JP2016008814A - Oven element controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a controller allowing setting of the oven temperature and selection of a plurality of heating elements.SOLUTION: Variable energy controllers 211, 221, 231 are provided to respective heating elements 210, 220, 230, and control the amount of energy supplied. A temperature sensor is provided within a chamber 200. A temperature controller 241 switches the energy supplied by the variable energy controllers on the basis of the temperature within the chamber and a temperature setting. The temperature within the chamber is controlled by the temperature controller, and the amount of heat emitted by the individual heating elements while the temperature within the chamber is below the temperature setting is controlled by the respective variable energy controllers.

Description

  The present invention relates generally to a controller for controlling the heat generated by a heating element, and more particularly to a controller for controlling the heat generated by a plurality of heating elements in a thermally isolated chamber, such as an oven.

  An oven is an appliance used to heat, bake or dry a substance, and is most commonly used to make a meal. Using an electric oven to make meals has been part of life since the first half of the 20th century when it was first introduced extensively.

  A typical oven has an enclosed cooking chamber and heating elements contained therein. Typically, a lower heating element is provided that is used to heat the oven from below. This lower heating element is generally used for baking and roasting. The oven may be provided with an upper heating element that is used to heat the oven from above, which is typically used for open flame grilling. A heating element with a fan may also be provided to cook more quickly and uniformly. The fan circulates heat in the cooking chamber.

  The heating element is generally controlled by a temperature controlled switch known as a thermostat and a selection switch. The selection switch selects the type of cooking and indicates which heating element is used. The thermostat controls the heating element by trying the heating element to maintain a preset temperature. In an electric oven, the heating element is turned off when the temperature in the chamber rises above a preset temperature. The temperature gradually decreases to a point below the preset temperature and increases again when the power to the heating element is restored.

  In the prior art, user control is limited to setting a preset temperature and selecting which element or elements should be activated. An alternative procedure for controlling the heating element is needed.

  According to one aspect of the invention, a controller is provided for controlling a plurality of heating elements in the chamber. The control device is a variable energy control device associated with each of the plurality of heating elements, each variable energy control device receiving a setting of an amount of energy supplied to the associated heating element, A variable energy control device including user input means for controlling the amount of energy supplied to the associated heating element based on settings, an in-chamber temperature sensor for sensing the temperature in the chamber, and temperature settings And a temperature control device having further user input means for receiving. The temperature control device switches the energy supplied by the variable energy control device based on the temperature in the chamber and the temperature setting. The temperature in the chamber is controlled by the temperature controller, and the amount of heat generated by each of the heating elements is controlled by the respective variable energy controller while the temperature in the chamber is below the temperature setting. Be controlled.

  Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed.

  At least one embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cooking chamber, a heating element in the cooking chamber, and a controller according to the present disclosure for controlling the heating element. FIG. 2 shows a control panel of the control device shown in FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of cooking chamber 200 and heating elements 210, 220, 230 within cooking chamber 200. Cooking chamber 200 includes a heating element 240 having a top heating element 210, a bottom heating element 230, and a fan associated therewith.

  A controller 250 is also provided to control the heating elements 210, 220, 230. More specifically, the controller 250 controls the power provided to the heating elements 210, 220 and 230 from the alternating current (AC) power supply 240 in the manner described below.

  The controller 250 includes potentiometers 212, 222, 232 associated with each one of the heating elements 210, 220, and 230, respectively. More specifically, each of the potentiometers 212, 222, 232 has an associated variable power supply circuit 211, 221, 231 that controls the amount of power provided to the associated heating element 210, 220, 230. . An additional potentiometer 245 associated with the temperature control circuit 241 is provided.

  FIG. 2 shows the control panel 100 of the control device 250 shown in FIG. The control panel 100 has element control knobs 110, 120 and 130 for adjusting the potentiometers 212, 222 and 232 (FIG. 1), respectively, and a temperature control knob 140 for adjusting the potentiometer 245 (FIG. 1).

