JPH03202019A - Rice cooking and warming jar - 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] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a rice-cooking and warming pot, and in particular, the present invention relates to a rice-cooking rice-warming jar, and in particular, to properly control heater energization at the time of transition from the end of the rice-cooking process to the warming process, and to close the lid of the rice-cooking pot. This invention relates to a rice cooker that can prevent dew from dripping when opened.

[Conventional technology]

The rice-cooking and warming jars currently on the market are a combination of an electric rice cooker and a warming jar.

Such a rice-cooking and warming jar is provided with a heater at the bottom of the inner pot, and heating power is supplied to the heater to cook the rice. In addition, a heat-retaining heater is provided on the lid of the inner pot or the body of the inner pot to keep the rice warm, and after the rice is cooked, the energization of the heater is controlled to keep the cooked rice warm. This is to ensure that the cooked rice is always warm when eaten.

In addition, with the aim of cooking delicious rice, a controller equipped with a temperature sensor and a microcomputer measures the temperature of the rice cooker, inputs data on the temperature or temperature rise into the microcomputer, and determines the rice cooking capacity. Therefore, microcomputer-controlled automatic rice cookers, so-called microcomputer rice cookers, have been developed that perform appropriate power control according to the rice cooking capacity and cook rice. An automatic rice cooker that cooks rice under microcomputer control sequentially processes water absorption process,
Cooking rice capacity determination process, ■ Cooking process.

■Boiling maintenance process, ■First unevenness process, ■Additional cooking process,
A series of rice cooking process controls such as (2) a second unevenness process and (2) a heat retention process are performed to perform rice cooking in an optimal state, and after the rice cooking control is performed, a heat retention control state is entered. In this way, the microcomputer-controlled rice cooker can finely control the rice cooking process through program control, so by being equipped with programs for multiple types of rice cooking control patterns, it can be used for multi-function rice cooking, fast-cooking rice, and timer reservation rice 9. It is equipped with various convenient functions such as cooking rice immediately after washing. In addition, a rice-cooking and warming jar that combines a microcomputer-controlled automatic rice cooker and a warming jar has been realized.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, in such a rice cooking/warming jar, after the rice cooking process control is completed, the rice keeping process control is performed to keep the cooked rice warm at a keeping temperature of around 70°C. The reason for switching to heat retention process control is to ensure that the cooked rice is always warm to eat.

Microcomputer-controlled automatic rice cookers can finely control the warming process using program control, but conventional warming process control is a process that is installed at the bottom of the inner pot when the temperature of the inner pot drops. The heat retention control simply detects the temperature with a temperature sensor and keeps the temperature of the inner pot at a constant temperature. For this reason, in the rice cooker,
There is a problem in that the temperature decreases relatively quickly, and dew condensation occurs around the lid away from the location where the heat-retaining heater is installed, causing the dew to drip onto the rice.

On the other hand, in order to prevent dew from dripping from the lid of the pot, a heating jar with a lid heater has been developed in which a heating heater is provided in the lid. However, in order to provide the heat-retaining heater on the lid of the heat-retaining jar, an electrical connection must be made to supply electricity to the heat-retaining heater through a hinge portion between the lid and the body of the heat-retaining jar. In this case, the electrical connection at the hinge part is a moving part and there is a possibility that dew may accumulate, so the reliability is low.

To make the hinge part have a highly reliable electrical connection.

There is a problem that the thermal jar is expensive.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rice-cooking and warming jar that appropriately controls the energization of the heater at the end of the cooking process and at the transition to the warming process, and prevents dew from dripping when the lid of the rice-cooking pot is opened. .

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become clear from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the rice cooking and warming jar of the present invention includes a temperature sensor installed near the bottom of the inner pot.

A rice cooking heater installed at the bottom of the inner pot and a first heater installed near the pot lid.
The heat retention heater, the second heat retention heater provided in the body of the inner pot, and the temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor control the energization of each heater, and control the rice cooking process including the rice cooking process and the shading process, and the heat retention process control. The rice-cooking/warming jar has a control means for controlling the temperature at which the cooking process ends, and the control means immediately starts energization control of the first heat-retaining heater when moving to the steaming process after detecting the temperature at the end of the cooking process, It is characterized by maintaining the part at a higher temperature than the surrounding area.

In addition, when moving to the steaming process after detecting the temperature at the end of the cooking process, the control means immediately starts energization control of the first warming heater at a predetermined calorific value, so that the temperature of the inner pot is set at the warming setting. Once the temperature is reached, the first heat-retaining heater and the second
A rice-cooking/warming jar characterized by performing a warming operation by controlling the energization of a heat-retaining heater [Function] According to the above-described means, in the rice-cooking/warming jar, a warming heater (first warming heater) is provided near the pot lid;
A heat retention heater (second heat retention heater) is provided in the body of the inner pot,
When proceeding to the steaming process after detecting the temperature at the end of the cooking process, the control means immediately starts controlling the energization of the first heat-retaining heater to maintain the pot lid at a temperature higher than the surrounding temperature.

