JP5002179B2 - System kitchen - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a system kitchen, and more particularly to a system kitchen suitable for placing an cooking container on a top board and performing induction heating cooking via a coil unit.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the system kitchen 50 installed in the kitchen includes a sink cabinet 51, a stove cabinet 52 installed adjacent to the sink cabinet 51, and a single top plate 53 that covers them. ing. In the system kitchen 50, a sink 54 is formed in a sink area A that covers the sink cabinet 51 of the top plate 53, and hot water is supplied from the faucet 61 to the sink 54. A rectangular opening 56 is cut out near the front portion of the stove area B that covers the stove cabinet 52, and one stove 55 is dropped onto the stove cabinet 52 from the opening 56. In addition, a cooking table unit region C is formed between the sink region A and the stove region B, and the user cooks food on the top plate 53 pasted on the upper surface of the cooking table unit region C. Or put utensils or tableware necessary for cooking.

  Here, the system kitchen is generally a modular and coordinated combination with various floor cabinets for storage, a work top on the floor cabinet, and a sink or cooking device as necessary. It is a type kitchen, and in a broad sense includes a partition storage cabinet and a dining counter. These worktops or counters are collectively referred to below as the top board.

  FIG. 18 shows an example of use in the stove area B and the counter unit area C.

  In the example shown in FIG. 18, first, in the stove area B, a main body case 81 constituting the main body of the stove 55 is fixedly mounted in a lowered state from the top plate. A plurality of gas burners 84 are disposed in the main body of the stove 55, and a cover 83 provided on the upper surface is provided with a burner opening 85 through which each gas burner 84 faces. Furthermore, a virtues 86 are disposed above the burner opening 85, and the virtues 86 along the bottom surface of the cooking pan 74 or the like in which the flame of the burner or the hot air generated by the flames is placed on the claws of the virtues 86 is provided. It is designed to be released to the outside. That is, by burning the gas burner 84, it becomes possible to heat-cook the food in the cooking pan 74 placed on the virtues 86.

  In the cooking table unit area C, a cutting board 91 for actually chopping and processing food, a stainless steel tableware bowl 92 for drying washed dishes, and the like are placed. Furthermore, cooking equipment and the like necessary for actual cooking such as the toaster 65, the juicer 69, the rice cooker 71, and the like are arranged narrowly. These cooking appliances are supplied with power via an outlet 61 and a plug 67.

  As an alternative to various cooking devices such as the toaster 65, juicer 69, rice cooker 71 and the like, various cooking devices such as a whisk and a dishwasher may be arranged in the cooking table unit region C. Will be supplied.

  By the way, as many recipes are being studied, the necessity of operating many cooking devices at the same time is increasing in recent years when a wide variety of cooking, which is a variety of Japanese, Western, and Eastern and Western, has become feasible at home.

  However, in order to simultaneously operate many cooking appliances in the conventional system kitchen as described above, many cooking appliances must be arranged in the cooking unit unit area C having a limited area. For this reason, the space for placing other tableware including the tableware bowl 92 and the space for processing food using the cutting board 91 are inevitably reduced. In addition, in the stove area B adjacent to the cooking stove unit area C, food or the like put in the cooking pan may be boiled at the same time using the gas stove, but the heat from the gas stove on the cooking stove unit area C Since heat may be transferred to the cooking equipment that is placed, further restrictions are imposed on the location of the cooking equipment.

  On the other hand, when cooking many foods at the same time using many gas stoves, it is necessary to increase the number of gas stoves. There is a case where it is desired to set the occupation rate of the unit area C low. Further, in the existing system kitchen shown in FIG. 18, the main body case is fixedly mounted in a state of being dropped from the top plate, and it has not been possible to add a gas stove and move the gas stove area significantly.

  Therefore, it is desired to realize such cooking more efficiently by changing the occupation ratio of the cooking table unit area C and the stove area B on the top plate according to the user's intention.

  In particular, in order to meet such demands, the most important issue is how to improve the degree of freedom of arrangement of the gas stove. In order to solve such a problem, a method of using a cordless device that performs cooking using electromagnetic induction as an alternative to the gas stove has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the cordless device 100 shown in Patent Document 1 includes a load unit 98 represented by a cooking pan and the like, and a magnetic generation unit 99 that induction heats the load unit 98. The unit 99 includes a top plate 103 on which the load unit 98 is placed, a primary coil 104 that is provided below the top plate 103 and generates a high-frequency magnetic field for performing the induction heating, and the primary coil 104. The inverter 107 is driven, and power is supplied to the inverter 107 via the power cord 109.

Since the user can arrange the magnetism generating unit 99 at an arbitrary position on the top plate, the cordless device 100 and the cooking device are not distinguished from each other without distinguishing between the cooking table unit region C and the stove region B. It becomes possible to enjoy the variation of free arrangement.
JP-A-5-184471

  However, when this conventional cordless device 100 is used as an alternative to the above-described gas stove, not only the load unit 98 but also the magnetism generating unit 99 main body must be placed on the top plate. The magnetism generator 99 is wide in width and depth because of mounting various devices such as the primary coil 104 and the inverter 107, and the thickness is increased. For this reason, the magnetism generating unit 99 itself placed on the top plate will also occupy a vast space, and the degree of freedom of arrangement in other cooking equipment cannot be secured, and consequently on the top plate. There arises a problem that the space cannot be used effectively.

