JPH022055B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an automatic heating device, and more particularly to heating of an automatic heating device equipped with a sensor that detects the completion of heating and a weight sensor that detects the weight of an object to be heated. It is related to time notification.

Conventional configurations and their problems Automatic heating devices that automatically control heating time have been widely put into practical use, such as automatic microwave ovens, which are highly praised for their convenience and account for a considerable portion of the microwave oven market. It has reached this point. These automatic heating devices are equipped with a monitoring sensor to detect the progress of heating the object to be heated. Several monitoring sensors are currently in use,
There are gas sensors that detect steam and gas generated from objects to be heated, infrared sensors that detect the surface temperature of objects to be heated, and intake/exhaust temperature sensors that measure the temperature of ventilation air flowing in and out of the heating chamber. All of these continue to monitor the heated object until it reaches the specified temperature.
The heating time is calculated based on the time required to reach a certain detection point.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing control of such a monitoring sensor. As the monitoring sensor, a gas sensor sensitive to at least steam is used, and reheating of a microwave oven is taken as an example. The gas sensor detects a point P ₁ where a certain amount of steam is generated from the food, and calculates the additional heating time KT ₁ according to the menu based on the heating time T ₁ required so far.
K is a constant and differs for each menu. For example, for cold rice, K=〓, that is, the detection point _P1 is the finishing point, and for soup and rice bowls, K= _K1 (0.2 to 0.5), that is, the _P2 point is the finishing point. Curry and stew have a strong taste and will become lukewarm unless additional heat is applied, so K = K ₂ (0.3 to 0.7),
In other words, P ₃ points are the finished product. This is because the way steam is generated differs depending on the menu.

Now, such a control method is widely put into practical use with all kinds of sensors. This is because the detection point is set at the rising edge where the amount of change is large, which allows more stable detection than directly detecting the finishing point that is close to saturation.

However, the problem with such conventional automatic heating is that the time required for heating cannot be displayed until the monitoring sensor detects the _P1 point. In other words, _T1 time varies depending on the amount of material to be heated, moisture content, etc.
During this time, it was impossible to display the heating time using the monitoring sensor. When the P ₁ point is reached, the additional heating time KT ₁ is displayed and the remaining time can be notified by counting down, but how much time is required before or immediately after starting heating? Because it is unknown to the user,
It has been difficult for the user to do other housework while staying far away from the heating device.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic heating device that can notify the approximate heating time before the monitoring sensor detects it during automatic heating.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the automatic heating device of the present invention is equipped with a monitoring sensor and a weight sensor, and reports the approximate time required for heating according to the weight of the object detected by the weight sensor. The end of heating is controlled by a monitoring sensor, and the user can know the approximate heating time before the monitoring sensor detects it, and can know the delicate time before and after finishing without having to constantly worry about the heating device. This can reduce heating failures.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic heating device according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the same operation panel. A door body 2 is provided on the front of the main body 1 so that it can be opened and closed freely, and an operation panel 3 is provided.
is equipped. Various select keys 4 are arranged on the operation panel 3, and the heating method can be selected depending on the food. Select key 4 also has an auto key AK for automatic heating and a manual key for manual heating.
It is divided into MK and MK. When one of the auto keys AK is pressed, the third
A predetermined display shown in the figure is performed. For example, if reheating of "curry stew" is selected, the display shown at A in FIG. 3 will be displayed. ``Auto'' indicating automatic cooking and ``3'', the key number for curry stew, are displayed. When the start key 6 is subsequently pressed, the display changes to B. Here, the approximate cooking time is displayed in bar-shaped segments according to the weight of the food detected by the weight sensor. In the case of microwave heating, if the type and quantity of the object to be heated is known, the heating time can be estimated fairly accurately. However, the heating time will deviate from the standard time if the storage temperature of the object to be heated differs or if the power supply voltage increases or decreases significantly, and weight sensors cannot respond to this. Therefore, although the heating time based on weight can serve as a guide, it often deviates from the optimal heating time. In this embodiment, since displaying the weight heating time digitally may mislead the user, a bar-shaped analog display is used to represent the approximate value. In the illustrated example, the heating time is 5 to 6 minutes. As shown in FIG. 2, this bar display is used for temperature display during oven operation.

