JPH02147022A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a rice cooker in which an operating section or a display section is provided on the top surface of the lid.

(Prior art) In conventional rice cookers, the operation panel is generally attached to the lower part of the outer periphery of the rice cooker body so as to protrude from the bottom.
This operation panel is provided with an operation section that can be operated from the outside, and a display lamp or a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode is disposed inside the operation panel, so that the operation section can be operated to perform rice cooking operation. At the same time, the process of the rice cooking operation can be confirmed by visually confirming the light from the light emitting element based on the operation through a window provided in the operation panel.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) In general, rice cookers are usually placed on low places such as tables or sinks in order to scoop out the rice in the pot after cooking. Therefore, the position of the user's eyes is also usually higher than the main body. However, with the above-mentioned device, the control panel is located at the bottom of the outer periphery of the main body, so if you are standing, your line of sight is too diagonal to the control panel. The disadvantage was that it was difficult to operate.

In order to eliminate such drawbacks, the present inventor has considered providing an operating section or a display section on the top surface of the lid. However, since the lid is formed with a steam vent to release the steam generated during cooking, the rice soup is blown out from the steam vent as the steam is ejected, and it spills onto the top surface of the lid. Therefore, if the operation panel is installed on the top of the lid, there is a risk that liquid splashing from the steam vent may fall onto the operation panel and enter the internal electrical parts, causing problems. be.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and its purpose is to improve the visibility and operability of the operation section and display section, and to prevent the liquid (water i) splashed from the steam vent from being removed from the panel. To provide a rice cooker that can be prevented from falling into the water.

[Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) The rice cooker of the present invention is provided with a panel having an operation section or a display section and a steam vent on the upper surface of the lid, It is provided at a position away from the steam vent.

(Function) Since the operating section or display section is provided on the top surface of the lid,
The visibility and operability of the operation section and display section are improved. Moreover,
Since the panel is located far away from the steam vent, the liquid (water droplets) splashed from the steam vent will fall onto the top surface of the lid before reaching the panel, preventing the liquid from falling onto the panel. I'll come.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, in FIG. 3 showing the overall appearance, 1 is the main body of the rice cooker, and 2 is a lid that is provided to the main body 1 so that it can be opened and closed via a well-known hinge mechanism 3. As shown in the enlarged view, it consists of an outer cover plate 4 and an inner cover plate 5, and a handle base 6 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4, and a handle cover is attached to the handle base 6 to cover the upper part. 7 is attached.

A plurality of engagement protrusions 8 are formed on the inner peripheral edge of the outer cover plate 4, while a plurality of engagement protrusions 8 are formed on the outer circumferential edge of the inner cover plate 5 in correspondence with the engagement protrusions 8. A mating recess 9 is formed, and the engaging protrusion 8 is held in an engaged state by the elasticity of the inner cover plate 5 and outer cover plate 4 themselves. Reference numeral 10 denotes a stepped cylindrical steam venting cylinder having a large diameter part 10a and a small diameter part 10b at the top and bottom, and has flanges 1 at both the top and bottom ends, respectively.
1°12 is formed, and the small diameter portion 10b has a threaded portion] 3
and steam vent holes 14 are formed vertically. The steam venting cylinder 10 has an insertion hole 15 formed to protrude downward from one side of the outer cover plate 4 and an inner cover plate 5 corresponding to the insertion hole 15.
The nut member 17 is inserted into the hole 16 formed in the inner cover plate 5 from below the inner cover plate 5 with the flange 11 in contact with the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4. The nut member 17 is pressed against the inner cover plate 5, and the outer cover plate 4 and the inner cover plate 5 are sandwiched at one side thereof by such a mounting structure of the steam venting cylinder 10. The steam venting cylinder 10 attached in this manner has its upper end opening, the steam vent port 10C, open upward on the top surface of the lid 2. Although not shown, an engagement protrusion for engaging the inner cover is provided on the lower surface of the inner cover plate 5, and this engagement protrusion and the small-diameter portion [Ob] of the steam venting cylinder 10 connect the inside of the cover 2. An inner lid (not shown) is engaged and held on the lower surface of the lid plate 5. 18 is the inner lid plate 5 of the lid 2
This is a lid heater for keeping the inner lid warm, which is installed in the center of the lid. 19 is a panel, which will be described in detail below. That is, the panel 19 is made of ABS resin, for example, and has four seat mounting portions 20 that slope toward the sides of the main body 1 formed on its upper surface, and the seat mounting recesses 20 have four seat mounting portions 20 as shown in FIG. For example, two operating openings 21.
22 and four display openings 23 to 26 are formed. By forming peripheral wall portions 19a diagonally downward on the four sides of the panel 19, and increasing the height of the peripheral wall portions 19a sequentially toward the handle base 6 side, the panel 19 can be tilted downwardly toward the outside. I'm letting you do it. Also, one outer edge of the peripheral wall portion 19a (the left outer edge in FIG. 1)
A U-shaped engagement groove 27 is formed in the periphery, while a fitting protrusion 28 is formed at the lower part of the periphery, located slightly inward from the periphery. Further, a boss portion 29 is integrally provided on the lower surface of the panel 19 and projects downward.
A female threaded portion 30 is formed in the cylindrical portion.

