CN109965671B - Electric rice cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

The electric cooker comprises a bottomed inner pot (4), a main body (1) covering a heating coil (17) for heating the inner pot, and a lid body (2) covering an upper opening of the inner pot. A lead wire (58A) and a lead wire (58B) with a terminal (57A) and a terminal (57B) are fixed to a heating substrate (51A) for energizing a heating coil, and a unit case lower part (61) as a case and a unit holder as a holder are provided as a protective material (52) for protecting the heating coil, respectively. An intermediate connection part (73) for connecting the lead (58A) and the terminal (57A) of the lead (58B), the terminal (57B), the terminal (69A) of the heating coil (17), and the terminal (69B) is formed under the unit case (61), and the unit case (61) and the unit bracket are combined to form a wall surface part (67) of an air blowing passage (66) from the cooling fan (53).

Description

Electric rice cooker

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a small-sized electric rice cooker for covering an inner pot and a heating unit body.

Background

The conventional electric rice cooker is constructed as follows: the cooking object placed in the inner pot during cooking and heat preservation is heated by covering the inner pot with a bottomed body and a heating means such as a heating coil for heating the inner pot, and covering the upper opening of the inner pot with a lid.

In order to energize the heating coil for a predetermined time, a heating substrate on which circuit elements are mounted is provided inside the main body. In a conventional rice cooker, in order to electrically connect a heating coil and a heating substrate, a terminal block is provided on the heating substrate, and a terminal from the heating coil is connected thereto (see a connection portion 71 of patent document 1 and a terminal portion 28 of patent document 2).

In addition, in the conventional rice cooker, in order to effectively cool the circuit components generating heat, a cooling fan for supplying cool air to the inside of the main body is provided at the bottom surface of the main body (see a cooling fan 25 of patent document 2).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1 Japanese patent laid-open No. 2014-200516

Patent document 2 specification of Japanese patent No. 4952147

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the structure of the conventional rice cooker, a space for mounting the terminal block at the heating substrate is required, and therefore, miniaturization of the heating substrate and thus of the main body shape cannot be achieved. In addition, since the terminal block is provided only at another portion of the heating substrate, a structure for protecting the terminal block must be newly incorporated. Therefore, the body shape still cannot be miniaturized.

Further, in the structure of the conventional rice cooker, in order to provide the cooling fan at the bottom surface portion of the main body, the main body needs to be additionally left with a height portion from the installation surface of the cooling fan. This also does not allow the main body to be miniaturized. Since only the cooling fan is provided at another portion, the circuit component mounted on the heating member cannot be efficiently cooled by the air blown from the cooling fan.

The present invention has a common object to provide a rice cooker which can be miniaturized in its main body; it is another object of the present invention to provide a rice cooker capable of improving the cooling effect of components mounted on a heating substrate.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention of claim 1 provides an electric rice cooker including a main body having a bottomed inner pot, a heating unit for heating the inner pot, and a lid for covering an upper opening of the inner pot, the electric rice cooker including: a heating substrate that energizes the heating unit, an

A lead wire to which a terminal is attached and which is fixed to the heating substrate, and

a protective material for protecting the heating substrate and comprising a housing and a support, an

A cooling fan that delivers cool air to the inside of the main body;

the housing includes a 1 st vertical wall formed in a left-right direction of the main body and a 1 st horizontal wall horizontally extending from an upper end of the 1 st vertical wall to a rear of the main body,

the bracket includes a rear surface portion facing the main body, a 2 nd vertical wall formed in a left-right direction of the main body, and a 2 nd horizontal wall horizontally extending from a lower end of the 2 nd vertical wall to a front of the main body,

an intermediate connection portion connecting a terminal of the lead wire and a terminal of the heating unit to the case is formed at a lowermost end of the 1 st vertical wall of the case; the wall surface portion of the air supply passage from the cooling fan is formed by combining the housing and the bracket.

The invention of scheme 2, characterized in that:

the intermediate connection portion has a terminal fixing portion for receiving and fixing a terminal of the lead and a terminal of the heating unit; the terminal fixing portion is formed in a concave shape that conforms to the external shapes of the terminal of the lead and the terminal of the heating unit.

The invention of claim 3, characterized in that: further comprising:

a fastening member that connects and fixes the terminal of the lead wire and the terminal of the heating unit to the connection fixing portion,

and a fixing member that fixes only one of the terminal of the lead wire or the terminal of the heating unit to the connection fixing portion.

The fastening member is composed of a male screw member and a female screw member, and a receiving portion for receiving the female screw member is provided at the connection fixing portion; the female screw member received in the receiving portion is capped by a terminal of the lead wire or a terminal of the heating unit fixed by the fixing member. The male screw member is fastened to the female screw member, and the terminal of the lead and the terminal of the heating unit are connected and fixed to the connection fixing portion together and tightly.

The invention of claim 4, characterized in that: it comprises the following components:

a heat sink disposed on an inlet side of the air blowing passage facing the cooling fan, the heat sink being in thermal contact with an electronic component mounted on the heating substrate; the air discharged from the cooling fan to the heat sink is dispersed around the heat sink and guided to the inside of the air blowing passage in which the heating substrate is disposed.

The invention of claim 5, characterized in that:

a heat dissipation space surrounding the heating unit is formed in the main body in front of the air supply passage; the opening area of the air supply passage inlet is smaller than that of the air supply passage outlet; a communication passage through which air can flow is formed between the outlet of the air supply passage and the heat dissipation space.

The invention of claim 6, characterized in that:

a heat dissipation space surrounding the heating unit is formed in the main body in front of the air supply passage; the opening area of the air supply passage inlet is smaller than that of the air supply passage outlet; a communication passage through which air can flow is formed between the outlet of the air supply passage and the heat dissipation space.

The invention of claim 7 provides an electric cooker comprising a main body covering a bottomed inner pot and a heating means for heating the inner pot, and a lid body covering an upper opening of the inner pot,

characterized in that, respectively comprising:

a heating substrate that energizes the heating unit,

a protective material for protecting the heating substrate and composed of a case and a holder, and

a cooling fan which delivers cool air to the inside of the main body.

The cooling fan is provided at a rear side portion of the main body,

the housing includes a 1 st vertical wall formed in a left-right direction of the body and an upper end of the 1 st vertical wall A 1 st transverse wall horizontally extending towards the rear of the main body,

the bracket includes a rear surface portion facing the main body, a 2 nd vertical column formed along a left and right direction of the main body A 2 nd transverse wall horizontally extending from the lower end of the 2 nd vertical wall to the front of the main body,

the protective material incorporating the cooling fanBy combining the housing and the bracket, andan air blowing passage from the cooling fan is formed, and the heating substrate is disposed in the air blowing passage.

The invention of claim 8, characterized in that:

the structure is as follows: a heat sink disposed on an inlet side of the air blowing passage facing the cooling fan, the heat sink being in thermal contact with an electronic component mounted on the heating substrate; the air discharged from the cooling fan to the radiator is dispersed around the radiator and guided to the inside of the air blowing passage.

The invention of claim 9, characterized in that:

a heat dissipation space surrounding the heating unit is formed in the main body in front of the air supply passage; the opening area of the air supply passage inlet is smaller than that of the air supply passage outlet; a communication passage through which air can flow is formed between the outlet of the air supply passage and the heat dissipation space.

The invention of claim 10, characterized in that:

the front of the bottom wall of the main body is formed in a V shape, the exhaust hole is formed in an inclined surface of the V shape in an opening manner, and the exhaust hole is arranged in a manner of surrounding the front of the heating unit which is assembled in a spiral shape in the main body.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the invention of claim 1, the intermediate connection portion is provided in the case which is a protective material of the heating substrate, and the terminal of the lead from the heating substrate and the terminal of the heating unit can be intermediately connected between the heating substrate and the heating unit by the intermediate connection portion, so that the main body can be miniaturized by integrating with the heating substrate without increasing the number of components. In addition, the wall surface portion of the air blowing passage from the cooling fan is formed by the case and the holder which are combined as the protective material for protecting the heating substrate originally, and the protection of the heating substrate, the intermediate connection of the terminals, and the air blowing passage structure from the cooling fan are realized by the common protective material, thereby achieving the miniaturization of the main body.

According to the invention of claim 2, the spacer is provided in the housing, whereby the terminals of different poles can be prevented from contacting each other in the intermediate connection portion. Further, by using a holder which forms a wall surface portion of the air blowing passage and covering the intermediate connection portion with a cover portion of the holder, looseness of the terminal at the intermediate connection portion can be regulated without increasing the number of components.

According to the invention of claim 3, the terminal of the lead and the terminal of the heating unit can be fixed to the terminal fixing portion by intermediate connection by minimizing the deviation between the terminal of the lead and the terminal of the heating unit.

According to the invention of claim 4, only the terminals of some of the lead wires or the terminals of the heating unit are connected and fixed to the connection fixing portions by the fixing members in advance, and the terminals of the lead wires for the inner screw member or the terminal fixing cover of the heating unit which are already stored in the storage portions can be fixed, thereby preventing the inner screw member from falling off. Thereafter, since the terminals of the lead and the terminals of the heating unit are connected and fixed to the connection fixing portion by the fastening member in common, the terminals can be reliably connected intermediately by the connection fixing portion.

According to the invention of claim 5, the cooling air discharged from the cooling fan is directly blown to the heat sink, and thereby the electronic components mounted on the heating substrate, particularly the electronic components thermally connected to the heat sink, can be efficiently cooled. Further, since the air reaching the heat sink from the cooling fan is dispersed around and sent out without fail to the inside of the air flow passage in which the heating substrate is disposed, the electronic component mounted on the heating substrate can be cooled.

According to the invention of claim 6, the air having passed through the inside of the air supply passage is concentrated at the outlet of the air supply passage, and thereby diffused all at once in the entire heat dissipation space through the communication passage. Therefore, the air from the air blowing duct is strongly guided to the heating unit disposed in the heat radiation space, and the temperature rise of the heating unit can be effectively suppressed.

