Abstract:
A cooking appliance includes a cabinet defining an oven cavity, a door attached to the cabinet for selectively exposing and sealing the oven cavity, a cooking element mounted to the cabinet for heating the oven cavity, a control system for controlling the cooking appliance and a display. The display is adapted to show a first series of images corresponding to a first operating stage and a second series of images corresponding to a second operating stage, wherein the first series of images is distinct from the second series of images such that a user may readily identify a current operating stage of the cooking appliance, even from a distance, based on the series of images being displayed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention pertains to the art of cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a cooking appliance including a display for indicating to a user the current operating stage of the cooking appliance. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Over the years, there have been many advances in the art of cooking appliances. Various heat sources, such as convection air, microwave and IR heating elements have been used, in one way or another, to perform cooking operations. Mechanical components such as switches, thermostats and other controls have been replaced, or at least supplemented, by electronic control systems. Rotary knobs are slowly giving way to touch pads and touch screen displays. Many new features have been added to the cooking appliance, such as pre-programmed operations, recipes, and multi-stage cooking operations. Many ovens, ranges and the like available on the market today incorporate, to certain degrees, programmable features intended to aid a consumer in performing cooking operations. Some electronic control systems for cooking appliances enable a consumer to input certain cooking information, such as cooking modes, times and temperatures, with the inputted information generally being presented in a viewable display area and used to establish a cooking operation. 
     As set forth above, there have been various developments in the art of cooking appliances directed to aiding a consumer in performing certain cooking operations effectively. However, there still exists a need for a more user friendly system for conveying information regarding a current operating stage to a user. More specifically, there exists a need for an electronic control system which functions to display to a user the current stage in a clear manner such that the user can be informed of the current stage of the cooking appliance, even from a distance. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a cooking appliance including a cabinet defining an oven cavity, a door attached to the cabinet for selectively exposing and sealing the oven cavity, a cooking element mounted to the cabinet for heating the oven cavity, a control system for controlling the cooking appliance and a display. The display is adapted to show a first series of images corresponding to a first operating stage and a second series of images corresponding to a second operating stage, wherein the first series of images is distinct from the second series of images such that a user may readily identify a current operating stage of the cooking appliance, even from a distance, based on the series of images being displayed. The first series of images and second series of images are displayed repeatedly during a preheat stage and a cooking stage of the cooking appliance, respectively. Additional series of images may be displayed during additional cooking stages such that the user may identify the current cooking stage based on the series of images. 
     Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cooking appliance incorporating a display constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIGS. 2A-2D  illustrate a series of images corresponding to a first operating stage in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIGS. 3A-3D  illustrate an additional series of images corresponding to a first operating stage in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , a combination radiant heat and convection oven is generally indicated at  10 . In the preferred embodiment shown, oven  10  is a wall-mounted or built-in oven, and includes a cabinet  12  which forms an oven cavity  14 . A door  16  is pivotally mounted to cabinet  12  for selectively closing oven  10  and sealing oven cavity  14 . Oven cavity  14  includes opposing side walls  18  having a plurality of spaced rails  20  for supporting repositionable racks (not shown) in a manner known in the art. 
     Oven  10  also includes a plurality of heating elements. More specifically, oven  10  includes an upper broil element  30  mounted adjacent an upper wall  32  of oven cavity  14  and a lower bake element  34  mounted adjacent a lower wall  36  of oven cavity  14 . Upper broil element is constituted by a 3600 watt resistive-type electric heating element, while lower bake element  34  is constituted by a 2800 watt resistive-type electric heating element. A convection cover  40  is adapted to be mounted over first and second motor driven fans  46  and  47  within oven cavity  14  as will be discussed more fully below. Fans  46  and  47  are constituted by multi-speed electric fans which can be continuously operated or pulsed. Fans  46  and  47  are centrally mounted and vertically arranged within oven cavity  14 , such that first and second fans  46  and  47  are aligned with and positioned at respective first and second circular apertures  50  and  51  formed in convection cover  40 . Convection cover  40  also includes a plurality of spaced angled louvered openings  52  on either side of first and second fans  46  and  47 , with louvered openings  52  being adapted to distribute heated air evenly throughout oven cavity  14 . The details of oven  10  are for illustrative purposes only. In general, the present invention is directed to a user interface  54  and display  57  arranged in communication with a controller  55 , and is not meant to be limited for use with any particular oven. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , oven  10  is equipped with a display  57  through which information may be conveyed to a user. In accordance with the present invention, display  57  is adapted to depict various animations to convey information related to the current operating stage of oven  10 . For example, one animation is displayed to indicate that oven  10  is in a preheat or first operating stage and another animation is displayed to indicate when oven  10  is in a cooking or second operating stage. 
