JPH0341916A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply and surely execute the selecting operation of plural kinds of courses whose menu or fire degree is different by providing a means for setting a heating pattern to a standard heating pattern, and also, setting successively the heating pattern in accordance with an operation of a menu.fire degree selection switch, and a means for controlling a heater in accordance with the heating pattern. CONSTITUTION:A control means 28 holds plural kinds of programs, and whenever a menu.fire degree selection switch 20 of a display part 11 is depressed, beginning with polished rice puffy cooking being a standard heading pattern of a course display part 17, polished rice crisp cooking, mixed.unplished rice cooking, rice gruel cooking, and polished rice puffy cooking are set in advance, and displayed by a surrounding frame 16. In this case, in a cancel state such as the time when a cancel switch 25 is operated or the time when a service interruption is reset, etc., the standard heating pattern is set automatically. In such a way, the operation for selecting plural kinds of courses whose menu or fire degree is different can be executed simply and surely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Objective of the Invention J (Industrial Field of Application)] The present invention relates to a rice cooker that is equipped with a heater that heats a container and that cooks rice using the input power of the heater.

<Prior art> In recent years, this type of rice cooker has been able to control the input of the heater using an electronic circuit to select the rice cooking menu for various courses such as white rice, brown rice, cooked rice, and porridge.
For example, in the frequently selected white rice cooking course, it has become possible to select multiple heat settings to cook the rice to standard, hard, etc. according to preference.

To adjust the hardness of rice, if the ratio of water to rice is constant, increase the heating loss during the actual rice cooking process to hasten boiling and reduce water absorption during heating.
Moreover, a large amount of steam is generated during boiling to obtain hard rice, and conversely, by reducing the amount of heating in the actual rice cooking process, boiling is slowed down and water absorption is increased during heating, and rice is heated during boiling. It is possible to obtain soft rice by reducing the amount of steam generated.

The rice cooker allows you to select the rice cooking menu and the hardness of the rice.You can select the rice cooking menu such as white rice, brown rice, rice porridge, etc. by operating the menu selection switch, and select standard, hardness, etc. by operating the heat selection switch. It is configured to select the hardness of the rice.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above-mentioned conventional technology, it is necessary to operate two 11-meter switches, the menu selection switch and the heat level selection switch, and the rice is cooked by selecting the white rice cooking course. In this case, the next time the rice is cooked, the standard course for cooking polished rice, which is usually selected, is often selected, and the user must operate the heat selection switch each time to switch to the standard course, which is cumbersome to operate. In addition, the heat selection switch is for predetermined settings such as white rice! Since this operation is only performed when you select the X Meal menu, you may forget to perform this operation.
In this case, there was a problem in that it was not possible to obtain the desired hardness of rice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker that can easily and reliably select a rice cooking menu or a plurality of courses with different degrees of heat.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The rice cooker of the present invention includes a rice cooking container 5, a rice cooking heater 6 that heats the container 5, and a concentration detection means 27 that detects the temperature of the container 5. , a menu/heat level selection switch 20 serving as a course selection means, a course display unit 11, and a standard heating pattern for cooking rice using a plurality of rice cooking menus each having a plurality of types of heat levels in at least one rice cooking menu. heating pattern setting means for setting heating patterns in sequence according to the operation of the menu/heat control selection switch 20; and a vCC upper heater 6 according to the temperature of the container 5 according to the set heating pattern. υ11M] means 28 for controlling the input to the input signal.

<Operation> With the above configuration, the heating pattern setting means sets a standard heating pattern in advance, and by operating one menu/heat selection switch 20, the heating patterns are set one after another.

(Implementation IN) Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, 1 is a main body having an inner case 2 and an outer case 3, 4 is a lid, and 5 is an inner case 2.
6 is a rice cooking heater provided on the bottom of the inner case 2; 7 is a heat-retaining heater provided on the body surface of the inner case 2 and the inner surface of the lid 4; 8 is a rice-cooking heater provided on the outside of the container 5; It is a cup-shaped heat-sensitive part provided so as to be elastically pressed against the bottom part, and a temperature sensor 9 for detecting the temperature of the container 5 is provided inside.

10 controls the input to the rice cooking heater 6 and the heat-retaining heater 7 based on the temperature information obtained by the temperature sensor 9.
This is a third electronic circuit unit and is provided on the side of the outer case 3.

