Heating cooker

Abstract

To provide a heating cooker capable of easily starting cooking with one heating function without selecting the one heating function each time.SOLUTION: A heating cooker includes: display means 6 having a touch panel for receiving a touch operation provided in at least a part thereof; microwave heating means 48 for microwave-heating a material to be cooked; and a display control part 62 for causing the display means 6 to display at least a first top screen G1 including the display in a state in which one output is selected out of a plurality of outputs by the microwave heating means 48. In the first top screen G1, the output can be changed, with a touch operation, to the output that is not selected in the first top screen G1 out of the plurality of outputs by the microwave heating means 48, and a heating time by the selected output can be determined by minutes and seconds respectively with a touch operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking appliance having a plurality of heating functions for cooking food to be cooked.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in this type of cooking appliance, when an operation of opening the door is performed after inserting the power plug into the outlet, power is supplied to each part including a display means such as a liquid crystal panel, and the first initial screen is displayed on the display means. For example, in Patent Document 1, as the initial screen, button display parts of "Range", "Favorite", "History", "Rice", "Side Dish", and "Heat Two Items" are arranged side by side vertically and horizontally. When a touch operation is performed on a part overlapping any of these button display parts, a selection screen for one heating function corresponding to the touched button display part is displayed on the liquid crystal panel instead of the initial screen.

[0003] In another Patent Document 2, an initial screen in which images of "Heat", "Bake / Fry", "Recipe Collection", "Milk / Liquor", "Favorite Screen Selection", "My Menu", "Steam / Boil", "Cooking Class", "Defrost", and "Sterilize / Cleaning Settings" are arranged side by side vertically and horizontally is default-displayed on the liquid crystal panel. When the user touches a part of the touch panel overlapping, for example, "Recipe Collection" from there, the display on the liquid crystal panel switches from the initial screen to the screen of "Recipe Collection", which is one selected heating function.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the above prior art, for example, in the cooking appliance disclosed in Patent Document 1, when performing cooking by setting the output to 600 W in the most frequently used "range", first, from the initial screen displayed on the display means, it is necessary to perform a touch operation on the button display part of "range" to select the heating function of "range". Similarly, in the cooking appliance of Patent Document 2, among a plurality of images arranged on the initial screen, unless the user finds one desired image and performs a touch operation thereon, the heating function corresponding to one image cannot be selected.

[0006] Conventionally, as described above, unless a touch operation is performed on one button display part or image among a plurality of button display parts or images displayed on the initial screen of the display means, the corresponding heating function cannot be selected, and it was troublesome to perform the operation every time for selection.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooking appliance that can easily start cooking with one heating function without selecting one heating function every time.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The cooking appliance of the present invention includes at least partially a display means provided with a touch panel for receiving touch operations, a microwave heating means for range heating an object to be cooked, As the screen that is default-displayed after power-on, display control means for causing the display means to display at least a first screen including a display in a state where one output is selected from a plurality of outputs by the microwave heating means, and in the first screen, by a touch operation, it is possible to change to an output not selected in the first screen from among a plurality of outputs by the microwave heating means, and by a touch operation, the heating time at the selected output can be set in minutes and seconds respectively the first screen has a heating start instruction unit that can instruct the start of heating in a state where the default-displayed output or the changed output and the set heating time are displayed. characterized in that.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, since the menu of the manual range, which is one selected heating function with the highest usage frequency, is displayed on the display means as the first screen with one output already set by the range heating, only the time needs to be set by a touch operation thereafter, and the range heating of the object to be cooked by the microwave heating means can be started, reducing the number of operation steps until the heating is started. Also, when changing the output, after performing the operation of changing the output by a touch operation, only the time needs to be set, and the range heating of the object to be cooked by the microwave heating means can be started, so it can be handled only on the first screen.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of 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.

[0012] Figures 1 to 18 show an embodiment in which the cooking appliance of the present invention is applied to a range. First, based on FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the range will be described. 1 is 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 contour of the range as a product. Further, 3 is a door that can be opened and closed provided on the front surface of the main body 1.

[0013] At the upper part of the door 3, there is a handle 4 for opening and closing operation to be held when opening and closing the vertically opening door 3. On the side part of the door 3, there is an operation panel part 5 for display, notification, and operation. The operation panel part 5, in addition to a display means 6 that displays the set contents and progress status of cooking, etc., in order to enable various operation inputs related to cooking, for example, keys 7 provided on the operation panel part 5, and operation means 9 such as a touch panel 8 provided on the surface of the display means 6 are arranged. Inside the door 3 and on the rear side of the operation panel part 5, although not shown, an operation panel PC (printed circuit) board is arranged to control the display means 6, operation means 9, etc.

[0014] At the lower part of the main body 1, a water supply cassette 11 and a water receiver 12 that can be detached from the front surface of the main body 1 are respectively arranged. The water supply cassette 11 is a bottomed container for storing water as a liquid, serving as a liquid supply source for steam-heating the object to be cooked placed in a cooking chamber 14 described later. The water receiver 12 is a bottomed container for receiving food scraps, water droplets, steam, etc. from the main body 1.

[0015] The display means 6 is, for example, a backlit display that color-displays all kinds of information related to cooking, such as the type of heating, the name of the dish, the heating time, the temperature, and a photo of the cooking, in characters, numbers, symbols, photos, etc. Here, it is composed of a liquid crystal display using a TFT (thin film transistor) as a switching element, but other display devices such as an organic EL may be used, and it may be not only color display but also monochrome display. In any case, the flat display means 6 is arranged at a position higher than the key 7, closer to the upper side of one side of the door 3 so that it is easy to see when the user is located on the front side of the range.

[0016] The key 7 is provided at a position that does not overlap with the display means 6 of the operation panel unit 5 as a push operation unit that receives a push operation from the user, and here it is composed of a start key 7A and a cancel key 7B. The start key 7A is a key to be pushed when starting the cooking, and the cancel key 7B is a key to be pushed when stopping the cooking halfway or when canceling the operation or setting. In this embodiment, in order to light or blink-illuminate the start key 7A as needed, a lighting lamp (not shown) such as an LED is disposed near the start key 7A.

[0017] The touch panel 8 is provided at a position overlapping the display screen of the display means 6 as a touch operation unit that receives a touch operation from the user. For example, in a capacitive touch panel 8 made of a transparent material, when the user touches the surface of the touch panel 8 with a finger, the surface charge changes and an operation signal is output. Here, in addition to the capacitive method, a touch panel 8 of, for example, a resistive film method, a surface acoustic wave method, an infrared method, or an electromagnetic induction method may be used. Also, not only the operation of the touch panel 8 by a finger but also an operation using a pen-shaped object such as a touch pen may be performed.

[0018] Figs. 2 to 4 schematically show the internal structure of the oven range in this embodiment. In each of these figures, the peripheral wall forming the cooking chamber 14 is composed of a ceiling wall 14a, a bottom wall 14b, a left side wall 14c, a right side wall 14d, and a rear wall 14e. The ceiling wall 14a is in a dome shape convex upward, while each of the walls 14b to 14e excluding the ceiling wall 14a is formed flat.

[0019] The rear wall 14e of the cooking chamber 14 is provided with a suction port 16 at its center, and horizontally long hot air outlets 17 and 18 are provided above and below the suction port 6. Further, an upper heater 19 for heating the object to be cooked from above the cooking chamber 14 is embedded in the ceiling wall 14a of the cooking chamber 14, and a lower heater 20 for heating the object to be cooked from below the cooking chamber 14 is embedded in the bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 2, 21 is a hot air unit provided behind the cooking chamber 14 inside the main body 1. This hot air unit 21 is composed of a hot air heater 22 as a heating means for heating air, a hot air fan 23 as a centrifugal fan for sending and circulating the heated air into the cooking chamber 14, and a hot air motor 24 for rotating the hot air fan 23 in the forward or reverse direction.

