A cooking appliance provided with a drainage inner liner

Abstract

The application discloses a cooking utensil with a drainage inner container, which comprises an inner container, a pot body, a water tank, a pot cover and a rice ladle. The water tank supplies water to the inner container through a water inlet channel. The inner container is used for cooking and carrying rice. A drainage valve assembly is arranged on the bottom wall of the inner container. The drainage valve assembly comprises an outer valve body, a sealing body and a filter. The filter comprises an assembly edge and a filter part provided with filter holes. The filter holes are open to the bottom wall of the inner container. The assembly edge is arranged around the filter part. An inner surface of the bottom wall of the inner container is provided with a mounting table corresponding to the drainage valve assembly. The assembly edge is fixedly connected to the mounting table. The top of the filter is not higher than the inner surface of the bottom wall of the inner container by 8 mm. A continuous rice scooping area is formed between the outer periphery of the mounting table and the side wall of the inner container. The width of the continuous rice scooping area is not less than the head of the rice ladle. The application improves the situation that the filter holes are easily blocked by the rice squeezed into the filter holes during the rice scooping operation of the user.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of kitchen appliances, and more specifically, to a cooking appliance equipped with a drain liner. Background Technology

[0002] As people's living standards improve, their demand for healthy eating is also increasing. Common cooking utensils can be used to make soup and cook rice. However, the high purine content in soup and the high sugar content in rice are not conducive to healthy eating. To address this, there is a type of cooking utensil with a drainage function. By installing a drain valve assembly on the inner pot, it can drain the food in the inner pot once or multiple times, thereby reducing the purine or sugar content of the food.

[0003] The drain valve assembly is located at the bottom of the inner pot, allowing for better control of the liquid discharge. The assembly contains a valve body structure. To prevent accidental leakage of food from the inner pot when the valve is open, a filter valve cover is typically located above the assembly. The mesh structure of the filter valve cover allows liquid to enter the assembly while preventing food from entering. When the valve is open, the liquid drains out through the drain outlet. When cooking rice with this type of appliance, a steamer can be placed inside the inner pot, and the rice placed in the steamer to cook it. This way, the rice doesn't come into contact with the filter cover, making cleaning easier. However, compared to the traditional method of boiling and then simmering rice, steamed rice has inferior physicochemical properties and taste.

[0004] By placing rice directly into the inner pot of this type of cooking appliance and using a cooking method of boiling first and then simmering, the physicochemical properties and taste of the drained rice can be significantly improved. However, after the rice is cooked, when the user scoops the rice out of the inner pot with a rice scoop, the rice is squeezed by the scoop, and the friction between the rice and the drain valve assembly creates abrasive residue at the bottom of the inner pot. This residue can also be squeezed into the mesh structure of the filter cover, causing the mesh to become clogged and difficult to clean. An uncleaned filter cover can easily breed bacteria and affect the drainage function of the drain valve assembly, thus reducing the cooking performance of this type of cooking appliance. Utility Model Content

[0005] This application provides a cooking appliance with a drain inner pot, which adopts a scheme that limits the top of the filter element to no more than 8mm above the inner surface of the bottom wall of the inner pot and sets a continuous rice scooping area on the outer periphery of the mounting platform. This reduces the grinding of rice on the surface of the filter element or the surface of the drain valve assembly, and allows the user to put the rice scoop into the continuous rice scooping area without squeezing rice into the filter holes, thereby improving the situation where rice is easily squeezed into the filter holes and caused by the user's rice scooping operation, resulting in filter hole blockage.

[0006] The embodiments of this application are implemented as follows:

[0007] This utility model provides a cooking appliance with a drainable inner liner, including an inner liner, a pot body, a water tank, a pot lid, and a rice ladle. The water tank supplies water to the inner liner through a water inlet channel. The inner liner is used for cooking and holding rice. A drain valve assembly is provided on the bottom wall of the inner liner. The drain valve assembly includes an outer valve body, a sealing body, and a filter element. The filter element includes an mounting edge and a filter part with filter holes. The filter holes are open on the bottom wall of the inner liner. The mounting edge is arranged around the filter part. A mounting platform is provided on the inner surface of the bottom wall of the inner liner corresponding to the drain valve assembly. The mounting edge is fixed in place with the mounting platform. The top of the filter element is no more than 8mm higher than the inner surface of the bottom wall of the inner liner. A continuous rice-scooping area is formed between the outer periphery of the mounting platform and the side wall of the inner liner. The width of the continuous rice-scooping area is no less than the head of the rice ladle.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the spoon head includes a spoon top located in the middle, a rice-serving side for serving rice, and arc-shaped sides located on both sides of the spoon top, wherein the spoon top and the arc-shaped sides abut against the bottom wall of the inner pot.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the top of the spoon and / or the arc side abuts against the bottom wall of the inner liner in point contact, or the top of the spoon and the arc side abut against the bottom wall of the inner liner in line contact, the width of the line contact being less than the width of the filter section.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, in the vertical direction, when the top of the spoon abuts against the filter element on one side of the outer periphery of the filter section, the arc side is at least partially located above the filter section.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the inner wall of the inner liner includes a flat bottom wall, a side wall, and an arcuate wall connecting the flat bottom wall and the side wall located on the outer periphery of the mounting platform, and the continuous scooping area includes at least one of the flat bottom wall and the arcuate wall.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the outer valve body is integrally formed with the bottom wall of the inner liner, and the mounting platform is located on the top of the outer valve body; or, the bottom wall of the inner liner is provided with a mounting hole, and the outer valve body is fixed in the mounting hole to cover the inner wall of the mounting hole.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the mounting platform is an annular recessed platform, the mounting edge mates with the recessed platform, and the mounting edge is flush with or lower than the bottom wall of the inner liner.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the filter holes are holes of unequal diameter.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, a portion of the sealing body contacts the filter portion to divide a portion of the filter hole into holes of unequal diameter.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the drain valve assembly further includes a receiving channel, which is integrally formed with the inner liner. The mounting platform is located on top of the receiving channel, and the receiving channel forms the outer valve body. The outer valve body has an inner valve body, which has a drain outlet. The sealing body is located inside the inner valve body, and a first sealing element is provided between the inner valve body and the receiving channel.

