KR100810672B1 - Electric rice cooker using microwave and vacuum and vacuum keeping method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker and a vacuum storage method using a microwave and a vacuum, by the method of vacuum decompression inside the rice cooker by a vacuum pump can be stored at room temperature without continuous heating, so the microwave can be irradiated only when necessary This will allow us to take full advantage of microwaves and reduce waste and reduce the shelf life and quality of rice.

The electric rice cooker of the present invention for this purpose, a rice cooker body having a receiving portion for receiving food, such as rice and water, a rice cooker lid to cover and seal the receiving portion of the cooker body, and irradiated with microwaves to the receiving portion of the cooker body food It comprises a heating means for heating the vacuum means, vacuum means for reducing the receiving portion,

Vacuum storage method of the present invention, the step of cooling the cooked rice without heating, and if the temperature of the rice falls below the set temperature, the step of vacuum reducing the receiving portion by the vacuum means, and the cold rice while maintaining the vacuum reduced state of the receiving portion It comprises the step of storing as it is without heating, and the receptacle to release the vacuum state and irradiating the microwave to the receptacle by the heating means to reheat the stored rice.

Vacuum Pump, Microwave, Rice Cooker

Description

ELECTRIC RICE COOKER USING MICROWAVE AND VACUUM AND VACUUM KEEPING METHOD THEREOF}

1 is an external perspective view of the present invention.

2 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the configuration of the present invention.

Figure 3 is an external perspective view of a case containing a vacuum pump according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a disassembled state of the vacuum pump and the case according to the present invention.

5 is a flowchart for explaining a vacuum storage method of the present invention.

6 to 12 is a series of reference showing the state of the rice cooker according to the vacuum storage method of the present invention.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings

110: cooker body 111: cooking vessel

113, 122: shielding film 120: cooker lid

121: inner lid 123: sealing O-ring

125: O-ring for shielding 130: heating means

131: magnetron 133: waveguide

135: stirring member 140: vacuum means

141: vacuum pump 148,149: solenoid valve

The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker, and in particular, by a vacuum pump to reduce the inside of the rice cooker by the method of vacuum to keep the rice at room temperature without continuous heating, and microwave only to irradiate the microwave only when necessary to reheat the rice and It relates to an electric rice cooker and a vacuum storage method using a vacuum.

In general, an electric rice cooker is a device used to cook or store rice, and since it uses electricity that is convenient to control automatically, it is widely used in various countries where rice is used as a staple without having to adjust the thermal power.

Looking at the principle of operation of the electric rice cooker is a heating element is installed at the bottom of the pot is put water and rice inside and when heated, the water evaporates and disappears over time to become rice.

The electric rice cooker has been developed from a product that can only keep the cooked rice, but only to keep cooking and keep warm at the same time. Recently, due to the convenience of use, almost all products that can cook and keep warm at the same time Occupies. Such rice cookers can be divided into general type, timer type and microcomputer type according to the control method. The general type is automatically transferred to warming after cooking is completed, and the timer type can be reserved for cooking time by attaching a reservation timer to the general type, so that it is less troublesome when preparing the early rice. The microcomputer built IC chip of semiconductor so that you can make more delicious rice by not only making time reservation but also adjusting the condition of rice and adjusting the taste of rice. In addition, depending on the heating method can be divided into hot plate type rice cooker, hot plate type pressure cooker, IH type pressure cooker.

However, the electric rice cooker according to the prior art has many problems in the process of storing the remaining rice after the first meal, despite being favored due to the convenience of reducing the trouble of housewives as described above.

That is, the conventional electric rice cooker is stored while heating at atmospheric pressure continuously in the process of storing the remaining rice after eating, during this process, the tissue change and moisture reduction of the rice due to the heating is large, a characteristic husky smell and yellowing The taste of the first meal could not be maintained.

On the other hand, in the case of storage of rice by the conventional electric rice cooker, since the traditional thermal storage method is adhered to the situation, despite the excellent heating method by microwave, the conventional heating method by Joule heat has not escaped. This is because, according to the thermal storage method, the rice should be continuously heated when storing the rice, because it is difficult to continuously heat the rice due to the characteristics of the microwave suitable for heating food for a short time by being supplied with high pressure electricity. If the microwave is irradiated for a long time to continuously heat the rice according to the traditional heat storage method, there is a fatal problem of having to leak the microwave and pay a huge electric charge.