[0021] At approximately the center inside the hot air unit 21, there is a hot air fan 23 facing the suction port 16, and a hot air heater 22 is arranged around it. When the hot air fan 23 is rotationally driven with the energization of the hot air motor 24, the air sucked from the inside of the cooking chamber 14 through the suction port 16 blows out in the radial direction of the hot air fan 23, is heated by the hot air heater 22, and hot air is supplied into the cooking chamber 14 through the hot air outlets 17, 18. Thereby, a path for circulating hot air inside and outside the cooking chamber 14 is formed, and it is configured to heat the object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 for oven cooking. Note that the hot air unit 21 is housed in a case 25 attached behind the cooking chamber 14.

[0022] Also, as described above, the cooking chamber 14 is provided with an upper heater 19 and a lower heater 20. By energizing the upper heater 19 and the lower heater 20, heat radiation by infrared rays from the upper heater 19 and the lower heater 20 occurs in the sealed space inside the cooking chamber 14, and it is configured to heat the object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 for grill cooking.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 3, 26 is a steam unit as a steam generator provided on the side of the cooking chamber 14 inside the main body 1. This steam unit 26 is configured to be communicatively connected to a steam generator 29 via a pump 27 for sending water from the water supply cassette 11 and a water supply pipe 28 in order to supply saturated steam or superheated steam into the cooking chamber 14.

[0024] The steam generator 29 has a sheathed heater 31 embedded in a hollow vaporization chamber 32 made of aluminum die-cast, and the water supply pipe 28 is connected to the vaporization chamber 32. The water supplied into the vaporization chamber 32 is heated by energizing the sheathed heater 31 to generate steam, which can be supplied into the cooking chamber 14 from a plurality of steam outlets 33 formed in the left side wall 14c of the cooking chamber 14. Thereby, a steam flow as shown by the broken line in Fig. 3 is generated in the cooking chamber 14 to heat the object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 for steam cooking.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 4, reference numeral 34 denotes a microwave generator that is provided below the bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14 and irradiates the object to be cooked with microwaves from below the cooking chamber 14 for range heating. The microwave generator 34 includes a magnetron 35 serving as a source for generating microwaves, a waveguide 36 for guiding the microwaves from the magnetron 35 into the cooking chamber 14, an antenna 37 for radiating microwaves from the waveguide 36 into the cooking chamber 14, an antenna motor 39 such as an AC motor for horizontally rotating the antenna 37 about an upright axis 38, and a microswitch 40 attached in the vicinity of the antenna 37.

[0026] In addition, control means 41 described later is incorporated below the bottom wall 14b of the cooking chamber 14, and in-cabinet temperature distribution detecting means 42 is incorporated above the right side wall 14d of the cooking chamber 14. The in-cabinet temperature distribution detecting means 42 is configured by equipping an infrared sensor (not shown) with a swing mechanism, and can detect the temperature of the object to be cooked accommodated therein by detecting the temperature distribution in the cooking chamber 14.

[0027] Fig. 5 shows the main electrical configuration of the oven range. In the figure, reference numeral 41 denotes control means constituted by a microcomputer. As is well known, this control means 41 includes a CPU as an arithmetic processing means, a memory as a storage means, a timer as a timing means, an input / output device, and the like.

[0028] In addition to the operation means 9 by the aforementioned key 7 and touch panel 8, the in - chamber temperature detection means 15, the in - chamber temperature distribution detection means 42, the input port of the control means 41 is electrically connected to a hot - air motor rotation detection means 43 for detecting the rotation of the hot - air motor 24 incorporated in the hot - air unit 21, a door opening / closing detection means 44 for detecting the open / closed state of the door 3, an antenna position detection means 45 having a microswitch 40 for detecting the origin position of the antenna 37 constituting the microwave generator 34, and a vaporization chamber temperature detection means 46 such as a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the vaporization chamber 32 constituting the steam unit 26, respectively.

[0029] In addition to the display means 6 by the liquid crystal display, the output port of the control means 41 is electrically connected to a microwave heating means 48 including the magnetron 35 of the microwave generator 34 and its driving means, a heater driving means 49 such as a relay for turning on / off the upper heater 19 and lower heater 20 for grill heating, the hot - air heater 22 for oven heating, and the sheathed heater 31 for steam heating, an antenna driving means 50 for rotationally driving the antenna motor 39 which is the driving source of the antenna 37, a hot - air motor driving means 51 for rotationally driving the hot - air motor 24 which is the driving source of the hot - air fan 23, and a pump driving means 52 for operating the pump 27 of the steam unit 26, respectively.

[0030] The control means 41 receives the operation signal from the operation means 9 and the detection signals from the in - chamber temperature detection means 15, the in - chamber temperature distribution detection means 42, the hot - air motor rotation detection means 43, the door opening / closing detection means 44, the antenna position detection means 45, and the vaporization chamber temperature detection means 46, and outputs drive control signals to the microwave heating means 48, the heater driving means 49, the antenna driving means 50, the hot - air motor driving means 51, and the pump driving means 52, which all serve as heating means, at a predetermined timing based on the timing from the timing means, and also outputs a display control signal to the display means 6. Such functions are realized by the control means 41 reading the program recorded in the memory as a storage medium. In particular, in this embodiment, the control means 41 is provided with a program that mainly functions as a heating control unit 61 and a display control unit 62.

[0031] The heating control unit 61 mainly controls the operations of each part related to the heat cooking of the object to be cooked placed in the cooking chamber 14. When it receives an operation signal accompanying the operation of the operation means 9, and determines that the door 3 is closed based on the detection signal from the door opening / closing detection means 44, it sends control signals to the microwave heating means 48, the heater driving means 49, the antenna driving means 50, the hot air motor driving means 51, and the pump driving means 52 according to the operation signal, so as to control the heat cooking of the object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14. In this embodiment, the cooking information of all the menus that can perform heat cooking in the oven range is stored and held in the all-menu storage unit 63 that forms a part of the memory. When an operation for instructing the start of cooking is performed from the operation means 9 for one menu selected from the all-menu storage unit 63, the heating control unit 61 is configured to heat-cook the object to be cooked according to a predetermined procedure according to the cooking information of the selected menu.

[0032] The menus stored in the all-cooking menu storage unit 63 can be roughly classified into a manual cooking menu and an automatic cooking menu. The manual cooking menu is a menu that, for the menu selected from the all-menu storage unit 63, sets the time, output, and temperature respectively by touch operation on the touch panel 8 before operating the start key 7A and is used, and the menu of the manual range described later corresponds to this. The automatic cooking menu is a menu that, for the menu selected from the all-menu storage unit 63, is used without setting the time, output, and temperature, and the menu of the hamburger described later corresponds to this.

[0033] The display control unit 62 mainly controls the operations related to the display of the display means 6. In particular, in this embodiment, in order to switch and display various screens on the display means 6 which is a liquid crystal display, at the moment immediately after power-on, etc., the top screen display control unit 62A that selectively displays the "Warm up" screen or the "Cook" screen which are the top screens on the display means 6, and the transition screen display control unit 62B that receives the operation signal from the operation means 9 and displays a series of transition screens from the top screen displayed on the display means 6 until it becomes possible to start heating and cooking with a single menu finally selected, etc. are provided. How these top screen display control unit 62A and transition screen display control unit 62B display various screens on the display means 6 will be described in detail later.

[0034] Next, the operation of the oven range with the above configuration will be described. With the object to be cooked placed in the cooking chamber 14 in advance, while holding the handle 4 by hand, close the door 3, select one menu from all the menu storage units 63 by the operation means 9, and then press the key 7 of the operation means 9 to instruct the start of cooking. Then, according to the control program incorporated in the memory of the control means 41, a control signal generated corresponding to the cooking information of the selected menu is output at a predetermined timing, and the object to be cooked is heated and cooked.

