WO1995029572A1

WO1995029572A1 - Electrical cooking apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO1995029572A1
Application number: PCT/US1995/004748
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shimon Yahav; Yair Daar
Original assignee: Perelmuter, Bezalel; Lancet S.A.
Priority date: 1994-04-22
Filing date: 1995-04-18
Publication date: 1995-11-02
Also published as: IL109402A0; CA2188390A1; AU2357595A

Abstract

The invention discloses an electrical cooking appliance including a plurality of electrical heating elements (12) having a known maximum total wattage and an electrical power distribution apparatus (20) receiving electrical power from an electrical power source and distributing power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements (12) in accordance with an established priority when the electrical power available for distribution is less than the known maximum total wattage.

Description

ELECTRICAL COOKING APPARATUS

The present invention relates to electrical cooking appliances generally and more particularly to electrical stoves and stove tops and the operation there¬ of.

A great variety of electrical cooking appli¬ ances is known in the patent literature. Various arrange¬ ments for allocating electrical power to various heating elements in such appliances are shown in the following U.S. Patents: 3,610,886; 4,371,780; 4,482,800; 4,493,979; 4,527,049; 4,538,051; 4,634,843; 4,758,710; 4,810,857; 4,918,291; 4,948,949; 5,171,973; 5,183,996 and 5,270,519.

The present invention seeks to provide a multi¬ element electrical cooking appliance which is suitable for domestic applications wherein limited electrical power is available.

There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention an electri¬ cal cooking appliance including a plurality of electrical heating elements having a known maximum total wattage and electrical power distribution apparatus receiving elec¬ trical power from an electrical power source and distrib¬ uting power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with an established prior- ity when the electrical power available for distribution is less than the known maximum total wattage.

Preferably the distribution apparatus is re¬ sponsive both to real time inputs from an operator who selects which of the electrical heating elements are to be energized and desired heating levels for each and to the established priority which indicates the allocation of available electrical power in accordance with the real time inputs from the operator.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the real time inputs determine a real time total wattage which is less than or equal to the known maximum total wattage and wherein the distribu¬ tion apparatus is operative for distributing power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating ele¬ ments in accordance with the established priority when the electrical power available for distribution is less than the real time total wattage.

The established priority may be predetermined, fixed or selectable and changeable by the user.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, when sufficient electrical power is avail¬ able for heating all of the elements selected by the user to the indicated heating levels, full power is provided to such elements.

Preferably, the distribution apparatus is responsive additionally to the operative conditions of the plurality of electrical heating elements.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the operative conditions of the plurality of electrical heating elements at least par¬ tially determine an operative condition responsive total wattage which is less than or equal to the known maximum total wattage and wherein the distribution apparatus is operative for distributing power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with the established priority when the electrical power available for distribution is less than the operative condition responsive total wattage.

Further in accordance with a preferred embodi¬ ment of the present invention, the real time inputs and the operative conditions of the plurality of electrical heating elements at least partially determine an opera¬ tive condition and real time input responsive total wattage which is less than or equal to the known maximum total wattage and wherein the distribution apparatus is operative for distributing power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with the established priority when the electrical power available for distribution is less than the operative condition and real time input responsive total wattage.

The present invention also includes a method of operating an appliance employing the inventive features summarized hereinabove.

The term "operative condition" is defined herein in a broad sense to include, for example, the temperature of the electrical heating element, the power dissipated by the electrical heating element, the power drawn by the electrical heating element, the current and/or voltage supplied thereto and the electrical re¬ sistance presented by the electrical heating element.

Reference to "temperature" is to be understood in a broader than usual sense so as to refer broadly to sensing in any suitable manner of the temperature of the electrical heating elements or other parts of the cooking appliance in the vicinity thereof. This sensing may be carried out, for example, by the use of a thermistor or other temperature sensor, or alternatively by sensing the characteristics of the electrical power drawn by the heating element, its resistance or any other physical characteristic of the heating element. The purpose of causing the power distribution to be respon- sive to the sensed temperature may be to prevent over¬ heating of the heating element, its environs, a cooking vessel heated thereby or the contents thereof, or for any other reason, such as to reduce energy wastage.

