Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Ryuuji Nagata

Katsuyuki Aihara

Keiko Isoda

Tsuyoshi Inada

Chikashi Satou

Kazuyoshi Shichi

Hidekazu Suzuki

Kenji Ogawa

Takahiro Miyauchi

Hiroshi Isago

Tomoya Takahashi

Masahiro Yokono

Takuya Hashimoto

Shumpei Ando

Shozo Ushio

A heating cooker includes: a top plate on which a cooking container to be heated is placed; an outer case as a main body having an upper surface on which the top plate is placed; a heater heating the cooking container; and a light emitting device disposed in the outer case, for displaying the heating state. The top plate includes: a glass substrate having a transparent light-transmitting low-expansion crystallized glass made mainly of LiO&#x2014;ALO&#x2014;SiOand having &#x3b2;-quartz solid solution, having a crystal size smaller than the wavelength of visible light; a design layer having a black-based color disposed on an undersurface of the glass substrate; a diffusion region disposed partially on an undersurface of the design layer, for diffusedly emitting light from the light emitting device; and a light-blocking layer disposed on the undersurface of the design layer other than the diffusion region, for blocking light from below.

Heating cooker

In order to provide an induction heating cooking device in which a supporting configuration of a heating coil unit is simple and can be easily assembled, and which can accurately and constantly maintain a distance between a top plate and heating coils, opposite side surfaces of a framework laid out below the top plate are configured to have first vertical parts, first horizontal parts, and second vertical parts. A heating coil supporting member that supports the heating coils is disposed to be bridged between the first horizontal parts of the opposite side surfaces of the framework, and the heating coil unit having the heating coil is configured to be securely supported by the first horizontal parts.

Induction heating cooking device

An induction heating cooker includes a top plate on which an object to be heated is placed, a plurality of heating coils disposed adjacent to one another below the top plate to generate inductive magnetic fields to heat the object to be heated, a plurality of temperature detectors operable to detect a temperature of the object to be heated; and a controller operable to control operating states of the heating coils based on detection results of the temperature detector, wherein the plurality of temperature detectors are disposed widely below the top plate, and the number of the temperature detectors is less than the number of the heating coils.

Induction heating cooker

Operability of a heating cooker having a heating unit in a top plate is improved. After power-on, a light emission control unit causes the operation unit light-emitting element of an operable operation inhibition releasing key to be lit so that only the key is displayed and the other keys are less visible. Thus, the heating cooker is changed into a lock state. When the operation inhibition releasing key is operated in the lock state, at least one electrostatic touch key other than the operation inhibition releasing key is made operable and the operation unit light-emitting element is lit. Alternatively, in the above structure, the operation unit light-emitting element of the operable operation unit is lit in a first light-emission color, and the operation unit light-emitting elements of the inoperable operation units are lit in a second light-emission color different from the first light-emission color. Thus effective operation can be guided.

Heating cooker having touch control

An appliance including a top plate has its operability improved and prevents an operation error. The appliance includes electrostatic touch keys provided on a lower surface of the top plate, the electrostatic touch keys including electrodes made of conductive films having predetermined light-blocking property, respectively, operation-unit illuminators emitting light toward the electrodes, which are partially cut, from a direction opposite to the top plate, respectively, and an illumination controller controlling illumination of the operation-unit illuminators. The illumination controller changes the illumination state of the shapes of key indicators above the electrodes to allow a user to identify function and validity of the electrostatic touch keys. The illumination controller controls the illumination state of operation-unit illuminators, such as lighting-on, blinking, lighting-off, and adjusting the brightness, to provide information required for operation.

Heating cooker with touch panel having user guiding illumination function

Growing community of inventors

Hyogo, Japan

Ryuuji Nagata