Induction heating device and induction heating device program

Abstract

This induction heating device comprises: a first heating coil and a second heating coil; a first half bridge circuit connected to one end of the first heating coil; a second half bridge circuit connected to one end of the second heating coil; a third half bridge circuit connected to the other ends of the first heating coil and the second heating coil; and a control device for driving the first half bridge circuit and the second half bridge circuit to be out of phase. The control device alternately executes, at a predetermined time ratio, a first mode for controlling that the second half bridge circuit and the third half bridge circuit are driven in phase, and a second mode for controlling that the first half bridge circuit and the third half bridge circuit are driven in phase.

Description

Induction heating devices and programs for induction heating devices

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an induction heating device and a program for the induction heating device.

[0002] A variety of cooking appliances are used to heat food in homes and restaurants. Recently, cooking appliances that use electricity, rather than gas, to heat objects, such as cooking vessels like pots, have become increasingly popular.

[0003] Methods for heating a subject using electricity are broadly divided into resistance heating and induction heating. Resistance heating is a method of heating a subject by transferring the heat generated when current is passed through a metallic resistance wire or a non-metallic heating element such as silicon carbide to the subject (e.g., a cooking vessel) through radiation or conduction. Induction heating is a method of generating eddy currents in a subject made of metallic components by utilizing the magnetic field generated around the coil when a certain amount of high-frequency power is applied to the coil, thereby heating the subject itself. Among these, induction heating devices that apply the induction heating method generally have working coils (heating coils) in corresponding areas to heat each of a plurality of subjects (cooking vessels).

[0004] Induction cookers, also known as induction stoves, ranges, or induction cooking devices, are cooking appliances that utilize the principle of induction heating. Compared to gas stoves, induction cookers consume no oxygen and emit no waste gases, reducing indoor air pollution and temperature rises. Furthermore, induction cookers utilize an indirect method of inducing heat to the object being heated, resulting in high energy efficiency and stability. Furthermore, since heat is generated solely within the object being heated, not the contact surface, there is a lower risk of burns. Consequently, demand for induction cookers has been steadily increasing.

[0005] An induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a first heating coil and a second heating coil. The induction heating device according to one embodiment may include a first inverter circuit connected to a first end of the first heating coil, and a second inverter circuit connected to a first end of the second heating coil. The induction heating device according to one embodiment may include a third inverter circuit connected to a second end of the first heating coil and the second heating coil. The induction heating device according to one embodiment may include a processor that drives the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit out of phase. The processor of the induction heating device according to one embodiment may alternately execute a first mode that controls the second inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to be driven in phase, and a second mode that controls the first inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to be driven in phase, according to a predetermined time ratio.

[0006] An induction heating device according to one embodiment may further include a third heating coil having a second inverter circuit connected to the first end and a fourth inverter circuit connected to the second end of the third heating coil.

[0007] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the third inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven out of phase.

[0008] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the first inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven in phase in the first mode.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the second inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven in phase in the second mode.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the device may further include a fourth heating coil having a first inverter circuit connected to the first stage and a fourth inverter circuit connected to the second stage.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the second inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to be driven in phase in the first mode, and the first inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven in phase.

[0012] In one embodiment, the first phase difference between the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit in the first mode and the second phase difference between the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit in the second mode may be different from each other.

[0013] In one embodiment, the processor can control the first inverter circuit to the fourth inverter circuit to operate only two of the first to fourth heating coils in either the first mode or the second mode.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the first inverter circuit, the second inverter circuit, the third inverter circuit, and the fourth inverter circuit may include half-bridge circuits.

[0015] In one embodiment, the processor may execute the first mode and the second mode at the same time ratio, and control the power supplied to the first heating coil in the first mode and the power supplied to the second heating coil in the second mode to be twice the target power supplied to each heating coil.

[0016] In one embodiment, the processor can control the power supplied to the first heating coil in the first mode and the power supplied to the second heating coil in the second mode to be the same.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the processor can operate the first mode and the second mode at a time ratio based on a ratio of target power supplied to the first heating coil and target power supplied to the second heating coil.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the time ratio during which the first mode and the second mode are executed and the power supplied to each heating coil in the first mode and the second mode so that the power supplied to the first heating coil and the power supplied to the second heating coil are equal to each other according to the first mode and the second mode.

[0019] An induction heating device according to one embodiment may further include a connection switching unit including a switch for switching the connection between each heating coil and the inverter circuit.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the processor can perform switching between the first mode and the second mode according to the cycle of the voltage of the AC power source connected to each inverter circuit.

[0021] According to a method of operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the induction heating device may include a first heating coil and a second heating coil, a first inverter circuit connected to a first end of the first heating coil, and a second inverter circuit connected to a first end of the second heating coil.

[0022] According to a method of operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the induction heating device may include a third inverter circuit connected to a second end of a first heating coil and a second heating coil, and a control device.

[0023] A method of operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a step of driving a first inverter circuit and a second inverter circuit out of phase with each other.

[0024] A method for operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a step of alternately executing a first mode for driving a second inverter circuit and a third inverter circuit in phase and a second mode for controlling the first inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to drive in phase at a predetermined time ratio.

[0025] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a usage form of an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a drawing showing the overall configuration of an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a half-bridge circuit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a heating operation of a control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating firepower control of a control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a heating operation of a control device that operates three heating coils according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 6b is an explanatory diagram illustrating a heating operation of a control device that operates two heating coils according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating firepower control of a control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inverter device that operates including a connection switching unit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 9 is a block diagram of an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation method of an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] The terms used in this disclosure will be briefly explained, and one embodiment of the present disclosure will be specifically described.

[0037] The terms used in this disclosure are selected from widely used, current terms, taking into account the functions of one embodiment of the disclosure. However, these terms may vary depending on the intentions of those skilled in the art, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Furthermore, in certain cases, terms may be arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in such cases, their meanings will be described in detail in the description of the relevant embodiments of the disclosure. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should not be defined simply as names of terms, but rather based on the meanings of the terms and the overall content of the disclosure.