[0035] Here, for example, when a menu for performing oven heating is selected, the heating control unit 61 receives the detection signal from the in-chamber temperature detection means 15, and sends control signals to the heater driving means 49 and the hot air motor driving means 51 respectively so that the inside of the cooking chamber 14 is heated to the set temperature, and controls the on / off of the hot air heater 22 and the hot air motor 24. As a result, the rotational force generated in the hot air motor 24 is transmitted to the hot air fan 23, the hot air fan 23 rotates in one direction inside the hot air unit 21, and its speed is taken into the heating control unit 61 by the hot air motor rotation detection means 43. At the same time, the air sucked into the inside of the hot air unit 21 from the cooking chamber 14 through the suction port 16 is sent to the energized hot air heater 22 side, and the air heated here is supplied as hot air to the cooking chamber 14 through the hot air outlets 17, 18, so that the object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 is heated by hot air convection.

[0036] Also, when a menu for steaming (steam cooking) using steam is selected, the heating control unit 61 receives a detection signal from the vaporization chamber temperature detection means 46, and sends control signals to at least the heater driving means 49 and the pump driving means 52 so that the vaporization chamber 32 reaches a predetermined temperature, thereby controlling the operation of the pump 27 incorporated in the steam unit 26 and the energization and de-energization of the sheathed heater 31. As a result, saturated steam or superheated steam is ejected into the cooking chamber 14 from the steam outlet 33, and the object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 is steamed.

[0037] Also, when a menu for range cooking is selected, the heating control unit 61 receives a detection signal from the temperature distribution detection means 42 inside the cabinet, and while confirming the origin position of the antenna 37 with the detection signal from the antenna position detection means 45 so that the object to be cooked is heated to the set temperature, appropriate control signals are sent to the microwave heating means 48 and the antenna driving means 50 respectively. As a result, the magnetron 35 of the microwave generator 34 and the antenna 37 operate, and microwaves generated from the surface of the rotating antenna 37 are supplied into the cooking chamber 14, and the object to be heated in the cooking chamber 14 is heated by high frequency.

[0038] Furthermore, when a menu for grilling is selected, the heating control unit 61 receives a detection signal from the temperature detection means 42 inside the cabinet, and the energization and de-energization of the upper heater 19 and the lower heater 20 are controlled so that the inside of the cooking chamber 14 is heated to the set temperature, and the object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 is grilled from above and below.

[0039] Next, the display and operations of the operation panel unit 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 18. In the following description, the "tab display section" refers to a display section where, when the touch panel 8 is tapped, detailed information regarding the tab display section is displayed on the display means 6, and while other tab display sections continue to be displayed on the display means 6, the detailed information thereof becomes non-displayed; the "button display section" refers to a display section where, when the touch panel 8 is tapped, the entire screen or a part of the screen of the display means 6 is switched to and displayed as something else; the "list display section" refers to a display section where, when the touch panel 8 is tapped, a list of items selectable in the list display section is displayed, and when the touch panel 8 is tapped on one of the items, the touched item is selected and set, and only that item is displayed in the list display section; the "picker display section" refers to a display section where, when the touch panel 8 is slid, a list of items selectable in the picker display section scrolls and is displayed, and the item selected and set at the time when the scroll stops is displayed in the center; the "key display section" refers to a display section where, each time the touch panel 8 is tapped, a list of the items displayed in the aforementioned picker display section is displayed so as to be switched one by one.

[0040] Also, the "text display body" refers to a display body represented by a character string such as characters, numbers, and symbols; the "icon display body" refers to a display body obtained by symbolizing things with simple pictorial designs; the "image display body" refers to a display body such as a photograph taken by a photographing device or a painting drawn by a painting.

[0041] In this embodiment, a mechanism is incorporated into the display control unit 62 of the UI (user interface) such that various screens including such display units and display bodies are displayed on the display means 6 by various operation inputs from the user to the touch panel 8. The display control unit 62 accepts a tap operation or a slide operation as necessary as a touch operation on the screen displayed on the display means 6. The "tap operation" referred to here is an operation of touching the touch panel 8 on the screen with a finger and immediately releasing the finger, and the "slide operation" is an operation of touching the touch panel 8 on the screen with a finger and sliding the finger therefrom. The "slide operation" accepted by the display control unit 62 includes a swipe in which the finger is slid in one direction while touching the touch panel 8 on the screen with the finger, and a flick in which the finger touches the touch panel 8 on the screen and is slid so as to move the finger away therefrom.

[0042] FIG. 6 shows the first top screen G1 for general use as an initial screen displayed on the display means 6 immediately after the power is turned on. After the user inserts a power plug (not shown) provided in the main body 1 in advance into a household outlet and then opens the closed door 3, the necessary power (electric power) is supplied to each part such as the display means 6 and the control means 41. At this time, the top screen display control unit 62A causes the first top screen G1 as shown in FIG. 6 to be default-displayed on the display means 6. The "default display" referred to here is the first display that appears on the display means 6 preset by the top screen display control unit 62A immediately after the power is supplied to the display means 6 and before any operation is applied to the operation means 9.

[0043] The first top screen G1 is a so-called tab-form screen. At its upper part, a tab display area A1 is formed, which displays in a row from left to right a tab display section B1 including a text display body D1 of "Warm", a tab display section B2 including a text display body D2 of "Cook", and a tab display section B3 including an icon display body D3 that reminds of various settings of the oven range. Also, below the tab display area A1, as detailed information included in the tab display section B1 selected in the tab display area A1, from among the plurality of heating function menus stored in the all-menu storage section 63, as one menu assumed to have the highest usage frequency in particular, for the manual range menu selected, in a state where an output of 600W, which is assumed to be used most often, is set among the plurality of configurable outputs by the microwave heating means 48 included in the cooking information of that menu, a first menu display area M1 that is initially default-displayed, and several menus including a menu related to range heating that is assumed to have a high usage frequency following the manual range menu selected from among the plurality of menus stored in the all-menu storage section 63 as well, a second menu display area M2 that is default-displayed so that those menus can be selected by an operation are formed side by side vertically respectively.

[0044] In the first menu display area M1, an output setting display area that enables output setting of range heating and a time setting display area that enables time setting of range heating are formed side by side vertically respectively. The output setting time area is composed of a list display section B4 including a text display body D4 showing the set output of range heating and an icon display body D5 that reminds of displaying a list of outputs configurable for the text display body D4. As shown in FIG. 6, in a state where the first top screen G1 is default-displayed on the display means 6, in order to show that the output of range heating is initially set to 600W, a text display body D4 of "Range 600W" is displayed in the list display section B4.

[0045] In addition, in the time setting display area of the first menu display area M1, as a drum roll-shaped display unit that rotatably displays the set time for range heating, there is a picker display unit B6 including a text display body D6 showing the set digit of 10 minutes, a picker display unit B7 including a text display body D7 showing the set digit of 1 minute, a text display body D8 of "minute" that reminds that the numbers displayed on the text display bodies D6 and D7 are minutes of time, a picker display unit B9 including a text display body D9 showing the set digit of 10 seconds, and a text display body D10 of "second" that reminds that the number displayed on the text display body D9 is seconds of time. They are arranged in order from left to right. In the default display state of the first top screen G1 shown in FIG. 6, above the picker display unit B6, there is an up key display unit B11 including an icon display body D11 that reminds of the increase of the digit of 10 minutes displayed on the text display body D6. Above the picker display unit B7, there is an up key display unit B12 including an icon display body D12 that reminds of the increase of the digit of 1 minute displayed on the text display body D7. Above the picker display unit B9, there is an up key display unit B13 including an icon display body D13 that reminds of the increase of the digit of 10 seconds displayed on the text display body D9. In addition, although not shown and hidden in FIG. 6, depending on the numbers displayed on the text display bodies D6, D7, and D9, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 17, any one or all of the above-mentioned up key display units B11 to B13 may be hidden. In the time setting display area of the first menu display area M1, below the picker display unit B6, there may be a down key display unit B14 including an icon display body D14 that reminds of the decrease of the digit of 10 minutes displayed on the text display body D6 and is arranged in a display state. Below the picker display unit B7, there may be a down key display unit B15 including an icon display body D15 that reminds of the decrease of the digit of 1 minute displayed on the text display body D7 and is arranged in a display state. Below the picker display unit B9, there may be a down key display unit B16 including an icon display body D16 that reminds of the decrease of the digit of 10 seconds displayed on the text display body D9 and is arranged in a display state.

