Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Kazuo Taino

Masaru Noda

Hiroyuki Uehashi

Kazuko Tanaka

Eiji Fukunaga

Yoshiko Yamane

Hiroyasu Kitagawa

Atsushi Horinouchi

Takeshi Nakata

Haruo Sakai

Kenji Kume

Kiyoshi Hiejima

Eiji Mukumoto

Masahiro Tanaka

Kazuhiko Kawamura

Chizuko Konishi

Kazuyuki Takimoto

Morito Yamada

Kayo Tsuzaki

A heating chamber has a width in a direction of a two-head arrow X, a depth in a direction of a two-head arrow Y and a height in a direction of a two-head arrow Z. An infrared sensor includes 25 infrared detection elements each having a field of view. Since the 25 infrared detection elements are arranged, five by five in directions Y and Z, on the heating chamber's bottom plate there are projected a total of 25 fields of view, five by five in directions Y and X. Thus the bottom plate has any area thereof covered by one of the 25 fields of view.

Microwave oven with infrared detection element

A microwave oven determines an appropriate time to stop heating even if multiple food items are placed in the heating chamber. After any position on the bottom surface of the microwave oven reaches 75 deg C., a search is made for any other position having a temperature of at least 70 deg C. If such a position is detected, heating is concentrated on that position until it reaches 75 deg C. When all food-containing positions in the microwave oven have reached a temperature of at least 75 deg C., the heating operation performed by the magnetron is stopped.

Microwave oven with temperature-dependent automatic stop

The microwave oven includes an infrared sensor for detecting the temperature of a food within a heating chamber. The infrared sensor has a field of view within the heating chamber. The infrared sensor is capable of moving the field of view. The food is often placed in the central region of the heating chamber. Therefore, when cooking is started, the field of view of the infrared sensor first scans the central region of the heating chamber.

Microwave oven capable of suitably controlling movement of a member mounted thereto, and control method thereof

A microwave oven heats all food in an appropriate manner even if food items are simultaneously placed at multiple locations in a heating chamber. An auxiliary antenna is periodically stopped at an orientation corresponding to a position where a lowest temperature was detected at the start of the heating operation. Between stopped periods, the auxiliary antenna is rotated for a period to apply heat evenly to all food in the oven. If multiple low-temperature points are detected, the central position of these multiple low-temperature points is used for applying concentrated heat.

Microwave oven with food search and localized heating

In a sake/milk heating process, the field of view of an infrared sensor is moved by a predetermined pattern in a heating chamber as an initial search. When the field of view is fixed after the initial search, if the temperature variation of an object within the field of view after a predetermined time has passed is equal to or lower than a specified value, various determinations are made, and the field of view of the infrared sensor is again moved in the heating chamber as a re-search. Thus, even if the field of view is fixed at a position where no food item is placed for some reason in the initial search, the field of view will not be fixed in the incorrect position and can be moved again.

Cooking appliance with infrared sensor having movable field of view

In a cooking appliance, the foodstuff is placed on a turntable in a heating chamber. Infrared radiation emitted from the foodstuff is sensed by an infrared sense unit. The cooking appliance obtains the number of extrema of the amount of infrared radiation sensed over the period of one cycle of the turntable. The number of foodstuffs is determined according to the number of maxima. A control unit drives a heat unit according to the determined number of foodstuffs.

Cooking appliance than can detect temperature of foodstuff using

A cooking device measures the temperature of an object to be heated by means of an infrared sensor when a user operates a predetermined switch, when placement of the object to be heated in the heating chamber is detected, or when it is detected that the door of the heating chamber has simply been opened in the demonstration mode with a magnetron stopped. The measured temperature is displayed on the display unit, and the temperature measuring is ended when a predetermined time period elapses. This allows actual detection of the temperature of the object to be heated in the demonstration mode and hence a more persuasive demonstration.

Cooking device with demonstration mode

In the operation of a thoroughly heating course of a microwave oven, when an ordinary temperature food having a weight of less than 500 g is heated to a desired finishing temperature of 75.degree. C., heating is performed until the temperature of the food reaches 75.degree. C. by a normal output of 650 W (a first mode). After time t.sub.1 at which 75.degree. C. is reached, the food is heated and kept warm at 90.degree. C. higher than 75.degree. C. by a lower output of 350 W (a second mode). As a result, the food can be surely and thoroughly heated to the inside.

Cooking apparatus including infrared ray sensor

In a microwave oven in which microwave heating is controlled by the output value of a temperature sensor, a microcomputer is provided to control the microwave heating in such a manner that the microwave heating is continued until the output value of the temperature sensor exceeds a first temperature, and once the output value exceeds the first temperature, the microwave heating is stopped for several periods of time and the output value of the temperature sensor is detected for avoiding the bad effect of noise due to the microwave oscillation.

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Shiga, Japan

Kazuo Taino