The present invention will be more fully under¬ stood and appreciated from the following detailed de¬ scription, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a simplified pictorial illustration of cooking apparatus constructed and operative in accord¬ ance with a preferred embodiment of the present inven¬ tion;

Fig. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustra¬ tion of electrical power distribution apparatus useful in the operation of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a simplified power distribution diagram for the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2; Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C are power distribution diagrams for the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 for a given priority and for varying user inputs;

Figs. 5A, 5B and 5C are power distribution diagrams for the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 for the same priority as in Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C, taking into account operative conditions;

Figs. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D are power distribution diagrams for the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 for a given partial priority and varying user inputs;

Fig. 7 is a simplified illustration of a varia¬ tion of the apparatus of Fig. 1 wherein heating elements of non-identical power capacity are employed; Fig. 8 is a simplified power distribution diagram for the apparatus of Fig. 7;

Figs. 9A, 9B and 9C are power distribution diagrams for the apparatus of Fig. 8 for a given priority and for varying user inputs;

Fig. 10 is a schematic illustration of a pre¬ ferred embodiment of the circuitry of Fig. 2; and

Figs. 11A and 11B together define a schematic illustration of cooking element operating circuitry coupled to each cooking element and to the circuitry of Fig. 10.

Appendix A is a HEX dump of the software resi¬ dent in the circuitry of Fig. 10.

Reference is now made to Fig. 1, which is a simplified pictorial illustration of cooking apparatus constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The cooking appara¬ tus comprises a base 10 which may be mounted on a counter or any other suitable support (not shown) . Mounted on base 10 are a plurality of electrical heating elements 12, typically, but not necessarily four in number.

Electrical cooking elements 12 may be any suitable electrical resistance cooking elements, such as are found in conventional electric ranges and range tops. Alternatively they may be radiation cooking elements, such as those commercially available, inter alia from Sholtes of France. Preferably, but not necessarily, the electrical cooking elements 12 may be high efficiency cooking elements such as those described and claimed in U.S. Patent 5,221,829 of the present applicants/assignee, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by refer¬ ence.

A plurality of control assemblies 14 are pro¬ vided for enabling a user to select the amount of elec¬ trical power to be supplied to one or more of the cooking elements 12. For convenience, in Fig. 1, the four cooking elements are individually designated as cooking elements A, B, C and D. Control assemblies 14 are likewise designated by the letters A, B, C and D to indicate which control assembly 14 controls which cooking element 12.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in cases when the available elec¬ tric power is not sufficient, the supply of electrical power to the individual cooking elements is not deter¬ mined solely by the user's operation of the control assemblies 14, but is also dependent upon a preselected priority among the individual cooking elements 12.

This priority is established either at the factory or upon installation of the unit by employing of a priority select control panel 16. Panel 16 is normally not accessible to the user during normal use of the cooking apparatus. According to an alternative embodi¬ ment of the present invention, the priority may be se¬ lected or modified by the user after installation. In such a case, user access to panel 16 is provided.

Electrical power is supplied to the cooking apparatus from the electrical mains and preferably from a single phase electrical source via an ordinary line cord 18. Line cord 18 supplies electrical power to power distribution apparatus 20 which is responsive to the user inputs at control assemblies 14 and the priority established at panel 16 to govern the power supply to the individual cooking elements 12.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but not necessarily, the power distribution apparatus 20 may also be responsive to the sensed operative conditions of the individual cooking elements 12, indicated schematically by sensing apparatus 22 associated with each cooking element 12.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2, which is a simplified block diagram illustration of the electrical power distribution apparatus 20 useful in the apparatus of Fig. 1. The apparatus of Fig. 2 includes a CPU 30 which receives user inputs from control assemblies 14, priority inputs from priority select control panel 16 and optionally receives cooking element operative conditions inputs from sensors 22. The CPU 30, whose operation will be described hereinbelow in greater detail, is operative to provide control inputs to a plurality of relays 32, designated individually A, B, C and D to correspond to the cooking elements 12. The relays 32 receive electrical power from the mains and supply it in a controlled manner to corresponding cooking elements 12.

Reference is now made to Fig. 3 which is a simplified power distribution diagram for the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2. The diagram of Fig. 3 indicates that for a particular, non-limiting example, each cooking element is allocated not more than 1500 Watts of electri¬ cal power at any given time. Thus, if a total of 3000 Watts of electrical power is available to the cooking apparatus of Fig. 1, only two cooking elements receive power at any given instant in time.

