JPH09192006A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a smooth lid-opening operation of a rice cooker with an automatic lid-opening device by reducing dispersion of break power when opening a lid body. SOLUTION: A rice cooker is composed of a hinge shaft 4 which pivots a lid body 3 to a rice cooker body 1 to open and close freely, a torsion coil spring 6 which energizes the lid body 3 in the direction of opening, and a holder 7 which covers the periphery of the torsion coil spring 7. Since the holder 7 regulates the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 6, dispersion of dimensions to cause break power change when opening the lid body lies only in the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 6 and in the bore diameter of the holder 7, thereby there are few factors for break power change, thus a stable opening operation of the lid body is achieved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rice cooker mainly used at home, and more particularly to an opening / closing structure of its lid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent rice cookers, a lid which covers an upper part of a rice cooker main body can be automatically opened by a simple operation. Known rice cookers for automatically opening the lid are shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 51 denotes a rice cooker main body, and an upper opening of the rice cooker main body 51 is covered with a lid 52 so as to be openable and closable. The lid 52 rotates about a hinge shaft 53,
In addition, a torsion coil spring 54 arranged near the hinge shaft 53
Is urged in the opening direction. A hook button 58 that engages with a front engaging portion 59 of the lid 52 is provided on the upper front side of the rice cooker main body 51. By operating the hook button 58, the engagement with the locking portion 59 of the lid 52 is released, and the lid 52 is opened by the force of the torsion coil spring 54.

The detailed structure of the hinge portion of the lid 52 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. A hinge portion through which the hinge shaft 53 penetrates is formed at the rear of the lid body 52, and a hinge side portion 61 projecting downward is formed at a rear intermediate portion. The hinge side portion 61 opens the lid body 52. Hinge shaft 5 with movement
Move around 3. A brake shaft 63 and a brake rubber 62 attached to the periphery of the brake shaft 63 are arranged below the hinge shaft 53, and when the open state of the lid 52 becomes large, the lower end of the hinge side portion 61 becomes the peripheral surface of the brake rubber 62. It is the structure which abuts. Then, as the opening angle of the lid 52 increases, the hinge side portion 61 and the brake rubber 6
1, the contact area between the hinge side portion 61 and the brake rubber 62 increases, and the deformation of the brake rubber 62 also increases. As described above, when the opening angle of the lid 52 increases, a large braking force is applied to the opening of the lid 52, so that the urging force of the spring 54 urging in the opening direction changes the opening angle. It was weakened as it became larger, and the opening of the lid 52 weakened the impact.

[0005]

In such a conventional rice cooker, it is delayed until the brake is actuated by opening the lid 52, that is, the lower end of the hinge side portion 61 starts to contact the brake rubber 62. When the braking force begins to act, the opening speed of the lid body 52 is already high, and the braking is suddenly applied thereafter, so that the opening / closing speed of the lid body 52 becomes uneven and the hinge side portion 61 has the brake rubber 62.
There is a problem in that the brake sound is abruptly contacted with and the brake noise is generated.

In addition, the braking force varies in size from the hinge shaft 53 to the hinge side portion 61, in the dimension from the hinge shaft 53 to the brake rubber 62, in the shape of the hinge side portion 61, in the dimension and hardness of the brake rubber. Variation, dimensional variation due to temperature change, and many other factors. Further, the force in the opening direction of the lid 52 also changes due to the variation in the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 54.
As a result, there has been a problem that the lid 52 suddenly opens and bounces several times, then stops, or stops halfway through the opening.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has as its first object to obtain a stable lid opening operation by reducing the factor of dimensional variation in which the braking force changes when the lid is opened. There is.

A second object is to obtain a stable braking force when the lid is opened even if the biasing force of the torsion coil spring varies.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker in which a braking force is applied from an early stage when the lid is opened and the lid is opened by a smooth operation.

A fourth object is to provide a rice cooker that reduces variations in braking force due to temperature changes and produces no braking noise.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above first object, the present invention provides a lid body for opening and closing the opening of the rice cooker body, and opening and closing the lid body with respect to the rice cooker body. A hinge shaft that freely supports the shaft, a torsion coil spring that biases the lid body in the opening direction, and a holder that covers the outer periphery of the torsion coil spring are provided, and the holder regulates the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring. .

