KR102401368B1 - A Control Method for Cooking Device Having an Automatically Opening Door - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for controlling the operation of an automatic door opening mechanism of a cooking appliance. According to the control method, when power is supplied to the cooking appliance or the user turns on the power of the cooking appliance, the lever 300 and the pusher 500 ) and the pusher driving unit 600 executes a control so that it is aligned in a fixed position.
And after the user inputs the door open command, abnormalities in each part involved in the automatic door opening operation through the change of the return stop switch and the change of the open detection switch that occur during one rotation of the motor to proceed with the door opening operation can check whether

Description

{A Control Method for Cooking Device Having an Automatically Opening Door}

The present invention relates to a cooking appliance in which an automatic opening structure is applied to automatically open a door, and a method for controlling the operation of the door.

A cooking appliance such as an oven or a microwave oven has an overall rectangular parallelepiped appearance, an inner cooking chamber is opened forward, and a door is provided in front of the cooking chamber.

Although there are various types of opening of the door, a method in which a hinged door is opened and closed by rotating it around a rotation axis is widely used. Most of these types of doors are provided with handles or grooves that can be gripped by a user.

Recently, a function for automatically opening and closing a cooking appliance door has been added. However, the automatic door opening method implemented in conventional cooking appliances has a problem in that it is necessary to use a driving unit having a high output because the door has to be opened while overcoming an elastic force applied to the door to add a closing force of the door.

In addition, in the related art, the driving unit that provides an opening force for opening the door is installed near the rotation shaft of the door with a narrow space, so the structure design and manufacture is complicated, and there are frequent cases of malfunction due to exposure to the hot environment of the cooking room.

Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic door opening structure in which the swing door latch is lifted with a cam to release the opening. The swing door latch is provided with two upper and lower latches on one side of the door, and these latches interlock with each other. That is, they are connected so that the operation of one latch and the operation of the other latch are simultaneously performed. The cam for opening the door lifts one of the two latches upward, and the upwardly lifted latch is pushed forward by the inclined surface provided on the upper part of the latch holder to open the door.

However, the door opening method of Patent Document 1 is based on the premise that the latches have a mutually interlocking structure. That is, since the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a method in which when one latch is lifted, the other latch is lifted in conjunction with it, the latch simply crosses the locking jaw of the main body in a state where any one of the latches is lifted. Doing so will open the door.

In general, there is no difficulty in configuring the latches provided on one side of the swing door to interlock with each other. However, in a cooking appliance to which a pull-down type door structure is applied, the latches provided on the upper left and upper right of the door are very far apart compared to the swing door, so it is difficult to apply a structure that interlocks them. In case of interlocking the two latches, it is difficult to redesign both the electromagnetic wave leakage structure of the door and the electromagnetic wave leakage structure of the main body. Therefore, the automatic door opening structure of Patent Document 1 is difficult to apply to a pull-down type door.

For this reason, in the conventional automatic opening structure of the pull-down door, a structure for lifting the left latch and the right latch, respectively, had to be installed on both sides of the main body. However, in a cooking appliance having a pull-down door, the space on both sides of the main body is insufficient compared to a cooking appliance having a swing-type door. In addition, if the latches on both sides are lifted at the same time and not released, the automatic opening operation of the door is not performed smoothly.

On the other hand, the door opening method of Patent Document 1 implements the force to lift the latch by the operation of the cam. The cam is directly connected to a driving means such as a motor, and five curved profiles are provided radially along the circumferential direction of the cam. Therefore, in order to secure the driving force of the cam, a motor that generates a large amount of power is required, or the installation of a reducer is essential. And these drivetrains are inevitably very heavy. Since the heavy drive system has a large amount of inertia, the cam often does not stop immediately at that position even if the profile of the cam presses the switch.

If the cam is not stopped in place, problems will occur when closing the door. In other words, even when the door is closed and the latch enters the latch holder, the lower part of the hook of the latch cannot rotate the heavy drive system with the force that presses the cam. Accordingly, the latch is not fully seated in the latch holder, and remains incompletely hung. This causes a false sense of the sensor detecting the door closing, and the cooking appliance recognizes that the door is not correctly closed and does not operate.

On the other hand, most of the automatic opening functions of the door include a motor and a cam rotated thereby, and a micro switch pressed by the cam to control the rotational displacement of the motor.

Patent Document 2 discloses a method for monitoring an automatic door opening mechanism having a latch (locking member) driven by a motor. The monitoring device verifies that the oven door lock is in the proper locked or unlocked position. When detecting that the oven door lock member is not in the proper position, the monitoring device repeatedly applies a pulse signal to the motor to bring the lock member to the proper position.

However, since variations in the voltage applied to the motor cannot be taken into account, in the control mechanism of the above method, the position of the locking member may not be constant after one pulse signal.

In addition, in the above method, the position control of the lock member is not performed at once by sending a signal continuously, but a pulse signal must be applied several times. It's bound to take more

In addition, the failure detection method of the above method proceeds as a separate procedure from the operation of the locking member. Therefore, the input power for the operation of the locking member and the pulse power required for detecting the failure of the locking member should be operated separately. This method makes the product power control complicated.

US Patent Publication US2011-0095019A1 US Registered Patent Publication US 7,225,804 B1

The present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a cooking appliance capable of automatically opening a door even if a structure for automatically opening a door having a structure in which two latches act independently is applied to either latch. intended to provide

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooking appliance capable of automatically opening a door even with a low-output driving unit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooking appliance in which the reliability of an automatic opening operation is guaranteed because it is not affected by the hot environment of the cooking chamber.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooking appliance that provides a neat appearance because a structure for automatically opening a door is not visible from the outside.

In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention uses the power (continuous square wave AC power) normally input to the cooking appliance instead of the repetitive pulse signal as it is and continuously applies the signal to drive the motor while driving the motor and its An object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling operation of an automatic opening door of a cooking appliance in which a related driving unit is guaranteed to be in the correct position.

In addition, the present invention is a method of generating a separate failure detection signal to check the detection signal of a monitoring device such as a switch for a predetermined time while using a normal input signal without driving the motor, the operation of the automatic door opening device An object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling the automatic opening door operation of a cooking appliance that can monitor the

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling an automatic opening door operation that can quickly check whether an error has occurred in an automatic opening mechanism of the door while the automatic opening operation of the door is performed.

The present invention includes a main body 710 having a cooking compartment therein, a door 720 for opening and closing the open front of the cooking compartment, and an opening/closing rotation shaft 814 serving as a rotation center of the opening/closing movement of the door, The opening/closing rotation shaft 814 is located in the front lower portion of the main body 710 and rotatably connects the door 720 to the main body about a horizontal rotation axis extending in the left and right direction, and accordingly, the door is It has a structure that is lowered and opened in the front about a rotation axis, and the door may be applied to a pull-down cooking appliance that is elastically biased by a spring 823 in a direction in which the door is closed.

In the automatic door opening structure of the present invention, on the surface of the door 720 facing the main body 710, a horizontal pivot shaft 210 extending toward the main body 710 and provided in the door 720 is formed. A latch 200 rotating around the center is provided, and in a state where the door 720 is closed, a portion of the body 710 corresponding to the position at which the latch 200 is provided is caught with the latch 200 and the door 720 is closed. ) may be applied to a structure in which the latch holder 10 is provided to maintain the closed state or release the latch 200 and to open the door 720 .

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a latch 200 inserted into the hook receiving space 180 inside the latch holder 10 in the opening direction of the door 720 . The lever 300 is installed to push the lever 300 , and the latch 200 is released from the latch holder 10 by using the lever 300 .

To this end, the lever 300 lifts the latch 200 and pushes it in the opening direction of the door. In the door 720, at an angle a1 slightly opened by the lever 300, the force to open the door 720 by its own weight is greater than the biasing force of the spring 823, the door 720 is opened by its own weight.

According to this structure, since the lever 300 is not exposed to the outside, even if the automatic opening structure of the door is applied, such a structure is not visible to the outside, thereby providing a neat appearance and enhancing quality sensibility.

In addition, since the door 720 can be opened by its own weight without the need to drive the door 720 to the fully opened position in order to automatically open the door 720, the automatic opening structure of the door is greatly improved. It can be implemented simply.

Here, the latch 200 is provided on both sides of the door 720 , the two latches 200 rotate independently, and the lever 300 is one of the latch holders 10 of the two latches 200 . It may be provided only in the holder 10 . That is, according to the present invention, both latches can be unlocked by only pushing one of the latches that operate independently of each other.

When the door is opened downward without any damping due to its own weight, an impact is applied to the door or an impact is applied to the connection part of the door and the body, so that the door is fully opened at the opening angle a2 greater than the opening angle a1. Up to the angle a3, a damping force may be applied in a direction opposite to the direction in which the door 720 is opened.

The opening angle a2 at which the damping force starts to act may be set to be 30° or more and 40° or less to receive sufficient damping force to allow the door to be opened slowly, while preventing the door from being opened too slowly.

The damping force may be released before 0° to 5° before the maximum opening angle a3 of the door, so that the door is completely opened instead of incompletely opened.

The latch 200 includes a latch bar 220 extending from the door toward the body, and a hook part 230 provided to protrude downward from an end of the latch bar 220 .

The latch 200 is biased in a direction in which the hook part 230 is downward. And on the back surface of the hook part 230 that closely faces the door, a back inclined surface 231 extending from the lower end of the hook part 230 toward the latch bar 220 is provided, and the door 720 is closed in the closed state. , the rear inclined surface 231 maintains an interference state with the inner inclined surface 112 of the latch holder 10 .

The inner inclined surface 112 is inclined upward toward the door from the body to correspond to the rear inclined surface 231, so that the user can manually open the latch holder to which the automatic opening structure is applied. .

The latch 200 cannot be released from the latch holder by simply lifting the latch 200 by the lever 300. The latch 200 should be able to be pushed out in the opening direction of the door while being lifted by the lever 300 . Accordingly, the lever 300 pushes up the latch 200 in a diagonal direction between the front and the upper side. Then, the latch 200 may be detached to the outside of the latch holder beyond the structure in which the latch was applied.

The lever 300 is provided with a push unit 330 in contact with the latch 200 , the push unit 330 is disposed at a front lower than the rotation center of the lever 300 , and the push unit 330 . At the front end of the , a push-up inclined surface 333 having a normal to the front upper portion is provided, and the push-up inclined surface 333 may include a curved surface.

Correspondingly, at the lower end of the tip of the latch 200 , a tip lower inclined surface 232 having a normal toward the rear lower portion and contacting the push-up inclined surface 333 may be provided. In addition, the upper end of the latch 200 may be provided with an upper inclined surface 221 in a downwardly inclined form as it goes away from the door.

A latch entry/exit hole 110 is provided at the front of the latch holder 10 , which serves as a passage through which the latch 200 enters or withdraws into the hook accommodation space 180 .

If the latch 200 is lifted to the front by the lever and pushed out from the latch holder, interference occurs in the door opening direction and the door opening is blocked to some extent, so that the upper surface of the latch 200 moves in and out of the latch. Even if a situation occurs in which the ball 110 touches the ceiling surface and cannot move upward any longer, if the lever 300 continues to push the latch 200 forward and the lifting operation continues, the latch 200 In a state in which the upper surface of the unit is in contact with the ceiling surface, the latch 200 eventually slides in the direction in which the door is opened, thereby pushing the door.