According to the invention of claim 7, the cooling fan is provided at the rear side portion of the main body, so that the height dimension of the main body is reduced, and the size of the main body is reduced. Further, by providing the cooling fan in the protective material for protecting the heating substrate, and forming the air blowing passage from the cooling fan by the protective material, and by providing the heating substrate in the air blowing passage, the cooling effect of the component mounted on the heating substrate can be improved. At the same time, the protection of the heating substrate, the installation of the cooling fan, and the structure of the air supply passage from the cooling fan are realized by a common protective material, and the miniaturization of the main body can be further achieved.

According to the invention of claim 8, the cooling air discharged from the cooling fan is directly blown to the heat sink, and thereby the electronic components mounted on the heating substrate, particularly the electronic components thermally connected to the heat sink, can be efficiently cooled. Further, since the air reaching the heat sink from the cooling fan is dispersed around and sent out without fail to the inside of the air flow passage in which the heating substrate is disposed, it is possible to cool the electronic components already on the heating substrate.

According to the invention of claim 9, the air having passed through the inside of the air supply passage is concentrated at the outlet of the air supply passage, and thereby diffused all at once in the entire heat dissipation space through the communication passage. Therefore, the air from the air blowing duct is strongly guided to the heating unit disposed in the heat radiation space, and the temperature rise of the heating unit can be effectively suppressed.

According to the invention of claim 10, the air that has reached the heat dissipation space is not retained, and after receiving heat from the heating unit, the air can be quickly discharged from the air outlet to the outside of the rice cooker.

Drawings

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

Fig. 2 is a view showing a structure of an air flow path made of a protective material for a heating substrate in a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a perspective view of a main portion of a unit bracket before being mounted under a unit case.

Fig. 3 is a view showing a structure of an air blowing passage made of a protective material for a heating substrate in the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a perspective view of a main portion after a unit holder is mounted under a unit case.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a structure of an air blowing passage made of a protective material for a heating substrate in the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a main part perspective view showing a flow direction of air of an operated air blowing fan in a state where a rear part of a main body is cut.

Fig. 5 is a view showing the structure of an intermediate connection portion in the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a perspective view of a main portion before terminals of leads from a heating substrate are mounted.

Fig. 6 is a view showing the configuration of an intermediate connection portion in the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a main portion perspective view after mounting a terminal of a lead from a heating substrate.

Fig. 7 is a view showing the configuration of an intermediate connection portion in the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a main portion perspective view after a heating coil has been installed.

Fig. 8 is a view showing the configuration of the intermediate connection portion in the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a main portion perspective view after the intermediate connection portion has been covered with a housing.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a main part of a rice cooker according to a second embodiment of the present invention, shown with a lid closed.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of a main part of a rice cooker according to a second embodiment of the present invention, shown with a lid closed.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of a rice cooker according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a schematic view of a rice cooker according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, with a part of the schematic configuration of the main part being enlarged.

Fig. 13 is a view in which the outer lid has been viewed from the bottom surface side in the conventional electric rice cooker.

Fig. 14 is a schematic view of a part of a general structure showing a main part of the cover in a conventional rice cooker.

Fig. 15 is a front view of a rice cooker according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a right side view of a rice cooker according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a front view of a rice cooker according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a right side view of a rice cooker according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the symbols

1 main body

2 cover body

4 inner kettle

17 heating coil (heating unit)

52 protective Material

53 Cooling fan

54 heat sink

57A, 57B terminals (terminals of lead wire)

58A, 58B lead wire

61 Unit casing lower (casing)

62 unit support (support)

66 air supply passage

67 wall surface part

67A vertical wall (1 st vertical wall)

67B lateral wall (1 st lateral wall)

67C vertical wall (No. 2 vertical wall)

67D horizontal wall (No. 2 horizontal wall)

69A, 69B terminal (terminal of heating unit)

71A, 71B Hexagon nut (fastening component, internal thread component)

72A, 72B bolt (fastening component, external thread component)

73 intermediate connection part

74A, 74B terminal fixing part

75 spacer part

87 inlet

79A, 79B nut storage part (storage part)

81A, 81B bolt (fixing part)

83 cover part

91 heat dissipation space

92 outlet

93 a communication passage

95 air vent

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the rice cooker according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and common descriptions are omitted as much as possible in order to avoid redundancy.

[ example 1]

Fig. 1 shows an overall configuration of a rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, the rice cooker of the present embodiment has a substantially rectangular shape with front and rear surfaces and left and right side surfaces facing each other as viewed from above, and has an outer contour formed by a main body 1 having an open upper surface and a lid body 2 openably and closably covering the upper surface of the main body 1. The main body 1 has an inner pot housing part 3 with an opened upper surface, and when the lid body 2 is opened, a bottomed inner pot 4 for housing water and rice as cooking objects is detachably housed in the inner pot housing part 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes a space for accommodating the cooked object formed by the inner pot 4. The storage space 5 will be referred to as the interior of the inner vessel 4 in the following description.

The main body 1 has an upper frame 6 constituting the upper and upper side surface portions thereof and an outer frame 7 constituting the side bottom surface portion as main components. In this case, the upper frame 6 and the outer frame 7 are made of synthetic resin such as PP and ABS polycarbonate. The concave inner vessel housing portion 3 is formed integrally with the upper frame 6 from the upper portion to the side portion thereof, and the bottom portion of the inner vessel housing portion 3 is formed by the inner frame 8 which is another member than the upper frame 6. The inner frame 8 is formed of synthetic resin such as PET.

The upper end of the inner pot housing part 3 is provided with a braided wire heater 9, and the braided wire heater 9 is covered with a metal plate part 10 such as an aluminum plate having excellent thermal conductivity. These braided wire heaters 9 and the metal plate portion 10 constitute a flange heater 12 as a heat generating unit. The lower surface of an inner pot ring part 13 extending from the substantially central part of the inner pot 4 to the entire periphery in the outer peripheral direction is placed on the flange heater 12, and the inner pot 4 is housed in the pot housing part 3 in a suspended state. The flange heater 12 heats the inner ring portion 13 and the side surface of the inner pot 4 during cooking and heat preservation, and radiates heat from the metal plate portion 10 toward the gap between the main body 1 and the lid 2 and the gap between the pot housing portion 3 and the inner pot 4, thereby suppressing cooling of the inner pot 4 and preventing moisture generated from the cooked product by heating from condensing toward the upper inner surface of the inner pot 4.

The inner pot 4 is formed by using aluminum having excellent thermal conductivity as a main material 15, and a heating element 16 made of a magnetic metal plate such as ferrite stainless steel is provided so as to be joined from the lower portion of the side surface of the outer surface of the main material 15 to the bottom portion. The reason why the heating element 16 is not provided upward from the center of the side surface of the inner vessel 4 is to reduce the weight of the inner vessel 4.

As heating means for heating the inner pot 4 by electromagnetic induction, heating coils 17 are disposed at the lower part and bottom part of the side surface of the inner frame 8 with respect to the heating element 16. A heating coil 17 composed of litz wire is provided in a spiral shape on the outer surface of the inner frame 8 formed in a bowl shape. Further, a braided wire heater 18 other than the flange heater 12 is provided on the inner surface portion of the lid body 2 with respect to the upper outer surface of the inner tank 4. A braided wire heater 18 as a carcass heater is fixed to an inner cover ring 19 made of a metal plate such as stainless steel or aluminum having excellent thermal conductivity, and constitutes an inner cover ring heater 20 as a cover side surface heating unit.

An inner pot temperature sensor 21 as an inner pot temperature detection means is provided at the center of the bottom of the inner frame 8 so as to be in contact with the bottom of the outer surface of the inner pot 4. The inner pot temperature sensor 21 detects the temperature of the inner pot 4 during cooking and during keeping warm, and the heating control unit 22 that receives the detection signal mainly controls the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 4 heated by the heating coil 17.

The lid opening button 23 is disposed in an exposed state on the front upper surface of the lid 2. When the lid opening button 23 is pressed, the engagement between the main body 1 and the lid body 2 is released, and the lid body 2 is automatically opened with the hinge shaft 24 as a rotation center by an elastic force of a hinge spring (not shown) provided at the upper rear side of the main body 1. A steam port unit 25 for discharging steam generated from the cooked object in the inner pot 4 to the outside of the rice cooker is detachably attached to the rear upper surface of the lid body 2.

The main components of the lid 2 are: an outer cover 27 which is an exterior member presented as an upper surface of the outer contour; a heat dissipation plate 28 forming the lower surface of the lid body 2; and an outer cover 29 as a cover base material for forming a skeleton of the lid body 2 by bonding the outer cover 27 and the heat sink plate 28. A lid heater 30 as a lid heating unit is provided on the upper surface of the heat generating plate 28 inside the lid body 2. The lid heater 30 may be an electric heater such as a braided wire heater or a heating coil of an electromagnetic induction heating type.

An inner lid assembly 31, which is a lower member of the lid body 2 and is unitized, is detachably provided below the heat generating plate 28. The inner lid assembly 31 includes: a disk-shaped metal inner lid 32 having substantially the same diameter as the upper opening of the inner vessel 4; a lid packing 33 composed of an elastic member for sealing a gap between the inner vessel 4 and the inner lid 32; an inner lid ring 34 for fitting the lid packing 33 around the outer side of the inner lid 32; and a pressure adjusting section 35 for adjusting the internal pressure to the pressure inside the inner pot 4. When lid body 2 is closed, lid packing 33 formed in an annular shape abuts against the upper surface of inner pot 4 and closes the gap between inner pot 4 and inner lid 32, thereby sealing the steam generated in inner pot 4.

