JP7600333B2 - Cooking equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cooking device that improves the operability of the display screen for setting up cooking, etc.

Conventionally, in this type of cooking device, a color LCD panel capable of displaying, for example, letters, numbers, photographs, etc. in color is provided as a display means for a display screen for setting up cooking, and the color LCD panel is configured as a touch panel, so that, for example, a user can select an image to be displayed on the color LCD panel by touching the touch panel with a finger (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2019-124459 A

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, for example, in the cooking device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the operation means for the touch panel is a touch operation, so when inputting values into the cooking device, it is desirable to have a configuration that allows the user to use the UI that is familiar to users, for example, on a smartphone, as it is.

The present invention aims to provide a cooking device that allows users to input numerical values using familiar operations on a smartphone, etc.

The cooking device of the present invention comprises a display means, a touch panel that is provided at an overlapping position on the display screen of the display means and that accepts user operations, and a display control means that controls the display of the display means based on the operation on the touch panel, and the display control means accepts, as the operation, a slide operation in which a predetermined position on the touch panel is touched and slid from there, and the slide operation is an operation of the touch panel on an area in which a numerical value indicating at least one of a temperature or a time related to the control of the cooking device is displayed, and the display screen in which the numerical value indicating at least one of the temperature or the time is displayed is formed with a first display area in which the numerical value is arranged, and a second display area in which several menus selected from a plurality of menus are displayed in a default manner so that the menus can be selected and operated, and when the predetermined operation is performed, the display control means controls the display of the display means by enlarging the first display area to the second display area while maintaining the display of the numerical value in the first display area, so that the menus displayed in the second display area cannot be selected and operated .

The present invention provides a cooking device that allows the user to visually view the entire information on the display means and allows the user to use the same UI as they are accustomed to using on smartphones, etc., by operating the touch panel.

1 is an external perspective view of a cooking device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the inside of a hot air unit, an upper heater, and a lower heater in the cooking appliance of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an internal explanatory diagram of a steam unit in the cooking device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the cooking device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the same. FIG. 11 is a front view of the display means on which the first top screen is displayed. FIG. 11 is a front view of the display means on which the second top screen is displayed. FIG. 11 is a front view of the display means showing the main display parts related to the operation of setting the microwave heating time in the manual microwave menu displayed on the first top screen of the embodiment; 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the display operation of a picker display section for tens and units digits that rotates like a drum roll in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 11 is a front view of the display means showing all display sections displayed while setting the microwave heating time in the manual microwave menu displayed on the first top screen. FIG. 13 is a front view of the display means displayed when the microwave heating time is set to "00" minutes and "00" seconds on the first top screen, and an explanatory diagram showing the state of the main key display section and button display section. FIG. 13 is a front view of the display means displayed when the microwave heating time is set to "00" minutes and "10" seconds on the first top screen, and an explanatory diagram showing the state of the main key display section and button display section. FIG. 13 is a front view of the display means displayed when the microwave heating time is set to "00" minutes and "50" seconds on the first top screen, and an explanatory diagram showing the state of the main key display section and button display section. FIG. 13 is a front view of the display means displayed when the microwave heating time is set to "01" minutes and "00" seconds on the first top screen, and an explanatory diagram showing the state of the main key display section and button display section. FIG. 13 is a front view of the display means displayed when the microwave heating time is set to "09" minutes and "00" seconds on the first top screen, and an explanatory diagram showing the state of the main key display section and button display section. FIG. 13 is a front view of the display means displayed when the microwave heating time is set to "10" minutes and "00" seconds on the first top screen, and an explanatory diagram showing the state of the main key display section and button display section. FIG. 13 is a front view of the display means displayed when the microwave heating time is set to "90" minutes and "00" seconds on the first top screen, and an explanatory diagram showing the state of the main key display section and button display section. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for displaying hamburger recipe information on a display means by a swipe operation.

Below, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that common parts are designated by common reference numerals throughout these drawings.

Figures 1 to 18 show one embodiment in which the cooking device of the present invention is applied to an oven range. First, the overall structure of the oven range will be explained based on Figure 1. Reference numeral 1 denotes a main body configured in a roughly rectangular box shape, which is provided with a metal cabinet 2 as a member that covers the outer shell of the oven range that will be the product. Reference numeral 3 denotes a door that is provided on the front of the main body 1 and can be opened and closed freely.

The top of the door 3 is equipped with a handle 4 for opening and closing the door 3, which opens vertically, and the side of the door 3 is equipped with an operation panel unit 5 for display, notification, and operation. In addition to a display means 6 that displays cooking settings and progress, the operation panel unit 5 is equipped with operation means 9, such as keys 7 on the operation panel unit 5 and a touch panel 8 on the surface of the display means 6, to enable various operation inputs related to heating and cooking. Although not shown, an operation panel PC (printed circuit) board is arranged inside the door 3 behind the operation panel unit 5 to control the display means 6 and operation means 9.

A water supply cassette 11 and a water receiver 12 are disposed at the bottom of the main body 1 and can be attached and detached from the front of the main body 1. The water supply cassette 11 is a bottomed container that holds liquid water as a liquid supply source for steam heating food placed in the cooking chamber 14, which will be described later. The water receiver 12 is also a bottomed container that receives food debris, water droplets, steam, etc. from the main body 1.

The display means 6 is a backlit display that displays all information related to cooking, such as the type of heating, the name of the dish, the heating time, the temperature, and a photo of the cooking, in color using letters, numbers, symbols, photos, etc. Here, it is configured as a liquid crystal display that uses TFTs (thin film transistors) as switching elements, but other display devices such as organic electroluminescence (EL) may also be used, and it may not only display in color but also in black and white. In either case, the flat display means 6 is disposed toward the top of one side of the door 3, higher than the keys 7, so that it is easy to see when the user is positioned in front of the oven range.

The keys 7 are provided as a push operation section that accepts push operations from the user, at a position that does not overlap with the display means 6 of the operation panel section 5, and here comprise a start key 7A and a cancel key 7B. The start key 7A is a key that is pushed to start cooking, and the cancel key 7B is a key that is pushed to stop cooking midway or to cancel an operation or setting. In this embodiment, an illumination lamp such as an LED (not shown) is provided near the start key 7A to light or flash the start key 7A as necessary.

The touch panel 8 is provided at a position overlapping the display screen of the display means 6 as a touch operation unit that accepts touch operations from the user. For example, in a capacitive touch panel 8 made of a transparent material, when a user touches the surface of the touch panel 8 with a finger, the surface charge changes and an operation signal is output. Note that, in addition to the capacitive type, a resistive film type, a surface acoustic wave type, an infrared type, or an electromagnetic induction type touch panel 8 may also be used. Furthermore, the touch panel 8 may be operated not only with a finger, but also with a pen-shaped object such as a touch pen.

Figures 2 to 4 show the internal structure of the oven range in this embodiment. In each of these figures, the surrounding walls that form the cooking chamber 14 consist of a ceiling wall 14a, a bottom wall 14b, a left side wall 14c, a right side wall 14d, and a rear wall 14e. The ceiling wall 14a is dome-shaped with a convex shape facing upward, while the walls 14b to 14e except for the ceiling wall 14a are all formed flat.

The back wall 14e of the cooking chamber 14 has an intake port 16 in its center, and horizontally long hot air outlets 17, 18 above and below the intake port 4. In addition, an upper heater 19 that heats the food to be cooked from above the cooking chamber 14 is embedded in the ceiling wall 14a of the cooking chamber 14, and a lower heater 20 that heats the food to be cooked from below the cooking chamber 14 is embedded in the bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14.

