Rice cooker with lid and body control panels

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11178993-B2
Application number	US-201816110866-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 23, 2018
Priority date	Feb 9, 2018
Publication date	Nov 23, 2021
Grant date	Nov 23, 2021

Abstract

Disclosed is a cooking appliance that includes a cooker body assembly, a lid assembly, a weighing sensor, a first control panel, and a second control panel. The cooker body assembly includes a housing and an inner pot disposed inside the housing. The lid assembly can be opened and closed to cover the inner pot. The first control panel is disposed on the lid assembly, and the second control panel is disposed on the housing. The weighing sensor is electrically connected to the second control panel. According to this disclosure, the second control panel is disposed on the housing, so that the second control panel does not flip to the rear side together with the lid assembly when the lid assembly is opened to add food or water.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cooking appliance, comprising:
a cooker body assembly, further including a housing and an inner pot disposed inside the housing;
a lid assembly, being openable and closable to cover the inner pot;
a first control panel, disposed on the lid assembly, wherein the first control panel is provided with one or more cooking functional buttons and a functional display area, the one or more cooking functional buttons being configured to control the cooking appliance under a closed cover condition;
a second control panel, disposed on the housing, and including a display area; and
a weighing sensor, electrically connected to the second control panel, the second control panel being configured to control the weighing sensor to measure the weight of rice in the inner pot and further display the weight of the rice at the display area, wherein a top of the housing is provided with a protruding block, and the second control panel is fixedly disposed on a top surface of the protruding block, and wherein the first control panel is disposed on a top surface of the lid assembly, and the first control panel and the second control panel are flush with each other in a closed-lid state;
wherein the first control panel and the second control panel are configured to work simultaneously.

2. The cooking appliance according to claim 1 , wherein the second control panel is provided with a metering button, the cooking appliance further comprising a first signal processor, the first signal processor being electrically connected to the second control panel and configured to:
calculate the weight of the rice in the cooking appliance based on a current actual weight of the inner pot containing the rice and an initial weight of the inner pot;
determine a target amount of water to be added to the rice based on the weight of the rice, a type of the rice, and a cooking function; and
display the target amount of water through the display area.

3. The cooking appliance according to claim 2 , further comprising a first indicator, the first indicator being electrically connected to the first signal processor, the first signal processor being configured to activate the first indicator when an actual amount of water added is equal to the target amount of water.

4. The cooking appliance according to claim 2 , wherein the second control panel is further provided with a thermal calculation button, the cooking appliance further comprises a second signal processor, the second signal processor being electrically connected to the second control panel and configured to:
calculate calories of the rice based on the weight of the rice, the type of the rice, and the cooking function; and
display the calories of the rice through the display area.

5. The cooking appliance according to claim 4 , further comprising a second indicator, the second indicator being electrically connected to the second signal processor, the second signal processor being configured to activate the second indicator when the calories of the rice is greater than a preset threshold calorific value.

6. The cooking appliance according to claim 1 , wherein the cooking appliance is a rice cooker or an electric pressure cooker.

7. A cooking appliance, comprising:
a cooker body assembly, further including a housing and an inner pot disposed inside the housing;
a lid assembly, being openable and closable to cover the inner pot;
a first control panel, disposed on the lid assembly, the first control panel comprising one or more cooking functional buttons and a functional display area, wherein the one or more cooking functional buttons being configured to control cooking functions of the cooking appliance in a closed-lid state;
a second control panel, disposed on the housing and including a display area; and
a weighing sensor, electrically connected to the second control panel, the second control panel being configured to control the weighing sensor to measure the weight of rice in the inner pot and further display the weight of the rice at the display area, wherein the second control panel is provided with a metering button and a display area, the cooking appliance further comprising a first signal processor, the first signal processor being electrically connected to the second control panel and configured to:
calculate the weight of the rice in the cooking appliance based on a current actual weight of the inner pot containing the rice and an initial weight of the inner pot;
determine a target amount of water to be added to the rice based on the weight of the rice, a type of the rice, and a cooking function; and
display the target amount of water through the display area;

wherein the second control panel is further provided with a thermal calculation button, the cooking appliance further comprises a second signal processor, the second signal processor being electrically connected to the second control panel and configured to:
calculate calories of the rice based on the weight of the rice, the type of the rice, and the cooking function; and
display the calories of the rice through the display area; and

wherein the first control panel and the second control panel are configured to work simultaneously.

Assignees

• Foshan Shunde Midea Electrical Heating Appliances Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Zhou Yi
• Du Junfeng
• Li Guozhu
• Li Jingwen
• Li Fuyou
• Chen Peng
• Liao xiong
• Zhang Jiaying
• Zheng Hao

Classifications

• G01G19/414

  using electronic computing means only · CPC title

• A47J27/004 Primary

  with integral electrical heating means (drinking cups with integral heating means A47J36/2466) · CPC title

• G01G19/52

  Weighing apparatus combined with other objects, e.g. furniture (with walking sticks A45B3/08) · CPC title

• G01G19/56

  combined with handles of tools or household implements · CPC title

• A47J27/04

  for cooking food in steam; Devices for extracting fruit juice by means of steam {; Vacuum cooking vessels (steam-heated vessels for hotels, restaurants or canteens A47J27/16)} · CPC title