JP3120628B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rice cooker used in ordinary households.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, rice cookers controlled by a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) have become the mainstream in the market. Is controlled. When the rice cooking is completed, the operation automatically shifts to a warming operation.

[0003]

However, since the temperature of rice during heat insulation is set at about 70 ° C. by JIS, there is a problem that the rice during heat insulation is not as good in taste as freshly cooked rice. Had.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker capable of finishing the rice being kept warm with a simple configuration.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an inner pot containing rice and the like, a heating means for heating the inner pot, and a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the inner pot. A rice cooking control unit that performs a rice cooking operation according to a rice cooking pattern set using the heating unit, a heat retention control unit that performs a heat retention operation according to a heat retention pattern set using the heating unit, and the heating unit. The rice cooker is provided with reheating control means for performing a reheating operation according to a reheating pattern set using the reheating control means, and the reheating control means terminates the reheating operation after a set time has elapsed and automatically shifts to a heat retention operation. When the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means reaches the first set temperature close to the freshly cooked rice temperature within the set time, the reheating operation is terminated at that time and the heat retaining operation is performed. Migrated, when setting from the re-heating operation start
During the interval, the heat retention display element flashes, and the set time elapses
Then, the heat retention display element is changed from blinking to lighting,
To notify the end of reheating .

Further, the present invention suspends the reheating operation while the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means within the set time exceeds the first set temperature which is close to the freshly cooked rice temperature. Is performed.

[0007]

According to the above construction, the reheating operation is performed by the reheating control means for executing the reheating operation in accordance with the reheating pattern set by using the heating means. The rice inside can also be delicious , and the heat retention display element
The appropriate indication used indicates that the user is currently
You can know that.

[0008]

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an inner pot for storing rice and the like;
2 is a heating means for heating the inner pot 1; 3 is a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the inner pot 1; 4 is a rice cooking control means for executing a rice cooking operation in accordance with a rice cooking pattern set by using the heating means 2; 5, a heat retention control means for executing a heat retention operation in accordance with a heat retention pattern set by using the heating means 2,
Reference numeral 6 denotes a reheating control unit that executes a reheating operation in accordance with a reheating pattern set by using the heating unit 2.

Next, the operation of this configuration will be described. When an appropriate amount of rice and water are set in the inner pot 1 and a rice cooking command is issued, the rice cooking control means 4 uses the heating means 2 to obtain the temperature information from the temperature detecting means 3 while performing the rice cooking operation according to the set rice cooking pattern. Execute When the rice cooking is completed, the heat retention control means 5 automatically uses the heating means 2 to detect the temperature
While keeping the temperature information from, the warming operation is executed according to the set warming pattern. Here, when a reheating command is issued, the reheating control unit 6 executes the reheating operation according to the set reheating pattern while obtaining the temperature information from the temperature detection unit 3 using the heating unit 2. After a set time, the rice that is kept warm can be turned into hot, almost cooked rice.

Here, the reheating operation will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A shows the case where the temperature of the inner pot does not reach the first set temperature within the set time by the temperature detecting means. At this time, the reheating operation is ended at the end of the set time, and the operation shifts to the heat keeping operation. . FIG. 2 (b) shows a case where the temperature of the inner pot reaches the first set temperature within the set time by the temperature detecting means. Move to operation. It is desirable that this setting time be set within about 5 minutes from the expected value of the user. During this time, the rice is brought to a temperature close to freshly cooked, and the first time is set so that the rice can be eaten without overdrying or scorching. It is desirable to design a set temperature and a reheating pattern.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
When the operation shifts from the rice cooking operation to the warming operation, the rice cooking display element switches from a lighting state to a light-off state, and the heat-retention display element switches from a light-off state to a lighting state. Here, if a reheating instruction is given during the heat retention, the heat retention display element blinks within a preset time, and this display allows the user to know that the reheating operation is currently being performed. Then, when the set time is over, the heat retention display element is switched from the blinking state to the lighting state, and the user can be notified of the end of the reheating by a notification means such as a buzzer. It is desirable that the buzzer notification method at this time be the same as the rice cooking completion notification in order to have the user recognize that it is time to eat.

FIG. 4 shows the correlation between the detected temperature of the inner pot by the temperature detecting means during the warming operation from the end of the rice cooking operation and the reception area of the reheating operation. That is, since the detected temperature of the inner pot is higher than the second set temperature in the regions (a) and (b) immediately after the completion of the cooking, the reheating operation is not accepted.
In regions (b) to (c), the reheating operation is accepted because the detected temperature of the inner pot is lower than the second set temperature and higher than the third set temperature. In the areas (c) to (d), the detected temperature of the inner pot is lower than the second set temperature and higher than the third set temperature, but since the heat keeping operation has been stopped by the heat keeping cancel instruction, the reheating operation is not accepted. In the regions (d) to (e), the reheating operation is accepted because the temperature of the inner pot is being kept lower than the second set temperature and higher than the third set temperature during the heat keeping operation. (E) ~
In the area (f), the reheating operation is not accepted because the heat retaining operation has been stopped by the heat retaining cancellation instruction. In the areas (f) to (g), the heat retention operation is being performed, but the reheating operation is not accepted because the detected temperature of the inner pot is lower than the third set temperature. The area after (g) is in a warming operation, and the reheating operation is accepted because the detected temperature of the inner pot is lower than the second set temperature and higher than the third set temperature. Also, when the user gives a reheating instruction by key operation in an area where reheating is not accepted, by notifying by a notification means such as a buzzer, it can be confirmed that the rice cooker is operating normally, and reheating is performed. It is in a state of rice that is sufficiently warm even without it (the state where the detected temperature of the inner pot is higher than the second set temperature), or the rice is too cold and takes a long time to reheat (the detected temperature of the inner pot is (Third set temperature). Since the buzzer notification method at this time is different from the case of notifying the end of reheating, it is necessary to warn the user that it is out of the usable range, the notification method is different from the existing notification method (for example, the on / off time). Or a method of changing the number of times).