As shown in FIG. 2, 21 is a hot air unit provided inside the main body 1, at the rear of the cooking chamber 14. This hot air unit 21 is composed of a hot air heater 22 as a heating means for heating the air, a hot air fan 23 as a centrifugal fan for sending heated air into the cooking chamber 14 and circulating it, and a hot air motor 24 for rotating the hot air fan 23 in the forward or reverse direction.

In the hot air unit 21, a hot air fan 23 is provided facing the intake port 16 in the approximate center, and a hot air heater 22 is arranged around it. When the hot air fan 23 rotates as a result of the hot air motor 24 being energized, air sucked in through the intake port 16 from inside the cooking chamber 14 is blown out in the radial direction of the hot air fan 23, heated by the hot air heater 22, and supplied into the cooking chamber 14 through the hot air outlets 17, 18. This forms a path for circulating hot air inside and outside the cooking chamber 14, heating the food to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 for oven cooking. The hot air unit 21 is stored in a case 25 attached to the rear of the cooking chamber 14.

As mentioned above, the cooking chamber 14 is provided with an upper heater 19 and a lower heater 20. When electricity is applied to the upper heater 19 and the lower heater 20, infrared heat radiation from the upper heater 19 and the lower heater 20 occurs in the enclosed space within the cooking chamber 14, heating the food to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 and grilling it.

As shown in FIG. 3, 26 is a steam unit that serves as a steam generating device and is provided inside the main body 1, to the side of the cooking chamber 14. This steam unit 26 is connected in communication with a steam generator 29 via a pump 27 that delivers water from the water supply cassette 11 and a water supply pipe 28 in order to supply saturated steam or superheated steam into the cooking chamber 14.

The steam generator 29 is configured by embedding a sheath heater 31 in a hollow vaporization chamber 32 made of die-cast aluminum, and connecting the water supply pipe 28 to the vaporization chamber 32. The water supplied to the vaporization chamber 32 is heated by passing electricity through the sheath heater 31 to generate steam, which can be supplied into the cooking chamber 14 from multiple steam outlets 33 formed in the left wall 14c of the cooking chamber 14. This generates a steam flow in the cooking chamber 14 as shown by the dashed lines in Figure 3, and heats the food being cooked in the cooking chamber 14 for steam cooking.

As shown in FIG. 4, 34 is a microwave generator that is installed below the bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14 and irradiates microwaves from below the cooking chamber 14 to the food to be cooked, thereby heating it in the microwave oven. The microwave generator 34 is composed of a magnetron 35 that serves as a source of microwave generation, a waveguide 36 that guides the microwaves from the magnetron 35 into the inside of the cooking chamber 14, an antenna 37 that radiates microwaves from the waveguide 36 to the cooking chamber 14, an antenna motor 39 such as an AC motor that rotates the antenna 37 horizontally around an upright shaft 38, and a microswitch 40 that is attached near the antenna 37.

In addition, a control means 41, which will be described later, is installed below the bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14, and an internal temperature distribution detection means 42 is installed above the right side wall 14d of the cooking chamber 14. The internal temperature distribution detection means 42 is configured by equipping an infrared sensor (not shown) with a swing mechanism, and detects the temperature distribution inside the cooking chamber 14, making it possible to detect the temperature of the food being cooked placed therein.

Figure 5 shows the main electrical configuration of an oven range. In the figure, 41 is a control means composed of a microcomputer, and as is well known, this control means 41 is equipped with a CPU as a calculation processing means, a memory as a storage means, a timer as a timekeeping means, an input/output device, etc.

The input port of the control means 41 is electrically connected to the operation means 9 using the keys 7 and touch panel 8 described above, the internal temperature detection means 15, and the internal temperature distribution detection means 42, as well as a hot air motor rotation detection means 43 that detects the rotation of the hot air motor 24 incorporated in the hot air unit 21, a door opening/closing detection means 44 that detects the open/closed state of the door 3, an antenna position detection means 45 equipped with a microswitch 40 that detects the origin position of the antenna 37 that constitutes the microwave generator 34, and a vaporization chamber temperature detection means 46 such as a thermistor that detects the temperature of the vaporization chamber 32 that constitutes the steam unit 26.

The output port of the control means 41 is electrically connected to the display means 6 using a liquid crystal display, as well as the microwave heating means 48 including the magnetron 35 of the microwave generator 34 and its driving means, heater driving means 49 such as relays that turn on and off the upper heater 19 and lower heater 20 for grill heating, the hot air heater 22 for oven heating, and the sheathed heater 31 for steam heating, antenna driving means 50 for driving the antenna motor 39 that serves as the driving source for the antenna 37, hot air motor driving means 51 for driving the hot air motor 24 that serves as the driving source for the hot air fan 23, and pump driving means 52 for operating the pump 27 of the steam unit 26.

The control means 41 receives operation signals from the operation means 9 and detection signals from the internal temperature detection means 15, internal temperature distribution detection means 42, hot air motor rotation detection means 43, door opening/closing detection means 44, antenna position detection means 45, and vaporization chamber temperature detection means 46, and outputs drive control signals to the microwave heating means 48, heater driving means 49, antenna driving means 50, hot air motor driving means 51, and pump driving means 52, all of which serve as heating means, at a predetermined timing based on the timing from the timing means, and also outputs display control signals to the display means 6. These functions are realized by the control means 41 reading a program recorded in the memory as a storage medium, but in this embodiment in particular, the control means 41 is provided with a program that causes the control means 41 to mainly function as a heating control unit 61 and a display control unit 62.

The heating control unit 61 mainly controls the operation of each unit related to the heating and cooking of the food placed in the cooking chamber 14. When it receives an operation signal from the operation means 9, if it determines that the door 3 is closed based on a detection signal from the door opening/closing detection means 44, it sends control signals to the microwave heating means 48, heater driving means 49, antenna driving means 50, hot air motor driving means 51, and pump driving means 52 in response to the operation signal, thereby controlling the heating and cooking of the food in the cooking chamber 14. In this embodiment, cooking information for all menus that can be cooked in the oven range is stored and held in the all-menu storage unit 63, which is part of the memory, and when an operation is performed from the operation means 9 to start cooking for one menu selected from the all-menu storage unit 63, the heating control unit 61 heats and cooks the food in a predetermined procedure according to the cooking information for the selected menu.

The menus stored in the all-menu storage unit 63 can be broadly divided into manual cooking menus and automatic cooking menus. A manual cooking menu is a menu that is used by setting the time, power, and temperature for a menu selected from the all-menu storage unit 63 by touching the touch panel 8 before operating the start key 7A, such as the manual microwave menu described below. An automatic cooking menu is a menu that is used by selecting a menu from the all-menu storage unit 63 without setting the time, power, or temperature, such as the hamburger steak menu described below.

The display control unit 62 mainly controls the operation related to the display of the display means 6, and in this embodiment in particular, in order to switch and display various screens on the display means 6 which is a liquid crystal display, it includes a top screen display control unit 62A that selectively displays the top screen "Warm" screen or "Cook" screen on the display means 6 immediately after power is turned on, and a transition screen display control unit 62B that receives an operation signal from the operation means 9 and displays a series of transition screens from the top screen displayed on the display means 6 to the final screen where heating and cooking can be started with the selected menu. How these top screen display control unit 62A and transition screen display control unit 62B display various screens on the display means 6 will be explained in detail later.

Next, the operation of the oven range configured as above will be explained. With the food to be cooked placed in the cooking chamber 14, the door 3 is closed while holding the handle 4 with the hand, one menu is selected from the full menu storage section 63 using the operating means 9, and then key 7 on the operating means 9 is pressed to start cooking. In accordance with the control program built into the memory of the control means 41, a control signal generated in response to the cooking information for the selected menu is output at a predetermined timing, and the food to be cooked is heated.