That is, the upper inclined surface 221 provided at the upper tip of the latch 200 is opened after contacting the upper wall surface 113 which is the ceiling surface of the latch entry/exit hole 110 in a state in which the latch 200 is lifted by a lever. By sliding in the direction, the force of the lever 300 pushing the latch 200 is smoothly transmitted to the door.

After the latch 200 is released by the lever 300 and pushed in the open direction, the latch 200 has a latch entry/exit hole 110 provided in the front of the latch holder 10 by elasticity. It is seated on the external inclined surface 111 provided on the bottom of the. Since the outer inclined surface 111 is inclined downward toward the door from the main body, the latch 200 does not interfere with the opening of the door in the process of opening the door, and the force that the latch 200 descends from the outer diameter It interacts with the slope 111 to push the door further outward.

The latch holder for implementing the above-described door opening mechanism includes a holder body 100 forming the overall frame of the latch holder; a latch entry/exit hole 110 provided in front of the holder body 100 and a passage through which the latch 200 enters and exits; an external inclined surface 111 provided at the lower portion of the latch entry/exit hole 110 and inclined downward toward the front; and an upper wall surface 113 provided on the latch entry/exit hole 110 ; a lever support part 120 spaced apart from the rear of the latch entry/exit hole 110; a hook receiving space 180 provided between the latch entry/exit hole 110 and the lever support part 120; a lever 300 rotatably supported by the lever support part 120 and having a push part 330 provided at its tip end accommodated in a lower portion of the hook accommodation space 180 ; a pusher 500 for rotating the lever support 120 to lift the lever 300; and a pusher driving unit 600 for driving the pusher 500 .

The push unit 330 includes an interpolation member 331 provided at the distal end of the lever 300 and an extrapolation member 332 extrapolated to the interpolation member 331, and the extrapolation member 332 is the It slides with the latch 200 and pushes the latch 200 in the opening direction of the door 720 . Thus, it is possible to configure the extrapolation member 332 and the other lever 300 with different materials, so that it is possible to selectively configure a material suitable for the performance to be exhibited by each configuration.

It is preferable that the extrapolation member 332 includes a resin-based material having a lubricating surface having a higher wear resistance and a lower coefficient of friction than the interpolation member 331 .

The front surface of the lever support part 120 is provided with a shielding surface part 123 that shields the inside of the latch holder so that the inside of the latch holder is not visible through the latch entry/exit hole 110 from the outside, so that the inside of the latch holder is not visible from the outside, so that the inside of the latch holder is not seen from the outside provides

The lever 300 is supported by a second lever support shaft 122 provided on the second side of the lever support 120 and is rotatably installed adjacent to the second side of the lever support 120 . . The lever 300 includes a shaft portion 310 hingedly coupled to the lever support portion 120 , and an action portion 320 extending forwardly from the shaft portion 310 .

The lever 300 may be disposed to bypass the shielding surface part 123 , and accordingly, the push part 330 extends from the front end of the acting part 320 to the first side to the hook receiving space 180 . It can be accommodated in the lower part of

The shielding surface part 123 is arranged to be offset laterally with respect to the lever entry/exit hole 110 , so that even if the push part 330 is installed above the shielding surface part 123 , the push part 330 is the lever 300 . It is possible to minimize the degree of eccentricity laterally from the acting portion (320).

The push unit 330 includes: an upper surface 334, a lower surface 335 disposed below the upper surface 334 and extending further forward than the upper surface 334, a front end and a lower surface of the upper surface 334 ( It is provided at the lower end of the push-up inclined surface 333 and the push-up inclined surface 333 connected so that the front end of the 335 is inclined, and further includes a push-out part 336 protruding most forward from the push part 330 .

As the lever 300 rotates and the push unit 330 is lifted, the latch 200 received and hung in the hook receiving space 180 is the upper surface 334 and the push-up inclined surface 333. It starts near the boundary and slides to the lower end of the push-up inclined surface 333 and is lifted by receiving a force from the lever 300 .

The push part 330 is disposed below the rotation center of the lever 300 , and as the lever 300 rotates, the push-out part 336 has a height corresponding to the rotation center of the lever 300 or higher. raised to a height Accordingly, the push unit 330 pushes the lever 300 upward and outward.

The lever 300 further includes a force point portion 340 extending from the rotation center of the lever 300 and receiving a force for rotating the lever 300 at a position spaced apart from the rotation center, the force The point portion 340 and the holder body 100 are connected by a return spring 630 that biases the force point portion 340 in the downward direction of the push portion 330 .

An open detection switch 400 for detecting a closed state of the door is installed in the lower portion of the hook receiving space 180 , and the trigger 420 of the open detection switch 400 is disposed below the push unit 330 . However, in a state in which the latch is not retracted into the hook receiving space 180, the push unit 330 descended by the return spring 630 does not press the trigger 420, so that the push unit 330 is independent. Press the open detection switch 400 to prevent the cooking appliance from malfunctioning.

The force point portion 340 is pressed in the opposite direction to the biasing direction of the return spring by the pusher 500 . Therefore, when the pusher 500 presses the force point 340, the force overcomes the restoring force of the return spring and moves the force point 340, and accordingly, the lever 300 rotates and the pusher 330 is latched. (200) will be lifted. And when the pusher 500 returns, the lever 300 returns to its original position by the return spring.

The pusher 500 includes: a rotating plate 520 rotated by a motor 610; and a pusher cam 540 provided at an eccentric position from the center of rotation of the rotating plate 520 and rotating as the rotating plate 520 rotates to press or release the pressure of the force point 340 . Accordingly, according to the rotational displacement of the rotating plate 520, the pusher cam 540 presses or releases the lever.

The rotary plate has a pressing protrusion 530 provided at a position eccentric from the rotation center of the rotary plate 520, and provided at a position where it does not meet the lever 300 even if it turns as the rotary plate 520 rotates. provided, in the vicinity of the pusher 500, the rotary plate 520 rotates and is pressed when the pressing protrusion 530 is located at a predetermined position, and a trigger 622 that is not pressed at a position outside the predetermined position. A return stop switch 620 having a return stop switch 620 is installed to control the rotation and stop points of the rotary plate 520 .

For example, when the trigger 622 of the return stop switch 620 is pressed, the pusher driving unit 600 driving the pusher 500 is stopped, so that the operation of the pusher can be accurately controlled.

Meanwhile, the automatic opening door operation control method of the present invention for solving the above-described problems may be applied to the main body 710 having a cooking chamber therein and the automatic opening structure of the above-described cooking appliance.

The automatic opening door operation control method of the present invention is such that, when power is supplied to the cooking device or the user turns on the power of the cooking device, the lever 300, the pusher 500, and the pusher driving unit 600 are aligned in their original positions. control is executed.

For example, the pusher 500 connected to the motor 610 is aligned at a position in which the pusher presses the return stop switch 620 , that is, the return stop switch is turned on. And after the motor 610 moves the pusher 500 when the door opening operation is made, the pusher 500 moves to a position where the return stop switch is pressed again.

When the cooking appliance is initially started (power supply starts, power button is pressed, etc.), the pusher 500 may not be positioned at the correct position. In the present invention, in order to align the pusher 500 so that it is in the correct position even in this case, when the pusher 500 is positioned in a position where the return stop switch is not turned on when the cooking appliance is started, the motor 610 Power is supplied to to rotate the motor 610 until the pusher 500 presses the return stop switch. When the motor 610 rotates and the pusher 500 presses the return stop switch, the power supplied to the motor is cut off.

Power supplied to the motor may be power supplied to the cooking appliance, that is, AC power. In addition, the power is supplied in a continuous form, not in a pulse form or an intermittent form.

In applying the motor driving method of continuously supplying power to the motor of the latch holder, the above initial in-place alignment is a very meaningful driving control.

According to the latch holder driving principle of the present invention, accurate positioning and alignment of the pusher 500 is required for automatic door opening control. To this end, in the control method of the present invention, the automatic door opening operation control can be accurately controlled by continuously monitoring the period during which power is supplied to the motor, the on/off state of the return stop switch, and the on/off state of the open detection switch. there is. In addition, according to the present invention, even if there is no separate sensor for checking whether the motor is actually rotating, it is possible to control the position of the pusher and control the automatic door opening.

In the above-described latch holder, when the latch 200 is accommodated in the latch holder 10 and is in a latched state, the pusher 500 returns to a stop by the force of the hook part 230 of the latch pressing the lever 300 . The switch 620 is moved in conjunction with the pressed position.

Therefore, if the door is correctly closed, the pusher 500 in the latch holder 10 maintains its initial position.

At the initial start-up time of the cooking appliance, the door may be closed or open, and even if the door is open, the pusher 500 is not in the original position due to power failure, etc., but may be out of the position where the return stop switch is pressed there is.

Accordingly, the present invention controls to align the pusher 500 when the cooking appliance is initially started. To this end, the automatic door opening control method of the present invention includes: a first step of checking whether the return stop switch 620 is turned on when the cooking appliance is turned on; a second step of supplying power to the motor when the return stop switch 620 is turned off in the first step; a third step of supplying power to the motor in the second step and checking whether the return stop switch 620 is in an on state after a predetermined time (t ₀ ) has elapsed; and a step 4-1 returning to the first step when it is confirmed that the return stop switch 620 is switched to the on state in the third step.

When the above control algorithm is applied, it is possible to align the pusher 500 in place at the initial starting point of the cooking appliance.

On the other hand, in the third step, there is a case in which it is confirmed that the return stop switch 620 is not switched to the on state and continues to be maintained in the off state. In this case, it can be determined that there is an abnormality in the return stop switch or the motor, Accordingly, the method may further include a step 4-2 of generating a fourth error signal for notifying a failure of the return stop switch or the motor and stopping the cooking appliance.

Of course, when it is confirmed in the first step that the return stop switch 620 is in the on state, since the pusher 500 is already in the original position, there is no need to control the in-place alignment of the pusher 500 . Rather, if the pusher 500 is aligned as above even though it is in the correct position, a phenomenon in which the closed door is opened may occur.

According to the latch holder of the present invention, when the door is closed, the pusher is expected to be in the correct position by the interlocking structure of the lever and the pusher. There is no need to sort.

When the initial position alignment of the pusher 500 as described above is made, the control unit maintains a standby state until the user inputs a door open command. Of course, as described above, after the cooking appliance is started, the control unit continuously monitors the on/off state of the return stop switch and the open detection switch, and whether the motor is powered.

When the procedure for controlling the position of the pusher 500 was in progress, it was confirmed that the pusher 500 was in the correct position from the beginning, so regardless of whether the position control was not performed, in the first step, the pusher 500 was placed in the correct position. It is confirmed that there is, and after entering the fifth step of waiting until the user inputs a door open command, when the user's door open command is input, control for automatic door opening operation is entered.

To this end, in the present invention, when the user's door open command is input in the fifth step, a sixth step of supplying power to the motor and checking whether the return stop switch is switched to the OFF state is performed.

When it is confirmed that the return stop switch is switched to the off state in step 6, it can be confirmed that the motor is operating normally. In this case, after a predetermined time has elapsed, a seventh step of checking whether the open detection switch is turned off is performed.

