Cooking device

• US 8,093,534 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2008
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Komada, Masamichi, Tominaga, Hiroshi, Isoda, Keiko
• Primary Examiner(s): PAIK, SANG YEOP
• Application Number:
  US12/666,078
• Publication Number:
  US 20100187216A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,296 Days
• Field of Search: 2194431-4682, 219/483, 219/486, 219489-511, 341/33, 341/34, 341/27
• US Class Current: 219/443.1
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/962 Capacitive touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2017/9613 using two electrodes per touch switch
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960705 Safety of capacitive touch and proximity switches, e.g. increasing reliability, fail-safe
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960755 Constructional details of capacitive touch and proximity switches
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/062 for cooking plates or the like

Abstract

There is provided a cooking device capable of preventing heating operations from being unintentionally turned on and off and the setting of heating operations from being changed even when water droplets are scattered around touch switches or the vicinity of the touch switches is wiped with a damp cloth or the like. Left and right cancel electrodes (5a, 5b) are provided near the key electrodes between the positions of left and right heating coils (3a, 3b) and the positions of the key electrodes (4a1, 4a2, 4a3, 4b1, 4b2, 4b3). A control unit (6) changes over between validity and invalidity of inputting through the key electrodes based on whether or not a change of capacitances of the left and right cancel electrodes (5a, 5b) is equal to or more than a predetermined amount.

Claims

1. A cooking device comprising:

a main body serving as housing;

a top plate provided on an upper surface of the main body;

a heating section operable to heat an object to be heated;

capacitance-type touch switches, each of which includes a key electrode provided on a back surface of the top plate; and

a control unit operable to detect capacitances formed between the key electrodes and a ground, the control unit determining that the key electrode is pushed to input a control command assigned to the pushed key electrode, when detecting, for a time equal to or more than a first predetermined time, that the capacitance of any of the key electrodes is increased by an amount equal to or more than a first predetermined amount based on a value set as a reference capacitance of the key electrodes;

wherein the cooking device further comprises a cancel electrode located near the key electrodes and between a position at which the heating section is placed and a position at which the key electrodes are placed,

the control unit detects a capacitance formed between the cancel electrode and the ground,

when the control unit continuously detects, for a time equal to or more than a second predetermined time but less than a third predetermined time, that the capacitance of the cancel electrode is increased by an amount equal to or more than a second predetermined amount based on a value set as a reference capacitance of the cancel electrode, the control unit prohibits execution of a control command assigned to a key electrode even if determining that the key electrodes is pushed, and

when the control unit continuously detects, for a time equal to or more than the third predetermined time, that the capacitance of the cancel electrode is increased by an amount equal to or more than the second predetermined amount from the reference capacitance of the cancel electrode, the control unit executes a control command assigned to a key electrode if determining that the key electrode is pushed.

2. The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein, when the control unit continuously detects, for a time equal to or more than the second predetermined time but less than the third predetermined time, that the capacitance of the cancel electrode is increased by an amount equal to or more than the second predetermined amount based on the reference capacitance of the cancel electrode, the control unit prohibits execution of at least a control command for turning off a heating operation even if determining that the key electrode assigned to the control command for turning off a heating operation is pushed.

3. The cooking device according to claim 1, further comprising a power switch operable to change a state from a state in which no control command can be inputted through all of the key electrodes to a state in which a control command assigned to at least one of the key electrodes can be inputted by pushing the at least one key,

wherein the control unit sets the capacitances of the key electrodes and the cancel electrode when the power switch is turned on, as initial values of reference capacitances of the key electrodes and the cancel electrode, respectively.

4. The cooking device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit includes a cancel-electrode voltage detection section for applying a high-frequency voltage having a predetermined voltage to the cancel electrode through a capacitor having a predetermined capacitance and detecting magnitude of the high-frequency voltage which is divided by the capacitance of the capacitor and the capacitance of the cancel electrode and is applied to the cancel electrode, and the control unit detects the amount of increase in the capacitance of the cancel electrode, according to an amount of reduction of the voltage detected by the cancel-electrode voltage detection section based on a set cancel-electrode reference detection voltage.

5. The cooking device according to claim 4, wherein the cancel-electrode voltage detection section connects the cancel electrode to one end of the capacitor having a predetermined capacitance, applies a high-frequency voltage to the other end of the capacitor, rectifies and converts the divided voltage of the high-frequency voltage which is applied to the cancel electrode to a direct voltage, and outputs the direct voltage.

