JP3471676B2 - Insulation device for 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 heat insulating device for rice after completion of rice cooking in a rice cooker.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art On the body, bottom or lid of a rice cooker,
A warming heater is provided, and after the steaming process in rice cooking control is completed, when the temperature of the rice falls to the optimum warming temperature (about 73 ° C) due to natural cooling, the warming control is activated and the warming heater is energized to adjust the temperature. It has become.

In order to prevent the rice from becoming glossy or smelling and being deteriorated in taste during the above-mentioned heat retention control, the rice should not be left in a high temperature state for a long time after completion of cooking, in other words, in other words. It is known that it is effective that the time from the completion of cooked rice to the heat retention proper temperature and the start of heat retention control is as short as possible.

In order to achieve this, a method is provided in which a forced air cooling device is provided inside the jar body, air cooling control is entered after completion of rice cooking, and air is blown onto the outer peripheral surface of the rice cooking pot to forcibly cool the temperature of the rice. Are known (see, for example, JP-A-9-108096 and JP-A-9-266854).

[0005]

However, in the method of forced air cooling by blowing air on the outer peripheral surface of the rice cooking pot as described above, the rice is indirectly cooled, and therefore the time for lowering the temperature of the rice is reduced. However, there is a problem that it cannot be sufficiently shortened.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to directly and forcibly cool the rice so that the temperature can reach the proper temperature for the heat retention in a short time, and thereby the heat can be kept with less deterioration of the taste of the rice.

Further, according to the above forced air cooling, the surface of the rice may be excessively dried in some cases. Therefore, another object of the present invention is to suppress the drying of the surface of the rice while performing the direct forced air cooling. And

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention stores a rice cooker inside a jar body and attaches a lid to the jar body so that the lid can be opened and closed. In the heat retention device in the rice cooker that is equipped with a heat retention heater close to the rice cooker so that after the temperature of the rice has dropped to the optimum temperature for heat retention after the completion of rice cooking, the above space for the rice cooker and the outside air are attached to the lid. An intake passage and an exhaust passage are provided, and an opening / closing valve is provided in each of the intake passage and the exhaust passage, and a blower fan is provided in the intake passage, and the opening / closing valves are closed during rice cooking.
After the rice is cooked, each on-off valve is opened, and the blower fan sucks the outside air and blows the air over the upper space of the rice cooker, forcibly air-cooling the rice and lowering its temperature to the optimum temperature for heat retention. I was allowed to.

According to the above construction, since the rice is directly forcibly air-cooled, the temperature of the rice is rapidly cooled to the optimum heat retention temperature.

The opening / closing valves are provided at the outer ends of the intake passage and the exhaust passage, the blower fan is provided at the inner end of the intake passage, and the inner end of the exhaust passage is provided at the inner end. The above-mentioned heat retaining heater is provided, and a duct connects the on-off valve of the intake passage and the blower fan with the on-off valve of the exhaust passage and the heat-retaining heater. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the air is heated by the heat retention heater and the blower fan is rotated in the reverse direction so that the air heated by the heat retention heater is internally circulated through the upper space of the rice cooker.

According to the above structure, most of the devices for performing forced air cooling and subsequent heat retention are common, and the structure can be simplified.

The outer ends of the intake passage and the exhaust passage are opened to the outside through a common hole, and the intake passage and the exhaust passage are opened and closed by a common opening / closing valve provided in the common hole. You can

According to the above construction, the number of on-off valves is only one, so the number of parts can be reduced.

Further, in order to prevent the rice from being excessively dried by forced air cooling, the following constitution can be adopted.

That is, in the first configuration, when the temperature of the rice is lowered to a temperature higher than the optimum heat retention temperature by a predetermined temperature due to the forced air cooling of the blow fan, the fan is stopped and then the optimum heat retention temperature is set. It is configured to be gradually cooled to. According to this configuration, moisture is less released during slow cooling, so that rice can be prevented from drying.

In the second configuration, a humidity sensor facing the upper space of the rice cooking pot is provided in a part of the lid, and the blower fan is arranged so that the humidity data detected by the humidity sensor is kept in an appropriate range. This is a configuration for controlling air cooling by. According to this structure, the rice is prevented from being dried because the air is not forcedly cooled beyond the proper humidity.