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed to solve the conventional problems as described above, the object of the present invention by vacuum decompression of the inside of the rice cooker by a vacuum pump method only if necessary to store the rice at room temperature without continuous heating micro The present invention provides an electric rice cooker and a vacuum storage method using microwave and vacuum to reheat rice by irradiating waves.

In order to achieve the above object, an electric rice cooker according to the technical concept of the present invention includes a rice cooker body having a receiving portion for receiving food such as rice and water, a rice cooker lid covering and sealing the receiving portion of the rice cooker body, It may be characterized in that it comprises a heating means for heating the food by irradiating the microwave to the receiving portion of the cooker body, and a vacuum means for reducing the vacuum in the receiving portion.

Here, the heating means includes a magnetron for generating microwaves for heating the food, a waveguide for guiding the microwaves generated in the magnetron to the receiving portion, and a stirring member for rotating and dispersing the microwaves irradiated from the waveguide. It may be characterized in that it comprises a stirring member rotating motor for rotating the stirring member.

In addition, the vacuum means, a vacuum pump for generating a vacuum pressure for vacuum decompression of the accommodating portion, a connecting lake for connecting the accommodating portion and the vacuum pump, and installed on the rice cooker lid selectively the accommodating portion and the outside It may be characterized in that it comprises a first solenoid valve for communicating or blocking.

In addition, it may be characterized in that it further comprises a second solenoid valve installed on the connection lake to selectively communicate or block between the receiving portion and the vacuum pump.

In addition, it may be characterized in that it is provided on the connection lake and provided with a non-return valve for allowing the flow of fluid from the receiving portion in the direction of the vacuum pump but blocks the flow in the opposite direction.

In addition, the connection lake is a section of the lowest point is connected to the vacuum pump via the outside of the cooker body, the lowest point portion of the connection lake is disconnected section to drop the water sucked by the vacuum pump in the receiving portion It is formed, and detachably provided in the cooker body, it may be characterized in that it further comprises a water receiving container receiving the water falling while sealingly sealing the disconnection portion of the connection lake.

In addition, the vacuum means further includes a case for attenuating vibration and noise generated when the vacuum pump is driven while the vacuum pump is built in the cooker body, and the vacuum pump case is coupled to and separated from each other. And a first space having an inner space in which the vacuum pump is built, and having a through hole through which the air suction portion of the vacuum pump protrudes outward and an air discharge port for discharging air discharged from the vacuum pump to the inner space. And a packing member made of an elastic material which is installed along the housing and the second housing and the edge of the first housing or the edge of the second housing and is compressed between the first and second housings. You can do

On the other hand, the vacuum storage method according to the present invention, a rice cooker body having a receiving portion for receiving food such as rice and water cooked, a rice cooker lid to cover and seal the receiving portion of the cooker body, microwaves to the receiving portion of the cooker body A vacuum storage method using an electric rice cooker comprising a heating means for irradiating food and heating food and a vacuum means for vacuuming the receiving portion, the method comprising: cooling the cooked rice without heating; When the temperature of the rice falls below the set temperature comprises the step of vacuum reducing the accommodating portion with the vacuum means, and maintaining the cooled rice without heating while maintaining the vacuum reduced state of the accommodating portion Features of the jacket.

The method may further include reheating the stored rice by releasing the vacuum state of the accommodating part and irradiating the microwaves to the accommodating part by the heating means.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

EXAMPLE

The rice cooker and the vacuum storage method using the microwave and vacuum according to the present invention is configured not to continuously heat the rice by vacuum storage at room temperature.

This configuration of the present invention completely solves the practical problem of not actively using the microwave as a heat source of the electric rice cooker. In other words, if the microwave is used according to the conventional thermal storage method, the microwave should be irradiated without interruption in order to store the rice for a long time, but due to the nature of the microwave generated by the instantaneous high voltage, it is difficult to irradiate the microwave for a long time. There was no choice but to face realistic problems such as external leakage. However, the present invention is achieved by vacuum storage in the case of long-term storage of the rice and cooking and reheating of the rice to be achieved by the microwave is configured to maximize the advantages of each other.

As a result, the present invention can quickly cook or reheat rice, and there is no tissue change and moisture reduction due to long-term storage of the rice, and the original taste of rice can be maintained without a characteristic husky smell or yellowing.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the electric rice cooker and the vacuum storage method using the microwave and vacuum according to the present invention will be described in detail. First, the electric rice cooker of this invention is demonstrated.

