JP2000304281A - Cooking equipment network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To collectively manage a plurality of microwave ovens and to centralizedly control a plurality of cooking devices by connecting the respective devices to a network adapter, and centralizedly controlling the respective devices. SOLUTION: A network adapter 102 distributes cooking sequence information or the like to a plurality of microwave ovens 100 of cooking devices. A handy terminal 103 communicates with the adapter 102. In the case of installing this constitution in a store such as a convenience store, a restaurant or the like, the plurality of the ovens 100 and the adapter 102 are installed in the store, and the terminal 103 is carried by a supervisor for managing and administrating a facility in the store. Generally, a function of a radio communication or a wired serial communication or the like is attached to the terminal 103. Exchanges of data with another terminal, an equipment or a host computer can be executed by this function.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to cooking appliances such as a microwave oven, an electric oven, a gas range, and an electromagnetic cooker, and a network system for managing them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional cooking appliance network system generally has a configuration as shown in FIG. This configuration includes the management computer 207 and the microwave oven 200.

A microwave oven 200 includes a heating unit 201 for heating food, and a power supply control unit 202 for supplying power to the heating unit.
And a controller 203 for controlling the amount of electric power supplied to the heating unit to control the heating power and the heating time, and a display unit 204 for displaying a control state of the microwave oven and a cooking menu number.
And an operation unit 205 that allows the user to select a cooking menu
And a cooking menu storage unit 206 in which cooking sequence information (menu number and heating procedure information) is stored, and communication via a telephone line is performed to receive cooking sequence data from the management computer, and to transmit it to the cooking menu storage unit 206. The communication control unit 207 stores the information in the communication controller 207.

[0004] With this configuration, the cooking sequence is transmitted from the management computer to the microwave oven, or
A request for data acquisition of the cooking sequence is issued from the microwave oven, and the data can be received from the management computer. By such communication between the management computer and the microwave oven, the cooking sequence stored in the microwave oven could be automatically set.

[0005]

However, the conventional configuration as described above has the following problems.

(1) Communication between the microwave oven and the management computer is only cooking sequence information and information related thereto, and the communication amount is small. However, since it is constantly connected to the management computer, it costs much in terms of installation and operation of the entire system.

(2) Since the microwave oven is directly connected to the management computer, when connecting a plurality of microwave ovens of different models to the management computer, communication must be performed for each microwave oven, and the communication time And communication costs.

(3) Only a microwave oven having a built-in communication control unit can be connected to the management computer.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention connects a plurality of cooking appliances to a network adapter so that each cooking appliance can be centrally controlled.

[0010] In the network adapter, the management computer and the cooking appliance are not always connected as in the conventional example. Instead, the present invention uses a portable terminal such as a handy terminal, and establishes communication only when necessary to transfer the cooking sequence. With the configuration of the network adapter, a plurality of microwave ovens can be collectively managed, and the cooking sequence is transmitted via the handy terminal when necessary without being constantly connected to the management computer, so that installation is simplified.

Further, the network adapter has a plurality of ports, and is configured to connect the ports to the cooking appliance. This allows connection with a plurality of cooking appliances.

Further, the present invention also shows a configuration in which a cooking appliance is connected to a network adapter using an IC card often used in a conventional cooking appliance, thereby connecting a cooking appliance without a communication function. Has become possible.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cooking appliance network system according to a first aspect of the present invention stores and communicates cooking sequence information, and communicates with at least one cooking appliance connected to at least one cooking appliance. And a network adapter for rewriting the cooking sequence information stored in each cooking appliance. This allows
The cooking sequence of a plurality of cooking appliances can be automatically rewritten.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a cooking appliance network system stores cooking sequence information and performs cooking in accordance with the cooking sequence information, a handy terminal for transmitting the cooking sequence information, and cooking sequence information of the cooking appliance. A network adapter that establishes a connection with the handy terminal at the time of updating, transmits information received from the handy terminal to at least one or more cooking appliances in order, and rewrites cooking sequence information stored in each cooking appliance. . The handy terminal establishes a connection with the network adapter only when rewriting the cooking sequence. Since the connection with the management computer is not always made as in the conventional example, installation and operation costs are reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooking appliance network system comprising an IC storing cooking sequence information.
A card, a cooking device for cooking according to the cooking sequence information stored in the IC card, a handy terminal for transmitting the cooking sequence information, and a connection with the handy terminal when the cooking sequence information is updated, and receiving from the handy terminal. And a network adapter for sequentially transmitting the information to IC cards connected to at least one or more cooking appliances and rewriting the cooking sequence information stored in each IC card. Many existing cooking appliances have an IC card slot. Using an IC card enables networking with existing cooking appliances.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooking appliance network system comprising: a cooking appliance for storing appliance information such as the number of times of use, a use time, a failure status, a failure history, and a maintenance history; and a handy terminal for receiving the appliance information. ,
A network adapter is provided that communicates with at least one or more cooking appliances in order, reads the contents of the appliance information stored in each cooking appliance, establishes communication with the handy terminal, and transmits the appliance information to the handy terminal. . Thus, information other than the cooking sequence can be managed by the handy terminal.