One panel configured in this manner has the engagement groove 27 engaged with the edge of the opening 31 formed in the portion of the outer cover plate 4 located on the opposite side of the steam vent cylinder 10, and The fitting protrusion 28 is fitted to bring the peripheral edge of the panel 19 into abutting engagement with the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4, and in this state, the boss 29 of the panel 19 is raised against the inner cover plate 5. It is fixed to the inner cover plate 5 by screws 33 inserted from below into the formed screw holes 32, and thereby the inner cover plate 5 is sandwiched between the outer cover plate 4 and the inner cover plate 5 via the panel 19. The binding force binds the two together. Reference numeral 34 denotes a printed circuit board disposed between the panel 19 and the inner lid plate 5, and on the top surface of this circuit board, for example, two operation switches (not shown), which are electrical components for operating the rice cooking operation, are installed. operation parts 35 and 36 (see Fig. 2) and four light emitting elements 37 to 40 for displaying the rice cooking operation process.
are arranged so as to face the respective openings 21 to 26 for operation and display of the panel 19, thereby forming the display section 49. Lead wires (not shown) led out from the operation switches and light emitting elements 37 to 40 on the printed circuit board 34 are connected to lead wires introduced into the lid 2 from the main body 1. Reference numeral 41 denotes an elastically deformable sheet affixed to the sheet attachment recess 20 of the panel 19, and as shown in FIG. Indication marks 42 and 43 are formed to indicate the display openings 23 to 26, and transparent windows 44 to 47 are formed in areas facing the display openings 23 to 26. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 48 designates a clamp for releasing the lid 20 provided on the handle cover 7.

In this embodiment, the steam vent 10c is provided in the rear part of the lid 2 (the right part in FIG. 1).
A panel 19 is provided on the front side portion of the top surface of the lid 2 (the left side portion in the figure), which is a position away from 0c.

In the case of this embodiment having such a configuration, one panel is provided on the top surface of the lid 2, so that the operation sections 35, 36 and the display section 49 of this panel 19 are easy to see, and the operation section 3
5.36 becomes easier to operate.

Moreover, since the panel 19 is provided at a position away from the steam vent 10c, even if rice soup (water droplets) from the rice splashes from the steam vent 10c during rice cooking, the steam vent 10c The juice (water droplets) splashed from the lid 2 falls on the top surface of the lid 2 before reaching the panel 19.
It is possible to prevent juice from falling on the panel 19. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the panel 19 from getting dirty with juice, and also to solve the problem that the juice enters the internal electrical components through the gaps in the panel 19 and deteriorates the insulation properties thereof.

In this embodiment, since the panel 19 is inclined,
The user's line of sight becomes more perpendicular to the panel 19,
The visibility of the panel 19 can be greatly improved, and the operation parts 35, 3
6. It is possible to improve the visibility of the text such as "Keep Warming" attached to the panel 19 and the light emitted from the light emitting elements 37 to 40, and of course, the operability of the operation parts 35 and 36 can also be improved.

