JP6854907B2 - rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a separate type rice cooker composed of a rice cooker for accommodating an object to be cooked inside and an induction heating cooker for cooking by placing the rice cooker on the upper surface.

Conventionally, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is composed of a rice cooker for accommodating an object to be cooked inside and a hollow box-shaped induction heating cooker for cooking by placing the rice cooker on the upper surface. Separate rice cookers are known. The rice cooker of Patent Document 1 can be used by carrying the rice cooker to the table as a bowl by separating the rice cooker and the induction heating cooker, and the induction cooker can be used alone as an IH cooker. can do.

JP-A-2017-079207

In the rice cooker disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the separated rice cooker is carried to the table as a bowl and placed on a table or the like, the upper surface of the table is heated by the bottom surface of the rice cooker heated by the induction heating cooker. Will be done. Therefore, when a sheet such as a table cloth that is easily deformed by heat is laid on the upper surface of the table, the sheet may be heated by the rice cooker and deformed or the like.
In addition, since the weight of the rice cooking section containing rice and water is heavier than that of a normal pot or the like, the rice cooking section is repeatedly placed on the induction cooking section after long-term use, and the induction heating cooking section is used. However, there is a possibility that the rice may be deformed depending on the weight of the rice cooking unit, and the facing distance between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit may change, which may lead to a situation in which the expected rice cooking operation cannot be performed.

The present invention is for solving the above-mentioned problems, the heat of the bottom surface of the heated rice cooker can be effectively dissipated to the outside, and the upper surface of the table or the like on which the rice cooker is placed is excessive. The first purpose is to provide a rice cooker that can prevent the situation of being heated.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker capable of stably mounting the cooked rice section by enhancing the mechanical strength of the induction cooking section on which the heated rice cooker is placed.

For the first purpose, the rice cooker according to the present invention includes a rice cooker for accommodating an object to be cooked inside and an induction cooking unit for cooking by placing the rice cooking unit on an upper surface. The cooking unit includes an induction heating coil that heats the rice cooking unit, a lead switch that detects that the rice cooking unit is placed on the induction heating cooking unit, and a cooling fan that supplies cooling air to the induction heating coil. The rice cooking unit has an infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit that transmits an infrared signal between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit, and the rice cooking unit has an upper case forming an outer shell and a lower case of the upper case. An annular lower frame made of a heat-resistant material provided adjacent to the end face and below the upper case is provided, and the induction cooking section has a size that overlaps the plastic upper lid and the upper lid. A plastic lower case is provided, and an upwardly extending partition wall is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case, and the partition wall partitions the internal space of the induction cooking section. An air passage through which the cooling air of the cooling fan flows is formed on the induction heating coil side of the partition wall, and the lead switch is arranged on the opposite side of the partition wall from the cooling fan . It is a thing.

For the second purpose, the rice cooker according to the present invention includes a rice cooker for accommodating an object to be cooked inside and an induction heating cooker for cooking by placing the rice cooker on an upper surface. The cooking unit has an induction heating coil for heating the rice cooking unit and a cooling fan for supplying cooling air to the induction heating coil, and transmits an infrared signal between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit. The rice cooker includes an upper case for forming an outer shell and an annular lower frame made of a heat-resistant material provided below the lower end surface of the upper case. The cooking unit includes an upper lid made of a heat-resistant material provided with a top plate on which the rice cooking unit is placed, and a lower case having a bottom whose upper surface opening is closed by the upper lid. A partition wall formed integrally with at least one of the upper lid and the lower case is provided between the two , and the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit is arranged on the opposite side of the partition wall from the cooling fan . It is a thing.
Further, for the second purpose, the rice cooker according to the present invention includes a rice cooker for accommodating an object to be cooked inside and an induction heating cooker for cooking by placing the rice cooker on an upper surface. Inside the induction heating cooking unit, an induction heating coil for heating the rice cooking unit, an infrared signal transmission / reception unit for transmitting an infrared signal between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit, and cooling to the induction heating coil. A cooling fan for supplying wind is provided, and the induction heating cooking unit includes a plastic upper lid and a plastic lower case having a size overlapping the upper lid, and the induction heating unit is provided on the upper lid. A top plate on which the rice cooker is placed is overlapped and fixed, a mounting seat for holding the induction heating coil is integrally formed on the lower surface of the upper lid, and a mounting seat for holding the induction heating coil is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case. A partition wall extending upward is integrally formed beside the intake port, and a cushioning material made of a heat insulating material is arranged between the upper end of the partition wall and the lower surface of the upper lid. Is arranged on the side opposite to the cooling fan with the partition wall in between.
Further, for the second purpose, the rice cooker according to the present invention includes a rice cooker for accommodating an object to be cooked inside and an induction heating cooker for cooking by placing the rice cooker on an upper surface. Inside the induction heating cooking section, an induction heating coil for heating the rice cooking section, a lead switch for detecting that the rice cooking section is placed on the induction heating cooking section, and cooling air are applied to the induction heating coil. A cooling fan for supplying is provided, and the induction heating cooking unit includes a plastic upper lid and a plastic lower case having a size overlapping the upper lid, and the rice cooking unit is provided on the upper lid. The top plate on which the rice cooker is placed is overlapped and fixed, and a partition wall extending upward is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case, and the lead switch is located on the opposite side of the cooling fan with the partition wall in between. It is the one that is arranged.

For the second purpose, the rice cooker according to the present invention has a top plate, an induction heating coil arranged below the top plate, and a second input operating means for inputting heating conditions of the induction heating coil. The rice cooking unit includes a box-shaped induction heating unit, an inner pot heated by the induction heating coil, and a rice cooking unit including a first input operation unit for inputting rice cooking conditions. , The induction heating coil is heated by driving the induction heating coil in a state of being placed on the top plate of the induction heating cooking section, and the induction heating coil is cooled inside the induction heating cooking section. An infrared signal transmission / reception unit for transmitting an infrared signal including control information for rice cooking between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit, and the rice cooking unit. respectively and the power transmission coil for supplying power, a to the induction cooking unit has a plastic lid, the outer shell case overlapping the lower case to upper and lower plastic having a size overlapping said upper lid A partition wall that is formed and extends in the direction of the upper lid to receive the load of the upper lid is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case, and the transmission coil is supported so as to project upward from the bottom of the lower case. It is supported by legs, and the infrared signal transmission / reception unit is arranged on the opposite side of the partition wall from the cooling fan .

According to the rice cooker of the first invention according to the present invention, the lower frame of the rice cooker can prevent the heat of the bottom surface of the rice cooker from excessively heating the upper surface of the table or the like on which the rice cooker is placed.
Further, according to the rice cooker of the second invention, the mechanical strength of the induction heating cooking section on which the rice cooking section is placed can be increased, the rice cooking section can be stably placed, and stable rice cooking operation can be expected.

It is an external perspective view of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention as seen from the top surface side. It is a side view of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a side view which shows the internal structure of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention by partially breaking. It is a front view which shows the internal structure of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention by partially breaking. It is an external perspective view of the rice cooker part of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention as seen from the bottom side. It is an external perspective view which showed the induction heating cooking part of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an external perspective view which showed the different form of the induction heating cooking part of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view of the induction heating cooking part of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a vertical cross-sectional view when viewed with X1-X1 line of FIG. It is a vertical cross-sectional view when viewed by the Y1-Y1 line of FIG. It is a vertical sectional view of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a vertical sectional view of the main part of the left side part of the rice cooker of FIG. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the front part of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention in an enlarged manner. It is a top view which shows the induction heating cooking part of the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention. FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line X2-X2 of FIG. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the front half part of the induction heating cooking part in the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 6 of this invention. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the lower part of the rice cooking part and the induction heating cooking part in the rice cooker which concerns on Embodiment 7 of this invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a front portion of an induction heating cooking portion and a front lower portion of a rice cooking portion in the rice cooker according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a left side portion of an induction heating cooking portion and a left side portion of a rice cooking portion in the rice cooker according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. Further, in the drawings below, the relationship between the sizes of the constituent members may differ from the actual one.

Embodiment 1.
The rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment as viewed from the upper surface side. FIG. 2 is a side view of the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view of the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment, which is partially broken to show the internal structure. FIG. 4 is a front view of the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment, which is partially broken to show the internal structure. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the rice cooker 1 of the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment as viewed from the bottom surface side.

As shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 1, in the following description, "right" indicates the right side and "left" indicates the left side. Also, "rear" indicates the rear, and "front" indicates the forward direction. Unless otherwise specified, such a definition indicates the direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment includes a rice cooker 1 for accommodating an object to be cooked inside and an induction heating cooker 2 for cooking by placing the rice cooker 1 on the upper surface. It is a configured separate rice cooker. The rice cooker 100 can be used independently by separating the rice cooking unit 1 and the induction heating cooking unit 2. That is, in the rice cooker 100, the separated rice cooking unit 1 can be carried to the table as a bowl and used, and the separated induction heating cooking unit 2 can be used as an IH cooker. The rice cooking unit 1 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 are provided with a control unit 40 (see FIG. 2) and a control unit 23 (see FIG. 3), respectively, and are connected to the control unit 40 and the control unit 23, respectively. Wireless communication is performed at the communication terminal (infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41) (for infrared communication). The communication terminal will be described in detail later. The control unit 23 and the control unit 40 each use a microcomputer as a central control unit which is a core.

Since the induction heating cooking unit 2 has a power cord provided at one end with a power plug that can be connected to a household power source, the induction heating cooking unit 2 can be used alone. On the other hand, the rice cooking unit 1 operates by activating the induction heating cooking unit 2 connected to the power source and receiving electric power from the induction heating coil 24 built in the induction heating cooking unit 2 by a non-contact power supply method. .. That is, the rice cooking unit 1 cannot be operated by itself without the power feeding unit 29 described later. The non-contact power supply is provided to the power receiving coil 51 (see FIG. 3) provided at the bottom of the rice cooking unit 1 and the power transmitting coil 50 arranged on the ceiling of the induction heating cooking unit 2 so as to be directly below the power receiving coil 51. (See FIG. 3).

In FIG. 3, the power feeding unit 29 is provided in a space behind the inner pot 13. The power feeding unit 29 is composed of, for example, a secondary battery such as a lead storage battery, a nickel hydrogen storage battery, or a lithium ion storage battery. The power feeding unit 29 is not limited to being composed of a secondary battery, and may be composed of a primary battery such as a dry battery. As described above, when the power supply unit 29 is composed of the primary battery, it is desirable to provide the power supply unit 29 at a position where the primary battery of the power supply unit 29 can be easily replaced in consideration of the possibility of replacing the power supply unit 29. ..

The control unit 40 of the rice cooking unit 1 is operated by the electric power obtained by the power receiving coil 51. Further, the first display unit 42 also performs a display operation by the electric power obtained by the power receiving coil 51.

First, the configuration of the rice cooking unit 1 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rice cooking unit 1 is rotatably connected to the main body 10 by a hinge mechanism 12 and a main body 10 having an open upper surface so that the upper opening of the main body 10 can be opened and closed. A lid 11 for covering is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the main body 10 has a bottomed tubular shape, and the inner pot 13 is detachably mounted inside. A lid opening / closing button 10a for opening / closing the lid 11 is provided on the front surface side of the main body 10. By pressing the lid open / close button 10a, the user can release the closed state of the lid 11 and open the main body 10.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a handle 14 for carrying the rice cooking portion 1 separated from the induction heating cooking portion 2 is attached to the main body portion 10. The handle 14 has a substantially U-shape, and both ends thereof are rotatably attached to the left and right side surfaces of the main body 10.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main body 10 is provided with a bottom wall 10P protruding from the bottom toward the induction cooking section 2 along the outer edge of the bottom. The bottom wall 10P is formed with a wall surface opening 30 that communicates the inside and the outside surrounded by the bottom wall 10P.

The main body 10 is provided below the upper case 10C so as to cover the entire opening of the bottom surface of the upper case 10C integrally formed from the plastic material constituting the outer shell and the bottom surface of the upper case 10C, and is heat resistant. It is provided with an annular lower frame 10B made of a sex material.

The lower frame 10B is connected to the upper case 10C with screws (not shown) so as to cover the bottom surface of the upper case 10C, and the lower portion of the lower frame 10B protrudes toward the induction cooking unit 2. It becomes. The material of the lower frame 10B is, for example, PET or PA. The material of the upper case 10C is PP, ABS, or the like. "PET" refers to polyethylene terephthalate. Further, "PA" means polyamide and "PP" means polypropylene.

A large circular hole 16 is formed in the central portion of the lower frame 10B. The container 17 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape and covers the periphery of the bottomed cylindrical inner pot 13, which will be described later. The bottom surface of the container 17 fits tightly into the hole 16 and seals the hole 16. The material of the container 17 is, for example, PET or PA.

In FIG. 3, the broken line PL1 is a horizontal line indicating the position of the uppermost surface of the lower frame 10B. As can be seen from the broken line PL1, the lower frame 10B is a component having a small height dimension (about 10 mm to 20 mm) and an annular (ring-shaped) planar shape.

The broken line PL1 shown in FIG. 3 indicates the height (range) at which the boundary between the upper case 10C and the lower frame 10B can be recognized on the appearance of the rice cooking unit 1.
Hereinafter, PL1 is referred to as a "first separation line".

The wall surface opening 30 is a trapezoidal notch hole formed by cutting out the bottom wall 10P of the lower frame 10B. A plurality of wall surface openings 30 (12 in the illustrated example) are formed at intervals along the entire circumference of the lower frame 10B. The wall surface opening 30 transfers the heat of the bottom surface of the heated rice cooking unit 1 to the outside when the rice cooking unit 1 separated from the induction heating cooking unit 2 is carried to a table as a so-called bowl and placed on a table or the like. It is formed for the purpose of letting go. Since the wall surface opening 30 forms convection of air, it is desirable that the wall surface opening 30 is formed on the bottom wall 10P of the lower frame 10B so as to face each other in the front, rear, left and right sides of the main body 10. When the rice cooking operation is performed, the inner pot 13 of the rice cooking unit 1 is induced to be heated, so that the temperature of the container 17 rises due to the heat generated by the induction heating.

The shape, size, and number of wall opening portions 30 are not limited to the illustrated form. The wall surface opening 30 may be, for example, a rectangular hole or a circular hole surrounded by a periphery. Further, the wall surface opening 30 may be a notch hole notched in an arc shape. In short, the wall surface opening 30 is provided by appropriately changing the design according to the size of the main body 10.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the main body 10 has an intake hole 4 formed on the bottom surface and an exhaust hole 5 formed on the side surface on the back surface side and communicating with the intake hole 4. There is. That is, in the rice cooking unit 1, the inside and the outside surrounded by the bottom wall 10P are communicated with each other by the intake hole 4 and the exhaust hole 5. As a result, the rice cooking unit 1 can form convection of air at the intake hole 4 and the exhaust hole 5, so that the heat of the bottom surface of the rice cooking unit 1 heated by the air flowing in from the wall surface opening 30 is taken into the intake hole. It can escape from 4 to the outside through the exhaust hole 5.

The exhaust hole 5 is not limited to the configuration formed on the back surface side of the main body 10. The exhaust hole 5 may be provided, for example, on another side surface of the main body 10 or on the lid 11. In short, the exhaust hole 5 may be provided at any position in the rice cooking section 1 as long as it can communicate with the intake hole 4 and form convection of air together with the wall surface opening 30.