[0038] In this disclosure, the expression “at least one of a, b or c” may refer to “a”, “b”, “c”, “a and b”, “a and c”, “b and c”, “all of a, b and c”, or variations thereof.

[0039] Throughout this disclosure, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, this does not mean that other components are excluded, but rather that other components may be included, unless otherwise specifically stated. Furthermore, terms such as "part," "module," etc., used in this disclosure refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and "part" and "module" may be implemented as hardware or software, or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0040] It should be understood that the blocks and combinations of flowcharts in each flowchart can be executed by one or more computer programs containing computer-executable instructions. The one or more computer programs may be stored entirely in a single memory, or may be stored in separate portions across multiple different memories.

[0041] Unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, singular forms (e.g., "a," "an," and "the") are to be understood to include plural referents. Thus, for example, the description "a component surface" may also include reference to one or more of such surfaces.

[0042] All functions or operations described in this document may be performed by a single processor or a combination of processors. A single processor or a combination of processors is a circuitry that performs processing, and may include circuitry such as an Application Processor (AP), a Communication Processor (CP), a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), a Microprocessor Unit (MPU), a System on Chip (SoC), or an Integrated Chip (IC).

[0043] Below, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, one embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In addition, in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted to clearly describe one embodiment of the present disclosure, and similar parts are designated with similar drawing reference numerals throughout the present disclosure.

[0044] When multiple heating coils are used for heating simultaneously in an induction heating device, a large current, which is the sum of the currents flowing in each of the multiple heating coils, flows in one reference half-bridge circuit, and there is a problem that the switching loss in this reference half-bridge circuit increases.

[0045] Accordingly, the present disclosure was made to solve the above-described problem, and the purpose of the present disclosure is to provide an induction heating device capable of reducing switching loss when heating a heated object using a plurality of heating coils.

[0046] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a usage form of an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] In addition, FIG. 2 is a drawing showing the overall configuration of an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0048] An induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure can inductively heat a heated object, such as a cooking pot, placed on a top plate using a plurality of heating coils.

[0049] An induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a top plate (P) on which a heated object (Q) is placed, a heating coil (1) for inductively heating the heated object (Q), an inverter device (2) for supplying power to the heating coil (1), and a control device (3) for controlling the inverter device (2).

[0050] The induction heating device (100) may further include a position detection sensor (not shown) that detects the position of a heated object (Q) placed on a top plate (P), a current detection unit (not shown) that detects the current supplied to the inverter device (2), and a voltage detection unit (not shown) that detects the voltage supplied from a commercial power source to the inverter device (2).

[0051] The top plate (P) may include a flat seating surface on which a heated material (Q) is placed, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The top plate (P) may include a flat plate made of an electrically insulating material such as glass or ceramic.

[0052] The heating coil (1) is a coil installed on the lower inner side of the top plate (P), as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The heating coil (1) may include a plurality of heating coils. FIG. 1 illustrates a total of 12 heating coils, and four heating coils (1) are installed in one row, so that the structure may be composed of a total of three rows. Hereinafter, the four heating coils (1) will be referred to as a first heating coil (11), a second heating coil (12), a third heating coil (13), and a fourth heating coil (14), respectively.

[0053] Here, four heating coils (1) are arranged in a row in the order of the first heating coil (11), the third heating coil (13), the second heating coil (12), and the fourth heating coil (14). The arrangement of the heating coils (1) may be a two-dimensional array shape. The first heating coil (11), the second heating coil (12), the third heating coil (13), and the fourth heating coil (14) will only be referred to as one unit driven by a half-bridge circuit, and may not necessarily mean a heating coil corresponding to only one burner. For example, each of the first to fourth heating coils (11) to (14) may include a plurality of heating coils connected in series, and may also include heating coils driven in parallel.

[0054] The heating coil (1) may be formed in a sheet shape installed on a substrate. Specifically, the heating coil (1) may be formed as a printed circuit board (PCB) including photoresist, etc. Here, each of the plurality of heating coils (1) is illustrated as having the same shape and size, but the shape and size of each heating coil (1) may be appropriately changed. In addition, the heating coil (1) may be formed as a coil wound with a Litz wire rather than in the form of a printed circuit board.

[0055] The inverter device (2) is a device that converts voltage supplied from a commercial power source, such as power supplied from a power grid, into high frequency and supplies high frequency power to each heating coil (1). Here, the inverter device (2) may include four half-bridge circuits (HB) that constitute two full-bridge inverter circuits. For a description of the half-bridge circuits (HB), reference is made to Fig. 3.

[0056] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a half-bridge circuit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0057] The half-bridge circuit (HB) may be composed of two switching elements, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The switching elements may include, but are not limited to, an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), a FET (Field Effect Transistor), a MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor), a TR (transistor), etc. To prevent damage to the switching elements due to a large current that may be generated by parasitic inductance when the switching elements are turned off, a snubber capacitor may be installed between the drain and the source of each switching element. The first or second end of the heating coil (1) is connected to an AC terminal installed between the two switching elements of the half-bridge circuit (HB).

[0058] Among the four half-bridge circuits (HB), the first half-bridge circuit (HB1) and the second half-bridge circuit (HB2) are connected to the first stage of the heating coil (1), and the third half-bridge circuit (HB3) and the fourth half-bridge circuit (HB4) are connected to the second stage of the heating coil (1).

[0059] Each half bridge circuit (HB) can be connected to two heating coils (1). Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the first half-bridge circuit (HB1) may be connected to the first end (211) of the first heating coil (11) and the first end (241) of the fourth heating coil (14), the second half-bridge circuit (HB2) may be connected to the first end (221) of the second heating coil (12) and the first end (231) of the third heating coil (13), the third half-bridge circuit (HB3) may be connected to the second end (212) of the first heating coil (11) and the second end (222) of the second heating coil (12), and the fourth half-bridge circuit (HB4) may be connected to the second end (232) of the third heating coil (13) and the second end (242) of the fourth heating coil (14).

[0060] In this way, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, two half-bridge circuits (HB) each having four heating coils (1) between them can be combined, and this combination can constitute four different types of full-bridge inverter circuits. For example, one full-bridge inverter circuit can be constituted by a first half-bridge circuit (HB1) and a third half-bridge circuit (HB3) having a first heating coil (11) between them.

