JP2023011237A - Heat cooker and method for controlling heating - Google Patents

Abstract

To reliably heat a food product in a heat cooker even when being subject to influence of external light of a photo detector.SOLUTION: A heat cooker (1) includes: a heating control unit (22b) for starting heating of a food product when a front door open-close detection unit (25) detects that a front door is closed and a determination unit (22a) determines that there is a food product in a heating chamber.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a heating cooker for heating food placed inside a heating chamber and a heating control method.

A cooking device disclosed in Patent Document 1 discloses a detection sensor (light emitting element, light receiving element) that detects food in a cooking chamber. The light projecting element and the light receiving element are provided on the left and right side walls as viewed from the opening side of the cooking chamber that is opened and closed by the door, respectively. That is, in the heating cooker disclosed in Patent Document 1, light is emitted from a light emitting element provided on one side wall toward a light receiving element provided on the opposite side wall, and light is received by the light receiving element. The presence or absence of food in the cooking chamber is detected based on the quantity.

On the other hand, in recent years, heating cookers such as microwave ovens read the barcode indicating the type of food written on the container of the food to be heated with a reading device, and the heating information according to the type of food ( There is a cooking device that heats food according to the heating temperature and heating time (for example, Patent Document 2). In such a heating cooker, when food is put into the heating cooking chamber and the door is closed, the food is automatically cooked.

JP-A-5-340546 JP-A-2006-64362

By the way, when the food heating information is read and the door of the heating chamber is closed to automatically operate the heating cooker, it is checked whether or not the food is placed in the heating chamber with the door open. There is a need to. Therefore, for example, as in Patent Document 1, using a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged on the left and right side walls of the cooking chamber, it is possible to detect whether food is placed in the cooking chamber with the door open. It is conceivable to judge

However, if the door of the cooking chamber is open, external light (for example, sunlight) enters the light receiving element arranged on the side wall, and the amount of light received by the light receiving element increases. Nevertheless, there arises a problem that even if it is determined that there is no food and the door is closed, the cooking is not automatically started. In this way, if food is detected incorrectly due to the influence of outside light, there is a possibility that cooking will not start automatically even if you open the door, check the food in the cooking chamber, and close the door again. Because it is expensive, it is necessary to manually start cooking.

Therefore, when detection of food in the cooking chamber is affected by outside light, there arises a problem that it takes time and effort to start cooking the food.

One aspect of the present invention is to realize a heating cooker that can reduce the time and effort required to start cooking food even when detection of the food is affected by outside light. aim.

In order to solve the above problems, a heating cooker according to an aspect of the present invention includes a heating chamber, a door provided in the heating chamber, an open/close detection unit that detects opening and closing of the door, and the heating chamber. A determination unit that determines the presence or absence of food inside, a reading device that reads an information code for cooking food,
a heating control unit that controls heating of the food in the heating chamber based on the information code read by the reader, wherein the heating control unit detects that the door is closed by the open/close detection unit. and, when it is determined by the determination unit that there is food in the heating chamber, the heating of the food is started.

A heating control method for a heating cooker according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a heating chamber; a door provided in the heating chamber; an open/close detection unit that detects opening and closing of the door; A determination unit that determines the above, a reading device that reads an information code for cooking food, and a heating control unit that controls heating of the food in the heating chamber based on the information code read by the reading device. When the opening/closing detection unit detects that the door is closed and the determination unit determines that there is food in the heating chamber by the heating control unit and initiating heating of the food product.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention, even when the detection of food is affected by outside light, it is possible to reduce the labor and time required to start cooking the food.

It is a perspective view at the time of seeing the state from which the front door of the heating cooker of embodiment of this invention closed was seen from diagonally upper front. Fig. 2 is a front view of the heating cooker shown in Fig. 1 with a front door opened; It is a perspective view at the time of seeing the state which opened the front door of the cooking-by-heating machine shown in FIG. 1 from the diagonally lower right. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a control frame showing an installation state of a reading device provided in the heating cooker shown in FIG. 1; 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a reading area of the reader shown in FIG. 4; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of an information code; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement example and detection regions of food sensors in the heating cooker shown in FIG. 1; 8 is a circuit diagram showing an equivalent circuit of the food sensor shown in FIG. 7; FIG. It is a figure explaining the determination method of the food presence/absence by the food sensor shown in FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a control device provided in the heating cooker shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing up to the start of cooking in the heating cooker shown in FIG. 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process until the heat cooking start in the heat cooker which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow to the heat cooking start in the heat cooker which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of arrangement|positioning and detection area|region of the food sensor in the heating cooker which concerns on the modification of this invention.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a state in which an openable and closable front door 12 provided on the main body of the heating cooker 1 of the present embodiment is closed, as viewed obliquely from above the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the heating cooker 1 shown in FIG. 1 when the front door 12 is opened and viewed obliquely from below the front. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heating cooker 1 shown in FIG. 1 when the front door 12 is opened and viewed obliquely from the lower right.

