Abstract:
A cooking appliance employing rapid cook technology includes an electronic oven control system employing an alpha-numeric data entry and display arrangement. The cooking appliance includes a display which incorporates a series of vertically spaced information display zones, with each of the zones being capable of displaying both alpha and numeric data to a user of the appliance. Text and numeric data can be entered by the user through a ten-digit keypad provided on a control panel of the appliance. Each labeled numeric key (0–9) can be used to input a corresponding numeric data symbol, as well as additional text information. This arrangement advantageously makes purchasing and operating a sophisticated cooking appliance more appealing and less intimidating to a consumer.

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 data entry system enabling alpha-numeric inputs into an electronic control system of a cooking appliance. 
   2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
   The art of cooking is currently undergoing substantial change. It is no longer the norm to have a family member home all day with time to cook and prepare meals. Today, more and more consumers must rush home from work to prepare meals for themselves or for their families. In today&#39;s fast paced society, time is of the essence. The luxury of spending time in preparing a meal is becoming less and less affordable. As such, consumers demand an oven that will cook a meal in less time than conventional ovens, without sacrificing the quality of the prepared food. In order to meet these demands, manufacturers are combining conventional radiant cooking systems with the rapid cook advantages of convection, microwave, and other types of cooking systems. 
   Of course, when making a wide range of cooking options available to a consumer in a particular cooking appliance, the complexity of operation will certainly increase. To counteract this inherent situation, electronic control units are being made more sophisticated to aid a user in selecting desired operations. For instance, it has been heretofore proposed to provide a visual display which can convey programming and operational information to a user in alpha-numeric formats. With such an arrangement, the control unit can basically walk a user through a programming sequence and also convey a wide range of messages to the user. Given the level of technology employed in such advanced cooking systems, it is also possible for the user to customize, at least to a certain degree, the cooking appliance. For instance, it is possible to enable favorite recipes or cooking sequences to be saved in memory and reproduced when desired. 
   Regardless of the potential use of these advanced operation, programming and display functions, it must be kept in mind that cooking appliance has a relatively small amount of space available for a display and control elements. Certainly, the availability and consumer appeal of providing an abundance of information or control features can depend upon enhancing design features of the overall control system. For instance, the manner in which information is inputted and/or displayed to a user can have a significant effect on the overall consumer satisfaction and commercial viability of a cooking appliance, particularly a cooking appliance employing both conventional and rapid cook technologies. 
   Based on the above, there exists a need in the art for a versatile cooking appliance that is capable of providing a wide range of cooking operations, yet presents a compactly designed control arrangement that enables both the inputting and displaying of a wide range of alpha-numeric data for control and information purposes. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a cooking appliance including an electronic oven control system employing an alpha-numeric data entry and display arrangement. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cooking appliance includes a display which incorporates a series of vertically spaced information display zones, with each of the zones being capable of displaying both alpha and numeric data to a user of the appliance. In addition, text and numeric data can be entered by the user through a ten-digit keypad provided on a control panel of the appliance. Each labeled numeric key (0–9) can be used to input a corresponding numeric data symbol, as well as additional text information. 
   More specifically, in accordance with the most preferred form of the invention, each of the number keys 2–9 can also be used to enter alpha text, while the number key 0 can be used to enter a space, and the number one key can provide a “−”. To enter text, the user will press the appropriate numeric key that has the desired letter assigned to it. Each time the user presses a particular key, the display on the control will cycle through each of the letters associated with that number key. After the desired letter or number is selected, the user will press an enter key. This will cause the control to increment to the next text position on the display. If no key is activated for a predetermined time period after a prior key selection, the control will automatically enter the desired character and increment to the next text position. A final enter key activation or a significant programming delay will signify that all the desired text has been inputted. 
