Heating cooker

Abstract

To provide a heating cooker which can heat a cooked object while inhibiting the cooked object from boiling over after the cooked object is boiled.SOLUTION: A heating cooker includes: a cooking chamber which houses a cooked object; microwave heating means; an automatic microwave cooking control unit; a boiling determination unit which detects boiling of the cooked object; a thermistor which detects an internal temperature of the cooking chamber; and a first sensor and a second sensor which receive an infrared ray in the cooking chamber to detect a temperature. The heating cooker detects the boiling based on detection temperatures of the thermistor, the first sensor, and the second sensor and controls the microwave heating means so that the operation is shifted to a first step, in which an amount of heat per unit time is reduced compared to an amount of heat before the boiling is detected to heat the cooked object by microwaves, after the boiling of the cooked object is detected and the operation is shifted to a second step, in which an amount of heat per unit time is reduced compared to the amount of heat in the first step to heat the cooked object by microwaves, after the first step.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking appliance provided with boiling detection means for detecting the boiling of an object to be cooked.

Background Art

[0002] As this type of cooking appliance, the patent applicant of the present application provides object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means (65) composed of an infrared sensor for detecting the surface temperature of the object to be cooked, and a thermistor (15) serving as in-chamber temperature detection means for detecting the in-chamber temperature of the cooking chamber (14). Using these object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means (65) and the thermistor (15) as boiling detection means to detect the boiling of the object to be cooked, after boiling is detected, the detection signals from the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means (65) and the thermistor (15) are captured, and the object to be cooked is continuously range-heated so that the temperature of the object to be cooked is maintained at the set temperature during boiling (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the cooker of Patent Document 1, for example, when a food wrapping film is placed over the opening of a container containing the object to be cooked, and this container is placed in the cooking chamber and heated by a range heater, the object-to-be-cooked temperature detecting means (65) detects the temperature of the food wrapping film, resulting in a difference between the temperature of the object to be cooked and the detected temperature by the object-to-be-cooked temperature detecting means (65). Also, since the food wrapping film is interposed, the release of steam from the container is suppressed, and compared to when there is no food wrapping film, the detected temperature by the thermistor (15) may become lower. Even when the object to be cooked reaches the set temperature, excessive range heating may occur, leading to overheating and making spillage more likely to occur.

[0005] Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooker that can heat the object to be cooked without excess or deficiency while suppressing spillage after boiling of the object to be cooked.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The cooker of the present invention includes a cooking chamber for accommodating the object to be cooked, microwave heating means for range-heating the object to be cooked, control means for controlling the microwave heating means, boiling detection means for detecting the boiling of the object to be cooked, first temperature detection means for detecting the temperature inside the cooking chamber, and second temperature detection means for detecting the temperature by receiving infrared rays inside the cooking chamber. The boiling detection means detects the boiling based on the detected temperatures of the first temperature detection means and the second temperature detection means. After the boiling of the object to be cooked is detected by the boiling detection means in range heating, the control means shifts to a first step of reducing the heating amount per unit time compared to before the detection of the boiling and performing range heating, and after the first step, controls the microwave heating means to shift to a second step of reducing the heating amount per unit time compared to the first step and performing range heating.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to heat the object to be cooked without excess or deficiency while suppressing spillage after boiling of the object to be cooked.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the heating cooker according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In all these drawings, common parts will be denoted by common reference numerals.

Examples

[0010] Figures 1 to 17 show the configuration in which the heating cooker of the first embodiment of the present invention is applied to a microwave oven. First, the overall configuration of the microwave oven will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. Reference numeral 1 denotes a main body configured in a substantially rectangular box shape. This main body 1 includes a metal cabinet 2 as a member that covers the outer shell of the microwave oven as a product. Further, reference numeral 3 denotes a door that can be opened and closed provided on the front surface of the main body 1.

[0011] At the upper part of the door 3, there is a handle 4 for opening and closing operations to be held by hand when opening and closing the vertically-opening door 3. On the side of the door 3, there is an operation panel unit 5 for display, notification, and operation. In addition to a display means 6 for displaying the set contents and progress status of cooking, etc., the operation panel unit 5 is provided with operation means 7 such as keys provided on the operation panel unit 5 or a touch panel provided on the surface of the display means 6 to enable various operation inputs related to heat cooking. Inside the door 3 and at the rear side of the operation panel unit 5, although not shown, an operation panel PC (printed circuit) board is arranged for controlling the display means 6, operation means 7, etc.

[0012] At the lower part of the main body 1, a water supply cassette 8 and a water receiver 9 that can be detached from the front surface of the main body 1 are respectively arranged. The water supply cassette 8 is a bottomed container for containing liquid water as a supply source of water vapor ejected from a water vapor supply device 43 described later. The water receiver 9 is a bottomed container for receiving food scraps, water droplets, steam, etc. from the main body 1.

[0013] The cabinet 2 forming the left and right side surfaces and the upper surface of the main body 1 is provided between an oven front plate 12 forming the front surface of the main body 1 and an oven rear plate 13 forming the rear surface of the main body 1 so as to cover an oven bottom plate 11 forming the bottom surface of the main body 1 and thus the oven range. Also, in the main body 1, there are provided a cooking chamber 14 for accommodating an object to be cooked S to be heat-cooked therein, and a thermistor 15 as a temperature detection element for detecting the temperature of the cooking chamber 14. The front surface of the cooking chamber 14 reaches the oven front plate 12 and is open for taking in and out the object to be cooked S, and this opening is configured to be opened and closed by the door 3. The thermistor 15 serving as the in-cabinet temperature detection means is arranged in the vicinity of the door 3 inside the cooking chamber 14.

[0014] The peripheral wall forming the inner surface of the cooking chamber 14 consists 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 rear wall 14e of the cooking chamber 14 is provided with a suction port 16 at its center, and a plurality of blowout ports 17 are provided around the suction port 16. Further, facing the dome-shaped ceiling wall 14a that serves as the upper wall surface of the cooking chamber 14, an upper heater 18 for grilling is provided at the upper part of the main body 1 to radiatively heat the object to be cooked S from above the cooking chamber 14, and at the bottom of the main body 1, a microwave generator 19 including a magnetron is provided to supply microwaves, which are a type of radio wave, into the cooking chamber 14. Thereby, the object to be cooked S accommodated in the cooking chamber 14 is grill-heated from above by the heat radiation accompanying the energization of the upper heater 18, and by the energization operation of the microwave generator 19, microwaves are radiated onto the object to be cooked S accommodated in the cooking chamber 14 to perform range heating on the object to be cooked S.

[0015] On the left side wall 14c and the right side wall 14d of the cooking chamber 14, a pair of left and right shelf supports 22 are provided in two upper and lower stages to store and hold a metal square dish 21 in a suspended state inside the cooking chamber 14. The square dish 21 used here is formed in a bottomed concave shape with an open upper surface, and is composed of a storage portion 21A formed without holes and a flange portion 21B extending horizontally outward from the upper end of the storage portion 21A. Further, ventilation holes 21C that allow the flow of hot air to pass through the square dish 21 are formed in the flange portion 21B. In FIG. 2, a state is shown where the flange portion 21B of the square dish 21 is placed on the lower shelf support 22 inside the cooking chamber 14 and the object to be cooked S is placed in the storage portion 21A. However, depending on the cooking, the square dish 21 may be placed only on the upper shelf support 22, or two square dishes 21 may be placed on the upper and lower shelf supports 22 respectively. Instead of the square dish 21, other accessories such as a baking net (not shown) may be stored and held. Also, in the range heating by the above-described microwave generator 19, the object to be cooked S can be heated and cooked by placing it in a container (not shown) capable of range heating inside the cooking chamber 14 without putting the square dish 21, baking net, etc. inside the cooking chamber 14.

[0016] 24 is a hot air unit for oven heating provided inside the main body 1 from the outdoor rear to the lower part of the cooking chamber 14. This hot air unit 24 includes, as a heating means for the object to be cooked S, a convex casing 26 attached to the back wall 14e, a hot air heater 27 for heating air, a hot air fan 28 for sending and circulating the heated air into the cooking chamber 14, an electric hot air motor 29 for rotating the hot air fan 28 in a predetermined direction, and a transmission mechanism 30 for transmitting the driving force from the hot air motor 29 to the hot air fan 28. As an internal space between the back wall 14e and the casing 26, in a heating chamber 31 formed at the outdoor rear of the cooking chamber 14, the hot air heater 27 and the hot air fan 28 are respectively arranged, while in a lower space 32 between the cooking chamber 14 formed inside the main body 1 and the oven bottom plate 11, the hot air motor 29 is arranged. And an oven rear plate 13 is arranged at the rear part of the main body 1 so as to cover the entire hot air unit 24 from the rear outer side.