(Outline of heating cooker 1)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the heating cooker 1 is, for example, a microwave oven, has an operation panel 11 on the upper front surface, and has a front door 12 below the operation panel 11 . The front door 12 is a door that opens and closes the heating chamber 13 provided behind the front door 12, and covers the front opening 13b of the heating chamber 13 in the closed state. In this embodiment, the front door 12 is of a side-opening type that rotates around the left end, and has a handle 14 near the right end, which is the end opposite to the center of rotation.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heating chamber 13 is provided with a food sensor 31 on the side wall 13a inside the chamber. Food sensor 31 detects whether or not food is placed on flat plate 13 c provided on the bottom surface of heating chamber 13 . That is, the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber 13 is detected. The food sensor 31 is composed of a light emitting element 31a arranged on the right side wall 13a when viewed from the front opening 13b, and a first light receiving element 31b and a second light receiving element 31c arranged on the left side wall 13a. . In other words, the food sensor 31 is a so-called transmissive optical sensor that receives the light emitted by the light emitting element 31a with the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c arranged on the facing surfaces. Details of the food sensor 31 will be described later.

The operation panel 11 is provided on the front surface of the control frame 15 . The operation panel 11 is provided so that the front surface of the operation panel 11 is substantially flush with the front surface of the front door 12 in the front-rear direction of the heating cooker 1 .

Inside the control frame 15, a control board (not shown) is provided for controlling the display section 30 of the operation panel 11 and accepting user operations on input keys and the like.

(reader 16)
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the control frame 15 showing the installed state of the reader 16. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the reading area 19 of the reading device 16. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the control frame 15 is provided to protrude forward from the heating cooker 1 . The reader 16 is attached to the lower surface of the reader board (circuit board) 17 and is provided inside the control frame 15 at the bottom. The reader board 17 contains the driver circuitry for the reader 16 . That is, the reader 16 is installed outside the heating chamber 13 and above the front opening 13b of the heating chamber 13, and has a reading area 19 below the installation position.

The reading device 16 is, for example, a bar code reader, and reads an information code (for example, a bar code) attached to the food to be heated by the heating cooker 1 or the food container.

The reader 16 has a reading area 19 below the reader 16, as shown in FIG. are doing.

The reading area 19 of the reader 16 is indicated by red light, for example, so that the user can visually understand the reading area 19 . The red light is emitted by the reading area illumination section 21 (see FIG. 10). A red LED, for example, is used as the reading area illumination unit 21 . Note that the light indicating the reading area 19 is not limited to red, and may be other light visible to the user, such as a laser. Also, the number of red LEDs may be one or plural.

2 and 3, the reading device 16 is provided at the center of the front opening 13b of the heating chamber 13 in the width direction (horizontal direction).

(information code)
Reference numeral 1061 in FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an information code made up of a two-dimensional code (QR code (registered trademark)), and reference numeral 1062 in FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an information code made up of a one-dimensional bar code. is.

The information code is used for cooking food. For example, the information code includes information indicating the type of food and information (heating information) indicating the cooking conditions for the food indicating the type. The heating information is information necessary for heat cooking, and includes the heating time in the heating cooker 1 and the wattage of the high-frequency output. Specifically, the information code includes information indicating the type of food, for example, information indicating that the food is a boxed lunch (or a type of boxed lunch) or a rice ball (or a type of rice ball), and It contains heating information including the heating time corresponding to the food and the wattage of the high frequency output. This information code is attached to the food or food container by, for example, printing or sealing. Since the information code is used to heat and cook the specified food, it contains only information specifying the food, and the heating information of the specified food is obtained from the external server 51 (FIG. 10). good too. Also, the information code may contain only the heating information of the food.

The information code may be, for example, a two-dimensional code as indicated by reference numeral 1061 in FIG. 6, or a one-dimensional bar code as indicated by reference numeral 1062 in FIG. The information code is not particularly limited to a bar code or the like as long as it can indicate the type of food.

(Detection of presence/absence of food in heating chamber 13)
FIG. 7 shows an arrangement example of the light-emitting element 31a, the first light-receiving element 31b, and the second light-receiving element 31c that constitute the food sensor 31 in the cooking device 1 shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows detection area 32a, 2nd detection area 32b). Reference numeral 1071 in FIG. 7 denotes a diagram of the heating chamber 13 as viewed from the top side, and reference numeral 1072 denotes a diagram of the heating chamber 13 viewed from the front opening 13b side.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an equivalent circuit of the food sensor 31. As shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a method for determining the presence or absence of food by the food sensor 31. As shown in FIG.

The light emitting element 31a is composed of a near-infrared LED, and the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c are composed of phototransistors (with a light receiving wavelength of 900 nm). That is, the near-infrared light emitted by the light emitting element 31a is received by the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c. An equivalent circuit of the food sensor 31 is as shown in FIG.

