has a sandwiching portion 73 sandwiched between the outer peripheral portion of the heat dissipation plate 68 and the back plate 67, and a tongue-shaped seal portion 74 formed below the sandwiching portion 73. ing.
The seal portion 74 has a substantially L-shaped cross section, and the root portion thereof forms the outer peripheral portion 72 of the lid packing 71. Also, this outer peripheral part
A contact portion 75 that contacts the upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15 when the lid is closed is formed inward of the lower end of 72. Then, when the lid 61 is closed, the contact portion 75 of the seal portion 74 elastically deforms and comes into contact with the upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15, thereby sealing the gap between the pot 11 and the lid 61. ing.

In FIG. 1, a heat insulating material 77 is provided between the outer lid 46 and the back plate 47. Further, on the back surface of the heat dissipation plate 68, a lid heater 78 including a code heater for heating the heat dissipation plate 68 is provided. The lid heater 78 electrically forms a parallel circuit with the body heater 41. Furthermore, the lid 61
A steam hole 79 is provided in the.

In the rice cooker having the above-mentioned structure, the rice cooking heater 33, the body heater 41 and the lid heater 78 are preliminarily stored in the microcomputer based on temperature data from the pan sensor 42 and time information of various counters built in the microcomputer. Each control of rice cooking and heat retention is performed based on the sequence set in ROM.
In this case, the control temperature of the pan sensor 42 during rice cooking and heat retention is managed within a temperature range of -10 ° C to 130 ° C. For example, in hot water cooking before main rice cooking that promotes water absorption of rice, the temperature is controlled in the range of 45 ° C. to 70 ° C., the temperature at which rice heating is stopped and the temperature shifts to 120 ° C., and
Insulation is temperature controlled in the range of 65 ° C to 72 ° C. These temperature controls have the same configuration as the conventional rice cooker.

Next, the operation and effect of the above configuration will be described. First, on the upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15 of the pan 11, the uppermost portion 17 at the highest position is the outer circumference 18 and the inner circumference 19 of the handle portion 15.
It is arranged on the inner circumference 19 side of the middle 20 of the. in this case,
When the lid body 61 is closed, the seal portion 74 of the lid packing 71 is such that the inner side, that is, the tip side portion of the contact portion 75 elastically deformed by a weak load first contacts the uppermost portion 17 of the upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15. I will come into contact with you. Therefore, the lid packing 71 when the lid is closed
The repulsive force of is minimized by this. Also, the lid packing
It is also noted that the outer peripheral portion 72 located at the base of the seal portion 74 of 71 has substantially the same outer diameter as the outer periphery 18 of the handle portion 15 of the pan 11. That is, when the outer peripheral portion 72 of the seal portion 74 first comes into contact with the upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15 of the pan 11, the lid closing operation becomes heavy due to the strong elastic deformation force thereof. Since the vicinity of the outer periphery 18 of the handle portion 15 facing the outer peripheral portion 72 is located below the uppermost portion 17 of the handle portion 15 that first comes into contact with the seal portion 74, the outer peripheral portion 72 of the seal portion 74 is the contact portion 75. It does not come into contact with the tip surface first, and from this point as well, the force of closing the lid 61 can be reduced, and the operability can be improved.

Further, the seal portion 74 of the lid packing 71 is a handle portion.
Since the position of the upper surface 15 of the contact portion 15 contacting the upper surface 16 is the outer end surface facing the uppermost portion 17 than the tip peripheral edge of the contact portion 75, even if there is some wrinkle on the tip peripheral edge, the adhesion is affected. No
There is also an advantage that steam leakage can be surely prevented when cooking rice. Moreover, as described above, the upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15 has the uppermost portion 17 at the highest position, which is arranged closer to the inner circumference 19 side than the middle 20 between the outer circumference 18 and the inner circumference 19 of the handle portion 15. The root portion, that is, the mounting portion of the handle portion 15 located near the inner peripheral surface of the uppermost portion 17 of the pan 11 is inevitably thick, and the strength of the handle portion 15 itself increases. Therefore, it is possible to maximize the width of the handle portion 15 while ensuring the strength of the mounting portion of the handle portion 15, and it is possible to eliminate the problem that the width of the handle portion 15 is narrow and difficult to hold as in the past. it can.