In order to achieve the above second object, the present invention has a structure in which the inner diameter of a holder for covering the outer circumference of the torsion coil spring can be varied.

In order to achieve the third object, the present invention is such that the holder biases the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring in the compression direction by the elastic body.

In order to achieve the fourth object, the present invention comprises a holder made of metal, and a non-metal lining is provided between the holder and the torsion coil spring.

[0015]

According to the invention of claim 1, when the lid is opened by the urging force of the torsion coil spring, the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring increases, but the holder regulates the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring. Since the biasing force of the torsion coil spring is weakened and the braking force for opening the lid works,
The dimension variation that changes the braking force is only the outer diameter dimension of the torsion coil spring and the inner diameter dimension of the holder, and there are few factors that change the braking force, and a stable lid opening operation can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the inner diameter of the holder that covers the outer circumference of the torsion coil spring can be varied, the brake can be changed by changing the inner diameter of the holder even if the biasing force of the torsion coil spring varies. By changing the force, a stable braking force can be obtained when the lid is opened.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the holder biases the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring in the compression direction by the elastic body, when the lid body is opened and the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring increases, it is possible to reduce the Since the force to press is gradually applied by the urging force of the elastic body, even if the braking force is applied from the early stage of opening the lid, it does not stop halfway and the lid can be opened smoothly. Is something that can be done.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the holder is made of metal, the dimensional change of the holder inner diameter due to the temperature change is small, and the variation of the braking force due to the temperature change is reduced. Further, since the non-metal lining is provided between the holder and the torsion coil spring, the outside of the torsion coil spring slides smoothly, and the opening operation can be smoothly stopped without making a brake noise.

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an inner pot 2 for pouring rice and water is provided inside a rice cooker body 1 and is covered with a lid 3 so as to be openable and closable. The lid 3 is pivotally supported by a hinge shaft 4 at a rear portion thereof, and is engaged with a hook button 5 provided on the upper front side of the rice cooker body 1. A torsion coil spring 6 biases the lid 3 in the opening direction about the hinge shaft 4,
A holder 7 is provided on the outer circumference of the torsion coil spring 6. The inner diameter of the holder 7 is set between the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 6 when the lid 3 is closed and the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 6 when the lid 3 is opened. Therefore, when the hook button 5 is pushed to release the engagement with the lid body 3 from the state where the lid body 3 is closed, the lid body 3 is opened by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 6. When the lid 3 is opened, the torsion coil spring 6 is loosened and the outer diameter is increased. When the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 6 becomes equal to the inner diameter of the holder 7,
Since the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 6 cannot be further increased, the opening operation of the lid 3 is braked.

In the above-described brake structure, the dimensional factors that cause variations in the braking force and the position at which the brake acts are only the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 6 and the inner diameter of the holder 7, and these two points should be controlled. If so, a stable opening operation of the lid body 3 can be obtained.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the hinge shaft 8 and the torsion coil spring 9 have the same structure as in the first embodiment. The holder 10 covering the outer circumference of the torsion coil spring 9 is divided at one place, and a screw 11 is provided at the divided place. By setting the initial size of the inner diameter of the holder 10 to be large, and tightening the screw 11, the holder 10
It is configured so that the inner diameter of can be reduced.

According to the above construction, even if the biasing force or the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 9 varies, the inner diameter of the holder 10 can be made optimum for the varied outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 9 by adjusting the tightening of the screw 11. Therefore, a stable braking force can be obtained when the lid is opened.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, 1
Reference numeral 2 is a hinge shaft, and 13 is a torsion coil spring. Reference numeral 14 is a holder that covers the outer circumference of the torsion coil spring 13 and is divided at one location. A screw 16 is provided at a dividing position of the holder 14 via an urging spring 15 which is an elastic body,
By adjusting the tightening of the screw 16, the torsion coil spring 13
The inner diameter of the holder 14 for covering can be changed.