1 is an external perspective view of the present invention, Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the present invention. Figure 3 is an external perspective view of a case incorporating a vacuum pump according to the present invention, Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a disassembled state of the vacuum pump and the case according to the present invention.

As shown, the appearance of the present invention is provided with a rice cooker body 110 and a rice cooker lid 120 so as not to be significantly different from a conventional electric rice cooker. However, the electric rice cooker of the present invention is equipped with a heating means 130 for irradiating microwaves at the time of cooking or reheating the rice together with a vacuum means 140 for vacuum decompression to store the rice at room temperature, the best rice at room temperature It is configured to be quickly reheated and eaten by microwave in the middle while being kept in the state. The following describes each of these components.

The cooker body 110 has a receiving portion (111A) which is a space for receiving rice and water. To this end, the rice cooker body 110 is provided with a cooking container 111 in which a receiving portion 111A is formed so as to be inserted into and detached from the rice cooker body 110. The cooking container 111 is preferably made of one of glass, ceramics, synthetic resin, etc., which is a non-conductive material through which microwaves can pass. This is to help the microwaves to be absorbed as much as possible in the food contained in the receiving portion (111A) to enable more rapid heating. In addition, when the cooking container 111 is made of a non-conductive material, a location irradiating microwaves is not limited to a specific position. The electromagnetic shielding film 113 is installed inside the rice cooker body 110 surrounding the cooking container 111. The electromagnetic shielding film 113 shields and irradiates the microwaves to help the microwaves toward the receiving portion of the cooking container 111 as much as possible. The weighing sensor 138 is installed below the cooker body 110. The weighing sensor 138 allows the controller (not shown) to measure the amount of food contained in the cooking container 111. Here, the structure of the built-in thermal insulation material provided in the cooker body 110, the control unit responsible for the control, the various operation panels 115 (see Fig. 1) connected to the control unit and the like, and other conventional electric rice cooker Is almost the same as

On the other hand, the present invention can rotate the cooking container 111 by only a simple structural change. For example, it is only necessary to install a motor for providing a rotational force in the lower portion of the cooker body 110, and to install the base for the cooking vessel to receive the rotational force from the motor in the inner lower portion of the cooker body (110). In this case, of course, the inner pot lid 121 is installed to rotate together with the cooking container 111. As such, when the cooking container 111 rotates, the food contained in the receiving portion 111A may be heated more quickly and evenly.

The cooker lid 120 is hinged to the cooker body 110 is installed to cover the receiving portion (111A) of the cooker body 110 to be sealed. The inner side of the rice cooker lid 120 is provided with an inner lid 121 covering the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111. A sealing O-ring 123 for sealing the accommodating portion 111A is pressed to the lower side edge of the inner lid 121 while being pressed between the cooking container 111. The material of the sealing O-ring 123 is suitable as long as the rubber having elastic force or similar properties thereof. Here, the inner lid 121 may not be provided. In this case, the rice cooker lid 120 serves as the inner lid 121 itself, and the sealing O-ring 123 is installed along the lower side edge of the rice cooker lid 120. In addition, an electromagnetic shielding film 122 is installed between the inner lid 121 and the rice cooker lid 120, similarly to the electromagnetic shielding film 113 installed on the cooker body 110. The electromagnetic shielding film 122 of the cooker lid 120 is provided in a circular shape to surround the inner lid 121. The rice cooker lid 120 is provided with a shielding O-ring 125 in an annular shape to prevent the gap between the electromagnetic shielding film 113 of the cooker body 110 and the electromagnetic shielding film 122 of the cooker lid 120 by micro Prevents wave leakage

The heating means 130 serves to heat the food by irradiating the microwave to the receiving portion (111A) of the cooker body (110). To this end, the heating means 130 is provided with a high-voltage transformer 139 for converting into high pressure by receiving power from the outside, and a magnetron 131 for generating a microwave by receiving a high-voltage electricity from the high-voltage transformer 139. do. In addition, the waveguide 133 for guiding the microwaves generated by the magnetron 131 to the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 through the cooker body 110 and the cooker lid 120, and the waveguide 133. Is installed rotatably at the end of the stirring member 135 to disperse while rotating the microwave irradiated through the irradiation hole (133A), and includes a rotary motor 137 to provide a rotational force to the stirring member 135 It is done by Here, the stirring member 135 and the rotary motor 137 may be installed on the cooker body 110 instead of the cooker lid 120, which is possible only by a simple structure change.