  Moreover, in this cordless apparatus 100, since the power cord 109 connected to the inverter 107 is placed on the top plate, the troublesomeness cannot be eliminated. In particular, when many cooking devices are used at the same time, the power cord 109 must be connected by a so-called octopus leg wiring using the plug 67 in addition to the outlet 61, and the current that can flow is limited and the limitation is imposed. If an excess current is passed, the power cord itself may heat up and cause a fire. In addition, the arrangement position of the cordless device 100 on the top plate is governed only by the length of the power cord 109, the position of the outlet provided in the system kitchen, and the like. It will be.

  In addition, since the cooking table unit area C is brought closer to the sink area A than before, cooking and washing can be performed alternately, thereby improving work efficiency. In many cases, the food cooked in the region C is put into a cooking container such as the cooking pan 74 being heated in the stove region B. Especially in the I-type system kitchen, the cooking table unit region C is the center. However, it is common to arrange the sink area A and the stove area B on both sides.

  However, the cooking container is filled with water in the sink area A, and as a result, the burden on the user is increased when the heavier cooking container is transported to the stove area B via the cooking table unit C. There was a problem. For this reason, it has been necessary to temporarily bring the stove area B close to the sink area A while maintaining the advantages of the system kitchen as described above.

  Therefore, the present invention has been devised in view of the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to arrange a cooking container to be induction-heated at an arbitrary position on the top plate according to the user's request. An object of the present invention is to provide a system kitchen that can be used and the space on the top board can be used more effectively.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor has a fixed induction heating region in which a coil unit to which an IH heater is applied is fixedly arranged on at least one place on a top plate, a fixed induction heating region, and a sink. Invented a system kitchen equipped with a movable coil unit having a cooking area formed therebetween and movable from a fixed induction heating area to a sink through the cooking area.

That is, the system kitchen according to the present invention includes at least a top plate on which a cooking container is placed and a sink, and the top plate includes an induction heating coil for generating a high-frequency magnetic field and the induction heating. And a coil unit capable of inductively heating the cooking container via the top plate by a magnetic field from the induction heating coil and fixedly arranged at least at one position below the top plate. A fixed induction heating area, and a cooking area formed between the induction heating area and the sink, and further movable from the fixed induction heating area to the sink via the cooking area. is a moving coil unit mounting, the position identification means for identifying a placement position of the cooking vessel in the top plate, the position identification means Characterized in that it comprises a movement control means for automatically moving the coil unit to a more identified placement position of the cooking container.

  The present invention has a fixed induction heating region in which a coil unit to which an IH heater is applied is fixedly arranged on at least one place on the top plate, and a cooking region formed between the fixed induction heating region and the sink. A movable coil unit is mounted that is movable from the fixed induction heating area to the sink through the cooking area.

  Thereby, in this invention, in addition to heating a cooking container in a fixed induction heating area | region, a cooking container can be heated via a movable coil unit. Since this movable coil unit is disposed so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the top plate from the fixed induction heating region to the sink through the cooking region, the movable coil unit can be moved to a desired location. It becomes possible to heat the cooking container.

  For this reason, it is usually possible to place the movable coil unit in the vicinity of the fixed induction heating region, and to make the movable coil unit close to the sink and to perform cooking and cleaning alternately at a close distance. It is possible to improve work efficiency. As a result, it is only necessary to transport the cooking container that is filled with water in the sink area and becomes heavier as a result to the moving coil unit in the vicinity of the sink without transporting it to the fixed induction heating area through the cooking area. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user's labor.

  Hereinafter, as the best mode for carrying out the present invention, a system kitchen applied when cooking food in a restaurant or home will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  A system kitchen 1 to which the present invention is applied is a system kitchen having at least a work top or a counter (hereinafter referred to as a top plate), and covers a cabinet 11 and an upper surface of the cabinet 11 as shown in FIG. And a sink 14 formed in the sink area A adjacent to the top plate 13, and a faucet 15 for supplying hot water to the sink 14. In the following, the case where the system kitchen 1 is applied as a so-called island kitchen in which the kitchen work table is separated from the wall surface and is provided in an island type will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a case. Further, the present invention may be applied to a so-called one-row kitchen in which work tables with stove are arranged in one row, or a so-called L-type kitchen in which sinks and stoves are arranged in an L-shape.

  For example, the cabinet 11 may be provided with doors and storage drawers (not shown) that are pivotally mounted on the front side so as to be able to be opened in one side. Each of these doors and storage drawers can mainly store kitchen utensils, tableware, and the like. A simple shelf or case may be provided.

  The sink 14 is formed with a draining recess or the like, and a drain outlet is provided on the bottom surface. In the sink 14, the recess and the drain port are integrally formed with each other by a method such as press molding, cast molding, injection molding, or the like. The material of the sink 14 is not particularly limited, but a metal such as a heat-resistant resin or a stainless steel plate can also be used.

  The top plate 13 is composed of a glass plate having a smooth surface. On the top plate 13, a cooking container represented by a cooking pan or pot for cooking foods and the like, and a cutting board for actually chopping and processing the foods can be placed at any position of the user. It is made into the composition. The top plate 13 is not limited to the case where all the regions are made of the same material, but may be made of a glass plate or the like as described above for a range in which a coil unit to be described later is disposed.

  There may be a plurality of cooking containers placed on the top plate 13 at arbitrary positions. In addition to the cutting board, various cooking devices 20 such as a tableware bowl, rice cooker, juicer, etc. (not shown) are provided. There is a case where it is placed at an arbitrary position. That is, the top plate 13 is a place where the cooking container 20 may be placed. Therefore, it is necessary to configure the top plate 13 with a material excellent in heat resistance, impact resistance, chemical resistance, and mechanical strength. Usually, it is made of heat-resistant glass or ceramics.