[0017] The hot air fan 28 of this embodiment is provided as a so-called centrifugal fan that discharges the air taken in in the axial direction in the radial direction perpendicular to the axial direction by the centrifugal force during rotation, and the tubular hot air heater 27 is arranged surrounding the radial direction of the hot air fan 28. The hot air heater 27, which is also a heat generating part, uses, for example, a sheathed heater, a mica heater, a quartz tube heater, or a halogen heater. The above-described suction port 16 and hot air outlet 17 function as a ventilation part that communicates between the cooking chamber 14 and the heating chamber 31.

[0018] And in this embodiment, when the hot air fan 28 is rotationally driven with the energization of the hot air motor 29, the air sucked from the inside of the cooking chamber 14 through the suction port 16 is blown out in the radial direction of the hot air fan 28, heated by the energized hot air heater 27, and the hot air passes through the outlet 17 and is supplied into the cooking chamber 14. Thereby, a path for circulating the hot air inside and outside the cooking chamber 14 is formed, and the object to be cooked S in the cooking chamber 14 is configured to be heated by hot air convection. road is formed, and the object to be cooked S in the cooking chamber 14 is configured to be heated by hot air convection.

[0019] Next, as heating means for heating the object to be cooked S, a microwave generator 19 as microwave heating means and its surrounding detailed structure will be described. The bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14 is configured by covering the upper surface opening of a concave antenna storage portion 35 formed in a metal plate material 34 with a bottom plate 36 through which microwaves can pass, such as a ceramic plate. The metal plate material 34 through which microwaves cannot pass forms not only the peripheral portion of the bottom wall 14b but also the left side wall 14c, the right side wall 14d, and the back wall 14e integrally. The inner surface of the cooking chamber 14 except for the bottom plate 36 is formed of a material through which microwaves cannot pass.

[0020] The microwave generator 19 mainly includes, in addition to a magnetron (not shown) serving as a microwave supply source, in the lower space 32 inside the main body 1, a waveguide 37 that guides the microwaves oscillated by the magnetron directly below the antenna storage portion 35, an antenna motor 38 disposed below the waveguide 37, an antenna holder 39 whose lower end portion is disposed inside the waveguide 37 and is fixedly attached to the rotation shaft of the antenna motor 38, a cylindrical cable shaft 40 inserted and fixed in the antenna holder 39, and an antenna 41 whose upper end portion of the cable shaft 40 is fixedly attached to the center thereof and is rotatably provided inside the antenna storage portion 35. With the upper surface opening of the antenna storage portion 35 blocked by the bottom plate 36, the entire antenna 41 is arranged parallel to the bottom plate 36 facing the flat bottom plate 36 forming the bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14.

[0021] The steam supply device 43 that sends steam into the cooking chamber 14 includes, in addition to the water supply cassette 8 described above, a nozzle 45 that turns the supplied liquid water into mist, a water supply pipe 46 that connects between the water supply cassette 8 and the nozzle 45, a water supply pump 47 that guides the water from the water supply cassette 8 to the nozzle 45, and a plurality of steam ejection holes 44 that communicate with the inside of the nozzle 45. Thus, during the operation of the steam supply device 43, the water from the water supply cassette 8 is sent into the nozzle 45 by the water supply pump 47, the water supplied by this nozzle 45 is atomized, and is supplied from the steam ejection holes 44 into the cooking chamber 14. At this time, when the temperature inside the cooking chamber 14 is higher than 100°C at atmospheric pressure (hereinafter, the temperature value is the temperature value in degrees Celsius at atmospheric pressure), this steam instantaneously vaporizes inside the cooking chamber 14 to become superheated steam, and the object to be cooked placed in the cooking chamber 14 is quickly and evenly heated with appropriate water molecules (superheated steam).

[0022] Figure 7 shows the object to be cooked temperature detection means and the main parts around it. As shown in the figure, between the cooking chamber 14 and the main body 1, facing the outside of the raised member 52 including the window 53, the first sensor 55 and the sensor motor 56 are arranged, and the second sensor 58 is arranged facing the window 54. Further, the sensor motor 56 and the second sensor 58 are fixedly attached inside the main body 1, while the first sensor 55 is attached to the rotatable rotating shaft 59 of the sensor motor 56.

[0023] The sensor motor 56 that serves as the driving device for the first sensor 45 is composed of a stepping motor or the like, and has a rotating shaft 59 that swings the first sensor 55 in the front-rear direction inside the main body 1. The first sensor 55 mainly includes a hollow sensor case 61 fixedly attached to the rotating shaft 59, a sensor substrate 62 housed inside the sensor case 61, a plurality (for example, eight) of infrared detection elements 63 mounted on the surface of the sensor substrate 62, and a lens 64 fixedly attached to the sensor case 61 facing the infrared detection elements 63.

[0024] In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a plurality of infrared detection elements 63 are arranged in a straight line along the vertical direction of the cooking chamber 14. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the visual field V1 of each infrared detection element 63 is arranged in the left - right direction of the substantially rectangular bottom wall 14b through the window 53 from the upper center of the right side wall 14d of the cooking chamber 14. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, when the sensor motor 56 reciprocally rotates its rotating shaft 59 by a predetermined angle in the forward and reverse directions in response to a motor drive signal from control means 71 (see FIG. 13) described later, as the first sensor 55 swings, the visual fields V1 of the plurality of infrared detection elements 63 reaching the bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14 repeatedly swing in a fan shape along the moving direction X1 around each infrared detection element 63. The straight line connecting the plurality of infrared detection elements 63 shown by the dashed - dotted line in FIG. 7 is made to substantially coincide with the rotation center axis of the rotating shaft 59. In order to reduce the thermal influence on the inside of the main body 1, the window 53 may be blocked by an infrared - transmitting member (not shown).

[0025] On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the second sensor 58 mainly includes a hollow sensor case 66 fixedly attached inside the main body 1, a sensor substrate 67 housed inside the sensor case 66, one infrared detection element 68 mounted on the surface of the sensor substrate 67, and a lens 69 fixedly attached to the sensor case 66 facing the infrared detection element 68. As shown in FIG. 12, the second sensor 58 is fixedly attached inside the main body 1 so that the visual field V2 of the infrared detection element 68 always reaches the center of the front - rear - left - right of the bottom wall 14b through the window 54 from the center of the upper - lower - front - rear of the right side wall 14d. In order to reduce the thermal influence on the inside of the main body 1, the window 54 may be blocked by an infrared - transmitting member (not shown).

[0026] Both the first sensor 55 and the second sensor 58 are infrared sensors and constitute the object - to - be - cooked temperature detection means 65 of this embodiment. The object - to - be - cooked temperature detection means 65 here detects the temperature distribution of the entire inside of the cooking chamber 14 by the swinging first sensor 55 and the fixed second sensor 58, and detects the surface temperature of the object - to - be - cooked S in a short time from the amount of infrared rays radiated by the object - to - be - cooked S accommodated therein.

[0027] Figure 13 shows the main electrical configuration of the oven range of this embodiment. In the figure, 71 is a control means constituted by a microcomputer. As is well known, this control means 71 includes a CPU as an arithmetic processing means, a storage means 76 such as a memory, a timer as a timing means, an input / output device, and the like.

[0028] Connected electrically to the input port of the control means 71 are, in addition to the above-described keys and the operation means 7 by the touch panel, and the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65, an in-chamber temperature detection means 72 including a thermistor 15 for detecting the temperature inside the cooking chamber 14, a hot air motor rotation detection means 73 for detecting the rotation speed of the hot air fan 28, a door opening / closing detection means 74 for detecting the open / closed state of the door 3, and an antenna position detection means 75 for detecting the origin position of the antenna constituting the microwave generator 19.

[0029] Connected electrically to the output port of the control means 71 are, in addition to the above-described display means 6, a microwave heating means 78 including a magnetron and its driving means, a heater driving means 79 such as a relay for turning on / off the upper heater 18 for grill heating and the hot air heater 27 for oven heating, an antenna driving means 80 for operating the antenna motor 38 for rotationally driving the antenna 41 for radiating microwaves into the cooking chamber 14, a hot air motor driving means 81 for rotationally driving the hot air motor 29, a sensor motor driving means 82 for driving the sensor motor 56 to rotate forward and backward, and a pump driving means 83 for operating the water supply pump 47 of the steam supply device 43.

