Patent Publication Number: US-2020296806-A1

Title: Induction Cooker

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) of Chinese Patent Application No. 201910184253.1, filed on Mar. 12, 2019. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an induction cooker and, more particularly, to an induction cooker with a plurality of stoves. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With the development of smart home appliances, some high-end induction cookers with multiple stoves may simultaneously heat a plurality of pots. For this type of induction cooker, temperatures of the pots placed on the plurality of stoves must be detected and controlled, respectively. 
     A temperature sensor is generally provided on each pot to detect the temperature of the pot. The detected temperature signal of each pot is transmitted to a controller. However, the controller cannot determine which stove the received temperature signal corresponds to. Consequently, it is impossible to adjust the temperatures of the pots, respectively, by controlling the respective stoves, impairing effective use of the induction cooker. 
     SUMMARY 
     An induction cooker including a plurality of stoves each having a transmitting coil and a driver driving the transmitting coil, and a controller controlling the driver of each of the stoves to generate a drive signal. The drive signal of each of the stoves is a periodically cyclic modulation signal sequence. The stoves are identifiable and distinguishable from each other by the periodically cyclic modulation signal sequences that are different for each of the stoves. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of an induction cooker according to an embodiment; and 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic chart of a drive signal, a plurality of modulation signal sequences, and a plurality of digital identification signal sequences according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S) 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. 
     In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing. 
     An induction cooker according to an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1 , comprises a plurality of stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3  and a controller  100 . In the shown embodiment, the induction cooker has three stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3 . In other embodiments, the induction cooker may have two, four, or more stoves. 
     Each stove  1 ,  2 ,  3 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , includes a transmitting coil  110 ,  120 ,  130  and a driver  111 ,  121 ,  131 . The driver  111 ,  121 ,  131  is configured to drive the respective transmitting coil  110 ,  120 ,  130  to work. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , in an embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the three stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3  are referred as a first stove  1 , a second stove  2 , and a third stove  3 , respectively. The first stove  1  has a first transmitting coil  110  and a first driver  111 . The second stove  2  has a second transmitting coil  120  and a second driver  121 . The third stove  3  has a third transmitting coil  130  and a third driver  131 . The controller  100  is adapted to control the driver  111 ,  121 ,  131  of each stove  1 ,  2 ,  3  to generate a drive signal. The drive signal, in an embodiment, is a high frequency AC signal. 
       FIG. 2  shows a schematic diagram of a drive signal, a modulation signal sequence, and a digital identification signal sequence according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , in an embodiment, the drive signal generated by the driver  111 ,  121 ,  131  of each stove  1 ,  2 ,  3  is a periodically cyclic modulation signal sequence. The modulation signal sequences in the drive signals generated by the drivers  111 ,  121 ,  131  of different stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3  are different from each other, so that the stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3  are identified and distinguished from each other according to the modulation signal sequences. In an embodiment, the modulation signal sequence in the drive signal generated by the first driver  111  of the first stove  1  is referred as a first modulation signal sequence, the modulation signal sequence in the drive signal generated by the second driver  121  of the second stove  2  is referred as a second modulation signal sequence, and the modulation signal sequence in the drive signal generated by the third driver  131  of the third stove  3  is referred as a third modulation signal sequence. In various embodiments, at least one of amplitudes, phases, and frequencies of the modulation signal sequences in the drive signals generated by the drivers  111 ,  121 ,  131  of different stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3  are different. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , in an embodiment, the amplitudes of the first modulation signal sequence, the second modulation signal sequence and the third modulation signal sequence are different from each other. Thereby, in this case, it is possible to identify and distinguish the first stove  1 , the second stove  2  and the third stove  3  according to the amplitudes of the first, second and third modulation signal sequences. 
