JP6175688B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker.

  In the past, the lid outer frame was sandwiched between the lid inner frame body hinged to the main unit and the locking body, and the locking body was locked to the locking portion provided on the lid inner frame body. There has been proposed a “rice cooker whose body is detachable from the main unit” (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-095579).

  Such a rice cooker has the characteristic that the cleanability of the lid can be improved while ensuring rice cooking performance and heat retention performance.

JP 2002-095579 A

  However, in the above-mentioned rice cooker, since the latching body is relatively small, the user may lose the latching body. Thus, if a user loses a locking body, the user will be unable to use the rice cooker.

  The subject of this invention is providing the rice cooker which can ensure the rice cooking performance, heat retention performance, and the cleaning property of a cover body, without using an independent small component.

Rice cooker according to the onset bright includes main unit, a lid unit, the lid heater unit, turning mechanism, the steam unit and the inner lid. The rotation mechanism connects the lid unit and the lid heater unit to the main unit so as to be rotatable. The “rotating mechanism” here is, for example, a hinge mechanism or the like. The steam unit is provided in the lid unit. The inner lid has a steam passage portion. And in this rice cooker, a rotation mechanism consists of a 1st rotation mechanism and a 2nd rotation mechanism. The first rotation mechanism connects the lid unit to the main unit so as to be rotatable. The second rotation mechanism connects the lid heater unit directly or indirectly to the main body unit so that the lid heater unit can rotate relative to the main body unit. The lid heater unit has a through hole and is sandwiched between the inner lid and the lid unit. The steam passage is inserted through the through hole and reaches the steam unit.

This cooker, respectively lid unit and the lid heater unit is pivotally connected to the main unit. For this reason, in this rice cooker, the rice cooking performance, the heat retaining performance, and the cleanability of the lid can be ensured without using independent small parts. Moreover, in this rice cooker, an internal pressure can be adjusted, without making vapor | steam almost contact a lid | cover heater unit. Therefore, with this rice cooker, the lid heater unit can be kept clean.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the rice cooker which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the rice cooker which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an expansion perspective view of the lid heater unit of the rice cooker concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state which opened the cover body fully in the rice cooker which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state which removed the inner cover from the cover heater unit in the rice cooker shown by FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state which pulled out the cover unit a little from the 1st movable part in the rice cooker shown by FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state which pulled out the cover unit completely from the 1st movable part in the rice cooker shown by FIG. It is a perspective view of the state where a lid unit was removed in a rice cooker concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention.

-First embodiment-
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention mainly includes a main unit 200, a lid unit 300, a first hinge mechanism 350, a lid heater unit 400, and a second hinge. It consists of a mechanism 450, an inner lid 500, and an inner pot 600. Hereinafter, the components of the rice cooker 100 will be described in detail.

  In this rice cooker 100, as shown in FIG. 2, a steam pan 700 is prepared as an option. A plurality of openings are formed in the outer peripheral portion of the steamer 700 over substantially the entire circumference. For this reason, the steam produced by the rice cooking performed in the lower stage is supplied to the ingredients placed on the steam pan 700. As a result, the ingredients placed on the steamer 700 are steamed.

<Components of rice cooker>
1. Main unit The main unit 200 is basically the same as the main unit of a conventional rice cooker, and includes a main body case, a heater, a hot plate, a temperature sensor, a room temperature sensor, an operation panel, a control circuit board, a power circuit board, and the like. Composed. A heater, a heat plate, a temperature sensor, a room temperature sensor, a control circuit board, a power circuit board, and the like are built in the main body case, and an operation panel is disposed on the front upper surface of the main body case. As will be described later, the first hinge mechanism 350 and the first support portion 351 are fixed to the upper rear surface of the main unit 200 (see FIGS. 1 and 3).

2. Lid Unit The lid unit 300 is mainly composed of a lid body 301, a mounting portion 302, and a steam unit 303 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7. The lid body 301 is a substantially annular member, and includes an outer lid body 301a and an inner lid body 301b. The outer lid body 301a and the inner lid body 301b are integrally fixed with screws (not shown) and the like, and a heat insulating space SP is formed therebetween to suppress heat radiation to the outside. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1, 6, and 7, a dew receptacle 306 is formed on the inner lid 301b. The dew receptacle 306 plays a role of preventing the condensed water that may be generated in the steam port 502 of the inner lid 500 from dropping or falling when the lid unit 300 is opened. A steam unit 303 is disposed in the inner hole of the lid main body 301. The mounting portion 302 is a pair of parallel plate portions. When the lid unit 300 is attached to the first hinge mechanism 350, a lid unit attaching / detaching portion 352b (described later) of the first hinge mechanism 350 is inserted into the attachment portion 302.

