JPH06338388A - Microwave oven - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the heating intensity distribution for a heated/cooked object mount region to a prescribed value. CONSTITUTION:A control device 27 drives an upper opening/closing plate drive motor 20 and a lower opening/closing plate drive motor 24 for controlling the opening area of a microwave feed port section in response to the detected temperature of a center temperature sensor 11 and the detected temperature of an end temperature sensor 12. The heating intensity distribution pattern in a heating/cooking chamber can be controlled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microwave oven with improved microwave supply control to a cooking chamber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a microwave oven has a microwave supply port on a part of a ceiling wall or a side wall of a cooking chamber, and microwaves generated by a magnetron are supplied from the microwave supply port to the heating chamber. The food to be cooked is heated and cooked. The food to be heated is usually placed on a rotary plate in a heating chamber.

[0003]

By the way, in the prior art,
Since the microwave irradiation pattern is always constant, the heating intensity distribution with respect to the food to be heated is always constant, which causes the following problems. That is, when a plurality of relatively small cooked foods are cooked, they are dispersed and placed on the central portion and the end portions of the rotary dish. In this case, one placed on the central portion of the food to be heated and one placed on the end portion always have strong heating on one side and weak heating on the other side, which may cause uneven heating. Further, when heating a relatively large cooked food (a cooked food of a size that occupies almost the entire surface of the rotary plate), similar heating unevenness occurs. Further, since the heating intensity distribution for the food to be heated is always constant, the heating intensity distribution desired by the user cannot be obtained, and the desired cooked state may not be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to be able to control the heating intensity distribution with respect to the area to be cooked to be cooked in a predetermined manner and to eliminate uneven heating. At the same time, it is to provide a microwave oven capable of obtaining a desired cooking finish.

[0005]

The microwave oven of the present invention comprises:
The microwave generated by the magnetron is supplied into the heating cooking chamber to heat the object to be cooked, and the mouth for supplying the microwave into the heating cooking chamber has upper and lower portions of the side wall of the heating cooking chamber. And a temperature sensor for the center that detects the temperature of the central portion of the cooking target placement area in the heating cooking chamber and an end temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the end of the cooking target placement area. And a microwave supply control means for changing the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth portion and the microwave supply amount by the lower mouth portion according to the temperature of the central portion and the temperature of the end portion. Have.

In this case, the microwave supply control means controls the microwave supply amount from the upper mouth portion from the microwave supply amount from the lower mouth portion as the temperature of the central portion becomes higher than the temperature of the end portion. Change it to less,
As the temperature of the central portion becomes lower than the temperature of the end portion, the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth portion may be controlled to be larger than the microwave supply amount by the lower mouth portion. .

[0007]

In the above means, since the mouth portion for supplying the microwave to the heating and cooking chamber is provided in the upper and lower portions of the side wall of the heating and cooking chamber, by changing the microwave supply amount of each mouth portion, It has become possible to change the heating intensity of the central portion and the end portion of the cooked food placement area. Then, the central temperature sensor detects the temperature of the central portion of the cooking target placement area, and the end temperature sensor detects the temperature of the end portion of the cooking target placement area. It is possible to determine the situation, and the microwave supply control means determines the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth according to the temperature of the central portion and the temperature of the end portion (depending on the heating intensity distribution pattern situation). By changing the microwave supply amount of the lower mouth portion and the lower mouth portion, it becomes possible to change the heating intensity distribution pattern to a predetermined value while considering the current heating intensity distribution pattern situation. As a result, it is possible to control the heating intensity distribution for the food to be heated in a predetermined manner, eliminate uneven heating, and obtain a desired cooking finish.

In this case, the microwave supply control means controls the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth portion to be smaller than the microwave supply amount by the lower mouth portion as the temperature of the central portion becomes higher than the temperature of the end portion. So that as the temperature of the central part becomes lower than the temperature of the end part, the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth part is changed so as to be larger than the microwave supply amount by the lower mouth part. With the control configuration, the heating intensity distribution for the food to be heated becomes uniform, and uneven heating can be effectively eliminated.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, in FIG. 2, an inner case 2 is disposed inside an outer box 1, and the inside of the inner case 2 is a heating and cooking chamber 3. On the front surface of the outer box 1, a door 4 for opening and closing the heating and cooking chamber 3 is provided, and an operation panel 5 is provided. Mouth portions 6 and 7 for supplying microwaves are formed in the upper and lower portions of the right side wall (the right side wall of the inner case 2) 3a of the cooking chamber 3. A rotating dish 8 is arranged at the bottom of the cooking chamber 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the weight of the food to be cooked placed on the rotary dish 8 is detected by a weight sensor 9, and the rotary dish 8 has a turntable driving motor 10. It is designed to be rotated by. The rotary plate 8 corresponds to the heated food placing area in this embodiment, and is located above the central portion of the rotary plate 8 on the ceiling wall of the cooking chamber 3 and has a central temperature sensor. 11 is provided, and an end temperature sensor 12 is provided above the end of the rotary dish 8. Each of these sensors 11 and 12 is an infrared temperature sensor.