If it is confirmed in step 7 that the open detection switch is turned off, the lever normally pushes the latch, and it can be confirmed that the latch is released from the latch holder. In this case, an eighth step of checking whether the return stop switch is turned on is performed.

If it is confirmed in step 8 that the return stop switch is turned on, it can be confirmed that the return stop switch is also operating normally. In this case, step 9-1 returns to the first step.

As such, in the above 6th, 7th, 8th and 9-1 steps, the normal operation of the motor and the door This can be said to be a step that can be made when both the normal opening operation (release of the latch) and the normal operation of the return stop switch are confirmed.

If the return stop switch is switched to the off state in the sixth step, it can be understood that the motor has moved when power is supplied, so it can be determined that the motor is normal, but the return stop switch is not switched to the off state In the case of maintaining the on state, it is determined that the motor does not move even though power is supplied to the motor, so that it can be determined that there is an abnormality in the motor.

And, although the return stop switch is switched to the off state in the sixth step, the return stop switch remains in the on state even after a predetermined time (the amount of time that the pusher is operated by the motor and the pusher can return to the original position) has elapsed. In the case of maintaining the OFF state without switching, it can be confirmed that the motor and return stop switch are operating normally because the motor is operating normally and the return stop switch has detected this, and the door opening operation such as the latch cannot be separated from the latch holder It may be determined that there is an abnormality in the latch operation.

Next, even after the return stop switch is turned off in step 6 and the open detection switch is turned off, a predetermined time (the amount of time for which the pusher is operated by the motor and the pusher can return to its original position) ), if the return stop switch remains off, the motor is operating smoothly and the latch is also normally released from the latch holder, but it is determined that the return stop switch did not detect the original pusher, It can be determined that there is a problem with the return stop switch.

In addition, even though the return stop switch does not switch to the off state in step 6 and maintains the on state, if the open detection switch is turned off after a predetermined time elapses, the motor operates normally, and the latch is released accordingly, It can be determined that the return stop switch does not detect the return stop switch even though the pusher is in a position where the return stop switch is not pressed because the motor and the pusher move normally, and accordingly, it can be determined that there is an abnormality in the return stop switch.

These algorithms and sequences will be described in more detail as follows.

After it is confirmed that power is supplied to the motor according to the user's open command input and that the return stop switch is switched to the off state, it is confirmed that the open detection switch is in the off state after a predetermined time has elapsed, and in step 8, the return stop When the switch is not switched to the on state and maintained in the off state, it is determined that the return stop switch is abnormal, and a second error signal is generated to inform this, and then the operation of the cooking appliance may be terminated.

In addition, power is supplied to the motor according to the user's open command input, and after it is confirmed that the return stop switch is switched to the off state, the open detection switch is not switched to the off state even after a predetermined time has elapsed and maintains the on state. In this case, after determining that there is an abnormality in the latch operation and generating a first error signal indicating this, the operation of the cooking appliance may be terminated.

In addition, if power is supplied to the motor according to the user's open command input and it is confirmed that the return stop switch is maintained in the on state without being switched to the off state, it is possible to predict that there is an abnormality in the motor or the return stop switch. and may generate an error signal accordingly.

It is determined in the following order as to whether there is an error in either the motor or the return stop switch. Such judgment is made after a predetermined time (if the motor operates normally, the motor rotates to operate the pusher and accordingly the lever can push the latch out of the latch holder), the door is closed and returned to the ON state. You can proceed by checking whether the existing open detection switch has been switched to the OFF state.

To this end, in the present invention, in the sixth step, when the door is closed and the open detection switch is in the on state when power is supplied to the motor, the open detection switch is switched to the off state after a predetermined time elapses. Prepare the 12th step of verification.

When it is confirmed that the open detection switch is switched to the off state in step 12, it can be confirmed that the motor is normal and there is an abnormality in the return detection switch, and accordingly, a second error signal notifying the abnormality of the return detection switch is generated Step 13-1 may be followed.

On the other hand, if it is confirmed in step 12 that the open detection switch is not switched to the off state and maintained in the on state, it may be determined that the motor is abnormal, and accordingly, a third error signal notifying the abnormality of the motor is generated. Step 13-2 may be followed.

Of course, as above, when determining whether there is a problem with the motor or the return stop switch, it refers to whether the door is normally opened after being closed. ), it is difficult to determine whether there is an error in either the motor or the return stop switch.

According to the cooking appliance of the present invention, a structure for automatically opening a door provided with a pair of latches that act independently of each other can be implemented simply by installing and driving a lever applied to a latch holder on either side. Accordingly, the door can be automatically opened without an interlocking structure of a pair of latches or an opening structure of the two latches, so the design of the door is simple and the cavity space of the cooking appliance can be further secured.

In addition, the present invention amplifies the door opening force using a lever, and since it is sufficient to initially open the door only to a position where the door is opened by its own weight by its own weight, it is possible to implement a structure for automatically opening the door even with a low-output driving unit. .

In addition, since the drive system itself is light in the present invention, when the door is closed and the latch is accommodated in the latch holder, even if the lever and the pusher are slightly shifted from their original positions, the lever and the pusher are realigned to their original positions by the force that the latch presses on the lever possible, and accordingly, the door closing operation may also be smoothly performed.

In addition, since the automatic opening structure of the present invention is installed at a position not affected by the hot environment of the cooking chamber and its components are not exposed to the outside, there is no fear of malfunction and a neat appearance can be provided.

Next, according to the automatic door opening control method of the cooking appliance of the present invention, there is no need to generate and supply power in a form other than the normal continuous AC power supplied to the cooking appliance to the motor, while supplying the normal power to the motor, It is possible to monitor errors or abnormalities in each configuration of the automatic door opening device only with signals from the return stop switch, which is a component for determining the stop position of the motor, and the open detection switch, which is a component for checking whether the door is opened. That is, the automatic opening operation can be precisely controlled without a separate sensor for checking whether the motor is operating or a separate sensor for checking whether the latch properly maintains the correct position in the latch holder.

In addition, according to the present invention, the power supplied to the motor and signals of the return stop switch and the open detection switch are continuously monitored while the automatic door opening operation is being performed without separately checking the error of the automatic door opening operation. , it is possible to check the malfunction of the automatic door opening structure in real time.

In addition, according to the automatic door opening control method of the present invention, by simply adding a motor, a pusher (cam), a lever and a return stop switch, in addition to the conventional latch holder, without a separate sensor or separate control means, The automatic opening operation of the door can be precisely controlled.

1 is a perspective view of a latch holder to which an automatic opening structure of a cooking appliance according to the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the latch holder of FIG. 1 ;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the holder body of the latch holder of Figure 2;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing the shaft portion, the acting portion, and the push portion of the lever of the latch holder of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 1, showing a latch holder in a state in which a latch (not shown) is inserted and fixed;
6 is a view showing a state in which the pusher of FIG. 5 pushes the lever, and the bush portion of the lever is lifted.
7 is a view showing a state in which the pusher and the lever are returned to their initial positions in a state in which the latch is removed.
8 is a side view illustrating a state in which the latch is inserted and fixed in the latch holder by closing the front of the cavity of the cooking appliance with a door in the cooking appliance in which the latch holder is installed.
9 is a view showing a process in which the pusher pushes the lever in FIG. 8 and the push-up inclined surface of the push part of the lever lifts the latch.
FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a process in which the pushing part of the lever pushes out the latch as the process of lifting the latch is further advanced in FIG. 9 .
11 is a view showing a state in which the latch is pushed out and then descends to be seated on the external slope.
12 is a view illustrating a process in which the door is opened by its own weight after the latch is released as shown in FIG. 11 .
13 is a perspective view illustrating a door hinge structure that can be used to automatically lower and open the door by its own weight as shown in FIG. 12 .
14 is a side view illustrating the door hinge structure of FIG. 13 .
15 is a view showing the geometric shape of the lever of the present invention.
16 is a flowchart illustrating an overall control method of an automatic opening structure of a cooking appliance according to the present invention.
17 is a flowchart separately showing only the error signal generation step in FIG. 16 .
18 is a flowchart illustrating a control process for initializing the motor and the pusher to the original positions when the cooking appliance is initially started in FIG. 16 .

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in a variety of different forms, and only these embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete and to completely convey the scope of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is provided to inform you.

[Overall structure of cooking equipment]

Hereinafter, the overall structure of the cooking appliance to which the automatic door opening control method according to the present invention is applied will be first described.

Referring to FIG. 14 , a microwave oven is exemplified as the cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention. However, it will be clear that the cooking appliance of the present invention is not limited to a microwave oven.

The cooking appliance includes a main body 710 having a substantially rectangular shape and having an open front and an empty interior, and a door 720 installed in front of the main body 710 .

The main body 710 includes an outer housing that forms the overall appearance of the cooking appliance, and an inner housing that is installed inside the outer housing and has a forwardly open cavity. The cavity constitutes a cooking chamber. Various parts necessary for the operation of the cooking appliance are provided on the upper, rear, and side of the main body 710 .

The door 720 has a pull-down opening/closing structure having a horizontal hinge shaft 814 (refer to FIGS. 13 and 14) at the lower end of the door. That is, the door 720 is opened by rotating the front lower part with respect to the main body, and is closed by rotating the rear upper part.

The area of the door 720 may be just an area for opening or closing the front of the cooking compartment, but may also be an area covering the entire front of the cooking compartment as well as the upper space of the cooking compartment as illustrated. In this case, a control unit such as a display and a touch panel may be installed on the front of the door 720 corresponding to the upper space of the cooking chamber.

A latch holder 10 is provided on the upper side of the main body 710 to keep the door 720 closed and to automatically open the door. In addition, the door 720 is provided with a latch 200 that is caught by the latch holder 10 to maintain the closed state of the door or is released from the latch holder 10 to open the door.

The latches are installed to protrude rearward from the upper portions of both ends of the door. The latch holder 10 of the main body 710 is disposed on the front upper portion of both ends of the main body corresponding to the position where the latch is installed. The latch holder 10 is opened forward and has a latch entry/exit hole 110 through which the latch can enter and exit.

The latch holder 10 for automatically releasing the latch of the latch may be provided in correspondence with any one of the two latches, and a conventional conventional latch holder without an automatic release function may be provided on the other side. there is. And the two latches are installed on the door so that they behave independently of each other. The two latches may be elastically supported in the door so that the hook part of the distal end faces downward, and the elastic force acting on the two latches may be the same.

A hinge module 800 having a spring 823 and a damper 850 installed therein is connected to the front lower part of the main body and the lower part of the door, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 . The spring 823 biases the door in a direction in which the door 720 rotates upwardly, that is, in a direction to close the door. Accordingly, the spring 823 prevents the door from being opened hard when the door is opened and descends.

In addition, the damper 850 attenuates the rotational force of the door when the door is opened, thereby allowing the door to be opened slowly. If necessary, the damper 850 may provide a damping force only when the door is opened, or may provide a damping force in both the door opening and closing directions. In addition, the damping force may be provided in all rotation angle sections in which the door is opened and closed, or the damping force may be provided in some sections of the range of the rotation angle.