For this reason, the energization control of the first heat retention heater provided near the pot lid is started immediately after the end of the cooking process, and the heating process is performed while heating the lid part of the inner pot, and then the process moves to the heat retention process. Therefore, from the end of the cooking process until the transition to the warming process, the lid of the rice cooker is kept at a higher temperature than the surrounding area, and excess moisture is evaporated from the lid, and the lid is heated to a higher temperature. There is no temperature drop. This prevents dew from forming on the lid.

In other words, since the lid of the inner pot is made of a material such as aluminum that has good thermal conductivity, from the end of the cooking process until the control of the heat retention process, the first heat insulation provided near the pot lid is used. If the heater is not energized.

The temperature of the lid of the inner pot decreases relatively quickly, causing condensation, but at the time of transition, the first heat-retaining heater installed on the shoulder is immediately energized, so the first heat-retaining heater is applied to the lid. The heat from the heater is conducted, the lid of the rice cooker is maintained at a higher temperature than the surrounding area, and excess water is evaporated from the lid. Further, even during the transition period before the heat retention operation, there is no sudden temperature drop in the lid portion, and dew condensation can be prevented.

Therefore, according to this rice cooker, if the user wants to use the rice from the rice cooker when transitioning to the keep warm state after rice cooking or when the rice is already in the keep warm state, the user must open the lid of the rice cooker. There is no dripping of dew, making it easier to use and preventing so-called white blurring of rice.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a rice cooking and warming jar according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is the rice cooker main body, 2 is the lid of the rice cooker main body 1, and 3 is the main body of the rice cooker main body 1. The main body part 3 includes an inner pot storage container 5 for storing an inner pot of 4 degrees. A rice cooking heater 6 at the bottom of the inner pot, a shoulder ring 7 provided at the shoulder of the inner pot storage container, and a heat retention heater (first heat retention heater; hereinafter referred to as shoulder heater) provided in the shoulder ring at the shoulder of the inner pot storage container. )8. Heat retention heater (second heat retention heater; hereinafter referred to as heat retention heater) provided in the body of the inner pot storage container9. A control unit 10 and the like incorporating a microcomputer and the like is provided inside.

In addition, the inner pot 4 has a shoulder portion in contact with the pot lid 4a, and an upper portion of the inner pot 4 in contact with the pot lid 4a.
Covered by a. The pot lid 4a is formed by molding a material with high thermal conductivity, for example, aluminum. Temperature sensor 25
is installed in a sensor case placed in close contact with the pot lid 4a.

Furthermore, a temperature sensor 29 is provided at the bottom of the inner pot.

11 is a function display selection operation unit.

The function display selection operation unit 11 is arranged at the upper part of the rice cooker main body 1.
1, as described later, a plurality of operation key switches,
It is equipped with light emitting diodes to display various statuses and a 7-segment character display to display the time. Operation key switches include hour key switch, minute key switch,
Reserve key switch, menu key switch, start key switch.

A cancel key switch is provided.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the panel surface of the function selection operation unit. In FIG. 2, 12 is a character display;
For example, it is a 4-digit number display liquid crystal module that displays the characters of each display digit in 7 segments. The character display 12 displays the time as well as a reserved time for reserved rice cooking or the like. 13a is a key switch for operating the hour digit; 13b is a minute key switch for operating the minute digit; 1
3c is a reservation key switch for instructing a reservation, 13d is a menu key switch for instructing a rice cooking menu, 13e is a start key switch for instructing to start a rice cooking operation or a reserved rice cooking operation, and 13f is a cancel key switch for canceling each operation. be. Further, 14 is a status display section that displays the operation mode. The status display section 14 is provided with a plurality of light emitting diodes that display various statuses of the rice cooking and warming jar. As the states to be displayed, in order to display the reservation mode distinction, the rice cooking menu type of rice cooking control, and the keep warm mode distinction, "reservation l" and "
Reservation 2j, light up the light-emitting diodes labeled ``White rice J, ``Quick cook'', ``Takikomi'', ``Rice rice J, ``Brown rice J, ``Rice porridge J, ``Keep warm'''', and ``Keep freshly cooked warm''. Show status.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of main parts of a control unit using a microcomputer.

In FIG. 4, 6 is a rice cooking heater, 8 is a shoulder heater, 9 is a heat-retaining heater, 10 is a control unit, 11 is a function display selection operation unit, and 25 is a lid temperature sensor (hereinafter referred to as the lid). 29 is a bottom temperature sensor (hereinafter referred to as a bottom sensor) provided at the bottom of the inner pot. As mentioned above, the function display selection operation unit 11 includes a 7-segment character display 12.
Operation key switches 13 (13a to 13f) and a light emitting diode of a status display section 14 are provided. Further, 15 is a commercial AC power supply, and 16 is a temperature fuse. The control unit 10 includes a relay 17 that switches between the rice cooking mode and the heat retention mode, a triac 18 that controls the energization of the rice cooking heater 6, a triac 19a that controls the energization of the warming heater 9, and a triac that controls the energization of the shoulder heater 8. 19b, microcomputer 209 clock mechanism 21.
A buzzer 22 etc. are provided. A temperature sensor (lid sensor 25) provided on the lid of the inner pot is composed of a thermistor or the like. Further, a bottom temperature sensor (bottom sensor 29) provided at the bottom of the pot is similarly composed of a thermistor or the like. These temperature sensors detect temperature and output electrical signals corresponding to the temperature.

