JPH04338420A - Alarm of electric cooking instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to select the sound frequency and inform us thereof with an easily discernible frequency, in an alarming means of electric cooking instruments. CONSTITUTION:The frequency of alarming sounds is selected to be in a discernible sound zone by a frequency setter 3 to inform us thereof.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention is used in general households.
This invention relates to a notification device for electric cooking devices such as electric water heaters and electric ranges.

0002

[Prior Art] Electric cooking appliances have spread rapidly in recent years.
The number of so-called ``all-electric homes,'' in which all household energy is provided by electricity, is increasing. In addition, with the arrival of a full-fledged aging society, there are high expectations for electric cookers that are easy to use and can be controlled with advanced control, and there is a desire for electric cookers that are safe and easy to use.

[0003] A conventional notification device for an electric cooking appliance will be explained below. A conventional notification device for an electric cooking device makes a sounding body such as a buzzer sound briefly when the user operates a key to let the user know that the key is valid. Furthermore, a sounding body such as a buzzer is sounded at various rhythms to notify the completion of cooking or to warn of incorrect settings. These pronunciation frequencies are based on the "equal loudness curve" of human hearing, in which it is easy to hear even small sounds in the sound range centered around 2 kHz to 4 kHz.
Many have a frequency of kHz or approximately 4kHz.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the sounding frequency of the buzzer etc. is determined in advance and cannot be changed, so there is a problem that some people have difficulty hearing it.

[0005] That is, when the ear is affected by otitis media or the like, it may become difficult to hear sounds in a particular range. Furthermore, even healthy people tend to have difficulty hearing high-frequency sounds as they age, and it is said that elderly people can hardly hear sounds above a few kHz.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a notification device for an electric cooking appliance that is easy to identify and easy to use.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the first means of the present invention includes a frequency setting means for setting the output frequency of the driving means for driving the sounding body, and the frequency setting means It is designed to notify key inputs, completion of cooking, etc. at a set frequency.

[0008] The second means is provided with a frequency division driving means, and is configured to simultaneously issue sound generation signals using both the frequency-divided signal of the output of the driving means and the output of the original driving means.

[0009] The third means is provided with a notification rhythm selection means, and is configured to perform sound notification according to the selected notification rhythm.

[0010] The fourth means includes an ambient sound detecting means for detecting sounds surrounding the electric cooker, and a sound pressure setting means for changing the sound pressure of the sounding body in accordance with the output of the ambient sound detecting means. It is something.

[0011]

[Function] With the above-described structure, the present invention can change the frequency at which the sounding body is driven, so that even people with a narrow audible range can select sounds in a range that is easy to identify, making it easy to use. Alternatively, since the pronunciation is announced even at a frequency obtained by dividing the fundamental frequency, it is easy to hear even for elderly people who have difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds.

[0012] Also, with the spread of electrical equipment, the number of notification sounds with similar rhythms has increased and become confusing, but by changing the rhythm of the notification sounds, identification becomes easier and usability is improved.

Furthermore, by detecting the surrounding sounds of the electric cooker and changing the sound pressure of the sounding body according to the surrounding sounds, it is possible to notify with a small sound when the surroundings are quiet such as late at night, and conversely when the surroundings are noisy. If there is a problem, a loud sound will be used to notify you.

[0014]

Embodiments An embodiment of the first problem solving means of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Figure 1
In the apparatus, a sounding body 1 is connected to a driving means 2 for making sound notifications according to cooking operations, and a frequency setting means 3 is connected to the driving means 2 for setting the frequency of the driving output. FIG. 2 shows a specific circuit configuration, in which a piezoelectric buzzer 4 is used as the sounding body 1, and the frequency setting means 3 divides the voltage of the power supply 5 with the volume 6 and converts the voltage into A/D converter 7.
/D conversion is performed and an 8-bit signal n is provided to the driving means 2. Here, the driving means 2 is realized by a one-chip microcomputer, and divides a 125kHz clock based on an 8-bit signal n (0 to 255) given from the A/D converter 7. and the drive output. The frequency f of the drive output is f=125/(n+1) k
Hz. That is, it is possible to set the frequency from approximately 488 Hz to 125 kHz.

[0015] Incidentally, not only is the output of a frequency exceeding 4 kHz practically unnecessary, but if it is mistakenly set to 20 kHz or higher, which is the ultrasonic band, it will be completely inaudible. -ta 7
The output n is limited by a resistor 8 so that it does not become less than 30.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the frequency for driving the sounding body can be selected, so that even elderly people who have difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds or people whose audible range has become narrower can easily identify the sound range. The ease of use can be improved by selecting .