[0030] The control means 71 receives the operation signal from the operation means 7 and the detection signals from the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 41, the inside temperature detection means 72, the hot air motor rotation detection means 73, the door opening / closing detection means 74, and the antenna position detection means 75, and at a predetermined timing based on the timing from the timing means, outputs drive control signals to the microwave heating means 78, the antenna drive means 80, the heater drive means 79, the hot air motor drive means 81, the sensor motor drive means 82, and the pump drive means 83, and also has a function of outputting a display control signal to the display means 6. Such a function is realized by the control means 71 reading a program recorded in the storage means 76 as a storage medium. In particular, in this embodiment, the control means 71 is provided with a program that functions as a cooking control unit 85 and a display control unit 86.

[0031] The cooking control unit 85 mainly controls the operations of each part related to the cooking of the object-to-be-cooked S. When it receives an operation signal accompanying the operation of the operation means 7 and determines that the door 3 is closed based on the detection signal from the door opening / closing detection means 74, in response to the operation signal, it sends control signals to the microwave heating means 78, the antenna drive means 80, the heater drive means 79, the hot air motor drive means 81, the sensor motor drive means 82, and the pump drive means 83 to control various cooking operations on the object-to-be-cooked S. In this embodiment, a plurality of menus are stored and held in the storage means 76 in advance as cooking information including the material and heating conditions of the object-to-be-heated S for performing cooking. When an operation to execute cooking is performed from the operation means 7 for one of the menus selected from among them, the cooking control unit 85 has an automatic cooking function of automatically heating the object-to-be-cooked S according to a predetermined procedure according to the selected menu.

[0032] Among such automatic cooking functions, in the present embodiment, for example, when a menu of a microwave oven for warming or thawing the object to be cooked S is selected, while radiating microwaves from the microwave generator 19 into the cooking chamber 14, the cooking time, the range output, etc. are automatically set without an operation input from the operation means 7, and the microwave generator 19 is driven and controlled at a set output until a set time is reached, and an automatic microwave oven cooking control unit 88 for range-heating the object to be cooked S placed in the cooking chamber 14 is provided as one function in the heating cooking control unit 85. This automatic microwave oven cooking control unit 88 is configured to have a boiling determination unit 89 for determining the boiling of the object to be cooked S, as will be described later.

[0033] The display notification control unit 86 controls the operation related to the display of the display means 6 in cooperation with the heating cooking control unit 85. The display means 6 that is the control target of the display notification control unit 86 is composed of a liquid crystal panel, a lighting lamp, etc., but other displays may also be used.

[0034] In the oven range of the present embodiment, menus corresponding to respective range heating, oven heating, grill cooking, and steaming (steam cooking) using mist superheated steam are stored in the storage means 76, and the display notification control unit 86 controls the display means 6 so as to display the stored menus and the settings of the menus in a selectable manner, and selects and sets the cooking menu by performing these menus and the settings of the menus.

[0035] Next, the operation of the oven range having the above configuration will be described in detail. With the object to be cooked S placed in the cooking chamber 14 in advance, while holding the handle 4 by hand, the door 3 is closed, and after selecting and operating the cooking menu by the operation means 7, when an instruction to start heating cooking of the object to be cooked S is given, according to the control program incorporated in the storage means 76 of the control means 71, a control signal generated corresponding to the selected cooking menu is output from the output port of the control means 71 at a predetermined timing, and the object to be cooked S is heated and cooked.

[0036] Here, for example, when a cooking menu for range heating is selected, the heating cooking control unit 85 of the control means 71 receives each detection signal from the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65 and the inside-of-cabinet temperature detection means 72, and sends control signals to the microwave heating means 78, the antenna drive means 80, and the sensor motor drive means 82 so that the object to be cooked S is heated to the set temperature. As a result, the microwave generator 19 is energized to supply and radiate microwaves, the rotational force generated in the antenna motor 38 is transmitted to the antenna 41 to drive it to rotate, microwaves are radiated into the cooking chamber 14, and the object to be heated S placed on the bottom wall 14b is range-heated. Here, for example, the output of the magnetron such as the output αW, output βW, output γW, output δW, etc. to be described later, that is, the output of the microwave generator 19, may be realized by PWM control that adjusts the duty ratio of the maximum high-frequency output of the magnetron by the microwave heating means 78. In this case, the "output" of the microwave generator 19 is realized by PWM control of the high-frequency output, and the "duty ratio" of the microwave generator 19 is realized by PWM control of the duty ratio of the on / off time for the selected "output" such as OFF ζ seconds / ON η seconds in the high-temperature maintenance process to be described later. It is also possible to configure it so that the output and duty ratio of the microwave heating means 78, that is, the magnetron, can be controlled more precisely.

[0037] During this range heating cooking, the rotation axis 59 of the sensor motor 56 is at a position where the rotation angle is 0° (as shown in FIG. 10, the visual field V1 of the eight infrared detection elements 63 is the bottom wall of the cooking chamber 14 When in a state where they are lined up in a row at the center in the front-rear direction of 14b, it repeatedly rotates in the clockwise direction (positive direction) and the counterclockwise direction (negative direction). As a result, the first sensor 55 swings inside the main body 1, and the visual field V1 of each infrared detection element 63 repeatedly swings in a fan shape along the moving direction X1 as shown in FIG. 11. At this time, the rotation shaft 59 of the sensor motor 56 rotates intermittently at a predetermined angle, and each time the control means 71 rotates the rotation shaft 59 at a predetermined angle, it takes in the detection signal from each infrared detection element 63 and monitors the temperature of the object to be cooked S placed in the cooking chamber 14. In this way, each infrared detection element 63 can substantially receive infrared rays from almost the entire bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14 and detect the temperature of the object to be cooked S placed in the cooking chamber 14.

[0038] The sensor motor 56 swings the first sensor 55 with, for example, 5 seconds, which is a predetermined time, as one cycle. During that time, the first sensor 55 detects the temperatures at 64 locations in one direction and 128 locations in total for each infrared detection element 63. That is, by swinging the first sensor 55 having 8 infrared detection elements 63, the first sensor 55 can measure the temperatures at as many as 128×8 = 1024 locations per cycle, and the first sensor 55 can detect the internal temperature of the large cooking chamber 14 in detail up to every corner over a wide range.

[0039] Separately from this, the second sensor 58 fixed to the main body 1 continuously detects the temperature of the object to be cooked S placed in the visual field V2 of the infrared detection element 68 as shown in FIG. 12. The control means 71 takes in the detection signal from the single infrared detection element 68 every time at least the rotation shaft 59 of the sensor motor 56 rotates at a predetermined angle, or at a shorter time interval than that, and monitors the temperature of the object to be cooked S near the center in the cooking chamber 14.

[0040] In this way, each detection signal from the first sensor 55 having eight infrared detection elements 63 enables the temperature inside the cooking chamber 14 to be detected in detail over a wide range and down to every corner, while the detection signal from the second sensor 58 having one infrared detection element 68 enables the temperature near the center inside the cooking chamber 14 to be continuously detected. The control means 71 receives these detection signals and controls the operation of the microwave generator 19 so that desired range heating cooking is performed on the object to be cooked S. Also, as a function of abnormal monitoring, when the detected temperature of the object to be cooked S exceeds the normal range, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the equipment, and the power supply to the microwave generator 19 is forcibly stopped. In any case, by using the first sensor 55 and the second sensor 58 in combination to instantaneously judge the temperature of the object to be cooked S, it becomes possible to accurately control the heating cooking and perform abnormal monitoring as a result.

[0041] Also, when the oven heating menu is selected, the heating cooking control unit 85 receives the detection signal from the internal temperature detection means 72 and sends control signals to the heater driving means 79 and the hot air motor driving means 81 respectively so that the inside of the cooking chamber 14 is heated to the set temperature, and controls the on / off power supply of the hot air heater 27 and the hot air motor 29. Thereby, the rotational force generated in the hot air motor 29 is transmitted to the hot air fan 28, the hot air fan 28 rotates inside the heating chamber 31, and its speed is taken into the heating cooking control unit 85 by the hot air motor rotation detection means 73. At the same time, the air sucked into the heating chamber 31 from the cooking chamber 14 through the suction port 16 is sent to the energized hot air heater 27 side, and the heated air is supplied as hot air to the cooking chamber 14 through the blowout port 17, so that the object to be cooked S inside the cooking chamber 14 is heated by hot air convection.

[0042] And when the grill cooking menu is selected, the heating cooking control unit 85 receives the detection signal from the internal temperature detection means 72 and controls the on / off power supply of the upper heater 18 by the heater driving means 79 so that the inside of the cooking chamber 14 is heated to the set temperature, and the object to be cooked S inside the cooking chamber 14 is grill-heated from above.

[0043] When a menu for steaming (steam cooking) using superheated steam is selected, the heating cooking control unit 85 receives a detection signal from the internal temperature detection means 72 and controls the energization and de-energization of the upper heater 18 by the heater driving means 79 so that the inside of the cooking chamber 14 is heated to the set temperature. When the heating cooking control unit 85 determines that the internal temperature of the cooking chamber 14 has reached the set temperature, it sends a control signal to the pump driving means 83 to control the operation of the water supply pump 47 incorporated in the steam supply device 43, and mist-like water is ejected from the steam ejection hole 44 into the inside of the cooking chamber 14 to supply steam.

