JPS60232428A - Heat-cooking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To finish softly and positively potatoes or thawed food-stuff in the cooking thereof by providing a ultrasonic wave oscillation source and a ultrasonic wave receiver at the tip end of a probe constituted to contact the surfaces of provisions and controlling the finish of cooking by a receiving signal value. CONSTITUTION:An ultrasonic wave oscillation source 27 and an ultrasonic wave receiver 26 are supported on the tip end of a probe 18. The ultrasonic wave oscillation source 27 is connected to the control part 11 through a driver 28. When tdata relative to the hardness of provisions are desired, an operating signal is transmitted to expanding and contracting means 21 through a driver 22. As a result, the probe 19 extends within a heating chamber via a small hole 18, and the ultrasonic wave oscillation source 27 and the ultrasonic wave receiver 26 come into contact with the surfaces of the food-stuff 13 and push up a holding plate 20 against a force exerted by a spring mechanism 23. With the advance of heating and softening of the food-stuff 13, the strength of a received signal is reduced. When the strength of the received signal is reduced up to a predetermined level, the control part 11 stops the heating signal to a driver 15 thereby to stop the heating.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooking device, and more particularly to a cooking device that automatically finishes cooking using a sensor.

Conventional configurations and their problems Traditionally, heating cookers that automatically cook using sensors use a humidity sensor or gas sensor to detect steam or gas generated from food, or an infrared temperature sensor to measure the surface temperature of the food. It is common to detect and control heating. The method of control using the temperature sensor will be explained below. When heating cold rice, wrap it in plastic wrap and heat it using radio waves. As the rice heats up, the steam generated from the rice collects inside the plastic wrap and inflates it.

Eventually, the steam pressure overcomes the plastic wrap, breaks the plastic wrap, and steam fills the heating chamber with great force.

The humidity sensor detects this steam and informs the controller, and the controller stops heating. In other words, this is an example in which heating is stopped at the same time as detection, and the finish is being detected. However, in many other menus, simply stopping heating at the moment of detection does not result in satisfactory cooking; even after detection, additional heating is continued for a predetermined period of time. Let's take cooking potatoes as an example. The time required for heating until steam detection (T1) is multiplied by =1.5 in the case of potatoes to obtain the value KT1 = 1.5T1, and this time is used as additional heating time for additional heating? Iru〇Therefore, heating the potatoes will require a total of T1+KT1. We call this type of control value control and determine the value of K using a menu.

For example, it is 20.6 for rice bowl dishes. This type of control is also used for gas sensors and infrared sensors, as this value control provides a fairly good result for the long sword menu.

Now, this value control also has weaknesses. For example, in the case of potatoes, K = 1.5 was mentioned above, but in reality, 1.5 is just a predicted value based on an experiment that shows that the average potato will almost certainly become soft. New jaguars at the beginning of the season can do well with NI = 1.0, but 1.5 is actually too good. In order to make any kind of potato (even old potatoes that have passed through the year) softer, they turn a blind eye to the overcooking of new potatoes and decide on the value that even old potatoes can make.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and it detects the completion of cooking of cooked foods that are generally softened, and always detects the optimal finish even if the type of food, storage conditions, initial temperature, etc. change. The purpose is to prepare a heating cooker that can be controlled.

Structure of the Invention In order to solve the conventional problems and achieve the purpose, the cooking device according to the present invention has a small hole provided in the wall surface of the heating chamber and is installed in a machine room attached to the heating chamber, and the heating chamber is connected through the small hole. It consists of a probe that is extendable and retractable and configured to come into contact with the food surface, further comprising means for detecting contact between the probe and the food and means for maintaining contact pressure, and an ultrasonic oscillation source and an ultrasonic receiver at the tip of the probe. The cooking device is configured to control the cooking finish based on the received signal value, and is equipped with a means for detecting the softness when cooking potatoes and defrosted foods, thereby providing a cooking device that provides reliable cooking results.

Description of examples An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main body of the cooking device according to the present invention.

