Abstract:
The present invention relates to a domestic porridge making appliance in which pulverizing means to pulverize ingredients of porridge such as various kinds of grains and vegetables, and heating means are formed in a single body for preparing porridge with ease. The present invention in which the appliance comprises a cylindrical vessel having the upper surface open for inputting predetermined amount of water and a vessel grip installed at suitable place thereof for handling; a motor having pulverizing cutters at the end of a rotation shaft capable of being embedded into the lower part of said vessel wherein the lower part may be in the form corresponding to the open upper surface of said vessel; a heat for heating said predetermined amount of water at the outer part of said milling cutters; and a driving part placed within said lower part for controlling said motor and said heater is characterized in that an insertion groove in the shape of ring is formed to fix the upper part of said vessel with insertion at the lower periphery surface of said driving part, a plurality of protrusions are formed in the shape of a curved surface at inner circumference of the upper surface of said vessel, a insertion protrusion in shape of ring is formed for inserting into said insertion groove at the upper surface of said vessel, and a projecting step has a curved surface to contact the curved surface of said protrusion formed at the inner circumference of said insertion groove at the outer circumference of said insertion protrusion. The present invention may supply means for cooking porridge in easier and more convenient way than a known appliance and also may shorten the time consumed for making porridge.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a domestic porridge making appliance, and more particularly to a domestic porridge making appliance in which a pulverizing means for pulverizing all kinds of grains like rice as one of main ingredients of the porridge together with various vegetables and a heating means for heating water and porridge ingredients are formed integrally with each other, thereby making it possible to prepare porridge in a more convenient way.  
         [0002]     Generally, porridge is widely used for food use of patients who are ill or are in a recovering stage, for the health of old people or children, for stimulating people&#39;s appetite when they have a poor appetite, and sometimes for famine-relieving product at a time of want of food. From this viewpoint, therefore, the porridge is a basic form in cooking grains.  
         [0003]     The kinds of porridge are rice porridge, rice and milk mixed porridge, nut porridge (porridge made of rice and pine nuts, sesame, walnuts, jujubes, dried chestnuts or the like), green beans or other porridge (porridge made of beans, red beans, mung beans, barley, unripe barley or the like), sea food porridge (porridge made of raw oysters, abalones, mussels, clams or the like), and meat porridge (porridge made of a variety of birds and meats or porridge made of beef and mussels).  
         [0004]     In addition to the above mentioned kinds of porridge, there are porridges that are made of starch powder and Job&#39;s tears, lotus roots, water chestnuts, arrowroots, yams or the like, which gives extraordinary tastes, diet effects, and medical effects. And there are porridges that are made of rice and various vegetables like bean sprouts, mallows, dried radish leaves or the like, which is cooked for stimulating poor appetites.  
         [0005]     Referring to the process of making porridge as used conventionally, grains like rice are heated with an amount of water in the range of 6 to 7 times with respect to the rice amount until the grains become thick. For example, rice is put and cooked in water made by boiling and straining mung beans or red beans, rice is put and cooked in the water made by boiling and grinding beans, and rice powder is mixed with all kinds of nut powder and cooked with the addition of water. In case of meat porridge, also, meat is minced, seasoned and roasted and then, rice is put and cooked with the roasted meat, or rice is put and cooked in soup that is made after well boiling and cooked with the very small pieces of meat.  
         [0006]     However, the conventional porridge making method requires a relatively long period of time in keeping the grains or vegetables soaked in water, and it is inconvenient to keep porridge stirred, while being boiled in order not to make it scorched. In addition, in the case where the time for making the grains soaked in water is erroneously manipulated or where the amount of water is erroneously put, there is a problem that the taste of the porridge is not good.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art.  
         [0008]     An object of the present invention is to provide a domestic porridge making appliance and a method for making porridge by using the same that is capable of making porridge in more convenient and easier ways and substantially reducing the time required in making the porridge as compared with conventional methods.  
         [0009]     According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a domestic porridge making appliance in which the appliance comprises a generally cylindrical cooking vessel into which a predetermined amount of water and porridge ingredients are put and having an upper side opened and a vessel handle grip formed at one side thereof for moving the cooking vessel; a driving part having a lower surface formed to correspond to the opened upper side of the cooking vessel, a motor disposed on the bottom surface thereof in such a manner as to be inserted into the inside of the cooking vessel wherein the motor having a pulverizing blade connected to an end of a rotating shaft thereof, a heater formed at the outside of the pulverizing blade for heating the water in the cooking vessel, and a controller formed at the inside thereof for controlling the motor and the heater, is characterized in that at the lower part of the peripheral surface of said driving part a ring type of insertion groove is formed for inserting and thereby fixing the upper part of said cooking vessel wherein at the inner surface of said insertion groove a plurality of protrusion pieces is in a form with curved surface, and at the upper surface of said cooking vessel a ring type of insertion protrusion is formed wherein at the outer surface of said insertion protrusion a plurality of protrusion step is in a form with a curved surface which contacts the curved surface of said protrusion piece formed at the inner surface of said insertion groove.  