The cooking appliance network system according to claim 5 of the present invention is a cooking appliance network system which stores appliance information such as the number of times of use, use time, failure status, failure history, and maintenance history.
A C card, a cooking appliance for storing the device information in the IC card, a handy terminal for transmitting and receiving the device information, and communicating with at least one or more IC cards in order, and transmitting the device information stored in each IC card. A network adapter is provided for reading the contents, establishing communication with the handy terminal, and transmitting device information to the handy terminal.

A cooking appliance network system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the cooking appliance network system according to the second to fifth aspects,
The handy terminal communicates with a management computer that manages and stores the cooking sequence of the cooking appliance and the appliance information, and transmits and receives the cooking sequence information and the appliance information. As a result, information about cooking can be downloaded to the handy terminal from a management computer such as a POS terminal in the store, and by sending it to the cooking appliance,
More efficient rewriting of the cooking sequence can be realized.

A cooking appliance network system according to a seventh aspect of the present invention stores cooking sequence information, and connects and communicates with at least one or more cooking appliances that perform cooking in accordance with the cooking sequence information. A network adapter is provided for periodically copying cooking sequence information stored in one of the cooking devices to another connected cooking device. Just by setting the cooking sequence for only one of the connected cooking appliances, the setting can be performed for other cooking appliances.

[0020] The cooking appliance network system according to claim 8 of the present invention is an IC storing cooking sequence information.
A card, a cooking appliance that cooks according to the cooking sequence information stored in the IC card, and an IC card that is connected to at least one or more cooking appliances, and communicates with one of the IC cards. A network adapter that periodically copies the information to another connected IC card.

A cooking appliance network system according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the cooking appliance network system according to the seventh or eighth aspect,
A cooking sequence for converting cooking sequence information between a cooking device or an IC card corresponding to the cooking device and the network adapter when connecting a cooking device of a different model to a cooking device serving as a copy source in the network adapter. A conversion unit is provided. This makes it possible to connect different types of cooking appliances to the network adapter.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooking appliance network system for storing cooking sequence information, performing cooking in accordance with the cooking sequence information, a storage unit for storing the cooking sequence information, and at least one cooking device. A network adapter is provided for performing communication by connecting to appliances and rewriting cooking sequence information stored in each cooking appliance according to the contents of the storage unit. Thereby, the contents of the cooking sequence stored in the storage unit connected to the network adapter can be copied to another cooking device.

[0023] In the cooking appliance network system according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the cooking appliance network system stores cooking sequence information.
A C card, a cooking appliance that cooks according to the cooking sequence information stored in the IC card, a master IC card that stores updated cooking sequence information, and an IC card that is connected to each of the plurality of cooking appliances. A network adapter is provided for communicating and copying the contents of the master IC card to at least one or more IC cards.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the cooking appliance network system according to the tenth or eleventh aspect, when cooking appliances of different models are connected to the network adapter, the cooking appliance or an IC corresponding to the cooking appliance is connected.
A cooking sequence conversion unit for converting cooking sequence information is inserted between the card and the network adapter.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cooking appliance network system according to the third, eighth, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth aspects, wherein the IC card includes a communication unit for transmitting and receiving information to and from the network adapter, and a cooking sequence. Stores information, a cooking sequence storage unit that outputs cooking sequence information to the cooking device in response to a request from the cooking device, and interprets a cooking sequence rewrite command or a read command included in the information received by the communication unit, It comprises a command interpretation and execution unit for updating and reading information in the cooking sequence storage unit.

[0026] In the cooking appliance network system according to claim 14 of the present invention, in the configuration according to claims 3, 8, 9, 11, and 12, the IC card includes a communication unit for transmitting and receiving information to and from the network adapter, and a cooking unit. A cooking sequence storage unit that stores sequence information and outputs cooking sequence information to the cooking device in response to a request from the cooking device, and interprets a cooking sequence rewrite command or a read command included in the information received by the communication unit, A command interpretation and execution unit for updating and reading information in the cooking sequence storage unit, an access monitoring unit for monitoring access to the cooking sequence storage unit from the cooking appliance, and a cooking sequence storage unit for the cooking appliance and the instruction interpretation execution unit Switching unit to switch access to the cooking appliance, and the access monitoring unit from the cooking appliance to the cooking sequence storage unit When detecting an access, access from the cooking appliance controls the switching unit controls to be performed preferentially over command interpretation execution unit. This allows
Avoid conflict between access from the network adapter and access from the cooking appliance itself.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a cooking appliance network system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
3 is a diagram showing the configuration of each part in FIG. 1 in detail. Although the present invention is applicable to all cooking appliances, an example applied to a commercial microwave oven will be described here as an example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the configuration of this embodiment is divided into the following three parts.

