Induction Cooker PCB Segmentation and D-Form Coil Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional induction heating cookers face inefficiencies due to interference between high frequency and low frequency circuit parts on the PCB, leading to signal distortion and reduced assembly and operational efficiency, as well as challenges in accurately detecting the position of a vessel on the cooking plate, resulting in incomplete cooking.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves reconfiguring the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to separate high frequency and low frequency circuit parts, placing high frequency components on the edges and low frequency components in between, and shaping the heating coils into a D-form to minimize dead zones and enhance vessel detection accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If high frequency and low frequency circuit parts are disposed together on the PCB, then the device complexity is reduced, but signal interference occurs causing waveform distortion and communication errors
Solution Approach 1:
The PCB is divided into distinct high frequency circuit regions and low frequency circuit regions, physically separating the circuit parts to prevent electromagnetic interference while maintaining overall system integration. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by organizing complexity into manageable, isolated sections.
Solution Approach 2:
Shielding structures and ground planes are introduced as intermediary elements between high frequency and low frequency circuit parts. These intermediaries act as barriers that block electromagnetic interference, allowing both circuit types to coexist on the same PCB without mutual interference.
2Reliability
If wires are individually connected from inverter circuits to heating coils, then circuit functionality is achieved, but assembly efficiency and wiring work efficiency are degraded
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual wire connections are merged into a single integrated flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) structure. The FPCB combines multiple signal and power traces into one unified component that can be easily routed and connected, significantly reducing assembly steps while maintaining all necessary electrical connections between inverter circuits and heating coils.
3Area of stationary object
If heating coils are densely disposed under the entire cooking plate surface, then cooking coverage is improved, but the number of heating coils and inverter circuits increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each heating coil is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides heating for vessels placed directly above it, and its magnetic field extends to provide partial heating coverage for adjacent areas. This multi-functionality allows fewer heating coils to achieve broader cooking coverage, reducing the total number of coils and corresponding inverter circuits needed.
4Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If vessel position detection is performed by detecting heating coil occupancy, then vessel position can be detected, but detection accuracy is insufficient when vessel occupies small area of heating coil
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) is introduced as an intermediary detection element that directly contacts the heating coils. The FPCB contains detection circuits that can sense the presence and position of vessels with high precision, overcoming the limitations of indirect detection methods and providing accurate feedback even when vessels occupy small areas of the cooking surface.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration minimizes signal interference, improves assembly and operational efficiency, and allows for precise detection of the vessel position, ensuring effective cooking regardless of the vessel's placement on the cooking plate.
Implementation Method 1
supplying a high frequency current to a heating coil to generate a high frequency magnetic field and by causing eddy currents in a cooking vessel having a magnetic coupling with the cooking coil through the generated magnetic field such that the vessel is heated by Joule's heat generated through the eddy current
Implementation Method 2
the vessel is heated by Joule's heat generated through the eddy current to cook foods
Data Source
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AI summary
An induction heating cooker including a cooking plate on which a cooking vessel is placed, a plurality of heating coils disposed while being adjacent to one other below the cooking plate, and a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) on which circuits configured to drive the heating coils are placed, wherein the PCB is divided into a high frequency circuit part on which circuits characterized by high frequency are placed and a low frequency circuit part on which circuits characterized by low frequency are placed, and the high frequency circuit part is spaced apart from the low frequency circuit part by a predetermined distance. The interference between the high frequency circuit part and the low frequency circuit part is minimized while enhancing the operation efficiency of each heating coil. The assembly efficiency and the working efficiency are enhanced when an inverter circuit is wired to a corresponding heating coil.