Further, the rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment does not necessarily have to be provided with the intake hole 4 and the exhaust hole 5, and may have a configuration in which the heat of the bottom surface of the heated rice cooker 1 is released to the outside only by the wall surface opening 30. Good.

The inner pot 13 has a bottomed cylindrical shape and is made of a carbon material that generates heat by induction heating. The inner pot 13 may be, for example, a container made of a non-metal material such as ceramic (so-called clay pot) or a metal container using a clad material of aluminum and stainless steel. Rice and water to be cooked are stored in the inner pot 13.

The lid 11 covers the upper surface opening of the main body 10 so as to be openable and closable. The rear end of the lid 11 is connected to the upper part of the main body 10 by the hinge mechanism 12. When the lid open / close button 10a is pressed in the closed state, the lid 11 can be rotated about the hinge shaft of the hinge mechanism portion 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the lid 11 is provided with a steam port 11a for letting out steam generated inside the rice cooking unit 1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the lid 11 is provided with a first input operation unit 15 for inputting rice cooking conditions and the like by the user. The first input operation unit 15 is an operation means for receiving operation inputs for executing, for example, a preheating process, a rice cooking process, an unevenness process, and the like. The first input operation unit 15 is connected to the control unit 40 shown in FIG. 2, and the input operation signal is transmitted as an infrared signal to the induction cooking unit 2 through the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 (not shown). Will be done. Although the first input operation unit 15 has a configuration in which a plurality of pressing type input keys 15A are arranged, it may be a touch type input key 15A or both may be used in combination.

On the front portion of the upper surface of the lid 11, first display units 42 for displaying the input operation result by the first input operation unit 15 or the rice cooking operation in numbers, characters, symbols, etc. are provided on the left and right. .. The first display unit 42 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display board provided with a liquid crystal display screen.

Next, the configuration of the induction cooking unit 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing the induction heating cooking section 2 of the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing different forms of the induction heating cooking unit 2 of the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment. The induction heating cooking unit 2 is a tabletop electromagnetic cooker that is used by placing it on a table or the like, for example.

As shown in FIG. 6, the induction heating cooking unit 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having a thin appearance. The induction heating cooking unit 2 is provided with a top plate 20 made of a heat-resistant material such as crystallized glass on the upper surface thereof. The induction heating cooking section 2 is formed with a stepped portion 21 recessed downward along the outer peripheral edge of the top plate 20. The stepped portion 21 of the induction heating cooking section 2 is formed in a shape and size such that the lower end surface of the bottom wall 10P (lower frame 10B) of the rice cooking section 1 abuts and the bottom wall 10P fits tightly. That is, in the rice cooker 100, when the rice cooker 1 is placed on the induction cooking unit 2, the bottom wall 10P of the rice cooking unit 1 fits into the step portion 21 of the induction heating cooking unit 2, and the top plate 20 is the bottom wall 10P. It is designed to be stored inside the rice cooker.

The step portion 21 of the induction heating cooking unit 2 is provided with a protrusion 6 that fits into the wall surface opening 30 at a position facing the wall surface opening 30. This prevents the heat heated by the induction heating cooking unit 2 from leaking to the outside by closing the wall surface opening 30 with the protrusion 6 when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed on the upper surface of the induction heating cooking unit 2 and cooked. To do. It is also for the purpose of making the side surface of the rice cooker 100 flat without holes to improve the cleanability when wiping off dirt with a cloth or the like.

The protruding portion 6 is provided so that the tip portion thereof is below the top plate 20 of the induction heating cooking portion 2. This is a case where the rice cooking unit 1 is separated and the induction heating cooking unit 2 is used alone as an IH cooker, so that the presence of the protrusion 6 does not interfere when the cooking container is placed on the top plate 20. This is to enable the use of cooking containers of various sizes. It is also for the purpose of ensuring the induction heating efficiency by bringing the bottom surface of the cooking container into close contact with the top plate 20 of the induction heating cooking unit 2.

Note that FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing different forms of the induction heating cooking unit 2 of the rice cooker 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the protrusion 7 may be provided so that the tip portion of the step portion 21 is above the top plate 20 of the induction cooking section 2. In this case, if the rice cooker 100 uses a small cooking container that fits in the top plate 20, the movable range of the cooking container is restricted by the protrusion 7, so that the cooking container tilts during cooking or is mistakenly removed from the top plate 20. It is possible to prevent a situation such as falling.

As shown in FIG. 6, the induction heating cooking unit 2 is provided with a second input operation unit 22 on the front side of the upper surface. Various pressing type input buttons 22A are arranged in the second input operation unit 22, and are connected to the control unit 23. The various input buttons 22A input various conditions such as heating power, cooking menu, and cooking time. By operating the second input operation unit 22, the induction heating unit 2 can independently perform induction heating cooking independently of the rice cooking unit 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the second input operation unit 22 is housed inside the bottom wall 10P together with the top plate 20 when the rice cooking unit 1 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 are combined. ing. In other words, the second input operation unit 22 is covered with the rice cooking unit 1 so that it cannot be operated by the user.

Second display units 28 for displaying the input operation result by the second input operation unit 22 or the induction heating operation with numbers, characters, symbols, etc. are provided on the left and right.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an induction heating coil 24, a temperature sensor 25, a ferrite 26, a power supply board 27, and a power transmission coil 50 are provided inside the induction heating cooking unit 2, respectively. ing. The induction heating coil 24 is arranged substantially in the center of the inside of the induction heating cooking unit 2, and is controlled by the control unit 23 based on the operation inputs of the first input operation unit 15 and the second input operation unit 22. .. The induction heating coil 24 generates an alternating magnetic field by energization and heats the object to be heated by electromagnetic induction. Further, the temperature sensor 25 is provided to detect the temperature of the inner pot 13 or the top plate 20, and is connected to the control unit 23.

Further, the ferrite 26 has an elongated plate shape, and is provided so as to be orthogonal to the winding of the induction heating coil 24. The ferrite 26 is provided to concentrate the magnetic field lines generated from the induction heating coil 24 on the object to be heated above the top plate 20.

Further, a power supply board 27 is provided on the back side of the inside of the induction heating cooking unit 2. The power supply board 27 includes a converter that converts AC power of a commercial power source into DC power, an inverter that converts DC power from the converter into AC power and supplies it to the induction heating coil 24, and a control circuit that controls the inverter. It is implemented. The power supply board 27 is connected to the control unit 23 via a signal line.

Although the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 for receiving the input operation signal (infrared signal) transmitted from the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 (not shown) of the rice cooking unit 1 is housed in the induction heating cooking unit 2. , Not shown.

The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 and the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 are infrared communication terminals (communication units), and each includes an infrared signal reception unit and a transmission unit. An input operation signal, a temperature detection signal of the inner pot 13, and the like are transmitted from the rice cooking unit 1 to the induction heating cooking unit 2 each time. On the contrary, an identification signal for confirming that the rice cooking unit 1 is placed in the proper position is transmitted from the induction heating cooking unit 2 to the rice cooking unit 1 by infrared rays, and the regular rice cooking unit 1 sends an identification signal to the rice cooking unit 1. The response signal is received.
The control unit 23 of the induction heating cooking unit 2 executes various controls such as energization start, energization amount, and energization stop of the induction heating coil 24 or the power transmission coil 50 in accordance with the reception of the infrared signal from the rice cooking unit 1.

By the way, in the conventional rice cooker 100, the linear distance between the induction heating coil 24 and the inner pot 13 should be small so that the inner pot 13 can be efficiently induced and heated by the induction heating coil 24. Therefore, the bottom surface of the inner pot 13 is close to or in close contact with the container 17 constituting the bottom surface of the rice cooking unit 1.

Therefore, when the separated rice cooking unit 1 is carried to a table as a bowl and placed on a table or the like, the upper surface of the table is heated by the bottom surface of the rice cooking unit 1 heated by the induction heating cooking unit 2. That is, since the temperature of the container 17 itself whose part is exposed to the bottom of the rice cooking unit 1 is high, when a sheet such as a table cloth that is easily deformed by the heat from the container 17 side is laid on the upper surface of the table, The sheet may be heated by the rice cooking unit 1 and deformed or the like. There is also concern about deformation of the table itself.

The rice cooker 1 of the rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment is provided with a bottom wall 10P protruding from the bottom surface toward the induction heating cooking unit 2 along the outer edge of the bottom surface. The bottom wall 10P is formed with a wall surface opening 30 that communicates the inside and the outside surrounded by the bottom wall 10P. By forming the wall surface opening 30, the rice cooker 100 is heated even when the rice cooker 1 separated from the induction cooking unit 2 is carried to a table as a bowl and placed on a table or the like. The heat of the bottom surface of the rice cooker 1 can be released to the outside through the wall surface opening 30. Therefore, in the rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the upper surface of the table or the like is excessively heated.

Further, in the rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment, the wall surface opening 30 is a notch hole formed by cutting out the lower frame 10B, and the wall surface is located at a position facing the wall surface opening 30 of the induction heating cooking unit 2. A protrusion 6 that fits into the opening 30 is provided. Therefore, when the rice cooker 100 is placed on the upper surface of the induction heating cooking unit 2 and cooked by heating, the wall surface opening 30 can be closed by the protrusion 6, so that the rice cooker 100 is heated by the induction heating cooking unit 2. The cooking effect can be enhanced without the heat leaking to the outside.

Further, the induction heating cooking section 2 of the rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment is formed with a stepped portion 21 recessed downward along the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface for cooking the rice cooking section 1. The protrusion 6 is provided so that the tip of the step 21 is below the upper surface of the induction cooking section 2. Therefore, in the rice cooker 100, the rice cooker 1 is separated and the induction cooking unit 2 is used alone as an IH cooker, and the presence of the protrusion 6 is an obstacle when the cooking container is placed on the upper surface. It is easy to use because it is possible to use cooking containers of various sizes.

On the other hand, in the modified example of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 7, the protrusion 6 may be provided at the step portion 21 so that the tip portion is above the upper surface of the induction heating cooking portion 2. In this case, if the rice cooker 100 uses a small cooking container that fits on the upper surface of the induction cooking unit 2, the movable range of the cooking container is restricted by the protrusion 7, so that the cooking container is tilted during cooking or induction heating is performed. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the cooking unit 2 is accidentally dropped from the upper surface.

Further, the rice cooker 1 of the rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment has an intake hole 4 formed on the bottom surface and an exhaust hole 5 formed on the outer surface and communicating with the intake hole 4. In the rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment, since air convection can be formed between the intake hole 4 and the exhaust hole 5, the heat of the bottom surface of the rice cooker 1 heated by the air flowing in from the wall surface opening 30 Can be discharged to the outside from the intake hole 4 through the exhaust hole 5. Therefore, in the rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment, it is possible to more effectively prevent the situation where the upper surface of the table or the like is excessively heated.

(Summary of Embodiment 1)
The rice cooker 100 shown in the first embodiment has the following configuration. That is,
It is provided with a rice cooking unit 1 for accommodating an object to be cooked inside, and an induction heating cooking unit 2 for heating and cooking the rice cooking unit 1 on the upper surface.
The rice cooker 1 includes an upper case 10C forming an outer shell and an annular lower frame 10B made of a heat-resistant material provided below the upper case 10C adjacent to the lower end surface of the upper case 10C. ,
In the lower frame 10B, a bottom wall 10P protruding from the lower surface of the lower frame 10B constituting the bottom surface of the rice cooking unit 1 toward the induction heating cooking unit 2 is provided with an outer edge portion of the lower surface of the lower frame 10B (bottom surface of the rice cooking unit 1). It is provided along the line.

According to the rice cooker 100 of the first embodiment, the lower frame 10B of the rice cooker 1 can prevent the heat of the bottom surface of the rice cooker 1 from excessively heating the upper surface of the table or the like on which the rice cooker 1 is placed.

Embodiment 2.
The rice cooker 100 of the second embodiment is shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the induction heating cooking unit 2 of the rice cooker 100 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line X1-X1 of FIG. In FIG. 9, the rice cooking unit 1 shows only the lower end portion. FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line Y1-Y1 of FIG. It should be noted that the description may be omitted for items that overlap with the first embodiment. Further, the same parts as those in the first embodiment or the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

The rice cooker 100 according to the second embodiment is devised so that the mechanical strength of the induction heating cooking unit 2 on which the rice cooking unit 1 is placed is increased so that the rice cooking unit 1 can be stably placed.

Next, the planar arrangement of the internal structure of the induction cooking unit 2 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 8, an induction heating coil 24 having a circular planar shape is arranged on the left and right center lines of the induction heating cooking unit 2 so that the center portion is located.

The cooling fan 60 is located slightly to the right toward the front when viewed from the center point of the induction heating cooking unit 2. The cooling fan 60 has an intake port 77 (see FIG. 9) arranged at a position directly below, sucks cold air from the intake port 77, and supplies it as cooling air to the inside of the first air passage SH1. The intake port 77 is configured by arranging elongated slit-shaped holes or arranging a large number of small-diameter holes.

Plastic parts such as the upper lid 2B and the lower case 2C are generally manufactured using an injection molding machine. If injection molding is performed by reducing the amount of granular plastic material called pellets as much as possible, the weight of the completed upper lid 2B and lower case 2C can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. However, if the amount of material is reduced, the thickness becomes thinner and the strength becomes weaker.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, the columns 74 integrally formed from the lower case 2C and projecting upward are arranged in a total of four locations. A reinforcing effect can be expected by forming the columns 74 in the vertical direction in which the load is received.

The columns 74A and 74B are columns 74 in front of the rice cooker 100, which are located near the second input operation unit 22. The columns 74C and 74D are columns 74 behind the rice cooker 100, which are installed on the right side and the left side of the induction heating coil 24 at a distance of about several cm.

The columns 74A and 74B have a perfect circular cross-sectional shape. The columns 74C and 74D have an oval shape having a long cross-sectional shape in the front-rear direction and a curved surface having a smooth surface, and are configured so as not to obstruct the flow of the cooling air of the cooling fan 60 as much as possible.

In the second input operation unit 22, when the user makes a touch input, the support column 74A and the support column 74B frequently push down the surface plate 22P with a finger from above, so that the force at that time is dispersed. It is arranged to receive. That is, in the portion of the second input operation unit 22, the support columns 74A and the support columns 74B are arranged for reinforcement in consideration of receiving a load from above.

In the columns 74C and 74D formed on the right side and the left side of the induction heating coil 24, the object to be heated such as the inner pot 13 containing rice and water or the pot containing water and ingredients is directly above the opening 2H of the upper lid 2B. Since it is placed in, it is installed so that the load is distributed and received.

In the second embodiment, the inner pot 13 and the like of the rice cooking unit 1 are placed at a position directly above the induction heating coil 24. Therefore, when the top plate 20 located directly above the induction heating coil 24 receives a load, a force is applied to push down the rim portion of the opening 2H of the upper lid 2B directly below the top plate 20.

In the second embodiment, since the columns 74C and 74D are arranged on the right side and the left side of the position of the induction heating coil 24, respectively, the rim of the opening 2H of the upper lid 2B is supported by the columns 74C and 74D from below. Therefore, bending of the upper lid 2B and the like can be prevented.

