EP2066148B1 - Hob with a temperature sensor and user interface with a graphical display and method for operating a hob - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a hob with a temperature sensor and a user interface with a graphical display according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for operating a hob according to the preamble of claim 12.

Cooking hobs are known from the prior art, which comprise at least one heating zone and a temperature sensor for determining a temperature of a cookware part arranged on the heating zone. Also known are cooktops having a user interface with a graphic display, such cooktops comprising means for inputting a frying and / or frying heating stage for operating the heating zone. Furthermore, generic cooktops include a control unit which is designed to regulate the temperature determined by the temperature sensor in at least one operating mode to a setpoint dependent on the set frying and / or frying heat setting.

Hobs from the prior art are for example from the EP 0 788 292 A known.

The object of the invention is, in particular, to make a generic cooktop or a method for operating such a cooktop more user-friendly, in particular for amateur and amateur cooks.

The object is achieved by the features of claim 1 and the patent claim 12, while advantageous embodiments and modifications of the invention can be taken from the dependent claims.

The invention is based on a cooktop with at least one heating zone, a temperature sensor for determining a temperature of a cookware part arranged on the heating zone, a user interface with a graphic display and means for inputting a frying and / or frying heating stage and a control unit thereto is designed, in at least one operating mode determined by the temperature sensor Temperature to a dependent on the set frying and / or Frittier heating level setpoint to regulate.

According to one aspect of the invention, it is proposed that the user interface comprises a means for selecting a dish to be cooked, wherein the control unit is adapted to determine at least one recommended frying and / or frying stage depending on the selected dish. The recommendation also allows an inexperienced user to easily determine the correct frying and / or deep-frying heating level and burning of the food due to too high a frying and / or frying heat setting or an unsightly consistency due to a too low cooking temperature can, can be avoided.

Temperature sensors in such hobs that directly measure the temperature of the cookware part, particularly non-contact by optical measurements of an infrared spectrum emitted by the cookware part, have hitherto been mainly used in the commercial sector where rapid setting of the frying and / or frying heating stage is desired the specialist knows the recommended settings. Therefore, the technical prejudice has developed that recommendations of the frying and / or deep-fry heating stage, which necessarily require a complex selection of the dish or Garguts, lead to an undesirable complexity of the operation.

Recently, however, such cooktops with closed Brattemperatur- circuits are increasingly used in the field of household appliances, where the operator no relevant expertise can be expected. At the same time more ready meals, in particular frozen food, are used, which can also be prepared by laymen and hobby cooks without problems. Therefore, cooktops with temperature sensors are being used more and more frequently by inexperienced users, for whom a recommendation of a frying and / or frying heat setting, depending on a selected dish, leads to a large comfort gain.

In a further development of the invention, it is proposed that the control unit is designed to have the recommended frying and / or deep-frying heating stage on the graphic display display. The user can then easily read the recommended frying and / or frying heat setting and accept or modify the recommendation.

If the control unit is designed to adopt the recommended frying and / or frying heat level for operating the heating zone, if the operator does not select another heating level, the operation can be further simplified since further operator intervention can be omitted after the selection of the dish.

Similar benefits can be achieved if the control unit is configured to adopt the recommended frying and / or frying heat level to operate the heating zone when the operator makes adjustments to another heating zone or does not make inputs for a predetermined time interval.

The selection of the dish may be simplified if the means for selecting a dish to be cooked is arranged to represent a plurality of groups of dishes having the same or similar frying and / or frying levels of heating on the graphical user interface. The dishes can be stored in a tree-like menu sequence, whereby the operator can choose, for example, between unfrozen food items and frozen food items in a first stage, between meat, fish and vegetables in a second stage and between special dishes in a third stage.

The concept of the invention can be used advantageously in particular in hobs in which the temperature sensor is designed as an infrared temperature sensor.

Operation can be further simplified if the user interface is designed to select three or four possible frying and / or frying stages.

Furthermore, the cooking process can be further automated if the control unit is designed to determine a recommended cooking time depending on the selected dish.

It is also proposed that the control unit is designed to read in at least one second operating mode a direct setting of the frying and / or deep-frying heating stage from the user interface. The skilled user can use the second operating mode use and avoid a delay de setting by selecting the court.