  The lid unit 300 is attached to the main body unit 200 through the first hinge mechanism 350 so as to be freely opened and closed. Further, the lid unit 300 can be detached from the main unit 200 (more specifically, the first movable portion 352 (see FIG. 3) of the first hinge mechanism 350) by being pulled upward in the fully opened state. It is like that. For this reason, this lid unit 300 can be washed and the like.

3. First Hinge Mechanism As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the first hinge mechanism 350 mainly includes a first support portion 351, a first movable portion 352, and a first rotation shaft 353. As described above, the first support portion 351 is fixed to the rear upper surface of the main unit 200. The first support portion 351 is provided with an eleventh bearing portion 351a. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the first movable portion 352 is a member having a substantially L-shaped cross section, and is mainly formed of a twelfth bearing portion 352a and a lid unit attaching / detaching portion 352b. The first rotating shaft 353 is inserted through the twelfth bearing portion 352a and the eleventh bearing portion 351a of the first support portion 351. That is, the first movable portion 352 is attached to the first support portion 351 so as to be rotatable by the first rotation shaft 353. The lid unit 300 is detachably attached to the lid unit attaching / detaching portion 352b.

4). Cover Heater Unit The cover heater unit 400 is a substantially annular member, as shown in FIG. 3, and includes a heater 401, a heat radiating plate 403, a heat insulating material 402, and a back plate 404. The heater 401 is a spiral heating wire and generates heat when energized. The heat radiating plate 403 is a substantially annular metal plate, and plays a role of supplying the heat generated from the heater 401 to the inner pot 600 after making it uniform. The heat insulating material 402 is a substantially annular foam or the like, and is attached to the lid unit side of the heater 401, and plays a role of preventing heat generated from the heater 401 from being transmitted to the lid unit 300. The back plate 404 seals the heater 401 and the heat insulating material 402 in cooperation with the heat radiating plate 403. Note that, as shown in FIG. 4, a steam port 502 of the inner lid 500 described later is inserted into the inner hole of the lid heater unit 400.

5. Second Hinge Mechanism As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the second hinge mechanism 450 mainly includes a second support portion 451, a second movable portion 452, and a second rotation shaft 453. The width dimension of the second hinge mechanism 450 is smaller than the width dimension of the first hinge mechanism 350 as shown in FIG. The second support part 451 is fixed to the first movable part 352 of the first hinge mechanism 350. The second support portion 451 is provided with a 21st bearing portion 451a. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the second movable portion 452 is a substantially plate-like member, and is mainly formed of a 22nd bearing portion 452a, a lid heater unit fixing portion 452b, and a rising rib 452c. Yes. A second rotating shaft 453 is inserted through the twenty-second bearing portion 452a and the twenty-first bearing portion 451a of the second support portion 451. That is, the second movable portion 452 is attached to the second support portion 451 so as to be rotatable by the second rotation shaft 453. As shown in FIG. 3, the lid heater unit 400 is fixed to the lid heater unit fixing portion 452b. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the rising rib 452 c is formed on the back side of the 22nd bearing portion 452 a and is pressed by the rear end of the lid unit 300 when the lid unit 300 is attached. When the lid unit 300 is detached, it is released from the pressing. That is, when the rising rib 452c is pressed by the rear end of the lid unit 300, the lid heater unit fixing portion 452b rises to the back side. That is, when the lid unit 300 is attached to the lid unit attaching / detaching portion 352b of the first movable portion 352, the lid heater unit 400 rises to the back side (see FIG. 5). On the other hand, when the lid unit 300 is removed from the lid unit attaching / detaching portion 352b of the first movable portion 352, the lid heater unit 400 naturally falls to the front side (see FIGS. 3 and 6). This is due to the fact that the position of the center of gravity of the lid heater unit 400 is set in front of the second rotation shaft 453 in a side view (see FIG. 5).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the second hinge mechanism 450 is designed so that the heater 401 and the heat radiating plate 403 are positioned below the second rotating shaft 453 when the lid unit 300 is in the fully closed state. (See FIG. 2).