The electrical signal corresponding to the temperature is input to the analog/digital conversion board of the microcomputer 20. The microcomputer 20 includes a processing unit CPU, a memory RAM, and a program memory ROM.

It has a built-in input port with an analog/digital conversion function, multiple input ports that accept key switch input, and output ports that output control output signals and display control signals. A predetermined output signal is output from the output port in response to the input from the port. That is, the microcomputer 20 controls each temperature sensor (lid sensor 25
．． Bottom sensor 29) 2 Clock mechanism 21. Operation key switch 1
3, and according to the built-in processing program,
It performs a series of processes and sends a control signal to a triac or the like that controls the energization of the heater, and also sends a lighting control signal to the light emitting diode of the status display section 14 in order to display the status such as the operation mode.

In addition, the time signal from the clock mechanism 21 is input to the microcomputer 20, and the time is displayed on the character display 12, and the microcomputer also uses it as a signal for determining the reserved time when performing 5-timer reserved rice cooking. 20 and used.

Next, the operation of the rice cooking/warming jar configured in this way will be explained.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an outline of the overall control flow of the microcomputer. This will be explained with reference to FIG.

When the power is turned on, in step 31, preprocessing for rice cooking control is performed. In the preprocessing for this rice cooking control, various internal registers of the microcomputer are used.

Initialization processing is performed to reset the timer, etc., and processing for setting rice cooking operation instruction data such as rice cooking menu settings and rice cooking reservation time settings is performed.Next, when the start key switch is turned on (or in the case of reserved rice cooking) (When it comes to the reservation time)
In step 32, the relay is turned on and the rice cooking heater circuit is turned on in order to perform rice cooking control. Next, the rice cooking process control in step 33 is performed. As a result, a rice cooking operation is performed to cook the rice. When the rice cooking operation is completed, next step 34
The relay is turned off, the rice cooking heater circuit is turned off, and the heat retention control mode is set in which heat retention control is performed to keep the cooked rice warm. In the heat retention control mode, processing from step 35 is performed.

In this heat retention control mode, normal heat retention control is performed in step 35, and in the next step 36, it is determined whether or not there is a temperature abnormality. If the temperature is abnormal, step 3
In step 7, error processing such as abnormality notification and abnormality display is performed, and the entire process ends. If the temperature is not abnormal in step 36, the process returns to step 35 and one normal heat retention control is repeated.

Next, the general operation of the rice cooking control process controlled by the microcomputer configured as described above will be explained.

When you put the desired amount of rice and water in the inner pot 4 and turn on the start key switch, the microcomputer 20 of the control unit 10 stores the program memory RO in it.
According to the processing steps of the rice cooking program stored in M, power control for heating in the rice cooking process is started. At this time, the microcomputer 20 converts the voltage output from the lid sensor 25 and the bottom sensor 29 into a digital quantity from the input port A/D of the analog/digital conversion function, performs processing to convert it into a temperature, and inputs the voltage output from the lid sensor 25 and the bottom sensor 29. The resulting temperature is determined, and various rice cooking processes are controlled based on the temperature determination result. In this rice cooking process, in the initial stage of rice cooking, a water absorption process is performed in which the heating power is reduced and the rice absorbs water. Next, the heating power is increased, the rice cooking capacity is determined at a predetermined temperature, a cooking process is performed in which the rice is rapidly raised to a boil, and a boiling maintenance process is performed in which the boiling is maintained. This boiling maintenance process continues, and when the rice absorbs enough water and the moisture at the bottom of the inner pot disappears and reaches a predetermined temperature, for example 130°C, this temperature is detected by the bottom sensor 2.
Detecting this, the microcomputer 20 turns off the heating heater and ends the boiling maintenance process. Next, a first unevenness step is performed for a predetermined period of time.

A first additional cooking process, a second uneven cooking process, a second additional cooking process, etc. are performed, and finally, the warming process is reached and the rice cooking process is ended. When the rice cooking process control is finished, the next step is to move on to the warming process control.

FIGS. 5a and 5b are diagrams showing examples of rice cooking temperature curves showing temperature changes in the inner pot 4 when rice cooking process control and heat retention control are performed under the control of such a microcomputer. In FIG. 5a, region (2) indicates a water absorption process, region (2) indicates a cooking process including a rice cooking capacity determination process, and area (2) indicates a boiling maintenance process. Also, area ■
indicates the unevenness process including the additional cooking process. Area■
The cooking process is a process in which the heating power is increased to rapidly raise the temperature, bring it to a boil, and then continue to the boiling maintenance process. This step includes a step of determining the rice cooking capacity (odd number determination), and the rice cooking capacity is determined by this rice cooking capacity determining step. Then, in the next boiling maintenance step, heating power is controlled to be appropriate according to the determined rice cooking capacity to maintain boiling appropriately.

