JPH078251B2 - Automatic rice cooker - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic rice cooker that automatically performs washing from rice to cooking rice.

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional automatic rice cooker of this type is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 49-132273.
As shown in the publication, the structure is as shown in FIG.

That is, in FIG. 5, 1 is a main body of an automatic rice cooker, 2 is a rice stock case, 3 is a rice weighing device, 4 is an electromagnet for operating the rice weighing device 3, and weighing is determined by the number of actuations. Reference numeral 5 denotes a water reservoir provided below the rice weighing device 3. The water reservoir 5 communicates with an adjacent water tank 6 through a large number of holes 7 through which rice grains do not pass. 8 is a water pipe for sending water to the water tank 6, 9 is a valve, and 10 is a float.
Is to keep the water level in the water tank 6 constant. 11 is a water level surface, 12 is a screw for washing rice and washed rice,
13 is a motor for driving a screw, 14 is a transport pipe, 15 is an outlet of the transport pipe 14, and this outlet 15 is arranged in a lid 18 for sealing a pot 17 housed in the main body 1 and It is exposed inside. 16 is the exit of the transport pipe 14
This is a backflow prevention lid that seals 15, and this backflow prevention lid 16 is exposed when the transportation pipe 14 is exposed inside the pot 17 which is closed by the lid 18, and when rice is cooked in the pot 17 as it is. Also, steam and pressure generated by cooking rice are prevented from flowing back to the transport pipe 14 side. Reference numeral 19 is a hole formed in the peripheral wall of the pot 17, and the hole 19 is so small that rice grains do not flow out.

20 is a packing attached to the periphery of the lid 18, 21 is a lid 17
It is a sealed body that seals the hole 19 drilled in the peripheral wall of the
When the rice 21 is cooked in the pot 17, the hole 19 is closed so that the pot 17 having the hole 19 can cook the rice without water flowing out from the hole 19. 22 is a spring that presses the closed body 21 against the kettle 17, 23 is an electromagnet that separates the closed body 21 from the kettle 17, 24 is a tubular drainage channel, and a packing 25 is attached to the opening of the drainage channel 24. This packing 25 is 17
By making close contact with the outer wall around the hole 19, the excess water contained in the pot 17 overflows and flows out.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a drainage / water addition / adjustment pipe, which is attached to the drainage passage 24 so as to be able to move up and down without leaking water. Reference numeral 27 is a water passage hole formed in the drainage and water adjustment pipe 26. By adjusting the lower end of the water passage hole 27 to the height of the water stored in the pot 17, the water content of the cooked rice can be adjusted. 29 is a rack provided on the drainage / water adjustment pipe 26, 30 is a pinion that meshes with the rack 29, and this pinion 30 works in conjunction with the operation switch of the electromagnet 4 of the rice weighing device 3 to determine the amount of water at the same time as weighing rice. To do. 32 is a drain pipe, 33 is an empty cooker and a kettle 17
Switch for preventing malfunction when water does not flow into the pot installation part when there is no heat source, 34 is an insulating board, and a heater 35 is installed in the part of the insulating board 34 where the bottom of the pot 17 contacts. ing. 36 is rice stock case 2
Is the lid.

