KR102572691B1 - Cooking apparatus and controlling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooking device capable of preventing problems in the cooking device due to overheating by controlling an electronic cooking device by sensing an operation of a mechanical cooking device, and a control method thereof. To this end, the cooking apparatus of the present invention is provided on a circuit connected from the thermal electromotive force generating unit to the MPU and is connected to the first control unit, and the voltage generated by the thermal electromotive force generating unit can be recognized by the first control unit. It may include a voltage amplifier that amplifies to.

Description

Cooking device and its control method {COOKING APPARATUS AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a cooking device capable of preventing problems in the cooking device due to overheating by controlling an electronic cooking device by sensing an operation of a mechanical cooking device, and a control method thereof.

In general, cooking apparatuses used in kitchens can be classified into cooking apparatuses using gas (hereinafter referred to as gas cooking apparatuses) and cooking apparatuses using electricity (hereinafter referred to as electric cooking apparatuses). Alternatively, the cooking apparatus may be classified into a mechanical cooking apparatus, an electronic cooking apparatus, and an inverted magnetic cooking apparatus according to an operation method.

In general, a mechanical cooking apparatus includes a thermocouple that detects a flame of a burner and generates thermal electromotive force, and an MPU that generates magnetic force according to the thermal electromotive force to control opening and closing of a gas valve. A cooking apparatus having such a configuration is referred to as a mechanical cooking apparatus because the MPU is controlled by thermal electromotive force generated when a burner is ignited rather than electronically controlled by a controller or the like. An example of a mechanical cooking device is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 2003-0097512 (published on December 31, 2003).

In contrast, in the electronic cooking apparatus, a controller or control unit controls components such as opening and closing a gas valve according to an operation of an ignition switch manipulated by a user instead of a thermocouple.

In recent years, the use of products having both a mechanically controlled cooking unit and an electronically controlled cooking unit in one cooking device is increasing in accordance with various demands of users. Such a cooking device can be classified as an inverted child cooking device. An example of an inverted self-cooking device is a gas oven range.

The gas oven range includes a plurality of burners that are ignited by receiving gas supplied thereon, and a mechanical cooking unit having an ignition handle and the like disposed thereon. An electronic cooking unit composed of a heater operated by gas or electricity, a plurality of input switches, and a cooking space in which the heater is installed is provided below the mechanical cooking unit. The mechanical cooking part is a part commonly called a gas range, and the electronic cooking part is a part commonly called an oven.

In such an inverted magnetic cooking device, a mechanical cooking unit and an electronic cooking unit may be separately operated and operated. Therefore, a user may cook food in the electronic cooking unit at the same time as cooking in the mechanical cooking unit.

However, if the time required to simultaneously cook food in the two cooking units is prolonged, stress due to heat may be added to components or wires. If this condition is repeated, deterioration of parts or consequent damage, or overheating of food due to overheating of the product may occur. However, since the user cannot be forcibly prevented from using the two cooking units, a countermeasure for solving the aforementioned problem is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cooking device capable of detecting the operation of a mechanical cooking unit and controlling simultaneous use of an electronic cooking unit or operating according to a preset limiting algorithm, and a control method thereof.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects and advantages of the present invention not mentioned above can be understood by the following description and will be more clearly understood by the examples of the present invention. It will also be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized by means of the instrumentalities and combinations indicated in the claims.

A cooking apparatus according to the present invention includes a first input unit that generates an ignition or fire extinguishing signal, a first heater that is ignited when an ignition signal is generated from the input unit, and a gas valve that opens and closes a gas pipe for supplying gas to the ignition unit. A driving MPU, a thermal electromotive force generating unit that generates thermal electromotive force when the first heater is ignited and drives the MPU, and is provided on a circuit connected from the thermal electromotive force generating unit to the MPU and is connected to the first control unit. and a mechanical cooking unit having a voltage amplification unit for amplifying the minute voltage generated by the thermal electromotive force generation unit into a voltage of a size recognizable by the first control unit. In addition, the cooking apparatus of the present invention includes a second input unit that operates separately from the first input unit and generates an operation signal, a second heater that is driven when an operation signal is generated from the second input unit, and a signal from the second input unit. An electronic cooking unit having a second control unit controlling driving of the second heater is provided. The voltage amplifier amplifies the minute voltage generated by the thermal electromotive force generator, and the second controller receives the amplified voltage from the first controller and detects whether the second heater is operating. Accordingly, the second controller may limit use of the second heater or control the second heater according to a preset limiting algorithm when an operation signal of the second heater is input while the first heater is operating. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent an overheating problem of parts and cooked food that may occur when the second heater is operated while the first heater is operating.