In the example of the rice cooking temperature curve in Fig. 5a, the solid line shows an example when the rice cooking process is controlled in the normal rice cooking mode.
An example of the case where the rice cooking process is controlled in the timer reservation rice cooking mode is shown by a dashed dotted line.

Moreover, FIG. 5b is a diagram explaining the temperature change of the inner pot and the temperature change of the lid portion from the rice cooking process to the heat retention process.

Explaining with reference to FIG. 5b, when the rice cooking process control including the cooking process and the shading process is completed, the process then shifts to the warming process. As shown in Fig. 5b, the energization control at the time of transition to the warming process is such that the rice cooking operation ends at time te, and the period of the uneven process including additional cooking ends at t1.
When the control of the series of rice cooking processes is completed,
The temperature retention operation mode is set to control the heat retention process. In the unevenness process including additional cooking from time te immediately after the completion of the cooking process, the rice cooking heater is appropriately controlled to evaporate excess water. At time t1, immediately after the steaming process is finished and rice cooking is finished, the temperature of the rice is sufficiently high, so even if the heat retention control mode is entered, there is no need to perform heat retention control by controlling the energization of the heat retention heater and shoulder heater. However, as the transition period between tl and t2 passes, the temperature of the rice drops, and eventually the temperature reaches 12
If the temperature of the rice drops below 72 degrees Celsius, this will be detected.

Starts energization control for the heat retention process using the shoulder heater and heat retention heater.

Here, in particular, from time te immediately after the end of the cooking process, including the transition period between tl and t2, the shoulder heater is continuously energized with a predetermined amount of heat, and from the lid part. Evaporate excess water. Also, during the transition period before the heat-retaining operation, a sudden drop in temperature of the lid part is prevented, and dew condensation on the lid part is prevented. This is because the lid is made of a highly thermally conductive material such as aluminum laminate, so the lid is completely closed before the rice cooking heater stops heating and the shoulder heater and heat retention heater start controlling the energization of the heat retention process. This is to prevent dew condensation from occurring due to a sudden drop in the temperature of the area.

With the heat retention operation control, the temperature of the rice decreases until it reaches 12
When the temperature of the rice becomes 72℃ or less, this is detected and the shoulder heater is first controlled to be energized. When the temperature of the rice is 71℃ or less, this is detected and the energization of the warming heater is controlled. In addition, the heater is energized for heat retention control, and normal heat retention control is performed to maintain the heat retention temperature in the rice-cooking heat retention jar at 71°C.

While such normal heat retention control is being performed, heat retention control is also performed such that the shoulder heater is always kept at a higher temperature than the heat retention heater. As a result, the shoulder heater always performs heat retention control of the rice cooking and warming jar at a temperature higher than the surroundings, so the amount of heat generated from the shoulder heater is conducted to the lid portion to prevent dew from dripping. That is, when the temperature of the rice and the lid changes during heat retention control, the surface temperature of the shoulder heater is raised to keep the temperature of the lid high at all times, thereby preventing dew from dripping from the lid.

6a, 6b, and 6c show a cooking process including a rice cooking capacity determination process performed by a microcomputer;
It is a flowchart which shows the process flow of the control operation of a boiling maintenance process and a reheating process.

Moreover, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of heat retention process control.

First, reference is made to FIG. 6a. When the water absorption process is finished, the cooking process starts and the processes from step 40 are performed. In step 40, the rice cooking heater is turned on at full output HW. Next, in step 41, the temperature of the inner pot reaches a predetermined temperature tO.
It is determined whether or not the temperature has reached 10°C, and if the temperature has not reached 10°C, the full output HW of the rice cooking heater is continued to be energized in step 40. When the temperature of the inner pot reaches tO°C, the power to the rice cooking heater is turned off in step 42, and it is determined in step 43 whether or not a predetermined time (8 seconds) has elapsed, and the process is continued until S seconds have elapsed. , the energization-off state of the rice cooking heater in step 42 is continued. When the rice cooking heater is turned off for S seconds, a time counting process corresponding to the rice cooking capacity is started, and in step 44, the Tl counter starts counting the time. Next, in step 45, the rice cooking heater is turned on again at full output HW. Then, in step 46, it is determined whether the temperature of the inner pot has reached a predetermined temperature t3°C, and if it has not reached -t3°C, the full output energization of the rice cooking heater in step 45 is continued.

That is, in step 46, the temperature of the inner pot is detected, and until the temperature of the inner pot reaches t3°C, the rice cooking heater continues to be energized, and the Tl counter continues to count, until the temperature of the inner pot reaches t3°C. When the temperature reaches .degree. C., the process proceeds to the next step 47 and the counting operation of the Tl counter is stopped. Temperature detection in these processing steps is performed by the lid sensor 25.

The series of steps up to now are steps for determining the rice cooking capacity.

The manner in which the temperature of the rice cooker overruns when the heating power is turned off when the temperature of the rice cooker reaches a constant temperature of 10° C. differs depending on the difference in rice cooking capacity. For this reason, after heating to a constant temperature of 10 °C.

