Combination oven illumination in microwave only cooking mode
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsTodd Vincent Graves, Dennis Patrick Kill, Jesse Spalding Head, Charles Ray Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A combination oven includes radiant cooking lamps and a magnetron for delivering cooking energy to a cooking cavity. The oven is operable in a speed cooking mode utilizing both radiant and microwave energy, a microwave only cooking mode utilizing only microwave energy, and a radiant only cooking mode utilizing only radiant energy. A radiant cooking element is briefly energized upon user command during microwave only cooking modes and lower power radiant cooking modes to illuminate the cooking cavity for visualization of cooking in progress. A duration of cavity illumination is limited to prevent cooking of food during cavity illumination.
Claims20
A speed cooking oven comprising:
- a cooking cavity;
- a microwave cooking unit for delivering microwave energy into said cooking cavity;
- a plurality of radiant lamps for delivering radiant energy into said cooking cavity;
- a control panel operatively connected to said microwave cooking unit and said plurality of radiant lamps for user manipulation of oven feature inputs including an OVENLIGHT input;
- and
- a microcomputer coupled to said control panel, said microcomputer programmed to operate said oven in a microwave only cooking mode, a radiant only cooking mode, and a dual cooking mode for a cooking time in accordance with a user input to said control panel, said microcomputer programmed to energize one of said plurality of radiant cooking lamps upon user actuation of said OVENLIGHT input for a predetermined time to illuminate said cooking cavity when said oven is operated in said microwave only mode.
A method for illuminating a combination oven including a cooking cavity, a microwave cooking unit for delivering microwave energy to the cooking cavity, at least one radiant cooking lamp for delivering radiant energy to the cooking cavity, and a control panel operatively connected to the microwave cooking unit and the at least one radiant cooking lamp, the control panel including an OVEN LIGHT input switch, said method comprising the steps of:
- engergizing one of the radiant lamps with a soft start when the OVEN LIGHT input switch is actuated by a user, thereby illuminating the oven cavity;
- maintaining energization of the energized radiant lamp for a predetermined period of time;
- and
- de-energizing the energized radiant lamp when the predetermined time has elapsed.
A speed cooking oven comprising:
- a microcomputer;
- a shell comprising a cooking cavity;
- a radiant cooking unit comprising at least one radiant cooking lamp for delivering radiant energy into said cooking cavity, said radiant cooking unit operatively connected to said microcomputer;
- a microwave cooking unit for delivering microwave energy into said cooking cavity and operatively connected to said microcomputer;
- a control panel mounted to the shell and operatively connected to the microcomputer for user manipulation of an OVEN LIGHT switch;
- a door mounted to the shell for closing said cooking cavity, said door comprising a tinted window to shield a user from intense light inside said cooking cavity during oven operation;
- said microcomputer programmed to operate said oven in a microwave only cooking mode, a radiant only cooking mode, and a speed cooking mode for a cooking time in accordance with user input to said control panel;
- and
- said microcomputer programmed to energize said radiant cooking lamp upon user actuation of said OVEN LIGHT switch for a predetermined time when said oven is operated in said microwave only mode, thereby illuminating said cooking cavity and enabling visualization of food through said window.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.