  Incidentally, in the system kitchen 1 to which the present invention is applied, the cooking container 20 placed on the top board 13 is induction-heated using an IH heater. Actually, this induction heating is executed through the IH heater device 3 disposed under the top plate 13. In the system kitchen 1, an operation plate 95 for the user to operate these IH heater devices 3 is provided on the top plate 13, and the user's operation is received via the operation plate 95 to perform IH. A central control unit 94 for transmitting a control signal to the heater device 3 may be mounted inside. However, when the IH heater device 3 is controlled by a control block 332 described later, the configuration of the central control unit 94 and the operation plate 95 may be omitted.

  The IH heater device 3 is provided with a fixed coil unit 31 that is fixedly arranged over at least one place, and a movable coil unit 32 that is movable. In the following description, the case where this fixed coil unit 31 is fixedly arranged in two places will be described as an example. An area where the fixed coil units 31 are arranged in two places is referred to as a fixed induction heating area 33. The fixed induction heating area 33 is provided so as to sandwich the cooking area 34 with the sink 14 as shown in FIG. The movable coil unit 32 is disposed so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the top plate 13 from the fixed induction heating region 33 to the sink 14 via the cooking region 34.

  Further, the IH heater device 3 is configured to be flush with the top plate 13 with respect to the upper surface 3a. As a result, a uniform work surface can be obtained, and a work top with extremely high cleanability can be realized.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the space 19 in the IH heater device 3 in which the coil units 31 and 32 are disposed. In the space 19 in the IH heater device 3, a substantially flat bottom plate 28 and a top plate 13 parallel to the bottom plate 28 are installed at a predetermined interval, and further, the periphery of the top plate 13 and the bottom plate 28. Is surrounded by a side wall 19a to form a closed space that is hermetically sealed.

  Incidentally, the space 19 is formed on the top plate 13 so as to correspond to a position where the cooking container 20 can be placed. In this space 19, a fixed coil unit 31 and a movable coil unit 32 for inductively heating the cooking container 20 are arranged. On the top plate 13, a marking 601 corresponding to a place where the coil units 31 and 32 are arranged may be drawn.

  The movable coil unit 32 includes a rail 256 disposed in the longitudinal direction of the top plate 13 and a rail engaging member 257 that engages with the rail 256, and a heating coil is provided on the upper surface of the rail engaging member 257. A unit 258 is mounted.

  The rail engaging member 257 slides in the longitudinal direction along the rail 256. The rail engagement member 257 is driven and controlled by a drive motor (not shown) that is driven based on the transmitted identification signal.

  FIG. 3 shows another configuration example of the movable coil unit 32. In this configuration example, the same configurations and members as those in FIG. 2 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 3, a sensing sensor 261 is attached. The detection sensor 261 is an element for determining whether or not the cooking container 20 is placed, and is configured by, for example, an infrared sensor. The rail engaging member 257 is moved toward the place where the cooking container 20 is placed based on the information captured by the sensing sensor 261. Incidentally, the driving of the rail engaging member 257 may be executed via the motor 260.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the coil units 31 and 32, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the coil units 31 and 32. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the coil units 31 and 32 are roughly divided into an inverter block 331 and a control block 332. The inverter block 331 is a block for controlling a high-frequency magnetic field that is actually induction-heated, and the control block 332 is a block for controlling the entire coil unit 3.

  The inverter block 331 is disposed between the power cord 330 and the rectifier circuit 333, and a rectifier circuit 333 that receives household AC200V (50/60 Hz) power from the power plug 329 via the power cord 330. A current detection coil 344, a choke coil 334 connected to the rectifier circuit 333 and configured by winding a coil around an iron core, and a capacitor 335 forming a series LC circuit between the choke coil 334, A first switching element 336 and a second switching element 337 arranged so as to connect the output terminals of the rectifier circuit 333 in series, and two switching elements 336 and 337 connected in parallel to each other. Resonance capacitors 338 and 339 and the connection points of these resonance capacitors 338 and 339 A car rent transformer 340 to be contacted by, and a circuit protection thermo 341 to be mounted on either the inside of the inverter block 331. An induction heating coil 342 is further connected to one end side of the current transformer 340 in the inverter block 331 and the connection point of the switching elements 336 and 337, and a pan temperature detection thermistor is provided near the approximate center of the induction heating coil 342. 350 is provided. Incidentally, at the time of cooking, the coil units 31 and 32 themselves are moved to a position where the cooking container 20 can be induction heated via the top plate 13 by the high frequency magnetic field from the induction heating coil 342.

  The control block 332 includes a primary current detection circuit 345 connected to the current detection coil 344 in the inverter block 331, a power supply voltage detection circuit 346 for detecting a current supplied to the rectifier circuit 333, and at least the primary current detection. A control circuit 347 connected to the circuit 345 and the power supply voltage detection circuit 346 and serving as a central processing unit for controlling the entire control block 332, and the control circuit 347 and the switching elements 336 and 337 A connected inverter drive circuit 348, a temperature detection circuit 349 for transmitting detection information from the connected circuit protection thermo 341 to the control circuit 347, a coil current connected to the current transformer 340 and the control circuit 347, respectively. Detection circuit 351 and temperature detection thermist And at least a pan temperature detection circuit 352 is connected to 350 and control circuit 347. The control block 332 is configured by further connecting a cooling fan 354, an alarm 362, a display unit 363, and an operation unit 357 to the control circuit 347.

