JPH06159687A - Microwave oven - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control heating of each heating chamber partitioned by an intermediate partition in a microwave oven having an intermediate partition detachable in a heating warehouse. CONSTITUTION:A microwave oven comprises heating high frequency generating means 8, 10 independently controllable at each of a plurality of heating chambers formed by an intermediate partition 6, first type sensing means 9 for sensing presence/absence of the partition 6, second type sensing means 13, 15 for sensing gas and/or steam generated from a matter 55 to be heated provided in the respective chambers, third type sensing means 32, 33 for sensing presence/absence of the matter to be heated in the chambers, and fourth type sensing means 24, 25 for sensing which of metal and dielectric material is the material of the partition.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microwave oven for cooking, and more particularly, it is possible to form a plurality of heating chambers in a heating cabinet by providing removable horizontal or vertical partitions. Regarding the microwave oven that can.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a large amount of food is heated at a time in a microwave oven or the like, if foods are stacked and heated, heating unevenness is likely to occur in each food. Therefore, in order to reduce uneven heating, the inside of the heating chamber is divided into multiple layers, and the food is placed so that they do not adhere to each other and heated, so that a large amount of food is cooked with less uneven heating. Further, in the conventional two-tube microwave oven, since the output of one magnetron is insufficient, only two magnetrons operate simultaneously in parallel,
The oscillation was started at the same time and stopped at the same time.

[0003]

In the conventional microwave oven, as shown in FIG. 15, for example, one or two magnetrons are provided from each power supply port of the heating chamber which is vertically partitioned by a horizontal partition plate. At the same time, the microwave for heating was supplied.

For this reason, even if the types of heated foods are the same in the upper and lower heating chambers, if the foods in the respective heating chambers have different quantities, the heating chambers with a small quantity of foods have already been heated. However, there is a problem that the heating chamber with a large amount of food is not yet sufficiently heated.

Further, in the conventional microwave oven, when different cooking is performed in the upper and lower heating chambers, microwaves are simultaneously supplied to the upper and lower heating chambers to perform heating, so that the cooking time for each heating chamber is different. . For this reason, it is difficult to take out the food after heating, and the food is taken out by vague judgment based on personal intuition, so that there is a problem that the finish of cooking varies.

[0006] Even if it is properly heated, the notification sound for finishing is sounded continuously or intermittently for several seconds, but if the sound is missed, a small monitor lamp will indicate that cooking is completed. Only
There is a problem that the cooked food may be left in the heating chamber.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to automatically detect objects to be heated in a plurality of heating chambers partitioned by a microwave oven partition, and to perform heating chambers requiring heating. Automatically determines the heating of the corresponding heating chamber, and automatically determines the heating chamber that has been heated or adjusted, stops heating of the corresponding heating chamber, and finishes heating or cooking. To inform the user of the heating chamber in an easy-to-understand way.

[0008]

In the present invention, the presence or absence of a partition in a microwave oven in which a plurality of heating chambers can be formed in the heating cabinet by providing a detachable partition in the heating cabinet. When the presence of a partition in the heating chamber is detected, the first type of detection means for detecting
The above problem is solved by independently controlling each heating high-frequency generating means.

Further, according to the present invention, in the microwave oven, a second kind of gas for detecting gas and / or water vapor generated from the object to be heated is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of heating chambers formed by the partition. Equipped with detection means, each second
The above problem is solved by making it possible to control the corresponding heating high-frequency generating means based on the detection information from the seed detecting means.

Further, according to the present invention, in the microwave oven, a third type for detecting whether or not there is an object to be heated in the heating chamber is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of heating chambers formed by the partition. The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing detection means, and being able to control the heating high-frequency generation means based on the detection information from each detection means.

Further, in the present invention, the microwave oven is provided with a fourth type detecting means for detecting whether the material of the partition is a metal or a dielectric, and the detecting means is the fourth type detecting means. The above problem is solved by making it possible to control the heating high-frequency generating means based on the material of the partition formed.

Further, in the microwave oven of the present invention, the fourth kind of detecting means for detecting the material of the partition can be means for detecting the presence or absence of the high frequency wave for heating which penetrates the partition. Further, in the microwave oven of the present invention, the fourth type detecting means for detecting the material of the partition can be a means for measuring the electric resistance between two points of the partition. Also,
In the microwave oven of the present invention, the fourth type detecting means for detecting the material of the partition may be a convex portion or a concave portion provided on the partition.

