JP3279943B2 - Cooking device - 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 such as a microwave oven and a microwave oven, and more particularly to a cooking device for controlling a non-contact temperature sensor using an image sensor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a microwave oven, which is one of conventional heating cookers, automatic heating control is performed by detecting the surface temperature of an object to be heated by a non-contact temperature sensor. For example, JP-A-6-257756 discloses that an image sensor detects a shape and a cooking state of an object to be heated, and changes an irradiation direction of an electromagnetic wave by an electromagnetic wave irradiation port in accordance with an output signal of the image sensor. A method is disclosed in which the amount of tilt is changed, the amount of movement of the support table on which the object to be heated is mounted, and the speed of movement are controlled to change the distribution state of the electromagnetic waves so that the heating state of the object to be heated becomes uniform. I have.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-267,094 discloses that by processing an image from an image sensor, an infrared sensor always tracks an object to be heated, thereby accurately measuring the surface temperature of the object to be heated. A method of detecting is disclosed.

[0004]

However, in the former case, it is very difficult to eliminate uneven heating of an object to be heated due to a change in the distribution of electromagnetic waves by driving a reflector or the like. This is because the derivative loss coefficient of each part differs depending on the configuration of the object to be heated, and the electromagnetic wave absorption rate varies. For example,
Compared to lean meat and fat, fat has a higher derivative loss coefficient, so that the temperature rises very quickly, and even if the distribution of electromagnetic waves is changed, uneven heating may occur due to differences in electromagnetic wave absorption. In addition, since the distribution of the electromagnetic wave changes due to a subtle change in the shape and position of the object to be heated, it is difficult to intentionally intensively heat a portion of the object to be heated.

[0005] In the latter case, when the non-contact temperature sensor includes something other than the object to be heated in the field of view, the accurate surface temperature of the object to be heated is not measured, and therefore the temperature sensor is not used. Output needs to be corrected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a heating cooker that accurately detects the surface temperature of an object to be heated and controls heating based on the detected surface temperature to improve the finish. I do.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The object of the present invention is to provide a heating cooker for heating and cooking an object to be heated placed in a heating chamber by a heating means, wherein the image sensor detects the state of the object to be heated. A non-contact temperature sensor for detecting the surface temperature of the object to be heated, and a driving means for moving and enlarging / reducing the field of view of the temperature sensor.

Then, by controlling the direction and angle of the visual field so as to always include the object to be heated within the field of view of the temperature sensor in accordance with the size and position of the object to be heated based on the output signal of the image sensor, The surface temperature of the object to be heated can be accurately detected.

Incidentally, depending on the object to be heated, the object to be heated does not always occupy the entire field of view of the temperature sensor. In some cases, the bottom of the heating chamber other than the object to be heated is included. May not represent the true surface temperature of the heated object. Therefore, the output of the temperature sensor is corrected based on the area of the area other than the object to be heated in the field of view of the temperature sensor and the temperature of the area, or the area other than the object to be heated in the field of view before and after the movement of the temperature sensor. The output of the temperature sensor is corrected based on the area and the temperature of the area. As a result, the surface temperature can be more accurately detected, and the cooking can be performed based on the accurate temperature, so that a good finish can be obtained.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image sensor for detecting a state of an object to be heated, a non-contact temperature sensor for detecting a surface temperature of the object to be heated, and to move and enlarge / reduce the field of view of the temperature sensor. A driving unit, a driving control unit that detects a surface temperature of a plurality of points of the object to be heated by narrowing a field of view of the temperature sensor, and a heating unit that controls the heating unit based on a surface temperature distribution of the object to be heated to eliminate temperature unevenness. Control means.

Here, as the heating control, a heating variable means for changing the directivity of the heating area by moving the heating means is provided, and the heating means is intensively heated to a portion having a low surface temperature of the object to be heated. Move. Alternatively, the output of the heating means is reduced or stopped, and the temperature is made uniform by heat conduction of the object to be heated.

Therefore, the surface temperature distribution of the object to be heated can be accurately detected, and the temperature can be prevented from becoming uneven.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image sensor for detecting a state of an object to be heated, a non-contact temperature sensor for detecting a surface temperature of the object to be heated, and to move and enlarge / reduce a field of view of the temperature sensor. There is provided a driving unit and a heating control unit that determines whether or not the object to be heated is a liquid based on an output signal of the image sensor and controls the heating unit.