Next, the operation of the automatic rice cooker having the above configuration will be described. First, activate the electromagnet 4 to weigh an arbitrary amount of rice,
Moreover, if the lower end of the water passage 27 is made to coincide with the height of the water stored in the pot 17 by raising and lowering the drainage / water adjustment pipe 26, the rice measured by the rice measuring device 3 will have a constant water level. It falls into the water reservoir 5 that is stored. At the same time, or after a while, drive the motor 13 to turn the screw 12
When the screw is rotated, the rice dropped in the water reservoir 5 is washed by the rotation of the screw 12, and the water is moved up the transport pipe 14 by the rotation of the screw 12, and the water is raised from the outlet 15 of the transport pipe 14 to the pot 17
Water flows inside. Then, the rice grains sent together with this water are also sent to the kettle 17 by moving up the transport pipe 14. In this case, according to the experimental results, the water reservoir 5
If the flow rate of is 5 cm per second, rice rises vertically up the transport tube 14. Then, of the water that has flowed into the pot 17 together with the rice, the excess water is drained from the hole 19 in the order of the drainage channel 24, the water passage hole 27, the drainage / water adjustment pipe 26, and the drainage pipe 32, and all the rice Kettle 1
When the motor 13 is stopped by the timer or the like built in the main body 1 at the time of sending it to the water 7, the sending of the water to the water transport pipe 14 is stopped, so that the water in the kettle 17 is at the lower end 28 of the water passage hole 27. Those above the position of will be discharged through the hole 19. At this point, the attractive force of the electromagnet 23 is released and the sealed body
21 closes all holes 19 of the shuttle 17 by the force of the spring 22. After that, a timer built in the main body 1 soaks the water for about 10 minutes, and then the heater 35 is used to cook the rice.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above conventional automatic rice cooker, rice and water are simultaneously screwed together.
Since the water reservoir 5 is located on the lower side of the main body 1 and the shuttle 17 is located on the upper side of the main body 1, it is configured to be lifted by 12, and if a power failure or the like occurs during operation of the screw 12, There was a problem that water and rice flow back and overflow from the lower part of the water reservoir 5, and the inside of the main body 1 becomes dirty.

Moreover, since the flow velocity of the water reservoir 5 by the screw 12 rotated by the motor 13 needs to be 5 cm or more per second, not only the output of the motor 13 is considerably large, but also because this velocity is considerably large, There was a problem that the rice that started to absorb water was broken into small pieces at the cracks.

Further, since the rice and water are sent by the transportation pipe 14, it is inevitable that the rice bran juice adheres to the transportation pipe 14.For example, when cleaning or the like, it is very inconvenient because the route is long. In addition, a sound is produced when the rice falls into the pot 17, which is very inconvenient when used at night.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,
Even if a power failure occurs when sending rice and water into the pot,
They do not flow backwards, the output of the pump can be reduced, and the decoction does not adhere to the water supply pipe, and the noise when transferring rice into the pan can be reduced. The purpose is to provide an automatic rice cooker.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to a bottomed cylindrical pot for storing rice, a heating element for heating the pot, and a lid for covering the top opening of the pot. , A water tank, a pump for supplying water in the water tank to the pan from the top opening of the pan via a water supply pipe, a rice pot for storing rice, and a rice pot for storing rice in the pot. A rice transfer device for transferring rice is provided, the water tank is arranged in parallel with the pan at substantially the same height, and the rice is transferred after water is supplied into the pan.

Action According to the above configuration, the bottomed cylindrical pot for storing rice and the water tank are arranged in parallel at approximately the same height, and the water in the water tank is pumped into the pot via the water supply pipe. Since water is supplied from the top opening, even if a power failure occurs during operation of the pump, water does not flow backward and overflow into the body, and the pump output is almost the same as in the water tank and pan. By arranging them in parallel to each other, they can be made extremely small, save energy, and transfer rice after supplying water to the pot, so that rice can be placed in the pot. At this time, the rice will be put in the water, and as a result, the sound of the rice can be reduced, the rice can be prevented, and the water can only pass through the water supply pipe. It is said that the rice syrup etc. will adhere to it as in the past. There is no need to worry.