A partition wall 61 integrally formed with the bottom surface of the lower case 2C is provided on the bottom surface of the lower case 2C. The partition wall 61 is composed of a front arc portion 61C, a right side portion 61R, and a left side portion 61L. The front arc portion 61C is on the front side of the lower case 2C and crosses the front side of the cooling fan 60. The right side portion 61R is continuous with the rear end surface of the front arc portion 61C and extends linearly behind the lower case 2C. The left side portion 61L is continuous with the rear end surface of the front arc portion 61C and extends linearly behind the lower case 2C.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the second embodiment, the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 62 includes an infrared light emitting element 62S (infrared signal transmitting unit) and an infrared receiving element 62R (infrared signal receiving unit). ing. Both signals of the infrared light emitting element 62S and the infrared light receiving element 62R are analyzed and processed by one communication control unit 62C, and the communication control unit 62C outputs the transmission / reception data analysis result to the control unit 23.

In FIG. 8, the power transmission coil 50 has an annular shape.
As is clear from FIG. 8, in the first air passage SH1, the position closest to the cooling fan 60 is the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62.

The power transmission coil 50 is located upstream of the induction heating coil 24 in the flow of cooling air in the first air passage SH1 and is separated from the induction heating coil 24 by about 10 cm in a straight line.
Due to this positional relationship, the power transmission coil 50 does not come into contact with the warm air after cooling the induction heating coil 24, and is not induced to be heated by the alternating magnetic field generated by the induction heating coil 24.

The reed switch 18 is a magnetic proximity switch that receives a magnetic force and closes an electrical contact. In a reed switch 18 having a typical configuration, a part of two nickel alloy (magnetic material) leads are overlapped and sealed in a glass tube, and the overlapped portion is subjected to contact treatment such as gold and silver. Has been done. Further, in the reed switch 18 having a typical configuration, an inert gas is sealed in the glass tube in order to prevent the contact from being activated. A permanent magnet 19 (not shown) that generates a magnetic force to close the reed switch 18 is installed at the bottom of the rice cooking unit 1.

Next, FIG. 9 will be described.
The induction heating cooking unit 2 has a cooling fan 60, an induction heating coil 24, a power transmission coil 50, a partition wall 61, a control unit 23, and a second input operation unit 22 in the internal space of the induction heating cooking unit 2. And an infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62. The induction heating coil 24 is formed in a disk shape. The partition wall 61 forms a first air passage SH1 and a second air passage SH2 in the internal space of the induction heating cooking unit 2. The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 constitutes an infrared communication unit of the induction cooking unit 2.

The induction heating coil 24 is installed on a support frame 63 called a coil base made of heat-resistant plastic or the like. The support frame 63 is formed with a large number of through holes 63A having a large opening area in order to increase air permeability.

In the induction heating cooking unit 2, the outer shell case 2A is composed of a bottomed box-shaped lower case 2C that constitutes the outer shell of the induction heating cooking unit 2 and an upper lid 2B that covers the entire upper surface of the lower case 2C. ing.

The lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B are formed by integral molding (injection molding method) of plastic. Therefore, the material is a thermoplastic. The lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B are shaped so as to completely overlap each other when viewed in a plan view. In other words, the projected area when projected vertically is the same. Further, since the upper lid 2B is used in a higher temperature environment than the lower case 2C, a material having higher heat resistance than the lower case 2C is selected.

Further, the plane dimension of the lower frame 10B is close to the plane shape of the upper lid 2B. Therefore, the external shape of the rice cooker 100 as a whole is a box shape whose plane shape is close to a square, similar to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The upper lid 2B is securely fixed to the lower case 2C by a fixing means such as a screw (not shown).
The top plate 20 covers a large square opening 2H formed in the central portion of the lower frame 10B, and is made of highly heat-resistant crystallized glass or a plastic material such as PET or PPS. Immediately above the top plate 20, the bottom of the inner pot 13 is arranged so as to be in contact with or close to each other.

The top plate 20 has a diameter larger than the maximum outer diameter of the induction heating coil 24.

The horizontal line PL2 shown in FIG. 9 indicates that the boundary between the upper lid 2B and the lower case 2C can be recognized on the appearance of the induction cooking unit 2. The horizontal line PL2 is a horizontal position where the lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B are overlapped when the outer shell of the induction heating cooking unit 2 is manufactured. Hereinafter, the horizontal line PL2 is referred to as a "second separation line".

The support column 74B is a front support column 74 among the four support columns 74 integrally formed on the upper surface of the lower case 2C.
The columns 74A and 74B are formed at positions behind the second input operating means of the induction heating cooking unit 2 so as to face each other. Since the induction heating coil 24 is installed in the central portion of the lower case 2C, the columns 74C and 74D are arranged at the left and right positions of the induction heating coil 24.

The lower surface of the upper lid 2B is provided with convex portions 73 integrally formed at two locations on the lower surface of the upper lid 2B, and the convex portions 73 are located directly above the columns 74A and 74B.
When the lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B are overlapped when the outer shell case 2A of the induction heating cooking unit 2 is manufactured, the support columns 74A and the convex portion 73, and the support columns 74B and the convex portion 73 have contact or minute gaps. It will be in a state of facing each other. Therefore, the load applied to the upper surface of the upper lid 2B can be expected to be supported by the support columns 74A and 74B.

In addition to the direct contact between the support columns 74A and the convex portion 73, and the support columns 74B and the convex portion 73 as shown in the figure, the support columns 74A and the convex portion 73 may be indirectly contacted with an inclusion such as a cushion material sandwiched between them. .. For example, if the cushion material or the like is a material having high heat insulating properties, it is expected that the heat conduction from the convex portion 73 side of the upper lid 2B to the support columns 74A and the support column 74B side will be reduced, and the temperature of the lower case 2C will be kept low. it can. The inclusions are not limited to solids, and may be soft like a half liquid, such as a silicone rubber sealing material.

The partition wall 61 divides the space surrounded by the lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B into two front and rear spaces as shown in FIG.

The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 includes an infrared light emitting element 62S, an infrared light receiving element 62R, a support substrate 62B to which the infrared light emitting element 62S and the infrared light receiving element 62R are attached, and a communication control unit 62C.
The support substrate 62B is horizontally fixed to the uppermost surface of the partition wall 61.

The cooling fan 60 that cools the inside of the induction heating cooking unit 2 is arranged close to directly above the intake port 77 formed on the front bottom wall surface of the lower case 2C. As the cooling fan 60, for example, an axial flow type blower fan is used.

A fan motor 60M is installed directly above the intake port 77, and the cooling fan 60 is rotationally driven by the fan motor 60M. The fan motor 60M is fixed to the upper surface of a circular fan case 60C having support legs having an inverted U-shaped vertical cross section, which is integrally molded in the lower case 2C so as to straddle the upper part of the intake port 77. The fan case 60C has one or two support legs, and a large space is secured around the support legs so as not to obstruct the air permeability.

The heating circuit board 80 is equipped with an inverter circuit that supplies high-frequency power to the induction heating coil 24, and is equipped with various electric components such as a semiconductor power control element and a switching element. Among various electric components, semiconductor power control elements such as IGBTs are mounted on aluminum heat radiating fins 81 (or "heat sinks") in order to release heat generated during the control operation. A support convex portion 114 that supports the heating circuit board 80 is provided on the bottom surface of the lower case 2C. A plurality of support convex portions 114 are integrally formed on the bottom surface of the lower case 2C.

An electrically insulating sheet 83 (or a thin plate) is provided directly above the heat radiating fin 81. The sheet 83 is provided horizontally directly above the heat radiation fins 81 for the purpose of improving the insulating property between the induction heating coil 24 and the heating circuit board 80. The electrically insulating sheet 83 (or thin plate) is made of a plastic material such as PP or PET. As shown in FIG. 9, the electrically insulating sheet 83 is provided horizontally directly above the heat radiation fins 81 so as not to obstruct the flow of the cooling air supplied from the cooling fan 60.

In FIG. 9, the thick solid arrow indicates the flow of the cooling air supplied from the cooling fan 60. The thick dashed arrow indicates the intake air flow introduced into the cooling fan 60.

An exhaust port 108 is formed on the rear back wall of the lower case 2C. A plurality of exhaust ports 108 are formed side by side in order to exhaust the cooling air from the cooling fan 60.

A temperature sensor 25 is provided on the back surface (lower surface) of the upper lid 2B. The temperature sensor 25 is a contact-type temperature sensor that contacts the back surface (lower surface) of the upper lid 2B and measures the temperature of the top plate 20, and a thermistor-type temperature detection element is used. The temperature measurement data of the temperature sensor 25 is transmitted to the temperature detection circuit 104 by the signal line 105, and the temperature information grasped by the temperature detection circuit 104 is transmitted to the control unit 23. The thermistor (temperature detecting element) is installed so as to penetrate the central portion (hollow portion) of the induction heating coil 24 having a hollow annular planar shape as shown in the figure. The alternate long and short dash line CL indicates the vertical center line of the induction heating coil 24, and coincides with the vertical center line of the temperature sensor 25.

The temperature detection circuit 104 is connected to the temperature sensor 25 by a signal line 105, and the temperature data measured by the temperature sensor 25 is input.

The control unit 23 and the temperature detection circuit 104 are mounted on the control circuit board 106. A support convex portion 115 that supports the control circuit board 106 is provided on the bottom surface of the lower case 2C. A plurality of support convex portions 115 are provided by integral molding.

The space on the front side of the partition wall 61 accommodates electrical components such as a detection unit 22S that detects a touch operation of a second input operation unit 22 that is a touch-type input unit.

In the second embodiment, the dedicated window for transmitting the infrared signal from the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 62 is not provided. The infrared signal is configured to pass through a large square opening 2H formed in the center of the upper lid 2B.

A first window 90 formed in the lower frame 10B is provided at a position directly above the infrared light emitting element 62S and the infrared light receiving element 62R. The first window 90 is covered with a plastic or glass material that transmits infrared rays.

Although not shown, the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 provided in the rice cooking unit 1 is provided with an infrared light emitting element 41A, a support substrate 41B, and a communication control unit 41C.

A weight sensor 95 is fixed to the bottom surface of the lower case 2C. Although not shown, a strain sensor is arranged directly above the thick strut-shaped leg 96. The weight is measured by the force of pushing the strain sensor by the legs 96, that is, the output from the strain sensor according to the weight of the rice cooker 100. The weight sensor 95 using the strain sensor has already been proposed for a long time, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The weight measurement signal indicating the measurement result of the weight sensor 95 is input to the control unit 23, and is transmitted from the control unit 23 to the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 by the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62.

The weight measurement signal received by the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 is input to the control unit 40 of the rice cooking unit 1 and used to determine a heating program (heat power, energization time, etc.). The heating program for cooking rice is transmitted from the control unit 40 to the induction heating cooking unit 2 by the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41, and the control unit 23 energizes the induction heating coil 24 or the transmission coil 50 according to the heating program. Control.

The weight sensor 95 can also measure the weight of the rice taken out from the inner pot 13 in a state where the rice cooking unit 1 is placed on the induction heating cooking unit 2. In other words, when the rice is taken out in a bowl or the like (when it is served) at the time of meal, the weight of the taken out rice can be measured.

Therefore, the weight measurement signal of the rice taken out from the rice cooker 100 is transmitted from the induction heating cooking unit 2 to the rice cooking unit 1 via the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62, and the control unit 40 of the rice cooking unit 1 is based on the transmission data. Can calculate the calories of rice. The calorie here is the amount of energy determined by the weight of the cooked rice.

The calorie calculation may be performed by the control unit 23, but when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed, the upper portion of the second display unit 28 of the induction heating cooking unit 2 is covered by the rice cooking unit 1. , Invisible to the user. Therefore, the data showing the calorie calculation result needs to be transmitted to the rice cooking unit 1 via the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 62. However, the induction heating cooking unit 2 may be configured so that the calorie calculation result can be displayed on the side of the induction heating cooking unit 2 even when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed. For example, the position of the second display unit 28 of the induction cooking unit 2 may be changed so that the calorie calculation result can be displayed. Further, in the induction heating cooking unit 2, a third display unit (calorie display unit) is provided at a position exposed to the outside even when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed, for example, on the front surface or the side surface of the induction heating cooking unit 2. May be good.

The control unit 40 of the rice cooking unit 1 is operated by the electric power obtained by the power receiving coil 51. Further, the first display unit 42 also performs a display operation by the power feeding unit 29 to which the power obtained by the power receiving coil 51 is supplied. This is the same configuration as described in the first embodiment.

Electric power is supplied to the power feeding unit 29 from the power receiving coil 51, but the electric power is supplied only during the period when the power transmission coil 50 of the induction heating cooking unit 2 receives a power transmission command from the control unit 23. .. During the period in which the rice cooking unit 1 is placed and the rice cooking operation is being performed, the power transmission coil 50 naturally receives a power transmission command from the control unit 23 and supplies power to the power receiving coil 51 in a non-contact manner.

Since the power feeding unit 29 is provided in this way, the calorie display of the rice taken out from the rice cooker 100 can be displayed even when the rice cooking unit 1 is separated from the induction heating cooking unit 2.
That is, in the second embodiment, since the control unit 40 is operated by the electric power from the power supply unit 29, even if the rice cooking unit 1 is moved to another place by itself, the calorie data calculated before the movement is performed. Is immediately transmitted from the induction heating cooking unit 2 to the control unit 23 side each time the calculation is performed. Therefore, in the rice cooker 100 of the second embodiment, even after the rice cooker 1 is separated, the first display unit 42 can display the calorie data calculated before the movement. The calorie calculation result is stored in time series by a storage means such as a semiconductor storage element attached to the control unit 23, and is stored in the rice cooking unit 1 even after the rice cooking unit 1 is returned to the induction heating cooking unit 2. ing.

Next, FIG. 10 will be described.
FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a main part of the left side portion in a state where the rice cooking unit 1 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 are overlapped with each other.
In FIG. 10, the reed switch 18 is fixed on a dedicated circuit board or mounting plate 18A. The mounting plate 18A is fixed to the upper surface of the partition wall 61 (front arc portion 61C). The reed switch 18 is arranged at the uppermost part inside the upper lid 2B.

A gap G1 having a width W2 of about several mm to 20 mm is secured between the left side surface of the partition wall 61 and the lower case 2C.

Further, since the reed switch 18 is installed on the upper right side of the partition wall 61 through which the cooling air CF (see FIG. 10) from the cooling fan 60 passes, the temperature of the atmosphere around the reed switch 18 is kept low. Is done.
Further, since the permanent magnets 19 are also arranged at positions where the inner pot 13 is less likely to receive high heat, the reed switch 18 can reliably perform the operation of detecting the approach of the permanent magnets 19. The permanent magnet 19 turns on the reed switch 18 only when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed directly above the induction heating cooking unit 2.

Under such conditions, when the reed switch 18 is closed (when the ON operation is performed), the control unit 23 senses the ON operation. Then, the control unit 23 determines that the rice cooking unit 1 is placed in the normal position, and allows the rice cooking unit 1 to input the rice cooking operation. That is, unless the reed switch 18 is turned on, the input of the first input operation unit 15 of the rice cooking unit 1 is invalidated, and the rice cooking operation of the control unit 40 cannot be started.

