Microwave oven with bar code scanner

A microwave oven including: a control panel; a scanner guide in the control panel; a scanner drawable into the scanner guide and pushable out of the scanner guide; and a driving section drawing the scanner into and pushing the scanner out of the scanner guide. The bar code scanner reads a bar code when in the scanner guide and when out of the scanner guide.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-067628, filed on Aug. 26, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a microwave oven with a bar code scanner, and more particularly to a bar code scanner installing structure of the microwave oven with a bar code scanner.

2. Description of Related Art

A microwave oven is a cooking device for heating food by using microwaves, and uses high frequency electric waves of 2,450 MHz. A conventional microwave oven is provided with selection buttons so that a user can select a general cooking process and a cooking method corresponding to the kind of food to be cooked. However, since a large variety of foods exist, the user can only cook the food by selecting a cooking process roughly (approximately) proper for various foods instead of selecting a cooking process exactly proper for various foods.

In order to improve this problem, recently, as disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 1999-0074607, a microwave oven for reading a bar code attached to a food package, for determining food type, and for cooking the food by automatically setting the optimal cooking time according to the determined kind of food, has been developed.

The microwave oven disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 1999-0074607 includes a bar code reader (or a bar code scanner) for reading a bar code attached to the food in addition to other components of the microwave oven, such as a cooking chamber, and a high frequency oscillator. The bar code reader is fixed inside the cooking chamber, or connected with a main body of the microwave oven. In the event that the bar code reader is fixed inside the cooking chamber, since the bar code attached to the food package must face the bar code reader in order to be read, it is inconvenient to use. Moreover, when the bar code reader is connected to the main body of the microwave oven, the bar code reader may fall from the main body and be damaged.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an aspect of the invention is to provide a microwave oven which is convenient to use and has an improved bar code scanner installing structure so as to prevent the bar code scanner from damage due to falling from a main body of the microwave oven.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microwave oven including: a body; a control panel; and a bar code scanner removably installed in the body and reading a bar code.

The bar code scanner may be installed in the control panel.

The microwave oven may also include a scanner guide for guiding the bar code scanner.

The microwave oven may also include a driving section for moving the bar code scanner forward and rearward by a specified distance so as to draw out and draw in the bar code scanner.

The driving section may also include a forwardly and reversely rotating motor, and a driving gear rotated by a driving shaft of the motor, and the bar code scanner may include a gear member section engaged with the driving gear.

The gear member may engage an electric wire cover which is connected to the end of the bar code scanner and connects the bar code scanner to the body.

The bar code scanner may change the angle of light emitted from a light emitting device.

The bar code scanner may include a body in which the light emitting device and a light receiving device are installed, and a head coupled to the front end of the body. The head may be obliquely coupled to the body, and the angle of the head may be changed by rotation so as to change the scanning angle of the light.

The bar code scanner may also include a reflective mirror, installed in the bar code scanner, for changing the scanning angle of the light by changing an angle of the reflective mirror by rotating the head.

The reflective mirror may be hinged to the inside of the head.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microwave oven including: a control panel; a scanner guide in the control panel; a scanner drawable into the scanner guide and pushable out of the scanner guide; and a driving section drawing the scanner into and pushing the scanner out of the scanner guide. The bar code scanner reads a bar code when in the scanner guide and when out of the scanner guide.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scanner, including: a body; a light emitting device in the body and emitting light to read a bar code; a light receiving device in the body receiving light reflected from the bar code and converting the received light into an electric signal; and a head at an end of the body, the head including a window at an end thereof through which the emitted light and the reflected light pass.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to an embodiment of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiment is described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

As shown inFIG. 1, a microwave oven with a bar code scanner20according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing10for forming the exterior of the microwave oven, a cooking chamber11which is provided inside the housing10and in which food is cooked, a door13hinged to the front of the housing10at the side thereof and for closing and opening the cooking chamber11, and a control panel15provided beside the door13and receiving manipulation commands to operate the microwave oven.

The microwave oven includes a transparent window14provided at the central portion of the door13so as to allow visual confirmation of the cooked state of the food, and a rotating tray12provided in the cooking chamber11and rotating the food so that it is cooked uniformly. The microwave oven further includes a display16for displaying cooking progress or the cooking time, a switch17for inputting commands for operation of the microwave oven, and a bar code scanner20for reading a bar code marked on the food package.

The bar code scanner20is a device for detecting the kind of food to be cooked by reading the bar code marked on the food. The microwave oven cooks the food according to the detected kind of food by setting a proper cooking time for the food. The use of the bar code scanner is similar to a conventional bar code scanner. However, the bar code scanner20is inserted into and fixed at a scanner guide18formed at the central portion of the control panel15, or is drawn out from the scanner guide18and operated by hand.

