Multifunctional rice cooker and rice cooking method

Abstract

The application provides a multifunctional rice cooker and a rice cooking method. A pot assembly of the multifunctional rice cooker is detachably arranged in a cooker accommodating cavity. The pot assembly comprises an upper pot with a draining hole and a lower pot which is arranged below the upper pot in a lifting manner. A heating assembly is arranged in the accommodating cavity and adheres to the outer bottom wall of the lower pot. An air bag lifting assembly is arranged at the bottom of the heating assembly and comprises an air bag and an elastic positioning member which defines the state change of the air bag. The air bag is expanded or contracted and drives the lower pot to lift through the heating assembly. The elastic positioning member comprises a positioning part which surrounds the outer wall of the air bag and a reset part which is formed on the outer periphery of the positioning part. The outer end of the positioning part is connected to the heating assembly to fix the air bag and define the deformation direction of the air bag when the state changes based on the elasticity of the positioning part. The two ends of the reset part are respectively connected to the heating assembly and the bottom wall of the cooker. When the air bag is expanded, the heating assembly rises and the reset part is elastically deformed. When the air bag is contracted, the elastic restoring force of the reset part drives the lower pot to fall back.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of home appliances, and in particular to a multifunctional rice cooker and a method for cooking rice. Background Technology

[0002] As people's living standards continue to improve, healthy eating has gradually become a focus of attention. Compared with traditional rice cookers, rice cooked in a drained rice cooker has a lower sugar content and the rice grains are drier, plumper, and have a better taste because a large amount of starch from the rice remains in the rice water. This not only better meets people's requirements for healthy eating but is also more beneficial for diabetic patients.

[0003] For rice cookers that require draining rice, the main cooking processes are the full absorption of water by the rice layer (soaking the rice) and the separation of water and rice after absorption (draining the rice). To achieve soaking and draining in a rice cooker, the inventor proposed changing the air pressure inside the lower or upper pot to make the water flow between the upper and lower pots, thus achieving soaking and draining. This type of rice cooker requires a high degree of sealing in the pressure regulating chamber and the air passage needs to be connected to the upper or lower pot. This not only increases the product size, makes the structure more complex, and increases the cost, but also results in slow draining speed due to the pressure-based water flow.

[0004] In addition, some have proposed using mechanical methods to raise and lower the inner pot, such as installing a screw at the bottom of the inner pot to drive its movement. However, this structure is difficult to seal at the screw connection and also presents problems such as difficulty in cleaning the inner pot. Alternatively, as shown in Chinese patent CN112006516 A, an airbag can be used to raise and lower the inner pot. In this structure, the airbag is placed in the cooking cavity below the holding section. Since the cooking cavity contains water for soaking rice, the placement of the airbag not only easily affects the cleanliness and hygiene of the cooked rice, but the position of the airbag also determines that the air duct arrangement is very heavy, requiring the air duct to extend down from the top of the cooking cavity. More importantly, in this structure, the airbag is difficult to stably place in the cooking cavity. Due to the elasticity of the airbag, irregular changes during inflation or deflation can cause the inner pot to tilt during raising and lowering, making it difficult to raise and lower smoothly. Furthermore, existing rice cookers typically only have the single function of cooking rice that is used for draining rice. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a multifunctional rice cooker with a simple and stable lifting structure that can realize multiple cooking methods and a rice cooking method.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present application provides a multifunctional rice draining pressure cooker, which comprises a cooker body, a pot body assembly, a heating assembly and a gas bag lifting assembly. The cooker body has a receiving cavity. The pot body assembly is detachably arranged in the receiving cavity of the cooker body and comprises an upper pot having a draining hole and a lower pot which is arranged below the upper pot in a lifting manner. The heating assembly is arranged in the receiving cavity and is attached to the outer bottom wall of the lower pot. The gas bag lifting assembly is arranged at the bottom of the heating assembly and comprises a gas bag and an elastic positioning member which defines the state change of the gas bag. The gas bag is driven to expand or contract by gas and the lower pot is lifted relative to the upper pot by the heating assembly. The elastic positioning member comprises a positioning portion which is arranged around the outer wall of the gas bag and a reset member which is formed on the outer periphery of the positioning portion. The outer end of the positioning portion is connected to the heating assembly so as to fix the gas bag at the bottom of the heating assembly and define the deformation direction of the gas bag when the state of the gas bag changes based on the elasticity of the positioning portion. The two ends of the reset member are respectively connected to the heating assembly and the bottom wall of the cooker body. When the gas bag expands, the heating assembly rises and the reset member is elastically deformed. When the gas bag contracts, the elastic restoring force of the reset member drives the lower pot to fall back.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present application, the elastic positioning member comprises a plurality of elastic rubber strips whose inner ends are connected to each other and whose outer ends are connected to the bottom wall of the cooker body. The middle part of each elastic rubber strip is connected to the heating assembly. The elastic rubber strips on the inner side of the connection form the positioning portion and the elastic rubber strips on the outer side of the connection form the reset member.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present application, the gas inlet of the gas bag is formed on the bottom surface of the gas bag. The gas bag lifting assembly further comprises a support plate which is arranged below the gas bag and is fixed to the cooker body. The fixed support plate abuts against the bottom surface of the gas bag to provide bottom support for the gas bag so that the gas bag expands upward. The support plate has a support plate through hole which is used to accommodate the gas inlet of the gas bag. According to an embodiment of the present application, the upper pot comprises a pot body and a pot rim. The lid of the multifunctional rice draining pressure cooker is opened or sealed to the mouth of the pot body. The lid has a steam outlet which is located in the inner periphery of the sealing ring of the lid body to guide the steam into the pot body. The lid has a lid steam passage. The upper pot and the lower pot are connected by the lid steam passage. The upper pot and the receiving cavity of the cooker body are connected by the lid steam passage. The upper pot rim has a pot rim exhaust hole. The steam which enters the pot body from the lid steam passage penetrates the rice layer and the draining hole on the bottom of the pot body, enters the exhaust passage and is discharged through the pot rim exhaust hole.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present application, the lid comprises a lid body and a lid rim which is located on the outer periphery of the lid body. The lid body has a lid steam passage. The sealing ring of the lid body is arranged on the lid body to seal the mouth of the pot body. The lid rim is not sealed with the pot rim. The two are connected by an exhaust gap which is connected to the pot rim exhaust hole. In addition, the lid rim has a lid exhaust hole which is located on the outer periphery of the sealing ring of the lid body and is connected to the pot rim exhaust hole.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present application, the multifunctional rice cooker further comprises a steam generator arranged in the cooker body, and a steam outlet of the steam generator is connected to an air inlet of the steam passage of the cooker cover.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present application, the cooker body is provided with a side installation slot, and a steam coupler and a steam joint are arranged on a side wall of the accommodating cavity. The steam generator body is horizontally pushed into and clamped in the side installation slot. The coupling part on the steam generator body is aligned with the steam coupler to be electrically connected to the controller in the cooker body. The steam outlet on the steam generator body is aligned with the steam joint to input steam into the steam passage of the cooker cover.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present application, the air bag lifting assembly further comprises a gas pressure adjusting member arranged in the cooker body and connected to the air bag. The gas pressure adjusting member is a gas pump for supplying or pumping gas to the air bag. Alternatively, the gas pressure adjusting member comprises a gas pump for supplying gas to the air bag and an electromagnetic valve for releasing gas in the air bag.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present application, the cooker body comprises an outer shell, a bottom shell, a hollow inner liner with two open ends, and a panel connected to the hollow inner liner. The hollow inner liner is placed in a cavity surrounded by the outer shell and the bottom shell. The inside of the hollow inner liner forms an accommodating cavity, and the inner wall of the hollow inner liner is provided with an inner liner step that is tightly buckled with the lower pot rim. The panel is connected to the upper end of the hollow inner liner.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present application, the heating assembly comprises a heating disc abutting the outer bottom wall of the lower pot and a heat insulation support arranged outside the heating disc. The air bag is fixed to the bottom of the heat insulation support.