[0044] When steam is supplied into the cooking chamber 14, the internal temperature of the cooking chamber 14 decreases. The heating cooking control unit 85 determines whether the internal temperature of the cooking chamber 14 has reached the set temperature based on the detection signal from the internal temperature detection means 72. If the heating cooking control unit 85 determines that it has not reached, the heating cooking control unit 85 controls the energization and de-energization of the upper heater 18 by the heater driving means 79 so that the inside of the cooking chamber 14 is heated to the set temperature. When the heating cooking control unit 85 determines that the internal temperature of the cooking chamber 14 has reached the set temperature, mist-like water is ejected into the inside of the cooking chamber 14 to supply steam again as described above. Thereby, the steam is instantaneously vaporized into superheated steam, and the object to be cooked S in the cooking chamber 14 is heated with appropriate water molecules (superheated steam).

[0045] Subsequently, among the range heating described above in the present embodiment, in particular, for the cooking menu of the automatic range by the automatic range cooking control unit 88 with a food packaging wrap film applied, for example, for the pasta cooking menu, while referring to FIGS. 14 to 17, its operation will be described in detail. In FIGS. 14 and 15, T QTM is a graph of the detected temperature by the internal temperature detection means 72, T IR is a graph of the detected temperature by the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65, P R is a graph showing the output of the magnetron as the microwave generator 19.

[0046] The first sensor 55 and the second sensor 58 of the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65 detect the surface temperature of the object-to-be-cooked S. As described above, the first sensor 55 swings to detect a wide range, and the second sensor 58 continuously detects a certain point. However, in the case of an infrared sensor, when the temperature inside the cabinet approaches 70 °C, steam starts to be generated from the object-to-be-cooked S, and thus there is a characteristic that the accuracy drops due to the diffuse reflection by the steam. On the other hand, the thermistor 15 of the inside-cabinet temperature detection means 72 detects the temperature inside the cooking chamber 14 due to the steam generated from the object-to-be-cooked S. Therefore, there is a characteristic that the temperature rise is slow until the steam is generated. Accordingly, if the temperature of the food material of the object-to-be-cooked S is judged by only one sensor, the temperature of the food material may not be accurately detected due to reasons such as diffuse reflection by steam and slow temperature rise, and there is a risk that the result of the heat cooking deteriorates due to overheating or insufficient heating. However, in the present embodiment, with a triple sensor using these sensors 15, 55, 58 in combination, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 controls the operations of the microwave generator 19 and the antenna driving device 80, thereby significantly improving the range heating performance for automatically heating the object-to-be-cooked S.

[0047] Also, when a food packaging wrap film is put on the opening of the container that houses the object-to-be-cooked S, and this container is housed in the cooking chamber 14 and range-heated, there is a characteristic that infrared rays are detected by the first sensor 55 and the second sensor 58 from the food packaging wrap film because the food packaging wrap film is interposed. Therefore, a temperature difference may occur between the temperature T detected by the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65 IR and the actual temperature of the object-to-be-cooked S. Similarly, because the food packaging wrap film is interposed, the steam from the object-to-be-cooked S is suppressed from filling the inside of the container and being released from the container. Therefore, the temperature inside the cooking chamber 14 does not rise, and the temperature T detected by the inside-cabinet temperature detection means 72 QTMThere may be a temperature difference between the temperature of the actual object to be cooked S. Therefore, in this embodiment, after detecting boiling, the heating amount per unit time is decreased compared to before the detection of boiling, and it is configured to perform range heating. Even without measuring the food material temperature from the detection signals from the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65 and the inside-of-cooking-chamber temperature detection means 72, it suppresses the occurrence of spillage without overheating.

[0048] Specifically described, with a food packaging wrap film covering a container that has previously contained the object to be cooked S, while holding the handle 4 by hand with this container placed inside the cooking chamber 14, close the door 3, select an automatic range cooking menu for heating the object to be cooked S by the operation means 7, select any one of the items for finish adjustment in that cooking menu. For example, after selecting any one of the button display parts where the temperature of the object to be cooked after heating is divided into five levels from "Weak 2 (lukewarm)" to "Strong 2 (hot)", instruct the start of cooking. When the instruction to start cooking is given, heating cooking starts and it shifts to the boiling heating step which is the first step. In the range heating until the boiling of the object to be cooked S is detected, as described in the table of FIG. 17, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 controls the microwave generator 19 to be energized at an output of αW and a duty ratio of OFF 0 seconds / ON ε seconds regardless of the selected finish adjustment, that is, controls the microwave generator 19 to output αW for the entire period in ON output for continuous energization, thereby strongly heating the object to be cooked S and raising its temperature to the boiling temperature in a short time.

[0049] In the boiling heating process, during the range heating of the object to be heated S placed in the cooking chamber 14, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 captures the detection signal from the object to be cooked temperature detection means 65 at predetermined intervals, for example, every 5 seconds, until steam is released from the object to be cooked S into the cooking chamber 14, and measures the temperature of the object to be cooked S therefrom. On the other hand, steam is generated from the object to be cooked S, the pressure in the container rises, a part of the food packaging wrap film is peeled off from the container, and steam is released from the peeled portion into the cooking chamber 14. Therefore, the detection signal from the in-cabinet temperature detection means 72 is also captured at predetermined intervals, for example, every 5 seconds, and the temperature of the food material, which is the temperature of the object to be cooked S, is measured therefrom. The microwave heating means 78 and the antenna driving means 80 are controlled so that the measured food material temperature is heated to an appropriate set temperature higher than room temperature and the moisture in the object to be cooked S boils. Also, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 measures the time from the start of cooking by the timing of a timer as the timing means of the control means 71.

[0050] For example, when the object to be cooked S is in contact with the food packaging wrap film and the object to be cooked temperature detection means 65 detects from the food packaging wrap film at the contact point, before the steam from the object to be cooked S is released into the cooking chamber 14, the detected temperature T of the object to be cooked S by the object to be cooked temperature detection means 65 IR reaches the temperature at which the moisture in the object to be cooked S boils. In this case, as shown in the graph of FIG. 15(A), in this embodiment, as the first boiling detection, during such range heating, the boiling determination unit 89 of the automatic range cooking control unit 88 determines that the detected temperature T of the object to be cooked S by the object to be cooked temperature detection means 65 IR is the first threshold value T A or more, that is, when receiving the detection signal that the boiling determination unit 89 satisfies the formula of condition (i): The detected temperature T of the object to be cooked S IR ≧ the first threshold value T A is satisfied, the boiling determination unit 89 is configured to determine that the object to be cooked S has boiled at this time. Also, as described in the table of FIG. 16, this first threshold value T AThe value is set for each cooking menu and is constant regardless of the temperature inside the oven immediately after the start of range heating. Here, in the present embodiment, for the liquid of the object to be cooked S, the stronger the toromi of the cooking menu, the smaller the value of the first threshold T A is set to suppress overheating of the object to be cooked S, and in order to prevent overheating of the object to be cooked S, the value of the first threshold T A is set to less than 100°C.

[0051] In the present embodiment, the boiling determination unit 89 also employs a boiling detection different from the first boiling detection. Specifically, for example, when the object to be cooked S contains a large amount of moisture, a large amount of steam is generated from the object to be cooked S before boiling, so the pressure inside the container rises more, the time when a part of the food packaging wrap film peels off becomes earlier, and more steam is released by the cooking chamber 14. And when this steam fills the cooking chamber 14, the accuracy of the object to be cooked temperature detection means 65 decreases. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 15(A) to (C), the graph T IR of the infrared sensor has a decreased increase amount per unit time and a decreased rising rate due to the specular reflection by the steam. Also, when the temperature of the object to be cooked S reaches around 70°C, steam starts to be generated from the object to be cooked S. When there is a large amount of this steam, as shown in FIG. 15(C), the change amount of the detection signal from the object to be cooked temperature detection means 65 within a predetermined period, that is, the slope of the graph T IR of the infrared sensor suddenly becomes gentle. Also, when steam is generated from the object to be cooked S and this steam is released to the cooking chamber 14 and the temperature is detected by the thermistor 15, the change amount of the detection signal from the inside oven temperature detection means 72 within a predetermined period, that is, the slope of the graph T QTM of the thermistor suddenly rises. In the present embodiment, as shown in the graphs of FIGS. 15(B) and (C), the boiling determination unit 89 uses, as a boiling detection different from the first boiling detection, the change amount of the temperature T IR and the change amount of the temperature T QTM to determine the boiling of the object to be cooked S.