  As shown in FIG. 5, each of these components is mounted inside the housing 305. In particular, the inverter block 331 and the control block 332 are mounted on the mounting table 306. Further, the housing 305 has an intake port 358 formed on the bottom surface near the position where the cooling fan 354 is disposed, and an exhaust port 359 formed on one side surface.

  First, the detailed configuration of the inverter block 331 will be described.

  The rectifier circuit 333 is arranged to rectify the power supply current from the connected power plug 329, and converts the supplied power supply current as alternating current into direct current. The LC series circuit constituted by the choke coil 334 and the capacitor 335 constitutes a so-called smoothing circuit. The switching elements 336 and 337 are configured by transistors, for example, and reverse conduction diodes 362 and 363 are connected in parallel to the emitters and collectors of the switching elements 336 and 337, respectively. The drive signal QA from the inverter drive circuit 348 is supplied to the base of the switching element 336, and the drive signal QB from the inverter drive circuit 348 is supplied to the base of the switching element 337. That is, the inverter drive circuit 348 can supply a resonance current to the resonance capacitors 338 and 339 and the induction heating coil 342 by alternately supplying the drive signal QA and the drive signal QB.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the induction heating coil 342 is disposed to face the upper surface 305 a of the housing 305. The number of turns in the induction heating coil 342 governs the electric power when the cooking container 20 is heated, and is optimally adjusted in relation to the skin resistance of the bottom plate and the magnitude of the resonance current in the cooking container 20. Need to be. The induction heating coil 342 is resonated based on the supplied resonance current, and as a result, a high frequency magnetic field can be generated.

  The circuit protection thermo 341 is composed of a thermistor whose resistance value changes in accordance with a change in temperature. The circuit protection thermo 341 mainly measures the temperature of the space that constitutes the inverter block 331 and the control block 332.

  The temperature detection thermistor 350 is formed of a thermistor as with the circuit protection thermo 341. This pan temperature detection thermistor 350 is disposed near the center of the induction heating coil 342 as described above in order to detect the temperature of the cooking container 20 via the top plate 13.

  The current transformer 340 is a coil or the like for detecting the current value of the resonance current flowing through the induction heating coil.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the control block 332 will be described.

  The primary current detection circuit 345 detects the current value of the power supply current supplied via the power plug 329 via the connected current detection coil 344. The primary current detection circuit 345 notifies the control circuit 347 of the detected current value.

  The power supply voltage detection circuit 346 detects a voltage based on the power supply current from the power plug 329. The power supply voltage detection circuit 346 notifies the control circuit 347 of the detected voltage.

  The control circuit 347 is configured by a CPU or the like. When the current value detected by the primary detection circuit 345 described above is notified and the voltage detected by the power supply voltage detection circuit 346 is notified, the control circuit 347 is set with reference to these. The inverter drive circuit 348 is controlled so as to be electric power. The control circuit 347 interprets a command from the user via the operation unit 357, controls the inverter drive circuit 348, the cooling fan 354, and the alarm 362 based on the command, and sends predetermined information via the display unit 363. indicate.

  The inverter drive circuit 348 is configured as an oscillation circuit for oscillating a sine wave signal, and generates the drive signal QA or the drive signal QB based on control by the control circuit 347.

  The temperature detection circuit 349 detects a change in resistance value in the circuit protection thermo 341. The temperature detection circuit 349 detects the temperature inside the housing 305 based on the detected change in the resistance value of the circuit protection thermo 341. The temperature detection circuit 349 notifies the control circuit 347 of the detected temperature inside the housing 305. The control circuit 347 can recognize the temperature inside the housing 305 at any time through the notification from the temperature detection circuit 349. Thereby, for example, when the cooling fan or the like is stopped during operation, or when the cooling performance is deteriorated, such as when the intake port 358 or the exhaust port 359 is clogged, and the temperature inside the housing 305 rapidly increases. Then, the control circuit 347 can recognize this via the temperature detection circuit 349 and can stop the operation of the entire coil units 31 and 32.

  The coil current detection circuit 351 reads the current value of the resonance current detected by the current transformer 340 and notifies the control circuit 347 of this value. The control circuit 347 can recognize the current value of the resonance current at any time via the coil current detection circuit 351. Thereby, the control circuit 347 can suppress, for example, the flow of resonance current more than necessary for the power necessary for induction heating determined according to the material and shape of the cooking container 20, Furthermore, when the cooking container 20 is removed during induction heating, it is possible to stop the operation of the entire coil unit 3 and notify the user of this via the alarm 362.

  The pan temperature detection circuit 352 detects a change in resistance value in the pan temperature detection thermistor 350. The pan temperature detection circuit 352 detects the temperature of the cooking container 20 based on the detected change in the resistance value of the pan temperature detection thermistor 350. The pan temperature detection circuit 352 notifies the control circuit 347 of the detected temperature of the cooking container 20. The control circuit 347 can recognize the temperature of the cooking container 20 at any time via the notification from the temperature detection circuit 349. Thereby, when the temperature of the bottom part of the cooking container 20 rises more than a regulation value, for example, it also becomes possible to stop operation | movement of the coil units 31 and 32 whole.

  The cooling fan 354 is rotated based on control by the control circuit 347. In accordance with the rotation of the cooling fan 354, the cooling air is sucked from the intake port 358. The sucked cooling air passes through the inverter block 331 and the control block 332 to cool them, and is discharged from the discharge port 359 to the outside.

  The alarm 362 is composed of an audio oscillator that generates a predetermined sound based on control by the control circuit 347.