The cooking apparatus according to the present invention can prevent problems such as damage to components due to overheating or overheating of food being cooked, which may occur when the electronic cooking unit is additionally operated when the mechanical cooking unit is operated.

In addition to the effects described above, specific effects of the present invention will be described together while explaining specific details for carrying out the present invention.

1 is a schematic diagram showing main components of a cooking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram showing some components of the cooking apparatus according to FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for controlling an operation of the cooking apparatus according to FIG. 1 .

The above objects, features and advantages will be described later in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and accordingly, those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs will be able to easily implement the technical spirit of the present invention. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar components.

Hereinafter, the arrangement of an arbitrary element on the "upper (or lower)" or "upper (or lower)" of a component means that an arbitrary element is placed in contact with the upper (or lower) surface of the component. In addition, it may mean that other components may be interposed between the component and any component disposed on (or under) the component.

In addition, when a component is described as "connected", "coupled" or "connected" to another component, the components may be directly connected or connected to each other, but other components may be "interposed" between each component. ", or each component may be "connected", "coupled" or "connected" through other components.

First, a cooking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described (in the present invention, a cooking apparatus having both a mechanically controlled cooking unit and an electronically controlled cooking unit is defined as an inverted child cooking apparatus and described. ).

1 is a schematic diagram showing main components of a cooking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic diagram showing some components of the cooking apparatus according to FIG. 1;

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the cooking apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an inverted self-contained cooking apparatus including a mechanical cooking unit 100 and an electronic cooking unit 300 . The mechanical cooking unit 100 may be provided on the upper side of the main body of the cooking device 10 . The electronic cooking unit 300 may be provided below the mechanical cooking unit 100 . In the present invention, the mechanical cooking unit 100 may be a cook-top having a plurality of gas burners. The electronic cooking unit 300 may be a gas or electric oven in which a predetermined cooking space and a heating element are installed in the cooking space.

The mechanical cooking unit 100 includes a first input unit 110 manipulated by a user, an MPU 120 that drives a gas valve that opens and closes a gas pipe, and generates thermal electromotive force that generates thermal electromotive force that is an operating voltage of the MPU 120. The unit 130, a voltage amplification unit 140 for detecting an operation of the mechanical cooking unit 100, a first control unit 150 for controlling components of the mechanical cooking unit 100, and a first heater for cooking food (160).

The first input unit 110, the MPU 120, the thermal electromotive force generator 130, the voltage amplifier 140, and the first heater 160 are electrically connected to the first controller 150 to exchange signals.

The first input unit 110 is a part through which the user inputs ignition, extinguishing, or ignition steps. It may be provided with a mechanically operated button or switch, a rotary knob, or the like. When an ignition signal is generated through the first input unit 110, gas is supplied to the first heater 160, and the first heater 160 is ignited by an ignition unit (not shown).

A magnetic power unit (MPU) 120 is a device that drives a gas valve (not shown) that opens and closes a gas pipe (not shown) for supplying gas to the first heater 160 . The MPU 120 may be installed on a gas pipe or provided on a gas flow path. The MPU 120 may be installed adjacent to the first heater 160 to supply and block gas to and from the first heater 160 .

The MPU 120 is driven by salt voltage generated by the thermal electromotive force generator 130 to drive a gas valve that opens and closes a gas pipe. MPU 120 keeps the gas valve open while salt voltage is generated. When the salt voltage is blocked, the driving of the MPU 120 is stopped so that the gas valve is switched to a closed state. That is, as the gas valve is opened or closed by the MPU 120 , the gas pipe may be opened or closed so that gas may be supplied to or blocked from the first heater 160 . The gas valve described here is a valve different from the main valve that supplies gas from the outside gas pipe to the room. Detailed configuration of the MPU (120) is a well-known technology, so a detailed description will be omitted.

When the first heater 160 is ignited and a spark is generated, the thermal electromotive force generating unit 130 is in contact with the spark. When thermal electromotive force is generated by the heat of a flame in the thermal electromotive force generator 130, a minute voltage is generated. The voltage generated in this way is defined as salt voltage. Generally, the salt voltage is several mV to several tens of mV or less. Salt voltage is transmitted to the MPU (120) to operate the MPU (120) (see the A direction arrow in Figure 2).

