JP2022066433A - Induction heating cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an induction heating cooker capable of improving the user-friendliness.

SOLUTION: The induction heating cooker includes: a heating coil; a rotating dial that rotates and receives an operation of the heating coil; and a control unit that gradually changes the output of the heating coil corresponding to the rotation amount of the dial. The control unit is configured to select the dial rotation amount when changing the output by one step from multiple values. With this, a desired adjustment to the firepower operation speed is possible satisfying wide variety of user's preferences.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an induction heating cooker used in a kitchen or the like.

Conventionally, as a means for receiving a thermal operation of an induction heating cooker, an electrostatic touch type button described in Patent Document 1 can be mentioned. In addition, other means for accepting thermal power operations include tact switches and dials.

Japanese Patent No. 5938626

The inventors recognize that the thermal power operation by the dial is simple and can realize the operation according to the user's intuition. Therefore, the inventors consider that the thermal power operation by the dial is easy to operate for a wide range of users. However, there is a problem that the heating power operation speed cannot be adjusted even though the cooking power operation feeling is different for each person. The present invention solves such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cooking system capable of setting a heating power operation speed according to a user's preference.

In order to solve the conventional problems, the induction heating cooker of the present invention has a heating coil, a dial that accepts the operation of the heating coil by rotating, and the output of the heating coil stepwise according to the amount of rotation of the dial. The control unit includes a control unit for changing the output, and the control unit is configured to select the amount of rotation of the dial when the output is changed by one step from a plurality of values.

Since the user can select the thermal power operation speed of the dial, the usability of the user is improved.

A perspective view schematically showing the whole of the induction cooking device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The figure which looked at the induction heating cooker in Embodiment 1 of this invention from the top The figure which shows the electric structure of the induction heating cooker in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows typically the cross section of the dial part in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the relationship between the output watt and the number of clicks according to the thermal power level in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the display of each LCD part at the time of operation speed setting selection in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the display of each LCD part at the time of operation speed selection in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the display of each LCD part at the time of manual menu selection in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the display of each LCD part at the time of automatic menu selection in Embodiment 1 of this invention.

The induction heating cooker of the present embodiment includes a heating coil, a dial that accepts the operation of the heating coil by rotating, and a control unit that changes the output of the heating coil stepwise according to the amount of rotation of the dial. The control unit is configured to select the amount of rotation when the output is changed by one step from a plurality of values. As a result, it becomes possible to adjust the thermal power operation speed to the user's preference, and it becomes possible to respond to a wide variety of user preferences.

In an induction heating cooker, the dial includes a movable part that reverses at a predetermined rotation amount to give a click feeling to the user, and each of the plurality of values is configured to correspond to the number of clicks on the dial. You may. As a result, the user can easily feel that the thermal power operation speed has been adjusted by changing the number of clicks, and it is possible to improve the usability of the user.

In the induction heating cooker, when the smallest output of the heating coil outputs that can be set by the control unit is set as the first output, the control unit changes the rotation amount from the zero output to the first output. May be configured not to be selected from multiple values. This makes it possible to maintain a constant amount of rotation when changing from the zero output to the first output from the viewpoint of safety.

In an induction heating cooker, the amount of rotation of the dial when changing from zero output to the first output is when changing the output of the heating coil from the first output to a second output larger than the first output. It may be configured to be larger than the amount of rotation of the dial. As a result, the effect of preventing an unintended heating start by the user can be obtained, and the usability of the user can be further improved.

In the induction heating cooker, when the smallest output among the outputs of the heating coil that can be set by the control unit is the first output, the amount of rotation of the dial when the output is increased by one step from the first output. , The amount of rotation of the dial when changing from the output one step before the maximum output to the maximum output one step may be constant. As a result, the relationship between the step change of the output and the amount of rotation is simplified, and the usability of the user can be improved.

The induction heating cooker includes a grill and a grill dial that receives the operation of the grill by rotating, and the control unit is configured to control the operation of the grill according to the rotation of the grill dial. You may. In addition, the control unit automatically selects the manual menu when the grill dial rotates in the first direction while the grill is not energized, and automatically when the grill dial rotates in a second direction different from the first direction. It may be configured to select a menu. As a result, the user can quickly select the cooking menu by dialing, and the usability of the user can be further improved.

In an induction cooker, the automatic menu includes multiple courses, and the control unit will not accept changes to other courses just by rotating the grill dial when selecting one of the multiple courses. It may be configured in. As a result, it is possible to prevent an operation not intended by the user, and further improve the usability of the user.