         [0010]     According to other embodiment of the present invention, the appliance is characterized in that a dented insertion groove is formed where each of said protrusion piece is formed to insert each of said protrusion step; and as counterpart another insertion groove is formed where each of said protrusion step is formed to insert each of said protrusion piece.  
         [0011]     According to another embodiment of the present invention, an opening/closing switch is installed at said insert groove to detect the combination of said driving part and said cooking vessel.  
         [0012]     According to a further embodiment of the present invention, said opening/closing switch contacts a sense installed at the upper part of said cooking vessel when said driving part is coupled with said cooking vessel.  
         [0013]     According to still a further embodiment of the present invention, said d protrusion pieces and protrusion steps are three, respectively. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the appliance of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the top surface of the appliance according to the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the internal structure of the appliance according to the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the opening-closing structure of the appliance according to the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view of an opening-closing structure of the appliance according to the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of the configuration of the appliance according to the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 8  is a flow-chart showing the operation order of the appliance according to the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 9  is a flowchart showing the process of making porridge by using the domestic porridge making appliance of this invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0024]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.  
         [0025]     The terms used in the present invention are defined in accordance with the functions made in the present invention, which may be varied according to the intention or practices of those people who work in the art, and therefore, it should be understood that they do not limit the technical components of the present invention.  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 , as shown, a domestic porridge making appliance  1  according to the present invention includes a driving part  100  in which a motor  125  and a controller  113  are housed, for pulverizing porridge ingredients (e.g., grains like soaked rice, beans, vegetables, meat, sea food and so on) and a cooking vessel  300  into which the porridge ingredients and water are put and pulverized by the driving part  100  detachably mounted thereto.  
         [0027]     The driving part  100  includes an upper housing  110  that has a generally a cylindrical shape of appearance opened on the bottom surface thereof with a stepped protrusion at the top side thereof, the upper housing having the controller  113  mounted at an inside thereof, and a lower housing  120  that is coupled to the opened portion of the upper housing  110  and has the motor  125  mounted downwardly thereto.  
         [0028]     The upper housing  110  is provided with a handle grip  111 ,  111   a  for moving the driving part  100  and the cooking vessel  300  on the rear and the top surface thereof, and with the controller  113  in which a timer  113   a  is disposed for controlling each part of the domestic porridge making appliance  1  as time goes by, at the inside thereof. A power supply  115  is installed at the outer surface of the upper housing  100  for supplying power the motor  125  and the controller, and a wind outlet  116  may be formed at the top surface of the upper housing  100  to discharge heat from the controller  113  and the motor  125 .  
         [0029]     The handle grip  111  installed at the top surface of the upper housing  110  can be rotated for being folded in no use, and a hanging groove  111   b  may be formed at the lower part of the handle grip  111   a  placed at the upper housing  110  for inserting and fixing a hanging protrusion  305  formed at a handle grip  306  of the cooking vessel  300 .  
         [0030]     The control panel  112  includes function a selection button  112   a  for selecting grain porridge, meat porridge, vegetable porridge or sea food porridge, a reservation button  112   b  for reserving operation time, a heating button  112   c  for keeping the prepared porridge warm at a predetermined temperature, a cleaning button  112   d  for cleaning the appliance by itself after making the porridge, and emitting diodes  112   b ′,  112   c ′,  112   d ′ for showing the setting of the buttons  112   b ,  112   c ,  112   d , respectively may be installed at one side of the cleaning button  112   d , and a display  112   e  on which time passed or time left during reservation, heating or making the porridge is displayed.  
         [0031]     So as to prepare porridge, in the case where the selection button  112   a  is pressed by a user, light emitting diodes  112   f  indicating the grain porridge, the meat porridge, the vegetable porridge and the sea food porridge, and disposed at one side of the selection button  112   a  start to generate the light sequentially, and as the selection button  112   a , the reservation button  112   b , the heating button  112   c  and the cleaning button  112   d  are pressed by the user, the time passed or the time left is displayed on the display  112   e.    
