Patent ID: 7370649

Claim:
A cooking stove comprising heating means, an electrical capacitance touch switch provided on a front panel of a cooking stove main body accommodating the heating means or on a top plate covering a top surface of the cooking stove main body, the touch switch allowing a user to instruct the heating means to switch from a stopped state to an actuated state and to instruct the heating means to switch from the actuated state to the stopped state, and heating control means for executing a process for actuating the heating means when the touch switch switches from a non-sensing state to a sensing state while the heating means is in the stopped state and executing a process for stopping the heating means when the touch switch switches from the non-sensing state to the sensing state while the heating means is in the actuated state, the cooking stove further comprising: switch sensitivity varying means for, while the heating means is in the stopped state, setting the touch switch in a lower sensitivity set state in which the touch switch switches from the non-sensing state to the sensing state when an electrostatic object having a capacitance equal to or larger than a predetermined first reference value contacts or approaches a touch area, and while the heating means is in the actuated state, setting the touch switch in a higher sensitivity set state in which the touch switch switches from the non-sensing state to the sensing state when an electrostatic object having a capacitance equal to or larger than a predetermined second reference value contacts or approaches the touch area, the second reference value being smaller than the first reference value.