Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Seok-Weon Hong

Kwang-seok Kang

Won-woo Choi

Kwang-Keun Kim

Dae-Sung Han

Hai-Min Lee

A microwave oven prevents an overcooking of small food portions. The oven includes a weight sensing device for sensing the weight of food to be cooked. If the sensed food weight is greater than a reference weight, then a cooking time is set, e.g., manually or automatically on the basis of a selected cooking mode and/or the sensed food weight. If the sensed food weight is less than the reference weight, then a maximum cooking time is automatically set which is the same, regardless of the amount by which the food weight is less than the reference weight. The cooking time cannot exceed that maximum time period, thereby ensuring that the food will not be overcooked.

Method for controlling a microwave oven to prevent overcooking of small

A microwave oven wherein at least a microwave cooking mode and an electric resistance heater cooking mode can be selected by a user. A tray for supporting foodstuff can be raised and lowered and rotated about a vertical axis. A weight measuring mechanism determines the weight of foodstuff on the tray. During a cooking sequence, an operator selects a cooking mode, and the weight of foodstuff is measured. A controller determines a desired cooking elevation as a function of the cooking mode and weight of the foodstuff. A rotation mechanism begins to rotate the tray, and then the rotating tray is raised to the desired elevation, whereupon a cooking operation is performed while the tray is rotated at the desired elevation. At the end of the cooking operation, the tray is lowered to its initial position while still being rotated.

Method of controlling a microwave oven having a vertically movable

A microwave oven has a cooking chamber in which a tray is provided for supporting food to be cooked. The tray is rotatable and can be raised and lowered. Cooking can be performed by microwaves and/or an electric resistance heater disposed in the cooking chamber. A sensor disposed in the cooking chamber detects a condition wherein food on the rising tray is at a height corresponding to that of the heater. In response to the sensing of such a condition the heater is turned off, a mechanism for raising the tray is also turned off, and a warning is emitted.

Apparatus for sensing whether food disposed on a raisable tray of a

A microwave oven includes a cooking chamber, a magnetron for performing microwave cooking, and an electric heater element disposed in the cooking chamber for performing convection heat cooking. The heating element is rotatable between vertical and horizontal positions. A heater handling device is connected to the heating element and includes a handle situated outside of the oven for enabling a user to rotate the heating element from outside of the oven.

Microwave oven having electric heating element rotatable between

A microwave oven includes a cooking chamber, a tray disposed in the cooking chamber upon which food can be placed, and a magnetron for supplying high frequency waves to the cooking chamber. The microwave oven has a food-thawing mode and a food-cooking mode. In the thawing mode, the oven is capable of bringing food to different states of thawing in response to the selection of a specific food-thawing key. In the food-cooking mode, various cooking levels can be selected.

Method of controlling food thawing and cooking operations of a microwave

A microwave oven has a food tray which can be both rotated and elevated. A weight sensing unit senses the weight of the tray and any food thereon, for controlling the operation of a tray elevation/rotation mechanism. The tray is not elevated if the weight of the food is detected to be greater than a predetermined elevation weight, in order to prevent excessive pressure from being applied to the elevation/rotation mechanism and the weight sensing unit. If the weight of the food is detected to be greater than a maximum possible cooking weight, no cooking is performed, and an error signal is displayed.

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Suwon, South Korea

Seok-Weon Hong