KR101813168B1 - Electric range having free zone - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric range, comprising: an upper working coil part including a first working coil and a second working coil; a lower working coil part including a third working coil; one input end; and a first working coil An upper relay unit having a first output terminal and a second output terminal respectively connected to the other end of the second working coil and the other end of the second working coil, a first output terminal connected to the other end of the third working coil, An upper switching unit for converting the rectified DC power into a high frequency current and outputting the converted DC power to an input terminal of the upper relay unit; and a control unit for converting the rectified DC power into a high frequency current and inputting the same to the input terminal of the lower relay unit And a control unit for controlling operations of the relay unit, the lower relay unit, the upper switching unit and the secondary switching unit, A plurality of working coils can be selectively operated by using less switching parts and fewer relay parts than a plurality of working coils disposed in the zone area.

Description

Electric range having free zone "

The present invention relates to an electric range having a free zone region, and more particularly, to an electric range in which a plurality of working coils can be selectively operated by using a smaller number of switching units and fewer relay units than a plurality of working coils disposed in a freezone region .

In recent years, an induction heating type electric range by a working coil has become widespread. It is general that such an electric range is provided with working coils in corresponding areas for heating each of the plurality of cooking utensils. However, recently, an electric range in which one cooking vessel is simultaneously heated by a plurality of working coils is being marketed.

Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a plurality of working coils can be operated to heat one cooking vessel. The basic idea of the patent document 1 is shown in Fig. The induction heating apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a cooking vessel 41 containing a heating object and a plurality of working coils (not shown) connected in series to induce an eddy current in the cooking vessel 41 to generate heat in the cooking vessel 41 A working coil part 40 composed of a working coil part WC1, WC2 and WC3, a resonance capacitor C1 connected in series with the working coil part 40, a direct current power source A switching unit for switching the DC power supplied from the DC power supply unit 100 on and off according to an input switching signal so that a high frequency current is applied to the working coil unit 40 and the resonance capacitor And a switching control unit 30 for outputting a switching signal for controlling the driving of the switching unit 20. [ However, such an induction heating apparatus must always operate a plurality of working coils at the same time, and thus can not be applied directly to the freezone region of the electric range.

On the other hand, in order to solve the problem of the plurality of working coils connected in series, the switching unit can be arranged for each working coil, but in this case, the production cost of the electric range will increase due to an increase in the use of expensive switching elements.

Patent Document 1: Korea Patent Publication No. 2011-0133710

In order to solve the above-described problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric range in which a plurality of working coils can be selectively operated by using less switching parts and fewer relay parts than a plurality of working coils disposed in a freezone area .

In order to achieve the above object, an electric range according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an upper working coil part including a first working coil and a second working coil whose ends are connected in common, and a second working coil part including a third working coil An upper relay part having a lower working coil part, an input terminal, and a first output terminal and a second output terminal respectively connected to the other end of the first working coil and the other end of the second working coil, A lower relay part having a first output terminal connected to the other end of the third working coil and a second output terminal connected to a second output terminal of the upper relay part, and a control part for converting the rectified DC power to a high- A lower switching unit for converting the rectified DC power into a high frequency current and outputting the rectified DC power to an input terminal of the lower relay unit, The upper relay unit, the upper relay unit, the lower relay unit, the upper switching unit, and the lower switching unit, respectively.

According to a further embodiment, the apparatus further comprises an upper sensing unit for detecting a high-frequency current flowing in the first working coil or the second working coil, wherein the controller drives the upper switching unit and controls the upper relay unit, It is possible to determine whether the cooking vessel is located in the first working coil region or the second working coil region according to the detection value input from the control unit.

According to a further embodiment, the upper sensing unit may include a first current sensing part and a second current sensing part for detecting a high-frequency current flowing in the first and second working coils, respectively.

According to a further embodiment, the electric range further includes a power supply unit for supplying DC power to the upper switching unit and the lower switching unit, wherein the upper switching unit and the lower switching unit are connected to each other in series And a node of the first switching element and the second switching element may be connected to an input terminal of the upper relay part and an input terminal of the lower relay part, respectively.

