ENERGY MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES
First Claim
1. A microwave oven comprising:
- a cooking cavity;
a RF generation module configured to deliver microwave energy into the cooking cavity; and
a controller operatively associated with the RF generation module, the controller receiving and processing a signal indicative of current state of an associated energy supplying utility for determining whether to operate the microwave oven in one of a normal operating mode and an energy savings mode, wherein the controller is configured to at least temporarily block the signal when the RF generation module is activated if a frequency of the signal can be at least partially degraded by a frequency of the RF generation module.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A microwave oven comprises a cooking cavity and a RF generation module configured to deliver microwave energy into the cooking cavity. A controller is operatively associated with the RF generation module. The controller receives and processes a signal indicative of current state of an associated energy supplying utility for determining whether to operate the microwave oven in one of a normal operating mode and an energy savings mode in response to the received signal. The controller is configured to at least temporarily block the signal when the RF generation module is activated if a frequency of the signal is at least partially degraded by a frequency of the RF generation module.
134 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A microwave oven comprising:
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a cooking cavity; a RF generation module configured to deliver microwave energy into the cooking cavity; and a controller operatively associated with the RF generation module, the controller receiving and processing a signal indicative of current state of an associated energy supplying utility for determining whether to operate the microwave oven in one of a normal operating mode and an energy savings mode, wherein the controller is configured to at least temporarily block the signal when the RF generation module is activated if a frequency of the signal can be at least partially degraded by a frequency of the RF generation module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A microwave oven control method, comprising:
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communicating with an associated utility; determining a state for an associated energy supplying utility, the utility state being indicative of at least a peak demand period or an off-peak demand period; operating the microwave oven in a normal mode during the off-peak demand period; operating the microwave oven in an energy savings mode during the peak demand period; and blocking the communication with the associated utility during operating of the microwave oven to prevent unreliable communications during operation of the microwave oven. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A microwave oven comprising:
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a cooking cavity; a RF generation module configured to deliver microwave energy into the cooking cavity; and a controller operatively associated with the RF generation module, the controller configured to receive and process an energy signal from an associated utility, the signal having a first state indicative of a utility peak demand period and a second state indicative of a utility off-peak demand period, the controller operating the microwave oven in one of an energy savings mode and a normal operating mode based on the received signal being in the first and second states respectively, wherein the controller is configured to reduce power of the RF generation module in the energy savings mode. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. An appliance comprising:
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a power consuming feature/function; and a controller operatively associated with the power consuming feature/function, the controller receiving a signal indicative of current state of an associated energy supplying utility for determining whether to operate the appliance in one of a normal operating mode and an energy savings mode, wherein the controller is configured to determine if the incoming energy signal has a frequency generally coincident with one of a fundamental frequency and a harmonic frequency of the activated power consuming feature/function, wherein the controller is configured to at least temporarily block the receipt of the signal upon activation of the power consuming feature/function.
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Specification