KR20010011410A - Microwave oven having a menu selection key - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A microwave oven with hot key for menu selection is provided to achieve user convenience while reducing manufacturing cost by minimizing the size of a control panel. CONSTITUTION: A control panel of a microwave oven comprises a key input unit and a display unit(21). The key input unit includes hot keys such as an automatic cook set key(22a), a defrost set key(22b), a manual cook set key(22c), an output adjust set key(22d), an operation start key(22f), a cancel key(22g), an increasing key(22h), a check/mode switch key(22i), and a decreasing key(22j). The display unit displays time, and the selected function, type of cooking, and condition of cooking input from each key of the key input unit. The automatic cook set key is used when a user intends to cook the food for optimum period of cooking time. The manual cook set key allows the user to directly set the cooking time. The output adjust set key is used for controlling the intensity of the microwave output for cooking food stuff. The check/mode switch key is used for finally setting the selected function or switching the function. Increasing and decreasing keys allows the user to select menu in a convenient and easy manner. By increasing or decreasing numbers, the user changes menu and selects the desired menu.

Description

Microwave oven with menu selection shortcut {Microwave oven having a menu selection key}

The present invention relates to a microwave oven, and more particularly, to a microwave oven having a menu selection shortcut for facilitating selection of a menu according to various cooking functions of the microwave oven.

As is well known, a microwave oven is a device for heating / cooking food using microwaves generated from a magnetron. Such a microwave oven adjusts various conditions such as the output and cooking time of the microwave according to the user's intention in order to suit the optimum cooking state. In addition, the microwave oven provides a user convenience by displaying the user's operation state and the operation state thereof in numbers or letters.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing the appearance of a conventional microwave oven, and FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a control panel of a conventional microwave oven.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cooking chamber 11 is provided in the main body 10 of the microwave oven, and the rotating dish 12 in which the food is placed is provided in the cooking chamber 11. Reference numeral 13 denotes a door. The rotating plate 12 is rotated by a driving motor (not shown) of the bottom surface of the cooking chamber 11, so that microwaves emitted into the cooking chamber 11 are incident on the food evenly. The front side of the microwave oven is provided with a control panel 20 for adjusting various conditions such as the microwave output and cooking time. The control panel 20 includes a key input unit 22 for setting and inputting various conditions such as output adjustment, cooking function, operation start and cancellation, etc. of the microwave oven, and the conditions and the operation state according to the adjusted conditions and the like. The display unit 21 which displays numbers, various symbols, etc. is formed. In addition, the key input unit 22 includes an automatic cooking setting key 22a for setting automatic cooking, a thawing setting key 22b for setting thawing, a manual cooking setting key 22c for setting manual cooking, and an output of a microwave oven. Output adjustment setting key 22d for adjustment, numeric key 22e for inputting a number from 0 to 9, operation start key 22f for operating the microwave under the set conditions of the microwave, and canceling cooking The cooking cancel key 22g and the like are formed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating driving control of a microwave oven by the control panel of FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the microcomputer 30 receives an input from the key input unit 22, displays the input state on the display unit 21 as a number or a letter, and load load unit according to various selected conditions. Operate 40. The load driver 40 includes a conventional magnetron, a cooling fan, a lamp, a driving motor, and the like, which perform a cooking operation of a microwave oven.

However, in the control panel as described above, since the user must input the cooking conditions using the numeric keys, not only does the user require a lot of key manipulation but also the appearance is complicated and it is difficult to reduce the size of the control panel, thereby making it difficult to reduce the cost. There is a problem.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a microwave oven having a menu selection shortcut to facilitate the selection of the menu according to various cooking functions.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a conventional microwave oven.

2 is a view showing a control panel of a conventional microwave oven.

3 is a schematic control block diagram of the microwave oven of FIG.

4 is a front view showing a control panel of a microwave oven according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a schematic control block diagram of the microwave oven of FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: main body of the microwave oven 20, 50: control panel

21: display unit 22e: numeric keys

30, 35: microcomputer 22h: increase key

22i: OK / Mode switch key 22j: Decrease key

In order to achieve the above object, the microwave oven having a menu selection shortcut according to the present invention, in a microwave oven having a plurality of cooking functions, such as automatic cooking, manual cooking, thawing each having a variety of cooking conditions menu A shortcut key having a plurality of cooking function selection keys for selecting the plurality of cooking functions, and selecting and changing the menu with one touch when the cooking function selection key is selected; And a display unit for displaying the selected cooking function and the selected menu.

The various cooking condition menus are displayed on the display as a number, and the shortcut key includes an increase key for changing the number to a higher number and a decrease key for changing the number to a lower number. And is displayed on the display unit.

Therefore, the microwave oven is easy for the user to use, and the control panel is minimized to reduce the cost.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of a microwave oven having a menu selection shortcut according to the present invention. The same components as in the prior art will be described by applying the same reference numerals.

4 is a view showing the degree of accuracy of the control panel of the microwave oven according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing driving control of the microwave by the control panel of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, reference numeral 50 denotes a control panel of the microwave oven according to an embodiment of the present invention, 52 denotes a key input unit, and 21 denotes a display unit. The control panel 50 includes a key input unit 52 and a display unit 21. In addition, the key input unit 52 includes the automatic cooking setting key 22a, the thawing setting key 22b, the manual cooking setting key 22c, the output adjustment setting key 22d, the operation start key 22f, and the cancel key 22g. ), Increase key 22h, confirm / mode switch key 22i, and decrease key 22j. As shown in FIG. 5, 35 represents a microcomputer.