FIG. 3 shows the display section 11 provided on the lid 4 and the operation aI1.
12, the display section 11 has a display section 13 consisting of an LCD, and this display section 13 includes a 4-digit 7-segment LCD.
A time display section 14 for the current time and a time display section 15 for reserved times such as the time of completion of cooking, which are configured by a time display section 14 for the current time and a time display section 15 for reserved times such as the time of completion of cooking, and white rice cooked fluffy (standard), white rice cooked crispy (hard),
They are displayed in the order of takikomi, brown rice, and porridge blowing.
A course display section 17 is provided that displays a rice cooking menu or a plurality of courses with different degrees of heat by moving a surrounding frame 16.

In addition, the display section 11 has a mode display JI consisting of four LEDs.
It has S18, which can be used for timer cooking, quick cooking, rice cooking,
Displays the mode being processed for keeping warm. Operation unit 1
2 has a current time switch 19 provided on the side of the display section 13, a menu/heat selection switch 20 serving as course selection means provided at the bottom of the display section 13, a forward switch 21, and A return switch 22, a timer rice cooking switch 23, a rice cooking switch 24,
It has a cancel switch 25.

Each time you press the menu/heat selection switch 20, each course goes through the preset standard heating pattern, which is the preset standard heating pattern, starting with white rice and fluffy, then white rice and fluffy, then grilled, then cooked/brown rice, then rice porridge, and then white rice fluffy. The set course is displayed in a surrounding frame 16. In this case, when the cancel switch 25 is operated or! ? pl!
In a canceled state such as when returning, the standard heating pattern is automatically set to fluffy white rice. The reserved time or the current time is adjusted by pressing the forward switch 21 or the backward switch 22. After pressing the current time switch 19, the switches 21 and 22 are pressed to set the current time, and then by pressing the current time switch 19 again, the current time is adjusted. The time is set, a reserved time is set by pressing the timer rice cooking switch 23, and rice is cooked each time the rice cooking switch 24 is pressed.

Cook quickly and keep warm are set in sequence.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the electric u+@, and 2B is an A/D converter that together with the temperature sensor 9 constitutes temperature detection means 27, and outputs a signal according to the detected temperature. 28 is a control means consisting of a microcomputer that constitutes the electronic circuit unit 1G, and as is well known, this is a control means consisting of a CP LJ
29° clock circuit 3G, memory 31. Input direction rB32. It has an output circuit 33 and the like. The control means 28 has multiple types of programs, and according to the programs it owns, it cooks rice with a rice cooking menu or multiple types of courses with different degrees of heat based on the operation signal of the menu/heat selection switch 20, which is a course selection means. There is a heating pattern setting means for sequentially setting heating patterns to be performed from a standard heating pattern. This heating pattern setting means sets the standard heating pattern for the fluffy white rice cooking course when the cancel switch 25 is operated or when a power failure returns, etc. In addition, the control means 2B is the operation section 1.
The drive circuit 34 drives and controls the heater 6.7 in accordance with the operation signal No. 2 and the detected temperature of the container 5, and the drive circuit 35 drives and controls the display section 11.

Figure 2 shows a circuit diagram of the power supply unit and heater drive unit;
6 is a commercial power source, and a rice cooking heater 6, a heat-retaining heater 7, and a triac 37 are connected in series between both terminals of the commercial power source. A normally open relay switch 38A constituting a relay 38 is connected in parallel to the series circuit of the heat-retaining heater 7 and the triac 37. 39 is an N source transformer, and this power supply 1
- A predetermined power supply voltage is supplied to the microcomputer serving as the control means 28 via the lance 39 and the constant voltage circuit 40. This control means 28 inputs a temperature signal of the container 5 from a thermistor serving as a temperature sensor 9, and inputs a rice cooking start signal from a container detection switch 41 that detects that the container 5 is set in the inner case 2. Further, the ILF rabbit means 28 is connected to the excitation coil 38B of the relay 38 via the relay drive circuit 42.
4r excitation and try hook drive unit v843
The triac 37 is driven through the rice cooker heater 6I.
3 and the inputs of the insulating heater 7.

Then, when the cancel switch 25 is turned on by the heating pattern setting means provided in the control means 28 after rice cooking is completed, after the power is turned on, after selecting an appropriate course such as the white rice cooking crisp course, or when the power is restored, When the state is canceled due to the removal of l11 from the container 5, the fluffy white rice cooking course, which is the standard heating pattern, is set as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Further, each time the menu/heat selection switch 20 is turned on by the heating pattern setting means, the heating pattern is set in order: white rice crispy course, cooked/brown rice cooked course, porridge cooked course, white rice cooked fluffy course.