Incidentally, such an effect can also be obtained with a configuration in which the panel is formed integrally with the outer cover plate, but with this structure, it is necessary to remove the inner cover plate in order to repair the electrical components on the printed circuit board 34. It is necessary to remove it from the outer cover plate, which is really troublesome, and in this case, if the panel is configured to protrude from the outer cover plate as in this example, the handle base will have to be separated from the outer cover plate due to the structure of the mold. This results in the problem that it has to be formed in a straight line. It is also possible to consider a configuration in which a separate panel is screwed to the outer cover plate, but in this case, if the panel is screwed to the outer cover plate from above, it may be easy to remove, but the head of the screw will be attached to the outside. However, if the panel is screwed to the outer cover plate from the inside, it will look better, but unless the inner cover plate is removed from the outer cover plate during removal, the panel will not be visible. It cannot be removed and it is really troublesome to remove the panel.

However, in this embodiment, since the panel 19 is fixed to the inner cover plate 5 by the screws 33 from below, the heads of the screws 33 are not exposed on the panel 19, and of course the appearance is good. , when removing panel 19, screw 3
3, the panel 19 is inserted into the opening 31 of the outer cover plate 4.
The panel 19 can be easily removed from the lid 2 by simply lifting it outward from the lid 2, thereby providing excellent removability of a single panel. Furthermore, when attaching the panel 19, after the engagement groove 27 of the panel 19 is engaged with the edge of the opening 31 of the outer cover plate 4, the fitting protrusion 28 is fitted into the opening 31. Simply place the peripheral edge of the panel 19 on the top surface of the outer cover plate 4, insert the screw 33 into the screw hole 32 of the inner cover plate 5, and tighten it to the boss 29 of the panel 19.
Since the installation of the panel 19 is completed, the installation of the panel 19 is excellent. Moreover, in this way, one panel is attached to the inner cover plate 5 with 33 screws.
By attaching the panel 19, a clamping force is applied between the outer cover plate 4 and the inner cover plate 5 through the panel 19, and the two are bonded together. ,
1. Not only can the assembly work of the lid 2 itself including the -19 be easily performed, but also the clamping force can be applied to the central part of the lid 2 with one panel, so the outer lid plate 4 and the inner lid can be used for a long period of time. Even when the engagement force between the engagement protrusion 8 of the outer cover plate 4 and the engagement recess 9 of the inner cover plate 5 is reduced due to deformation of the plate 5, the strength of the outer cover plate 4 and the inner cover plate is lower than that of the conventional structure. 5 can be stably maintained, and since the peripheral edge of one panel is pressed against the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4, the peripheral edge of the one panel does not rise to the upper surface of the outer cover plate 4. It adheres securely and looks good. In addition, especially in this embodiment, since the panel 19 is made of ABS resin, the adhesiveness of the sheet 41 is of course good, and even if the two bosses are integrally provided on the bottom surface of the panel 19, For example, unlike polypropylene, which generally forms the outer cover plate, there is no sinkage on the upper surface of the panel 19, and the appearance of the panel 19 can be kept beautiful.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention provides a panel having an operation section or a display section and a steam vent on the upper surface of the lid, and the panel is connected to the steam vent. Since it is located far away from the steam vent, it is possible to improve the visibility and operability of the operation section and display section, as well as to prevent spills from the steam vent.
+ (Water a) falls on the top surface of the lid before reaching the panel, resulting in an excellent effect of preventing the liquid from falling onto the panel.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the lid, Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the panel portion, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the panel.
The figure is an overall perspective view. In the drawing, 2 is a lid, 4 is an outer cover plate, 5 is an inner cover plate, 19 is a panel, 10 is a steam vent cylinder, 10c is a steam vent, 31 is an opening, 33 is a screw, and 34 is a printed circuit board. , 35 and 36 are operating sections, 37 to 4o are light emitting elements, and 49 is a display section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rice cooker, characterized in that the upper surface of the lid is provided with a panel having an operation section or a display section and a steam vent, and the panel is provided at a position away from the steam vent.