The display unit 21 displays time, selected functions input from each key of the key input unit 52, cooking type, cooking conditions, and the like.

The automatic cooking setting key 22a is used to cause the microwave to cook food for the most suitable time. That is, when the auto cooking setting key 22a is pressed, the user can make a desired menu, for example, popcorn, on a predetermined menu board set in the microcomputer 30, for example, making popcorn, warming up a drink, or steaming it. To select. When the user selects a menu, it automatically runs the microwave for the appropriate time for that menu. The menu panel usually displays a menu as numbers, for example, 1, 2, 3, ..., N, which are displayed on the display unit 21. Here, N corresponds to the preset total number of menus. The menu corresponding to these numbers is described in the user manual or in the control panel. Pressing the automatic cooking setting key 22a repeatedly changes the number on the display unit 21. This means a change in the menu. The user presses the confirmation / mode switching key 22i when the number corresponding to the desired menu is displayed. At this time, the desired menu is set, when the user presses the operation start key 22f, the microcomputer 35 cooks the food for a time suitable for the set menu, and when the user presses the cancel key 22g, Cancel the setting.

The thawing setting key 22b is used to thaw frozen food. When the user presses the thawing setting key 22b, as in the case of the automatic cooking setting key 22a, a menu which has already been set, for example, chicken, boneless meat, etc., is numerically displayed on the display unit 21. ) Is displayed. In addition, as in the case of the automatic cooking setting key 22a described above, when the thawing setting key 22b is repeatedly pressed, the menu is changed. The user can select a desired menu by pressing the confirmation / mode switching key 22i. When the user selects a desired menu, as another menu, the weight of the food to be thawed, for example, 100 g or 200 g, is selected. This menu is also displayed on the display unit 21 by number. The user selects the two menus sequentially and sets the selected menu by pressing the confirmation / mode switching key 22i. As described above, cooking is started or canceled using the operation start key 22f or the cancel key 22g.

Since the manual cooking setting key 22c allows a user to directly set a time for cooking food, no special menu is set in the microcomputer 35.

The output adjustment setting key 22d is used to adjust the intensity of the microwave output for cooking food. When the output adjustment setting key 22d is pressed, a menu for selecting a desired output intensity, for example, 100%, 80%, 60% output, etc., is displayed as a number. By repeatedly pressing the output adjustment setting key 22d, the number displayed on the display unit 21 changes. That is, a menu that can be selected by the user is changed. After the number indicating the desired output intensity is displayed, the user presses the confirm / mode switch key 22i to select the desired output intensity. The output adjustment setting key 22d may be used together with each of the automatic cooking setting key 22a, the thawing setting key 22b, and the manual cooking setting key 22c.

The increase key 22h or decrease key 22j is a shortcut key that facilitates menu selection with one touch. That is, at the time of menu selection, the number displayed on the display 21 is changed from a small number to a large number, for example, a menu selection in the upward direction, or moved from a large number to a small number, for example in a downward direction. Select and move the menu. This shift in the number means a change in the menu.

In addition, the confirmation / mode switching key 22i finally sets the cooking function selected by the user, such as automatic cooking, manual cooking, and the like, and a cooking menu, such as making popcorn, thawing weight, and the like. It is used to switch cooking functions and set the time.

Referring to the operation of the microwave oven according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

The user opens the door 13 of the microwave oven 10 and places the food on the rotary dish 12. In order to cook the food, the user presses an automatic cooking setting key 22a, a thawing setting key 22b, a manual cooking setting key 22c, or the like on the control panel 50, for example. For example, automatic cooking, manual cooking or thawing. Each cooking function includes various menus for optimum cooking according to the food. When the cooking function is selected, the microcomputer 35 displays a number corresponding to a menu basically set on the display unit 21. Various menus included in each cooking function are described above under the control of the microcomputer 35. Likewise displayed on the display unit 21 as a number. The user uses the above shortcut key, i.e., the increment key 22h or the decrease key 22j, to select the various menus as described above with one touch. That is, each time the increase key 22h is pressed, the microcomputer 35 displays a higher number than the number shown on the display unit 21, and whenever the decrease key 22i is pressed, the display unit 21 is displayed. The lower number is displayed. By using the above shortcut key, when the menu for each cooking function is selected, the user causes the microwave to start cooking after pressing the confirmation / mode switching key 22i or directly pressing the operation start key 22f.

As described above, according to the microwave oven having the menu selection shortcut according to the present invention, the user can select a menu for each cooking function by one touch using the shortcut. The use of these shortcuts provides a microwave oven that is easy for the user to use, resulting in cost savings by minimizing the control panel.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described specific preferred embodiments, and various modifications can be made by any person having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. Of course, such variations are within the scope of the claims as described.

Claims (3)

In the microwave oven having a plurality of cooking functions, such as automatic cooking, manual cooking, thawing, each having a variety of cooking conditions menu, A shortcut key having a plurality of cooking function selection keys for selecting the plurality of cooking functions, wherein the menu can be changed by one touch when the cooking function selection key is selected; And Microwave oven having a menu selection shortcut key comprising a display unit for displaying the selected cooking function and the selected menu. The method of claim 1, And the various cooking condition menus are displayed on the display unit as numbers. The method of claim 2, The shortcut key includes an increase key for changing a number to a higher number and a decrease key for changing a number to a lower number, and the change of the number is displayed on the display unit. microwave.