Referring toFIG. 2, an electrical component compartment30for installing various electrical components is defined at the rear side of the control panel15. In the electrical component compartment30, a magnetron31for generating high frequency waves as a heat source for cooking food, a high voltage transformer (HVT)32, a high voltage capacitor33, and a high voltage diode34are installed, while the HVT32, the high voltage capacitor33, and the high voltage diode34form a driving circuit for driving the magnetron. AC power (AC 110V or AC 220V) is supplied to the HVT32which outputs a high voltage of about 2000V. The output voltage is boosted to about 4000V by the high voltage capacitor33and the high voltage diode34, and then is supplied to the magnetron31. At the rear side of the electrical component compartment30, a cooling fan35is installed to cool the electrical components in the electrical component compartment30by sucking in outside air. A driving section36for automatically advancing and withdrawing the bar code scanner20is installed at the rear side of the scanner guide18where the bar code scanner20is installed. The advance and withdrawal of the bar code scanner is described in detail with reference toFIG. 3.

Referring toFIGS. 1-3, the scanner guide18is provided at the central portion of the control panel15and extends toward the rear side of the control panel, and a blocking jaw19for restricting the withdrawal of the bar code scanner20is provided at the rear side of the scanner guide18. The bar code scanner20is detachably installed to the scanner guide18.

The rear side of the bar code scanner20is electrically connected to an electric wire for connecting the bar code scanner20to a control section (not shown) and an electric power source (not shown). The electric wire26is surrounded by an electric wire cover27extended a specified length from the rear side of the bar code scanner20. The electric wire cover27is hinged to the rear side of the bar code scanner20, and formed with screw threads on the outer circumference of the electric wire cover27. The electric wire cover27may be made of, by way of non-limiting examples, plastic or steel, so as to have a specified rigidity.

The driving section36provided at the rear side of the scanner guide18includes a forwardly and reversely rotating motor36a, and a driving gear36brotated by and coupled to a driving shaft of the motor36a. The driving section36is a device for inserting and withdrawing the bar code scanner20, and operation thereof is described as follows. When a user wishes to withdraw the bar code scanner20, the user manipulates the switch17of the control panel15. Thus, the manipulation signal is transmitted to the control section (not shown). The control section drives the motor36a, so that the driving gear36bis rotated in the counter-clockwise direction. When the driving gear36bis rotated, the electric wire cover engaged with the driving gear36bmoves forward so as to push out the bar code scanner20. When the bar code scanner20moves a specified distance, the motor36ais stopped and the user can grasp and draw out the bar code scanner20exposed from the front side of the control panel15. When the user wishes to insert the bar code scanner20into the scanner guide18, the user holds the bar code scanner20and slightly pushes the bar code scanner20into the scanner guide18. When the electric wire cover27is engaged with the driving gear36b, the motor36ais driven, so that the motor36arotates in the clockwise direction to pull the bar code scanner20into the scanner guide18. In order to control the motor36awhen inserting the bar code scanner20, the control panel15is provided with an additional manipulation switch, or a sensor for detecting the inserting position of the bar code scanner20, so that a part of the bar code scanner20is inserted to a specified position, and the rest of the bar code scanner20can be inserted by the driving force of the motor36a.

Hereinafter, the structure of the bar code scanner20will be described with reference toFIGS. 3 and 4. Some aspects of the bar code scanner20are similar to a conventional bar code scanner20. In particular, the bar code scanner20includes a light emitting device28for emitting light to read the bar code, and a light receiving device29for converting the light reflected from the bar code into an electric signal.

Meanwhile, the bar code scanner20of the microwave oven according to the present embodiment directs the light emitted from the light emitting device28in the length direction of the bar code scanner20and in the direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction. For achieving this, the bar code scanner20includes a body21in which a conventional light-emitting device28and the light receiving device29are installed, and a head22provided at the front end of the body21. The light enters and exits through a transparent window23provided at the front end of the head22. The head22is in slant contact with the body21so as to form a specified angle with respect to the axis direction of the body21. The slant angle is preferably about 45 degrees with respect to the axis direction of the body21.

The head22is slidably installed at a connecting point where the head22is connected to the body21, so that the user can rotate the head22about the central axis thereof, thus the head22, as shown inFIG. 4, is rotated. In order to make the entering and exiting light travel along the bent direction, the head22includes a reflective mirror24having an angle with respect to the inner surface of the head22, which is changed according to the rotation of the head22. One end of the reflective mirror24is hinged to the inner surface of the head22, and the hinged point is provided with a spring25for applying a restoring force to the reflective mirror24to be close to the inner walls of the head22and the body21.

According to the above-described embodiment of a microwave oven with a bar code scanner of the present invention, since the bar code scanner is detachably installed to the control panel, a user can use the bar code scanner while it is fixed to the control panel or can use the bar code scanner by drawing the bar code scanner from the microwave oven.

Moreover, since the angel of the head is changed, the direction of the light emitted from the bar code scanner can be changed, and thus it is convenient to use.

Although an embodiment of the present invention have been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiment. Instead, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made to the embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.