JPH0141913B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in the input setting and display means of a heating device having a digital control unit, which is easy to handle, takes less time to set, and the display contents are easy to understand, and the configuration of the control unit is This realizes a simple heating device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the operating section of a heating device such as an electric oven or a microwave oven has generally been as shown in FIG. That is, the device is equipped with an operation panel 3 consisting of a rotary time switch 1 for setting the heating time, and a temperature setting knob 2 having a control section such as an oil thermostat or a bimetallic device.
4 is the main body, and 5 is the door. As described above, most conventional operation units have been analog input means consisting of rotary type or slide type setting units. This is due to the user's familiarity with analog quantities and the ease of setting them.
This is due to the low cost of control parts.

On the other hand, recent advances in electronic technology have been remarkable, and in particular, the advent of microcomputers and large-scale integrated circuits has made it possible to perform complex control at low cost. For this reason, the need to digitize control systems suddenly increased. FIG. 2 shows an example of a microwave oven with a temperature sensor equipped with such a digital control system. The operation panel 3 has ten numeric keys 6 for inputting heating time, and a time key 8 and a temperature key 9 for telling the control section and display section 7 whether to set the time or temperature.
is provided. In addition, various function keys such as a start key for instructing the start of heating can be added as needed. Now, in this configuration, temperature and time settings are performed by the following procedure. First, the temperature key 9 is pressed, and then the heating temperature is set using the numerical keys 6. At this time, this set temperature is displayed on the display section 7 as, for example, "210C". Next, the time key 8 is pressed, and then the heating time is set using the numeric key 6 that is subsequently pressed. At this time, the display section 7 switches from a temperature display to a time display, and the heating time is displayed as, for example, "1000" (10 minutes).

Now, in the example shown in FIG. 2, there are two problems in terms of operability. One is the difficulty in understanding the display due to the fact that one display section is used for two purposes. In other words, it is not possible to know both time and temperature at the same time.

Although this problem can be solved by dividing the display section into two parts as in the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 132443/1983, this problem can be solved by dividing the display section into two parts, as in the invention disclosed in JP-A-52-132443. One more segment has to be handled, which increases the total number of segments to 28, and the control system suddenly becomes large-scale. Second, if the current temperature is displayed when heating starts, the set temperature is unknown; if it is the other way around, the current temperature cannot be displayed and the progress of heating cannot be grasped. This point is a common drawback to the example shown in FIG.

In other words, with a timer, you can find out the remaining time by decrementing the set time, but in the case of temperature, which increases gradually, there is no better way to understand both the set value and the current value on a single display. I can't find it.

In view of this situation, the present invention provides input setting and display means for a heating device having a digital control section.
The purpose is to allow easy-to-understand and easy-to-understand settings, and to simplify the configuration of the control unit.

The configuration of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the main body of the device showing one embodiment of the present invention. The operation panel 3 includes a time display section 7' dedicated to displaying heating time, a temperature display section 10 dedicated to displaying heating temperature, and numeric keys 6' for inputting heating time.
A temperature key 9' for inputting the heating temperature is provided.
In addition, a start key for commanding the start of heating, a clear key for erasing inputted contents, etc. can be added as necessary.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of this operation panel. The temperature display section 10 is composed of 10 segments,
The bottom of each segment is the yeast fermentation temperature,
Next, each corresponds to 10 temperatures from 170°C to 250°C in 10°C increments. With this configuration, when the temperature key 9' is pressed once, the east segment of the lowest digit lights up. Further, if the temperature key 9' is continued to be operated, the display will shift to the next segment each time, and the temperature will be set for the control unit in 10°C increments corresponding to the display. In other words, by operating the temperature key 9' six times, 210°C is set. On the other hand, the heating time is set using four numerical keys 6'. Each key corresponds to each of the four digits of the time display section 7', and like the temperature key, the contents are updated each time it is pressed. For example, to set 25 minutes, press the 10mm key twice,
Just press the 1mm key 5 times.

Now, since the temperature and time are completely separated in both the input section and the display section, operation is extremely simple, and even though it is digitally controlled, it is as easy as using the analog input means shown in Figure 1. Heating conditions can be set. Moreover, this increases the number of segments on the display section by 10, compared to a 4-digit, 7-segment display section that would result in an increase of 28 segments even if it were increased or decreased as needed.
The configuration of the control section is much simpler.

Next, a method for simultaneously displaying the current temperature and set temperature after the start of heating will be described.

FIG. 5a shows an example in which both are displayed simultaneously by blinking the current temperature and continuously lighting the set temperature. In the figure, you can see that the current temperature is 180°C with the setting at 210°C. In addition, not only the segment corresponding to the current temperature may be made to blink, but also the lower segments, that is, the segments 170 and East in the figure, may also be made to blink.