Further, in the present invention, in the microwave oven, an interior lighting lamp is provided for each of a plurality of heating chambers formed by partitioning, and the blinking of each interior lighting lamp causes a corresponding heating chamber interior. The problem is solved by notifying the completion of heating or cooking of the object to be heated.

[0014]

In the microwave oven of the present invention, dedicated heating high-frequency generating means is provided for each of the plurality of heating chambers partitioned by the removable partitions. Furthermore, a food sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the object to be heated and / or a gas sensor for detecting gas and / or water vapor generated from the object to be heated are provided for each of the plurality of heating chambers. The inside of this microwave oven is divided into multiple heating chambers, and when heating or cooking different types of food or different amounts of food in each heating chamber, the gas sensor indicates the heating or cooking status of the food in each heating chamber. Can be detected with. By this, the size of the load is judged for each heating chamber to control the high-frequency generation output for heating, or the end of heating or cooking is detected,
It is possible to stop the corresponding high frequency heating for heating in each heating chamber.

Further, it is provided with both a metal partition and a dielectric partition, and it is detected that the partition is a metal partition by a fourth type detecting means for detecting the material of the partition. Sometimes, each heating chamber is controlled completely independently, and when it is detected that it is partitioned by a dielectric partition, high-frequency output means on both sides of the partition work together to output a powerful high-frequency output for a short time. You can heat or cook at.

In addition, the end of the cooking can be notified by blinking the interior lighting provided in each heating chamber based on the end of the heating or the cooking detected by the timer or the food sensor. Can be taken out.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In an external view common to the embodiments shown in FIG. 2, there is a door 1 that can be opened and closed in front of the microwave oven, and a control unit 3 on the right side thereof. When the door 1 is opened, the inside is a heating compartment 2 which can be partitioned. FIG. 1 shows a vertical cross section common to the embodiments. Inside the heating cabinet 50, there are oven plates 4 fixed on the upper and lower surfaces, and the central partition plate 6 that can horizontally divide the center of the oven and divide it into an upper heating chamber 51 and a lower heating chamber 52 becomes detachable. ing.
The state of attachment / detachment of the intermediate partition plate 6 is detected by the intermediate partition sensor 9. The heating magnetrons are an upper magnetron 8 and a lower magnetron 1 that can operate independently.
0, and microwaves can be sent to the upper heating chamber 51 and the lower heating chamber 52 by the upper waveguide 7 and the lower waveguide 11, respectively.

FIG. 3 shows a vertical cross section of the heating chamber of the first embodiment. The vertical section of FIG. 3 is a section in a direction perpendicular to the vertical section of FIG. Shelf receivers 5 for supporting the partition plates 6 are provided on the left and right sides of the heating chamber shown in FIG. Further, in order to ventilate the upper heating chamber 51 and the lower heating chamber 52 which are partitioned by the intermediate partition plate, respectively, the upper intake port 1
6, a lower intake port 17, an upper exhaust duct 12, and a lower exhaust duct 14 are provided. Also, the upper exhaust duct 12,
Each of the lower exhaust ducts 14 has an upper gas sensor 1
3. The lower gas sensor 15 is provided to detect gas and / or water vapor generated from heated food.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the partition plate is not used, the partition sensor 9 informs the control unit 3 that there is no partition plate. At this time, the control unit 3 can simultaneously operate the upper and lower magnetrons 8 and 10 according to the load. At this time, the finish of heating or cooking is judged by the detection output of the upper gas sensor 13 (or only one of the lower gas sensor 15).

When the partition plate 6 is provided as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the partition plate 9 is detected by the partition sensor 9, and the upper and lower heating chambers can operate independently. That is, the contents of the upper heating chamber 51 are heated by the upper magnetron 8 controlled by the detection information of the upper gas sensor 13, and the contents of the lower heating chamber 52 are heated by the lower magnetron 10 controlled by the detection information of the lower gas sensor 15. It

As shown in FIG. 4, when an equal amount of the object to be heated is placed in the upper heating chamber 51 and the lower heating chamber 52, the upper and lower gas sensors 13 and 15 detect the finish almost at the same time. , The upper and lower heating chambers 51, as shown in FIG.
When the amount of the object to be heated is different at 52, if the outputs of the upper and lower magnetrons 8 and 10 are equal, the amount of the object to be heated in the upper heating chamber 51 which is naturally small is quickly heated. Therefore, a large amount of gas or water vapor is generated earlier, so the upper gas sensor 13 detects earlier and stops the oscillation operation of the upper magnetron 8.

