JP7281618B2 - induction cooker - Google Patents

Description

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

Conventionally, an electrostatic touch button described in Patent Literature 1 can be cited as a means for receiving thermal operation of an induction heating cooker. In addition, tact switches and dials are given as means for receiving other thermal operations.

Japanese Patent No. 5938626

The inventors recognize that the dial thermal operation is simple and can realize an operation that follows the user's intuition. Therefore, the inventors think that the thermal power operation by the dial is easy to operate for a wide range of users. However, there is a problem that the heating power operation speed cannot be adjusted, although the feeling of operating the heating power for cooking differs from person to person. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve such problems, and to provide a heating cooking system that can set the heating power operation speed according to the user's preference.

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

User-friendliness is improved because the user can select the thermal operation speed of the dial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The perspective view which shows typically the whole induction heating cooker in Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 1 is a top view of the induction heating cooker according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A diagram showing an electrical configuration of an induction heating cooker according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A diagram schematically showing a cross section of a dial portion according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A diagram showing the relationship between the output wattage and the number of clicks according to the thermal power level in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the display of each LCD unit when operation speed setting is selected according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the display of each LCD section when selecting an operation speed according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing display of each LCD unit when manual menu selection is performed according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the display of each LCD unit when automatic menu selection is performed according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

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

In the induction heating cooker, the dial includes a movable part that reverses every predetermined amount of rotation to give the user a click feeling, and each of the plurality of values is configured to correspond to the number of clicks of the dial. may As a result, the user can easily feel that the thermal power operation speed has been adjusted by the change in the number of clicks, thereby improving usability for the user.

In the induction heating cooker, when the smallest output of the outputs of the heating coil that can be set by the control unit is set as the first output, the control unit determines the amount of rotation when changing from zero output to the first output may be configured not to select from multiple values. As a result, the amount of rotation when changing from zero output to the first output can be kept constant from the viewpoint of safety.

In the induction heating cooker, the amount of rotation of the dial when changing from zero output to the first output is the amount of rotation of the heating coil when changing the output of the heating coil from the first output to the second output larger than the first output. It may be configured to be larger than the amount of rotation of the dial. As a result, it is possible to obtain the effect of preventing heating from being started unintentionally by the user, and further improve usability for the user.

In the induction heating cooker, when the smallest output among the outputs of the heating coil that can be set by the control unit is set as the first output, the amount of rotation of the dial when the output is increased by one step from the first output , the amount of rotation of the dial when the output is changed by one step from the output one step before the maximum output to the maximum output may be constant. This simplifies the relationship between the step change in output and the amount of rotation, thereby improving usability for the user.

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

In the induction heating cooker, the automatic menu includes a plurality of courses, and when one of the plurality of courses is selected, the control unit does not accept a change to another course simply by rotating the grill dial. may be configured to As a result, it is possible to prevent unintentional operations by the user, and further improve usability for the user.

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

In the induction heating cooker, when the smallest output of the heating coil outputs that can be set by the control unit is set as the first output, and the output larger than the first output is set as the second output, the first output The amount of rotation of the dial when changing from to zero output may be greater than the amount of rotation of the dial when changing from the second output to the first output. As a result, the user's unintended heating stop operation can be prevented, and the usability for the user can be improved.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited by this embodiment.
(Embodiment 1)
The overall configuration of the heating cooker will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

The heating cooker includes a top plate unit 10 and a body unit 20. - 特許庁The top plate unit 10 includes a top plate 11, an operation section 12, a frame 15, and a power supply SW. An insulating heat-resistant glass is used for the top plate 11 . A heated body 40 is arranged on the top plate 11 . The frame 15 surrounds the outer edge of the top plate 11 and serves as a support for attaching the top plate 11 to the main unit 20 . In this embodiment, the front portion of the frame 15 rises from the top plate 11 like a bank. Also, the front portion of the frame 15 is inclined so as to become lower from the back side to the front side. The material of the frame 15 is, for example, metal such as stainless steel. The operation unit 12 includes dial units 30a, 30b, and 30c and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) shown in FIG.
Display) units 13a, 13b, 13c and LEDs (Light Emitting
Diode) lamps 14a and 14c. Hereinafter, the dial sections 30a, 30b, and 30c may be collectively referred to as the dial section 30 in some cases. The LCD sections 13a, 13b, and 13c may be collectively referred to as the LCD section 13 in some cases. The LED lamps 14a and 14c may be collectively referred to as the LED lamp 14 in some cases.