The damper 850 may attenuate the opening force of the door in a section of a predetermined opening angle of the door, and may not provide a damping force in a section out of the opening angle. In the present invention, a structure in which the damper 850 operates in sections corresponding to a2 and a3 of FIG. 12 is exemplified. The damping intrusion angle a2 at which damping starts while the door is opened may be 35 ± 5° (refer to FIG. 12 ).

[Latch Holder]

Hereinafter, a latch holder, which is an automatic door opening device of a cooking appliance to which the automatic door opening control method of the present invention is applied, will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 .

The latch holder of the present invention includes a holder body 100 supporting the overall structure, a latch entry/exit hole 110 provided in front of the holder body 100, a lever 300 installed on the holder body 100, and an open detection switch. 400 , a pusher 500 , and a pusher driving unit 600 .

The latch 200 of the door 720 is drawn in and out through the latch entry/exit hole 110 from the front of the latch holder. A hook receiving space 180 in which the hook of the latch is accommodated is provided inside the latch entry/exit hole 110 . An open detection switch 400 is installed in the lower part of the hook accommodation space to detect whether the hook is accommodated in the air hook accommodation space 180 and maintains the jammed state.

A lever support 120 on which the lever 300 is rotatably installed is provided at the rear of the hook receiving space 180 . The lever 300 includes an acting part 320 extending forward from the lever support part 120 and a push part 330 extending from the tip of the acting part 320 to the hook receiving space 180, and the lever It has a force point portion 340 extending upwardly after extending backward from the support portion 120 .

An open detection switch 400 is installed at a lower portion of the hook receiving space 180 . The open detection switch 400 includes a trigger 420 disposed under the push unit 330 . The trigger 420 is pressed in contact with the push unit 330 , but the force to press the trigger 420 is provided by the latch 200 accommodated in the hook receiving space 180 .

A pusher 500 for pushing the force point 340 of the lever 300 rearward and a pusher driving unit 600 providing a driving force of the pusher 500 are installed above the lever support part 120 . The motor 610 of the pusher driving unit 600 is fixed to the second side surface of the holder body 100 , and the pusher 500 is disposed on the first side of the holder body 100 and rotates by the motor 610 . do. The rotational displacement of the motor 610 is controlled by a return stop switch 620 . This control is performed by an operation in which the pusher 530 installed on the pusher presses the trigger 622 of the return stop switch 620 according to the rotation angle displacement of the pusher 500 .

The force point portion 340 of the lever 300 is connected to the holder body 100 through a return spring 630 , and receives a force biased forward by the return spring 630 . Hereinafter, each configuration of the latch holder according to the present invention will be described in more detail.

[Holder body]

The holder body 100 for supporting the overall structure of the latch holder according to the present invention is a base surface 101 including a plane extending in the vertical and front-back directions, that is, a plane having normal lines to the first side and the second side. includes

At the lower front of the holder body 100 , a latch entry/exit hole 110 open to the front is provided. The latch entry/exit hole 110 is a path through which the latch 200 enters the inside of the holder body 100 from the front, or the latch exits from the holder body 100 to the front.

The latch entry/exit hole 110 has an outer inclined surface 111 defining its boundary as a lower portion, an upper wall surface 113 defining its boundary as an upper portion, and a side wall surface 114 on both sides thereof. Define boundaries.

At the lower portion of the latch entry/exit hole 110 , an externally inclined surface 111 of an upwardly inclined shape is provided from the front to the rear. When the latch 200 enters the inside of the holder body 100 , the tip lower inclined surface 232 of the hook part 230 of the latch 200 rides up the outer inclined surface 111 .

An inner inclined surface 112 is provided at the rear end of the outer inclined surface 111 . The inner inclined surface 112 is inclined upward from the rear toward the front. A substantial portion of the inner inclined surface 112 and the upper end of the outer inclined surface 111 are interconnected by a smooth curved surface.

The inner inclined surface 112 is in contact with the rear inclined surface 231 of the hook part 230 of the latch 200 that has entered the inside of the holder body 100 and prevents the latch 200 from being separated from the front. On the other hand, the inner inclined surface 112 provides an inclined surface that allows the rear inclined surface 231 of the latch 200 to slide up naturally when the user pulls the door forward to open the door. . The rear inclined surface 231 may be a flat surface or a slightly convexly curved surface. That is, according to the present invention, it is also possible for the user to manually open the door.

The upper wall surface 113 includes a horizontal ceiling surface provided on the latch entry/exit hole 110 . When the lever 300 pushes the latch 200 to automatically open the door, the upper wall surface 113 is the upper surface of the latch 200 , and more specifically, the upper inclined surface 221 of the latch 200 . ) and guides the upper inclined surface 221 to slide forward.

The upper wall surface 113 and the outer inclined surface 111 are vertically connected to each other by the side wall surface 114 in the first side and the second side. Since the gap between the two sidewall surfaces 114 is wider than the width of the latch 200 , it does not interfere with the latch 200 .

At the rear of the latch entry/exit hole 110 , a shielding surface portion 123 for shielding an inside view through the latch entry/exit hole 110 when viewed from the front to the rear is provided. The shielding surface part 123 includes a flat plate shape having a normal line in the front-rear direction. The hook part 230 of the latch 200 is accommodated in the hook receiving space 180 provided by the shielding surface part 123 being spaced apart rearward with respect to the latch entry/exit hole 110 .

The shielding surface portion is perpendicular to the base surface 101 and is connected to the base surface 101 to reinforce the overall rigidity of the holder body 100 . A lever support part 120 for rotatably supporting the lever 300 is installed behind the shielding surface part. The lever 300 is a part that operates to release the latching state of the latch 200 fixed to the holder body 100 .

The lever support part 120 needs a certain degree of rigidity to support the lever, and this rigidity is satisfied to some extent by the shielding surface part 123 .

Since the shielding surface part 123 blocks the latch entry/exit hole 110, the lever 300 installed on the lever support part 120 is disposed at a position avoiding the shielding surface part 123 and the lever support part 120. . The lever support part 120 is provided on the extension member 121 and extends from the base surface 101 and is connected to the shielding surface part 123 to rotate the lever 300 . and a lever support shaft portion 122 for supporting it. The lever 300 is pivotally coupled to the lever support shaft portion 122 and is rotated by being in contact with the second side surface of the extension member 121 .

The front end of the lever 300 has a push portion 300 extending from the front end of the lever 300 to the first side, and the push portion 300 includes the shielding surface portion 123 and the latch entry/exit hole 110 . It is positioned in the hook receiving space 180 provided between them.

The shielding surface part 123 may be disposed in a slightly offset form in the first side with respect to the lever entry/exit hole 110 . This is to minimize the lateral eccentricity between the push part 330 and the force point part 340 of the lever 300 on which the force acts.

An opening detection switch fixing part 150 to which an opening detection switch 400 for detecting a closed state of a door is fixed is provided under the latch entry/exit hole 110 and the lever support part 120 . The opening detection switch fixing part 150 includes a flat part having a normal line to the side, and interconnects the lower part of the latch entry/exit hole 110 and the lower part of the lever support part 120 .

The opening detection switch fixing part 150 includes a fixing wall 151 for supporting the switch body 410 of the opening detection switch 400, and at least a part of the fixing wall 151 is the lever support part ( 120) and may be in a connected form.

In a state in which the switch body 410 is installed in the opening detection switch fixing part 150 , the trigger 420 of the opening detection switch 400 protrudes upward toward the hook accommodation space 180 . And the lever 300 has a trajectory for pressing the trigger 420 .

The holder body 100 further includes a structure for supporting the pusher 500 for driving the lever 300 and the pusher driving unit 600 .

A pusher 500 for pushing the lever 300 is installed in the holder body 100 to rotate the lever 300 in a direction for opening the latch 200 . To this end, the pusher support 130 for supporting the pusher 500 is provided on the base surface 101 . The pusher support unit 130 includes a hole 131 into which the rotation shaft 510 of the pusher 500 is inserted, and a first side supporting the rotation plate 520 of the pusher 500 around the hole 131 is formed. include The first side is in contact with the pressing protrusion 530 provided on the second side of the rotating plate 520 to support the rotating plate 520 .

On the surface (second side) opposite to the surface (first side) where the pusher 500 is installed from the base surface 101, the pusher driving unit for fixing the pusher driving unit 600 for driving the pusher 500 is high government 170 . The pusher driving unit 600 may be a rotation motor 610 , and a housing of the motor 610 may be fixed to the second side surface of the base surface 101 .

On the base surface 101 of the holder body 100. A return stop switch fixing unit 160 for fixing the return stop switch 620 is provided. The return stop switch 620 includes a trigger 622 that is pressed by the pusher 530 of the pusher 500 . The trigger 622 is pressed by the pusher 530 at a position where the pusher 500 should return and return after pushing the lever 300 , thereby stopping the rotational driving of the motor 610 . Accordingly, the return stop switch 620 is installed at a position where the trigger 622 is pressed by the pusher 530 at the return position of the pusher 500 . The return stop switch fixing part 160 may be provided on the pusher support part 130 .

In addition, in order to provide a force to return to the original position after the lever 300 pushes out the latch 200 , the holder body 100 is provided with a return spring support 140 . The return spring support 140 is disposed closer to the lever support 120 than the pusher support 130 . The return spring support 140 may include a hook hook 141 for hanging a ring provided at one end of the return spring 630 .

[lever]

The lever 300 is rotatably fixed to the lever support part 120 by fastening the shaft part 310 to the lever support shaft part 122 of the holder body 100 . The lever support shaft part 122 may include a shaft shape extending to the second side, and the shaft part 310 may have a hole shape for accommodating the shaft shape. Conversely, the lever support shaft portion 122 may have a hole shape, and the shaft portion 310 may have a shaft shape.

The lever 300 includes an acting portion 320 extending forward from the shaft portion 310 . A push part 330 extending to the first side is provided at the front end of the action part 320 . In a state in which the lever 300 is installed in the holder body 100 , the push unit 330 is disposed in the hook receiving space 180 of the holder body 100 .

Since the lever 300 transmits a force pushing the latch 200, it is made of a material having relatively rigidity, and since the push part 330 is a part in sliding contact with the latch 200, it has high wear resistance and a high coefficient of friction. It is preferable to be made of a low material. The lever 300 may be made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy.

The push part 330 is made of the same material as the overall material of the lever 300, or an interpolation member 331 manufactured integrally with the lever 300, and an extrapolation member extrapolated to the interpolation member 331 ( 332). The interpolation member 331 secures the rigidity of the push unit 330 , and the extrapolation member 332 is made of a material having a low coefficient of friction and high wear resistance so as to be in sliding contact with the latch 200 . In particular, the push unit 330 rises while in sliding contact with the latch 200 , and the push-out unit 336 operates to reliably push the front end surfaces 232 and 233 of the latch 200 , the extrapolation member (332) can be made of a material with high surface hardness or wear resistance, low friction coefficient, and lubrication properties to further increase the reliability of operation.

The interpolation member 331 may be integrally formed with the lever 300 by a metal material such as an aluminum alloy. On the other hand, the extrapolation member 332 may be made of a resin-based material. The resin-based material has a large surface hardness and is excellent in elastic deformation and restoration action when compared to a metal material, so it does not break or crumble. Even if this is repeated, there is much less risk of damage to the surface. Therefore, the extrapolated member is not damaged while sliding with the latch, and it is possible to further exert the effect of pushing the latch through elastic deformation and restoration.

