Operating method for a microwave oven

Abstract: The standing wave in the waveguide (10) of a microwave oven is monitored during heating to produce a data set. The data set is compared with stored data set to determine which is most similar. The identity of the most similar stored data set is then used to determine the operating parameters of the oven.

Description: The present invention relates to an operating method for a microwave oven, the method comprising monitoring the heating process for a predetermined period to produce a monitored data set representative of an aspect of the cooking process. Microwave ovens are well known and used to cook, warm and defrost food by irradiating the food with microwaves. The microwave power used is generally varied in accordance with the characteristics of the food to be heated and the function, cooking, warming or defrosting, to be performed. The characteristics of food that affect the heating process include the substance and shape of the food. Figure 1 is a partial cutaway view of a conventional microwave oven. Referring to Figure 1, the conventional microwave oven includes a body 1 formed from a plurality of panels. A cooking chambe 2 and a component chamber 4 are located in the body 1. The component chamber 3 houses electrical components for converting mains voltage power into high-voltage power for energising a magnetron MGT for generating microwaves. The components include A door 4 provides access to the cooking chamber 2. A turntable 5 is located in the middle of the floor of the cooking chamber 2. The components in the component chamber 3 include a high-voltage transformer HVT and a high-voltage capacitor HVC. An air guide 8 is provided for guiding air, heated by the magnetron MGT, into the cooking chamber 2 and a cooling fan 9 for preventing overheating of the electronic components. A control panel 7, having a plurality of function buttons, is mounted at the front of the component chamber 3. The control panel 7 enables a user to control the operation of the oven. A user can control the operation of the oven by inputting and selecting various control parameters, including type and weight of food and heating time, by means of the control panel 7. A microcomputer MICOM is employed in the microwave oven to operate the oven in accordance with the inputs and selections made by the user.. When cooking food on the turntable 5, the microcomputer MICOM first receives cooking data, e.g the weight or some other status of the food, input by the user or detected by a sensors in the microwave oven, and then performs the appropriate cooking operation based on a cooking time and a cooking method selected from preloaded values in dependence on the data input by the user and/or the data collected by the microcomputer MICOM. As described above, the microwave oven usually stores cooking time and cooking method data corresponding to different weights or other data about foods and performs the cooking operation based on the data relating to the weight or other data about the food which have been input. For example, when the user selects the cooking function for popcorn, the user inputs the data as to whether the popcorn is a light or heavy type. Then, the microcomputer MICOM performs the appropriate cooking function in accordance with the weight data input through the control panel 7. In addition to the cooking function, there is a defrosting function for which the user inputs data regarding the substance of the food to be defrosted, i.e. whether the food to be defrosted is fish or meat or some other substance, and the microwave oven accordingly performs the defrosting operation. As described above, in the conventional microwave oven, since the user has to input data about weight or substance of the food every time he/she cooks food, the user is inconvenience when using the microwave oven. Furthermore, when the user inputs incorrect data about the food, a malfunction occurs, and the food is not cooked correctly. The conventional microwave oven also has an automatic cooking function for automatically cooking the food according to its self-detected data regarding the weight or the temperature of the food which are detected through a weight sensor or a temperature sensor, for cooking or defrosting the food. When employing the sensors, however, accurate data about the food can not be obtained. The weight sensor, for example, detects the total weight of the receptacle holding the food and the food, so that the actual weight of the food itself can not be obtained, and the precise cooking operation can not be achieved. Also, the temperature sensor detects local temperature changes of the food, again resulting in improper cooking operation of the microwave oven. According to the conventional microwave oven, since the microwave oven automatically selects the cooking function using its self-detected weight or the status of the food based on the data input by the user or detected by the sensor, there is a high possibility of there being an error in the input data and erroneous cooking operation. Furthermore, since the microwave oven performs the cooking operation simply upon the input data without considering the actual status of the food, such as whether it is dry or wet. An operating method for a microwave oven, according to the present invention, is characterised by selecting the stored data set, from a set of stored data sets, which best matches the monitored data set, and controlling the operation of the oven in a manner determined by the identity of the selected stored data set. Preferably, said monitoring comprises monitoring the standing wave magnitude in a waveguide from a source of microwaves to a cooking chamber. Preferably a method according to the present invention is performed a plurality of times during one heating operation. Preferably, the microwave oven comprises an antenna for detecting the voltages of microwaves reflected from food based on the voltage of the microwaves radiated into a cooking chamber of the microwave oven. Preferably, the monitored data set is compared with all the stored data sets. Preferably, the selected stored data set comprises a stored data set corresponding to a no-load of the microwave oven, and the microwave oven stops the cooking operation when the monitored data set corresponds to the no-load of the microwave oven. Preferably, said set of stored data sets comprises a plurality of subsets of stored data sets, each subset being associated with a respective cooking operation type of the microwave oven, and said step of selecting a stored data set comprises selecting a stored data set from the subset of stored data sets associated with the cooking operation type of the microwave oven. More