In this embodiment, there are three dial units 30 and three LCD units 13 . There are two sets of LED lamps 14 . The dial portion 30 is arranged on the frame 15 in front of the top plate 11 . The three dial portions 30a, 30b, 30c are arranged in the horizontal direction. The left and right dial portions 30a, 30c are for the heating coils 23a, 23b. The central dial portion 30b is for a grill portion 24, which will be described later. Each LCD section 13a, 13b, 13c is arranged near each dial section 30a, 30b, 30c. Each LED lamp 14a, 14c is also arranged near each dial part 30a, 30b, 30c. Each of the LED lamps 14a, 14c includes five small lamps. The five small lamps are lit according to the heating power of the corresponding heating units (heating coils 23 and heaters 25, which will be described later).

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

In this heating cooker, when the user rotates the dial portion 30 , a signal corresponding to the dial rotation operation is sent from the dial portion 30 to the control portion 22 . When control unit 22 receives signals from dial units 30 a and 30 c of dial unit 30 , inverter circuit 21
to send a signal to control the firepower. Upon receiving the signal from the control unit 22 , the inverter circuit 21 supplies current to the heating coil 23 that induction-heats the object 40 to be heated according to the signal from the control unit 22 . When an electric current flows through the heating coil 23, the object to be heated 40 arranged above the heating coil 23 is heated. Further, the control section 22 controls the operation of the heater 25 upon receiving a signal from the dial section 30b.

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

When the user rotates the dial portion 30 through the encoder cover 32, the encoder 31 rotates. When the encoder 31 rotates, the spring 33a contacts each projection 33b and elastically deforms. When the encoder 31 rotates by a predetermined angle or more, the spring 33a cannot be elastically deformed and performs a reverse operation. At this time, a click feeling is generated. The number of the springs 33a contacting the projections 33b and performing the reversal operation coincides with the number of clicks. Also, when the encoder 31 rotates, a signal corresponding to the amount of rotation is sent to the controller 22 . In the case of this embodiment, a signal corresponding to the number of clicks is sent to the control section 22 .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Further, in the present embodiment, in each state from level 1 to level 9, the number of dial clicks (an example of the amount of rotation) when the output is increased by one step is configured to be constant (two in FIG. 5). It is This simplifies the relationship between the step change in the output of the heating coil 23 and the amount of rotation of the dial portion 30, thereby improving usability for the user.

Similarly, in this embodiment, in each state from level 10 to level 2, the number of dial clicks (an example of the amount of rotation) when the output is lowered by one step is constant (two in FIG. 5). It is configured. This simplifies the relationship between the step change in the output of the heating coil 23 and the amount of rotation of the dial portion 30, thereby improving usability for the user.

Moreover, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The amount of rotation of the dial (for example, the number of clicks) when changing to is not only fixed, but also the amount of rotation of the dial when the output of the heating coil 23 changes from level 1 to a higher level (for example, the number of clicks number). As a result, when the user energizes the heating coil 23, it is necessary to rotate the dial largely at first. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the effect of preventing the heating start which is not intended by the user, and further improve the usability for the user.

Further, in the present embodiment, the dial unit 30 reduces the amount of rotation necessary to change the thermal power of the heating coil 23 from level 1 to the stopped state when the thermal power level is lowered by one step from another level (for example, from level 6). is set to be larger than the amount of rotation required for changing to level 5). As a result, it becomes difficult to rotate all the way to level 0 all at once, and it is possible to prevent the heating from being stopped due to an operation unintended by the user, and further improve usability for the user. For example, when changing the firepower from level 1 to level 0, the number of clicks required is fixed at 5, and when the firepower level is lowered by one step from another level (for example, when changing from level 6 to level 5), the required It may be designed so that the number of clicks can be selected from three numbers from 1 to 3.

Alternatively, when the heating coil 23 is changed from level 1 to the stopped state, for example, if the dial does not rotate for 0.5 seconds and then rotates again, the state may be changed to the stopped state. For example, the user may rotate the dial too much when lowering the thermal power from the thermal power of level 2 or higher. On the other hand, by adopting a configuration in which the heating power is not lowered all at once to the stop state, it is possible to prevent the heating from being stopped due to an operation unintended by the user, and further improve usability for the user. In addition, although 1 second has been exemplified as the fixed period during which the dial does not rotate, it may be appropriately set between 0.2 seconds and 3 seconds in consideration of the balance between convenience and prevention of malfunction.