That is, when the object to be heated is a liquid, heating the upper part of the object to be heated does not heat the lower part, resulting in temperature unevenness in the vertical direction. Can be heated intensively, uneven heating can be prevented, and a good finish can be obtained.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a microwave oven that is a heating cooker according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a heating cabinet 1 having an open front is provided inside a microwave oven, and a turntable is arranged on a bottom surface 1 a of the heating cabinet 1. As a heating means for heating the object to be heated 2 placed in the heating chamber 1, a magnetron and a heater 3 are provided, and a microwave irradiation port 4 a for irradiating microwaves excited by the magnetron to upper and lower side walls of the heating chamber 1. , 4b are formed.

The heater 3 is, as shown in FIG.
Are arranged on the ceiling 1b. Each heater 3 is attached via a hinge 6 to a support bar 5 having one end fixed to a side wall of the heating chamber 1, and is moved by a heater moving unit 7. In the heater moving unit 7, a belt 8 attached to the other end of the heater 3 is wound around a pulley 10 rotatably supported by a housing 9, and the other end of the heater 3 is rotated by rotating the pulley 10 by a motor. Move up and down. These constitute a heating variable means.

An image sensor 11, which is a monitor camera such as a CCD, is installed above the side wall of the heating chamber 1 so as to cover the entire bottom surface 1 a of the heating chamber 1 within a field of view. It is connected to the control unit 13.

A non-contact temperature sensor 14, which is an infrared sensor, is also provided on the upper side of the side wall.
Reference numeral 3 is connected via a calculation unit 15 for calculating the surface temperature of the article 2 to be heated from the output signal of the temperature sensor 14. Further, a driving unit 16 for moving and enlarging / reducing the field of view of the temperature sensor 14 is provided. 16 is connected to the control unit 13.

As a mechanism of the drive unit 16, as shown in FIG.
7, 18 and gears (not shown).
By driving the gear 8, the gear is rotated to move the temperature sensor 14 in the x direction and the y direction, respectively, and the direction is changed. Further, a tube 19 is movably mounted on the front surface of the temperature sensor 14, and the viewing angle is controlled by moving the tube 19 by a motor 20. That is, the cylinder 19
, The viewing angle is narrowed as indicated by the dashed line, and the field of view is reduced. Note that the inner surface of the tube 19 is blackened so that infrared light from outside the visual field does not enter the tube 19 after being reflected.

The image captured by the image sensor 11 is processed by the image processing unit 12 to recognize the size and position of the object 2 to be heated, and the information is sent to the control unit 13. The control unit 13 determines the direction and the viewing angle of the temperature sensor 14 so that the object 2 is located within the field of view of the temperature sensor 14 based on this. Then, the drive unit 16 is controlled by the control unit 13.
The motors are driven in accordance with the above-mentioned command to move or enlarge or reduce the field of view of the temperature sensor 14.

Therefore, the size and position of the object to be heated 2 are detected by the image sensor 11, and the movement and the like of the temperature sensor 14 are controlled based on the output signal, whereby the size and position of the object to be heated 2 are set. An accurate surface temperature can be measured regardless of the position.

Incidentally, the output of the temperature sensor 14 is obtained by infrared rays radiated from an object in the visual field. Therefore, when the temperature sensor 14 includes something other than the object 2 in the field of view, the accurate surface temperature of the object 2 is not measured. Therefore, the controller 13 sends the temperature sensor 14 based on the area of the area other than the object 2 to be heated in the field of view of the temperature sensor 14 and the temperature of the area.
There is a correction function to correct the output.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, first, an area A for which the temperature is measured by the image sensor 11 is determined, and the direction and the viewing angle of the temperature sensor 14 are controlled so that the visual field matches the area A. Processing the state in the area A in the image sensor 11, it obtains a content area S ₁ and the other area S ₂ of the heated object 2 in the area A, the temperature sensor 1 at that time
4 of the output O ₁ is measured. Then, towards the field of view of the temperature sensor 14 to the free area B of the heated object 2 detected by the image sensor 11 to measure the temperature T ₂ of the bottom surface within the heating chamber 1 by the temperature sensor 14. Equation (1) based on the above measurement results
Then, the temperature T _{1 of the} object to be heated 2 is calculated.

T ₁ × S ₁ / S _All + T ₂ × S ₂ / S _All = O ₁ (1) S _All : Area of temperature sensor field of view S ₁ : Area to be heated in field of temperature sensor S _2: temperature sensor area other than the object to be heated in the field of view T _1: temperature T ₂ of the heated object: temperature O in the heating chamber in the bottom _1: This output of the temperature sensor, the surface of the end portion of the article to be heated 2 Temperature can be accurately detected.

