JPH0363015A - Heat insulating device for rice - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a heat insulating device for rice in a state approximate to just cooked rice by a mechanism in which heat insulating control means selectively set the first and second heat insulating heating patterns on the basis of selected signal of selecting means of heat insulating temperature. CONSTITUTION:A control means 30 comprising a microcomputer constituting electronic circuit units has a plurality of programs to selectively set. On the basis of selection signal of a reheating heat insulating switch 21 as a selecting means of heat insulating temperature the first heat insulating heating pattern which warms and controls cooked rice at a predetermined temperature, for example, at 70 deg.C and the second heat insulating heating pattern which warms and controls cooked rice at a predetermined temperature higher than a predetermined temperature, for example at 90 deg.C, thus controlling the input of a heat insulating heater circuit 7. Therefore, when the second heat insulating heating pattern is selected to warm and control rice, it is possible to warm and leave rice st a temperature approximate to the state of just cooked rice.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides a food warming device that is equipped with a heater that heats a container and that performs a warming operation by controlling the input of the heater. In particular, it relates to a rice warming device installed in a rice cooker or the like.

(Prior art) This type of conventional rice warming device heats a container containing water and rice to be cooked using a rice cooking heater installed at the inner bottom of the container body, and then heats the rice and cooks the rice. It is configured to heat the container and keep the cooked rice at a predetermined temperature using a heat-retaining heater provided in the container and the lid. The temperature of the rice during this warming is set at about 70°C by JIs.

By the way, in terms of taste, the best temperature for rice is about 100℃ immediately after cooking, so when you loosen the rice with a rice paddle in a container, the temperature of the rice will be about 80 to 90℃. The temperature of the rice will be approximately 70-75℃ when it is served in a bowl. Therefore, the temperature of delicious rice is about 70~
The temperature is about 75°C.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above-mentioned conventional technology, heat retention control is performed to maintain the temperature of rice at about 70°C. is about 55~
There was a problem in that the temperature dropped to about 60°C and delicious food could not be obtained.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice warming device that can selectively keep rice at a temperature close to that of freshly cooked rice.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The food warming device of the present invention includes a container 5, a heater 7 for heating the container 5, a temperature detecting means 29 for detecting the temperature of the container 5, and a heating device for heating the container 5. The temperature selection means 21 selectively sets a first heat retention heating pattern for keeping the rice temperature at a predetermined temperature and a second heat retention heating pattern for keeping the rice temperature at a higher temperature than the predetermined temperature based on the selection signal. , and a heat retention control means 30 that executes the gA temperature operation in accordance with the set heat retention heating pattern.

(Function) With the above configuration, the heat retention control means 30 selectively sets the first and second heat retention heating patterns based on the selection signal of the heat retention temperature selection means 24, and performs the heat retention control according to the set heating patterns. Execute. When the heat retention control using the second heat retention heating pattern is selected, the rice is kept warm at a state close to the temperature of freshly cooked rice.

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

In FIG. 16, 1 is a main body having an inner case 2 and an outer case 3, 4 is a container, 5 is a container housed in the inner case 2, 6 is a rice cooking heater provided at the bottom of the inner case 2, 7A is a heat-insulating cylinder heater provided on the open surface of the inner case 2; 7B is a heat-insulating lid heater provided on the inner surface of the lid 4; 8 is a cup-shaped heater provided to elastically press against the outer bottom of the container 5. A temperature sensor 9 for detecting the temperature of the container 5 is provided inside the heat-sensitive section. An electronic circuit unit 10 is provided on the side of the outer case 3 and controls inputs to the rice cooking heater 6, the heat-insulating body heater 7A, and the heat-insulating lid heater 7B based on temperature detection information from the temperature sensor 9.

3 to 11 show the display section 11 and operation section 12 provided on the M4. A time display section 14 for the current time configured by a CD
and a time display section 15 that displays the ready-to-eat time, such as the time of completion of cooking and the time of completion of reheating and keeping warm, and the order of white rice cooked fluffy (standard), white rice cooked crispy (hard), cooked/brown rice, and rice porridge cooked. A course display section 17 is provided which displays a rice cooking menu or a plurality of courses with different degrees of heat together with a surrounding frame 16. The display section 11 also includes a mode display section 18. which is composed of five LEDs.
It has 18A, 18B, 18C, and 19, 18 is for timer, 18A is for quick cooking, 18B is for cooking rice, 18C is for normal warming, and 19 is for reheating and keeping warm. indicate.

