JP2001272043A - Microwave oven - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a microwave oven that is capable of persuasive demonstration by actually detecting the temperature of an object to be heated in a demonstration mode. SOLUTION: The microwave oven is provided with a magnetron 7 for supplying microwaves into a heating chamber 2, an infrared sensor 11 for detecting the temperature of an object 3 to be detected being accommodated in the heating chamber 2 while the infrared sensor 11 is provided at the upper corner of the heating chamber 2, a display means for displaying the detected temperature, and a control circuit that can execute the demonstration mode while maintaining the magnetron 7 in an inactive state. Also, the control circuit is in a configuration for operating the infrared sensor 11 during the demonstration mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microwave oven, and more particularly to a microwave oven that can easily demonstrate the temperature of an object to be heated at a store or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some conventional microwave ovens are capable of setting a so-called demo mode for performing various operation demonstrations for customers at a store or the like.

In such a demo mode, the magnetron of the microwave oven itself is not operated without actually operating the magnetron.
A sales representative operates the operation panel in front of the customer to set the heating time and heating output and displays them on the display panel, and then operates a timer to actually count down the heating time to provide an effective demonstration. Can do it.

[0004] The setting of the demo mode is as follows.
In order not to enter into such a mode unnecessarily during normal use of the user, it is configured to be possible only by special operation of various switches on the operation panel,
The method is not known to the general user. An example of a microwave oven in which such a demo mode can be set is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-22539.

[0005]

However, in the demo mode of the conventional microwave oven as described above, the operation panel and display for setting the heating time and the heating output, which are not related to the actual state of the object to be heated, are provided. It was not possible to perform a demonstration on the panel, but to actually detect the state of the heated object while showing the state of the heated object to the customer.

[0006] Therefore, in the conventional microwave oven demo mode, there is a problem that a demonstration by a salesperson at a store is not necessarily persuasive.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a microwave oven capable of performing a convincing demonstration at a store by enabling actual temperature measurement of an object to be heated in a heating chamber even during a demo mode. That is.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microwave oven having a heating chamber for storing an object to be heated, a magnetron for supplying microwaves to the heating chamber, and a microwave oven for storing the object in the heating chamber. An infrared sensor provided at the upper corner of the heating chamber to detect the temperature of the object to be heated; display means for displaying the detected temperature; and the demonstration while the magnetron is kept in an inactive state. A control circuit capable of executing a mode, wherein the control circuit operates the infrared sensor during the demonstration mode.

A microwave oven according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a heating chamber for storing an object to be heated, a magnetron for supplying microwaves to the heating chamber, and a microwave oven for storing the object to be heated stored in the heating chamber. A turntable for rotating the placed object to be heated, and an infrared sensor provided at a corner above the heating chamber for detecting the temperature of the object to be heated housed in the heating chamber; Display means for displaying the temperature, and a control circuit capable of executing the demonstration mode while the magnetron is kept in an inactive state, wherein the control circuit operates the infrared sensor during the demonstration mode. Then, the temperature of the object to be heated placed on the turntable is detected.

In a microwave oven according to a third aspect of the present invention, the control circuit may further comprise:
The operation of the infrared sensor is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed.

Further, the microwave oven according to the invention of claim 4 is a microwave oven provided with a demonstration mode for demonstration to a customer, wherein a heating chamber for storing an object to be heated and a micro-chamber in the heating chamber. A magnetron for supplying a wave, an infrared sensor for detecting the temperature of the object to be heated housed in the heating chamber, display means for displaying the detected temperature, and the magnetron while keeping the magnetron in an inactive state. A control circuit capable of executing a demonstration mode, wherein the control circuit operates the infrared sensor during the demonstration mode, and stops the operation of the infrared sensor after a predetermined time has elapsed after the operation of the infrared sensor has started. It is a configuration to make it.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a front sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a microwave oven which is a premise of each embodiment of the present invention described below.

In FIG. 1, a microwave oven 1 includes a heating chamber 2.
, In which the food 3 to be heated is stored. More specifically, the food 3 is placed on a turntable 5 that is rotated by a turntable motor 4 when heated.

The microwave oven 1 is provided with a magnetron 7 supplied with power via a high-voltage transformer 6, and the microwave generated by the magnetron 7 is supplied into the heating chamber 2 via a waveguide 8. Then, microwave heating of the food 3 is performed.

On the other hand, a lower heater 9 is provided on the bottom of the heating chamber 2.
An upper heater 10 is provided on the ceiling, and is configured to be capable of heating the food 3 in addition to microwave heating.

Further, the food 3 is placed in a corner above the heating chamber.
An infrared sensor 11 for detecting the temperature of the food 3 by detecting infrared rays from the food 3 is provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an electric configuration of the microwave oven shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, one power supply line from a commercial power supply 12 has a temperature fuse 13 and a door switch 1 that opens and closes in conjunction with opening and closing of a door (not shown) of the heating chamber 2.
4 and a relay 15 that closes in response to pressing of a heating start button (not shown), and is connected to one end on the primary side of the high-voltage transformer 6.

