Rice cooker

Abstract

To provide a rice cooker in which the load of hinge springs can be adjusted.SOLUTION: A rice cooker 100 according to the present invention comprises a main body 1, a lid body 2 for covering an opening part of an upper surface of the main body 1, and hinge springs 13b and 13b for biasing the lid body 2 in an opening direction. One end of each of the hinge springs 13b and 13b is fixed to the lid body 2. The other end of each of the hinge springs 13b and 13b is locked in a second shaft reinforcing plate 72 provided in the main body 1. The load of the hinge springs 13b and 13b can be adjusted by moving the second shaft reinforcing plate 72.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rice cooker having a biasing means for biasing a lid in an opening direction. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a rice cooker of this type that has a pair of hinge springs at the hinge portion between the lid and the main body to quickly open the lid. In the rice cooker of Patent Document 1, one end of each of the pair of hinge springs is engaged with a rib erected inside the lid, and the other end of each is engaged with an engagement portion below the hinge portion of the main body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-37630 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In Patent Document 1, the opening operation of the lid varies depending on the variation in the load of the hinge spring, making it difficult to set the load of the hinge spring. Normally, when a product such as a rice cooker is manufactured, tests are performed on the product, such as a bounce test to check whether the bounce time, which is the time it takes for the lid to open completely, is completed within a predetermined time, such as within 3 seconds. Here, in Patent Document 1, since the load of the hinge spring cannot be adjusted, if the bounce time is not completed within the predetermined time, the lid parts must be removed, a hinge spring must be selected and replaced, and the lid parts must be reattached before the bounce test can be performed again, which increases the effort required for assembly.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice cooker in which the load of a hinge spring is adjustable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The rice cooker of the present invention comprises a main body, a lid body covering an opening on the top surface of the main body, and a hinge spring that biases the lid body in an opening direction, one end of the hinge spring being fixed to the lid body and the other end of the hinge spring being engaged with an adjustment portion provided on the main body, and the load of the hinge spring can be adjusted by moving the adjustment portion. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, since the force applied to the lid by the hinge spring can be adjusted even if the load of the hinge spring varies, variation in the opening operation of the lid can be suppressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a rice cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the load of the hinge spring and the position of the second shaft reinforcing plate. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main portion of frame E in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the main parts of the rice cooker as seen from the rear. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the main parts of the rice cooker from the rear with the hinge cover removed. [Figure 8] Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a main part of a hinge portion of a rice cooker showing a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the cooking device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, common parts are designated by common reference numerals throughout the drawings. EXAMPLES

[0010] 1 to 7 show a rice cooker 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Based on these drawings, the overall configuration of the rice cooker 100 according to this embodiment will be described as follows: 1 is a main body, which is generally rectangular in shape with the front and rear, left and right sides facing each other when viewed from above, and the top is open. In the following description, the front direction of the main body 1 is referred to as the front, the rear direction as the rear, the right side direction as the right, the left side direction as the left, the top direction as the top, and the bottom direction as the bottom. 2 is a lid body that covers the top opening of the main body 1 in an openable and closable manner, and like the main body 1, is generally rectangular in shape with the front and rear, left and right sides facing each other when viewed from above, and the top is generally flat. The main body 1 has an outer frame 6, which is an exterior part, and a pot housing section 3 with an open top, and when the lid body 2 is opened, a bottomed pot 4, which serves as a container for holding water and rice to be cooked, is detachably housed in the pot housing section 3. Pot accommodating portion 3 is configured by assembling a bowl-shaped resin inner frame 5 and other components, and is formed as a whole into a cylindrical shape with a bottom.

[0011] Pot 4 has a main material 7 made of aluminum with good thermal conductivity, and a heating element 8 made of a magnetic metal plate such as ferritic stainless steel joined to the outer surface of main material 7 from the lower side to the bottom. In addition, a heating coil 11 is provided on the outer surface of inner frame 5, which faces the lower side of pot 4 to the bottom, as a heating means for electromagnetic induction heating of heating element 8 of pot 4. When high-frequency current is supplied to heating coil 11, heating element 8 of pot 4 is heated by the alternating magnetic field generated by heating coil 11, and the food to be cooked in pot 4 is heated during cooking and keeping warm. In addition, a pot sensor 12 as a pot temperature detection means is disposed in the center of the bottom of inner frame 5 so as to come into elastic contact with the outer bottom of pot 4.