The operation section 12 includes a plurality of operation switches, including a current time switch 20 provided on the left side of the display section 13 and a display section located below the mode display section 19 for reheating and keeping warm. 13, a reheating and heat retention switch 21 serving as a heat retention temperature selection means provided on the right side of the display unit 13, a menu/heat selection switch 22 for course selection provided at the bottom of the display unit 13, a forward switch 23 serving as a timer switch, and It has a return switch 24, a timer rice cooking switch 25, a rice cooking switch 26, and an off switch 27 for canceling.

When the reheating heat retention switch 21 is not operated, normal heat retention using the first heat retention heating pattern is set, and by pressing this switch 21, the reheating heat retention temperature is set using the second heat retention heating pattern, and the switch 21 is pressed again. Pressing this button sets normal heat retention. Each time you press the menu/heat selection switch 22, each course changes from pre-set white rice cooked to fluffy, white rice cooked to crispy, and cooked well.
Cooked brown rice, cooked porridge, and fluffy white rice are set in order, and the set courses are surrounded by a frame 16. In this case, when the cut-off switch 25 is operated or in a canceled state such as when the power is restored, the standard heating pattern, ie, white rice cooked and fluffy, is automatically set. The best time to eat or the current time is adjusted by pressing the forward switch 23 or the backward switch 24. After pressing the current time switch 20, the switches 23 and 24 are pressed to set the current time, and then by pressing the current time switch 20 again, the current time is adjusted. The time is set. In addition, the time display section 15 displays the cooking time of the last timer rice cooking, and the switch 23.
24 to change the cooking time, and then pressing the timer rice cooking switch 25 sets the cooking time and starts timer cooking. Also, each time the rice cooking switch 26 is pressed, the rice is cooked or quickly cooked.

Keep warm settings are set one after another. Furthermore, the mode display section 18C lights up during normal heat retention, and the mode display section 18C and the mode display section 19 light up during execution of reheating heat retention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration, and 28 is an A/D converter that together with the temperature sensor 9 constitutes temperature detection means 29, and outputs a signal according to the detected temperature. Reference numeral 30 denotes a control means composed of a microcomputer that constitutes the electronic circuit unit 10, which, as is well known, includes a CPU 31, a clock circuit 32. Memory 33. Backup circuit 34° input circuit 35. It has an output port #136, etc., and a battery 37 is connected to the backup circuit 34. The control means 30 has a plurality of types of programs, including a first heat retention heating pattern for controlling the food temperature to a predetermined temperature, for example, 70°C, based on the selection signal of the reheating heat retention switch 21 serving as the heat retention temperature selection means; It has a heat retention control means that selectively sets a second heat retention heating pattern for controlling a heat retention temperature of 1 filJ higher than a predetermined temperature, for example, 90° C., and controls the input of the heat retention heater circuit 7 according to the set heat retention heating pattern. are doing.

Further, the control means 30 drives and controls the rice cooking heater 6 and the heat-retaining heater circuit 7 via the drive circuit 38 in accordance with the switch signal of the operation unit 12 and the detected temperature of the container 5.
The drive circuit 39 controls the drive of the display section 11 .

Figure 2 shows a circuit diagram of the power supply unit and heater drive unit, and
0 is a commercial power source, and a rice cooking heater 6, a parallel circuit of heat-retaining heaters 7A and 7B, and a triac 41 are connected in series between both terminals of the commercial power source. A normally open relay switch 42A constituting a relay 42 is connected in parallel to the series circuit of the heat retention heaters 7A, 7B and the triac 41. 4
Reference numeral 3 denotes a power transformer, and a predetermined power supply voltage is supplied to the microcomputer serving as the control means 30 via the power transformer 43 and the constant voltage circuit 44. This control means 30
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 the container detection switch 45 which detects that the container 5 is set in the inner case 2. The control means 30 also excites the excitation coil 42B of the relay 42 via the relay drive circuit 46, and drives the triac 41 via the triac drive circuit 47, opening the triac 41 and closing the relay 42 during rice cooking. The rice cooker heater 6 heats the container 5, and when keeping it warm, the relay 42 is opened and the rice cooker heater 6 and the keep warm heater 7 are heated.
The container 5 is heated by the insulating heater circuit 7 formed from a series circuit with parallel circuits A and 7B.