In the third structure, the rice cooker is housed inside the jar body, the lid is attached to the jar body so as to be openable and closable, the warming heater is provided close to the rice cooker, and the rice is cooked after the rice is cooked. In the heat retention device in the rice cooker that enters the heat retention control after the temperature of the rice has decreased to the optimum temperature for heat retention, the lid is provided with an inlet for internal air and an inlet for cooling air in communication with the upper space of the rice cooker. The suction port and the blowing port are connected by a duct provided inside the lid to form a circulation passage passing through the space above the rice cooker, and a blower fan and a heat radiating means are provided in the middle of the duct. is there. According to this configuration, the water is only circulated internally and is not released to the outside, so that the rice can be prevented from drying in the same manner.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The rice cooker according to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a jar body 1 and a lid 3 attached to a lid hinge portion 2 at the rear of the jar body 1 so as to be openable and closable. A rice cooking pot 4 is stored inside the jar body 1 so that it can be taken in and out. The lid 3 is the jar body 1
The hook lever 5 is detachably engaged with the front portion of the.

The lid 3 has an inner lid 7 fitted on the inner surface of the lid body 6, and penetrates the inner lid 7 and the lid body 6 to form an intake passage at a position near the front portion of the lid 3. 8, an exhaust passage 9 is provided at a position near the rear part, and the upper space 10 of the rice cooking pot 4 and the outside air are communicated with each other through these passages 8, 9.

The intake passage 8 and the exhaust passage 9 are communicated with each other by a duct 11 provided inside the lid body 6. Inside the intake passage 8, a blower fan 12 is provided inward of the connecting end of the duct 11, and an on-off valve 13 is rotatably attached to the upper part of the connecting end of the duct 11. That is, one end of the duct 11 is connected to the intake passage 8 between the blower fan 12 and the opening / closing valve 13.

The on-off valve 13 normally closes the intake passage 8 above the connecting end of the duct 11 as shown by the solid line in FIG. When driven by the action of the actuator 14 such as an electromagnetic solenoid, it closes the duct 11 and opens the intake passage 8 as shown by the broken line.

In the exhaust passage 9, a heat retaining heater 15 is provided inward of the connecting end of the duct 11, and an on-off valve 16 is rotatably attached to the upper part of the connecting end of the duct 11. That is, the other end of the duct 11 is located between the heat insulation heater 15 and the on-off valve 16 and the exhaust passage 9
Connected to.

The on-off valve 16 normally closes the exhaust passage 9 above the connecting end of the duct 11 as shown by the solid line in FIG. When driven by the action of the actuator 17 such as an electromagnetic solenoid, the duct 11 is closed and the exhaust passage 9 is opened as shown by a broken line.

The inner lid 7 has a heater 18 for preventing dew condensation.
Is attached, and a humidity sensor 19 is attached so as to face above the rice cooking pot 4. Further, inside the jar body 1, a temperature sensor 20 for detecting the temperature of the rice via the rice cooking pot 4 is provided.

The vapor hole set 3 is provided at an appropriate position on the lid 3.
1 is provided, and steam generated during cooking rice is discharged from the steam hole.

The first embodiment is as described above,
With the on-off valves 13 and 16 closing the intake passage 8 and the exhaust passage 9, rice is cooked as usual. Rice cooking is performed by controlling the power supply to the rice cooking heater (or an electromagnetic induction coil in the case of an IH rice cooker) by a controller (not shown).

When the steaming process by the rice cooking control is completed, the control shifts to the rapid cooling control. On-off valves 13 and 1 for rapid cooling control
6 is opened and the blower fan 12 is driven.
Then, the outside air sucked from the intake passage 8 will be the rice cooker 4
Is blown into the upper space 10 and the rice 28 is forcibly cooled by air.

Further, the hot air existing in the upper space 10 is discharged from the exhaust passage 9 to the outside. As a result, the rice 28 is gradually cooled from its surface to the inside. Temperature sensor 2
When 0 indicates that the temperature of the rice 28 has reached the optimum heat retention temperature, the blower fan 12 is stopped, and the on-off valves 13 and 16 are closed to complete the rapid cooling control.

Next, the control is shifted to the heat retention control, the blower fan 12 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the heat retention heater 15 is energized to set the internal circulation path of the blower fan 12, the duct 11, the heat retention heater 15, and the upper space 10. After that, warm air is supplied to the rice 28 to keep it warm.