[0012] A steam vent 15 is provided on the top surface of the lid 2 to exhaust steam generated from the food being cooked in the pot 4 to the outside of the rice cooker 100. A lid operating body 14 (described later) serving as a lid opening means is provided on the front upper surface of the lid 2 in an exposed state.

[0013] In addition to the steam vent 15 and the lid operation body 14, a display operation unit 21 is provided on the top surface of the lid 2. The display operation unit 21 is mainly composed of a display means 22 consisting of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying various information related to rice cooking, an operation means (not shown) consisting of, for example, a touch sensor for starting rice cooking and selecting a rice cooking course, and a control PC (Printed Circuit) board 24 on which the display means 22, the operation means, and a control IC (not shown) for controlling each part of the display operation unit 21 are mounted. An operation panel 25 for protecting the display means 22, the operation means 23, and the control PC board 24 is disposed above the display operation unit 21.

[0014] The lid body 2 is composed of an outer lid 9, which is an exterior part, and an outer lid cover 10, which forms the lower part of the outer lid 9. A heat sink 27 made of metal such as stainless steel or aluminum that has been anodized is provided on the outer lid cover 10. An inner lid assembly 26 is disposed on the lower side of the lid body 2 as the lower part of the lid body 2. The inner lid assembly 26 is made of a metal material having a disk shape with approximately the same diameter as the upper opening of the pot 4, and includes an inner lid 28 that covers the upper opening of the pot 4, a lid packing 29 as an elastic member provided around the entire outer circumference of the inner lid 28 to seal the gap between the inner lid 28 and the pot 4, and a pressure adjusting part 30 that adjusts the internal pressure of the pot 4. The ring-shaped lid gasket 29 comes into contact with the upper surface, which is the opening of the pot 4, when the lid body 2 is closed as shown in Figure 1, thereby sealing the gap between the pot 4 and the inner lid 28 and sealing out the steam generated from the pot 4. The inner lid 28 is made of a metal such as stainless steel or aluminum that has been anodized, and is arranged on the outside of the heat sink 27.

[0015] Inside the lid 2, there are provided a lid heater 31 as a lid heating means for heating the inner lid 28, a thermistor-type lid temperature sensor 32 for controlling the temperature of the inner lid 28 by the lid heater 31, and a damper 39 for slowing down the opening speed of the lid 2 when it is opened. Inside the lid 2, there is formed a steam exhaust path 33 that connects the steam port 15 and the pressure adjustment part 30 as a passage for releasing steam generated in the pot 4 to the outside.

[0016] The pressure adjusting unit 30 is provided with a pressure adjusting valve 34 that opens and closes a steam exhaust path 33 between the inside of the pot 4 and the steam port 15. The pressure adjusting valve 34 is ball-shaped and works in conjunction with a solenoid 35 provided inside the lid 2. The solenoid 35 rotates the pressure adjusting valve 34 so that when steam in the pot 4 is to be released to the outside, the steam exhaust path 33 is opened, and when the inside of the pot 4 is to be pressurized or depressurized, the steam exhaust path 33 is closed. When pressurizing, the food to be cooked in the pot 4 is heated by high-frequency current flowing through the heating coil 11, the food boils and generates steam, and when the internal pressure of the pot 4 reaches a predetermined value due to the steam filling the pot 4, the steam exhaust path 33 is opened against the weight of the pressure adjusting valve 34, thereby maintaining the pressure in the pot 4 at or above atmospheric pressure.

[0017] Reference numeral 42 denotes a unitized heating board assembly that is disposed inside the main body 1 and includes heating control means 43. The heating control means 43 is configured to include a microcomputer (microcomputer) equipped with a control IC such as a CPU, a readable and writable memory that stores various information and data, a timer that can measure the time related to cooking, and the like, in order to electrically control each part of the rice cooker 100 in combination with the display operation unit 21, and electrically controls each part of the rice cooker 100. Specifically, the heating board assembly 42 is connected to the display operation unit 21, and the heating control means 43 receives each temperature detection signal from the pan sensor 12 and the lid temperature sensor 32, outputs a heating control signal to the heating coil 11 and the lid heater 31, respectively, and outputs a drive control signal to the solenoid 35 that operates the pressure regulating valve 34.