[0061] Although four half-bridge circuits (HB) for driving the heating coil are illustrated in FIG. 3, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in the circuit diagram illustrated in FIG. 2, since each half-bridge circuit is a type of inverter circuit, each half-bridge circuit may be a different type of inverter circuit that can perform the same function. For example, each half-bridge circuit may be replaced by a full-bridge circuit or may be replaced by a different type of inverter circuit. Accordingly, in the present disclosure, each of the first to fourth half-bridge circuits (HB1) to (HB4) may be included in the first to fourth inverter circuits (INV1) to (INV4) that can perform the same function.

[0062] Referring briefly to FIG. 8, the inverter device (2) has a connection switching unit (8) that switches the connection / disconnection of each heating coil (1) and the full bridge type inverter circuit corresponding to the heating coil (1). According to one embodiment, the connection switching unit (8) may be installed for each heating coil (1). The connection switching unit (8) is a switch (8) controlled by a control device (3). 1-12 ) may be included. A switch (8) included in the connection switching unit (8) 1-12) may include an electronic switch. The electronic switch may include an electronic control switch such as a relay switch, TR, IGBT, FET, or MOSFET. The connection / disconnection of the full bridge type inverter circuit by the connection switching unit (8) will be described in detail later.

[0063] Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the control device (3) is a device that physically includes a CPU, memory, input means, etc. Functionally, the control device (3) can control each half-bridge circuit (HB1, HB2, HB3, HB4) and the connection switching unit (8) by having the CPU or its peripheral devices cooperate according to a program stored in the memory.

[0064] The control device (3) can control the power (supply power) supplied from the inverter device (2) to each heating coil. Specifically, the control device (3) transmits a control signal for controlling the on / off of a switching element included in each half-bridge circuit to the inverter device (2), thereby controlling the operation of a full-bridge inverter circuit corresponding to each heating coil, thereby controlling the power supplied to each heating coil.

[0065] According to one embodiment, the control device (3) can control the driving frequency of the supplied power by, for example, a PFM (pulse frequency modulation) control method. In addition, the specific control form is not limited to the PFM control method and may be a PWM (pulse width modulation) control method.

[0066] Below, the heating operation and firepower control performed by the control device (3) when heating a heated object using four heating coils (1) are described.

[0067] First, the heating operation of the induction heating device (100) is described.

[0068] Here, as illustrated in Fig. 2, a case in which two objects to be heated (Q1, Q2) are heated using the first heating coil (11) to the fourth heating coil (14) will be described. For convenience, let the object to be heated corresponding to Q1 in Fig. 2 be referred to as the first object to be heated, and let the object to be heated corresponding to Q2 be referred to as the second object to be heated. In this case, the control device (3) alternately executes a first mode for supplying power to the first heating coil (11) and the third heating coil (13) corresponding to the first object to be heated (Q1), and a second mode for supplying power to the second heating coil (12) and the fourth heating coil (14) corresponding to the second object to be heated (Q2) at a predetermined time ratio.

[0069] Hereinafter, the first mode and the second mode will be described in more detail. First, as shown in (1) the first mode and (2) the second mode of Fig. 4, the control device (3) drives the first half-bridge circuit (HB1) and the second half-bridge circuit (HB2) by shifting their phases through the first mode and the second mode, and also drives the third half-bridge circuit (HB3) and the fourth half-bridge circuit (HB4) by shifting their phases. Here, the shift in phase includes that the timing at which the on-off of two switching elements included in one half-bridge circuit is alternated and the timing at which the on-off of two switching elements included in the other half-bridge circuit is alternated are alternated.

[0070] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a heating operation of a control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0071] Here, two half-bridge circuits (e.g., HB1 and HB2) driven out of phase are driven out of phase with respect to each other (phase difference = approximately 180 degrees). In addition, when the two half-bridge circuits are driven out of phase with respect to each other, the size of the phase difference is not limited to this and may be out of phase with respect to each other. In addition, in the first mode and the second mode, for example, the phase difference between the first half-bridge circuit (HB1) and the second half-bridge circuit (HB2) may be different from each other, as shown in Fig. 4.

[0072] According to one embodiment, the control device (3), in the first mode, controls two half-bridge circuits (HB2, HB3) connected to the second heating coil (12) to drive in phase, while also controlling two half-bridge circuits (HB1, HB4) connected to the fourth heating coil (14) to drive in phase.

[0073] According to one embodiment, the control device (3) can control, in the second mode, two half-bridge circuits (HB1, HB3) connected to the first heating coil (11) to be driven in phase, while also controlling two half-bridge circuits (HB2, HB4) connected to the third heating coil (13) to be driven in phase.

[0074] In each mode, two half-bridge circuits (HB) connected to a given heating coil (1) are driven in phase (phase difference = 0 degrees) so as not to generate a potential difference, thereby controlling power from being supplied to the given heating coil (1).

[0075] In this way, when heating the object to be heated using the first heating coil (11) to the fourth heating coil (14), in the first mode, power is supplied only to the first heating coil (11) and the third heating coil (13) among the four heating coils (1), and in the second mode, power is supplied only to the second heating coil (12) and the fourth heating coil (14). In other words, according to one embodiment, the control device (3) can control the first half-bridge circuit (HB1) to the fourth half-bridge circuit (HB4) so ​​that only two heating coils among the first heating coil (11), the second heating coil (12), the third heating coil (13), and the fourth heating coil (14) operate in either the first mode or the second mode.

[0076] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device (3) can perform switching between the first mode and the second mode in accordance with the cycle of the voltage of the AC power source in order to reduce the load on the switching element due to mode switching.

[0077] Below, the control of the heat output when performing a heating operation is described. For convenience of explanation, as shown in Fig. 2, an example is described in which the first object to be heated (Q1) is heated with a heat output of 1500 W and the second object to be heated (Q2) is heated with a heat output of 1000 W (see setting condition 1 of Fig. 5).