     According to one embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2A-2D , display  57  shows a series of images, in sequence, to indicate a preheat stage.  FIGS. 2A-2D  illustrate four images from one possible series of images, which are made up of a plurality of lines that become progressively more intense with each image. The images of  FIGS. 2A-2D  may be presented in a color representative of heat, such as red or orange. Thus, the color of the lines shown may also become brighter with each image. In addition, the intensity or brightness of the images may vary as the preheat stage progresses to show that the oven temperature is nearing a desired cooking stage. The series of images may include any number of images such that, when the series of images is displayed at a high speed, an animation is provided. The series of images is preferably includes images of increasing intensity that are shown successively for the duration of the preheat cycle. For example, the series of images may include five thousand images, four of which are illustrated by  FIGS. 2A-2D . The series of images may be displayed such that about twenty different images or frames are shown each second. In another embodiment, a series of images may be looped during the preheat cycle. Thus, a smaller number of images would be included in a series, but the series would loop or repeat continuously for the duration of the preheat cycle. The high speed repletion or looping of the series of images gives the illusion of a continuous animation. In addition, the looping of the series of animations may quicken as the oven reaches the end of the preheat cycle. Therefore, a user may view display  57  from a distance and recognize the progression of the preheat cycle based on the pace of the looping of the series of animations. However, it should be understood that the speed, number and content of the images may be varied and still be within the scope of the invention. 
     Following the completion of the preheat stage, oven controller  55  senses when the internal temperature of the oven  10  has reached a desired cooking temperature. Thereafter, controller  55  causes display  57  to show a second animation that corresponds to a second stage, i.e., the cooking stage. It should be understood that separate animations may exist for various cooking operations, such as a Bake, Broil or Convection. For the sake of simplicity,  FIGS. 3A-3D  will be described with reference to a general cooking stage. As illustrated in  FIGS. 3A-3D , display  57  shows a series of images, in sequence, to indicate an active cooking stage.  FIGS. 3A-3D  illustrate four images from one possible series of images, which represent flames that vary or become progressively more intense with each image. Like  FIGS. 2A-2D , the images of  FIGS. 3A-3D  may be presented in a color representative of heat, such as red or orange. Thus, the color of the lines shown may become brighter with each image. The series of images may include any number of images such that when the series of images is displayed at a high speed it is presented as an animation. The series of animations may be repeated or looped at high speeds for the duration of the preheat cycle. For example, corresponding to that disclosed above for the preheat stage, the series of images may include twenty images, four of which are illustrated by  FIGS. 3A-3D . The series of twenty images may be displayed successively every second, such that twenty images or frames are shown each second. The high speed looping of the series of images gives the illusion of a continuous animation. However, it should be understood that the speed, number and content of the images may be varied and still be within the scope of the invention. 
     At this point, an additional exemplary cooking sequence will be described. As set forth above, a series of images is shown to make up an animation for each operating stage to indicate the current stage to a user. Initially, oven display  57  may show an idle screen (not shown), such as a clock to indicate that oven  10  is not in use. The user may program oven  10  to perform a multi-stage cooking operation, such as a preheat stage, a cooking stage (perhaps multiple, sequential cooking stages), and a warming stage to keep the food warm for a specified amount of time until serving. Upon starting the cooking operation, oven  10  initiates a preheat stage. During the preheat stage, display  57  displays a series of images, as shown in  FIGS. 2A-2B , in sequence. The series of images is looped at a high speed for the duration of the preheat stage. A user may view display  57  from a distance and recognize that the images being displayed represent the preheat stage. 
     When the preheat stage is complete, controller  55  automatically causes oven  10  to begin a cooking stage, such as a baking stage. Thus, display  57  begins to display a second series of images, as shown in  FIGS. 3A-3D . The series of images, which represent flames in the embodiment shown, are looped continuously for the duration of the baking stage. As with the preheat stage, a user may view display  57  from a distance and recognize that the images being displayed represent the baking stage. Following the baking stage, the oven may being a warming stage to keep the food warm until serving. A separate series of images (not shown) may be displayed to indicate the warming stage. As discussed with respect to the preheating and baking stages, the series of images is repeated continuously for the duration of the warming stage. 
     Although described with reference to preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, although a combination radiant and convection system has been described, other cooking systems, such as a microwave system, could also be integrated into oven  10 . In addition, any number of different animations may be used to indicate a cooking stage. The animation may be simple, based on a few images, or may be very complex, based on a large number of images. The images may represent flames, oven coils or may even be user selected images to indicate the current stage of the oven. Therefore, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.