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 7 denotes a standby mode in which the rice cooker waits for input before shifting to various operations, 8 denotes a rice cooking mode in which the rice cooker shifts by input of a rice cooker key 11 to execute a rice cooking operation, and 9 denotes a rice cooking mode. The process automatically shifts at the same time as the end of step 8, or shifts from the standby mode 7 by inputting the cancel / heat key 12 and executes the heat-retention operation. This is the reheating mode. The cancel / warm key 12 functions as a cancel key in the rice cooking mode 8, the warm mode 9 and the reheating mode 10, and returns to the standby mode 7 when this key is pressed. Also, in the standby mode 7, it functions as a heat retention key. When this key is pressed, the mode shifts to the heat retention mode 9. Here, the reason why the mode is not shifted to the heat retaining mode 9 when the reheating mode 10 is canceled is to simplify the function assignment of the cancel / heat keeping key 12, and it is desired to return the forced canceling during the reheating to the standby mode 7. This is because it may be considered that returning to the heat retention mode 9 is not always an absolute condition. Therefore, when returning to the warming mode 9 after canceling the reheating, the cancel / warm key 12 may be pressed again.

Embodiment 2 Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the reheating operation is stopped at the same time when the first set temperature is reached, and the heat retention operation is performed.
When the temperature of the inner pot by the temperature detecting means becomes equal to or lower than the first set temperature, the reheating operation is restarted again, and the reheating operation is terminated when the set time comes, whether during the reheating operation or during the heat retention operation. To do.

In this way, rice having a temperature close to freshly cooked can be produced after the set time.

[0018]

As apparent from the above embodiment according to the present invention, according to the present invention, finish rice piping hot near cooked after the set time, the rice in insulation can also get delicious Rutotomoni, incubated display device For proper display using
The user can know that the reheating operation is currently in progress.
it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a time chart at the time of reheating operation of the rice cooker.

FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram of a display element of the rice cooker.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram of the detected temperature of the inner pot by the temperature detecting means of the rice cooker.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an operation mode of the rice cooker.

FIG. 6 is a time chart at the time of a reheating operation of the rice cooker according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 inner pot 2 heating means 3 temperature detection means 4 rice cooking control means 5 heat retention control means 6 reheating control means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shinichi Sato 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor: Atsushi Niiyama 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Miwa Yamamoto 1006, Odaka, Kazuma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Koji Niiyama 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture (72) Inside the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 7244 (JP, A) JP-A-55-151918 (JP, A) JP-A-3-63016 (JP, A) JP-A-61-33618 (JP, A) 328 (JP, U) Shokai 55-177324 (JP, U) Shokai 56-6315 (JP, U) JP-B 62-44929 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47J 27/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An inner pot for accommodating rice or the like, a heating means for heating the inner pot, a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of the inner pot, and rice cooking in accordance with a rice cooking pattern set by using the heating means. Rice cooking control means for performing an operation, heat retention control means for performing a heat retention operation according to a heat retention pattern set using the heating means, and reheating operation according to a reheating pattern set using the heating means Reheating control means, wherein the reheating control means terminates the reheating operation after a set time elapses and automatically shifts to a heat retention operation, and detects the temperature by the temperature detection means within the set time. When the temperature reaches the first set temperature close to the freshly cooked rice temperature, the reheating operation is terminated at that point and the operation shifts to the warming operation.
Flashes the temperature display element, and when the set time elapses,
Change the heat retention display element from blinking to lighting, and re-
A rice cooker that notifies the end of heating . 2. An inner pot for accommodating rice and the like, heating means for heating the inner pot, temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the inner pot, and rice cooking in accordance with a rice cooking pattern set by using the heating means. Rice cooking control means for performing an operation, heat retention control means for performing a heat retention operation according to a heat retention pattern set using the heating means, and reheating operation according to a reheating pattern set using the heating means Having a reheating control means, wherein the reheating control means terminates the reheating operation after the set time has elapsed and automatically shifts to the heat retention operation, and within the set time, the temperature detection means While the detected temperature exceeds the first set temperature close to the freshly cooked rice temperature, pause the reheating operation and perform the heat retention operation, and keep the heat retention table for the set time from the start of the reheating operation.
Blinks the indicator element and keeps the temperature
Change the display element from blinking to lighting, and reheat by the notification means
Rice cooker to notify the end .