[0078] In this case, the target supply power of the first heating coil (11) and the third heating coil (13) for heating the first object to be heated (Q1) is set to 750 W each so that the object to be heated can be heated uniformly, and similarly, the target supply power of the second heating coil (12) and the fourth heating coil (14) for heating the second object to be heated (Q2) is set to 500 W each. Here, the target supply power means the power to be supplied to each heating coil (1), which is set according to the thermal power set for the object to be heated.

[0079] In order to supply the target power supply set in this way, the control device (3) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure can execute the first mode and the second mode at the same time ratio (1:1), and supply power twice the target power supply to each heating coil (1) to the first heating coil (11) and the third heating coil (13) in the first mode, and to the second heating coil (12) and the fourth heating coil (14) in the second mode.

[0080] For example, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the control device (3) can alternately execute the first mode and the second mode at intervals of 50 msec each. The control device (3) can supply the target supply power to each heating coil (1) by controlling to supply 1500 W of power to each of the first heating coil (11) and the third heating coil (13) in the first mode, and controlling to supply 1000 W of power to each of the second heating coil (12) and the fourth heating coil (14) in the second mode.

[0081] In addition, when two objects to be heated (Q1, Q2) are heated with the same heat power, or when one object to be heated is heated using four heating coils (11, 12, 13, 14), the control device (3) can control the time ratio of the first mode and the second mode and the power supplied to each heating coil (1) in each mode so that the amount of power supplied to each heating coil (1) through the first mode and the second mode becomes uniform.

[0082] Hereinafter, the switching loss of the inverter device (2) of the induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is evaluated. When the object to be heated is heated using four heating coils (1) with the above-described heating operation and set thermal power (set condition 1 of FIG. 5), the current flowing in each half-bridge circuit is calculated.

[0083] When heating a subject using multiple heating coils, the following equation is established for the total power supply (Pin[W]), which is the sum of the power supplied to these multiple heating coils, assuming that the impedance of each heating coil is the same.

[0084] Pin=nХI^2ХR

[0085] n: number of heating coils

[0086] I: (Current flowing through each heating coil [A])

[0087] R: Coil resistance including the heated material [Ω]

[0088] Assuming that the total power supply (Pin) supplied to the heating coils through the first and second modes is 2500 W, the number of heating coils (n) is 4, and the coil resistance is 10Ω, the current (I) flowing through each heating coil (1) is calculated as 7.9 A on average from the above equation. In addition, since each half-bridge circuit is connected to both the heating coil driven in the first mode and the heating coil driven in the second mode, the current flowing through them becomes 15.8 A equally.

[0089] In addition, even when the set power for each heated object is changed as in setting condition 2 of Fig. 5, if the total supply power (Pin) is the same (here, 2500 W), the current flowing through each half-bridge circuit becomes the same (here, 15.8 A).

[0090] In an induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, since one heating coil (11, 13) driven in the first mode and one heating coil (12, 14) driven in the second mode are connected to each half-bridge circuit (HB1, HB2, HB3, HB4), the current flowing in each half-bridge circuit (HB1, HB2, HB3, HB4) is reduced compared to a case where two heating coils driven simultaneously are connected to the half-bridge circuit, so that switching loss can be reduced.

[0091] In addition, since the power supplied to the two heating coils (1) in each mode is controlled uniformly, the current flowing through the four half-bridge circuits (HB) becomes uniform, and the switching loss in each half-bridge circuit (HB) also becomes uniform. Accordingly, the load on each half-bridge circuit (HB) also becomes uniform, thereby stabilizing the product lifespan.

[0092] Since the first mode and the second mode are executed in a time-division manner, even if power of different driving frequencies is supplied to the heating coil (1) in each of these modes, the occurrence of resonance noise caused by different driving frequencies can be prevented.

[0093] FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a heating operation of a control device that operates three heating coils according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0094] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a heating operation of a control device (3) in a case where a heated object is heated using three or fewer heating coils is described.

[0095] As illustrated in Fig. 6a, an operation of heating a first object to be heated (Q1) and a second object to be heated (Q2) using the first heating coil (11) to the third heating coil (13) will be described. In this case, the control device (3) alternately executes a first mode for supplying power to the first heating coil (11) and the third heating coil (13) and a second mode for supplying power to the second heating coil (12) at a predetermined time ratio.

[0096] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device (3) can control the connection switching unit (8) so that the first half-bridge circuit (HB1) or the fourth half-bridge circuit (HB4) and the fourth heating coil (14) are not connected. In addition, the control device (3) drives each half-bridge circuit in the same manner as in the case of using the four heating coils described above. Accordingly, the control device (3) supplies power only to the first heating coil (11) and the third heating coil (13) among the three heating coils (1) in the first mode, and supplies power only to the second heating coil (12) in the second mode.

[0097] According to this heating operation, the control device (3) alternately operates two heating coils connected to each of the second half-bridge circuit (HB2) and the third half-bridge circuit (HB3), so that the current flowing through the two half-bridge circuits is reduced compared to when the heating coils are driven simultaneously, thereby reducing switching loss.

[0098] FIG. 6b is an explanatory diagram illustrating a heating operation of a control device that operates two heating coils according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0099] Next, a case in which two heating coils are used will be described. As illustrated in Fig. 6b, a case in which a first object to be heated (Q1) and a second object to be heated (Q2) are heated using a first heating coil (11) and a second heating coil (12) will be described. According to one embodiment, the control device (3) can alternately execute a first mode for supplying power to the first heating coil (11) and a second mode for supplying power to the second heating coil (12) at a predetermined time ratio.

[0100] The control device (3) can control the connection switching unit (8) so that the corresponding half-bridge circuit and the third heating coil (13) and the fourth heating coil (14) are not connected. In addition, the control device (3) can drive the two half-bridge circuits (HB1, HB2) out of phase through the first mode and the second mode. Then, the control device (3) controls the two half-bridge circuits (HB2, HB3) to be driven in phase in the first mode, and controls the two half-bridge circuits (HB1, HB3) to be driven in phase in the second mode. Accordingly, the induction heating device (100) supplies power only to the first heating coil (11) among the two heating coils (1) in the first mode, and supplies power only to the second heating coil (12) in the second mode.