However, since the amount of material to be heated in the lower heating chamber 52 is large, the lower magnetron 10 must continue to operate. Not only when the partition plate 6 is a dielectric plate but also when the operation of the upper magnetron 8 is stopped, the object to be heated in the upper heating chamber 51 is slightly heated when the lower magnetron 10 is operating. Therefore, it is preferable to stop the operation of the upper magnetron 8 a little earlier than the case where the upper heating chamber 51 is heated alone. When there is the intermediate partition plate 6 and the object to be heated exists only on one side, the upper and lower magnetrons 8 and 10 simultaneously operate simultaneously, but since the heating chamber without the object to be heated does not generate water vapor or gas. A signal is not obtained from the gas sensor 13 or 15, and the control unit 3 determines that there is no load and stops the oscillation of the magnetron having no load.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of automatic heating by the gas sensor of the first embodiment. First, the presence or absence of the partition plate 6 is detected by the partition sensor 9 (S2).
05). When the partition plate 6 is not provided, only one menu data is input in the heating menu input (S25
0). Next, when the start switch is pressed, the upper magnetron 8 and the lower magnetron 10 simultaneously start oscillating, and simultaneously start heating the inside of the heating chamber through the upper waveguide 7 and the lower waveguide 11 (S255). After that, when heating or cooking progresses, the upper gas sensor 13 detects the finished gas concentration according to the inputted menu (S26
0), the upper magnetron 8 and the lower magnetron 10 are stopped at the same time (S265), and the operation ends.

On the other hand, when the partition plate 6 is provided,
In the menu input, each menu of the upper heating chamber 51 and the lower heating chamber 52 is input (S210). Then
When the start switch is pressed, the upper magnetron 8 and the lower magnetron 10 simultaneously start oscillating, and the heating chambers 5 through the upper waveguide 7 and the lower waveguide 11 respectively.
The heating of Nos. 1 and 52 is started at the same time (S215). After the heating is started, the upper gas sensor 13 and the lower gas sensor 15 independently monitor the finish of heating or cooking in the corresponding heating chambers, and when the gas concentrations corresponding to the inputted menus are detected (S220, S230), they respectively respond. The heating of the heating chamber is stopped (S225, S235), and the operation of the microwave oven ends.

When the heating chamber is partitioned by the metal plate 6A as shown in FIG. 7, the volume of the heating chamber becomes small, and the metal plate 6A easily reflects microwaves and does not transmit microwaves, resulting in less energy loss and efficiency. Good heating can be done. When there is no load in the space closed by the metal partition like the lower heating chamber 52 in FIG. 7, the magnetron provided there is stopped oscillating. When the partition of FIG. 8 is the dielectric plate 6B, the plate absorbs part of the microwave energy to generate heat, so that the energy supplied by the upper magnetron 8 is less likely to be given to the object to be heated. 6B also has the property of transmitting a part of microwave energy, so if you want to heat it more quickly, the other magnetron can also be operated to heat the object to be heated in the upper layer more quickly. become. It can be used more efficiently or more quickly (even with the partition plate) depending on the application.

Since the heating method and time are different depending on the material of the partition as described above, it is necessary to identify the plate. Therefore, the upper microwave sensor 19 and the lower microwave sensor 20 are provided on the wall surface 23 of the heating chamber. When the partition of FIG. 7 is the metal plate 6A, the upper magnetron 8
Since the microwave supplied by the above does not pass through the partition plate 6, the output of the upper microwave sensor 19 can be obtained, but the output of the lower microwave sensor 20 cannot be obtained. As a result, the partition plate 6 becomes a metal plate 6
Judged as A.

Next, when the partition shown in FIG. 8 is the dielectric plate 6B, part of the microwave supplied from the upper magnetron 8 passes through the dielectric plate 6B and reaches the lower heating chamber 52, Since it is detected by the lower microwave sensor 20, the plate is determined to be the dielectric plate 6B.
In this case, it is determined that the lower magnetron 10 can oscillate, and if heating is desired quickly, for example, by pressing the speed heating button, the lower magnetron 10 oscillates,
Part of the microwave energy is transmitted through the dielectric plate 6B to heat the object to be heated more quickly.

FIG. 9 shows another example of plate discrimination method.
As shown in FIG. 5, there is a method of identifying the type of the plate by changing the position of the recess provided in the plate depending on the material of the plate and detecting the position by the microswitches 21 and 22 provided on the wall surface of the oven. As a modification, the plate may be provided with a convex portion. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the contact electrodes 24, 25 provided on the wall surface of the oven
The type of plate is determined by measuring and comparing the electric resistance values of the plate at certain intervals. This utilizes the difference in resistivity between metal and dielectric.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 1 and the external view of FIG. 2 are common to the first embodiment. The upper heating chamber 51 and the lower heating chamber 52, which are partitioned by the intermediate partition plate 6, respectively, heat the objects to be heated by microwaves from the upper magnetron 8 and the lower magnetron 10, respectively, as in the first embodiment. .

