Microwave oven with temperature-dependent automatic stop
AssigneeSanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
InventorsKazuo Taino, Hiroyasu Kitagawa, Kazuko Tanaka, Yoshiko Yamane
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A microwave oven determines an appropriate time to stop heating even if multiple food items are placed in the heating chamber. After any position on the bottom surface of the microwave oven reaches 75 deg C., a search is made for any other position having a temperature of at least 70 deg C. If such a position is detected, heating is concentrated on that position until it reaches 75 deg C. When all food-containing positions in the microwave oven have reached a temperature of at least 75 deg C., the heating operation performed by the magnetron is stopped.
Claims11
A microwave oven comprising:
- a heating chamber for holding food;
- a microwave source to heat said food;
- a temperature detector detecting temperatures at a plurality of locations in said heating chamber;
- a controller controlling heating operations of said microwave source based on detection output from said temperature detector;
- said controller including a first evaluation module;
- said first evaluation module including means for evaluating whether a maximum temperature in said heating chamber detected by said temperature detector has reached a predetermined temperature when said microwave source is performing said heating operation;
- a second evaluation module;
- said second evaluation module including means which, if said first evaluation module determines that said maximum temperature in said heating chamber has reached said predetermined temperature, determines whether there is a particular position, other than said position that reached said predetermined temperature, in said heating chamber that has reached at least a predetermined temperature lower than said predetermined temperature;
- a heating operation stopping module;
- and
- said heating operation stopping module including means, effective if said second evaluation module determines that there is said particular position, for stopping said heating operation of said microwave source when a temperature of said particular position reaches said predetermined temperature.
A microwave oven comprising:
- means for directing microwave energy in a plurality of selected radial directions;
- means for sensing food temperatures in a plurality of locations in said oven;
- said locations being related to said selected radial directions;
- means for controlling said means for directing to direct said microwave energy along a one of said plurality of selected radial directions related to a one of said plurality of locations having a food temperature lower than a food temperature at other locations;
- and
- means for stopping said microwave energy when food at all of said locations containing food reach a predetermined temperature.
A microwave oven comprising:
- a rotating antenna effective for directing microwave energy radially outward in said oven;
- said antenna including means for concentrating said microwave energy in a direction;
- means for detecting a food temperature at a plurality of locations in said oven;
- means for rotating said direction while detecting a food temperature as long as all food temperatures remain below a first predetermined value, whereby uniform heating is performed in said oven;
- means, effective when a food temperature of at least said first predetermined value at one location is detected, for stopping said rotation wherein said direction is aligned with a second location where a food temperature is detected that is lower than said predetermined temperature;
- means for stopping said heating at said second location when said second location reaches said predetermined temperature;
- and
- means for repeating said stopping said rotation, and stopping said heating until all locations in said microwave oven that contain food have reached said first predetermined value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.