[0101] By performing this heating operation, the current flowing in the third half bridge circuit (HB3) can be reduced compared to when the first heating coil (11) and the second heating coil (12) are driven simultaneously, thereby reducing switching loss.

[0102] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the control of the heat power of a control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The control device (3) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure can operate the first mode and the second mode at different time ratios. Specifically, the control device (3) can uniformly control the power supplied to each heating coil (1) in each mode, and execute the first mode and the second mode at a time ratio corresponding to the ratio of the target power supplied to the heating coil in the first mode and the target power supplied to the heating coil in the second mode.

[0103] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the first object to be heated (Q1) is heated at 1500 W and the second object to be heated (Q2) is heated at 1000 W as shown in FIG. 2 (see setting condition 3 of FIG. 7), the control device (3) can control the power supplied to each heating coil (1) in each mode to 1250 W, and execute the first mode and the second mode at a time ratio of 6:4.

[0104] Even when the control device (3) performs firepower control by adjusting the time ratio of each mode in this way, if the total power supply (Pin) is the same, the current flowing to each half-bridge circuit (HB) becomes the same.

[0105] According to this, the total supply power (Pin) averaged over two modes can be maximized within the power limits limited by the breaker, etc.

[0106] For example, let's assume that there is a power limit for the breaker to operate when the total power supply (Pin) to the induction heating device (100) exceeds 2500 W. If a method in which the time ratios of the first and second modes are the same is used, and the target power supply shown in setting condition 1 of Fig. 5 is to be achieved, the breaker operates because the total power supply (Pin) in the first mode exceeds 3000 W. On the other hand, if a method in which the time ratios of the first and second modes are set differently is used, and when the same target power supply is to be achieved (see setting condition 3 of Fig. 7), the breaker does not operate because the total power supply (Pin) in each mode does not exceed 2500 W.

[0107] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inverter device that operates including a connection switching unit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0108] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the connection switching unit (8) of the inverter device (2) is a device that switches the connection between each heating coil and the half-bridge circuit (HB), as illustrated in FIG. 8. And according to one embodiment, the control device (3) can specify the position and size of the object to be heated placed on the top plate based on the output of the position detection sensor, and control the connection switching unit (8) based on the position to switch the connection configuration of the half-bridge circuit (HB) so as to heat the object to be heated (Q).

[0109] According to one embodiment, when the control device (3) determines that it is necessary to use two or more heating coils based on the position or size of the object to be heated, it can switch the connection configuration of the half-bridge circuit (HB) so that the object to be heated (Q) can be heated by the aforementioned heating operation. Accordingly, a plurality of half-bridge circuits (or one) can be connected to two heating coils, respectively.

[0110] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when a plurality of heating coils (1) are used, the current flowing in each half-bridge circuit can be uniformized regardless of their combination, thereby reducing the overall switching loss.

[0111] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device (3) can control the power supplied to four heating coils by controlling the driving of four half-bridge circuits, but the number of heating coils and the number of half-bridge circuits controlled by the control device (3) are not limited to those described above.

[0112] The control device (3) can control the power supplied to two heating coils by controlling the driving of at least three half-bridge circuits. Specifically, in the case where the object to be heated is heated using two heating coils connected to one half-bridge circuit, the control device (3) can alternately execute a first mode in which the two half-bridge circuits connected to the first heating coil are driven in phase, and a second mode in which the two half-bridge circuits connected to the second heating coil are driven in phase, at a predetermined time ratio.

[0113] The control device (3) can execute a third mode between the first and second modes, in which the driving patterns of each half-bridge circuit are different from these two modes. In the third mode, the control device (3) can, for example, stop driving all half-bridge circuits or drive all half-bridge circuits with their phases shifted.

[0114] Furthermore, the present disclosure may be applied to a non-contact power supply device having a power supply coil instead of a heating coil. In this case, the induction heating device (100) can control the operation of at least three half-bridge circuits to time-share the power supplied to two power supply coils.

[0115] According to the present disclosure configured in this manner, an induction heating device capable of reducing switching loss when heating a heated object using a plurality of heating coils can be provided.

[0116] In the present disclosure, all or at least part of the operations performed by the control device (3) may be performed by a processor included in the control device (3).

[0117] Figure 9 is a block diagram of an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0118] As illustrated in FIG. 9, an induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a heating coil (1), an inverter device (2), a control device (3), a communication interface (5), a user interface (6), a memory (7), a connection switching unit (8), and a position detection sensor (9). According to one embodiment, some of the above configurations - for example, components such as the communication interface (5), the connection switching unit (8), and the position detection sensor (9) - may not be included as components of the induction heating device (100).

[0119] Below, we will look at the above components in turn.

[0120] The heating coil (1) may include, but is not limited to, a first heating coil (11), a second heating coil (12), a third heating coil (13), and a fourth heating coil (14). As in the previously described embodiment, the heating coil (1) may include only two heating coils or may include more heating coils. As the number of heating coils increases, the number of inverter circuits within the inverter device (2) may also increase accordingly.

[0121] The heating coil (1) may be implemented in a form in which a pattern is printed on a printed circuit board or may be implemented by winding a Litz wire. The heating coil (1) can generate a magnetic field for heating the object to be heated (Q). For example, when a driving current is supplied to the heating coil (1), a magnetic field can be induced around the heating coil (1). When a current whose magnitude and direction change over time, i.e., an alternating current, is supplied to the heating coil (1), a magnetic field whose magnitude and direction change over time can be induced around the heating coil (1). The magnetic field around the heating coil (1) can pass through a top plate made of tempered glass and reach the object to be heated (Q) placed on the top plate. Due to the magnetic field whose magnitude and direction change over time, an eddy current that rotates around the magnetic field can be generated in the object to be heated (Q), and the eddy current can generate electrical resistance heat in the object to be heated (Q). Electrical resistance heat is the heat generated in a resistor when current flows through it, also called Joule heat. The object to be heated (Q) can be heated by electrical resistance heat.