         [0032]     The lower housing  120  has an upper side opened to correspond with the opened bottom side of the upper housing  110  and has a staged protrusion  121  formed at the lower side of the opened upper surface thereof, the staged protrusion  121  adapted to be coupled to a generally cylindrical motor mounting part  124  into which the motor  125  is disposed. On the outer surface of the staged protrusion  121  a ring type of insertion groove  121   a  into which the upper part of the cooking vessel  300  is inserted to fix may be formed, while on the inner surface of the staged protrusion  121  a protrusion piece  128  which is installed with insertion into a protrusion step  314  formed at the outer surface of a insertion protrusion  312  that is formed at the upper part of the cooking vessel  300  may be formed, as described in the following.  
         [0033]     The motor mounting part  124  has a rotating shaft  126  extended downwardly from the motor  125 , and the rotating shaft  126  has a pulverizing blade  127  mounted at the end portion thereof wherein the pulverizing blade  127  serves to pulverize the porridge ingredients to a predetermined size. A heater  122  may be installed extendedly downwardly at one side of the staged protrusion  121  for boiling the porridge ingredients by means of heating water into the cooking vessel  300 , and a sensor  123  may be installed at other side of the staged protrusion  121  to detect the amount of water, the temperature of the porridge ingredients and generation of bubble. An opening/closing switch  114  may be installed to detect the coupling condition of the cooking vessel  300  at the insertion groove  121   a , and a protection cover  129  made of stainless material may be mounted at the outer surface of the staged protrusion  121  and the motor mounting part  124 . The cooking vessel  300  takes a generally cylindrical shape and has an opened upper portion for mounting the driving part  100  therein. The cooking vessel  300  includes an inner tank  302  that is provided at the inside thereof, an outer tank  304  that is coupled to the outside of the inner tank  302  to thereby form an outer appearance thereof. In this case, the inner tank  302  is made of stainless metal or synthetic resin having excellent strength and heat-resistance properties with the top part open, the end of upper part of the inner tank  302  is closely contacted with the outer tank  304  to be fixed air-tightly, at on side of the open upper part a discharging groove  302   a  may be formed for discharging the contents of the inner tank  302 , and the inner tank  302  may be spaced to form a volume part  303  for heat insulation. The upper surface of the outer tank  304  made from synthetic resin may be a counterpart to the lower part of the driving part  100 , and the outer tank  304  comprises a upper outer tank  310  having a ring type of insertion protrusion  312 , which is coupled with the insertion groove  121   a  placed at the lower surface of the driving part  100  by inserting, a middle outer tank  320  made from stainless material and connected to the lower part of the upper outer tank  320  forming the outer surface of the outer tank  304 , and a lower outer tank  330  coupled to the lower part of the middle outer tank  320  to support the outer tank  304  as well as to stabilize the middle outer tank  320 . Coupling grooves  310   a ,  330   a  are formed at the lower part of the upper outer tank  310  and the upper part of the lower outer tank  330  to insert the upper part and lower part of the middle outer tank  304 , respectively, and a handle grip  306  may be secured to treat the cooking vessel  300  at the outer surface of the upper outer tank  310  and the lower outer tank  330 . A hanging protrusion  306   a  may be installed over the handle grip  306  for avoiding the rotation of the driving part  100  around the cooking vessel  300  by being supported with a extension spring  306   b  wherein the hanging protrusion  306   a  is inserted into a hanging groove  111   b  formed at the lower surface of a handle grip  111   a  in the side surface of the driving part  100 . A sensor part  315  may be provided at the upper surface of a insertion protrusion  312 , which is formed on the upper surface of the upper outer tank  310 , for operating the opening-closing switch  114  in manner to be adjacent to the opening-closing switch  114  placed on the lower surface of the driving part  100 . At the both sides of the sensor  315  a dented groove  317  may be formed along the upper surface of the insertion groove  312  for discharging the vapor generated from boiling of the ingredients of the porridge contained into the inner tank  302  toward a discharging outlet  304   a  and for preventing the opening-closing switch from operating at a place other than at the place of sensor  315 . On the periphery surface of the insertion protrusion  312  a protruded step  314  may be formed and a protrusion piece  128  formed at the inner surface of the insertion groove  121   a  in the lower housing  120  of the driving part  100  can be inserted. The combination of the driving part  100  and the cooking part  300  will be described in detail referring to the drawings in the following.  
         [0034]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the opening-closing structure of the appliance and  FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view of an opening-closing structure of the appliance according to the present invention.  