The light-emitting element 31a is positioned approximately in the center of the right side wall 13a in the heating chamber 13, as indicated by reference numeral 1071 in FIG. It is provided at a position of height H1 (here, 15 mm). The first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c, as indicated by reference numeral 1071 in FIG. As shown, it is provided at a predetermined height H2 from the flat plate 13c on the bottom surface of the heating chamber 13. As shown in FIG. The height H2 at which the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c are provided is the same as the height H1 at which the light emitting element 31a is arranged.

Here, the predetermined area including the area of light irradiation until the first light receiving element 31b receives the near infrared rays emitted from the light emitting element 31a is defined as the first detection area 32a for food detection and the near infrared rays emitted from the light emitting element 31a. is defined as a second detection area 32b for food detection. A sensor detection area 32 on the flat plate 13c of the heating chamber 13 is composed of the first detection area 32a and the second detection area 32b. Thus, the food sensor 31 can detect whether food is placed in the sensor detection area 32 or not.

The food sensor 31 sends light reception signals received by the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c to the controller 22 (FIG. 10) of the heating cooker 1. FIG. The controller 22 determines whether there is food in the heating chamber 13 based on the received light signal.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 22 sets either the output voltage (Vout1) of the first light receiving element 31b or the output voltage (Vout2) of the second light receiving element 31c to the first threshold voltage (Vth1). =0.6 V), it is determined that there is food, and if it is equal to or higher than the first threshold voltage (Vth1=0.6 V), it is determined that there is no food. Here, the output voltage (Vout1) of the first light receiving element 31b and the output voltage (Vout2) of the second light receiving element 31c are higher than 4.0 V when there is definitely no food on the flat plate 13c of the heating chamber 13. big. Therefore, the control unit 22 sets 4.0 V as the second threshold voltage (Vth2), and either the output voltage (Vout1) of the first light receiving element 31b or the output voltage (Vout2) of the second light receiving element 31c is the second threshold. If it is higher than the voltage (Vth2=4.0V), it is determined that there is no food. That is, if there is food in the sensor detection area 32 on the flat plate 13c of the heating chamber 13, the output voltage of the light receiving element will be less than 0.6 V, and if there is no food, the output voltage of the light receiving element will be higher than 4.0 V. growing. Note that the values of the first threshold voltage (Vth1) and the second threshold voltage (Vth2) are not limited to the above 0.6V and 4.0V. It is appropriately changed depending on the specifications of the light receiving element 31c.

In addition, even when food is placed on the flat plate 13c of the heating chamber 13, if the food is not properly placed in the sensor detection area 32 (food is placed only in part of the sensor detection area 32) If there is no food (container) with high permeability is placed, food is placed in the sensor detection area 32 but is affected by external light, etc. In these cases, the light receiving element The output voltage of may be between 0.6V and 4.0V. That is, when the output voltage of the light-receiving element is 0.6 V or more and 4.0 V or less, it is difficult to reliably determine whether or not food is placed in the heating chamber 13 . Therefore, the control unit 22 determines that there is no food when either the output voltage (Vout1) of the first light receiving element 31b or the output voltage (Vout2) of the second light receiving element 31c is 0.6 V or more and 4.0 V or less. do. As a result, heating can be performed only when there is certainly food in the heating chamber 13, and no-load operation can be suppressed. These determinations are made by a determination unit 22a of the control unit 22, which will be described later. Details of the determination unit 22a will be described later.

(Control device)
FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a control device provided in the heating cooker 1. As shown in FIG. The control device includes a control section 22 that controls the operation of the heating cooker 1 . The control unit 22 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer and has a CPU, a ROM and a RAM.

As shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 22 includes an operation panel 11, a heating operation unit 23, a reader 16, a reading area illumination unit 21, a reading result notification unit 24, a food sensor 31, a front door open/close detection unit (open/close detection). section) 25 and a memory (storage section) 52 are connected. The front door open/close detector 25 is composed of, for example, a switch that is turned on when the front door 12 is closed, and detects whether the front door 12 is open or closed. A detection result by the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 is sent to the control unit 22 .

The heating operation unit 23 is an operation unit that heats food placed in the heating chamber 13, and is, for example, a microwave output device or a heater. The read result notification unit 24 is a buzzer or voice generation unit, and is controlled by the control unit 22 to notify the user of the success or failure of the reading of the information code by the reading device 16 .

The control unit 22 controls the heating operation unit 23 so that the food is heated according to the heating information acquired by the reader 16 reading the information code. Heating information according to the type of food is registered in the server 51, and the control unit 22 transmits the heating information according to the type of food acquired by the reading device 16 by reading the information code from the server 51. It may be acquired. In addition, the cooking device 1 itself may have the heating information corresponding to the type of food. In this case, the cooking device 1 does not need to communicate with the server 51 .