The permanent magnet 19 is arranged at a position directly above the reed switch 18 when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed on the induction heating cooking unit 2. A fixing plate 31 is provided on the upper surface of the lower frame 10B. The fixing plate 31 fixes the permanent magnet 19 to the upper surface of the lower frame 10B. The fixing plate 31 is made of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than iron or aluminum, for example, heat-resistant rubber.

The permanent magnet 19 is installed at a distance W1 from the heat-shielding shielding plate 93 that surrounds the bottomed cylindrical inner pot 13 at intervals. As a result, the permanent magnet 19 is prevented from being repeatedly heated and deteriorated by long-term use.
The shielding plate 93 is the same as the one in which the bottom surface of the container 17 shown in the first embodiment is removed. In other words, the shielding plate 93 and the container 17 are the same in the role of making it difficult to transfer the heat of the inner pot 13 to the permanent magnet 19, and the container 17 may be provided instead of the shielding plate 93.

With the above configuration, when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed and the rice cooking operation is started, the outside air is sucked from the intake port 77 from the intake port 77 as shown by the thick broken line arrow in FIG. 9 by the operation of the cooling fan 60. To.

Most of the intake air flow introduced into the induction heating cooking unit 2 is supplied to the induction heating coil 24 side.
In FIG. 9, as indicated by the thick solid line arrow, a part of the cooling air passes below the induction heating coil 24, and a part of the cooling air passes between the heat radiation fins 81 of the heating circuit board 80. Then, the cooling air passes through the gap directly below the heating circuit board 80. Then, the cooling air is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port 108 provided at the rear of the lower case 2C.

As is clear from the above description, the rice cooker 100 of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 has the following configuration. That is,
A box-shaped induction heating cooking unit 2 including a top plate 20, an induction heating coil 24 arranged below the top plate 20, and a second input operation unit 22 for inputting heating conditions of the induction heating coil 24. When,
A rice cooking unit 1 including an inner pot 13 heated by an induction heating coil 24 and a first input operation unit 15 for inputting rice cooking conditions is provided.
The rice cooking unit 1 is heated by driving the induction heating coil 24 in a state where it is placed on the top plate 20 of the induction heating cooking unit 2.
Inside the induction heating cooking unit 2, control information for cooking rice is provided between the cooling fan 60 that supplies cooling air for cooling the induction heating coil 24 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 and the rice cooking unit 1. An infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 for transmitting the included infrared signal is provided, respectively.
In the induction heating cooking section 2, an outer shell is formed by vertically stacking a plastic upper lid 2B and a plastic lower case 2C having a size overlapping the upper lid 2B.
The top plate 20 is overlapped and fixed on the upper lid 2B, and is fixed.
A partition wall 61 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case 2C, and the air passage of the cooling fan 60 is partitioned inside the induction heating cooking unit 2 by the partition wall 61.
The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is supported by a partition wall 61, and is supported by a partition wall 61.
Further, the rice cooker 100 has a configuration in which a support column 74 that receives a load on the upper lid 2B side is vertically provided integrally with the lower case 2C.

With this configuration, in the rice cooker 100 shown in the second embodiment, since the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 62 is supported by the partition wall 61, the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 62 can be installed without increasing the number of mounting parts.
Further, since the support column 74 that receives the load on the upper lid 2B side is provided integrally with the lower case 2C, the mechanical strength of the outer shell case 2A of the induction heating cooking section 2 is improved, and the rice cooking section 1 is stabilized for a long period of time. It can be expected to be supported and durability can be expected to be improved.

Further, since the reed switch 18 is installed on the upper right side of the partition wall 61 through which the cooling air CF (see FIG. 10) from the cooling fan 60 passes, as shown in FIG. 10, the reed switch 18 is installed around the reed switch 18. The temperature of the atmosphere is also kept low.
Further, since the permanent magnet 19 is also arranged at a position where the inner pot 13 is less likely to receive high heat, the reed switch 18 can reliably perform the operation of detecting the approach of the magnet. Only when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed directly above the induction heating cooking unit 2, the permanent magnet 19 turns on the reed switch 18, the control unit 23 senses the ON operation of the reed switch 18, and the rice cooking unit 1 Detects the placement in the normal position and allows the rice cooking unit 1 to input the rice cooking operation. That is, unless the reed switch 18 is turned on, the input of the first input operation unit 15 of the rice cooking unit 1 is invalidated, and the rice cooking operation of the control unit 40 cannot be started.

Embodiment 3.
The rice cooker 100 of the third embodiment is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view of the rice cooker 100 according to the third embodiment. The rice cooking unit 1 shows only the lower end portion. FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of the left side portion of the rice cooker 100 of FIG. The description of what overlaps with the first embodiment and the second embodiment may be omitted. Further, the same parts as those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment or the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

The rice cooker 100 according to the third embodiment is devised so that the rice cooker 1 can be stably placed by increasing the mechanical strength of the induction cooking unit 2 on which the rice cooker 1 is placed.

FIG. 11 will be described.
The induction heating cooking unit 2 has a cooling fan 60, an induction heating coil 24, a power transmission coil 50 (not shown), a partition wall 61, and a control unit 23 (not shown) in the internal space of the induction heating cooking unit 2. ), A second input operation unit 22 (not shown), and an infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62. The induction heating coil 24 is formed in a disk shape. The partition wall 61 forms a first air passage SH1 and a second air passage SH2 in the internal space of the induction heating cooking unit 2. The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 constitutes an infrared communication unit.

The induction heating coil 24 is installed on a support frame 63 made of heat-resistant plastic. The support frame 63 is formed with a large number of through holes (not shown) having a large opening area in order to increase air permeability.

The induction heating cooking unit 2 is composed of a bottomed box-shaped lower case 2C that constitutes the outer shell and an upper lid 2B that covers the entire upper surface of the lower case 2C. The lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B are integrally molded with plastic. Therefore, the material is a thermoplastic. The lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B are shaped so as to completely overlap each other when viewed in a plan view. In other words, the projected area when projected vertically is the same. Further, since the upper lid 2B is used in a higher temperature environment than the lower case 2C, a material having higher heat resistance than the lower case 2C is selected.

The plane dimension of the lower frame 10B is close to the plane shape of the upper lid 2B. Therefore, the external shape of the rice cooker 100 as a whole is a box shape whose plane shape is close to a square, similar to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

Inside the lower case 2C, convex portions 2D serving as screw seats formed integrally at regular intervals are provided. As shown in FIG. 11, since the thickness of the convex portion 2D is configured to be several times larger than the thickness T1 of the wall of the lower case 2C, the upper lid 2B can be fixed to the convex portion 2D with a screw 64.
On the lower surface of the upper lid 2B, a metal fixing plate 65 fixed to the lower surface of the upper lid 2B by adhesive or the like is provided. The screw 64 penetrates the fixing plate 65 and is screwed up to the convex portion 2D. In this way, the upper lid 2B is securely fixed to the lower case 2C, and the outer shell case 2A of the induction cooking unit 2 is formed.

The bottom plate 66 is tightly fitted in the large circular hole 16 formed in the central portion of the lower frame 10B. The bottom plate 66 is made of a highly heat resistant plastic material such as PET or PPS. Immediately above the bottom plate 66, the bottom portions of the inner pot 13 are arranged so as to come into contact with or approach each other. In addition, "PPS" means polyphenylene sulfide.

The bottom plate 66 has a diameter larger than the maximum outer diameter of the induction heating coil 24, and is located directly above the induction heating coil 24.

The flat top plate 20 is attached to the upper surface of the upper lid 2B so as to cover most of the upper lid 2B except for the front end and the rear end, and is made of crystallized glass or a plastic plate having high heat resistance. There is. When the rice cooking unit 1 is placed on the induction heating cooking unit 2, the upper surface of the top plate 20 and the bottom plate 66 are in close contact with each other or face each other with a small interval.

In FIG. 11, the dimension H1 indicates a height (range) that can be recognized as the upper lid 2B on the appearance of the induction cooking unit 2. Similarly, the dimension H2 indicates a height (range) that can be recognized as the lower frame 10B on the appearance of the induction cooking unit 2. Dimension H3 indicates the range of the upper case 10C.

The second separation line (horizontal line PL2) shown in FIG. 11 is where the boundary between the upper lid 2B and the lower case 2C can be recognized from the appearance of the induction cooking unit 2. At the position of the second separation line (horizontal line PL2), the lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B are overlapped when the outer shell of the induction heating cooking unit 2 is manufactured.

A cylindrical mounting seat 70 is provided on the lower surface of the upper lid 2B, and is integrally formed on the lower surface of the upper lid 2B. At least two front and rear positions of the support frame 63 are fixed to the mounting seat 70 by screws 71.
A magnetic shield plate 72 is provided on the support frame 63. The magnetic shield plate 72 is installed on the support frame 63 so as to cover the entire periphery of the induction heating coil 24.

On the lower surface of the upper lid 2B, a convex portion 73 integrally formed with the lower surface of the upper lid 2B is provided. On the upper surface of the lower case 2C, a support column 74 integrally formed with the upper surface of the lower case 2C is provided.
The columns 74 and the convex portions 73 are formed at a plurality of locations in the rice cooking unit 1 so as to always face each other. However, since the induction heating coil 24 is installed in the central portion of the lower case 2C, the support column 74 is formed around the induction heating coil 24, avoiding the position of the induction heating coil 24.

When the lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B are overlapped with each other when the outer shell of the induction cooking unit 2 is manufactured, the support column 74 and the convex portion 73 are in contact with each other or face each other with a minute gap. Therefore, the load applied to the upper surface of the upper lid 2B can be expected to be supported by the support column 74.

The partition wall 61 partitions the space surrounded by the lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B back and forth as shown in FIG.
A notch 61A is formed at the upper end of the partition wall 61.

On the lower surface of the upper lid 2B, a protrusion 75 integrally formed with the lower surface of the upper lid 2B is provided. A cushioning material 76 such as elastic rubber is interposed between the protrusion 75 and the uppermost surface of the partition wall 61.

The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 includes an infrared communication element 62A, a support substrate 62B, and a communication control unit 62C.
The support substrate 62B is horizontally supported on the front side surface of the partition wall 61.

The notch portion 61A is formed at a position facing the infrared communication element 62A.
The cooling fan 60 composed of an axial fan is arranged close to directly above the intake port 77 formed on the front bottom wall surface of the lower case 2C. The intake port 77 is composed of a large number of holes having a narrow slit shape or a small diameter.

A fan motor 60M is installed directly above the intake port 77, and the cooling fan 60 is rotationally driven by the fan motor 60M. The fan motor 60M is fixed to the upper surface of a support leg 78 having an inverted U-shaped vertical cross section, which is integrally molded in the lower case 2C so as to straddle the upper part of the intake port 77. There are one or two support legs 78, and a large space is secured around the support legs 78 so as not to obstruct the air permeability.

An auxiliary intake port 79 is formed at a position adjacent to the intake port 77. The auxiliary intake port 79 is composed of a large number of holes having a narrow slit shape or a small diameter.

The recess 116 forms a tunnel-like space so that the user can insert the fingertips of both hands when the induction heating cooking unit 2 is transported by itself or when the rice cooking unit 1 is transported with the rice cooking unit 1 placed on the rice cooking unit 1. The auxiliary intake port 79 is formed on the curved wall surface portion of the lower case 2C that forms the recess 116. As a result, two routes are secured for the intake passage for the cooling fan 60.
That is, the first intake passage from the intake port 77 on the bottom surface of the lower case 2C and the second intake passage from the auxiliary intake port 79 formed on the inclined surface adjacent to the intake port 77.

The heating circuit board 80 mounts an inverter circuit that supplies high-frequency power to the induction heating coil 24, and various electric components are mounted on the heating circuit board 80. A support plate 82 for supporting the heating circuit board 80 is provided on the bottom surface of the lower case 2C. A plurality of support plates 82 are installed on the bottom surface of the lower case 2C.

An electrically insulating sheet 83 (or a thin plate) is provided directly above the heat radiating fin 81. The electrically insulating sheet 83 is horizontally installed directly above the heat radiation fins 81. The electrically insulating sheet 83 (or thin plate) is made of a material such as PP or PET.

In FIG. 11, the thick solid arrow indicates the flow of the cooling air CF supplied from the cooling fan 60. The thick dashed arrow indicates the intake air flow introduced into the cooling fan 60.

In FIG. 11, the arrow LL indicates the line of sight from the position YE of the eyes of the user or the like. The front end portions of the heating circuit board 80 and the support plate 82 cannot be directly seen through the auxiliary intake port 79. For this reason, not only in terms of aesthetics, but even if chopsticks or other foreign substances (metal rods) used for meals are inserted, they are blocked by the auxiliary air intake port 79, and the tip of the chopsticks enters the lower case 2C. However, it does not reach the heating circuit board 80, and its electrical safety is high. The position BP of the front end surface of the heating circuit board 80 is separated from the auxiliary intake port 79 by a certain amount or more so that the heating circuit board 80 cannot be directly seen through the auxiliary intake port 79.

Although not shown, a plurality of exhaust ports 108 (not shown) for discharging the cooling air from the cooling fan 60 are formed side by side on the rear rear wall of the lower case 2C.

As shown in FIG. 11, the partition wall 61 partitions the internal space of the induction heating cooking unit 2 into a space having a cooling fan 60 and a space having an infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 62. That is, the second air passage SH2 is formed in the front and the first air passage SH1 is formed in the rear with the partition wall 61 as a boundary.

In the second embodiment, since the protrusion 75 is formed at the time of molding the upper lid 2B and the partition wall 61 is formed at the time of molding the lower case 2C, it can be manufactured more easily than making a pillar or a wall having a large height. , It is also advantageous in terms of cost. The partition wall 61 may be formed so as to extend to the lower surface of the upper lid 2B.

The temperature sensor 25 is a contact-type temperature sensor that contacts the back surface (lower surface) of the upper lid 2B and measures the temperature of the top plate 20, and a thermistor-type temperature detection element is used. The temperature measurement data of the temperature sensor 25 is transmitted to the temperature detection circuit 104 (not shown) by the signal line 105 (not shown), and the temperature information grasped by the temperature detection circuit 104 is transmitted to the control unit 23. To. The thermistor (temperature detecting element) is installed so as to penetrate the central portion (hollow portion) of the induction heating coil 24 having a hollow annular planar shape as shown in the figure. The alternate long and short dash line CL indicates the vertical center line of the induction heating coil 24, and coincides with the vertical center line of the temperature sensor 25.

Further, the internal space of the induction cooking unit 2 is partitioned back and forth by the partition wall 61 at the rear portion of the second input operation unit 22.
Then, the input button 22A of the second input operation unit 22 and the electric parts such as switches opened and closed by the input button 22A are in a state of being present in the second air passage SH2.
Therefore, the temperature rise of the second input operation unit 22 is suppressed.

The amount of cooling air supplied from the cooling fan 60 via the notch 61A may be much smaller than the amount of cooling air supplied to the induction heating coil 24 side. Further, the space may not be provided with the notch 61A and may not communicate with the first air passage SH1. That is, it is not always necessary to forcibly cool the second input operation unit 22 and the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 with air.

