RICE COOKER

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice cooker which enables the recognition of a volume of water and generation of steam in a short time, and can be supplied with steam or hot steam in a proper timing, thus resulting in an improved rice cooking capability. SOLUTION: The rice cooker includes water volume sensing means 6 for sensing water volume in a water vessel 5, a steam generating means 7, a water supply means 8 for supplying water in the water vessel 5 into the steam generating means 7, a steam heating means 9 for heating steam generated by the steam generating means 7, steam supplying means 10 for supplying heated steam into a pot 1, and a controlling means 11 for controlling the operation of a pot heating means 2. The controlling means 11 includes a steam controlling part 12 for controlling the operation of the steam generating means 7 and the steam heating means 9 from a sense signal of the water volume sensing means 6, and water supply controlling part 16 for controlling water supply by the water supply means 8. With this mechanism, the rice cooker can recognize a volume of the water, generate steam in a short time, and steam or hot steam can be supplied in the proper timing, thus resulting in an improved rice cooking capability. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT