JP3143315B2 - Cooking device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooking device for thawing and cooking frozen foods using high frequency energy and hot air energy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cooking device for thawing and heating frozen foods has a heating time that is manually set according to the weight of the frozen food so that heating is stopped when the thawing state is reached. A weight sensor is provided on the structure supporting the table, and the weight information obtained from it is processed into necessary heating time information by a control circuit such as a microcomputer, and heating is automatically controlled based on the time information. An improved version of the automatic control method that automatically controls the heating output according to the measured weight. In addition, the direction of reflection of high-frequency energy transmitted into the waveguide during heating, especially Focusing on a change in the level of a component, controlling the heating by judging that thawing has been completed when the change has reached a predetermined change (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-41287). Information) has been put to practical use.

[0003] Among them, the one in which heating is controlled by focusing on the change in the level of the reflection direction component of the high-frequency energy transmitted in the waveguide has a very high control accuracy compared to other control examples. Despite its features, it has a drawback that it has not been able to escape from the problems caused by the use of high-frequency energy, in which overheating is likely to occur in corners and thin portions of food.

[0004] Attempts have been made to promote uniform heating even if there is a difference in the shape of the food so as not to spoil it. That is, outside air is supplied to the heating chamber during thawing heating to cool the surface of the food so that boiling does not occur on the surface of the food (JP-A-5-10188).
No. 1).

[0005]

In a device in which cold air is supplied into a heating chamber during heating to prevent overheating of the food surface, the effect of overheating of the surface is increased, In fact, it has to be affected by the temperature of the cold air and has little effect on overheating inside the food.

In the control focusing on the change in the level of the reflected energy of the high-frequency energy transmitted through the waveguide, the relationship between the weight of the frozen food and the time required until a predetermined change in the reflected energy occurs. Based on this, it is possible to determine at what temperature the frozen food was stored below freezing, but if uneven heating occurs, the level change of the reflected energy may occur rapidly, In such a case, there has been a problem that it is difficult to accurately predict the refrigeration storage temperature and to perform highly accurate thawing heating control based on the prediction.

[0007] In addition, it has not been helpful to supply the cold air into the heating chamber as described above for this difficulty.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a heating chamber for storing frozen food, a high-frequency generator for supplying high-frequency energy into the heating chamber, and a hot air blown into the heating chamber. Hot air generating means for supplying, dielectric loss detecting means for detecting dielectric loss of frozen food stored in the heating chamber, weight detecting means for detecting the weight of frozen food stored in the heating chamber, and The heating chamber outside temperature detecting means for detecting the outside temperature, and the information on the dielectric loss of the frozen food and the weight detecting means detected by the dielectric loss detecting means when the high frequency generating means and the hot air generating means are started to operate. The information on the amount of frozen food to be taken is taken in, the first required heating time for thawing the frozen food is determined, the operation of the high-frequency generator and the hot air generator is continued, and Frozen food detected by the dielectric loss detecting means at a predetermined time during the elapse of the first required heating time in addition to controlling the hot air generating means by taking in information on the temperature outside the hot heat chamber detected by the temperature detecting means. The second required heating time is determined by correcting the already determined first required heating time by reacquiring the information on the dielectric loss of the high frequency generation when the second required heating time has elapsed. The heating cooker is constituted by the means and the control means for controlling the operation of the hot air generating means to stop.

[0009] The control means may be configured such that, at a predetermined time during the elapse of the first required heating time, when the information on the dielectric loss of the frozen food detected by the dielectric loss detecting means at that time is taken in again. The second required heating time and the second high-frequency heating output are determined by correcting the already determined first required heating time and the first high-frequency heating output of the high-frequency generating means, respectively. The operation of the high-frequency generator and the hot-air generator is stopped when the second heating time by the heating output has elapsed.

[0010] Further, the control means may be configured such that when information about the dielectric loss of the frozen food detected by the dielectric loss detecting means at that time is taken again at a predetermined time during the elapse of the first required heating time, When the value of the dielectric loss reaches a predetermined value, the operation of the high-frequency generator and the hot-air generator is stopped.

[0011]

When the operation of the high-frequency generator and the hot air generator is started, the controller measures the dielectric loss of the frozen food as the object to be heated through the dielectric loss detector and takes in the information. At the same time, the weight of the frozen food is measured through the weight detecting means, and information on the amount of the frozen food is taken in. At that time, information on the outside temperature of the heating room is taken in through the outside temperature detection unit, the first required heating time expected to be necessary for thawing the frozen food is determined, and the heating operation is continued while controlling the hot air generation unit. . Then, at a predetermined time during the elapse of the first required heating time that has been determined and executed, information regarding the temperature of the frozen food whose temperature is rising is fetched again through the dielectric loss detecting means, One required heating time is corrected to determine a second required heating time, and when the corrected second required heating time elapses, control is performed to stop the operations of the high-frequency generator and the hot air generator.