[0046] On one side, in the second menu display area M2, there are a button display part B21 including a text display body D21 of "rice", and an icon display part D22 for evoking an automatic cooking menu for rice; a button display part B23 including a text display body D23 of "side dishes", and an icon display part D24 for evoking an automatic cooking menu for side dishes; a button display part B25 including a text display body D25 of "bread and others", and an icon display part D26 for evoking an automatic cooking menu for bread; a button display part B27 including a text display body D27 of "drinks only", and an icon display part D28 for evoking an automatic cooking menu for drinks only; a button display part B29 including a text display body D29 of "boiled vegetables", and an icon display part D30 for evoking an automatic cooking menu for boiled vegetables; and a button display part B31 including a text display body D31 of "thawing", and an icon display part D32 for evoking an automatic cooking menu for thawing, which are respectively arranged vertically and horizontally and displayed.

[0047] FIG. 7 shows a second top screen G2 that can be easily switched and displayed by a left - right slide operation with the aforementioned first top screen G1. This second top screen G2 is displayed on the display means 6 when, in a state where the first top screen G1 is displayed on the display means 6, a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the first menu display area M1 or the second menu display area M2 is slid leftward, or a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the tab display part B2 displayed as "cooking" in the tab display area A1 is tapped.

[0048] The second top screen G2 is a tab-form screen that shares the display with the first top screen G1 in the tab display area A1. Below the tab display area A1, as detailed information included in the tab display section B2 selected in the tab display area A1, from among the multiple heating function menus stored in the all-menu storage unit 63, other than the manual range menu displayed in the first menu display area M1 of the first top screen G1 and other automatic cooking menus displayed in the second menu display area M1, a third menu display area M3 is displayed so that a selection operation of a manual cooking menu that is assumed to have a relatively high usage frequency can be performed, and a fourth menu display area M4 is also displayed so that a selection operation of an automatic cooking menu that is assumed to have a relatively high usage frequency can be performed. They are formed side by side vertically.

[0049] In the third menu display area M3, a text display body D40 of "Manual Cooking" indicating that this area is related to the manual cooking menu is displayed in the upper left corner. In addition, there is a button display section B41 including a text display body D41 of "Oven" and an icon display section D42 that reminds of a manual cooking menu by oven heating, a button display section B43 including a text display body D43 of "Grill" and an icon display section D44 that reminds of a manual cooking menu by grill heating, a button display section B45 including a text display body D45 of "Steam" and an icon display section D46 that reminds of a manual cooking menu by steam heating, and a button display section B47 including a text display body D47 of "Others" and an icon display section D48 that reminds of other main manual cooking menus. They are displayed side by side vertically and horizontally respectively.

[0050] In the fourth menu display area M4, a text display body D50 named "Automatic Cooking" indicating that this area is related to the automatic cooking menu is displayed at the upper left. In addition, there is a button display part B51 including a text display body D51 named "Stone Oven Baked at Will" and an icon display part D52 that reminds of the automatic cooking menu by oven heating, a button display part B53 including a text display body D53 named "Recommended" and an icon display part D54 that reminds of the call of the recommended automatic cooking menu, a button display part B55 including a text display body D55 named "Favorite" and an icon display part D56 that reminds of the call of the favorite automatic cooking menu, and a button display part B57 including a text display body D57 named "Recipe Collection Search" and an icon display part D58 that reminds of the search for the automatic cooking menu are arranged vertically and horizontally and displayed respectively.

[0051] To switch the second top screen G2 displayed on the display means 6 to the first top screen G1, slide the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the third menu display area M3 or the fourth menu display area M4 to the right, or tap the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the tab display part B1 on which "Warm" is displayed in the tab display area A1.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 6, immediately after the display means 6 is powered on, the top screen display control unit 62A causes the display means 6 to display a first top screen G1 in a state where the tab display unit B1 of "Warm" located on the leftmost side in the tab display area A1 is selected. In the first top screen G1 where "Warm" is selected, the tab display unit B1 of "Warm" is displayed in a brighter color than the tab display unit B2 of "Cook" which is not selected. Also, as a heating function assumed to be the most frequently used by the user, among all the menus stored in the all-menu storage unit 63, the manual range menu has already been selected, and its output is set to 600W which is assumed to be the most frequently used in the manual range menu. After that, only the time setting is required by the operation from the user. A first menu display area M1 is shown, and as a heating function assumed to be the second most frequently used by the user after the manual range menu, among all the menus stored in the all-menu storage unit 63, a second menu display area M2 is shown where a plurality of automatic cooking menus for cooking the object to be cooked by range heating mainly by the microwave heating means 48 can be selected by operation. They are each default displayed.

[0053] Here, when the user uses the manual range menu displayed in the first menu display area M1 to heat and cook the object to be cooked placed in the cooking chamber 14, after performing an operation to change the output of the range heating to other than 600W set initially as required, and then performing an operation to set the time of the range heating, just by operating the start key 7A next, range heating of the object to be cooked by the microwave heating means 48 can be performed with the set output and time.

[0054] Specifically, when changing the output of range heating to a value other than "Range 600W" that is default-displayed on the list display section B4, tap on the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps with the icon display body D5 displayed at the right end of the list display section B4. In response to this, the top screen display control section 62A expands the display area of the list display section B4 displayed on the display means 6 (not shown), and displays the outputs that can be selected in the manual range menu, for example, "1000W", "600W", "500W", "200W", "100W" in a list. When a part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps with one output is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A sets the output corresponding to the tapped part as a new output in the manual range menu, returns the display area of the list display section B4 to its original size, and displays only the newly set output there.

[0055] Next, the time setting for range heating will be described. FIG. 8 shows the main display sections related to the operation of setting the time for range heating in the manual range menu displayed in the first menu display area M1 of the first top screen G1. In the present embodiment, in the first top screen G1 displayed on the display means 6, a UI that allows setting numerical values such as the time for range heating by both a slide operation and a tap operation on the touch panel 8 is incorporated in advance into the top screen display control section 62A of the display control section 62.

[0056] To increase the numerical value of the set time for range heating displayed on the picker display sections B6, B7, and B9, slide the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display section B6, B7, or B9 displaying the numerical value to be increased upward, or tap the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the corresponding up key display sections B11, B12, and B13 above the picker display section B6, B7, or B9 displaying the numerical value to be increased. Conversely, to decrease the numerical value of the set time for range heating, slide the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display section B6, B7, or B9 displaying the numerical value to be decreased downward, or tap the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the corresponding down key display sections B14, B15, and B16 below the picker display section B6, B7, or B9 displaying the numerical value to be decreased. In either case, when performing a slide operation, depending on the amount of the operation, the numerical value items displayed on the picker display sections B6, B7, and B9 move in such a way that one or a plurality of them rotate continuously to increase or decrease. When performing a tap operation, with one tap operation, the numerical value items displayed on the picker display sections B6, B7, and B9 move in such a way that they rotate one by one to increase or decrease.