According to the above structure, when the lid is opened and the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 13 increases to the inner diameter of the holder 14 and the lid is further opened, the urging force of the urging spring 15 causes the outer circumference of the torsion coil spring 13. Therefore, the force for suppressing the expansion of the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 13 gradually increases, and the braking force for opening the lid gradually increases. Therefore, even if the braking force is applied from an early stage of opening the lid, the braking force gradually increases, so that the lid pair can be opened with a smooth operation without stopping halfway.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, 1
Reference numeral 7 is a hinge shaft, 18 is a torsion coil spring, 19 is a metal holder, and a resin having a good self-lubricating property, for example, a non-metal lining 20 such as polyacetal is provided between the holder 19 and the torsion coil spring 18. Holder 19
Is fastened with a screw 21 and a nut 22, and the inner diameter of the holder 19 can be adjusted by adjusting the fastening.

According to the above construction, since the holder 19 is made of metal, the dimensional change due to the temperature change is small, and the braking force is unlikely to vary. Further, since the surface pressed against the holder 19 when the lid is opened and the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring 18 is increased is covered with the lining 20, it is possible to smoothly stop the lid opening operation without making a brake noise. You can

[0027]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the hinge shaft that rotatably supports the lid body with respect to the rice cooker body and the torsion that urges the lid body in the opening direction. A coil spring and a holder that covers the outer circumference of the torsion coil spring are provided. Since the holder regulates the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring, the dimensional variation that changes the braking force when the lid is opened is the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring. Since only the dimensions and the inner diameter of the holder are used, there are few factors that change the braking force, and a stable lid opening operation can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the inner diameter of the holder that covers the outer circumference of the torsion coil spring can be varied, even if the biasing force of the torsion coil spring or the outer diameter varies, the outside of the varied torsion coil spring can be varied. Since the inner diameter of the holder can be optimized for the diameter, stable braking force can be obtained when the lid is opened.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the holder biases the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring in the compression direction by the elastic body, when the lid is opened and the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring becomes large. The force to press it is gradually applied by the urging force of the elastic body, so even if you apply a braking force from the early stage of opening the lid, it will not stop halfway and the lid will open smoothly. can do.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the holder is made of metal and the non-metal lining is provided between the holder and the torsion coil spring. Variations are less likely to occur, and the opening operation of the lid can be stopped smoothly without making a braking noise.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view in which a hinge portion of a rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention is cut away.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a hinge shaft portion of the rice cooker.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a hinge shaft portion of a rice cooker showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway sectional view of a hinge shaft portion of a rice cooker showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a hinge shaft portion of a rice cooker showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cutaway sectional view of a main part of a conventional rice cooker.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the main part of the rice cooker.

8 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rice Cooker Main Body 2 Pan 3 Lid 4 Hinge Shaft 6 Torsion Coil Spring 7 Holder 15 Bias Spring 20 which is an elastic body 20 Lining

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Atsushi Tanaka 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Toshihiro Fujita, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 72) Inventor Mitsuru Yashima 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Akihiro Shinabu, Department of Akahiro 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture (72) Inventor Hiroshi Oya Osaka Fukami City 1006 Kadoma, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Seiichi Uemoto 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsuda Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Atsushi Korai, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinichi Tachimichi 2-7-16 Sakuragawa, Naniwa-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Toyo Bussan Co., Ltd. Inside the company (72) Inventor Tomiyuki Nakamura 1503 Yokoe-cho, Matsuto-shi, Ishikawa Prefecture Kanazawa Chuo Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Norio Nakagawa 1503 Yokoe-cho, Matsuto-shi Ishikawa Prefecture Kanazawa Chuo Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rice cooker main body having an open top surface, a pan detachably accommodated in the rice cooker main body, a lid body for opening and closing the opening of the rice cooker body, and the lid body for the rice cooker. A hinge shaft that rotatably and rotatably supports the container body, a torsion coil spring that biases the lid in the opening direction, and a holder that covers the outer circumference of the torsion coil spring, and the holder has an outer diameter of the torsion coil spring. Rice cooker configured to regulate 2. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the holder has a structure in which its inner diameter can be changed. 3. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the holder is configured to urge the outer diameter of the torsion coil spring in the compression direction by an elastic body. 4. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the holder is made of metal, and a non-metal lining is provided between the holder and the torsion coil spring.