The second window 91 also serves as a window for transmitting an infrared signal from the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 62 and a window for transmitting an infrared signal from the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 41. The second window 91 is formed at the front end portion of the upper lid 2B in which the induction heating cooking section 2 and the rice cooking section 1 are vertically overlapped and in close proximity to or in contact with each other. The second window 91 is covered with a glass or plastic plate that transmits infrared rays.

A first window 90 formed on the lower frame 10B is provided at a position directly above the second window 91. The first window 90 also has the same function and structure as the second window 91, and is made of the same material.
It should be noted that two or more infrared communication elements 62A are installed instead of one, at least one is for transmitting infrared signals, and at least one is for receiving infrared signals. In that case, if they are installed side by side in an approaching state, the second window 91, which will be described later, can be shared, which is structurally advantageous.

Further, the rice cooking unit 1 also includes an infrared light emitting element 41A, a support substrate 41B, and a communication control unit 41C.

A shield plate 93 for heat shielding is provided around the bottomed cylindrical inner pot 13 so as to surround the bottomed cylindrical inner pot 13 at intervals. The shielding plate 93 has a cylindrical shape with upper and lower openings, and is placed on the lower frame 10B. Due to the heat shielding plate 93, the installation space of the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 and the installation space of the inner pot 13 are two independent spaces in which air and steam do not flow. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 from being affected by the high heat of the inner pot 13 and excessively rising in temperature, shortening the life, deteriorating the performance, or causing a malfunction.

The weight sensor 95 has the same configuration as that of the second embodiment. Further, the weight measurement signal indicating the measurement result of the weight sensor 95 is input to the control unit 23, and is transmitted from the control unit 23 to the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 by the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62. In this way, as in the second embodiment, the weight measurement signal received by the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 41 is input to the control unit 40 of the rice cooking unit 1 and used to determine the heating program (heat power, energization time, etc.). Will be done.

Next, FIG. 12 will be described.
The reed switch 18 is a magnetic proximity switch that receives a magnetic force and closes an electrical contact. A permanent magnet 19 is provided at the bottom of the rice cooking unit 1.

As described with reference to FIG. 11, the induction heating cooking unit 2 includes a cooling fan 60, an induction heating coil 24, a power transmission coil 50 (not shown), a partition wall 61, a control unit 23, and an infrared signal transmission / reception unit. 62 and are built-in. The induction heating coil 24 is formed in a disk shape. The partition wall 61 forms a first air passage SH1 and a second air passage SH2 in the internal space of the induction heating cooking unit 2. The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 constitutes an infrared communication unit.

The induction heating coil 24 is installed on a support frame 63 called a coil base made of heat-resistant plastic or the like. The support frame 63 is formed with a large number of through holes 63A having a large opening area in order to increase air permeability.

In the induction heating cooking unit 2, the outer shell case 2A is composed of a bottomed box-shaped lower case 2C that constitutes the outer shell of the induction heating cooking unit 2 and an upper lid 2B that covers the entire upper surface of the lower case 2C. ing.
As described above, the lower surface of the upper lid 2B is provided with a protrusion 75 integrally formed with the lower surface of the upper lid 2B. A horizontally extending mounting plate 18A is fixed between the protrusion 75 and the uppermost surface of the partition wall 61. In other words, the mounting plate 18A is held down by the protrusion 75 on the upper surface of the partition wall 61.

In FIG. 12, the gap G2 formed on the left side of the partition wall 61 with the width dimension W3 is isolated from the first air passage SH1. On the other hand, it communicates with the second air passage SH2, and a part of the cooling air introduced below the second input operation unit 22 reaches the gap G2. That is, by using the partition wall 61 as a support for the reed switch 18 in this way, it is possible to reduce the number of parts. Further, as in the second embodiment, since the atmospheric temperature of the installation space of the permanent magnet 19 and the reed switch 18 does not rise, the permanent magnet 19 and the reed switch 18 do not deteriorate due to long-term use, and the safety is improved. Can be expected.

With the above configuration, when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed and the rice cooking operation is started, the outside air is released from the intake port 77 and the auxiliary intake port 79 by the operation of the cooling fan 60 as shown by the thick dashed arrows. Be sucked.

Most of the intake air flow introduced into the induction heating cooking unit 2 is supplied to the induction heating coil 24 side.
In FIG. 11, as shown by the cooling air CF indicated by the thick solid line arrow, a part of the cooling air passes below the induction heating coil 24, and a part of the cooling air passes through the heat radiation fin 81 of the heating circuit board 80. It passes between the two, and further passes through the gap directly below the heating circuit board 80 of the cooling air. Then, the cooling air is discharged to the outside from an exhaust port 108 (not shown) provided at the rear of the lower case 2C.

On the other hand, the cooling air introduced from the notch 61A into the second air passage SH2 cools various electric components inside the second air passage SH2, for example, the infrared communication element 62A of the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62. However, it is discharged from an exhaust port different from the exhaust port 108 (not shown). Alternatively, it is attracted by the cooling air introduced into the first air passage SH1 and discharged to the outside from the same exhaust port 108.

As is clear from the above description, the third embodiment has various characteristic configurations, and therefore the following effects can be expected.

(1) Part 1:
Inside the induction heating cooking unit 2, control information for cooking rice is provided between the cooling fan 60 that supplies cooling air for cooling the induction heating coil 24 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 and the rice cooking unit 1. An infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 for transmitting the included infrared signal is provided, respectively.
The induction heating cooking unit 2 includes an outer shell case formed in a box shape by a plastic upper lid 2B and a plastic lower case 2C having a size overlapping the upper lid 2B.
The top plate 20 is overlapped and fixed on the upper lid 2B, and is fixed.
A first support portion (mounting seat 70) for holding the induction heating coil 24 is integrally formed on the lower surface of the upper lid 2B.
A partition wall 61 extending upward beside the intake port 77 of the cooling fan 60 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case 2C, and a heat insulating material is formed between the upper end of the partition wall 61 and the lower surface of the upper lid 2B. Cushion material 76 made of
The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is an electric rice cooker having a configuration characterized in that it is arranged on the opposite side of the cooling fan 60 with the partition wall 61 interposed therebetween.

With this configuration, the airtightness between the upper end of the partition wall 61 and the lower surface of the upper lid 2B is improved, and unnecessary wind from the cooling fan 60 side enters the space opposite to the cooling fan 60 across the partition wall 61. Inflow can be prevented.
Further, since the load of the upper lid 2B is received by the cushion material 76, the impact of the upper end portion of the partition wall 61 can be mitigated and the damage thereof can be prevented.

(2) Part 2:
A heating circuit board 80 including an inverter circuit or the like is placed directly below the induction heating coil 24, and the induction heating coil 24 and the heating circuit board 80 are simultaneously viewed from the side of the induction heating coil 24 by a cooling fan 60. The configuration is such that cooling air is supplied in parallel.
Therefore, a cooling air passage (first air passage SH1) having a cooling fan 60 upstream is formed and arranged inside the induction heating cooking unit 2, and a linear flow toward the exhaust port 108 can be formed.
As a result, it can be expected that the cooling performance of the internal space of the induction heating cooking unit 2 will be improved.

(3) Part 3:
At least the infrared communication element 62A of the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is mounted on the support substrate 62B supported by the partition wall 61.
Therefore, since the structure is such that the infrared communication element 62A is supported by using the partition wall 61, the structure can be simplified, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost.

(4) Part 4:
A form in which the member constituting the outer shell case 2A of the induction heating cooking unit 2 is composed of a plastic upper lid 2B and a plastic bottomed box-shaped lower case 2C having a size overlapping the upper lid 2B. Is.
Therefore, the box-shaped outer shell case 2A can be easily manufactured by forming the upper lid 2B and the lower case 2C by integrally molding each of the plastics and connecting the upper lid 2B and the lower case 2C.

(5) Part 5:
A form in which the member constituting the outer shell case 2A of the induction heating cooking unit 2 is composed of a plastic upper lid 2B and a plastic bottomed box-shaped lower case 2C having a size overlapping the upper lid 2B. Is. On the lower surface of the upper lid 2B, a mounting seat 70 that supports the heat-resistant plastic coil base (support frame 63) that supports the induction heating coil 24 is integrally molded, so that the structural member that supports the induction heating coil 24 is formed. The number of points can be reduced, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost.

(6) Part 6:
A second window 91 for transmitting an infrared signal for the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 62 is formed in a part of the upper lid 2B in which the induction heating cooking unit 2 and the rice cooking unit 1 overlap and are in close proximity or in contact with each other. There is.
Moreover, when the rice cooking unit 1 is used, the second window 91 is covered from above by the rice cooking unit 1, so that unnecessary light does not enter the second window 91 as ambient light, and the rice cooking unit 1 It can be expected that infrared communication between the rice and the induction heating cooking unit 2 is surely performed.

(7) Part 7:
A support column 74 extending upward integrally from the upper surface of the lower case 2C is formed at at least two places around the induction heating coil 24, avoiding the heating region by the induction heating coil 24.
The support column 74 receives a load from the upper lid 2B side. In other words, when the rice cooker 1 is placed, it is possible to prevent the top plate 20 that receives the weight from bending downward.
Therefore, the positional relationship between the rice cooking unit 1 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 is stable for a long period of time, so that the rice cooking operation can be performed safely.

(8) Part 8:
As shown in FIG. 12, since the reed switch 18 that operates by detecting the presence of the permanent magnet 19 of the rice cooking unit 1 is installed on the partition wall 61, the partition wall 61 is also used to support the reed switch 18. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
Further, since the reed switch 18 is arranged in the gap G2 partitioned by the partition wall 61, the atmospheric temperature of the installation space of the reed switch 18 does not rise, and it can be expected that the life of the reed switch 18 will be extended.

(Summary of Embodiment 3)
The rice cooker 100 shown in the third embodiment has the following configuration. That is,
It is provided with a rice cooking unit 1 for accommodating an object to be cooked inside, and an induction heating cooking unit 2 for heating and cooking the rice cooking unit 1 on the upper surface.
The rice cooking unit 1 includes an upper case 10C forming an outer shell and an annular lower frame 10B formed of a heat-resistant material provided below the lower end surface of the upper case 10C.
The induction heating cooking unit 2 includes an upper lid 2B made of a heat-resistant material provided with a top plate 20 on which the rice cooking unit 1 is placed, and a lower case 2C having a bottom whose upper surface opening is closed by the upper lid 2B.
Between the upper lid 2B and the lower case 2C, at least one of the support column 74 or the partition wall 61 formed integrally with at least one of the upper lid 2B and the lower case 2C is provided.

According to the rice cooker 100 of the third embodiment, the mechanical strength of the induction heating cooking unit 2 on which the rice cooking unit 1 is placed, that is, the load bearing capacity in the vertical direction is increased, and the induction heating cooking unit 2 stabilizes the rice cooking unit 1. Induction heating can be performed while supporting the rice, and stable rice cooking operation can be expected.

Embodiment 4.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a front portion of the rice cooker 100 according to the fourth embodiment. The description may be omitted for the ones overlapping with the first to third embodiments. Further, the same parts as those in the first to third embodiments or the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the rice cooker 100 according to the fourth embodiment, the installation position of the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is changed.

FIG. 13 will be described. The second window 91 is formed on the upper lid 2B and is provided to transmit an infrared signal.
The lower frame 10B made of heat-resistant plastic constitutes the bottom surface of the rice cooking unit 1 and forms a first window 90 for transmitting an infrared signal.

The support substrate 62B supports the infrared communication element 62A of the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62. The support substrate 62B is horizontally supported by connecting the left end portion to the partition wall 61.

In FIG. 13, the range 22W in the front-rear direction of the second input operation unit 22 is as shown by the solid arrow. This will be described in detail later.

In the second input operation unit 22, input buttons 22A of a plurality of pressing type electronic switches 97 are arranged in a horizontal row at regular intervals. When the input button 22A at the top of each electronic switch 97 is pressed, the plastic push rod 97A moves downward, so that the internal contact of the electronic switch 97 is closed and a signal is generated.

The circuit board 98 mounts each electronic switch 97. The protective sheet 99 (or protective plate) is made of a thin and curved plastic material, and covers the input button 22A in a sealed state to prevent water from entering from above. When the protective sheet 99 is pressed by the user's finger, the input button 22A moves downward by a minute dimension and the internal contact of the electronic switch 97 is closed.

A through hole 101 is formed in the plastic support frame 102. The through hole 101 has a diameter larger than the external dimension of the input button 22A so as to allow the input button 22A to move up and down.

The second input operation unit 22 is provided with a second display unit 28 (not shown) that displays the operation input result of the second input operation unit 22. The second display unit 28 includes a liquid crystal display screen, a light emitting diode element (LED), and the like. The LED illuminates the protective sheet 99 of the second input operation unit 22 with light from below to display a specific portion of the protective sheet 99 in red or yellow, and displays the input result of each electronic switch 97 to the user. To do.
Further, the liquid crystal display screen has a configuration in which an opening (not shown) is provided in a part of the protective sheet 99, the opening is covered with a transparent sheet from above, and the liquid crystal display screen faces the opening. ..

In the fourth embodiment, the description of enabling or disabling the input function of the second input operation unit 22 will be described. When the input function is disabled, the display function of the second display unit 28 is also disabled at the same time, and the screen display is turned off. On the contrary, when the input function of the second input operation unit 22 is enabled (when it is first activated or when the invalidation is canceled), the display function of the second display unit 28 is also enabled at the same time. Then, the display operation is performed. When the control unit 23 detects that the rice cooking unit 1 is placed, the input function of the second input operation unit 22 is invalidated. The reed switch 18 described in the second and third embodiments is an example of a means for detecting that the rice cooking unit 1 is placed.

In FIG. 13, a wall surface opening 30 is formed at the lower end of the rice cooking portion 1.
The protrusion 103 (convex) is configured to narrow the facing distance S between the lower frame 10B forming the bottom surface of the rice cooking unit 1 and the upper surface of the second input operation unit 22. The protrusion 103 prevents hot air generated at a position directly above the induction heating coil 24 behind the protrusion 103 from flowing over the protrusion 103 to the second input operation unit 22 side. Therefore, even if the bottom surface of the rice cooking unit 1 becomes hot due to the induction heating coil 24 when the rice cooking operation is performed, it is possible to prevent the portion of the second input operation unit 22 from becoming overheated.

After the use of the rice cooking unit 1 is finished and the rice cooking unit 1 is removed from the top of the induction heating cooking unit 2, the portion of the second input operation unit 22 is hot and immediately another heating by the induction heating cooking unit 2 alone. It does not lead to the situation that cooking cannot be started.

In FIG. 13, the range 22W indicates the width of the second input operation unit 22 in the front-rear direction, and is about 50 mm to 70 mm.

The upper lid 2B has a hem portion 2BU integrally formed with the inner side extending downward by a certain distance at the lower end edge of the entire circumference.
The hem portion 2BU serves to fit the upper edge portion of the lower case 2C as shown in FIG. Therefore, in the overlapping state of the lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B, the upper lid 2B fits tightly to the lower case 2C and does not inadvertently move back and forth or left and right. Therefore, as a result, the strength of the outer shell case 2A of the induction cooking unit 2 can be improved by a simple structure.

