State detection device for detecting operation state of high-frequency heating apparatus

• US 7,960,966 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2009
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Suenaga, Haruo, Moriya, Hideaki, Sakai, Shinichi, Shirokawa, Nobuo, Kinoshita, Manabu
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Vinh P
• Application Number:
  US12/651,229
• Publication Number:
  US 20100102796A1
• Time in Patent Office: 530 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 324/120
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2206/043 Methods or circuits intended to extend the life of the magnetron
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/666 Safety circuits emergency protective circuits in general H02H

Abstract

An operating state detection technique is provided which makes it possible to accurately detect an abnormality of a high-frequency heating apparatus. An anode current detected by the anode current detection resistor 40 of a magnetron is inputted into the A/D converter terminal of a microcomputer 27 on a control panel circuit board side. The current is subjected to an analog-to-digital conversion to thereby obtain an anode voltage IaDC value. The microcomputer 27 determines an operating state based on a plurality of the anode voltage IaDC values thus read. Further, the microcomputer 27 obtains a summed value of the IaDC values corresponding to one period of the revolution of rotary antennas 68, 69 to thereby determines the operating state of the high-frequency heating apparatus 100 based on the summed value. According to the aforesaid IaDC value reading method, it makes it possible to accurately detect an abnormality without an erroneous operation also in correspondence to the change of the feeding distribution. Further, the microcomputer 27 changes, in accordance with the set output of the high-frequency heating apparatus, a threshold value used for determining the abnormality and a changing value (increasing amount) from the start of the operation with respect to the change of the output of the apparatus and the operating state of a heated subject etc., whereby it makes it possible to accurately detect an abnormality without an erroneous operation.

Claims

1. A state detection device for detecting an operating state of a high-frequency heating apparatus including a magnetron for generating microwave;

comprising;

a motion position determination portion which determines a motion position of a radio wave stirring member that operates periodically in order to relatively stir the microwave generated by the magnetron with respect to a heated subject;

an anode current input portion which inputs a detected anode current of the magnetron; and

a determination portion which determines one period of a periodical motion of the radio wave stirring member from information of the motion position determined by the motion position determination portion, then reads a corresponding value corresponding to the anode current inputted from the anode current input portion for a plurality of times during the one period and determines the operating state of the high-frequency heating apparatus based on a plurality of the corresponding values during the one period.

2. The state detection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination portion for determining the operating state determines the operating state of the high-frequency heating apparatus based on a summed value during one period which is a total sum of the plurality of the corresponding values during the one period.

3. The state detection device according to claim 2, wherein

the determination portion for determining the operating state calculates an average value of one section representing an average value of the corresponding values at each of a plurality of the sections which are obtained by dividing the one period of the radio wave stirring member equally in time, then stores the average value of one section for each of the respective sections in a storage device,

then when a summed value during one period which is a total sum of the average values of respective sections during one period is calculated, updates the average value of one section stored in the storage device among the average values of respective sections constituting the summed value during one period thus calculated.

4. The state detection device according to claim 2, wherein

the determination portion for determining the operating state calculates an average value of one section representing an average value of the corresponding values at each of a plurality of the sections which are obtained by dividing the one period of the radio wave stirring member equally in time, then stores the average value of one section for each of the respective sections in a storage device,

then when a summed value during one period which is a total sum of the average values of respective sections during one period is calculated, updates the average value of one section stored in the storage device in a FIFO (First-In-First-Out) format among the average values of respective sections constituting the summed value during one period thus calculated.

5. The state detection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination portion for determining the operating state determines the operating state of the high-frequency heating apparatus based on a threshold control according to a number of times where a summed value during one period larger than a predetermined threshold value is read continuously.

6. The state detection device according to claim 5, wherein the determination portion for determining the operating state determines that the operating state of the high-frequency heating apparatus is not normal when the read number of times is a predetermined number of times or more in the threshold control, and stops an operation of the high-frequency heating apparatus or reduces an output thereof.

7. The state detection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination portion for determining the operating state determines the operating state of the high-frequency heating apparatus based on a changing value detection control, the changing value detection control based on a changing value of a summed value during one period calculated by the reading of plural times.

8. The state detection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination portion for determining the operating state determines that the operating state of the high-frequency heating apparatus is not normal when a changing value exceeds a predetermined changing value for a predetermined number of times in a changing value detection control, and stops an operation of the high-frequency heating apparatus or reduces an output thereof.

9. The state detection device according to claim 1, wherein the anode current input portion is constituted by an A/D converter terminal which subjects an anode voltage that is the plurality of the corresponding values during the one period to an analog-to-digital conversion.

10. A high-frequency heating apparatus, comprising:

a magnetron, a radio wave stirring member, an anode current detection portion which detects the anode current, an inverter portion which controls the magnetron, and a state detection device according to claim 1.

11. The high-frequency heating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the anode current detection portion is configured by an anode current detection resistor which is disposed in a path for grounding the inverter portion.

12. The high-frequency heating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the radio wave stirring member is configured by at least one of a rotary antenna and a radio wave diffusion blade each of which stirs the microwave.

13. The high-frequency heating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the radio wave stirring member is configured by a turn table which rotates a heated subject to thereby relatively stir the microwave generated by the magnetron with respect to the heated subject.

14. The state detection method for detecting an operating state of a high-frequency heating apparatus including a magnetron for generating microwave;

comprising;

a step of determining a motion position of a radio wave stirring member which operates periodically in order to relatively stir the microwave generated from the magnetron with respect to a heated subject;

a step of inputting a detected anode current of the magnetron;

a step of determining one period of a periodical motion of the radio wave stirring member from information of the determined motion position; and

a step of reading a corresponding value corresponding to the anode current thus inputted for a plurality of times during the one period and determining the operating state of the high-frequency heating apparatus based on a plurality of the corresponding values during one period.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a computer-executable program stored thereon, wherein the computer-executable program in response to execution by a computer cause the computer to perform a state detection method for detecting an operating state of a high-frequency heating apparatus including a magnetron for generating microwave, comprising:

a step of determining a motion position of a radio wave stirring member which operates periodically in order to relatively stir the microwave generated from the magnetron with respect to a heated subject;

a step of inputting a detected anode current of the magnetron;

a step of determining one period of a periodical motion of the radio wave stirring member from information of the determined motion position; and

a step of reading a corresponding value corresponding to the anode current thus inputted for a plurality of times during the one period and determining the operating state of the high-frequency heating apparatus based on a plurality of the corresponding values during one period.