Power switching between cooking elements 12 occurs in cycles, each typically having four time seg¬ ments, during each of which electrical power may be directed to a different cooking element by relays 32. It is appreciated that each cycle may include any desired suitable number of time segments, lesser or greater than four in number. A typical cycle has a duration of a few seconds. Normally the cycle is divided into at least ten time segments. A lesser number is shown and described herein for the sake of clarity and conciseness.

Reference is now made to Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C, which are power distribution diagrams for the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 for a given priority and for varying user inputs and when operative conditions sensing inputs are not employed. The example illustrated by Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C is one in which cooking element A has absolute priority over cooking element B, which in turn has abso¬ lute priority over cooking element C. Cooking element C has absolute priority over cooking element D. For the purposes of explanation and illustration it is assumed that a total of 3000 Watts of power is available to the cooking apparatus and each cooking element can receive no more than 1500 Watts at any given time.

Fig. 4A illustrates operation of the power distribution apparatus 20 in general and of CPU 30 in particular when the user inputs at the control assemblies 14 are as follows:

CONTROL I.D. CONTROL SETTING

A 5.0

B 7.5

C 7.5

D 10.0

A setting of 10.0 corresponds to a full allot¬ ment of 1500 Watts over an entire cycle, a setting of 5.0 corresponds to a full allotment of 1500 Watts over half of an entire cycle, etc.

It is seen that notwithstanding the limited availability of electrical power and in accordance with the established priority, cooking element A receives its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over two of four of the time segments of each cycle. Similarly, notwithstanding the limited availability of electrical power and in accordance with the established priority, each of cooking elements B and C receives its full re¬ quested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over three of four of the time segments of each cycle.

Due to the limited availability of electrical power and in accordance with the established priority, cooking element D does not receive its full requested power allotment, since no power remains available.

The power allocation illustrated in Fig. 4A continues so long as there is no change in the user input at the control assemblies 14 and no change in the estab¬ lished priority.

Referring now to Fig. 4B, it is seen that when there is a change in the user input at the control assem¬ blies 14, the power distribution changes accordingly. Here it is seen that cooking element A is turned off by the user. Accordingly, the power that was previously directed to cooking element A is now available for allo¬ cation to cooking element D, which receives one-half of its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over two of four of the time segments of each cycle.

Referring now to Fig. 4C, it is seen that when there is a further change in the user input at the con¬ trol assemblies 14, the power distribution again changes accordingly. Here it is seen that cooking element B is also turned off by the user. Accordingly, the power that was previously directed to cooking element B is now available for redistribution and allocation to cooking element D, which receives all of its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over all four of the time segments of each cycle. In this case, some of the avail¬ able electrical power is not used.

It is noted that at no time is more than 3000 Watts of electrical power drawn from the mains and that all allocations of power are carried out by time division of the supply of power in quantities of 1500 Watts.

Reference is now made to Figs. 5A, 5B and 5C, which are power distribution diagrams for the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 for a given priority and for varying user inputs and when operative conditions sensing inputs are employed. The priority is exactly the same as in the example illustrated in Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C, i.e. cooking element A has absolute priority over cooking element B, which in turn has absolute priority over cooking element C. Cooking element C has absolute priority over cooking element D.

As in the example shown in Figs. 4A - 4C, for the purposes of explanation and illustration it is as¬ sumed that a total of 3000 Watts of power is available to the cooking apparatus and each cooking element can re¬ ceive no more than 1500 Watts at any given time.

Fig. 5A illustrates operation of the power distribution apparatus 20 in general and of CPU 30 in particular when the user inputs at the control assemblies 14 are as follows: CONTROL I.D. CONTROL SETTING

A 10.0

B 7.5

C 7.5

D 10.0

It is seen that notwithstanding the limited availability of electrical power and in accordance with the established priority, cooking element A receives its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over all four of the time segments of each cycle. Similarly, notwithstanding the limited availability of electrical power and in accordance with the established priority, cooking element B receives its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over three of four of the time segments of each cycle.

Due to the limited availability of electrical power and in accordance with the established priority, cooking element C receives only part of its full request¬ ed power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over one of four of the time segments of each cycle, since no additional power remains available.

Cooking element D does not receive its full requested power allotment, since no power remains avail¬ able.

The power allocation illustrated in Fig. 5A continues so long as there is no change in the user input at the control assemblies 14, no change in the estab¬ lished priority and no effective change in the cooking element operative conditions inputs.

Referring now to Fig. 5B, it is seen that when there is an effective change in the operative conditions input to CPU 30, the power distribution changes accord¬ ingly. The term "effective change" is used here to denote the exceedance of a predetermined threshold which causes the CPU 30 to cut down or cut off the power supply to the corresponding cooking element.

