JPH0581245B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Field of Patent> The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker with a function of determining the amount of cooked rice, and in particular, while cooking rice along a preset rice cooking temperature curve, the electric rice cooker is capable of determining the amount of electricity required during the cooking time or The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker with a rice cooking amount determination function that determines the rice cooking amount based on the cumulative amount of cut-off time.

<Background> When performing rice cooking operations, in order to cook delicious rice, an ideal rice cooking temperature rise curve that is set in advance as a reference is memorized, and this reference temperature rise curve is set as the target. There is a known method (for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 57-69620) that can control the amount of rice cooked regardless of the amount of rice cooked.

However, in this type of standard cooking temperature rise curve, it is possible to set a standard cooking temperature rise curve up to boiling in the rice cooking process, but after boiling, the temperature is not constant. Therefore, it was not possible to set the power after boiling according to the amount of rice cooked.

Therefore, the power setting after boiling has no choice but to supply the preset power regardless of the amount of rice cooked, and if the amount of rice cooked is large, (depending on the set power)
If the boiling maintenance power is insufficient, the rice will not be cooked enough, and uneven cooking will occur.Also, if the amount of rice to be cooked is small, the boiling maintenance power will be excessive, causing boiling over and overcooking, resulting in delicious rice. It was getting in the way of cooking.

Therefore, in the cooking process, a preset rice cooking temperature rise curve is set as a reference, and after reaching a predetermined temperature, for example after boiling, the boiling maintenance power is set according to the amount of rice cooked. A rice cooker that could do this was desired.

<Purpose> The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and involves performing a rice cooking operation along a preset rice cooking temperature curve, and simultaneously determining the amount of cooked rice using this rice cooking temperature curve. The purpose is to

<Configuration> A heating means for heating the inner pot, and a rice cooking temperature curve set in advance in the rice cooking process after the inner pot is heated and the temperature of the inner pot reaches a predetermined temperature, and the above-mentioned heating means is configured to follow the rice cooking temperature curve. a heating control means for energizing or cutting off the heating means; an integrating means for integrating the energization time or cutoff time of the heating means within the range of the rice cooking temperature curve from the initial stage of the rice cooking temperature curve up to a predetermined temperature; and this integration means. a rice cooking amount determination means for determining the amount of rice cooked based on the amount of rice cooked, and after determining the amount of rice cooked, a predetermined electric power is supplied according to the determined amount of rice cooking to operate the heating means. It is a feature.

<Examples> Hereinafter, examples will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing examples.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is the rice cooker main body, 2 is an inner pot, 3 is an inner pot storage container that accommodates the inner pot 2, 4 is a rice cooking heater as a means for cooking rice, and 5 is in contact with the bottom surface of the inner pot 2. It is a heat-sensitive element composed of a thermistor, etc., 6 is a control unit incorporating a microcomputer, etc., 7 is a rice cooking switch,
8 is a heat retention heater.

FIG. 2 shows a preset rice cooking temperature curve showing temperature changes in the inner pot 2. In this rice cooking temperature curve, which is stored in the ROM of the microcomputer 10, etc., which will be described later, the area is determined by reducing the rice cooking power. The region shows a water absorption process in which rice is made to absorb water, and the region shows a patupa process in which after the inner pot 2 is heated and the inner pot temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, the rice cooking power is increased to rapidly raise the temperature, boil, and maintain boiling. , and the area indicates an uneven process in which the rice cooking power is reduced to zero or small. As a result of the experiment, in the initial stage of rice cooking after the inner pot 2 is heated and the inner pot temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, for example, about 40
If the time required to rise from ℃ to a predetermined temperature, for example 100℃, is within the range of approximately 10 to 11 minutes,
It has been found that delicious rice can be cooked without much uneven cooking between the inside and outside of the rice grains and between the top and bottom of the rice. Therefore, after the inner pot 2 is heated and the temperature of the inner pot reaches the predetermined temperature, the temperature ranges from about 40°C at the initial stage of rice cooking to the predetermined temperature of 100°C.
It is necessary to configure the rice cooking operation so that the rice cooking operation can be performed along the rice cooking temperature curve in which the time required for the temperature to rise to ℃ is within the range of approximately 10 to 11 minutes. The electrical components shown in Figure 3 are incorporated into the main body of the rice cooker. In the same figure, 10 is a microcomputer having a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and also has an A/D conversion function. is memorized in advance. By directly applying the temperature information obtained by the thermosensitive element 5 to the input port of the microcomputer 10, the temperature information as analog data can be converted into digital data. Further, a rice cooking switch 7 is connected to a microcomputer 10. Furthermore, the energization amount control means 11 composed of a triax or the like and the rice cooking heater 4 are connected between both terminals of the commercial AC power supply 12, and the control signal from the output port of the microcomputer 10 is applied to the gate terminal of the energization amount control means 11. Connected.

