The present invention relates to the technical field of cookware, and in particular, to an inner pot and an electric rice cooker having the inner pot.

Figure 1 illustrates a section view of an inner pot in the prior art. The inner pot in the prior art is generally made of an iron-aluminum composite material formed by the combination of an iron layer 10' and an aluminum layer 20'. The inner pot made of such composite material takes advantage of high magnetic conductivity of iron and high thermal conductivity of aluminum. In a high-frequency alternating magnetic filed, with eddy current being formed on the surface of the iron layer 10', heat is generated and at the same time transferred through the aluminum layer 20' to the inside of the pot. Iron has such advantages as low price and high magnetic conductivity, but it also has the problem of getting rusty in actual use, especially at the iron-layer fracture 1 1 ' of the edge of the pot opening.

in the oil stain cleaning process and the paint spraying process during the manufacturing of the inner pot, the iron-layer fracture 1 1 ' is exposed to a high temperature and high humidity environment and gets rasty. Even if an antirast coat is sprayed upon the pot opening, the adhesion of the paint is poor due to the sharp-angled shape of the pot opening. Meanwhile, the paint falls off easily when the inner pot is bumped during the use by users, and thus the iron-layer fracture is exposed in the air and gets rusty.

The present invention aims to provide an inner pot and an electric rice cooker having the inner pot, so as to solve the problem that the fracture face of the iron- layer of an inner pot in the prior art gets rasty easily.

in order to prevent from rusting, according to one aspect of the present invention, an inner pot having a cooking chamber inside is provided that comprises an iron layer and a stainless layer, with the fracture face of the iron layer being wrapped by the stainless layer.

According to another aspect (or according to another embodiment), the stainless layer is an aluminum layer.

According to another aspect (or according to another embodiment), the aluminum layer comprises an aluminum-layer pot wall and an aluminum-layer pot opening fold-over arranged on the upper end of the aluminum-layer pot wall, and the iron layer comprises an iron-layer pot wall, with the aluminum layer pot wall being arranged on the inside of the iron-layer pot wall.

[0008] According to another aspect (or according to another embodiment), the aluminum layer comprises an aluminum-layer pot wall and an aluminum-layer pot opening fold-over arranged on the upper end of the aluminum-layer pot wall, wherein the aluminum-layer pot opening fold-over comprises an upper part and a lower part, with the lower part being connected to the upper part and extending towards the cooking chamber; and the iron layer comprises an iron-layer pot wall and an iron-layer pot opening fold-over arranged on the upper end of the iron-layer pot wall, wherein the iron-layer pot opening fold-over is arranged between the upper part and the lower part, so that the fracture face located on the circumferential outer rim of the iron-layer pot opening fold-over is wrapped.

[0009] According to another aspect (or according to another embodiment), the inner edge of the lower part is spaced apart from or abuts against the iron-layer pot wall.

[0010] According to another aspect (or according to another embodiment), the aluminum layer comprises an aluminum- layer pot wall and an aluminum-layer pot opening fold-over arranged on the upper end of the aluminum-layer pot wall, wherein the aluminum-layer pot opening fold-over comprises an upper part and a lower part, with the lower part being connected to the upper part and extending towards the cooking chamber; and the iron layer comprises an iron-layer pot wall, wherein the fracture face is formed by the circumferential outer rim of the upper end of the iron-layer pot wall, with the fracture face being leveled with the exterior surface of the iron-layer pot wall, the inner edge of the lower part abuts against the iron-layer pot wall, and the upper end of the iron-layer pot wall is arranged between the lower part and the aluminum-layer pot wall, so that the fracture face is wrapped.

[0011 ] According to another aspect (or according to another embodiment), the lower part and the upper part abut against each other.

[0012] According to another aspect (or according to another embodiment), a transitional rounded corner is provided on the lower part at the position where the lower part is bonded to the iron-layer pot wall.