When the first heater 160 is extinguished and the flame disappears, the thermal electromotive force is not generated in the thermal electromotive force generating unit 130, so the salt voltage transmitted to the MPU 120 is blocked.

Operation and shutdown of the MPU 120 by the thermal electromotive force generating unit 130 may be performed without a special control process by transferring or blocking salt voltage by thermal electromotive force.

However, when the mechanical cooking unit 100 is provided with a configuration for automatic digestion, such as a timer, the first controller 150 may control the MPU 120 to stop the operation of the MPU 120 . When a cooking end signal is input to the first control unit 150 by a timer, the control unit may apply reverse electromotive force to the MPU 120 to stop driving the MPU 120 (refer to B direction arrow in FIG. 2 ). To this end, the first controller 150 should be able to detect whether or not the MPU 120 is driven in real time. A voltage amplifier 140 may be provided to sense and control driving of the MPU 120 .

The voltage amplification unit 140 is provided on a circuit connected from the thermal electromotive force generation unit 130 to the MPU 120 (refer to position C in FIG. 2 ) and is connected to the first control unit 150 . The voltage amplification unit 140 serves to amplify the voltage to a size recognizable by the microcomputer of the first control unit 150 when salt voltage, which is a minute voltage, is generated. For example, the voltage amplifier 140 may be provided as a differential amplifier. The voltage amplification unit 140 is connected to the first controller 150, and when thermal electromotive force is generated, a voltage of several mV to several tens of mV is amplified to several V and transmitted to the first controller 150.

The voltage amplifier 140 may be configured with a circuit to automatically amplify the voltage when a fine salt voltage is generated. Alternatively, the voltage amplification unit 140 may be configured such that the first control unit 150 detects the fine salt voltage first and then amplifies the voltage according to the control signal of the first control unit 150. In this embodiment, for convenience, voltage amplification according to the control signal of the first control unit 150 will be described as an example.

The first control unit 150 functions to control the mechanical cooking unit 100 as a whole. The first control unit 150 receives and processes signals from the first input unit 110 and the voltage amplifier 140 . The mechanical cooking unit 100 includes a display (see FIG. 1) that displays an operating state such as ignition or extinguishing, the intensity of flame, and the remaining time when the timer is running (see FIG. 1), and a buzzer (FIG. 1) that notifies the user when the timer is completed. reference) and the like may be provided. The first control unit 150 may display the operating state of the mechanical cooking unit 100 on a display or drive a timer. In addition, the first control unit 150 stops driving the MPU (120) when necessary.

The first controller 150 may detect whether thermal electromotive force is generated in the thermal electromotive force generating unit 130 through the voltage amplifier 140 . The first control unit 150 may communicate with the second control unit 320 to transmit whether thermal electromotive force is generated to the second control unit 320 . That is, the first controller 150 may transmit whether or not the mechanical cooking unit 100 is driven to the second controller 320 .

The first controller 150 may transmit whether or not the mechanical cooking unit 100 is operating to the second controller 320 with a simple signal. Alternatively, the first controller 150 may convert the operating state, operation maintenance time, and remaining operating time of the mechanical cooking unit 100 into data and transmit the data to the second controller 320 .

Conventionally, since the mechanical cooking unit 100 and the electronic cooking unit 300 are driven separately, the controller of the electronic cooking unit 300 cannot detect whether or not the mechanical cooking unit 100 is driven. However, in the present invention, when the first control unit 150 and the second control unit 320 communicate, the second control unit 320, which is a controller of the electronic cooking unit 300, can determine the operating state of the mechanical cooking unit 100.

In the present invention, the first heater 160 is a burner in which gas is supplied and ignited. The first heater 160 is ignited when a spark is generated by an ignition unit (not shown). Since the detailed configuration of the first heater 160 is a well-known technology, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Meanwhile, the electronic cooking unit 300 includes a second input unit 310 operated by a user, a second controller 320 for controlling the electronic cooking unit 300, and a second heater 330 for cooking food. include In the electronic cooking unit 300, at least one second heater 330 is installed inside a predetermined cooking space. A second input unit 310 for user input is provided outside the cooking space. The second heater 330 may be a heating element that generates heat by gas or electricity. The second heater 330 may be installed above or below the cooking space, or both above and below the cooking space (detailed description of the second heater 330 is omitted since it is a well-known technology).