(Summary of Embodiment 4)
In the rice cooker 100 shown in the fourth embodiment, a protrusion 103 (convex) is provided on the upper surface of the upper lid 2B, and the lower frame 10B forming the bottom surface of the rice cooker 1 and the upper surface of the second input operation unit 22 are provided. The distance S between the two and the rice is narrowed. Therefore, there is an effect that hot air generated at a position directly above the induction heating coil 24 behind the protrusion 103 is prevented from passing over the protrusion 103 and flowing to the second input operation unit 22 side. ..

Embodiment 5.
FIG. 14 is a plan view showing the induction heating cooking unit 2 of the rice cooker 100 according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 15 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line X2-X2 of FIG. In FIG. 15, the rice cooking unit 1 shows only the lower end portion. The description may be omitted for the ones overlapping with the first to fourth embodiments. Further, the same parts as those in the first to fourth embodiments or the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the rice cooker 100 according to the fifth embodiment, the installation position of the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is changed. Further, the installation position of the power transmission coil 50 is set to the upstream side of the first air passage SH1 through which the cooling air of the cooling fan 60 flows as much as possible.

In FIGS. 14 and 15, in the lower frame 10B forming the bottom portion on the rice cooking portion 1 side, the inner side extends upward by a certain distance at the upper end edge of the entire circumference, and the step portion 10BT is integrally formed.
As shown in FIG. 15, the step portion 10BT serves to fit the lower end edge portion of the upper case 10C. Therefore, in the overlapping state of the upper case 10C and the lower frame 10B, the upper case 10C is tightly fitted to the outer peripheral edge portion of the lower frame 10B and does not inadvertently move in the front-back or left-right direction. Therefore, as a result, the strength of the outer shell case 2A of the rice cooking unit 1 can be improved by a simple structure.

In the second input operation unit 22 on the front side of the induction heating cooking unit 2, the entire surface of the second input operation unit 22 is covered with a surface plate 22P such as a glass plate.
In the fifth embodiment, a touch type input method using the surface plate 22P is adopted, and when the user touches a specific position of the surface plate 22P with a finger or the like, the touch operation is detected and the control unit 23 is input. You can input. For example, a capacitive touch switch is used. The detection unit 22S is configured to detect a touch operation such as a finger and transmit a signal corresponding to the position touched by the finger to the control unit 23.

A large square opening 2H is formed in the central portion of the upper lid 2B. The upper part of the opening 2H is covered with a top plate 20 made of crystallized glass, heat-resistant plastic, or the like.
On the back surface (lower surface) of the top plate 20, a contact-type temperature sensor 25 that contacts the back surface of the top plate 20 and measures the temperature is provided. As the temperature sensor 25, for example, a thermistor is used.

The temperature detection circuit 104 is configured to input the temperature data measured by the temperature sensor 25, and is connected to the temperature sensor 25 by a signal line 105. As shown in FIG. 15, the temperature sensor 25 is installed so as to penetrate the central portion (hollow portion) of the hollow annular induction heating coil 24.

The temperature data detected by the temperature detection circuit 104 is transmitted to the control unit 23 configured around the microcomputer. The temperature detection circuit 104 and the control unit 23 are mounted on the control circuit board 106. The control circuit board 106 is fixed at a fixed position by a support convex portion 115 integrally protruding from the bottom surface of the lower case 2C. The support convex portion 114 is formed in the same manner as the support convex portion 115, and supports the heating circuit board 80.

In FIG. 15, it seems that the temperature detection circuit 104 and the control unit 23 are located near the rear side of the heat radiation fin 81, but in reality, they are not directly behind the heat radiation fin 81, but slightly separated to the left as shown in FIG. There is. However, from the viewpoint of cooling performance, it is desirable to provide the first air passage SH1 at a position immediately before the exhaust port 108, which will be described later.

A plurality of exhaust ports 108 are formed on the rear surface (rear wall) of the lower case 2C. The exhaust port 108 is composed of a narrow slit-shaped hole or a large number of small-diameter holes so that foreign matter does not enter the lower case 2C.

A cooling fan 60 such as an axial fan is installed in the vicinity of the intake port 77 so that the rotation axis of the cooling fan 60 is vertical, and immediately above the cooling fan 60. The fan motor 60M is fixed on the elongated support portion in the center of the fan case 60C.

As shown in FIG. 15, the second separation line (horizontal line PL2) is a position where the lower case 2C and the upper lid 2B constituting the outer shell case 2A of the induction heating cooking unit 2 are overlapped.
The support column 74 and the partition wall 61 are integrally formed from the bottom surface of the lower case 2C up to the height (position) of the second separation line.
Therefore, when the lower case 2C is molded from a thermoplastic material (plastic), it can be easily adjusted to the height of the lower case 2C. Therefore, the columns 74 and the partition wall 61 can be easily formed in the manufacturing process.

Further, in the manufactured lower case 2C, the support column 74 and the partition wall 61 are aligned with the height of the second separation line, and there is no portion protruding upward from the second separation line (horizontal line PL2). Therefore, there is an advantage that a person or a machine can easily stack or move the machine during transportation or storage at the manufacturing site.

The reed switch 18 in FIG. 14 is a magnetic proximity switch that receives a magnetic force and closes an electrical contact. The reed switch 18 is supported on the right side surface of the front arc portion 61C forming a part of the partition wall 61. The space where the reed switch 18 is installed is outside the first air passage SH1 of the cooling fan 60 and is not actively cooled, but at a position far from the induction heating coil 24 and the bottom plate 66 of the rice cooking unit 1. is there. Therefore, there is no concern that the space in which the reed switch 18 is installed is heated by the heat generated by the induction heating coil 24 and the bottom plate 66 of the rice cooking unit 1.

In the fifth embodiment, unlike the second embodiment, the top plate 20 made of an infrared transmissive material is provided without providing a dedicated second window 91 for the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 41 and the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 62. It is used for infrared communication.
Therefore, processing for providing the second window 91 and parts such as an infrared transmissive plate covering the second window 91 are not required, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost.

In the fifth embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the cooling air from the cooling fan 60 is forcibly introduced into the space where the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is installed. Moreover, in the fifth embodiment, the cooling air is cooled by a cooling air different from the cooling air flowing around the induction heating coil 24, which has the highest temperature, and the power transmission coil 50, which generates heat. Therefore, the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 receives the heat of the induction heating coil 24 and the power transmission coil 50, and is not heated to a temperature that causes performance deterioration or the like.
Further, the reed switch 18 is located in a space on the opposite side of the partition wall 61 from the induction heating coil 24. Therefore, the reed switch 18 is located at a position away from the induction heating coil 24 and is not heated by the induction heating coil 24.

Also in the fifth embodiment, the wall surface openings 30 have a shape formed by cutting out the bottom wall 10P of the lower frame 10B, and a plurality of wall openings 30 are spaced apart along the entire circumference of the lower frame 10B (illustrated example). 12) are formed. The wall surface opening 30 has the effect of releasing the heat of the bottom surface of the heated rice cooking unit 1 to the outside, as in the first embodiment.

(Summary of Embodiment 5)
The rice cooker 100 shown in the fifth embodiment is
An induction heating cooking unit 2 including a top plate 20, an induction heating coil 24 arranged below the top plate 20, and a second input operation unit 22 for inputting heating conditions of the induction heating coil 24.
It is provided with an inner pot 13 that houses the rice to be cooked and is heated by the induction heating coil 24, and a rice cooking unit 1 that includes a first input operation unit 15 for inputting rice cooking conditions.
The rice cooking unit 1 is heated by driving the induction heating coil 24 in a state where it is placed on the top plate 20 of the induction heating cooking unit 2.
Inside the induction heating cooking unit 2, control information for cooking rice is provided between the cooling fan 60 that supplies cooling air for cooling the induction heating coil 24 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 and the rice cooking unit 1. An infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 for transmitting the included infrared signal is provided, respectively.
The induction heating cooking unit 2 includes an outer shell case 2A formed in a box shape by a plastic upper lid 2B and a plastic lower case 2C having a size overlapping the upper lid 2B.
The top plate 20 is overlapped and fixed on the upper lid 2B, and is fixed.
On the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case 2C, a support column 74 that rises vertically so that the uppermost portion reaches the upper lid 2B side is formed.

According to the rice cooker 100 of the fifth embodiment, the mechanical strength of the induction heating cooking unit 2 on which the rice cooking unit 1 is placed, that is, the load bearing capacity in the vertical direction is increased, and the induction heating cooking unit 2 stabilizes the rice cooking unit 1. Induction heating can be performed while supporting the rice, and stable rice cooking operation can be expected.

Embodiment 6.
FIG. 16 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the first half portion of the induction heating cooking unit 2 in the rice cooker 100 according to the sixth embodiment. The description may be omitted for the ones overlapping with the first to fifth embodiments. Further, the same parts as those in the first to fifth embodiments or the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

The rice cooker 100 according to the sixth embodiment is characterized in that the intake path of the cooling fan 60 is changed and external air is introduced from the intake port 177 provided on the front surface of the lower case 2C.
Another feature is that the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is not provided in the first air passage SH1 but is provided in the first intake passage KU.

An intake port 177 is formed on the front surface of the lower case 2C. Similar to the intake ports 77 shown in the first to fifth embodiments, the intake port 177 is formed with a plurality of fine slit-shaped or fine through holes adjacent to each other.
A heat-resistant sealing material 110 such as silicone rubber is provided on the front edge of the top plate 20. The sealing material 110 has a cross-sectional shape that sandwiches the front edge of the top plate 20 from above and below.

The top plate 20 is supported from below by the support columns 74 via the sealing material 110. That is, the convex portion 73 integrally formed on the lower surface of the upper lid 2B hits the uppermost surface of the support column 74 directly below the convex portion 73, and is supported from below by the support column 74. Therefore, even if the user frequently pushes the surface plate 22P for the touch-type input operation of the second input operation unit 22, the upper lid 2B is held by the support column 74, so that the upper lid 2B is curved downward. Such deformation does not occur, and stable input operation can be performed for a long period of time.

Further, since the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is provided in the first intake passage KU formed linearly from the intake port 77 to the cooling fan 60, the cooling fan 60 cools the induction heating coil 24. The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 can be cooled by the cold air before the cooling.

The electronic circuits such as the touch-type input detection unit 22S and the liquid crystal display screen and the like constituting the second display unit 28 can also be cooled by the cooling air.

When the rice cooking unit 1 is heated, the cooling fan 60 is always operated to cool the induction heating coil 24. Therefore, the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62, the detection unit 22S, etc. are operated by the cooling air during the rice cooking operation. It is cooled continuously.

The lower case 2C is provided with a support plate 111 for the circuit board 98. The support plate 111 is fixed at a specified position above the lower case 2C by a column 117 formed in a columnar shape from the bottom surface of the lower case 2C by integral molding.
A support leg 112 and a support leg 113 are provided on the upper surface of the support plate 111. The support legs 112 and 113 are made of an electrically insulating material.

(Summary of Embodiment 6)
The rice cooker 100 shown in the sixth embodiment is
An induction heating cooking unit 2 including a top plate 20, an induction heating coil 24 arranged below the top plate 20, and a second input operation unit 22 for inputting heating conditions of the induction heating coil 24.
It is provided with an inner pot 13 that houses the rice to be cooked and is heated by the induction heating coil 24, and a rice cooking unit 1 that includes a first input operation unit 15 for inputting rice cooking conditions.
The rice cooking unit 1 is heated by driving the induction heating coil 24 in a state where it is placed on the top plate 20 of the induction heating cooking unit 2.
Inside the induction heating cooking unit 2, control information for cooking rice is provided between the cooling fan 60 that supplies cooling air for cooling the induction heating coil 24 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 and the rice cooking unit 1. An infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 for transmitting the included infrared signal is provided, respectively.
The induction heating cooking unit 2 includes an outer shell case 2A formed in a box shape by a plastic upper lid 2B and a plastic lower case 2C having a size overlapping the upper lid 2B.
The top plate 20 is overlapped and fixed on the upper lid 2B, and is fixed.
On the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case 2C, a support column 74 that rises vertically so that the uppermost portion reaches the upper lid 2B side is formed.

According to the rice cooker 100 of the sixth embodiment, the mechanical strength of the induction heating cooking unit 2 on which the rice cooking unit 1 is placed, that is, the load bearing capacity in the vertical direction is enhanced. Therefore, the rice cooking unit 1 can be induced and heated while being stably supported by the induction heating cooking unit 2, and stable rice cooking operation can be expected.

Embodiment 7.
FIG. 17 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the lower part of the rice cooker 1 and the induction heating cooker 2 in the rice cooker 100 according to the seventh embodiment. The description may be omitted for the ones overlapping with the first to sixth embodiments. Further, the same parts as those in the first to sixth embodiments or the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

The rice cooker 100 according to the seventh embodiment is an improved version of the upper lid 2B and the lower case 2C of the induction heating cooking unit 2.
In FIG. 17, a step portion 2E is formed at the mouth edge portion of the opening 2H. The step portion 2E is formed over the entire circumference (front-rear and left-right) of the rim portion of the opening 2H in order to support the top plate 20 from below. The step portion 2E is formed to be thicker than the other portions of the upper lid 2B in order to increase the mechanical strength.

The step portion 2E is integrally formed at the same time as the injection molding of the upper lid 2B, and is formed so that the position of the second separation line (horizontal line PL2) is the lower limit.
On the other hand, the partition wall 61 has a height dimension so as to come into contact with the lower surface of the step portion 2E as shown in FIG. In other words, the position of the second separation line (horizontal line PL2) is the upper limit position.

The sealing material 110 is made of a material such as silicon rubber in order to protect the peripheral end surface of the top plate 20 from impact and prevent the infiltration of spilled water, cooking liquid, etc. from the upper surface of the top plate 20.

The step portion 2E indirectly supports the peripheral edge portion of the top plate 20 by supporting the sealing material 110. In addition, in order to fix the step portion 2E and the sealing material 110 more firmly, an adhesive may be used for bonding.

Although not shown, the partition wall 61 is formed with a plurality of through holes through which the external air sucked from the intake port 77 by the cooling fan 60 passes. The arrow shown by the broken line indicates the flow of air sucked by the cooling fan 60.

The power transmission coil 50 for supplying electric power for the control unit 40 of the rice cooking unit 1 and the first display unit 42 is fixed on the support legs 119 formed on the cooling fan 60 side of the partition wall 61. The support legs 119 are integrally formed from the bottom surface (the wall portion of the bottom surface) of the lower case 2C during injection molding of the lower case 2C.

A mounting plate 120 that directly supports the power transmission coil 50 is provided on the upper surface of the partition wall 61. The mounting plate 120 is made of an electrically insulating material. After fixing the power transmission coil 50, the mounting plate 120 is fixed to the upper surface of the partition wall 61.

The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is installed on the support substrate 62B whose rear end is fixed to the partition wall 61. The support substrate 62B is fixed on the support legs 118. The support legs 118 are integrally formed from the bottom surface of the lower case 2C during injection molding of the lower case 2C. The infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 is located on the upstream side of the flow of the cold air flow to be sucked in when viewed from the cooling fan 60.

A surface plate 122P is provided on the surface of the second input operation unit 22. The surface plate 122P is formed in a long strip in the left-right direction that covers the surface of the touch input type second input operation unit 22. The surface plate 122P is a thin plate formed from a heat-resistant plastic material. The surface plate 122P is provided with a through hole 123 formed corresponding to the second window 91.

