JPS62218738A - Heating and cooking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To get the most suitable finished condition regardless of the kind of material, temperature and weight of a food by a method wherein a point of time that a desired temperature is detected by a temperature sensor, an amount of steam at that time is detected by a gas sensor and the heating time is calculated on the basis of the time required. CONSTITUTION:An instruction inputted through a menu key of an operating panel 3 is decoded by a control part 5 so as to start a supply of electrical energy for a heater acting as a heating means 7 through a driver 6. A temperature within the heating chamber 8 is detected by a temperature sensor 11 arranged within the discharging guide 10 so as to detect the time to reach the desired temperature. A gas sensor 12 is also arranged within the discharging guide 10 and an amount of steam generated from the heated material 9 is inputted to the control part 5 through a sensing circuit 13. A combination between the temperature sensor 11 and a gas sensor 12 enables the most suitable automatic heating and cooking to be performed even if the weight, shape, material and initial temperature of the food are varied.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to cooking using a plurality of sensors, and relates to an automatic cooking device that automatically controls heating time.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in heating apparatuses capable of automatic adjustment, various sensor means have been used to detect the progress of heating of an object to be heated. For example, in microwave ovens, a thermistor is used to measure exhaust temperature, a humidity sensor is used to detect steam generated from food, and a gas sensor is used to detect steam and gas generated from food. A wide variety of sensors have been proposed and commercialized, including those that measure the surface temperature of food using an infrared sensor and those that measure the internal temperature of food using a temperature probe.

Among these, humidity sensors and gas sensors that detect food vapor have excellent reproducibility of detection and can be expected to produce stable food products during cooking in which the temperature of food is raised to 70 to 100°C. It is also less susceptible to the effects of the food placement position and power supply voltage, and operates stably even in relatively high-temperature environments. The control circuit is also simple, reliable, and inexpensive.Problems to be Solved by the InventionHowever, most of the cooking methods using these various sensors are based on radio waves, and are not suitable for open cooking or grill cooking. As mentioned above, the only thing used in cooking using only a heater was a temperature sensor.Moreover, when it comes to open cooking such as sweets, there is no conventional method to control the internal temperature and baking time. All you have to do is keep the internal temperature constant using a temperature sensor such as a thermistor, and use a timer to count the required baking time.

In addition, for open cooking of side dishes such as gratin and roast beef, the configuration is such that the time required to reach a predetermined temperature is detected, and the baking time is calculated by multiplying it by a constant.

However, with the conventional configuration, the degree of doneness varies slightly depending on the condition of the food.

In other words, the type of ingredients, temperature, weight, environment, etc. of the food will affect the degree of baking, making it impossible to achieve optimal heating.

The present invention solves these conventional problems and provides a cooking device that can provide an optimal finished product regardless of the type of material, temperature, weight, etc. of the food.

Means for Solving the Problems The heating cooker of the present invention includes a gas sensor and a temperature sensor, the temperature sensor detects when a predetermined temperature is reached, and the gas sensor detects the amount of steam at that point. , the heating time is calculated based on the time required up to that point.

Function The heating cooker of the present invention determines the optimum heating time by combining a gas sensor, which can be expected to operate stably under various conditions, and a temperature sensor. The time when the temperature sensor reaches a predetermined temperature, that is, the detection time T1 is measured. This detection time τ1 has a slight time difference depending on the temperature and weight of the food, but there is a constant
Even if the heating time is calculated by multiplying by Therefore, the amount of change in steam is detected by a gas sensor, and the heating time is calculated by multiplying the amount by a hypothetical constant K accordingly, so that optimal heating and cooking can be performed regardless of the temperature and weight of the food.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, a heating cooker according to an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heating cooker according to the present invention. A door body 2 is pivotally supported on the front surface of the main body 1 so as to be freely openable and closable, and an operation panel 3 is provided. A menu key 4 is arranged on this operation panel 3.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the main parts of such an operation panel.

Various open dishes are listed in the menu key 4, and these are automatically cooked. Among these open dishes, the present invention is applied to side dishes such as gratin and roast beef.

The menu shown in Figure 3 shows the change over time in the internal temperature during baking, and Figure 4 shows the change over time in the steam generated.

At the beginning of heating, the temperature inside the refrigerator increases as the temperature of the food increases. Then, a time T1 is set when the predetermined temperature reaches a predetermined temperature. T1Fi varies depending on the weight, initial temperature, etc. of the food, and of course, the greater the weight, the longer T1, and the smaller the weight, the shorter T1. Further, the lower the initial temperature, the longer T1 becomes, and the higher the initial temperature, the shorter T1 becomes. However, the time difference is only small, and even if the heating time is calculated by multiplying T1 by the constant K, it is difficult to handle a wide range of food weights and temperatures.