On the other hand, if the interpolation member 331 is in direct contact with the latch, there is a risk of permanent damage to either surface due to the contact between the metal materials, which may cause a large frictional force and thus enlarge the damaged area. In addition, since an elastic restoring force comparable to that of a resin-based material cannot be expected, there is a risk that the latch opening operation may not be smoothly performed.

The push unit 330 may have an approximately trapezoidal cross-section when viewed from the side. The bottom surface 335 of the push unit 330 becomes a pressing surface for pressing the trigger 420 of the open detection switch 400 provided under the push unit 330 . The upper surface 334 of the push part 330 becomes a surface on which the hook part 230 of the latch 200 accommodated in the hook accommodation space 180 is placed. That is, the latch 200 downwardly presses the push unit 330 from the upper surface of the push unit 330 , and the push unit 330 presses the trigger 420 by the force that the latch presses.

Since the upward biasing force of the trigger 420 with respect to the switch body 410 is greater than the load of the push unit 330 , in a state where only the push unit 330 is placed on the trigger 420 without the latch 200 , , the push unit 330 cannot be pushed down by pressing the trigger 420 and is slightly raised on the trigger 420.

The push unit 330 is provided with a push-up inclined surface 333 on the front surface. The push-up inclined surface 333 has a lower end that protrudes more forward than the upper end, and is inclined rearward from the lower end to the upper end. The push-up inclined surface 333 has a slightly convex curved profile, is in sliding contact with the tip lower inclined surface 232 of the latch 200 , and transmits the force of the lever 300 to the latch 200 . The lower end of the push-up inclined surface 333 constitutes a push-out part 336 that pushes the tip of the latch 200 to the last.

The lever 300 further includes a force point portion 340 extending rearward with respect to the shaft portion 310 . In order to amplify the force that the push unit 330 lifts and pushes the latch, the distance between the force point of the shaft unit 310 and the force point 340 rather than the distance between the shaft unit 310 and the push unit 330 is is set farther away. According to this structure, the pusher driving unit 600 may be configured to have a lower output and a lighter weight.

In order to make the latch holder more compact, the force point portion 340 may be manufactured in an approximately “L” shape, and the force point may be provided near the upper end of the force point portion 340 . The force point unit 340 receives a force by the pusher 500 , and the force is transmitted to the push unit 330 .

When the pusher 500 applies force to the force point 340 and then returns to the force point 340, one end of the return spring 630 that also returns the lever 300 to its original position is connected to the spring high government 342 . The spring fixing part 342 is disposed closer to the shaft part 310 than the force point of the force point part 340 . Unlike when the lever 300 pushes the latch 200 , a strong return force is not required when the lever 300 returns to the initial position after pushing the latch. Accordingly, the spring fixing part 342 may be disposed closer to the shaft part 310 than the force point of the pusher 500 . The spring fixing part 342 may include a hook hook shape for hanging a ring provided on the other end of the return spring 630 .

It is preferable that the return spring 630 provides only a force to the extent that the lever 300 is moved to its original position. That is, the return spring 630 does not continuously apply the lever 300 returned to the original position, so that the push part 330 of the lever 300 is the trigger 420 of the open detection switch 400 alone. ) is not pressed.

The lever 300 includes a first side facing the first side and a second side facing the second side, and the first side is the second side of the lever support unit 120 facing the second side. supported in contact with the surface.

[Pusher]

The pusher 500 is a part that pushes the force point of the lever 300 , and is installed in the holder body 100 . The pusher 500 is disposed adjacent to the force point 340 of the lever 300 . The pusher 500 includes a rotation plate 520 of a flat shape having a normal line to the first side, and a rotation shaft 510 provided at the center of the rotation plate 520 from the second side (surface facing the second side) of the rotation plate. And, the pressing projection 530 provided at an eccentric position from the center of the rotating plate from the second side, and from the center of the rotating plate 520 on the first side (the side facing the first side) of the rotating plate 520 It includes a pusher cam 540 provided at an eccentric position.

The rotating plate 520 has an overall flat disk shape, and the force point 340 of the lever 300 is disposed to face the first side of the rotating plate 520 .

The rotation shaft 510 extends toward the second side. That is, the rotation shaft 510 becomes the rotation center of the rotation plate 520 arranged to extend laterally. The distal end of the rotating shaft 510 (the distal end from the rotating plate) is inserted into the hole 131 of the holder body and is rotationally supported. And the rotation shaft 510 is fixed to the rotation drive shaft 611 of the motor 610 provided on the opposite side of the rotation plate 520 with the holder body 100 interposed therebetween.

The pressing protrusion 530 is connected to the proximal end (end close to the rotating plate) of the rotating shaft 510 and is provided on the second side of the rotating plate 520 . The pressing protrusion 530 is provided at any part in the circumferential direction of the rotary plate 520 , and the radially outer end of the pressing protrusion 530 is provided at a position where the trigger 622 of the return stop switch 620 can be pressed. do. Since the pressing protrusion 530 presses the trigger 622 while turning about the rotation shaft 510 , a convex curved portion 531 is provided at the distal end. The curved portion 531 of the pressing protrusion 530 has a convex shape when viewed at least from the side, so that the trigger 622 is pressed along the convex shape of the curved portion 531 .

The curved portion 531 includes a curved profile 5311 provided on both sides and a holding profile 5312 connecting the curved profile 5311 to each other. The pressing and holding profile 5312 maintains the state in which the trigger 622 is pressed even when the rotating plate 520 rotates by a predetermined angle (a). Even if the power supplied to the motor 610 is cut off as soon as the trigger 622 is pressed due to inertia, the rotating plate 520 rotates a little more due to the inertia of the motor 610 and the rotating plate 520, so that the pressing protrusion 530 When is out of the trigger 622, there is a fear that the pressed state of the trigger 622 is released. The pressing and holding profile 5312 allows the pressing protrusion to keep the trigger pressed even if the rotating plate rotates a little more due to the inertia of the motor and the rotating plate.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the operation of rotating the rotary plate 520 once and the opening operation of the lever are linked. Accordingly, one-time rotation control of the rotating plate may be more accurately achieved by the structure of the holding-down profile 5312 .

On the other hand, the cam structure of Patent Document 1 described above is heavy because the cam is directly connected to the driving unit, and since 1/5 rotation of the cam and the lifting operation of the lever are linked, there is a risk that the rotating cam cannot stop at the correct position and rotate further. If the cam does not stop in place, it is very likely that the door will close and the latch will press on the cam, but the cam will not return to position.

The pusher cam 540 has a cylindrical shape protruding from the first side of the rotating plate 520 to the first side. As the pusher 500 rotates, the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder of the pusher cam 540 pushes the force point 340 of the lever 300 disposed close to the first side of the rotating plate 520 to the rear. .

[Pusher drive part]

The pusher driving unit 600 is fixed to the second side side of the holder body 100 and is coupled to the rotation shaft 510 of the pusher 500 penetrating the holder body 100. A motor 610 and the holder body. A return stop switch 620 fixed to the first side of 100 and controlling the motor 610 to stop is provided.

The housing 612 of the motor 610 is fixed to the holder body 100 , and the rotation drive shaft 611 is coaxially fixed with the rotation shaft 510 of the pusher.

When the user inputs a command to automatically open the door of the cooking appliance, power is supplied to the motor 610 to rotate the rotary drive shaft 611 . Then, the motor 610 rotates until the pusher 530 of the pusher presses the trigger 622 of the return stop switch 620 . That is, when the trigger 622 of the return stop switch 620 is pressed on the pressing protrusion 530 , the power supplied to the motor 610 is cut off. Therefore, the rotary drive shaft 611 and the pusher 500 start to rotate at the position where the pusher 530 presses the trigger 622, and rotates until the pusher 530 presses the trigger 622 again. will do Therefore, when one pressing protrusion 530 is provided in the circumferential direction as in the embodiment, the pusher 500 always rotates once and stops. If two pressing protrusions 530 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, the pusher 500 will always rotate half a turn and stop.

The return stop switch 620 is installed at a position where the switch body 621 does not interfere with the pusher from the outside of the pusher 500, and the trigger 622 may interfere with the pusher 530. installed at the location

Controlling the rotation stop point of the pusher 500 with the return stop switch 620 has several advantages. First, a rotation of a predetermined angle (one rotation in the embodiment) is physically implemented with a very simple structure. And, even if the pusher 500 is stopped in the middle of rotation due to a power failure, etc., if the pusher 500 is controlled to apply power to the motor 610 so that the pusher 500 rotates when the power is turned on again, the pusher 500 is returned to the initial position. It will line up correctly and stop.

[Open detection switch]

The open detection switch 400 includes a switch body 410 that is fixedly installed on the fixed wall 151 of the open detection switch fixing part 150 provided in the lower portion of the hook receiving space 180, and the switch body 410 in the switch body 410. A trigger 420 protruding upward is provided. The trigger 420 is elastically biased to protrude upward when no external force is applied. Accordingly, when the external force pressing the trigger 420 disappears, the trigger 420 protrudes upward.

As described above, in the trigger 420, the latch 200 is accommodated in the hook receiving space 180, and the latch 200 is locked in a state where the hook part 230 is caught and fixed to the inner inclined surface 112. By the force of pressing the push part 330 of the lever, it is pressed by the push part 330 . On the other hand, the latch 200 does not press the push unit 330 for reasons such as the latch 200 is withdrawn from the latch entry/exit hole 110 , and the push unit 330 is mounted on the trigger 420 alone. In this state, the trigger 420 is not pressed by the push unit 330 . That is, the upward biasing force of the trigger 420 is weaker than the pressing force of the latch 200 and stronger than the pressing force of the push unit 330 alone.

The latch 200 may be provided on both sides of the door, and correspondingly, a latch holder having an external inclined surface 111 and an internal inclined surface 112, which are the latching structures of the latch, is also opened and closed by the door in the main body of the cooking appliance. It may be disposed on both sides of the opening of the cavity. Accordingly, the open detection switch 400 may also be provided in two places. Accordingly, unless the triggers of the two open detection switches 400 are pressed at the same time, it is determined that the door of the cooking appliance is open and the cooking appliance may not operate.

Of course, among the latch holders on both sides, the automatic latch release structure of the present invention described above including a lever and a pusher may be provided on either side. Therefore, the open detection switch 400 installed in the latch holder on one side is indirectly pressed by the lever 300 when the latch 200 is accommodated, and the open detection switch installed in the latch holder on the other side is operated by the latch when the latch is received. can be pressed directly.

[Operation of the latch holder]

5, in a state in which the hook is accommodated in the hook receiving space 180, that is, in a state in which the door of the cooking appliance is closed, the push unit 330 of the lever is pressed by the hook, and accordingly, the push unit 330 is The trigger 420 of the open detection switch 400 is pressed. In such a state, the lever 300 is rotated most clockwise around the lever support shaft portion 122 .

When the user inputs a command for detaching the hook from the hook receiving space 180 , that is, a door opening command, as shown in FIG. 6 , the motor rotates to rotate the pusher 500 . The direction of rotation is irrelevant, but in the present invention, it is illustrated that the pusher 500 rotates in a counterclockwise direction. As the pusher 500 rotates, the lever 300 is pushed by the pusher cam 540 and rotates counterclockwise around the lever support shaft 122 . Accordingly, the push unit 330 will be lifted forward, and the hook placed on the push unit 330 will also be lifted.