(1) Microwave oven 100 as a cooking appliance
(At least one).

(2) A network adapter 102 for delivering cooking sequence information to a plurality of microwave ovens.

(3) Handy terminal 103 for communicating with the adapter.

When this configuration is installed in a store such as a convenience store or a family restaurant, a plurality of microwave ovens and network adapters are installed in the store, and the handy terminal manages and operates facilities in the store. The visor has.

In a convenience store or a family restaurant, a cooking menu to be sold is frequently updated. For this reason, the cooking sequence of the microwave oven is frequently changed,
There were problems such as the time required for the change work and the mistake of manual setting change.

In stores such as convenience stores, functionally specialized information terminals are often used for managing products and equipment. This is always carried by a supervisor, and one store may manage a plurality of stores. Generally, these handy terminals are provided with functions such as wireless communication by infrared (IR) and serial communication by wire. With this function, data can be exchanged with other terminals, devices, and host computers. In general, a handy terminal can also receive various inputs from a supervisor.

In this embodiment, cooking sequence information is transmitted from the handy terminal to the microwave oven via the network adapter. The cooking sequence input to the handy terminal may be input from an input unit such as a keyboard provided in the handy terminal, or may be copied from another device by communication. Unlike the conventional example,
The microwave oven and the network adapter according to the present embodiment are not always connected to the computer but are delivered from a handy terminal (portable terminal) as needed. Another difference is that a network adapter is used to connect a plurality of microwave ovens, and that a microwave oven and a network adapter are connected using an IC card.

The cooking sequence information here is:
It shows the operation procedure of the microwave oven for the cooking menu. Specifically, it is as follows.

Makunouchi lunch: (Stage1: Power6, Time13sec)
(Stage2: Power3, Time23sec) In this example, when heating the inner lunch box of the curtain with a microwave, first, power level 6
, Heating for 13 seconds, and then heating for 23 seconds at power level 3 ". The number of stages depends on the dish. Also, many recent microwave ovens are provided with various cooking functions such as an oven function and a steam function, and in such a case, the sequence becomes more complicated.

Many microwave ovens currently used in convenience stores and family restaurants are
Many devices do not have the communication control unit 107 as in the conventional example, and most models do not have a function of connecting to other terminals or devices.

However, many models have an IC card slot. This is used to rewrite the cooking sequence off-line. A conventional IC card includes only a memory (EEPROM) and outputs stored cooking sequence data in response to access from the microwave oven body.

In this embodiment, connection to a network adapter is realized by inserting a special IC card into this IC card slot. As a result, networking is possible even with existing models.

With respect to the present embodiment that performs such a cooking sequence distribution operation, the configuration of each unit will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a heating unit for heating food. Here, the description is given using an example of a microwave oven, and therefore, it corresponds specifically to a magnetron. Reference numeral 2 denotes a power supply control unit that supplies power to the magnetron, which is a heating unit, and can change the supplied power. 3 is a power supply controller 2
Controller that issues a command to the controller to control the magnitude of heating output and heating time. Reference numeral 4 denotes a display unit for displaying a control state of the microwave oven, a heating time, a remaining heating time, a designated cooking number, a failure code and the like. Reference numeral 5 denotes an operation unit for a user to input a number corresponding to a cooking menu, a cooking time, an output power, and the like. Reference numeral 6 denotes an IC card slot in which an IC card is mounted to exchange data. The configurations 1 to 6 described above are the configurations of the microwave oven main body.

In general, a store such as a convenience store or a family restaurant is often provided with a plurality of microwave ovens. In the present embodiment, consideration is given to such a case, and FIG. 2 shows a state in which a plurality of microwave ovens are connected to a network adapter.

Next, the configuration of the network adapter will be described. 8 is the IR signal from the handy terminal 103
An IR signal transmission / reception unit 9 for transmitting / receiving by communication (infrared communication) is a switching command detection execution unit that constantly monitors a signal received by the IR signal transmission / reception unit 8 and operates in accordance with a switching command included in the signal. Reference numeral 10 denotes a switching unit controlled by the switching command detection execution unit 9. The switching unit 10 has a plurality of ports, and connects to a plurality of microwave ovens using the ports.