[0015] In another aspect, the present application provides a rice cooking method using the multifunctional rice cooker described above. The rice cooking method comprises the following steps:

[0016] Step 1: Water is filled in the lower pot, and the washed rice is placed in the upper pot with the draining holes and the cooker cover is tightly closed.

[0017] Step 2: Based on the gas driving and the limitation of the positioning part in the elastic positioning member, the air bag expands and pushes the heating assembly and the lower pot to rise. The water in the lower pot enters the upper pot through the draining holes and completely immerses the rice in the upper pot to realize rice soaking and water absorption.

[0018] Step 3: After the rice absorption meets the set time, the air bag is contracted by pumping or releasing the gas. Based on the self-weight of the lower pot and the traction of the reset part in the elastic positioning member, the lower pot falls back to realize water-rice separation.

[0019] Step 4: Steam is input into the upper pot to steam the rice layer after water absorption. At the same time, the heating assembly is turned on to heat the water in the lower pot to a preset temperature.

[0020] Step five, repeat steps two and three, the following pot heated water for soaking rice;

[0021] Step six, steam into the upper pot for steaming until the rice is cooked.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present application, the multifunctional rice draining cooker further has a second cooking method, which comprises the following steps:

[0023] Step one, remove the upper pot and place the washed rice and water in the lower pot, and cover the cooker cover on the opening of the cooker body;

[0024] Step two, start the heating assembly to heat and stew the rice and water;

[0025] Step three, when the heating reaches the preset time or detects that the rice soup is generated in the lower pot, the gas-driven and elastically positioned gas bag switches between the expanded and contracted states to drive the lower pot to rise and fall, vibrate the rice layer and adjust the air pressure in the lower pot, and the lower pot exchanges cold and hot gas with the outside of the cooker body through the gap between the cooker cover and the cooker body; at the same time, the heating assembly continues to heat until the rice is stewed.