[0122] The inverter device (2) may include, but is not limited to, a plurality of inverter circuits, a first inverter circuit (21), a second inverter circuit (22), a third inverter circuit (23), and a fourth inverter circuit (24). The inverter device (2) may include fewer than four inverter circuits, or may include more than four inverter circuits.

[0123] Each inverter circuit may include, but is not limited to, a half-bridge circuit composed of two switching elements connected in series. Any type of inverter circuit may be used as each inverter circuit as long as it allows alternating current to flow through the heating coil (1).

[0124] The connection switching unit (8) is used to switch the connection between each inverter circuit included in the inverter device (2) and each heating coil included in the heating coil (1). Since the details of the connection switching unit (8) have been described with reference to Fig. 8, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0125] The position detection sensor (9) can be used to detect the object to be heated (Q) placed on the top plate (P) of the induction heating device (100). The position detection sensor (9) can detect the position and size of the object to be heated (Q).

[0126] The control device (3) receives data and controls each component of the induction heating device (100) while interacting with the heating coil (1), inverter device (2), connection switching unit (8), position detection sensor (9), communication interface (50), user interface (6), and memory (7). According to one embodiment, the processor (31) of the control device (3) may be responsible for this control function.

[0127] The processor (31) can control the overall operation of the induction heating device (100). The processor (31) is a hardware device that controls the overall operation of the induction heating device (100). The processor (31) is a hardware component (chip) that includes an integrated circuit in which electrical circuits are integrated.

[0128] The processor (31) may include various processing circuits and / or multiple processors. For example, the term “processor” as used herein, including in the claims, may include various processing circuits, including at least one processor. One or more processors in at least one processor may be configured to perform various functions described herein, individually and / or collectively, in a distributed fashion. As used herein, “processor,” “at least one processor,” and “one or more processors” may be configured to perform various functions. However, these terms encompass, without limitation, situations where one processor performs some of the functions and other processor(s) perform other parts of the functions, and situations where a single processor may perform all of the functions. Furthermore, the at least one processor may include a combination of processors that perform various functions of the disclosed functions in a distributed manner. The at least one processor may execute program instructions to achieve or perform various functions. The processor (31) may control the inverter device (2), the communication interface (5), the user interface (6), and the memory (7) by executing programs stored in the memory (7). The induction heating device (100) may include at least one processor. For example, there may be one processor (31) or multiple processors. The induction heating device (100) may include only a main processor, or may include a main processor and at least one sub-processor.

[0129] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an induction heating device (100) may be equipped with an artificial intelligence (AI) processor. The AI ​​processor may be manufactured in the form of a dedicated hardware chip for artificial intelligence (AI), or may be manufactured as part of an existing general-purpose processor (e.g., CPU or application processor) or a graphics-only processor (e.g., GPU) and equipped in the induction heating device (100).

[0130] The processor (31) can determine the switching frequency (turn-on / turn-off frequency) of each inverter circuit in the inverter device (2) based on the output strength (power level) of the induction heating device (100). The processor (31) can generate a driving control signal for turning on / off the switching circuit included in the inverter circuit according to the first mode and second mode time ratio and the determined switching frequency. The processor (31) can control the inverter device (2) to apply a gate signal to each half-bridge circuit in the first mode and the second mode as illustrated in FIG. 4, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The induction heating device (100) may also include a driving processor separate from the processor (31) to control the operation of the inverter device (2) during the operation of the processor (31).

[0131] The communication interface (5) may include one or more components that enable communication between the induction heating device (100) and the heated object (Q), the induction heating device (100) and a server device (not shown), or the induction heating device (100) and a user terminal (not shown). For example, the communication interface (5) may include a short-range wireless communication interface (51) and a long-range wireless communication interface (53). The short-range wireless communication interface (51) may include, but is not limited to, a Bluetooth communication interface, a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication interface, a near field communication interface, a WLAN (Wi-Fi) communication interface, a Zigbee communication interface, an infrared (IrDA, infrared Data Association) communication interface, a WFD (Wi-Fi Direct) communication interface, a UWB (Ultra Wideband) communication interface, an Ant+ communication interface, etc. The remote communication unit (53) can be used to communicate with a server device (not shown) when the heated object (Q) is remotely controlled by the server device in an IoT (Internet of Things) environment. The remote communication unit (53) can include the Internet, a computer network (e.g., LAN or WAN), and a mobile communication unit. The mobile communication unit transmits and receives a wireless signal with at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. Here, the wireless signal can include various types of data according to a voice call signal, a video call call signal, or a text / multimedia message transmission and reception. The mobile communication unit can include, but is not limited to, a 3G module, a 4G module, an LTE module, a 5G module, a 6G module, an NB-IoT module, an LTE-M module, etc.

[0132] The user interface (6) may include an output interface (61) and an input interface (63). The output interface (61) is for outputting an audio signal or a video signal and may include a display and an audio output unit, etc.

[0133] When the display and the touchpad are configured as a touch screen in a layered structure, the display can be used as an input interface (63) in addition to the output interface (61). The display can include at least one of a liquid crystal display, a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display, a light-emitting diode (LED), an organic light-emitting diode, a flexible display, a 3D display, and an electrophoretic display. In addition, depending on the implementation form of the induction heating device (100), the induction heating device (100) can include two or more displays.

[0134] The audio output unit can output audio data received from the communication interface (5) or stored in the memory (7). In addition, the audio output unit can output audio signals related to functions performed in the induction heating device (100). The audio output unit can include a speaker, a buzzer, etc.

[0135] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the output interface (61) can display information regarding the heated object (Q). For example, the output interface (61) can output a GUI (Graphical User Interface) corresponding to identification information or product type information of the heated object (Q). In addition, the output interface (61) can output information regarding the current location of the heated object (Q).

[0136] The input interface (63) is for receiving input from a user. The input interface (63) may be at least one of a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (contact electrostatic capacitance type, pressure resistive film type, infrared detection type, surface ultrasonic conduction type, integral tension measurement type, piezo effect type, etc.), a jog wheel, and a jog switch, but is not limited thereto.