Example Hereinafter, one example of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, 40 is a bottomed cylindrical pot for storing rice, and the pot 40 is placed on a heating element 41 and heated. 42 is a pot
A lid body that covers the upper opening of 40, and one end side of this lid body 42 is rotatably supported and the other end side is disengaged. 43 is a radiator plate provided on the inside of the lid body 42, that is, on the pan 40 side. A lid heater (not shown) is fixed to the radiator plate 43, and the radiator plate 43 is for preventing dew condensation. It is made of aluminum. A pot packing 44 is sandwiched between the lid body 42 and the heat dissipation plate 43 and fixed by a screw 45. The pot packing 44 is made of an elastic resin such as silicone rubber. The vapor is prevented from leaking through the gap between the heat sink 43 and the heat sink 43. An outer lid 46 covers the outer shell of the lid 42. 47 is a rice cooking frame that houses the above-mentioned rice cooking unit, and on the upper surface of this rice cooking frame 47, a hinge part 47a that rotatably supports one end of the lid 42 on the shaft support side,
Hooking part 4 where the lever 46a on the other end engaging / disengaging side of the outer lid 46 is attached / detached
7b is provided. Reference numeral 48 denotes a water tank for storing water. The water tank 48 is arranged in parallel with the pot 40 at substantially the same height and is detachably accommodated in a water tank receiving portion 47c behind the rice cooking frame 47.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 49 denotes a pump joint portion provided below the water tank 48, which is connected to the water inlet side of the pump 50. 51 is a water supply pipe having one end connected to the drain side 50a of the pump 50 and the other end facing the center of the heat dissipation plate 43. The water supply pipe 51 is usually made of an aluminum material, but the hinge of the lid 42 is formed. The portion 47a side may be made of a flexible resin such as silicon rubber. 52 is a water pipe
At the water outlet that pours water from near the center of the lid of 51 toward the pan 40,
The water outlet 52 is provided with packing 53 for preventing inflow of steam or the like generated during rice cooking.

Further, in FIG. 1, 54 is an operation unit for controlling the amount of rice cooked, etc., which is fixed by a rice cooker frame 47 and a screw 55, and can be put in and taken out in a cabinet 57 of the automatic rice cooker shown in FIG. It is stored. Further, the operation of the pump 50 is stopped by the microcomputer or the like in the operation unit 54, but the rice cooking control and the like are the same as those of the conventional rice cooker. 48a represents the upper surface of the water level of the water tank 48, and 40a represents the surface of the water level in the pot 40. Five
Reference numeral 6 denotes an inner lid that covers the upper surface opening of the pot 40, and a passage hole / fitting hole 56a for the water outlet 52 is provided at the center of the inner lid 56.

The cabinet 57 is provided with a drawer, the upper drawer 62 is provided with a rice cooking section 63 and a water tank 48, and the lower drawer 65 is a rice bowl section 66 inside. Further, a rice washing device 67 is provided under the rice pot portion 66, and a rice transfer device 63 is provided by blowing air to the upper rice cooking portion 63 after washing the rice.
It is equipped with a (only hose is shown in the drawing) and a device (not shown) for collecting bran discharged during rice polishing. The rice washing device
In this embodiment, 67 is composed of a lath reticulated rice-polishing body 67a and a polishing body 67b provided with a brush or the like on the surface, and both are used for polishing rice, so-called anhydrous rice washing is performed. . On top of the rice cooker 63, a steam treatment device 68
This steam processing device 68 cools the steam generated during rice cooking with a fan inside, and the cabinet
It is designed to be discharged from an exhaust port 69 provided at the upper front part of 57. The rice cooking unit 63 has a structure in which the weight can be measured by the weight sensor 60.