[0052] During range heating, the boiling determination unit 89 uses the detected temperature T IRThe detected temperature T, which is a detection signal from the inside-of-cabinet temperature detection means 72 QTM is taken in, for example, every predetermined time such as every 5 seconds, and is stored in the storage means 76 together with the time information at the time of taking in. And the stored detected temperature T IR or the detected temperature T QTM is compared with the detected temperature T IR or the detected temperature T QTM at a predetermined time ago such as 25 seconds ago, and the amount of temperature rise, that is, how much the temperature has risen, is calculated and stored in the storage means 76. And as shown in the graph of FIG. 15(B), in the present embodiment, as the second boiling detection, during such range heating, the boiling determination unit 89 determines that the amount of rise in the detected temperature T QTM at a certain point in time is equal to or greater than the second threshold value ΔT B That is, the boiling determination unit 89 satisfies the formula of condition (ii)(1): (The detected temperature T QTM )-(The detected temperature T QTM ) at a predetermined time ago from a certain point in time ≧The second threshold value T B When it is determined that the condition is satisfied, the boiling determination unit 89 is configured to determine that the object to be cooked S has boiled at this time. Here, as described in the table of FIG. 16, the value of this second threshold value T A is set for each cooking menu and is constant regardless of the temperature inside the cabinet immediately after the start of range heating. For example, in the case of the cooking menu of pasta (tomato), the first threshold value ΔT B is set to F°C.

[0053] Also, as shown in the graph of FIG. 15(C), in the present embodiment, as the third boiling detection, during such range heating, the boiling determination unit 89 determines that the amount of rise in the detected temperature T IR at a certain point in time is equal to or less than the value obtained by multiplying the maximum rise amount, which is the largest value among the amounts of rise in the detected temperature T IR from the start of range heating to the time of taking in immediately before a certain point in time, which is used as the third threshold value, by C (0 < C < 1). And the amount of rise in the detected temperature T QTM at the certain point in time is determined to be equal to or greater than the fourth threshold value ΔT B2 That is, the boiling determination unit 89 satisfies the formula of condition (ii)(2): (The detected temperature T at a certain point in time IR ) - (The detected temperature T before a predetermined time at a certain point in time IR ) ≤ Second threshold value (maximum rise amount × C) is determined to be satisfied, and (The detected temperature T at a certain point in time QTM ) - (The detected temperature T before a predetermined time at a certain point in time QTM ) ≥ Fourth threshold value T B2 When it is determined to be satisfied, the detected temperature T when taken in next at a certain point in time IR and the detected temperature T QTM are used to determine whether the formula of condition (ii)(2) is satisfied. Then, the boiling determination unit 89 repeatedly executes this, and using the detected temperature T IR and the detected temperature T QTM , when it is determined that the detection count C1 times, which is the number of consecutive captures including a certain point in time, continuously satisfies the formula of condition (ii)(2), the boiling determination unit 89 is configured to determine that the object to be cooked S has boiled at this time. Here, as described in the table of FIG. 16, the value of C multiplied by the maximum rise amount, the value of the fourth threshold value T B2 , and the value of the detection count C1 are set for each cooking menu and also for each internal temperature immediately after the start of range heating. For example, in the case of the cooking menu of pasta (cream), when the internal temperature is 35 degrees or less (internal temperature ≤ 35°C), the value of C is P, the fourth threshold value T B2 is L°C, the value of the detection count C1 is V times, while when the internal temperature exceeds 35 degrees (internal temperature > 35°C), the value of C is Q, the fourth threshold value T B2 is W°C, and the value of the detection count C1 is W times, where 1 > P > Q > 0, 1 ≤ W < V, and K < L < M are set. Therefore, it is set so that it is easier to determine that the object to be cooked S has boiled as the internal temperature immediately after the start of cooking is higher, suppressing overheating of the object to be cooked S.

[0054] Also, in this embodiment, as the fourth boiling detection, during such range heating, the boiling determination unit 89, based on the time measurement of the timer, determines that the set time t as the fifth threshold has elapsed since the start of range heating without satisfying the equations of the above-described conditions (i) and (ii). D When the boiling determination unit 89 determines that the set time t has elapsed at this point, it is configured to determine that the object to be cooked S has been sufficiently heated and boiled at this time. Also, as described in the table of FIG. 16, the value of this set time t D is set for each cooking menu and is constant regardless of the internal temperature immediately after the start of range heating, suppressing overheating of the object to be cooked S. For example, in this case, the set time t D is set to N minutes. Note that the value of the set time t D may be configured to be set to a constant value regardless of the cooking menu.

[0055] Thus, in this embodiment, "boiling" is not limited to the case where the temperature of the object to be cooked S reaches the boiling temperature of the moisture contained in the object to be cooked S, but refers to a state where the boiling determination unit 89 of the automatic range cooking control unit 88 determines that the object to be cooked S has boiled, that is, a predetermined state where the heating cooker determines that the object to be cooked S is in a boiling state. In this embodiment, the first to fourth boiling detections have been described, but the boiling of the object to be cooked S may be determined by other boiling detections, and the boiling detection method of the present invention is not limited to these.

[0056] For example, as the fifth boiling detection, during such range heating, the boiling determination unit 89 determines that the detected temperature T IR at a certain point has reached or exceeded the sixth threshold T F , and determines that the increase amount of the detected temperature T IR at that certain point is equal to or less than the value obtained by multiplying the maximum increase amount from the start of range heating to the immediately preceding capture point at that certain point by E (0 < E < 1) as the seventh threshold, that is, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 satisfies the equation of condition (ii)(3): (Detected temperature T at a certain point IR ) ≧ Sixth threshold T F and determines that it is satisfied, and (Detected temperature T at a certain point IR)-(The detected temperature T before a predetermined time at a certain point in time IR ) ≤ The seventh threshold value (maximum increase amount × E) If it is determined that this is satisfied, when the detected temperature T is taken in next at a certain point in time IR it may be determined whether the equation of condition (ii)(3) is satisfied. Also, the boiling determination unit 89 repeatedly executes this, and when it is determined that the detected temperature T IR is used to continuously satisfy the equation of condition (ii)(3) for E1 times, which is the number of consecutive captures including a certain point in time, the boiling determination unit 89 may be configured to determine that the object to be cooked S has boiled at this time. In this case, the sixth threshold value T F is set to a temperature lower than the first threshold value T A of condition (i) so that boiling can be detected at an earlier stage than condition (i). Also, the value of the detection count E1 is set to be larger than the value of the detection count C1 of condition (ii)(2), and the number of times of detection count is increased more than that of condition (ii)(2) which is boiling detection using the detected temperature T IR and the detected temperature T QTM so as to improve the accuracy of boiling detection using only the detected temperature T IR . Also, the value of E multiplied by the maximum increase amount, the value of the sixth threshold value T F , and the value of the detection count E1 are preferably set for each cooking menu. Also, the value of E multiplied by the maximum increase amount and the value of the detection count E1 are set for each internal temperature in the oven immediately after the start of range heating, while the value of the sixth threshold value T F is preferably constant regardless of the internal temperature in the oven immediately after the start of range heating. By configuring in this way, it can be set so that it is easier to determine that the object to be cooked S has boiled as the internal temperature in the oven is higher immediately after the start of cooking, and overheating of the object to be cooked S can be suppressed.

[0057] When the boiling determination unit 89 determines that the object to be cooked S has boiled, the process proceeds to the high-temperature maintenance process. The automatic range cooking control unit 88 calculates the time t2 of the high-temperature maintenance process, which is the sum of the time of the first process and the time of the second process of the high-temperature maintenance process set corresponding to the finishing adjustment item selected before the start of the range heating and the time of the third process described later, and determines it as the remaining time, which is the continuous time of the range heating after boiling. The time t2 of this high-temperature maintenance process is set for each cooking menu, and the time t2 of the high-temperature maintenance process is set to be constant regardless of the quantity of the object to be cooked, and is set so that the time t2 of the high-temperature maintenance process reaches a predetermined value regardless of the time elapsed in the boiling heating process. Referring to FIG. 14 for explanation, in the graph of "Pasta for 1 person" in FIG. 14(A), the time t1 of the boiling heating process is 5 minutes, the time of the first process of the high-temperature maintenance process is θ minutes, and the time of the second process is μ minutes (only part of it is shown in the figure) (the third process is not shown in the figure). Here, in the graph of "Pasta for 2 persons" in FIG. 14(B), the time t1 of the boiling heating process is approximately 7 minutes, which is different from the case of "Pasta for 1 person", and the time required to reach boiling is different, so the time of the boiling heating process is different. However, the time of the first process of the high-temperature maintenance process is θ minutes, and the time of the second process is μ minutes (only part of it is shown in the figure), which is the same as the case of "Pasta for 1 person". Also, in the graph of "Pasta for 4 persons" in FIG. 14(C), the time t1 of the boiling heating process is approximately 10 minutes, which is different from the cases of "Pasta for 1 person" and "Pasta for 2 persons", and the time of the boiling heating process is different. However, the time of the first process of the high-temperature maintenance process is θ minutes, and the time of the second process is μ minutes, which is the same as the cases of "Pasta for 1 person" and "Pasta for 2 persons". By configuring in this way, a constant heating time can be ensured regardless of the quantity of the object to be cooked, and range heating can be sufficiently performed while suppressing spillage because of heating over time.