Further, the control unit 22 controls the determination unit 22a that determines whether or not food is present in the heating chamber 13 based on the detection result from the food sensor 31, and the heating operation unit 23 based on the determination result of the determination unit 22a. It includes a heating control section 22b that controls the heating operation, and a reading control section 22c that controls the reading operation of the reader 16 based on the determination result of the determination section 22a.

The food sensor 31 is a sensor that detects food in the heating chamber 13, and includes a light-emitting element 31a (light-emitting portion) that emits light, and a first light-receiving element 31b and a second light-receiving element 31b that receive the light emitted from the light-emitting element 31a. and a light receiving element 31c (light receiving portion).

The determination unit 22a determines whether or not there is food in the heating chamber 13 according to the output voltage (light receiving amount) of the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c of the food sensor 31. FIG. Specifically, the determination unit 22a determines whether food is present in the heating chamber 13 based on the signal indicating the detection result from the food sensor 31 (the output voltage of the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c). determine whether or not there is Specifically, the presence or absence of food is determined as follows. That is, if food is placed in the sensor detection area 32, the light emitted by the light emitting element 31a of the food sensor 31 attenuates before being received by the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c. Therefore, the output voltages of the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c are lowered. At this time, if the output voltage is lower than a preset value (Vth1 in FIG. 9), it is determined that food is present. On the other hand, if no food is placed in the sensor detection area 32, the light emitted by the light emitting element 31a of the food sensor 31 attenuates before being received by the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c. is small. Therefore, the output voltages of the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c do not become lower than when food is present. At this time, if the output voltage is equal to or higher than a preset value (Vth1 or Vth2 in FIG. 9), it is determined that there is no food.

The heating control unit 22b determines that the detection result of the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 sent to the control unit 22 is the detection result that the front door 12 is closed, and that the determination result of the determination unit 22a indicates that food is in the heating chamber 13. If the result indicates that there is no food in the heating chamber 13, the heating operation by the heating operation unit 23 is permitted.

(Operation of heating cooker 1)
The operation of the heating cooker 1 will be described below. Here, a case will be described in which the food is a boxed lunch having an information code attached to the top surface of the container, and the boxed lunch is heated by the heating cooker 1 .

First, the user confirms the guide display 20 on the operation panel 11 (for example, "Please open the door and hold the information code over the red light"). Then, the user opens the front door 12 according to the guidance display 20 . When the front door open/close detection unit 25 detects the open state of the front door 12, the control unit 22 causes the reader 16 and the reading area illumination unit 21 to operate.

Next, the user follows the guide display 20 on the operation panel 11 to move the lunch so that the information code enters the reading area 19 of the reader 16 (so that the information code is illuminated with red light).

By this operation, the reader 16 reads the information code attached to the lunch. When the information code is successfully read by the reading device 16, the control section 22 causes the reading result notification section 24 to notify the user of the reading result. In this case, the operation of the reading result notification unit 24 is, for example, an operation of emitting a continuous sound of "beep", an operation of emitting a voice saying "the information code has been read successfully", or both.

When the user is notified of the successful reading of the information code by the reading result notification unit 24 , the user places the boxed lunch inside the heating chamber 13 and then closes the front door 12 . In this state, the determination unit 22 a determines whether or not the boxed lunch to be heated is placed at a predetermined position in the heating chamber 13 . Here, if the judging section 22a judges that the bento is in the heating chamber 13, the judgment result is sent to the heating control section 22b. On the other hand, the front door open/close detector 25 sends a detection signal indicating that the front door 12 is closed to the heating controller 22b. As a result, the heating control by the heating control unit 22b, that is, the heating operation by the heating operation unit 23 is permitted, and the heating of the box lunch is started.

When the warming of the boxed lunch is completed as described above, the user is notified to that effect, and the user takes out the boxed lunch from the heating chamber 13 . By taking out the lunch box from the heating chamber 13, the lunch box disappears from the sensor detection area 32 in the heating chamber 13, and the signal received by the food sensor 31 becomes the reference value. It is judged that there is nothing in the heating chamber 13 . The heating controller 22b does not permit the heating operation by the heating operation unit 23 based on the determination result of the determination unit 22a (lunchbox is not placed in the heating chamber 13). As a result, the heating operation by the heating operation unit 23 is not performed in a state where lunch boxes are not placed in the heating chamber 13 . That is, no heating operation is performed in the no-load state.

(Control up to start of cooking)
FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing (heating control method) up to the start of cooking in the heating cooker 1 .

First, front door open/close detection is performed (step S11). Here, the opening/closing detection of the front door 12 is performed by the front door opening/closing detection unit 25, and the detection result is sent to the determination unit 22a and the heating control unit 22b.