In the induction heating cooker, the control unit is configured to change the heating coil from the energized state to the stopped state when the dial rotates after a certain period of time during which the dial does not rotate. It may have been done. As a result, it is possible to prevent the heating from being stopped unintentionally by the user, and it is possible to further improve the usability of the user.

In the induction heating cooker, when the smallest output of the heating coil outputs that can be set by the control unit is the first output and the output larger than the first output is the second output, the first output is used. The amount of rotation of the dial when changing from to zero output may be configured to be larger than the amount of rotation of the dial when changing from the second output to the first output. As a result, it is possible to prevent the heating stop operation that the user does not intend, and it is possible to further improve the usability of the user.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment.
(Embodiment 1)
The overall configuration of the cooking cooker will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

The cooking cooker includes a top plate unit 10 and a main body unit 20. The top plate unit 10 includes a top plate 11, an operation unit 12, a frame 15, and a power supply SW. Heat-resistant glass as an insulator is used for the top plate 11. The heated body 40 is arranged on the top plate 11. The frame 15 surrounds the outer edge of the top plate 11 and serves as a support portion for attaching the top plate 11 to the main body unit 20. In the present embodiment, the portion in front of the frame 15 is raised from the top plate 11 like a bank. Further, the front portion of the frame 15 is inclined so as to be lowered from the back side toward the front side. The material of the frame 15 is a metal such as stainless steel. The operation unit 12 includes dial units 30a, 30b, 30c shown in FIG. 2 and an LCD (Liquid Crystal).
Display) units 13a, 13b, 13c and LED (Light Emitting)
Diode) Lamps 14a and 14c are provided. Hereinafter, the dial units 30a, 30b, and 30c may be collectively referred to as the dial unit 30. The LCD units 13a, 13b, and 13c may be collectively referred to as the LCD unit 13. The LED lamps 14a and 14c may be collectively referred to as the LED lamp 14.

In the present embodiment, the number of dial units 30 is three, and the number of LCD units 13 is also three. There are two sets of LED lamps 14. The dial portion 30 is in front of the top plate 11 and is arranged on the frame 15. The three dial portions 30a, 30b, and 30c are arranged in the left-right direction. The left and right dial portions 30a and 30c are for heating coils 23a and 23b. The central dial portion 30b is for the grill portion 24 described later. The respective LCD units 13a, 13b, 13c are arranged in the vicinity of the respective dial units 30a, 30b, 30c. The LED lamps 14a and 14c are also arranged in the vicinity of the dial portions 30a, 30b and 30c, respectively. The LED lamps 14a and 14c each include five small lamps. The five small lamps light up according to the thermal power of the corresponding heating unit (heating coil 23, heater 25 described later).

The main body unit 20 includes an inverter circuit 21 shown in FIG. 3, a control unit 22, a heating coil 23, and a grill unit 24. The inverter circuit 21 passes a current through the heating coil 23. The control unit 22 controls the inverter circuit 21, the heating coil 23, the grill unit 24, and the operation unit 12. Two heating coils 23 are arranged in the left-right direction. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the heating coil arranged on the left side is referred to as a heating coil 23a, and the heating coil arranged on the right side is referred to as a heating coil 23b. The heating coils 23a and 23b may be collectively referred to as the heating coil 23. The heated body 40 is arranged at a position facing the heating coil 23 via the top plate 11. The grill portion 24 includes a storage and an upper heater 25 and a lower heater 26 arranged inside the storage.

In this cooking cooker, when the user rotates the dial unit 30, a signal corresponding to the dial rotation operation is sent from the dial unit 30 to the control unit 22. When the control unit 22 receives a signal from the dial units 30a and 30c of the dial units 30, the inverter circuit 21
Sends a signal to control the thermal power. Upon receiving the signal from the control unit 22, the inverter circuit 21 causes a current to flow through the heating coil 23 that induces and heats the object to be heated 40 in response to the signal from the control unit 22. When an electric current flows through the heating coil 23, the heated body 40 arranged above the heating coil 23 is heated. Further, the control unit 22 controls the operation of the heater 25 when it receives a signal from the dial unit 30b.