[0058] In this embodiment, for example, in the case of pasta cooking menus such as "Pasta (Cream)" and "Pasta (Tomato)", for example, the cooking time of the first step of the high-temperature maintenance step is set as the time for boiling the pasta, and the cooking time of the second step of the high-temperature maintenance step is set as the time for simmering the ingredients. The cooking time of the first step is a fixed time of θ minutes regardless of the items for finish adjustment. By configuring in this way, it is possible to ensure a fixed heating time for boiling the pasta regardless of the items for finish adjustment, and the boiling state of the pasta can be made substantially the same regardless of the items for finish adjustment.

[0059] On the other hand, as shown in the table of FIG. 17, for example, in the case of the pasta cooking menu, the time of the second step of the high-temperature maintenance step is set corresponding to the items for finish adjustment. For example, when "Strong 2" is selected in the cooking menus of "Pasta (Cream)" and "Pasta (Tomato)", the time t 22 of the second step of "Pasta (Cream)" is μ minutes, and the time t 22 of the second step of "Pasta (Tomato)" is ι minutes, which are set to the longest times respectively. As it goes to the weaker items, the time t 22 of the second step becomes shorter respectively. When "Weak 2" is selected, the time t 22 of the second step of "Pasta (Cream)" is ρ minutes, and the time t 22 of the second step of "Pasta (Tomato)" is χ minutes, which are set to the shortest times respectively. Therefore, for example, in the case of the pasta cooking menu, by selecting the items for finish adjustment, it is configured so that the time for adjusting the degree of doneness of the ingredients, that is, the heat (temperature) of the entire object to be cooked S can be adjusted. Note that the set values are examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0060] After determining the remaining time, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 controls the display control unit 86 to display this remaining time on the display means 6. The automatic range cooking control unit 88 controls the display control unit 86 so that the displayed remaining time decreases with the passage of time as measured by the timer and reaches 0 seconds at the end of the automatic range cooking. Therefore, after the remaining time is determined, the user can check the remaining time until the automatic range cooking ends by means of the display means 6.

[0061] As shown in the graph of FIG. 14 and the table of FIG. 17, when shifting to the high-temperature maintaining step, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 reduces the output P of the magnetron R to βW compared to the boiling heating step, and in the case of the cooking menu of "pasta (cream)", controls the microwave heating means 78 to perform PWM control with a duty ratio of OFF ζ seconds / ON η seconds, and in the case of the cooking menu of "pasta (tomato)", controls the microwave heating means 78 to perform PWM control with a duty ratio of OFF τ seconds / ON υ seconds, and shifts to the first step of controlling the microwave heating means 78 to reduce the heating amount per unit time compared to the boiling heating step and perform range heating to suppress the boiling state of the object to be cooked S. Therefore, even when the object to be cooked S contains a large amount of moisture, such as in the case of a pasta cooking menu, it is possible to prevent the object to be cooked S from spilling out of the container. Also, since it is not necessary to control the microwave heating means 78 and the antenna driving means 80 according to the food material temperature of the object to be cooked S, it is not necessary to measure the food material temperature from the detection signals from the object to be cooked temperature detection means 65 and the inside-of-cooker temperature detection means 72. For example, even when range heating is performed with a food packaging wrap film covering the opening of the container containing the object to be cooked S, it is possible to suppress overheating and prevent spilling from occurring.

[0062] In addition, for the purpose of detecting abnormalities such as overheating, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 preferably measures the food temperature from the detection signals from the food temperature detection means 65 and the internal temperature detection means 72 even when shifting to the high-temperature maintenance step. In this case, for example, when the food temperature reaches a predetermined temperature equal to or higher than the threshold value used for detecting boiling, it may be determined as an abnormality and the microwave heating means 78 may be controlled to stop the range heating.

[0063] When the automatic range cooking control unit 88 determines that the time t of the first step set corresponding to the finishing adjustment item has elapsed according to the timing of the timer 21 which is θ minutes, it shifts to the second step.

[0064] As shown in the table of FIG. 17, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 performs range heating so as to reduce the heating amount per unit time in the second step compared to the first step. In the second step, since the food S is cooked more thoroughly than in the first step and the liquid of the food S becomes viscous, it suppresses the food S from overheating and spilling out of the container, while suppressing underheating and heating the food evenly. Here, as the control for reducing the heating amount per unit time, the output P of the magnetron is reduced compared to the first step. R For example, in the case of the cooking menu of "pasta (tomato)", the output P of the magnetron R may be controlled to be reduced from βW to γW (when β > γ), and the microwave heating means 78 may be controlled to perform PWM control of the magnetron at a duty ratio lower than the duty ratio of OFFτ seconds / ONυ seconds which is the duty ratio of the first step. For example, in the case of the cooking menu of "pasta (tomato)", the microwave heating means 78 may be controlled to perform PWM control of the magnetron at a duty ratio of OFFκ seconds / ONλ seconds.

[0065] Also, in this embodiment, the time t of the second step 22 is longer than the time t of the first step, the same as the time t of the first step, or the time t of the first step 21 depending on the selected finishing adjustment item. 21 and the time t of the first step 21It is configured to perform range heating in a shorter time. For example, in the case of the cooking menu of "pasta (cream)", when "strong 2" or "strong 1" is selected in the finish adjustment item, the time t of the second step 22 is set to perform range heating for a longer time than θ minutes which is μ minutes or ξ minutes and the time t of the first step 21 When "standard" is selected in the finish adjustment item, the time t of the second step 22 is set to perform range heating for the same time as θ minutes and the time t of the first step 21 When "weak 1" or "weak 2" is selected in the finish adjustment item, the time t of the second step 22 is set to perform range heating for a shorter time than θ minutes which is π minutes or ρ minutes and the time t of the first step 21 By configuring in this way, the finished state such as the temperature after heating of the object to be cooked S heated by range heating in the cooking menu can be set to the user's preference, and the time t of the first step which is a certain time 21 Based on this, the time t of the second step which is the time for adjusting the degree of doneness of the ingredients 22 can be estimated, and it can be used as a guide for the cooking time when the user selects the finish adjustment item.

[0066] The automatic range cooking control unit 88 determines that the time t of the second step set corresponding to the finish adjustment item has elapsed based on the timing of the timer. For example, in the case of the cooking menu of "pasta (cream)" and when "strong 2" is selected in the finish adjustment item, when it is determined that μ minutes have elapsed, it shifts to the third step. 22 As shown in the table of FIG. 17, the automatic oven cooking control unit 89 controls the microwave heating means 78 so that the output of the magnetron is 0, that is, the duty ratio of OFF σ seconds / ON 0 seconds in the third step, and suppresses the overheated object to be cooked S from overflowing from the container by reducing the heating amount per unit time in the second step. Also, since the third step is a step for suppressing the boiling state of the object to be cooked S, the time t of the third step

[0067] is the time t of the first step 23 or the time t of the second step 21 ​22 is set to be shorter, for example, in this embodiment, the time t of the second step 22 is the shortest in the cooking menu of "Pasta (Cream)" in the "Weak 2", and is set to Γ minutes, which is shorter than ρ minutes of the time t of the second step 22 of. Note that the time of the third step is set to Γ minutes regardless of the items of finish adjustment, and is set to a constant value

[0068] The automatic range cooking control unit 88, based on the timing of the timer, determines that the time t 23 of the third step has elapsed, and also determines that the remaining time displayed on the display means 6 has become 0, and then controls the microwave heating means 78 and the antenna driving means 80 to stop the range heating

[0069] In addition, in the cooking menu of the automatic range by the automatic range cooking control unit 88, when heating and cooking in a state where a food packaging wrap film is applied in the designated cooking menu, for example, in other cooking menus such as a Chinese cooking menu, the heating amount per unit time in the first step and the heating amount per unit time in the second step are set to be the same. When the cooking menu is selected and range heating is started, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 may be configured to control the microwave heating means 78 so that the heating amount per unit time in the first step and the heating amount per unit time in the second step are the same. In other words, for example, in other cooking menus such as a Chinese cooking menu, the second step may be omitted, and after the boiling heating step, the heating amount per unit time may be reduced compared to the boiling heating step, and the first step may be performed for a predetermined time. In this case, for example, in the cooking menu of the object to be cooked S where there is a risk that the object to be cooked S will overflow from the container if the heating amount per unit time is increased in the second step because the thickness is too strong, or in the cooking menu where re-boiling in the second step is not necessary, by adopting this setting, range heating suitable for the object to be cooked S can be performed

[0070] As described above, the oven range as the cooking appliance of the present embodiment includes a cooking chamber 14 for accommodating the object to be cooked S, microwave heating means 78 for range-heating the object to be cooked S, an automatic range cooking control unit 88 as control means for controlling the microwave heating means 78, a boiling determination unit 89 as boiling detection means for detecting the boiling of the object to be cooked S, an internal temperature detection means 72, and an object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65. After the automatic range cooking control unit 88 detects the boiling of the object to be cooked S by the boiling determination unit 89, the internal temperature detection means 72, and the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65 during range heating, it shifts to a first step of reducing the heating amount per unit time compared to before the detection of boiling and performing range heating. After the first step, the microwave heating means 78 is controlled to shift to a second step of reducing the heating amount per unit time compared to the first step and performing range heating.