Therefore, it is best to detect the water vapor generated from the food as the internal temperature changes over time, and determine it in accordance with the constant Kf: the amount of change in steam ΔH.0 Steam is generated as the food temperature rises, and the internal temperature is A. The amount of change ΔH from the initial stage is detected at the time when the temperature reaches °C, that is, at the time T1. For the same food, the amount of change in steam ΔH increases as the weight increases, and decreases as the weight decreases. Since the amount of change in vapor at time T1 is detected, the difference is magnified and the difference between a large amount and a small amount becomes clear. Therefore, in response to the amount of change ΔH, the constant K
By multiplying T1 by T1, the optimum heating time can be calculated. If you set a constant and temperature of 5°C for each menu, you can achieve optimal heating according to the menu.In addition, if you display the remaining time calculated at T1 and gradually decrease it, Needless to say, it's convenient.

As such a gas sensor, one that can detect absolute humidity can be applied. For example, it is possible to use the absolute humidity sensor "Neo Hiemi Ceram" manufactured by Matsushita Corporation or the gas sensor manufactured by Figaro Corporation.

These sensors can detect absolute humidity by heating the sensor chip with an indirect heater. All of these sensors are temperature dependent, and the resistance value decreases as the temperature inside the refrigerator increases, but since the temperature sensor is used to detect when the temperature inside the refrigerator reaches the same predetermined temperature, this temperature There is a dependence on steam even at high temperatures such as 0 or 150 to 250°C, where dependence can be excluded.

Now, FIG. 6 shows the structure of such a heating cooker.

Commands input from the menu keys 4 on the operation panel 3 are decoded by the control section 5. The control unit 6 then starts supplying power to the heater, which is the heating means 7, via the driver 6. The temperature inside the heating chamber 8 is detected by a temperature sensor 11 disposed within the exhaust guide 1o, and detects when a predetermined temperature is reached.In addition, a gas sensor 12 is also provided within the exhaust guide 10. The control unit 5 which inputs the amount of steam generated from the object to be heated 9 to the control unit 6 via the detection circuit 13 is implemented by a microcomputer or the like.

With this configuration, the control shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be performed and the optimum heating time can be calculated.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) By combining a temperature sensor and a gas sensor, even if the weight, shape, material, initial temperature, etc. of the food change, it is possible to automatically heat and cook the food in an optimal manner.

(2) By changing the detected temperature and constant K using the same heating pattern, various menus can be automatically cooked, and even if the weight or temperature of the food is different, the heating time will be automatically corrected, allowing you to cook without failure. can.

(3) Even if the gas sensor fails, automatic cooking can be performed using the temperature sensor by setting the constant K to an arbitrary value. Therefore, safety is improved compared to countermeasures against sensor failure using time limiters, which have been widely used in the past.

Note that the same effect can be obtained by using a surface contact thermistor that detects the wall surface temperature of the heating chamber as the temperature sensor that detects the temperature inside the refrigerator.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main body of a heating cooker showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view of the same operation panel, Fig. 3 is a characteristic diagram of time and internal temperature showing the control method, and Fig. 4 The figure is a characteristic diagram of time and steam amount showing the same control method, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the same configuration. 6...Control unit, 7...Heating means, 8.
... Heating chamber, 9 ... Heated object, 11 ...
...Temperature sensor, 12... Gas sensor. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person/-
-1 book i book 2--1 door i book 1 figure 2 figure 3--ichien 1 lower bar 4-
--Menu key

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A heating chamber for placing an object to be heated, a heating means for heating the object to be heated, a control section for automatically controlling the heating means, and a gas for sensing gas generated from the object to be heated. a sensor, and a temperature sensor that senses the ambient temperature in the heating chamber, the temperature sensor detects a point in time when the heating chamber reaches a predetermined temperature, the amount of steam at that point is detected by the gas sensor, A heating cooker configured to calculate heating time based on the time required up to that point. (2) The heating cooker according to claim 1, which uses a gas sensor or an absolute humidity sensor as the gas sensor for sensing gas. (3) The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein an atmosphere thermistor provided in the heating chamber is used as a temperature sensor for sensing the ambient temperature. (4) The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein a surface contact thermistor that detects the wall surface temperature of the heating chamber is used as the temperature sensor that detects the ambient temperature.