It should be noted that the heat retention may be performed by a heat retention heater provided around the rice cooking pot 4 as usual. In that case, as shown in FIG. 3, the duct 11 and the heat retention heater 15 are omitted from the above configuration, and the intake passage 8 having the opening / closing valve 13 and the blower fan 12 and the exhaust passage 9 having only the opening / closing valve 16 are provided. . In this case, the heat retaining heater 29 is the protective cylinder 30.
Is attached to the outer peripheral surface of.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the overall structure of the rice cooker is similar to that described above, but the outer ends of the intake passage 8 and the exhaust passage 9 are one common above the intake passage 8. A common opening / closing valve 22 is provided inside the common hole 21. The exhaust passage 9 is communicated below the common opening 21 below the common opening / closing valve 22 through the duct 11. A blower fan 12 is provided in the intake passage 8,
Further, the point that the heat insulation heater 15 is provided in the exhaust passage 9 is
This is the same as in the above embodiment.

The common on-off valve 22 is driven by the actuator 14 inside the lid body 6.

Since the second embodiment is as described above, during the rice cooking control, the common opening / closing valve 22 closes the common hole 21 as shown by the solid line. When the rapid cooling control is started, this is opened as shown by the broken line, the blower fan 12 is driven to send the outside air into the inside to cool the rice 28, and the hot air inside is exhausted through the exhaust passage 9 and the duct 1.
1. Discharge to the outside through the path of the common hole 21. When the warming control is started, the common opening / closing valve 22 is closed, the warming heater 15 is energized, and the blower fan 12 is rotated in the reverse direction to send warm air to the inside to keep the rice 28 warm.

The third embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is provided with a check valve type common on-off valve 22 'in place of the common on-off valve 22 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. This common on-off valve 2
2'is formed of an elastic sheet of rubber or the like, has a slit 32 in the center, and in a normal state, both side portions of the slit 32 are directed downward and are overlapped in a palm-like shape to be in a closed state. Although it is in the closed state during the rice cooking control, when the blower fan 12 is driven by entering the rapid cooling control, the suction force causes the slit 32 to be opened, and the rice 28 is cooled by the outside air fed into the inside. The hot air inside is discharged to the outside through the exhaust passage 9, the duct 11, and the slit 32.

When the warming control is entered, when the warming heater 15 is energized and the blower fan 12 is rotated in the reverse direction, the slit 32 is closed by the elasticity of the elastic sheet, so that the warm air heated by the warming heater 15 enters inside. Sent in,
Insulate rice 28.

The common check valve 22 'of the check valve type as described above
With, it is not necessary to use an actuator for its operation.

In place of the heat retaining heater 15 instead of the above heat retaining,
Insulating heater 2 mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the protective cylinder 30 as usual
9 may be used.

In any of the above-described first to third embodiments, the temperature at which the quenching control is completed is set to a temperature higher than the optimum temperature keeping temperature by a required temperature (for example, 80 ° C.), and the temperature is reached. Then, the blower fan 12 may be stopped and then gradually cooled by natural cooling until the temperature is lowered to the optimum heat retention temperature.

When controlled in this way, the amount of water released is reduced during slow cooling, so that the rice 28 is less likely to dry, and the rice can be kept warm without losing its umami.

The blower fan 12 keeps the humidity data detected by the humidity sensor 19 within an appropriate range.
It is possible to prevent the rice from drying by controlling the strength of the cooling by or controlling it to be intermittent.

Next, in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the overall structure of the rice cooker is the same as that described above, but in this case, the inner lid 7 of the lid 3 and the upper space 10 of the rice cooker 4 are arranged. Suction port 23 for internal air and blowing port 2 for cooling air communicating with
4 are provided, and these suction port 23 and blowing port 24 are provided.
Communicates with the duct 25 through the upper space 10 of the rice cooking pot 4.
To form a circulation passage.

The blower fan 12 is provided inside the duct 25 near the blow-in port 24, and the duct 2 is also provided.
A large number of heat radiation fins 26 are provided on the outer surface of the lid 5, and a vent hole 27 is provided on the surface of the lid body 6.

In this case, when the rapid cooling control is started, the blower fan 1
2 sucks the hot air of the upper space 10 through the suction port 23, radiates the heat by the heat radiation fins 26 to cool it while passing through the duct 25, and blows the cooled air into the upper space 10 through the blowing port 24 to cook the rice 28. Allow to cool. The heat retention control in this case is performed by energizing the heat retention heater 29 mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the protective cylinder 30 as in the conventional case.