  In addition, the second rotation shaft 453 of the second hinge mechanism 450 is positioned obliquely above and forward of the first rotation shaft 353 of the first hinge mechanism 350 in the fully closed state of the lid unit 300 (see FIG. 2). When the unit 300 is in a fully opened state, the unit 300 is located obliquely above and behind the first rotation shaft 353 of the first hinge mechanism 350. That is, when viewed with reference to the first rotation shaft 353 of the first hinge mechanism 350, “when the lid unit 300 is changed from the fully closed state to the fully opened state” or “the lid unit 300 is changed from the fully opened state to the fully closed state. When, ”the second rotation shaft 453 of the second hinge mechanism 450 moves along an arcuate trajectory centered on the first rotation shaft 353.

6). Inner lid As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the inner lid 500 is a substantially annular member, and includes an inner lid body 501 and a steam port portion 502. The inner lid body 501 is a substantially annular metal member. The steam port 502 is a substantially cylindrical elastic member, and is disposed in the inner hole of the inner lid body 501 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. As described above, when the inner lid 500 is attached to the lid heater unit 400, the steam port portion 502 is inserted into the inner hole of the lid heater unit 400, and the upper end thereof contacts the steam unit 303 of the lid unit 300. To do. The upper end portion of the steam port portion 502 functions as a packing. That is, in this rice cooker 100, the steam generated from the inner pot 600 reaches the steam unit 303 through the inner hole of the steam port portion 502.

7). Inner Pot The inner pot 600 is made of a material having good thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and is detachably accommodated in an inner pot accommodating chamber (not shown) of the main unit 200.

<Characteristics of the rice cooker according to the first embodiment of the present invention>
(1)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the lid unit 300 and the lid heater unit 400 are rotatably connected to the main unit 200, and the lid unit 300 is detachable. For this reason, in this rice cooker 100, the rice cooking performance, the heat retaining performance, and the cleanability of the lid can be secured without using independent small parts.

(2)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a rotation mechanism for the lid heater unit (second hinge mechanism 450) is prepared separately from the rotation mechanism for the lid unit (first hinge mechanism 350). Further, a rotating mechanism for the lid heater unit is provided on the movable part (first movable part 352) of the rotating mechanism for the lid unit. In this rice cooker 100, the width dimension of the second hinge mechanism 450 is smaller than the width dimension of the first hinge mechanism 350. For this reason, this rice cooker 100 can be reduced in size.

(3)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the steam generated from the inner pot 600 reaches the steam unit 303 through the inner hole of the steam port 502. For this reason, in this rice cooker 100, the internal pressure can be adjusted with almost no steam coming into contact with the lid heater unit 400. Therefore, in this rice cooker 100, the lid heater unit 400 can be kept clean.

(4)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the heat insulating material 402 is disposed in the lid heater unit 400. For this reason, the temperature rise of the lid unit 300 can be suppressed without providing the lid unit 300 with a heat insulating material.

(5)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when viewed with the first rotation shaft 353 of the first hinge mechanism 350 as a reference, “when the lid unit 300 is changed from the fully closed state to the fully opened state” or “ When the lid unit 300 is changed from the fully opened state to the fully closed state, the second rotating shaft 453 of the second hinge mechanism 450 moves along an arcuate track centering on the first rotating shaft 353. For this reason, in this rice cooker 100, the lid heater unit 400 can be greatly opened.

(6)
The rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is designed such that the heater 401 and the heat radiating plate 403 are positioned below the second rotating shaft 453 when the lid unit 300 is in a fully closed state. For this reason, in this rice cooker 100, compared with the conventional rice cooker, the heat sink 403 can be brought closer to the main body unit 200. Therefore, in this rice cooker 100, the thermal efficiency of the heater 401 can be improved. Therefore, this rice cooker 100 contributes to energy saving.

(7)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, for example, by changing the lid heater unit 400 into a common part and redesigning the lid unit 300, a model change can be performed and a derivative model is produced. can do. For this reason, this rice cooker 100 can implement | achieve suppression of the investment cost at the time of a model change or derivative model development.

  Moreover, in this rice cooker 100, even when the heater 401 of the lid heater unit 400 is disconnected or when the lid unit 300 is defective, it is only necessary to replace the lid heater unit 400 or the lid unit 300. For this reason, the economic burden on the purchaser can be reduced as compared with a rice cooker having a conventional lid body in which the lid heater unit 400 and the lid unit 300 are integrated, and disposal due to problems during assembly of the rice cooker. Parts can be reduced.