[0013] According to another aspect (or according to another embodiment), the iron layer is provided with an antirust coat on the exterior surface thereof.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present invention, an electric rice cooker having an inner pot is provided, wherein the inner pot is one as described above. With the technical solution of the present invention, the fracture face of the iron layer is wrapped by the stainless layer, so as not to be exposed in the air, and thus, in the manufacturing process of the inner pot, the fracture face of the iron layer will not be exposed to the high temperature and high humidity environment, and will not get rusty. Even if bumps happen during the use by users, only the stainless layer will be bumped, and the fracture face of the iron layer will not be exposed in the air, thus the problem of getting rusty at the edge of the inner pot is effectively solved.

The appended drawings of the description which are provided for further understanding of the present invention from a part of the present invention. The schematic embodiments of the present invention and the descriptions thereof are provided for explaining the present invention, but not for the purpose of inappropriately limiting the present invention. In the appended drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic section view of an inner pot in the prior art;

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic section view of the first embodiment of the inner pot according to the present invention;

Figure 3 illustrates a schematic amplified view of the part A of the inner pot of Figure 2; Figure 4 illustrates a schematic section view of the second embodiment of the inner pot according to the present invention: and

Figure 5 illustrates a schematic ampl ified view of the part B of the inner pot of Figure 4. The above-mentioned figures include the following reference numbers:

30. cooking chamber; 10. iron layer; 20. stainless layer; 1 1. fracture face; 21. aluminum- layer pot wall; 22. upper part; 23. lower part; 12. iron-layer pot wail: 13. iron-layer pot opening fold-over.

it should be noted that embodiments and features therein of the present application can be combined with one another, under the condition that there is no conflict. A detailed description of the present invention will be provided in the following, by reference to the attached drawings and in light of the embodiments.

As illustrated in Figures 2-3, the inner pot of the first embodiment has a cooking chamber 30 inside, wherein the inner pot comprises an iron layer 10 and a stainless layer 20, with the fracture face 1 1 of the iron layer 10 being wrapped by the stainless layer 20.

With the technical solution of the first embodiment, the fracture face 1 1 of the iron layer 10 is wrapped by the stainless layer 20, so as not to be exposed in the air, and thus, in the manufacturing process of the inner pot, the fracture face 11 of the iron layer 10 will not be exposed to the high temperature and high humidity environment, and will not, get, rusty. Even if bumps happen during the use by users, only the stainless layer 20 will be bumped, and the fracture face 1 1 of the iron layer 10 will not be exposed in the air, thus the problem of getting rusty at the edge of the inner pot is effectively solved.

In the first embodiment, the stainless layer is an aluminum layer, which has high thermal conductivity and low cost. Of course, it will be understand by those skilled in the art that the stainless layer 20 of the inner pot according to the present application is not limited to an aluminum layer, and other materials can be employed, as long as the material is capable of thermal conduction and does not get rusty.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the inner pot of the first embodiment is of a two-layer structure, i.e., it is composed of the iron layer 10 and the stainless layer 20. It will be understand by those skilled in the art that, as far as feasible implementation is concerned, the inner pot of the present application is not limited to a two-layer structure, and a structure of three or more layers can be employed. In the implementation of a structure of three or more layers, two of the layers will be an iron layer and a stainless layer, respectively, and thus the problem of getting rusty at the edge of the inner pot can be solved all the same.

In the first embodiment, the aluminum layer comprises an aluminum-layer pot, wall 21, an aluminum- layer pot bottom, and an aluminum- layer pot opening fold-over arranged on the upper end of the aluminum- layer pot wall 21, wherein the aluminum-layer pot opening fold- over comprises an upper part 22 and a lower part 23, with the lower part 23 being connected to the upper part 22 and extending towards the cooking chamber 30, The iron layer 10 comprises an iron-layer pot wall 12, an iron-layer pot bottom, and an iron- layer pot opening fold-over 13 arranged on the upper end of the iron-layer pot wall 12, wherein the iron-layer pot opening fold-over 13 is arranged between the lower part 23 and the upper part 22, so that the fracture face 1 1 located on the circumferential outer rim of the iron-layer pot opening fold-over 13 is wrapped. In this embodiment, the aluminum- layer pot wail 21 is arranged on the inside of the iron-layer pot wail 12.