[0026] In summary, in the multifunctional rice draining cooker provided by the present application, the upper pot for containing the rice layer is fixed in the cooker body; the gas bag lifting assembly is arranged at the bottom of the lower pot for containing water, and the gas bag changes state under the driving of the gas to drive the lower pot to rise and fall and thus realize rice soaking and draining. The lifting movement of the lower pot makes it unnecessary to arrange the gas bag in the cooking cavity, which not only facilitates the installation of the gas bag, but also makes the rice cooking clean and sanitary and requires fewer parts to be cleaned after cooking. In addition, in the installation of the gas bag, the elastic positioning member fixes the gas bag at the bottom of the heating assembly, and at the same time, the elastic deformation of the positioning part limits the deformation direction of the gas bag when it changes state, guides the gas bag to stably expand or contract in the height direction of the cooker body to avoid irregular deformation, and thus realizes stable lifting of the lower pot. Further, the elastic positioning member further comprises a reset member connected to the heating assembly and the bottom wall of the cooker body, and when the gas bag is expanded to lift the heating assembly, the reset member is elongated to generate a downward elastic restoring force. When the gas bag is contracted, the downward elastic restoring force is superimposed on the gravity of the lower pot to drive the lower pot to quickly fall back, which not only greatly improves the draining speed to improve the consistency of water absorption of the rice layer, but also shortens the cooking time of the rice. At the same time, the positioning member also gradually contracts to wrap the gas bag to maintain the deformation direction and gradually stably contract in the lifting direction.

[0027] In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the following preferred embodiments are described in detail below, and the accompanying drawings are referred to as follows. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] Figure 2 The figure shows a sectional schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice cooker. Figure 1

[0030] Figure 3 The figure shows an exploded schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice cooker. Figure 1

[0031] Figure 4 The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the airbag in a retracted state.

[0032] Figure 5 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the elastic positioning member in the multifunctional rice cooker. Figure 4

[0033] Figure 6 The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the airbag in an expanded state.

[0034] Figure 7 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the elastic positioning member in the multifunctional rice cooker. Figure 6

[0035] Figure 8 The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice cooker in a steaming state.

[0036] Figure 9 The figure shows an enlarged schematic diagram of A in the multifunctional rice cooker. Figure 8

[0037] Figure 10 The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the upper pot.

[0038] Figure 11 The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the pot cover.

[0039] Figure 12 The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the pot cover from another perspective.

[0040] Figure 13 The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice cooker when making rice with the multifunctional rice cooker.

[0041] Figure 14 The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice cooker when making rice with the multifunctional rice cooker. Figure 13

[0042] The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice cooker when making rice with the multifunctional rice cooker. Figure 15

[0043] The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice cooker when making rice with the multifunctional rice cooker. Figure 16 Figure 14 The figure shows a structural schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice cooker when making rice with the multifunctional rice cooker. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] As​​​​​​Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the multifunctional rice draining cooker provided by the embodiment comprises a cooker body 1, a pot body assembly 2, a heating assembly 3 and a gas bag lifting assembly 4. The cooker body 1 has a receiving cavity 10. The pot body assembly 2 is detachably arranged in the receiving cavity 10 of the cooker body 1, and comprises an upper pot 21 having a draining hole 210 and a lower pot 22 which is arranged below the upper pot 21 in a liftable manner. The heating assembly 3 is located in the receiving cavity 10 and adheres to the outer bottom wall of the lower pot 22. The gas bag lifting assembly 4 is arranged at the bottom of the heating assembly 3 and comprises a gas bag 41 and an elastic positioning member 42 which defines the state change of the gas bag 41. Based on the driving of gas, the gas bag 41 expands or shrinks and drives the lower pot 22 to lift relative to the upper pot 21 through the heating assembly 3. The elastic positioning member 42 comprises a positioning portion 421 surrounding the outer wall of the gas bag 41 and a reset member 422 formed on the outer periphery of the positioning portion 421. The outer end of the positioning portion 421 is connected to the heating assembly 3 to fix the gas bag 41 at the bottom of the heating assembly 3 and define the deformation direction of the gas bag 41 when the state changes based on the elasticity of the positioning portion 421. The two ends of the reset member 422 are respectively connected to the heating assembly 3 and the bottom wall of the cooker body 1. When the gas bag 41 expands, the heating assembly 3 rises and causes the reset member 422 to elastically deform. When the gas bag 41 shrinks, the elastic restoring force of the reset member 422 drives the lower pot 22 to fall back.

[0045] In the multifunctional rice draining cooker provided by the embodiment, the upper pot 21 is stationary, while the lower pot 22 and the heating assembly 3 follow the state change of the gas bag 41 to make lifting movement. When the lower pot 22 rises, the water in the lower pot 22 enters the upper pot 21 through the draining hole 210 at the bottom of the upper pot 21 to soak the rice layer. When the lower pot 22 descends with the gas bag 41 shrinking, the upper pot 21 and the lower pot 22 are separated to realize water draining. Compared with the existing rice draining cooker with the inner pot lifting, in the rice draining cooker provided by the embodiment, the heating assembly 3 is separated from the cooker body 1, and the heating assembly 3 follows the lifting movement of the lower pot 22. This arrangement enables the gas bag 41 as the lifting driver to be installed at the bottom of the heating assembly 3 without being directly connected to the lower pot 22, which not only provides the condition for the lower pot 22 to be separated from the cooker body 1 for cleaning, but also greatly simplifies the structure of the lower pot 22 without considering the connection and sealing problems. In addition, by surrounding the elastic positioning member 42 on the outer wall of the gas bag 41, the elastic positioning member 42 fixes the gas bag 41 at the bottom of the heating assembly 3, while the positioning portion 421 and the reset member 422 thereon also elastically deform with the gas bag 41. The elastic restoring force of the positioning portion 421 limits and guides the deformation direction of the gas bag 41, so that the gas bag 41 expands or shrinks as much as possible in the lifting direction of the lower pot, avoiding the problem of unstable lifting of the lower pot caused by irregular deformation of the gas bag 41. The restoring force generated by the elastic deformation of the reset member 422 acts on the lower pot 22 when the gas bag 41 shrinks, which pulls the lower pot 22 to quickly descend and fall back to realize high-speed rice draining.

[0046] In the embodiment, the elastic positioning member 42 comprises a plurality of elastic rubber strips, the inner ends of which are connected to each other and the outer ends of which are connected to the bottom wall of the pot body 1, the middle part of each elastic rubber strip is connected to the heating assembly 3, the elastic rubber strips on the inner side of the connection form the positioning part 421, and the elastic rubber strips on the outer side of the connection form the restoring member 422. However, the present application is not limited in this regard. In other embodiments, the elastic positioning member can also be an elastic net or an elastic cover wrapped outside the air bag. Similarly, although the positioning part and the restoring member are integrally formed in the embodiment, the present application is not limited in this regard. In other embodiments, the restoring member can also be an independent elastic rubber strip. In the embodiment, the elastic positioning member 42 is an elastic rubber strip made of air phase glue. However, the present application is not limited in this regard. In other embodiments, the elastic positioning member can also be made of other elastic materials such as silica gel or spring.

[0047] Figure 4 and Figure 5 Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of the structure of the air bag when it is retracted, at this time, the elastic positioning member 42 is in a relaxed state and limits and fixes the air bag 41 to the bottom of the heating assembly 3. While Figure 6 and Figure 7 Fig. 5 shows a schematic view of the structure of the air bag 41 in the inflated state. Specifically, the air bag 41 is inflated and expanded to stretch the positioning part 421 and make it elastically deform; the elastic restoring force generated by the elastic deformation of the positioning part 421 is opposite to the inflation force of the air bag 41, and the two opposite forces are applied to the air bag 41 to limit the deformation direction and deformation speed of the air bag 41 to make it expand smoothly. In the embodiment, the air inlet 411 of the air bag is formed on the bottom surface of the air bag 41, and the gas is filled into the air bag 41 from bottom to top to make it expand as much as possible in the lifting direction, thereby driving the heating assembly 3 and the lower pot 22 to lift smoothly. In the embodiment, the air bag lifting assembly 4 further comprises a support plate 43 located below the air bag 41, and the support plate 43 has a support plate through hole 430 for accommodating the air inlet 411 of the air bag. The arrangement of the support plate through hole 430 makes the outer wall near the air inlet 411 of the air bag abut against the support plate 43 in a surface contact manner when the air bag expands, and the support plate 43 provides lower support for the air bag 41 to make the air bag 41 expand upward, and the surface contact manner further improves the stability of the expansion.

[0048] In addition, the arrangement of the support plate through hole 430 also makes the gas conveying pipe of the air bag 41 arranged in the interlayer space between the support plate 43 and the bottom wall of the pot body 1, thereby greatly simplifying the arrangement of the gas conveying pipe. However, the present application is not limited in this regard. In other embodiments, a groove for accommodating the air inlet of the air bag and a gas conveying pipe arrangement hole communicating with the groove can also be formed in the bottom wall of the pot body.

[0049] In addition, for the restoring member 422 on the elastic positioning member 42, as Figure 6 and Figure 7As shown, when the airbag 41 is inflated and deployed, the reset piece 422 connected to the heating element 3 is also stretched, generating an elastic restoring force pointing towards the bottom wall of the pot body 1. The elastic restoring force provided by the reset piece 422 is in the same direction as the weight of the lower pot 22. Together, they pull the heating element 3 and the lower pot 22, causing them to fall back quickly. This quickly separates the upper pot 21 and the lower pot 22, allowing for precise control of the soaking time (especially the soaking time during the high-temperature water replenishment stage) to ensure the quality of the cooked rice.

[0050] In this embodiment, the heating component 3 includes a heating plate 31 that abuts against the outer bottom wall of the lower pot 22 and a heat insulation bracket 32 ​​disposed outside the heating plate 31. The airbag 41 is fixed to the bottom of the heat insulation bracket 32. The heating plate 31, heat insulation bracket 32, airbag 41, elastic positioning member 42 and support plate 43 are assembled to form an integral component. The upper end of the integral component is in close contact with the outer bottom wall of the lower pot 22, and the lower end of the integral component abuts against the inner bottom wall of the pot body 1 through the support plate 43.