Next, an embodiment of the second problem-solving means of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Components that are the same as those in the first embodiment are given the same numbers and their explanations will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 3, a second sounding body 9 and a frequency dividing driving means 10 for driving the second sounding body 9 are provided. In this embodiment, the frequency dividing driving means 10 divides the output of the driving means 2 by eight using a binary counter. That is, the driving means 2
When the output of the frequency dividing drive means 10 is about 4 kHz, the output of the frequency dividing drive means 10 is about 500 Hz. What is the sound divided by 8 and the original sound?3
Since they are related to overtones and harmonize, they are not harsh on the ears.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the pronunciation is announced even at a frequency obtained by dividing the fundamental frequency, so even people with a narrow audible range or elderly people who have difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds can hear the sounds. It is possible to make notifications by using sounds at frequencies that are easy to hear.

Note that in this embodiment, the first sounding body 1
Although the two sounding bodies 9 and 9 are used, the output of the driving means 2 and the output of the frequency dividing driving means 10 may be superimposed to drive one sounding body. Further, in this embodiment, the system is configured to provide notification using two types of sounds: the fundamental frequency sound and the frequency-divided sound, but it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained even if more types of sounds are used for notification.

Next, an embodiment of the third problem-solving means of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Components that are the same as those in the first and second embodiments are given the same numbers, and their explanations will be omitted. In FIG. 4, a notification rhythm selection device 11 is connected to the driving device 2, and the driving device 2 notifies the end of the cooking operation at a rhythm corresponding to the output of the notification rhythm selection device 11. In this embodiment, the notification rhythm selection means 11 uses a changeover switch.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the notification rhythm at the end of the cooking operation in this embodiment.
), (b), and (c) are prepared, and one of them can be selected by the notification rhythm selection means 11. FIG. 5(a) shows "Beep, beep, beep, beep,
This is the most common rhythm that can be heard as "...". (b) is a rhythm that can be heard as "beep beep, beep beep, beep beep...", and (c) is a rhythm that can be heard as "beep beep, beep beep, beep...".

As described above, according to this embodiment, the notification rhythms of a plurality of electric cookers can be set to be different from each other, so that confusion such as not knowing which electric cooker is making the notification can be avoided. It is possible to eliminate the problem.

Next, an embodiment of the fourth problem-solving means of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. Components that are the same as those in the first to third embodiments are designated by the same numbers, and their explanations will be omitted. In FIG. 6, the ambient sound detection means 12 detects the noise surrounding the electric cooking device main body, and the sound pressure setting means 13 determines the sound pressure level of the sounding bodies 1 and 9 according to the output of the ambient sound detection means 12. .

FIG. 7 is a specific circuit diagram. The ambient sound detection means 12 collects sound with a dynamic microphone 14, amplifies it with an amplifier 15, converts it into a 4-bit signal with an A/D converter 16, and outputs the signal. Sound pressure setting means 13
receives a signal from the ambient sound detection means 12 and switches the transistors 14 to 17 to adjust the sound pressure of the sounding bodies 1 and 9. Here, the sound pressure setting means 13 is also realized by a one-chip microcomputer.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the sound around the electric cooker is detected and the sound pressure of the sounding body is changed according to the surrounding sound, so that when the surroundings are quiet, such as late at night, the sound is small. This is useful in practice because it can be used to notify the user and, conversely, if the surrounding area is noisy, the notification can be made with a loud sound.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to select the frequency at which the sounding body is driven so as to have a range that is easy to identify, thereby improving the ease of use. Alternatively, in addition to the pronunciation notification at the fundamental frequency, the pronunciation notification is also made at a frequency obtained by dividing the fundamental frequency, making it easier to hear even for elderly people who have difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds.

Furthermore, since the rhythm of the notification sound can be changed, the number of notification sounds with similar rhythms does not increase and become confusing.

Furthermore, the sound around the electric cooker is detected and the sound pressure of the sounding body is changed according to the surrounding sound, so when the surroundings are quiet such as late at night, a small sound is used to notify you, and when the surroundings are noisy, the sound is emitted. Since the notification is made with a loud sound, the usability is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a notification device for an electric cooker according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] Circuit diagram in the first embodiment of the present invention

[Figure 3]
Block diagram of a notification device for an electric cooker according to a second embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a notification device for an electric cooker according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5: Notification rhythm timing chart in the third embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a notification device for an electric cooker according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram in a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 9 Pronunciation body 2 Driving means 3 Frequency setting means 10 Frequency division drive means 11 Notification rhythm selection means 12 Ambient sound detection means 13 Sound pressure setting means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sounding body for making a sound notification according to a cooking operation, a driving means for driving the sounding body, and a frequency setting means for setting an output frequency of the driving means, wherein the frequency setting means A notification device for an electric cooker that notifies key input, completion of cooking, etc. at a set frequency. 2. The notification device for an electric cooking appliance according to claim 1, further comprising a frequency division driving means, and simultaneously providing sound generation notification using a signal obtained by frequency dividing the output of the driving means. 3. The notification device for an electric cooking appliance according to claim 1, further comprising notification rhythm selection means, and providing sound notification according to the selected notification rhythm. 4. The electric cooking device according to claim 1, further comprising an ambient sound detecting means for detecting the surrounding sound of the electric cooking appliance, and a sound pressure setting means for changing the sound pressure of the sounding body according to the output of the ambient sound detecting means. Notification device for electric cooker.