JPH0114807Y2 - - 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 lamp remains on only for a predetermined period of time even after the heating source has finished operating, until the manual switch is operated. Even if the manual switch is not operated, the lights will not remain on for long periods of time, and wasteful power consumption can be prevented 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. A door switch that closes only the oven, and 3 a lighting lamp for illuminating the inside of the oven. 4 is a timer (timer means) 4
A control circuit (lighting control circuit) consisting of a microprocessor or the like with a built-in controller, a door detection switch 5 that detects the open/closed state of the oven door, various cooking type keys 7 arranged on the front operation panel 6, Signals such as the cooking switch 8 for instructing the start of cooking, the manual switch 12 for turning off the light, and the rotary switch for detecting the rotational position of the manual cooking timer knob 9 are input, and the high frequency generator 1 operates. A first relay switch 10 for controlling the illumination lamp 3 and a second relay switch 11 for controlling the lighting of the illumination lamp 3 are connected.

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 also starts the timer operation immediately after the oven door is opened and closed to take out the food from the oven. When the manual switch 12 is pressed, the second relay switch 11 is opened in conjunction with the operation of the manual switch 12, and the illumination light 3 is turned off. However, if the manual switch 12 is not operated, the lighting lamp 3 continues to be turned on until the timer 4a measures a preset fixed time, and the T2 time (for example, 2 minutes) shown in FIG. When the time has elapsed, the second relay switch 11 is opened to turn off the illumination light 3.

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, it is possible to easily notice the presence of food in the oven and prevent forgetting to take out cooked food. .

When the oven door is opened and closed in order to take out the food from the oven after heating is completed, the lighting lamp 3 is immediately turned on in response to the manual switch 12 that is operated in conjunction with the opening and closing of the oven door.
is turned off, and even if the manual switch 12 is not operated, the illumination light 3 is automatically turned off after a certain period of time has passed after heating is completed, so the illumination light 3 is turned off. The lights will not remain on for long periods of time, 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 for a certain period of time after the end of cooking until the manual switch 12 is pressed does not necessarily have to be 2 minutes, but it is necessary to maintain the above purpose and effect. It may be set to a short value within a sufficiently expected range, or may be set to a long value. Also, for example, even if you realize that you forgot to take out the cooked food after it has cooled, it will not be very effective, so the manual switch 12 for turning off the light may not be operated within a certain period of time after the cooking is finished. For example, when the cooked food remains 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 lighting lamp 3 may be turned off. Alternatively, the lighting lamp 3 is turned on until one minute has passed after the end of heating so that the finished status of the food can be easily checked, and the lighting lamp 3 is turned on and off for an additional one minute thereafter. hand,
It may also be possible to actively prevent forgetting to take out cooked food.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, the present invention is equipped with a lighting control circuit that turns on the lighting lamp for a certain period of time even after the heating source has finished operating, until the manual switch is operated. When the oven 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 easy to use, as additional heating can be performed immediately in the same state. 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. If the manual switch is operated after the food has been removed from the oven after heating has finished, the system will respond to the manual switch operation for a certain period of time even if the manual switch is not operated. Since the lighting is configured to automatically turn off when the time has elapsed, 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 drawings]

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; 8 is a cooking switch; and 12 is a manual 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 lighting lamp 3 for illuminating the inside of the oven, and a manual switch for turning off the lighting lamp 3. The lighting control circuit 4 includes a switch 12 and a lighting control circuit 4 that controls the 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 operation of the heating source 1. At the end, the timer means 4a is activated and the lighting lamp 3 is continued to be turned on, and when the timer means 4a has timed a certain period of time, or before the period of time has been measured, the illumination lamp 3 is activated in response to the manual switch 12. A heating cooker characterized by turning off the light.