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a vertical section perpendicular to the vertical section of FIG. 1 in this embodiment. Each of the upper heating chamber 51 and the lower heating chamber 52 has an upper food sensor light source 3
0, a lower food sensor light source 31, an upper food sensor 32, a lower food sensor 33, an upper compartment light 34, and a lower compartment light 35.

Food sensors 32 and 33 using phototransistors or photodiodes receive light from food sensor light sources 30 and 31 using light emitting diodes, respectively. When the light received from each light source is blocked, each food sensor detects that there is an object to be heated in the corresponding heating chamber and transmits a signal to the control unit 3. The control unit 3 includes an upper food sensor 32 and a lower food sensor 3
Signals from 3 control the corresponding upper magnetron 8 and lower magnetron 10 to control the respective heating chambers 5.
1,52 objects to be heated are heated.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the object to be heated is placed only in the upper heating chamber 51, the upper magnetron 8 operates to heat it. When the object to be heated is placed only in the lower heating chamber 52, as shown in FIG.
Is activated and heated. Of course, when objects to be heated are placed on both upper and lower sides, magnetrons 8 and 10 on both upper and lower sides
If there is no partition plate 6 and the upper or lower magnetron operates (even if the upper and lower magnetrons are intermittent), the same object to be heated can be heated in the same time, and the heating operation error Can be reduced, and variations in cooking finish can be reduced.

For example, in the case of heating one lunch box, the operation for heating may be performed with or without the partition plate 6 placed in the upper heating chamber 51 or the lower heating chamber 52.
You only have to press the lunch button once. If you want to heat two bento boxes, place them one in each of the upper and lower heating chambers that are partitioned by the partition plate 6, and the magnetrons above and below will operate and you can perform the same heating operation as in the case of one boxed lunch. It can be heated and can be heated at the same time (of course, the heating time is preset for one lunch box). Moreover, since each magnetron heats the bento, the unevenness in the heating finish can be reduced. Of course, in the case of one lunch box,
Since there is a margin in magnetron operation, it is also possible to operate both magnetrons at the same time to heat them if quick heating is desired.

When the middle partition plate 6 is removed, the middle partition sensor 9 detects, the upper food sensor does not operate, and only the lower food sensor 33 detects food. Of course, in this case, since many heated objects are large, the upper and lower magnetrons 8 and 10 also operate. In the case of the present embodiment, energy is applied from the power supply port closer to the object to be heated and the object is heated, so that efficient heating is possible.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the object to be heated is placed on the upper part, when the object to be heated is detected by the upper food sensor 32, only the upper compartment lamp 34 is lit during heating and the lower compartment is heated. By turning off the interior lamp 35, it is possible to immediately know which heating chamber is being heated. Moreover, the lighting time of the interior lighting lamp is shortened, so that the life of the lamp is extended and
Energy saving can be achieved. Of course, when the partition plate 6 is not provided, it is detected by the partition sensor 9, and at the time of heating, both illumination lights or one of the illumination lights is turned on.

As shown in FIG. 11 or FIG. 12, when heating, the interior lighting that has been lit up is turned on and off after the heating is finished, thereby signaling the end of cooking and opening the door. Alternatively, when the food sensor no longer detects food, it stops blinking and turns off. When the two-stage cooking is performed and the heating time of each heating chamber is different, by blinking the interior illumination lamp of only the heating chamber where cooking is completed, it is possible to determine at a glance where heating is finished and where heating is still in progress.

As shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 13 to 14, when the objects a and b to be heated having different heating times are started to be heated at the same time (S330), the food in the heating chamber whose heating has been completed is opened by opening the door. After that, when the door is closed (S375), the presence or absence of food is detected by the food detection sensor (S385, S425), the illumination lamp of the heating chamber where the food is taken out is turned off, and only the unheated object is heated in the oven. The lamp is turned on, and heating of only one side is automatically started (S390, S430), and after the remaining heating time, the end of heating is notified (S400, S440). Further, when the contents of one heating chamber have been forgotten to be taken out when the heating times of the upper and lower heating chambers are the same, the corresponding interior light is blinked and a notification sound is emitted (S415). When the unheated food is taken out, it is confirmed by the food detection sensor that there is no food in the heating chamber (N determination of each of S385 and S425), and the automatic start does not occur even if the door is closed.