[0051] In this embodiment, the pot body 1 includes an outer shell 11, a bottom shell 12, and a hollow inner liner 13 with openings at both ends. The hollow inner liner 13 is placed within the cavity formed by the outer shell 11 and the bottom shell 12, and the interior of the hollow inner liner 13 forms a receiving cavity 10 to accommodate the airbag lifting assembly 4, the heating assembly 3, and the pot body assembly 2. The support plate 43 is fixed to the bottom end of the hollow inner liner 13 and abuts against the inner bottom wall of the bottom shell 12. Preferably, the inner diameter of the hollow inner liner 13 is only slightly larger than the outer diameter of the lower pot 22 to further improve the stability of the lower pot 22 during lifting. Specifically, as shown... Figure 2 As shown, the inner wall of the hollow liner 13 has an inner liner step 131. The pot body assembly 2 also includes a lower pot sealing ring 23 installed on the edge of the lower pot. The lower pot 22 is sealed against the inner liner step 131 by the lower pot sealing ring 23, which effectively prevents steam from entering the accommodating cavity 10 outside the lower pot 22 and affecting the heating element 3.

[0052] In this embodiment, the airbag lifting assembly 4 further includes an air pressure regulating component 44 disposed within the cooker body 1 and communicating with the airbag 41. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the pressure regulating component 44 includes an air pump 441 that supplies air to the airbag 41 and a solenoid valve 442 that releases gas from the airbag 41. Specifically, the outlet of the air pump 441 and the solenoid valve 442 are connected to one end of a flexible air supply pipe via a three-way adapter. The other end of the flexible air supply pipe extends through the interlayer space below the support plate 43 to the air inlet 411 of the airbag. When soaking rice, the air pump 441 operates, inflating the airbag 41 to expand it and lift the lower pot 22; at this time, the solenoid valve 442 is closed. When draining rice, the solenoid valve 442 opens to release the gas from the airbag 41, causing the airbag to close and the lower pot 22 to fall back down; at this time, the air pump 441 is closed. However, the present invention does not limit the structure of the pressure regulating component. In other embodiments, the pressure regulating component may simply be an air pump that supplies or evacuates air from the airbag.

[0053] The rice cooker of the present embodiment provides steam into the upper pot 21 through the steam outlet 502 of the lid 5 and allows the steam to penetrate the rice layer from top to bottom. Specifically, as shown in Figures 8 to 12 The upper pot 21 includes an upper pot body 211 and an upper pot rim 212. The lid 5 of the multifunctional rice cooker is opened or sealed to the mouth of the upper pot body 211. The lid 5 is provided with a lid steam passage 50 having a steam outlet 502 located in the inner periphery of the lid sealing ring 6 to provide steam into the upper pot body 211. The upper pot 21 and the lower pot 22 are connected by an exhaust passage 20, and the upper pot 21 and the pot body cavity 10 are also connected by the exhaust passage 20. The upper pot rim 212 is provided with an exhaust hole 2121. As shown in Figure 8 As shown by the arrow, the steam entering the upper pot body 211 from the lid steam passage 20 penetrates the rice layer and the rice water outlet 210 at the bottom of the upper pot body 211, then enters the exhaust passage 20 and is discharged through the upper pot rim exhaust hole 2121. In this structure, the upper pot rim exhaust hole 2121 and the exhaust passage 20 around the periphery of the upper pot body 211 provide conditions for the steam to penetrate the rice layer from top to bottom. The steam penetrates the rice layer while removing the water remaining in the upper pot body 211 after the rice water outlet, thereby effectively avoiding the excessive gelatinization of the bottom layer of rice due to excessive residual water. In addition, based on the steam output of the upper pot rim exhaust hole 2121, the steam discharge path is greatly shortened, so that the steam is quickly discharged from the pot body 1, reducing the heat transferred to the pot body 1 when the steam is discharged, and effectively avoiding the heating of the pot body. Further, the exhaust hole is arranged on the upper pot rim 212, which greatly simplifies the structure of the upper pot 21 and facilitates its processing.

[0054] As shown in Figure 9 , Figure 11 and Figure 12 The lid 5 includes a lid body 51 and a lid rim 52 located around the periphery of the lid body 51. The lid body 51 is provided with a lid steam passage 50, and the lid sealing ring 6 is arranged on the lid body 51 to seal the mouth of the upper pot body 211. The lid rim 52 covers the upper pot rim 212 to prevent debris from falling into the upper pot rim exhaust hole 2121 and causing blockage; however, the lid rim 52 does not seal the upper pot rim 212, and an exhaust gap is formed between the lid rim 52 and the upper pot rim 212. The steam discharged from the upper pot rim exhaust hole 2121 is output through the exhaust gap. Further, in the present embodiment, the lid rim 52 is also provided with a lid exhaust hole 521 located around the periphery of the lid sealing ring 6 and connected to the upper pot rim exhaust hole 2121. The lid exhaust hole 521 guides most of the steam to the top of the multifunctional rice cooker, avoiding the inconvenience caused by the steam to the user; further, the dual-channel exhaust based on the exhaust gap and the lid exhaust hole 521 further accelerates the discharge of the steam. However, the present application does not make any limitation in this regard. In other embodiments, the lid rim 52 can also not be provided with a lid exhaust hole.

