Thermal compensation for visible light cooking oven

Electric heating – Heating devices – Combined with container – enclosure – or support for material...

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C219S411000, C219S486000, C219S492000, C219S508000, C219S685000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06333492

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to ovens with visible light cooking elements and, more particularly, to a combination oven using both radiant and microwave energy.
Ovens using visible light cooking elements, i.e., radiant cooking lamps, energize one or more visible light cooking elements according to pre-selected control algorithms to deliver a sufficient amount of energy to cook selected food. However, on occasion an oven cavity is preheated from prior cooking. When the temperature of the oven cavity reaches a certain threshold, latent heat in the oven cavity imparts additional energy to the food. When thermal energy from the pre-heated oven cavity is combined with the radiant energy of the lamps, food can be overcooked.
Another type of oven includes both radiant cooking elements and a magnetron, or microwave, cooking element. The cooking elements and magnetron are controlled to provide reduced cooking time as compared to known radiant ovens, yet a wide variety of foods can be cooked in such ovens. One such combination oven is operable in a speed cooking mode wherein both radiant and microwave cooking elements are utilized, in a microwave only cooking mode wherein only the magnetron is utilized for cooking, and a radiant only cooking mode wherein only the lamps are utilized for cooking. In such an oven, while the magnetron cooking is generally unaffected by temperature conditions of the oven cavity prior to cooking, thermal energy in the oven cavity prior to cooking can negatively affect the radiant cooking cycles and overcook the food.
Compensation for thermal variation of the oven cavity must be provided in order to provide acceptable cooking results.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an oven includes a cooking cavity, a microcomputer, at least one radiant cooking unit, and a thermistor in thermal communication with the cooking cavity. The thermistor is coupled to the microcomputer which is, in turn, operatively coupled to the radiant cooking unit for delivering a selected amount of cooking energy into the cooking cavity. In response to an input from the thermistor prior to a cooking operation, the microcomputer operates the radiant cooking unit in accordance with a selected cooking time and selected cooking power level and adjusts operation of the radiant cooking unit when a temperature of the cooking cavity exceeds a first threshold.
More specifically, the microcomputer includes a memory loaded with predetermined power level reduction values for the radiant cooking unit according to a selected cooking time and a thermistor temperature reading. Therefore, the power level of the radiant cooking unit is reduced to compensate for latent heat in the oven cavity and to avoid overcooking of food.


REFERENCES:
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patent: 4396817 (1983-08-01), Eck et al.
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patent: 5596514 (1997-01-01), Maher, Jr. et al.
patent: 5695669 (1997-12-01), Westerberg
patent: 5726423 (1998-03-01), Westerberg et al.
patent: 5883362 (1999-03-01), Pettibone et al.

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