[0012] Further, at a predetermined time during the elapse of the first required heating time, the control means re-acquires information on the dielectric loss of the frozen food detected by the dielectric loss detection means at that time. The second required heating time and the second high-frequency heating output are determined by correcting the already determined first required heating time and the first high-frequency heating output of the high-frequency generating means, respectively, and this second high-frequency heating is performed. Control is performed such that the operation of the high-frequency generator and the hot-air generator is stopped when the second heating time by the output has elapsed.

[0013] Further, at a predetermined time during the elapse of the first required heating time, the control means re-acquires information on the dielectric loss of the frozen food detected by the dielectric loss detection means at that time. If the value of the dielectric loss has reached a predetermined value, control is performed so as to stop the operations of the high-frequency generator and the hot-air generator.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a heating chamber, and 2 is a frozen food housed in the heating chamber 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a magnetron that supplies high-frequency energy into the heating chamber 1, and reference numeral 4 denotes a hot-air generator that supplies hot air into the heating chamber 1. The hot air generator 4 includes an electric heater 5 such as a sheath heater and a radial fan 6. Reference numeral 7 denotes a sensor that outputs information on dielectric loss of food, and here, an electric field intensity sensor that detects the energy intensity of the high-frequency energy supplied from the magnetron in the heating chamber 1 is used. This electric field strength sensor 7
Focusing on the fact that the high-frequency energy intensity in the heating chamber 1 relatively decreases in order to increase the amount of high-frequency energy absorption in the heating chamber as the dielectric loss of food increases with its temperature rise. Specifically, it is used to estimate the temperature of frozen food itself from the rate of decrease in electric field strength with respect to time and information on the weight of food output from the weight sensor described later, and to increase the temperature (dielectric (Increase in loss), and whether or not the thawing state has been reached. When the frozen food is in a thawed state, the dielectric loss of the food becomes maximum, and the electric field intensity detected by the electric field intensity sensor 7 becomes minimum. Reference numeral 8 denotes a temperature sensor outside the heating chamber for detecting the temperature outside the heating chamber 1, which detects the temperature of the room where the cooking device is installed. 9 is a turntable on which frozen food is placed, and 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes an electric motor for rotating the turntable 9;
Is a weight sensor for detecting the weight of the frozen food placed on the turntable 9. Reference numeral 12 denotes a control device, which includes an electric field strength sensor 7, a heating outdoor temperature sensor 8,
In addition to taking in information from the weight sensor 11 and performing information processing, it controls the operations of the hot air generator 4, the magnetron 3, and the turntable driving motor 10.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.

When the frozen food 2, for example, tuna sashimi is placed on the turntable 9 in the heating chamber 1 and an instruction to start the heating operation is given to the control device 12, the control device 12 starts the operation of the magnetron 3. At the same time, the measurement of the electric field intensity in the heating chamber 1 and the weight of the frozen food 2 via the electric field intensity sensor 7 and the weight sensor 11 are started. Control device 12
Is the temperature of the sashimi material (for example, whether it has been frozen at -20 ° C. or negative), taking into account the information obtained from the weight sensor 11 while determining the rate of change of the electric field intensity within a predetermined time. 5 ° C.), determine the high-frequency output and the required heating time estimated to be necessary to thaw the sashimi material of that temperature and weight, and determine the timer function in the controller 12 The required heating time is set, and the driving of the magnetron 3 is continued during that time. At this time, the output of the magnetron 3 is appropriately adjusted, for example, by gradually reducing the output with the elapse of the operation time, and is devised so as to minimize the occurrence of uneven heating. At the same time, it takes in information from the outside temperature sensor 8
The drive control of the hot air generator 4 according to the temperature outside the heating chamber is started. That is, in addition to the heating by the high frequency energy, the heating by the hot wind energy is performed, and the advantages of the respective heatings can be maximized.

In the actual heating operation, not only high-frequency energy but also hot-air energy is applied, and the amount of hot-air energy is adjusted according to the temperature outside the heating chamber. The required heating time determined based on the information of the weight sensor 11 needs to be corrected as a matter of course.

In this embodiment, the electric field in the heating chamber 1 is again passed through the electric field intensity sensor 7 a predetermined time before the required heating time determined at the beginning of the heating start is completed, for example, 10% before the required heating time. The strength is detected and the degree of temperature rise of the food is checked, and if it is determined from the result of the check that it is necessary to increase or decrease the initially set required heating time, the initial required heating time is corrected to an optimal value. To continue heating.

