JP2008288061A - Induction heating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an induction heating device which can secure, in a display means for displaying a mounting place of an object to be heated, an optimal visibility in accordance with an installation environment and an operating time of the device. <P>SOLUTION: A display content of a display means 4, by which light from a light source is emitted through a light-transmitting insulator plate 1 (a top-plate) on which the object to be heated is mounted, can be made changeable according to an output value from a light detecting means 3 which detects a brightness around the device, and a visibility according to a brightness around the device can be secured, and a power cost can be saved by controlling a power consumption of the light source. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an induction heating apparatus used in general homes, restaurants, offices, factories and the like.

Conventionally, this type of induction heating device has a light guide disposed around a heating coil, emits light from a light source through the light guide, and uses the light depending on whether the heating coil is energized. The figure which makes it easy to understand the mounting place etc. of to-be-heated bodies, such as a pan, is disclosed by the figure formed (for example, refer patent document 1).
JP 2001-326064 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, the light guide is a configuration that emits light from the light source via a top plate that is a light-transmitting insulating plate for placing a heated object such as a pan. The visibility easily depends on the surrounding illuminance. For example, when the induction heating device is installed near a window where direct sunlight irradiates, the light guide is not sufficiently bright relative to the surrounding brightness in a clear daytime when the direct sunlight is strong, resulting in poor visibility. Also, in an environment where lighting fixtures are used such as at night, the light guide is not so bright depending on the brightness level, so there is no problem with visibility, so the power consumption of the light source that emits the light guide increases. There was a problem that the loss of the electricity bill caused by.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems. The display state of a light guide that emits light from a light source through a light-transmitting insulating plate (top plate) on which an object to be heated is placed is changed to a device. By changing according to the output value from the light detection means that detects the brightness of the surroundings, it is possible to ensure visibility according to the brightness of the surroundings of the equipment, and also to save the electricity bill economically An object is to provide an apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, an induction heating apparatus according to the present invention includes an insulating plate on which a part to be heated is placed or a light transmitting member, and an insulating plate provided below the insulating plate. A heating coil for heating the heating body, a display means for displaying the energization state of the heating coil as a figure through the light-transmitting portion of the insulating plate, a control means for controlling the energization to the heating coil, Light detecting means for detecting ambient brightness, and the display means has light emitting means arranged in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil, and is composed of a plurality arranged so as not to be close to each other The display content is changed in accordance with the luminance determination value by the light detection means.

  As a result, the display state of the light guide that emits light from the light source through the light-transmitting insulating plate (top plate) on which the object to be heated is placed, and the light detection that detects the brightness around the device By changing according to the output value from the means, visibility according to the brightness around the device can be secured.

  As described above, the induction heating device of the present invention displays the display state of the light guide that emits light from the light source through the light-transmitting insulating plate (top plate) on which the object to be heated is placed. By changing according to the output value from the light detection means for detecting the ambient brightness, the visibility according to the ambient brightness of the device can be ensured and the electricity bill can be saved.

  A first invention includes an insulating plate in which a part or all of a body to be heated is light-transmitting, a heating coil provided below the insulating plate to heat the body to be heated, and the heating coil Display means for displaying the energization state of the insulating plate as a graphic through the light-transmitting portion of the insulating plate, control means for controlling the energization to the heating coil, and light detection means for detecting the brightness around the device. The display means has a light emitting means arranged in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil, and according to the luminance judgment value by the plurality of light detecting means arranged so as not to be close to each other The display content is changed. As a result, the display state of the light guide that emits light from the light source through the light-transmitting insulating plate (top plate) on which the object to be heated is placed, and the light detection that detects the ambient brightness of the device By changing according to the output value from the means, it is easy to ensure the visibility according to the brightness around the device, and it is possible to save the electricity bill.

  According to a second invention, in particular, in the first invention, the size or shape of the figure of the light emitting means arranged in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil as the display means according to the output value from the light detecting means It is set as the structure which changes. Thereby, since the shape or size of the graphic displayed by the display means is different depending on the brightness around the device, the user can reliably identify the different states.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in particular in the first aspect, the light emission luminance of the light emitting means arranged in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil as the display means is changed according to the output value from the light detecting means. It is what. Thereby, although the figure which a display means displays with the brightness around the apparatus is the same, since the light emission brightness | luminance differs, the user can identify the different state reliably.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, particularly in the first aspect of the invention, the emission color of the light emitting means arranged in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil as the display means is changed according to the output value from the light detecting means. It is what. Thereby, since the color of the figure which a display means displays changes with the brightness around the apparatus, the user can identify the different state reliably.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, the display content is changed stepwise according to the output value from the light detection means. As a result, by changing the display contents step by step according to the installation environment and usage time of the equipment, it is possible to ensure optimal visibility for each, and in the environment where lighting equipment is used such as at night, the brightness of If there is no problem in visibility even if the light guide is not so bright depending on the degree, power consumption can be saved by suppressing power consumption to the light source that emits light from the light guide.

