JP2898476B2 - Cooker - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooking device for automatically performing cooking by setting each setting key and turning on a start key.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a cooking device such as a microwave oven having an oven and a grill function, an operation panel is provided with various setting keys for setting a cooking mode, a start key for starting cooking, and the like. Have been. As the setting key, an automatic cooking key for selecting an arbitrary one from among a plurality of cooking menus stored in advance in a microcomputer or the like, and a case where the user wants to execute cooking that does not depend on the cooking menu, There are a manual cooking key for designating a heating mode such as "cooking", "grill cooking", and "oven cooking", a temperature adjustment key for setting a heating temperature, a time setting knob for setting a cooking time, and the like.

[0003] With this, the user stores the food in the cooking chamber, operates the various setting keys to set the desired cooking mode, and then turns on the start key. The control device automatically executes the cooking operation based on the setting. As is well known, the microwave oven is provided with a door switch for detecting the opening and closing of the door for safety. When the door switch detects the opening of the door, energization of the heating source is prohibited. It is supposed to be.

[0004]

By the way, when cooking in a microwave oven of this type, the user is required to stir the stew, turn over the grilled fish, and check the cooking condition. The door may be opened once on the way. As described above, once the door is opened, heating is interrupted, and when the user closes the door and turns on the start key again, heating cooking is resumed.

[0005] However, in the prior art, the user sometimes forgets to turn on the start key again after the door is once opened during the course of cooking. There was a case where a problem of being left for a long time in the middle of the process occurred.

[0006] Conventionally, the interior lamp is turned on during the execution of heating cooking, so that the user can see the interior lamp to know whether or not heating is being executed. Had become. However, since the interior light consumes relatively large power, in recent years, it has been offered that the interior light can be turned off for energy saving because it is wasteful to keep the interior light turned on during cooking. I have. However, this causes a problem that it is difficult for the user to determine whether cooking is being performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to inform a user that a start key should be operated in an easy-to-understand manner, and to provide a user with cooking without using an interior light. An object of the present invention is to provide a heating cooker that can easily notify whether or not the cooking is being performed.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems A cooking device according to the present invention comprises:
A guide lamp provided corresponding to each setting key, a start lamp provided corresponding to the start key, which is larger than the guide lamp, and the guide lamps are sequentially turned on or blinked, and the next Guide lamp control means for teaching setting keys to be operated to, and the start lamp blinks after the setting by each setting key, and the start lamp is turned on during execution of cooking, and the detection means is further provided during execution of cooking. Start lamp control means for switching the start lamp to the blinking state again when the opening of the door is detected.

[0009]

According to the above means, the guide lamp is sequentially turned on or blinked, so that the user can know which setting key should be operated next, and can easily set the setting relating to the cooking mode without error. It can be performed. When the setting by the setting key is completed, the start lamp blinks to notify the user that the start key should be turned on.

[0010] Since the start lamp is turned on during the cooking, the user can see the start lamp to know that the cooking is being performed. Furthermore, if the door is once opened during the execution of cooking, the start lamp is switched to a blinking state, so that the user is notified that the start key should be turned on, and the user starts the operation. It is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to turn on the key. In this case, since the start lamp is configured to be large, it becomes conspicuous and is easy to see for the user.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a microwave oven having an oven and a grill function will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the overall configuration of a microwave oven as a cooking device will be briefly described. FIG. 4 shows the front of a microwave oven. A door 2 for opening and closing a cooking chamber (not shown) is provided on a front portion of a main body 1 of the microwave oven, and is located on the right side thereof. A panel 3 is provided. On the back side of the operation panel 3, a machine room (not shown) is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cooking room is provided with an oven heater 4 for oven cooking, a grill heater 5 for grill cooking, and the like, and a magnetron 6 for range cooking and the like are provided in the machine room. Is provided. Further, on the ceiling of the cooking room, an interior light 7 made of, for example, a halogen lamp for illuminating the inside of the cooking room is provided. Further, a door switch 8 is provided in the main body 1 as detecting means for detecting whether the door 2 is open or closed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the oven heater 4, grill heater 5, magnetron 6, and interior lamp 7 are controlled to be energized by a control device 9 including a microcomputer provided in a machine room. Has become.
Thus, the control device 9 operates the operation panel 3 as described later.
Based on the settings of the user according to, based on a previously stored cooking program, a detection signal of a sensor (not shown)
The oven heater 4, the grill heater 5, the magnetron 6 and the like are controlled, so that cooking of the food housed in the cooking chamber is automatically executed.

At this time, a detection signal from the door switch 8 is input to the control device 9 and the oven heater 4, the grill heater 5 and the magnetron 6 are energized on condition that the door 2 is closed. Is performed.

Now, the operation panel 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG.
At the top of the operation panel 3, a clock setting key 10 operated when performing clock setting, a cabinet light key 11 for setting lighting and extinguishing of the cabinet light 7, and resetting when a key is erroneously pressed. Are provided side by side.