The second input unit 310 may be implemented as a button or a touch screen that outputs a signal in a digital manner. The second input unit 310 may additionally include a rotary dial or the like as needed. The second input unit 310 is controlled by the user and may include temperature, time, and various automatic menu buttons. When the user manipulates the second input unit 310, the signal of the second input unit 310 is transmitted to the second control unit 320.

The second controller 320 processes the signal of the second input unit 310 and controls the second heater 330 based on the signal of the second input unit 310 . The second controller 320 may display an operating state, menu, time, or the like of the second heater 330 on a touch screen or the like. Alternatively, the second controller 320 may control components of the electronic cooking unit 300 not shown in the drawing, such as displaying the operating state of the second heater 330 on an oven lamp (see FIG. 1 ).

When the mechanical cooking unit 100 does not operate, the second controller 320 controls components of the electronic cooking unit 300, such as the second heater 330, according to a user's input. However, when the mechanical cooking unit 100 is in operation, the second control unit 320 controls components of the electronic cooking unit 300 according to a preset limiting algorithm prior to a user's input.

Alternatively, when the mechanical cooking unit 100 is in operation, the second controller 320 may temporarily control the second heater 330 not to be used. In this case, the second controller 320 outputs a user notification message to an oven lamp or the second input unit 310 .

As described above, in order to limit the use of the second heater 330 during operation of the mechanical cooking unit 100 or to control the electronic cooking unit 300 with a restriction algorithm, the second controller 320 determines whether the mechanical cooking unit 100 is operating or not. should be able to know To this end, the mechanical cooking unit 100 is provided with a voltage amplifier 140, and the first control unit 150 and the second control unit 320 are configured to communicate. Accordingly, the second controller 320 may determine whether the mechanical cooking unit 100 is operating or not through the signal received from the first controller 150 .

In this embodiment, the second control unit 320 receives the amplified voltage from the first control unit 150 and determines whether the mechanical cooking unit 100 operates based on the input amplified voltage. A result of the second controller 320 recognizing whether the mechanical cooking unit 100 is operating may be transmitted to the first controller 150 . Accordingly, the first control unit 150 can know whether the second control unit 320 has accurately determined whether the mechanical cooking unit 100 is operating, and can prepare for defective parts or errors.

Hereinafter, in the cooking apparatus having the above configuration, a process of controlling the cooking apparatus by interlocking the first control unit and the second control unit will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for controlling an operation of the cooking apparatus according to FIG. 1 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , in the cooking apparatus 10, the first heater 160 may be driven by the user (S100). As described above, the first heater 160, which is a mechanical heater, is operated by driving the MPU 120 and an ignition unit (not shown) when an ignition signal is generated by a user manipulating the first input unit 110.

When the first heater 160 is in operation, the first control unit 150 determines whether a fine salt voltage is generated (S200). When thermal electromotive force is generated in the thermal electromotive force generation unit 130 , fine salt voltage is generated, and the fine salt voltage is supplied as an operating voltage of the MPU 120 . Accordingly, the first controller 150 may determine the driving state of the first heater 160 based on whether a fine salt voltage is generated.

If the first control unit 150 detects that a fine salt voltage is generated in step S200, the first control unit 150 amplifies the voltage through the voltage amplifier 140 (S300). The amplified voltage is amplified to a level that can be recognized by the microcomputer of the second controller 320. The second controller 320 sends the amplified voltage to the second controller 320 .

The second controller 320 recognizes the operation of the first heater 160 through the amplified voltage (S400). When the operation of the first heater 160 is recognized in step S400, the second controller 320 limits the use of the second heater 330 or operates according to a preset limiting algorithm (S500).

Since the mechanical cooking unit 100 and the electronic cooking unit 300 are separately controlled and operated, the user can also drive the electronic cooking unit 300 while driving the mechanical cooking unit 100 . In this case, since various problems may occur due to overheating, the second controller 320 may automatically limit the use of the second heater 330 . When the use of the second heater 330 is restricted, the second controller 320 outputs a warning message and a notification sound to notify the user of the use limit of the second heater 330 .

Alternatively, the second controller 320 may operate by changing the temperature of the second heater 330 lower than the temperature set by the user, but not limiting the use of the second heater 330 . Alternatively, the second controller 320 may temporarily restrict the use of the second heater 330 and then control the second heater 330 to operate when a set time elapses. In this case, the second controller 320 may control the second heater 330 to operate when the use completion time of the mechanical cooking unit 100 approaches. In this way, when the first heater 160 is operated, limiting the temperature or operating time of the second heater 330 is preset and stored as a limiting algorithm.