Next, the configuration of the dial unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG. The dial portion 30 rotates about a vertical axis CR with respect to the upper surface of the top plate unit 10 (that is, the top surface of the frame 15 in FIG. 1 in the present embodiment). The shape of the dial portion 30 is cylindrical. The dial unit 30 has an encoder 31, an encoder cover 32, and a click feeling imparting unit 33. The encoder 31 rotates about the axis CR. When the encoder 31 rotates, a signal corresponding to the rotation is output to the control unit 22. The encoder cover 32 is arranged on the outer periphery of the encoder 31. The shape of the encoder cover 32 is substantially cylindrical. The encoder cover 32 is made of a resin material. The click feeling imparting portion 33 includes a spring 33a and a protrusion 33b. In the present embodiment, the number of protrusions 33b is three. Each protrusion 33b is fixed to the top plate unit 10. The protrusions 33b are arranged below the encoder 31 at predetermined intervals. The spring 33a is fixed to the lower part of the encoder 31.

When the user rotates the dial portion 30 via the encoder cover 32, the encoder 31 rotates. When the encoder 31 rotates, the spring 33a comes into contact with each protrusion 33b and elastically deforms. When the encoder 31 rotates by a predetermined angle or more, the spring 33a cannot be elastically deformed and reverses. At this time, a click feeling occurs. The number of times the spring 33a comes into contact with the protrusion 33b and reverses the operation matches the number of clicks. Further, when the encoder 31 rotates, a signal corresponding to the amount of rotation is sent to the control unit 22. In the case of this embodiment, a signal corresponding to the number of clicks is sent to the control unit 22.

Next, the specific relationship between the amount of rotation of the dial portions 30 (dial 30a, 30c) for the heating coil 23 and the output level of the heating coil 23 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the control unit 22 can change the output of the heating coil 23 stepwise according to the amount of rotation of the dial units 30 (dial 30a, 30c).

For example, the output level of the heating coil 23 is set from level 1 to level 10 in the heating of the iron-based pan in the present embodiment. Level 1 is an example of the first output of the present invention, and level 2 is an example of the second output of the present invention. Level 10 is an example of the maximum output of the present invention. Specifically, for example, level 1 is 79W, level 2 is 201W, level 3 is 330W, level 4 is 460W, level 5 is 660W, level 6 is 960W, level 7 is 1410W, level 8 is 1960W, and level 9 is 2460W. , Level 10 corresponds to 2960W.

When the dial portion 30 (dial 30a, 30c) is rotated clockwise by 5 clicks while the heating coil 23 is stopped, the heating coil 23 is controlled to be level 1. The stopped state is a state in which the output of the heating coil 23 is zero. When the dial portion 30 (dial 30a, 30c) is rotated clockwise by 2 clicks in the state of level 1, the heating coil 23 is controlled to be level 2.

Similarly, the heating coil 23 is controlled so that the heating power level rises by one step every time it is rotated clockwise by two clicks. Further, when the dial portion 30 (dial 30a, 30c) is rotated counterclockwise by 2 clicks in the state of the heating coil 23 at the level 10, the heating coil 23 is controlled to be at the level 9.

Further, in the state of level 9, when the dial portion 30 (dial 30a, 30c) is rotated counterclockwise by 2 clicks, the heating coil is controlled to be level 8. Similarly, the heating coil 23 is controlled so that the thermal power level is lowered by one step every time it is rotated counterclockwise by two clicks. Further, in the state of level 1, when the dial portion 30 (dial 30a, 30c) is rotated counterclockwise by 3 clicks, the heating coil 23 is controlled to be in the stopped state.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 22 selects the rotation amount, that is, the number of clicks when changing the output by one step (one level) from level 1 to level 10, from a plurality of values, for example, from three values. It is configured as follows. For example, when the user pushes the central dial portion 30b for the grill vertically toward the top surface of the frame 15 in the initial mode and then rotates the dial portion 30b to the left or right, the cooker sets the function. Move to mode. After that, when the central dial portion 30b for the grill is rotated, various setting menus can be selected. For example, when the central dial unit 30b for the grill is rotated to the right by one click, the top screen for selecting the dial operation speed is displayed on the central LCD unit 13b for the grill as shown in FIG. When the dial unit 30b for the grill is pushed in this state, the LCD unit 13b for the grill displays the dial operation speed selection screen as shown in FIG. 7. When the dial operation "slow" is selected, the number of clicks is set to 3 when the output is changed by one step (1 level). When the dial operation "Standard" is selected, the number of clicks is set to 2 when the output is changed by one step (1 level). When the dial operation "early" is selected, the number of clicks is set to 1 when the output is changed by one step (1 level). As a result, it becomes possible to adjust the thermal power operation speed to the user's preference, and it becomes possible to respond to a wide variety of user preferences.