On the contrary, in FIG. 5b, the current temperature is continuously lit, and the set temperature is blinking. This allows you to know both at the same time. In this case as well, configurations such as only 180 segments being lit continuously or only 210 segments blinking are possible.

Furthermore, it is also possible to alternately and repeatedly display the current temperature and the set temperature. In other words, 180℃ is displayed at one timing, and the temperature is displayed at the next timing.
The configuration is such that 210℃ is displayed. In this case as well, it is possible to know both at almost the same time.

Even though the temperature display section handles digital quantities in this way, it has a strong analog character and can easily handle the difficult task of displaying the current temperature and set temperature at the same time.
Note that when displaying the current temperature, if the detected temperature value is displayed as is each time, the display will flicker between two segments at the boundaries of adjacent blocks because the temperature is quantized.
Therefore, this problem can be solved by displaying the temperature by averaging the detected values over a period of about 30 seconds, for example.

In the embodiment described above, the numeric keys 6' may be ten numeric keys as in the prior art, and are not an essential component of the present invention. Further, the heating temperature may be incremented by tapping the temperature key 9' by increments from the maximum temperature, or by starting from a specific temperature that is frequently used. Furthermore, after the setting reaches the maximum or minimum value, the temperature may return to the starting state and the same display may be repeated endlessly, or a configuration may be considered in which the temperature is incremented and then decremented from the maximum temperature. In addition, the tapping itself may be set to a predetermined value based on the duration of the key press instead of counting the number of times the key is pressed. For example, if you keep pressing the temperature key, the display will increment in 1 second increments.

The set temperature can be the internal temperature of the heating chamber, the temperature of the exhaust port, or the internal temperature of the heated object by inserting a probe containing a sensor such as a thermistor directly into the heated object. It can be done.

Next, the configuration of the control section that enables the operation method and display described above will be described. FIG. 7 shows an example using a microcomputer. Microcomputer 1
The i ₀ to _{i 3} terminals of No. 2 are input terminals and take in information such as the numerical key 6' and the temperature key 9'.

Furthermore, a temperature sensor 14 such as a thermistor that directly or indirectly detects the temperature of a heat source, for example, a heater 13, is incorporated into a part of the oscillator 15, and modulates frequency information to also take in temperature information. Displays data buses D ₀ to D ₉ and digital scan port S ₀
~ _S5 is used. Segment data (7 bits) for each digit of the time display section 7' and temperature segment data (10 bits) for the temperature display section 10 are dynamically output to the data bus in response to the digital scan port signal. The timing of dynamic lighting is performed by dividing one cycle into six. this house
The capture of key inputs proceeds in parallel at timings _S4 and _S5 . Control port O ₀ controls power supply to heater 13 via switching element 16 .
17 is a driver for the switching element 16;

With this configuration, various input information is processed within the microcomputer 12 and output as necessary display data and control signals. It also enables the various operating methods and display methods described above.

As described above, according to the present invention, the time display section that displays the heating time and the temperature display section that displays the heating temperature in a simulated analog manner using a plurality of segments arranged in a bar shape are independently provided, and the heating temperature is It is quantized into multiple stages by digital input means, each of which is made to correspond to each segment of the temperature display section, and the heating set temperature and the current temperature detected by the temperature detection section are alternately displayed, or Since it is configured to display simultaneously by continuously lighting one and blinking the other, heating time and heating temperature can be displayed together with a small number of segments, and the set temperature and current temperature can also be displayed in analog form on a single temperature display. The information can be displayed at the same time with a sense of familiarity, and the notification can be easily understood without any discomfort for the operator.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main body of a heating device showing a conventional example, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the main body of another conventional example, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the main body of a heating device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is the same. 5A and 5B are conceptual diagrams showing a temperature display method, and FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration. 9'...Temperature key, 10...Temperature display section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heating chamber in which an object to be heated is placed, a heat source for heating the object in the heating chamber, an input means for setting a heating time for the object to be heated, and a time display section for displaying the same.
A digital input means for setting the heating temperature, a temperature display section that displays the digitized set temperature in analog form using a plurality of segments arranged in a bar shape, and a temperature display section that detects the temperature of the object to be heated or the heating chamber, etc. The heating temperature is quantized into a plurality of stages, each of which is made to correspond to each segment of the temperature display section, and the heating set temperature and the current temperature detected by the temperature detection section are A heating device configured to display images alternately or simultaneously by continuously lighting one side and blinking the other side.