According to the above-mentioned fourth embodiment, the steam inside does not circulate and water is not lost.
Is prevented from drying.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, after the rice cooking control is completed, cold air is blown directly to the rice by the blower fan to force the air to cool. It can be shortened. This allows
You can keep warm without losing the gloss of rice and without smelling.

Further, the cooling by the forced air cooling is completed at a temperature higher than the optimum heat retention temperature by a predetermined temperature, and thereafter, the temperature is lowered to the optimum heat retention temperature by gradual cooling, and the proper humidity is maintained by the detection value of the humidity sensor. Rapid cooling control, and the adoption of other means such as a circulation passage that connects the inlet and outlet with a duct that has a heat dissipation means, to quickly reduce the temperature to the optimum temperature while preventing the rice from drying. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the above.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a modification example of the above.

FIG. 4 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a partially omitted sectional view of a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partially omitted sectional view of a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 jar body 2 Lid hinge part 3 lid 4 rice cooker 5 hook lever 6 Lid body 7 Inner lid 8 Intake passage 9 exhaust passage 10 Upper space 11 ducts 12 Blower fan 13 open / close valve 14 Actuator 15 Heat insulation heater 16 open / close valve 17 Actuator 18 Dew condensation prevention heater 19 Humidity sensor 20 temperature sensor 21 common hole 22, 22 'common open / close valve 23 Suction mouth 24 Blowing mouth 25 ducts 26 Radiation fin 27 Vent 28 rice 29 Heat insulation heater 30 protective tube 31 steam hole set 32 slits

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP 2001-70145 (JP, A) JP 10-127487 (JP, A) JP 7-163454 (JP, A) JP 4-307010 (JP, A) JP-A-3-191915 (JP, A) JP-A-56-145821 (JP, A) JP-A-4-276220 (JP, A) JP-A-7-51161 (JP, A) Actual Kaihei 4-73318 (JP, U) Actual exploitation Sho 51-45991 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47J 27/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rice cooker is stored inside the jar body, a lid is attached to the jar body so that the lid can be opened and closed, and a warming heater is provided close to the rice cooker to keep the temperature of the rice warm after the rice is cooked. In the heat retention device in the rice cooker that enters the heat retention control after the temperature has dropped to the optimum temperature,
The lid is provided with an intake passage and an exhaust passage that communicate with the upper space of the rice cooker and the outside air, and an opening / closing valve is provided in each of the intake passage and the exhaust passage, and a blower fan is provided in the intake passage to cook rice. Closes each on-off valve described above, opens each on-off valve after completion of rice cooking, sucks outside air by the air blower fan and blows air into the upper space of the rice cooker, thereby forcibly air cooling the rice , By its forced air cooling
The temperature of the cooked rice is a certain temperature higher than the optimum temperature for heat retention.
Stop the blower fan when
The heat retention device in the rice cooker is characterized by being gradually cooled to the optimum heat retention temperature . [2] When the rice cooker is stored inside the jar body
Attach the lid to the above jar body so that it can be freely opened and closed.
After the rice cooker is complete, a warming heater is installed close to the rice cooker described above.
Insulation control after the temperature of the rice has dropped to the optimal insulation temperature
In the heat retention device in the rice cooker that was able to enter,
The lid above sucks the air through the upper space of the rice cooker and the outside air.
The air passage and the exhaust passage are provided, and the intake passage and the exhaust passage
Open the outer end side to the outside through a common hole, and
A common on-off valve with the passage and exhaust passage provided in the common hole above.
Ri and closing, provided with a wind fan sent to the inner end side of the intake passage, the heat insulating heater provided at the inner end side of the exhaust passage, and between the closing valve and the blower fan of the intake passage, A duct connects the on-off valve of the exhaust passage and the heat insulation heater, and the above-mentioned on-off valve is closed during rice cooking.
After the completion, open the on-off valve and use the blower fan described above.
To suck the outside air and blow it into the upper space of the rice cooker
This will force the rice to air cool and maintain its temperature above the above.
The temperature is lowered to the optimum temperature, the above-mentioned on-off valves are closed in the above heat retention control, the above heat retention heater is energized, and the blower fan is reversed, whereby the air heated by the above heat retention heater is removed. insulation device in 炊 rice jar it characterized thereby internal circulation through the upper space of the cooking pot.