A display unit 13 is provided above the operation panel 3. Although detailed description is omitted, the display unit 1
3 includes a time display such as a time and a cooking time, a cooking mode,
Indication of the type of accessories and the like is made. Immediately below the display unit 13, an automatic cooking menu display unit 14 on which an automatic cooking menu is described is provided. In this case, the automatic cooking menu is broadly classified into two groups: a “Japanese style” group such as “cooked rice” and “chawanmushi” and a “select” group such as “milk” and “shukan”. Further, the automatic cooking menu display section 14 is provided with a cooking menu LED located at the head of each of the described automatic cooking menus.
15 are provided.

At the lower portion of the automatic cooking menu display section 14, "Japanese style" and "select" automatic cooking keys 16 and 17 are provided on the left and right sides, and a finish adjustment key is located between them. 18 are provided. By the user pressing the automatic cooking keys 16 and 17,
The automatic cooking of one of the automatic cooking menus can be executed. Finish adjustment key 1
By operating 8, the finish of cooking can be adjusted to be stronger or weaker.

A start key 19 for instructing the start of cooking is provided below the operation panel 3. In this case, the start key 19 is formed by a push button switch, and is remarkably large compared to other keys.

At the bottom of the operation panel 3, a manual cooking key 20, a temperature adjustment key 21 having a pair of up and down, and a volume knob 22 are provided side by side. Among these, the manual cooking key 20 is used by the user to set cooking that does not depend on the automatic cooking menu, that is, the heating mode (any of range cooking, oven cooking, and grill cooking), temperature, cooking time, and the like to the user's desire. This is operated when the set cooking is executed. The temperature adjustment key 21 is for setting a temperature at the time of the manual cooking. The volume knob 22 is used for setting a cooking time for manual cooking, setting an automatic cooking menu for automatic cooking, and setting a clock by rotating the knob.

The signals of the keys provided on the operation panel 3 are inputted to the control device 9 as shown in FIG. The display unit 13 and the cooking menu LED 15 are controlled to be turned on and off by the control device 9. The control device 9 automatically executes the cooking in the set mode based on the operation of the operation panel 3 by the user. In this case, the cancel key 12 and the automatic cooking key 1
6, 17, the finish adjustment key 18, the manual cooking key 20, the temperature adjustment key 21, and the volume knob 22 function as setting keys according to the present invention for performing settings related to cooking.

The operation panel 3 is provided with a guide lamp composed of, for example, an LED for instructing the user on a setting key to be operated next. In this embodiment,
Among various setting keys, a guide lamp 23 is provided near the temperature adjustment key 21, and a guide lamp 24 is provided near the volume knob 22.

A ring-shaped start lamp 25 is provided around the start key 19 so as to surround the start key 19. As shown in FIG. 2, the start lamp 25 is provided with a ring-shaped translucent member 26 surrounding the start key 19 on the front surface of the operation panel 3 and a substrate 27 disposed on the back surface of the operation panel 3.
In addition, a plurality of LEDs 28 are provided corresponding to the light transmitting members 26, and the surroundings of the start key 19 are brightened by the lighting of the LEDs 28. In this case, the start lamp 25 is configured to be significantly larger than the guide lamps 23 and 24.

The guide lamps 23 and 24 and the start lamp 25 (LED 28) are also controlled to be turned on by the control device 9. In this case, as described later in the operation description, the control device 9 causes the guide lamps 23 and 24 to blink sequentially when the user sets the mode of cooking by the software configuration. .
Also, after the user's setting is completed, the start lamp 25 is turned off.
Is blinked, the start lamp 25 is turned on during the execution of cooking, and the start lamp 25 is turned on when the door switch 8 detects the opening of the door 2 during the execution of cooking.
Is switched to the blinking state again. Therefore,
The control device 9 functions as a guide lamp control unit and a start lamp control unit according to the present invention.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. To start cooking, the user opens the door 2 to store the food in the cooking chamber and closes the door 2. Next, the user operates various setting keys on the operation panel 3 to set the mode of cooking. Here, if the user wants to execute any one of the automatic cooking menus, the automatic cooking menu is selected. Automatic cooking key 16 corresponding to the group to which the menu belongs
Or, press 17.

Then, the guide lamp 24 corresponding to the volume knob 22 is turned on and off, and the user rotates the volume knob 22 to select an automatic cooking menu.
At this time, the rotation of the volume knob 22 causes the cooking menu LEDs 15 to be turned on one by one in order. When the LED 15 of the desired automatic cooking menu is turned on, the selection is stopped by stopping the operation. . The user operates the finishing adjustment key 18 as necessary to adjust the finishing condition.

When this selection is made, the start lamp 25 is turned on and off to notify the user that the start key 19 should be turned on. When the start key 19 is turned on, the control device 9 automatically executes cooking according to the selected automatic cooking menu according to a cooking program stored in advance.

On the other hand, when the user wants to execute cooking (manual cooking) not based on the automatic cooking menu, the user presses the manual cooking key 20 after storing the food. At this time, the manual cooking key 20 also serves as a heating mode selection key, and the user looks at the display of the heating mode on the display unit 13 while watching the display.
By pressing the manual cooking key 20 several times, a desired heating mode is selected.