Here it is seen that when the operative condi¬ tions of the cooking element A exceed a predetermined threshold resulting in a predetermined cut down of electrical power thereto, the power that was previously directed to cooking element A is now available for redis¬ tribution to cooking element C and D. Cooking element C now receives all of its full required power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over three of four of the time segments of each cycle and cooking element D now receives one- quarter of its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over one of four of the time segments of each cycle.

Referring now to Fig. 5C, it is seen that when there is a further change in the effective operative conditions input to the CPU 30, the power distribution again changes accordingly. Here it is seen if the opera¬ tive conditions of cooking element A change sufficiently so that full electric power supply thereto is recom¬ menced, the power that was previously redistributed to cooking elements C and D is now made available once again to cooking element A, in a time distribution which typi¬ cally is identical to that shown in Fig. 5A, in accord¬ ance with the predetermined priority.

Reference is now made to Figs. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D, which are power distribution diagrams for the appara¬ tus of Figs. 1 and 2 for a different priority from that illustrated in Figs. 4A - 5C and for varying user inputs and when operative conditions sensing inputs are not employed.

The example illustrated by Figs. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D is one in which cooking element A has priority over cooking element B, which in turn has priority over cook¬ ing element C. Cooking element C has priority over cook¬ ing element D. The priorities are not, however, absolute, as in the case illustrated in Figs. 4A - 5C. Rather, notwithstanding the priority, each of the cooking ele¬ ments is guaranteed availability of a portion of its full power allotment in accordance with the following table: COOKING ELEMENT % GUARANTEED

A 75%

B 75%

C 25%

25*

For the purposes of explanation and illustra¬ tion it is assumed that a total of 3000 Watts of power is available to the cooking apparatus and each cooking element can receive no more than 1500 Watts at any given time.

Fig. 6A illustrates operation of the power distribution apparatus 20 in general and of CPU 30 in particular when the user inputs at the control assemblies 14 are as follows:

CONTROL I.D. CONTROL SETTING

A 10.0

B 10.0

C 0.0

D 0.0

A setting of 10.0 corresponds to a full allot¬ ment of 1500 Watts over an entire cycle.

It is seen that notwithstanding the established priority, since sufficient power is available to meeting the user inputs, each of cooking elements A and B re¬ ceives its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over all four of the time segments of each cycle. The power allotment guaranteed to cooking elements C and D but not requested, is thus utilized by cooking elements A and B.

The power allocation illustrated in Fig. 6A continues so long as there is no change in the user input at the control assemblies 14 and no change in the estab¬ lished priority.

Referring now to Fig. 6B, it is seen that when there is a change in the user input at the control assem¬ blies 14, the power distribution changes accordingly. Here it is seen that cooking element C is turned on by the user to a setting 10.0. Accordingly, some of the power that was previously directed to cooking element B is allocated to cooking element C, which receives its guaranteed power allocation, in this case one-quarter of its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over one of four of the time segments of each cycle. Cooking element B gives up power rather than cooking element A in accordance with the established priority.

Referring now to Fig. 6C, it is seen that when there is a further change in the user input at the con¬ trol assemblies 14, the power distribution again changes accordingly. Here it is seen that cooking element D is also turned on by the user to a setting 10.0. According¬ ly, some of the power that was previously directed to cooking element A is allocated to cooking element D, which receives its guaranteed power allocation, in this case one-quarter of its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1500 Watts over one of four of the time segments of each cycle. It is seen that in this situation, each cooking element receives its guaranteed allocation.

Referring now to Fig. 6D, it is seen that when there is yet a further change in the user input at the control assemblies 14, the power distribution once again changes accordingly. Here it is seen that cooking element A is turned off by the user. Accordingly, the power that was previously directed to cooking element A is allocated to other cooking elements in accordance with the estab¬ lished priority. Thus cooking element B receives its full requested allocation, i.e. 1500 Watts over all four of the time segments of each cycle and cooking element C receives most of its requested allocation, i.e. 1500 Watts over three of the four time segments of each cycle. It is seen that in this situation, each cooking element receives at least its guaranteed allocation to the extent requested.