         [0035]     As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a plurality of protrusion steps  314  may be formed the periphery surface of the insertion protrusion  312  formed on the upper surface of the upper outer tank  310  of the cooking vessel  300 , and a plurality of protrusion pieces  128  may be formed to be inserted into the protrusion steps  314  at the inner surface of the insertion groove  121   a  formed at the upper housing  120  of the driving part  100 . At one side of the protrusion step  314  there may be provided with an insertion dented groove  314 ′ for inserting a portion of the protrusion piece  128 , and at one side of the protrusion step  314  there may be provided with a insertion dented groove  128 ′ for inserting a portion of the protrusion step  314 , and each insertion dented groove  314 ′,  128 ′ may be in a curved surface for ease insertion of the protrusion piece  128  and the protrusion step  314 . If the driving part  100  is rotated after be secured at the upper part of the cooking vessel  300 , the end part of the protrusion piece  128  formed at the driving part  100  can be inserted the insertion dented groove  314 ′ of the protrusion step  314  placed at the cooking vessel  300  and at same time the end part of the protrusion step  314  can be inserted into the insertion dented groove  128 ′ of the protrusion piece  128  to be pressurized by the curved surface formed at each insert dented groove  314 ′,  128 ′ and thereby the driving part  100  may be secured closely at the cooking vessel  300 . And the driving part  100  can be coupled with the cooking vessel  300  with rotation and at the same time the opening-closing switch  114  installed at the lower part of the driving part  100  may contact the sensing part  315  placed at the upper of the cooking vessel  300  and thereby the state of combination of the driving part  100  may be transmitted to the controller  113 , and thus the rotation of the driving part  100  can be avoided by inserting the hanging protrusion  306   a  supported with elasticity at the upper part of the handle grip  306  of the cooking vessel  300  into the hanging groove  111   b  formed at the lower part of the handle grip  111   a.    
         [0036]     The operation procedures of the appliance according to the present invention will be disclosed as examples in the following.  
         [0037]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of the configuration, and  FIG. 8  is a flow-chart showing the operation order of the appliance according to the present invention.  
         [0038]     First of all, porridge ingredients like soaked rice, other grains, meat, vegetables, sea foods and a predetermined amount of water are put in the inner tank  302  of the cooking vessel  300 , and the driving part  100  is then mounted and coupled to the cooking vessel  300 . And then the control panel  112  on the top surface of the driving part  100  is manipulated by a user for operating the porridge making appliance  1 . To do this, any one of the selection button  112   a , the reservation button  112   b , the heating button  112   c  and the cleaning button  112   d  on the control panel  112  may be selected by the user. If the reservation button  112   b  and the selection button  112   a  are simultaneously pressed after the porridge ingredients and water are put in the cooking vessel  300  (at step S 110 ), the controller  113  displays the time to start the operation on the display  112   e  and at that time, if the reservation button  112   b  is continuously pressed, it increases or decreases the expected time for the operation to thereby display the time finally set on the display  112   e  (at step S 112 ). The controller  113  senses the presence and absence of water in the cooking vessel  300  and is returned to its initial step, if it is sensed that the water is not enough or no water is therein (at step S 113 ). Then, if the reservation time elapses, the porridge making steps as will be discussed below are processed (S 114 ). If the heating button  112   c  is pressed to keep the porridge after making warm in the cooking vessel  300  (at step S 120 ), the controller  113  displays the heating time on the display  112   e , and at that time, if the heating button  112   c  is continuously pressed, it increases or decreases the heating time for the porridge to thereby display the time finally set on the display  112   e  (at step S 122 ). The controller  113  applies power to the heater  122  to operate the heater  122  at a predetermined set temperature (at step S 126 ) such that the porridge in the cooking vessel  300  can be kept at the predetermined set temperature. After that, if the heating maintaining time elapses, the controller  113  cuts the power being supplied to the heater  122  to thereby stop the heating operation (at step S 128 ). If the cleaning button  112   d  is pressed after water is poured into the cooking vessel  300  (at step S 130 ), the controller  113  applies the power to the heater  122  to boil the water in the cooking vessel  300 , and also applies the power to the motor  125  for a predetermined period of time to thereby rotate the pulverizing blade  127  (at step S 132 ), with a result that as the pulverizing blade  127  is rotated, the water in the cooking vessel  300  is rotated to thereby make the pulverizing blade  127  and the cooking vessel  300  all cleaned. If the selection button  112   a  is pressed after the porridge ingredients and water are put in the cooking vessel  300 , the light emitting diodes  112   f  indicating the grain porridge, the meat porridge, the vegetable porridge and the sea food porridge that are disposed at one side of the selection button  112   a  start to generate the light sequentially. At that time, if a desired porridge kind is selected, the controller  113  starts to carry out the operation of making the desired porridge (S 200  to S 510 ). In this case, the controller  113  sets the heating time and the pulverizing time by the porridge ingredients in accordance with the selected porridge kinds, and based upon the set time, it starts to pulverize and heat the porridge ingredients in the cooking vessel  300 . After the selection of the desired porridge kind, the controller  113  senses the presence or absence of the water between the heater  122  and the pulverizing blade  127  of the driving part  100 , and if the presence of water is sensed, it operates the heater  122  for the predetermined period of time to heat the water in the cooking vessel  300 . At that time, the steam generated when the water is boiled is discharged through the steam discharging groove  302   a  on the cooking vessel  300 . And, the controller  113  operates the motor  125  to thereby pulverize the porridge ingredients in the cooking vessel  300  by using the pulverizing blade  127  at the inside of the cooking vessel  300  and heats the pulverized mixture to thereby complete the desired porridge making operation. Hereinafter, an explanation of the process of making the porridge by using the domestic porridge making appliance of this invention will be given in detail.  