By such a configuration, the heating means 130 generates microwaves and irradiates the receiving portion 111A to cook or reheat the rice. In the present invention, it is possible to fully utilize the microwave in this way because it completely escapes the conventional thermal storage method that kept the rice while continuously heating. If the microwave is introduced and used for heating without departing from the conventional heat storage method, the microwave must be continuously irradiated for a long time, which causes serious problems in terms of external leakage and cost of the microwave. However, in the case of the present invention, since it is no longer necessary to continuously heat the rice, the microwave is used for a short time only when cooking and reheating the rice appropriately for the characteristics of the microwave. As described above, the present invention has no problem due to the use of microwaves and can be actively utilized by utilizing its advantages.

The vacuum means 140 includes a vacuum pump 141, a case 10, a connection lake 143, a first solenoid valve 148, a second solenoid valve 149, and a non-return valve 145. .

The vacuum pump 141 is built in the rear side of the cooker body 110 while forming a modular vacuum pump module together with the vacuum pump case 10, as shown in Figure 3 and 4, the cooking container 111 It serves to decompress the receiving portion (111A) of the. To this end, the vacuum pump 141 is connected to the receiving portion (111A) by a connection lake (143). At this time, the suction part 22 protruding from the vacuum pump 141 through the case 10 is directly connected to the end portion 143A of the connection lake 143.

The case 10 is provided in the form of a box in which the vacuum pump 141 is embedded in order to prevent vibration and noise generated when the vacuum pump 141 is driven, so that the vacuum pump 141 is built in the case 10. It is housed in the rear side of the cooker body 110, or is built in a portion of the cooker body (110). To this end, the vacuum pump case 10 includes a first housing 11 and a second housing 12 so that the vacuum pump 141 can be easily coupled and separated in order to easily embed the vacuum pump 141. In addition, one side of the first housing 11 is provided with a through groove 17 through which the air suction portion 22 of the vacuum pump 141 protrudes outward, and on one side of the second housing 12. The groove portion 18 corresponding to the through groove 17 of the housing 11 is provided. As a result, the first housing is provided with a through hole in which the air suction part 22 of the vacuum pump 141 protrudes outward while the through groove 17 and the groove part 18 face each other. As the air suction part 22 of the vacuum pump 141 protrudes through the through hole, the end portion 143A of the connection lake 143 is connected. Thus, the suction of air for vacuum pressure reduction from the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 can be easily made. As described above, when the vacuum pump 141 is stably mounted to the first housing 11, the first housing 11 is coupled to the second housing 12, wherein the first housing 11 is coupled to the first housing 11. The locking ends 13 provided on the side surfaces are fitted into the locking grooves 14 provided on the side surfaces of the second housing 12, respectively. This is because the locking grooves 14 of the second housing 12 are provided at corresponding positions so that the locking end 13 of the first housing 11 may be seated and coupled. On the other hand, the packing member 30 of the elastic material is installed along the rim of the first housing 11 or the rim of the second housing 12. The packing member 30 is compressed between the first housing 11 and the second housing 12, and the packing member 30 is compressed between the first housing 11 and the second housing, which are caused by the operation of the vacuum pump 141. The vibration of the joints between the housings 12 can be attenuated and the airtightness can be reinforced. In addition, the first and second housings 11 and / or the second housing 12 of the case 10 has an air outlet 30 for discharging the air discharged by the vacuum pump 141 to the outside to prevent noise. Is formed. The air outlet 30 may be provided with two or more.

In addition, the outer surface of the motor 21 provided in the vacuum pump 141 to minimize the vibration generated when the seating portion 19 of the first housing 11 is mounted on the surface of the seating portion 19 Sponge packing 23 is provided to prevent damage. In addition, the inside of the first housing 11 is provided with a packing member 25 that can absorb the vibration force to prevent vibration.

When the case 10 according to the present invention is provided, the air sucked through the air suction unit 22 of the vacuum pump 141 is compressed and discharged and is not immediately discharged to the outside, but the compression process inside the case 10. Will go through. This is because the air outlet 30 of the case 10 is relatively small with respect to the amount of air discharged. At this time, the air and the noise discharged primarily from the vacuum pump 141 is compressed and hit the inner surface of the case 10, the noise is attenuated. In addition, the noise flowing while hitting the inner surface of the case 10 is attenuated by the second hit the body of the vacuum pump 141, the last remaining noise is a noise absorbing material packing member provided in the sealed case 10 Passing through the fields (23, 25) to the small air outlet (30). In this process, noise sources of the same frequency are impulsed and most of the noise is extinguished. If there is no case 10, the noise and vibration generated from the vacuum pump 141 will be transmitted to the outside as it is.