As a lid temperature detection unit for detecting the temperature of the lid body 2, particularly the temperature of the inner lid 32, a thermistor-type lid temperature sensor 36 for controlling the temperature of the heating control unit 22 by the lid heater 30 is provided in the heat radiation plate 28. Further, as a passage for discharging the steam generated in inner pot 4 to the outside, a steam discharge passage 37 for communicating steam port unit 25 and pressure adjusting unit 35 is formed inside lid body 2. A pressure regulating valve 38 for opening and closing a steam discharge passage 37 between the inside of the inner pot 4 and the steam port unit 25 is provided in the pressure regulating section 35. The pressure regulating valve 38 is spherical and is interlocked with a solenoid 39 provided inside the lid body 2. When the steam in the inner pot 4 is discharged to the outside, the steam discharge passage 37 is opened to reduce the pressure of the inner pot 4 to a reduced pressure state lower than the atmospheric pressure outside the rice cooker; alternatively, when the pressure in the inner pot 4 is in a pressurized state higher than the atmospheric pressure outside the rice cooker, the solenoid 39 electrically driven to close the steam discharge passage 37 rotates the pressure regulating valve. During pressurization, the cooked object in the inner pot 4 is heated by high-frequency energization of the heating coil 17, the internal pressure of the inner pot 4 reaches a predetermined value, the steam discharge passage 37 is opened against the weight of the pressure regulating valve 36, and the internal pressure of the inner pot 4 is maintained at atmospheric pressure or higher.

In a state where the lid body 2 is closed on the main body 1, a depressurizing means 41 for reducing the internal pressure of the inner vessel 4 to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure is provided inside the lid body 2. The pressure reducing unit 41 is provided with an electric pressure reducing pump 42 as a drive source in a middle of a passage (not shown) communicating the inside and outside of the inner pot 4, and energizes the solenoid 39 at an appropriate timing during cooking and warming to reduce the internal pressure of the sealed inner pot 4 in a state where the pressure regulating valve 38 blocks the steam discharge passage 37. When the internal pressure of the internal tank 4 is reduced by a predetermined value as compared with the atmospheric pressure, the operation of the pressure reducing pump 42 is stopped, and the inside of the internal tank 4 is maintained in a reduced pressure state. Further, when the inside of the inner pot 4 is returned from the reduced pressure state to the atmospheric pressure, the passage is opened while the operation of the decompression pump 42 is stopped. That is, the pressure reducing means 41 also serves as a pressure recovery means for recovering the inside of the inner pot 4 from a reduced pressure state to the same pressure as the outside atmospheric pressure.

The heating substrate assembly 44, which is unitized and includes the heating control unit 22, is provided inside the main body 1. The heating control unit 22 is constituted by a microcomputer (microcomputer) and a driving element of the heating unit, etc. which are incorporated in a display/operation control unit 48 described later, for electrically controlling the respective components of the electric rice cooker. Here, the operation of the solenoid 39 and the decompression pump 42 is controlled while receiving the temperature detection signals from the inner pot temperature sensor 21 and the lid temperature sensor 36 and the operation signal from the operation panel 45 described later, and controlling the braided wire heater 9 and the braided wire heater 18, the heating coil 17, and the lid heater 30 for heating the inner pot 4 and the lid body 2 at the time of cooking and the time of keeping warm, respectively. The heating control means 22 controls the heating coil 17 mainly based on the detected temperature of the inner pot temperature sensor 21 to control the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot 4, controls the lid heater 30 mainly based on the detected temperature of the lid temperature sensor 36 to control the temperature of the inner lid 24 with respect to the cooked object inserted into the storage space 5. The detailed structure of the heating substrate assembly 44 will be described later.

Reference numeral 45 denotes an operation panel serving as an operation unit of the rice cooker. The operation panel 45 includes a display unit 46 containing various information related to cooking, and an operation unit (not shown) for starting cooking, selecting time and cooking flow. The display/operation control unit 48, which is configured by mounting various electronic components including a control IC on the control board 47, is disposed on the lower surfaces of the display portion and the operation portion.

The structure of the heating substrate assembly 44 will be described below with reference to fig. 2 to 8. These figures show the structure of each part in a state where the bottom of the main body 1 is turned upside down, and when the rice cooker is assembled, the heating substrate assembly 44 is incorporated into the main body 1 in this state. On the other hand, when the rice cooker is used after being assembled, as shown in fig. 1, the bottom of the main body 1 is placed downward on a flat floor F to cook and keep warm.

The heating substrate assembly 44 disposed at the rear inside the main body 1 mainly includes: 2 heating substrates 51A and 51B; a protective material 52 for electrically insulating and protecting the heating substrates 51A and 51B; a cooling fan 53 attached and fixed to the protective material 52; and a heat sink 54 made of a metal material having good thermal conductivity such as aluminum. Although the heating substrate 51A and the heating substrate 51B are not shown, they are printed circuit boards in which conductive patterns of copper or the like are formed on the surface of an insulating base material, both of which are flat plates. Various electronic components 55A packaged and fixed on the heating substrate 51A are electrically connected to the conductive pattern formed on the heating substrate 51A; various electronic components 55B packaged and fixed on the heating substrate 51B are electrically connected to the conductive pattern formed on the heating substrate 51B. These electronic components 55A and 55B correspond to the microcomputer, the driving element, and the like of the heating control unit 22 described above.

The first heating substrate 51A is a member for controlling energization of the heating coil 17 having the largest power consumption in the heating unit, and a pair of lead wires 58A and 58B are connected and fixed to a conductive pattern of the heating substrate 51A, and conductive terminals 57A and 57B are press-fixed to the leading ends of the lead wires 58A and 58B, in order to realize connection to the heating coil 17. On the other hand, the second heating substrate 51B is a member for controlling the braided wire heater 9, the braided wire heater 18, and the cover heater 30, which consume less power than the heating coil 17 in the heating means, by energization, and the braided wire heater 9, the braided wire heater 18, the cover heater 30, and the heating substrate 51B are electrically connected to each other by connecting means such as a lead wire and a connector, not shown. The heating substrate 51A and the heating substrate 51B, the electronic component 55A, and the electronic component 55B further constitute a heating control unit 22 that controls the operation of each part such as a heating unit other than the display part 46.

The protective material 52 is a member for preventing the ingress of foreign matter into the heating substrate 51A and the heating substrate 51B, and for electrically insulating and protecting the heating substrate 51A and the heating substrate 51B. Here, 2 resin members are combined to form a unit case lower 61 serving as a case and a unit holder 62 serving as a holder. The unit case lower 61 has: a first mounting portion 64A for mounting and fixing the heating substrate 51A in a horizontal state; a second mounting portion 64B for mounting and fixing the heating substrate 51B in a vertically erected state; and a third mounting portion 64C for mounting and fixing the cooling fan 53 in a state of being held upright on the rear side portion in the main body 1. Further, a wall surface portion 67 as an air flow path 66 formed at the rear inside the main body 1 is positioned between the heating substrate 51A, the heating substrate 51B, and the inner pot housing portion 3 around which the heating coil 17 is wound, and a vertical wall 67A formed along the left-right direction of the main body 1 and a horizontal wall 67B extending substantially horizontally from the upper end of the vertical wall 67A toward the rear of the main body 1 when the rice cooker is used are formed in the unit case lower 61, respectively.

The unit case lower 61 is also integrally formed with the intermediate connecting portion 73. The intermediate connection portion 73 is used to fasten and fix the lead wire 58A and the terminal 57B of the lead wire 58B and the terminal 57A and the terminal 69B, which are pressed and fixed to the end portion 17A and the end portion 17B of the heating coil 17, and the conductive terminal 69A and the conductive terminal 69B to the unit case lower 61 with a hexagonal nut 71A and a hexagonal nut 71B, a bolt 72A, and a bolt 72B, which are fastening members. The intermediate connection portion 73 is provided at the vertical wall 67A of the unit case lower 61 at an intermediate point between the heating substrate 51A and the heating coil 17, and is configured to be able to connect the lead 58A and the terminal 57B of the lead 58B fixed to the heating substrate 51A by soldering and the terminals 69A and the terminals 69B of the heating coil 17 at the intermediate point.

Fig. 5 to 8 show the structure of the intermediate connection portion 73 particularly when the rice cooker is mounted upside down. In this assembly, in a state where the unit case lower 61 is mounted and fixed to the upper frame 6 in advance, the intermediate connection portion 73 is positioned at the uppermost end of the vertical wall 67A, and the intermediate connection portion 73 is provided with a concave 1 st terminal fixing portion 74A for connecting and fixing one of the terminals 57A and 69A in a superimposed state and a concave 2 nd terminal fixing portion 74B for superimposing and fixing the other of the terminals 57B and 69B in an opened state. In order to prevent the contact between the one terminals 57A and 69A and the other terminals 57B and 69B having different polarities, a convex spacer 75 is provided between the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B arranged in the front-rear direction of the body 1. The spacer 75 of the present embodiment is a convex member integrally formed with the unit case lower 61, but the convex member may be a convex member different from the unit case lower 61.

Nut receiving portions 79A and female screw portions 80A, which are recessed corresponding to through holes 77A and through holes 78A provided in front and rear of the terminal 57A of the lead 58A, are provided on the bottom surface of the 1 st terminal fixing portion 74A, respectively. Similarly, a nut receiving portion 79B and a female screw portion 80B, both of which are recessed, are provided on the bottom surface of the 2 nd terminal fixing portion 74B, respectively, corresponding to the through-holes 77B and the through-holes 78B provided in the front and rear of the terminal 57B of the lead 58B. The nut receiving portions 79A and 79B are formed in a recessed shape that matches the outer shape of the hexagonal nuts 71A and 71B so that the hexagonal nuts 71A and 71B do not rotate simultaneously with the bolts 72A and 72B when the bolts are fixed.