preferably, the selected stored data set comprises a stored data set corresponding to a no-load of the microwave oven, and the microwave oven stops the cooking operation when the monitored data set corresponds to the no-load of the microwave oven. Preferably, said steps of monitoring, selecting and controlling are cyclically repeated until a cooking operation is completed. Preferably, the predetermined period is the duration of a predetermined number of rotations of a turntable in a cooking chamber. More preferably, the monitored data set is compared with all the stored data sets. Even more preferably, the selected stored data set comprises a stored data set corresponding to a no-load of the microwave oven, and the microwave oven stops the cooking operation when the monitored data set corresponds to the no-load of the microwave oven. Still more preferably, said set of stored data sets comprises a plurality of subsets of stored data sets, each subset being associated with a respective cooking operation type of the microwave oven, and said step of selecting a stored data set comprises selecting a stored data set from the subset of stored data sets associated with the cooking operation type of the microwave oven. Even more preferably, the selected stored data set comprises a stored data set corresponding to a no-load of the microwave oven, and the microwave oven stops the cooking operation when the monitored data set corresponds to the no-load of the microwave oven. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to Figures 2 to 6D of the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a partial cutaway perspective view of a conventional microwave oven; Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of a microwave oven employing an automatic cooking control method according to the present invention; Figure 3 is a sectional view showing the internal parts of the microwave oven employing the automatic cooking control method according to the present invention; Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a first automatic cooking control method for a microwave oven according to the present invention; Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a second automatic cooking control method for a microwave oven according to the present invention; and Figures 6A to 6D are graphs illustrating data patterns for various foods stored in a microwave oven according to the present invention. Referring to Figures 2 and 3, a microwave oven includes a key input section 110 for the inputting of operational commands by a user, a microcomputer 100 for controlling the various devices of the microwave oven in accordance with the operational commands, input by means of the key input section 110, and a microwave generating section 120 for generating microwaves under the control of the microcomputer 100. A standing wave sensor 130 is provided for sensing the standing wave in the oven's waveguide 10, caused by microwaves reflected back from food in the cooking chamber 2, and a memory section 140 for storing cooking control data corresponding to patterns of data obtained for the reflected wave sensor 130 for different foods. Referring to Figure 3, the standing wave sensor 130 includes an antenna 131 disposed in the waveguide 10, a shield member 133 for fixing the antenna 131 and a circuit section 135, having a diode connected to the antenna 131 for rectifying the voltage induced across the antenna 131 by the magnetic field of the standing wave in the waveguide 10 to produce voltage data regarding the stationary wave in the waveguide 10. The antenna sensor is as described in KR-A-98-161026. Patterns of standing wave voltage data for various food are stored in the memory section 140. Figure 6A shows the data patterns for two popcorn weights. Figure 6B shows the defrosting data patterns for lumps of meat and minced meat. Figure 6C shows the warming data patterns for different weights of water. Figure 6D shows the no-load, i.e. no food in the cooking chamber 2, data pattern. A first operating method will now be described. Referring to Figure 4, a user places the food to be cooked in the cooking chamber, and selects the desired cooking function (step S10). For example, the user selects the popcorn function for the popcorn, the defrosting function for frozen meat or the warming function for warming water. Then the microwave oven operates according to the selected function in S10 (step S12). The microcomputer 100 samples the voltage output by the standing wave sensor 130 for a predetermined time period. Supposing that one revolution of the turntable 5 takes 10 seconds, the microcomputer 100 samples the voltage output by the standing wave sensor 130 for 50 seconds, i.e. during 5 revolutions of the turntable 5. Then the microcomputer compares the data pattern stored in the memory section 140 with the collected data of step S12 (step S14). The data patterns compared with the collected data may be all the data patterns in the memory section 140 or may be selected data patterns appropriate to the function selected at step S10. In the latter case, the microcomputer 100 performs the comparing process more reliably. The microcomputer 100 selects the compared data pattern in the memory section 140 which is most similar to the collected data (step S16). Then, the microcomputer 100 checks whether the selected data pattern from the memory section 140 is the no-load pattern (step S17). Then the microcomputer 100 performs the cooking operation according to the selected data pattern if the selected pattern is not the no-load pattern in step S17 (step S18). If the selected pattern is the no-load pattern, the microcomputer 130 stops the cooking operation (step S19). As described above, with an automatic cooking control method for a microwave oven according to the present invention, the data output in a predetermined time period is collected from the standing wave sensor and the most similar data pattern is selected from the memory memory section. The cooking operation is performed according parameters identified by the selected data pattern. Accordingly, without separate inputting of data relating to the weight or physical status of the food in the cooking chamber, the food in the cooking chamber can be properly cooked by comparing the collected data pattern for the food with the data patterns for various food types stored in the microwave oven. A second operating method will now be described. Referring to Figure 5, a user places the food to be cooked in the cooking chamber, and selects the desired cooking function (step S20). For example, the user selects the popcorn function for the popcorn, the defrosting function for frozen meat or the warming function for warming