In the seventh embodiment, the second input operation unit 22 and the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 are linearly arranged between the intake port 77 and the cooling fan 60. Therefore, in both the case where the rice cooking unit 1 is induced and heated and the case where the induction heating unit 2 is operated alone for cooking, the air passing from the intake port 77 to the cooling fan 60 causes the first step. The input operation unit 22 and the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 of No. 2 are efficiently cooled. Further, since a part of the air from the intake port 77 to the cooling fan 60 passes around the power transmission coil 50 and then reaches the cooling fan 60, the power transmission coil 50 is also cooled at the same time.

In the rice cooker 100 of the seventh embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the rice cooker 1 has an upper case 10C forming an outer shell and an annular shape made of a heat-resistant material provided below the upper case 10C. A lower frame 10B is provided. The lower frame 10B is provided with a bottom wall 10P protruding from the bottom surface toward the induction cooking unit 2 along the outer edge portion of the bottom surface.

Further, in the seventh embodiment, the lowermost end surface of the bottom wall 10P extends vertically below the second separation line (horizontal line PL2). Therefore, the lower portion of the bottom wall 10P extends beyond the upper lid 2B and faces the upper end portion of the front surface of the lower case 2C. As a result, even if the rice cooking portion 1 tries to move backward carelessly, the lower portion of the bottom wall 10P hits the front surface of the lower case 2C, and the movement is prevented.

Similarly, on the rear side of the lower frame 10B and on both the left and right sides, the lowermost end surface of the bottom wall 10P extends vertically further below the second separation line (horizontal line PL2). Unnecessary movement in the direction is prevented. Therefore, in the rice cooker 100 of the seventh embodiment, when the rice cooker 1 is placed on the induction heating cooker 2, the rice cooker 1 has an advantage that the placement position of the rice cooker 1 is stable as in the first embodiment. There is.

At the time of induction heating of the rice cooking unit 1, the upper surface of the top plate 20 and the lower surface of the lower frame 10B of the rice cooking unit 1 are in contact with each other or approach each other with a minute gap. Further, when the rice cooking unit 1 is separated from the induction heating cooking unit 2 and placed on a table or a table or the like, an air layer is formed between the lower part of the rice cooking unit 1 and the table or the table or the like. It has a structure that secures.
In the seventh embodiment, the height of the bottom wall 10P in the vertical direction can be increased as compared with the first embodiment. Therefore, when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed on the upper surface of furniture such as a table, the facing distance between the rice cooking unit 1 and the furniture or the like becomes large, and the volume of the gap becomes large, so that heat is generated in the space below the rice cooking unit 1. It is possible to further reduce the amount of stuffing in the furniture.

As is clear from the above description, the rice cooker 100 of the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 17 has the following configuration. That is,
A box-shaped induction heating cooking unit 2 including a top plate 20, an induction heating coil 24 arranged below the top plate 20, and a second input operation unit 22 for inputting heating conditions of the induction heating coil 24. When,
A rice cooking unit 1 including an inner pot 13 heated by an induction heating coil 24 and a first input operation unit 15 for inputting rice cooking conditions is provided.
The rice cooking unit 1 is heated by driving the induction heating coil 24 in a state where it is placed on the top plate 20 of the induction heating unit.
Inside the induction heating cooking unit 2, a cooling fan 60 that supplies cooling air for cooling the induction heating coil, and control information for cooking rice between the induction heating cooking unit 2 and the rice cooking unit 1 are included. An infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 for transmitting an infrared signal and a transmission coil 50 for supplying power for the control unit 23 of the rice cooking unit 1 are provided, respectively.
In the induction heating cooking section 2, an outer shell is formed by vertically stacking a plastic upper lid 2B and a plastic lower case 2C having a size overlapping the upper lid 2B.
The top plate 20 is overlapped and fixed on the upper lid 2B, and is fixed.
A partition wall 61 extending in the direction of the upper lid 2B and receiving the load of the upper lid 2B is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case 2C.
The power transmission coil 50 is a rice cooker 100 having a configuration characterized in that it is supported by support legs 119 projecting upward from the bottom of the lower case 2C.

According to the configuration of the seventh embodiment, since the partition wall 61 receives the load from the upper lid 2B side, when the rice cooking unit 1 is placed, the top plate 20 that receives the weight of the rice cooking unit 1 is curved downward. Can be prevented.

Therefore, since the positional relationship between the rice cooking unit 1 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 is stable for a long period of time, the rice cooking operation can be reliably controlled.
Further, the position of the power transmission coil 50 is also supported from below by the support legs 119 and is stabilized. Therefore, stable power feeding operation can be expected because the relative distance between the position of the power transmission coil 50 and the power receiving coil 51 on the rice cooking unit 1 side does not change even after long-term use.

Further, the rice cooker 100 of the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 17 is
A box-shaped induction heating cooking unit 2 including a top plate 20, an induction heating coil 24 arranged below the top plate 20, and a second input operation unit 22 for inputting heating conditions of the induction heating coil 24. When,
A rice cooking unit 1 including an inner pot 13 heated by an induction heating coil 24 and a first input operation unit 15 for inputting rice cooking conditions is provided.
The rice cooking unit 1 is heated by driving the induction heating coil 24 in a state where it is placed on the top plate 20 of the induction heating cooking unit 2.
Inside the induction heating cooking unit 2, a cooling fan 60 that supplies cooling air for cooling the induction heating coil, and control information for cooking rice between the induction heating cooking unit 2 and the rice cooking unit 1 are included. An infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 for transmitting an infrared signal is provided, respectively.
In the induction heating cooking section 2, an outer shell is formed by vertically stacking a plastic upper lid 2B and a plastic lower case 2C having a size overlapping the upper lid 2B.
The top plate 20 is overlapped and fixed on the upper lid 2B, and is fixed.
A partition wall 61 extending in the direction of the upper lid 2B and receiving the load of the upper lid 2B is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case 2C, and the air passage of the cooling fan is partitioned inside the induction heating cooking unit 2 by the partition wall 61. ,
The rice cooking unit 1 includes an upper case 10C forming an outer shell and an annular lower frame 10B formed of a heat-resistant material provided below the upper case 10C.
In the lower frame 10B, a bottom wall 10P protruding from the bottom toward the induction cooking unit 2 extends downward to a position facing the surface of the lower case 2C in close proximity, and the bottom wall 10P is a kind of movement prevention means ( It is a structure that functions as a stopper).

According to the seventh embodiment, it is possible to prevent the upper surface of furniture such as a table on which the rice cooking unit 1 is placed from being excessively heated, so that the usability is improved and the induction heating unit 2 is excessively horizontal from above. It can be prevented from moving in the direction.

In the seventh embodiment, the bottom wall 10P is provided with a wall surface opening 30 such as a notch, but the wall surface opening 30 is not always necessary.

Embodiment 8.
The main part of the rice cooker 100 of the eighth embodiment is shown in FIG. FIG. 18 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the front portion of the induction heating cooking section 2 and the front lower portion of the rice cooking section 1 in the rice cooker 100 according to the eighth embodiment.
The description may be omitted for the ones overlapping with the first to seventh embodiments. Further, the same parts as those in the first to seventh embodiments or the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

The rice cooker 100 according to the eighth embodiment is an improved version of the upper case 10C of the rice cooker 1.
The lower frame 10B is made of a plastic material and is formed in an annular shape. The inner diameter of the lower frame 10B is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the outer shell case 2A of the induction heating cooking section 2, and a gap GX (void) of several mm or more is secured between the outer shell case 2A and the lower frame 10B. Has been done.
Inside the bottom wall 10P of the lower frame 10B, a protruding (mountain-shaped) guide convex portion 10L that is long in the vertical direction is provided. A large number of guide convex portions 10L are formed at regular intervals (for example, every several centimeters) over the entire inner circumference of the lower frame 10B.

The lower end surface of the guide convex portion 10L has an arc surface. The arcuate surface of the guide convex portion 10L smoothly guides the rice cooking portion 1 to the outer peripheral end of the upper lid 2B constituting the outer shell case 2A when the rice cooking portion 1 is placed on the induction heating cooking portion 2. It is formed for the purpose of fitting the lower frame 10B so as to wrap the outer shell case 2A from above.

The partition wall 61 is formed vertically from the bottom of the lower case 2C made of a plastic material. Cooling air from the cooling fan 60 flows on the right side of the partition wall 61 as indicated by reference numeral CF (flows in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 18).

As described in the second embodiment, the reed switch 18 is typically configured by overlapping a part of two nickel alloy (magnetic material) leads and enclosing them in an elongated cylindrical glass tube. .. Therefore, the external shape of the reed switch 18 is an elongated cylindrical shape.

In the eighth embodiment, unlike the second embodiment, the reed switch 18 is changed in the installation direction so as to be longer in the left-right direction along the flow CF of the cooling air.
Since the partition wall 61 has a portion (front arc portion 61C) that is long installed in the left-right direction in the induction heating cooking portion 2, the reed switch 18 can be placed and fixed directly above the front arc portion 61C.
By using the front arc portion 61C, the dedicated support structure for the reed switch 18 can be simplified.

In FIG. 18, the fixing plate 31 is a fixing frame for fixing the permanent magnet 19 to the upper surface of the lower frame 10B, and is a member corresponding to the fixing plate 31 of the second embodiment.
The dimension W4 indicates the shortest distance from the outer peripheral surface of the inner hook 13 to the fixing plate 31. In the eighth embodiment, the reed switch 18 is lengthened in the left-right direction in order to secure the dimension W4 for a long time. As a result, the degree to which the permanent magnet 19 receives heat (conducting heat, radiant heat) from the outer peripheral surface of the inner pot 13 can be almost eliminated, and problems such as deterioration due to heat of the permanent magnet 19 do not occur.

With this configuration, even if the bottom of the rice cooking unit 1 receives the heat of the inner pot 13 heated by the induction heating coil 24 during the rice cooking operation and becomes hot, as shown in FIG. 18, the outer peripheral side of the top plate 20 Then, the gap GX (gap) is secured. Further, since the gap GX (gap) is in a state of communicating with the outside of the rice cooker 100 by a wall surface opening 30 such as a notch or a through hole, the effect of releasing hot air can be expected.

Therefore, in the rice cooker 100 of the eighth embodiment, the proximity and the degree of adhesion between the lower frame 10B and the top plate 20 forming the top surface of the induction heating cooking unit 2 are not affected, and the rice cooker 1 is viewed from the center. It is possible to suppress the temperature rise on the distant outer peripheral side.
As a result, it is possible to take measures against heat in the outer shell case 2A, and it is expected that a secondary effect of preventing overheating of the second input operation unit 22 and the second display unit 28 arranged in the front portion of the upper lid 2B can be expected.

Embodiment 9.
The main part of the rice cooker 100 of the ninth embodiment is shown in FIG. FIG. 19 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a left side portion of the induction heating cooking section 2 and a left side portion of the rice cooking section 1 in the rice cooker 100 according to the ninth embodiment.
The description may be omitted for the ones overlapping with the first to eighth embodiments. Further, the same parts as those in the first to eighth embodiments or the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

The rice cooker 100 according to the ninth embodiment is an improved version of the upper case 10C of the rice cooker 1. Further, as in the second embodiment, the reed switch 18 is arranged on the left side of the induction cooking unit 2. Specifically, the longitudinal direction of the partition wall 61 and the longitudinal direction of the reed switch 18 are matched, and the reed switch 18 is installed directly above the partition wall 61.

A partition wall 61 integrally formed with the bottom surface of the lower case 2C is provided on the bottom surface of the lower case 2C. The partition wall 61 is composed of a front arc portion 61C, a right side portion 61R, and a left side portion 61L, as in the second embodiment. The front arc portion 61C is on the front side of the lower case 2C and crosses the front side of the cooling fan 60. The right side portion 61R is continuous with the rear end surface of the front arc portion 61C and extends linearly behind the lower case 2C. The left side portion 61L is continuous with the rear end surface of the front arc portion 61C and extends linearly behind the lower case 2C.

Cooling air from the cooling fan 60 flows on the right side of the partition wall 61 as indicated by reference numeral CF (flows in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 19).

As described in the second and eighth embodiments, the reed switch 18 is formed by overlapping a part of two nickel alloy (magnetic material) reeds and enclosing the reed in a glass tube. The external shape of the reed switch 18 is an elongated cylindrical shape.

In the ninth embodiment, the reed switch 18 is different from the second embodiment so as to follow the flow CF of the cooling air, and the installation direction is changed so as to be longer in the front-rear direction.

Since the partition wall 61 has a portion (left side portion 61L) that is long installed in the left-right direction in the induction heating cooking portion 2, the reed switch 18 is placed and fixed directly above the left side portion 61L.
Therefore, the dedicated support structure for the reed switch 18 can be simplified by using the left side portion 61L.

In FIG. 19, the fixing plate 31 is a fixing frame for fixing the permanent magnet 19 to the upper surface of the lower frame 10B, and is a member corresponding to the fixing plate 31 of the second embodiment.
The dimension W4 indicates the shortest distance from the outer peripheral surface of the inner hook 13 to the fixing plate 31. In the ninth embodiment, since the reed switch 18 is lengthened in the front-rear direction, the dimension W4 can be secured to be long. Therefore, since the degree to which the permanent magnet 19 receives heat (conducting heat, radiant heat) from the outer peripheral surface of the inner pot 13 can be almost eliminated, problems such as deterioration due to heat of the permanent magnet 19 can be prevented from occurring.

In the ninth embodiment, the reed switch 18 is arranged directly above the partition wall 61, but the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 may be arranged directly above the partition wall 61 together with the reed switch 18. By using the partition wall 61 such as the left side portion 61L or the right side portion 61R, the dedicated support structure of the infrared signal transmission / reception unit 62 can be simplified.

In the second embodiment, the weight sensor 95 is provided on the induction heating cooking unit 2 side, but the weight sensor 95 may be provided on the rice cooking unit 1 side. Further, in both the state where the rice cooking unit 1 is placed on the induction heating cooking unit 2 and the state where only the rice cooking unit 1 is transported to another place and used, the rice taken out from the inner pot 13 is used. The weight may be measured many times and the calories may be calculated each time. The calorie value of the calculation result may be displayed on the first display unit 42.

The scene where the calories are displayed is during the period when the lid 11 is open in order to serve rice from the inner pot 13. Therefore, when the lid 11 is opened to a vertical position, in the form in which the first display 42 is located on the upper surface of the lid 11 (see FIG. 1), the user can use the first display 42. It is difficult to see the displayed contents.

In order to make it easier to visually recognize the calorie display in the scene where the calorie is displayed, a calorie display unit may be provided on the front surface of the lid 11. The calorie display unit may be, for example, a display unit of a light emitting diode that displays numbers or characters in seven segments.
Further, it is desirable that the scene for displaying calories is during the period when the lid 11 is open. Therefore, an operation key 44 (not shown) that enables the input function while the lid 11 is open may be provided to calculate the calorie value. For example, when the input signal of the operation key 44 is input to the control unit 40, the weight of the rice taken out (cooked) from the inner pot 13 is measured, and the calorie value corresponding to the weight of the rice is calculated. It may be configured to be.

The calorie value is calculated based on the difference between the weight immediately before measuring the weight of the rice and the weight at the stage when the weight of the rice in the inner pot 13 is reduced by serving the rice on tableware or the like. ..