When the pusher 500 rotates further to push the force point 340 of the lever to the rearmost position and then rotates again to the position shown in FIG. 7 and stops, the lever 300 is operated by the return spring 630. It is rotated clockwise around the support shaft 122 to return to the original position.

[Door unlocking action]

Hereinafter, a process of automatically opening the door by installing the latch holder 10 having the above-described operating principle in the cooking appliance will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11 .

The latch 200 used together with the latch holder 10 of the present invention is installed rotatably up and down about a horizontal pivot shaft 210 as shown in FIG. 220 , and a hook part 230 extending downwardly from the tip of the latch bar 220 .

An upper inclined surface 221 in the form of a gentle inclined surface that descends toward the tip is provided on the upper portion of the tip of the latch 200 . The upper inclined surface 221 is the upper wall surface ( 113) and slides.

The tip of the hook part 230 is provided with a flat tip plane 233 , and a curved tip lower inclined surface 232 is provided under the tip plane 233 . And on the back side of the hook part 230 is provided with a back inclined surface 231 that is caught in contact with the inner inclined surface 112 of the above-described latch inlet and out hole (110).

The latch 200 may have the same shape as the latches provided on the left and right sides of the door.

Even if the lever 300 of the latch holder 10 provided on one side of the door pushes the latch 200 upward, the latch provided on the other side of the door does not rotate in conjunction with the latch on the one side. However, since the force to open the door is transmitted to the other side by the force of the lever 300 provided on one side of the door pushing the latch on one side, the inclined surface of the rear surface of the hook part 230 of the latch 200 provided on the other side of the door 231 climbs on the inner slope 112 and is separated from the latch holder on the other side.

Also, the rear inclined surface 231 may be used to manually open the door. For example, when the user pulls the door forward, the rear inclined surface 231 of the hook part 230 of the latch provided on both sides of the door climbs on the inner inclined surface 112 of the latch entry/exit hole 110 and climbs up the latch 200. is separated from the latch entry/exit hole 110 . The present invention provides a device for automatically releasing the latch 200 from the latch entry/exit hole 110 by placing the lever 300, the pusher 500, and the pusher driving unit 600 on one side of the latch holder 10 of the main body. However, there are many situations in which the door has to be opened manually during a power outage, malfunction of cooking equipment, or AS. Accordingly, in the present invention, the back inclined surface 231 is formed on the hook part 230 of both latches 200 so that the door can be opened manually, and the inner inclined surface 112 and the outer inclined surface 111 are formed in both latch holders. prepared.

Referring to FIG. 8 , a state in which the hook part 230 of the latch 200 enters the hook accommodation space 180 and the rear inclined surface 231 is hung on the inner inclined surface 112 , that is, a state in which the door is closed is shown. has been In a state in which the door is closed, the bottom surface of the hook part 230 is placed on the upper surface 334 of the push part 330 of the lever 300, and the push part 330 is opened by the force pressing the hook part downward. The trigger 420 of the switch 400 is pressed.

The latch holder 10 is installed on both sides of the main body, and if the door is normally closed, both the open detection switches 400 of the two latch holders 10 are in a pressed state. You can check that it is closed. Accordingly, when the user operates the control panel installed on the front side of the door, cooking can be started.

Meanwhile, when the user inputs a command for opening the door from the control panel installed on the front of the door, the door may be automatically opened. In order to automatically open the door, first, the latch 200 on one side of the door is released from the latch holder 10 on one side of the main body, and with this operation, the latch on the other side of the door is also attached to the latch holder on the other side of the main body. The state must be cleared.

To this end, the controller rotates the motor 610 . When the motor 610 rotates, as shown in FIG. 9 , the pusher 500 rotates and the pusher cam 540 pushes the force point 340 of the lever 300 rearward. Accordingly, the lever 300 rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 310 , and the push unit 330 provided in front of the lever 300 moves upward and forward. According to the present invention, since the shaft portion 310 of the lever 300 is higher in the rear than the push portion 330 , when the lever 300 rotates, the push portion 330 rotates to the front upper portion.

At this time, since the distance between the shaft part 310 and the force point part 340 is longer than the distance between the shaft part 310 and the push part 330 , the force of the motor 610 is amplified and transmitted to the push part 330 .

Since the push unit 330 rises while revolving around the shaft 310, the push unit 330 itself also rotates slightly. Accordingly, the push-up inclined surface 333 of the push unit 330 slides with the tip lower inclined surface 232 of the latch 200 to lift the latch 200 to the front upper portion. The extrapolation member 332 of the push unit 330 is preferably made of a material with high lubricity and high wear resistance, so that the sliding is made smoothly. Since the above operation is very sensitive to the trajectories of the lever and the latch, if the material of the push unit 330 is a material with high friction or a material with low wear resistance, the latch 200 will not only damage the push unit 330 . Rather, it was confirmed that a situation occurred in which the push unit 330 could not lift the latch 200 .

As the push unit 330 rises and the latch 200 is pushed forward and lifted, the trigger 420 of the open detection switch 400 is released.

In addition, the hook part 230 of the latch 200 moves toward the outer inclined surface 111 beyond the inner inclined surface 112 .

When the push part 330 continues to rise, the push-out part 336, which is the lowermost edge of the push-up inclined surface 333, finally pushes the lever 300 the farthest, as shown in FIG. 11 , the latch (200) rotates downward again due to elasticity.

The force of the down-rotating latch 200 rides on the outer slope 111 and is converted to a horizontal direction, so that the door is further opened forward.

On the other hand, in some cases, for example, when there is an obstacle in the door opening trajectory and a greater opening force is required in the direction in which the door is opened, the latch 200 cannot smoothly move forward even if the push unit 330 rises. An action that only ascends from a state may occur.

Even in this case, as shown in FIG. 10 , the upper inclined surface 221 of the latch 200 comes into contact with the upper wall surface 113 of the latch entry/exit hole. When the latch 200 is in contact with the upper wall surface 113 and the push unit 330 further rises, as shown in FIG. will push the lever 300 the farthest. At this time, the latch 200 is pushed outward while its upper inclined surface 221 slides on the upper wall surface 113 of the latch entry/exit hole.

At this time, the upper inclined surface 221 may be in contact with the upper wall surface 113 as a whole, so that the upper inclined surface 221 slides smoothly with respect to the upper wall surface 113 and slides. To this end, when the latch 200 is lifted, the upper inclined surface 221 in contact with the upper wall surface 113 may be approximately horizontal.

If the upper inclined surface 221 does not make full surface contact with the upper wall surface and is slightly inclined in either direction, natural withdrawal may be more difficult than when the upper inclined surface 221 is horizontal.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the opening force required for the door is small, the latch 200 behaves in the order of FIGS. 8, 9 and 11 and can be unlocked, and when the opening force required for the door is large 8, 9, 10, and 11 also behave in the order of FIG. 11, and the lock may be released. That is, in any case, there is no problem in the automatic unlocking operation of the door. Therefore, even if there is a deviation in the force applied by the spring 823 of the hinge module 800 in the direction of closing the door for each product, there is a deviation in the opening force that must be applied to the door for automatic opening, the latch holder ( 10) can ensure unlocking of the latch.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, in any case, the force of the latch 200, which reaches the position where the lock is released by the lever 300 and rotates downward, is converted to the horizontal direction while riding the external inclined surface 111. , since the door is opened further forward, the opening operation of the door can be made smoothly.

Referring to FIG. 15 , when the lever 300 rotates around the shaft 310 , the upper end of the push-up inclined surface 333 slides with the latch and starts to lift the latch. Subsequently, as the lever 300 further rotates counterclockwise, the position of the push-up inclined surface 333 in contact with the latch 200 is gradually moved to the lower portion of the push-up inclined surface 333 . And, when the lever 300 is further rotated counterclockwise and the push-out part 336 rises to the same height as the shaft part 310 , the lever 300 pushes the latch outward the most. That is, the push-up inclined surface 333 lifts and pushes the latch 200 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 15 .

When the push-out part 336 rises to the same height as the height of the shaft part 310 or rises beyond it, the latch 200 deviates from the trajectory of the push part 330 . Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11 , the latch 200 falls down due to the downwardly biased elasticity. That is, the latch that was in contact with the upper wall surface 113 descends again. At this time, since the latch 200 is further pushed beyond the horizontal direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 15 , it is placed on the external inclined surface 111 . That is, the hook of the latch 200 is no longer caught on the inner inclined surface 112 , and as the door is opened, the lower part of the hook part 230 can ride down the outer inclined surface 111 .

Since the push part 330 is disposed in the lower front with respect to the shaft part 310, as the push part 330 rises to the same height as the shaft part 310, the upper end of the push-up inclined surface 333 is higher than the original position by m will move forward. According to the present invention, since the lower tip inclined surface 232 of the latch 200 slides from the upper end to the lower end of the push-up inclined surface 333, the latch 200 is further pushed forward by n.

FIG. 12 shows an opening angle a1 at which the door is opened as the latch 200 is pushed outward as shown in FIG. 11 . As the door does not achieve verticality and is inclined by an angle of about a1 as shown in the figure, the door opens by itself due to the weight of the door. However, if the speed control for the automatic opening of the door due to its own weight is not performed, the door may be accelerated as it opens and may fall. Accordingly, in the present invention, when the door 720 is opened, the damper starts to act at a predetermined angle a2 and opens slowly up to the final opening angle a3 at a controlled speed, thereby impairing the hinge module 800 of the door. It prevents the door from being damaged and allows the user to feel comfortable while watching the process of the door automatically opening.

[Door automatic opening operation]

When the user inputs a door open command by touching the display installed on the front upper part of the door, the latch holder 10 is operated in the order of FIGS. 5 to 7 , and accordingly, the latch ( 200) is released from the latch holder 10, so that the door is pushed by a predetermined angle (a1).

The predetermined angle a1 may be set to such a degree that the door can be opened by itself by its own weight. The angle a1 may be, for example, about 2 to 7°, preferably about 3 to 5°.

13 and 14 , the hinge module 800 connecting the body 710 and the door 720 includes a door bar 840 part fixed to the door 720 and a body 710 fixed to the hinge module 800 . The housing 810 part rotates based on the opening/closing rotation shaft 814 .

As the door bar 840 rotates with respect to the housing 810 , a damping force is transmitted to the door bar 840 .

An inner link housing 830 movable along the longitudinal direction of the housing 810 is provided inside the housing 810 . The front end of the inner link housing 830 is hingedly connected to the door bar 840 by a door bar connecting hinge 831 . Since the door bar connection hinge 831 is slightly eccentric from the opening/closing rotation shaft 814, when the door 720 (door bar 840) is opened, it rotates based on the opening/closing rotation shaft 814 and moves forward, Accordingly, the inner link housing 830 also moves forward in the housing 810 .

A spring interpolation pin 820 is installed at the rear of the inner link housing 830 . The spring interpolation pin 820 is connected to the rear portion of the inner link housing 830 through the inner housing articulation pin 822 . In addition, both ends of the inner housing articulation pin 822 are fitted in the articulation pin guide slot 815 provided in the housing 810 . The articulation pin guide slot 815 has the shape of a long hole extending along the longitudinal direction of the housing 810 .