Now, when heating starts, detection point P ₁ in Figure 4
B will continue to be displayed until
It's going down. At the same time, the monitoring sensor continues to monitor the progress of heating the object to be heated. Eventually the detection point
When P ₁ is reached, the remaining time KT ₁ is accurately calculated, so this is displayed digitally as shown in C.
Weight heating time is cleared. From then on, the display counts down every second, allowing the user to accurately know the delicate time before finishing. The detection point is notified by a buzzer, etc.

Next, the configuration of the automatic heating device will be explained. In FIG. 5, various commands input from the select key 4 on the operation panel 3 are decoded by the control section 7, a predetermined display is displayed on the display section 5, and the progress of heating is controlled. Ru. Control unit 7
is realized by a microcomputer or the like.

An object to be heated 9 is placed in the heating chamber 8 and heated by a magnetron 10 and an electric heater 11 serving as heating means. These heating means are driver 1
2, energization is controlled by the control unit 7.
The blower 13 cools the magnetron 10 and also ventilates the inside of the heating chamber 8. Reference numeral 14 denotes an exhaust guide that sends the exhaust gas out of the aircraft body. Inside this exhaust guide 14, a gas sensor 1 serving as a monitoring sensor is provided.
5 is arranged, and reacts with water vapor and gas generated from the object to be heated 9. As such a monitoring sensor, an infrared sensor, an intake/exhaust temperature sensor, etc. can of course be used.

Further, a thermistor 16 is disposed within the exhaust guide 14, and is used to control the temperature inside the heating chamber 8 during oven cooking.

A weight sensor 17 is provided at the bottom of the heating chamber to measure the weight of the mounting table 18 and the object to be heated 9 placed thereon. The mounting table 18 is rotated by a motor 19 to improve uneven heating of the object 9 to be heated. The weight sensor 17 detects the displacement amount of the mounting table 18 using a strain gauge, a variable capacitor, etc., or detects the displacement amount of the mounting table 18 using a magnet, a coil, a Hall element, etc.
This can be realized by measuring the natural vibration of

These sensors pass through the detection circuit 20 and are connected to the control unit 7.
transmit data to.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The user can know how much heating time will be required before or immediately after starting heating, and can approximately know when heating will end even if the user does not have to wait for the heating device.

(2) Since the heating time is determined by a monitoring sensor that detects the heating state of the heated item, the heating time can be compensated for, which varies greatly depending on the storage temperature of the heated item (refrigerated, frozen, room temperature), freshness, season, etc. , it is possible to perform optimal heating.

(3) If the automatic heating finish of a certain heated item does not suit a certain user's taste, that user will perform manual heating, but at this time, the weight heating time display can be adjusted by the user using a timer to achieve the desired finish. This is a guideline when setting the heating time so that

(4) If the monitoring sensor loses its sensing ability for some reason, heating will continue indefinitely and become extremely dangerous; however, based on the weight heating time measured by the weight sensor, there must be no change in the monitoring sensor beyond this time. By discontinuing heating, you can ensure safety without significantly impairing the finish.

(5) Since the weight detected by the weight sensor is used only to calculate the approximate heating time, there is no need to accurately measure the net weight of the object to be heated. The troublesome operation of ``tare'' for measurement is not essential; the detected weight of the object to be heated may include the weight of the container, and the operation is extremely simple.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main body of an automatic heating device showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the same operation panel, and Fig. 3
FIG. 4 is a front view of the display section, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of control of the monitoring sensor, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the heating device. 5...Display unit (notification means), 7...Control unit, 9
...Object to be heated, 10, 11...Heating means, 15...
...Monitoring sensor, 17... Weight sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heating means for heating an object to be heated, a control section for controlling the heating means, a weight sensor for detecting the weight of the object to be heated, a monitoring sensor for detecting the heating state of the object for heating, and a notification means. The control unit monitors the heating state of the heated object using the monitoring sensor, counts the time required until the state of the heated object reaches a predetermined state, and calculates the time required. The configuration is configured to determine the time to end the power supply to the heating means based on the heating means, calculate the approximate time required for heating according to the weight of the object detected by the weight sensor, and calculate the approximate heating time. An automatic heating device configured to give a notification prior to the notification time via a notification means.