[0038]

According to the present invention, a plurality of heating chambers are provided by partitioning in the heating chamber, and the microwave source supplied to the corresponding heating chamber is controlled by the gas and / or water vapor sensor provided for each heating chamber. By doing so, even if the type or amount of food is different in each heating chamber, the sensor detects the finish of heating or cooking and stops heating, so that there is an effect that uneven heating is eliminated. In addition, the food sensor detects the presence or absence of the object to be heated in each heating chamber divided by the middle partition, and microwaves are not supplied to the heating chamber with no load, suppressing unnecessary oscillation of the magnetron. Therefore, there is an effect that the life can be extended, thermal deterioration of other parts can be prevented, and power consumption can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a microwave oven common to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a microwave oven common to the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the inside of a heating chamber showing a case where there is no partition plate of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the inside of the heating chamber in the case where the partition plate of the first embodiment is provided and the upper and lower heating chambers have the same amount of objects to be heated.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the inside of the heating chamber in the case where the partition plate of the first embodiment is provided and the numbers of upper and lower heating chambers are different.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of automatic heating by the gas sensor of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of detection of a metal partition plate by a microwave sensor.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of detection of a dielectric partition plate by a microwave sensor.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for identifying a partition plate by shape.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of identifying a partition plate by electric resistance.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of detection of an object to be heated in an upper heating chamber by a food sensor.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of detection of an object to be heated in a lower heating chamber by a food sensor.

FIG. 13 is the first half of a flowchart of automatic heating by the food sensor according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is the latter half of the flowchart of automatic heating by the food sensor according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the inside of a conventional microwave oven capable of partitioning.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Door 2 Heating Cabinet 3 Control Unit (Control Panel and Control Unit) 4 Oven Plate 5 Shelf Receiver 6 Partition Plate 6A Metal Plate 6B Dielectric Plate 7 Upper Waveguide 8 Upper Magnetron 9 Partition Sensor 10 Lower Magnetron 11 Lower Conductor Wave tube 12 Upper exhaust duct 13 Upper gas sensor 14 Lower exhaust duct 15 Lower gas sensor 16 Upper inlet 17 Lower inlet 19 Upper microwave sensor 20 Lower microwave sensor 21 Metal plate detection SW 22 Dielectric plate detection SW 23 Heating chamber wall 24 Contact electrode 25 Contact electrode 30 Upper food sensor light source 31 Lower food sensor light source 32 Upper food sensor 33 Lower food sensor 34 Upper warehouse light 35 Lower warehouse light 50 Heating cabinet 51 Upper heating chamber 52 Lower heating chamber 55 Heated object

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A first type of detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a partition in a microwave oven in which a plurality of heating chambers can be formed in the heating compartment by providing a detachable partition inside the heating compartment. And a heating high-frequency generator corresponding to each of the plurality of heating chambers, and each heating high-frequency generator can be independently controlled when it is detected that there is a partition in the heating chamber. Microwave oven characterized by. 2. A second type detection means for detecting gas and / or water vapor generated from an object to be heated, corresponding to each of the plurality of heating chambers formed by the partition, A microwave oven, characterized in that it is possible to control the corresponding heating high-frequency generation means based on the detection information from the respective second-type detection means. 3. The third type of detection according to claim 1 or 2, which corresponds to each of the plurality of heating chambers formed by the partition and detects whether or not there is an object to be heated in the heating chamber. A microwave oven, which is provided with means, and is capable of controlling the heating high-frequency generation means based on the detection information from each detection means. 4. The fourth type detection means according to claim 1, further comprising a fourth type detection means for detecting whether the material of the partition is a metal or a dielectric. A microwave oven characterized in that it is possible to control each heating high-frequency generating means based on the material of the partition detected by. 5. The microwave oven according to claim 4, wherein the fourth type detecting means for detecting the material of the partition is a means for detecting the presence / absence of a high frequency wave for heating which penetrates the partition. 6. The microwave oven according to claim 4, wherein the fourth type detecting means for detecting the material of the partition is a means for measuring an electric resistance between two points of the partition. 7. The microwave oven according to claim 4, wherein the fourth type detecting means for detecting the material of the partition is a convex portion or a concave portion provided on the partition. 8. The interior lighting lamp according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of heating chambers formed by the partition is provided with an interior lighting lamp, and a corresponding heating is performed by blinking each interior lighting lamp. A microwave oven that notifies the completion of heating or cooking of an object to be heated in a room.