[0017] The advantages of this application compared to the prior art are:

[0018] This application addresses the technical problem of rice being easily squeezed into the filter holes during user rice scooping operations, leading to filter hole blockage. By making the filter element protrude at a height of less than or equal to 8mm from the inner surface of the inner pot bottom wall, this application reduces the friction between the rice scoop and the filter element or the side wall of the mounting platform when the user scoops rice from the inner pot. This reduces the contact area between each grain of rice and the filter element and mounting platform, consequently reducing the amount of rice entering the filter holes. The rice scoop can then fully enter the continuous scooping area without scooping rice above the drain valve assembly, significantly reducing the squeezing of rice above the drain valve assembly and thus reducing the likelihood of rice being squeezed into the filter holes. This overall improvement in filter hole blockage makes the filter element easier to clean. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this application and should not be regarded as a limitation of the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional view of a cooking appliance according to one embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the inner pot and the rice spoon according to one embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a partial enlarged view of the drain valve assembly according to one embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the interaction between the inner liner and the tilted rice scoop in one embodiment of this application.

[0024] Reference numerals: 1-Inner liner; 101-Bottom wall of inner liner; 1011-Mounting platform; 1012-Mounting hole; 1013-Flat bottom wall; 1014-Side wall of inner liner; 1015-Curved wall; 102-Cooking cavity; 103-Continuous rice scooping area; 2-Pot body; 201-Sewage box cavity; 2011-Sewage box; 2012-Sewage outlet; 202-Water baffle; 3-Water tank; 301-Water inlet channel; 4-Pot lid; 5-Rice spoon; 501-Spoon head; 5011-Spoon top; 5012-Rice serving side; 5013-Arc side; 502-Spoon handle; 6-Drain valve assembly; 601-Outer valve body; 602-Sealing body; 603-Filter element; 6031-Assembly edge; 6032-Filter section; 60321-Filter hole; 604-Inner valve body; 6041-Drain outlet; 605-First sealing element. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] Many specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of this application. However, this application may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0027] Furthermore, it should be understood in the description of this application that the terms "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0028] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a communication connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0029] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the "above" or "below" of the second feature can mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "implementation," "example," "a particular embodiment," "example," or "specific example" indicate that the specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. The technical solutions of this application will now be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0030] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 This invention illustrates a cooking appliance with a drainable inner pot. This appliance can be a rice cooker, pressure cooker, electric hot pot, or any other cooking appliance that allows water to be added for cooking. Such an appliance includes an inner pot 1, a pot body 2, a water tank 3, a lid 4, and a rice scoop 5. The water tank 3 supplies water to the inner pot 1 through a water inlet channel 301. This water supply function reduces the need for users to add water to the inner pot 1, making the appliance more intelligent. The inner pot 1 is used for cooking and holding rice, and a drain valve assembly 6 protrudes downwards from the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot. Users cook food by placing it in the cooking cavity 102 within the inner pot 1. To achieve the drainage function of the inner pot 1, thereby obtaining a cooking appliance with a drainage inner pot, one embodiment provides a drain valve assembly 6 provided on the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot. By opening and closing the drain valve assembly 6, the liquid in the inner pot 1 can be drained. As shown in the figure, since the drain valve assembly 6 typically has a certain size to include valve body structures and other components, the drain valve assembly 6 usually protrudes downwards from the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot. This facilitates the connection of the drain valve assembly 6 to the pot body 2 and also facilitates the drainage process. However, to reduce the size of the downward protrusion or based on existing inner pot manufacturing processes, the drain valve assembly 6 can also protrude upwards from the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot; this is not a limitation. Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3The enlarged view shows a portion of the drain valve assembly 6. The drain valve assembly 6 includes an outer valve body 601, a sealing body 602, and a filter element 603. The filter element 603 includes an mounting edge 6031 and a filter section 6032 with filter holes 60321. The filter holes 60321 are open on the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner to facilitate the flow of liquid in the inner liner 1 from top to bottom through the filter holes 60321 into the drain valve assembly 6 under the action of gravity. The mounting edge 6031 is arranged around the filter section 6032. The inner surface of the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner is provided with a mounting platform 1011 corresponding to the drain valve assembly 6. The mounting edge 6031 is fixed to the mounting platform 101. This enables the installation or setting of the drain valve assembly 6 in the inner liner 1, thereby realizing the discharge of liquid in the inner liner 1 when the drain valve assembly 6 is in the open or closed state.