The connection lake 143 is installed to connect between the vacuum pump 141 and the receiving portion 111A through the rear side wall of the cooker body 110 and the cooker lid 120. The connection lake 143 is connected to the vacuum pump 141 via the outside of the rear side of the rice cooker body 110. The portion located at the lowest point of the connection lake 143 is exposed to the outside of the cooker body 110, the break portion 143B is formed on the exposed portion. As a result, the water sucked into the vacuum pump 141 from the receiving portion 111A naturally falls into the falling water at the disconnection portion 143B. At this time, the water receiving container 144 is provided in order to filter out the falling water falling from the cut portion (143B). The water collecting container 144 is detachably provided on the outside of the rear side of the rice cooker body 110 to seal the cut-off portion 143B of the connection lake 143 to receive water falling down. At this time, it is important that the water receiving container 144 seals the disconnection part 143B of the singing connection lake 143 to be sealed, which is the vacuum suction force of the vacuum pump 141 is the disconnection part 143B of the connection lake 143. Nevertheless, it is to be delivered as it is to the receiving portion (111A). However, when the rice stored in the accommodating portion 111A is cooled at room temperature, the amount of absorption of moisture through the connection lake 143 is not large even when the vacuum pump 141 is pressurized. Therefore, if the electric rice cooker of the present invention does not require a large capacity receiving portion 111A to store a large amount of rice, such as for commercial use, it is preferable that the water receiving container 144 is not provided. In this case, the external exposure or disconnection part 143B of the connection number 143 is unnecessary.

The first solenoid valve 148 is installed on the cooker lid 120 to selectively open and close the receiving portion 111A. As a result, the first solenoid valve 148 serves to discharge steam generated when cooking or reheating the rice, and also controls the pressure of the receiving portion 111A. For example, when cooking rice, the first solenoid valve 148 is mainly open to discharge steam generated in the accommodating portion 111A. However, when the closed time is extended, the first solenoid valve 148 is opened. As the pressure increases, it is easily switched to the pressure cooker mode. The inlet side of the first solenoid valve 148 is provided with a shielding member (148A) for preventing the leakage of the microwave.

The second solenoid valve 149 may be installed on the connection lake 143 and an additional non-return valve 139 may be installed. The second solenoid valve 149 serves to properly adjust the degree of vacuum of the accommodating portion 111A while communicating or blocking the accommodating portion 111A and the vacuum pump 141 as necessary. The non-return valve 139 permits the flow of fluid from the receiving portion 111A toward the vacuum pump 141 but blocks the flow in the opposite direction. The second solenoid valve 149 and the non-return valve 139 may be installed at the same time, but only one of the two may be installed. The inlet side of the second solenoid valve 149 is provided with a shield member 149A for preventing the leakage of the microwave.

Subsequently, a vacuum storage method performed using the electric rice cooker according to the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 12.

Referring to Figure 5, the vacuum storage method of the present invention is a step of keeping and maintaining the rice (S100), cooling the rice (S200), vacuum decompression step (S300), vacuum storage step (S400), reheating It consists of a step (S500) and the step of keeping and maintaining (S600).

Before the vacuum storage method according to the present invention is carried out, a step of cooking and cooking rice is preceded. To this end, as shown in Figure 6, the appropriate amount of water (W, water) and rice (R, Rice) is put in the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 and covers the cooker lid 120. Then, the inner lid 121 installed at the bottom of the rice cooker lid 120 covers the upper portion of the cooking container 111. At this time, the sealing O-ring 123, which is a sealing means installed at the inner lid 121, is the cooking container 111. ) And the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 is sealed while being sealed between the inner lid 121 and airtightness is maintained. In addition, the shielding O-ring 125 to prevent the leakage of the microwave (M) by shielding the gap between the shielding membranes 113 and 122 installed on the cooker body 110 and the lid, respectively.