Here, for example, if a menu for oven heating is selected, the heating control unit 61 receives a detection signal from the internal temperature detection means 15 and sends control signals to the heater drive means 49 and the hot air motor drive means 51, respectively, so that the inside of the cooking chamber 14 is heated to the set temperature, and controls the on/off of the hot air heater 22 and the hot air motor 24. As a result, the rotational force generated in the hot air motor 24 is transmitted to the hot air fan 23, which rotates in one direction inside the hot air unit 21, and the speed is taken in by the hot air motor rotation detection means 43 to the heating control unit 61, and the air sucked into the inside of the hot air unit 21 through the suction port 16 from the cooking chamber 14 is sent to the energized hot air heater 22 side, and the heated air is supplied as hot air to the cooking chamber 14 through the hot air outlets 17, 18, so that the food to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 is heated by hot air convection.

When a menu for steam cooking using steam is selected, the heating control unit 61 receives a detection signal from the vaporization chamber temperature detection means 46 and sends control signals to at least the heater driving means 49 and the pump driving means 52 so that the vaporization chamber 32 reaches a predetermined temperature, thereby controlling the operation of the pump 27 built into the steam unit 26 and the power on/off of the sheathed heater 31. This causes saturated steam or superheated steam to be sprayed from the steam outlet 33 into the cooking chamber 14, steaming the food in the cooking chamber 14.

When a menu for microwave cooking is selected, the heating control unit 61 receives a detection signal from the internal temperature distribution detection means 42, and sends appropriate control signals to the microwave heating means 48 and antenna driving means 50 while checking the origin position of the antenna 37 with a detection signal from the antenna position detection means 45 so that the food to be cooked is heated to the set temperature. This causes the magnetron 35 and antenna 37 of the microwave generator 34 to operate, and microwaves generated from the surface of the rotating antenna 37 are supplied into the cooking chamber 14, and the food to be heated in the cooking chamber 14 is heated by high frequency waves.

Furthermore, when a menu for grill cooking is selected, the heating control unit 61 receives a detection signal from the internal temperature detection means 42 and controls the on/off of the upper heater 19 and the lower heater 20 so that the inside of the cooking chamber 14 is heated to the set temperature, and the food to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 is grill-heated from above and below.

Next, the display and operation of the operation panel unit 5 will be explained in detail with reference to Figures 6 to 18. In the following description, a "tab display section" refers to a display section where, when the touch panel 8 is tapped on, detailed information about that tab display section is displayed on the display means 6, and the other tab display sections continue to be displayed on the display means 6, but the detailed information is hidden; a "button display section" refers to a display section where, when the touch panel 8 is tapped on, the entire screen or a part of the screen of the display means 6 is switched to something else and displayed; a "list display section" refers to a display section where, when the touch panel 8 is tapped on, a list of items that can be selected in the list display section is displayed, and when an item from that list is tapped on the touch panel 8, the touched item is selected and set, and only that item is displayed in the list display section; a "picker display section" refers to a display section where, when the touch panel 8 is slid on, a list of items that can be selected in the picker display section is scrolled and displayed, and when the scrolling stops, the selected item is displayed in the center; and a "key display section" refers to a display section where, each time the touch panel 8 is tapped on, the list of items displayed in the picker display section is switched one by one.

A "text display" is a display that is represented by a string of characters such as letters, numbers, and symbols, an "icon display" is a display that represents things symbolized with simple pictures, and an "image display" is a display that is depicted in the form of a photograph taken with a camera or a painting.

In this embodiment, a mechanism for displaying various screens including such display units and display bodies on the display means 6 by various operational inputs from the user to the touch panel 8, i.e., a UI (user interface), is incorporated in the display control unit 62. The display control unit 62 accepts tap operations and slide operations as necessary as touch operations on the screen displayed on the display means 6. The "tap operation" here refers to an operation of touching the touch panel 8 on the screen with a finger and immediately releasing the finger, and the "slide operation" refers to an operation of touching the touch panel 8 on the screen with a finger and sliding the finger from there. The "slide operations" accepted by the display control unit 62 include a swipe in which the finger is kept touching the touch panel 8 on the screen and sliding the finger in one direction, and a flick in which the finger is touched on the touch panel 8 on the screen with a finger and then sliding the finger as if sweeping it.

Figure 6 shows the first top screen G1 for everyday use as the initial screen displayed on the display means 6 immediately after power is turned on. When the user inserts the power plug (not shown) previously provided on the main body 1 into a household outlet and then opens the closed door 3, the necessary power (electricity) is turned on for each section, such as the display means 6 and the control means 41. At this time, the top screen display control section 62A causes the first top screen G1 as shown in Figure 6 to be displayed as a default on the display means 6. The "default display" here refers to the display that appears first on the display means 6, which is preset by the top screen display control section 62A, immediately after power is turned on to the display means 6 and before any operation is performed on the operating means 9.

The first top screen G1 is a so-called tab format screen, and at the top of it is formed a tab display area A1 which displays, side by side, a tab display section B1 containing a text display element D1 saying "warm up," a tab display section B2 containing a text display element D2 saying "cook," and a tab display section B3 containing an icon display element D3 reminiscent of various oven range settings. Below the tab display area A1, a first menu display area M1 is formed vertically side by side, which initially displays by default a manual microwave menu selected as one menu assumed to be used most frequently from among the multiple heating function menus stored in the all menu storage unit 63, and which shows the most frequently used output of 600 W from among the multiple settable outputs of the microwave heating means 48 included in the cooking information for that menu as detailed information included in the tab display section B1 selected in the tab display area A1; and a second menu display area M2 is formed vertically side by side, which displays by default several menus, including a microwave heating menu assumed to be used most frequently after the manual microwave menu, selected from the multiple menus stored in the all menu storage unit 63, so that those menus can be selected and operated.

In the first menu display area M1, a power setting display area that allows the power setting of microwave heating and a time setting display area that allows the time setting of microwave heating are formed side by side, one above the other. The power setting time area is composed of a text display D4 indicating the set power of microwave heating and a list display section B4 including an icon display D5 that evokes the display of a list of outputs that can be set in the text display D4. As shown in FIG. 6, when the first top screen G1 is displayed as the default on the display means 6, a text display D4 saying "Microwave 600W" is displayed in the list display section B4 to indicate that the power of microwave heating is set to 600W.

In addition, the time setting display area of the first menu display area M1 includes a picker display area B6 including a text display D6 showing the set number in the tens of minutes digits, a picker display area B7 including a text display D7 showing the set number in the units of minutes digits, a text display D8 with "minutes" which reminds the user that the numbers displayed on the text displays D6 and D7 are in minutes, a picker display area B9 including a text display D9 with the set number in the tens of seconds digits, and a text display D9 with "seconds" which reminds the user that the numbers displayed on the text display D9 are in seconds, as a drum roll-like display area that rotatably displays the set time for microwave heating. The time display elements D10 are arranged in order from left to right, and in the default display state of the first top screen G1 shown in Figure 6, an up key display section B11 including an icon display D11 that evokes an increase in the tens digits displayed in the text display section D6 is arranged above the picker display section B6, an up key display section B12 including an icon display D12 that evokes an increase in the units digits displayed in the text display section D7 is arranged above the picker display section B7, and an up key display section B13 including an icon display D13 that evokes an increase in the seconds digits displayed in the text display section D9 is arranged above the picker display section B9. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 6, depending on the numbers displayed on the text display elements D6, D7, and D9, as shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 17, any or all of the above-mentioned up key display elements B11 to B13 may be hidden, or in the time setting display area of the first menu display area M1, a down key display element B14 including an icon display element D14 that evokes the decrease in the tens digits displayed on the text display element D6 may be displayed and arranged in a displayed state below the picker display element B6, a down key display element B15 including an icon display element D15 that evokes the decrease in the units digits displayed on the text display element D7 may be displayed and arranged in a displayed state below the picker display element B7, and a down key display element B16 including an icon display element D16 that evokes the decrease in the tens digits displayed on the text display element D9 may be displayed and arranged in a displayed state below the picker display element B9.