[0031] Research experiments revealed that after cooking drained rice using the aforementioned cooking appliances, users repeatedly scoop the cooked rice from the inner pot 1 using a rice scoop 5. The rice scoop 5 eventually comes into contact with the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot. As the rice scoop 5 rubs against the bottom wall 101 and scoops the rice, this conventional scooping operation not only easily causes the rice to rub against the structure of the drain valve assembly 6, forming residue in the inner pot 1, but also easily forces the rice into the filter holes 60321 of the filter section 6032, causing the filter holes 60321 to become clogged. The blockage at filter 60321 (321) increases the difficulty of cleaning the filter section 6032 of the inner pot 1 or the drain valve assembly 6. If not cleaned properly, an odor will develop inside the inner pot 1 after a period of time. Furthermore, bacteria growing in the filter holes 60321 during subsequent use will affect the hygiene of the food. Additionally, if the filter holes 60321 are clogged with food residue, it will cause poor drainage from the drain valve assembly 6, affecting the drainage process and thus reducing the cooking performance of cooking appliances with drainable inner pots. Therefore, this problem urgently needs to be improved. It is known that since cooked rice is located above the filter section 6032, and different users have different rice-serving habits, rice grains may always get stuck in the filter holes 60321. This application aims to design a solution that adapts to the rice-serving operations of most users, thereby reducing the situation where rice grains are squeezed into the filter holes 60321, improving the situation of filter hole blockage caused by user rice-serving operations, and enhancing the user experience.

[0032] All height conditions mentioned below are assumed to be the height position in the height direction after the drain valve assembly 6 is placed in the inner liner 1. This condition is easy to understand and will not be elaborated further.

[0033] like Figure 2As shown, this application ensures that the top of the filter element 603 is no more than 8mm higher than the inner surface of the inner liner bottom wall 101. It is understood that the filter element 603 can protrude from the inner surface of the inner liner bottom wall 101, but the protrusion height is less than or equal to 8mm, or the filter element 603 is flush with or lower than the inner surface of the inner liner bottom wall 101. In this way, the maximum length of most rice varieties after cooking is less than half of 8mm. If the protrusion height is too large, exceeding the length of cooked rice grains of existing rice varieties by a significant amount, the rice near the filter element 603 will more completely contact and rub against the structure of the filter element 603 or the mounting platform 1011, resulting in a larger contact area. Consequently, the rice is more easily broken during the scooping operation, and the broken rice grains are more likely to remain in the drain valve assembly 6. On the structural surface, the protrusion height of the filter element 603 on the inner surface of the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot is less than or equal to 8mm. This reduces the degree of friction between the rice scoop 5 and the filter element 603 or the side wall of the mounting platform 1011 when the user scoops rice from the inner pot 1 with the rice scoop 5. This reduces the contact area between each grain of rice and the filter element 603 and the mounting platform 1011, improving the situation where rubbed rice remains on the structural surface of the drain valve assembly 6 due to the user's scooping operation. Furthermore, the amount of rubbed rice entering the filter holes 60321 of the filter section 6032 is also reduced, improving the clogging of the filter holes 60321. It is understood that as the total amount of rubbed rice decreases, the amount of rice entering the filter holes 60321 will also decrease accordingly. Furthermore, a continuous rice-scooping area 103 is formed between the outer periphery of the mounting platform 1011 and the inner liner sidewall 1014. The width of the continuous rice-scooping area 103 is not less than the head 501 of the rice scoop 5. In this way, when the rice scoop 5 enters the inner liner 1 to scoop rice, the rice scoop 5 can completely enter the continuous rice-scooping area 103 to scoop rice, without scooping rice above the drain valve assembly 6. This greatly reduces the squeezing of rice above the drain valve assembly 6, thereby reducing the amount of rice squeezed into the filter holes of the filter section 6032. In the case of 60321, when cooking rice using this type of cooking appliance with a drain inner pot and scooping rice from the inner pot 1 with a rice scoop 5, the rice is less likely or less likely to be squeezed into the filter holes 60321 of the filter section 6032. The filter holes 60321 are easier to clean, which helps to maintain the cleanliness of the filter element 603, improves the user experience, and reduces the possibility that the drainage function of the drain valve assembly 6 may not work properly due to too much dirt in the filter holes 60321, thus ensuring the cooking performance of the cooking appliance.

[0034] It is understandable that setting up the continuous scooping area 103 does not mean that users can only put the rice scooping spoon 5 into the continuous scooping area 103, but rather that users can place the rice scooping spoon 5 completely into the area not above the filter holes to scoop rice, thereby reducing the rice being squeezed and rubbed into the filter holes 60321 of the filter section 6032 by the rice scooping spoon 5, and reducing the possibility of the filter holes 60321 being blocked by rice. Furthermore, once users know that the inner pot 1 is a drain inner pot, and after understanding the cooking appliance made according to the solution of this application, they can avoid the location of the drain valve assembly 6 when entering the continuous scooping area 103 to scoop rice, thus reducing the degree and extent of contact between the rice and the drain valve assembly 6. Alternatively, after manufacturers have produced cooking appliances with a drain inner pot according to this application, they can inform users of the existence of the continuous scooping area 103 in the product usage instructions, thereby speeding up the user's learning process for using the continuous scooping area 103, improving the blockage of the filter holes 60321, reducing the user's learning cost, and improving their user experience.