As shown in FIG. 4, the weight sensor 9 is displaced in the axial direction according to the weight of the fixed electrode plate 14 fixed to the frame 13 and the food to be cooked placed on the rotary dish 8. Movable electrode plate 1 that is displaced by the rotating shaft 10a
5 and is a so-called electrostatic capacitance type, which is provided with a frequency conversion circuit, and its weight detection output is output as a frequency proportional to the weight as shown in FIG. It has become.

A right wall portion 3 having the mouth portions 6 and 7 formed therein.
A waveguide 16 is provided on the back side of a so as to surround these mouths 6 and 7, and a magnetron 17 is provided on the outer side of this waveguide 16. The antenna 17 a of the magnetron 17 is located inside the waveguide 16.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the opening portions 6 and 7 are opened and closed by opening and closing plates 18 and 19, respectively. Now, the opening / closing structure of the opening / closing plate 18 will be described. An upper opening / closing plate driving motor 20 is attached to the back side of the right wall portion 3a via a fitting (not shown), and a rotary shaft 20a of the upper opening / closing plate driving motor 20 is a rotary shaft of the opening / closing plate 18. It is connected.
A gear 21 is attached to the rotary shaft 20a of the motor 20 so as to rotate integrally therewith. Further, the potentiometer 2 is arranged side by side with the motor 20 for driving the upper opening / closing plate.
2 is attached to the right wall portion 3a through an attachment tool (not shown), and the input shaft 22a of the potentiometer 22 is attached.
A gear 23 that meshes with the gear 21 is attached to the.

The potentiometer 22 is composed of a sliding resistor as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and it corresponds to the rotation angle of the upper opening / closing plate driving motor 20, and hence the opening / closing plate 18. The sliding contact 22b slides so that the output voltage Vp changes (see FIG. 10). As a result, the rotation angle of the opening / closing plate 18 can be known from the output voltage Vp.

The opening / closing structure of the lower opening / closing plate 19 is also constructed in the same manner. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower opening / closing plate driving motor 24, the gear 25, and the potentiometer 2 are provided.
6, a gear 26a is provided.

Next, the electrical configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The control device 27 is configured to include a microcomputer, various drive circuits, an A / D converter, and the like. As its inputs, the weight sensor 9, the central temperature sensor 11, the end temperature sensor 12, and each potentiometer. In addition to the output signals from the meters 22 and 26, various switches 28 provided on the operation panel 5, a door switch 29 for detecting opening / closing of the door 4, a gas amount in the cooking chamber 3 are shown to be detected. The output signal from the gas sensor 30 provided in the exhaust passage is provided. further,
Then, the control device 27 responds to various inputs according to an operation program stored in the microcomputer.
Turntable drive motor 10, magnetron 17,
Upper opening / closing plate driving motor 20, lower opening / closing plate driving motor 2
4. The cooling fan motor 31 for cooling the magnetron 17, the display 32 and the buzzer 33 provided on the operation panel 5 are driven and controlled.

The control device 27 controls the cooking operation and also functions as a microwave supply control means. The function of the above-mentioned configuration and the function thereof will be described below. FIG. 13 shows the control contents of the control device 27, and this flow chart starts when "the warm-up of shoe mai" is designated by the operation of the menu setting switch in the various switches 28 and the start switch is operated. . In this case, the user places a dish on which a plurality of “shoe mai” are placed on the rotating dish 8. Then, the control device 27 first reads the output signal from the weight sensor 9 and detects the weight of "Shumai" which is the food to be heated (step S1). Next, the cooking time T1 is determined based on this weight detection result (step S2). Then, the upper opening / closing plate driving motor 20 and the lower opening / closing plate driving motor 24 are driven to rotate the opening / closing plates 18 and 19 in the opening directions of the mouth portions 6 and 7 (step S3). At this time, the opening degrees of the opening / closing plates 18 and 19 can be detected by the output voltage Vp from the potentiometers 22 and 26.

Then, the magnetron 17 and the cooling fan motor 31 are driven to start heating (step S).
Along with 4), time counting is started (step S
5). By driving the magnetron 17, microwaves are supplied from the mouth portions 6 and 7 into the cooking chamber 3 to heat the cooked meat, which is the food to be heated. After that, when the predetermined time T2 has elapsed (determined in step S6), the output signals from the center temperature sensor 11 and the end temperature sensor 12 are read (step S7), and the temperature detected by the center temperature sensor 11 (center) is read. It is judged whether the temperature of the part is higher than the temperature detected by the end temperature sensor 12 (the temperature of the end) (step S8). If the temperature is higher (see FIG. 11), the opening area of the upper mouth 8 is reduced. At the same time, the upper opening / closing plate driving motor 20 and the lower opening / closing plate driving motor 24 are drive-controlled so as to increase the opening area of the lower opening 7 (step S).
9). If the temperature detected by the center temperature sensor 11 is not higher than the temperature detected by the end temperature sensor 12 (“NO” in step S8), the temperature detected by the center temperature sensor 11 is the temperature detected by the end temperature sensor 12. (Step S10), and if it is lower (see FIG. 12), the upper opening / closing plate is designed to increase the opening area of the upper mouth 8 and decrease the opening area of the lower mouth 7. Drive motor 20
And the lower opening / closing plate driving motor 24 is drive-controlled (step S11). If it is not low, that is, if both detected temperatures are the same, the above-described steps S9 and S11 are not executed. That is, each mouth portion 6 and 7
Keeps the same opening area. The comparison of the detected temperatures and the control accompanied therewith are executed while the determined cooking time T1 elapses (the elapse of the cooking time is determined in step S13).