  In a sixth aspect of the present invention, in particular, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the light detection means is provided on the upper surface or the front side surface of the device. As a result, accurate detection can be performed by providing a light detection means in a location where a shield that blocks the brightness of the surroundings of the device, such as a wall or installation frame of the device, can be avoided. Ensuring can be done.

  Embodiments of the induction heating apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking the induction heating apparatus as an example. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a top view, a schematic cross-sectional view, and a block diagram showing the configuration of the induction heating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, heating control means for controlling energization to the heating coil 2 and the heating coil 2 and the insulating plate 1 made of crystallized glass having a light-transmitting thickness of about 4 mm provided above the heating coil 2. 5 is formed in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil 2 below the insulating plate 1 by the display means 4 having the light emitting means 6 so that the user can know the position of the heating coil 2. Displayed via the board 1.

  In the present embodiment, the heating coil 2 is formed by winding a litz copper wire, which is a bundle of 50 strands having a diameter of about 0.3 mm, in a donut shape for 25 turns, and has an outer diameter of about 180 mm and an inner diameter of about 50 mm. The shape is about 3 mm thick.

  The light emitting means 6 includes a plurality of LEDs serving as the light source and a light guide for forming the light emitted by the LEDs into a desired figure (in this embodiment, an annular shape whose inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the heating coil 2). It is made of a photo resin and is provided in the vicinity where induction heating is possible by the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil 2, and the plurality of LEDs are electrically connected to form a series circuit.

  Further, light detection elements 3a and 3b such as CdS cells whose resistance values change depending on the brightness are arranged on the back surface of the light-transmitting insulating plate 1, and the light detection means 3 detects the brightness around the device. . The light detection elements 3a and 3b are adapted to detect the brightness of the upper surface of the device by avoiding an obstacle such as a wall or an installation frame of the device that blocks the surrounding brightness, and are further heated (not shown) Positioned away from the heating coil 2 and the light emitting means 6 that are predicted to be shielded so as not to be shielded when the body is placed, and so that the light detection elements 3a and 3b are not close to each other, for example, at the four corners of the device Arrange each.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram and a graph showing the operation of the light detection means 3 in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2A, the light detection means 3 is a detection circuit composed of light detection elements 3a and 3b, and the light detection elements 3a and 3b have a semiconductor whose resistance value changes depending on brightness. By using a CdS cell or the like as an element, the output voltage of the detection circuit changes according to the brightness around the device.

  About the induction heating apparatus comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  First, when it becomes possible to control energization to the heating coil 2 by the heating control means 5, the heating control means 5 starts energization to the heating coil 2, and the display means 4 displays the portion heated by the heating coil 2. The light emitted from the light emitting means 6 is bright and circular, and the user can easily identify the place where the heated object (not shown) such as a pan is placed. When energization of the heating coil 2 is stopped, the display unit 4 stops driving the light emitting unit 6.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the detection result by the light detection means 3 is fed back to the display means 4. The display means 4 changes the display content of the light emitting means 6 based on the detection information. As described above, the light source of the light emitting means 6 uses a plurality of LEDs, and the display means 4 changes the brightness of the light emitting means 6 by changing the amount of current flowing through the LEDs based on the detection information.

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. The vertical axis represents the amount of current [A] that flows through the LED that is the light source of the light emitting means 6, and I1, I2, and I3 represent different amounts of current. The relative relationship is I1 <I2 <I3. The horizontal axis indicates the brightness [lx] around the device. For example, when the device is installed at a position where it is directly irradiated with sunlight, it is very bright at about 100,000 [lx] under direct sunlight such as in the daytime, and the light-emitting means 6 has poor visibility unless it has a corresponding brightness. Therefore, the current amount is set to the maximum I3 [A]. Next, it is about 2,000 [lx] in a time zone where it is not exposed to direct sunlight. In this case, the visibility can be secured even without a current amount of I3 [A]. Reduce the amount. Furthermore, in an environment where a lighting fixture is used such as at night, there is no problem in visibility even with a smaller amount of current depending on the brightness level of the lighting fixture. Therefore, the current amount is reduced to I1 [A].