On the other hand, the other power supply line from the commercial power supply 12 is connected to a high-voltage transformer 6 via a 15 A fuse 16 and a relay 17 which closes in response to operation of a switch (not shown) for selecting microwave heating. Is connected to the other end of the primary side. The secondary side of the high-voltage transformer 6 is connected to a magnetron 7 to supply a high voltage to the magnetron 7.

The commercial power supply 12 is also connected to a control circuit 18 including a microcomputer before the door switch 14 and the relay 15 so as to open and close the door.
Control circuit 1 regardless of whether the start button is on or off
8 is always supplied with power.

Similarly, the commercial power supply 12 is connected to the door switch 1.
4 and the relay 15, the infrared sensor 11
Is connected in series with the chopper motor 19 and the relay 20. Therefore, regardless of whether the door is opened or closed and whether the start button is on or off, when the relay 20 is closed, the chopper motor for the infrared sensor 11 starts to rotate, and the detection of infrared rays from the food 3 to be heated is started. You.

Further, the door switch 14 and the relay 1
5, an illumination lamp 21 inside the heating chamber 2, a blower motor 22 for cooling the magnetron 7, a turntable motor 4 and a relay 2 between power supply lines.
3, the upper heater 10 and the relay 24.
Are connected in parallel with each other in series with the lower heater 9 and the relay 25.

Therefore, if the relay 15 linked to the door switch 14 and the start button is closed,
The lamp 21 is turned on in the heating chamber 2 and the blower motor 22 is driven. When the relays 23, 24, 25, and 17 are closed, the turntable motor 4, the upper heater 10, the lower heater 9, and the magnetron 7 are selectively driven.

These relays 15, 17, 20, 23,
The opening and closing of the switches 24 and 25 are controlled by the control circuit 18 in accordance with the operation of various buttons and switches provided on the keyboard 26. The thermistor 27 is attached to the outer wall of the heating chamber 2 for performing indirect temperature measurement in the heating chamber, and is connected to the control circuit 18.

[First Embodiment] In a microwave oven having the above-described electrical configuration, a first embodiment of the present invention is described.
In the demo mode will be described. FIG. 3 shows a control circuit 1 for explaining the operation in the demo mode.
8 is a control flow chart of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the demo mode has been set by a specific operation of switches on the keyboard 26 by the user. And if demo mode is not set,
The program proceeds to another process, and if it is determined that the demonstration mode has been set, the process proceeds to the next step S2. In addition,
During the demonstration mode, the relay 17 is operated regardless of the operation of the keyboard 26 so that the magnetron 7 is not energized.
Is always kept open.

Next, in step S2, it is determined whether the user has opened the door of the heating chamber 2 or not.
If the door has not been opened, the program proceeds to another process. If it is determined that the door has been opened, the program proceeds to the next step S3. Here, with the door open, the user, that is, the salesperson at the store, places the object to be heated for demonstration (for example, a cup filled with water) on the turntable 5 in the heating chamber 2. I do.

Next, in step S3, it is determined whether a predetermined switch (for example, a button for starting heating) on the keyboard 26 has been operated. If the operation has not been performed, the program proceeds to another process. If it is determined that the operation has been performed, the process proceeds to the next step S4 and thereafter, and the temperature measurement by the infrared sensor is performed.

First, in step S4, a predetermined period for executing the temperature measurement operation is set in the timer of the control circuit 18.

Next, in step S5, the relay 20 for the chopper motor is closed, and the chopper motor 19 starts operating. Thereby, infrared rays from the demonstration target 3 are intermittently incident on the infrared sensor 11 via the chopper (not shown) driven by the chopper motor 19, and the temperature of the target is measured. In step S7, the measured temperature is displayed to the user (salesperson) and the customer through a display tube of a display panel (not shown).

Next, in step S8, the timer is counted down, and in step S9, it is determined whether or not the count value TM of the timer has reached 0. Until the count value TM reaches 0, the above steps S4 to S4
When step 9 is repeated and reaches 0, the control circuit 18 opens the relay 20 for the chopper motor in step S10, thereby terminating the temperature measurement operation by the infrared sensor 11. Then, the user waits for the next process in the demo mode.

According to the first embodiment as described above, during the demonstration mode, the temperature of the object to be heated for demonstration placed in the heating chamber, such as a glass of water,
Since the measurement and display can be performed while the magnetron is stopped, it is possible to provide more convincing demonstrations to customers compared to the conventional demonstration mode, which is limited to demonstrations on the operation panel and display panel. it can.

[Second Embodiment] An operation in a demo mode according to a second embodiment of the present invention will now be described. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a control flow chart of the control circuit 18 for explaining the operation in the demo mode.

Step S12 from the start in FIG.
Since the processing up to step S2 is exactly the same as the processing from the start of the first embodiment in FIG. 3 to step S2, the description thereof will not be repeated here.