Next, the operation of the rice cooker configured as above will be explained.

When you put the desired amount of rice and water in the inner pot 2 and turn on the rice cooking switch 7, the inner pot is heated and the rice is cooked according to the steps of the rice cooking program stored in the ROM in the microcomputer 10. Start. In the early stages of rice cooking, the rice cooking power is reduced to allow the rice to absorb water. Then let the rice absorb water,
After the temperature of the inner pot reaches a predetermined temperature indicating completion of water absorption (the lower limit temperature of the temperature range for detecting the amount of cooked rice), the amount of cooked rice is detected according to the program procedure shown in FIG.

After the temperature of the inner pot reaches the predetermined temperature after the water absorption process has been completed, the rice cooking heater 4 is energized in a step, and the rice cooking heater 7 is turned on in a step.
Count the time the power is applied to.

Then, in step it is determined whether t ₁ sec. has elapsed or not, and if t 1 sec. has not elapsed, electricity is continued to be supplied to the rice cooking heater 4 . After t ₁ sec., it is determined in step whether the detected temperature is below t ₁ ℃, and if it is below, the rice cooking heater 4 is turned on.
However, if the current is exceeded, the power supply to the rice cooking heater 4 is cut off at step 4, and the counting of the energization time is stopped at step. In either case, it is determined in step whether t ₂ sec. has elapsed or not, and if it has not elapsed, the previous operation is continued as is.
If t ₂ sec. has elapsed, it is determined in step whether the detected temperature is below T ₂ ℃, and if it is below, the rice cooking heater 4 is energized and the energization time is counted in step. If so, the current supply to the rice cooking heater 4 is cut off and the count of the current supply time is stopped in the step.

and in each case in step
Determine whether t ₃ sec. has elapsed or not, continue the previous operation until it has elapsed, and then the above time t ₃ sec.
It is determined whether or not the temperature T ₃ °C corresponding to has been reached, and the rice cooking heater 4 is energized and the energization time is counted, or the rice cooking heater 4 is selectively shut off and the counting of the shutoff time is stopped.

After that, the time data T _o sec. and the temperature data T _o C which are stored in the microcomputer 10 in correspondence with the preset rice cooking temperature curve are sequentially read out and the same judgment process as above is performed, so that the rice can be partially viewed. Although the rice cooking temperature curve is slightly deviated from the rice cooking temperature curve, overall, the heating of the rice cooking heater 4, which is a heating means, can be controlled so as to follow the rice cooking temperature curve, and the power supply/cutoff process can be performed.

After performing the judgment processing on all the time data and temperature data, in step 1, it is determined whether the energization time count is c ₁ to c ₂ , c ₂ to c ₃ , or c ₃
Determine whether ~c ₄ or c ₄ or more.

After that, in any of the steps 〓〓〓〓〓〓, the rice cooking power is set in correspondence with the above-mentioned count number to determine the amount of rice cooked. The rice is cooked by supplying the rice cooking power.

In the above case, if c ₁ < c ₂ < c ₃ < c ₄ , the amount of rice cooked is the smallest when the count is c ₁ to _{c 2} , and the amount of rice cooked is the second when the count is c ₂ to c ₃ . less, c ₃
The amount of rice cooked is the third smallest in the case of ~ c ₄ , and the amount of rice cooked is the largest in the case of c ₄ or more.

In other words, within a certain range of the rice cooking temperature curve (for example, within a range of about 40°C to 100°C; the temperature specifying this certain range can be changed as described later), electricity is supplied to the rice cooking heater 4 as a heating means. Means is provided for determining the amount of cooked rice based on the amount.

Therefore, even as rice cooking power, the count is c ₁
If the count is between c ₂ and c 3, then P ₁ W; when the count is between c ₂ and c ₃ , it is P ₂ W; when the count is between c ₃ and c ₄ , it is
P ₃ W, and if the count is c ₄ or more, P ₄ W.