Further, as described above, in the present embodiment, the number of clicks (an example of the amount of rotation) when the heating coil 23 is changed from the stopped state to the level 1 is fixed at 5, and is configured so that the user cannot select the heating coil 23. ing. That is, the amount of rotation of the dial (for example, the number of clicks) when changing from the stopped state to level 1 is the amount of rotation (for example, the number of clicks) when the output of the heating coil 23 changes from the output of level 1 or higher to a larger output. Unlike, it is configured not to be selected. As a result, the user needs to constantly rotate the dial portion 30 by 5 clicks in order to change the heating coil 23 from the stopped state to the level 1. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the user forgets the amount of rotation required for the heating start while adjusting the dial operation speed, and the safety is improved.

Similarly, in the present embodiment, the number of clicks when changing the heating coil 23 from the level 1 to the stopped state is fixed at 3, and the user cannot select the heating coil 23. This reduces the possibility that the user forgets the amount of rotation required to stop heating, and improves safety.

Further, in the present embodiment, in each state from level 1 to level 9, the number of clicks on the dial (an example of the amount of rotation) when the output is increased by one step is configured to be constant (two in FIG. 5). Has been done. As a result, the relationship between the step change of the output of the heating coil 23 and the rotation amount of the dial portion 30 becomes simple, and the usability of the user can be improved.

Similarly, in the present embodiment, the number of clicks on the dial (an example of the amount of rotation) when the output is lowered by one step is constant (two in FIG. 5) in each state from level 10 to level 2. It is configured. As a result, the relationship between the step change of the output of the heating coil 23 and the rotation amount of the dial portion 30 becomes simple, and the usability of the user can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the heating coil 23 is at level 1 from the stopped state.
The amount of rotation of the dial when changing to (for example, the number of clicks) is not only fixed, but also the amount of rotation of the dial when the output of the heating coil 23 changes from level 1 to a larger level (for example, the number of clicks). It is configured to be larger than the number). As a result, when the user energizes the heating coil 23, it is necessary to rotate the dial greatly at first. Therefore, the effect of preventing the heating start unintentional by the user can be obtained, and the usability of the user can be further improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the dial portion 30 reduces the amount of rotation required for changing the thermal power of the heating coil 23 from level 1 to the stopped state by one step from another level (for example, from level 6). It is set to be larger than the amount of rotation required for (when changing to level 5). As a result, it becomes difficult to rotate to level 0 at a stretch, it is possible to prevent heating stop due to an operation not intended by the user, and it is possible to further improve the usability of the user. For example, if you want to fix the number of clicks required to change the firepower from level 1 to level 0 to 5, and lower the firepower level by one level from another level (for example, to change from level 6 to level 5). It may be designed so that the number of clicks can be selected from three clicks of 1 to 3.

Alternatively, when the heating coil 23 is changed from level 1 to the stopped state, for example, when the dial does not rotate for 0.5 seconds and then the dial rotates again, the heating coil 23 may be configured to change to the stopped state. For example, when lowering the firepower from level 2 or higher, the user may rotate the dial too much. On the other hand, by configuring the configuration so that the thermal power does not drop at once until the stopped state, it is possible to prevent the heating stop due to an operation not intended by the user, and it is possible to further improve the usability of the user. Further, although 1 second is exemplified as a fixed period in which the dial does not rotate, it may be appropriately set between 0.2 seconds and 3 seconds in order to balance convenience and suppression of malfunction.

Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 22 controls the operation of the grill unit 24 according to the rotation of the central dial unit 30b for the grill. When the central dial portion 30b for the grill rotates in the first direction (for example, to the right) while the grill portion 24 is not energized, the control unit 22 manually attaches the LCD unit 13b for the grill to the LCD unit 13b shown in FIG. Display the menu. Further, when the dial unit 30b rotates in a second direction (for example, to the left) different from the first direction, the control unit 22 causes the LCD unit 13b to display the automatic menu shown in FIG. As a result, the cooking menu can be selected more quickly than when all the cooking menus are selected in only one direction, and the usability of the user can be further improved. When the manual menu is selected, the user needs to manually adjust the thermal powers of the upper heater 25 and the lower heater 26 of the grill portion 24. When the automatic menu is selected, the control unit 22 automatically controls the thermal powers of the upper heater 25 and the lower heater 26 according to the course.

