JPS63139517A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a rice cooker that can selectively perform a normal rice cooking course and a rice porridge cooking course.

(Prior Art) This type of rice cooker has conventionally been configured to selectively execute a normal rice cooking course and a rice porridge cooking course by controlling the rice cooking with a microcomputer. . In this case, by selecting each rice cooking course using the selection switch,
Rice cooking is executed according to respective predetermined rice cooking control programs.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional configuration described above, each rice cooking course is selected using a selection switch, which makes the operation cumbersome and increases the number of switches provided on the operation panel. In addition, the display device that displays the selected rice cooking course becomes complicated, resulting in a disadvantage that it becomes difficult to use. In addition, there is a risk of selecting and executing the rice cooking course incorrectly, and in this case, the amount of rice and water stored in the pot will be different from the amount expected by the microcomputer according to the rice cooking course, so the rice and porridge will not be cooked properly. There is also the problem of not being able to cook deliciously.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to be able to automatically select a normal rice cooking course and a rice porridge cooking course,
To provide a rice cooker which prevents mistakes in course selection and improves operability.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a rice cooker that can selectively perform a normal rice cooking course and a rice porridge cooking course. Based on Part 11!3 II! boiling detection means for detecting the state; and when the temperature detected by the temperature detection means rises beyond a predetermined temperature range until a preset limit time elapses after the boiling detection means detects boiling, the normal The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with zero-motion selection means that selects and executes the rice cooking course and also selects and executes the rice cooking course for cooking porridge at other times.

(Function) When rice is normally cooked, the temperature inside the pot rises after a predetermined period of time has passed after the pot boils, but when rice porridge is cooked, the temperature inside the pot rises. Since a larger amount of water is stored than during normal rice cooking, the temperature inside the pot does not rise even when the predetermined time has elapsed after the pot boils. The automatic selection means selects the normal rice cooking course and the rice porridge cooking course by utilizing such a phenomenon, and selects the rice cooking course for normal rice cooking and rice porridge cooking until a preset limit time elapses after the boiling state in the pot is detected. To automatically and accurately select a rice cooking course based on the state of temperature change in a pot during the process. Therefore, a switch for selecting a rice cooking course is not required.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a microcomputer that controls rice cooking according to a rice cooking control program stored in advance;
For example, a normal rice cooking course for cooking white rice and a rice cooking course for cooking porridge are selectively executed as described later. Reference numeral 2 denotes a rice cooking heater, which is connected to an AC power source 4 via a triac 3 which is an AC switching element, and is controlled to be turned on and off by turning the tri-book 3 on and off. 5 is a drive control circuit which receives a drive signal Sa from the output terminal Ro of the micro combinator 1 and sends a gate signal s to the triac 3.
b.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a temperature detecting means, for example a thermistor 1, which is arranged to detect the temperature inside the pot, and outputs a temperature detection signal Sc indicating the detected temperature to the input terminals 1.6 of the microcomputer 1. It is designed to be given to

The microcomputer 1 constitutes the boiling point III detection means and the automatic selection means in the present invention, but the microcomputer 1 has the functions of the boiling detection means and the automatic selection means as well as the amount of cooked rice. Functions corresponding to the detection means are also added.

That is, the rice cooking amount detection means detects the rice cooking amount by utilizing the fact that there is a certain proportional relationship between the rising gradient of the temperature inside the pot and the rice cooking amount after the start of rice cooking. Specifically, the rice cooking amount detection means detects whether the temperature inside the pot is, for example, from 70°C to 80°C based on the temperature detection signal Sc from the thermistor 6.
It detects the time t required for the change to
This time t is output as a signal indicating the amount of cooked rice. Then, a limit time T corresponding to the amount of cooked rice indicated by the detection time t is set in the microcomputer 1 as follows. That is, for example, when t≦1 minute 39 seconds (when the amount of rice cooked is relatively small), T - 9 minutes, and when t≦1 minute 39 seconds - 2 minutes 41 seconds (when the amount of rice cooked is medium). is T-1
2 minutes, and T-15 minutes when t≧2 minutes, 4 minutes, and 1 second (when the amount of rice cooked is relatively large). The boiling detection means is
Upon receiving the temperature detection signal Sc from the thermistor 6, it is detected that the inside of the pot is in a boiling state. Further, the automatic selection means detects that the temperature detected by the thermistor 6 rises beyond the predetermined temperature range ΔT after the boiling detection means detects boiling in the pot and until the limit time T set as described above elapses. At times, the normal rice cooking course is selected and executed, and at other times, the rice porridge cooking course is selected and executed. In addition, 7 is a display device consisting of a light emitting diode, etc., which receives display signals from the microcomputer 1 and displays the progress status of each process of "heat-cooking", "rice-cooking", "double-cooking", and "keeping warm". It is supposed to be done.

