JPH1132907A - Electric rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a heating plate for a rice cooking heater so that heating can be performed from the entire outer peripheral surface of an inner pot during rice cooking, and to prevent thermal deterioration of a shoulder member. SOLUTION: The container body 1 includes an outer case 4 forming an outer peripheral surface and a shoulder member 5 forming a shoulder of the outer case 4.
And a lid 2 of the container body 1, and a rice-cooking heater 8 disposed on an inner bottom of the container body 1 and having a heating plate 9 with a heating element 10 embedded therein. In the electric rice cooker containing the inner pot 3 placed on the hot plate 9, the shoulder member 5 is extended on the hot plate 9 along the upper outer side of the inner pot 3. The heat transfer portion 11 to be joined is integrally formed, and a spacer 15 made of metal is interposed between the heat transfer portion 11 and the shoulder member 5, so that the entire outer peripheral surface of the inner pot 3 is cooked during rice cooking. And heat conduction from the heat transfer portion 11 to the shoulder member 5 is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker, and more particularly, to an electric rice cooker which can be heated from substantially the entire outer peripheral side of an inner pot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electric rice cooker, which has been well known, has an upper opening between an outer case made of synthetic resin or sheet metal and an inner case made of sheet metal, for example, joined by an annular shoulder member made of synthetic resin. A configuration in which a rice-cooking heater in which a heating element is buried in a substantially disc-shaped hot plate is disposed at an inner bottom portion of the container body, and an inner pot for cooking rice is stored while being placed on the hot plate. When cooking rice, the bottom of the inner pot is heated by the rice cooker heater, and the inner pot is heated from the side by the hot air in the space formed between the container body and the inner pot side circumference. It has become.

[0003]

In the case of the above-mentioned conventional electric rice cooker, the bottom portion of the inner pot is directly heated by the rice-cooking heater at the time of cooking, and is formed between the container body and the inner pot side circumference. Heating from the side of the inner pot is likely to be insufficient, and heating from the entire outer peripheral surface of the inner pot like cooking rice with kamado And it is difficult to cook plump rice.

[0004] Therefore, a heating plate in a rice cooking heater is extended upward so as to cover the entire side circumference of the inner pot, and a heat transfer portion is integrally formed so that a heating state similar to Kamado cooking can be obtained. However, in such a case, it is structurally preferable to adopt a structure in which the heat transfer section and the shoulder member are joined.

However, when such a structure is adopted, the heat transfer portion is heated to a considerably high temperature, so that the shoulder member usually made of a synthetic resin material has a problem of thermal deterioration. To cope with this problem, the shoulder member may be formed of a synthetic resin material having excellent heat resistance, but the gloss and the like of the synthetic resin material having excellent heat resistance are higher than those of conventionally used polypropylene. Inferiority causes the following problems. That is, since the shoulder member has a portion exposed to the outside, it is necessary to maintain good appearance properties such as gloss.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has a heating plate in a rice cooking heater so that heating can be performed from the entire outer peripheral surface of an inner pot at the time of rice cooking, while preventing thermal degradation of a shoulder member. It is intended to be able to do so.

[0007]

In the basic configuration of the present invention (the invention of claim 1), as a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, an outer case forming an outer peripheral surface and a shoulder portion of the outer case are formed. A container body comprising a shoulder member, a lid of the container body, a rice cooker disposed on an inner bottom of the container body and having a heating element embedded in a hot plate; An electric rice cooker containing an inner pot placed on the hot plate, wherein the heat transfer is extended on the hot plate along the upper outer side of the inner pot and coupled to the shoulder member. And a spacer made of metal is interposed between the heat transfer plate and the shoulder member.

[0008] With the above-described structure, heating from the entire outer peripheral surface of the inner pot can be obtained at the time of cooking rice, so that it is possible to cook plump rice and to increase the heating power and to increase the power. Is also possible.
In addition, the heat conduction from the heat transfer portion to the shoulder member in the hot plate is reduced by the interposition of the spacer, so that thermal degradation of the shoulder member can be prevented. In addition, since the spacer is made of metal, the processing is facilitated and the assembling is also simplified.

When the spacer is made of a metal having poor heat conductivity as in the second aspect of the present invention, the heat conduction from the hot plate heat transfer portion to the shoulder member is further alleviated, and the shoulder member is formed. Thermal degradation can be more effectively prevented.