The temperature of the rice cooker after a certain period of time (8 seconds) has elapsed since the heating power was turned off varies depending on the rice cooking capacity.

Therefore, when the temperature reaches a certain temperature of 10°C, the heating power is turned off for a certain period of time (8 seconds), and then the heating power is turned on again and time counting is started.
Time counting is stopped when the temperature reaches 3°C. When this time counting stops, the counted time at that time is proportional to the rice cooking capacity, and the rice cooking capacity can be determined. That is, the count value by the T1 counter is proportional to the rice cooking capacity.

Next, in steps 48, 52, and 56, the count value of the T1 counter is determined, and rice cooking power control is performed according to the contents of each count value (rice cooking capacity). In this rice cooking power control, heating power is controlled by on/off control in which the heater is repeatedly turned on and off at regular intervals.

That is, first, in step 48, it is determined whether the content of the T1 counter is less than or equal to a predetermined value m1. Tl
If the content of the counter is not less than m1, step 52
Proceed to , and the content of the Tl counter is m 1 < T 1 ≦
It is determined whether or not it is m2.

When the contents of the Tl counter do not satisfy m 1 < T 1 ≦m2, the process proceeds to step 56, and it is determined whether the contents of the Tl counter satisfy m2 < T12m3.

In step 48, when the content of the Tl counter is less than or equal to m1, the process proceeds to step 49, where it is determined whether a predetermined waiting time of ta seconds has elapsed.

If ta seconds have elapsed, the rice cooking heater is turned on at 9/14 in step 50, and the warming heater is turned on at 5/14 in step 51.
At step 14, heating power control is performed. Then, the process proceeds to step 63, where it is determined whether or not timer rice cooking is being performed. In the case of normal rice cooking, which is not timer rice cooking, the rice cooking process is controlled with the cooking temperature set at 130° C. according to the processing flow that passes through the determination step of step 64. In addition, in the case of timer cooking,
If timer cooking is determined in step 63, the processing flow goes through the determination step in step 65, and the cooking temperature is set lower than the normal cooking temperature.
The rice cooking process is controlled at 0°C. These cooking temperatures of 130° C. and 120° C. are detected by a bottom sensor 29 provided at the bottom of the inner pot.

That is, in the case of normal rice cooking, it is determined in step 64 whether the temperature of the inner pot detected by the bottom sensor 29 is below 130°C, and if it is below 130°C, the process returns to step 48. The process from step 48 is repeated. In addition, in the determination process of step 64, if the temperature of the inner pot exceeds 130°C, the cooking process has ended, so step 66 (to control the unevenness process and additional cooking process of the next rice cooking process) The process proceeds to FIG. 6b).

In addition, in the case of timer cooking, step 63 to step 6
5, and in step 65, it is determined whether the temperature of the inner pot detected by the bottom sensor 29 is 120° C. or lower. If the temperature is 120° C. or lower, the process returns to step 48 and the processes from step 48 are repeated. In addition, in the determination process of step 65, the temperature of the inner pot is 120°C.
If the rice cooking process exceeds 1, the cooking process has ended, and the process proceeds to step 75 (FIG. 6c) in order to control the shading process and additional cooking process of the next rice cooking process.

Meanwhile, in step 52, the content of the Tl counter is m
1 < T 1≦m2, the primary step 53
Then, it is determined whether a predetermined waiting time of tb seconds has elapsed. If tb seconds have elapsed, heating power control is performed in which the rice cooking heater is turned on at 9/14 in step 54, and the heating power is turned on at 5/14 in step 55. Then, the process proceeds to step 63, where it is determined whether or not timer rice cooking is being performed. If it is not timer cooking, the process flow goes through the judgment step of step 64 and the cooking temperature is set to 130'C.
The rice cooking process is controlled according to the following conditions. Moreover, in the case of timer rice cooking, the rice cooking process control is performed with the cooking temperature set at 120° C. according to the processing flow that passes through the determination step of step 65.

These are the same as in the case of 715 m1.

Also, in step 56, the content of the Tl counter is m
2 (When T1≦m3, the process proceeds to step 57, where it is determined whether a predetermined waiting time of tc seconds has elapsed. If tc seconds has elapsed, the rice cooking heater is turned on at step 58. At step 55, heating power control is performed to turn on the heat retention heater at 2/14.Next, the process proceeds to step 63, where it is determined whether or not timer rice cooking is being performed.If it is not timer rice cooking, step 64 is performed. The rice cooking process is controlled by setting the cooking temperature to 130 degrees Celsius according to the processing flow that passes through the judgment step.In addition, in the case of timer rice cooking, the cooking temperature is set to 120 degrees Celsius according to the processing flow that passes through the judgment step of step 65. The rice cooking process is controlled.These are the above-mentioned cases of T I 5 ml and m 1<
The same is true for T 15m2.