Next, the operation of the above structure will be explained.

First, explanation will be given with reference to FIGS. 3 to 11. FIG. 3 shows a state in which all of the display section 13 consisting of an LCD is lit, and when the power plug is inserted into the outlet from this state, the state shown in FIG. 4 is shown. The display state will be as shown below. Here, the time display section 14 displays the current time '12:00', the time display section 15 displays the cooking time "s:oo" set in the previous timer cooking, and the course display section 17
All the courses are displayed, and the box 16 lights up surrounding the white rice cooked fluffy course, indicating that this white rice cooked fluffy course is set. If the rice cooking contents do not need to be changed in this state, simply pressing the rice cooking switch 26 starts cooking the rice. If the off switch 27 is pressed during the rice cooking or warming operation, the display returns to the one shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows a display during rice cooking when the rice cooking switch 26 is pressed from the display state shown in FIG. At the same time, the mode display section 18B for rice cooking lights up, and the other course display contents and the display of the best time to eat go out. Furthermore, when the timer rice cooking switch 25 is pressed, the timer and rice cooking mode display sections 18.18B light up, and the ripe time 8:OO remains lit. Cooking begins. At 8:00'', the time when the rice is ready to eat, cooking is completed and a buzzer or the like is used to notify the rice.

FIG. 6 shows a display in which a normal warming operation is being performed according to the first warming heating pattern after rice cooking is completed.
The mode display section 78C for keeping warm is lit. and,
When the reheating and keeping warm switch 21 is pressed to execute the reheating and keeping warm operation according to the second keeping heating pattern, the mode display section 19 for reheating and keeping warm lights up together with the mode display section 18C for keeping warm, as shown in FIG. , the time to eat is displayed as 30 minutes after a certain period of time, for example, 90 minutes from the current time, and the remaining time is displayed after being subtracted sequentially as time passes.Afterwards, when the reheating operation is completed, the When the mode shifts to the normal warming operation according to the warming heating pattern 1, the mode display section 19 for reheating and keeping warm and the display for the best time to eat are turned off as shown in FIG.

FIGS. 9 to 11 show the display states of the timer warming mode. First, when the warming mode display section 18C is lit and the normal warming operation is in progress, if you press the forward switch 23 or the backward switch 24, the 9th “2” of the current time as shown in the figure.
3:30, which is 90 minutes after ``:00'', is displayed, and then operate switches 23 and 24 to select the 10th
As shown in the figure, if the switch 23 or 24 is turned off after changing the ripe time to "6:00", the ripe time "6:00" will be displayed blinking, and if you press the reheat keep warm switch 21 after that, the As shown in FIG. 11, the timer mode display section 18 lights up and the timer operation starts at the same time that the time to eat is displayed. Then, when the time has passed and it is 90 minutes before the best time to eat, the reheating operation starts and the display changes to the one shown in Figure 7, and "1:30 minutes later" is displayed as the best time to eat. At the same time, one mode display section for reheating and keeping warm lights up. When the reheating and warming operation is completed, the normal warming operation is started and the display shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

Next, the graphs in FIGS. 14 and 15 and FIG. 12.

The heat retention control will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG. First, a case will be described in which rice cooking and warming operations are performed in series (see FIGS. 14 and 12).

When the rice cooking switch 26 is turned on, the rice cooking operation starts (see Fig. 5). For example, iooow for the rice cooking heater 6
Power is applied by input, and after boiling is detected, power is turned on and off, and when the detected temperature T reaches the finished cooking temperature (120°C), power is turned off to the rice cooking heater 6, and a 15-minute uneven process is performed to complete the rice cooking. Then, the process shifts to the normal heat-retaining operation using the first heat-retaining heating pattern (see FIG. 6) (step 1). This means that the thermal insulation heater circuit 7 is turned off until the detected temperature T drops to 70°C, and when the detected temperature T falls to 70°C or lower, the thermal insulation heater circuit 7 is energized with an input of 65 W, for example, and then the thermal insulation heater circuit 7 is turned off. On the other hand, the temperature of the container 5 is maintained at 70°C by performing power-on/off control such that it is OFF when T≧70°C and ON when T<70°C.

