System, method, and computer program product for determining a characteristic of an induction heating circuit

An induction heating system, comprising:

• an induction heating circuit;
• and
• at least one processor programmed or configured to:
• generate data corresponding to phase value versus frequency of a signal with which the induction heating circuit is driven,
• determine a line from the data that has a maximum slope,
• determine an average frequency of the line from the data having the maximum slope,
• determine a phase value corresponding to the average frequency of the line from the data having the maximum slope,
• determine a time delay, wherein the time delay is equal to a difference of the phase value corresponding to the average frequency of the line from the data having the maximum slope and an assumed phase value at quadrature divided by a product of a full period of phase and the average frequency of the line from the data having the maximum slope,
• determine a self-resonant frequency (SRF) value of the induction heating circuit based on the time delay,
• determine a characteristic of the induction heating circuit based on the SRF value, and
• control a desired power level to be output by induction heating circuit based on the characteristic of the induction heating circuit, shut off a power output by induction heating circuit based on the characteristic of the induction heating circuit, and/or provide a warning indication based on the characteristic of the induction heating circuit.