Apparatus for controlling inverter circuit of induction heat cooker

• US 7,282,680 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2004
• Issued: 10/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Ryu, Seung Hee
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBINSON, DANIEL LEON
• Application Number:
  US10/956,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20050247703A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,107 Days
• Field of Search: 219/661, 219/660, 219/715, 307/112, 307/113, 307/125, 307/126, 307/127, 307/128, 307/130, 307/131
• US Class Current: 219/661
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/04 Sources of current
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/062 for cooking plates or the like

Abstract

An apparatus for controlling an inverter circuit of an induction heat cooker which generates and outputs high voltage power to cook food contained in a cooking container is disclosed. The apparatus varies a pulse width of high level interval of a driving pulse according to a level of AC power supplied thereto to vary a switch current of the inverter circuit, and sufficiently secures a turn off time of the driving pulse in proportion to a resonant time varying according to states of separation of the cooking container or the heated food. Therefore, the apparatus improves stability of the switching operation and endurance. Also the apparatus requires relatively low manufacturing costs as the trigger generation is implemented with relatively low-priced amplifiers.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling an inverter circuit of an induction heat cooker generating and outputting a high voltage power to cook food contained in a cooking container, comprising:

an input voltage detector for detecting an input voltage supplied to the inverter circuit from an AC power source;

a pulse width variation control signal generator for generating a control signal which controls a width of a driving pulse for driving a switching operation of the inverter circuit to be varied according to a level of the input voltage detected in the input voltage detector; and

a trigger generator for varying a turn-on time of the driving pulse according to the control signal and, simultaneously, varying a turn-off time of the driving pulse in proportion to a resonant time changed according to separation of the cooking container from the induction cooker or a state variation of heated food.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said input voltage detector comprises:

a rectifier for rectifying the input voltage to generate a rectified input voltage; and

a clamper for clamping the rectified input voltage and outputting a clamped rectified input voltage.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said rectifier includes rectifying diodes each of which connected to both terminals of the inverter circuit inputting the input voltage from the AC power source.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said clamper includes a clamping diode clamping a portion of the input voltage, which is below a lower limit reference.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claims 4, wherein said low limit reference is determined by the number of the clamping diodes connected to each other in series.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said PWVCS generator includes a differential amplifier outputting a PWVCS according as it amplifies a difference between a preset reference voltage and the rectified clamped input voltage.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said PWVCS generator variably controls a width of the driving pulse at a positive interval of the clamped rectified input voltage.

8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein said PWVCS generator variably controls the width of the driving pulse in the manner that the pulse width is decreased if the clamped rectified input voltage is above a reference voltage, and the pulse width is increased if the clamped rectified input voltage is lower than the reference voltage.

9. The apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein said trigger generator includes:

a first differential amplifier for outputting a difference between both terminals of coil heating the cooking container, so that variation states of the cooking container and the heated food are detected; and

a second differential amplifier for outputting a driving pulse driving the switching operation of the inverter circuit based on a result of comparing the difference outputted from the first differential amplifier with a preset reference voltage.

10. The apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said second differential amplifier varies the pulse width of the driving pulse according to the control signal outputted from the PWVCS generator.

11. The apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said first differential amplifier outputs a voltage difference between a direct current voltage rectified and filtered in the inverter circuit and a switch voltage generated by the switching operation.

12. The apparatus as set forth in claim 11, wherein said direct current voltage is connected to non-inverting terminal of the first differential amplifier, and said switch voltage is connected to inverting terminal thereof.

13. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein said second differential amplifier includes a diode, wherein a cathode of the diode is connected to the non-inverting terminal of the second differential amplifier inputting the voltage difference and an anode of diode is connected to the inverting terminal thereof inputting the reference voltage.

14. The apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein said diode electrically breaks the non-inverting and inverting terminals of the second differential amplifier based on a difference between the voltage difference from the first differential amplifier and the reference voltage.

15. The apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein said second differential amplifier inputs the control signal of the PWVCS generator through the non-inverting terminal.