[0057] This allows the user to freely select the easier operation between the slide operation and the tap operation when setting numerical values related to the control of the oven range, such as the time for range heating. Also, this is not limited to the setting of numerical values such as time and temperature, but can be similarly applied to settings from a plurality of items. For example, on the screen related to one menu, a button display section displayed as "Next" to transition to the next screen and a button display section displayed as "Back" to transition to the previous screen are provided side by side. Considering each screen as a plurality of items, the display control section may accept such tap operations and slide operations and be configured to change the display to another screen by tapping the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the button display section or sliding the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the displayed screen.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 1, the handle 4 extending horizontally at the upper part of the door 3 is arranged so as not to be located above the display screen of the display means 6. That is, above the display means 6 in the vertical (up and down) direction, there is no handle 4 for opening and closing the door 3, and above the display means 6 in the vertical direction, no convex portion protruding from the flat surface of the display means 6 is provided. Thereby, when the user views the oven range obliquely from above, the handle 4 does not get in the way and the visibility is good. In particular, when the user performs a slide operation on the surface of the display means 6 from bottom to top, there is an advantage that the finger does not hit the handle 4.

[0059] Also, not only above the display means 6 in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal (left and right) direction of the display means 6, no convex handle 4 is formed. Thereby, when the user performs a slide operation left and right on the surface of the display means 6, the finger does not hit the handle 4.

[0060] FIG. 8 shows virtual lines L1 to L4 along each side of the display means 6 having a rectangular outer shape in a front view. Preferably, on the extension lines of the upper and lower virtual lines L1 and L2 and on the extension lines of the left and right virtual lines L3 and L4, if the convex handle 4 is not arranged between the respective extension lines, then no matter in which direction (up, down, left, or right) the user performs a slide operation on the surface of the display means 6, the finger does not hit the handle 4.

[0061] FIG. 9 schematically shows the display operations of the 10-minute digit picker display section B6 and the 1-minute digit picker display section B7, both of which rotate in a drum roll shape. In the present embodiment, the cooking information of the manual range menu stored in the all-menu storage section 63 includes the relationship between the output of the range heating and the maximum time. For example, when the output of the range heating is set to 600 W, the top screen display control section 62A controls the display of the picker display sections B6 and B7 on the first top screen G1 based on the relationship between the output and time stored in the all-menu storage section 63 so that the maximum time of the range heating is not set to exceed 20 minutes.

[0062] Specifically, when the numerical value displayed as the text display body D7 in the one-minute digit picker display section B7 is "0", the numerical value displayed as the text display body D6 in the ten-minute digit picker display section B6 will only move among "0", "1", and "2" and not display other numerical values, regardless of how the sliding operation is performed on the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display section B6, or how the tapping operation is performed on the parts of the touch panel 8 that are located above and below the picker display section B6 and overlap the up key display section B11 and the down key display section B14.

[0063] Also, when the numerical value displayed in the one-minute digit picker display section B7 is other than "0" and is any one of "1" to "9", the numerical value displayed in the ten-minute digit picker display section B6 will only move between "0" and "1" and not display other numerical values, regardless of how the sliding operation is performed on the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display section B6, or how the tapping operation is performed on the parts of the touch panel 8 that overlap the up key display section B11 and the down key display section B14.

[0064] Also, when the numerical value displayed in the ten-minute digit picker display section B6 is "2", the numerical value displayed in the one-minute digit picker display section B7 will not move when only "0" is involved, regardless of how the sliding operation is performed on the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display section B7, or how the tapping operation is performed on the parts of the touch panel 8 that are located above and below the picker display section B7 and overlap the up key display section B12 and the down key display section B15.

[0065] Furthermore, when the numerical value displayed in the ten-minute digit picker display section B6 is "1" or "0" other than "2", the numerical value displayed in the one-minute digit picker display section B7 will move among all of "0" to "9" when the sliding operation is performed on the part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps the picker display section B7 and the tapping operation is performed on the parts of the touch panel 8 that overlap the up key display section B12 and the down key display section B15.

[0066] Thus, in this embodiment, when the user sets values such as temperature and time related to the control of the oven range from the first top screen G1 displayed on the display means 6, the operation input from the touch panel 8 is received. When the set value reaches the upper limit value (e.g., 20 minutes) that can be set for that value, the setting of a higher value is not accepted. When the set value reaches the lower limit value (e.g., 0 minutes) that can be set for that value, the setting of a lower value is not accepted. The top screen display control unit 62A controls the display operation of the values on the picker display units B6 and B7 that rotate in a drum roll shape so that the values displayed on the picker display units B6 and B7 loop between the upper limit value and the lower limit value.

[0067] Therefore, when the user sets various values by operating the touch panel 8, for example, when the output of the range heating is set to 600W, the settable time displayed on the picker display units B6 and B7 naturally becomes between 0 minutes and 20 minutes. When the output of the range heating is set to 200W, the settable time displayed on the picker display units B6 and B7 naturally becomes between 0 minutes and 90 minutes. By appropriately changing the range of settable values displayed on the display means 6 corresponding to different range heating outputs by the top screen display control unit 62A, it is possible to eliminate useless operations for the user.

[0068] FIG. 10 shows all the display parts shown in the manual range menu displayed on the first top screen G1 during the time setting for range heating. From the first top screen G1 that is default-displayed on the display means 6 shown in FIG. 6, when the user operates the touch panel 8 to set the range heating time to a different time from the initial "00" minutes "00" seconds displayed on the picker display parts B6, B7, B9, as shown in FIG. 10, the top screen display control unit 62A expands the display in the first menu display area M1 on the first top screen G1 to the second display menu display area M2 and does not display the second display menu display area M2. At this time, in the first menu display area M1, a button display part B61 including a text display body D61 of "CLEAR" and a text display body D62 of "Can start without accessories" indicating that heating cooking starts next without accessories such as dishes are additionally displayed. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the button display part 61 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A returns the range heating time to the initial "00" minutes "00" seconds and redisplay the first top screen G1 of the initial screen as shown in FIG. 6 on the display means 6.

[0069] FIGS. 11 to 17 show how the top screen display control unit 62A displays the first top screen G1 on the display means 6 when the range heating time is set to a different time from the initial "00" minutes "00" seconds, and also show in a table the states of the key display parts B11, B12, B13, B14, B15, B16 and the button display part B61 respectively.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 11, when the top screen display control unit 62A causes the display means 6 to default-display the first top screen G1, the range heating time displayed on the picker display units B6, B7, B9 is set to "00" minutes and "00" seconds at first. In the display state of the first top screen G1 at this time, that is, in the "0 display" state, the upper key display unit B13 including the icon display body D13 for increasing the number in the 10-second digit ("+10 seconds" in the figure), the upper key display unit B12 including the icon display body D12 for increasing the number in the 1-minute digit ("+1 minute" in the figure), and the upper key display unit B11 including the icon display body D11 for increasing the number in the 10-minute digit ("+10 minutes" in the figure) are each lit and displayed, while the lower key display unit B16 including the icon display body D16 for decreasing the number in the 10-second digit ("-10 seconds" in the figure), the lower key display unit B15 including the icon display body D15 for decreasing the number in the 1-minute digit ("-1 minute" in the figure), the lower key display unit B14 including the icon display body D14 for decreasing the number in the 10-minute digit ("-10 minutes" in the figure), and the button display unit B61 including the text display body D61 for returning the screen displayed on the display means 6 to the "0 display" ("Clear" in the figure) are each turned off and not displayed.

[0071] When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit upper key display unit B13 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 seconds each time, and displays the increased number of the 10-second digit time on the text display body D9 corresponding to the picker display unit B9. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit upper key display unit B12 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 1 minute each time, and displays the increased number of the 1-minute digit time on the text display body D7 corresponding to the picker display unit B7. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit upper key display unit B11 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 minutes each time, and displays the increased number of the 10-minute digit time on the text display body D6 corresponding to the picker display unit B6.

[0072] On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept operation inputs from the touch panel 8 corresponding to the turned-off lower key display units B16, B15, B14 and the button display unit B61. Therefore, the user can understand that the time in the tens-of-minutes digit displayed on the picker display unit B6 does not rotate so as to be less than "0" 0 minutes, the time in the one-minute digit displayed on the picker display unit B7 does not rotate so as to be less than "0" minutes, and the time in the tens-of-seconds digit displayed on the picker display unit B9 does not rotate so as to be less than "00" seconds.