[0035] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the rice scoop 5 includes a scoop head 501 and a scoop handle 502 located at one end of the scoop head 501. The scoop head 501 includes a scoop top 5011 located in the middle, a rice-scooping side 5012 for scooping rice, and arc-shaped sides 5013 located on both sides of the scoop top 5011. The scoop top 5011 and the arc-shaped sides 5013 abut against the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot. This abutment can be a line contact abutment or a point contact abutment, which will be explained in detail later. The rice-scooping side 5012 is used to hold rice when using the rice scoop 5 to scoop rice from the inner pot 1. The rice-scooping side 5012 can have a concave part to accommodate rice or a plate-like structure to move the rice, depending on the actual needs. By setting the top 5011 and the curved side 5013 of the spoon to abut against the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot, that is, setting the curved side 5013 to be a convex arc protruding outward toward the outside of the spoon head 501, when the user uses the rice scooping spoon 5 to scoop rice, when the top 5011 of the spoon abuts against the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot, the curved side 5013 does not abut against the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot. And when either curved side 5013 abuts against the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot, the other curved side 5013 and the top 5011 of the spoon do not abut against the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot. In this way, no matter which side of the rice scooping spoon 5 the user is using... When scooping rice by placing one side against the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot, the spoon head 501 can make line contact or point contact with the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot at various points, thereby reducing the squeezing of the rice at the bottom of the inner pot by the spoon head 501, further reducing the contact area of ​​the spoon head 501 against the filter part 6032, improving the situation where the user squeezes the rice into the filter hole 60321 through the rice scoop 5, improving the situation where the filter hole 60321 is blocked, and making the filter element 603 easier to clean;

[0036] It should be explained that the aforementioned spoon tip 5011 or arc side 5013 makes line contact or point contact with the inner liner bottom wall 101. That is, through structural design, both the spoon tip 5011 and the arc side 5013 have at least one contact edge or contact point that can abut against the inner liner bottom wall 101. When the contact edge or contact point of the spoon tip 5011 or the arc side 5013 abuts against the inner liner bottom wall 101, other parts of the spoon tip 5011 or the arc side 5013 will not contact the inner liner bottom wall 101, thus forming line contact or point contact between the spoon tip 5011 and the arc side 5013 and the inner liner bottom wall 101. In some other examples, the top of the spoon 5011 and the arc side 5013 can only make line contact with the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner. Regardless of which part of the spoon top 5011 or the arc side 5013 abuts against the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner, the contact is linear. The top of the spoon 5011 and the arc side 5013 can be composed of one or more contact edges that form line contact with the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner, that is, forming a surface with many protruding edges. The examples in which the top of the spoon 5011 and the arc side 5013 can abut against the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner and make line contact are not limited to the possibilities proposed in this application. As long as the requirement of abutment and line contact is met, it is acceptable, and no limitation is made here. The rice scoop 5 is a component whose relative position and contact position with the inner pot 1 are different depending on the user's operation. Therefore, this application limits the various parts of the rice scoop 5 to point contact or line contact with certain parts of the inner pot 1. In other words, the design scheme of this application limits the situation that occurs when the various parts of the rice scoop 5 contact certain parts of the inner pot 1.

[0037] Preferably, the width of the contact between the top of the spoon 5011 and the arc side 5013 and the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot is smaller than that of the filter section 6032. This reduces the width of the contact between the top of the spoon 5011 and the arc side 5013 and the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot. Since the width of this contact is smaller than the width of the filter section 6032, when a user scoops rice from the inner pot 1, especially from the bottom, with the rice scooping spoon 5, they typically only need one or a few scooping motions. Each scooping motion reduces the likelihood of rice being squeezed into the filter holes 60321 of the filter section 6032 by the non-scooping side of the spoon head 501, thereby significantly reducing the risk of rice being squeezed into the filter holes 60321 of the filter section 6032 by the top of the spoon 5011 or the arc side 5013. When the arc side 5013 squeezes rice into the filter hole 60321, it is understood that the width of the line contact is less than the width of the filter part 6032. This means that the line contact width between the longest contact edge of the spoon top 5011 and / or the arc side 5013 and the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot is less than the lateral dimension of the filter part 6032. The area covered by the filter part 6032 is also the area covered by the filter hole 60321. This is easy to understand, thus ensuring that the contact between the non-rice-filling side of the spoon head 501 and the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot is controlled, ensuring that the control conditions are determined, and at the same time, it is convenient for those skilled in the art to understand and reproduce the solution of this application.

[0038] In some other examples, at least one of the spoon tip 5011 and the curved side 5013 abuts against the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot and makes point contact. Compared with line contact, point contact can further reduce the contact area between various positions of the spoon tip 501 and the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot when the user operates the rice scoop 5, and further improve the situation of squeezing rice into the filter hole 60321 that is openly provided on the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot, thereby ensuring the normal use of the drain valve assembly 6. It can be understood that the contact area of ​​point contact is smaller than that of line contact. For example, the contact area of ​​point contact can be... Point contact can be a circular area, a square area, or a relatively short strip-shaped area, while line contact presents a distinct linear shape. In other words, this application defines point contact and line contact based on the shape of the contact area where the top of the spoon 5011 or the arc side 5013 abuts the contact surface. That is, the contact area is roughly divided into point-like and line-like. Point contact here is not a point defined by geometric concepts, because the "point" defined by geometric concepts cannot be reproduced in actual products. This definition is understandable to those skilled in the art and will not be elaborated further.