When the reheating/warming switch 21 is turned on during this normal warming operation (step 2), the reheating/warming effective conditions of steps 3 to 7 are determined, and if these are satisfied, the second
A reheating operation is started for a certain period of time, for example, 90 minutes, using a heating pattern (see FIG. 7) (step 8).

This reheats the container 5 by continuously energizing the heat retention heater circuit 7 with an input of 65W, and when the detected temperature T reaches 90°C, the power is cut off, and when T≧90°C, the heat retention heater circuit 7 is turned off.
, when T<90°C, perform ON/OFF control to maintain the temperature of the container 5 at 90°C (step 9), and for a certain period of time (
After 90 minutes (step 10), the process shifts to normal warming operation (see FIG. 8) (step 11).

In addition, as shown in the flowchart in Figure 13, if the timer switch is turned on (Step 2) during normal warming operation (Step 1), the time 90 minutes later will be displayed as the best time to eat as shown in Figure 9 (Step 1). 3) When the reheating warm switch 21 is turned ONM (step 4), the validity determination of steps 5 to 9 is performed, and if this condition is satisfied, it is determined whether the best time to eat is within 90 minutes from the current time. (Step 10), and when the timer operation (Step 11) reaches 90 minutes before the best time to eat, the reheating and keeping warm operation starts. Steps 13 to 15 are executed.

Next, we will explain the case where only the warming operation is executed (see Figure 15).The rice cooking switch 26 is operated three times to execute the normal warming operation (see Figure 6). The container 5 is heated by continuous energization, and after the detected temperature T reaches 70°C, the temperature of the container 5 is maintained at 70°C by controlling the insulating heater circuit F1@7 to be turned off. If the reheating/warming switch 21 is operated during this normal warming operation, a reheating/warming operation similar to that shown in FIG. 13 will be executed for a certain period of time, and after a certain period of time has passed, the normal warming operation will begin. Also the 14th
If the detected temperature T does not reach 90°C during the reheating and warming operation in Figures 1 and 15, the normal warming operation will proceed after a certain period of time (90 minutes) (see the dotted line graphs in Figures 14 and 15). ).

Further, the control means 30 has a function of determining the validity of the reheating/warming switch 21. Step 3 in Figure 12. In step 5 of FIG. 13, it is determined whether normal warming is being performed. This is to prevent this because if the reheating operation is performed or the rice is not kept warm normally, the rice will become too cold and the time to keep warm will be longer, and the keeping temperature will be very different from the keeping temperature specified by JIS. Also, step 4 in FIG. In step 6 of FIG. 13, it is determined whether the course is for cooking white rice.

This is to prevent porridge other than white rice, cooked rice, etc., from being reheated and kept warm, as the porridge will deteriorate into a paste-like consistency and the cooked rice will become strongly burnt. Also, step 5 in Figure 12
．． In step 7 of Figure 13, the detected temperature T is 45°C.
Determine whether the value is greater than or equal to the value. This is because if you perform reheating and keeping warm when the rice temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature, the reheating and keeping warm time will be longer and the rice temperature will remain at the appropriate temperature (90 minutes) even after a certain period of time (90 minutes) has passed.
This is prevented because the temperature does not reach 0°C. Further, in step 6 of FIG. 12 and step 8 of FIG. 13, it is determined whether the normal heat retention time has exceeded a predetermined time (12 hours). This prevents the rice from turning yellow when kept warm for a long time, and further yellowing progresses when reheated. Also, Step 7 in Figure 12 and Step 9 in Figure 13
It is determined whether the reheating operation performed during the warming operation is the first time.

This is due to the reaction between sugar and amino acids that causes yellowing and linoleic acid when reheated and kept warm for two or more times.

Odors are generated due to heat deterioration of fatty acids contained in rice such as oleic acid, so this is prevented.