[0018] Reference numeral 13 denotes a hinge portion, which has a hinge shaft 13a provided at the rear lower part of the lid 2, and a hinge spring 13b formed of a coil spring or the like and provided at the upper rear part of the main body 1. When a lid operating body 14 provided on the front upper surface of the lid 2 is pushed, the engagement between the main body 1 and the lid 2 is released, and the lid 2 is opened by the hinge spring 13b, with the hinge shaft 13a as the rotation center.

[0019] Furthermore, a hinge cover 13c is attached to the rear of the hinge portion 13, and the hinge cover 13c is configured to be flush with the outer frame 6 and the outer lid 9. Therefore, the outer shape of the rice cooker 100 is formed by the outer frame 6, the outer lid 9, and the hinge cover 13c.

[0020] The hinge shaft 13a supports the main body 1 and the lid 2 so that they can be opened and closed freely, and the hinge spring 13b is engaged with the outer lid cover 10 and constantly urges the lid 2 in the opening direction. A clamp 40 that operates in conjunction with the lid operating body 14 is disposed on the substantially opposite side of the hinge shaft 13a, which serves as the rotation center of the lid 2, and this clamp 40 is supported on the outer lid cover 10 by a clamp shaft 41. A clamp receiver (not shown) that engages with a clamp 42 is provided on the substantially opposite side of the outer frame 6 from the hinge portion 31.

[0021] Clamp 40 provided on lid 2 rotates around clamp shaft 41 as a central axis and engages with a clamp receiver provided on main body 1. This engagement between clamp 40 and the clamp receiver maintains main body 1 and lid 2 in a closed state. On the other hand, when lid 2 is to be opened, lid operating body 14 is pushed to rotate clamp 40 in the opposite direction, thereby releasing the engagement between clamp 40 and the clamp receiver.

[0022] Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of hinge portion 13, and Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of hinge portion 13. With reference to these drawings, reference numeral 51 denotes a metal first shaft reinforcing plate attached to the rear of frame plate 3a which forms the opening at the top of pot accommodating portion 3. First shaft reinforcing plate 51 has approximately the same thickness and is approximately U-shaped with both ends bent upward, and is mainly composed of a reinforcing plate main body 51a and bearing portions 51b, 51b formed to extend vertically from the left and right edges of reinforcing plate main body 51a.

[0023] Bearing portion 51b supports hinge shaft 13a as a bearing together with bearing portion 81 described later, and has a bearing body 53 and stoppers 54 bent outwardly to the left and right from the rear edge of bearing body 53. Bearing body 53 is provided with screw holes 56 into which fixing screws 55 can be screwed, and through holes 57 having a hole diameter substantially the same as the shaft diameter of hinge shaft 13a.

[0024] The reinforcing plate main body 51a has an adjustment plate slide portion 61 with the center recessed downward, a fixing screw fastening portion 62 formed to extend vertically upward from the front edge of the adjustment plate slide portion 61, and an adjustment screw receiving portion 63 formed to extend vertically downward from the center of the rear edge of the adjustment plate slide portion 61.

[0025] The adjustment plate slide portion 61 is formed so that the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 described later can slide in the load direction of the hinge spring 13b, i.e., the front-rear direction F, and the shape of the adjustment plate slide portion 61 as viewed from above, i.e., the shape of the bottom surface of the portion recessed downward by the reinforcing plate main body 51a, is formed to be substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the reinforcing plate main body 72a of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72. The depth of the adjustment plate slide portion 61 is substantially the same as the thickness of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72, and is formed so that when the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 is attached to the adjustment plate slide portion 61, the surface of the reinforcing plate main body 51a other than the adjustment plate slide portion 61 and the upper surface of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 are flush with each other.

[0026] Approximately at the center of the adjustment plate sliding portion 61, insertion holes 64, 64 are provided which are through holes into which one end of the hinge spring 13b can be inserted when the hinge spring 13b is attached to the hinge portion 13. The same number of insertion holes 64, 64 are provided as the number of hinge springs 13b, and since two hinge springs 13b are provided in this embodiment, two insertion holes 64, 64 are also provided. In this embodiment, the insertion holes 64, 64 are provided in a rectangular shape with sides approximately parallel to the load direction of the hinge springs 13b, but this is just one example.