[0039] In some embodiments, to further improve the situation where the filter hole 60321 becomes clogged due to the user's rice-scooping operation, this application designs the rice-serving spoon 5, specifically, as follows: Figure 2As shown, it can be seen that the inner liner 1 is always in an upright position during normal use, with the vertical direction being its height direction. This is easy to understand. In the vertical direction, the solution of this application controls that when the top of the spoon 5011 abuts against the filter element 603 on one side of the outer periphery of the filter part 6032, the arc side 5013 is at least partially located above the filter part 6032. That is, when the user operates the top of the rice spoon 5, 5011, to abut against and abut against the filter element 603 on one side of the outer periphery of the filter part 6032, the user has two... The most efficient operation involves two steps: first, removing the rice scoop 5 from the inner pot 1; and second, continuing to move the top 5011 of the rice scoop 5 along the bottom of the inner pot 1 to bring some rice into the serving side 5012. Therefore, this solution ensures that during the second operation, as the top 5011 of the rice scoop 5 rests against the filter element 603 on the outer periphery of the filter section 6032 and continues to move to scoop rice, even if the direction of movement is not towards the filter section 6032, at least part of the rice will be on the filter section 6032. The curved side 5013 will cause the rice above the filter section 6032 to either enter the serving side 5012 or leave the area above the filter section 6032. In this way, the amount of rice above the filter section 6032 can be reduced as the user operates, further reducing the possibility of rice entering the filter holes 60321 of the filter section 6032. Furthermore, when the spoon top 5011 abuts against the filter element 603 on one side of the filter section 6032, the curved side 5013 is at least partially located within the filter section 6032. The fact that the top of the spoon 5011 is above the filter part 6032 means that this part of the arc side 5013 does not contact the filter part 6032. While carrying the rice above the filter part 6032, it will not squeeze the rice into the filter hole 60321, thus improving the clogging of the filter hole 60321. Preferably, in the aforementioned state of the spoon top 5011, the arc side 5013 is completely above the filter part 6032, thereby increasing the area that the arc side 5013 can carry the rice above the filter part 6032, and reducing the rice above the filter part 6032 more quickly. The term "abutting" in the aforementioned "the spoon top 5011 abutting against the filter element 603 on the outer periphery of the filter part 6032" means that the contact position between the spoon top 5011 and the filter element 603 is on one side of the outer periphery of the filter part 6032 on the filter element 603, and does not contact the filter part 6032. It can be close to the outer periphery of the filter part 6032, or it can be a part with a certain distance from the filter part 6032.It should be explained that when the spoon top 5011 abuts against the bottom of the inner liner 1, the spoon top 5011 can be in a posture that does not contact the filter element 603 but abuts against the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner, or when the spoon top 5011 is in a posture that is tangential to the filter part 6032 and abuts against the filter element 603, the arc side 5013 is not located above the filter part 6032. To achieve this embodiment, it is only necessary to satisfy that in a certain posture, there is a state in which the arc side 5013 is located above the filter part 6032 to have the aforementioned improvement effect on the blockage of the filter hole 60321, and to a certain extent prevent the filter hole 60321 from being blocked when the user uses the rice scoop 5 to scoop rice. This application also has other embodiments. In similar sections, the description of "attaching" refers to the explanation here. Those skilled in the art can understand this meaning, and it will not be repeated hereafter.

[0040] Preferably, when the top of the spoon 5011 abuts against the filter element 603 on one side of the outer periphery of the filter section 6032, the arc side 5013 not only partially lies above the filter section 6032, but also partially extends to the other side of the filter element 603 on the outer periphery of the filter section 6032. In this state, the arc side 5013 can remove as much rice as possible from above the filter section 6032, reducing the likelihood of rice entering the filter hole 60321. It should be explained that, in the above situation, the portion located on one side of the top of the spoon 5011... The portion of the arc side 5013 that does not contact the filter section 6032, that is, the arc side 5013 that does not contact the filter section 6032 and has a portion located above the filter section 6032 and a portion extending to the filter element 603 on the other side of the outer periphery of the filter section 6032, thereby increasing the ability of the arc side 5013 to remove rice from the filter section 6032 and reducing the contact between the arc side 5013 and the filter section 6032, reducing the possibility of the arc side 5013 squeezing rice into the filter hole 60321, and improving the clogging of the filter hole 60321;

[0041] In other examples, such as Figure 4As shown, when one of the curved sides 5013 abuts against the filter element 603 on the side of the outer periphery of the filter section 6032, the spoon top 5011 and the other curved side 5013 are partially located above the filter section 6032. Thus, when the user tilts the rice scoop 5 into the inner pot 1 to scoop rice or performs other actions that would cause one of the curved sides 5013 to first contact the bottom of the inner pot 1, when that curved side 5013 abuts against the filter element 603 on the side of the outer periphery of the filter section 6032, this application ensures that the spoon top 5011 and / or the other curved side 5013 are at least partially... Located above the filter section 6032, this allows the top of the spoon 5011 or the other curved side 5013 to scoop away the rice above the filter section 6032 as the user moves the rice scoop 5 away from the filter hole 60321. This reduces the likelihood of the top of the spoon 5011 or the other curved side 5013 squeezing rice from the filter section 6032 into the filter hole 60321, while also removing a certain amount of rice located above the filter section 6032. This greatly reduces the possibility of rice being squeezed into the filter hole 60321 and improves the situation where the filter hole 60321 is blocked.