A compression coil spring 823 with very strong elasticity is extrapolated to the spring interpolation pin 820 in an already compressed state. The spring interpolation pin 820 may slide through the spring stopping plate 811 fixed to the housing 810 and slide along the longitudinal direction of the housing 810, but the tip of the compression coil spring 823 is the It is caught on the spring stopping plate 811 of the housing 810 . A support pin 812 for additionally supporting the spring stopping plate 811 may be further installed in the housing 810 to support the biasing force of the compression coil spring 823 .

A spring support pin 821 for fixing the rear end of the spring 823 is installed at the rear end of the spring interpolation pin 820 . The spring support pin 821 does not interfere with the housing 810 .

Therefore, when the door bar 840 is opened, the inner housing articulation pin 822 is guided by the guide slot 815 of the housing 810, and the inner link housing 830 and the spring interpolation pin 820 move forward. . Accordingly, the spring 823 is compressed between the spring locking plate 811 and the spring support pin 821, and the elastic force gradually increases. That is, when the opening angle of the door is small, the elastic force of the spring 823 is small, but as the opening angle of the door increases, the elastic force of the spring 823 also increases. The elastic force acts in a direction that prevents the door from being opened.

The biasing force that the spring 823 pushes in the direction to close the door gradually increases from the opening angle a1 to a3 of the door. And the biasing force that the spring 823 has at the opening angle a1 of the door is smaller than the force to open the door by its own weight at the opening angle a1, so that the door pushed by the lever 300 to the opening angle a1 is It is set to open automatically.

A damper 850 is installed inside the inner link housing 830 . The piston 851 of the damper 850 is supported by the damper pressing surface 832 integrally fixed to the inner link housing 830 . A cylinder 852 is extrapolated to the piston 851 . A slot 853 into which the damper support pin 813 fixed to the housing 810 is fitted is provided at an upper portion of the cylinder 852 . That is, the cylinder 852 may move forward and backward by the length of the slot 853 . 14 , the position between the slot 853 of the damper 850 and the damper support pin 813 of the housing 810 is disclosed in a state in which the door is closed.

Until the door is opened and moved to a predetermined angle a2, the inner link housing 830 moves forward and the damper 850 also moves forward together. At this time, the damper 850 moves forward together with the inner link housing 830, but does not generate any damping force.

When the opening angle of the door exceeds a2, the slot 853 of the damper 850 moving forward is caught by the damper support pin 813, and accordingly, the damper 850 starts to be compressed. The damping force generated when the damper 850 is compressed allows the door to be opened while being damped in an opening angle a2 to a3 section.

While the door is opened up to a2, the door bar connecting hinge 831 also rotates by a2, and accordingly, the inner link housing 830 and the spring interpolation pin 820 move forward by d2. While moving by the distance d2, the slot 853 of the damper 850 moves on the damper support pin 813, so the damper is not pressed.

While the door is opened up to a3, the door bar connecting hinge 831 also rotates by a3, and accordingly, the inner link housing 830 and the spring interpolation pin 820 move forward by d3. That is, the spring 823 is compressed by d3. The maximum opening angle a3 may be regulated by the joint pin guide slot 815 of the housing 810 that regulates the sliding movement distance of the inner housing articulation pin 822 .

The angle range at which the damper 850 damps the opening force of the door may be started when, for example, the door is approximately 30° to 40°, and may be continued until approximately 90°. Then, after the door is opened by the latch holder 10 up to the initial opening angle (a1), the door is opened slowly by its own weight and accelerated by its own weight. can be This opening method of the door makes the user feel a sense of stability.

If the damping starts too early while the door is opened, the waiting time for the door to be opened is too long, causing inconvenience. On the other hand, if the damping of the door starts too late, the door opens too quickly to the extent that the door opens to a considerable extent, which may surprise or feel uncomfortable to the user, and may cause injury by hitting the door that opens quickly.

In this regard, the damping intrusion angle a2 at which the damper 850 starts to damp the opening force of the door is preferably 35±5°.

In addition, the damping force may last until 90° when the door is fully opened, or up to 85°, which is about 5° smaller than that. If the damping force is applied to the section where the door is fully opened, it may be considered that the damping force does not act after 85° in order to dispel the fear that the door does not open completely and opens by 1~2° less.

As such, the damping rush angle a2 is set to be larger than the forced opening angle a1. And between the forced opening angle (a1) and the damping rush angle (a2), that is, in the section between 3° to 5° and 30 to 40°, the section in which the door is not damped by any damper 850 and automatically opens by its own weight becomes this Of course, even in this section, since the elastic force of the above-described spring 823 acts in a direction that prevents the door from being opened, the phenomenon of sudden acceleration of the door in the section that is opened by its own weight is sufficiently prevented.

If such an automatic door opening structure is applied, user anxiety can be reduced, quality sensibility can be increased, and the handle protruding from the front of the door can be removed, which can provide an excellent aesthetic feeling, especially during built-in installation.

[How to control automatic door opening operation]

Hereinafter, a method for controlling an automatic door opening operation according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 16 to 18 .

According to the present invention, the automatic opening operation of the door is performed by one rotation of the motor 610 . While the motor rotates once, the pusher 500 rotates, and accordingly, the pusher cam 540 eccentrically disposed on the pusher pushes the lever 300 and then returns to its original position. The lever 300 pushes the latch 300 toward the front by the pusher cam 540, and accordingly the door is automatically opened.

Due to the structure of the latch holder 10 described above, the latch holder may exist in four main states when the power of the cooking appliance of the present invention is turned off.

First, as shown in FIG. 8, the door is closed so that the latch 200 is held in the latch holder 10, and the lever 300 is moved most clockwise by the downward pressing force of the latch 200. This is a case in which the pusher 500 is in the normal position while pressing the return stop switch 620 .

The second is a case in which the door is open as shown in FIG. 7 , and the pusher 500 is aligned to the original position and the return stop switch 620 is pressed.

Third, the pusher 500 stops while rotating due to a power failure, etc., as shown in FIG. 6 , the pusher 500 is out of the state of pressing the return stop switch, and the push unit 330 of the lever 300 is It is heard, and the door is open. In the state shown in FIG. 6 , since the push part 330 of the lever 300 blocks the entrance of the latch holder 10, the latch 200 cannot enter the latch holder, and thus the door cannot be closed. .

The fourth is between the state of Figure 6 and the state of Figure 7, that is, in a state where the push unit 330 does not block the entrance of the latch holder 10 and is slightly lowered than that, the pusher 530 of the pusher returns to the stop switch ( 620) is in the initial state in which it is not pressed. In this case, the latch 200 may come into the latch holder. When the latch enters the latch holder, the load of the latch presses the lever, so the lever is forcibly rotated, and the lever rotates and the pusher 500 is moved to eventually change to the state shown in FIG. 8 .

According to the present invention, the pusher 500 rotates once to open the door, and the pusher 500 starts to rotate from its original position, that is, from the position shown in FIG. 8 and is controlled to rotate once. As such, when the pusher 500 rotates once, the pusher 330 of the lever 300 rises exactly once, thereby automatically opening the door. If the pusher 500 is not in the original position and the rotation of the pusher 500 for the door opening operation is started in a state in the position shown in FIG. 6 , the reliability of the automatic door opening operation is deteriorated.

Accordingly, in the present invention, when the cooking appliance is started for the first time, for example, when the user connects the power plug of the cooking appliance to an outlet, or when the user turns on the power by pressing the power button of the cooking appliance, the pusher 500 moves to the correct position. Executes motion control to ensure that

8 or 7, when the pusher 500 has already pressed the return stop switch 620 to send a signal indicating that the return stop switch is in the on state, it is confirmed that the pusher 500 is already in the correct position. You don't need to do any action for sorting. Rather, if the pusher 500 is rotated to align the original position in a state in which the door is closed as shown in FIG. 8 , a problem in which the closed door is opened may occur.

In such a state, the standby state is maintained until the user inputs a door open command.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6 , in a state in which the pusher 500 leaves the normal position of pressing the return stop switch 620 , it is expected that the door is open anyway, so even if the pusher 500 is rotated to align the correct position , an abnormal operation phenomenon, such as opening a door that was previously closed, does not occur in the eyes of the user.

That is, if it is detected that the return stop switch is in an off state, that is, not pressed when the cooking appliance is started (a situation in which the power is connected or the power button is turned on), the pusher 500 shown in FIG. do.

The initial in-situ alignment procedure is to first apply power to the motor. According to the control method of the present invention, a normal continuous power supply (which may be an alternating current power supply) is supplied to drive the motor without supplying power (pulse power supply, etc.) that causes the motor to rotate different from the normal rotation.

When power is supplied to the motor, the motor rotates. Accordingly, when the pusher 500 rotates and reaches the position shown in FIG. 7 , the return stop switch 620 is pressed to cut off the power supplied to the motor, and accordingly, the pusher is aligned to its original position.

After a sufficient time (t ₀ ) for the motor to rotate once has elapsed, the control unit checks whether the return stop switch is pressed. If it is confirmed that the return stop switch is pressed, it can be confirmed that the motor operates normally, the return stop switch also operates normally, and the pusher 500 is aligned to the initial position. When this state is confirmed, as described above, the standby state is maintained until the user inputs a door open command.

If it is not confirmed that the return stop switch is pressed even after the time t ₀ , it may be determined that the motor or the return stop switch is abnormal. As described above, since the door cannot be closed in the state shown in FIG. 6 , the open detection switch 400 is in an off state, and since the door is in an open state, it is through whether the door is opened by the movement of the motor. It is difficult to check whether the motor is operating normally. Then, the control unit may generate a fourth error signal informing that there is an abnormality in the motor or the return stop switch. In addition, the operation of the cooking appliance may be terminated as a follow-up action.

After the pusher 500 is aligned, it is expected that all states waiting for a user's door opening command are the same as those of FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 . Even if a door open command is input to rotate the pusher 500 in a state as shown in FIG. 7 , that is, in a state in which the door is open, no particular problem occurs in the operation of the product.

Of course, in the state shown in FIG. 7 , that is, in a state in which the return stop switch is pressed but the open detection switch is not pressed, power may not be supplied to the motor even if the user inputs a door open command. However, it is noteworthy that for the simplification of the control algorithm, it is not necessary to respond to the door open command by dividing the states of FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 .

In the present invention, it will be more helpful to understand the automatic door opening operation control method of the present invention paying attention to the fact that the door can be opened automatically or manually.

If power is supplied to the motor by the user's door open command input, check whether the return stop switch is turned off after a while. If the return stop switch is turned off, it can be confirmed that the motor has started to rotate normally.

Then, after a time (t ₀ ) sufficient for the motor to rotate one revolution has elapsed, it is checked whether the open detection switch is in the OFF state. If the state was as shown in FIG. 8, the open detection switch that was in the on state while the door was opened would be switched to the off state, and if it was in the state as shown in FIG. Therefore, regardless of any case, when it is confirmed that the open detection switch is in the OFF state after the predetermined time has elapsed, it can be confirmed that the latch is in a state in which it is normally released from the latch holder.