After pressing the cooking button of the operation panel (115, see Fig. 1) installed in the cooker body 110, the power is applied to the high-voltage transformer 139 is made of high-pressure electricity. The magnetron 131 receives the high voltage electricity generated by the high voltage transformer 139 to generate the microwave (M). Then, the microwave (M) generated from the magnetron 131 is guided along the waveguide 133 and irradiated to the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 through the irradiation hole 133A. At this time, the stirring member 135 rotates by the rotating motor 137 for the stirring member to evenly distribute the microwave (M) to the receiving portion (111A). As a result, the water (water) contained in the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 is boiled in a short time and boiled rice is cooked while the rice R containing water is ripe. In this process, water vapor evaporating from the boiling water is discharged to the outside through the open first solenoid valve 148. However, when the first solenoid valve 148 is maintained in the closed state without being opened, the pressure in the accommodating portion 111A may be gradually increased to obtain the effect of the pressure cooker. After that, when the pressure in the accommodating part 111A becomes higher than a predetermined level, the first solenoid valve 148 may be opened to discharge water vapor. The opening and closing of the first solenoid valve 148 is controlled by a controller (not shown), and the control unit opens and closes the first solenoid valve 148 according to the temperature and pressure in the accommodating part 111A. The temperature and pressure in the receiving portion 111A may be measured by providing a separate temperature sensor and a pressure sensor.

Here, when the microwave (M) is irradiated according to the food weight in the cooking container 111 measured by the weighing sensor 138 installed on the cooker body 110, the control unit is linked to the control do. Meanwhile, the food to be cooked may be replaced with various foods that need to be stored after cooking, such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, as well as rice, and are not necessarily limited to rice.

Then, the vacuum storage method of the present invention is carried out in earnest. Step (S100) of maintaining and maintaining the cooked rice BR for a predetermined time as in FIG. 7 is performed (However, in FIG. 7, after the rice is cooked, the user opens the cooker lid 120 and eats a portion of the lid. The closed state). In this step, the microwave (M) is irradiated at a predetermined interval for a set time (about 40 to 50 minutes) only when the cooker lid 120 is closed. This is to keep in mind that the user can eat the cooked rice (BR) for a set time, and then take out the rice (BR) one more time, so that the user can take the warm rice (BR) even when additional eating. In this case, the irradiation time of the microwave (M) may be determined according to the weight of the cooking object measured by the weighing sensor 138, a much shorter level than when cooking is sufficient.

Thereafter, the step S200 of cooling the rice proceeds as shown in FIG. 8. In this step, the control unit stops the operation of the magnetron 131, so that the rice BR remaining in the receiving portion 111A of the cooking vessel 111 can be naturally cooled after eating. In this case, the control unit may close or open the first solenoid valve 148 and the second solenoid valve 149 after the irradiation of the microwave M is stopped, and the first solenoid valve 148 may be opened. If the steam (BR) is a small amount of steam generated during cooling is discharged to the outside.

Then, when the rice (BR) is cooled enough, the next step proceeds. However, whether the rice (BR) has cooled down to a sufficient degree is determined based on the temperature measured by a temperature sensor installed inside the rice cooker. In addition, it may be more preferable to move to the next step after considering that the rice BR is sufficiently cooled after a predetermined time, in which case, unlike the former, the temperature sensor is unnecessary and the procedure may be further simplified. Because there is.

If the rice (BR) is cooled to a sufficient degree as described above, the step (S300) for reducing the vacuum proceeds as shown in FIG. In this step, the receiving portion 111A of the cooking vessel 111 is vacuum-pressured to bring the receiving portion 111A of the cooking vessel 111 into a vacuum state. To this end, the control unit operates the vacuum pump 141 while closing the first solenoid valve 148 and opening the second solenoid valve 149. Then, the vacuum pump 141 of the cooking vessel 111 in such a way to suck the air from the receiving portion 111A of the cooking vessel 111 through the connection lake 143 as shown by the arrow and discharge it to the outside. Vacuum pressure is formed in the receiving portion 111A. Thus, the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 gradually becomes a vacuum below atmospheric pressure, and when the vacuum pressure in the receiving portion 111A reaches the set degree while being measured by the vacuum pressure sensor 147. To rise. At this time, the small amount of water sucked together with the air from the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 is not sucked into the vacuum pump 141, but the fresh water (DW) at the disconnection portion 143B of the connecting lake 143 is on the way. Being dropped and filtered by the water receiving container (144). At this time, the moisture receiving container 144 does not affect the vacuum pressure because it seals around the disconnection portion 143B located at the lowest point of the connection number 143. The end portion 143A of the connection lake 143 after the break portion 143B is connected to the air suction portion 22 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) of the vacuum pump 141. On the other hand, when the non-return valve 145 is installed on the connection lake 143 together with the second solenoid valve 149, the air flows from the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 toward the vacuum pump 141. The flow is allowed, but the flow of air is blocked in the opposite direction, so that the vacuum pressure reduction effect of the vacuum pump 141 becomes greater. For reference, the timing of vacuuming the cooking container 111 should be after the rice is sufficiently cooled to room temperature. This is because the vacuum of the cooking container 111 accommodating portion 111A is not properly formed due to a large amount of water vapor generated from the rice BR.