[0042] In some embodiments, the outer valve body 601 is integrally formed with the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner. The mounting platform 1011 is located on the top of the outer valve body 601. The bottom of the inner liner 1 has an opening end at the end of the outer valve body 601 near the inside of the inner liner 1 and an outlet end at the end near the outside. The mounting platform 1011 for fixing and supporting the mounting edge 6031 is formed on the top of the outer valve body 601, so that the filter part 6032 can be placed smoothly and stably at the bottom of the inner liner 1, ensuring the realization of its filtration function. The outer valve body 601 can be a separately manufactured metal part or metal assembly, which is connected to the bottom of the inner liner 1 by common metal part fixing connection methods such as welding and snap-fit. Alternatively, it can be integrally formed on the bottom of the inner liner 1. The outer valve body 601 can protect the sealing body 602 and the filter part 603, thereby extending the service life of the drain valve assembly 6.

[0043] In some embodiments, the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot is provided with a mounting hole 1012, and the outer valve body 601 is fixed in the mounting hole 1012 to cover the inner wall of the mounting hole 1012. It is known that the inner pot 1 of the cooking appliance used to hold rice is usually made of metal. Therefore, the mounting hole 1012 is opened on the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot. There will be a cutting surface formed by cutting metal on the inner wall of the mounting hole 1012. The existing inner pot 1 is made of various metal inner pot structures such as pure stainless steel, pure titanium, pure iron, stainless steel-aluminum-stainless steel three-layer structure or stainless steel-iron-stainless steel three-layer structure. Metal fragments are easy to fall off the cutting surface. The fragments generated by the above-mentioned metals are harmful to varying degrees. If the cutting surface is not treated, the metal fragments will contaminate the food in the inner pot 1, making the food unusable. The outer valve body 601 fixed in the mounting hole 1012 can cover the inner wall of the mounting hole 1012, which can prevent the generated metal fragments from contaminating the food and ensure the normal use of the cooking cavity of the inner pot 1.

[0044] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the inner wall of the inner liner 1 includes a flat bottom wall 1013, a side wall 1014, and an arc-shaped wall 1015 connecting the flat bottom wall 1013 and the inner liner side wall 1014 on the outer periphery of the mounting platform 1011. In this embodiment, the continuous rice scooping area 103 includes the flat bottom wall 1013 and the arc-shaped wall 1015. In other embodiments, the continuous rice scooping area 103 includes at least one of the flat bottom wall 1013 and the arc-shaped wall 1015. In this way, the user can insert the rice scooping spoon 5 into the continuous rice scooping area 103 to scoop rice, thereby reducing the situation where rice is squeezed into the filter hole 60321. It is known that since the drain valve assembly 6 is located on the bottom wall 101 of the inner pot, there is a certain distance between the outer periphery of the mounting platform 1011 and the side wall 1014 of the inner pot. This distance is the width of the continuous rice scooping area 103. When the continuous rice scooping area 103 only includes the flat bottom wall 1013, the width of the flat bottom wall 1013 on any side of the drain valve assembly 6 is greater than the width of the spoon head 501. This ensures that the spoon head 501 can be completely integrated into the area covered by the flat bottom wall 1013, thereby reducing the amount of rice squeezed into the filter hole 60321 by the spoon head 501. When the flat bottom wall 1013 is connected to the inner pot side wall 1014 through the arc-shaped wall 1015, the continuous rice scooping area 103 can only include the arc-shaped wall 1015. The area covered by the arc-shaped wall 1015 can completely accommodate the spoon head 501 of the rice scoop 5, so that the arc-shaped wall 1015 forms the continuous rice scooping area 103. The flat bottom wall 1013 forms the separation between the mounting platform 1011 or the drain valve assembly 6 and the continuous rice scooping area 103, thereby reducing the occurrence of users squeezing rice onto the structural surface of the drain valve assembly 6, especially the surface of the filter part 6032 of the filter element 603, through the spoon head 501 for grinding, and improving the cleanliness of the filter element 603 after cooking and removing the rice from the inner pot 1.

[0045] The continuous rice-scooping area 103 can also include a flat bottom wall 1013 and an arc-shaped wall 1015, thereby forming the continuous rice-scooping area 103 through two positions, making it easier to form the continuous rice-scooping area 103. Within a certain size range of the inner pot 1, the existence of the continuous rice-scooping area 103 is ensured, ensuring that the spoon head 501 of the rice scoop 5 can be fully inserted into the continuous rice-scooping area 103, thereby making it easier for the user to scoop rice, and reducing the possibility of the filter hole 60321 being blocked by rice. When the spoon head 501 has an arc side 5013, the shape of the arc side 5013 can match the arc wall 1015, so that the rice scooping operation of the rice scooping spoon 5 in the continuous rice scooping area 103 can be smoother. The matching here can mean that the curvature of the two is the same, close, or the curvature of the arc wall 1015 is greater than the curvature of the arc side 5013. Thus, the arc side 5013 can move against the surface of the arc wall 1015 or without interference, reducing the grinding of rice with the arc wall 1015 and making the rice scooping spoon 5 move smoothly.