[0073] FIG. 12 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes the display means 6 to display when the time of range heating displayed on the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 is set to "00" minutes "10" seconds by tapping the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the upper key display unit B13 once from the state of "0 display" shown in FIG. 11, that is, the state of "10-second display" in which the tens-of-seconds digit is set to the minimum time. In this state of "10-second display", the upper key display unit B13 including the icon display body D13 for "+10 seconds", the upper key display unit B16 including the icon display body D16 for "-10 seconds", the upper key display unit B12 including the icon display body D12 for "+1 minute", the upper key display unit B11 including the icon display body D11 for "+10 minutes", and the button display unit B61 including the text display body D61 for "clear" are each lit and displayed, while the upper key display unit B15 including the icon display body D15 for "-1 minute" and the upper key display unit B14 including the icon display body D14 for "-10 minutes" are each turned off and not displayed.

[0074] When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B13 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 10 seconds each time, and causes the text display body D9 corresponding to the picker display section B9 to display the number of the increased 10 - second digit time. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B16 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, decreases the time by 10 seconds each time, and causes the text display body D9 corresponding to the picker display section B9 to display the number of the decreased 10 - second digit time. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B12 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 1 minute each time, and causes the text display body D7 corresponding to the picker display section B7 to display the number of the increased 1 - minute digit time. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B11 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 10 minutes each time, and causes the text display body D6 corresponding to the picker display section B6 to display the number of the increased 10 - minute digit time. Also, when a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up button display section B61 is tapped, the operation input is accepted and the display of the first top screen G1 is returned to "0 display".

[0075] On the other hand, the top screen display control section 62A does not accept operation inputs from the touch panel 8 corresponding to the turned - off down key display sections B15 and B14. Therefore, it is possible to make the user understand that the 10 - minute digit and 1 - minute digit times displayed on the picker display sections B6 and B7 do not rotate so as to be less than "00" minutes.

[0076] FIG. 13 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes the display means 6 to display when the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the upper key display part B13 is tapped five times from the state of "0 display" shown in FIG. 11, and the range heating time displayed on the picker display parts B6, B7, B9 is set to "00" minutes and "50" seconds, that is, the state of "50 - second display" in which the 10 - second digit is set to the maximum time. In this state of "50 - second display", the upper key display part B16 including the icon display body D16 for making it "-10 seconds", the upper key display part B12 including the icon display body D12 for making it "+1 minute", the upper key display part B11 including the icon display body D11 for making it "+10 minutes", and the button display part B61 including the text display body D61 for making it "clear" are each lit and displayed, while the upper key display part B13 including the icon display body D13 for making it "+10 seconds", the upper key display part B15 including the icon display body D15 for making it "-1 minute", and the upper key display part B14 including the icon display body D14 for making it "-10 minutes" are each turned off and not displayed.

[0077] When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit upper key display part B16 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, decreases the time by 10 seconds each time, and causes the text display body D9 corresponding to the picker display part B9 to display the decreased digit of the 10 - second time. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit upper key display part B12 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 1 minute each time, and causes the text display body D7 corresponding to the picker display part B7 to display the increased digit of the 1 - minute time. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit upper key display part B11 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 10 minutes each time, and causes the text display body D6 corresponding to the picker display part B6 to display the increased digit of the 10 - minute time. When the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit button display part B61 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and returns the display of the first top screen G1 to "0 display".

[0078] On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept operation inputs from the touch panel 8 corresponding to the turned-off upper key display unit B13 and the lower key display units B15 and B14. Therefore, the user can understand that the time in the 10-second digit displayed on the picker display unit B9 does not rotate so as to be more than "50" seconds, and the times in the 10-minute digit and 1-minute digit displayed on the picker display units B6 and B7 do not rotate so as to be less than "00" minutes.

[0079] FIG. 14 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes the display means 6 to display when the time of range heating displayed on the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 is set to "01" minute and "00" seconds by tapping the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the upper key display unit B12 once from the "0 display" state shown in FIG. 11, that is, the state of "1-minute display" in which the 1-minute digit is set to the minimum time. In this state of "1-minute display", the upper key display unit B13 including the icon display body D13 for making it "+10 seconds", the upper key display unit B12 including the icon display body D12 for making it "+1 minute", the upper key display unit B15 including the icon display body D15 for making it "-1 minute", the upper key display unit B11 including the icon display body D11 for making it "+10 minutes", and the button display unit B61 including the text display body D61 for making it "clear" are each lit and displayed, while the upper key display unit B16 including the icon display body D16 for making it "-10 seconds" and the upper key display unit B14 including the icon display body D14 for making it "-10 minutes" are each turned off and not displayed.

[0080] When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B13 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 10 seconds each time, and causes the number of the increased 10 - second digit time to be displayed on the text display body D9 corresponding to the picker display section B9. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B12 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 1 minute each time, and causes the number of the increased 1 - minute digit time to be displayed on the text display body D7 corresponding to the picker display section B7. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B15 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, decreases the time by 1 minute each time, and causes the number of the decreased 1 - minute digit time to be displayed on the text display body D7 corresponding to the picker display section B7. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B11 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 10 minutes each time, and causes the number of the increased 10 - minute digit time to be displayed on the text display body D6 corresponding to the picker display section B6. Also, when a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up button display section B61 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input and returns the display of the first top screen G1 to "0 display".

[0081] On the other hand, the top screen display control section 62A does not accept operation inputs from the touch panel 8 corresponding to the turned - off down key display sections B16 and B14. Therefore, it can be made understood by the user that the 10 - minute digit time displayed on the picker display section B6 does not rotate so that it becomes less than "0" 1 minute, and the 10 - second digit time displayed on the picker display section B9 does not rotate so that it becomes less than "00" seconds.

[0082] FIG. 15 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes the display means 6 to display when the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the upper key display unit B12 is tapped 9 times from the state of "0 display" shown in FIG. 11, and the range heating time displayed on the picker display units B6, B7, and B9 is set to "09" minutes and "00" seconds, that is, the state of "9-minute display" in which the 1-minute digit is set to the maximum time. Note that the maximum time for range heating increases or decreases according to the set output of range heating. The reason is that the higher the output of range heating is set, the faster the temperature of the magnetron 35 of the microwave generator 34 and other heat-generating components rises, and the shorter the time until the temperature limit is reached. For example, when the output of range heating is set to 600 W, the maximum time is 9 minutes, but when range heating is set to 1000 W, the maximum time is shortened to 5 minutes. Conversely, when range heating is set to 200 W or 100 W, the maximum time becomes as long as 90 minutes. Also, when an automatic cooking menu for range heating is selected, the output corresponding to the selected menu and the time corresponding thereto are automatically set respectively.

[0083] And in this state of "9-minute display", while the upper key display unit B13 including the icon display body D13 for setting to "+10 seconds", the upper key display unit B15 including the icon display body D15 for setting to "-1 minute", the upper key display unit B11 including the icon display body D11 for setting to "+10 minutes", and the button display unit B61 including the text display body D61 for setting to "clear" are each lit and displayed, the upper key display unit B16 including the icon display body D16 for setting to "-10 seconds", the upper key display unit B12 including the icon display body D12 for setting to "+1 minute", and the upper key display unit B14 including the icon display body D14 for setting to "-10 minutes" are each turned off and not displayed.

[0084] When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up arrow key display section B13 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 seconds each time, and displays the increased digit of the time in the 10-second unit in the text display body D9 corresponding to the picker display section B9. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up down arrow key display section B15 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input and decreases the time by 1 minute each time, and displays the decreased digit of the time in the 1-minute unit in the text display body D7 corresponding to the picker display section B7. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up arrow key display section B11 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input and increases the time by 10 minutes each time, and displays the increased digit of the time in the 10-minute unit in the text display body D6 corresponding to the picker display section B6. Further, when a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up button display section B61 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input and returns the display of the first top screen G1 to "0 display".

