COOKING DEVICE

• US 20090020516A1
• Filed: 10/25/2006
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Komada, Masamichi, Niiyama, Koji, Nakamura, Seiji
• Granted Patent: US 7,947,924 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 219/209
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/082 on ranges, e.g. control panels, illumination
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/062 for cooking plates or the like

Abstract

A heating cooking device includes a top plate, a heating unit, a touch key including a first electrode and a second electrode, an input unit for applying an alternating current (AC) voltage to the second electrode and for outputting a voltage changing according to a change of the AC voltage when the first electrode is pushed, a detector for outputting a first signal if the voltage output from the input unit changes from the reference value to the first value, an operation judging unit for outputting a second signal according to a rate of change of the voltage output from the input unit, and a controller operable to perform control of the heating unit based on the first and second signals. The controller is operable to perform control of energization of the heating unit if the controller does not receive the second signal after receiving the first signal, and not to perform the control of the energization of the heating unit if the controller receives the second signal after receiving the first signal.

Claims

1. A heating cooking device comprising:

a top plate having an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface being arranged to have an object to be heated placed thereon;

a heating unit for heating the object;

a touch key including a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode being provided on the upper surface of the top plate, the second electrode being provided on the lower surface of the top plate and facing the first electrode across the top plate;

an input unit for applying an alternating current (AC) voltage to the second electrode, and for outputting a voltage changing from a reference value to a first value and consecutively changing towards the reference value according to a change of the AC voltage when the first electrode is pushed;

a detector for outputting a first signal if the voltage output from the input unit changes from the reference value to the first value;

an operation judging unit for outputting a second signal according to a rate of change of the voltage output from the input unit which changes towards the reference value consecutively after changing from the reference value to the first value; and

a controller operable

to perform control of energization of the heating unit if the controller does not receive the second signal after receiving the first signal, and

not to perform the control of the energization of the heating unit if the controller receives the second signal after receiving the first signal.

2. The heating cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is operable

to perform the control of the energization of the heating unit if the controller receives the first signal, and

not to perform the control the energization of the heating unit if the controller receives the second signal.

3. The heating cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the operation judging unit outputs the second signal if an average of the rate of the change of the voltage output from the input unit is smaller than a largest value of the rate of the change of the voltage by a predetermined value.

4. The heating cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the detector outputs the first signal if the voltage output from the input unit changes from the reference value to a value lower than a first judging value which is lower than the reference value.

5. The heating cooking device according to claim 4, wherein the operation judging unit outputs the second signal, after the voltage output from the input unit changes from the reference value to a value lower than the first judging value, if a period of time during which the voltage output from the input unit 6 changes from the first judging value to a second judging value which is between the first judging value and the reference value is not shorter than a second predetermined period of time.

6. The heating cooking device according to claim 4, further comprising a reference updating unit for changing the reference value if the detector does not detect that the touch key is released for a period of time longer than a third predetermined period of time after the detector outputs the first signal.

7. The heating cooking device according to claim 6, wherein the reference updating unit changes the reference value based on a lowest value of the voltage output from the input unit after the detector detects the touch key is pushed.

8. The heating cooking device according to claim 4, further comprising a reference updating unit for changing the reference value if the detector detects that the touch key is pushed for a period of time longer than a predetermined third period of time after the detector outputs the first signal.

9. The heating cooking device according to claim 8, wherein the reference updating unit changes the reference value based on a lowest value of the voltage output from the input unit after the detector detects that the touch key is pushed.

10. The heating cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is operable to output an indication to a user if the controller receives the first signal from the detector.