On the other hand, in the second menu display area M2, a button display section B21 including a text display D21 saying "Rice" and an icon display section D22 that evokes the automatic cooking menu for rice, a button display section B23 including a text display D23 saying "Side dish" and an icon display section D24 that evokes the automatic cooking menu for side dishes, a button display section B25 including a text display D25 saying "Bread and others" and an icon display section D26 that evokes the automatic cooking menu for bread, a button display section B27 including a text display D27 saying "Drinks" and an icon display section D28 that evokes the automatic cooking menu for drinks, a button display section B29 including a text display D29 saying "Boiled vegetables" and an icon display section D30 that evokes the automatic cooking menu for boiled vegetables, and a button display section B31 including a text display D31 saying "Defrosting" and an icon display section D32 that evokes the automatic cooking menu for defrosting are displayed in a vertical and horizontal arrangement.

Figure 7 shows the second top screen G2, which can be easily switched between the first top screen G1 and the second top screen G2 by sliding left and right. This second top screen G2 is displayed on the display means 6 when, with the first top screen G1 displayed on the display means 6, a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the first menu display area M1 or the second menu display area M2 is slid leftward, or a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the tab display section B2 displaying "Cook" in the tab display area A1 is tapped.

The second top screen G2 is a tab-format screen that shares the display of the first top screen G1 and the tab display area A1. Below the tab display area A1, a third menu display area M3 is displayed so that the user can select a manual cooking menu that is expected to be used relatively frequently from among the menus that are multiple heating functions stored in the full menu storage unit 63 as detailed information contained in the tab display section B2 selected in the tab display area A1, other than the manual microwave menu displayed in the first menu display area M1 of the first top screen G1 and the other automatic cooking menus displayed in the second menu display area M2, and a fourth menu display area M4 is displayed so that the user can select an automatic cooking menu that is also expected to be used relatively frequently.

In the third menu display area M3, a text display D40 "Manual Cooking" is displayed in the upper left corner to indicate that this area is related to the manual cooking menu, and other items are arranged vertically and horizontally: a button display B41 including a text display D41 "Oven" and an icon display D42 evoking the manual cooking menu by oven heating; a button display B43 including a text display D43 "Grill" and an icon display D44 evoking the manual cooking menu by grill heating; a button display B45 including a text display D45 "Steam" and an icon display D46 evoking the manual cooking menu of steam heating; and a button display B47 including a text display D47 "Other" and an icon display D48 evoking other major manual cooking menus.

In the fourth menu display area M4, a text display D50 "Automatic cooking" is displayed in the upper left corner to indicate that this area is related to the automatic cooking menu, and other items displayed in a vertical and horizontal array include a button display B51 including a text display D51 "Omakase Stone Oven Bake" and an icon display D52 evocative of an automatic cooking menu using oven heating, a button display B53 including a text display D53 "Recommended" and an icon display D54 evocative of calling up a recommended automatic cooking menu, a button display B55 including a text display D55 "Favorites" and an icon display D56 evocative of calling up a favorite automatic cooking menu, and a button display B57 including a text display D57 "Recipe Collection Search" and an icon display D58 evocative of searching for an automatic cooking menu.

To switch the second top screen G2 displayed on the display means 6 to the first top screen G1, the user can slide the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the third menu display area M3 or the fourth menu display area M4 to the right, or tap the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the tab display section B1 that displays "Warm" in the tab display area A1.

As shown in Figure 6, immediately after powering on the display means 6, the top screen display control unit 62A causes the display means 6 to display the first top screen G1 in which the "Warm" tab display section B1, which is located at the leftmost position in the tab display area A1, is selected. In this first top screen G1 in which "Warm" is selected, the "Warm" tab display section B1 is displayed in a brighter color than the unselected "Cook" tab display section B2. In addition, the manual microwave menu has already been selected from all the menus stored in the full menu storage unit 63 as the heating function assumed to be used most frequently by the user, and the output has been set to 600 W, which is assumed to be the most frequently used output for the manual microwave menu, and the user only needs to set the time. The second menu display area M2 shows that the user can select from among all the menus stored in the full menu storage unit 63 as the heating function assumed to be used most frequently by the user after the manual microwave menu, and primarily shows multiple automatic cooking menus that use microwave heating means 48 to heat and cook the food to be cooked. Both are displayed by default.

If the user then uses the manual microwave menu displayed in the first menu display area M1 to heat and cook the food placed in the cooking chamber 14, they can change the microwave heating output to a value other than the initially set 600W as necessary, and then set the microwave heating time. Then, by simply operating the start key 7A, the food can be heated by the microwave heating means 48 at the set output and time.

Specifically, to change the microwave heating output to something other than the default "600W microwave" displayed in list display section B4, tap on a portion of touch panel 8 that overlaps icon display D5 displayed at the right end of list display section B4. In response, top screen display control section 62A expands the display area of list display section B4 displayed on display means 6 (not shown) and displays a list of outputs that can be selected in the manual microwave menu there, such as "1000W", "600W", "500W", "200W", and "100W". When a portion of touch panel 8 that overlaps one of these outputs is tapped, top screen display control section 62A sets the output corresponding to the touched portion as the new output for the manual microwave menu, returns the display area of list display section B4 to its original size, and displays only the newly set output there.

Next, the microwave heating time setting will be described. FIG. 8 shows the main display parts related to the operation of setting the microwave heating time in the manual microwave menu displayed in the first menu display area M1 of the first top screen G1. In this embodiment, a UI that allows the setting of numerical values such as the microwave heating time on the first top screen G1 displayed on the display means 6 by both sliding and tapping on the touch panel 8 is built into the top screen display control part 62A of the display control part 62.

To increase the value of the microwave heating set time displayed on the picker display section B6, B7, B9, slide the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the picker display section B6, B7, B9 that displays the value you want to increase upward, or tap the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the corresponding up key display section B11, B12, B13 above the picker display section B6, B7, B9 that displays the value you want to increase. Conversely, to decrease the value of the microwave heating set time, slide the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the picker display section B6, B7, B9 that displays the value you want to decrease downward, or tap the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the corresponding down key display section B14, B15, B16 below the picker display section B6, B7, B9 that displays the value you want to decrease. When either of these operations is performed, depending on the amount of sliding, one or more numerical items displayed in the picker display sections B6, B7, and B9 will move in a rotating motion and increase or decrease; when either of these operations is performed, with a single tap operation, the numerical items displayed in the picker display sections B6, B7, and B9 will move in a rotating motion and increase or decrease one by one.

This allows the user to freely choose between sliding and tapping, whichever is easier, when setting values related to oven control, such as the time to heat the oven. This is not limited to setting values such as time and temperature, but can also be applied to settings from multiple items. For example, a screen related to one menu may be provided with a first button display section that displays "Next" to transition to the next screen, and a second button display section that displays "Back" to transition to the previous screen, and each screen may be treated as multiple items, with the display control section accepting the tapping or sliding operation to change the display to a different screen by tapping on a part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the button display section, or by sliding on a part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the displayed screen.