water. Then the microwave oven operates according to the selected function in S20 (step S22). The microcomputer 100 samples the voltage output by the standing wave sensor 130 for a predetermined time period, e.g. five revolutions of the turntable 5. Then the microcomputer 100 compares the data pattern stored in the memory section 140 with the collected data of step S22 (step S44). The data patterns compared with the collected data may be all the data patterns in the memory section 140 or may be selected data patterns appropriate to the function selected at step S10. In the latter case, the microcomputer 130 performs the comparing process more reliably. The microcomputer 130 selects the compared data pattern in the memory section 140 which is most similar to the collected data (step S26). Then, the microcomputer 100 checks whether the selected data pattern from the memory section 140 is the no-load pattern (step S27). Then the microcomputer 130 performs the cooking operation according to the selected data pattern if the selected pattern is not the no-load pattern in step S27 (step S88). If the selected pattern is the no-load pattern, the microcomputer 100 stops the cooking operation (step S29). During step S28, the microcomputer 100 determines whether the cooking time has elapsed, either immediately or after a predetermined time, e.g. five revolutions of the turntable 5 (step S30). If the cooking time has not elapsed, the operation returns to step s22. As described above, with the automatic cooking control method for a microwave oven according to the present invention, the data output in a predetermined period is collected from the standing wave sensor 130, and the most similar data pattern stored in the memory section is used to determine the operation of the cooking, warming or defrosting process. Repetition of this process improves on the performance of the first embodiment described above. Accordingly, without separate external input of the data about the food in the cooking chamber, the microwave oven can cook the food in the cooking chamber properly by automatically selecting and performing the proper cooking process for the present food status in the cooking chamber. As a result, the microwave oven becomes easy to operate, and has an improved cooking quality.

Claims: An operating method for a microwave oven, the method comprising: monitoring the heating process for a predetermined period to produce a monitored data set representative of an aspect of the cooking process, the method being characterised by : - selecting the stored data set, from a set of stored data sets, which best matches the monitored data set; and controlling the operation of the oven in a manner determined by the identity of the selected stored data set. A method according to claim 1, wherein said monitoring comprises monitoring the standing wave magnitude in a waveguide (10) from a source (MGT) of microwaves to a cooking chamber (2). An operating method for a microwave oven, the method comprising performing a method according to claim 1 or 2 a plurality of times during one heating operation. A microwave oven including control means and monitoring means and configured to operate according to a method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said control means comprises a microcomputer (100) and said monitoring means comprises an antenna (131) for detecting the voltages of microwaves reflected from food based on the voltage of the microwaves radiated into a cooking chamber (2) of the microwave oven, the microcomputer (100) being configured to select the stored data set, from a set of stored data sets, which best matches the monitored data set, and to control the operation of the oven in a manner determined by the identity of the selected stored data set. A method according to claim 1, wherein the microwave oven comprises an antenna (131) for detecting the voltages of microwaves reflected from food based on the voltage of the microwaves radiated into a cooking chamber (2) of the microwave oven. A method according to claim 1, wherein the monitored data set is compared with all the stored data sets. A method according to claim 1, wherein the selected stored data set comprises a stored data set corresponding to a no-load of the microwave oven, and the microwave oven stops the cooking operation when the monitored data set corresponds to the no-load of the microwave oven. A method according to claim 1, wherein said set of stored data sets comprises a plurality of subsets of stored data sets, each subset being associated with a respective cooking operation type of the microwave oven, and said step of selecting a stored data set comprises selecting a stored data set from the subset of stored data sets associated with the cooking operation type of the microwave oven. A method according to claim 8, wherein the selected stored data set comprises a stored data set corresponding to a no-load of the microwave oven, and the microwave oven stops the cooking operation when the monitored data set corresponds to the no-load of the microwave oven. A method according to claim 1, wherein said steps of monitoring, selecting and controlling are cyclically repeated until a cooking operation is completed. A method according to claim 1 or 10, wherein the predetermined period is the duration of a predetermined number of rotations of a turntable (5) in a cooking chamber (2). A method according to claim 10, wherein the monitored data set is compared with all the stored data sets. A method according to claim 10, wherein the selected stored data set comprises a stored data set corresponding to a no-load of the microwave oven, and the microwave oven stops the cooking operation when the monitored data set corresponds to the no-load of the microwave oven. A method according to claim 10, wherein said set of stored data sets comprises a plurality of subsets of stored data sets, each subset being associated with a respective cooking operation type of the microwave oven, and said step of selecting a stored data set comprises selecting a stored data set from the subset of stored data sets associated with the cooking operation type of the microwave oven. A method according to claim 14, wherein the selected stored data set comprises a stored data set corresponding to a no-load of the microwave oven, and the microwave oven stops the cooking operation when the monitored data set corresponds to the no-load of the microwave oven.

Inventors: JANG BO-IN, JEONG JOON-YOUNG, LEE WON-WOO, LIM DONG-BIN, PARK TAE-SOO, SHON JONG-CHULL, JANG, BO-IN, JEONG, JOON-YOUNG, LEE, WON-WOO, LIM, DONG-BIN, PARK, TAE-SOO, SHON, JONG-CHULL
Applicants: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: H05B6
IPC codes: H05B6, F24C7