Panasonic Corporation

Sadatoshi Tabuchi

Hiroshi Tominaga

Keiko Isoda

Kenji Watanabe

Izuo Hirota

Tomoya Fujinami

Kuniaki Sakakibara

Shintaro Noguchi

Tamotsu Izutani

An induction cooking device includes a heating coil performing induction heating of a cooking container placed on a top plate, an inverter circuit supplying high frequency current to the heating coil, an infrared sensor detecting an amount of infrared light radiated from the cooking container and outputting a detection signal based on the detected amount, a temperature sensor detecting a temperature of the cooking container by thermal conduction through the top plate, and a control unit controlling an output of the inverter circuit so that the outputs of the infrared and temperature sensors do not exceed the respective control temperature. The control unit judges whether or not the infrared sensor is normally detecting the temperature of the cooking container, and when it is judged that the infrared sensor is normally detecting the temperature of the cooking container, the control unit raises the control temperature of the temperature sensor.

Induction cooking device

There is provided a cooking device that prevents operation based on a control command assigned to a touch key from being executed when a user is not intending to operate the touch key. The cooking device includes an electrode unit which includes a key electrode () provided on the lower surface of the top plate and a contact electrode () electrically connected with the key electrode and inputs the assigned control command; a cancel electrode () provided at the periphery of the contact electrode so that the distance between the contact electrode and the cancel electrode is smaller than the width of the finger of the user; and a control unit () for controlling conduction to a heating source based on the control command assigned to the electrode unit when detecting that the vicinity of the electrode unit is touched. The control unit () limits the operation based on the control command when detecting that the vicinity of the cancel electrode is touched.

Cooking device

There is provided a cooking device that prevents an electricity conduction setting to a heating source from fluctuating when a user is not intending to operate a touch key. The cooking device includes a heating source for heating an object to be heated; a top plate provided on an upper surface of the device; a touch key that is provided on the top plate and is operable to input a control command by being touched with a finger; a cancel electrode provided at a periphery of the touch key; and a control unit for controlling an electricity conduction to the heating source based on the control command. When detecting that a portion of the top plate near the cancel electrode is touched with the finger, the control unit maintains a condition of electricity conduction to the heating source in time of the detection, and limits an operation based on the control command input to the touch key while detecting that the portion of the top plate near the cancel electrode is being touched with the finger.

An infrared sensor includes an infrared detection element which is provided on a lower side of a top plate to detect an amount of infrared light radiated from a heated object and an amplifier to amplify a signal detected by the infrared detection element. The infrared sensor outputs an initial detection value having a substantially constant magnitude with respect to the temperature of the heated object when the temperature of the heated object is lower than a detection lower limit temperature, and outputs a detection signal having a magnitude and a rate of increase which become larger as the temperature of the heated object becomes higher in the vicinity of a control temperature range in which the control unit controls the output of the induction heating coils to perform temperature control of the heated object. The control unit includes a storage unit to measure and store the initial detection value, and reduces the output of the induction heating coils or stops the heating when an increased amount of the output value of the infrared sensor with respect to the initial detection value stored in the storage unit becomes greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Sadatoshi Tabuchi