[0071] By configuring in this way, while suppressing the object to be cooked S from being underheated, it is possible to suppress overheating and spilling from the container, and heat the object to be cooked without excess or deficiency.

[0072] Also, the oven range of the present embodiment has a plurality of finishing adjustment items such as, for example, "strong 2" to "weak 2" as finishing selection means for selecting the finishing condition of range heating for the object to be cooked S. In the second step, according to the selected finishing adjustment item, the time t of the first step 21 is longer, such as μ minutes or ξ minutes, the same time as the time t of the first step 21 is θ minutes, or the time t of the first step 21 is shorter, such as π minutes or ρ minutes, and the range heating is configured. Therefore, the finishing state such as the temperature after heating of the object to be cooked S range-heated in the cooking menu can be set to the user's preference, and the time t of the second step 21 can be estimated based on the time t of the first step which is a fixed time. 22

[0073] Also, the oven range of the present embodiment has the time t of the first step 21It is configured to be θ minutes, which is a fixed time regardless of the selected finishing adjustment item, and a fixed heating time for heating the object to be cooked S can be ensured regardless of the finishing adjustment item.

[0074] Also, the oven range of this embodiment is configured such that the heating amount per unit time before the detection of boiling, in the first step and the second step, is according to the output and / or duty ratio of the microwave heating means 78, and the output and duty ratio of the microwave heating means 78 can be controlled more precisely. Here, the "output" may be realized by PWM control of the high-frequency output of the microwave generator 19, and the "duty ratio" here may be realized by PWM control of the duty ratio of the on-off time for the selected "output".

[0075] Also, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 of this embodiment controls the microwave heating means 78 to range-heat the object to be cooked S according to the selected cooking menu, and is configured to range-heat according to the heating amount and time per unit time in the first step and the second step corresponding to the cooking menu, and can range-heat with settings suitable for the object to be cooked S of the cooking menu.

[0076] Also, in the oven range of this embodiment, for example, the pasta cooking menu, which is at least one of the cooking menus, has a time t in the first step 21 and a time t in the second step 22 is configured to be set to a fixed value regardless of the time until the detection of boiling of the object to be cooked S and regardless of the quantity of the object to be cooked S, and a fixed heating time can be ensured regardless of the time and quantity until the boiling of the object to be cooked S, and range heating can be sufficiently performed while suppressing spillage in order to heat over time.

[0077] Further, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 of the present embodiment is configured to control the microwave heating means 78 so as to shift to a third step of setting the heating amount per unit time of the magnetron of the microwave heating means 78 to 0 after the end of the second step until the end of the range heating and the heating end is notified. By suppressing the boiling state of the object to be cooked S, it is possible to prevent the object to be cooked S heated by the range from being overheated and spilling out of the container.

[0078] Also, in the oven range of the present embodiment, there are provided a cooking chamber 14 for accommodating an object to be cooked S containing a liquid, microwave heating means 78 for range-heating the object to be cooked S, an automatic range cooking control unit 88 as control means for controlling the microwave heating means 78, a boiling determination unit 89 as boiling detection means for detecting the boiling of the object to be cooked S, an internal temperature detection means 72, and an object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65. When a cooking menu such as a pasta cooking menu is selected, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 detects the boiling of the object to be cooked S by the boiling determination unit 89, the internal temperature detection means 72, and the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65 in the range heating according to the selected cooking menu, and then shifts to a first step of reducing the heating amount per unit time compared to before the detection of the boiling and performing range heating. After the end of the first step, the microwave heating means 78 is controlled so as to shift to a second step of reducing the heating amount per unit time compared to the first step and performing range heating. When a cooking menu such as a "Chinese" cooking menu is selected, for example, the configuration may at least include controlling the microwave heating means 78 so that the heating amount per unit time in the first step is the same as the heating amount per unit time in the second step, and range heating suitable for the object to be cooked S can be performed.

Example

[0079] FIG. 18 shows a configuration in which the heating cooker according to the second embodiment of the present invention is applied to an oven range. In the present embodiment, after detecting the boiling of the object to be cooked in the boiling heating step in the range heating, the range heating is performed with the same heating amount per unit time as that in the boiling heating step also in the first step of the next high-temperature maintenance step.

[0080] In the range heating described above in this embodiment, particularly for the cooking menu of the automatic range in which the food packaging wrap film is applied to the cooking menu by the automatic range cooking control unit 88, for example, the cooking menu for stewing, while referring to FIG. 18, its operation will be described in detail.

[0081] Cover the container containing the object to be cooked S in advance with a food packaging wrap film. With this container placed in the cooking chamber 14, close the door 3 while holding the handle 4 by hand. Select the cooking menu of the automatic range for heating the object to be cooked S by the operating means 7, and select any one of the finishing adjustment items in the cooking menu. For example, after selecting any one of the button display parts where the temperature of the object to be cooked after heating is divided into five levels from "Weak 2 (lukewarm)" to "Strong 2 (hot)", instruct the start of cooking. When the instruction to start cooking is given, the heating cooking starts and shifts to the boiling heating process which is the first process. In the range heating until the boiling of the object to be cooked S is detected, the automatic range cooking control unit 88, as described in the table of FIG. 18, regardless of the selected finishing adjustment, controls the energization of the microwave generator 19 at an output of aW and a duty ratio of OFF 0 seconds / ON d seconds, that is, controls the microwave generator 19 to output aW and be continuously energized for the entire period, so as to strongly heat the object to be cooked S and raise its temperature to the boiling temperature in a short time.

[0082] When the boiling determination unit 89 determines that the object to be cooked S has boiled, it shifts to the high-temperature maintenance process. The automatic range cooking control unit 88 calculates the time t2 of the high-temperature maintenance process, which is the sum of the time of the first process and the time of the second process of the high-temperature maintenance process set corresponding to the finishing adjustment item selected before the start of the range heating and the time of the third process described later, and determines it as the remaining time which is the continuous time of the range heating after boiling.

[0083] After determining the remaining time, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 controls the display control unit 86 to display this remaining time on the display means 6. The automatic range cooking control unit 88 controls the display control unit 86 such that the displayed remaining time decreases with the passage of time as measured by the timer and reaches 0 seconds at the end of the automatic range cooking. Therefore, after the remaining time is determined, the user can check the remaining time until the automatic range cooking ends using the display means 6.

[0084] As shown in the table of FIG. 18, when shifting to the high-temperature maintenance step, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 performs range heating with the same heating amount per unit time as in the boiling heating step. Specifically, the output P R of the magnetron is set to the same aW as in the boiling heating step, and the microwave heating means 78 is controlled to perform PWM control on the magnetron with a duty ratio of OFF 0 seconds / ON d seconds. That is, by controlling the microwave generator 19 to output aW continuously for the entire period, the object to be cooked S is strongly heated. Therefore, even when the object to be cooked S contains hard ingredients, such as in the cooking menu of "simmered dishes", it can be heated strongly in the same way as in the boiling heating step, so that the ingredients of the object to be cooked S can be thoroughly cooked.

[0085] The automatic range cooking control unit 88, based on the timing of the timer, determines that the time t 21 of the first step set corresponding to the finish adjustment item has elapsed. For example, when "standard" is selected as the finish adjustment item and it is determined that i minutes have elapsed, it shifts to the second step.