  At this time, when the light detection elements 3a and 3b input detection results different from each other to the light detection means 3, for example, one of the light detection elements 3a is caused by a shadow generated when a person approaches to operate the device. Consider a case where the light detection means 3 detects a detection result different from the actual ambient brightness. The actual ambient brightness, for example, changes little by little during the daytime when the lighting equipment is not used, and the brightness is more constant than the illuminance of the lighting equipment in an environment where the lighting equipment is used such as at night. Therefore, there is no sudden change in ambient brightness under normal use environment. Therefore, when a sudden detection result is input from the light detection element 3a due to a human figure or the like, the light detection means 3 ignores the detection result from the light detection element 3a and places it at a position away from the light detection element 3a. Accordingly, the brightness of the surroundings is determined from the detection result of the light detection element 3b not affected by the human shadow, and the display content of the light emitting means 6 is changed.

  As a result, by changing the display contents step by step according to the installation environment and usage time of the equipment, it is possible to ensure optimal visibility for each, and in the environment where lighting equipment is used such as at night, the brightness of If there is no problem in visibility even if the light emitting means 6 is not so bright depending on the degree, it is possible to save electricity by suppressing the power consumption of the LED that is the light source of the light emitting means 6. The figure displayed by the display unit 4 is the same depending on the brightness of the surroundings of the device, but the light emission luminance (brightness) is different, so that the user can reliably identify the different states.

  In the present embodiment, display is performed with a difference in the light emission luminance (brightness) of the display means 4 depending on the brightness of the surroundings of the device. However, the light emission color is changed or the light emission means 6 generates. Different shapes and shapes (for example, when the surroundings are dark, the front half of the figure of the first embodiment is lit, and when the surroundings are bright, the back half is lit and displayed in an annular shape) It goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained if the difference is within a range that can be visually discerned by the user.

  In the present embodiment, the brightness around the device is set to three levels, and the current amount of the LED that is the light source of the light emitting means 6 is changed accordingly. However, the level of the level is not limited to three. Needless to say, there is a similar effect.

  In the present embodiment, the number of light detection elements is two, but it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained without being limited thereto.

  In the present embodiment, the detection circuit of the light detection means 3 that detects the brightness around the device is the simplest using a CdS cell, which is a semiconductor element having a characteristic in which a resistance value changes depending on the brightness, and a voltage dividing resistor. Although a circuit having a simple configuration has been described, it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained without being limited to this configuration.

  The induction heating device of the present invention changes the display content of the display graphic of the range where induction heating can be performed on the object to be heated or the placement position of the object to be heated according to the brightness of the surroundings of the apparatus, As well as ensuring optimal visibility according to the time of use and electricity consumption can be saved by suppressing the power consumption of the light source of the display graphic, a desktop type IH cooker using induction heating or an induction heating unit The present invention can also be applied to a composite electric heating device or the like in which a plurality of the above are combined with a fish roaster or an electric heater.

Schematic diagram and block diagram of induction heating apparatus in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Configuration diagram and graph showing the operation of the light detection means 3 in the first embodiment of the invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Insulation board 2 Heating coil 3 Light detection means 4 Display means 5 Heating control means 6 Light emission means

Claims (6)

A part or all of the insulating plate on which the object to be heated is placed is made light transmissive, a heating coil provided below the insulating plate for heating the object to be heated, and the current-carrying state of the heating coil being insulated A display means for displaying as a graphic through a light-transmitting portion of the board; a control means for controlling energization to the heating coil; and a light detection means for detecting the brightness of the surroundings of the device. A structure having light emitting means arranged in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil, and changing the display contents according to the luminance judgment value by the plurality of light detecting means arranged so as not to be close to each other Induction heating device. 2. The induction according to claim 1, wherein the size or shape of the figure of the light emitting means arranged in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil as the display means is changed according to the output value from the light detecting means. Heating device. The induction heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emission luminance of the light emitting means arranged in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil as the display means is changed according to the output value from the light detecting means. The induction heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emission color of the light emitting means arranged in the vicinity of the magnetic flux generated by the heating coil as the display means is changed according to the output value from the light detecting means. The induction heating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the display content is changed step by step in accordance with an output value from the light detection means. The induction heating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the light detection means is provided on an upper surface or a front side surface of the device.