Next, after sufficient time has elapsed for the motor to rotate once, check whether the return stop switch is turned on again. When the motor returns to its original position, the return stop switch is pressed, and accordingly, it can be confirmed that the return stop switch is operating normally. Also, when the return stop switch is pressed, the power supplied to the motor is immediately cut off, so it can be confirmed that the pusher is also in the initial position.

At this time, the control unit is again in a state of waiting for the user's door open command.

On the other hand, if the return stop switch does not turn on even after sufficient time has elapsed for the motor to rotate once, it can be expected that there is a problem with the motor or the return stop switch.

If the open detection switch is switched from the on state to the off state for the predetermined time (that is, the door is confirmed to be open), but the return stop switch does not turn on after a predetermined time has elapsed, the return stop switch is faulty. It can be sensed that there is If it is determined in this way, a second error signal notifying that there is an error in the return stop switch may be generated, and the power supplied to the motor may be cut off.

On the other hand, if the door is already in an open state and the open detection switch is continuously turned off for the predetermined time, it may be difficult to clearly determine which of the motor and the return stop switch is abnormal. However, since it is confirmed that the return stop switch is switched from the on state to the off state when power is supplied to the motor, it is more likely that an abnormality has occurred in the return stop switch than in the motor. Therefore, if it is determined in this way, a second error signal notifying that there is an abnormality in the return stop switch may be generated, and the power supplied to the motor may be cut off.

That is, in any case, if the return stop switch is not switched to the on state, it is possible to check that there is an error in the return stop switch and generate a second error signal.

On the other hand, although power is supplied to the motor by the user's door open command input and the return stop switch is switched to the off state, even after a sufficient time (t ₀ ) for the motor to rotate once elapses, the open detection switch In the on state, the motor is rotating normally, but it is not expected that the door is not opened properly because there is an obstacle in the door opening direction, or the door latch is caught in the wrong shape by the latch holder. Therefore, it is possible to generate a first error signal notifying an abnormality in the latch operation and cut off the power supplied to the motor.

On the other hand, if the return stop switch is not switched to the off state even though power is supplied to the motor by the user's input of a door open command, the error signal generation step as shown in FIG. 17 may be entered. That is, at this time, it is clear that there is an error in either the motor or the return stop switch. However, it is possible to check whether there is an error between the motor and the return stop switch by checking additional signals.

This can be confirmed based on whether the door is open as shown in FIG. 18 . That is, when the power is supplied to the motor, the open detection switch is in the on state, that is, the door is closed. If the open detection switch is switched to the off state after a predetermined time elapses, it can be determined that the door is open. This results in the motor being normal. Therefore, in such a situation, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the return stop switch, and the second error signal is generated, the power supplied to the motor is cut off, and then the operation can be terminated.

On the other hand, when power is supplied to the motor, the open detection switch is on, that is, the door is closed. This results in the motor being faulty. Therefore, in such a situation, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the motor, and the third error signal is generated, the power supplied to the motor is cut off, and then the operation can be terminated.

However, if the open detection switch is off from the time when power is already supplied to the motor, that is, if the door is open, it is difficult to check whether the motor is operating through the open detection switch. A fourth error signal notifying that one has failed may be generated, the power supplied to the motor may be cut off, and control may be terminated.

According to the above-described control method, there is no need to generate and supply other types of power to the motor in addition to the normal continuous AC power supplied to the cooking appliance, and supply the normal power to the motor.

In addition, without installing a separate sensor to detect whether the motor is operating, the return stop switch, which is a necessary configuration for determining the stop position of the motor, and a configuration that has been conventionally used to check whether the door is open It is possible to monitor whether the automatic opening structure is operating normally by using the signal of the open detection switch.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and drawings disclosed in this specification, and various methods can be obtained by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention. It is obvious that variations can be made. In addition, although the effects according to the configuration of the present invention have not been explicitly described and described while describing the embodiments of the present invention, it is natural that the effects predictable by the configuration should also be recognized.

10: latch holder
100: holder body
101: base surface
110: latch entry and exit
111: external slope
112: inner slope
113: upper wall surface
114: side wall
120: lever support
121: extension member
122: lever support shaft portion
123: shielding surface portion
130: pusher support
131: Hall
140: return spring support
141: hook hook
150: open detection switch fixed part
151: fixed wall
160: return stop switch fixed part
170: pusher driving unit fixing unit
180: hook accommodation space
200: latch
210: latch pivot axis
220: latch bar
221: upper inclined surface
230: hook part
231: two slopes
232: tip lower slope
233: tip plane
300: lever
310: shaft
320: action part
330: push unit
331: interpolation member
332: extrapolation member
333: push-up slope
334: top
335: bottom
336: push-out part
340: power point
342: spring fixing part
350: direction change unit
400: open detection switch
410: switch body
420: trigger
500: pusher
510: axis of rotation
520: rotating plate
530: push button
531: curved part
5311: surface profile
5312: press-and-hold profile
540: pusher cam
600: pusher drive unit
610: motor
611: rotary drive shaft
612: housing
620: return stop switch
621: switch body
622: trigger
630: return spring
710: body
720: door
800: hinge module
810: housing
811: spring stop plate
812: spring stop plate support pin
813: damper support pin
814: opening and closing rotation shaft
815: joint pin guide slot
820: spring interpolation pin
821: spring support pin
822: inner housing joint pin
823: spring
830: inner link housing
831: door bar connection hinge
832: damper pressure surface
840: door bar
850: damper
851: piston
852: cylinder
853: slot

Claims (16)

A body 710 having a cooking compartment therein, and a door 720 for opening and closing the open front of the cooking compartment,
A latch 200 extending toward the main body 710 is provided on a surface of the door 720 facing the main body 710, and the latch 200 is provided when the door 720 is closed. In the body 710 portion corresponding to the position, a latch holder ( 10) is provided,
The latch holder 10 includes:
a lever 300 for pushing the latch 200 drawn into the latch holder 10 to the outside of the latch holder 10;
an open detection switch 400 in which the latch 200 is in an on state or an off state, respectively, in a state in which the latch 200 is caught in the latch holder 10 and in a state in which the latch is released;
a pusher 500 for operating the lever 300;
a motor 610 for driving the pusher 500; and
and a return stop switch 620 that is turned on or off when the pusher 500 is in a predetermined position and out of the predetermined position, respectively;
A method for automatically opening a door of a cooking appliance in which power supplied to the motor is cut off when the return stop switch 620 is switched to an on state in a state in which power is supplied to the motor,
A first step of checking whether the return stop switch 620 is turned on when the cooking appliance is turned on;
a second step of supplying power to the motor when the return stop switch 620 is turned off in the first step;
a third step of supplying power to the motor in the second step and checking whether the return stop switch 620 is in an on state after a predetermined time (t ₀ ) has elapsed; and
In the third step, when it is confirmed that the return stop switch 620 is switched to the on state, the step 4-1 returns to the first step; the automatic door opening control method comprising a.
The method according to claim 1,
The automatic door opening control method further comprising a; step 4-2 of generating a fourth error signal when it is confirmed in the third step that the return stop switch 620 maintains the off state.
The method according to claim 1,
a fifth step of waiting for a user's door open command when the return stop switch 620 is turned on in the first step;
a sixth step of supplying power to the motor when the user's door open command is input in the fifth step and checking whether the return stop switch is switched to an off state;
a seventh step of checking whether the open detection switch is turned off after a predetermined time has elapsed when it is confirmed that the return stop switch is switched to the off state in the sixth step;
an eighth step of checking whether the return stop switch is turned on when it is confirmed that the open detection switch is in the off state in the seventh step; and
When it is confirmed in step 8 that the return stop switch is turned on, step 9-1 returns to step 1;
4. The method according to claim 3,
The automatic door opening control method further comprising a; step 9-2 of generating a second error signal when the return stop switch is not switched to the on state in the eighth step and remains in the off state.
4. The method according to claim 3,
The method further comprising: a 10th step of generating a first error signal when it is confirmed that the open state switch is maintained in the on state without being switched to the off state in the seventh step.

The method according to claim 1,
a fifth step of waiting for a user's door open command when the return stop switch 620 is turned on in the first step;
a sixth step of supplying power to the motor when the user's door open command is input in the fifth step and checking whether the return stop switch is switched to an off state; and
In the sixth step, when it is confirmed that the return stop switch is not switched to the off state and maintained in the on state, an error signal generating step of generating an error signal;
7. The method of claim 6,
The error signal generating step is:
In the sixth step, when it is confirmed that the open detection switch is in the off state when power is supplied to the motor and it is confirmed that the return stop switch is not switched to the off state and is maintained in the on state, a fourth error signal is generated. Step 11; automatic door opening control method comprising a.
7. The method of claim 6,
The error signal generating step is:
a 12th step of checking whether the open detection switch is switched to an off state after a predetermined time has elapsed if the open detection switch is in the on state when power is supplied to the motor in the 6th step; Automatic opening control method.
9. The method of claim 8,
The error signal generating step is:
The automatic door opening control method further comprising a; 13-1 step of generating a second error signal when it is confirmed that the open detection switch is switched to the off state in the 12th step.
9. The method of claim 8,
The error signal generating step is:
The automatic door opening control method further comprising a; 13-2 step of generating a third error signal when it is confirmed that the open state is maintained without being switched to the off state in the 12th step.
The method according to claim 1,
a fifth step of waiting for a user's door open command when the return stop switch 620 is turned on in the first step;
a sixth step of supplying power to the motor and checking whether the return stop switch is switched to an off state when the user's door open command is input in the fifth step; and
In step 6, when the return stop switch is not switched to the off state and remains on, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the motor, and in the sixth step, when the return stop switch is switched to the off state, determining that the motor is normal ; Door automatic opening control method further comprising.
The method according to claim 1,
a fifth step of waiting for a user's door open command when the return stop switch 620 is turned on in the first step;
a sixth step of supplying power to the motor and checking whether the return stop switch is switched to an off state when the user's door open command is input in the fifth step; and
The method further comprising: determining that there is an abnormality in the latch operation when the return stop switch is switched to the off state in the sixth step and remains in the off state even after a predetermined time elapses.
The method according to claim 1,
a fifth step of waiting for a user's door open command when the return stop switch 620 is turned on in the first step;
a sixth step of supplying power to the motor and checking whether the return stop switch is switched to an off state when the user's door open command is input in the fifth step; and
Determining that there is an abnormality in the return stop switch when the return stop switch remains in the off state even after a predetermined time has elapsed even though the open detection switch is turned off after the return stop switch is switched to the off state in step 6; A door automatic opening control method further comprising a.
The method according to claim 1,
a fifth step of waiting for a user's door open command when the return stop switch 620 is turned on in the first step;
a sixth step of supplying power to the motor and checking whether the return stop switch is switched to an off state when the user's door open command is input in the fifth step; and
In the sixth step, even though the return stop switch does not switch to the off state and maintains the on state, when the open detection switch is turned off after a predetermined time elapses, determining that there is an abnormality in the return stop switch; further includes automatic door opening control method.
15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
After turning on the power of the cooking appliance, the period during which power is supplied to the motor and the on/off state of the return stop switch and the on/off state of the open detection switch are continuously detected.
15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
The power supplied to the motor is inputted as a continuous signal for automatic door opening control method.

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