In the case where a heater for keeping heat is provided on the outer peripheral side of the spacer as in the invention of claim 3, the upper part of the inner pot 3 can be heated at the time of keeping heat.
The heat retention performance is improved.

Further, when an annular heat insulating member made of a heat-defective conductor having excellent heat resistance is interposed between the spacer and the heat transfer section as in the invention of claim 4, The heat conduction to the shoulder member is further reduced by the interposition of the heat insulating member, so that the thermal deterioration of the shoulder member can be more effectively prevented.

Further, when the spacer is formed integrally with the heat shield case covering the outer peripheral side of the rice cooking heater, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are reduced.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Some preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment (Corresponding to Claims 1, 2, and 4) FIG. 1 shows an electric rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The electric rice cooker includes a cylindrical container body 1 having a bottom and configured to accommodate an inner pot 3 for cooking rice, and a lid 2 for opening and closing the upper opening of the container body 1. It is provided with.

The container body 1 is made of a synthetic resin (for example,
The outer case 4 includes a cylindrical outer case 4 with a bottom and a synthetic resin (for example, polypropylene) annular shoulder member 5 coupled to an upper opening edge of the outer case 4.

A support boss 6 is formed integrally with the bottom 4a of the outer case 4, and a metal heat shield case 7 is supported on the support boss 6 by screwing.
A heater 8 for cooking rice is mounted in the heat shield case 7 with screws, and the inner pot 3 is stored in a state of being placed on the heater 8 for cooking rice. .

The rice cooking heater 8 is provided with the heat shielding case 7.
A heating element (for example, a sheathed heater) 10 is embedded in an outer peripheral portion of a disk-shaped heating plate 9 made of a good heat conductor (for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy) attached to the heating plate 9. Is formed integrally with a cylindrical heat transfer portion 11 that extends along the outer peripheral surface of the inner pot 3 and is coupled to the shoulder member 5 to a position near the upper opening of the container body 1. . That is, the rice cooking heater 8 forms the inner peripheral surface of the container body 1.

An annular heat insulating member 12 made of a poorly heat-resistant conductor (for example, a heat-resistant resin such as polycarbonate or polyphenylene sulfide or ceramic) is provided between the heat transfer portion 11 and the shoulder member 5. Is fixed to a flange portion 13 integrally formed on the upper end of the heat transfer portion 11 with a screw 14.
A ring-shaped spacer 15 made of a metal having poor heat conductivity (for example, stainless steel) is interposed between the shoulder member 5 and the shoulder member 5.

The spacer 15 has an upper locking claw 1 which is locked by a locking portion 5a formed on the inner peripheral edge of the shoulder member 5.
5a, a lower locking claw portion 15b locked by a locking portion 12a locked on the inner peripheral edge of the heat insulating member 12, and a connecting portion 15c connecting the upper and lower locking claw portions 15a, 15b. ing. Incidentally, the connecting portion 15c includes a lower connecting portion 15c ₁ of the bottom end is the inner peripheral surface flush with the contiguous and the the lower locking claw part 15b shoulder member 5 and the heat transfer unit 11, said lower coupling portion wherein the upper end of 15c ₁ has become the upper locking claw part 15a and connecting the L-shaped upper connecting portion 15c ₂ Prefecture, the inner peripheral surface of the lower connection portion 15c ₁ is mirror-finished.
By doing so, the continuity of the shoulder member 5, the spacer 15, and the heat transfer section 11 can be secured on the inner peripheral surface of the container body 1.

The heat shield case 7 includes the rice cooker 8
Is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom so as to wrap the entire outer peripheral side thereof, and a step portion 16 is formed at an upper portion of the side peripheral portion 7a. A heat insulating material 17 is provided in a space formed between the two.
With this configuration, the heat insulating material 17 can be reduced in size, and the heat radiation from the heat transfer unit 11 to the outside is blocked, so that the amount of radiant heat to the inner pot 3 increases, and the side circumference of the inner pot 3 is increased. Heating from the part can be performed more efficiently. Also,
On the outer peripheral surface of the heat transfer section 11, a heater 18 for keeping heat is attached at a position corresponding to the space.