Next, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is closed (step S12). Here, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is closed based on the detection result of the front door open/close detection unit 25. FIG. If the determination unit 22a determines that the front door 12 is closed (YES), the process proceeds to step S13, and food detection is performed. Since the method of detecting food has already been described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the description is omitted here.

In step S13, food detection is performed by the food sensor 31, and the detection result is sent to the determination section 22a.

Subsequently, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not there is food (step S14). Here, the judgment unit 22a judges the presence or absence of food from the detection result sent from the food sensor 31. FIG. The detection result of the food sensor 31 is the value of the output voltage of the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c. Then, the determination unit 22a determines the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber 13 from the value of the output voltage, and sends the determination (YES) that food is present to the heating control unit 22b to start heating (step S15). Here, in the heating control unit 22b, the detection result sent from the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 indicates that the front door 12 is closed, and the determination result sent from the determination unit 22a is Control of the heating operation unit 23 is permitted when it is determined that food is present.

On the other hand, in step S<b>14 , if the determination unit 22 a determines that there is no food (NO), the determination result is sent to the heating control unit 22 b , and the heating control unit 22 b does not permit the control of the heating operation unit 23 . Since there is no food subject to heating control, the process is terminated.

In other words, the heating control unit 22b does not permit the control of the heating operation unit 23 only with the result indicating that the front door 12 is closed, and the closing of the front door 12 is detected. and the result indicating that the presence of food is detected, the control of the heating operation section 23 is permitted.

(effect)
According to the heating cooker 1 configured as described above, even when the front door 12 is closed, it is determined whether food is placed in the heating chamber 13, and as a result of the determination, the food is placed in the heating chamber 13. If food is placed, heating control is performed. As a result, when it is determined whether or not there is food in the heating chamber 13 before the front door 12 is closed, it is affected by outside light, and when it should be determined that there is food, it is determined that there is no food. Even if it is determined, after the front door 12 is closed, the presence or absence of the food is determined again, so that the problem that the heating control is not started even though the food is present does not occur.

In particular, as in the above-described heating cooker 1, when the information code is read in advance to obtain the heating information of the food, and the food is heated immediately after closing the front door 12, the food is heated again after the front door 12 is closed. By determining the presence/absence of the food, the heating control can be reliably executed when the food is present.

Therefore, even if it is determined that there is no food due to erroneous detection due to the influence of external light when the door of the heating chamber is open, if it is determined that there is food with the door of the heating chamber closed, the food is automatically detected. heating will start. As a result, even if detection of food is affected by outside light, it is possible to reduce the labor and time required to start cooking the food.

In this embodiment, first, an example in which the presence or absence of food is detected after the front door 12 is closed has been described. An example performed from the process of detecting the presence or absence of food will be described.

[Embodiment 2]
Other embodiments of the invention are described below. For convenience of description, members having the same functions as those of the members described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

In this embodiment, the same heating cooker 1 as in the first embodiment is used, but the process up to the start of heating control is different. That is, the control of the control unit 22 is different from that of the first embodiment.

(Control up to start of cooking)
FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing up to the start of heat cooking in this embodiment.

First, front door open/close detection is performed (step S21). Here, the opening/closing detection of the front door 12 is performed by the front door opening/closing detection unit 25, and the detection result is sent to the determination unit 22a and the heating control unit 22b.

Next, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is open (step S22). Here, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is open based on the detection result of the front door opening/closing detection unit 25. FIG. If the determination unit 22a determines that the front door 12 is open (YES), the process proceeds to step S23, and food detection is performed. Since the method of detecting food has already been described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the description is omitted here.

In step S23, food detection is performed by the food sensor 31, and the detection result is sent to the determination section 22a.

Subsequently, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not there is food (step S24). Here, the detection result by the food sensor 31 is sent to the judgment section 22a, and the judgment section 22a judges the presence or absence of food. When the determination unit 22a determines that there is no food (YES), the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 performs front door opening/closing detection (step S25). Here, the opening/closing detection of the front door 12 is performed by the front door opening/closing detection unit 25, and the detection result is sent to the determination unit 22a and the heating control unit 22b. On the other hand, when the determination unit 22a determines that there is food (NO) in step S24, the process proceeds to step S23, and food detection is performed.

Next, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is closed (step S26). Here, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is closed based on the detection result of the front door open/close detection unit 25. FIG. If the determination unit 22a determines that the front door 12 is closed (YES), the process proceeds to step S27, and food detection is performed. On the other hand, if the determination unit 22a determines that the front door 12 is open (NO) in step S26, the process proceeds to step S25, and front door open/close detection is performed.

In step S27, food detection is performed by the food sensor 31, and the detection result is sent to the determination section 22a.