[0137] The input interface (63) may include a voice recognition module. For example, the induction heating device (100) may receive a voice signal, which is an analog signal, through a microphone, and convert the voice portion into computer-readable text using an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) model. The induction heating device (100) may interpret the converted text using a Natural Language Understanding (NLU) model to obtain the user's speech intention. Here, the ASR model or the NLU model may be an artificial intelligence model. The artificial intelligence model may be processed by an artificial intelligence-dedicated processor designed with a hardware structure specialized for processing artificial intelligence models. The artificial intelligence model may be created through learning. Here, being created through learning means that a basic artificial intelligence model is learned using a plurality of learning data by a learning algorithm, thereby creating a predefined operation rule or artificial intelligence model set to perform a desired characteristic (or purpose). The artificial intelligence model may be composed of a plurality of neural network layers. Each of the multiple neural network layers has multiple weight values, and performs neural network operations through operations between the operation results of the previous layer and the multiple weight values.

[0138] Linguistic understanding is the technology of recognizing, applying, and processing human language / characters, including natural language processing, machine translation, dialog systems, question answering, and speech recognition / synthesis.

[0139] The memory (7) may store a program for processing and controlling the processor (31), and may store input / output data (e.g., unique identification information of the heated object (Q), time ratio data of the first mode and the second mode, multiple power transmission patterns, cooking progress information of the heated object (Q), target power supply, etc.). The memory (7) may also store an artificial intelligence model.

[0140] The memory (7) may include at least one type of storage medium among a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (e.g., SD or XD memory, etc.), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read-Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk. In addition, the induction heating device (100) may also operate a web storage or cloud server that performs a storage function on the Internet.

[0141] Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation method of an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0142] A method (1000) according to FIG. 10 may be performed by an induction heating device. The method may operate a plurality of heating coils, wherein the induction heating device may include a first heating coil, a second heating coil, a first inverter circuit connected to a first end of the first heating coil, a second inverter circuit connected to a first end of the second heating coil, a third inverter circuit connected to a second end of the first heating coil and the second heating coil, and a control device (3). The method (1000) may include a step 1001 of driving the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit out of phase, and a step 1002 of alternately executing a first mode and a second mode according to a predetermined time ratio. In the first mode, step 1002 may include a step 1003 of driving the second inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit in phase. In the second mode, step 1002 may include step 1004 in which the first inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit are configured in phase.

[0143] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, step 1002 may include executing the first mode and the second mode according to the same time ratio. Step 1001 may include supplying to the first heating coil twice the target supply power that is to be supplied to the first heating coil in the first mode, supplying to the second heating coil twice the target supply power that is to be supplied to the second heating coil in the second mode, and / or controlling so that the power supplied to the first heating coil in the first mode and the power supplied to the second heating coil in the second mode are the same.

[0144] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, step 1002 may include executing the first mode and the second mode according to a time ratio based on a ratio between a target power supply for the first heating coil and a target power supply for the second heating coil, controlling the time ratio as the first mode and the second mode are executed, and controlling power supplied to each of the first heating coil and the second heating coil in the first mode and the second mode so that the power supplied to the first heating coil and the second heating coil in the first mode and the power supplied to the first heating coil and the second heating coil in the second mode are equal.

[0145] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the induction heating device may further include a connection switching unit including a switch for switching the connection between each heating coil and the inverter circuit. In this case, step 1001 may include switching between a first mode and a second mode according to the voltage cycle of the AC power source connected to each inverter circuit.

[0146] An induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a first heating coil and a second heating coil. An induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment may include a first inverter circuit connected to a first end of the first heating coil, and a second inverter circuit connected to a first end of the second heating coil. An induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment may include a third inverter circuit connected to a second end of the first heating coil and the second heating coil. An induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment may include a processor that drives the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit out of phase. The processor of the induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment may alternately execute a first mode that controls the second inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to be driven in phase, and a second mode that controls the first inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to be driven in phase, according to a predetermined time ratio.

[0147] An induction heating device (100) according to one embodiment may further include a third heating coil connected to a second inverter circuit at a first stage and a fourth inverter circuit connected to a second stage of the third heating coil.

[0148] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the third inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven out of phase.

[0149] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the first inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven in phase in the first mode.

[0150] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the second inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven in phase in the second mode.

[0151] According to one embodiment, the device may further include a fourth heating coil having a first inverter circuit connected to the first stage and a fourth inverter circuit connected to the second stage.

[0152] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the second inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to be driven in phase in the first mode, and the first inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven in phase.

[0153] In one embodiment, the first phase difference between the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit in the first mode and the second phase difference between the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit in the second mode may be different from each other.

[0154] In one embodiment, the processor can control the first inverter circuit to the fourth inverter circuit to operate only two of the first to fourth heating coils in either the first mode or the second mode.

[0155] According to one embodiment, the first inverter circuit, the second inverter circuit, the third inverter circuit, and the fourth inverter circuit may include half-bridge circuits.

[0156] In one embodiment, the processor may execute the first mode and the second mode at the same time ratio, and control the power supplied to the first heating coil in the first mode and the power supplied to the second heating coil in the second mode to be twice the target power supplied to each heating coil.

[0157] In one embodiment, the processor can control the power supplied to the first heating coil in the first mode and the power supplied to the second heating coil in the second mode to be the same.

[0158] According to one embodiment, the processor can operate the first mode and the second mode at a time ratio based on a ratio of target power supplied to the first heating coil and target power supplied to the second heating coil.

[0159] According to one embodiment, the processor can control the time ratio during which the first mode and the second mode are executed and the power supplied to each heating coil in the first mode and the second mode so that the power supplied to the first heating coil and the power supplied to the second heating coil are equal to each other according to the first mode and the second mode.

[0160] An induction heating device according to one embodiment may further include a connection switching unit including a switch for switching the connection between each heating coil and the inverter circuit.

[0161] According to one embodiment, the processor can perform switching between the first mode and the second mode according to the cycle of the voltage of the AC power source connected to each inverter circuit.

[0162] According to a method of operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the induction heating device may include a first heating coil and a second heating coil, a first inverter circuit connected to a first end of the first heating coil, and a second inverter circuit connected to a first end of the second heating coil.

