The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 11, 1984
Filed:
Sep. 01, 1982
Takeshi Tanabe, Higashiosaka, JP;
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
In an automated microwave oven, a gas sensor is provided within a passageway for air leaving the heating chamber. In addition to a switching circuit for controlling an enabling circuit for a microwave source such as a magnetron, a cook switch is provided which is common to all of the different kinds of food to be heated. A microcomputer is provided which generates a heating stop instruction for the enabling circuit of the microwave source in response to both an output signal from the gas sensor and a stored program in the microcomputer. Based upon the rate of timewise variation in the output signal from the gas sensor, the microcomputer decides roughly what kind of food is being heated and then establishes an intended final level which the gas sensor should reach at the end of heating. In conjunction with the kind of food which has the lowest rate of timewise variation in the output of the gas sensor, decision is made as to whether the timewise variation in the output signal of the gas sensor after reaching a given detection level (V.sub.S1) is greater than a predetermined timewise variation, for deciding the subkind of the food and a desired constants (N.sub.K) for additional heating according to such second decision. Additional heating is effected for a length of time which is the product of the time necessary for the output signal from the gas sensor to reach the intended final level and the desired constant for additional heating so selected.