As shown in FIG. 1, the handle 4 extending horizontally above the door 3 is arranged so as not to be positioned above the display screen of the display means 6. In other words, the handle 4 for opening and closing the door 3 is not formed on the vertical (up-down) upper side of the display means 6, and no convex portion that protrudes above the flat surface of the display means 6 is provided on the vertical upper side of the display means 6. This provides the advantage that when a user looks at the oven range from diagonally above, the handle 4 does not get in the way and visibility is good, and in particular when a user performs a sliding operation from bottom to top on the surface of the display means 6, a finger or a pen-like object will not hit the handle 4.

In addition, the convex handle 4 is not formed on the vertical upper side of the display means 6, nor on the horizontal (left and right) side of the display means 6. This prevents the user's finger or pen-like object from hitting the handle 4 when performing a left and right sliding operation on the surface of the display means 6.

Figure 8 shows first to fourth virtual lines L1 to L4 along each side of the display means 6, which has a rectangular outer shape when viewed from the front. Preferably, the convex handle 4 is not placed on the extensions of the first and second virtual lines L1, L2 on the top and bottom, and on the extensions of the third and fourth virtual lines L3, L4 on the left and right, and between each of these extensions, so that a finger or pen-like object will not hit the handle 4 no matter which direction the user slides on the surface of the display means 6, whether up, down, left, or right. Furthermore, it is preferable that there are no convex parts that protrude beyond the display means 6 between each of these extensions.

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing the display operation of the tens-digit picker display B6 and the units-digit picker display B7, both of which rotate like a drum roll. In this embodiment, the cooking information for the manual microwave menu stored in the full menu memory 63 includes the relationship between the microwave heating output and the maximum time. For example, when the microwave heating output is set to 600 W, the top screen display control unit 62A controls the display of the picker display units B6 and B7 on the first top screen G1 based on the relationship between the output and time stored in the full menu memory 63 so that the maximum microwave heating time is not set to more than 20 minutes.

Specifically, when the numerical value displayed as text display D7 in the units digit picker display B7 is "0", the numerical value displayed as text display D6 in the tens digit picker display B6 will only move to "0", "1", or "2", no matter how much you slide the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display B6, or how much you tap the parts of the touch panel 8 that are located above or below the picker display B6 and overlap the up key display B11 or down key display B14; no other numerical values will be displayed.

In addition, if the number displayed in the units digit picker display section B7 is any number between "1" and "9" other than "0", the number displayed in the tens digit picker display section B6 will only ever be "0" or "1", no matter how you slide the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display section B6, or how you tap the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the up key display section B11 or the down key display section B14, and no other numbers will be displayed.

In addition, when the number displayed in the tens-digit picker display section B6 is "2," the number displayed in the units-digit picker display section B7 remains "0" and does not move, no matter how much you slide the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display section B7, or how much you tap the parts of the touch panel 8 that are located above or below the picker display section B7 and overlap the up key display section B12 or down key display section B15.

In addition, when the number displayed in the tens digit picker display section B6 is "1" or "0" other than "2," the number displayed in the units digit picker display section B7 will move between all the numbers "0" to "9" when the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display section B7 is slid, or when the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the up key display section B12 or the down key display section B15 is tapped.

In this embodiment, when the user sets values such as temperature and time related to the control of the oven range from the first top screen G1 displayed on the display means 6, the top screen display control unit 62A controls the display operation of the values on the picker display units B6 and B7 which rotate like a drum roll so that when the set value reaches the upper limit (e.g. 20 minutes) of the set value upon operation input from the touch panel 8, a higher value setting is not accepted, and when the set value reaches the lower limit (e.g. 0 minutes) of the set value, a lower value setting is not accepted, and the values displayed on the picker display units B6 and B7 loop between the upper and lower limits.

Therefore, when the user sets various numerical values by operating the touch panel 8, for example, if the microwave heating output is set to 600 W, the settable time displayed on the picker display sections B6 and B7 will automatically be between 0 and 20 minutes, and if the microwave heating output is set to 200 W, the settable time displayed on the picker display sections B6 and B7 will automatically be between 0 and 90 minutes. By having the top screen display control section 62A appropriately change the range of settable numerical values displayed on the display means 6 in response to different microwave heating outputs, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary operations by the user.

Figure 10 shows all the display sections that are displayed during microwave heating time setting in the manual microwave menu displayed on the first top screen G1. When the user operates the touch panel 8 on the first top screen G1, which is displayed by default on the display means 6 shown in Figure 6, to set the microwave heating time to a different time from the initial "00" minutes and "00" seconds displayed on the picker display sections B6, B7, and B9, the top screen display control section 62A expands the display of the first menu display area M1 on the first top screen G1 to the second display menu display area M2, as shown in Figure 10, and prevents the second display menu display area M2 from being displayed. At this time, the first menu display area M1 additionally displays a button display B61 including a text display D61 saying "Clear," and a text display D62 saying "You can start without accessories," indicating that cooking will begin without any accessories such as a plate. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the button display B61 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A resets the microwave heating time to the initial "00" minutes and "00" seconds, and causes the display means 6 to display again the initial first top screen G1 as shown in FIG. 6.

Figures 11 to 17 show in a table how the top screen display control unit 62A displays the first top screen G1 on the display means 6 when the microwave heating time is set to a different time from the initial "00" minutes and "00" seconds, and also show the respective states of the key display units B11, B12, B13, B14, B15, and B16, and the button display unit B61.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the top screen display control unit 62A has caused the display means 6 to display the first top screen G1 as the default, the microwave heating time displayed in the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 is set to the initial "00" minutes and "00" seconds. In this display state of the first top screen G1, i.e., in the "0 display" state, the up key display unit B13 including the icon display unit D13 for increasing the number in the tens-second digit ("+10 seconds" in the figure), the up key display unit B12 including the icon display unit D12 for increasing the number in the units-minute digit ("+1 minute" in the figure), and the up key display unit B11 including the icon display unit D11 for increasing the number in the tens-minute digit ("+10 minutes" in the figure) are all lit up and displayed, while the up key display unit B13 including the icon display unit D13 for increasing the number in the tens-second digit ("+10 minutes" in the figure) are all lit up and displayed, while the up key display unit B12 including the icon display unit D12 for increasing the number in the tens-minute digit ("+10 minutes" in the figure) are all lit up and displayed. The lower key display section B16 including the icon display D16 for decreasing the number in the units digit ("-10 seconds" in the figure), the lower key display section B15 including the icon display D15 for decreasing the number in the units digit ("-1 minute" in the figure), the lower key display section B14 including the icon display D14 for decreasing the number in the tens digit ("-10 minutes" in the figure), and the button display section B61 including the text display D61 for returning the screen displayed on the display means 6 to "0 display" ("clear" in the figure) are all turned off and become invisible.

When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B13 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 seconds, and displays the increased number of the tens-second digits of the time in the text display D9 corresponding to the picker display B9; when a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B12 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 minutes, and displays the increased number of the tens-second digits of the time in the text display D7 corresponding to the picker display B7; when a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B11 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 minutes, and displays the increased number of the tens-minute digits of the time in the text display D6 corresponding to the picker display B6.

On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept operation input from the touch panel 8 for the turned off down key display units B16, B15, B14 and button display unit B61. Therefore, the user can understand that the time in the tens digits displayed in the picker display unit B6 will not rotate to be less than "0", the time in the units digits displayed in the picker display unit B7 will not rotate to be less than "0", and the time in the tens digits displayed in the picker display unit B9 will not rotate to be less than "00".