In the technical solution of Embodiment I, the fracture face 1 1 of the iron layer 10 is wrapped between the upper part 22 and the lower part 23, thus the problem of getting rusty at the edge of the inner pot is solved. The inner edge of the lower part can be spaced apart from or abut against the iron-layer pot wail 12. As illustrated in Figure 3, in Embodiment 1, for the convenience of processing, the inner rim of the lower part 23 is spaced apart from the iron-layer pot wall 12, In Embodiment 1, the iron layer 10 is provided with an antirust coat on the exterior surface thereof, which is specifically applied at the part where the iron layer 10 is in contact with the air. Preferably, the aluminum layer is provided with a non-stick coat on the interior surface thereof.

The processing of the inner pot of Embodiment 1 is as follows:

Performing stretching procedures to form the aluminum- layer pot opening fold-over and the iron-layer pot opening fold-over 13 with identical radial dimensions. Lathing the iron-layer pot opening fold-over 13, such that its radial dimension is smaller than that of the aluminum- layer pot opening fold-over. Then folding over the aluminum-layer pot opening fold-over to form the upper part 22 and the lower part 23. Then, performing the procedures of side-rolling, flattening, etc. so that the fracture face 1 1 of the iron layer 10 is wrapped by the lower part 23. Spraying non-stick paint to the aluminum layer. Performing rust cleaning procedure and spraying antirust paint to the iron layer. At last, edging the aluminum-layer pot opening fold- over, such that the original metal color of the aluminum is exposed.

As illustrated in Figures 4-5, the inner pot of the second embodiment is different from that of Embodiment 1 in that the fracture face 1 1 of Embodiment 1 is located on the circumferential outer rim of the iron-layer pot, opening fold-over 13, while in the second embodiment, the fracture face 11 is formed by the circumferential outer rim of on the upper end of the iron- layer pot wall 12, with the fracture face 11 being leveled with the exterior surface of the iron- layer pot wall 12. Moreover, in the second embodiment, the inner edge of the lower part 23 of the aluminum-layer pot openmg fold-over abuts against the iron-layer pot wall 12, and the upper end of the iron-layer pot wail 12 is arranged between the lower part 23 and the aluminum-layer pot wall 21 , so that the fracture face 11 is wrapped. In the technical solution of the second embodiment, the fracture face 11 of the iron layer 10 is wrapped between the lower part 23 and the aluminum-layer pot wall 21 , thus the problem of getting rusty at the edge of the inner pot is solved. In this embodiment, the aluminum-layer pot wall 21 is arranged on the inside of the iron-layer pot wall 12.

As illustrated in Figure 5, for the convenience of processing, the lower part 23 and the upper part 22 abut against each other, i.e., the lower part 23 and the upper part 22 are arranged overlapping each other, so that the pot opening fold-over of the inner pot will not be too thick. As shown in Figure 5, in the second embodiment, a transitional rounded corner is provided on the lower part 23 at the position where the lower part 23 is bonded to the iron- layer pot wall 12, which is convenient for processing, and meanwhile, enables a pleasing appearance.

The processing of the inner pot of the second embodiment is as follows:

Performing stretching procedures to form the aluminum- layer pot opening fold-over and the iron-layer pot opening fold-over with identical radial dimensions. Lathing the iron-layer pot opening fold-over entirely, so that the iron layer 10 comprises only the iron- layer pot wall 12 and the iron-layer pot bottom. Then folding over the aluminum-layer pot opening fold-over to form the upper part 22 and the lower part 23. Then, performing the procedures of side- rolling, flattening, etc. so that the fracture face 11 of the iron layer 10 is wrapped by the lower part 23. Spraying non-stick paint to the aluminum layer. Performing rust cleaning procedure and spraying antirust paint to the iron layer. At last, edging the aluminum- layer pot openmg fold-over, such that the original metal color of the aluminum is exposed.

The present application also provides an electric rice cooker, which, according to an embodiment (not shown in figures) of an electric rice cooker of the present application, comprises a pot body, a pot cover and an inner pot located inside the pot body, wherein the inner pot is one as described above. Other structures of the electric rice cooker can be referred to the prior art, and no specific description will be provided herein.

The foregoing is only a description of preferable embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended for imposing any restriction upon the present invention. To those skilled in the art, various modifications and changes are possible in view of the present invention. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit, and principle of the present invention shall be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.