Regarding the control (Fig. 5) of the heating pattern of the fluffy white rice cooking course (standard), first, the rice is boiled at a low temperature for 15 minutes. This is about 61% input for VC Igami heater 6, energizing for 3 minutes, power off for 5 minutes, and energizing for 4 minutes @
- Power cut-off control is performed for 3 minutes, and then the actual rice cooking process begins. During the rice cooking process, the rice cooking heater 6 was continuously energized at approximately 86% input to detect the capacity, and the container temperature reached 97°C at 81 m! 10 against Cooked Hiftaro at the start of 1.
υ control is performed with an input of 0%, and after that, when boiling is detected, the rice cooking heater 6 is inputted at about 33% to reduce the heating amount, and when dry-up is detected, the power to the rice cooking heater 6 is cut off. ! ! ! The rice cooking process is completed for 15 minutes.

Depends on the heating pattern of white rice cooked f'3 course (hard grain)! Regarding IJII (Figure 6), first 15
A soaking process is performed for 3 minutes, and the rice cooking heater 6 is energized for 3 minutes at approximately 67% input - energized for 5 minutes - energized for 1 minute -
The power is cut off for 6 minutes, and then the actual rice cooking process begins. The rice cooking process is 10 times for the rice cooker heater 6.
Continuously energize with 0% input, and when the container temperature reaches 10℃, detection starts, and when the temperature reaches 91℃, *m detection starts, and when boiling is detected, the rice cooking heater is turned on. 6, the heating amount is reduced by controlling the input to about 5γ%, and when dry-up is detected, power to the rice cooking heater 6 is cut off, and then a 15-minute uneven process is performed to maintain the sg state and complete rice cooking. do.

The control using the aR quasi-phase heating pattern shown in FIG. 5 is better in the soaking process than the control using the hard grain heating pattern shown in FIG. Since the water temperature is high and a large amount of water is absorbed, and the amount of heating during the rice cooking process is small, the amount of water absorbed is large and the amount of evaporation is small, resulting in soft rice.

In this way, in this embodiment, by operating one menu/heat level selection switch 20, which is the course selection means, it is possible to sequentially select a menu or a plurality of courses with different heat levels. Since the standard heating pattern of the fluffy white rice cooking course is set in the canceled state, it is no longer necessary to select the fluffy white rice cooking course that is selected on a daily basis, and the heat selection switch can be changed from hard to standard as in the past. It is not necessary and operability is improved. Moreover, the problem of not being able to get the desired rice due to forgetting to switch the heat level selection switch is also solved. Normally, the white rice-cooked crisp course is used when eating curry, soup, etc. in IJ, or for feeding plates, and the white rice-cooked fluffy course is usually selected. For this reason, when rice cooking is set, the heating pattern setting means sets the white rice cooking 4 and kakkura courses, which simplifies course selection and prevents erroneous course selection operations. Furthermore, in the past, it was necessary to set the heat level selection switch to the standard setting at the time of shipment, but in this embodiment, it is automatically set to the standard setting, thereby eliminating such trouble.

Note that the present invention is based on the above-mentioned Tora l1 Iif! 4, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, we have explained that the white rice cooking course can be cooked with two types of heat, standard and hard, but it may also be possible to select three or more types of heat, and courses other than the white rice cooking course can be cooked with multiple types of heat. It may be possible to cook rice according to the degree of cooking. Further, the heating patterns shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are merely examples, and can be selected as appropriate. Moreover, the structure of the rice cooker is applicable to various types.

[J+! [Bright Effect] The present invention includes a heating pattern setting means that sequentially sets heating patterns for cooking rice in a menu or in a plurality of courses with different degrees of heat from a standard heating pattern in accordance with the operation of a course selection means. As a result, it is possible to provide a rice cooker that allows the user to easily and reliably select a menu or a plurality of courses with different degrees of heat.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 8 show one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the rice cooker, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the power supply section and heater drive section, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the rice cooker. A front view showing the display m and the operation section, Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the course selection operation, and Fig. 5 is the 1IIJ according to the standard heating pattern.
Graph showing iIll, Figure 6 is a graph showing control by hard grain heating pattern, Figure 7 is a 1IFi side view of the rice cooker,
FIG. 8 is an overall perspective view of the rice cooker. 5... Container 6... Rice cooking heater 7... Heat retention heater 17... Course display section (course display means) 20... Menu/heat selection switch (course selection means) 28... V control Means (heating pattern setting means) Patent application: Representative of Toshiba Heat Appliances Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A rice cooking container, a heater for heating the container, a humidity detection means for detecting the temperature of the container, a course selection means, a course display means, and at least one rice cooking menu with a plurality of heat settings. heating pattern setting means for setting a standard heating pattern as a heating pattern for cooking rice using a plurality of types of rice cooking menus and sequentially setting heating patterns according to the operation of the course selection means; A rice cooker comprising: control means for controlling input to the heater according to the temperature of the container.