As described above, the noise and vibration generated by the operation of the vacuum pump 141 when the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 is reduced in vacuum are attenuated by the case 10 surrounding the vacuum pump 141. do. That is, when the air sucked through the air suction unit 22 is discharged, it is compressed while being diffused in the sealed space in the case 10. This is because the air outlet 30 of the case 10 is relatively small compared to the amount of air discharged from the vacuum pump 141. At this time, the first discharged air and noise are compressed and hit the inner surface of the case 10, the noise is attenuated. In addition, the noise that flows while hitting the inner surface of the case 10 is attenuated secondary by hitting the main body of the vacuum pump 141, the last remaining noise is packed in the sound absorbing material provided in the sealed case 10 It passes through the members 23 and 25 to the small air outlet 30. In this process, noise sources of the same frequency are impulsed and most of the noise is extinguished. As such, the noise and vibration generated by the vacuum pump 141 are effectively attenuated by the case 10 to maintain quietness as when the vacuum pump 141 is not operated.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10, the step S400 of vacuum storing the rice proceeds. In this step, even if no special measures are taken, the vacuum-reduced state is maintained as it is through the previous step (S300) while the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 is sealed. However, it is possible to prepare for an unexpected situation in which the vacuum state of the cooking container 111 accommodating portion 111A may be released. That is, the pressure of the accommodating part 111A is continuously measured by the vacuum pressure sensor 147 installed in the connecting lake 143, and if the degree of vacuum of the accommodating part 111A falls, the controller is notified immediately. Then, the control unit restores the vacuum degree of the accommodating part 111A in the cooking container 111 to the original state by operating the vacuum pump 141 immediately. In order to more easily perform this procedure without the need for the vacuum pressure sensor 147, the vacuum pump 141 may be set to operate at regular intervals, such as 12 hours or 24 hours.

As such, when the receiving portion 111A of the cooking vessel 111 containing the rice BR maintains a vacuum state, the rice (like the air, oxygen and microorganisms in the receiving portion 111A of the cooking vessel 111) There is almost no substance causing BR). Therefore, the rice BR contained in the cooking container 111 is stored near to perfection for a long time in a sterile state at room temperature without heating. That is, as canned food can be stored for a long time with almost no change in quality at room temperature, rice (BR) can be stored for a long time while maintaining the quality of the first time.

Thereafter, the step S500 of reheating the rice BR proceeds as shown in FIG. 11. This step begins after some time, when the user directly presses the reheat button (not shown) of the rice cooker before eating again. In this case, the controller opens the first solenoid valve 148 to release the vacuum of the cooking container 111 accommodating part 111A and operates the magnetron 131 to generate the microwave M. As a result, the rice (BR), which was stored in a vacuum at room temperature, receives microwaves (M) again to reach an appropriate temperature in a short time. In this process, in order to replenish moisture lost by the rice BR, a configuration of supplying water in a spray form to the cooking container 111 accommodating part 111A may be added. Although not shown for this purpose, it is only necessary to simply provide a water storage container and an injection nozzle which receives water from the water storage container and sprays the water to the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111. At this time, the amount of water supplied to the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111 may be adjusted to a small amount based on the experience value without being precisely adjusted. However, since the rice is not continuously heated to store the rice basically, the amount of water lost is only a small amount, and it is right to see that there is little need to replenish the water.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12, the step S600 of maintaining and maintaining the rice for a predetermined time is performed. In this step, the microwave (M) is irradiated at regular intervals for a set time (about 40 to 50 minutes) only when the cooker lid 120 is closed as in the first cooking. This is to keep in mind that the user can eat the cooked rice (BR) for a set time and then eat one more meal (BR) in order to allow the user to take the warm rice (BR) even during this additional meal. to be.

Then, if the rice (BR) still remains in the receiving portion 111A of the cooking container 111, the step of cooling the rice as described above (S200), vacuum decompression step (S300), vacuum storage step (S400) Vacuum the rice (BR) again through the back.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention may use various changes, modifications, and equivalents. It is clear that the present invention can be applied in the same manner by appropriately modifying the above embodiments. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the invention as defined by the limitations of the following claims.