   With this arrangement, a compact data entry and display arrangement can be employed in a cooking appliance to enable a user to easily operate and personally program the appliance. Again, the need for such an arrangement is considered to be particularly relevant in connection with a cooking appliance employing both conventional radiant and rapid cook technologies. These types of appliances are relatively new to the industry and consumers, while becoming increasingly complex. Therefore, the invention can make purchasing and operating such a cooking appliance less intimidating to the consumer. In any case, additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment 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 wall oven constructed in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a control panel employed in connection with the wall oven of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , a cooking appliance constructed in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated at  2 . Cooking appliance  2 , as depicted, constitutes a double wall oven. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to this model type and can be incorporated into various types of oven configurations, e.g., cabinet mounted ovens, as well as both slide-in and free standing ranges. In any event, in the embodiment shown, cooking appliance  2  constitutes a dual oven wall unit including an upper oven  4  having upper oven cavity  6  and a lower oven  8  having a lower oven cavity  10 . Cooking appliance  2  includes an outer frame  12  for supporting both upper and lower oven cavities  6  and  10 . 
   In a manner known in the art, a door assembly  14  is provided to selectively provide access to upper oven cavity  6 . As shown, door assembly  14  includes a handle  15  at an upper portion  16  thereof. Door assembly  14  is adapted to pivot at a lower portion  18  to enable selective access to within oven cavity  6 . In a manner also known in the art, door  14  is provided with a transparent zone or window  22  for viewing the contents of oven cavity  6  while door  14  is closed. A corresponding door assembly  24  including a handle  25  and a transparent zone or window  26  is provided to selectively access lower oven cavity  10 . 
   As best seen in  FIG. 1 , oven cavity  6  is defined by a bottom wall  27 , an upper wall  28 , opposing side walls  30  and  31  provided with a plurality of vertically spaced side rails  32 , and a rear wall  33 . In the preferred embodiment shown, bottom wall  27  is constituted by a flat, smooth surface designed to improve the cleanability of oven cavity  6 . Arranged about bottom wall  27  of oven cavity  6  is a bake element  40 . Also, a top broiler element  42  is arranged along upper wall  28  of oven cavity  6 . Top broiler element  42  is provided to enable a consumer to perform a grilling process in upper oven  4  and to aid in pyrolytic heating during a self-clean operation. In the preferred form of the invention shown, both bake element  40  and top broiler element  42  are constituted by sheathed electric resistive heating elements. 
   Based on the above, in the preferred embodiment depicted, cooking appliance  2  actually constitutes an electric, dual wall oven. However, it is to be understood that cooking appliance  2  could equally operate on gas, either natural or propane. In any case, both oven cavities  6  and  10  preferably employ both radiant and convection heating techniques for cooking food items therein. To this end, rear wall  33  is shown to include a convection fan or blower  44 . Although the exact position and construction of fan  44  can readily vary in accordance with the invention, in accordance with the most preferred form of the invention, fan  44  draws in air at a central intake zone (not separately labeled) and directs the air into oven cavity  6  in a radial outward direction. Also as clearly shown in this figure, another sheathed electric heating element  46 , which preferably takes the general form of a ring, extends circumferentially about fan  44  in order to heat the radially expelled air flow. At this point, it should be noted that a fan cover, which has not been shown for the sake of clarity of the drawings, extends about fan  44  and heating element  46 , preferably with the cover having an associated central inlet opening and a plurality of outer radial outlet openings. 
   As further shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , cooking appliance  2  includes an upper control panel  50  having a plurality of control elements. In accordance with one embodiment, the control elements are constituted by first and second sets of oven control buttons  52  and  53 , as well as a numeric pad  54 . Control panel  50  is adapted to be used to input desired cooking parameters for cooking appliance  2 . More specifically, the first and second sets of control buttons  52  and  53 , in combination with numeric pad  54  and a display  62 , enable a user to establish particular cooking operations for upper and lower ovens  4  and  8  respectively. 
   In the preferred embodiment particularly shown in  FIG. 2 , first set of control buttons  52  includes a cancel button  80 , a convection button  82 , a bake button  84 , a broil button  86 , and a clean button  88 . In addition, first set of control buttons  52  also preferably includes an oven light button  90  and a button  92  used to access more cooking options which are conveyed to the user through display  62 . In a corresponding manner, second set of control buttons  52  includes a cancel button  100 , a convection button  102 , a bake button  104 , a broil button  106 , and a clean button  108 . Furthermore, second set of control buttons  53  also preferably includes an oven light button  110  and a button  112  which is used to access more cooking options that are conveyed to the user through display  62 . 
