JP2000020853A - Microwave oven - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent useless and dangerous operation of a microwave oven, and to transmit safety information of a user by inhibiting the start of the next heating operation in a specified time after the end of heating, and transmitting an emergency communication signal to a centralized control center when a specific input signal is absent in a following specified time. SOLUTION: When a set of meal dished up on a tray is distributed to a user's house, a user opens a door 2 of a microwave oven 1, and sets a tray set in a heating chamber, and starts a heating operation by pressing a start button 5. When the heating is ended, a sensor 6 operates the turning on-and-off of a light and the issue of a buzzer sound for a prescribed time, and lets the user know that the meal is ready to be served. In this case, the start of the next heating operation is inhibited in a first specified time after the end of heating, and when the generation of any specific input signal is absent in a following second specified time, an emergency communication signal is transmitted to a centralized control center such as a care center or a security center.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microwave oven capable of preventing the next heating operation from starting for a certain period of time after the completion of heating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the aging of society has accelerated, and according to published information, the percentage of elderly people aged 65 and over in Japan will reach over 25% by 2020. It is predicted that. At present, the number of elderly households living alone is rapidly increasing, coupled with the effects of the nuclear family.

[0003] By the way, in the household only for the elderly,
It is said that complicated cooking is often avoided, and it is said that there is a strong tendency to eat a simple meal simply by reheating cooked instant food.

[0004] However, while continuing to consume such foods,
It is not easy for elderly people with weakness and weakness to maintain nutritional balance.

[0005] Under such a social background, a business of providing lunch by home delivery is growing. This is because a food service provider (delivery company) delivers a tray with one meal of food (for example, rice, side dishes, miso soup, etc.) in consideration of nutritional balance to the client's home at the time of meal, and delivers it to the recipient. By reheating with a microwave oven on the side, it was possible to eat a warm meal.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to enable a person who receives a meal service to carry a tray by himself, to be able to store and take out the tray in a microwave oven, and to have a need for the microwave oven. It is assumed that the minimum qualification of the user is to be able to understand the minimum functions and to be able to perform the heating start operation and the setting cancel operation of the microwave oven.

[0007] Further, regarding the microwave oven, it is set as minimum requirements that the operation panel is as simple as possible and that complicated operations are not required.

[0008] However, there is no user who once again or repeatedly performs the heating start operation even though the food placed in the microwave oven has already been heated. Not exclusively. In that case, there is a problem that even if the precious food is rendered inedible, or if it does not, the temperature of the food is abnormally increased, thereby increasing the risk of burns when taking out the food. In addition, the same applies to the danger of so-called empty baking, in which a heating operation is performed without installing food in the heating chamber.

[0009] Furthermore, it is necessary to keep in mind that a special problem that elderly people living alone have is that when they cannot move due to sudden illness, it is often an emergency. The microwave oven proposed here is
Considering that it is intended to be used by people in that kind of situation, it seems to be very important to increase the added value of microwave ovens. It is.

[0010] The present invention has been made to provide a microwave oven that solves such a problem, and is intended for not only elderly people but also those who have to rely on a lunch service due to a handicap. Must also be valid.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention prohibits the start of the next heating operation in a microwave oven for a first fixed time after the end of heating, and the first When a specific input signal is not generated within a second fixed time after the fixed time has elapsed, an emergency notification signal is transmitted to a central management center such as a care center or a security center. .

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is constituted as described above. On the other hand, heating is not repeated only for a first fixed time after the end of heating, so that food is inedible. The condition was prevented, the temperature of the food did not rise abnormally even when the food became inedible, and the baking was not started when the food was taken out.

[0013] On the other hand, if a specific input signal is not generated within a second fixed time after a first fixed time has elapsed after the end of heating, a sudden illness has occurred in the user. In such a case, it is determined that the user is in a state of being unable to move, and by sending an emergency contact signal to a central management center such as a nursing care center or a security center, the emergency situation that occurred to the user can be promptly notified Is to ensure the safety of the user.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the microwave oven of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a front external view, wherein 1 is a main body of a microwave oven, 2 is a door for opening and closing an opening of a heating chamber, 3
Denotes an operation panel.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a display unit for displaying the elapse of the heating time.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a start button for starting a heating operation, and reference numeral 6 denotes an annunciator for notifying the end of heating by flashing light and a buzzer sound. In this embodiment, the heating output and the heating time when the start button 5 is operated to perform heating are fixed values such as 400 watts / hour and 10 minutes, respectively.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a blind cover, which can be removed by using a special tool, and is usually attached in a state where it cannot be easily removed.

Reference numerals 8 and 9 denote operation number setting buttons provided in a state of being hidden by the blind cover 7.
8 is a button for setting one operation, and 9 is a button for enabling two operations. The reason why the two operations can be set is that the application range of the microwave oven of the present invention is not limited to the heating of one meal.

Reference numerals 10 to 12 denote buttons for setting an operation prohibition time after the end of the heating operation when the above-mentioned operation number setting buttons 8 and 9 are set.
A button for setting the time, 11 is a button for setting it to 6 hours, and 12 is a button for setting it to 0 hours.

Since the microwave oven of this embodiment is a dedicated device for heating a predetermined food to a predetermined state, the heating output and the heating time do not need to be adjusted. It is needless to say that setting the adjustment buttons and the like inside the blind cover 7 in order to increase the image quality is extremely useful.