Further, in the present embodiment, the controller 22 controls the operation of the grill section 24 according to the rotation of the central dial section 30b for grill. When the grill central dial portion 30b rotates in the first direction (for example, rightward direction) while the grill portion 24 is not energized, the control portion 22 causes the grill LCD portion 13b to display the manual operation shown in FIG. display the menu. Further, when the dial portion 30b rotates in a second direction different from the first direction (for example, leftward direction), the control portion 22 causes the LCD portion 13b to display the automatic menu shown in FIG. As a result, compared to the case where all cooking menus are selected in one direction, the cooking menu can be selected more quickly, and the usability for the user can be improved. If the manual menu is selected, the user needs to manually adjust the heating power of the upper heater 25 and the lower heater 26 of the grill section 24 . When the automatic menu is selected, the control section 22 automatically controls the heating power of the upper heater 25 and the lower heater 26 according to the course.

The automatic menu contains multiple courses. The plurality of courses are, for example, cooking courses such as sliced fish, dried fish, and grilled fish. The control unit 22 is configured not to accept a change to another course only by rotating the central dial 30b for grilling when one of a plurality of courses (for example, fillet) is selected. ing. As a result, it is possible to prevent unintentional operations by the user, and further improve usability for the user.

Other embodiments will be described below.

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

In the present embodiment, both the heating coil dial portions 30a and 30c and the grill dial portion 30b are dials that provide a click feeling when rotated. may be In that case, the controller 22 may detect the amount of rotation of the dial by the angle of rotation instead of the number of clicks.

In the present embodiment, the heating cooker has the grill part 24, but the grill part 24 may be omitted. Moreover, regardless of the presence or absence of the grill portion 24, the grill dial portion 30b may be omitted.

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

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

Further, in the present embodiment, the dial operation speed can be selected for both the increase and decrease of the thermal power level. The speed may be selectable. Further, it may be configured such that the operation speed of the dial can be independently selected when the thermal power level is raised or lowered.

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

In the present embodiment, an induction heating cooker has been described as an example of a heating cooker, but the dial portions 30a and 30c of the present invention can also be applied to a heating cooker such as a gas stove. In other words, the heating cooker includes a heating unit, a dial that receives operation of the heating unit by rotating, and a control unit that changes the heating power of the heating unit in stages according to the amount of rotation of the dial. good. The heating unit is, for example, a stove burner. The control unit may be configured to select from a plurality of values the amount of rotation of the dial when changing the heating power by one step. User-friendliness is improved because the user can select the thermal operation speed of the dial.

As described above, the heating cooker according to the present invention allows the user to select the heating operation speed of the dial, so that the heating operation speed can be adjusted to the user's various preferences. Therefore, it is useful for a heating cooker equipped with a dial operation for a wide range of users including the elderly.

10 Top plate unit 20 Main unit 10 Top plate unit 11 Top plate 12 Operation unit 13 LED unit 13a Left LCD unit 13b Center LCD unit 13c Right LCD unit 14 LED lamp 14a Left LED lamp 14c Right LED lamp 20 Main unit 21 Inverter circuit 22 Control section 23 Heating coil 23a Left heating coil 23b Right heating coil 24 Grill section 25 Upper heater 26 Lower heater 30 Dial section (dial)
30a left dial portion 30b center dial portion 30c right dial portion 31 encoder 32 encoder cover 33 click feeling providing portion 33a spring (movable portion)
33b projection 40 object to be heated

Claims (3)

a top plate on which the object to be heated is arranged;
a body unit to which the top plate is attached;
a heating coil and a grill portion arranged in the main unit ;
a heater arranged in the grill;
a first dial that rotates to accept the operation of the heating coil;
a second dial that rotates to receive the operation of the grille;
a control unit that changes stepwise the output of the heating coil according to the amount of rotation of the first dial , and that receives a signal from the second dial and controls the operation of the heater ;
with
The control unit is configured to receive a user's selection from a plurality of values with the second dial and set the amount of rotation of the first dial when changing the output by one step. Cooking device. 2. The induction heating cooker according to claim 1 , comprising a display configured to display said plurality of values in terms of dial operation speed. the first dial includes a movable portion that reverses every predetermined amount of rotation of the first dial to give a click feeling to the user;
3. The induction heating cooker according to claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of values corresponds to the number of clicks of said first dial.

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