6. The cooking device according to claim 1, further comprising an informing section, wherein, when the control unit prohibits the execution of the input commands from the key electrodes since the control unit continuously detects, for a time equal to or more than the second predetermined time but less than the third predetermined time, that the capacitance of the cancel electrode is increased by an amount equal to or more than the second predetermined amount based on the reference capacitance of the cancel electrode, the informing section generates a notification of this fact with a sound or light.

7. The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the key electrode or the cancel electrode is formed from a copper-foil conductor of a printed wiring board, and the printed wiring board is placed beneath the top plate.

8. A cooking device comprising:

a main body serving as shell;

a top plate provided on an upper surface of the main body;

a heating section operable to heat an object to be heated;

capacitance-type touch switches, each of which includes a key electrode provided on a back surface of the top plate; and

a control unit operable to detect capacitances formed between the key electrodes and a ground, the control unit determining that the key electrode is pushed to execute a control command assigned to the pushed key electrode, when detecting, for a time equal to or more than a first predetermined time, that the capacitance of any of the key electrodes is increased by an amount equal to or more than a first predetermined amount based on a value set as a reference capacitance of the key electrodes;

wherein the cooking device further comprises a cancel electrode located near the key electrodes and between a position at which the heating section is placed and a position at which the key electrodes are placed;

the control unit detects a capacitance formed between the cancel electrode and the ground,

when the control unit continuously detects, for a time equal to or more than a second predetermined time but less than a third predetermined time, that the capacitance of the cancel electrode is increased by an amount equal to or more than a second predetermined amount based on a reference capacitance of the cancel electrode, the control unit prohibits execution of a control command assigned to a key electrode even if determining that the key electrodes is pushed, and

when the control unit continuously detects, for a time equal to or more than the third predetermined time, that the capacitance of the cancel electrode is increased by an amount equal to or more than the second predetermined amount based on the value set as the reference capacitance of the cancel electrode, the control unit replaces the reference capacitance of the cancel electrode with the currently-detected capacitance of the cancel electrode and executes a control command assigned to a key electrode when determining that the key electrodes is pushed.

9. The cooking device according to claim 8, wherein, when the control unit continuously detects, for a time equal to or more than the second predetermined time but less than the third predetermined time, that the capacitance of the cancel electrode is increased by an amount equal to or more than the second predetermined amount based on the reference capacitance of the cancel electrode, the control unit prohibits execution of at least a control command for turning off a heating operation even if determining that the key electrode assigned to the control command for turning off a heating operation is pushed.

10. The cooking device according to claim 8, further comprising a power switch operable to change a state from a state in which no control command can be inputted through all of the key electrodes to a state in which a control command assigned to at least one of the key electrodes can be inputted by pushing the at least one key,

wherein the control unit sets the capacitances of the key electrodes and the cancel electrode when the power switch is turned on, as initial values of reference capacitances of the key electrodes and the cancel electrode, respectively.

11. The cooking device according to claim 10, wherein the control unit includes a cancel-electrode voltage detection section for applying a high-frequency voltage having a predetermined voltage to the cancel electrode through a capacitor having a predetermined capacitance and detecting magnitude of the high-frequency voltage which is divided by the capacitance of the capacitor and the capacitance of the cancel electrode and is applied to the cancel electrode, and the control unit detects the amount of increase in the capacitance of the cancel electrode, according to an amount of reduction of the voltage detected by the cancel-electrode voltage detection section based on a set cancel-electrode reference detection voltage.

12. The cooking device according to claim 11, wherein the cancel-electrode voltage detection section connects the cancel electrode to one end of the capacitor having a predetermined capacitance, applies a high-frequency voltage to the other end of the capacitor, rectifies and converts the divided voltage of the high-frequency voltage which is applied to the cancel electrode to a direct voltage, and outputs the direct voltage.

13. The cooking device according to claim 8, further comprising an informing section, wherein, when the control unit prohibits the execution of the input commands from the key electrodes since the control unit continuously detects, for a time equal to or more than the second predetermined time but less than the third predetermined time, that the capacitance of the cancel electrode is increased by an amount equal to or more than the second predetermined amount based on the reference capacitance of the cancel electrode, the informing section generates a notification of this fact with a sound or light.

14. The cooking device according to claim 8, wherein the key electrode or the cancel electrode is formed from a copper-foil conductor of a printed wiring board, and the printed wiring board is placed beneath the top plate.