A door body 2 that can be opened and closed is pivotally supported on the front surface of the main body 1. A menu key 4 for selecting a cooking menu is provided on the operation panel 3. FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the operation panel a. The user selects a desired menu using the menu key 4. For example, press ``1 Potato'' for cooking from raw. Then, "A7" appears in the upper two digits of the four-digit number display section on the display window, indicating that the potato has been decoded by the control section and has been validly input. Subsequently, when the start button 6 is pressed, automatic cooking starts. In addition, a mode setting key 7 for manual cooking, a timer knob 8, and a temperature setting key 9 are provided on the operation panel 3. Reference numeral 10 is a cancel key for canceling a preset menu or heating pattern, and for stopping cooking in progress. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the cooking device according to the present invention. A cooking command instructed by the operation panel 3 is decoded by the control section 11, a predetermined display is made, and further the progress of heating is controlled. Food 13 is placed in the heating chamber 12 and heated by a magnetron 14 serving as a heating means. The magnetron 14 is energized and controlled by the controller 11 via the driver 15 . The blower 16 cools the magnetron 14 and also ventilates the inside of the heating chamber 12.

17 is its exhaust guide. A telescopic probe 19 is inserted into the heating chamber through a small hole 18 from the clay wall of the heating chamber 12, and when not in use, it is retracted so as not to interfere with the user. The prong 19 is connected to a telescopic drive means 21 supported by a holding plate 20, and is connected to the control section 11 through a driver 22 that moves the prong. The holding plate 20 is connected to a spring mechanism 23 which is a contact pressure holding means, and the holding plate 20 is connected to a volume 24 which is a means for detecting the value of the contact pressure. The signal from the volume 24 is connected to the control section 11 through an A/D converter 25.

An ultrasonic oscillation source 27 and an ultrasonic receiver 26 are supported at the tip of the probe 18 , and the ultrasonic oscillation source 27 is connected to the control unit 11 via a driver 28 . Further, the ultrasonic receiver is connected to the control section 11 through a signal processing circuit 29. When the control unit 11 requests hardness information of the food 13, an operation signal is transmitted to the telescopic driving means 21 through the driver 22. The probe 19 then extends through the small hole 18 into the heating chamber, and the ultrasound emitter 27 and ultrasound receiver 26 contact the food product 130 surface. The probe 19 extends even after contact, but this extension overcomes the force of the spring mechanism 23 and pushes the holding plate 20 upward. The magnitude of this push-up is detected by a volume 24 connected to the holding plate 20. This is to confirm that the probe is pushing the food 13 with a constant pressure. The control section 11 subsequently provides an output to the ultrasonic oscillation source 27 through the driver 28. While the food 13 is hard, the reception signal of the ultrasonic receiver 26 is extremely strong, and as heating progresses and the food 13 becomes soft, the strength of the reception signal decreases.

When the intensity of the received signal decreases to a predetermined level, the control unit 11 stops the heating signal to the driver 1S and stops heating.

The potatoes that have been cooked in this way are soft, and there is no difference in the finished state between fresh potatoes and old potatoes, and the softness of the finished product is always constant. Also, unlike conventional methods, the skin does not wrinkle due to overheating, and a satisfactory finish is guaranteed.

Although the present invention has been described above using potatoes as an example, it is generally effective as a means for detecting the finish of foods that become soft as a result of heating. That is, it is effective for heating root vegetables and thawing frozen foods.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention; tJ+
ih.

(1) An automatic cooking device can be prepared that can optimally finish root vegetables and thawed foods that were previously unsatisfactory due to the inability to detect the finish.

(2) It is possible to realize an automatic cooking device that can always guarantee a constant finish regardless of whether the food is new or old.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an external perspective view of a cooking device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of the operation panel of the cooking device, and Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram including a control block of the cooking device. . 11...Control unit, 12...Heating chamber, 13...
... Food, 14- Magnetron, 19 ... Probe, 20 ... Holding plate, 21 ... Telescopic drive means,
2G... Spring mechanism, 24 - Volume, 27...
・Oscillation source, 26 ・Receiver. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshi Nakao, Idiot 1
Figure 2 θ Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a cooker that automatically detects the cooking finish of food using a sensor, the sensor is installed in a small hole provided on the wall of a heating chamber that heats the food and in a machine room attached to the heating chamber,
and a probe configured to extend and contract into the heating chamber through the small hole and to come into contact with the food surface, means for detecting contact between the probe and the food, and means for maintaining contact pressure; A heating cooker that supports an ultrasonic oscillation source and an ultrasonic receiver, and controls the finish of cooking based on received signal values.