[0027] The fixing screw fastening portion 62 is provided with through holes 65, 65 into which a fixing screw 55 can be inserted, and an insertion hole 66 into which a guide plate portion 72b of the second shaft reinforcement plate 72, which will be described later, can be inserted. The fixing screw fastening portion 62 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 and the screw receiving portion 84 of the frame plate 3a are fastened together by the screw 55, thereby fixing the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 to the frame plate 3a. In this embodiment, the through holes 65, 65 are formed slightly larger than the shaft diameter of the screw 55, and no thread is provided on the inside, but this is an example. The insertion hole 66 is formed so that the guide plate portion 72b can move in the front-rear direction F. In this embodiment, the height of the insertion hole 66 is formed to be approximately the same as the thickness of the guide plate portion 72b, i.e., the thickness of the second shaft reinforcement plate 72, and the lower portion of the insertion hole 66 also extends to the reinforcement plate main body 51a, and the width of the insertion hole 66 is formed to be approximately the same as the width of the guide plate portion 72b. Therefore, the guide plate portion 72b can be inserted into the insertion hole 66 at an angle in the vertical direction, and then the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 can be positioned relative to the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 by arranging the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 on the adjustment plate slide portion 61.In addition, when adjusting the position using the adjustment screw 71 described later, the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 can be prevented from shifting upward or left / right.

[0028] The adjustment screw receiving portion 63 is provided with an adjustment hole 67, which is a through-hole into which an adjustment screw 71 for adjusting the position of the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 can be screwed, and this screw 71 makes it possible to adjust the distance between the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 and the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 in the front-rear direction F. In this embodiment, the adjustment hole 67 is provided approximately in the center of the adjustment screw receiving portion 63, but this is just one example.

[0029] 72 is a metal second shaft reinforcing plate formed as an adjustment plate capable of adjusting the load of the hinge spring 13b. The second shaft reinforcing plate 72 has a substantially uniform thickness and includes a reinforcing plate main body 72a, a guide plate portion 72b formed so as to extend forward from the center of the front edge of the reinforcing plate main body 72a, and an adjustment screw fastening portion 72c formed so as to extend vertically downward from the center of the rear edge of the reinforcing plate main body 72a. In this embodiment, the adjustment screw fastening portion 72c is formed so as to extend horizontally from the rear edge of the reinforcing plate main body 72a, for example, only the second shaft reinforcing plate 72, and is formed so as to extend vertically downward from there, so as to be formed in a so-called inverted L-shape, and is configured so that when the adjustment screw fastening portion 72c is moved forward until it abuts against the adjustment screw receiving portion 63, the outer shape of the reinforcing plate main body 72a and the adjustment plate slide portion 61 completely overlap, but this is just one example.

[0030] The reinforcing plate body 72a is provided, at approximately the center thereof, with insertion holes 74, 74 which are through holes into which one end of the hinge spring 13b can be inserted when the hinge spring 13b is attached to the hinge portion 13, and spring receiving portions 75, 75 which are formed so as to extend vertically downward from the edge portion forming the rear side of the insertion holes 74, 74. The number of insertion holes 74, 74 and the spring receiving portions 75, 75 are provided in the same number as the number of the hinge springs 13b, and in this embodiment, two of each of the insertion holes 74, 74 and the spring receiving portions 75, 75 are provided. In this embodiment, the spring receiving portions 75 are formed so as to extend linearly downward, but may be formed so that the longitudinal section is curved so that the contact surface with the hinge spring 13b bulges forward.

[0031] 2, the insertion hole 74 in this embodiment is formed to be slightly larger than the insertion hole 64 of the first shaft reinforcing plate 51, and the width of the spring receiving portion 75 is formed to be substantially the same as that of the insertion hole 64, so that the spring receiving portion 75 can move in the front-rear direction F along the left and right sides of the rectangular insertion hole 64. The position of the insertion hole 74 in the reinforcing plate main body 72a is substantially the same as the position of the insertion hole 64 in the adjustment plate sliding portion 61 of the first shaft reinforcing plate 51 in the left-right direction, and is provided forward of the position of the insertion hole 64 by a distance D in the front-rear direction, as shown in FIG. With this configuration, when the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 is attached to the adjustment plate slide portion 61 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 and moved forward until the adjustment screw fixing portion 72c abuts against the adjustment screw receiving portion 63 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51, the abutment surface of the spring receiving portion 75 with the hinge spring 13b is located a distance D forward from the rear edge of the insertion hole 64, so that the position of the spring receiving portion 75 can be moved rearward by the distance D minus the thickness of the spring receiving portion 75.

