JP2012223239A - Rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker that reheats the cooked rice which has been kept warm to the suitable temperature for the time to eat the rice.SOLUTION: The rice cooker includes: a body 1; an inner pot 2 stored in the body 1; a lid 3 to cover an upper opening of the inner pot 2; a heating means 4 for heating the inner pot 2; a temperature detecting means 6 for detecting the temperature of the inner pot 2; a control unit 5 for controlling electric power to be supplied to the heating means 4 on the basis of the temperature information of the temperature detecting means 6; and an operation unit 7 that is provided with a rice cooking button 11 to input the start of rice cooking and a programmed time inputting means 8 to input a programmed time. The control unit 5 includes: a reheating starting means 9 that supplies electric power to the heating means to reheat the cooked rice which has been kept warm to a temperature suitable for eating; and a reheating finishing means 10 that stops the supply of electric power to the heating means to finish reheating the rice which has been kept warm by the time set in advance with the programmed time inputting means 8.

Description

  The present invention relates to a rice cooker, and more particularly to a rice cooker having a heat retaining function.

  In conventional rice cookers equipped with this type of heat retention function, if the rice is kept warm at a high temperature for a long period of time, it will cause a problem such as discoloration of the rice or drying of the rice, and much power to maintain the high temperature. There was a bug that required. On the other hand, if the temperature is kept at a low temperature, there is a problem that the odor of the rice is caused by the rot bacteria, or the rice is rotted when it is severe.

  Therefore, in recent years, as a method for dealing with such problems, a heat retention period that keeps the temperature constant at about 74 ° C. where the rice does not spoil during the heat retention, a heat retention period that keeps the heat at a lower heat retention temperature of 50-60 ° C., Proposal of a heat-retaining method that enables long-term heat retention while preventing the growth of various germs that occur in rice by periodically repeating a heat-retaining period that is kept at a high heat-retaining temperature of about 80 ° C. that prevents the growth of spoilage bacteria. ing.

  By the way, there is a problem that if the rice is eaten during a period when the heat insulation temperature is low in the above-described cycle, the temperature of the rice is low, and delicious rice cannot be eaten. In order to solve this problem, the function to reheat rice that has been kept warm to a temperature higher than the low temperature is known, and it automatically learns the time of reheating from past usage conditions. Techniques for reheating have been proposed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, there is one in which a time zone in which the lid of the rice cooker is frequently opened and closed is estimated as the next meal time, and the rice is reheated at that time.

  Moreover, in patent document 2, it heats while switching heat insulation into the 1st heat insulation temperature and the 2nd heat insulation temperature lower than the 1st heat insulation temperature, Comprising: The meal time is learned from the time which detected opening and closing of the cover body. Thus, a technique has been proposed in which the switching time between the first heat retention temperature and the second heat retention temperature is adjusted so as not to become a low heat retention temperature at the meal time.

JP 2003-325336 A JP 2004-97715 A

  In recent years, there has been a strong demand for eating delicious rice, and it has been demanded that cooked rice can be eaten as well as freshly cooked.

The above-mentioned cooked rice heat-retaining container shown in Patent Document 1 and the jar rice cooker shown in Patent Document 2 determine the meal time zone from the past use conditions.
However, in general households where the lunch time is not fixed, such as schools and companies, the daily meal times are different. Especially during weekdays and holidays, meal times may vary greatly.

  For this reason, there is a problem that the heated rice is reheated at an unintended time that is not a meal time to advance the drying of the rice or the discoloration of the rice, or the temperature of the heated rice is low during the meal.

  The present invention re-heats the heated rice by setting the time when the user wants to warm it to an appropriate temperature each time, so that the heated rice is reheated at an unintended time to dry the rice and cook the rice. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rice cooker that does not cause discoloration and that the temperature of the rice being kept warm is low during meals.

The features of the present invention are: a main body, an inner hook housed in the main body, a lid covering the upper opening of the inner hook, a heating means for heating the inner hook, a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the inner hook, A control unit that controls power supplied to the heating unit based on temperature information of the temperature detection unit, a rice cooking button that inputs the start of rice cooking, and an operation unit that includes a reservation time input unit that inputs a reservation time are provided. And
The control unit has a reheating start function that starts supplying power to the heating means in order to reheat the temperature of the cooked rice to a temperature suitable for eating, and a time set in advance by the reserved time input means. The rice cooker has a reheating end function for stopping the supply of electric power to the heating means so as to end the reheating of the rice being kept warm.
In addition, another feature is that the time until the set time is reached if the heating of the inner pot is started by supplying power by the reheating start means from several minutes before the time set by the control unit by the reservation time input means. The rice cooker has a function of determining whether reheating is completed based on the temperature information of the temperature detecting means.
Another feature is that when the control unit is in the standby state by the reservation time input means and the reservation time is input, the control unit reserves rice cooking when the reservation time is input, and the control unit has a control state that is kept warm. When the time is input, the rice cooker has a function of making a reservation for reheating the heated rice.

  According to the present invention, since the reheating of the rice that has been kept warm at the time set in advance by the operation unit has been completed, the meal time of the user, that is, the time at which the reheating is desired to be changed varies from day to day. Also, it can be reheated to a temperature suitable for eating rice at any time of the user.