Furthermore, in step 56, if the content of the Tl counter is not m2 (T15m3), the process proceeds to step 60, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined waiting time of td seconds has elapsed.If td seconds have elapsed, In step 58, heating power control is performed to turn on the rice cooking heater at 12/14, and in step 55 to turn on the heat retention heater at 2/14.Next, the process proceeds to step 63, where it is determined whether or not timer rice cooking is being performed.Timer rice cooking If not, as described above, the rice cooking process is controlled by setting the cooking temperature to 130 degrees Celsius according to the process flow that passes through the judgment step of step 64.In addition, in the case of timer rice cooking, the process that passes through the judgment step of step 65 The rice cooking process is controlled by setting the cooking temperature to 120℃ using the flow.In the case of T15ml mentioned above, ml<T
This is the same as the case of 15 m2 and the case of rh2<T12m3.

In this way, in the case of normal rice cooking, it is determined in step 64 whether the temperature of the inner pot detected by the bottom sensor 29 is below 130°C, and if it is below 130°C, the process proceeds to step 48. The process returns to step 48 and repeats the process from step 48. Furthermore, if the temperature of the inner pot exceeds 130° C. in the determination process of step 64, the cooking process has ended.

The process proceeds to step 66 (FIG. 6b) for controlling the unevenness process and additional cooking process of the next rice cooking process.

In the case of timer cooking, the process proceeds from step 63 to step 65, and in step 65, it is determined whether the temperature of the inner pot detected by the bottom sensor 29 is 120°C or lower, and it is determined that the temperature is ↓20°C or lower. If so, the process returns to step 48 and the processing from step 48 is repeated. Further, in the determination process of step 65, the temperature of the inner pot is 120.
If the temperature exceeds 0.degree. C., the cooking process has ended, and the process proceeds to step 75 (FIG. 6c) in order to control the unevenness process and additional cooking process of the next rice cooking process.

For regular rice cooking (not timer cooking), the pot temperature is 130℃.
When the cooking time exceeds 1, the cooking process ends and the process proceeds to step 66.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 6b, in step 66,
All heaters are turned off, and the next rice cooking process, the unevenness process and additional cooking process, is controlled. In the next step 67, it is determined whether 12 minutes have elapsed.

If 12 minutes have not elapsed, in the next step 68 it is determined whether the temperature of the pot is below 110°C. 1
If it is not below 10°C, the rice cooking heater is turned off in step 72, the warming heater is turned off in step 73, and the shoulder heater is turned on in step 74 at 7/14, and the process returns to step 67. Then, in step 67, the process of determining whether 12 minutes have elapsed is performed again. If it is determined in step 68 that the temperature is 110°C or lower, in step 69 the rice cooking heater is turned on at 2/14, in step 70 the warming heater is turned on at 12/14, and further in step 71 the shoulder heater is turned on. is turned on at 12/14 to perform additional cooking and return to step 67. Then, in step 67, the process of determining whether 12 minutes have elapsed is performed again, and these processes are repeated until the 12 minutes have elapsed.

When the 12 minutes have elapsed, the rice cooking is finished and the process proceeds to the next heat retention control. In this way, for 12 minutes after the cooking is finished, it is determined whether the temperature of the pot is 110° C. or lower, and the uni-coating process or the additional cooking process is controlled.

In other words, for 12 minutes after the lifting process is finished and the temperature of the pot begins to drop, and until the temperature of the pot reaches 110 degrees Celsius based on the signal from the temperature sensor, the heater is turned off and the heater is turned off. When the temperature reaches 110° C. or lower, the rice cooking heater and the heat-retaining heater are heated with a small heating power, and the additional cooking step is performed.

During this time, the energization control of the shoulder heater continues. In the case of normal rice cooking, this additional cooking step is controlled at a temperature of 110° C., as described above. However, as explained next, in the case of timer rice cooking.

Control the additional cooking process to a higher temperature than the normal additional cooking temperature 1
It is carried out at a temperature of 15°C.

Next, the additional cooking process in the case of timer rice cooking will be explained. In the case of timer cooking, as described above, when the temperature of the pot exceeds 120° C., the cooking process is ended and the process from step 75 is performed. This process is basically the same as in the case of normal rice cooking, but in this case, the additional cooking temperature is increased to 115°C.

Continuing the explanation with reference to FIG. 6c, in step 75, all heaters are turned off, and control of the next rice cooking process, ie, the unevenness process and the additional cooking process, is continued. in this case,
First, in the next step 76, it is determined whether 12 minutes have elapsed. If 12 minutes have not elapsed, in the next step 77, it is determined whether the temperature of the pot is 115° C. or lower. If it is not below 115°C, the rice cooking heater is turned off in step 81 and the unevenness process is carried out, but in the next step 82 the warming heater is turned on at 12/14, and furthermore in step 83 the shoulder heater is turned on at 7/14. Prevent the temperature from dropping. Then, the process returns to step 76. In step 76, a process is performed again to determine whether 12 minutes have elapsed.If it is determined in step 77 that the temperature is 115°C or lower, in step 78, the rice cooking heater is turned on and off.
Turn on at step 14 and turn on the heat retention heater at step 79.
Turn it on at step 4, then turn the shoulder heater to 12/1 at step 80.
In step 4, the heating is turned on and additional cooking is performed, and the process returns to step 76. Then, in step 76, the process of determining whether 12 minutes have elapsed is performed again, and these processes are repeated until the 12 minutes have elapsed.