Reference is now made to Fig. 7, which is a simplified pictorial illustration of part of cooking apparatus constructed and operative in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. The cooking apparatus may be identical to that illustrat¬ ed in Fig. 1 and described hereinabove, with the sole exception that here, cooking element A has twice the output capacity of each of the remaining cooking elements B, C and D. Thus, if each of cooking elements B, C and D is arranged to receive up to 1000 Watts at any given time, cooking element A is arranged to receive up to 2000 Watts at any given time.

Reference is now made to Fig. 8 which is a simplified power distribution diagram for the apparatus of Fig. 7. The diagram of Fig. 8 indicates that for a particular, non-limiting example, each of cooking ele¬ ments B, C and D is allocated not more than 1000 Watts of electrical power at any given time and cooking element A is allocated not more than 2000 Watts of electrical power at any given time. Thus if only 3000 Watts of electrical power is available at any given time, all of the cooking elements cannot be operated at full capacity at the same time.

Reference is now made to Figs. 9A, 9B and 9C, which are power distribution diagrams for the apparatus of Fig. 7 for a given priority and for varying user inputs and when operative conditions sensing inputs are not employed. The example illustrated by Figs. 9A, 9B and 9C is one in which cooking element A has absolute priori¬ ty over cooking element B, which in turn has absolute priority over cooking element C. Cooking element C has absolute priority over cooking element D.

Fig. 9A illustrates operation of the power distribution apparatus 20 in general and of CPU 30 in particular when the user inputs at the control assemblies 14 are as follows:

CONTROL I.D. CONTROL SETTING

A 20.0

B 10.0

C 10.0

D 10.0

A setting of 20.0 for cooking element A corre¬ sponds to a full allotment of 2000 Watts over an entire cycle, and a setting of 10.0 for cooking elements B, C and D corresponds to a full allotment of 1000 Watts over an entire cycle.

It is seen that notwithstanding the limited availability of electrical power and in accordance with the established priority, cooking element A receives its full requested power allotment, i.e. 2000 Watts over all four of the time segments of each cycle. Similarly, notwithstanding the limited availability of electrical power and in accordance with the established priority, cooking element B receives its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1000 Watts over all four of the time segments of each cycle.

Due to the limited availability of electrical power and in accordance with the established priority, cooking elements C and D do not receive their full re¬ quested power allotment, since no power remains avail¬ able.

The power allocation illustrated in Fig. 9A continues so long as there is no change in the user input at the control assemblies 14 and no change in the estab¬ lished priority. Referring now to Fig. 9B, it is seen that when there is a change in the user input at the control assem¬ blies 14, the power distribution changes accordingly. Here it is seen that the power requested by the user at cooking element B is reduced. Accordingly, the power that was previously directed to cooking element B is now available for allocation to cooking element C, which receives one-half of its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1000 Watts over two of four of the time segments of each cycle.

Referring now to Fig. 9C, it is seen that when there is a further change in the user input at the con¬ trol assemblies 14, the power distribution again changes accordingly. Here it is seen that the power requested by the user at cooking element A is also reduced. According¬ ly, the power that was previously directed to cooking element A is now available for redistribution and alloca¬ tion to cooking element C, which now receives its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1000 Watts over all four time segments of each cycle, and to cooking element D which receives one half of its full requested power allotment, i.e. 1000 Watts over two of the four time segments of each cycle.

It is noted that at no time is more than 3000 Watts of electrical power drawn from the mains and that all allocations of power are carried out by time division of the supply of power.

Reference is now made to Fig. 10 which is a self-explanatory schematic illustration of a preferred embodiment of the circuitry of Fig. 2. The circuitry of Fig. 10 includes a microprocessor 90, preferably a Moto¬ rola MC 68705R5. A HEX dump in Motorola S Record Format of a preferred embodiment of the operating software resident in the microprocessor 90 is incorporated herein in Appendix A. The circuitry of Fig. 10 and the software employed therein includes the provision of an optional timer function which enables automatic turning off of a cooking element after a preset time.

Reference is now made to Figs. 11A and 11B, which together define a self-explanatory schematic illus¬ tration of a preferred embodiment of cooking element operating circuitry which is coupled to each cooking element and to the circuitry of Fig. 10, as indicated thereon.

It is to be appreciated that systems combining features from the various embodiments illustrated and described herein are also within the scope of the inven¬ tion.