  Moreover, since it does not reheat at the time which is not intended, the drying and discoloration of the heat-retaining rice do not occur.

  In addition, the control unit determines how many minutes before the time set by the reservation time input means starts heating by the set time based on the temperature information of the temperature detecting means. Therefore, even when the temperature of the rice is kept changing, if the temperature is low, the reheating can be started as soon as possible and the reheating can be surely terminated at the set time.

  Furthermore, since the reservation for cooking rice and the reservation for reheating can be made by the reservation time input means, the operation unit can be simplified.

It is a figure which shows the cross section of the rice cooker which becomes one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation part of the rice cooker which becomes one Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing block diagram of the control system of the rice cooker which becomes one Example of this invention. It is a heating figure of the 1st example of reheating of the rice cooker which becomes one Example of this invention. It is a heating figure of the 2nd example of reheating of the rice cooker which becomes one Example of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the cross-sectional view of the rice cooker of FIG. 1, an inner hook 2 is detachably stored in the main body 1, and the main body 1 is provided with a lid 3 that closes the upper opening of the main body 1 and the inner hook 2 so as to be opened and closed. .
Further, inside the main body 1, temperature detection means 6 for detecting the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 2, heating means 4 for heating the inner pot 2, and supply to the heating means 4 based on temperature information of the temperature detection means 6. And a control means 5 for controlling the electric power to be operated, and an operation section 7 is provided on the main body 1 or the lid 3. Here, an example in which an operation unit is provided in the main body 1 is shown.

The operation unit 7 shown in FIG. 2 includes a rice cooking button 11 to be executed by the control means that reheats the temperature of the cooked rice to a temperature suitable for eating, the end time of cooked rice, A reservation time input means 8 for inputting a time at which reheating to a temperature suitable for eating is finished, and a display unit 12 for displaying the reserved time and the like are provided.
The reservation time input means 8 includes a reservation button 8a for setting a reservation, an hour button 8b for inputting the hour and the minute of the reservation time, and a minute button for inputting the hour and the minute of the reservation time. It consists of 8c.

  A block diagram of the control system will be described with reference to FIG.

  The conditions input to the control unit 5 are the temperature detection means 6 for detecting the temperature of the inner pot 2 and inputting the detected temperature information to the control unit 5 as described above, and the temperature of the rice during the start of cooking or during the heat insulation. The rice cooking button 11 to input to reheat to a temperature suitable for eating, and the time to end reheating to a temperature suitable for eating the cooking rice end time and the temperature of the cooked rice There is a reservation time input means 8 to do.

  Also, what is controlled by the control unit 5 with respect to the input is a display unit 12 for displaying a reservation time and a heating means 4 for heating the inner pot 2.

Further, the controller 5 controls (supplies) the power supplied to the heating means 4 based on the temperature information of the temperature detecting means 6 so that the temperature of the rice being kept warm is 80 ° C. or higher. A heating start means 9 and a reheating end means 10 for controlling (stopping) the power supplied to the heating means 4 are provided so that the reheating is completed by the time preset by the reserved time input means 8. Here, between the start of power supply and the stop of power supply, power control is appropriately performed so that the temperature of the rice becomes 80 ° C. or higher.
The control unit 5 is an electronic control unit mainly composed of a microcomputer and executes various control functions by software. Naturally, the reheating start means and the reheating end means proposed in the present invention. The function is given to the control unit 5 as an application executed by software or the like.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.

  FIG. 4 shows a case in which rice and water are put into the inner pot 2 in the morning and rice cooking is started immediately, and the temperature keeping to keep the temperature at 74 ° C. constant is selected.

  In FIG. 4, when the rice cooking is finished and the process shifts to heat retention, the temperature of the rice in the inner pot 2 decreases from about 100 ° C. immediately after the rice cooking to the temperature 74 ° C. at which the temperature is kept. The controller 5 controls the power supplied to the heating means 4 to keep the temperature of the rice at 74 ° C. (In the figure, the display indicating the supply of power is omitted.) During this heat retention, the user sets the evening meal time (18:00) by the reheating reservation time input means 8 at around 8:00. Thus, reheating is started at 17:45 before 18:00, which is a meal time, and then reheating is ended at 18:00. For this reason, the reheating can be completed at a temperature optimal for eating the temperature of the rice that has been kept at 18:00 at dinnertime. In addition, when time is not enough, you may perform control which enlarges supply amount (wattage) of electric power suitably, and shortens time.

  Next, a reservation setting method will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the reservation button 8a is operated first, “00:00” or the current time is displayed on the display unit 12, and the time can be changed to an arbitrary time using the hour button 8b and the minute button 8c.

  For example, assume that the current time is 8 o'clock and a reservation is set at 18:00. This time is input from the reservation time input means 8 to the reheating end means 10. Then, when the reheating end means 10 reaches 17:45, 15 minutes before the reservation time, the reheating start means 9 is controlled, and the temperature of the rice is detected based on the temperature information of the temperature detection means 6 from the heat retention temperature of 74 ° C. Reheating is performed so that the temperature becomes 80 ° C. or higher. Here, the temperature of the rice can be set as appropriate, and the temperature feedback control using the temperature detecting means is executed so as to reach the set temperature of the rice.