  The display unit 363 is configured by a liquid crystal display surface or the like that displays predetermined information based on control by the control circuit 47.

  The operation unit 357 is embodied by keys, buttons, and the like for the user to actually operate the coil units 31 and 32. The contents input from the user in the operation unit 357 are notified to the control circuit 347, and the control circuit 347 controls each component of the coil units 31 and 32 based on the input contents. Incidentally, the operation unit 357 is assumed to be a button or the like formed on the surface of the housing 305. However, the operation unit 357 is not limited to such a case. For example, the operation unit 357 is for transmitting input content from a user by wireless communication. You may be comprised with the remote controller. In addition, the function related to the operation unit 357 may be assigned to the operation plate 95.

  Next, a method of actually heating the cooking container 20 by induction using the coil units 31 and 32 having the above-described configuration will be described.

  First, a current for power supply is received from the power plug 329 through the power cord 330. The received power supply current is rectified in the rectifier circuit 333. At this time, the inverter drive circuit 348 adjusts the drive signals QA and QB supplied to the switching elements 336 and 337 under the control of the control circuit 347.

  6A shows the resonance current flowing through the induction heating coil 342, FIG. 6B shows the drive signal QA supplied to the switching element 336, and FIG. 6C shows the switching element 337. The drive signal QB supplied with respect to is shown.

Inverter driver circuit 348, under the control of the control circuit 347, the drive time from the time point _{t 0} until the time point _{t 1} is ON outputs a drive signal QA is T1. During the driving time T1, resonance occurs in a closed circuit formed by the switching element 336, the diode 362, the induction heating coil 342, and the resonance capacitor 338. Incidentally, the inverter drive circuit 348 turns OFF the drive signal QA at time _{t 1.}

Then inverter driving circuit 348, under the control of the control circuit 347, the time driving from the time _{t 2} is ON outputs a drive signal QB is T2. During the driving time T2, resonance occurs in a closed circuit formed by the switching element 337, the diode 363, the induction heating coil 342, and the resonance capacitor 339. The driving time T2 is the same as the driving time T1.

  Thus, by changing the closed circuit to resonate the induction heating coil 342, a high frequency magnetic field can be generated in the induction heating coil 342. The generated high-frequency magnetic field passes through the bottom plate of the cooking container 20 through the top plate 13. Since the bottom plate of the cooking container 20 is made of metal, an eddy current is generated by passing the high-frequency magnetic field through the metal bottom plate. Due to this eddy current and the electrical resistance of the cooking container 20, Joule heat is generated, and the cooking container 20 itself generates heat. As a result, the food in the cooking container 20 can be heated and cooked.

  Moreover, in the system kitchen 1 having such a configuration, the user can heat the cooking container 20 via the fixed coil unit 31 and can also move the movable container unit 32 movably in the longitudinal direction. The cooking container 20 can be heated. Since the movable coil unit 32 is disposed so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the top plate 13 from the fixed induction heating area 33 to the sink 14 via the cooking area 34, the movable coil unit 32 is preferred. It is possible to heat the cooking container 20 by moving to the place.

  As a result, the movable coil unit 32 can usually be brought close to the fixed induction heating region 33, and cooking and washing can be performed at a short distance by bringing the movable coil unit 32 close to the sink 14. It is also possible to improve the work efficiency by making it possible to carry out alternately. As a result, the moving coil unit in which the cooking container 20 that has become heavier as a result of being filled with water in the sink area A is brought close to the vicinity of the sink 14 without being transported to the fixed induction heating area 33 via the cooking area 34. Since it is sufficient to transport to 32, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user.

  In the system kitchen 1 to which the present invention is applied, the cooking container to be induction-heated can be arranged at an arbitrary position on the top plate according to the user's request, and the space on the top plate 13 is more effective. It can be used for. In addition, a so-called cooking space and a so-called heating space can be shared with each other, and a pan or the like can be heated at a convenient place in a timely manner depending on cooking contents.

  This means that the cooking space and the heating space on the worktop surface can be appropriately and flexibly changed, and the limited space on the top plate 13 can be used efficiently. I mean. In other words, the entire worktop can be a heating space or a cooking space. Moreover, since it becomes possible to change the heating location of the container 20 for cooking freely, heating in a near place is attained and the physical burden of the user accompanying the movement operation | movement of the container 20 for cooking is eliminated. I mean.

  Furthermore, since it is possible to configure the work top surface flush with each other, it is possible to eliminate a step, and it is possible to smoothly perform the cooking operation, thereby improving the cleaning performance.

  In this system kitchen 1, when configured in an island shape, the movable coil unit 32 is configured to be movable on the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the top plate 13 as shown in FIG. Also good. In particular, in an island type system kitchen, there are many cases where the user faces each other and performs cooking from both sides of the top plate 13, so the movable coil unit 32 is provided on the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the top plate 13. This is because it is possible to perform cooking from both sides.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, another system kitchen 2 as shown in FIG. 7 may be applied.

  In the system kitchen 2, the same configuration and members as those of the system kitchen 1 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the following description is omitted.

  This system kitchen 2 supplies hot water to the cabinet 11, the top plate 13 covering the upper surface of the cabinet 11, the sink 14 formed in the sink area A adjacent to the top plate 13, and the sink 14. There are provided a fixed coil unit 31 provided with a faucet 15 and fixedly arranged at least at one place, and a movable coil unit 32 that is movable. In the following description, the case where this fixed coil unit 31 is fixedly arranged in two places will be described as an example. An area where the fixed coil units 31 are arranged in two places is referred to as a fixed induction heating area 33. The fixed induction heating area 33 is provided so as to sandwich the cooking area 34 with the sink 14 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the movable coil unit 32 is disposed in a space 19 formed in the lower portion of the top plate 13 so as to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions and in all directions. The movable coil unit 32 may take in a power source via a switch box (not shown).