As described above, the required heating time predetermined on the basis of the information on the dielectric loss of the food detected by the electric field intensity sensor 7 at the start of heating and the information on the amount of the food detected by the weight sensor 11 is determined as the heating time. Since the correction is performed based on the information on the actual dielectric loss of the food measured through the electric field strength sensor 7 at a predetermined point in time before the end, the thawing heating without excess and deficiency can be performed.

Further, the hot air generator 4 for supplying hot air into the heating chamber 1 is controlled in accordance with the output value of the temperature sensor 8 outside the heating chamber. It was possible to be free from the influence of the variation of the detection value caused by the temperature unevenness of the sample.

In the above description, an example is described in which the required heating time is corrected based on the value detected by the electric field intensity sensor 7 during the heating operation. However, not only the time value but also the high-frequency output of the magnetron 3 is corrected. It is also meaningful to do.

Further, during the heating, the electric field intensity sensor 7
It is needless to say that if the value detected by has already reached the predetermined region, the operation of the high-frequency generator and the hot-air generator should be stopped immediately.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the required heating time determined based on the information of the means for detecting the dielectric loss of the food such as an electric field strength sensor and the weight of the food at the beginning of the heating is determined. Is corrected at the predetermined time before the end of the required heating time based on the information on the dielectric loss of the food detected again through the dielectric loss detecting means, taking into account the influence of the hot air energy applied on the way. A more optimal heating time can be obtained. Then, since the heating operation is performed based on the obtained optimum heating time, the thawing heating control with higher accuracy than before has been realized.

Further, since the hot air generating means for supplying hot air into the heating chamber may be simply controlled in accordance with the temperature outside the heating chamber, the air temperature detecting means may be provided in the heating chamber to detect the temperature of the heating chamber. It has been freed from the influence of the variation in the detected values due to the uneven temperature in the heating chamber.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view of a cooking device showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a cooking device showing one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heating room 2 Frozen food 3 Magnetron 4 Hot air generator 5 Electric heater 6 Radial fan 7 Electric field intensity sensor 8 Temperature sensor outside a heating room 9 Turntable 10 Electric motor 11 Weight sensor 12 Control device

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-59-176655 (JP, A) JP-A-3-95316 (JP, A) JP-A-5-217669 (JP, A) 18045 (JP, A) JP-A-6-50546 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F24C 7/02 310 F24C 7/02 340 F24C 1/02 310 H05B 6 / 68 320

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heating chamber (1) for storing frozen food, a high-frequency generator (3) for supplying high-frequency energy to the heating chamber, and a hot-air generator (4) for supplying hot air to the heating chamber. A dielectric loss detecting means (7) for detecting a dielectric loss of the frozen food stored in the heating chamber; a weight detecting means (11) for detecting a weight of the frozen food stored in the heating chamber; Heating room temperature detecting means (8) for detecting the temperature outside the chamber; and dielectric loss of the frozen food detected by the dielectric loss detecting means when the high-frequency generating means and the hot air generating means are started to operate. The first required heating time for thawing the frozen food is determined by acquiring the information on the amount of the frozen food detected by the weight detecting means and the information on the amount of the frozen food detected by the weight detecting means, and the operation of the high-frequency generating means and the hot air generating means is continued In addition to controlling the hot air generating means by taking in information about the outside heating chamber temperature detected by the outside heating chamber temperature detecting means, the dielectric loss at that time at a predetermined time during the elapse of the first required heating time The second required heating time is determined by correcting the already determined first required heating time by reacquiring the information on the dielectric loss of the frozen food detected by the detecting means, and determining the second required heating time. A heating cooker comprising: a control unit (12) configured to stop the operation of the high-frequency generation unit and the hot air generation unit when time has elapsed. 2. The control means re-fetches information on the dielectric loss of the frozen food detected by the dielectric loss detection means at that time at a predetermined time during the elapse of the first required heating time. At this time, the first required heating time already determined and the first high-frequency heating output of the high-frequency generating means are respectively corrected to determine a second required heating time and a second high-frequency heating output, and The heating cooker according to claim 1, wherein control is performed such that the operation of the high-frequency generator and the hot-air generator is stopped when a second heating time by the second high-frequency heating output has elapsed. . 3. The control means reacquires information on the dielectric loss of the frozen food detected by the dielectric loss detection means at that time at a predetermined time during the elapse of the first required heating time. In this case, when the value of the dielectric loss has reached a predetermined value, control is performed so as to stop the operations of the high-frequency generating means and the hot air generating means. The heating cooker as described.