     In another exemplary embodiment, the phases of the modulation signal sequences in the drive signals generated by the drivers  111 ,  121 ,  131  of different stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3  may be different. Thereby, in this case, it is possible to identify and distinguish the first stove  1 , the second stove  2  and the third stove  3  according to the phases of the first, second and third modulation signal sequences. 
     In another exemplary embodiment, the frequencies of the modulation signal sequences in the drive signals generated by the drivers  111 ,  121 ,  131  of different stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3  may be different. Thereby, in this case, it is possible to identify and distinguish the first stove  1 , the second stove  2  and the third stove  3  according to the frequencies of the first, second and third modulation signal sequences. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the induction cooker comprises a plurality of pots  10 ,  20 ,  30 . In the shown embodiment, the induction cooker comprises three pots  10 ,  20 ,  30 . In other embodiments, the induction cooker may comprise two, four, or more pots. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the plurality of pots  10 ,  20 ,  30  are adapted to be placed on the plurality of stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3 , respectively, with each of the pots  10 ,  20 ,  30  placed on one of the stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3 . The transmitting coils  110 ,  120 ,  130  of the plurality of stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3  are adapted to heat the plurality of pots  10 ,  20 ,  30  placed on the plurality of stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3 , respectively, with each of the coils  110 ,  120 ,  130  heating one of the pots  10 ,  20 ,  30 . 
     Each pot  10 ,  20 ,  30 , shown in  FIG. 1 , has a receiving coil electromagnetically coupled with the transmitting coil  110 ,  120 ,  130  of the stove  1 ,  2 ,  3 . The receiving coil receives the drive signal transmitted from the transmitting coil  110 ,  120 ,  130 . Thereby, it is possible to identify the stove  1 ,  2 ,  3  corresponding to the respective pot  10 ,  20 ,  30  according to the modulation signal sequence in the received drive signal. 
     Each pot  10 ,  20 ,  30  includes a signal process circuit. The signal process circuit is adapted to process the drive signal received by the receiving coil and convert the modulation signal sequence in the drive signal into a digital identification signal sequence. In this way, it is possible to identify the stove  1 ,  2 ,  3  corresponding to the respective pot  10 ,  20 ,  30  according to the digital identification signal sequence. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the first stove  1  corresponds to the first digital identification signal sequence, the second stove  2  corresponds to the second digital identification signal sequence, and the third stove  3  corresponds to the third digital identification signal sequence. Because the amplitudes of the first, second and third digital identification signal sequences are different from each other, the first, second and third stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3  corresponding to the first, second and third pots  10 ,  20 ,  30 , respectively, may be accurately identified according to the first, second and third digital identification signal sequences. 
     Each pot  10 ,  20 ,  30 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , includes a temperature sensor  11 ,  21 ,  31  and a wireless transmitting module  12 ,  22 ,  32 . The temperature sensor  11 ,  21 ,  31  is configured to detect a temperature of the pot  10 ,  20 ,  30 . The wireless transmitting module  12 ,  22 ,  32  is adapted to transmit the digital identification signal sequence and the detected temperature signal to a wireless mobile communication device  40  and/or a wireless communication module  122  provided on the induction cooker. 
     The controller  100 , shown in  FIG. 1 , identifies the stove  1 ,  2 ,  3  corresponding to the respective temperature signal based on the digital identification signal sequence received by the wireless mobile communication device  40  and/or the wireless communication module  122 . The controller  100  controls the driver  111 ,  121 ,  131  of the respective stove  1 ,  2 ,  3  based on the temperature signal received by the wireless mobile communication device  40  and/or the wireless communication module  122 , so that the temperature of the respective stove  1 ,  2 ,  3  reaches a predetermined temperature. In this way, it is possible to reasonably adjust the temperatures of the pots  10 ,  20 ,  30 , respectively, by controlling the respective stoves  1 ,  2 ,  3 , improving the use of the induction cooker. 
     It should be appreciated for those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, many modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in this art, and various features described in different embodiments may be freely combined with each other without conflicting in configuration or principle. Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.