Further, the control means 30 always determines whether the normal warming operation is being performed when the reheating/warming switch 21 is pressed, and if the normal warming operation is not being performed, step 12 in FIG. It is invalidated as in step 16 of FIG. Furthermore, if the above-mentioned validity conditions are not satisfied, this is notified by a buzzer or the like.

In this way, in the above embodiment, the container temperature is set to 70°C by operating the reheating/warming switch 21, which is the warming temperature selection means.
A first thermal insulation heating pattern that controls the input to the thermal insulation heater circuit 7 to maintain the container temperature at 90° C. and a second thermal insulation heating pattern that controls the input to the thermal insulation heater circuit 7 to maintain the container temperature at 90° C. This allows you to set the warming temperature according to your preference and get delicious rice that is kept warm at a temperature close to that of freshly cooked rice. Furthermore, it is economical because the first and second heating patterns can be obtained by a microcomputer program.

In addition, since the reheating and keeping warm operation is configured so that it can be selected only during the normal keeping warm operation, there is no need to worry about the rice in the container 5 being reheated from a cold state, and the temperature close to that of freshly cooked rice ( This prevents a long period of time from reaching the temperature (90° C.), and also prevents the temperature from exceeding the temperature specified by JIS. Also, during normal warming operation, the warming mode display section 18C lights up, and during reheating warming operation, one mode display section for reheating warming or the mode display section 18C for keeping warming lights up, so both of them are kept warm. In addition to being able to determine the operation, if you want to cancel the reheating cA water temperature, press the reheating heat retention switch 21.
By simply pressing the button again, the normal warming operation is resumed, which prevents the off switch 27 from being pressed by mistake. In addition, after performing reheating and keeping warm, the operation shifts to normal keeping warm, so that the rice temperature can always be kept higher than the normal keeping temperature, and yellowing and odor can be suppressed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.For example, the reheating temperature may be appropriately selected to be higher than the normal heat retention temperature. Further, as shown in FIG. 18, the reheating and keeping warm switch 21 is shared with the rice cooking switch 26, and the mode display section 19 for reheating and keeping warm is replaced by the mode display section 1 for cooking rice.
It may be shared with 8B. Further, the rice warming device of the present invention can be applied to a dedicated heat insulating device and the like.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention selectively performs heat retention control using a first heat retention heating pattern that keeps rice at a predetermined temperature, and heat retention control using a second heat retention heating pattern that keeps rice warm at a temperature higher than the predetermined temperature. Since this can be carried out, it is possible to provide a rice warming device that can keep rice at a temperature close to that of freshly cooked rice.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing another embodiment of the control unit and the operating section.

5... Container 7... Heat retention heater circuit (heater) 21... Reheating heat retention switch (warm temperature selection means) 2
9...Temperature detection means 30...-control means (heat retention control means)

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 17 show an example of tJfA according to the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration, Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of the power supply unit and heater drive unit, Figs. 3 to 11 are front views showing the display unit and operation unit, and Figs. 12 and 13.
The figure is a flowchart showing the warming operation, and Figure 14 is rice cooking 1.
Figure 15 is a graph showing the control that performs regular warming and reheating and keeping warm in a series. Figure 16 is a cross section of a rice cooker equipped with a rice warming device. Fig. 17 is an overall perspective view of the rice cooker, Fig. 18
The figure shows the display section and the patent applicant: Toshiba Thermal Appliances Co., Ltd. Representative: Patent attorney: Patent attorney Morihiro Uki 1) Part 4, Figure 4, Figure 14, Figure 6, Figure 5, Figure 7, Figure 8. 4 Figure 10 Figure 14-8 Figure 5 One hour Figure 16 Figure 17

Claims (1)

[Claims] a container, a heater for heating the container, a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the container, a heat retention temperature selection means, a first heat retention heating pattern for keeping the rice temperature at a predetermined temperature based on the selection signal; A second heat-retaining heating pattern for keeping the temperature higher than a predetermined temperature; and a heat-retaining control means for selectively setting a second heat-retaining heating pattern to keep the temperature higher than a predetermined temperature, and executing a heat-retaining operation according to the set heat-retaining heating pattern. Heat retention device.