  The potentiometer 245 controls the temperature where the temperature control circuit 241 opens the associated relay 242, thereby disconnecting the heating elements 210, 220 and 230 from the AC power source 240. The temperature is detected using a temperature sensor (not shown) disposed in the chamber 200. When the temperature gradually drops to a point below that set using potentiometer 245, control circuit 241 again closes relay 242 and restores power to heating elements 210, 220, and 230 to raise the temperature. Like that. Therefore, the potentiometer 245 is used to control the temperature in the cooking chamber 200. The temperature control circuit is well known and will not be described at the circuit level.

  Each variable power supply circuit 211, 221 and 231 controls the amount of power supplied to the associated heating element 210, 220 and 230. Since the variable power supply circuit is well known, it will not be described at the circuit level. Each of the variable power supply circuits 211, 221 and 231 has a specific voltage difference that can be controlled by using the potentiometers 212, 222 and 232, and reaches a triac (two-phase) together with a diac switching current passing through the circuit after reaching the circuit. Directional tripolar thyristor) and diac (bidirectional two terminal thyristor) arrangement (not shown). Thus, the diac conducts when the AC power source is below a certain voltage level and does not conduct as soon as the AC power source exceeds that voltage level. While the diac conducts, the triacs connected in series to the heating elements 210, 220 and 230, respectively, also conduct. Similarly, the triac disconnects power to the heating elements 210, 220, and 230, respectively, while the diac is non-conductive. Only for the specified region of the voltage curve of the input AC power supply, the TRIAC conduction is a voltage output from each of the variable power supply circuits 211, 221 and 231 which are AC power sources divided into small regions. This reduces the effective value (RMS) of the power supplied to each heating element 210, 220 and 230.

  Therefore, when the temperature in the cooking chamber 200 is lower than the temperature set in advance using the temperature control knob 140, the temperature control circuit 241 supplies power to the variable power supply circuits 211, 221 and 231, and also the cooking chamber 200. When the internal temperature is higher than the preset temperature, the power supply to the variable power supply circuits 211, 221 and 231 is merely cut off. While power is being supplied to the variable power supply circuits 211, 221 and 231, each of the variable power supply circuits 211, 221 and 231 determines the amount of power supplied to the associated heating elements 210, 220 and 230 by the element control knob 110. , 120 and 130 are used to control the amount of power set. Thus, while the temperature in cooking chamber 200 is set using temperature control knob 140, adjusting element control knobs 110, 120, and 130, respectively, adjusts the heat generated from heating elements 210, 220, and 230, respectively. The amount can be controlled separately by the user.

  The above are only some embodiments of the present invention, and modifications and / or changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The embodiments are merely illustrative and not limiting.

Claims (3)

A control device for controlling a plurality of heating elements in a chamber, the control device comprising:
A variable energy control device associated with each of the plurality of heating elements, each variable energy control device receiving a setting of an amount of energy to supply to the associated heating element, and based on the setting, the variable energy control device A variable energy control device including user input means for controlling the amount of energy supplied to the associated heating element;
A temperature sensor in the chamber for detecting the temperature in the chamber;
A temperature control device with further user input means for receiving the temperature setting;
The temperature control device switches energy supplied by the variable energy control device based on the temperature in the chamber and the temperature setting,
The temperature in the chamber is controlled by the temperature controller, and the amount of heat generated by each of the heating elements is controlled by the respective variable energy controller while the temperature in the chamber is below the temperature setting. Controlled, control device.   The control device according to claim 1, wherein the heating element is a resistor, and the energy is electrical energy from an AC power source. A method of controlling a plurality of heating elements in a chamber, the method comprising the following steps:
Receiving a setting of the amount of energy supplied to each of the heating elements;
Receive temperature setting,
Detecting the temperature in the chamber,
Controlling the amount of energy supplied to each of the heating elements based on the setting of the amount of energy supplied to each of the heating elements;
Switching energy supplied by the heating element based on the temperature in the chamber and the temperature setting;
Thereby, the temperature in the chamber is controlled by switching the energy supplied to the heating element, and the amount of heat generated by each of the heating elements while the temperature in the chamber is below the temperature setting is , Controlled based on the setting of the amount of energy supplied to each of the heating elements.