  The movement control of the movable coil unit 32 may be executed using, for example, a remote controller.

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which the operation unit 357 is embodied as the remote controller 110. Incidentally, FIG. 9A shows an external configuration diagram of the remote controller 110, and FIG. 9B shows a block configuration of the remote controller 110.

  The remote controller 110 is configured by mounting each component in a resin case 116, and includes a control unit 111 embodied by a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. A liquid crystal display unit 112 and a transmission unit 113 connected to each other, operation buttons 114a to 114c for a user to perform an input operation, and a position transmission unit 118 are provided.

  The liquid crystal display unit 112 includes a liquid crystal display surface formed on the center surface of the case 116 and displays predetermined information based on control by the control unit 111. From the liquid crystal display unit 112, information regarding the power-on state, information regarding the set temperature for the coil unit 32, and the like are displayed to the user who actually operates the remote controller 110.

  The transmission unit 113 is provided at the tip of the case 116 and performs infrared communication with the coil unit 32.

  The operation buttons 114a, 114b, and 114c are formed on the surface of the case 116 so that the user himself / herself gives instructions for turning on / off the power, increasing the set temperature, decreasing the set temperature, and the like. Functions related to the operation buttons 114a, 114b, and 114c may be assigned to the operation plate 95.

  The control unit 111 switches display contents on the liquid crystal display unit 112 in accordance with the pressed operation button 114, generates an infrared signal corresponding to this, and transmits the infrared signal to the coil unit 32 via the transmission unit 113. Incidentally, you may make it make the function regarding this control part 111 bear the central control unit 94 mentioned above.

  The position transmission unit 118 transmits a position signal for notifying the coil unit 32 of the placement position of the cooking container 20 based on the control by the control unit 111. The position transmitter 118 may use radio waves, for example, or may use sound waves (ultrasonic waves) as the position signal. The position transmitting unit 118 has its transmission surface formed on the outer surface of the case 116. In addition, when the structure of this position transmission part 118 is unnecessary, this may be abbreviate | omitted.

  Further, in the remote controller 110 having the above-described configuration, the transmission unit 113 may include a function for receiving an infrared signal on which predetermined information is superimposed. In such a case, information transmitted from the outside can be transmitted to the user via the liquid crystal display unit 112.

  In the system kitchen 2, before the induction heating of the cooking container 20 is performed by the coil unit 32, the placement position of the cooking container 20 on the top plate 13 is identified, and the coil unit 32 disposed in the space 19. Is moved to the placement position of the identified cooking container 20.

  Here, the placement position of the cooking container 20 is considered with reference to the center of the bottom. In such a case, when the coordinate on the top plate 13 is defined as x in the horizontal direction and y as the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 10, for example, the coordinates of the cooking container 20 are represented by (x1, y1). Is done. In the same coordinate system, when the coordinates of the coil unit 32 actually arranged in the space 19 are considered with reference to the center position, the coordinates are given by (x0, y0).

  Assuming that the coordinates (x0, y0) of the coil unit 32 are known, if the coordinates (x1, y1) of the cooking container 20 can be obtained, the coordinate coordinates (x0, y0) per coil unit 32 are obtained. ) To the coordinates (x1, y1), it is possible to determine that it is necessary to move in the R direction in the figure, and the moving direction and moving amount of the coil unit 3 can be easily calculated. Then, the coil unit 3 is moved to the acquired coordinates (x1, y1).

  Here, the identification method of the mounting position (coordinates) on the top plate 13 of the cooking container 20 will be described.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the user places the cooking container 20 to be cooked from now on an arbitrary location on the top plate 13. At this time, it is assumed that the user places the remote controller 110 as the operation unit 357 in the vicinity of the cooking container 20 on the top plate 13. Incidentally, the remote controller 110 is desirably placed closer to the placement position of the cooking container 20 to be induction-heated, and the remote controller 110 and the cooking container 20 are placed in contact with each other. It may be arranged.

  Next, a position signal is transmitted from the position transmission unit 118 in the placed remote controller 110. The transmission of the position signal may be executed after the user presses the operation button 114. Further, a button (not shown) is provided on the mounting surface of the remote controller 110 with respect to the top plate 13, and when the remote controller 110 is actually placed on the top plate 13, the button (not shown) passes through the top plate 13. You may make it press. Thus, by identifying the pressing of a button (not shown), it is possible to identify that the remote controller 110 is currently placed on the top plate 13, and the control unit 111 receives this and transmits a position. It is possible to instruct the unit 118 to transmit the position signal.

  When this identification method is executed, the sensor units 131a, 131b, and 131c are provided at three different locations. As a result, the position signals transmitted from the position transmitting unit 118 are received by the sensor units 131a, 131b, and 131c, respectively. At this time, the sensor units 131a, 131b, and 131c are located at different distances from the position transmission unit 118, so that the phase differences of the received position signals are different from each other.