[0032] The guide plate portion 72b is inserted into the insertion hole 66 to guide the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 so as not to deviate left / right or upward from the front / rear direction F when the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 is moved in the front / rear direction F by the adjustment screw 71, and is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape. Note that the length of the guide plate portion 72b in the front / rear direction is preferably longer than the distance D, so that there is no risk of the guide plate portion 72b coming out of the insertion hole 66 even when the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 is moved to the rearmost position by the adjustment screw 71.

[0033] The adjustment screw stopper portion 72c is provided with an adjustment hole 76, which is a through-hole screw hole into which the adjustment screw 71 can be screwed. The adjustment hole 76 is formed so as to be in line with the adjustment hole 67 formed in the adjustment screw receiving portion 63 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 when the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 is attached to the adjustment plate slide portion 61 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51, and one screw 71 is screwed into the adjustment hole 76 of the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 and the adjustment hole 67 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51. Note that the adjustment hole 76 may be formed slightly larger than the shaft diameter of the screw 71, and no thread may be provided on the inside of the adjustment hole 76.

[0034] Reference numerals 81, 81 denote a pair of bearings provided to extend upward at the rear of the frame plate 3a. The bearing 81 is formed to have substantially the same shape as the bearing body 53 of the first shaft reinforcing plate 51, and a through hole 82 for the fixing screw 55 is provided at a position corresponding to the screw hole 56 of the bearing body 53, and a through hole 83 for the hinge shaft 13a is provided at a position corresponding to the through hole 57 of the bearing body 53. Here, the through hole 82 is formed to be slightly larger than the shaft diameter of the screw 55, and no thread is provided on the inside of the adjustment hole 76, and the through hole 83 is formed to have a hole diameter substantially the same as the shaft diameter of the hinge shaft 13a. The spacing between the bearing portions 81, 81 is formed to be approximately the same as the width of the first shaft reinforcing plate 51, i.e., the width of the reinforcing plate main body 51a, and the first shaft reinforcing plate 51 can be positioned and fixed by tightening the through holes 82, 82 and the screw holes 56, 56 of the bearing portion main body 53 together with the screws 55, 55.

[0035] Reference numeral 84 denotes a screw receiving portion provided at the rear of the frame plate 3a so as to extend upward. The screw receiving portion 84 has screw holes 85, 85, and is fastened together with the fixing screw fastening portion 62 of the first shaft reinforcing plate 51 by a screw 55 to fix the first shaft reinforcing plate 51 to the frame plate 3a. It is preferable that the first shaft reinforcing plate 51 is fixed to the frame plate 3a at a position where the guide plate portion 72b of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 is not interfered with by the frame plate 3a when the guide plate portion 72b is inserted into the insertion hole 66 of the first shaft reinforcing plate 51, and for example, it is preferable that the first shaft reinforcing plate 51 is fixed to the frame plate 3a so that the position of the insertion hole 66 is lower than the lower surface of the frame plate 3a.

[0036] When assembling the hinge portion 13, first the first shaft reinforcing plate 51 is inserted between the bearing portions 81, 81 of the frame plate 3a, and inserted forward until both stoppers 54 abut the rear edges of the bearing portions 81, 81. Then, when the bearing portion bodies 53, 53 of the first shaft reinforcing plate 51 and the bearing portions 81, 81 are aligned so that they completely overlap, the screw holes 82, 82 of the bearing portions 81, 81 are aligned to overlap the screw holes 56, 56 of the bearing portions 51b, 51b, and the through holes 83, 83 of the bearing portions 81, 81 are aligned to overlap the through holes 57, 57 of the bearing portions 51b, 51b. Then, the through holes 65, 65 of the fixing screw fastening portion 62 and the screw holes 85, 85 of the screw receiving portion 84 are aligned to overlap, and the bearing portion main body 53, 53 and the bearing portion 81, 81 are fastened together with the screw 55, and the fixing screw fastening portion 62 and the screw receiving portion 84 are fastened together to fix the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 to the frame plate 3a.