The network adapter 102 performs one-to-one communication of information transmitted from the handy terminal 103 with each connected microwave oven in order while switching the ports by the switching unit 10. In particular,
The IR signal output from the handy terminal 103 is
The signal is received by the IR signal transmitting / receiving unit 8. Here, the IR signal includes not only a command to rewrite the cooking sequence, but also a command to switch the port in the network adapter, an inquiry about the model information of the microwave oven, and an inquiry about the number of times of use of each part such as the magnetron and a failure history. Various information is included. The instruction detection execution unit 9 selects only an instruction related to port switching from these instructions and controls the switching unit 10 to switch to the port specified in the instruction. The information other than the switching command is transmitted to the microwave as it is in the through state via the switching unit 10.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration diagram of the IC card 101. A communication unit 20 performs serial communication with the network adapter 102 and receives all commands and data other than the port switching command. Reference numeral 21 denotes a command interpretation and execution unit that interprets and executes the command received by the communication unit 20. Reference numeral 22 denotes a cooking sequence storage unit (comprising a semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM) that stores cooking sequence information, operation history (use time / number of times of use) of each unit of the microwave oven, failure history, and the like. A switching unit 23 switches a bus (an address bus, a data bus, or the like) for accessing the cooking sequence storage unit 22 between the microwave oven main body side and the command interpretation execution unit side. 2
Reference numeral 4 denotes an access monitoring unit that monitors information flowing through the bus from the microwave oven body and controls the switching unit 23 to switch the bus when there is data access from the body.

According to such a configuration, the information sent from the network adapter is received by the communication unit 20,
It is sent to the instruction interpretation execution unit 21. Instruction interpretation execution unit 21
By accessing the cooking sequence storage unit 22, the cooking sequence information can be rewritten, and information such as the number of times the microwave oven has been used and the failure history can be read.

The microwave oven body side (controller 3) also
The cooking sequence storage unit 22 is accessed. For example, when the cooking of the microwave oven is started, the cooking sequence information is necessary, so the cooking sequence storage unit 22 is accessed. At the end of cooking, since the number of uses has increased by one, the controller 3 performs an operation of writing the number of uses into the cooking sequence storage unit 22. In addition to these, there is writing when a failure or an error occurs, and access to the cooking sequence storage unit 22 from the microwave oven body frequently occurs.

For this reason, access from the instruction interpretation / execution unit 21 and the access from the microwave oven itself may conflict. In other words, access to the cooking sequence storage unit 22 from the instruction interpretation execution unit 21 and the microwave oven main body side occurs at the same time, and a situation occurs in which signals collide on the address bus, the data bus, and the like. In this case, erroneous information may be read or written, or the circuit may be electrically damaged.

In this embodiment, an access monitoring unit 24 is provided to solve this. The access monitoring unit 24 monitors information (address signal, data signal, chip enable signal, card enable signal, etc.) included in the bus from the microwave oven main body side, and the microwave oven main body accesses the cooking sequence storage unit 22 Detect if there is. When the access monitoring unit detects an access on the microwave oven main body side, the switching unit 23 is preferentially switched to the microwave oven main body side. As a result, the operation on the microwave oven side is always performed with priority, and no conflict occurs.

With the above-described configuration, the information (including the cooking sequence rewriting command and the port switching command) transmitted from the handy terminal 103 is received by the network adapter 102. The network adapter 102 sequentially transmits a cooking sequence switching command and the like to the IC card 101 while switching ports according to the switching command included in the received information. The IC card 103 receives this information and interprets the cooking sequence rewriting command and the like contained therein.
By executing, the information stored in the IC card is rewritten.

By these series of operations, IC cards in a plurality of microwave ovens can be rewritten by the handy terminal. As shown in FIG. 4, the handy terminal has a P which is always connected to the host computer of the headquarters.
Information such as a cooking sequence can be obtained from the OS terminal or the like as needed. Thereby, the cooking data collectively managed by the head office can be transmitted to the microwave oven via the handy terminal.

With the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cooking sequence of a plurality of microwave ovens in a store can be rewritten via the handy terminal. In the present invention, communication using a handy terminal is performed,
Microwave oven and equipment to manage it (computer, etc.)
Is not always connected. As a result, there is an advantage that connection work and the like are not required and the installation cost is reduced. Furthermore, ICs are used for communication between the microwave oven and the handy terminal.
Since a configuration using a card and a network adapter is used, it is possible to cope with an existing microwave oven or a plurality of microwave ovens of different models, which facilitates introduction to networking. The use of an IC card for communication may cause data competition with the microwave oven itself. However, monitoring access from the microwave oven can solve this problem.

In this embodiment, the access monitoring unit 24 for detecting access from the microwave oven body is used.
Although data competition from the instruction interpretation execution unit 21 and the microwave oven main body is prevented, by changing the configuration of the cooking sequence storage unit 22 to a multi-port type semiconductor memory,
Data races may be prevented. In this case, the configuration of the memory constituting the cooking sequence storage unit 22 becomes complicated and the cost increases, but the problem of data conflict can be solved without providing an access monitoring unit. In the present embodiment, the operation of the access monitoring unit 24 has been described to preferentially operate the microwave oven main body side. However, the operation of the instruction interpretation executing unit 21 may be prioritized.