  The control circuit 347 identifies the phase difference between the position signals received by the sensor units 131a, 131b, and 131c. This phase difference corresponds to a difference in arrival time of position signals between the sensor units 131a, 131b, and 131c. And this control circuit 347 calculates | requires the height and coordinate of the position transmission part 118 with respect to each sensor part 131a-131c by three-dimensional network average calculation based on the identified phase difference. Since the transmission surface of the position transmission unit 118 is provided on the surface of the case 116 of the remote controller 110 placed in the vicinity of the cooking container 20, the height and coordinates of the position transmission unit 118 required by the control circuit 347 are determined by cooking. It can be said that it is very close to the coordinates (x1, y1) of the container 20 for use.

  Therefore, the control circuit 347 specifies the coordinates (x1, y1) of the cooking container 20 based on the obtained height and coordinates of the position transmission unit 118. In this specification, the height and coordinates of the obtained position transmission unit 118 are corrected while taking into account the amount of positional deviation between the position transmission unit 118 and the coordinates of the cooking container 20.

  In addition, in order to make this phase difference remarkable between the sensor units 131a to 131c, the position signal transmitted from the position transmitting unit 118 may be composed of, for example, a sound wave (ultrasonic wave) in addition to the radio wave. . In such a case, the position transmitting unit 118 is configured by a piezoelectric element, and an AC voltage is applied to the position transmitting unit 118 from the control unit 111, so that the piezoelectric element can be distorted at the frequency, thereby exciting ultrasonic vibration. Become. In particular, since ultrasonic waves have a remarkably low propagation speed in air as compared with radio waves, it is possible to make the arrival time difference between the sensor units 131 more remarkable.

  When the coordinates (x1, y1) of the cooking container 20 are calculated, the control circuit 347 includes information on the coordinates in the identification signal, and this is included in the central control unit 94 (or control block 332) via the switch box 29. ).

  Moreover, when the coordinates (x1, y1) of the cooking container 20 are calculated, the control circuit 347 may display the fact and detailed information regarding the coordinates via the display unit 363. The remote controller 110 may receive such detailed information from the coil unit and display it on the liquid crystal display unit 112. Thereby, the user can also visually grasp the coordinates (x1, y1) of the cooking container 20 actually obtained.

  In addition, it is not limited to the identification method mentioned above, For example, it is based on the infrared rays from the container 20 for cooking received by the infrared light-receiving part arranged in multiple numbers by the circumference | surroundings of the top plate 13, and the coordinate (x1). , Y1) may be identified.

  Alternatively, the coordinates (x1, y1) may be identified by specifying the position of the cooking container 20 from the luminance distribution by imaging the entire top plate 13 as an imaging range.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the light receiving portions 190 for receiving light on the bottom plate 28 are arranged in a grid pattern at predetermined intervals in both the vertical and horizontal directions. The arrangement interval of the light receiving units 190 may be changed periodically or irregularly, or the light receiving units 190 themselves may be arranged discretely.

  In this identification method, for example, a translucent glass material that can transmit visible light is used as the top plate 13. As a result, visible light from a light source (not shown) for illuminating the system kitchen 1 can pass through the top plate 13 without being blocked by the top plate 13 and reach the bottom plate 28.

  The light receiving unit 190 disposed on the bottom plate 28 receives light incident through the top plate 13 and converts it into an electrical signal. The light is blocked at the place where the cooking container 20 is placed, and the light is not blocked at the place where the cooking container 20 is not placed. Accordingly, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 190 changes. The coordinates (x1, y1) may be identified by comparing the amount of light received by the light receiving units 190 arranged regularly.

  The coordinates (x1, y1) detected based on each identification method are sent to the central control unit 94 (or control block 332).

  Hereinafter, a drive control method for moving the coil unit 32 to the identified coordinates (x1, y1) will be described. The movement control of the coil unit 3 is executed by the central control unit 94 (or the control block 332).

  First, the first drive control method in the coil unit 3 will be described.

  In this first drive control method, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, the drive wheel provided at the bottom of the coil unit 32 is driven to move to the identified coordinates (x1, y1). In such a case, the central control unit 94 (or the control block 332) includes a drive shaft 231 with front wheels 225 fixed to both ends, and a drive shaft 232 with rear wheels 226 fixed to both ends. A steering servo mechanism 233 for operating the direction, a motor 234 for driving the rear wheels, and a motor controller 235 for controlling the motor 234 are provided. Further, the central control unit 94 (or control block 332) includes a receiving unit 236 that receives an identification signal for informing the placement position of the cooking container 20, and the receiving unit 236 uses the steering servo mechanism 233 and It transmits to the motor controller 235.

  In response to this identification signal, the steering servo mechanism 233 controls the drive shaft 231 to rotate the direction of the front wheels 225. Similarly, the motor controller 235 receives the identification signal and rotates the motor 234. The gear 238 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the motor 234, and the gear 239 that meshes with the gear 238 and is fixed to the center of the drive shaft 239 also rotates in accordance with this, and thus the drive shaft 239 also rotates. . As a result, the rear wheel 226 can be driven.

  That is, the identification signal sent to the receiving unit 236 is based on the coordinates (x1, y1) corresponding to the placement position of the cooking container 20. For this reason, if the coordinates (x0, y0) of the coil unit 3 are known, what angle direction and what distance can the coil unit 32 be moved to reach the coordinates (x1, y1)? It can be easily distinguished. Then, the drive shaft 231 is controlled by the steering servo mechanism 233 so as to be in the determined angular direction, and the motor 234 is rotated by the motor controller 235 so that the rotation amount corresponds to the determined distance. Incidentally, it goes without saying that the direction of the rear wheel 226 may be operated by the steering servo mechanism 233.

  Next, the second drive control method will be described.