[0046] In some embodiments, the mounting platform 1011 is an annular recessed platform, and the mounting edge 6031 mates with the recessed platform. The mounting edge 6031 is flush with or lower than the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner. The recessed platform structure of the mounting platform 1011 allows for precise control of the overlap position of the mounting edge 6031. Even if the mounting platform 1011 protrudes slightly from the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner, the height of the mounting edge 6031 can be adjusted downwards by the recessed platform. In this embodiment, the mounting edge 6031 is flush with or lower than the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner, thereby allowing the height of the filter section 6032 to be adjusted to a suitable height. Further... The top of the filter element 603 is positioned no more than 8mm above the inner surface of the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner. Preferably, the top of the filter element 603 is flush with or lower than the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner. This makes the bottom wall 101 of the inner liner more level. Firstly, the rice scoop 5 is less likely to cause rice to enter the filter hole 60321. Secondly, when the user handles food inside the inner liner 1, the filter element 603 is less likely to be disturbed. For example, when the inner liner 1 contains rice, the rice scoop 5 will not disturb the filter element 603 or the drain valve assembly 6 when scooping rice. Alternatively, when the user puts food into the inner liner 1, it will not affect the position of the drain valve assembly 6, further ensuring the position of the sealing body 602 and guaranteeing the sealing effect.

[0047] In some embodiments, the filter holes 60321 of the filter section 6032 are holes of unequal diameter. It is known that the filter section 6032 usually has several filter holes 60321 to allow liquid to pass through but prevent food in the cooking cavity 102 from passing through. The size of the filter holes 60321 determines which food particles the filter section 6032 can block from falling into the drain valve assembly 6. Normally, for ease of manufacturing, the diameter of several filter holes 60321 is the same. However, during the drainage process of the drain valve assembly 6, the uniform diameter may cause the water level in the cooking chamber to drop to a certain height, resulting in insufficient hydrostatic pressure. This can lead to most or all of the filter holes 60321 being covered by a water film. Due to the uniform pressure distribution, the water film is difficult to break, causing the drain valve assembly 6 to have poor drainage or even fail to drain. This situation is particularly common when the hole diameter is small or when there are many impurities in the water (such as rice water). Therefore, to improve the situation when cooking soups, porridges, rice, and other viscous recipes, the surface of the filter holes 60321 is improved to prevent the formation of a water film or starch gel film. To address the issue of water failing to pass through the filter holes 60321, this embodiment sets the filter holes 60321 to have unequal diameter holes. It's important to note that unequal diameter holes do not mean that the diameter of each filter hole 60321 is inconsistent; rather, it simply means that some filter holes 60321 have diameters different from the others. These unequal diameter holes provide a preferential flow path through the larger diameter holes. Once water flows through the larger diameter holes, a local pressure drop or eddy current is generated around them, which helps to break down the water film or starch gel film on the nearby smaller diameter holes, thereby improving the drainage reliability of the filter section 6032 and enhancing the drainage smoothness of the drain valve assembly 6. Preferably, the diameter of the filter holes 60321 is greater than or equal to 1 mm, thereby reducing the capillary pressure of each hole and minimizing the formation of water films or starch gel films. Preferably, the surface of the filter section 6032 can be covered with a hydrophobic coating, thereby reducing the influence of surface tension and further preventing the formation of water films or starch gel films.

[0048] In other embodiments, a portion of the sealing body 602 contacts the filter portion 6032, and the portion of the filter hole 60321 that is contacted by the sealing body 602 can be understood to block part of the filter hole 6032, thus creating a blockage or partial obstruction of the filter hole 6032, thereby forming a filter hole 60321 with unequal aperture. In this way, the filter hole 60321 with unequal aperture can be achieved by relying on the contact between the sealing body 602 and the filter portion 6032, without having to manufacture the filter hole 60321 with unequal aperture through different processes when manufacturing the filter portion 6032, thus reducing manufacturing costs. Furthermore, the sealing body 602 contacts the filter part 6032. When liquid flows into the drain valve assembly 6 from the filter hole 60321, the contact surface between the sealing body 602 and the filter part 6032 can guide the flow of liquid and also break the water film or starch gel film formed on the surface of the filter hole 60321, thereby helping the liquid to flow more smoothly from the filter hole 60321 into the drain valve assembly 6.