[0085] On the other hand, the top screen display control section 62A does not accept operation inputs from the touch panel 8 corresponding to the turned-off up arrow key display section B12 and the down arrow key display sections B16 and B14. Therefore, it is possible to make the user understand that the digit of the time in the 10-minute unit displayed in the picker display section B6 does not rotate so that it becomes less than "0" 9 minutes, the digit of the time in the 1-minute unit displayed in the picker display section B7 does not rotate so that it becomes more than "9" minutes, and the digit of the time in the 10-second unit displayed in the picker display section B9 does not rotate so that it becomes less than "00" seconds.

[0086] FIG. 16 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes the display means 6 to display when, from the state of "0 display" shown in FIG. 11, the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the upper key display section B11 is tapped only once and the range heating time displayed on the picker display sections B6, B7, B9 is set to "10" minutes and "00" seconds, that is, the state of "10 - minute display" in which the 10 - minute digit is set to the minimum time. In this state of "9 - minute display", the upper key display section B13 including the icon display body D13 for setting to "+10 seconds", the upper key display section B12 including the icon display body D12 for setting to "+1 minute", the upper key display section B11 including the icon display body D11 for setting to "+10 minutes", the upper key display section B14 including the icon display body D14 for setting to "-10 minutes", and the button display section B61 including the text display body D61 for setting to "clear" are each lit and displayed, while the upper key display section B16 including the icon display body D16 for setting to "-10 seconds" and the upper key display section B15 including the icon display body D15 for setting to "-1 minute" are each turned off and not displayed.

[0087] When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B13 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 10 seconds each time, and causes the number of the increased time in the 10-second digit to be displayed on the text display body D9 corresponding to the picker display section B9. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B12 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 1 minute each time, and causes the number of the increased time in the 1-minute digit to be displayed on the text display body D7 corresponding to the picker display section B7. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up up key display section B11 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, increases the time by 10 minutes each time, and causes the number of the increased time in the 10-minute digit to be displayed on the text display body D6 corresponding to the picker display section B6. When a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up down key display section B14 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input, decreases the time by 10 minutes each time, and causes the number of the decreased time in the 10-minute digit to be displayed on the text display body D6 corresponding to the picker display section B6. Further, when a part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit up button display section B61 is tapped, the top screen display control section 62A accepts the operation input and returns the display of the first top screen G1 to "0 display".

[0088] On the other hand, the top screen display control section 62A does not accept operation inputs from the touch panel 8 corresponding to the turned-off down key display sections B15 and B14. Therefore, it is possible to make the user understand that the time in the 1-minute digit displayed on the picker display section B7 does not rotate so as to be less than "0" minutes, and the time in the 10-second digit displayed on the picker display section B9 does not rotate so as to be less than "00" seconds.

[0089] FIG. 17 shows the state of the first top screen G1 that the top screen display control unit 62A causes the display means 6 to display, that is, the state of "90 - minute display" in which the 10 - minute digit is set to the maximum time, when, from the state of "0 display" shown in FIG. 11, after changing the output setting from 600W to 200W using the list display unit B4 so that the range heating time is set to a maximum of 90 minutes, the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the up - key display unit B11 is tapped 9 times to set the range heating time displayed on the picker display units B6, B7, B9 to "90" minutes "00" seconds. In this state of "90 - minute display", while the up - key display unit B14 including the icon display body D14 for "-10 minutes" and the button display unit B61 including the text display body D61 for "clear" are each lit and displayed, the up - key display unit B13 including the icon display body D13 for "+10 seconds", the up - key display unit B16 including the icon display body D16 for "-10 seconds", the up - key display unit B12 including the icon display body D12 for "+1 minute", the up - key display unit B15 including the icon display body D15 for "-1 minute", and the up - key display unit B11 including the icon display body D11 for "+10 minutes" are each turned off and not displayed.

[0090] Then, when the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit down - key display unit B14 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input, decreases the time by 10 minutes each time, and causes the text display body D6 corresponding to the picker display unit B6 to display the decreased 10 - minute - digit time number. Also, when the part of the touch panel 8 overlapping the lit button display unit B61 is tapped, the top screen display control unit 62A accepts the operation input and returns the display of the first top screen G1 to the "0 display".

[0091] On the other hand, the top screen display control unit 62A does not accept operation inputs from the touch panel 8 corresponding to the turned-off upper key display units B13, B12, B11 and the lower key display units B16, B15. Therefore, the 10-minute digit time displayed on the picker display unit B6 does not rotate so that it becomes more than "9"0 minutes, and the 1-minute digit time displayed on the picker display unit B7 does not rotate so that it becomes more or less than "0" minutes, and the 10-second digit time displayed on the picker display unit B9 does not rotate so that it becomes more or less than "00" seconds, which can be understood by the user.

[0092] In the examples shown in FIGS. 11 to 17, when any digit number displayed on the picker display units B6, B7, B9 reaches the upper limit value or the lower limit value, the upper key display units B11 to B13 and the lower key display units B14 to B16, which are the keys corresponding to that digit, are made non-displayed and not displayed on the display means 6 at all. However, even if these keys are kept displayed on the display means 6 and changed to a different color (including color tone) from before, the same operational effects can be obtained.

[0093] Next, referring to the first top screen G1 shown in FIG. 6 and the second top screen G2 shown in FIG. 7, the categorization (classification) of the heating function by these operation screens will be described again.

[0094] First, on the first top screen G1 where "Heat" shown in FIG. 6 is selected, a first menu display area M1 related to the manual range menu and a second menu display area M2 related to the automatic heating menu are partitioned and arranged respectively. Here, for the manual range menu that is assumed to be the most frequently used by the user, the menu has already been selected, and in the state where the output of the range heating is set to 600W, it is displayed in the first menu display area M1. Therefore, hereafter, if there is no change in the output setting of 600W, the user can start the heating cooking on the object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 14 just by operating the touch panel 8 to set the cooking time of the range heating displayed in the picker display parts B6, B7, B9 to other than "00" hours and "00" minutes and then pressing the start key 7A. The heating control unit 61 receives the operation signal from this start key 7A and controls the operation of the microwave heating means 48 so that the range heating on the object to be cooked is performed with the set output and time.

[0095] Also, in the conventional case, the top screen displayed on the display means 6 could be switched between the screen of the category related to the "manual" cooking menu and the screen of the category related to the "automatic" cooking menu. In this embodiment, it is divided into the first top screen G1 (FIG. 6) of the "Heat" category assumed to be frequently used and the second top screen G2 (FIG. 7) of the "Cook" category assumed to be less frequently used, and it is changed so that only the first top screen G1 that is default displayed on the display means 6 can handle daily use. As a result, the user can immediately select from the first top screen G1, which is the initial screen, for the frequently used daily heating function.

[0096] The first top screen G1 and the second top screen G2 can be easily switched so that only one of them is scrolled and displayed on the display means 6 by a left - right slide operation on the touch panel 8. At this time, the direction of the slide operation is orthogonal to the direction in which the picker display parts B6, B7, B9 are slid up and down when setting the range heating time, so that the two operations do not interfere with each other.

[0097] Also, on the second top screen G2 shown in FIG. 7, the heating functions in the “Cook” category in particular are grouped together so that one heating function can be surely selected according to the purpose of cooking. Specifically, a third menu display area M3 that groups together the main manual cooking menus for which time, output, and temperature can be finely set numerically, and a fourth menu display area M4 that groups together the main automatic cooking menus for which there is no need to set time, output, or temperature and for which selection can be made according to the cooking image are respectively partitioned and arranged on the second top screen G2 displayed on the display means 6. As a result, the user can select a desired menu from the third menu display area M3 in which the manual cooking menus and the automatic cooking menus are clearly arranged.

[0098] On the first top screen G1 where “Heat” shown in FIG. 6 is selected, when a part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps any of the button display parts B21, B23, B25, B27, B29, B31 in the second menu display area M2 is tapped, a selection screen for the heating function corresponding to the tapped button display part B21, B23, B25, B27, B29, B31 is displayed on the display means 6 in place of the first top screen G1 by the transition screen display control unit 62B.