         [0039]      FIG. 9  is a flowchart showing the process of making porridge by using the domestic porridge making appliance of this invention.  
         [0040]     In the case where the selection button  112   a  is pressed to select a desired porridge kind or where the reservation time elapses after the reservation button  112   b  is pressed, the controller  113  senses the presence or absence of water in the cooking vessel  300  (at step S 602 ). If it is sensed that the water is not charged in the cooking vessel  300 , at that time, the controller  113  generates a warning sound and is then returned to its initial state. On the other hand, if it is sensed that the water is charged in the cooking vessel  300 , the controller  113  measures a temperature of the water (at step S 603 ). In this case, if the temperature of the water is higher than a temperature set therein, the controller  113  is in a stand-by stage for time set therein such that the porridge ingredients are soaked in the water for the predetermined period of time (at step S 604 ). Contrarily, if the temperature of the water is lower than the temperature set therein, the controller  113  applies the power supplied from the power supply  115  to the heater  122  to thereby operate the heater  122  (at step S 605 ). As the heater  122  is operated, the water that is charged in the cooking vessel  300  is heated and boiled, which is sensed by means of the sensor  123 . Thus, the temperature of water boiled is transmitted to the controller  113 . At that time, the controller  113  starts to carry out a heating step (at step S 610 ) wherein the operation time of the heater  122  is counted and at the same time the operation of the heater  122  is controlled. In this case, if the operation time of the heater  122  does not reach the time set therein, the controller  113  continuously applies the power to the heater  122  to keep the water boiled, and contrarily, if the operation time of the heater  122  reaches the time set therein, the controller  113  makes the heater  122  kept at a predetermined temperature for about 30 seconds and then cuts the power supply to the heater  122  to thereby stop operating the heater  122  (at step S 618 ). On the other hand, if the temperature of water does not reach the set temperature, the controller  113  continuously applies the power to the heater  122  to thereby heat the water to the set temperature (at step S 616 ). Even though the operation of the heater  122  stops by the above conditions (at step S 618 ), if the operation time of the heater  112  is shorter than the set time, the stand-by state is kept until the operation time of the heater  122  reaches the set operation time (at step S 620 ). After the heating step (at step S 610 ), the controller  113  applies the power to the motor  125  to thereby carry out a first pulverization step for the porridge ingredients in the cooking vessel  300  by using the pulverizing blade  127  mounted on the rotating shaft  126  of the motor  125  at the inside of the cooking vessel  300  (at step S 622 ). During the first pulverization step, the motor  125  is operated for about 20 seconds and has stand-by time for about 1 to 3 minutes. In this case, the operation time of the motor  125  is varied in accordance with the kinds of porridge. After the first pulverization step, the controller  113  carries out a second pulverization step where the motor  125  is operated for about 20 seconds and takes stand-by time for about 10 seconds, which is conducted repeatedly about 4 to 6 times (at step S 624 ), and then, the controller  113  takes stand-by time for about 5 minutes (at step S 626 ), thereby completing the operation of making the porridge. In this case, the heating step (step S 610 ) and the first and second pulverization steps (steps S 622  and S 624 ) may be carried out reversely or repeatedly in accordance with the porridge ingredients.  
         [0041]     As clearly appreciated from the foregoing, there is provided a domestic porridge making appliance and a method for making porridge by using the same wherein a pulverizing means for pulverizing all kinds of grains like rice as one of main ingredients of the porridge together with various vegetables and a heating means for heating water and porridge ingredients are formed integrally with each other, thereby making it possible to prepare the porridge in a more convenient way.  
         [0042]     While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.