Reference numeral 13 denotes an emergency operation pattern of the microwave oven.
This is a setting cancel button for canceling the operation pattern. In this embodiment, the original operation pattern can be restarted by pressing this button again after the cancellation. However, this setting cancel button 1
Providing 3 in the cover 7 so as to prevent erroneous operations from occurring may be appropriately performed. Alternatively, the operation may be canceled and restarted using the operation number setting buttons 8 and 9 without providing the dedicated button 13.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a transmitter for transmitting an emergency notification signal to the central control center. Reference numeral 15 denotes a receiver provided in the central control center for receiving the emergency notification signal from the transmitter 14. . Here, the central management center is
Needless to say, this is an organization that provides emergency care to users in an emergency. Reference numeral 16 denotes a means for transmitting an emergency communication signal between the transmitter 14 and the receiver 15, and here, an example using a public telephone line is shown.
A dedicated line may be used.

In the microwave oven having such a configuration, the supplier of the microwave oven removes the blind cover 7 and operates the number-of-operations setting button 8 or 9 by operating the number-of-operations button 8 or 9 specified by the delivery destination user. Set once or twice. At the same time, the operation prohibition time after one or two operations are executed is set to the operation prohibition time setting buttons 10 (4 hours), 11 based on the user's request.
(6 hours) and 12 (0 hours). It should be noted that setting the operation prohibition time setting button 12 (0 hour) does not substantially prohibit the repetitive operation. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully set the setting based on the ability of the user. is there.

Although not described in detail, in this embodiment, the buttons under the cover 7 are not easily removed so that incorrect setting by an unskilled person does not occur. In addition to the above, for example, the operation prohibition time setting buttons 10, 11,
While all of 12 are pressed, the number of operations
When the button 9 is pressed, the number of operations of the pressed button is set for the first time. On the other hand, while both of the buttons 8 and 9 are pressed, the operation inhibition time setting buttons 10 and 1 are set.
When any one of the buttons 1 and 12 is pressed, the operation inhibition time corresponding to the pressed button is set for the first time.

The transmitter 14 is connected to a telephone line 16 which is a means for transmitting an emergency notification signal. Although not described in detail here, an emergency notification signal is transmitted between the transmitter 14 and a receiver 15 which has been connected in advance. Perform a test to confirm that the information is transmitted smoothly.

In practice, it is considered that the microwave oven supplier and the central management center are often the same organization, but even if they are separate organizations, there is no particular problem as long as they can cooperate sufficiently.

Next, an example of use of the microwave oven will be described. When a set of meals (not shown) placed on a tray is distributed to a user's home where the microwave oven is installed, the user can use the microwave oven. The door 2 is opened and the set of trays is set in the heating chamber. Then, the user presses the start button 5 to start the heating operation.

When the heating is completed, the alarm 6 blinks the light and emits a buzzer sound for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds).
Notifies that the food in the tray set is edible.
Therefore, the user opens the door 2, takes out the set of trays, and starts eating.

The number of operable times set in the microwave oven is 1
Times and the operation prohibition time is 4 hours.
The microwave oven cannot be started over time. If the meal intake time is, for example, 7:00 am for breakfast, noon for lunch, and 7:00 pm for dinner, the time for lunch and dinner should be the time after the breakfast time and after the operation prohibited time from the lunch time sufficiently. Therefore, the microwave oven can be fully utilized when necessary, and unnecessary and dangerous operation can be completely prevented.

Next, after a lapse of four hours of a first fixed time (operation prohibition time) from the end of the previous heating operation, a second fixed time (for example, 10 hours) starting from that time. If the start button 5 is not pressed even in the scheduled food intake zone during the period of), it is determined that the user may be in an emergency in which he / she cannot move due to the occurrence of sudden illness. The notification by the annunciator 6 is continued for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes), and the response of the user during that time is determined. If the start button 5 or the setting cancel button 13 is not pressed during this time, it is determined that a true emergency has occurred, and an emergency contact signal is transmitted from the transmitter 14 to the receiver 15 to the central control center. Notify when an emergency has occurred. As a result, the central management center is dispatched to rescue the user.

When the user intentionally decides not to eat a meal, the emergency operation pattern of the microwave oven can be canceled at any time by pressing the cancel button 13 on the user side. The central management center does not have to take unnecessary measures in that case.

Further, in this microwave oven, the operation prohibition time can be made zero in response to the operation of the button 12 inside the blindfold cover 7, that is, the heating operation can be continuously and repeatedly performed. When it is known that a dedicated operator etc. will surely handle the food, it is possible to heat a plurality of meals continuously, though one by one.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation of the microwave oven can be prohibited for a certain period of time after the heating is completed. Dangerous heating is no longer performed.

If a specific input signal is not generated within a second fixed time after the first fixed time after the end of the heating, the user cannot move due to sudden illness or the like. Judging that the situation has fallen, and sending an emergency contact signal to a centralized management center such as a nursing care center or security center, it is possible to promptly inform the concerned parties of the emergency situation that has occurred to the user, It has become possible to ensure the safety of users.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front external view of an embodiment of the present invention and a connection diagram of a transmitter and a receiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microwave oven main body 2 Door 3 Operation panel 4 Display part 5 Start button 6 Alarm 7 Blind cover 8, 9 Operation number setting button 10, 11, 12 Operation prohibition time setting button 13 Cancel button 14 Transmitter 15 Receiver 16 Line

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued from the front page F term (reference) BB74 DD03 DD30 DD37 DD49 EE18 FF01 FF02 FF23 GG01 GG09 GG21 GG28 GG30 GG38 GG57 GG67

Claims (1)

[Claims] The present invention inhibits the start of the next heating operation for a first fixed time after the end of heating, and sets a specific input signal within a second fixed time after the first fixed time has elapsed. A microwave oven for transmitting an emergency notification signal to a centralized management center such as a nursing care center or a security center if there is no occurrence.