[0086] As shown in the table of FIG. 18, in the second step, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 reduces the output P R of the magnetron to bW compared to the first step, and controls the microwave heating means 78 to perform PWM control on the magnetron with a duty ratio of OFF r seconds / ON s seconds, reducing the heating amount per unit time compared to the first step for range heating, suppressing the boiling state of the object to be cooked S, and simmering the object to be cooked S. Also, the time t of the second step22 is set to be longer than the time t of the first step. For example, in the "standard" mode, the time t 21 of the second step is set to be longer than the i minutes of the time t 22 of the first step. By performing long-range heating for a long time with a small amount of heating per unit time in the second step, while suppressing the overheating of the object to be cooked S and preventing it from spilling out of the container, the liquid of the object to be cooked S is sufficiently soaked into the ingredients that are the materials of the object to be cooked. 21 22

[0087] When the automatic range cooking control unit 88 determines that the time t 22 of the second step, which is set corresponding to the item of finish adjustment, has elapsed. For example, when "standard" is selected as the item of finish adjustment and it is determined that j minutes have elapsed, it shifts to the third step. Then, when it is determined that the time t 23 of y minutes, which is the third step, has elapsed and it is determined that the remaining time displayed on the display means 6 has become 0, the microwave heating means 78 and the antenna driving means 80 are controlled to stop the range heating.

[0088] As described above, the oven range as the cooking heater of the present embodiment includes a cooking chamber 14 for accommodating the object to be cooked S, a microwave heating means 78 for range heating the object to be cooked S, an automatic range cooking control unit 88 as a control means for controlling the microwave heating means 78, a boiling determination unit 89 as a boiling detection means for detecting the boiling of the object to be cooked S, an inside chamber temperature detection means 72, and an object to be cooked temperature detection means 65. The automatic range cooking control unit 88, after detecting the boiling of the object to be cooked S by the boiling determination unit 89, the inside chamber temperature detection means 72, and the object to be cooked temperature detection means 65 during range heating, shifts to the first step of range heating with the same heating amount per unit time as before the detection of boiling, and after the first step, controls the microwave heating means 78 to shift to the second step of range heating with a reduced heating amount per unit time compared to the first step.

[0089] By configuring in this way, even when the object to be cooked S contains hard ingredients, heat can be passed through to the inside of the ingredients of the object to be cooked S.

[0090] In addition, the oven range of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the time t of the second step 22 is longer than the time t of the first step 21 By performing range heating for a long time in a state where the heating amount per unit time is small in the second step, while suppressing the object to be cooked S from being overheated and spilling out of the container, the liquid of the object to be cooked S can be sufficiently soaked into the ingredients that are the materials of the object to be cooked.

[0091] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the oven ranges of the first and second embodiments, range heating is performed with a food packaging wrap film covering the opening of the container containing the object to be cooked S. However, for example, when the container is a covered tumbler, or when the container is covered with a silicon cover instead of the food packaging wrap film, a resin lid having holes for discharging steam, for example, may be placed over the opening of the container containing the object to be cooked S. Also, in the present embodiment, the first step and the second step are each performed once in the high-temperature maintenance step. However, for example, a configuration in which the first step and the second step are repeatedly performed a plurality of times, such as the first step → the second step → the first step → the second step → the third step, may be adopted.

[0092] Also, in the oven ranges of the first and second embodiments, it has been described that the above-described control is performed by selecting an automatic menu such as a pasta cooking menu or a "simmered dish" cooking menu. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even when a manual menu is selected and the user specifies the heating time and output, the above-described control may be applied to appropriately change the heating time and heating amount so as to prevent spillage. And in the oven ranges of the first and second embodiments, as shown in the tables of FIGS. 17 and 18, for example, the output, duty ratio, process time, etc. in each of the boiling heating process and the high-temperature maintenance process are described as being fixed to predetermined values. However, these are merely examples, and the output, duty ratio, process time, etc. in each process may be variable values having a predetermined width. In this case, depending on the time until boiling detection and the detection results of the internal temperature detection means 72 and the object-to-be-cooked temperature detection means 65 constituting the boiling detection means, the output, duty ratio, process time, etc. in each process may be selected from the above-described predetermined values or the variable values.

[0093] Also, in the oven ranges of the first and second embodiments, it has been described that when the automatic range cooking control unit 88 as the boiling detection means determines that the object-to-be-cooked S has boiled based on the first to fourth boiling detections, it shifts to the high-temperature maintenance process. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The automatic range cooking control unit 88 is not limited to the detection of "boiling". For example, in low-temperature cooking such as warming water, it may function as a predetermined temperature detection means for detecting that a predetermined temperature lower than the boiling temperature, such as 60°C or 70°C, which is predetermined in advance, is reached, that is, detecting that the "predetermined temperature" has been reached. In this case, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 as the predetermined temperature detection means may be configured to shift to the first, second, and third processes, which are the high-temperature maintenance processes, when it determines that the object-to-be-cooked S has reached the "predetermined temperature".

[0094] Further, it may be configured to include an imaging unit such as a camera for imaging the inside of the cooking chamber 14. In this case, the automatic range cooking control unit 88 estimates the type of the object to be cooked S based on the information captured by the imaging unit, and determines whether the estimated type of the object to be cooked S is an object to be cooked that may cause splashing, an object to be cooked whose ingredients are hard, or other objects to be cooked. For example, when the object to be cooked S is estimated to be pasta, if it is determined that it is an object to be cooked that may cause splashing, the control described in the first embodiment is applied. For example, when the object to be cooked S is estimated to be a simmered dish, if it is determined that it is an object to be cooked whose ingredients are hard, the control described in the second embodiment is applied. It may be configured to apply the above-described control according to the type of the estimated object to be cooked S. Also, the configuration and shape of each part of the present embodiment and the modified example are not limited to those shown in the drawings, and can be changed as appropriate.

Explanation of Signs

[0095] 14 Cooking chamber 15 Thermistor (first temperature detection means) 55 First sensor (second temperature detection means) 58 Second sensor (second temperature detection means) 65 Object to be cooked temperature detection means (boiling detection means) 72 Inside temperature detection means (boiling detection means) 78 Microwave heating means 88 Automatic range cooking control unit (control means) 89 Boiling determination unit (boiling detection means) S Object to be cooked t 21 Time of the first step t 22 Time of the second step

Claims

1. A cooking chamber for accommodating food to be cooked; A microwave heating means for heating the food to be cooked; A control means for controlling the microwave heating means; A boiling detection means for detecting boiling of the food to be cooked; A first temperature detection means for detecting an internal temperature of the cooking chamber; and a second temperature detection means for detecting a temperature in the cooking chamber by receiving infrared rays. the boiling detection means detects the boiling based on temperatures detected by the first temperature detection means and the second temperature detection means; The control means After the boiling of the food to be cooked is detected by the boiling detection means during range heating, A first step of heating the food in a microwave oven by reducing the amount of heat per unit time compared to before the boiling was detected, A cooking device characterized in that the microwave heating means is controlled so as to transition to a second process, after the first process, in which the amount of heat per unit time is reduced compared to the first process and the cooking device heats the food in a microwave oven.

2. A cooking chamber for accommodating food to be cooked; A microwave heating means for heating the food to be cooked; A control means for controlling the microwave heating means; A boiling detection means for detecting boiling of the food to be cooked; A first temperature detection means for detecting an internal temperature of the cooking chamber; and a second temperature detection means for detecting a temperature in the cooking chamber by receiving infrared rays. the boiling detection means detects the boiling based on temperatures detected by the first temperature detection means and the second temperature detection means; The control means After the boiling of the food to be cooked is detected by the boiling detection means during range heating, A first step of heating the food in a microwave oven at the same heating amount per unit time as that before the boiling was detected, A cooking device characterized in that the microwave heating means is controlled so as to transition to a second process, after the first process, in which the amount of heat per unit time is reduced compared to the first process and the cooking device heats the food in a microwave oven.

3. A cooking chamber for accommodating food to be cooked, including liquid; A microwave heating means for heating the food to be cooked; A control means for controlling the microwave heating means in accordance with a cooking menu selected by a user; A boiling detection means for detecting boiling of the food to be cooked; A first temperature detection means for detecting an internal temperature of the cooking chamber; and a second temperature detection means for detecting a temperature in the cooking chamber by receiving infrared rays. the boiling detection means detects the boiling based on temperatures detected by the first temperature detection means and the second temperature detection means; The control means Depending on the selected cooking menu, The microwave heating means is controlled so that, after the boiling detection means detects the boiling of the food to be cooked during microwave heating, a first step is performed in which the amount of heat per unit time is reduced compared to before the boiling was detected, and after the first step is completed, a second step is performed in which the amount of heat per unit time is reduced compared to the first step. controlling the microwave heating means so that the amount of heat per unit time in the first step is equal to the amount of heat per unit time in the second step; A cooking device comprising at least

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