According to a further embodiment, the upper switching unit includes a first capacitor and a second capacitor connected in series between the power supply unit and the ground, and the connection point of the first capacitor and the second capacitor is connected to the first working coil or the second switching capacitor, And may be connected to one end side of the second working coil.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the control unit may further comprise a control unit for selecting, from detected values inputted from the lower sensing unit for detecting the high-frequency current flowing in the first current sensing part and the second current sensing part of the upper sensing unit, When it is determined that the cooking vessel is located in both the first working coil, the second working coil, and the third working coil, the upper relay unit and the second work coil are controlled to supply high- The lower relay unit can be controlled.

According to a further embodiment, the third working coil is disposed in the middle region of the freezone, and the first working coil and the second working coil are disposed above and / or below the third working coil, From the detection values input from the first current sensing part of the sensing part and from the second current sensing part and from the lower sensing part detecting the high frequency current flowing in the third working coil, the first working coil, the second working coil, The control unit controls the lower relay unit to supply a normal switching current to the third working coil, and controls the lower relay unit so that the first working coil is connected to the first working coil, And the upper relay unit may be controlled such that a switching current is supplied to only one of the first and second working coils.

According to the above-described configuration, the present invention can selectively operate a plurality of working coils by using less switching parts and fewer relay parts than a plurality of working coils disposed in the freezone area.

The present invention can also automatically determine to which region of the plurality of working coils disposed in the freezone area the cooking vessel is located and selectively supply the switching current to the corresponding working coil.

The present invention is also capable of appropriately supplying the switching current to each of the working coils without the control of the excessive relay portion even when the cooking vessel is located in all of the plurality of working coil regions.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of an induction heating apparatus having a plurality of working coils according to the prior art.
2 is a diagram showing an example of an electric range having a freezone region.
3 is a block diagram of an electric range that can selectively control a plurality of working coils in a freezone region according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram implemented in accordance with the block diagram of the electric range shown in Fig. 3; Fig.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the technical scope of the present invention. Will be.

2 is a diagram showing an example of an electric range having a freezone region.

As shown in FIG. 2, a highlight region 210 and a free zone region 220 are provided on an upper surface 200 of the electric range. A heating element made of electrical resistance is disposed in the highlight area 210, and a plurality of working coils can be disposed in the freezone area 220.

Although only one highlight area 210 is shown in FIG. 2, the electric range may include a plurality of highlight areas, and an induction heating area in which one working coil is disposed instead of the highlight area.

The freezing zone 220 may be provided with a cooking vessel of an arbitrary size. To this end, the first working coil WC1, the second working coil WC2 and the third working coil WC3 may be disposed adjacent to each other . When the cooking vessel is placed in the freezer zone 220 and the electric range is activated by the key input, the driving current is supplied to the working coil in which the cooking vessel is located, so that induction heating is enabled.

3 is a block diagram of an electric range that can selectively control a plurality of working coils in a freezone region according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, the electric range includes a power source unit 300, an upper switching unit 310, an upper relay unit 320, an upper working coil unit 330, an upper sensing unit 340, a lower switching unit 350 A lower relay part 360, a lower working coil part 370, a lower sensing part 380, and a control part 390. It is preferable that at least one of the upper working coil portion 330 and the lower working coil portion 370 includes two working coils.

The DC power output from the power supply unit 300 is supplied to the upper switching unit 310 and the lower switching unit 350 configured in parallel. The upper switching unit 310 is turned on and off according to the high frequency switching signal provided from the controller 390 to convert the DC power into the high frequency current and supplies the high working current through the upper relay unit 320 or the lower relay unit 360 330 or the lower working coil portion 370 with a high frequency current.

The upper relay unit 320 provides a high frequency current to the upper or lower working coil unit 330 or the lower working coil unit 370 when the upper switching unit 310 is turned on. When the upper working coil part 330 includes the first working coil WC1 and the second working coil WC2, the ON output terminal of the upper relay part 320 is connected to the first working coil WC1 And the OFF output terminal of the upper relay part 320 can be connected to, for example, the second working coil WC2.

The upper sensing unit 340 senses a high-frequency current flowing through the upper working coil unit 330. Since the high-frequency current is a resonance current having a very large value, the upper sensing unit 340 can detect and output a small current proportional to the high-frequency current or output a voltage value proportional to the high-frequency current.