As another method, the temperature sensor 1 is determined based on the area of a region other than the object 2 to be heated in the visual field before and after the movement of the temperature sensor 14 and the temperature of the region.
4 may be corrected.

That is, first, the content area S _{1 of the} object 2 to be heated in the area A and the other area S ₂ in the area A are obtained, and the output O ₁ of the temperature sensor 14 at that time is measured.
Thereafter, containing an area S _'1 and the other area S' ₂ of the heated object 2 in area C shifted viewing by slightly moving the temperature sensor 14, the temperature sensor field of view of the area S 'of the _All respective image sensor 11 Ask for. The temperature sensor 1 at that time
4 of the output O ₂ is measured. Based on the above measurement results, the temperature T _{1 of the} object to be heated 2 is calculated from the equations (1) and (2).

T ₁ × S ′ ₁ / S ′ _All + T ₂ × S ′ ₂ / S ′ _All = O ₂ (2) Accordingly, regardless of the size of the object 2, the object 2 can be heated. Can be accurately detected, and it is not necessary to measure the temperature of the bottom surface 1a of the heating chamber 1, and the temperature measurement time can be shortened. Therefore, heating and cooking of the article to be heated 2 can be performed appropriately and quickly, and a good finish can be obtained.

Next, a method for detecting the surface temperature distribution of the object to be heated 2 will be described. As shown in FIG.
, The size of the object to be heated 2 is detected, the surface is equally divided into sections a1 to an according to the size, and the image processing unit 12 calculates the area. The control unit 13 determines the field of view of the temperature sensor 14 according to the calculated area, and further determines the sections a1 to an
The visual field of the temperature sensor 14 is moved until the temperature is measured in each section. Thus, the surface temperature distribution of the object to be heated 2 is obtained.

Further, the control unit 13 has a heating control function for controlling the heating means based on the surface temperature distribution so as to eliminate temperature unevenness. That is, after measuring the temperature distribution of each part of the surface of the article to be heated 2 by the above method,
The calculation unit 15 calculates the difference between the highest part and the lowest part of the surface temperature, and the control unit 13 determines that the temperature unevenness has occurred when a difference of a certain temperature or more is given, and the microwave or Suppress or suspend the output of heater 3,
The surface temperature is made uniform by the heat conduction of the object to be heated 2 itself.
Therefore, heating can be performed in an optimal heating sequence according to the surface temperature distribution of the object 2 to be heated, so that the finish is improved.

As another heating control method, the directivity of the heating area may be changed by moving the heater 3.
That is, the surface temperature distribution of the object to be heated 2 is measured, and if there is a portion having a low temperature on the surface of the object to be heated 2, the heater 3 capable of particularly heating that portion is selected, and the corresponding heater driving unit To move the other end of the heater 3 up and down,
The heater 3 is directed to the portion and heats intensively. Thereby, uneven heating can be eliminated, and a good finish can be obtained. In addition, the cooking time can be reduced.

The outputs of a plurality of heaters 3 are individually driven and controlled to increase the output of the heater 3 for heating a portion of the object 2 to be heated having a low surface temperature, or to reduce the output of the heaters 3 other than the heater 3. Heating control such as lowering or stopping may be performed.

Further, heating control may be performed according to the properties of the object 2 to be heated. That is, based on the output signal of the image sensor 11, it is determined whether or not the object to be heated 2 is a liquid and the heating means is controlled. When the object to be heated 2 is a liquid, for example, a soup or the like, the user can use the heating chamber 1 by utilizing the wavy surface.
The image sensor 1 detects the shaking of the surface of the object 2
1, the image processing unit 12 determines that the liquid is liquid. If the object to be heated 2 is a liquid, the microwave is normally irradiated from the microwave irradiation port 4a in the upper portion of the heating chamber 1 so that the microwave is irradiated from the microwave irradiation port 4b on the lower or side surface.

Thus, the lower portion of the object to be heated 2 which is a liquid can be heated, and uneven heating of the object to be heated 2 in the vertical direction can be prevented. When the object to be heated 2 is a solid, microwaves are radiated from the upper microwave irradiation port 4a as usual. Therefore, regardless of whether the object to be heated 2 is liquid or solid, heating can be automatically performed in accordance with the property, and cooking can be performed with one button, so that simple cooking can be achieved and the burden on the user can be reduced. .

