Cooking Heater Door Switch Timing for Continuous Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooking heaters with pullout type designs face issues where sudden shocks, such as a closed electric oven door colliding with a microwave oven, can momentarily activate the door switch, leading to incorrect judgments about the door being open, causing unnecessary stopping of microwave oven operations and potential microwave leakage.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a control mechanism that differentiates between door opening states using two distinct time periods (a short first period and a longer second period) to determine if the door is open, allowing the cooking heater to continue operation safely without microwave leakage, even if the door switch remains OFF during the second period.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a door switch is used to detect door opening/closing, then the door status can be detected, but sudden shocks can momentarily activate the door switch causing incorrect judgments about door openness
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit preliminarily judges door opening status by detecting door switch activation during heating. When activated, it starts a timer and waits for a predetermined period before stopping heating, allowing momentary activations from shocks to expire without triggering heating cessation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides a time buffer (predetermined period) between door switch activation and heating stoppage. This cushioning period absorbs transient false signals from external shocks, preventing unnecessary heating interruption while still responding to genuine door openings.
2Productivity
If the heating is stopped immediately when the door switch is activated, then safety is ensured, but the heating stops unnecessarily when the door is only momentarily opened due to external forces
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the heating stoppage decision based on the duration of door switch activation. Instead of immediate stoppage, it implements a time-based judgment where heating continues if the door remains open beyond a predetermined period, adapting the response to the actual door opening duration.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit continuously monitors the door switch status and uses feedback from the timer to determine whether to stop heating. The feedback loop compares the actual door open duration against the predetermined period, making an informed decision that balances safety and heating continuity.
3Reliability
If the door switch activation is immediately responded to, then potential microwave leakage is prevented, but the cooking process is interrupted by false alarms from momentary door openings
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit preliminarily judges door opening status by detecting door switch activation during heating. When activated, it starts a timer and waits for a predetermined period before stopping heating, allowing momentary activations from shocks to expire without triggering heating cessation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies a partial response by not immediately stopping heating upon door switch activation. Instead, it implements a delayed response with a predetermined waiting period, using only the necessary safety measure (time-based judgment) rather than immediate full stoppage, thus reducing unnecessary interruptions.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a cooking heater which continues cooking without apparently stopping the operation of the cooking heater when a door switch is momentarily turned OFF due to a shock during operation of the cooking heater though the door is not actually opened as far as continuation of the OFF-state is within a predetermined range. Upon receiving a door opening signal, a timer of control means starts counting and when a first period lapse judgment section judges that the count time exceeds a first period T1, a central control section instructs a heating means control section to stop the operation of heating means. Then, before the count time is judged to exceed a second period T2, when a second period lapse judgment section receives a door closing signal, the central control section restarts the operation of the heating means and continues the operation of the cooking heater.