In the present embodiment, only the terminals 57A and 57B of the lead wires 58A and 58B are fixed to the intermediate connection portion 73 in advance before the terminals 69A and 69B of the heating coil 17 are connected and fixed to the intermediate connection portion 73 together with the terminals 57A and 57B of the lead wires 58A and 58B, and the bolts 81A and 81B, which are fastening members other than the bolts 72A and 72B described above, are inserted through the through holes 78A and 78B provided behind the terminals 57A and 57B, and are further screwed to the female bolt portions 80A and 80B, respectively. These through-holes 78A, terminals 78B, and female screw portions 80A, 80B serve as positioning portions for fixing the terminals 57A, 57B of the leads 58A, 58B at predetermined positions of the corresponding terminal fixing portions 74A, 74B, respectively.

A through hole (not shown) is provided in one terminal 69A of the heating coil 17, and a bolt 72A is inserted into the through hole and aligned with a through hole 77A provided in front of the terminal 57A of the lead wire 58A, and the bolt 72A is screwed to a hexagonal nut 71A previously housed in a nut housing portion 79A, whereby the one terminal 69A of the heating coil 17 and the terminal 57A of the lead wire 58A are fastened and fixed to the terminal fixing portion 74A. Similarly, a through hole (not shown) is provided in the other terminal 69B of the heating coil 17, and the bolt 72B is inserted while aligning the through hole with a through hole 77B provided in front of the terminal 57B of the lead wire 58B, whereby the bolt 72B is screwed to the hexagon nut 71B previously housed in the nut housing portion 79B, and the other terminal 69B of the heating coil 17 and the terminal 57B of the lead wire 58B are fastened and fixed to the terminal fixing portion 74B.

In a state where the end portion 17A of the heating coil 17 and the lead wire 58A from the heating substrate 51A are vertically overlapped with each other, the one terminal 69A of the heating coil 17 and the terminal 57A of the lead wire 58A are respectively housed in the terminal fixing portion 74A from one side and the other side of the terminal fixing portion 74A. When fixing the flat plate- like terminals 57A and 69A with the bolts 72A and 81A, the terminal fixing portion 74A is formed in a concave shape conforming to the external shapes of the terminals 57A and 69A in order to minimize the variation of the terminals 57A and 69A.

Similarly, in a state where the end portion 17B of the heating coil 17 and the lead wire 58B from the heating substrate 51B are vertically overlapped with each other, the one terminal 69B of the heating coil 17 and the terminal 57B of the lead wire 58B are respectively accommodated in the terminal fixing portion 74B from one side and the other side of the terminal fixing portion 74B. When fixing the flat plate-shaped terminals 57B and 69B with the bolts 72B and 81B, the terminal fixing portion 74B is formed in a concave shape conforming to the external shapes of the terminals 57B and 69B in order to minimize variations in the terminals 57B and 69B.

The unit holder 62 has a vertical wall 67C formed along the left-right direction of the main body 1 facing the rear surface of the main body 1 and a horizontal wall 67D extending substantially horizontally from the lower end of the vertical wall 67C toward the front of the main body 1 when the rice cooker is used, as a wall surface portion 67 of the air blowing passage 66. According to these features, when the unit holder 62 of the protective material 52, which is the same heating substrate 51A and the same heating substrate 51B, is combined with the unit case lower 61, the cold air flowing from the cooling fan 53 disposed at the rear side portion of the main body 1 is guided to the wall surface portion 67 of the air blowing passage 66 of the control substrate 22 and is sent out.

When the unit holder 62 is assembled to the unit case lower 61, the lateral wall 67D of the unit holder 62 is covered with a cover so as to cover the intermediate connection portion 73, and a tongue-shaped cover portion 83 that closes the upward opening portions of the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B is formed integrally with the lateral wall 67D. According to these, even if bolt 72A, bolt 72B, bolt 81A, and bolt 81B are loosened at intermediate connection portion 73 without additionally providing lid 83 as another member, the lifting of terminal 57A, terminal 57B, terminal 69A, and terminal 69B from intermediate connection portion 73 can be regulated by lid 83 integral with element holder 62.

The cooling fan 53 housed in the main body 1 has a blade 84 that rotates electrically, and is configured as an axial fan that sucks air in the axial direction of the blade 84 and discharges the air in the same axial direction. Further, a slit-shaped air intake hole 86 is formed in the outer frame 7 so as to open to the air intake port 85 of the cooling fan 53 in order to take in the cool air from the outside of the rice cooker into the main body 1. The cylindrical air flow path 66 surrounded by the wall surface portion 67 of the protector 52 is disposed at the rear inside the main body 1 in the left-right direction with its inlet 87 facing the discharge port 88 of the cooling fan 53.

The air blowing passage 66 is partitioned from a heat radiation space 91 (see fig. 1) surrounding the inner pot housing 3 and the heating coil 17 in the main body 1. Further, a hollow communication passage 93 through which air can flow is formed between the outlet 92 opened on the opposite side of the inlet 87 and the heat radiation space 91 so that the air having passed through the air blow passage 66 passes through the heat radiation space 91 and is guided to the inner pot housing 3, the heating coil 17, and the inner pot temperature detector 21. The opening area of the outlet 92 of the air blowing passage 66 is smaller than the opening area of the inlet 87 of the air blowing passage 66, and once the air having passed through the air blowing passage 66 is collected at the outlet 92, the entire air can be diffused into the heat dissipation space 91 by the communication passage 93.

The front side of the bottom wall portion of the main body 1 or the outer frame 7 is formed in a V-shape, and a slit-shaped exhaust hole 95 is formed in both inclined surfaces of the V-shape. In particular, in the present embodiment, the air flowing from the communication passage 93 to the heat dissipation space 91 takes heat from the inner pot housing 3 to which the heating coil 17 and the inner pot temperature detector 21 are attached, and the air is smoothly discharged directly to the outside of the rice cooker, and the air discharge hole 95 is disposed around the front side of the inner pot housing 3 to which the spiral heating coil 17 is attached. Further, since the air vent holes 95 are formed on the inclined surfaces of the main body 1 facing each other in the V shape, air reaching the heat dissipation space 91 is not accumulated, and air can be quickly discharged from the air vent holes 95 to the outside of the rice cooker.

Rectangular block-shaped heat sink 54 is fixed to heating substrate 51A by screws 96 on the side facing inlet 87 of air blowing passage 66, and is thermally connected to electronic component 55A, such as an IGBT packaged on heating substrate 51A, which generates a large amount of heat. In order to increase the surface area as much as possible, a plurality of fins 97 extending in the horizontal direction are formed in an up-down arrangement on the front surface side of the heat sink 54 facing the discharge port 88 of the cooling fan 53. With this arrangement, the air discharged from the discharge port 88 of the cooling fan 53 directly reaches the heat sink 97, and the heat conducted from the electronic component 55A to the heat sink 54 can be quickly removed. The air discharged from the cooling fan 53 to the heat sink 54 is distributed around the heat sink 54 and is sent without leakage to the air flow passage 66 where the heating substrates 51A and 51B are arranged, and the various electronic components 55A and 55B mounted and fixed on the heating substrates 51A and 51B can be cooled. Fig. 4 shows the above-described series of air flows F by white arrows.

A winding reel device 98 for supplying power to the respective components of the rice cooker is disposed in the main body 1 at the rear of the protective material 52. The take-up reel device 98 is disposed longitudinally between the vertical wall 67C of the unit bracket 62 and the rear surface portion of the outer frame 7. The take-up reel device 98 can be disposed reasonably inside the main body 1, and the air blowing duct 66 is formed in a shape that gradually narrows from the inlet 87 to the outlet 92, whereby the air flowing in the air blowing duct 66 can be smoothly guided to the outlet 92.

In the above configuration, when the heating substrate assembly 44 is assembled, the 2 nd heating substrate 51B to which the electronic component 55B is fixed by solder in advance is attached to the 2 nd mounting portion 64B of the unit case lower 61, and the cooling fan 53 is attached to the 3 rd mounting portion 64C of the unit case lower 61 so that the suction port 85 faces the outside of the unit case lower 61. Next, the 1 st heating substrate 51A, to which the electronic component 55A is fixed with solder in advance and the heat sink 54 is fixed with screws, is mounted and fixed on the 1 st mounting portion 64C of the unit case lower 61, and an assembly unit, in which the heating control substrate 22 is accommodated in the unit case lower 61, is assembled in advance. The collective unit is attached and fixed to the main body 1 in an assembled state with the upside down by bolting or the like. In the assembled main body 1, the heating coil 17 and the inner pot temperature detecting member 21 are housed in advance outside the inner pot housing portion 3.

With reference to fig. 5 to 8, a procedure of terminal connection in the intermediate connection portion 73 will be described. In the intermediate connection portion 73 provided in the unit case lower portion 61, the terminals 69A and 69B from the heating coil 17 and the terminals 57A and 57B from the lead wires 58A and 58B fixed to the thermal substrate 51A are fixed.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 5, first, the hexagonal nuts 71A and 71B are inserted into the nut receiving portions 79A and 79B in the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B, respectively, with respect to the intermediate connecting portion 73 to which no component is attached. Then, the terminals 57A and 57B are assembled and received from the lead wires 58A and 58B, the bolts 81A and 81B are inserted into the through holes 78A and 78B provided on the base end sides of the terminals 57A and 57B, and the bolts 81A and 81B are screwed to the female bolt portions 80A and 80B of the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B, respectively. Fig. 6 shows this state. Terminals 57A and 57B from lead wires 58A and 58B are respectively housed and fixed in terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B by bolts 81A and 81B.

In order to prevent the terminals 57A and 57B of different polarities from contacting each other, the shape of the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B for fixing the terminals 57A and 57B from the lead wires 58A and 58B is a shape in which a space is provided as a rib serving as the spacer 75. When the terminals 57A and 57B are fixed by the bolts 81A and 81B, the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B are shaped to fit the terminals 57A and 57B in order to minimize the variation of the terminals 57A and 57B. Here, by fixing only the terminals 57A and 57B from the leads 58A and 58B to the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B with the bolts 81A and 81B, the hexagonal nuts 71A and 71B previously received are covered with the terminals 57A and 57B, and the hexagonal nuts 71A and 71B can be prevented from falling off from the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B in the subsequent assembling operation.