When this cooking time has elapsed, the magnetron 17 and the cooling fan motor 31 are stopped to be driven (step S13) and the buzzer 33 is rung (step S14). This concludes "Shumai's Warmth". After this, return to the main program.

According to this embodiment as described above, by detecting the temperature of the central portion and the temperature of the end portion of the rotary dish 8,
It is possible to determine the heating intensity distribution pattern situation, and as the temperature of the central portion becomes higher than the temperature of the end portions, the opening area of the upper mouth portion 6 becomes smaller than that of the lower mouth portion 7 and The amount of microwaves supplied by the mouth portion 6 is changed to be smaller than the amount of microwaves supplied by the lower mouth portion 7, and the opening of the upper mouth portion 6 is increased as the temperature of the central portion becomes lower than the temperature of the end portion. Since the area is made larger than that of the lower mouth portion 7 and the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth portion 6 is controlled so as to be larger than the microwave supply amount of the lower mouth portion 7, It is possible to change the heating intensity distribution pattern condition while taking into account the heating intensity distribution pattern condition, and to make the heating intensity distribution of the rotary dish 8 which is the cooking target placement area uniform, so that a plurality of cooking targets can be cooked. It is a thing It is possible to warm up the Mai in the same way without uneven heating.

In the above embodiment, as the temperature of the central portion of the rotary dish 8 becomes higher than the temperature of the end portions, the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth portion 6 becomes smaller than that by the lower mouth portion 7. As the temperature of the central portion becomes lower than the temperature of the end portion, the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth portion 6 is changed so as to be larger than the microwave supply amount by the lower mouth portion 7. By performing such control, uniform heating can be achieved, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when warming a plurality of cooked foods, such as miso soup, there is a case in which a particular miso soup (miso soup for children) does not need to be heated so much, but another miso soup (miso soup for adults) wants to be particularly hot. In this case, the opening areas of the mouth portions 6 and 7 are controlled so that the heating intensity of the central portion of the rotary dish 8 is increased and the heating intensity of the end portion is slightly weakened. It is possible to meet this demand by placing something particularly hot to be placed on the central portion of the rotary dish 8 and placing something not to be heated so much on the end portion.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the rotary plate 8 is used for placing the food to be heated, but a non-rotating plate may be used for placing the food to be heated. Besides, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention can obtain the following effects. According to the invention of claim 1, the heating intensity distribution pattern can be changed to a predetermined value, and as a result, a desired cooked finished state can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the heating intensity distribution on the food to be heated becomes uniform, and the uneven heating can be effectively eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electrical configuration showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view showing a schematic configuration of a heating and cooking chamber portion.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of a weight sensor portion.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an output frequency characteristic of a weight sensor.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional front view of a mouth portion and a magnetron portion.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an opening / closing plate opening / closing structure.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional front view showing the internal configuration of the potentiometer.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of a potentiometer.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing output characteristics of a potentiometer.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a heating intensity distribution on a rotating dish.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the heating intensity distribution on the rotating dish.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the control contents of the control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 is a cooking chamber, 8 is a rotating dish, 9 is a weight sensor, 10 is a turntable drive motor, 11 is a temperature sensor for the center, 12 is a temperature sensor for the end, 16 is a waveguide, 17 is a magnetron, 18, Reference numeral 19 is an opening / closing plate, 20 is an upper opening / closing plate driving motor, 22 is a potentiometer, 24 is a lower opening / closing plate driving motor, 26 is a potentiometer, and 27 is a control device (microwave supply control means).

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A microwave cooker for supplying a microwave generated by a magnetron to a cooking chamber to heat a food to be cooked, wherein the mouth for supplying the microwave to the cooking chamber is said cooked food. A central temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the central portion of the heated food placing area in the heating and cooking chamber and an end for detecting the temperature of the end portion of the heated food placing area in the heating chamber. And a microwave supply control means for changing the microwave supply amount of the upper mouth portion and the microwave supply amount of the lower mouth portion according to the temperature of the central portion and the temperature of the end portion. A microwave oven characterized by being provided. 2. The microwave supply control means reduces the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth portion below the microwave supply amount by the lower mouth portion as the temperature of the central portion becomes higher than the temperature of the end portion. Control so that as the temperature of the central part becomes lower than the temperature of the end part, the microwave supply amount by the upper mouth part is changed so as to become larger than the microwave supply amount by the lower mouth part. The microwave oven according to claim 1, wherein the microwave oven is characterized in that