[0055] The rice cooker provided by the embodiment forms a structure of inside sealing and outside non-sealing between the cover 5 and the upper pot 21. Based on the structure, steam enters the upper pot body 211 from the inside sealing position and penetrates the rice layer downward. The steam enters the exhaust passage 20 through the draining hole 210 and is discharged from the exhaust gap between the cover 5 and the upper pot 21 and the cover exhaust hole 521. The structure of the cover 5 is greatly simplified. Only one steam outlet 502 extending to the cover steam passage 50 inside the cover body sealing ring 6 is needed on the cover 5. In addition, the exhaust passage 20 is formed based on the upper pot 21, the lower pot 22 and the cooker body accommodating cavity 10. The passage structure is very simple. Although the embodiment is described by taking the example of steam penetrating the rice layer from top to bottom for cooking. However, the present application does not make any limitation in this regard. In other embodiments, the water in the lower pot can be heated by the heating assembly to generate steam, and the steam penetrates the rice layer from bottom to top for cooking.

[0056] In the embodiment, the multifunctional rice cooker further includes a steam generator 7 arranged on the cooker body 1. The steam outlet end of the steam generator 7 is connected to the steam inlet 501 of the cover steam passage 50. Specifically, the steam generator 7 includes a steam generator body 71, a steam coupler 72, a first steam joint 73 and a second steam joint 74. Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown in the drawings, the cooker body shell 11 has a side edge mounting groove 111, and the cooker body 1 further includes a panel 14 connected to the hollow inner liner 13 and extending above the side edge mounting groove 111. The steam coupler 72 and the first steam joint 73 are arranged on the side edge mounting groove 111 close to the inner wall of the cooker body accommodating cavity 10. The second steam joint 74 is arranged on the panel 14, one end of which is connected to the first steam joint 73 and the other end of which is connected to the steam inlet 501 of the cover steam passage 50. This arrangement allows the steam generator body 71 to be pushed into the side edge mounting groove 111 in a horizontal direction without obstruction. The coupling part 712 on the steam generator body 71 is aligned with the steam coupler 72 to electrically connect the controller in the cooker body 1. The steam outlet part 711 on the steam generator body 71 is aligned with the first steam joint 73. The steam enters the upper pot body 211 through the first steam joint 73, the first steam joint 73 and the cover steam passage 50. This mounting method greatly facilitates the assembly of the steam generator body 71 and the cooker body 1. However, the present application does not make any limitation in this regard. In other embodiments, an opening upward assembly cavity can be formed in the cooker body. The steam generator body can also be embedded into the assembly cavity from top to bottom like the pot body assembly.

[0057] In the embodiment, as shown in the drawings, Figure 2 and Figure 10As shown, the mouth side wall 2111 of the upper pot body 211 is flared, which allows the lower pot 22 to abut against the mouth side wall 2111 of the upper pot body and slightly lift the upper pot 21 when the lower pot is raised into position. The upper pot rim 212 has a protruding trigger 2122, and the lid has a wireless trigger coupler (not shown) corresponding to the trigger 2122. When the lower pot 22 is raised and lifts the upper pot 21, the trigger 2122 on the upper pot rim 212 abuts against the wireless trigger on the lid, which sends a signal to the controller to indicate that the lower pot has been raised into position, and the controller starts the rice soaking timer.

[0058] The multifunctional rice draining pot provided in the embodiment has multiple cooking modes, including a rice draining cooking mode, a braised rice cooking mode, and a separate steaming mode. The specific steps of each cooking mode will be described in detail below in combination with the drawings.

[0059] The first cooking mode is rice draining. Figure 13 And Figure 14 As shown is a structural schematic diagram of the multifunctional rice draining pot when making rice.

[0060] Step S10, water 100 is filled in the lower pot 22, and the washed rice 200 is placed in the upper pot 22 with the draining holes 210 and is sealed with the lid 5, as shown. Figure 13

[0061] Step S20, the air pump 441 in the air pressure adjusting member 44 is started to input air into the air bag 41, the pressure in the air bag 41 increases and the air bag 41 expands, the positioning part 421 and the reset part 422 in the elastic positioning member 42 are stretched, the elastic restoring force generated by the stretching of the positioning part 421 restricts the expansion direction of the air bag 41, and the air bag 41 is supported and guided in all directions to the lifting direction of the lower pot. Based on the support of the bottom end of the air bag 41 by the support plate 43, the air bag 41 expands upward and pushes the heating assembly 3 and the lower pot 22 that is in contact with the heating assembly 3 upward, and the water in the lower pot 22 enters the upper pot 21 through the draining holes 210 and completely immerses the rice in the upper pot 21, as shown. Figure 14

[0062] Step S30, after the rice absorbs water for a set time, the air pump 441 is turned off and the electromagnetic valve 442 is opened, the air in the air bag 41 is discharged through the electromagnetic valve 442, and the positioning part 421 gradually shrinks with the air bag 41 to cover the outer wall of the air bag 41. Based on the weight of the lower pot 22, the weight of the heating assembly 3, and the traction of the stretched reset part 422, the lower pot 22 quickly falls back to separate the water and the rice, as shown. Figure 13

[0063] ​​​Step S40, the steam generator 7 inputs steam into the upper pot 21 through the cover steam channel 50, and the steam penetrates the rice layer from top to bottom to perform steaming; at the same time, the heating disc 31 in the heating assembly is turned on to heat the water in the lower pot 21 to a preset temperature;

[0064] Step S50, after a period of steaming, the steam generator 7 is turned off and steps S20 and S30 are repeated, and the heated water in the lower pot 22 is used to soak the rice to realize water replenishment during the steaming process;

[0065] Step S60, the steam generator 7 is turned on to continue inputting steam into the upper pot 21 until the rice is cooked.