After the terminals 57A and 57B from the lead wires 58A and 58B are fixed to the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B in advance, the terminals 69A and 69B from the heating coil 17 are mounted on the tip portions of the terminals 57A and 57B which have been previously received, and are then fitted and received in the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B. The through holes of the terminals 69A and 69B are aligned with the through holes 77A and 77B of the terminals 57A and 57B, respectively, and the bolts 72A and 72B with washers are inserted and screwed to the hexagonal nuts 71A and 71B received in the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B, respectively, and the terminals 69A and 69B from the heating coil 17 and the terminals 57A and 57B from the leads 58A and 58B are fastened and fixed to the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B together with the hexagonal nuts 71A and 71B and the bolts 72A and 72B. Fig. 7 shows the state at this time.

In order to prevent the terminals 69A and 69B of different polarities from coming into contact with each other, the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B for fixing the terminals 69A and 69B from the heating coil 17 are also shaped so as to provide a space for the ribs serving as the space portions 75. When the terminal 69A and the terminal 69B are fixed by the hexagonal nut 71A and the nut 71B and the bolt 72A and the bolt 72B, the terminal fixing portion 74A and the terminal fixing portion 74B are shaped to fit the terminal 69A and the terminal 69B in order to minimize the variation of the terminal 69A and the terminal 69B.

In this way, after all of the terminals 57A, 57B, 69A, 69B are connected to the intermediate connection portion 73, the unit holder 62 is fixedly attached to the unit case lower 61 so as to form the air flow path 66 with the protective material 52 of the heating substrate 51A, 51B. Fig. 8 shows a state at this time. The lid 83 formed on the unit holder 62 covers the entire opening of the intermediate connection portion 73, and thus prevents the terminals 57A, 57B, 69A, and 69B from being lifted from the intermediate connection portion 73. In this way, by mounting the unit holder 62 on the unit case lower 61, the operation of connecting the terminals 57A, 57B, 69A, and 69B of the intermediate connecting portion 73 and the operation of forming the air blowing passage 66 from the cooling fan 53 are simultaneously completed, and the mounting of the heating substrate assembly 44 of the main body 1 in the assembly is completed. Thereafter, by covering the main body 1 being assembled with the bottomed outer frame 6, the communication passage 93 and the heat radiation space 91 connecting to the air blowing passage 66 are formed inside the main body 1, and the assembly operation of the main body 1 is completed.

As a modification, the shape of the terminals 69A and 69B of the heating coil 17 and the shape of the terminals 57A and 57B of the lead wires 58A and 58B may be changed, and a separate through hole may be provided in the terminal 57A of the lead wire 58A than the through hole 77A and 78A in the front and rear are provided in the terminal 69A of the heating coil 17; the through- holes 77B and 78B may be provided in the terminals 69B of the heating coil 17, or a separate through-hole may be provided in the terminal 57B of the lead wire 58B. In this case, the connection operation to the terminals 57A, 57B, 69A, and 69B of the intermediate connection portion 73 can be performed similarly.

In the present embodiment, the intermediate connection portion 73 is provided under the unit case 61 of the protective material 52 of the heating substrate 51A and the heating substrate 51B, and is configured to form the wall surface portion 67 of the air blowing passage 66 from the cooling fan 53 provided at the rear side portion of the main body 1 by combining the unit holders 62 of the protective material 52 of the heating substrate 51A and the heating substrate 51B similarly. That is, the terminal 69A and the terminal 69B of the heating coil 17 are conventionally connected to the terminal block of the heating substrate 51A; in the present embodiment, the intermediate connection portion 73 is provided in the protective material 52 that protects the heating substrate 51A and the heating substrate 51B, and the lead 58A led out from the heating substrate 51A and the terminals 57A and 57B of the lead 58B are connected to the intermediate connection portion 73. Therefore, the size of the main body 1 can be reduced without increasing the number of components while reducing the size of the heating substrate 51A.

In the present embodiment, the protector 52 provided with the intermediate connection portion 73 forms the wall surface portion 67 of the air blowing passage 66 from the cooling fan 53, and the cooling fan 53 itself is also attached to the unit case lower 61 constituting the protector 52. Therefore, the protective material 52 not only serves to protect the heating substrate 51A and the heating substrate 51B, but also serves to connect the terminals 69A and 69B of the heating coil 17 to the leads 58A and 58B, and to connect the terminals 57A and 57B of the leads 58B to each other, to form an air flow path from the cooling fan 53, and to attach the cooling fan 53, thereby further reducing the size of the main body 1.

In the completed rice cooker, the cooling fan 53 mounted and fixed to the 3 rd mounting part 64C of the unit case lower 61 is provided at one side part of the rear of the main body 1. Therefore, the height of the main body 1 is reduced compared to a conventional rice cooker in which the cooling fan 53 is provided on the bottom surface portion of the main body 1, and the size of the main body 1 is reduced.

Next, the flow of air inside the main body 1 during use of the rice cooker will be described with reference to fig. 4. When the heating control unit 22 supplies a high-frequency current to the heating coil 17 and performs cooking and heat preservation, the cooling fan 53 is operated and cool air is fed into the inside of the main body 1. When the cooling fan 53 is operated to rotate the blades 84, air around the rice cooker is taken into the cooling fan 53 through the ventilation holes 86 provided in the rear side surface of the main body 1, and directly meets the heat sink fins 97 of the heat sink in the axial direction of the blades 84. Although the electronic component 55A such as an IGBT mounted on the heating substrate 51A generates heat as the heating coil 17 is energized during cooking and during heat retention, the heat conducted from the electronic component 55A to the heat sink 54 is quickly removed by the cold air from the cooling fan 53, and in particular, the temperature rise of the electronic component 55A thermally connected to the heat sink 54 can be effectively suppressed.

On the inlet 87 side of the air blowing passage 66, the air discharged from the cooling fan 53 to the heat sink 54 is dispersed around the heat sink 54 and is blown without leakage into the air blowing passage 66 on which the heating substrates 51A and 51B are arranged. Since the heating boards 51A and 51B on which the electronic components 55A and 55B are mounted are provided inside the air flow passage 66, the whole of the electronic components 55A and 55B can be cooled by the air flow from the cooling fan 53. The air blowing passage 66 has an opening area that gradually decreases from the inlet 87 toward the outlet 92, and air passing through the air blowing passage 66 is temporarily collected at the outlet 92 at a side portion of the rear of the main body 1 opposite to the cooling fan 53, and is thereby dispersed to the entire heat dissipation space 91 through the communication passage 93. Therefore, the air from the air blowing duct 66 is strongly guided to the heating coil 17 and the inner pot temperature detector 21 which are disposed in the heat radiation space 91, and the temperature rise thereof can be effectively suppressed.

The air flowing into the heat dissipating space 91 from the rear side of the main body 1 through the communication passage 93 flows directly to the front of the main body 1, takes away the heat from the inner pot housing 3 to which the heating coil 17 and the inner pot temperature detector 21 are attached, and is discharged to the outside of the rice cooker through the exhaust hole 95 provided in the bottom wall of the main body 1. In particular, in the present embodiment, in order to increase the opening area of the exhaust hole 95, the exhaust hole 95 is formed in a V shape in front of the bottom wall portion of the main body 1, and the exhaust hole 95 is formed on both inclined surfaces of the V shape, and the exhaust hole 95 is disposed in front of the inner pot housing 3 surrounding the spirally mounted heating coil 17 so that the air deprived of heat from the inner pot housing 3 to which the heating coil 17 and the inner pot temperature detector 21 are attached can be directly and smoothly discharged to the outside of the rice cooker. With this, air that has reached the heat dissipation space 91 is not retained, and after heat is taken from the inner pot housing 3 including the heat coil 17 and the inner pot temperature detector 21, air can be quickly discharged to the outside of the rice cooker through the air outlet hole 95.

In the above embodiment, in the rice cooker including the main body 1 covering the bottom-shaped inner pot 4 and the heating coil 17 serving as the heating means for heating the inner pot 4, and the lid body 2 covering the upper opening of the inner pot 4, the lead 58A and the lead 58B with the terminals 57A and 57B are fixed to the heating substrate 51A for supplying current to the heating coil 17; the protection material 52 for protecting the heating coil 17 is provided with a unit case lower 61 as a case and a unit holder 62 as a holder, and a cooling fan 53 for sending cool air into the main body 1 is provided. The unit case lower 61 includes a vertical wall 67A as a first vertical wall formed along the left-right direction of the main body 1, and a lateral wall 67B as a 1 st lateral wall extending horizontally from the upper end of the vertical wall 67A to the rear of the main body. The unit holder 62 includes a vertical wall 67C as a 2 nd vertical wall formed facing the rear surface portion of the main body 1 in the left-right direction of the main body 1 and a lateral wall 67D as a 2 nd lateral wall horizontally extending from the lower end of the vertical wall 67C toward the front of the main body 1, and an intermediate connection portion 73 for connecting the lead 58A, the terminal 57A of the lead 58B, the terminal 69A of the heating coil 17, and the terminal 69B to the unit case lower 61 is formed at the lowermost end of the vertical wall 67A of the unit case lower 61, and is configured by combining the unit case lower 61 and the unit holder 62 to form a wall surface portion 67 forming the air blowing passage 66 from the cooling fan 53.