It will be appreciated that the present inven¬ tion is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims which follow:

Appendix A

S00600004Θ44521 B

S12301 OOB742A44A2704A609B700B642A1402604A640B700B642A1412604A64FB700B6421

S1230120A1422604A624B700B642A1432604A630B700B642A1442604A619B700B642A1453F

S12301402604A612B700B642A1462604A603B700B642A1472604A678B700B642A1482602B1

S12301603FOOB642A1492604A618B700B642A4402604A6FFB70081011219B612AA70B71201

S1230180BE10E614A10926046F142007BE10E6144CE714B610A105260997E614A10626020B

S 2301 A06F1481 B743A45027090D03043C3F20023F3FB63FA1 FA260C3F3F3C3EB63EA1089

S12301 C026023F3E81 A601 B7443F10B610A1062303CC035AA6FFB702BE10E614B7453D10D

S12301 E02608B639A10126023F45B610A 04240CB63BA1012606BE10E61 FB745B612B444A7

S1230200272AB644A4FE26083D392704B63A27021C45B610A10424124D26043D39260BBE2

S12302201058A607E72EA608E72F2024B610A104241 E9758E62EB72CE62FB72D2712B63AD

S1230240B72D3F2C4D2A034AB72C2704A64AB7453D3F270CB610A1052606B63EAA40B745

S1230260B645CD0100B602B844B702B644CD01A30B0308B636BA44B7362008B644A8FFB46

S123028036B736B636B1372708B644B436B812B712B636B737B603A450275EB613B44427C

S12302A0583F3BA601 B740A62CB741 B644A8FFB413B7130D0305CD0177202EB63EA401266

S12302C015BE10E6142606A609E7142007BE10E6144AE7142013BE10E614A10926046F14E1

S12302E02007BE10E6144CE7143D10260CB63927083F14B612A40EB712053E0CB612B4448

S12303002604BE106F142028B610A4042618BE10E614260AB644A8FFB412B7122006B61254

S1230320BA44B712200AB612B4442604B E106F14B612A4012606B612A40FB712B603A45003

S12303402606B613BA44B713A60AB746B6463A464D26F93C103844CC01 CB813F10B610A1 B

S12303600322409758E62EB72CE62FB72DBA2C272EBE1058E62FA001 E72F24026A2E3D10F

S1230380261 DBE1058E62EB72CE62FB72DA1B0260EB62CA1042608B612A40EB7123F143CF

S12303A01020BA0912043C3820023F38B638A13C26263F383D1A261EA609B71A3D192612E

S12303COA605B7193D1826063F193F1A20023A1820023A1920023A1AB61A260EB619260AOA

S12303E0B6182606B612A41026043F392004A601 B739813F47B603B7493D2B265DA609B715

S 2304002B3F10B610A103224997E61 BE027E71 FBE10E61 F2A026F1 FB63EA402260CB63D98

S1230420B1102306BE10E614E71 FB63EA402260C3D102608B6392704BE106F1 FBE10E6236C

S1230440E727BE10E614E723BE10E614E71B3C1020B1B63CB73DA6FFB73C3A2BB63CA1FF

S12304602714A601 BE3C2704485A26FCB4032706BE3CE6232634B63CA880A1832506A6045

S1230480B73C2026B63C4CB710B610A103221 BA604B73C3D1026043D39260BBE10E62327B

S12304A0059FB73C20043C1020DFB63CA1042703976A23B63DA1FF271AB63CB13D2714A6B

S12304C001BE3D2704485A26FCB4032706BE3DE6272634B63DA880A1832506A604B73D20B

S12304E026B63D4CB710B610A103221 BA604B73D3D1026043D39260BBE10E62727059FB70

S12305003D20043C1020DFB63DA1042703976A27B601B748A4FOB748B63CA104270EA6018

S1230520BE3C2704485A26FCBA48B748B63DA104270EA601 BE3D2704485A26FCBA48B748

S1230540B648B7018181A6FFB704B705B706B7133F123F2B3F3E3F363F373F113F38A60AA2

S1230560B74A3F393F4B3F413F403F10B610A1062217976F14B610A403B74C976F1 FBE4CC7

S1230580586F2E6F2F3C1020E33D4B261 OA696B74BB63A27043F3A2004A601 B73AB640BA7

S12305A0412618B63B270A3F40A625B7413F3B200A3F40A6E9B741 A601 B73B3D112607A6F0

S12305C02CB711 CD03F33D4A2607A66FB74ACD035B3A11 B641 A001 B74124023A403A4A3A3

S11 D05E04BCD01 C520A380AE107F5CA37F26FAA607B73CA607B73DCC0546A9

S1050FFE05E701

S1041 FDF00FD

S9030000FC

Claims

C L A I M S

1. An electrical cooking appliance including a plurality of electrical heating elements having a known maximum total wattage and electrical power distribution apparatus receiving electrical power from an electrical power source and distributing power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with an established priority when the electrical power available for distribution is less than the known maximum total wattage.