In this embodiment, the connection between the handy terminal and the network adapter is made by an IR signal. However, a wireless signal such as an electric wave may be used, or a wired connection may be made only when necessary.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a cooking appliance network system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

The difference from the first embodiment is that the communication by the handy terminal is eliminated, and the setting of one specific IC card in a plurality of microwave ovens is copied to another microwave oven as it is. .

In this configuration, since the configurations of the microwave oven and the IC card are the same as those of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted, and the operation will be described focusing on the network adapter having a different configuration.

FIG. 5A shows the entire structure. In this example, a plurality of microwave ovens (A) to (Z) are installed, and they are connected to the network adapter 110. The cooking sequence of the microwave oven can be manually set from the operation panel (the operation unit 5 in FIG. 2) on the front of the microwave oven body. The set cooking sequence is stored in the cooking sequence storage unit in the IC card. In the present embodiment, the cooking sequence is manually set to a specific one of a plurality of microwave ovens ((A) in the figure), and the cooking sequence information is transmitted to other microwave ovens (B) to (Z) is copied periodically. Thus, even if a plurality of microwave ovens are installed, only one cooking sequence needs to be set, and there is an advantage in that setting time is reduced. Further, unlike the conventional example, since it is not connected to the management computer, the setting of the cooking sequence cannot be said to be completely automated, but there is an advantage that the installation cost and the operation cost can be sufficiently reduced.

FIG. 5B shows the configuration of the network adapter 110 of this embodiment in detail. A time management unit 31 manages time intervals for regularly copying the contents of the IC card. Reference numeral 32 denotes an address signal generating unit which sequentially generates a microwave oven switching command and an address of the cooking sequence storage unit 22 from a minimum value to a maximum value in order to access information of the cooking sequence storage unit 22 in the IC card. A switching unit that switches a plurality of microwave ovens, a card access unit that creates a cooking sequence inquiry command in accordance with the address generated from the address signal generation unit 32 and accesses each IC card to obtain the content; 35 is a comparing unit for comparing the contents obtained from the card access units 30 and 34, 36
Is a rewriting unit for generating an instruction for rewriting the contents of the IC card in accordance with the result of comparison by the comparing unit 35.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. To copy the IC card information at regular intervals, the time management unit 3
1 outputs a signal to the address signal generator at predetermined time intervals.

The address signal generating section 32
When receiving the signal from 1, the switching unit 33 outputs a switching command to the switching unit 33 and selects the microwave oven (B). Thereafter, the addresses of the cooking sequence storage unit 22 are generated in order from 0 to the maximum value. In accordance with the address signal, the card access units 30 and 34 output a storage content inquiry command to the microwave ovens (A) and (B), and obtain the results. Both inquiry results are compared by the comparison unit 35. If they are different, the comparing unit 35 outputs a signal to the rewriting unit 36, and causes the contents of the IC card of the microwave oven (A) at the current address to be written to the IC card of the microwave oven (B). If they are the same, no operation is performed. The rewriting unit 36 creates a rewriting command from the contents of the microwave oven (A) when a signal is received from the comparison unit 35, and performs an operation of rewriting the contents of the microwave oven (B) via the card access unit 34. Do it. When the address generation of the address generation unit 32 reaches the maximum value, the address generation unit 32 outputs a switching command of the microwave oven to the switching unit 33, switches to the next microwave oven (C), and repeats the generation of the address.

By repeating the above operation, the contents of the IC card of a specific microwave oven can be automatically copied to the IC cards of another microwave oven. Thus, only by setting one microwave oven, the cooking sequence of another microwave oven is automatically set. There is an advantage that the work of setting a cooking sequence is reduced without connecting a computer for managing a range or a handy terminal as in the conventional example and the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, since the contents of the cooking sequence storage section 22 are simply copied, the models of the plurality of microwave ovens must be the same. However, by using the cooking sequence conversion unit 39 as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to cope with a case where other models are mixed. The cooking sequence conversion unit 39 in this case is basically a simple arithmetic circuit, and can be realized by multiplying the power and time values included in the cooking sequence rewriting command by a constant or adding a predetermined value. .

Further, the network adapter 110 is incorporated in an IC card and attached to a microwave oven (A) serving as a copy source, so that the network configuration can be changed as shown in FIG.
It can be changed as follows. Thereby, the network structure can be changed to a bus type. In addition, microwave oven (B) ~
The IC card of (Z) is the same as that described in the present embodiment.

In this embodiment, a symbol is added to the microwave oven.
Although described with (A) to (Z), the number of microwave ovens is not limited.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of a cooking appliance network system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

The difference from the second embodiment is that a slot for connecting an IC card is provided in the network adapter 120, and the contents of the IC card connected to the slot are distributed to all of the plurality of microwave ovens.