The step portion 16 has the heat transfer portion 11
Is disposed at a position close to the shoulder member 5 on the outer peripheral side of
A bracket 20 for mounting a thermal fuse 19 that is melted during abnormal heating and stops energizing the rice cooking heater 8 is mounted by a screw. With this configuration, at the time of abnormal heating, the temperature of the portion close to the shoulder member 5 is detected, and the thermal fuse 19 is blown, so that thermal deformation of the shoulder member 5 due to abnormal heating can be prevented.

Further, a lower portion of the outer peripheral surface of the heat transfer portion 11 (for example, a portion below a position corresponding to the step portion 16)
A plurality of (for example, 3 to 4) fins 21, 21,... Are integrally formed. The fins 21, 21... Act as heat storage fins when the rice cooker 8 is energized (in other words, during rice cook) to increase the amount of heat radiation from the heat transfer unit 11 to the inner pot 3 side. When the power supply to the rice cooker 8 is stopped (in other words, at the time of keeping the temperature), it acts as a cooling fin to accelerate the temperature drop of the inner lid 3 and to prevent the rice from sticking. It functions to prevent yellowing and the like.

At the lower end of the outer peripheral surface of the heat transfer section 11, an annular rib 22 is integrally protruded from the lower end 7b of the heat shield case 7 and is in contact with the inner surface of an upright portion 7c rising from the outer peripheral portion. ing. With this configuration, a heat storage space 23 surrounded by the annular rib 22 is formed on the lower surface side of the rice cooking heater 8, and high-temperature air stays in the heat storage air 23 during rice cooking and rises upward (that is, the shoulder). (To the member 5 side). Therefore, the temperature rise of the shoulder member 5 is suppressed, and the temperature of the bottom portion of the inner pot 3 in which the rice cooker 8 and the inner pot 3 are in contact with each other and the heat conductivity is increased, thereby improving the thermal efficiency. Yes (in other words, power consumption can be reduced).

Further, a plurality of (for example, three to four) ribs 24, 2 extending in the vertical direction are provided on the inner surface of the heat transfer portion 11.
Are formed integrally at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The ribs 24, 24,... Prevent rattling of the inner pot 3 stored in the container body 1. Reference numeral 25 denotes a center sensor.

By the way, if foreign matter (for example, rice grains) is interposed between the inner pot 3 and the rice cooker 8, heat conduction from the rice cooker 8 to the inner pot 3 deteriorates, and the center sensor 2
Although the temperature detected by the heater 5 does not rise, the temperature of the rice cooker 8 rises, resulting in foreign rice cooking. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an annular concave groove 26 having a depth large enough to accommodate foreign matter is formed on the inner surface of the continuous portion between the heating plate 9 and the heat transfer portion 11. In this way, the foreign matter that has entered the container body 1 is stored in the annular groove 26, and the contact between the inner pot 3 and the hot platen 9 is not impaired. The annular groove 26 is preferably formed at a position where foreign matter that has entered the container body 1 can easily enter.
In the present embodiment, the central portion of the heat transfer portion 11 is a lower end portion of the continuous portion between the heat transfer portion 11 and the hot platen 9 because the center portion is normally higher.

The lid 2 is formed by joining an upper plate 27 and a lower plate 28 made of a synthetic resin (for example, polypropylene) at their outer peripheral edges. , The projection 29 is formed integrally. The protrusion 29
An inner lid 30 for closing the opening of the inner pan 3 when the lid 2 is closed is provided with a cap-shaped sealing member 31.
It is detachably attached via. Further, a seal packing 32 for maintaining airtightness between the upper edge of the inner lid 3 and the lower plate 28 is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the lower plate 28.
Is mounted in a state of being clamped by a fixture 34 fixed by screws 33.

By the way, in the case of the electric rice cooker according to the present embodiment, the lower plate 28 melts down at the time of the abnormal test because no heat radiating plate is provided on the lower surface side of the lid 2, so that the electric rice cooker cannot be used. It may disappear. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, in the present embodiment, a lid-side temperature fuse is provided on the upper surface of the lower plate 28 so as to melt before the lower plate 28 is melted and to stop energizing the rice cooker 8. 35 is attached while being clamped by a fixture 37 fastened together by the screws 36. Reference numeral 38 denotes a handle for carrying the electric rice cooker.

The rice cooking heater 8, the warming heater 18,
The thermal fuse 19 and the lid thermal fuse 35 are shown in FIG.
Are connected as shown in FIG. Reference numeral 39 denotes a printed circuit board, 40 denotes a microcomputer, 41 denotes a relay contact, and 42 denotes a triac.