2. An appliance according to claim 1 and wherein the distribution apparatus is responsive both to real time inputs from an operator who selects which of said electrical heating elements are to be energized and desired heating levels for each and to the established priority which indicates the allocation of available electrical power in accordance with the real time inputs from. the operator.

3. An appliance according to claim 2 and wherein said real time inputs determine a real time total wattage which is less than or equal to said known maximum total wattage and wherein said distribution apparatus is opera¬ tive for distributing power to plural ones of the plural¬ ity of electrical heating elements in accordance with said established priority when the electrical power available for distribution is less than said real time total wattage.

4. An appliance according to any of claims 1 - 3 and wherein said established priority is predetermined.

5. An appliance according to any of claims 1 - 3 and wherein said established priority is fixed.

6. An appliance according to any of claims 1 - 3 and wherein said established priority is selectable and changeable by the user.

7. An appliance according to any of the preceding claims and being operative such that when sufficient electrical power is available for heating all of the elements selected by the user to the indicated heating levels, full power is provided to such elements.

8. An appliance according to any of the preceding claims and wherein said distribution apparatus is respon¬ sive additionally to the operative conditions of the plurality of electrical heating elements.

9. An appliance according to claim 8 and wherein the operative conditions of the plurality of electrical heating elements at least partially determine an opera¬ tive condition responsive total wattage which is less than or equal to said known maximum total wattage and wherein said distribution apparatus is operative for distributing power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with said established priority when the electrical power available for distribution is less than said operative condition responsive total wattage.

10. An appliance according to claim 2 and claim 8 and wherein the real time inputs and the operative condi¬ tions of the plurality of electrical heating elements at least partially determine an operative condition and real time input responsive total wattage which is less than or equal to said known maximum total wattage and wherein said distribution apparatus is operative for distributing power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with said established priority when the electrical power available for distri¬ bution is less than said operative condition and real time input responsive total wattage.

11. A method of operating an electrical cooking appliance including a plurality of electrical heating elements having a known maximum total wattage comprising the steps of: defining an established priority for supply of electrical power to individual ones of said plurality of electrical heating elements; and distributing electrical power from an electri¬ cal power source to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with said established priority when the electrical power available for distribution is less than the known maximum total wattage.

12. A method according to claim 11 and wherein said distributing step is responsive both to real time inputs from an operator who selects which of said electrical heating elements are to be energized and desired heating levels for each and to the established priority which indicates the allocation of available electrical power in accordance with the real time inputs from the operator.

13. A method according to claim 12 and wherein said real time inputs determine a real time total wattage which is less than or equal to said known maximum total wattage and wherein said distributing step includes distributing power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with said established priority when the electrical power available for distribution is less than said real time total watt¬ age.

14. A method according to any of claims 11 - 13 and wherein said established priority is predetermined.

15. A method according to any of claims 11 - 13 and wherein said established priority is fixed.

16. A method according to any of claims 11 - 13 and wherein said established priority is selectable and changeable by the user.

17. A method according to any of the preceding claims 11 - 16 and wherein when sufficient electrical power is available for heating all of the elements se¬ lected by the user to the indicated heating levels, full power is provided to such elements.

18. A method according to any of the preceding claims 11 - 17 and wherein said distributing step is responsive additionally to the operative conditions of the plurality of electrical heating elements.

19. A method according to claim 18 and wherein the operative conditions of the plurality of electrical heating elements at least partially determine an opera¬ tive condition responsive total wattage which is less than or equal to said known maximum total wattage and wherein said distributing step is operative for distrib¬ uting power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with said established priority when the electrical power available for distri¬ bution is less than said operative condition responsive total wattage.

20. A method according to claim 12 and claim 18 and wherein the real time inputs and the operative conditions of the plurality of electrical heating elements at least partially determine an operative condition and real time input responsive total wattage which is less than or equal to said known maximum total wattage and wherein said distributing step is operative for distributing power to plural ones of the plurality of electrical heating elements in accordance with said established priority when the electrical power available for distri¬ bution is less than said operative condition and real time input responsive total wattage.