JPH0311370B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a high-frequency heating device equipped with a weight sensor, and in particular is configured to estimate the number of chawanmushi from the total weight including the container and correct the heating pattern. Regarding.

Conventional configuration and its problems A conventional high-frequency heating device configured to automatically cook chawanmushi using a gas sensor is
It is widely used in practical applications. For example, such automatic cooking of chawanmushi has been implemented in a microwave oven equipped with a humidity sensor and a gas sensor that detect water vapor and various gases generated from an object to be heated. Chawanmushi is a delicate dish that requires delicate heating, making it difficult to automate. If the heating is even slightly too high, soot will enter the liquid, and if it is not heated enough, the liquid will not solidify and the result will be loose.

For this reason, in conventional chawanmushi, multiple chawanmushi keys are provided, and the heating sequence is divided depending on the amount (number of pieces), or the number of pieces is set by pressing a single chawanmushi key and then turning a timer knob. By manually inputting the number of pieces in this way, it was possible to select an appropriate heating pattern and achieve delicate heat control.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the heating pattern for conventional chawanmushi, where A is a heating pattern for one bowl and B is a heating pattern for four bowls.The gas sensor detects at least the amount of water vapor (absolute humidity) generated from the object to be heated. Can be detected. The heating pattern consists of two stages: pre-heating T _P in which heating is performed at high output for a certain period of time, and finishing heating T _F in which heating is progressed slowly at low output and the finish is detected by a sensor. Preheating is a stage in which the temperature of the chawanmushi liquid and ingredients is raised in a short period of time, and is terminated before the egg mixture begins to coagulate. This stage only requires rough heating, is provided to shorten the total cooking time, and does not use a sensor. It is heated for a certain amount of time depending on the quantity. One bowl A is heated by T _p1 , and four bowls B are heated by T _p4 , and this time is counted by a timer.

During the subsequent finishing heating, the microwave output is intermittent, and the heating progresses slowly at low output. At this point, the egg fluid reaches its freezing point and steam begins to be generated.
The gas sensor detects this steam generation Δh and automatically ends the heating. Here, the microwave output is controlled to be lower as the amount of chawanmushi is smaller, that is, the on time is shorter. This is to prevent the smaller the bowl, the more likely it is to overcook, and the more soot tends to form.

Now, the problem with the conventional automatic cooking of chawan mushi as described above is that first of all, the number of pieces must be manually set. The operation is cumbersome and can easily lead to user misuse. Second, the contents of the same bowl vary depending on the container. Therefore, the pre-heating time _Tp has to be kept conservative, and the larger the container, the longer the total cooking time becomes.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and aims to provide a high-frequency heating device that eliminates the need to set the number of chawanmushi and allows selection of the optimal pre-heating time T _p even if the size of the container changes. purpose.

Configuration of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the high frequency heating device of the present invention includes a weight sensor that detects the weight of the object to be heated;
Equipped with a gas sensor that detects water vapor and gas generated from the heated object, it is configured to automatically select the optimal heating pattern based on the total weight including the chawanmushi container, making it easy to operate and automatically perform optimal heating. can be executed.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a high-frequency heating device according to the present invention. A door body 2 is provided on the front surface of the main body 1 so as to be openable and closable, and an operation panel 3 is disposed thereon. An auto key 4 is provided on the operation panel 3, allowing the user to automatically cook a desired menu.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the main parts of such an operation panel. As shown in the figure, various menus are arranged as the auto keys 4, and the steamed egg custard key 5 is also provided as one of these auto keys.

6 is a time knob, which is used to set the heating time for manual heating. Conventionally, as described above, after pressing the steamed egg custard key 5, the time knob 6 was turned to input the number of pieces. According to the present invention, such an operation for setting the number of pieces is not necessary, and simply by pressing the chawanmushi key 5, chawanmushi can be automatically cooked in the optimum heating pattern.

FIG. 4 is a heating pattern for chawanmushi showing one embodiment of the present invention. The sensors include a weight sensor and a gas sensor, and the heating pattern consists of two stages, pre-heating and final heating, as in the past. The difference from the conventional method is that the preheating time T _p is made a function of weight, and the detection threshold value Δh of the gas sensor in the final heating is made a function of weight.