(8)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the rising rib 452c is formed on the back surface side of the twenty-second bearing portion 452a, and the rising rib 452c allows the lid unit 300 to be connected to the first movable portion 352. When attached to the lid unit attaching / detaching portion 352b, the lid heater unit 400 rises to the back side, and when the lid unit 300 is removed from the lid unit attaching / detaching portion 352b of the first movable portion 352, the lid heater unit 400 naturally moves to the front side. Fall down. For this reason, in this rice cooker 100, while being able to perform attachment or detachment of the cover unit 300 smoothly, a user's possibility of touching the cover heater unit 400 can be reduced.

<Modification>
(A)
Although the 2nd hinge mechanism 450 was provided in the 1st movable part 352 of the 1st hinge mechanism 350 in the rice cooker 100 which concerns on 1st Embodiment, even if a 2nd hinge mechanism is provided in the front upper part of a rice cooker. It may be provided on the upper side.

(B)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment, the rising rib 452c is formed on the back surface side of the twenty-second bearing portion 452a. However, the rising rib 452c may not be formed. In such a case, when the lid unit 300 is opened, the lid heater unit 400 naturally falls to the front side, and a gap is naturally formed between the lid unit 300 and the lid unit 300. For this reason, the user can easily clean the upper side of the lid heater unit 400 and the inside of the lid unit.

(C)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment, the lid unit 300 is detachable, but the lid unit may be fixed.

(D)
In the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment, the normal heater 401 is provided in the lid heater unit 400, but this heater may be replaced with an IH heater.

-Second Embodiment-
A rice cooker 100A according to the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment described above, except that the lid unit 300 and the lid heater unit 400 are attached to one shaft. For this reason, the same code | symbol as the same member is attached | subjected to the same member as the rice cooker 100 which concerns on 1st Embodiment here, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In this rice cooker 100 </ b> A, as shown in FIG. 8, both the lid unit 300 and the lid heater unit 400 are attached to the main unit 200 by the hinge mechanism 550.

  The hinge mechanism 550 includes a support portion 551, a first movable portion 552a, a second movable portion 552b, and a rotation shaft 553. In addition, the width dimension of the 2nd movable part 552b is smaller than the width dimension of the 1st movable part 552a, as FIG. 8 shows. That is, the second movable part 552b is disposed inside the first movable part 552a. The support portion 551 is fixed to the rear upper surface of the main unit 200. The support portion 551 is provided with a bearing portion (not shown). The first movable portion 552a is a member having a substantially L-shaped cross section, and is mainly formed of a first bearing portion 552c and a lid unit attaching / detaching portion 554. The second movable portion 552b is a pair of inverted L-shaped members, and is mainly formed of a second bearing portion 552d and a lid heater unit fixing portion 555. A rotation shaft 553 is inserted through the bearing portion of the support portion 551, the first bearing portion 552c, and the second bearing portion 552d. That is, the first movable portion 552a and the second movable portion 552b are mounted on the support portion 551 so as to be rotatable by the rotation shaft 553. The lid unit 300 is detachably attached to the lid unit attaching / detaching portion 554. Further, the lid heater unit 400 is fixed to the lid heater unit fixing portion 555.

100, 100A Rice cooker 200 Main unit 300 Cover unit 303 Steam unit 400 Cover heater unit 500 Inner cover 502 Steam port (steam passage section)
550 Hinge mechanism (rotating mechanism)
551 Support portion 552a First movable portion 552b Second movable portion 553 Rotating shaft

Claims (1)

The main unit,
A lid unit;
A lid heater unit;
A rotation mechanism for rotatably connecting the lid unit and the lid heater unit to the body unit;
A steam unit provided in the lid unit;
An inner lid having a steam passage portion,
The rotation mechanism includes a first rotation mechanism that rotatably connects the lid unit to the main body unit, and the lid heater unit so that the lid heater unit can rotate with respect to the main body unit. Comprising a second rotating mechanism for connecting directly or indirectly to the main unit,
The lid heater unit has a through hole and is sandwiched between the inner lid and the lid unit.
The steam passage portion is a rice cooker that is inserted through the through hole and reaches the steam unit.

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