The lower switching unit 350 is turned on and off in accordance with the high frequency switching signal provided from the controller 390 to convert the DC power into a high frequency current and supplies the lower working coil part through the lower relay part 360 or the upper relay part 320 370) or the upper working coil part (330).

The lower relay unit 360 transfers the high frequency current supplied by the lower switching unit 350 to the lower working coil unit 370 or the upper working coil unit 330. When the lower working coil part 370 includes two working coils, the ON output terminal of the lower relay part 360 is connected to, for example, one working coil, and the OFF output terminal of the lower relay part 360 is connected to, It can be connected to another working coil.

The lower sensing part 380 senses a high frequency current flowing through the lower working coil part 370. Since the high frequency current is a resonance current having a very large value, the lower sensing unit 380 can also detect and output a small current proportional to the high frequency current or output a voltage value proportional to the high frequency current.

The control unit 390 can control the on and off switching of the upper switching unit 310 and the lower switching unit 350 at the same timing. According to this configuration, when the user requests the operation of the freezone region of the electric range, the control unit 390 can perform a procedure for confirming whether the cooking container is located in at least one of the plurality of working coils.

First, the control unit 390 controls the upper relay unit 320 to connect the first working coil part WC1 of the upper working coil part 330 so that a switching current can be supplied. When the control unit 390 supplies a switching signal to the upper switching unit 310, the upper switching unit 310 converts the DC current into a switching current and outputs the switching current. And is applied to the first working coil WC1 of the working coil part 330. [ The upper sensing unit 340 detects the resonant current of the first working coil WC1 and supplies the detected resonant current to the control unit 390. The control unit 390 controls the first sensing coil 340 based on the detection value input from the upper sensing unit 340, It is determined whether the cooking vessel is located in the working coil WCl region.

The control unit 390 controls the upper relay unit 320 to connect the second working coil WC2 of the upper working coil unit 330 so that a switching current can be supplied. When the control unit 390 supplies a switching signal to the upper switching unit 310, the upper switching unit 310 converts the DC current into a switching current and outputs the switching current. And is applied to the second working coil WC2 of the working coil part 330. [ The upper sensing unit 340 detects the resonant current of the second working coil WC2 and supplies the detected resonant current to the control unit 390. The control unit 390 controls the second sensing unit 340 based on the detection value input from the upper sensing unit 340, It is determined whether the cooking vessel is located in the working coil WC2 region.

Finally, the controller 390 controls the lower relay unit 360 to connect the third working coil WC3 of the lower working coil part 370 so that a switching current can be supplied. When the control unit 390 supplies a switching signal to the lower switching unit 350, the lower switching unit 350 converts the direct current into a switching current and outputs the switching current. And is applied to the third working coil WC3 of the working coil part 370. [ The lower sensing unit 380 detects the resonance current of the third working coil WC3 and supplies the detected resonance current to the control unit 390. Based on the detection value input from the lower sensing unit 380, It is determined whether the cooking vessel is located in the working coil WC3 area.

After the control unit 390 determines whether the cooking container is positioned for each of the working coils, the control unit 390 controls the upper switching unit 310, the upper relay 310, and the upper relay 310 so that the induction heating is performed by applying a high frequency current only to the working coil, The lower switching unit 350, and the lower relay unit 360, respectively.

The control unit 390 receives the detection values from the upper sensing unit 340 and the lower sensing unit 380 to determine whether the first, second, and third working coils WC1, WC2, The upper relay unit 320 and the lower relay unit 360 can be controlled to supply the high frequency current to the two working coils where the cooking vessels are located.

In order to sequentially supply the high frequency current to all the working coils in the case where the cooking vessel is located in all the working coils, the controller 390 continuously turns on and off the upper relay unit 320 and the lower relay unit 360, A high frequency current should be supplied to the first working coil WC1, the second working coil WC2 and the third working coil WC3. However, since this control can shorten the life of the relay, the control unit 390 controls the lower relay unit 360 to supply the normal switching current to the third working coil WC3 in the middle region, The working coil WC2 and the first working coil WC1 can control the upper relay portion 320 to supply the switching current to only one of them in accordance with the proportion of the cooking vessel placed.

It should be noted that the terms "upper" and "lower" in the present invention are used to distinguish terms having the same composition as "first" and "second" .

Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram implemented in accordance with the block diagram of the electric range shown in Fig. 3; Fig.

4, the upper switching unit 310 includes a first switching device 412 and a second switching device 414 connected in series between a power supply unit 300 providing a direct current and a ground GND And the lower switching unit 350 includes a third switching device 352 and a fourth switching device 354 connected in series between the power source 300 and the ground.

The first capacitor C1 and the second capacitor C2 are arranged in series between the power supply unit 300 and the ground in the structure of the upper switching unit 310 and the lower switching unit 350, The third capacitor C3 and the fourth capacitor C4 are arranged in series.

 The detailed operation is as follows. The control unit 390 selects the contact a of the upper relay 320 and also selects the first switching device 412 and the second switching device 414, And induction heating is performed by causing a high-frequency current to flow in the first working coil WC1.

 When the third working coil WC1 is to be further driven, the controller 390 selects the contact b of the lower relay 360 and also selects the third switching element 452 and the second switching element 454 ) To operate the induction heating by causing the high-frequency current to flow in the third working coil WC3.

The embodiments of the present invention described above are merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and the scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted according to the claims. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It should be interpreted that it is included in the scope of right.

200: top surface 210: highlight area
220: free zone area 300: power source part
310: upper switching unit 320: upper relay unit
330: upper working coil part 340: upper sensing part
350: lower switching unit 360: lower relay unit
370: lower working coil part 380: lower sensing part
390:

Claims (7)

An upper working coil part including a first working coil and a second working coil, the ends of which are connected in common,
A lower working coil part including a third working coil,
An upper relay unit having an input terminal and a first output terminal and a second output terminal respectively connected to the other end of the first working coil and the other end of the second working coil,
A lower relay part having a first input terminal and a second output terminal connected to a second output terminal of the upper relay part, a first output terminal connected to the other end of the third working coil,
An upper switching unit for converting the rectified DC power into a high frequency current and outputting it to an input terminal of the upper relay unit,
A lower switching unit for converting the rectified DC power into a high frequency current and outputting it to an input terminal of the lower relay unit;
And a controller for controlling operations of the upper relay unit, the lower relay unit, the upper switching unit, and the lower switching unit, respectively. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising an upper sensing unit for sensing a high-frequency current flowing through the first working coil or the second working coil,
Wherein the control unit drives the upper switching unit and controls the upper relay unit to determine whether the cooking vessel is positioned in the first working coil region or the second working coil region according to a detection value input from the upper sensing unit Electric range. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the upper sensing unit includes a first current sensing part and a second current sensing part for detecting a high-frequency current flowing in the first and second working coils, respectively. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Further comprising a power supply unit for supplying DC power to the upper switching unit and the lower switching unit,
Wherein the upper switching unit and the lower switching unit each include a first switching device and a second switching device connected in series between the power supply unit and the ground and the nodes of the first switching device and the second switching device are connected to the upper relay unit An input terminal, and an input terminal of the lower relay unit, respectively. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the upper switching unit includes a first capacitor and a second capacitor connected in series between the power supply unit and the ground, and a connection point of the first capacitor and the second capacitor is connected to the first switching coil or the second switching coil And is connected to one end. The method of claim 3,
The control unit may be configured to detect the first current sensing part and the second current sensing part of the upper sensing unit and the first sensing coil from the detection values input from the lower sensing unit that detects the high- The control unit controls the upper relay unit and the lower relay unit to supply the high-frequency current to the two working coils according to the ratio of the cooking vessel, when it is determined that the cooking vessel is located in both the second working coil and the third working coil Wherein the electric motor is a motor. The method of claim 3,
The third working coil is disposed in the middle region of the freezone, and the first working coil and the second working coil are disposed on the upper, lower, left, and right sides of the third working coil,
The control unit may be configured to detect the first current sensing part and the second current sensing part of the upper sensing unit and the first sensing coil from the detection values input from the lower sensing unit that detects the high- The control unit controls the lower relay unit so as to supply a normal switching current to the third working coil, and controls the lower relay unit so that the ratio of the position of the cooking vessel to that of the second working coil And controls the upper relay unit so that a switching current is supplied to only one of the first working coil and the second working coil.

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