Similarly, in the case of timer cooking where rice is cooked at a low temperature (120° C.), the additional cooking process is controlled for 12 minutes after the rice is finished cooking. In this additional cooking, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the pot is 115° C. or lower, which is higher than the normal temperature of 110° C., and the uneven cooking process or the additional cooking process is controlled. This kind of cooking process.

After controlling the steaming process and the additional cooking process, and finishing the rice cooking, the process shifts to the control of the warming process.

Note that the timer mechanism in this rice-cooking/warming jar uses a well-known one, so it will not be particularly explained here.

A timer mechanism is provided in the control program of the microcomputer that controls rice cooking, and this timer mechanism is used to process the setting of the timer reservation time, constantly monitor the set reservation time, and when the reservation time is reached. Configure to start the rice cooking operation. Identification of whether rice cooking is timer reservation rice cooking or normal rice cooking is performed, for example, by providing a flag bit indicating that the rice cooking mode is timer reservation rice cooking mode.

When the rice cooking process control is completed, the process moves to the heat retention control process. Next, the heat retention control process will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Once the rice has been cooked, a further cooking process and a shading process are performed, and once the series of rice cooking processes have been controlled, the process moves on to heat retention control. When starting the heat retention control process, first,
In step 84, all heaters are turned off, and in the first step 85, a heat retention start timer count is started.

Next, in step 86, it is determined whether the temperature is 72° C. or lower. If the temperature of the rice cooker has not yet fallen below 72°C, proceed to step 87 and turn the shoulder heater to 4.
/14, perform power supply control to turn on, and repeat step 8
Returning to step 6, it is determined whether or not the temperature is below 72°C. In this way, until the temperature of the rice cooker drops below 72℃,
The energization control is continued to turn on the shoulder heater at 4714. When the temperature of the rice cooker drops to 72° C. or lower, the process then proceeds to step 89, and normal heat retention process control from step 89 is started. That is, in step 89,
The data from the temperature sensor is read and it is determined whether the temperature is 72°C or lower. If the temperature is 72°C or lower, it is further determined in the next step 90 whether the temperature is 71°C or lower. Then, depending on the determined heat retention temperature, heat retention temperature control is performed in steps 91 to 96, respectively. If the insulation temperature is 71'C or lower, the insulation heater is turned on at 7/14 in step 95, and the shoulder heater is turned on at 7/14 in step 96.
Turn on and heat at /14. If the heat retention temperature exceeds 71°C and is below 72°C, the heat retention heater is turned off at step 93, and the shoulder heater is turned on at step 94 at 5714 for heating. If the heat retention temperature exceeds 72°C, the heat retention heater is turned off in step 91, and the shoulder heater is turned off in step 92 to stop heating. Repeating steps 89 to 96,
Detects the current keeping temperature, and depending on the detected keeping temperature,
Heat retention control is performed to maintain the heat retention temperature at 71°C.

In this way, in the heat retention control, the shoulder heater continues to be energized at a predetermined amount of heat until the temperature of the pot drops to 72°C or less, that is, during the transition period until the temperature at which the heat retention energization is started. to prevent the temperature of the lid part, which has good heat conduction, from dropping suddenly. This prevents dew condensation from forming on the lid. In addition, in heat retention control, the layer temperature heater is energized to the lid part at the top of the rice cooker where the temperature drops quickly, and the lid part is kept at a higher temperature than the surrounding area, and the lid part is heated during the heat retention operation. Prevent dew from dripping. Furthermore, by increasing the heat retention temperature at the top of the rice cooker while keeping warm without increasing the heat retention temperature at the bottom of the rice cooker, water from the rice is prevented from evaporating, and rice discoloration (browning) is prevented. To prevent.

Next, a modification of the embodiment of the rice cooking/warming jar according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of heat retention process control. This will be explained with reference to FIG.

Once the rice has been cooked, a further cooking process and a shading process are performed, and when a series of rice cooking process controls are completed, the next step is a heat retention control process. When starting the heat retention control process, first, in step 97, all heaters are turned off, and in the next step 98, a heat retention start timer count is started. Next, in step 99, it is determined whether 600 seconds have elapsed, and if 600 seconds have not elapsed, step 10
0 and performs energization control to turn on the shoulder heater at 10/14. In the next step 101, it is determined whether or not the shoulder heater energization control has been performed three times, and the shoulder heater energization control is performed three times. The shoulder heater is energized three times, and the process returns to step 99, where it is determined whether 600 seconds have passed or not.