Therefore, at the time of abnormal overheating, the temperature fuse 1
9 and the lid-side thermal fuse 35 are blown, the energization of the rice cooker 8 and the heater 18 is stopped, and thermal deformation or melting of the shoulder member 5 and the lower plate 28 of the lid 2 is avoided. it can.

In the electric rice cooker configured as described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.

That is, during rice cooking, heating from the entire surface can be obtained by the rice cooking heater 8 covering the entire outer peripheral surface of the inner pot 3, so that plump rice can be cooked and the heating power is increased. High power can be realized. Further, heat conduction from the heat transfer portion 11 to the shoulder member 5 in the rice cooking heater 8 is performed by the heat insulating member 12 and the spacer 1.
Thus, the shoulder member 5 can be prevented from being thermally degraded even if the shoulder member 5 is made of a synthetic resin that meets conditions such as gloss.

Second Embodiment (Corresponding to Claims 1 to 3) FIG. 4 shows a main part of a container body in an electric rice cooker according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this case, the spacer 15 is provided between the upper end of the heat transfer section 11 and the shoulder member 5 of the rice cooking heater 8. Further, the upper end of the peripheral side 7 a of the heat shield case 7 is joined to the lower surface of the shoulder member 5 by a helicoid 43.

A locking step 44 is formed on the upper side of the heat shield case peripheral side 7a. The locking step 44 has a substantially inverted L formed integrally with the lower end of the spacer 15. A letter-shaped support piece 45 is supported. A heater 18 for keeping heat is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the spacer 15. In the present embodiment, a heat insulating material 46 is also provided between the heat shield case peripheral side 7a and the outer case 4. In the present embodiment, the flange 13 is omitted. By doing so, the contact area between the spacer 15 and the heat transfer section 11 can be significantly reduced, and heat conduction from the heat transfer section 11 to the shoulder member 5 can be suppressed. Therefore, even if the shoulder member 5 is made of a synthetic resin that meets conditions such as glossiness, the shoulder member 5 can be prevented from being thermally degraded. In addition, the heat insulating effect is also improved by the interposition of the heat insulating materials 17 and 46.

As shown in FIG. 5, the upper end of the heat shield case peripheral side 7a may be fixed to the shoulder member 5 with screws 47.

The other configuration, operation, and effect are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description is omitted.

Third Embodiment (Corresponding to Claims 1, 2, and 5) FIG. 6 shows an electric rice cooker according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In this case, a spacer 15 is integrally formed on the upper end of the peripheral side 7a of the heat shield case 7, and the spacer 15 is fixed to the lower surface of the shoulder member 5 with a screw 48 and formed on the inner peripheral edge of the spacer 15. The flange portion 13 of the heat transfer portion 11 is locked from above the stepped portion 49. By doing so, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps are reduced.
The other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description is omitted.

Fourth Embodiment (Corresponding to Claims 1 to 3) FIGS. 7 to 9 show an electric rice cooker according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In this case, the spacer 15 directly connects the shoulder member 5 and the heat transfer section 11. Then, the spacer 15
Is provided with a heater 18 for keeping heat. In this case, the heat shield case 7 includes a bottom portion 7b and a rising portion 7c. In this way, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, a thin stainless steel plate is deep drawn to form a bottomed cylindrical body A having a stepped portion B on the peripheral side, and the outer corner portion of the stepped portion B is cut. By doing so, the heat shield case 7 and the spacer 15 are obtained. The other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