Subsequently, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not there is food (step S28). Here, the judging section 22a judges the presence or absence of food based on the detection result sent from the food sensor 31. FIG. The determination unit 22a sends the result of determination (YES) that there is food to the heating control unit 22b. The heating control unit 22b starts heating based on the judgment result from the judging unit 22a that food is present (step S29). Here, in the heating control unit 22b, the detection result sent from the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 indicates that the front door 12 is closed, and the determination result sent from the determination unit 22a is Control of the heating operation unit 23 is permitted when it is determined that food is present.

(effect)
According to the heating cooker 1 configured as described above, the heating control unit 22b detects that the front door 12 is open by the front door opening/closing detection unit 25, and determines that there is no food in the heating chamber 13 by the determination unit 22a. In this state, the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 detects that the front door 12 is closed, and if the determination unit 22a determines that there is food in the heating chamber 13, heating of the food is started. In this manner, the presence or absence of food is determined with the front door 12 open. Food heating can be automatically started when the food is definitely present.

[Embodiment 3]
Other embodiments of the invention are described below. For convenience of description, members having the same functions as those of the members described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

In this embodiment, the same heating cooker 1 as in the first embodiment is used, but the process up to the start of heating control is different. That is, the control of the control unit 22 is different from that of the first embodiment.

(Control up to start of cooking)
FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing up to the start of heat cooking in this embodiment.

First, front door open/close detection is performed (step S31). Here, the opening/closing detection of the front door 12 is performed by the front door opening/closing detection unit 25, and the detection result is sent to the determination unit 22a and the heating control unit 22b.

Next, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is open (step S32). Here, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is open based on the detection result of the front door opening/closing detection unit 25. FIG. If the determination unit 22a determines that the front door 12 is open (YES), the process proceeds to step S33, and food detection is performed.

In step S33, food detection is performed by the food sensor 31, and the detection result is sent to the determination section 22a.

Subsequently, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not there is food (step S34). Here, the judging section 22 a judges the presence or absence of food based on the detection result sent from the food sensor 31 . When the determination unit 22a determines that there is food (YES), front door opening/closing detection is performed by the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 (step S35). Here, the detection result by the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 is sent to the determination unit 22a and the heating control unit 22b. On the other hand, when the determination unit 22a determines that there is no food (NO) in step S34, the process proceeds to step S33, and food detection by the food sensor 31 is performed.

Next, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is closed (step S36). Here, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not the front door 12 is closed based on the detection result of the front door open/close detection unit 25. FIG. If the determination unit 22a determines that the front door 12 is closed (YES), the process proceeds to step S37 to start heating. Here, in the heating control unit 22b, the detection result sent from the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 indicates that the front door 12 is closed, and the determination result sent from the determination unit 22a is Control of the heating operation unit 23 is permitted when it is determined that food is present.

On the other hand, if the determination unit 22a determines that the front door 12 is open (NO) in step S36, the process proceeds to step S35, and front door open/close detection is performed.

Also, in step S32, if the determination unit 22a determines that the front door 12 is closed (NO), the process proceeds to step S38, and food detection is performed.

In step S38, food detection is performed by the food sensor 31, and the detection result is sent to the determination section 22a.

Subsequently, the determination unit 22a determines whether or not there is food (step S39). Here, the judging section 22 a judges the presence or absence of food based on the detection result sent from the food sensor 31 . When determining that there is food (YES), the determination unit 22a proceeds to step S37. In step S37, heating is started. Here, in the heating control unit 22b, the detection result sent from the front door opening/closing detection unit 25 indicates that the front door 12 is closed, and the determination result sent from the determination unit 22a is Control of the heating operation unit 23 is permitted when it is determined that food is present.

On the other hand, in step S<b>39 , the determination unit 22 a sends the result of determination (NO) that there is no food to the heating control unit 22 b and does not permit the control of the heating operation unit 23 . That is, since there is no food subject to heating control, the processing ends.

(effect)
According to the heating cooker 1 configured as described above, the heating control unit 22b detects that the front door 12 is open by the front door opening/closing detection unit 25, and determines that there is food in the heating chamber 13 by the determination unit 22a. In this state, if the front door open/close detector 25 detects that the front door 12 is closed, heating of the food is started. In this manner, the presence or absence of food is determined with the front door 12 open. Food heating can be automatically started when the food is definitely present.

[Modification]
In each of the above embodiments, the food sensor 31 includes one light-emitting element and two light-receiving elements, but the number of light-emitting elements and light-receiving elements is not limited. The number is not particularly limited as long as it can form the sensor detection area 32 as indicated by reference numeral 1072 in FIG. 7, that is, the sensor detection area of a desired size. Further, the light emitting element 31a is not limited to a near-infrared LED, and the first light receiving element 31b and the second light receiving element 31c are not limited to phototransistors having a light receiving wavelength of 900 nm.

Moreover, the food sensor 31 is not limited to a transmissive sensor, and may be, for example, a reflective sensor, that is, a sensor in which a light receiving element and a light emitting element are provided on the same side wall. For example, a food sensor 31 as shown in FIG. 14 may be used.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement example and detection regions of food sensors in a heating cooker according to a modification of the present invention.