In this case, the intermediate connection portion 73 is provided under the unit case 61 serving as the protective material 52 of the heating substrate 51A and the heating substrate 51B, and the lead wire 58A from the heating substrate 51A, the terminal 57A of the lead wire 58B, and the terminal 57B, and the terminal 69A of the heating coil 17, and the terminal 69B can be connected between the heating substrate 51A and the heating coil 17 via the intermediate connection portion 73. The main body 1 is integrated with the heating substrate 51A without increasing the number of components, thereby realizing miniaturization. Further, by forming the wall surface protecting material portion 67 of the air blowing passage 66 from the cooling fan 53 by using the unit case lower 61 and the unit holder 62 which are combined as the protecting material 52 originally for protecting the heating substrate 51A, the protection of the heating substrate 51A, the intermediate connection of the terminal 57A, the terminal 57B, the terminal 69A, and the terminal 69B, and the structure of the air blowing passage from the cooling fan 53 can be realized by the common protecting material 52, and the size reduction of the main body 1 can be realized.

The intermediate connection portion 73 of the present embodiment includes a terminal fixing portion 74A and a terminal fixing portion 74B for receiving and fixing the lead wire 58A and the terminal 57A of the lead wire 58B from the heating substrate 51A, and the terminal 57B, and the terminal 69A and the terminal 69B of the heating coil 17. The terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B are formed in concave shapes that match the external shapes of the terminals 57A and 57B of the leads 58A and 58B and the terminals 69A and 69B of the heating coil 17.

Therefore, the deviation between the terminals 57A and 57B of the lead wires 58A and 58B and the terminals 69A and 69B of the heating coil 17 is minimized, and the terminals 57A and 57B of the lead wires 58A and 58B and the terminals 69A and 69B of the heating coil 17 can be fixed to the terminal fixing portions 74A and 74B by intermediate connection.

In the present embodiment, the protruding spacer 75 such as a rib is provided between the terminal fixing portion 74A and the terminal fixing portion 74B of the unit case lower 61 so that the one terminal 57A and the one terminal 69A do not contact the other terminal 57B and the one terminal 69B of the opposite pole, and the cover 84 covering the intermediate connecting portion 73 is integrally formed with the unit holder 62 when the unit holder 62 is attached to the unit case lower 61.

In this case, by providing the spacer 75 under the unit case 61, the terminals 57A and 69A and the terminals 57B and 69B of different polarities can be prevented from contacting each other at the intermediate connection portion 73. Further, by using the unit holder 62 forming the wall surface portion 67 of the air flow passage 66 together with the unit case lower 61 and covering the intermediate connection portion 73 with the lid portion 83 of the unit holder 62, looseness (floating) in the terminals 57A, 57B, 69A, 69B of the intermediate connection portion 73 can be regulated without increasing the number of components.

Further, in the present embodiment, there are further provided a fastening member for connecting and fixing the lead wire 58A, the terminal 57A of the lead wire 58B, the terminal 57B, and the terminal 69A, the terminal 69B of the heating coil 17 to the connection fixing portion 74A, the connection fixing portion 74B, and a bolt 81A, a bolt 81B; the fastening members such as the bolts 81A and 81B serve as fixing members for fixing only one of the lead wire 58A and the terminal 57A or 57B of the lead wire 58B and the terminals 69A and 69B of the heating coil 17 to the connection fixing portion 74A or 74B. The fastening member is composed of a bolt 72A and a bolt 72B serving as male screw members, and a hexagonal nut 71A and a hexagonal nut 71B serving as angle nuts serving as female screw members, and a nut housing portion 79A and a nut housing portion 79B serving as recessed housing portions for housing the hexagonal nut 71A and the hexagonal nut 71B are provided in the connection fixing portion 74A and the connection fixing portion 74B. The hexagon nuts 71A and 71B previously housed in the nut housing portions 79A and 79B can be connected and fixed to the connection fixing portions 74A and 74B by capping the lead wires 58A and 58B and the terminals 57A and 57B of the lead wires 58B or the terminals 69A and 69B of the heating coil 17 with the bolts 81A and 81B and fastening the bolts 72A and 72B to the hexagon nuts 71A and 71B, respectively, and further, the lead wires 58A and 58B and the terminals 57A and 57B and the terminals 69A and 69B of the heating coil 17 can be connected and fixed to the connection fixing portions 74A and 74B by co-fastening.

In this case, only one of the lead wire 58A, the terminal 57A of the lead wire 58B, the terminal 57B, or the terminal 69A of the heating coil 17, or the terminal 69B is connected and fixed to the connection fixing portion 74A or the connection fixing portion 74B by the bolt 81A or the bolt 81B in advance, and the hexagon nut 71A or the hexagon nut 71B stored in the nut storage portion 79A or the nut storage portion 79B is capped by the terminal 57A of the lead wire 58A, the terminal 58B, the terminal 57B, or the terminal 69A of the heating coil 17, or the terminal 69B, whereby the hexagon nut 71A or the hexagon nut 71B can be prevented from coming off. Thereafter, the lead wire 58A, the terminal 57B of the lead wire 58B, or the terminal 69A, the terminal 69B of the heating coil 17 are connected and fixed to the connection fixing portion 74A, the connection fixing portion 74B by the fastening member in a co-fastening manner, and the terminal 57A, the terminal 57B, the terminal 69A, the terminal 69B can be reliably connected to the connection fixing portion 74A, the connection fixing portion 74B through the intermediary of the connection fixing portion 74A.

In this embodiment, in the rice cooker having a main body 1 covering a bottomed inner pot 4 and a heating coil 17 serving as a heating unit for heating the inner pot 4, and a lid body 2 covering an upper opening of the inner pot 4, a heating substrate 51A for energizing the heating coil 17, a protective material 52 composed of a unit case lower 61 serving as a case and a unit holder 62 serving as a holder for electrically insulating and protecting the heating substrate 51A, and a cooling fan 53 for supplying cold air to the inside of the main body 1 are provided. The unit case lower 61 includes a vertical wall 67A as a first vertical wall formed along the left-right direction of the main body 1, and a lateral wall 67B as a 1 st lateral wall extending horizontally from the upper end of the vertical wall 67A to the rear of the main body. The unit bracket 62 includes a vertical wall 67C as a 2 nd vertical wall formed in the left-right direction of the main body 1 facing the rear surface portion of the main body 1, and a lateral wall 67D as a 2 nd lateral wall horizontally extending from the lower end of the vertical wall 67C to the front of the main body 1. The cooling fan 53 is provided at a rear side portion of the main body 1. The protective material 52 received in the cooling fan 53 is combined with the unit case lower 61 and the unit holder 62 to form an air blowing passage 66 from the cooling fan 53, and the heating substrate 51A is arranged and configured in the air blowing passage 66.

In this case, the cooling fan 53 is provided at the rear side portion of the main body 1, so that the height of the main body 1 is reduced, and the size of the main body 1 is reduced. Further, by providing the cooling fan 53 with the protective material 52 for protecting the heating substrate 51A in the related art, forming the air blowing passage 65 from the cooling fan 53 with the protective material 52, and providing the heating substrate 51A in the air blowing passage 65, the cooling effect of the electronic component 55A mounted on the heating substrate 51A can be improved. At the same time, protection of the heating substrate 51A, mounting of the cooling fan 53, and the air blowing passage structure from the cooling fan 53 are realized by the common protective material 52, and further downsizing of the main body 1 can be realized.

In the cooling structure of the inside of the main body 1 having the air blowing passage 66, the cooling fan 53 in this embodiment is a counter cooling fan, and the heat sink 54 electrically connected to the electronic component 55A mounted on the heating substrate 51A is disposed on the inlet 87 side of the air blowing passage 66. The air discharged from the cooling fan 53 to the radiator 54 is dispersed around the radiator 54 and introduced from the inlet 87 of the air flow passage 66 into the air flow passage 66 in which the heating substrate 51A is disposed.

In this case, by directly blowing the cooling air discharged from the cooling fan 53 onto the heat sink 54, it is possible to effectively cool the electronic components 55A such as the IGBTs serving as the driving elements of the heating coil 17, which are thermally connected to the heat sink 54, among the electronic components mounted on the heating substrate 51A. Further, since the air reaching the heat sink 54 from the cooling fan 53 is dispersed around and sent out without fail to the inside of the air flow passage 66 in which the heating substrate 51A is disposed, the entire electronic component 55A mounted on the heating substrate 51A can be cooled.

In the present embodiment, a heat dissipation space 91 surrounding the heating coil 17 is formed in front of the air blowing passage 66 inside the main body 1. The inlet 87 of the air blowing passage 66 is smaller in area than the opening of the outlet 92 of the air blowing passage 66, and a communication passage 93 through which air can flow is formed between the outlet 92 of the air blowing passage 66 and the heat radiation space 91.

In this case, the air having passed through the inside of the air blowing passage 66 is temporarily collected at the outlet 92 of the air blowing passage 66, and is thereby diffused entirely in the heat dissipation space 91 through the communication passage 93. Therefore, the air from the air blowing duct 66 is strongly guided to the heating coil 17 disposed in the heat radiation space 91, and the temperature rise of the heating coil 17 can be effectively suppressed.

In the present embodiment, the front of the bottom wall portion of the main body 1 is formed in a V shape, the exhaust hole 95 is opened at both inclined surfaces of the V shape, and the exhaust hole 95 is disposed inside the main body 1 so as to surround the front of the heating coil 17 installed in a spiral shape.

In this case, the air that has reached the heat radiation space 91 is not retained, and after the heat is obtained from the heating coil 17, the air can be quickly discharged from the air outlet 95 to the outside of the rice cooker.

[ example 2 ]

Fig. 9 and 10 show the configuration of the main part of the rice cooker according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In order to deal with the fact that the inner pot 4, which is a pan proposed by consumers, is difficult to take out from the main body 1, a pushing mechanism 101 is provided for pushing the inner pot 4 upward to assist in taking out the inner pot 4.

In each of these figures, in the present embodiment, a flange-like inner pot ring portion 13 is provided at the upper end of the bottomed inner pot 4. The pushing mechanism 101 is configured such that 2 rod-shaped projections 102 are provided on the left and right of the hinge side which is the rear side of the outer lid cover 29 as viewed from the front side. The projection 102 rotates together with the lid body 2 with the hinge shaft 24 as the center. The other structures are the same as those of the rice cooker of the first embodiment.