The aforementioned control process is based on the driving of the first heater 160, but when the first heater 160 is not driven, there is no need to limit the use of the second heater 330. Therefore, if the first heater 160 is not in operation at step S100, since the amplified voltage is not input through the first controller 150, the second controller 320 operates the second heater 330 according to a pre-stored normal operation algorithm. Control (S600).

Even though the voltage amplified in step S400 described above is input to the second controller 320, there may be a case where the second controller 320 does not recognize the operation of the first heater 160. In this case, the first control unit 150 or the second control unit 320 may output an error code or a warning sound to the user (S700).

After inputting the amplified voltage from the first controller 150 to the second controller 320, if the second controller 320 does not transmit a result of whether or not the first heater 160 is recognized to the first controller 150, 1 The controller 150 may determine that there is an error in the second controller 320 or the electronic cooking unit 300 .

As described above, in the cooking apparatus of the present invention, when the mechanical cooking unit is operated, the electronic cooking unit is additionally operated to prevent problems such as component damage due to overheating or overheating of food being cooked.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings illustrated, but the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and drawings disclosed in this specification, and various modifications are made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. It is obvious that variations can be made. In addition, although the operational 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 corresponding configuration should also be recognized.

10: cooking device 100: mechanical cooking unit
110: first input unit 120: MPU
130: thermal electromotive force generator 140: voltage amplification unit
150: first controller 160: first heater
300: electronic cooking unit 310: second input unit
320: second controller 330: second heater

Claims (7)

A first input unit that generates an ignition or fire extinguishing signal, a first heater that is ignited when an ignition signal is generated from the input unit, and an MPU that drives a gas valve that opens and closes a gas pipe for supplying gas to the ignition unit; A mechanical cooking unit having a thermal electromotive force generation unit for driving the MPU by generating thermal electromotive force when the heater is ignited; and
A second input unit that operates separately from the first input unit and generates an operation signal, a second heater driven when an operation signal is generated from the second input unit, and controlling driving of the second heater according to a signal from the second input unit An electronic cooking unit having a second control unit to do;
including,
The second control unit
When a signal for recognizing whether or not the first heater is operating is received and an operation signal of the second heater is input while the first heater is operating, use of the second heater is restricted or the second heater is operated according to a preset limiting algorithm. 2 to control the heater
cooking device.
According to claim 1,
The mechanical cooking unit
A voltage amplification provided on a circuit connected from the thermal electromotive force generator to the MPU and connected to a first control unit to amplify the minute voltage generated by the thermal electromotive force generator to a voltage of a size recognizable by the first control unit include more wealth,
The signal for recognizing whether the first heater is operating is a voltage amplified by the voltage amplifying unit.
cooking device.
delete delete A first input unit that generates an ignition or fire extinguishing signal, a first heater that is ignited when an ignition signal is generated from the input unit, and an MPU that drives a gas valve that opens and closes a gas pipe for supplying gas to the ignition unit; When the heater is ignited, a thermal electromotive force generating unit generating thermal electromotive force to drive the MPU is provided on a circuit connected from the thermal electromotive force generating unit to the MPU and is connected to a first control unit. A mechanical cooking unit having a voltage amplifying unit for amplifying minute voltage; and a second input unit operating separately from the first input unit and generating an operation signal, a second heater driven when an operation signal is generated from the second input unit, and driving the second heater according to a signal from the second input unit. In the control method of a cooking apparatus comprising a; electronic cooking unit having a second control unit for controlling,
Driving the first heater (S100);
If the first heater is in operation, determining whether a fine salt voltage is generated in the first control unit (S200);
If the fine salt voltage is generated in the step S200, amplifying the voltage through the voltage amplifier in the first control unit (S300);
recognizing whether the first heater is operating by receiving the voltage amplified by the voltage amplifier by the second control unit (S400); and
If the operation of the first heater is recognized in the step S400, the second control unit restricts use of the second heater or operates according to a preset limiting algorithm (S500);
A control method of a cooking apparatus comprising a.
According to claim 5,
controlling, by the second controller, the second heater according to a pre-stored normal operation algorithm when the first heater is not driven in step S100 (S600);
further comprising
How to control cooking equipment. According to claim 5,
If the second controller does not recognize the operation of the first heater in step S400, the first controller or the second controller outputs an error code or a warning sound (S700);
A method of controlling a cooking apparatus further comprising a.

Images