The food sensor 31 is composed of, for example, a reflective photosensor. Light from a light-emitting element in the reflective photosensor is applied to a detected object (food), and the light reflected by the detected object is received. Detect presence or absence. Here, as indicated by reference numeral 1401 in FIG. 14, the sensor detection area 32 is the irradiation range of the light from the light emitting element of the food sensor 31 .

The food sensor 31 receives the reflected light from the sensor detection area 32 and sends the received signal (light receiving signal) to the control section 22 ( FIG. 10 ) of the heating cooker 1 . The control unit 22 determines the presence or absence of the food 40 in the heating chamber 13 based on the received light signal.

As described above, it is necessary to adjust the position and size of the sensor detection area 32 in order to detect the presence or absence of the food 40 that is the detection object placed in the heating chamber 13 . In this embodiment, as indicated by reference numeral 1402 in FIG. 14, an example in which three food sensors 31 are arranged in the depth direction of the heating chamber 13 is shown. The height from the installation surface of the three food sensors 31 is assumed to be the same. In this way, sensor detection is an area for detecting the presence or absence of food 40 placed on flat plate 13c of heating chamber 13 using three food sensors 31 having the same height from the installation surface. An area 32 is formed. Therefore, by adjusting the number of food sensors 31 and the height from the installation surface according to the size of the heating chamber 13, it is possible to form the sensor detection area 32 according to the size of the heating chamber 13. Become. As described above, the number of food sensors 31, the installation height, and the like are not particularly limited as long as the sensor detection area 32 of a desired size can be formed.

[Example of realization by software]
The function of the heating cooker 1 (hereinafter referred to as "device") is a program for causing a computer to function as the device, and the computer is used as each control block (especially each part included in the control unit 22) of the device. It can be realized by a program for functioning.

In this case, the apparatus comprises a computer having at least one control device (eg processor) and at least one storage device (eg memory) as hardware for executing the program. Each function described in each of the above embodiments is realized by executing the above program using the control device and the storage device.

The program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not temporary. The recording medium may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the device via any transmission medium, wired or wireless.

Also, part or all of the functions of the above control blocks can be realized by logic circuits. For example, integrated circuits in which logic circuits functioning as the control blocks described above are formed are also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition to this, it is also possible to implement the functions of the control blocks described above by, for example, a quantum computer.

Further, each process described in each of the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI may operate on the control device, or may operate on another device (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

〔summary〕
A heating cooker according to aspect 1 of the present invention includes a heating chamber 13, a door (front door 12) provided in the heating chamber 13, and an open/close detection unit (front door) that detects opening and closing of the door (front door 12). a door open/close detection unit 25), a determination unit 22a that determines whether or not food is present in the heating chamber 13, a reader 16 that reads an information code for cooking food, and information read by the reader 16. a heating control unit 22b that controls heating of the food in the heating chamber 13 based on a code, and the heating control unit 22b controls the door (front door 12 ) is closed and the determination unit 22a determines that there is food in the heating chamber 13, the heating of the food is started.

According to the above configuration, when the door of the heating chamber is closed and there is food in the heating chamber, the heating control unit controls the heating of the food. Therefore, even if it is determined that there is no food due to erroneous detection due to the influence of external light when the door of the heating chamber is open, if it is determined that there is food with the door of the heating chamber closed, the food is automatically detected. heating will start. As a result, even if detection of food is affected by outside light, it is possible to reduce the labor and time required to start cooking the food.

In the heating cooker according to aspect 2 of the present invention, in aspect 1, the determination unit 22a detects that the door (front door 12) is closed by the opening/closing detection unit (front door opening/closing detection unit 25). Then, the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber 13 is determined, and when the determination unit 22a determines that there is food in the heating chamber 13, the heating control unit 22b starts heating the food. may

According to the above configuration, it is possible to control the heating of the food while the door is closed and the food is surely in the heating chamber.

In the heating cooker according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in aspect 2, the determination unit 22a detects that the door (front door 12) is open by the opening/closing detection unit (front door opening/closing detection unit 25). Then, the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber 13 is determined, and the heating control unit 22b detects that the door (front door 12) is open by the opening/closing detection unit (front door opening/closing detection unit 25). and the opening/closing detection unit (front door opening/closing detection unit 25) detects that the door (front door 12) is closed when the determination unit 22a determines that there is no food in the heating chamber 13. Then, if it is determined that there is food in the heating chamber 13 by the determination unit 22a, the heating of the food may be started.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to suppress heating when there is no food in the heating chamber, that is, no-load operation, and control heating when there is food.