When 600 seconds have elapsed, the process proceeds to step 102, and step 7
Determine whether the temperature is below 2°C. If the temperature of the rice cooker has not yet fallen to 72°C or lower, the process returns to step 99, and in the process from step 99, it is determined whether 600 seconds have passed and whether or not the temperature has fallen to 72°C or lower. That is, 60
Until 0 seconds have elapsed, proceed to step 100 and repeat the energization control (3 times) of turning on the shoulder heater at 10/14, and when 600 seconds have elapsed, it is determined whether the temperature is 72°C or less. . In this way, until the temperature of the rice cooker drops to 72° C. or lower, the energization control is continued to turn on the shoulder heater for 600 seconds. The temperature of the rice cooker is 72
When the temperature drops below ℃, the process proceeds to step 103,
Heat retention control starts from step 103. That is,
In step 103, reading data from the temperature sensor and determining whether the temperature of the pot is below 72°C;
If the temperature is 72°C or lower, in the next step 104, it is further determined whether the temperature is 71°C or lower. Then, depending on the determined heat retention temperature, steps 105-
The heat retention temperature control in step 110 is performed. Thermal temperature is 71
If it is determined that the temperature is below 0.degree. C., the insulating heater is turned on at 7/14 in step 109, and the shoulder heater is turned on at 7/14 in step 110 for heating. If the insulation temperature exceeds 71°C and is below 72°C, the insulation heater is turned off in step 107, and the shoulder heater is turned off in step 108.
Turn on and heat at /14.

In addition, if the heat retention temperature exceeds 72℃, step 1
At step 05, the heat retaining heater is turned off, and at step 106, the shoulder heater is turned off to stop heating.

In this way, each step 103 to step 11
0 is repeated, the current heat retention temperature is detected, and heat retention control is performed to maintain the heat retention temperature at 71° C. according to the detected heat retention temperature.

As described above, according to this embodiment, after the bottom sensor (sensor sensor) detects the cooking temperature of 130°C, the additional cooking process and the uneven cooking process are performed, and the process moves to the control of the warming process.
At this time, the shoulder heater is energized to a predetermined amount of heat (
By controlling the shoulder heater's energization with a weak electric power, the lid is kept at a higher temperature than the surrounding area, which evaporates excess moisture from the lid and prevents a large amount of dew from forming on the lid. . As a result, it is possible to prevent dew from dripping onto the rice from the lid part, resulting in so-called white blur.6 The present invention has been specifically explained based on the examples above.
It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit thereof.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the rice cooker of the present invention, when transitioning from the end of the cooking process to the warming process, power control of the shoulder heater is immediately started to maintain the lid portion at a higher temperature than the surroundings. This allows excess water to evaporate from the lid and prevents a large amount of dew from forming on the lid. According to this rice-cooking/warming jar, the lid of the rice-cooking pot can be used without dew forming on the lid, so that the user can use the rice from the rice-cooking/warming jar when the rice is finished cooking and transitions to the warming state. Even when opened, there is no dripping of dew, making it easier to use and preventing the so-called blurring of rice.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a rice cooking and warming jar according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view showing the panel surface of a function selection operation unit, and Fig. 3 is a control unit using a microcomputer. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the overall control flow of the microcomputer. Figures 5a and 5b are diagrams showing examples of rice cooking temperature curves showing temperature changes in the inner pot when rice cooking process control and heat retention control are performed by microcomputer control, Figure 6a, Figure 6b, and FIG. 6c is a flowchart showing the processing flow of control operations of the cooking process, boiling maintenance process, and additional cooking process performed by the microcomputer. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of heat retention control, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of a processing flow of heat retention control. In the figure, 1... Rice cooker main body, 2... Lid, 3... Main body, 4... Inner pot, 4a... Pot lid, 5... Inner pot storage container, 6...・Rice cooking heater, 7...Shoulder ring, 8...
・Shoulder heater, 9 Heat retention heater, 10...Control unit, 1
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Function display selection operation unit, 12...Character display, 13...Operation key switch, 14...Status display section, 15...Commercial AC power supply, 16.Temperature fuse, 17-.・Relay, 18.19a, 19b...Triac, 20...Microcomputer, 21 Clock mechanism, 22...Buzzer, 25...Temperature sensor (lid sensor), 29...Temperature sensor (bottom sensor) .

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A temperature sensor provided near the bottom of the inner pot, a rice cooking heater provided at the bottom of the inner pot, a first heat retention heater provided near the pot lid, and a second heat retention heater provided in the body of the inner pot; The power supply to each heater is controlled by the temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor.
A rice cooking/warming jar having a control means for controlling a rice cooking process including a cooking process and a shading process, and a control means for controlling a warming process, wherein the control means shifts to a shading process after detecting a temperature at the end of the cooking process. 1. A rice-cooking and warming jar characterized in that, when the rice-cooking rice-warming jar is heated, power supply control of the first warming heater is immediately started to maintain the pot lid at a higher temperature than the surroundings. (2) a temperature sensor provided near the bottom of the inner pot, a rice cooking heater provided at the bottom of the inner pot, a first heat retention heater provided near the pot lid, and a second heat retention heater provided in the body of the inner pot; The power supply to each heater is controlled by the temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor.
A rice cooking/warming jar having a control means for controlling a rice cooking process including a cooking process and a shading process, and a control means for controlling a warming process, wherein the control means shifts to a shading process after detecting a temperature at the end of the cooking process. In this case, immediately start the energization control of the first heat retention heater with a predetermined calorific value, and when the temperature of the inner pot reaches the heat retention set temperature, the heat retention operation by energization control of the first heat retention heater and the second heat retention heater is started. A rice-cooking and warming jar.