JPS63124389A - Cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a cooking appliance that performs dielectric heating using high-frequency radio waves.

(Prior Art) Some cooking appliances, such as microwave ovens, are equipped with a temperature probe that detects the temperature of food, and control the operation of a high frequency generator, such as a magnetron, in accordance with the detected humidity. - An example is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a heating chamber, and a shelf board 2 for placing food is provided at the bottom of the heating chamber 1.

3 is food. Further, a high frequency radio wave supply port 4 is formed in the ceiling surface of the heating chamber 1, and one end of a waveguide 5 is communicated with the supply port 4. A magnetron 6, which is a high frequency generator, is attached to the outer periphery of the other end of the waveguide 5, and an antenna 6a of the magnetron 6 is introduced into the waveguide 5.

Furthermore, a lead wire 7 is provided on the side wall of the heating chamber 1, and a temperature probe 8 is attached to the tip of the lead wire 7. This temperature probe 8 is inserted into the food 3 during cooking and senses the temperature of the food 3. However, lead wire 7
is led out of the heating chamber 1 and connected to the temperature detection circuit 9. The output of the temperature detection circuit 9 is supplied to the control section 10. The control section 10 is composed of a microcomputer and its peripheral circuits, and performs overall control of the microwave oven. Then, the operation unit 11
and magnetron 6 are connected.

That is, a desired food temperature is set using the operation unit 11, and an operation to start cooking is performed. Then, the control unit 10 causes the magnetron 6 to perform an oscillating operation. That is, high frequency radio waves are supplied into the heating chamber 1, and dielectric heating cooking begins.

During cooking, the control section 20 detects the internal temperature of the food 3 using the temperature probe 8 and the temperature detection circuit 9, and when the detected temperature reaches a preset temperature, the oscillation operation of the magnetron 6 is stopped. In other words, the dielectric heating cooking ends.

However, since the temperature probe 8 as described above is made of metal such as stainless steel, there is a problem that the probe itself generates heat or concentrated heating occurs at the part that comes into contact with the food 3, causing an error in temperature detection.

There is also a concern that high frequency radio waves may leak out of the heating chamber 1 through the lead wire 7.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) This invention was made in view of the above circumstances.
The purpose of this is to enable proper temperature detection of food, thereby enabling cooking with consistently good results, and further improving safety by eliminating concerns about radio wave leakage. It is about providing the equipment.

[Configuration of the Invention (Means for Solving Problems) A heating chamber, a high-frequency generator that supplies high-frequency radio waves into the heating chamber, and an optical fiber that is provided in the heating chamber and whose tip contacts or is inserted into food. A cable, means for optically detecting the temperature of the food using the optical fiber cable, and means for controlling the high frequency generator according to the detected temperature are provided.

(Function) During cooking, an optical fiber cable is used to optically detect the temperature of the food. Then, when the detected temperature reaches the set value, the operation of the high frequency generator is stopped.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. However, in the drawings, the same parts as in FIG. 4 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

An optical fiber cable 20 is provided on the side wall of the heating chamber 1 . This optical fiber cable 20 is capable of free movement within the heating chamber 1, and has a gallium specific crystal 21, which is a temperature sensing element, incorporated at its tip. The optical fiber cable 20 is then led out of the heating chamber 1 and connected to the optical unit 30. The optical fiber cable 20 is divided into cables 20a and 20b within the optical unit 30, and is connected to a light source such as a light emitting diode 31 and a wavelength separator 33.
and are connected to each other.

Next, the operation in the above configuration will be explained.

A food 3 is placed on a shelf board 2 in a heating chamber 1, and the tip of an optical fiber cable 20 is brought into contact with or inserted into the food 3. Then, set the desired food temperature using the operation unit 11,
and performs an operation to start cooking.

When the cooking start operation is performed, the control unit 20 causes the magnetron 6 to operate in oscillation. When the magnetron 6 operates in oscillation, high frequency radio waves are supplied into the heating chamber 1, and the food 3 is dielectrically heated and cooked.

During cooking, as the temperature of the food 3 increases, the temperature sensed by the gallium specific crystal 21 at the tip of the optical fiber cable 20 increases.

Further, during cooking, the control unit 20 causes the light emitting diode 31 to emit light. When the light emitting diode 31 emits light, it is transmitted through the optical fiber cable 20 to the gallium rheological crystal 21 at the tip, and the gallium rheological crystal 21 is excited. At this time, return light of a wavelength corresponding to the sensed temperature is generated from the gallium elementary crystal 21, and is guided to the wavelength separator 32 through the optical fiber cable 20. In this way, an electrical signal corresponding to the wavelength of the return light is output from the wavelength separator 32, and is supplied to the control section 10.

The control unit 10 detects the temperature of the food 3 according to the output of the wavelength separator 32, and when the detected temperature reaches a preset temperature, stops the oscillation operation of the magnetron 6.

In other words, the dielectric heating cooking ends.

In this way, by detecting the temperature of the food 3 using the optical fiber cable 20, which is an insulating material, there is no concentrated heating that occurs with conventional metal temperature probes, and it is possible to detect the temperature of the food 3 without any errors. Temperature detection can be performed. Therefore, cooking can always be done with good results. Furthermore, since the optical fiber cable 20 is an insulator, there is no fear that high frequency radio waves will leak outside the heating chamber 1, and it is safe.

In the above embodiment, the gallium sunken crystal 21 is irradiated with light from the light emitting diode 31, and the gallium sunken crystal 21
The temperature of the food 3 was detected by receiving the return light from the optical fiber with the wavelength separator 32.As shown in FIG. diode 31
and the infrared sensor 3 is used instead of the wavelength separator 32.
3, the infrared rays generated from the food 3 may be taken into the optical fiber cable 20 and guided to the infrared sensor 33, and the temperature of the food 3 may be detected by the output of the infrared sensor 33. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made without changing the gist.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a heating chamber, a high-frequency generator that supplies high-frequency radio waves into the heating chamber, and a light whose tip is provided in the heating chamber and whose tip contacts or is inserted into the food. Since a fiber cable, a means for optically detecting the temperature of the food using the optical fiber cable, and a means for controlling the high frequency generator according to the detected temperature are provided, it is possible to appropriately detect the temperature of the food. It is therefore possible to provide a cooking device that allows cooking to always be well-done, and also eliminates concerns about radio wave leakage and improves safety.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the main part of the same embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of a modification of the main part of the same embodiment. , FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional microwave oven. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Heating chamber, 3... Food, 6... Magnetron (high frequency generator), 10... Control part, 20... Optical fiber cable, 30... Optical unit, 31...
Light emitting diode, 32...wavelength separator. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] a heating chamber, a high-frequency generator that supplies high-frequency radio waves into the heating chamber, an optical fiber cable that is provided in the heating chamber and whose tip contacts or is inserted into the food, and uses this optical fiber cable to control the temperature of the food. A cooking appliance characterized by comprising means for optically detecting the temperature and means for controlling the high frequency generator according to the detected temperature.