As shown in fig. 9, when the lid 2 is closed, the projection 102 is separated from the inner pot 4 and is accommodated in a slit (not shown) provided in the upper frame 6 of the main body 1. On the other hand, as shown in fig. 10, when the lid opening button 23 is pressed, the lid body 2 is automatically opened, and further, two projections 102 provided on the outer lid 29 come out of the slits, come close to the side surface portion of the inner pot 4, and hook and push the lower surface of the inner pot ring portion 13. According to these, fingers are inserted between the upper surface of main body 1 and the lower surface of inner pot ring portion 13 of inner pot 4, and inner pot 4 can be easily taken out from main body 1.

However, in the past, in order to achieve the purpose of enabling even a user with weak strength to easily take out inner pot 4 from main body 1, countermeasures such as providing a handle to inner pot 4 or lightening inner pot 4 have been taken, but these countermeasures detract from the look and luxury as a rice cooker. Here, the rice cooker of the present embodiment includes an inner pot 4 that is pushed as a pot in conjunction with opening the lid 2 so that the inner pot 4 can be easily taken out from the main body 1 without impairing the appearance and luxury, and a pushing mechanism 101 that supports the taking-out of the inner pot 4.

According to these features, it is possible to provide a rice cooker which can be easily used and easily removed from the main body 1 even by a user with weak strength, by merely providing the pushing mechanism 101 which pushes the inner pot 4 in such a manner that the lid body 2 is opened in an interlocking manner without providing a handle to the inner pot 4 or changing the material of the inner pot 4 in order to lighten the inner pot 4.

The pushing mechanism 101 of the present embodiment is configured to have a bar-shaped protrusion 102 on the rear side of the lid body 2 and to hook and push the inner pot ring portion 13 serving as the flange portion of the inner pot 4 when the lid body 2 is opened. According to the push mechanism 101 having such a configuration, it is possible to provide a simple structure in which only the projection 102 is provided without providing a power or a mechanism such as a motor.

As a modification, the number of the protrusions 102 is not limited to 2. Further, as in the first embodiment, the configuration in which the inner tank ring portion 13 is provided substantially at the center of the inner tank 4 can be similarly applied to the pushing mechanism 101.

[ example 3 ]

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the electric rice cooker in the third embodiment of the present invention. Although the operation portion 111 of the operation panel 45 is illustrated in the present embodiment, a separate cooling button 112 is provided so as to be pushable to the operation portion 111. When the cooling button 112 is pressed, the cooling fan 53 is forcibly operated for a certain period of time regardless of whether the heating control unit 22 performs cooking or keeping warm, and at least the inner pot temperature detector 21 in the main body 1 is rapidly cooled by the air blown by the cooling fan 53. Other configurations include the configuration of the operation panel 45 shown in fig. 11, and are common to the rice cookers of the first and second embodiments.

The conventional electric rice cooker stops the operation of the cooling fan 53, which is a fan motor, at the same time as the cooking for making rice or the like by the heating control unit 22 is finished or after the cooking is finished. However, in the case of continuous cooking, the heating control means 22 starts a function of omitting a cooking process due to the high temperature of the inner pot temperature detector 21 of the thermistor at the time of the next cooking start, and thus, delicious rice cannot be cooked.

The rice cooker of the present embodiment includes an inner pot 4 as a pot for receiving rice and water as an object to be cooked, a main body 1 for receiving the inner pot 4, and a heating coil 17 as a heating means for heating the inner pot 4, and includes an inner pot temperature detector 21 as a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the inner pot 4, a cooling fan 53 as a fan motor for cooling the inner pot temperature detector 21, a cooling button 112 as an operation body for instructing rapid cooling, and a heating control unit 22 as a control means for operating the cooling button 112 to operate the cooling fan 53 for an arbitrary length of time and to blow air to the inner pot temperature detector 21.

According to these configurations, when the cooling button 112 is operated, the cooling fan 53, which is an existing component, can be operated for an arbitrary length of time, and the inner pot temperature detector 21 can be forcibly and quickly cooled. Therefore, without providing a large-sized device, the temperature can be rapidly cooled down to a temperature at which the heating control unit 22 does not operate the function of omitting the cooking process, and the taste of the cooked rice can be improved during continuous cooking, compared to the conventional method in which the inner pot temperature detector 21 is cooled down.

As a modification, the cooling button 112 as an operation body may be a touch panel provided on the upper surface of an LCD constituting the display portion 46, for example. Further, the length of the operation time of the cooling fan 53 may be changed according to the pressing manner of the cooling button 112, or the cooling button 112 may be used as a button of the other operation unit 111.

[ example 4 ]

Fig. 12 is a schematic configuration of a rice cooker according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the main parts are partially enlarged. For comparison, in the conventional rice cooker, fig. 13 shows a view of the outer lid 27 from the bottom surface side. Fig. 14 shows a schematic configuration of a main part of a conventional rice cooker.

In these figures, reference numeral 2 denotes a lid, and reference numeral 4 denotes an inner pot for containing cooked rice and cooking and keeping the cooked rice warm. Lid 2 disposed on the upper portion of inner pot 4 constitutes an upper cover of the rice cooker by outer lid 27 and outer lid cover 29. The electric component 121 and the heat insulating sheet 122 are mounted inside the upper cover. The electric component 121 corresponds to, for example, the control board 47 and the like described in the first embodiment.

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, in the conventional rice cooker, a heat insulating sheet 122 provided inside an upper cover is integrally configured by a non-mirror-surface-shaped aluminum sheet 125 made of aluminum on the upper side and a foaming sheet 126 foamed in a non-independent (continuous) manner on the lower side, and the electric component 121 is mounted below the heat insulating sheet 122. Further, although not shown, a foamed polypropylene material which is not foamed independently is provided inside the inner pot accommodating section 3 which is a side cover covering the inner pot 4 for the purpose of preventing heat from escaping to the outside.

However, the foamed polypropylene material provided inside the side cover of the rice cooker has no heat insulation effect and is not foamed independently, so that the heat insulation effect is insufficient. Further, since the heat insulating sheet 122 provided inside the upper cover is provided below the heat insulating sheet 122 and the foamed sheet 126 is not foamed independently, the heat insulating sheet 122 positioned above insulates heat from the inner pot 4 generated during cooking and during keeping warm than the electric component 121, and there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the temperature rise of the electric component 121. Further, the aluminum sheet 125 is non-mirror-like and has a lattice-like uneven surface as shown in fig. 13, and therefore it cannot be said that it can sufficiently exhibit a heat insulating effect as the heat insulating sheet 122.

In view of these, as shown in fig. 12, the heat insulating sheet 122 of the present embodiment uses a mirror-shaped aluminum foil 128 having a flat surface instead of a non-mirror-shaped aluminum sheet 125; the independently foamed sheet 129 is used instead of the independently foamed sheet 126 in which the bubbles are connected, thereby further improving the heat insulating effect without escaping heat. The rice cooker in which the heat insulation effect is more easily improved than the conventional rice cooker can be provided to consumers only by providing the heat insulation sheet 122 inside the upper cover and the side cover of the rice cooker, and the heat insulation sheet 122 is formed by bonding the mirror-surface aluminum foil 128 and the foaming sheet 129 which is an independently foamed resin sheet.

As shown enlarged in fig. 12, the heat insulating sheet 122 of the present embodiment is preferably configured such that aluminum foils 128 are provided on the upper and lower sides of a foamed sheet 129, and the foamed sheet 129 is sandwiched between 2 aluminum foils 128A and 128B. With such a configuration, not only the heat insulating effect on the outer (upper) side of the heat insulating sheet 122 from one of the aluminum foils 128A but also the heat insulating effect on the inner (lower) side of the heat insulating sheet 122 from the other aluminum foil 128B can be obtained in a double manner, and the rice cooker in which the heat insulating effect is improved more easily than the conventional rice cooker can be provided to consumers.

The heat insulating sheet 122 of the present embodiment is disposed not above the electrical component 121 but below the electrical component 121, that is, between the electrical component 121 and the outer lid cover 29 facing the upper surface opening of the inner pot 4. Thus, since the heat from the inner pot 4 generated during cooking and during keeping warm is effectively insulated by the heat insulating sheet 122 before reaching the electric component 121, the thermal influence on the electric component 121 is reduced, the temperature rise of the electric component 121 can be reduced, and the rice cooker which can improve the reliability of the electric component more easily than the conventional rice cooker can be provided to consumers.

When there is a possibility that a spark may occur due to contact between the conductive aluminum foil 128 and the electrical component 121, the insulating sheet 122 may be formed by partially cutting the aluminum foil 128 in the vicinity of the electrical component 121, and integrating the aluminum foil 128 with the foam sheet 129. In the portion where the aluminum foil 128 is cut, the reliability of the electrical property of the electrical component 121 can be improved by suppressing the occurrence of sparks; the foamed sheet 129 foamed independently can effectively suppress the thermal influence on the electrical component 121, and can improve the reliability of the thermal property of the electrical component 121.

In the rice cooker of the present embodiment having the inner pot 4 for keeping warm rice, the inner pot housing 3 serving as a cover for covering the inner pot 4 and serving as a side cover, the outer lid 27 serving as an upper cover, and the outer lid 29 as described above, the heat insulating sheet 122 formed by integrally forming the aluminum foil 128 and the foamed sheet 129 serving as a resin sheet is provided in the vicinity of the side cover and the upper cover, and the surface of the aluminum foil 128 is formed in a flat mirror-surface shape without irregularities. The foam sheet 129 attached to the aluminum foil 128 is formed of a separately foamed sheet.

In this case, a rice cooker in which the heat insulation efficiency is more easily improved than that of the conventional rice cooker can be provided to consumers only by providing the heat insulation sheet 122 composed of the mirror-like aluminum foil 128 and the independently foamed sheet 129 in the vicinity of the upper cover and the side cover of the rice cooker.