If the control unit is designed to control a heating power for heating the heating zone in at least one further operating mode independently of the temperature measured by the temperature sensor, the operator can choose between a controlled operation and an uncontrolled operation of the hob in the further operating mode as needed ,

The operator may, in particular, easily change the frying and / or deep-frying heating stage, starting from the recommended frying and / or deep-frying heating stage, when the user interface comprises means for incrementing and decrementing the frying and / or frying heating stage.

A particularly convenient operation is achievable if the graphical user interface is designed as a touch screen.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of operating a cooktop having at least one heating zone, a temperature sensor for determining a temperature of a cookware part disposed on the heating zone, a user interface having a graphical display, and means for inputting a frying and / or frying heating step and a control unit which is designed to regulate the temperature determined by the temperature sensor in at least one operating mode to a dependent of the set frying and / or frying heat level setpoint.

In order to make the method more user-friendly, it is proposed that a dish to be cooked be selected via the user interface and that the control unit determines at least one recommended frying and / or deep-frying stage depending on the selected dish.

Further advantages emerge from the following description of the drawing. In the drawing Ausührungsbeispiele of the invention are shown. The drawing, the description and the claims contain numerous features in combination. The expert will conveniently consider the features individually and summarize meaningful further combinations.

Show it:

Fig. 1

a hob with a user interface and a control unit,

Fig. 2

the user interface and a welcome screen on a graphical display of the user interface,

Fig. 3

another screen display on the graphical display of the user interface with a selected heating zone,

Fig. 4

another screen presentation on the graphical display of the user interface with a first menu item for selecting a dish to be cooked,

Fig. 5

another screen presentation on the graphical display of the user interface with another menu item for selecting a dish to be cooked,

Fig. 5

a further screen presentation on the graphical display of the user interface after selecting a dish to be cooked,

Fig. 6

another screen presentation on the graphical display of the user interface with a status display and

Fig. 7

shows a screen display with a menu for selecting a dish to be cooked according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a hob with five heating zones 10, in each of which at least one temperature sensor 12 for determining a temperature of a arranged on the heating zone 10 cookware part 14 is arranged. Further, the cooktop has a user interface 16 with a graphic display 18 and means 20 for inputting a frying and / or deep-fry heating stage and a control unit 22 adapted for at least one of them Operating mode, in a controlled frying operation to regulate the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 12 to a setpoint dependent on the set frying and / or frying heat setting.

The temperature sensor 12 is formed as a thermal resistor and arranged under the cover plate 24 of the hob, which is made of glass or glass ceramic. In particularly advantageous embodiments, two thermal resistors are used to separate the effects of radiant heat from the heating elements of the heating zones 10 from the heat transferred from the cookware part 14.

In alternative embodiments (not shown here), the temperature sensor 12 may be designed as an infrared temperature sensor 12 and / or protrude beyond the cover plate 24 so that it can directly measure the infrared radiation emitted from a bottom of the cookware part 14 and depending on their intensity and in particular whose spectrum according to Wien's law or Planck's radiation formula can detect the temperature of the bottom of the cookware part 14. Compared to temperature measurements with temperature sensors 12, which are arranged under the cover plate 24, thereby a particularly precise and reliable measurement can be achieved.

The user interface 16 is designed to select three or four possible frying and / or frying stages. A higher number would be conceivable, but according to the current state of the art due to the blurring of the temperature sensor 12 would bring no or only slight advantages with regard to the accuracy of the temperature determination.

The control unit 22 comprises a driver unit (not explicitly shown here) for operating the user interface 16, i. for driving the graphic display 18 and for reading in operator signals which the operator can trigger by touching corresponding fields and / or keys of the user interface 16.

The user interface 16 further comprises a screen or the display 18 and arranged under the display 18, touch-sensitive sensors. The touch-sensitive sensors of the user interface shown here only schematically form in a selection mode ( FIG. 5 ) means 20 for selecting a dish to be cooked.

FIG. 2 shows the user interface 16 in a more detailed representation. After switching on the hob by touching the on-off button 32 of the user interface 16 appears in FIG. 2 illustrated welcome screen. The user may select one of the five heating zones 10 by tapping one of the five panels 34a-34e to make adjustments to operate the selected heating zone 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the operator selects the lower left heating zone 10 by touching the switch panel 34e.

After selecting the heating zone 10 appears in FIG. 3 shown screen display in which the selected heating zone 10 is highlighted by a strong magnification. Of course, those skilled in the art may also choose other means of highlighting the selected heating zone 10 optically. By operating the strip 30 or by touching the increment key 26 or the decrement key 28, the user can switch the selected heating zone 10 to a normal operating mode and set a desired temperature or heating level. Another button 36 is used to turn on a booster function.