The automatic menu includes multiple courses. Multiple courses are cooking courses such as fillets, dried fish, and grilled fish. When one of a plurality of courses (for example, a fillet) is selected, the control unit 22 is configured so that it does not accept changes to another course simply by rotating the central dial unit 30b for the grill. ing. As a result, it is possible to prevent an operation not intended by the user, and further improve the usability of the user.

Hereinafter, other embodiments will be described.

In the present embodiment, the number of heating coils is two, but the number is not limited.

In the present embodiment, both the dial portions 30a and 30c for the heating coil and the dial portions 30b for the grill are dials that can obtain a click feeling by rotation, but at least one of them is a dial without a click feeling. It may be. In that case, the control unit 22 may detect the rotation amount of the dial unit by the rotation angle instead of the number of clicks.

In the present embodiment, the cooking cooker has the grill portion 24, but the grill portion 24 may not be provided. Further, the dial portion 30b for the grill may not be provided regardless of the presence or absence of the grill portion 24.

In the present embodiment, the dial operation speed can be selected from three stages of "fast", "standard", and "slow", but is not limited to the three stages. For example, it may be possible to select from two stages of "standard" and "slow", or it may be possible to select from four or more stages.

In the present embodiment, the number of clicks on the dial required to change the heating coil 23 from the stopped state to level 1 is set so as not to be selectable, and is fixed at 5, but this number of clicks can be selected. It may be configured. Similarly, it may be set so that the number of dial clicks required to change from level 1 to the stopped state can be selected.

Further, in the present embodiment, the dial operation speed is configured to be selectable when both the thermal power level rises and falls, but the dial operation is performed only when either the rise or fall is changed. It may be configured so that the speed can be selected. Further, the dial operation speed may be independently selected for each change of the thermal power level.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 22 causes the LCD unit 13b for the grill to display the manual menu shown in FIG. 8 when the central dial unit 30b for the grill rotates in the first direction (for example, to the right). However, it is not limited to the right direction. Similarly, when the dial unit 30b rotates in a second direction (for example, to the left) different from the first direction, the control unit 22 causes the LCD unit 13b to display the automatic menu shown in FIG. 9. It is not limited to the left direction.

In the present embodiment, the induction cooking device has been described as an example of the cooking device, but the dial portions 30a and 30c of the present invention can also be applied to a cooking device such as a gas stove. That is, even if the cooking cooker is provided with a heating unit, a dial that accepts operations of the heating unit by rotating, and a control unit that gradually changes the heating power of the heating unit according to the amount of rotation of the dial. good. The heating unit is, for example, a stove burner. The control unit may be configured to select the amount of rotation of the dial when changing the thermal power by one step from a plurality of values. Since the user can select the thermal power operation speed of the dial, the usability of the user is improved.

As described above, in the cooking cooker according to the present invention, since the user can select the heating power operation speed of the dial, it is possible to adjust the heating power operation speed to a wide variety of user preferences. Therefore, it is useful for a cooking device equipped with a dial operation for a wide range of users including the elderly.

10 Top plate unit 20 Main unit 10 Top plate unit 11 Top plate 12 Operation unit 13 LED unit 13a Left LCD unit 13b Central LCD unit 13c Right LCD unit 14 LED lamp 14a Left LED lamp 14c Right LED lamp 20 Main unit 21 Inverter circuit 22 Control unit 23 Heating coil 23a Left heating coil 23b Right heating coil 24 Grill part 25 Upper heater 26 Lower heater 30 Dial part (dial)
30a Left dial part 30b Central dial part 30c Right dial part 31 Encoder 32 Encoder cover 33 Click feeling imparting part 33a Spring (movable part)
33b Protrusion 40 Heated body

Claims (4)

With the heating coil
A dial that accepts the operation of the heating coil by rotating,
A control unit that gradually changes the output of the heating coil according to the amount of rotation of the dial.
Equipped with
The control unit is an induction heating cooker configured to accept and set a user's selection from a plurality of values for the amount of rotation of the dial when the output is changed by one step. The induction heating cooker according to claim 1, wherein the dial is configured to accept the user's selection. The induction heating cooker according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a display unit configured to represent the plurality of values by a dial operation speed. The dial includes a movable portion that reverses the dial at a predetermined rotation amount to give a click feeling to the user.
The induction heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the plurality of values corresponds to the number of clicks on the dial.

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