In the heating cooker according to aspect 4 of the present invention, in aspect 2, the determination unit 22a detects that the door (front door 12) is open by the opening/closing detection unit (front door opening/closing detection unit 25). Then, the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber 13 is determined, and the heating control unit 22b detects that the door (front door 12) is open by the opening/closing detection unit (front door opening/closing detection unit 25). and in a state where the determination unit 22a determines that there is food in the heating chamber 13, the open/close detection unit (front door open/close detection unit 25) detects that the door (front door 12) is closed. Once done, heating of the food may begin.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to reliably heat the food while it is in the heating chamber.

A heating cooker according to aspect 5 of the present invention, in any one aspect of aspects 1 to 4, includes a food sensor 31 that detects food in the heating chamber 13, and the food sensor 31 emits light. A light-emitting portion (light-emitting element 31a) and a light-receiving portion (first light-receiving element 31b, second light-receiving element 31c) that receives light emitted from the light-emitting portion (light-emitting element 31a). , the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber 13 may be determined according to the amount of light received by the light receiving section (first light receiving element 31b, second light receiving element 31c).

According to the above configuration, the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber can be determined with a simple configuration. Moreover, if the presence or absence of food is determined while the door of the heating chamber is closed, as in the above modes 2 and 3, the light receiving section is not affected by external light and the presence or absence of food is determined with high accuracy. be able to.

A heating control method for a heating cooker according to aspect 6 of the present invention includes: a heating chamber 13; a door (front door 12) provided in the heating chamber 13; A detection unit (front door open/close detection unit 25), a determination unit 22a that determines whether or not food is present in the heating chamber 13, a reader 16 that reads an information code for cooking food, and the reader 16 A heating control method for a heating cooker including a heating control unit 22b that controls heating of food in the heating chamber 13 based on the read information code, wherein the heating control unit 22b controls the open/close detection unit ( When the front door opening/closing detection unit 25) detects that the door (front door 12) is closed and the determination unit 22a determines that food is present in the heating chamber 13, heating of the food is started. .

According to the above configuration, when the door of the heating chamber is closed and there is food in the heating chamber, the heating control unit controls the heating of the food. As a result, the heating of the food is controlled while the food is surely in the heating chamber.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims, and can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

1 heating cooker 11 operation panel 12 front door (door)
13 Heating chamber 13a Side wall 13b Front opening 13c Flat plate 14 Handle 15 Control frame 16 Device 17 Device board 19 Area 20 Guidance display 21 Area lighting units 22, 22c Control unit 22a Judgment unit 22b Heating control unit 22c Reading control unit 23 Heating operation Part 24 Result notification part 25 Front door opening/closing detection part (opening/closing detection part)
30 display unit 31 food sensor 31a light emitting element (light emitting unit)
31b first light receiving element (light receiving part)
31c Second light receiving element (light receiving part)
32 sensor detection area 32a first detection area 32b second detection area 40 food 51 server

Claims (6)

a heating chamber;
a door provided in the heating chamber;
an open/close detection unit that detects opening/closing of the door;
a determination unit that determines the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber;
a reading device for reading an information code for cooking food;
a heating control unit that controls heating of the food in the heating chamber based on the information code read by the reading device;
including
The heating control unit
The heating cooker starts heating the food when the open/close detection unit detects that the door is closed and the determination unit determines that food is present in the heating chamber. The determination unit is
When the opening/closing detection unit detects that the door is closed, determining the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber,
The heating control unit
The heating cooker according to claim 1, wherein the heating of the food is started when the determination unit determines that the food is present in the heating chamber.
do, The determination unit is
determining whether or not there is food in the heating chamber when the opening/closing detection unit detects that the door is open;
The heating control unit
The open/close detection unit detects that the door is open, and the determination unit determines that there is no food in the heating chamber, and the open/close detection unit detects that the door is closed, 3. The heating cooker according to claim 2, wherein the heating of the food is started when the determination unit determines that the food is present in the heating chamber. The determination unit is
determining whether or not there is food in the heating chamber when the opening/closing detection unit detects that the door is open;
The heating control unit
In a state in which the opening/closing detection unit detects that the door is open and the determination unit determines that there is food in the heating chamber, the opening/closing detection unit detects that the door is closed. 3. The heating cooker according to claim 2, wherein the heating of the food is started when the food is heated. A food sensor that detects food in the heating chamber,
The food sensor is
a light emitting unit that emits light;
a light receiving unit that receives light emitted from the light emitting unit,
The determination unit is
The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber is determined according to the amount of light received by the light receiving portion. A heating chamber, a door provided in the heating chamber, an open/close detection unit for detecting opening and closing of the door, a determination unit for determining the presence or absence of food in the heating chamber, and an information code for cooking food. and a heating control unit for controlling heating of food in the heating chamber based on the information code read by the reading device.
When the opening/closing detection unit detects that the door is closed by the heating control unit, and the determination unit determines that there is food in the heating chamber, the heating of the food is started. heating control method.

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