The difference between the method of setting the preheating time T _p based on weight and the conventional method of setting it from the number of pieces input manually will be explained. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the total weight and content capacity of each bowl when trying to make chawanmushi in various containers. The content, that is, the amount of egg liquid, is the amount appropriate for the container, which is the amount when approximately the 8th volume is poured into the container. This diagram shows that even though the size and weight of the containers vary, there is a strong correlation between the total weight and the content, and it can be approximated by a linear straight line. In other words, the conventional manual number setting cannot take into account the difference in content due to differences in containers, so the preheating time T _p cannot be selected optimally. . Furthermore, the fact that the content can be estimated from the total weight means that there is no need to perform a tare operation in which only the weight of the container is subtracted, which further simplifies the operation.

Next, the effect of making the detection threshold value Δh a function of weight will be explained. This is a method that corrects Δh smaller for smaller quantities and larger for larger quantities. For example, Δh
It is calculated using the formula (W)=AW+B. A, B
is a constant, and W is the total weight. Such threshold value correction can improve handling of quantity, prevent streaks in small quantities, and improve the tendency to finish loosely in large quantities.

Next, the configuration of such a high frequency heating device will be explained. In FIG. 6, the automatic cooking command input from the auto key 4 on the operation panel 3 is transmitted to the control unit 7.
deciphered by. If the steamed egg custard key is pressed at this time, the control section 7 uses the weight sensor 8 to measure the weight of the steamed egg custard, which is the object to be heated 9 . 10
is a heating chamber, and the mounting plate 11 is rotationally driven by a motor 12, thereby improving uneven baking during microwave heating. Here, the weight sensor 8 may use a strain gauge, a capacitance detection method, or a vibration detection method that focuses on the fact that the natural frequency changes when the motor 12 is vibrated due to the weight of the object 9 to be heated. can.

When the preheating time _p and the detection threshold value Δh are calculated based on the weight measurement, the control section 7 starts supplying power to the magnetron, which is the high frequency generating means 14, via the driver 13. The blower 15 cools the magnetron, and also ventilates the inside of the heating chamber 10, and exhausts ventilation air to the outside of the machine through an exhaust guide 16. The gas sensor 17 is connected to this exhaust guide 1.
6 and is connected to the control unit 7 via the detection circuit 18.
The amount of steam and gas generated from the object to be heated 9 is transmitted to. When the control section 7 shifts to the finishing heating mode, it uses the gas sensor 17 to detect the point at which heating is completed, that is, the point at which the detection threshold value Δh is exceeded, and automatically ends the cooking.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The number of chawanmushi can be determined based on the total weight detected by the weight sensor without having to manually set the number of chawanmushi, so the optimal heating pattern according to the number of chawanmushi can be automatically selected, making the operation simple. It is.

(2) Even if the content per bowl varies depending on the size of the chawan mushi container, the optimal pre-heating time is automatically calculated.

(3) Since the detection threshold value is weight-corrected, it is easy to handle the quantity, and it is possible to achieve a finish that is less likely to contain dirt and is not too loose, from small to large quantities.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main body of a high-frequency heating device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the operation panel,
Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a heating pattern for conventional chawanmushi, Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a heating pattern for chawanmushi according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the total weight of the container and its contents. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a configuration showing one embodiment of the present invention. 5...Chawanmushi key, 7...Control unit, 8...
Weight sensor, 9... object to be heated, 10... heating chamber,
14... High frequency generating means, 17... Gas sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heating chamber in which an object to be heated is placed, a high-frequency generating means coupled to this heating chamber, a weight sensor that detects weight, a gas sensor that detects water vapor or gas generated from the object to be heated, and a high-frequency wave generator connected to the heating chamber. It consists of a control section that controls power supply to the generating means, and a chawanmushi key that instructs heating of the chawanmushi. When the control section detects the pressing of the chawanmushi key, the control section uses the weight sensor to control the temperature of the object including the container. Detecting the total weight of the object to be heated, further determining the number of steamed egg custards as the object to be heated, calculating a certain heating time based on this total weight, and controlling power supply to the high frequency generating means for this heating time. Heating is performed with a certain high frequency output, and when the time period has elapsed, the power supply to the high frequency generation means is controlled to further reduce the high frequency output, and the time point when a predetermined amount of gas is detected using the gas sensor is determined. A high-frequency heating device configured to monitor and change the detection threshold according to the determined number.