[0049] In some embodiments, the drain valve assembly 6 further includes a receiving channel, which is integrally formed with the inner liner 1. A mounting platform 1011 is disposed on the top of the receiving channel. The receiving channel forms an outer valve body 601, and an inner valve body 604 is disposed within the outer valve body 601. The inner valve body 604 has a drain port 6041, a sealing body 602 is disposed within the inner valve body 604, and a first sealing element 605 is provided between the inner valve body and the receiving channel. The inner valve body 604 can be removed from the receiving channel (i.e., the outer valve body 601). Since the sealing body 602 is located within the inner valve body 604, it can be removed along with the inner valve body 604. This facilitates cleaning of the inner valve body 604, ensuring the cleanliness of the drain valve assembly 6 and reducing the impact of food residue on the sealing effect of the sealing body 602 on the drain outlet 6041. This ensures stable drainage and the hygiene of the cooking appliance. Simultaneously, the filter element 603 can be detachably connected, fixedly connected, or separately installed from the inner valve body 604. When the filter element 603 and the inner valve body 604 are detachably or fixedly connected, the user can remove the filter element 603 and the inner valve body 604 together for cleaning, which is easy to remove. When the filter element 603 and the inner valve body 604 are set separately, the user can remove the filter element 603 located above the inner valve body 604 first, and then remove the inner valve body 604. This also allows for the removal and cleaning of both components, improving the cleanliness of the entire drain valve assembly 6, reducing odor and drainage problems caused by clogging of the filter hole 60321, and ensuring the normal operation of the drainage function.

[0050] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1As shown, the pot body 2 is also provided with a sewage box cavity 201, and a sewage box 2011 is provided inside the sewage box cavity 201. The top of the sewage box 2011 is provided with a sewage outlet 2012 that connects to the drain valve assembly 6. The sewage box cavity 201 is provided with a water-blocking rib 202 around the sewage outlet 2012. In this way, the sewage box 2011 can receive the liquid discharged from the inner pot 1, so that the user can directly deal with the liquid discharged from the inner pot 1 and clean the sewage box 2011 through the sewage box 2011. The water-blocking rib 202 can prevent the liquid falling near the sewage outlet 2012 from splashing out to other places around the sewage outlet 2012, reducing the possibility of sewage leakage to other places, improving the cleanliness of other places inside the pot body 2, reducing the number of places that the user needs to clean, and ensuring the ease of use of the cooking appliance and its service life.

[0051] For any parts not mentioned in this application, existing technologies may be used or referenced.

[0052] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments.

[0053] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Various modifications and variations can be made to this application by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A cooking appliance with a drainable inner liner, comprising an inner liner, a pot body, a water tank, a pot lid, and a rice scoop, wherein the water tank supplies water to the inner liner through a water inlet channel, the inner liner is used for cooking and holding rice, and a drain valve assembly is provided protruding downwards from the bottom wall of the inner liner, characterized in that... The drain valve assembly includes an outer valve body, a sealing body, and a filter element. The filter element includes an mounting edge and a filter section with filter holes. The filter holes are open on the bottom wall of the inner liner. The mounting edge is arranged around the filter section. The inner surface of the bottom wall of the inner liner is provided with a mounting platform corresponding to the drain valve assembly. The mounting edge is fixed in place with the mounting platform. The top of the filter element is no more than 8mm higher than the inner surface of the bottom wall of the inner liner. A continuous rice scooping area is formed between the outer periphery of the mounting platform and the side wall of the inner liner. The width of the continuous rice scooping area is no less than the head of a rice scoop.

2. A cooking appliance with a drainage inner liner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spoon head includes a spoon top located in the middle, a rice-serving side for serving rice, and arc-shaped sides located on both sides of the spoon top. The spoon top and the arc-shaped sides abut against the bottom wall of the inner pot.

3. A cooking appliance with a drainage inner liner according to claim 2, characterized in that, The top of the spoon and / or the arc side abuts against the bottom wall of the inner liner in a point contact, or the top of the spoon and the arc side abut against the bottom wall of the inner liner in a line contact, the width of the line contact being less than the width of the filter section.

4. A cooking appliance with a drainage inner liner according to claim 2, characterized in that, In the vertical direction, when the top of the spoon abuts against the filter element on one side of the outer periphery of the filter section, the arc side is at least partially located above the filter section.

5. A cooking appliance with a drainage inner liner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner wall of the inner liner includes a flat bottom wall, a side wall, and an arc-shaped wall connecting the flat bottom wall and the side wall located on the outer periphery of the mounting platform. The continuous scooping area includes at least one of the flat bottom wall and the arc-shaped wall.

6. A cooking appliance with a drainage inner liner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer valve body is integrally formed with the bottom wall of the inner liner, and the mounting platform is located on the top of the outer valve body; or, the bottom wall of the inner liner is provided with a mounting hole, and the outer valve body is fixed in the mounting hole to cover the inner wall of the mounting hole.

7. A cooking appliance with a drainage inner liner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting platform is a ring-shaped recessed platform, and the mounting edge mates with the recessed platform. The mounting edge is flush with or lower than the bottom wall of the inner liner.

8. A cooking appliance with a drainage inner liner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The filter holes are of unequal diameter.

9. A cooking appliance with a drainage inner liner according to claim 7, characterized in that, The portion of the sealing body contacts the filter section to divide a portion of the filter hole into holes of unequal diameter.

10. A cooking appliance with a drainage inner liner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drain valve assembly further includes a receiving channel, which is integrally formed with the inner liner. The mounting platform is located on the top of the receiving channel. The receiving channel forms the outer valve body. The outer valve body has an inner valve body. The inner valve body has a drain port. The sealing body is located inside the inner valve body. A first sealing element is provided between the inner valve body and the receiving channel.

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