FIG. 8A shows the overall configuration. In this example, a plurality of microwave ovens are installed, and they are connected to the network adapter 120. The network adapter 120 has an IC card slot, and can insert an IC card containing cooking sequence information. When the network adapter 120 is inserted,
Alternatively, the contents of the IC card inserted into the adapter and the contents of each IC card of each microwave oven are periodically compared. As a result of the comparison, if the contents are different, the contents of the IC card on the microwave oven are rewritten so as to match the contents of the IC card inserted into the adapter. By this operation, cooking sequences of a plurality of microwave ovens can be rewritten. Therefore, cooking sequences of a plurality of microwave ovens can be rewritten without setting from the operation panel of the microwave oven. In addition, since it is not always connected to a management computer or the like, installation costs and the like can be reduced.

FIG. 8B shows the configuration of the network adapter 110 of this embodiment in detail. 31 is a time management unit, 3
2 is an address signal generator, 33 switching unit, and 30 and 34 are card access units of the cooking sequence according to the address generated from the address signal generator 32, 35
Is a comparison unit, and 36 is a rewriting unit.
This is the same as the configuration described above. The difference is that an IC card slot 40 is provided so that an IC card can be inserted.

Next, the operation procedure will be described. In order to copy the IC card every fixed time, the time management unit 31 outputs a signal to the address signal generation unit every predetermined time to start the address generation. Also, in order to start copying when an IC card is inserted, a signal is output to the address signal generator 32 when the IC card slot 40 detects the insertion of the IC card.

The address signal generator 32 is provided with the time manager 3
1 or a signal from the IC card slot
A switching command is output to the switching unit 33 to select the first microwave oven. Thereafter, the cooking sequence storage unit 22
Are sequentially generated from 0 to the maximum value. According to the address signal, the card access units 30, 34
Outputs a command to inquire about the stored contents to the IC card in the IC card slot 40 and the IC card in the selected microwave oven, and obtains the result. Both inquiry results are compared by the comparison unit 35. If they are different, the comparing unit 35 outputs a signal to the rewriting unit 36, and outputs the signal to the IC card slot 40 at the current address.
The contents of the IC card in the microwave oven selected
Write on C card. If they are the same, no operation is performed. When a signal is received from the comparing unit 35, the rewriting unit 36 creates a rewriting command from the contents of the IC card in the slot 40, and performs an operation of rewriting the contents of the IC card in the microwave oven via the card access unit 34. When the address generation of the address generation unit 32 reaches the maximum value, the address generation unit 32 outputs a switching command of the microwave oven to the switching unit 33, switches to the next microwave oven, and repeats the generation of the address.

By repeatedly performing the above operations, the contents of the IC card in the network adapter 120 can be automatically copied to the IC cards of a plurality of other microwave ovens. Thus, the cooking sequence of a plurality of microwave ovens is automatically set just by inserting the IC card into the slot of the network adapter. This allows
There is an advantage that the work of setting a cooking sequence is reduced without connecting a computer for managing a range or a handy terminal as in the conventional example and the first embodiment. Also, there is no need to make settings from the operation panel of the microwave oven as in the second embodiment.

In this embodiment, the models of the plurality of microwave ovens must be the same. However, by using the cooking sequence converter 39 with the same configuration as in FIG. 6, it is possible to cope with a case where other models are mixed.

In the network adapter 120,
Although it is connected to the microwave oven in a star network structure, it may be connected to each microwave oven in a bus type as shown in FIG.

[0077]

As described above, the cooking appliance network system according to the first aspect of the present invention connects a plurality of cooking appliances to a network adapter and rewrites a cooking sequence from the network adapter. This makes it possible to sequentially rewrite the cooking sequence inside the cooking appliance while sequentially switching the plurality of cooking appliances. There is an effect that a plurality of cooking appliances can be managed collectively.

Further, the cooking appliance network system according to the second aspect distributes a cooking sequence to each cooking appliance by communicating with a network adapter using a handy terminal. The handy terminal does not always connect to the network adapter, but establishes communication as necessary and transmits a cooking sequence. This has the effect of simplifying the configuration of the entire system and reducing installation and operation costs.

The cooking appliance network system according to the third aspect uses an IC card for connection between the cooking appliance and the network adapter. An IC card is often used as a storage unit of a cooking sequence, and at present, many cooking appliances have an IC card slot. By connecting the network adapter and the cooking device using this IC card, there is an effect that many existing cooking devices can rewrite the cooking sequence from the handy terminal.

In the cooking appliance network system according to the fourth aspect, the handy terminal receives not only the cooking sequence information but also the appliance information such as the number of times of use, the time of use, the failure status, the failure history, and the maintenance history.
Normal cooking appliances have a fairly low frequency of failures and errors. In transmitting and receiving such rare information, there is almost no need to constantly connect a management computer as in the conventional example. The handy terminal establishes communication with the network adapter as necessary, and transmits and receives such device information. This has the effect of reducing the costs for installation and operation of the entire system.