Fifth Embodiment (Corresponding to Claims 1 to 3) FIG. 10 shows a main part of an electric rice cooker according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In this case, the spacer 15 is sandwiched between a locking rib 50 integrally formed on the inner peripheral edge of the shoulder member 5 and a locking step 51 formed on the inner peripheral edge of the upper end of the heat transfer section 11. It is attached in a state, and on the inner peripheral surface of the spacer 15,
A heater 18 for keeping heat is provided. Also, in this case,
A plurality (e.g., 4
Heat transfer portion 1 with respect to the mounting boss 51
The first flange portion 13 is attached via a screw 14, and the spacer 15 causes the spacer 15 to move between the locking rib 50 of the shoulder member 5 and the locking step portion 51 of the heat transfer section 11 by the binding force of the screw 14. It is to be securely pinched. The screw 14 is inserted into a through hole 53 formed in the flange portion 13 of the heat transfer portion 11 and is a poorly heat-resistant conductor (for example, a heat-resistant resin such as polycarbonate or polyphenylene sulfide or a ceramic). Is screwed to the heat insulating cylinder 54 made of. The heat insulating cylinder 54 is inserted into the through hole 53 and is screwed with the screw 14.
A flange 54b is formed integrally with the lower end of the through hole 4a and engages with the edge of the through hole 53 from below. By doing so, the connection between the shoulder member 5 and the heat plate heat transfer portion 11 is strengthened, and the heat transfer to the shoulder member 5 can be reliably reduced by the heat transfer portion 11. The other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

[0044]

According to the invention of the present application (the invention of claim 1),
A container body comprising an outer case forming an outer peripheral surface and a shoulder member forming a shoulder of the outer case, a lid of the container body,
A rice cooking heater arranged on the inner bottom of the container body and having a heating element buried in a heating plate,
An electric rice cooker containing an inner pot placed on the hot plate, wherein the heat transfer portion extends along the upper outer side of the inner pot and is coupled to the shoulder member. And integrally formed, between the hot plate heat transfer portion and the shoulder member,
Since the spacer made of metal is interposed, heating from the entire outer peripheral surface of the inner pot can be obtained during rice cooking,
It has the excellent effect of being able to cook plump rice and to be capable of high power by increasing the heating power. Further, the heat conduction from the heat transfer portion to the shoulder member in the hot plate is reduced by the interposition of the spacer, and there is also an effect that the thermal deterioration of the shoulder member can be prevented. In addition, since the spacer is made of metal, the processing is facilitated and the assembling is also simplified.

When the spacer is made of a metal having poor heat conductivity as in the second aspect of the invention, the heat conduction from the hot plate heat transfer portion to the shoulder member is further alleviated, and the shoulder member Thermal degradation can be more effectively prevented.

Further, when a heater for keeping heat is provided on the outer peripheral side of the spacer as in the invention of claim 3, the upper part of the inner pot 3 can be heated at the time of keeping heat.
The heat retention performance is improved.

In the case where an annular heat insulating member made of a heat-defective conductor having excellent heat resistance is provided between the spacer and the heat transfer portion as in the invention of claim 4, Heat conduction to the shoulder member is further alleviated by the interposition of the heat insulating member, so that the thermal deterioration of the shoulder member can be further prevented.

Further, when the spacer is formed integrally with the heat shield case covering the outer peripheral side of the rice cooker, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electric rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the electric rice cooker according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a connection diagram of electric elements in the electric rice cooker according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a main part of a container main body in the electric rice cooker according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a modified example of the container main body in the electric rice cooker according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a main part of a container main body in the electric rice cooker according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electric rice cooker according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a container body in an electric rice cooker according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a method for manufacturing a heat shield case and a spacer in the electric rice cooker according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a container body in an electric rice cooker according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a container body, 2 is a lid, 3 is an inner pot, 4 is an outer case, 5
Is a shoulder member, 7 is a heat shield case, 8 is a rice cooking heater, 9 is a hot plate, 10 is a heating element, 11 is a heat transfer section, 12 is a heat insulating member, 1
3 is a flange portion, 14 is a screw, 15 is a spacer, and 18 is a heater for keeping heat.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A container main body comprising an outer case forming an outer peripheral surface and a shoulder member forming a shoulder of the outer case, a lid of the container main body, and an inner bottom portion of the container main body, An electric rice cooker comprising a rice cooker having a heating plate embedded with a heating element, and an inner pot placed on the hot plate in the container body. A heat transfer portion that extends along the upper outside of the inner pot and is integrally formed with the shoulder member is integrally formed, and between the hot plate heat transfer portion and the shoulder member, An electric rice cooker comprising a metal spacer interposed therebetween. 2. The electric rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is made of a metal having poor heat conductivity. 3. The electric rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein a heater for keeping heat is provided on an outer peripheral side of the spacer. 4. Between the spacer and the heat transfer section,
The electric rice cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an annular heat insulating member made of a poor heat conductor having excellent heat resistance is interposed. 5. The electric rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is formed integrally with a heat shield case that covers an outer peripheral side of the rice cooker.