As described above, the electric rice cooker and the vacuum storage method using the microwave and vacuum according to the present invention, because the vacuum is stored at room temperature without heating the rice, there is almost no tissue change and moisture reduction of the rice, there is a characteristic husky smell You can keep the taste of the first rice without yellowing.

In addition, the present invention can reduce the electricity consumption because it does not continuously heat to store the rice, it is possible to prevent food waste.

In addition, the present invention can be applied to not only rice, but also various foods that require storage such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and the like so as not to be damaged after cooking.

In addition, the present invention can actively cook rice and reheat in a short time by utilizing the microwave actively.

In addition, the present invention completely solves the problem of continuously irradiating microwaves for keeping warm when storing rice.

In addition, the present invention does not need to install a separate silencer or silencer while effectively attenuating noise and vibration that may occur in the vacuum pump, thereby minimizing installation costs.

In addition, the present invention can simplify the entire assembly process by modularizing the vacuum pump and the case into one.

Claims (9)

A rice cooker body having a receiving portion for receiving food such as rice and water; A cooker lid for covering and sealing the receiving portion of the cooker body; Heating means for heating food by irradiating microwaves to the receiving portion of the cooker body; Microwave and electric rice cooker comprising a vacuum means for maintaining the vacuumed state by reducing the vacuum to the receiving portion by a vacuum pump so that the cooked cooked rice can be stored in a vacuum state. The method of claim 1, wherein the heating means, A magnetron generating microwaves for heating the food; A wave guide for guiding the microwaves generated in the magnetron to the receiving portion; A stirring member for rotating and dispersing the microwaves irradiated from the waveguide; Electric rice cooker using a microwave and vacuum, characterized in that it comprises a stirring member rotating motor for rotating the stirring member. The method of claim 1, wherein the vacuum means, A vacuum pump generating a vacuum pressure for vacuum-reducing the receiving portion; A connection lake connecting the accommodation unit and the vacuum pump; The electric rice cooker using a microwave and a vacuum, characterized in that it comprises a first solenoid valve installed on the lid of the cooker to selectively communicate or cut off the receiving portion and the outside. The method of claim 3, And a second solenoid valve installed on the connection lake, the second solenoid valve selectively communicating or blocking the receiving portion and the vacuum pump. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The microwave cooker using a microwave and vacuum is installed on the connection lake and comprises a non-return valve for allowing the flow of fluid from the receiving portion in the direction of the vacuum pump but blocking the flow in the opposite direction. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The connection lake is a portion of the lowest point is connected to the vacuum pump via the outside of the cooker body, the lowest point portion of the connection lake is formed as a disconnection section for dropping water sucked by the vacuum pump in the receiving portion , The rice cooker is detachably provided in the cooker body, the electric rice cooker using a microwave and vacuum, characterized in that it further comprises a water receiving container receiving water falling while sealingly sealing the disconnection portion of the connection lake. The method of claim 3, The vacuum means further includes a case for attenuating vibration and noise generated when the vacuum pump is driven while the vacuum pump is built in the cooker body. The vacuum pump case includes: It can be combined and separated from each other, when combined to form an internal space for embedding the vacuum pump, the air intake portion of the vacuum pump protrudes to the outside and the air to discharge the air discharged from the vacuum pump to the internal space A first housing and a second housing having an outlet; Microwave and vacuum is installed along the rim of the first housing or the rim of the second housing, characterized in that it comprises a packing member of the elastic material is pressed therebetween when the first housing and the second housing is coupled; Electric rice cooker. Rice cooker body having a receiving portion for receiving food such as cooked rice and water, a rice cooker cover to cover and seal the receiving portion of the cooker body, heating means for heating the food by irradiating microwaves to the receiving portion of the cooker body, the As a vacuum storage method of an electric rice cooker using a microwave and a vacuum comprising a vacuum means for vacuum decompression of the receiving portion by a vacuum pump, Irradiating microwaves to the receiving portion with the heating means to cook rice; Cooling the cooked rice without heating; Depressurizing the receiving portion with the vacuum means when the temperature of the rice falls below a set temperature; Vacuum storage method comprising the step of storing the cooled rice as it is without heating while maintaining the vacuum reduced state of the receiving portion. The method of claim 8, Releasing the vacuum state of the container, and reheating the stored rice by irradiating the microwaves to the container by the heating means.

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