  And at 18:00 of setting time, the temperature of the rice exceeds 80 degreeC and the reheating is complete | finished.

  For this reason, at the time of a user's dinner, the temperature of the heat-insulating rice is automatically set to the same state of hot rice that exceeds 80 ° C.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, reservation is made and rice is cooked, and the subsequent heat insulation is selected to repeat a low temperature (50 to 60 ° C.) and a high temperature (about 80 ° C.) to prevent bacterial growth. Is the case.
This is an operation of repeating one cycle of a substantially constant time as one cycle including a first predetermined time at a low temperature and a second predetermined time at a high temperature.

  When the user operates the reservation button 8a of the reservation time input means 8 when the control state of the control unit 5 is in the standby state, that is, off, the current time or the previously set reservation time is displayed on the display unit 12, and the hour button 8b. The minute button 8c can be used to change to an arbitrary time.

  For example, if the current time is 21:00 and the reservation setting is made so that rice cooking ends at 7:00 the next morning, rice cooking will start at 6 o'clock one hour before the set time, and based on the temperature information of the temperature detection means 6 The control means 5 cooks rice by controlling the power supplied to the heating means 4.

  When cooking ends at 7 o'clock, it automatically shifts to heat insulation as described above. As the heat retention, the heat retention temperature is changed with the passage of the heat retention time since the heat retention at a low temperature (50 to 60 ° C.) and the heat retention at a high temperature (about 80 ° C.) for preventing the growth of bacteria are selected. When the user inputs the reservation time input means 8 when the control state of the control unit 5 is the heat retention state, the user can input the time at which the reheating is completed to a temperature suitable for eating the temperature of the rice being kept warm. .

  In FIG. 5, it is assumed that 19:30 is set using the reservation button 8a, hour button 8b, and minute button 8c of the reservation time input means 8 at 9:00 in the same manner as described above. This time is set in the reheating end means 10. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the reheating is started 15 minutes before the set time, but in this embodiment, the heat retention temperature corresponds to the low temperature (55 ° C.) heat retention temperature period. Therefore, the control unit 5 detects the temperature of the rice being kept warm by the temperature detection means 6 and predicts the time required for reheating, and executes control of the reheating start means 9. Here, reheating is started by the reheating means 9 from 19:00, 30 minutes before the set time. As a result, even at a low temperature, the reheating is completed at over 80 ° C. at 19:30 of the set time. In this case as well, when the time is insufficient, it is possible to execute a control for shortening the time by appropriately increasing the amount of power supply (wattage).

  As described above, in the present invention, since reheating is completed at the time set in advance by the operation unit 5 during the heat retention, even if the time at which the reheating is desired to end is changed every day, any user's arbitrary It can be reheated to a temperature suitable for eating rice at the time.

  In addition, since reheating is not performed at an unintended time, drying or discoloration of the heat-retaining rice does not occur.

  Further, based on the temperature information of the temperature detection means 6, it is determined how many minutes before the time set by the reservation time input means 8 starts heating by the heating means 4 by the set time. Since the control part 5 determines, even if the heat retention temperature of a rice changes, reheating can be reliably complete | finished at set time.

  Furthermore, since reservation for cooking rice and reservation for reheating can be made by the reservation time input means 8, the operation unit can be simplified.

  In this embodiment, the time is set. However, a setting method such as how many hours later may be used, and the reservation time input means 8 does not interpret the operation during the warming as a reheating reservation. Reservation and reheating reservations can be made separately.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body, 2 ... Inner hook, 3 ... Lid, 4 ... Heating means, 5 ... Control means,
6 ... temperature detection means, 7 ... operation part, 8 ... reserved time input means,
9 ... Reheating means, 10 ... Reheating reservation means, 11 ... Cooking rice button.

Claims (3)

A main body, an inner hook housed in the main body, a lid covering an upper opening of the inner hook, a heating means for heating the inner hook, a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the inner hook, and the temperature A control unit for controlling power supplied to the heating unit based on temperature information of the detection unit, a cooking button for inputting the start of cooking rice, and an operation unit provided with a reservation time input unit for inputting a reservation time are provided. And
The controller is set in advance by a reheating start function for starting supplying power to the heating means in order to reheat the temperature of cooked rice to a temperature suitable for eating, and the reservation time input means. A rice cooker comprising a reheating end function for stopping the supply of electric power to the heating means so as to finish the reheating of cooked rice by the time.   The controller reheats by the set time if the heating of the inner pot is started by supplying power by the reheat start means from several minutes before the time set by the reservation time input means. The rice cooker according to claim 1, further comprising a function of determining whether or not the processing is to be completed based on temperature information of the temperature detecting means.   The control unit reserves rice cooking when the reservation time is input by the reservation time input means when the control state of the control unit is in a standby state, and the reservation time is input when the control state of the control unit is a heat retaining state. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the rice cooker has a function of making a reservation for reheating the heated rice.

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