Next, the structure of the rice cooker 63 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. 74 is a handle provided on the outer lid 46. And the rice cooker 63 has a removable pan 40 and a heater 41.
A housing 79 for accommodating the heat insulating material 78, a temperature sensor 80, and the like. A packing 44 is attached to the inner surface of the outer lid 46, and when the outer lid 46 is closed, the packing 44 is a pot.
Press on the top of 40. 82 is a sliding member.
Is to slide up and down along a mounting plate 83 that stands on the bottom plate of the upper drawer 62. Reference numeral 84 is a guide for guiding the vertical movement of the sliding member 82. A rack gear 82a is provided at the lower end of the sliding member 82, and the rack gear 82a meshes with a pinion gear 85a attached to the rotating shaft of the geared motor 85. Further, limit switches 87a and 87b are provided at positions where the sliding member 82 comes into contact with the small piece portion 86, and the outer lid 46 is provided.
Does not open all the way, but only opens halfway. Further, the projection 88 on the upper end portion of the sliding member 82 is normally engaged with the tip of the hook lever 46b, but it can be attached and detached when necessary. And the above-mentioned members 82
~ 88 constitutes a lid opening / closing device. 89 is a rice transfer nozzle provided at the tip of the hose that constitutes the rice transfer device 63a, and this rice transfer nozzle 89 is positioned so as to face the gap between the outer lid 46 and the pan 40 when the outer lid 46 is closed. is set up.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When moving the automatic rice cooker, in the process of transferring rice and water to the pan 40 and measuring the weight of each, first, when the geared motor 85 rotates in the forward direction, the sliding member 82 rises and the outer lid.
46 starts to open with the hook lever 46b and the protrusion 88 engaged. When the small piece portion 86 and the limit switch 87a come into contact with each other due to the opening of the outer lid 46, the geared motor 85 stops,
As shown in FIG. 3, the outer lid 46 is held in a partially opened state. By opening the outer lid 46, packing the pan 40
The pressure of 44 disappears. In this state, the weight including the pot 40, the heater 41, the casing 79, etc. is measured by the weight sensor 60. Then, after this, the cooking water required for cooking rice is supplied a little less than the specified amount. This is to adjust the water for the amount of rice later and to mute the noise during rice transfer. After that, rice becomes rice bowl 66
After being sent to the rice washing device 67 and washed by the rice washing device 67, the rice transfer device 63a causes the rice transfer nozzle 89 to cover the outer lid 46.
It is sent to the pot 40 through the gap between the pot and the pot 40. Then, after the rice is transferred, the weight of the rice cooking section 63 is measured, and the difference between the measured value and the previous value is calculated to obtain the weight of the rice. Next, a shortage of water for cooking rice is supplied to the weight of rice, but in this case,
The ratio of rice and water is calculated so that the amount of water initially measured is adjusted, and while measuring the amount of water supplied several times during the water supply, water is supplied from the water tank 48 via the water supply pipe 51 by the small pump 50,
It is sent to the pot 40. When the transfer and measurement of rice and water are completed, the geared motor 85 rotates in the reverse direction to lower the sliding member 84. By this descending, the small piece part 86 and the limit switch
When 87b abuts, geared motor 85 stops, and outer lid 4
6 can also be closed. After this, the rice cooking process is started. After this, the outer lid 46 is closed by the lid opening / closing device, and the drawer can be pulled out.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, as is clear from the description of the above embodiments,
A bottomed cylindrical pot for storing rice and a water tank are installed side by side at almost the same height, and the water in the water tank is fed by a pump from the top opening of the pot via a water supply pipe. Therefore, even if a power failure occurs during the operation of the pump, the water does not flow backward and overflow into the body, and the pump output is such that the water tank and the pot are installed side by side at almost the same height. By making it possible to make it extremely small,
Since energy is saved and the rice is transferred after it is supplied to the pot, when the rice is put in the pot, the rice is put in the water, and as a result,
It is possible to reduce the sound of rice input, prevent rice dust only, and because water can only pass through the water supply pipe, it is possible to eliminate the sticking of rice, etc. as in the past. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an automatic rice cooker showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the automatic rice cooker, FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the automatic rice cooker, and FIG. A perspective view of the automatic rice cooker,
FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional automatic rice cooker. 40 …… pan, 41 …… heating element, 42 …… cover, 48 …… water tank, 50 …… pump, 51 …… water supply pipe, 66 …… rice box, 63
a: Rice transfer device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bottomed cylindrical pot for storing rice, a heating element for heating the pot, a lid for covering an upper opening of the pot, a water tank, and water in the water tank. The water tank has a pump for supplying water from the top opening of the pan through a water supply pipe in the pan, a rice pot for storing rice, and a rice transfer device for transferring rice from the rice pot to the pan. An automatic rice cooker in which rice is transferred after water has been placed in the pan at approximately the same height as the pan.