[0099] Similarly, on the second top screen G2 where “Cook” shown in FIG. 7 is selected, when a part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps any of the button display parts B41, B43, B45, B47 in the third menu display area M3 is tapped, a selection screen for the heating function related to the manual cooking menu corresponding to the tapped button display part B41, B43, B45, B47 is displayed on the display means 6 in place of the second top screen G2 by the transition screen display control unit 62B. Also, when a part of the touch panel 8 that overlaps any of the button display parts B51, B53, B55, B57 in the fourth menu display area M4 is tapped, a selection screen for the heating function related to the automatic cooking menu corresponding to the tapped button display part B51, B53, B55, B57 is displayed on the display means 6 in place of the second top screen G2 by the transition screen display control unit 62B.

[0100] Note that the top screen control unit 62A may be configured such that, among the first top screens G1 to be default-displayed on the display means 6, the already selected heating function to be displayed in the first menu display area M1 can be selected by the user's operation on the operation means 9 other than the menu of range heating. As a result, if the user performs an operation on the operation means 9 to select, for example, the menu of oven heating instead of the menu of range heating, the menu of oven heating is already selected, and moreover, in a state where the temperature of oven heating is set to 250°C, a heating function that allows the start instruction of cooking to be given only by setting the heating time thereafter can be initially displayed in the first menu display area M1 of the first top screen G1, and one heating function to be default-displayed in the first menu display area M1 of the display means 6 can be changed from among a plurality of heating functions according to the user's preference.

[0101] FIG. 18 shows how the transition screen display control unit 62B displays recipe information corresponding to how to make a hamburger as a selection screen for the heating function described above when the cooking menu of hamburger is selected as one of the automatic cooking menus selected from the entire cooking menu storage unit 63. In the figure, the range surrounded by the frame is one screen that can be displayed on the display means 6.

[0102] When the information such as the recipe and usage method to be displayed on the display means 6 does not fit on one screen of the display means 6, the transition screen display control unit 62B accepts a slide operation (swipe or flick) from the touch panel 8. Then, when the user performs such a slide operation on the touch panel 8 with a finger or a pen-shaped object, the information to be displayed on the display means 6 is scrolled in the direction of the slide.

[0103] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, when the transition screen display control unit 62B causes the display means 6 to display the recipe information R1 extracted from the cooking information of the hamburger menu among all the menu storage units 63, and determines that the recipe information R1 does not fit on one screen of the display means 6, it accepts a slide operation from the touch panel 8. Only a part of the hamburger recipe information R1 is displayed on the display means 6. However, when the user touches the touch panel 8 with, for example, the finger F and performs a swipe operation of sliding the finger F downward from there, the transition screen display control unit 62B that senses this scrolls the recipe information R to be displayed on the display means 6 downward in the direction indicated by the arrow in accordance with the movement of the finger F. As a result, the user can visually recognize the entire recipe information R on the display means 6.

[0104] Also, when the recipe information R to be displayed on the display means 6 reaches the end by this downward swipe operation, conversely, if a swipe operation is performed upward, the transition screen display control unit 62B accepts this and can scroll the recipe information R upward, and the user can always review the entire recipe information R on the display means 6. Thus, in this embodiment, the UI familiar to smartphones and the like can be used as it is by operating the touch panel 8 of the oven range, and various types of information that do not fit on one screen of the display means 6 can be confirmed to every corner by the swipe operation and the accompanying scroll display.

[0105] As described above, in this embodiment, there are a display means 6 enabling screen display, a microwave heating means 48 for heating an object to be cooked placed in the cooking chamber 14 by range heating, and as one heating function selected from a plurality of heating functions, for example, a manual range menu selected from a plurality of menus stored in the all-menu storage unit 63. With a state where, as one output among a plurality of settable outputs by the microwave heating means 48, 600 W is set, a display control unit 62 as display control means for default-displaying it on the display means 6 as a first top screen G1, and a heating control unit 61 as heating control means enabling the start of the range heating operation by the microwave heating means 48 with the set output and time after receiving at least the time setting in the manual range menu by an operation on the start key 7.

[0106] In this case, since the manual range menu, which is the one selected heating function with the highest usage frequency, is already set to 600 W, which is considered the most frequently used, as one output for range heating and is default-displayed on the display means 6 as the first top screen G1, only the time needs to be set thereafter, enabling the start of range heating of the object to be cooked by the microwave heating means 48 and reducing the number of operation steps until heating starts. Therefore, it is possible to provide a cooking heater that can easily start cooking with one heating function without selecting one heating function every time.

[0107] Also, in this embodiment, the display control unit 62 is configured such that a first menu display area M1 as a first function display unit related to the manual range menu serving as one heating function and a second menu display area M1 as a second function display unit enabling selection operations of other heating functions related to range heating by the microwave heating means 48, such as menus like "rice" and "side dishes", are included in the first top screen G1 as the initial screen default-displayed on the display means 6.

[0108] In this case, in addition to the menu of the manual range which is the most frequently used and selected heating function, for other heating functions related to range heating that are frequently used, such as the menus for "rice" or "side dishes", on the first top screen G1 which is the initial screen with the same default display, it is made possible to directly select and operate them, thereby reducing the operation steps for the user.

[0109] Also, in this embodiment, as the top screen displayed on the display means 6, there are a first top screen G1 which is the first screen that is the initial screen default-displayed on the display means 6, and among a plurality of heating functions, as another heating function other than one heating function and other heating functions, from among the menus stored in the entire menu storage unit 63, in addition to the first menu display area M1 and the second menu display area M1, for example, a second top screen G2 which is a second screen that enables selection and operation of menus such as "oven" or "stone oven baking as you like" is configured such that it can be switched by a slide operation from the user to, for example, the touch panel 8.

[0110] In this case, by making it possible to switch between the first top screen G1 corresponding to the initial screen with a high usage frequency and the second top screen G2 with a lower usage frequency than that, it becomes possible to handle it only with the corresponding first top screen G1 in normal use, and even in cases of use different from normal, it becomes possible to handle it only by switching from the first top screen G1 to the second top screen G2.

[0111] Also, in this embodiment, the display control unit 62 is configured such that the one heating function to be default-displayed on the display means 6 can be selected not only, for example, limited to the menu of the manual range, but also from among a plurality of heating functions by user operation, for example, to the menu of another manual oven.

[0112] In this case, the one heating function to be default-displayed on the display means 6 with the first top screen G1 can be changed from among a plurality of heating functions according to the user's preference.

[0113] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0114] 6 Display means 7A Start key (heating start instruction unit) 48 Microwave heating means 49 Heater driving means (oven heating means) 51 Hot air motor driving means (oven heating means) 62 Display control unit (display control means) G1 First top screen (first screen) G2 Second top screen (second screen)

Claims

1. display means provided with a touch panel for receiving a touch operation at least in part; microwave heating means for heating the object to be cooked by microwave heating; display control means for causing the display means to display at least a first screen including a display in a state where one output is selected from a plurality of outputs by the microwave heating means as a screen default-displayed after power-on; In the first screen, it is possible to change, by a touch operation, to an output not selected on the first screen from among a plurality of outputs by the microwave heating means; it is possible to set, by a touch operation, the heating time at the selected output in minutes and seconds respectively; the first screen has a heating start instruction part capable of instructing the start of cooking in a state where the default-displayed output or the changed output and the set heating time are displayed; A cooking heater characterized by the above.

2. The heating cooker according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays a second screen that can be switched from the first screen by a touch operation and enables a selection operation for searching for a recipe collection, which is an automatic cooking menu that can be used without setting time, output, or temperature.

3. equipped with oven heating means for performing oven cooking of the object to be cooked; The heating cooker according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays a second screen that can be switched from the first screen by a touch operation and enables a selection operation for heating by the oven heating means.

Images