The cooking appliance network system according to the fifth aspect uses an IC card for connection between the network adapter and the cooking appliance when transmitting and receiving the appliance information. Many existing devices also use IC cards for storing device information such as the number of times of use, the time of use, the failure status, the failure history, and the maintenance history. By using the IC card, device information of many existing cooking devices can be managed by the handy terminal.

In the cooking appliance network system according to the sixth aspect, cooking sequence data and appliance information for the handy terminal are obtained from the management computer. A POS terminal in a store such as a convenience store can be a management computer for cooking appliances. In the conventional example, the management computer and the cooking appliance were directly connected at all times.
In the present invention, communication is performed via a handy terminal. With this configuration, the same effect as that of the conventional example can be obtained, but there is an effect that the cost of installing and operating the system is reduced.

In the cooking appliance network system according to the present invention, the cooking sequence of one of the cooking appliances connected to the network adapter is periodically copied to another cooking appliance. In this configuration, the cooking appliance 1
Only the table requires manual input, but other cooking appliances are automatically set. There is an effect that a cooking sequence can be set with a simple system configuration.

In the cooking appliance network system according to the present invention, an IC card is used for connection between the network adapter and the cooking appliance.
Accordingly, many existing cooking appliances are also claimed.
There is an effect that the system can be used.

In the cooking appliance network system according to the ninth aspect, in the configuration of the seventh and eighth aspects,
A cooking sequence converter is inserted between different types of cooking equipment and a network adapter. This makes it possible to connect cooking appliances of different models in the network.

[0086] In the cooking appliance network system according to the tenth aspect, the cooking sequence information in the storage unit connected to the network adapter is distributed to the connected cooking appliances. This has the effect that the cooking sequence can be delivered without a handy terminal or management computer.

In the cooking appliance network system according to the eleventh aspect, an IC card is used for connection between the network adapter and the cooking appliance, and an IC card can be connected to the network adapter. The latest basic cooking sequence information is stored in the IC card connected to the network adapter. The network adapter periodically copies the contents of the IC card to the IC card of each cooker as it is. This operation rewrites the cooking sequence. With this configuration, an IC card that is often used in existing cooking appliances can be used for supplying a cooking sequence to a network adapter, and there is an advantage that the cooking sequence can be distributed with a simple configuration.

Further, in the cooking appliance network system according to the twelfth aspect, in the configuration described in the tenth and eleventh aspects, a cooking sequence conversion unit is used so that cooking appliances of different models can be connected to the network adapter. I do. This has the effect that various cooking appliances can be connected to the network adapter.

Further, in the cooking appliance network system according to the thirteenth aspect, the configuration of the above-mentioned IC card includes a communication unit for communicating with a network adapter, a cooking sequence storage unit, and information received by the communication unit. A command interpretation and execution unit is provided for interpreting a cooking sequence rewriting command or a reading command to update or read information in the cooking sequence storage unit. Thereby, various commands transmitted from the network adapter can be executed in the IC card. Therefore, operations relating to writing and reading of various cooking sequences can be performed.

In the cooking appliance network system according to the fourteenth aspect, an access monitoring unit is added to the configuration of the IC card. In the IC card, access from the cooking appliance body and access from the network adapter may conflict with each other. The access monitoring unit monitors access from the cooking appliance main body, and when access from the main body is started, allows access to the cooking sequence storage unit with priority over the network adapter. Thereby, there is an effect that the access to the IC card can always be stably performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a cooking appliance network system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a microwave oven and a network adapter according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an IC card according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing POS use in the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a cooking appliance network system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram when a different type of microwave oven is connected in the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram when a network adapter function is inserted in a card in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a cooking appliance network system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram when a network configuration is changed in a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heating part 2 Power supply control part 3 Controller 4 Display part 5 Operation part 6 IC card slot 8 Handy terminal 9 Switching instruction detection part 10 Switching part 20 Communication part 21 Instruction interpretation execution part 22 Cooking sequence storage part 23 Switching part 24 Access monitoring part Reference Signs List 100 microwave oven 101 IC card 102 network adapter 103 handy terminal

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3K086 AA03 AA10 BA08 BB03 CA11 CD04 CD23 CD30 3L086 AA01 AA12 CA08 CC01 CC07 CC08 CC30 DA23 DA24 DA30 3L087 AA01 AA03 AA04 BA03 BC06 BC07 BC20 DA23 DA24 DA30

Claims (14)