The second embodiment of FIG. 4 differs from the first embodiment of FIG. 3 only in the method of starting the temperature measurement mode using the infrared sensor in step S13. That is, in step S3 of the first embodiment of FIG. 3, the temperature measurement mode is started by the user operating a predetermined switch, whereas in step S13 of the second embodiment of FIG. It is detected by the weight sensor (not shown) coupled to the turntable 5 that the object to be heated for demonstration is placed on the turntable 5, and in response to the detection, the temperature measuring operation in steps S14 to S19 is performed. It is configured to do so.

The operations in steps S14 to S20 are as follows.
Since the operation is exactly the same as that of steps S4 to S10 in the first embodiment of FIG. 3, the description of the operation will not be repeated here.

In the second embodiment as described above, a more convincing demonstration can be performed as in the first embodiment as compared with the related art.

[Third Embodiment] Next, an operation in a demo mode according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a control flow chart of the control circuit 18 for explaining the operation in the demo mode.

Step S22 from the start in FIG.
The processes up to are the same as the operations from the start of the first embodiment of FIG. 3 to step S2, and therefore description thereof will not be repeated here.

The third embodiment shown in FIG. 5 differs from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 and the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 only in the method of starting the temperature measurement mode using the infrared sensor in step S23. That is, in step S3 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the user operates a predetermined switch to start the temperature measurement mode, and in step S13 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. While the temperature measurement mode is started by detecting the position, in step S23 of the third embodiment in FIG. 5, it is detected that there is no key input after it is determined that the door is opened in step S22. The temperature measurement operation of steps S24 to S29 is performed in response to this. That is, according to the fifth embodiment,
The temperature measurement operation is started directly by opening the door of the heating chamber 2.

The operations in steps S24 to S30 are as follows.
Since the operation is exactly the same as that of steps S4 to S10 in the first embodiment of FIG. 3, the description of the operation will not be repeated here.

In the third embodiment as described above, as in the first and second embodiments, a more convincing demonstration can be performed as compared with the prior art. In particular, in the third embodiment, Since the temperature detection by the infrared sensor is started just by opening the door of the heating room, the temperature can be measured and displayed, for example, just by the salesperson putting his / her hand in the heating room at the store, and the temperature measurement can be more easily demonstrated Can be performed.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, during the demonstration mode of the microwave oven, the temperature of the object to be heated for demonstration can be easily measured and displayed while the operation of the magnetron is stopped. Therefore, compared to the conventional demonstration mode, a more convincing demonstration can be performed for the customer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a microwave oven which is a premise of each embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an electric configuration of the microwave oven shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in a demo mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in a demo mode according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in a demo mode according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microwave oven 2 Heating room 3 Heated object 4 Turntable motor 5 Turntable 6 High voltage transformer 7 Magnetron 8 Waveguide 9 Lower heater 10 Upper heater 11 Infrared sensor 12 Commercial power supply 13 Temperature fuse 14 Door switch 15, 17, 20, 23, 24, 25 Relay 16 Fuse 18 Control circuit 19 Chopper motor 21 Lamp 22 Blower motor 26 Keyboard 27 Thermistor

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) H05B 6/68 320 H05B 6/68 320Q 340 340

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A microwave oven having a demonstration mode for demonstration to a customer, comprising: a heating chamber for storing an object to be heated; a magnetron for supplying microwaves to the heating chamber; and a heating chamber. An infrared sensor provided at the upper corner of the heating chamber to detect the temperature of the object to be heated stored in the heating chamber; display means for displaying the detected temperature; and keeping the magnetron in an inactive state. And a control circuit capable of executing the demonstration mode while being held, wherein the control circuit operates the infrared sensor during the demonstration mode. 2. A microwave oven having a demonstration mode for a demonstration to a customer, comprising: a heating chamber for storing an object to be heated; a magnetron for supplying microwaves to the heating chamber; and the heating chamber. A turntable for placing the object to be heated housed in the heating chamber and rotating the object to be heated, and at a corner portion above the heating chamber to detect the temperature of the object to be heated housed in the heating chamber. An infrared sensor provided; display means for displaying the detected temperature; and a control circuit capable of executing the demonstration mode while the magnetron is kept in an inactive state. A microwave oven, wherein the infrared sensor is operated during a mode to detect a temperature of an object to be heated placed on the turntable. 3. The microwave oven according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit stops the operation of the infrared sensor after a lapse of a predetermined time after the operation of the infrared sensor starts. 4. A microwave oven having a demonstration mode for a demonstration to a customer, comprising: a heating chamber for storing an object to be heated; a magnetron for supplying microwaves to the heating chamber; and a heating chamber. An infrared sensor for detecting the temperature of the object to be heated stored in the display device, display means for displaying the detected temperature, a control circuit capable of executing the demonstration mode while the magnetron is kept in an inactive state, A microwave oven, wherein the control circuit operates the infrared sensor during the demonstration mode, and stops the operation of the infrared sensor after a lapse of a predetermined time after the operation of the infrared sensor is started.