Figure 12 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes to be displayed on the display means 6 when the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the up key display unit B13 is tapped once from the "0 display" state shown in Figure 11 to set the microwave heating time displayed in the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 to "00" minutes and "10" seconds, i.e., the "10 second display" state with the tens second digit set to the minimum time. In this "10 seconds display" state, the up key display B13 including the icon display D13 for "+10 seconds", the up key display B16 including the icon display D16 for "-10 seconds", the up key display B12 including the icon display D12 for "+1 minute", the up key display B11 including the icon display D11 for "+10 minutes", and the button display B61 including the text display D61 for "clear" are all lit up, while the up key display B15 including the icon display D15 for "-1 minute" and the up key display B14 including the icon display D14 for "-10 minutes" are all turned off and not displayed.

When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B13 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 10 seconds, and displays the increased tens-second digit of the time in the text display D9 corresponding to the picker display B9. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B16 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, decreases the time by 10 seconds, and displays the decreased tens-second digit of the time in the text display D9 corresponding to the picker display B9. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B12 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the time is increased by one minute, and the increased number of the hour in the units digit is displayed on the text display D7 corresponding to the picker display B7. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B11 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the time is increased by ten minutes, and the increased number of the hour in the tens digit is displayed on the text display D6 corresponding to the picker display B6. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit button display B61 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the display on the first top screen G1 is returned to "0 display."

On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept any operation input from the touch panel 8 for the turned off down key display units B15 and B14. This allows the user to understand that the tens and units displayed on the picker display units B6 and B7 will not rotate to less than "00" minutes.

Figure 13 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes to be displayed on the display means 6 when the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the up key display unit B13 is tapped five times from the "0 display" state shown in Figure 11 to set the microwave heating time displayed in the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 to "00" minutes and "50" seconds, i.e., the "50 second display" state with the tens second digit set to the maximum time. In this "50 seconds display" state, the up key display B16 including the icon display D16 for "-10 seconds", the up key display B12 including the icon display D12 for "+1 minute", the up key display B11 including the icon display D11 for "+10 minutes", and the button display B61 including the text display D61 for "clear" are all lit up and displayed, while the up key display B13 including the icon display D13 for "+10 seconds", the up key display B15 including the icon display D15 for "-1 minute", and the up key display B14 including the icon display D14 for "-10 minutes" are all turned off and not displayed.

When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B16 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and decreases the time by 10 seconds, and displays the decreased tens-second digits of the time in the text display D9 corresponding to the picker display B9. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B12 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 1 minute, and displays the increased tens-second digits of the time in the text display D7 corresponding to the picker display B7. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B11 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 minutes, and displays the increased tens-minute digits of the time in the text display D6 corresponding to the picker display B6. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit button display B61 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the display of the first top screen G1 is returned to "0 display".

On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept any operation input from the touch panel 8 for the turned off up key display unit B13 and the down key display units B15 and B14. Therefore, the user can understand that the time in the tens of seconds digits displayed in the picker display unit B9 will not rotate to become more than "50" seconds, and that the time in the tens of minutes digits and units of minutes digits displayed in the picker display units B6 and B7 will not rotate to become less than "00" minutes.

Figure 14 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes to be displayed on the display means 6 when the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the up key display unit B12 is tapped once from the "0 display" state shown in Figure 11 to set the microwave heating time displayed in the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 to "01" minutes and "00" seconds, i.e., the "1 minute display" state with the minutes digit set to the minimum time. In this "1 minute display" state, the up key display B13 including the icon display D13 for "+10 seconds", the up key display B12 including the icon display D12 for "+1 minute", the up key display B15 including the icon display D15 for "-1 minute", the up key display B11 including the icon display D11 for "+10 minutes", and the button display B61 including the text display D61 for "clear" are all lit up, while the up key display B16 including the icon display D16 for "-10 seconds" and the up key display B14 including the icon display D14 for "-10 minutes" are all turned off and not displayed.

When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B13 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, increments the time by 10 seconds, and displays the increased number of seconds in the tens-second digits on the text display D9 corresponding to the picker display B9. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B12 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, increments the time by 1 minute, and displays the increased number of minutes in the ones-minute digits on the text display D7 corresponding to the picker display B7. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the illuminated up key display B15 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the time is decreased by one minute, and the decreased number of the minutes digit is displayed in the text display D7 corresponding to the picker display B7. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the illuminated up key display B11 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the time is increased by ten minutes, and the increased number of the minutes digit is displayed in the text display D6 corresponding to the picker display B6. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the illuminated button display B61 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the display of the first top screen G1 is returned to "0 display."

On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept any operation input from the touch panel 8 for the turned off down key display units B16 and B14. This allows the user to understand that the time in the tens minute digits displayed in the picker display unit B6 will not rotate to less than "0" one minute, and that the time in the tens second digits displayed in the picker display unit B9 will not rotate to less than "00" seconds.

15 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A displays on the display means 6 when the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the up key display unit B12 is tapped nine times from the "0 display" state shown in FIG. 11 to set the microwave heating time displayed in the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 to "09" minutes and "00" seconds, i.e., the "9 minutes display" state with the minutes digit set to the maximum time. The maximum time for microwave heating increases or decreases depending on the microwave heating output setting. This is because the higher the microwave heating output is set, the faster the temperature rise of the magnetron 35 of the microwave generator 34 and other heat generating components becomes, and the shorter the time until the temperature limit is reached. For example, when the microwave heating output is set to 600 W, the maximum time is 9 minutes, but when the microwave heating output is set to 1000 W, the maximum time is shortened to 5 minutes, and when the microwave heating output is set to 200 W or 100 W, the maximum time is lengthened to 90 minutes. Also, when you select an automatic cooking menu that involves microwave heating, the output and corresponding time are automatically set according to the selected menu.

In this "9 minute display" state, the up key display B13 including the icon display D13 for "+10 seconds", the up key display B15 including the icon display D15 for "-1 minute", the up key display B11 including the icon display D11 for "+10 minutes", and the button display B61 including the text display D61 for "clear" are all lit up, while the up key display B16 including the icon display D16 for "-10 seconds", the up key display B12 including the icon display D12 for "+1 minute", and the up key display B14 including the icon display D14 for "-10 minutes" are all turned off and not displayed.

When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B13 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 seconds, and displays the increased number of the tens of seconds in the text display D9 corresponding to the picker display B9. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit down key display B15 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and decreases the time by 1 minute, and displays the decreased number of the minutes in the text display D7 corresponding to the picker display B7. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B11 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 minutes, and displays the increased number of the minutes in the text display D6 corresponding to the picker display B6. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit button display B61 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the display of the first top screen G1 is returned to "0 display".

On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept any operation input from the touch panel 8 for the turned off up key display unit B12 and down key display units B16 and B14. Therefore, the user can understand that the time in the tens digits displayed in the picker display unit B6 will not rotate to become less than 9 minutes, the time in the units digits displayed in the picker display unit B7 will not rotate to become more than 9 minutes, and the time in the tens digits displayed in the picker display unit B9 will not rotate to become less than 00 seconds.

Figure 16 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes to be displayed on the display means 6 when the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the up key display unit B11 is tapped once from the "0 display" state shown in Figure 11 to set the microwave heating time displayed in the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 to "10" minutes and "00" seconds, i.e., the "10 minute display" state with the tens minute digit set to the minimum time. In this "9 minute display" state, the up key display B13 including the icon display D13 for "+10 seconds", the up key display B12 including the icon display D12 for "+1 minute", the up key display B11 including the icon display D11 for "+10 minutes", the up key display B14 including the icon display D14 for "-10 minutes", and the button display B61 including the text display D61 for "clear" are all lit up, while the up key display B16 including the icon display D16 for "-10 seconds" and the up key display B15 including the icon display D15 for "-1 minute" are all turned off and not displayed.

