Maytag Corporation

Jill L Means

Mark A Boyer, Iii

Susan K Fisher

Philip R McKee

Theodore A Becker

Michael E Bales

John Scott Brown

James K Pool, Iii

Anthony E Kendall

Brian Jones

Virginia L Harwell

Pamela S Kleese

Judith D Barber

A cooking appliance employing rapid cook technology includes an electronic oven control system employing an alpha-numeric data entry and display arrangement. The cooking appliance includes a display which incorporates a series of vertically spaced information display zones, with each of the zones being capable of displaying both alpha and numeric data to a user of the appliance. Text and numeric data can be entered by the user through a ten-digit keypad provided on a control panel of the appliance. Each labeled numeric key (0&#x2013;9) can be used to input a corresponding numeric data symbol, as well as additional text information. This arrangement advantageously makes purchasing and operating a sophisticated cooking appliance more appealing and less intimidating to a consumer.

Alpha-numeric data entry and display for electronic oven control system

A cooking appliance includes a control user interface defined by a control panel arranged with a set of dedicated keys for each of various primary cooking modes. The control panel includes a display having various information display zones and various buttons which are provided on each side of and aligned with the information display zones. The buttons are used to select options and settings presented in the display. A controller, based on a hierarchical type organization, is employed to select a choice of cooking modes visually presented to a user in the display. The controller then navigates the user through a series of sub-menus to establish settings and options associated with each particular cooking mode.

Menu driven control system for a cooking appliance

A cooking appliance includes a controller which calculates a desired percentage of hot air convection and microwave energy needed to perform a cooking operation based on selections made by a user through a menu driven display. The display prompts a user for a programming inputs, while also displaying operational information to the user as needed. The programming options enable the user to select between various different cooking operations and also provides for appealing cooking sequences to be stored as cooking recipes. As needed, certain pre-cooking functions are automatically performed, such as heating or cooling of the oven cavity, as needed.

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Des Moines, IA, United States of America

Jill L Means