[0066] However, the present application does not make any limitation on the above-mentioned rice draining process. In other embodiments, steps S50 and S60 can be omitted, that is, the steam is continuously inputted in step S40 until the rice is cooked. Alternatively, steps S20 to S40 can be repeated multiple times.

[0067] The second cooking method is braising rice preparation; as shown in FIG. 2B, the steps are as follows: Figure 15 and Figure 16 The steps are as follows:

[0068] Step S100, the upper pot is removed and the cleaned rice 200 and water 100 are placed in the lower pot, and the pot cover 5 is placed on the opening of the pot body 1;

[0069] Step S200, the heating assembly is started and adjusted to the maximum power to braize the rice 200 and water 100 at high heat;

[0070] Step S300, when the heating reaches a preset time or the rice soup in the lower pot is detected, the air pressure adjusting member 44 is started to switch the air bag 41 between the expanded and contracted states to drive the lower pot 22 to rise and fall. The rising and falling of the lower pot 22 changes the air pressure in the lower pot to suck the external air into the lower pot 22 from the gap between the pot cover 5 and the pot body 1; the cold air is sucked in and the hot air in the pot is discharged to reduce the temperature in the lower pot 22, eliminate the conditions for the formation of rice soup, and realize high-heat cooking without spilling. In addition, the vibration caused by the rising and falling of the lower pot 22 also causes the rice and water to collide constantly and speeds up the flow of the rice soup water to improve the uniformity of the heating of the rice layer. At the same time, the heating assembly 3 continues to heat until the rice is braized.

[0071] The third cooking method is food steaming. In this mode, the air bag lifting assembly 4 and the steam generator 7 do not work, and the pot cover does not seal the opening of the upper pot body 211; the heating assembly 3 heats the water in the lower pot 22 to generate steam to directly steam the food in the upper pot.

[0072] Although the embodiment takes the rice cooking as an example to describe the structure of the multifunctional rice draining cooker in detail, the present application is not limited to this. The multifunctional rice draining cooker provided by the present application can also be used for steaming other coarse grains such as sweet potatoes and other dishes such as fish.

[0073] In summary, in the multifunctional rice draining cooker provided by the present application, the upper pot for containing the rice layer is fixed in the cooker body; the air bag lifting assembly is arranged at the bottom of the lower pot for containing water, and the air bag changes its state under the driving of the gas to drive the lower pot to lift and thus realize the rice soaking and draining. The lifting movement of the lower pot makes the air bag not need to be arranged in the cooking cavity, so that the air bag is convenient to install, the rice cooking is clean and sanitary, and the parts needed to be cleaned after cooking are also very few. In addition, in the installation of the air bag, the air bag is fixed at the bottom of the heating assembly by the elastic positioning member, and at the same time, the elastic deformation of the positioning part is also used to limit the deformation direction of the air bag when it changes its state, so as to guide the air bag to stably expand or contract in the height direction of the cooker body to avoid its irregular deformation, and thus realize the stable lifting of the lower pot. Further, the elastic positioning member is also provided with a reset member connected to the heating assembly and the bottom wall of the cooker body, and when the air bag expands to lift the heating assembly, the reset member is elongated to generate a downward elastic restoring force. When the air bag contracts, the downward elastic restoring force will be superimposed on the gravity of the lower pot to drive the lower pot to quickly fall back. This setting not only greatly improves the draining speed to improve the consistency of the water absorption of the rice layer, but also shortens the cooking time of the rice. At the same time, when falling, the positioning member also gradually contracts to wrap the air bag to maintain its deformation direction and make it gradually and stably contract in the lifting direction.

[0074] Although the present application has been disclosed by the preferred embodiments as above, it is not intended to limit the present application, and any person skilled in the art can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, so the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the scope required by the claims.

Claims

1. A multi-functional rice cooker, characterized by comprising: The utility model provides a multifunctional rice draining pot, which comprises a pot body, a pot body assembly, a heating assembly and an air bag lifting assembly. The pot body assembly comprises an upper pot with draining holes and a lower pot arranged below the upper pot in a lifting manner. The heating assembly is arranged in the accommodating cavity and adheres to the outer bottom wall of the lower pot. The air bag lifting assembly is arranged at the bottom of the heating assembly and comprises an air bag and an elastic positioning member for limiting the state change of the air bag. The air bag is driven to expand or contract by gas and drives the lower pot to lift relative to the upper pot through the heating assembly.

2. The multi-functional rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein The elastic positioning member comprises a positioning part arranged around the outer wall of the air bag and a reset member formed on the outer periphery of the positioning part.

3. The multi-functional rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein The outer end of the positioning part is connected to the heating assembly to fix the air bag at the bottom of the heating assembly and limit the deformation direction of the air bag when the state changes.

4. The multi-functional rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein The two ends of the reset member are respectively connected to the heating assembly and the bottom wall of the pot body.

5. The multi-functional rice cooker according to claim 4, wherein When the air bag expands, the heating assembly rises and the reset member elastically deforms.

