JPH0114806Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field] The present invention is a microwave oven that heats food using a high-frequency generating means such as a magnetron, or a microwave oven that heats food using an electric heating means such as a sheathed heater. In particular, the present invention relates to a lighting control device for a lighting lamp that illuminates the inside of an oven.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, lighting lights in this type of heating cooker were
By turning on the illumination light only while a heating source such as a high frequency generating means is in operation, the finished state of the food being cooked in the oven can be easily observed from the outside.

However, at the same time as cooking ends, the light goes out and the oven becomes dark, so if you want to check whether the food is sufficiently cooked after cooking is finished, open the oven door once. It is very inconvenient to use, as it is necessary to check the finished state of the food, and if you want to perform additional heating, you have to close the door and start cooking again.

In addition, when cooking at the same time as various other cooking tasks, it is easy to get distracted by cooking other foods and forget that the cooking was done, especially after cooking. Because the lights inside the oven were turned off and it was dark, people sometimes left cooked food in the oven without noticing it.

For this reason, in some conventional heating cookers, the illumination lamp was kept on at all times regardless of whether the heating source was operating or not.
This method had the disadvantage of wasting power.

[Purpose of invention]

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the present invention has been improved so that the illumination light remains on only for a predetermined period of time even after the heating source has finished operating, until the oven door is opened or closed. Even if the oven door is not opened or closed, the lighting lamps will not be left on for long periods of time, which will prevent unnecessary power consumption as much as possible. This is what I did.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention in a microwave oven will be described below. In Fig. 1, 1 is a high frequency generator as a heating source, and 2 is a microwave oven when the oven door is closed in response to opening and closing of the oven door. 3 is a safety switch that closes the circuit only in the oven. 4 is a timer (timer means) 4
A control circuit (lighting control circuit) consisting of a microprocessor with a built-in controller, etc., includes a door switch 5 that detects the open/closed state of the oven door, various cooking type keys 7 arranged on the front operation panel 6, and a cooking switch. 8, and a first relay switch 10 for controlling the operation of the high frequency generator 1, in which a signal from a rotary switch or the like for detecting the rotational position of the manual cooking timer knob 9 is inputted;
and a second relay switch 11 for controlling the lighting of the illumination lamp 3.

In the above configuration, place the food to be heated in the oven, close the oven door, and press the desired cooking type key 7 depending on the food, or set the manual cooking timer knob 9 to an appropriate cooking time. After that, when the cooking switch 8 is pressed, cooking starts.

That is, in FIG. 1, when the cooking switch 8 is pressed with the oven door closed, the control circuit 4 activates the first relay switch 10 in response.
At the same time, the second relay switch 11 is closed and the lighting lamp 3 is turned on. After that, the control circuit 4
For example, when one of the type keys 7 is selected and automatic cooking is performed, the food is cooked in response to a sensor (not shown) that detects physical changes in the airflow in the oven and detects the finished state of the food. , when the output level of the sensor reaches a preset level according to the type of cooking, or after the preset cooking time according to the type of cooking has elapsed, the manual cooking timer knob 9, when the set cooking time has elapsed (after time T1 shown in FIG. 2), the first relay switch 10 is opened. Then, the operation of the high frequency generator 1 is stopped and the heating cooking is completed.

Next, the control circuit 4 starts the timer operation using the built-in timer (timer means) 4a at the end of cooking, and when it detects opening/closing of the oven door based on the detection signal from the door switch 5, i.e. When the oven door is opened to take out food from the oven and then closed again, the second relay switch 11 is opened to turn off the illuminating light 3 as the oven door is closed. . However, if the opening/closing of the oven door is not detected by the door switch 5, the illumination light 3 continues to be turned on until the timer 4a measures a preset certain period of time, and the time T2 shown in FIG. (e.g. 2 minutes)
When the second relay switch 11 has passed, the second relay switch 11 is opened and the illumination lamp 3 is turned off.

Therefore, even after the cooking is finished, the lighting lamp 3
lights up and brightly illuminates the inside of the oven, so you can easily observe the doneness of food inside the oven from the outside without having to open the oven door and look inside. If so, it is extremely convenient to use, as additional heating can be performed immediately with the door closed.

In addition, even if you forget about the food stored in the oven because you are distracted by cooking other foods, the lighting lamp 3 will remain on for a certain period of time after cooking is finished. Since the presence of food stored in the oven can be easily observed from the outside, the presence of food in the oven can be easily noticed and it is possible to prevent forgetting to take out cooked food. .

When the oven door is opened and closed to take out food from the oven after heating is finished, the illumination light 3 is immediately turned off in response to the opening and closing of the oven door, and the opening and closing of the oven door is detected. Even if the heating is not performed, the lighting lamp 3 is configured to automatically turn on after a certain period of time has passed after the heating is finished, so the lighting lamp 3 will not remain lit for a long time. It is not left unattended and wasteful power consumption can be prevented as much as possible.

It should be noted that the period of time that the lighting lamp 3 is left on until the oven door is opened/closed for a certain period of time even after the end of cooking does not have to be 2 minutes, but should be sufficient to achieve the above purpose and effect. It may be set as short as possible within the expected range, or it may be set as long as possible. Also, for example, even if you realize that you forgot to take out the cooked food after it has cooled down, it will not be very effective, so if the opening/closing operation of the oven door is not detected within a certain period of time after the cooking is finished, the food will not be cooked. After the food has been stored in the oven for a certain period of time, a buzzer or the like may be used to notify the user of this fact, and then the illumination light 3 may be turned off. The lighting lamp 3 is turned on until the cooking time has passed, so that the finished status of the food can be easily checked. It may also be possible to actively prevent forgetting to take it out.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, the present invention is equipped with a lighting control circuit that turns on the illumination light for a certain period of time even after the heating source has finished operating, until the opening/closing of the oven door is detected. When cooking is finished, you can easily observe the doneness of the food in the oven from the outside without having to open the oven door and look inside. It is extremely convenient to use, as additional heating can be performed immediately while it is closed. In addition, even if you forget about the food stored in the oven, the lighting lamp will turn on for a certain period of time after heating is complete, making it easy to detect the food stored in the oven from outside. Since the oven is in an observable state, the presence of food in the oven can be easily noticed, and it is possible to prevent forgetting to take out cooked food. When the oven door is opened and closed to take out the food from the oven after heating is finished, the system will respond to the opening and closing of the oven door, and even if the door is not opened or closed, a certain period of time will elapse. Since the lighting is configured to automatically turn off when the system is turned off, the lighting will not be left on for long periods of time, and unnecessary power consumption can be prevented as much as possible. It has excellent practical effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an electric circuit diagram of the heating cooker, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of its operation. 1 is a high frequency generator as a heating source; 3 is a lighting lamp; 4 is a control circuit (lighting control circuit) including timer means 4a; 5 is a door switch; and 8 is a cooking switch.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] an oven for storing food therein; a heating source 1 for heating the food in the oven;
A cooking switch 8 for starting the operation of the heating source 1, a timer means 4a for measuring a certain period of time, a door switch 5 for responding to opening and closing of the oven door, and a lighting lamp 3 for illuminating the inside of the oven. , and a lighting control circuit 4 that controls lighting of the illumination lamp 3. The lighting control circuit 4 turns on the illumination lamp 3 when the heating source 1 starts operating, and also controls the lighting when the heating source 1 finishes operating. The timer means 4a is activated and the lighting lamp 3 continues to be turned on, and when the timer means 4a has counted a certain period of time or before the certain period of time has been measured, the lighting lamp 3 is turned on by the door switch 5 which responds to the opening and closing of the door. A heating cooker characterized by turning off the light.