As described above, in this embodiment, the highest position of the upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15 is defined by the outer circumference 18 and the inner circumference 19 of the handle portion 15.
The outer peripheral portion 72 of the lid packing 71, which is arranged closer to the inner periphery 19 side than the middle 20 and has the seal portion 74 in contact with the upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15.
By forming the outer diameter of the outer periphery 18 of the handle portion 15 of the pot 11 to be sure to prevent steam leakage during rice cooking, lighten the lid closing force, and reduce the handle portion 15 of the pot 11. It is possible to increase the strength and secure a handle width that is easy to hold.

Further, in this embodiment, the upper surface 16 of the handle portion 15 is formed in an arc shape, and the arc radius R1 from the uppermost portion 17 of the handle portion 15 to the outer circumference 18 is defined by the uppermost portion 17 to the inner circumference 19. Is formed larger than the radius R2 of the arc. In this case, handle part
The upper surface 16 of 15 has a smooth curved surface as a whole, and the appearance of the pot 11 is not impaired even if the uppermost portion 17, which is the highest position, is arranged closer to the inner circumference 19 side than the middle portion 20. Moreover, since the material thickness of the end portion of the outer periphery 18 of the handle portion 15 is secured to some extent, there is an advantage that the strength of the handle portion 15 does not decrease and becomes stronger. Also, in terms of appearance, the end of the outer periphery 18 of the handle portion 15 looks thick and sturdy, and a visual sense of security can be obtained.

Further, since the handle portion 15 forming the upper portion of the pot 11 becomes thick, when the pot 11 is formed by the molten aluminum forging method, the aluminum die casting method, the casting method, etc. There is also a manufacturing effect that the flow of hot water can be performed smoothly.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0027]

According to the rice cooker of the first aspect of the present invention, the rice cooker has a handle portion protruding substantially horizontally on the outer surface of the upper portion, a lid for covering the pot, and the handle portion provided on the lower surface of the lid body. A lid packing having a seal portion that is in contact with the upper surface of the handle portion with an outer diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the handle portion, and the highest position of the upper surface of the handle portion is higher than the middle between the outer circumference and the inner circumference of the handle portion. Since it is arranged on the inner peripheral side, while securely preventing steam leakage during rice cooking, the lid closing force is lightened, and the strength of the handle part of the pan is strong and the handle is easy to hold. The width can be secured.

Further, in the rice cooker of the invention of claim 2, in addition to the structure of claim 1, the upper surface of the handle portion has an arc shape, and the arc radius from the uppermost part of the handle portion to the outer periphery is: Since it is formed larger than the arc radius from the top to the inner circumference, while surely preventing steam leakage during rice cooking,
The lid closing force can be lightened and the strength of the handle portion of the pan can be further strengthened to secure a handle width that is easy to hold.
Also, the appearance around the handle part of the pan can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a handle portion of the same pan.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper lid packing.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the periphery of a handle portion of a conventional pot.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the periphery of a handle portion of a conventional pot.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Pan 15 Handle 16 Top 17 Uppermost 18 Outer circumference 19 Inner circumference 20 Middle 61 Lid 71 Lid packing 73 Seal

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pot having an approximately horizontal protruding handle portion on an outer surface of an upper portion, a lid body for covering the pot, and an outer diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the handle portion provided on the lower surface of the lid member. A lid packing having a seal portion that is in contact with the upper surface of the handle portion, and the highest position of the upper surface of the handle portion is located closer to the inner circumference than the middle between the outer circumference and the inner circumference of the handle. Characteristic rice cooker. 2. An upper surface of the handle portion has an arc shape, and an arc radius from the uppermost portion to the outer circumference of the handle portion is larger than an arc radius from the uppermost portion to the inner circumference. The rice cooker according to item 1.