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that many modifications and changes can be made to the above-described embodiment within the scope of the present invention. For example, by arranging a plurality of temperature sensors on the ceiling of the heating chamber and moving each of the temperature sensors up and down to enlarge and reduce the field of view, the entire bottom surface of the heating chamber can be covered and the temperature sensors can be arranged in the horizontal direction. A member such as a motor for moving is not required. In addition, the temperature of the object to be heated and other temperatures or the surface temperature distribution of the object to be heated can be measured at once from the output of each temperature sensor, and the temperature measurement time can be reduced.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the field of view is changed by detecting the size and position of the object to be heated by the image sensor and controlling the movement of the non-contact temperature sensor by the output. Thus, an accurate surface temperature can be measured regardless of the size of the object to be heated and the position where the object is placed.

In addition, even when the temperature sensor includes an object other than the object to be heated within the visual field, the output of the temperature sensor is determined based on the area of the area other than the object to be heated within the visual field of the temperature sensor and the temperature of the area. Or correct the surface temperature of the object to be heated by correcting the output of the temperature sensor based on the area of the area other than the object to be heated in the field of view before and after the movement of the temperature sensor and the temperature for that area. Can be detected. Further, it is possible to accurately measure not only the center but also the surface temperature of the object to be heated.

As described above, since the surface temperature of the object to be heated can be accurately detected, it is possible to perform optimal heating according to the heating state of the object to be heated, and to obtain a good finish.

Further, by detecting the surface temperatures at a plurality of locations of the object to be heated by narrowing the field of view of the temperature sensor, the surface temperature distribution of the object to be heated can be accurately detected. By controlling the heating means based on this, it is possible to eliminate uneven temperature and obtain a good finish.

Further, by judging whether or not the object to be heated is a liquid based on the output signal of the image sensor and controlling the heating means, it is possible to eliminate uneven temperature in the vertical direction which occurs when the object to be heated is a liquid. And a good finish is obtained.
Therefore, regardless of whether the object to be heated is a liquid or a solid, heating can be performed with one button, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a microwave oven according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a heater.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a driving mechanism of a temperature sensor.

FIG. 4 shows a visual field of a temperature sensor, (a) is an overall view,
(B) is a partially enlarged view

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for measuring a surface temperature distribution of an object to be heated;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heating chamber 2 Heated object 3 Heater 7 Heater moving part 11 Image sensor 14 Temperature sensor 16 Drive part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F24C 7/02 330 F24C 7/02 320 F24C 7/02 335 F24C 7/02 531

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] An image sensor for detecting a state of an object to be heated and a non-contact sensor for detecting a surface temperature of the object to be heated in a cooking device for heating and heating an object to be heated placed in a heating chamber by a heating means. Temperature sensor, driving means for moving and enlarging and reducing the field of view of the temperature sensor, and field of view of the temperature sensor
Area of the area other than the object to be heated and its area
Correcting the output of the temperature sensor based on the corresponding temperature
Correcting means and is provided, said drive means, the cooking device, characterized in being controlled that to include an object to be heated in the field of view of the prior SL temperature sensor based on an output signal of the image sensor. 2. A heating means for heating an object to be heated placed in a heating chamber.
In a cooking device that heats food by heating,
Sensor to detect the condition and surface temperature of the heated object
Non-contact temperature sensor that moves
Driving means for expanding and reducing, and movement of the temperature sensor
The area and area of the area other than the object to be heated in the visual field before and after
And the temperature sensor outputs based on the temperature for that area.
Correction means for correcting the force is provided, the driving means,
The temperature sensor based on the output signal of the image sensor
It is controlled to include the object to be heated in the field of view.
Heating cooker. 3. An object to be heated detected by an image sensor.
Means for setting a plurality of sections according to the size;
Move and scale the field of view of the temperature sensor according to the section
Means to measure the temperature in each compartment and the surface
Means for obtaining a temperature distribution is provided.
The cooking device according to claim 1. 4. A drive control means for detecting the surface temperature of the plurality of positions to focus the field of view of temperature sensor object to be heated, controlling the heating means so as to eliminate the temperature unevenness on the basis of the surface temperature distribution of the object to be heated heating cooker of claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating control means is provided for. 5. A heating variable means for moving the heating means to change the directivity of the heating area, wherein the heating variable means is controlled based on a surface temperature distribution of the object to be heated. 4. The heating cooker according to 4. 6. A means for the heated object to determine whether liquid or not on the basis of the output signal of images sensors, the object to be heated is liquid der
Rutoki cooking device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating control means for controlling the heating means so as to intensively heat the lower portion of the object to be heated is provided.