[Claims] A cooking device that stores cooking sequence information and performs communication by connecting with at least one of the cooking devices to perform cooking in accordance with the cooking sequence information, and the cooking sequence stored in each of the cooking devices. A cooking appliance network system comprising a network adapter for rewriting information. 2. A cooking device that stores cooking sequence information and performs cooking according to the cooking sequence information, a handy terminal that transmits the cooking sequence information, and establishes a connection with the handy terminal when the cooking sequence information of the cooking device is updated. And a network adapter for sequentially transmitting information received from the handy terminal to at least one or more of the cooking appliances and rewriting cooking sequence information stored in each of the cooking appliances. Equipment network system. 3. An IC card storing cooking sequence information, a cooking device for performing cooking in accordance with the cooking sequence information stored on the IC card, a handy terminal transmitting the cooking sequence information, and a cooking sequence of the cooking device. A connection with the handy terminal is established at the time of updating information, and the information received from the handy terminal is transmitted to at least one cooking appliance connected to at least one cooking appliance.
A cooking appliance network system, comprising: a network adapter that sequentially transmits to a C card and rewrites cooking sequence information stored in each IC card. 4. A cooking appliance for storing equipment information such as the number of times of use, a usage time, a failure status, a failure history, a maintenance history, and the like, a handy terminal for receiving the equipment information,
It communicates with at least one or more cooking appliances in order, reads the contents of the appliance information stored in each cooking appliance, establishes communication with the handy terminal, and transmits the appliance information to the handy terminal. A cooking appliance network system comprising a network adapter. 5. An IC card storing device information such as the number of times of use, a use time, a failure status, a failure history, a maintenance history, etc., a cooking device storing the device information in the IC card, and transmitting and receiving the device information. It communicates with the handy terminal and at least one or more of the IC cards in order, reads the contents of the device information stored in each IC card, establishes communication with the handy terminal, and hands over the device information. A cooking appliance network system comprising a network adapter for transmitting to a terminal. 6. The handy terminal according to claim 2, wherein the handy terminal communicates with a management computer that manages and stores a cooking sequence and device information of the cooking device, and transmits and receives cooking sequence information and device information. A cooking appliance network system according to item 1. 7. A cooking device that stores cooking sequence information and performs communication by connecting to at least one or more of the cooking devices for performing cooking in accordance with the cooking sequence information, and is stored in one of the cooking devices. A cooking appliance network system comprising a network adapter for periodically copying cooking sequence information to another connected cooking appliance. 8. An IC card storing cooking sequence information, a cooking appliance for cooking according to the cooking sequence information stored in the IC card, and an IC card connected to at least one cooking appliance. Do
A cooking appliance network system comprising a network adapter for periodically copying information stored in one of the IC cards to another connected IC card. 9. When connecting a cooking device of a different model to a cooking device serving as a copy source in a network adapter, the cooking device or an IC corresponding to the cooking device is connected.
9. The cooking appliance network system according to claim 7, further comprising a cooking sequence conversion unit that converts cooking sequence information between the card and the network adapter. 10. A cooking device that stores cooking sequence information and performs cooking according to the cooking sequence information, a storage unit that stores cooking sequence information, and performs communication by connecting to at least one or more of the cooking devices. A cooking appliance network system, comprising: a network adapter that rewrites cooking sequence information stored in the cooking appliance according to the contents of the storage unit. 11. An IC card storing cooking sequence information, a cooking appliance for performing cooking in accordance with the cooking sequence information stored in the IC card, a master IC card storing updated cooking sequence information, and a plurality of units. A network adapter for communicating with said IC card connected to each of said cooking appliances and copying the contents of said master IC card to at least one or more said IC cards. . 12. A cooking sequence conversion unit for converting cooking sequence information between the cooking appliance or an IC card corresponding to the cooking appliance and the network adapter when connecting different types of cooking appliances to the network adapter. 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein
A cooking appliance network system as described. 13. An IC card, comprising: a communication unit that transmits and receives information to and from a network adapter; a cooking sequence storage unit that stores cooking sequence information and outputs the cooking sequence information to the cooking device in response to a request from the cooking device. And a command interpretation execution unit that interprets a cooking sequence rewriting command and a reading command included in the information received by the communication unit and updates or reads information in the cooking sequence storage unit. Terms 3, 8, 9, 1
The cooking appliance network system according to any one of 1 to 12. 14. An IC card, comprising: a communication unit for transmitting and receiving information to and from a network adapter; a cooking sequence storage unit for storing cooking sequence information and outputting the cooking sequence information to the cooking device in response to a request from the cooking device. A command interpretation execution unit that interprets a cooking sequence rewrite command or a read command included in the information received by the communication unit and updates or reads information in the cooking sequence storage unit; and An access monitoring unit that monitors access to the cooking sequence storage unit, and a switching unit that switches access to the cooking sequence storage unit of the cooking device and the command interpretation execution unit, wherein the access monitoring unit is configured to switch the cooking device from the cooking device. When detecting access to the cooking sequence storage unit, the control unit controls the switching unit to control the switching from the cooking appliance. Access cooking appliance network system according to any one of claims 3,8,9,11 or 12, characterized in that control to be performed preferentially over the command interpretation execution unit.