   To this end, display  62  is preferably divided into various sections. In accordance with the most preferred embodiment of the invention, an uppermost section of display  62  is sub-divided into three time display zones  140 – 142 . More specifically, leftmost display zone  140  constitutes a first timer zone having an associated timer button  145 . Central display zone  141  constitutes a clock for cooking appliance  2 . Rightmost display zone  142  constitutes a second timer zone having an associated timer button  148 . Spaced below time display zones  140 – 142  are a series of vertically spaced information display zones  151 – 155 . Each of information display zones  151 ,  153  and  155  has associated left and right portions (not separately labeled). Each of the left and right portions have associated therewith laterally positioned selection buttons  160 – 165 . 
   As shown, numeric pad  54  preferably enables alpha-numeric input. That is, in addition to presenting numbers 0–9, numeric pad  54  doubles as an input source for alpha information. To this end, the number 2 button functions for ABC letter entry; the number 3 button functions for DEF letter entry; the number 4 button functions for GHI letter entry; the number 5 button functions for JKL letter entry; the number 6 button functions for MNO letter entry; the number 7 button functions for PQRS letter entry; the number 8 button functions for TUV letter entry; and the number 9 button functions for WXYZ letter entry. The number 0 button can also be used to input a space. Furthermore, the number 1 button can be used to input a dash (−) between alpha or alpha-numeric characters. On either side of the number 0 button are Back and Enter buttons  175  and  176  which can be used in combination with the various alpha keys for information entry as will be detailed more fully below. Finally, provided adjacent numeric pad  54  are Help, Favorites and Setup buttons  180 – 182 . 
   In general, control panel  50  is linked to a controller or CPU  200  formed as part of cooking appliance  2 . Therefore, CPU  200  receives user inputs and selections through control panel  50 , as well as signals from sensors associated with cooking appliance  2 , i.e. oven temperature sensors for upper and lower ovens  4  and  8  as generally indicated at  210  and a fan speed sensor  215 . In turn, CPU  200  controls bake element  40 , top broiler element  42 , convection fan  44  and convection heating element  46 . The overall manner in which CPU  200  controls individual components of cooking appliance  2  does not form part of the present invention and therefore will not be discussed further here. Instead, the present invention is particularly directed to the programming and displaying of alpha-numeric data in cooking appliance  2 . 
   As indicated above, each of the number keys 2–9 can also be used to enter alpha text, while the number key 0 can be used to enter a space, and the number one key can provide a “−”. To enter text, the user will press the appropriate key in numeric pad  54  that has the desired letter assigned to it. Each time the user presses a particular key (2–9), display  62  on control panel  50  will move within the cycle of letters associated with that number key. After the desired letter or number is selected, the user will press the enter key  176 . This will cause CPU  200  to increment to the next text position on display  62 , particularly one of information display zones  151 ,  153  or  155 . If no key is activated for a predetermined time period after a prior key selection, with this time period being preferably in the order of 3 seconds in accordance with the preferred embodiment, CPU  200  will automatically enter the desired character and increment to the next text position. A final depression of enter key  176  or a significant programming delay will signify that all the desired text has been inputted. 
   With this arrangement, a compact data entry and display arrangement is employed to enable a user to operate and personally program cooking appliance  2 . This data entry and display arrangement can be particularly advantageous in connection with inputting information concerning favorite recipes through the use of button  181 , wherein cooking appliance  2  can receive cooking instructions from a user and store the same in memory  230  of CPU  200  for later access. In accordance with the invention, the user can designate a particular name, as well as time and temperature parameters, to a certain favorite recipe. The user can later select that specific set of cooking instructions by having the stored favorite recipes displayed through information display zones  151 – 155  and making a desired choice through selection buttons  160 – 165 . In addition, it is contemplated that display  62  and numeric pad  54  can be used in accordance with the invention for inputting and displaying a host of information, including messages, instructional statements and other storage and retrieval data. In any case, it should be readily apparent that display  62  is designed to enable a rather large amount of alpha-numeric information to be conveyed to a user which is considered important in connection with the many available options for cooking appliance  2 . In addition, the compact configuration and simplicity of operation of the user programmable alpha-numeric data for storage and display purposes in accordance with the invention further enhances the display capabilities and presents an attractive, overall cooking appliance  2  for the consumer. 
   Although described with reference to a preferred embodiment 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. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.