After that, by applying the above-mentioned set rice cooking power to the inner pot 2, the boiling state is maintained, and in step 〓〓, it is checked whether the rice cooking is finished or not, that is, the water in the inner pot 2 is gone and the temperature is 100℃. It is determined whether the rice has risen sharply or not, and if the rice cooking has not finished, the boiling state is continued, and if the rice cooking has finished, the electricity to the rice cooking heater 4 is stopped at step 〓〓,
After that, the unevenness process is performed.

With the above configuration, energization or cutoff to the rice cooking heater 4 is controlled so as to follow a preset rice cooking temperature curve, and moreover, the rice cooking heater 4 is controlled to be energized or cut off so as to approximately follow a preset rice cooking temperature curve, and furthermore, within a range from the initial stage of this rice cooking temperature curve to a predetermined temperature, for example, approximately 40 Count the cumulative amount of energization time or cut-off time of the rice cooking heater 4 within the range of ℃ to 100℃,
The amount of rice to be cooked can be determined based on the amount of this count value, and a predetermined amount of rice cooking power is supplied according to the determined amount of rice, so delicious rice can be cooked regardless of the amount of rice to be cooked. I can do it.

In other words, when the amount of rice to be cooked is small, a small amount of electricity is used to maintain boiling and the rice is cooked, which prevents boiling over and overcooking of the rice.On the other hand, when there is a large amount of rice to be cooked, a large amount of electricity is used to maintain the boiling rice. Since the rice is cooked using the rice cooker, undercooking and uneven cooking of the rice can be suppressed, and as a result, delicious rice can be cooked according to the amount of rice cooked.

Furthermore, if an 8-bit microcomputer with built-in A/D conversion is used, there will be almost no deviation between the actual temperature and the set temperature during the rice cooking amount detection operation.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment at all; for example, changing the temperature range for determining the amount of rice cooked, or cutting off the total energization instead of counting the cumulative amount of energization to the rice cooking heater 4. It is possible to count the integrated amount of energization, calculate the ratio of the total energized amount to the total energized cutoff amount, etc., and make various design changes without changing the gist of the invention. is possible.

<Effects> As described above, this invention has this effect because the heating means is energized or cut off so that the rise in the cooking temperature after the inner pot temperature reaches a predetermined temperature follows a preset rice cooking temperature curve. By using the energization time or cut-off time of the heating means, the amount of rice cooked can be determined based on the cumulative amount of time, so there is no need for a special heating control means to determine the amount of rice cooked. Rice can be cooked along the above-mentioned rice cooking temperature curve.

In this way, while cooking delicious rice by aligning the inner pot temperature with the rice cooking temperature curve, it is also possible to use this rice cooking temperature curve to determine the amount of rice to be cooked without sacrificing the doneness of the rice. .

In particular, after determining the amount of rice to be cooked, by supplying electricity according to the determined amount of rice to cook the rice, when the amount of rice to be cooked is small, the rice can be cooked with a small amount of electricity, so there is no possibility of overcooked rice. On the other hand, when there is a large amount of rice to be cooked, the rice can be cooked using a large amount of electricity, which prevents the rice from being undercooked or cooked unevenly.As a result, the amount of rice cooked can be reduced. You can cook delicious rice according to your taste.

In addition, by determining the amount of rice to be cooked, it is possible to supply rice cooking power according to the determined amount of rice to be cooked, so that it is possible to efficiently cook rice with appropriate power.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a partially cutaway side view of the rice cooker, Figure 2 is the rice cooking temperature curve, Figure 3 is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of the main parts of the rice cooker, and Figure 4 is a program for determining the amount of rice cooked. Flowchart: FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional rice cooker, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a conventional program for determining the amount of rice to be cooked.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heating means for heating the inner pot, and a heating means for setting a rice cooking temperature curve in advance in the rice cooking process after the inner pot is heated and the temperature of the inner pot reaches a predetermined temperature, and for following the rice cooking temperature curve. a heating control means for energizing or cutting off electricity; an integrating means for integrating the energization time or cut-off time of the heating means within the range of the rice cooking temperature curve from the initial stage of the rice cooking temperature curve to a predetermined temperature; and this integrated amount. and a rice cooking amount determination means for determining the rice cooking amount based on the rice cooking amount, and after determining the rice cooking amount, a predetermined electric power is supplied according to the determined rice cooking amount to operate the heating means. An electric rice cooker with a rice cooking amount determination function.