When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B13 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, increments the time by 10 seconds, and displays the increased number of seconds in the tens-second digits on the text display D9 corresponding to the picker display B9. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up key display B12 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, increments the time by 1 minute, and displays the increased number of minutes in the minutes digits on the text display D7 corresponding to the picker display B7. D7, and when a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the illuminated up key display B11 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the time is increased by 10 minutes, and the increased tens-digit hour number is displayed on the text display D6 corresponding to the picker display B6, and when a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the illuminated down key display B14 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the time is decreased by 10 minutes, and the decreased tens-digit hour number is displayed on the text display D6 corresponding to the picker display B6. Also, when a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the illuminated button display B61 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the display on the first top screen G1 is returned to "0 display."

On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept any operation input from the touch panel 8 for the turned off down key display units B15 and B14. This allows the user to understand that the time in the minutes digits displayed in the picker display unit B7 will not rotate to become less than "0" minutes, and the time in the tens of seconds digits displayed in the picker display unit B9 will not rotate to become less than "00" seconds.

Figure 17 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes to be displayed on the display means 6 when the output is changed from 600 W to 200 W using the list display unit B4 so that the microwave heating time is set to a maximum of 90 minutes from the "0 display" state shown in Figure 11, and then the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the up key display unit B11 is tapped nine times to set the microwave heating time displayed in the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 to "90" minutes and "00" seconds. This shows the "90 minute display" state in which the tens of minutes digit is set to the maximum time. In this "90 minute display" state, the up key display B14 including the icon display D14 for "-10 minutes" and the button display B61 including the text display D61 for "clear" are each lit and displayed, while the up key display B13 including the icon display D13 for "+10 seconds", the up key display B16 including the icon display D16 for "-10 seconds", the up key display B12 including the icon display D12 for "+1 minute", the up key display B15 including the icon display D15 for "-1 minute", and the up key display B11 including the icon display D11 for "+10 minutes" are each turned off and not displayed.

When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit down key display B14 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, decreases the time by 10 minutes, and displays the decreased tens of minutes in the text display D6 corresponding to the picker display B6. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit button display B61 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, and returns the display on the first top screen G1 to "0 display."

On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept operation input from the touch panel 8 for the turned off up key display units B13, B12, B11 and down key display units B16, B15. Therefore, the user can understand that the time in the tens digits displayed in the picker display unit B6 does not rotate to become more than "9" minutes, the time in the units digits displayed in the picker display unit B7 does not rotate to become more or less than "0" minutes, and the time in the tens digits displayed in the picker display unit B9 does not rotate to become more or less than "00" seconds.

In the examples shown in Figures 11 to 17, when any of the digits displayed in the picker display sections B6, B7, and B9 reaches the upper or lower limit, the up key display sections B11 to B13 and the down key display sections B14 to B16, which are the keys corresponding to that digit, are hidden from the display means 6. However, the same effect can be obtained by changing the color (including the color tone) of these keys to a different color while keeping them displayed on the display means 6.

Next, referring to the first top screen G1 shown in FIG. 6 and the second top screen G2 shown in FIG. 7, we will explain again how the heating functions are categorised using these operation screens.

First, on the first top screen G1 shown in FIG. 6, when "Warm" is selected, a first menu display area M1 for the manual microwave menu and a second menu display area M2 for the automatic warm menu are partitioned and arranged. Here, the manual microwave menu that is assumed to be most frequently used by the user is already selected and displayed in the first menu display area M1 with the microwave heating output set to 600 W. Therefore, if there is no change to the 600 W output setting, the user only needs to operate the touch panel 8 to set the microwave heating setting time displayed on the picker display sections B6, B7, and B9 to a time other than "00" hours and "00" minutes, and press the start key 7A to start heating the food in the cooking chamber 14. The heating control section 61 receives an operation signal from the start key 7A and controls the operation of the microwave heating means 48 so that the food is heated at the set output and time.

In addition, while the top screen displayed on the display means 6 could previously be switched between a category screen related to the "manual" cooking menu and a category screen related to the "automatic" cooking menu, in this embodiment, the configuration is divided into a first top screen G1 (FIG. 6) for the "warm" category, which is assumed to be used frequently, and a second top screen G2 (FIG. 7) for the "cook" category, which is assumed to be used less frequently, so that for everyday use, only the first top screen G1, which is displayed by default on the display means 6, can be used. This allows the user to immediately select the heating function for everyday use, which is frequently used, from the first top screen G1, which is the initial screen.

The first top screen G1 and the second top screen G2 can be easily switched to either one by sliding left or right on the touch panel 8, and scrolled on the display means 6. The direction of the sliding operation at this time is different from the direction in which the picker display sections B6, B7, and B9 are slid up and down when setting the microwave heating time, and is perpendicular to this direction, so the two operations do not interfere with each other.

In addition, the second top screen G2 shown in FIG. 7 groups together heating functions in the "cooking" category, allowing the user to select one heating function to suit the purpose of cooking. Specifically, a third menu display area M3 that groups together the main manual cooking menus, which allow precise numerical settings of time, power, and temperature, and a fourth menu display area M4 that groups together the main automatic cooking menus, which do not require settings of time, power, or temperature and can be selected according to the cooking image, are each partitioned and arranged on the second top screen G2 displayed on the display means 6. This allows the user to select the desired menu from the third menu display area M3, where the manual cooking menus and automatic cooking menus are clearly arranged.

In the first top screen G1 in which "Warm" is selected as shown in FIG. 6, when a portion of the touch panel 8 that overlaps any of the button display portions B21, B23, B25, B27, B29, or B31 in the second menu display area M2 is tapped, a selection screen for the heating function that corresponds to the touched button display portion B21, B23, B25, B27, B29, or B31 is displayed on the display means 6 by the transition screen display control portion 62B in place of the first top screen G1.

Similarly, in the second top screen G2 where "Cook" is selected as shown in FIG. 7, when a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping any of the button display sections B41, B43, B45, B47 in the third menu display area M3 is tapped, a selection screen for the heating function for the manual cooking menu corresponding to the touched button display section B41, B43, B45, B47 is displayed on the display means 6 by the transition screen display control section 62B in place of the second top screen G2. When a portion of the touch panel 8 overlapping any of the button display sections B51, B53, B55, B57 in the fourth menu display area M4 is tapped, a selection screen for the heating function for the automatic cooking menu corresponding to the touched button display section B51, B53, B55, B57 is displayed on the display means 6 by the transition screen display control section 62B in place of the second top screen G2.

The top screen control unit 62A may be configured to allow the user to operate the operation means 9 to select an already selected heating function to be displayed in the first menu display area M1 in the first top screen G1 displayed by default on the display means 6, other than the microwave heating menu. In this way, if the user operates the operation means 9 to select the oven heating menu instead of the microwave heating menu, for example, the oven heating menu is already selected, and a heating function in which the oven heating temperature is set to 250°C and the cooking start instruction can be issued simply by setting the heating time can be displayed from the beginning in the first menu display area M1 of the first top screen G1, and the one heating function to be displayed by default in the first menu display area M1 of the display means 6 can be changed from among multiple heating functions according to the user's preference.

Figure 18 shows how the transition screen display control unit 62B displays recipe information corresponding to how to make a hamburger steak on the display means 6 as the aforementioned heating function selection screen when a hamburger steak cooking menu is selected as one of the automatic cooking menus selected from the full cooking menu storage unit 63. The area enclosed in a frame in the figure is one screen that can be displayed on the display means 6.