Alternatively, by touching a button 38, the user may select a first manual brewing sensor operating mode and selecting a brewing sensor program operating mode by touching another button 40. In the manual frying sensor operating mode, the user can select a desired frying level from among three possible settings by means of the strip 30 or by touching the incrementing key 26 or the decrementing key 28, which are then visualized by different height bars in a schematic bar graph 42.

When the operator selects a frying sensor program operating mode by touching the other button 40, the in FIG. 4 displayed screen, in which the name of a selectable dish to be cooked is shown in a lower line. By operating the increment key 26 or the decrement key 28, the operator can select another dish. The control unit 22 selects possible dishes from a cyclical list. In FIG. 4 is for example frozen vegetables and in FIG. 5 Cordon Bleu selected.

The control unit 22 is configured by suitable hardware and software to determine at least one recommended frying and / or deep-frying stage for operating the selected or activated heating zone 10, depending on the dish selected by the operator with the means 20. For this purpose, the control unit 22 displays in a circle representing the selected heating zone 10 a bar graph 42 representing the recommended frying and / or frying heating stage.

The bar graph 42 has three different height bars, one of which is tinted. The state with minimum heat output is represented by the tinted smallest bar, the state with medium heat output is represented by the tinted middle bar and the state with maximum heat output is represented by the tinted largest bar. The bar graph 42 represents for each selected dish a recommended frying and / or deep-fry heating level which the operator can still manipulate by manipulating the strip 30 or buttons 26, 28. For the in FIG. 4 selected dish is the recommended frying and / or deep-fry heating level the medium heat setting and for the in FIG. 5 Chosen dish is the recommended frying and / or deep-fry heating level the maximum heating level. In the in the FIGS. 4 and 5 represented pan, the pan icon 44 represents the Brat operating mode, with which the selected lower left heating zone is operated. The symbolized adjustment strip 46 indicates that the recommended frying and / or deep-fry heating level can be changed by operating the strip 30.

By recommending the frying and / or frying-heating stage, which is displayed by the control unit 22 on the graphic display 18, even an inexperienced user can easily determine the correct frying and / or frying heat and a burning of the food by a Too high frying and / or frying heat level or an unsightly consistency, which may be due to a low cooking temperature, can be avoided.

If the operator does not select a different heating level within a predetermined time interval of about 3 seconds, the control unit 22 takes the recommended frying and / or Frying heating stage for operating the heating zone 10. The operator can increase or decrease the frying and / or frying heating stage in operation at any time by touching an incrementing key 26 or a decrementing key 28. The increment key 26 and the decrement key 28 of the user interface 16 form means 20 for incrementing and decrementing the fry and / or fry heating stages. The user interface 16 further includes a touch sensitive strip 30. The control unit 22 detects the location of a touch in a longitudinal direction of the strip 30 and determines the roast and / or fry heating level depending on the location of the touch when the operator wants to change it. In a further conceivable embodiment, the operator can move his finger over the strip 30 and the control unit 22 increases the frying and / or frying heating stage or in another operating mode, a regular heating stage by an amount that the control unit 22 depending on characteristics of the detected Movement, in particular determined by the path length of the movement and / or by a movement speed of the movement.

The control unit 22 also adopts the recommended frying and / or frying heating stage for operating the heating zone 10 when the operator makes adjustments to another heating zone 10 indicating that he does not wish to make any further adjustments to the initially selected heating zone 10.

FIG. 6 Fig. 12 shows a status screen that the display 18 displays when the operator has not intervened for a few seconds. The heating zone icon at the bottom right indicates that the roast sensor mode is set to maximum temperature. The symbol for the heating zone at the top left is marked 8,5, which indicates that this heating zone is operating in a normal operating mode at heating level 8.5. The hatching or color of the heating zone on the top right indicates a residual heat of this heating zone.

In addition to the previously mentioned buttons, the user interface 16 includes FIG. 2 a timer button 46 for starting and setting a timer function, a child lock button 48 for configuring a child safety lock and an info button 50 for retrieving information and / or user settings of the hob.

FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment of the invention, in which the means 20 for selecting a dish to be cooked comprises a display 18 and for display of several groups of dishes having the same or similar frying and / or deep-fry heating stages on the graphical user interface 16. The groups are each represented in the form of a list. The operator can swap the displayed lists with cursor keys, replace a preselected group member with additional cursor keys or confirm the selection of a group and / or a court.

In another embodiment, the control unit 22 may be configured to determine not only the recommended frying and / or frying heating level but also a recommended cooking time, depending on the selected dish.

In at least a second, manual mode of operation, the controller 22 reads in a direct setting of the fry and / or fry heat level from the user interface 16. For this purpose, the operator can select the manual button on the control panel and then select the frying and / or frying heating stage via the strip 30 and / or the incrementing or decrementing button 28n.

In a normal mode or in at least one further operating mode, the control unit 22 does not use the temperature sensor 12 and controls a heating power for heating the heating zone 10 independently of the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 12.

The control unit 22 implements a method for operating a cooktop having at least one heating zone 10, a temperature sensor 12 for determining a temperature of a cookware part 14 arranged on the heating zone 10, a user interface 16 with a graphic display 18 and means 20 for entering a roast and / or or Frittier heating stage and a control unit 22 which is adapted to regulate the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 12 in at least one operating mode to a dependent of the set frying and / or frying heat level setpoint.

According to the method, a dish to be cooked is selected via the user interface 16, and the control unit 22 determines at least one recommended frying and / or frying stage depending on the selected dish.

reference numeral

10

heating zone

12

temperature sensor

14

Cookware part

16

User interface

18

display

20

medium

22

control unit

24

cover

26

incremental button

28

decremental

30

strip

32

On / off button

34a

button

34b

button

34c

button

34d

button

34e

button

36

button

38

button

40

button

42

bar graph

44

pan icon

46

Timer button

48

Parental Control button

50

Info button

Claims (12)

1. Hob having at least one heating zone (10), a temperature sensor (12) for determining a temperature of a dish (14) arranged on the heating zone (10), a user interface (16) with a graphical display (18) and means (20) for inputting a roasting and/or frying heating level and a control unit (22) which is configured to regulate the temperature determined by the temperature sensor (12) to a target value dependent on the set roasting and/or frying heating level, in at least one mode of operation, wherein the user interface (16) includes a means (20) for selecting a meal to be cooked, wherein the control unit (22) is configured to determine at least one recommended roasting and/or frying heating level as a function of the selected meal, characterised in that the control unit (22) is configured to assume the recommended roasting and/or frying heating level for operating the heating zone (10) if the operator does not select another heating level.
2. Hob according to claim 1, characterised in that the control unit (22) is configured to display the recommended roasting and/or frying heating level on the graphical display (18).
3. Hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control unit (22) is configured to assume the recommended roasting and/or frying heating level in order to operate the heating zone (10) if the operator performs adjustments to another heating zone (10) or does not perform any inputs for longer than a predetermined time interval.
4. Hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the means (20) for selecting a meal to be cooked is configured to display several groups of meals with the same or similar roasting and/or frying heating levels on the graphical user interface (16).
5. Hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the temperature sensor (12) is configured as an infrared temperature sensor (12).
6. Hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the user interface (16) is configured to select three or four possible roasting and/or frying heating levels.
7. Hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control unit (22) is configured to determine a recommended cooking time as a function of the selected meal.
8. Hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control unit (22) is configured to read a direct setting of the roasting and/or frying heating level from the user interface (16) into at least one second mode of operation.
9. Hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control unit (22) is configured to control a heating output for heating the heating zone (10) independently of the temperature measured by the temperature sensor (12) in at least one further mode of operation.
10. Hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the user interface (16) includes means (20) for increasing and decreasing the roasting and/or frying heating level.
11. Hob according to claim 9, characterized in that the graphical user interface (16) is embodied as a touch screen.
12. Method for operating a hob with at least one heating zone (10), a temperature sensor (12) for determining a temperature of a dish (14) arranged on the heating zone (10), a user interface (16) with a graphical display (18) and means (20) for inputting a roasting and/or frying heating level and a control unit (22) which is configured to regulate the temperature determined by the temperature sensor (12) to a target value dependent on the set roasting and/or frying heating level, in at least one mode of operation, wherein a meal to be cooked is selected by way of the user interface (16) and the control unit (22) determines at least one recommended roasting and/or frying heating level as a function of the selected meal, characterised in that the control unit (22) assumes the recommended roasting and/or frying heating level in order to operate the heating zone (10) if the user does not select another heating level.

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