6. The multi-functional rice cooker according to claim 4, wherein When the air bag contracts, the elastic restoring force of the reset member drives the lower pot to fall back.

7. The multi-functional rice cooker according to claim 6, wherein The elastic positioning member comprises a plurality of elastic rubber strips whose inner ends are connected to each other and whose outer ends are connected to the bottom wall of the pot body. The middle part of each elastic rubber strip is connected to the heating assembly. The elastic rubber strips on the inner side of the connection form the positioning part, and the elastic rubber strips on the outer side of the connection form the reset member. The air inlet of the air bag is formed on the bottom surface of the air bag. The air bag lifting assembly further comprises a support plate arranged below the air bag and fixed to the pot body. The fixed support plate abuts against the bottom surface of the air bag to provide bottom support for the air bag and make the air bag expand upward. The support plate has a support plate through hole for accommodating the air inlet of the air bag. The upper pot comprises an upper pot body and an upper pot rim. The lid of the multifunctional rice draining pot is opened or sealed to the upper pot body. The lid has a steam outlet formed on the lid body and located in the inner periphery of the sealing ring to guide steam into the upper pot body. The upper pot and the lower pot form an exhaust passage, and the upper pot rim has an upper pot rim exhaust hole. The steam entering the upper pot body from the steam passage of the lid passes through the rice layer and the draining holes on the bottom of the upper pot body, enters the exhaust passage, and is discharged through the upper pot rim exhaust hole. The lid comprises a lid body and a lid edge arranged on the outer periphery of the lid body. The lid body has a lid steam passage, and the sealing ring is arranged on the lid body to seal the opening of the upper pot body. The lid edge is not sealed with the upper pot rim, and an exhaust gap is formed between the two to communicate with the upper pot rim exhaust hole. The multifunctional rice draining pot further comprises a steam generator arranged on the pot body. The steam outlet of the steam generator is connected to the air inlet of the lid steam passage. The pot body has a side edge mounting groove. The steam coupling and the steam joint are arranged on the side wall of the accommodating cavity. The steam generator body is horizontally pushed into and clamped in the side edge mounting groove. The coupling part on the steam generator body is aligned with the steam coupling to be electrically connected to the controller in the pot body. The steam outlet on the steam generator body is aligned with the steam joint to input steam into the lid steam passage.

8. The multi-functional rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein The air bag lifting assembly further comprises a gas pressure adjusting element arranged in the pot body and connected to the air bag, wherein the gas pressure adjusting element is a gas pump for supplying or discharging gas to the air bag; or the gas pressure adjusting element comprises a gas pump for supplying gas to the air bag and an electromagnetic valve for discharging gas in the air bag.

9. The multi-functional rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein The pot body comprises an outer shell, a bottom shell, a hollow inner liner with two open ends, and a panel connected to the hollow inner liner. The hollow inner liner is placed in the cavity formed by the outer shell and the bottom shell. The inner part of the hollow inner liner forms a receiving cavity, and the inner wall of the hollow inner liner is provided with an inner liner step that is tightly buckled with the lower pot edge. The panel is connected to the upper end of the hollow inner liner.

10. The multi-functional rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein The heating assembly comprises a heating disc abutting the outer bottom wall of the lower pot and a heat insulation support arranged outside the heating disc. The air bag is fixed to the bottom of the heat insulation support.

11. A method of cooking rice, characterized by, The multifunctional rice draining pot according to any one of claims 1-10 is used for cooking, and the rice cooking method comprises the following steps: Step one: water is poured into the lower pot, and the washed rice is placed in the upper pot with a draining hole and sealed with a pot cover. Step two: based on the gas driving and the limitation of the inner positioning part of the elastic positioning element, the air bag is expanded and pushes the heating assembly and the lower pot upward. The water in the lower pot enters the upper pot through the draining hole and completely immerses the rice in the upper pot to achieve rice soaking and water absorption. Step three: after the rice absorption meets the set time, the air bag is contracted by discharging or discharging. Based on the weight of the lower pot and the traction of the reset element in the elastic positioning element, the lower pot falls back to separate the water and the rice. Step four: steam is introduced into the upper pot to steam the rice layer after water absorption. At the same time, the heating assembly is turned on to heat the water in the lower pot to a preset temperature. Step five: steps two and three are repeated to soak the rice with the heated water in the lower pot. Step six: steam is introduced into the upper pot for steaming until the rice is cooked.

12. The rice cooking method according to claim 11, wherein The multifunctional rice draining pot according to any one of claims 1-10 also has a second cooking method, which comprises the following steps: Step one: remove the upper pot and place the washed rice and water in the lower pot. Cover the pot cover on the opening of the pot body. Step two: start the heating assembly to heat and stew the rice and water. Step three: when the heating reaches the preset time or the rice soup is detected in the lower pot, based on the gas driving and the limitation of the elastic positioning element, the air bag switches between the expanded and contracted states to drive the lower pot to lift, vibrate the rice layer, and adjust the air pressure in the lower pot. The lower pot exchanges cold and hot gas with the outside of the pot body through the gap between the pot cover and the pot body. At the same time, the heating assembly continues to heat until the rice is stewed.

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