When information such as recipes and usage instructions to be displayed on the display means 6 does not fit on one screen of the display means 6, the transition screen display control unit 62B accepts a slide operation (swipe or flick) from the touch panel 8. When the user performs such a slide operation on the touch panel 8 with a finger or a pen-like object, the information to be displayed on the display means 6 is scrolled in the direction of the slide.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, when recipe information R1 extracted from cooking information for the hamburger menu in the entire menu storage unit 63 is displayed on the display means 6, if the transition screen display control unit 62B determines that the recipe information R1 does not fit on one screen of the display means 6, it accepts a slide operation from the touch panel 8. Only a portion of the hamburger recipe information R1 is displayed on the display means 6 from the beginning, but when the user touches the touch panel 8 with, for example, finger F and performs a swipe operation by sliding finger F downward from there, the transition screen display control unit 62B, sensing this, scrolls the recipe information R displayed on the display means 6 in the downward direction indicated by the arrow in accordance with the movement of finger F. This allows the user to view the entire recipe information R on the display means 6.

In addition, if the recipe information R displayed on the display means 6 is reached by this downward swipe operation, the transition screen display control unit 62B can accept the downward swipe operation and scroll the recipe information R upward, allowing the user to review the entire recipe information R on the display means 6 at any time. In this way, in this embodiment, the UI familiar from smartphones and the like can be used as is for operating the touch panel 8 of the oven range, and various information that does not fit on a single screen on the display means 6 can be checked in detail by swiping and the accompanying scrolling display.

As described above, in this embodiment, the cooking device includes a display means 6, a touch panel 8 that is provided at an overlapping position on the display screen of the display means 6 as a touch operation unit that accepts touch operations from a user, and a display control means 62 that incorporates a UI in which a screen including the display unit and display body is displayed on the display means 6 in response to operation input from the user to the touch panel 8, and that accepts a slide operation of touching the touch panel 8 on the screen of the display means 6 and sliding it therefrom as a touch operation on the screen displayed on the display means 6.

In this case, a cooking device can be provided that allows the user to view the entire information on the display means 6 and use the same UI that is familiar to users on smartphones, etc., by simply operating the touch panel 8.

In addition, in this embodiment, when the display control means 62 determines that the information displayed on the screen of the display means 6 does not fit on one screen of the display means 6, the display control means 62 accepts a slide operation from the touch panel 8 and scrolls the information displayed on the display means 6 in the direction of the slide operation.

In this case, various information that does not fit on one screen of the display means 6 can be thoroughly checked by swiping and the accompanying scrolling display.

In addition, in this embodiment, a UI that allows settings to be made on the screen displayed on the display means 6 by both sliding and tapping on the screen is incorporated in the display control means 62.

In this case, when setting values related to controlling the cooking device, such as the microwave heating time, you can freely choose between sliding and tapping, whichever is easier to operate.

In addition, in this embodiment, when the user sets a numerical value indicating at least one of the temperature and time related to the control of the cooking appliance from the screen displayed on the display means 6, the display control means 62 is configured to control the display operation of the numerical value so that when the set numerical value reaches the upper limit value that can be set for that numerical value upon receiving an operational input from the touch panel 8, a higher numerical value setting is not accepted, and when the set numerical value reaches the lower limit value that can be set for that numerical value, a lower numerical value setting is not accepted, and the displayed numerical value loops between the upper limit value and the lower limit value.

In this case, by appropriately changing the range of settable values displayed on the display means 6, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary operations for the user.

In addition, in this embodiment, when the numerical value displayed on the display means 6 reaches the upper limit or the lower limit, the display control means 62 is configured to either not display the key display unit on the display means 6 at all, which is a key that switches the numerical value by one each time the touch panel 8 is tapped, or to change the color of the key display unit to a color different from the previous color while keeping the key display unit displayed on the display means 6.

In this case, the user can visually understand that the numerical value displayed on the display means 6 has reached the upper or lower limit.

In addition, in this embodiment, the handle 4 that extends horizontally above the top of the openable and closable door 3 provided on the front of the main body 1 is not formed vertically above the display means 6, and is configured so that there is no convex portion that protrudes above the flat surface of the display means 6 vertically above the display means 6.

In this case, when the user looks at the cooking appliance from diagonally above, the handle 4 does not get in the way and visibility is good, and in particular, when the user performs a sliding operation from bottom to top on the surface of the display means 6, the user's finger or a pen-like object will not hit the handle 4.

In addition, in this embodiment, the convex handle 4 is not formed on the horizontal side of the display means 6.

In this case, when the user performs a left/right sliding operation on the surface of the display means 6, the finger or pen-like object can be prevented from hitting the handle 4.

In addition, in this embodiment, the display means 6 has a rectangular outer shape in a front view, and the first to fourth virtual lines L1 to L4 are arranged along each side of the display means 6. The display means 6 is configured such that no convex portions are located between the extensions of the first and second virtual lines L1, L2, which are the top and bottom virtual lines, and the extensions of the third and fourth virtual lines L3, L4, which are the left and right virtual lines.

In this case, no matter which direction (up, down, left, right) the user slides on the surface of the display means 6, the finger or pen-like object will not hit any part protruding beyond the display means 6.

6 Display means 8 Touch panel 62 Display control unit (display control means)
B6 10-minute picker display (area where numbers are displayed , display of numbers )
B7 Minute picker display (area where numbers are displayed , display of numbers )
B9 10-second picker display (area where numbers are displayed , display of numbers )
B61 "Clear" button display unit (button display body)
G1 First top screen (display screen showing a numerical value indicating at least one of temperature and time)
M1 First menu display area (first display area)
M2 Second menu display area (second display area)

Claims (8)

A display means;
a touch panel provided at a position overlapping the display screen of the display means and configured to receive user operations;
a display control unit that controls a display of the display unit based on an operation on the touch panel,
The display control means
As the operation, a slide operation of touching a predetermined position on the touch panel and sliding the touch panel from that position is accepted;
the slide operation is an operation of the touch panel on an area on which a numerical value indicating at least one of a temperature and a time related to control of a cooking device is displayed;
The display screen, on which a numerical value indicating at least one of the temperature and the time is displayed, is formed with a first display area in which the numerical value is arranged, and a second display area in which several menus selected from a plurality of menus are displayed as defaults so that the menus can be selected and operated;
The heating cooker is characterized in that, when a specified operation is performed, the display control means controls the display of the display means to expand the first display area to the second display area while maintaining the display of the numerical values in the first display area, so that the menu displayed in the second display area cannot be selected . The display control means
2. The cooking device according to claim 1, characterized in that when a set numerical value reaches an upper limit value for which the numerical value can be set, a higher numerical value setting is not accepted, and when a set numerical value reaches a lower limit value for which the numerical value can be set, a lower numerical value setting is not accepted, and the displayed numerical value is displayed in a loop between the upper limit value and the lower limit value. The display control means
The cooking device according to claim 2, characterized in that when the numerical value has reached the upper limit value or the lower limit value, a key display unit which serves as a key for switching the numerical value by one each time the touch panel is tapped is configured to be not displayed at all on the display means, or to change the color of the key display unit to a color different from that before while keeping the key display unit displayed on the display means. The heating output of the cooking device can be set,
The numerical value is a numerical value indicating the time,
3. The cooking device according to claim 2, wherein the display control means controls the upper limit value by changing it in accordance with the heating output. 2. The cooking device according to claim 1 , wherein the display control means controls the display of the display means so that the second display area is not displayed when the first display area is enlarged. The heating cooker according to claim 1, characterized in that the display control means controls the display of the display means so that, when the specified operation is canceled, the second display area is displayed again and the first display area is displayed reduced to the size before the enlarged display. 2. The cooking device according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined operation is an operation of setting a value indicating at least one of the temperature and the time to a different value. The cooking device according to claim 6, characterized in that the display control means controls the display of the display means so as to display a button display body that is operated to cancel the specified operation when the first display area is enlarged.

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