[0037] Next, the guide plate portions 72b, 72b of the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 are inserted into the insertion holes 66, 66 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51, and the spring receiving portions 75, 75 of the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 are inserted into the insertion holes 64, 64 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51, thereby attaching the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 to the adjustment plate slide portion 61 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51. At this time, the adjustment hole 76 of the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 and the adjustment hole 67 of the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 are aligned in a straight line, and the adjustment screw 71 is screwed into the adjustment hole 76 and the adjustment hole 67 to align the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 and the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 in the front-rear direction F. At this time, as shown in Figure 4 (B), it is preferable to align the first shaft reinforcement plate 51 and the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 so that the spring support portions 75, 75 are located near the center of the gap D, and the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 can be moved either forward or backward in the fore-and-aft direction F for adjustment.

[0038] Thereafter, one end of the hinge springs 13b is inserted into the insertion hole 66 of the first shaft reinforcing plate 51, and the hinge shaft 13a is arranged to pass through the through hole 83 of the bearing portion 81, the through hole 57 of the bearing portion 51b, and the coil portion of the hinge spring 13b. When the other end of the hinge springs 13b is fixed to a fixing portion (not shown) provided on the lid 2, one end of the hinge springs 13b abuts against the spring receiving portion 75 of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72, and one end of the hinge springs 13b is locked to the spring receiving portion 75, and the load of the hinge springs 13b is applied to the lid 2 with the abutting point as a spring fulcrum, urging the lid 2 in the opening direction. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, hinge spring 13b and spring receiving portion 75 are in point contact with each other.

[0039] Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the main parts of rice cooker 100 seen from the rear, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the main parts of rice cooker 100 seen from the rear with hinge cover 13c removed. Adjustment of the load of hinge springs 13b, 13b of hinge portion 13 will be described with reference to Figs. 4, 6 and 7. Hinge cover 13c is attached to the rear of main body 1 using fixing screw 91, and hinge cover 13c can be removed from the rear of main body 1 by removing screw 91.

[0040] 7, when hinge cover 13c is removed, hinge portion 13 can be seen. As described above, adjustment screw receiving portion 63 of first shaft reinforcement plate 51 and adjustment screw fastening portion 72c of second shaft reinforcement plate 72 are provided to be located approximately in the center at the rear of hinge portion 13, so that when hinge cover 13c is removed, adjustment screws 71 threaded into adjustment holes 76 and 67 can be easily accessed from the rear of main body 1, and a tool such as a screwdriver can be inserted straight in.

[0041] Next, the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b is adjusted by the adjustment screw 71. Here, when the adjustment screw 71 is adjusted in a tightening direction, for example, the state shown in FIG. 4(B) changes to the state shown in FIG. 4(C), and the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 moves forward. On the other hand, when the adjustment screw 71 is adjusted in a loosening direction, for example, the state shown in FIG. 4(B) changes to the state shown in FIG. 4(A), and the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 moves backward. At this time, the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 moves while being guided along both side surfaces of the adjustment plate slide portion 61, the guide plate portion 72b of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 moves while being guided along the insertion hole 66, and the spring receiving portions 75, 75 of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 move while being guided along the left and right sides of the insertion holes 64, 64, so that the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 can move in the front-rear direction F.

[0042] When the load of the hinge springs 13b is weak, moving the spring receiving portions 75 of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 forward moves the ends of the hinge springs 13b in the winding direction, so that adjustment can be made toward state B, where the load of the hinge springs 13b is stronger. On the other hand, when the load of the hinge springs 13b is strong, moving the spring receiving portions 75 of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 backward moves the ends of the hinge springs 13b in the opposite direction to the winding direction, so that adjustment can be made toward state A, where the load of the hinge springs 13b is weaker. In this way, since the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b can be adjusted without removing the parts of the lid body 2, the time until the lid body 2 is opened can be easily adjusted, for example, in a jump-up test of the lid body 2, and since there is no need to remove the parts of the lid body 2, the weight of the lid body 2 does not change, and even if the hinge cover 13c is attached after adjusting the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b, the time until the lid body 2 is opened does not change, so the time until the lid body 2 is opened can be adjusted more precisely while visually checking the opening speed of the lid body 2. Furthermore, since the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b is adjusted not by moving the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 in stages but by moving the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 with the adjustment screw 71, the moving distance of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 can be finely adjusted, and the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b can be adjusted more precisely.

[0043] As described above, the rice cooker 100 of this embodiment comprises the main body 1, the lid body 2 covering the opening on the top surface of the main body 1, and the hinge springs 13b, 13b that bias the lid body 2 in the opening direction, one end of the hinge springs 13b, 13b is fixed to the lid body 2 and the other end of the hinge springs 13b, 13b is engaged with the spring receiving portions 75, 75 of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 that serves as an adjustment portion provided on the hinge portion 13 of the main body 1, and the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b can be adjusted by moving the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 in the forward / backward direction F.