  In the second drive control method, for example, the coil unit 32 is moved by a rail mechanism 250 as shown in FIG. The rail mechanism 250 includes two parallel first rails 251 and 252 that are attached to the substantially flat bottom plate 28 so as to extend in the x direction, and the two first rails 251. , 252 respectively engaged with the first rail engaging member 253, 254, a second rail 266 fixed at both ends to the upper surface of the first rail engaging member 253, 253 and constructed in the y direction, A second rail engaging member 267 that engages with the second rail 266, and the coil unit 32 is mounted on the upper surface of the second rail engaging member 267.

  The first rail engaging members 253 and 254 slide in the x direction along the first rails 251 and 252. The first rail engaging members 253 and 254 are driven and controlled by a driving motor (not shown) that is driven based on the transmitted identification signal.

  The second rail engaging member 267 slides in the y direction along the second rail 266. The second rail engaging member 267 is driven and controlled by a driving motor (not shown) that is driven based on the transmitted identification signal. In other words, the first rail engagement members 253 and 254 and the second rail engagement member 266 can be moved in directions orthogonal to each other, and thereby the coil unit 32 can be guided to an arbitrary position. It becomes.

  FIG. 15 shows a system kitchen 5 as still another embodiment. In the system kitchen 5, the same components and members as those of the system kitchen 1 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the following description is omitted.

  In this system kitchen 5, the system kitchen 2 has a cabinet 11, a top plate 13 covering the top surface of the cabinet 11, a sink 14 formed in the sink area A adjacent to the top plate 13, and the sink 14. And a fixed coil unit 31 that is fixedly arranged at least at one location, and a movable coil unit 432 that is movable.

  The movable coil unit 432 is connected via a cord 434 from a power plug (not shown) mounted in the slot 433. The cord 434 is wound in a spiral shape, and the cord is stretched and contracted in accordance with the place on the top plate 13 of the movable coil unit 432. As a result, the movable coil unit 432 can be placed at various locations on the top plate 13. In addition, although the internal structure of this movable coil unit 432 is the same as that of the movable coil unit 32 mentioned above, you may make it comprise this with a legend heater (electric heater). Further, when the movable coil unit 432 is not used, it can be stored in the slot 433, so that the arrangement on the top plate 13 can be facilitated. Incidentally, FIG. 16 shows an example in which the movable coil unit 432 is configured as a so-called cordless type in the system kitchen 5.

  In such a system kitchen 5 as well, it is possible to place the movable coil unit 432 in the vicinity of the fixed induction heating area 33, and to prepare the movable coil unit 32 in the vicinity of the sink 14 for cooking and cleaning. It is also possible to improve the work efficiency by making it possible to alternately perform at close distances. Thus, the cooking container 20 that has been filled with water in the sink area A with respect to the cooking container 20 and has become heavier as a result is not transported to the fixed induction heating area 33 via the cooking area 34, but near the sink 14. Since it is sufficient to transport to the movable coil unit 432 that is close to, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user. In the system kitchen 5, the cooking container 20 can be placed on the movable coil unit 432, and the movable coil unit 432 can be slid on the top plate 13 as it is to be moved to an arbitrary position by the user. .

  In particular, the fixed induction heating area 33 and the sink 14 are generally arranged in a state where they are separated from each other with the cooking area 34 interposed therebetween. Therefore, when there is no such moving coil unit 432, a large pot filled with water is used. However, it is possible to eliminate such a burden by mounting the movable coil unit 432 as in the present invention.

It is a perspective view of the system kitchen to which this invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the space in IH heater apparatus by which a coil unit is arrange | positioned. It is a figure for demonstrating the movable mechanism of a movable coil unit. It is a figure shown about the block structure of a coil unit. It is a section lineblock diagram of a coil unit. It is a figure shown about the example of the resonant current produced | generated based on a drive signal. It is a perspective view of the system kitchen which can move a movable coil unit to arbitrary positions. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the system kitchen which can move a movable coil unit to arbitrary positions. It is a figure for demonstrating about the example which comprises an operation part by a remote controller. It is a figure shown about the example which displays the container for cooking and a coil unit by a coordinate. It is a figure for demonstrating about the 1st identification method to which this invention is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating about the other identification method to which this invention is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating about the 1st drive control method to which this invention is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating about the 2nd drive control method to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the system kitchen as further another embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where a coil unit is comprised by a cordless. It is a figure which shows the system kitchen in the past. It is a figure for demonstrating about the problem in the conventional system kitchen. It is a figure for demonstrating about the example of the cordless apparatus in the past.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 System kitchen 11 Cabinet 13 Top plate 14 Sink 15 Faucet 31, 32 Coil unit 33 Fixed induction heating area 34 Cooking area

Claims (2)

In a system kitchen comprising at least a top plate on which a cooking container is placed and a sink,
The top plate
A coil unit having an induction heating coil for generating a high frequency magnetic field and an inverter circuit for driving the induction heating coil, and capable of induction heating the cooking vessel via the top plate by a magnetic field from the induction heating coil A fixed induction heating area fixedly arranged over at least one place in the lower part of the top plate;
A cooking area formed between the fixed induction heating area and the sink;
Furthermore, a movable coil unit that is movable from the fixed induction heating region to the sink through the cooking region is mounted ,
Position identifying means for identifying the mounting position of the cooking container on the top plate;
A system kitchen comprising: movement control means for automatically moving the coil unit to the placement position of the cooking container identified by the position identification means . In the system kitchen of Claim 1 comprised by an island type,
The movable coil unit, kitchen according to claim 1, characterized in that it is movable over the depth direction of the center line of the top plate.

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