JPH0429366B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a rice cooking device that cooks rice and keeps it warm while the rice cooker is housed.

Conventional Structures and Their Problems In recent years, in order to make effective use of kitchen space, there has been an increasing demand for rice cookers that can cook rice and keep warm while the rice cooker is stored. However, when storing a rice cooker, there is a problem with how to exhaust the steam generated during rice cooking, and some methods use a method of forcibly exhausting the steam using an air blower. However, the air blowing means is controlled by mechanically sensing the position of the rice cooking lever, etc., and repeated attachment and detachment of the rice cooker may cause malfunctions.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention provides a rice cooking device that has a simple configuration and is capable of operating the air blowing means only while steam is being generated.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a rice cooker equipped with a display means for displaying the rice cooking status by brightness and darkness of light, and a light receiving means provided opposite to the display means.
The rice cooking device is constructed of a control circuit that controls the operation of the air blowing means based on the signal from the light receiving means.

With this configuration, it is possible to detect the rice cooking state in a non-contact manner, operate the air blowing means only during rice cooking, and obtain a display means that is less likely to malfunction.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes the main body of the rice cooker, and the rice cooker 2 can be housed inside. The rice cooker 2 is equipped with a rice cooking side light emitting diode 3 and a heat keeping side light emitting diode 4 as display means for displaying the rice cooking status on the side surface. The light emitting diode 3 on the rice cooking side and the light emitting diode 4 on the warming side
lights up when the rice cooking status is cooking or keeping warm, respectively. In addition, the rice cooker 2 has a cord with a power plug 5,
It has legs 6, and a steam hole 7 is formed in the lid. The device main body 1 has a drawer part 8 for removably storing the rice cooker 2, and the drawer part 8 has legs 6 of the rice cooker 2 on the bottom surface for positioning the rice cooker 2.
It has a groove 9 in which it engages. The drawer portion 8 is provided with an outlet 10, and the outlet 10 is connected to an AC power source (not shown) via a power cord 11. Reference numeral 12 denotes a hole mounting plate, which has a phototransistor 13 on the rice cooking side and a phototransistor 14 on the heat preservation side as hole means, and these phototransistors 13 and 14 are used to cook rice when the rice cooker 2 is stored. It is fixed to the device main body 1 at a position facing the side light emitting diode 3 and the heat insulation side light emitting diode 4, respectively. Device body 1
A display board 15 is provided on the front surface of the rice cooker, and this display board 15 is provided with an indicator lamp 16 on the rice cooking side and an indicator lamp 17 on the warming side. 18 has both ends as intake port 2
0, a steam exhaust passage whose other end is an exhaust port 19, which is disposed above the rice cooker 2 of the main body 1, and whose exhaust port 19 is opened to the display board 15. A fan motor 2 equipped with a fan 21 as a ventilation means is installed near the intake port 20 of the steam exhaust passage 18.
2 are arranged. Further, a steam inflow hole is provided in the middle of the steam exhaust passage 18, and a steam guide 24 is provided by extending from this steam inflow hole 23, so that when the rice cooker 2 is stored, the steam can flow through the steam hole 7 of the rice cooker 2. The guide 24 is in contact with the steam guide 24, so that steam generated during rice cooking is guided from the steam hole 7 through the steam guide 24 to the steam exhaust passage 18.

The lamp and fan control circuits are constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the lamp blinking control circuit 25 includes an indicator lamp 16 on the rice cooking side, an indicator lamp 17 on the warming side, triacs 28 and 29 inserted into the respective energizing circuits, and a transistor 26 that controls the gates of these triacs 28 and 29. 27, and the transistors 26, 27
It consists of a phototransistor 13 on the rice-cooking side and a phototransistor 14 on the heat-keeping side, and the phototransistors 13 and 14 are optically controlled by a light-emitting diode 3 on the rice-cooking side and a light-emitting diode 4 on the heat-keeping side. The fan control device 30 includes a control transistor 2 in the lamp blinking control circuit 25.
It has a common transistor 34 and a relay 33 that are controlled to open and close in response to the outputs of the transistors 6 and 27, and the signal system includes a delay circuit 31 and a relay 33 each made of a CR element, respectively.
There are 32. The relay 33 controls opening and closing of the energizing circuit of the fan 22.

The operation of the rice cooking device configured as described above will be explained below. First, the rice cooker 2 is mounted on the drawer section 8. At this time, the leg 6 is in the groove 9
and the rice cooker 2 is installed at a predetermined position. Next, the power plug 5 is connected to the outlet 10, the drawer part 8 is closed, and the rice cooker 2 is stored. Opposingly, the steam hole 7 of the rice cooker 2 abuts against the steam guide 24. Here, when the rice cooker 2 is in the rice cooking state, the light emitting diode 3 on the rice cooking side
lights up. This light turns on the phototransistor 13 on the rice cooking side, so the transistor 26 also turns on.
turns on, the gate current of triax 28 flows,
Triack 28 operates and indicator lamp 1 on the rice cooking side
6, a current flows through it and it lights up. The transistor 26
After being turned on, after a time delay caused by the delay circuit 31, the transistor 34 is turned on, the relay 33 is activated, and the fan motor 22 is activated. Steam generated during rice cooking is guided from the steam hole 7 through the steam guide 24 to the steam exhaust passage 18, mixed with air blown by the fan motor 22, and exhausted from the exhaust port 19 to the outside of the main body.

When the rice is cooked and the rice is kept warm, the light emitting diode 4 on the heat preservation side lights up, and this light turns on the phototransistor on the heat preservation side, which also turns on the transistor 27.
Then, the gate current of the triac 29 flows, and the indicator lamp 17 on the heat retention side lights up. transistor 2
After 7 is turned on, after a time delay caused by the delay circuit 32, the transistor 34 is turned off and the relay is turned off.
Then, the fan motor 22 stops.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to this embodiment, by providing the light receiving means opposite to the first display means made of a light emitting diode provided in the rice cooker, the operating state of the rice cooker can be detected and the air blower can be detected. Since the operation of the means is controlled, the blowing means can be operated only while steam is being generated with a non-contact and simple configuration, and the effects are great with fewer failures and the like.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention when the drawer is open, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway front view when the rice cooker is stored, Fig. 3 is a side sectional view thereof, and Fig. 4 is an electrical circuit diagram. 2...Rice cooker, 3...Light emitting diode on the rice cooking side, 4...Light emitting diode on the heat preservation side, 7...Steam vent, 8...Drawer part, 13...Phototransistor on the rice cooking side, 14...Heat preservation side phototransistor, 18... steam exhaust passage, 22... fan motor, 23... steam inflow hole, 24... steam guide.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The rice cooker includes a device main body, a rice cooker housed in the rice cooker, and a fan device for discharging steam generated from the rice cooker, the rice cooker is provided with a light emitting means for displaying the rice cooking status, and the device main body includes A rice cooking device comprising a light receiving means corresponding to a light emitting means, and the operation of a fan device is controlled by the light receiving means.