When there is a power feeding unit 29 as in the second embodiment, the calorie display of the rice taken out from the rice cooker 100 can be displayed at an arbitrary timing even when the rice cooking unit 1 is separated from the induction heating cooking unit 2. is there.
That is, even if the rice cooking unit 1 alone is moved to another place, the calorie data calculated before the movement can be displayed. Further, when the rice is further taken out and eaten at the destination, the calorie calculation can be performed by the rice cooking unit 1 alone, and the calculation result can be displayed on the calorie display unit.

The calorie calculation result is stored in time series by a storage unit such as a semiconductor storage element attached to the control unit 23, and can be stored in the rice cooking unit 1 even after the rice cooking unit 1 is returned to the induction heating cooking unit 2. Therefore, it is possible to operate the first input operation unit 15 to display the calorie content per meal (when served in one bowl or the like, it means one cup) on the first display unit 42. it can. In addition, when several cups of rice are eaten in a bowl, the calorie value calculated by totaling the amount of rice eaten can be displayed for each person who ate. In other words, for each person who eats rice, the calorie value can be calculated and notified according to the amount of rice served in the bowl before meals, and when several families eat rice, the total value of the whole family can be calculated. It is also possible to check.

In the determination of one meal, for example, the rice cooking unit 1 is placed on the induction heating cooking unit 2 again from the first time point when the rice cooking unit 1 is separated from the induction heating cooking unit 2. The control unit 23 or the control unit 40 detects and performs the process up to the above time point via the reed switch 18.

For example, the control unit 23 or the control unit 40 may be configured to detect the first time point when the reed switch 18 is turned on once and the rice cooking unit 1 is placed and the rice is cooked. Further, the control unit 23 or the control unit 40 may be configured to detect a second time point in which the reed switch 18 is turned off once, the rice cooking unit 1 is separated, and the reed switch 18 is turned on again. Further, the control unit 23 or the control unit 40 may be configured to determine that one meal is from the first time point to the second time point.
To show a specific example, the control unit 23 or the control unit 40 sets the time point (12:01) when the reed switch 18 is turned on at 12:00 and the rice cooking unit 1 is placed and the rice is cooked. It can be configured to be detected as the first time point. Further, in the control unit 23 or the control unit 40, when the reed switch 18 is turned off at 13:03, the rice cooking unit 1 is separated and carried to the table or the like, and the reed switch 18 is turned on again (13:55). Minutes) can be configured to be detected as the second time point. Further, the control unit 23 or the control unit 40 can be configured to determine from 12:01 to 13:55 as one meal.

The data showing the calorie calculation result is stored in at least one of the rice cooking unit 1 and the induction heating cooking unit 2 unless the user operates the first input operation unit 15 to input erasure. You can do it. The data storage period may be a fixed period (for example, one week) or a period set by the user in the first input operation unit 15. It has already been proposed in Japanese Patent Documents (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2006-81641 and Japanese Patent No. 5611456) that the rice cooker 100 measures the weight of cooked rice, calculates the calories, and displays the calories. ..

As described above, the present invention has been described based on the first to ninth embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of each of the above-described embodiments. For example, the configuration of the illustrated rice cooker 100 is an example and is not limited to the above-mentioned contents, and the rice cooker 100 including other components can be similarly implemented. In short, the gist (technical scope) of the present invention also includes various modifications, applications, and uses made by those skilled in the art as necessary.

Further, the rice cooker 100 according to the present invention can be widely used not only in the kitchen of a general house but also in a kitchen such as a public facility or a store.

G1 void, G2 void, GX gap, KU first intake path, SH1 first air passage, SH2 second air passage, 1 rice cooking part, 2 induction heating cooking part, 2A outer shell case, 2B top lid, 2BU hem Part, 2C lower case, 2D convex part, 2E step part, 2H opening, 4 intake hole, 5 exhaust hole, 6 protrusion, 7 protrusion, 10 main body, 10a lid open / close button, 10B
Lower frame, 10BT step part, 10C upper case, 10L guide convex part, 10P bottom wall, 11 lid, 11a steam port, 12 hinge mechanism part, 13 inner pot, 14 handle, 15 first input operation part, 15A input Key, 16 holes, 17 containers, 18 reed switches, 18A mounting plate, 19 permanent magnets, 20 top plate, 21 steps, 22 second input operation unit, 22A input button, 22P surface plate, 22S detector, 23 control Unit, 24 Inductive heating coil, 25 Temperature sensor, 26 Ferrite, 27 Power supply board, 28 Second display unit, 29 Power supply unit, 30 Wall opening, 31 Fixing plate, 40 Control unit, 41 Infrared signal transmitter / receiver, 41A Infrared Light emitting element, 41B support board, 41C communication control unit, 42 first display unit, 44 operation keys, 50 power transmission coil, 51 power receiving coil, 60 cooling fan, 60C fan case, 60M fan motor, 61 partition wall, 61A notch 61C front arc part, 61L left side part, 61R right side part, 62 infrared signal transmission / reception part, 62A infrared communication element, 62B support board, 62C communication control part, 62R
Infrared light receiving element, 62S infrared light emitting element, 63 support frame, 64 screws, 65 fixing plate, 66 bottom plate, 70 mounting seat, 71 screws, 72 magnetic shield plate, 73 convex part, 74 pillars, 74A pillars, 74B pillars, 74C pillars, 74D prop, 75 protrusion, 76 cushion material, 77 intake port, 78 support leg, 79 auxiliary intake port, 80 heating circuit board, 81 heat dissipation fin, 82 support plate, 90 first window, 91 second window, 93 Shield plate, 95 weight sensor, 96 legs, 97 electronic switch, 97A pressing rod, 98 circuit board, 99
Protective sheet, 100 rice cooker, 101 through hole, 102 support frame, 103 protrusion (convex), 104 temperature detection circuit, 105 signal line, 106 control circuit board, 108 exhaust port, 110 sealant, 111 support plate, 112 Support legs, 113 support legs, 114 support convex parts, 115 support convex parts, 116 concave parts, 117 columns, 118 support legs, 119 support legs, 120 mounting plates, 122P surface plates, 123 through holes, 177 intake ports.

Claims (24)

A rice cooker that houses the food to be cooked inside,
It is provided with an induction heating cooking section in which the rice cooking section is placed on the upper surface and cooked.
The induction heating cooking unit supplies cooling air to the induction heating coil, a reed switch that detects that the rice cooking unit is placed on the induction heating cooking unit, and an induction heating coil that heats the rice cooking unit. With a cooling fan ,
It has an infrared signal transmission / reception unit that transmits an infrared signal between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit.
The rice cooking portion includes an upper case forming an outer shell and an annular lower frame made of a heat-resistant material provided below the upper case adjacent to the lower end surface of the upper case.
The induction heating cooking unit includes a plastic upper lid and a plastic lower case having a size overlapping the upper lid.
A partition wall extending upward is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case.
By partitioning the internal space of the induction heating cooking section with the partition wall, an air passage through which the cooling air of the cooling fan flows is formed on the induction heating coil side of the partition wall.
The reed switch is a rice cooker characterized in that the reed switch is arranged on the side opposite to the cooling fan with the partition wall interposed therebetween. A rice cooker that houses the food to be cooked inside,
It is provided with an induction heating cooking section in which the rice cooking section is placed on the upper surface and cooked.
The induction heating cooking unit includes an induction heating coil that heats the rice cooking unit and a cooling fan that supplies cooling air to the induction heating coil .
An infrared signal transmission / reception unit for transmitting an infrared signal between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit is provided.
The rice cooking portion includes an upper case forming an outer shell and an annular lower frame formed of a heat-resistant material provided below the lower end surface of the upper case.
The induction heating cooking unit includes an upper lid made of a heat-resistant material provided with a top plate on which the rice cooking unit is placed, and a lower case having a bottom whose upper surface opening is closed by the upper lid.
Between the upper cover and the lower case is provided with the upper cover, or at least one integrally formed on the partition wall of the lower case,
The rice cooker is characterized in that the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit is arranged on the side opposite to the cooling fan with the partition wall interposed therebetween. A rice cooker that houses the food to be cooked inside,
It is provided with an induction heating cooking section in which the rice cooking section is placed on the upper surface and cooked.
Inside the induction heating cooking unit, an induction heating coil for heating the rice cooking unit, an infrared signal transmission / reception unit for transmitting an infrared signal between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit, and the induction heating coil A cooling fan that supplies cooling air is provided, respectively.
The induction heating cooking unit includes a plastic upper lid and a plastic lower case having a size overlapping the upper lid.
The top plate on which the rice cooking part is placed is overlapped and fixed on the upper lid.
A mounting seat for holding the induction heating coil is integrally formed on the lower surface of the upper lid.
A partition wall extending upward beside the intake port of the cooling fan is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case, and a heat insulating material is formed between the upper end of the partition wall and the lower surface of the upper lid. Cushion material is arranged,
The rice cooker is characterized in that the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit is arranged on the side opposite to the cooling fan with the partition wall interposed therebetween. A rice cooker that houses the food to be cooked inside,
It is provided with an induction heating cooking section in which the rice cooking section is placed on the upper surface and cooked.
Inside the induction heating cooking section, there is an induction heating coil that heats the rice cooking section, a reed switch that detects that the rice cooking section is placed on the induction heating cooking section, and cooling air on the induction heating coil. With a cooling fan to supply
The induction heating cooking unit includes a plastic upper lid and a plastic lower case having a size overlapping the upper lid.
The top plate on which the rice cooking part is placed is overlapped and fixed on the upper lid.
A partition wall extending upward is integrally formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case.
The reed switch is a rice cooker characterized in that the reed switch is arranged on the side opposite to the cooling fan with the partition wall interposed therebetween. A box-shaped induction heating cooking unit including a top plate, an induction heating coil arranged below the top plate, and a second input operating means for inputting heating conditions of the induction heating coil.
A rice cooking unit including an inner pot heated by the induction heating coil and a first input operation unit for inputting rice cooking conditions is provided.
The rice cooking unit is heated by driving the induction heating coil in a state of being placed on the top plate of the induction heating cooking unit.
Inside the induction heating cooking unit, a cooling fan that supplies cooling air for cooling the induction heating coil and control information for cooking rice between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit are included. An infrared signal transmission / reception unit for transmitting an infrared signal and a transmission coil for supplying power to the rice cooking unit are provided, respectively.
In the induction heating cooking section, an outer shell case is formed by vertically stacking a plastic upper lid and a plastic lower case having a size overlapping the upper lid.
On the upper surface of the bottom of the lower case, a partition wall extending in the direction of the upper lid and receiving the load of the upper lid is integrally formed.
The power transmission coil is supported by support legs projecting upward from the bottom of the lower case .
The rice cooker is characterized in that the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit is arranged on the side opposite to the cooling fan with the partition wall interposed therebetween. A heating circuit board including an inverter circuit is placed at a position directly below the induction heating coil.
The rice cooker according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein cooling air is simultaneously supplied from the cooling fan to the induction heating coil and the heating circuit board. An intake port of the cooling fan is formed on the lower surface of the lower case.
The rice cooker according to claim 6 , wherein the heating circuit board is arranged so as to be hidden behind a line of sight when viewed from the outside of the intake port of the cooling fan. The infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit has an infrared light emitting element.
The rice cooker according to any one of claims 2, 3 and 5, wherein the infrared light emitting element is supported by the partition wall. Cooker according to claim 1, members constituting the outer shell of the induction heating cooking unit, to the said upper lid, characterized in that it is constituted by said lower case box-shaped plastic bottom. It said guide members constituting the outer shell of the cooking unit, and the upper cover is constituted by said lower case box-shaped plastic bottom,
The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein a mounting seat for supporting a heat-resistant plastic support frame for supporting the induction heating coil is integrally molded on the lower surface of the upper lid. The infrared signal transmission / reception unit has an infrared light emitting element.
A claim characterized in that a window for transmitting an infrared signal of the infrared light emitting element is formed in a part of the upper lid in which the induction heating cooking section and the rice cooking section overlap and are in close proximity to or in contact with each other. Item 2. The rice cooker according to any one of Items 2, 3, 5, and 9. Inside the front Symbol induction cooking unit, to avoid the region heated by the induction heating coil, at least two places around the induction heating coil to form a strut extending upward integrally from the upper surface of the lower case The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the rice cooker is provided. Inside the induction heating cooking section, struts extending upward integrally from the upper surface of the lower case are formed at at least two places around the induction heating coil, avoiding the heating region by the induction heating coil. The rice cooker according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the rice cooker is provided. The rice cooker according to claim 4, wherein a cushion material made of a heat insulating material is arranged between the upper end of the partition wall and the lower surface of the upper lid. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the top plate is overlapped and fixed on the upper lid. A reed switch for detecting that the rice cooking unit is placed on the induction heating cooking unit is further provided.
The rice cooker according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the reed switch is supported by the partition wall. A reed switch for detecting that the rice cooking unit is placed on the induction heating cooking unit is further provided.
The rice cooker according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the reed switch is arranged directly above the partition wall. Further, an infrared signal transmission / reception unit for transmitting an infrared signal between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit is provided.
The rice cooker according to claim 4, wherein the infrared signal transmission / reception unit and the reed switch are provided in the induction heating cooking unit while avoiding a heating region by the induction heating coil. Further, an infrared signal transmission / reception unit for transmitting an infrared signal between the induction heating cooking unit and the rice cooking unit is provided.
The infrared signal transmission / reception unit and the reed switch are provided in the induction heating cooking unit while avoiding the heating region by the induction heating coil.
The rice cooker according to claim 4, wherein the infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit and the reed switch are arranged directly above the partition wall. The rice cooking unit or the induction heating cooking unit has a weight sensor that measures the weight of rice cooked in the rice cooking unit, a control unit that calculates a calorie value according to the measurement result of the weight sensor, and the calorie value. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a display unit for displaying. The rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rice cooker has a power supply unit that receives power from the induction heating cooking unit by non-contact power supply. The rice cooking unit has a first display unit that displays information about rice cooking, and a power supply unit that receives electric power from the induction heating cooking unit by non-contact power supply.
The induction cooking unit includes a second display unit that displays information about induction cooking, and a power transmission coil for supplying electric power to the power supply unit.
Any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first display unit operates with electric power from the power feeding unit when the rice cooking unit is not placed on the induction heating cooking unit. The rice cooker described in. It said guide members constituting the outer shell of the cooking unit, and the upper cover is constituted by said lower case box-shaped plastic bottom,
A heating circuit board including an inverter circuit is placed at a position directly below the induction heating coil.
Said cooling fan, to the heating circuit board and the induction heating coil, supplying concurrently cooling air,
An intake port of the cooling fan is formed on the lower surface of the lower case.
The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the heating circuit board is arranged so as to be hidden behind a line of sight when viewed from the outside of the intake port of the cooling fan. The rice cooking unit has a first display unit that displays information about rice cooking, and a power supply unit that receives electric power from the induction heating cooking unit by non-contact power supply.
The induction cooking unit is provided with a second display unit that displays information on induction cooking.
The power transmission coil supplies electric power to the power supply unit.
The rice cooker according to claim 5, wherein the first display unit operates with electric power from the power feeding unit when the rice cooking unit is not placed on the induction heating cooking unit.

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