[0163] According to a method of operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the induction heating device may include a third inverter circuit connected to a second end of a first heating coil and a second heating coil, and a control device.

[0164] A method of operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a step of driving a first inverter circuit and a second inverter circuit out of phase with each other.

[0165] A method for operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a step of alternately executing a first mode for driving a second inverter circuit and a third inverter circuit in phase and a second mode for controlling the first inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to drive in phase at a predetermined time ratio.

[0166] A method for operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include executing a first mode and a second mode according to an equal time ratio. In one embodiment, the method may include controlling power to be supplied to the first heating coil in the first mode at twice the target power supply amount for the first heating coil. In one embodiment, the method may include controlling power to be supplied to the second heating coil in the second mode at twice the target power supply amount for the second heating coil.

[0167] A method of operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a step of controlling power supplied to a first heating coil in a first mode to be equal to power supplied to a second heating coil in a second mode.

[0168] A method for operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include executing a first mode and a second mode according to a time ratio based on a ratio between a target power supply for a first heating coil and a target power supply for a second heating coil. In one embodiment, the method may include controlling a time ratio during which the first mode and the second mode are executed. In one embodiment, the method may include controlling power supplied to each of the first heating coil and the second heating coil in the first mode and the second mode such that power supplied to the first heating coil and the second heating coil in the first mode is equal to power supplied to the first heating coil and the second heating coil in the second mode.

[0169] An induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a connection switching unit including a switch configured to switch the connection between each heating coil and an inverter circuit. A method of operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a step of switching between a first mode and a second mode according to the voltage cycle of an AC power source connected to each inverter circuit.

[0170] A method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of program commands that can be executed through various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program commands, data files, data structures, etc., alone or in combination. The program commands recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and configured for the present disclosure or may be those known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program commands, such as ROMs, RAMs, and flash memories. Examples of program commands include not only machine language codes generated by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc.

[0171] Some embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in the form of a recording medium containing computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed by a computer. Computer-readable media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer, and include both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. Furthermore, computer-readable media may include both computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Communication media typically includes computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave, or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. Furthermore, some embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented as a computer program or computer program product containing computer-executable instructions, such as a computer program that is executed by a computer.

[0172] A device-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, the term "non-transitory storage medium" simply means a tangible device that does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves). This term does not distinguish between cases where data is permanently stored in the storage medium and cases where data is temporarily stored. For example, a "non-transitory storage medium" may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.

[0173] According to one embodiment, the method according to the embodiments disclosed in the present document may be provided as a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) through an application store or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product (e.g., a downloadable app) may be temporarily stored or temporarily generated in a machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or an intermediary server.

[0174] In addition, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit thereof.

Claims

1. First heating coil; Second heating coil; A first inverter circuit connected to a first terminal of the first heating coil; A second inverter circuit connected to the first terminal of the second heating coil; a third inverter circuit connected to the second terminal of the first heating coil and the second heating coil; and Including a processor that drives the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit by shifting the phases, An induction heating device in which the processor alternately executes a first mode for controlling the second inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to be driven in phase, and a second mode for controlling the first inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to be driven in phase, according to a predetermined time ratio.

2. In paragraph 1, A third heating coil to which the second inverter circuit is connected in the first stage; and Further comprising a fourth inverter circuit connected to the second end of the third heating coil, An induction heating device in which the processor controls the third inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven out of phase.

3. In paragraph 2, An induction heating device in which the processor controls the first inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven in phase in the first mode.

4. In any one of paragraphs 2 to 3, An induction heating device in which the processor controls the second inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven in phase in the second mode.

5. In any one of paragraphs 2 to 4, Further comprising a fourth heating coil, to which the first inverter circuit is connected in the first stage and the fourth inverter circuit is connected in the second stage, An induction heating device in which the processor controls the second inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to be driven in phase in the first mode, and the first inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit to be driven in phase.

6. In any one of paragraphs 2 to 5, An induction heating device, wherein the processor controls the first to fourth inverter circuits so that only two of the first to fourth heating coils are operated in one of the first to second modes.

7. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 5, An induction heating device wherein the first phase difference between the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit in the first mode and the second phase difference between the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit in the second mode are different from each other.

8. In any one of paragraphs 2 to 6, An induction heating device, wherein the first inverter circuit, the second inverter circuit, the third inverter circuit and the fourth inverter circuit comprise a half-bridge circuit.

9. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 8, An induction heating device in which the processor executes the first mode and the second mode at the same time ratio, and controls the power supplied to the first heating coil in the first mode to be twice the target power supplied to the first heating coil, and controls the power supplied to the second heating coil in the second mode to be twice the target power supplied to the second heating coil.

10. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 9, An induction heating device wherein the processor controls the power supplied to the first heating coil in the first mode and the power supplied to the second heating coil in the second mode to be the same.

11. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 10, An induction heating device in which the processor executes the first mode and the second mode at a time ratio based on a ratio of target power supplied to the first heating coil and target power supplied to the second heating coil.

12. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 11, An induction heating device in which the processor controls the time ratio during which the first mode and the second mode are executed and the power supplied to each heating coil in the first mode and the second mode so that the power supplied to the first heating coil and the power supplied to the second heating coil are equal to each other according to the first mode and the second mode.

13. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 12, An induction heating device further comprising a connection switching unit including a switch for switching the connection between each of the heating coils and the inverter circuit.

14. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 13, An induction heating device in which the processor performs switching between the first mode and the second mode in accordance with the cycle of the voltage of the AC power source connected to each inverter circuit.

15. First heating coil and second heating coil, A first inverter circuit connected to the first terminal of the first heating coil; A second inverter circuit connected to the first terminal of the second heating coil; A third inverter circuit connected to the second stage of the first heating coil and the second heating coil, and A method for operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device including a control device, A step of driving the first inverter circuit and the second inverter circuit out of phase with each other; and A method for operating a plurality of heating coils in an induction heating device, comprising the steps of alternately executing a first mode for driving the second inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit in phase with each other and a second mode for controlling the first inverter circuit and the third inverter circuit to drive in phase with each other at a predetermined time ratio.

Images