When this heating mode is selected, the guide lamp 23 corresponding to the temperature control key 21 blinks. The user operates the temperature adjustment key 21 while watching the temperature display on the display unit 13 to set a desired cooking temperature. After the setting of the cooking temperature, the guide lamp 24 corresponding to the volume knob 22 is turned on and off. At this time, the function of the volume knob 22 is to set the cooking time, and the user turns the volume knob 22 while watching the time display on the display unit 13 to set the cooking time.

The setting of the cooking mode is completed by the setting of the cooking time, then the start lamp 25 is turned on and off, and the user is informed that the start key 19 should be turned on. When the start key 19 is turned on, the control device 9 executes cooking according to the above setting.

While the start key 19 is turned on and cooking is being executed, the start lamp 25 is turned off.
Is turned on. Therefore, even if the interior light 7 is turned off by the interior light key 11 for energy saving, the user can see the start lamp 25 to know that cooking is being executed.

In order to stir the stew, turn the grilled fish inside out, and check the state of the cooking during the execution of the cooking, the user once operates the door 2 during the cooking.
May be opened. In this embodiment, when the door switch 8 detects the opening of the door 2 during the execution of cooking, heating and time counting are interrupted, and the start lamp 25 is turned off.
Is switched to the blinking state again. Then, when the user
Is closed and the start key 19 is turned on again, so that the heating after the interruption is resumed. In this embodiment, if the start key 19 is not operated even after a certain period of time has elapsed after the interruption of the heating cooking,
Assuming that the cooking has been completed, the display of the remaining time and the like is turned off, the operation returns to the initial state, and the start lamp 25 is also turned off.

According to the present embodiment, the guide lamps 23 and 24 and the start lamp 25 blink sequentially, so that the user can know which key should be operated next, and an error can be obtained. The user can easily set the cooking mode and start cooking.

During the cooking operation, the start lamp 25 is turned on, so that the user sees the start lamp 25 and knows that the cooking is being executed even when the interior light 7 is off. Can be. Furthermore, if the door 2 is once opened during the execution of cooking, the start lamp 25 is switched to the blinking state, so that it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to turn on the start key 19 when cooking is resumed. .
In addition, since the start lamp 25 is remarkably large, the lighting and blinking of the start lamp 25 become conspicuous, which makes it very easy for the user to see.

As a result, unlike the conventional one, it is possible to easily inform the user that the start key 19 is to be operated, and, consequently, there is a problem that the food is left for a long time while being cooked. Can be prevented. In addition, unlike the conventional one, it is possible to easily inform the user whether cooking is being performed without using the interior light 7, so that it is inconvenient to turn off the interior light 7 during cooking. And energy saving can be sufficiently achieved.

In the above embodiment, the start lamp 25
Is formed in a ring shape surrounding the periphery of the start key 19. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a large start lamp may be disposed near the start key, or the start key may be formed of a translucent member. Various modifications are conceivable for the configuration of the start lamp and the operation panel, such as forming a start lamp by arranging a lamp on the back surface. In addition, the operation state can be further clarified by turning on the interior light 7 during cooking.

The present invention can be applied not only to a microwave oven having an oven and a grill function but also to a general heating cooker in which a cooking mode is set and cooking is performed. Can be changed as appropriate.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the cooking device of the present invention, the guide lamp and the start lamp are sequentially turned on or blinked to teach a key to be operated next. In addition to the configuration, the large start lamp is turned on during the execution of the cooking, and the start lamp is switched to the blinking state again when the detection means detects the opening of the door during the execution of the cooking. Which has an excellent practical effect of being able to easily inform the user that the start key should be operated and to easily inform the user whether cooking is being executed without using the interior light. It is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a front view of an operation panel.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view of a start key portion.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a microwave oven.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawings, 1 is a main body, 2 is a door, 3 is an operation panel, 7 is an interior light, 8 is a door switch (detection means), 9 is a control device (guide lamp control means and start lamp control means), and 12 is cancellation. Key, 13 is a display unit, 16 and 17 are automatic cooking keys, 1
8 is a finish adjustment key, 19 is a start key, 20 is a manual cooking key, 21 is a temperature adjustment key, 22 is a volume knob, 23 and 24 are guide lamps, 25 is a start lamp,
26 is a translucent member, and 28 is an LED.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F24C 7/02 301 F24C 15/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A detecting means for detecting the opening / closing of a door of a cooking chamber, a plurality of setting keys for performing settings relating to a mode of cooking, and a start key for instructing a start of cooking. A cooking device that performs cooking on the condition that the detection unit detects the blockage of the door based on a setting by a key and an operation of turning on the start key; a guide provided corresponding to each of the setting keys; A lamp, a start lamp which is provided corresponding to the start key and has a larger size than the guide lamp, and a guide for sequentially lighting or blinking the respective guide lamps to teach a setting key to be operated next. A lamp control unit, the start lamp flashes after the setting by each of the setting keys, and the start lamp is turned on during the execution of the cooking; Cooking device, characterized in that said detecting means comprises a start ramp control means for switching back to blink the start lamp upon detection of the opening of the door.