[0044] By configuring it in this manner, the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b can be adjusted without removing any parts of the lid body 2, so the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b can be easily adjusted, and since the time until the lid body 2 opens does not change after adjusting the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b, the time until the lid body 2 opens can be adjusted more precisely.

[0045] In addition, in the rice cooker 100 of this embodiment, an adjustment screw 71 is screwed into the second shaft reinforcement plate 72, and the second shaft reinforcement plate 72 moves by rotating the adjustment screw 71. This allows fine adjustment of the movement distance of the second shaft reinforcement plate 72, and enables more precise adjustment of the load on the hinge springs 13b, 13b. EXAMPLES

[0046] 8 and 9 show a rice cooker 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which a plurality of hinge springs 13b, 13b and a plurality of second shaft reinforcing plates 72 are provided.

[0047] Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of the hinge portion 13', and Fig. 9 shows an exploded view of the hinge portion 13'. Referring to these drawings, in the hinge portion 13' of this embodiment, the same number of second shaft reinforcing plates 72' as the number of hinge springs 13b are provided, and in the cases of Figs. 8 and 9, two are provided. Note that the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, when there are three or four hinge springs 13b, the same number of second shaft reinforcing plates 72' are also provided, for example, three or four.

[0048] Each of the second shaft reinforcing plates 72' has a reinforcing plate body 72'a, a guide plate portion 72'b, and an adjustment screw fastening portion 72'c, and an insertion hole 74' is provided approximately in the center of each of the reinforcing plate bodies 72'a.

[0049] The first shaft reinforcing plate 51 has the same number of insertion holes 64, 64 as the second shaft reinforcing plate 72', and is provided to correspond to the positions of the insertion holes 74', 74' of the second shaft reinforcing plates 72', 72'. The same number of adjustment screw receiving portions 63' as the second shaft reinforcing plate 72' are also provided, and are provided to correspond to the positions of the adjustment screw fastening portions 72'c, 72'c of the second shaft reinforcing plates 72', 72'. The insertion holes 66' of the fixing screw fastening portions 62 are formed so that the guide plate portion 72'b of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72' disposed at the very end can move in the front-rear direction F. For example, in this embodiment, the guide plate portions 72'b of the left and right second shaft reinforcing plates 72' are formed so that they can move in the front-rear direction F.

[0050] With this configuration, when adjusting the loads of the hinge springs 13b, 13b of the hinge portion 13, the loads of the hinge springs 13b can be adjusted independently, and the loads of the hinge springs 13b, 13b can be adjusted more precisely.

[0051] As described above, the rice cooker 100 of this embodiment is configured to have multiple hinge springs 13b, 13b and multiple second shaft reinforcing plates 72', 72', so that the load of each hinge spring 13b can be adjusted independently, and the load of the hinge springs 13b, 13b can be adjusted more precisely.

[0052] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 serving as an adjustment part may be provided below the tip of one end of the hinge spring 13b to lock the tip. In this case, the spring receiving part 75 of the second shaft reinforcing plate 72 may be formed to extend vertically upward to lock the tip of one end of the hinge spring 13b. In the first and second embodiments, the position in the front-rear direction F of the end of the hinge spring 13b locked to the hinge part 13 side is adjustable, but the second shaft reinforcing plate may be provided as an adjustment part on the lid body 2 side to adjust the position in the winding direction of the end of the hinge spring 13b locked to the lid body 2 side. The numerical values ​​exemplified in the embodiments are merely examples, and may be appropriately changed according to the specifications of the rice cooker 100. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1 Main unit 2 Lid 13b Hinge spring 71 Adjustment screw (screw) 72 Second shaft reinforcement plate (adjustment part) 100 Rice Cooker

Claims

1. The main body, A cover for covering an opening on the top surface of the main body; A hinge spring that biases the lid in an opening direction, One end of the hinge spring is fixed to the lid, The other end of the hinge spring is engaged with an adjustment portion provided on the main body, A rice cooker characterized in that the load of the hinge spring can be adjusted by moving the adjustment part.

2. A screw is screwed into the adjustment portion, The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment portion is moved by rotating the screw.

3. 3. The rice cooker according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the hinge springs and a plurality of the adjustment portions are provided.

Images