Next, details of control by the microcomputer 1 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. First, in both the normal rice cooking course and the rice porridge cooking course, rice cooking is started as shown in FIG. That is, after performing a predetermined soaking process, the rice cooking process is performed. In this rice cooking process, first turn on rice cooking heater 2 to 100% (for example, 600W).
), and the cooking amount detection means indicates that the temperature inside the pot is 7.
The time t required for the temperature to change from 0°C to 80°C is detected. As a result, the limit time T (for example, when 161939 seconds, T-
9 minutes, 1 minute 39 seconds - 2 minutes 41 seconds, T-12 minutes,
When t≧2 minutes and 41 seconds, T-15 minutes) is set. After this, when the boiling detection means detects that the inside of the pot has reached a boiling state, the output of the rice cooking heater 2 is reduced to 50% (30%).
0W) and starts measuring the duration of the boiling state.

When this boiling state is reached, in the case of regular rice cooking, the ratio of water to rice stored in the pot is small, so most of the water is absorbed by the rice relatively quickly. Therefore, before the limit time T has elapsed, the inside of the pot enters a so-called dry-up state, and the temperature inside the pot rises rapidly as shown by the broken line A in FIG. Here, the limit time T is set in consideration of the boiling state continuation time required until the rice is cooked.

Therefore, the temperature detected by the thermistor 6 rises beyond the predetermined temperature range ΔT (for example, 6° C.) until the limit time T elapses. In this case, step a is executed as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, and the normal rice cooking course shown in FIG. 3 is then executed. On the other hand, in the case of cooking rice for porridge, since the ratio of the amount of water to the amount of rice is large, it takes time for the water to evaporate, so the boiling state continues for a long time as shown by the broken line B in FIG. Therefore, the temperature detected by the thermistor 6 does not exceed the predetermined temperature range ΔT until the limit time T elapses. In this case, step b is executed as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, and the output of the rice cooking heater 2 is reduced to 25% (150 W ), and a process is executed in which the boiling state is maintained for 40 minutes, for example.

In short, according to this embodiment, it is automatically determined whether normal rice cooking or rice porridge cooking is selected based on the ratio of the amounts of rice and water stored in the pot, and based on the determination result, Since the normal rice cooking course and the porridge cooking rice cooking course are selectively executed, the operation of selecting the rice cooking course can be made unnecessary, and the operability can be improved.

Furthermore, since a rice cooking course selection switch is not required, the configuration on the operation panel is simplified compared to the conventional method, and the usability is improved. Furthermore, unlike the conventional method, there is no need to make a mistake in selecting the rice cooking course, and rice and porridge can always be cooked deliciously.

In addition, in the rice cooking course for cooking porridge, heating is performed at 50% output during the limit time T that corresponds to the amount of cooked rice out of the duration of the boiling state to be maintained, so the heating rate is adjusted according to the amount of cooked rice. Since the heating strength can be adjusted, the porridge can be cooked even more deliciously than when the heating strength is constant.

In addition, in the above embodiment, in addition to white rice, sprouted rice, takikomi, and rice may be cooked as the normal rice cooking course. Further, in the above embodiment, the limit time T is set based on the time t required for the temperature inside the pot to change from 70°C to 80°C, but it may be set based on the boiling detection time.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention includes boiling detection means for detecting the boiling state based on the temperature inside the pot detected by the temperature detection means, and When the temperature measured by the temperature detection means rises beyond a predetermined temperature range before the set limit time elapses, the normal rice cooking course is selected and executed, and at other times, the rice porridge cooking is performed. Since an automatic selection means for selecting and executing a course is provided, it is possible to automatically select the normal rice cooking course and the rice cooking course for porridge cooking, thereby eliminating the possibility of course selection mistakes and improving operability. It has the excellent effect of being able to achieve the following.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an electrical configuration diagram, FIGS. 2 to 4 are diagrams showing rice cooking control for explaining the operation, and FIG. 5 is a flow chart. In the drawings, 1 indicates a microcomputer (boiling detection means, automatic selection means), and 6 indicates a thermistor (temperature detection means). Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a rice cooker that can selectively perform a normal rice cooking course and a rice porridge cooking course, the rice cooker includes a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature inside the pot, and a boiling state in the pot is detected by the detection output of the temperature detection means. boiling detection means for detecting boiling; and when the temperature detected by the temperature detection means rises beyond a predetermined temperature range until a preset limit time elapses after boiling detection by the boiling detection means, the normal rice cooking course is started. A rice cooker comprising automatic selection means for selecting and executing the rice cooking course for cooking porridge and for selecting and executing the rice cooking course for cooking porridge at other times.