The heat insulating sheet 122 of the present embodiment is formed in a sandwich shape in which the foamed sheet 129 is sandwiched between 2 aluminum foils 128A and 128B.

Therefore, it is possible to obtain a double heat insulation effect from the outside of the heat insulation sheet 122 and the inside of the heat insulation sheet 122, and further, it is possible to provide a rice cooker which is easier to greatly improve the heat insulation efficiency than the conventional rice cooker to consumers.

In the present embodiment, the electrical component 121 is mounted on the upper cover formed of the outer cover 27 and the outer cover 29, and the heat insulating sheet 122 is disposed below the electrical component 121.

In this case, the heat from the inner pot 4 is effectively insulated by the heat insulating sheet 122 before reaching the electric components 121, and therefore, the rice cooker in which the reliability of the electric components is improved more easily than the conventional rice cooker can be provided to consumers.

As a modification, the heat insulating sheet 122 of the present embodiment may be provided outside the side cover and the upper cover, instead of being provided inside the side cover and the upper cover. The other configurations are common to the rice cooker of the first to third embodiments.

[ example 5 ]

Fig. 15 and 16 show an external appearance of a rice cooker according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. Here, as an illumination unit for illuminating the floor F, the LED131 is disposed on the front surface of the main body 1. In addition, a battery 132 for storing electric power during cooking and during standby for supplying electric power from the winding device 98 is provided inside the lid body 2. The power supplied from the battery 132 to the LED131 illuminates the floor F. The other configuration is common to the rice cooker of the first to fourth embodiments.

Since the conventional rice cooker is not provided with a mechanism for lighting the display unit 46 at the time of power failure or in the dark place, when the structure of a house in which the rice cooker is installed is complicated and a kitchen is installed deep in the house, the cooking utensils and tableware scattered on the floor in the house cannot be visually confirmed at the time of power failure due to an earthquake or the like, and evacuation is hindered.

In the present embodiment, the LED131, which is an existing component of the display unit 46, is used as an emergency light to illuminate the surroundings, thereby providing an electric rice cooker with improved safety in emergency. The rice cooker having an inner pot 4 as a pan for receiving nano-rice, a main body 1 for receiving the inner pot 4, and a heating coil 17 as a heating means for heating the inner pot 4 is provided with a battery 132. The battery 132 is a power storage unit that stores electric power during cooking and standby for supplying electric power to the rice cooker, and supplies the electric power to the LED131, with the LED131 illuminating the floor F being disposed on the front surface of the main body 1.

According to these configurations, by using only a simple configuration including the LED131 and the battery 132 in the display unit 46 without installing a large-sized device or the like, the LED131 can be lit by electric power from the battery 132 at the time of power failure due to an earthquake or the like or in a dark place, the surroundings under the foot can be clearly illuminated, and safety in an emergency can be improved.

In order to automatically turn on the LED131 during a power failure, for example, a power failure detection unit for detecting whether or not power is being supplied to the rice cooker may be incorporated, and when the power failure detection unit detects the occurrence of a power failure, the battery 132 charged up to this point may be switched to a configuration in which the LED131 is discharged. In order to automatically turn on the LED131 during a power failure, a luminance detection unit such as an illuminance sensor for detecting the luminance around the rice cooker may be incorporated, and when the luminance detection unit detects a decrease in luminance, the battery 132 charged up to this point may be switched to a configuration in which the LED131 is discharged. As the electricity storage means, for example, a capacitor or the like may be used in addition to the battery 132 which is a secondary battery.

Fig. 17 and 18 show an external appearance of a rice cooker according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, LED131 is disposed on outer cover 27 at the front surface of lid 2 in order to illuminate the periphery of the rice cooker from a position higher than floor F. Further, as in the fifth embodiment, a blinking control device 133 for blinking the LED131 is mounted on the control board 47 incorporated in the cover 2, except that the battery 132 is provided in the cover 2. The other configuration is common to the rice cooker of the first to fifth embodiments.

In the present embodiment, in order to provide a rice cooker having an inner pot 4 as a nanometer-sized pan, a main body 1 for housing the inner pot 4, and a heating coil 17 as a heating means for heating the inner pot 4, in order to illuminate the surroundings by using an LED131 as an existing component as an emergency lamp as an indication unit 46, thereby improving safety during an emergency, a storage battery 132 is provided. The battery 132 is a power storage unit that stores electric power during cooking and standby for supplying electric power to the rice cooker, and supplies the electric power to the LED131, with the LED131 illuminating the periphery of the rice cooker being disposed on the front surface portion of the cover 27.

According to these configurations, by using a simple configuration including the LED131 and the battery 132 in the display unit 46 without installing a large-sized device or the like, the LED131 is lit by the power from the battery 132 at the time of power failure or in a dark place due to an earthquake or the like, thereby clearly illuminating the periphery of the rice cooker and further improving the safety in an emergency.

Further, in the present embodiment, the blinking control device 133 having the blinking LED131 lights or blinks the LED131 as necessary, and the emergency lighting display lamp or the emergency blinking display lamp can illuminate the periphery of the rice cooker from a higher position. Therefore, when the LED131 is turned on or blinks, the surrounding situation can be visually confirmed, evacuation can be performed even in the event of a power failure or in a dark place, and the blinking of the LED131 can notify people of the surrounding danger, thereby further improving safety in the event of an emergency.

Note that the blinking control device 133 of the present embodiment may be incorporated into the rice cooker of the fifth embodiment. In addition, the mode of whether to operate the flicker control device 133 in advance may be selected according to the operation of the consumer. According to such a selection, the LED131 can be turned on at the will of the consumer without operating the blinking control device 133, or the LED131 can be blinked while operating the blinking control device 133. Further, the power failure detection unit and the brightness detection unit described in the fifth embodiment may be incorporated, and a capacitor or the like may be used instead of the storage battery 132 as the power storage unit.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

1. An electric rice cooker comprising a main body for covering a bottomed inner pot and a heating means for heating the inner pot, and a lid for covering an upper opening of the inner pot,

characterized in that it comprises:

a heating substrate that energizes the heating unit,

a lead wire to which a terminal is attached and which is fixed to the heating substrate,

a protective material for protecting the heating substrate and comprising a housing and a support, an

A cooling fan that delivers cool air to the inside of the main body;

the housing includes a 1 st vertical wall formed in a left-right direction of the main body and a 1 st horizontal wall horizontally extending from an upper end of the 1 st vertical wall to a rear of the main body,

the bracket includes a rear surface portion facing the main body, a 2 nd vertical wall formed in a left-right direction of the main body, and a 2 nd horizontal wall horizontally extending from a lower end of the 2 nd vertical wall to a front of the main body,

an intermediate connection portion connecting a terminal of the lead wire and a terminal of the heating unit to the case is formed at a lowermost end of the 1 st vertical wall of the case,

the wall surface portion of the air supply passage from the cooling fan is formed by combining the housing and the bracket.

2. The rice cooker according to claim 1,

a spacer is provided in the housing so that one of the terminals does not contact the other terminal of the opposite pole,

a cover portion that covers the intermediate connection portion is formed on the bracket.

3. The rice cooker according to claim 2,

the intermediate connection portion has a terminal fixing portion for receiving and fixing a terminal of the lead and a terminal of the heating unit,

the terminal fixing portion is formed in a concave shape that conforms to the external shapes of the terminal of the lead and the terminal of the heating unit.

4. The rice cooker of claim 3, further comprising:

a fastening member that connects and fixes the terminal of the lead wire and the terminal of the heating unit to the connection fixing portion,

a fixing member that fixes only one of the terminal of the lead wire and the terminal of the heating unit to the connection fixing portion,

the fastening member is constituted by a male screw member and a female screw member,

a receiving portion for receiving the female screw member is provided at the connection fixing portion,

the female screw member received in the receiving portion is capped by a terminal of the lead wire or a terminal of the heating unit fixed by the fixing member,

the male screw member is fastened to the female screw member, and the terminal of the lead and the terminal of the heating unit are connected and fixed to the connection fixing portion together and tightly.

5. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein:

the structure of the device is as follows,

a heat sink disposed on an inlet side of the air blowing passage facing the cooling fan, the heat sink being in thermal contact with an electronic component mounted on the heating substrate,

the air discharged from the cooling fan to the heat sink is dispersed around the heat sink and guided to the inside of the air blowing passage in which the heating substrate is disposed.

6. The rice cooker according to claim 5, wherein:

a heat radiation space surrounding the heating unit is formed in the main body in front of the air supply passage,

the opening area of the air supply passage inlet is smaller than the opening area of the air supply passage outlet,

a communication passage through which air can flow is formed between the outlet of the air supply passage and the heat dissipation space.

7. The rice cooker according to claim 6, wherein:

the front of the bottom wall of the main body is formed in a V shape, the exhaust hole is formed in an inclined surface of the V shape in an opening manner, and the exhaust hole is arranged in a manner of surrounding the front of the heating unit which is assembled in a spiral shape in the main body.

8. An electric rice cooker comprising a main body for covering a bottomed inner pot and a heating means for heating the inner pot, and a lid for covering an upper opening of the inner pot,

characterized in that, respectively comprising:

a heating substrate that energizes the heating unit,

a protective material for protecting the heating substrate and composed of a case and a holder, and

a cooling fan which delivers cool air to the inside of the main body,

the cooling fan is provided at a rear side portion of the main body,

the housing includes a 1 st vertical wall formed in a left-right direction of the main body and a 1 st horizontal wall horizontally extending from an upper end of the 1 st vertical wall to a rear of the main body,

the bracket includes a rear surface portion facing the main body, a 2 nd vertical wall formed in a left-right direction of the main body, and a 2 nd horizontal wall horizontally extending from a lower end of the 2 nd vertical wall to a front of the main body,

the protective material incorporated in the cooling fan forms an air blowing passage from the cooling fan by combining the housing and the holder, and the heating substrate is disposed in the air blowing passage.

Images