Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
COOKING APPLIANCE AND CONTROL KNOB
WITH INTEGRATED DISPLAY
TECHNOLOGY
[0001] The present description relates to cooking appliances such as
ranges and ovens
that receive a cooking vessel, such as pots, pans, and griddles on a
horizontal surface in which
the appliance has a heat source to heat the vessel. More particularly, the
present description
relates to the display and control of the mode of heat to the cooking vessel.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Cooking vessels capable of measuring and displaying cooking
temperature are
known, and include vessels with attached heating elements, such as hot plates,
electric fry pans
and the like, as well as vessels that are separable from the heat source.
[0003] Cooking appliances that are not integrated with a vessel typically
operate in a
constant power mode in which an analog or digital control system modulates the
power applied
by the heating element.
[0004] However, cooking vessels have recently been commercialized that,
while not
integrated with heating elements, can transmit the current temperature to a
controller, and the
controller can modulate the output of the heating element to control the
temperature to a
predetermined value.
[0005] The controller may be integrated into the appliance and directly
modulate the power to the
heating element. In such appliances, there is a need to select the pre-
determined temperature as
well as operate, in the alternative, a control mode of the heat source merely
providing a constant
output that is preselected.
[0006] It has been proposed that various appliances have control knobs that
can be rotated to select
a temperature or power level, and then on a display on the knob, indicate the
power level or
temperature.
[0007] While consumers are used to following baking recipes in which a
temperature of the oven
is pre-set, recipes for cooking in pots, pans or griddles that are placed on
stove tops typically refer
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to setting a power level and waiting until a transformation of the food stuffs
is apparent, or
otherwise describe setting the power level to give an on-going appearance
change of the food. In
the latter case, a sauce might be set at a power level that causes it to boil
or simmer until a
predetermined time has elapsed, or in the case of a power level, it might be
selected to sear or
brown food quickly until cooked throughout.
[0008] Experienced cooks and chefs cooking familiar food stuffs have
sufficient experience and
judgment to adjust the output level of a power source to provide such a
response in the cookware
vessel being used.
[0009] Less experienced cooks benefit from precise temperature control a the
vessel coupled with
exact timing for the cooking process, based on the recipe size and/or the food
stuff thickness.
However, even experienced chefs and cooks can benefit from a precise control
of temperature Co
obtain wore consistent results day to day, or when using a different range or
cooking vessel. Precise
temperature control and timing also allows all cooks to devote time to other
tasks and avoid the
need to constantly monitor the cooking progress or ensure that the output
level of the heat source
is neither too high or low to provide the expected results.
SUMMARY
[0010] As it is desirable for cooking appliances to allow both modes of
cooking in vessel, that is
by power output control as well as temperature control, there is a need for a
simple, convenient
and reliable method to select between these modes, set the power or
temperature level in the mode
selected, and provide at least one of visual or auditory feedback of the
selection and optionally
reminders thereof.
[0011] In various embodiments, the first object is achieved by providing a
cooking appliance
comprising a platform or support for supporting a cooking vessel. In one
example, the platform
may be horizontal, At least one heat source may be disposed below at least a
portion of the
platform An controller for modifying the output of the heat source may be
provided along with a
control knob to enable a user select a desired operating condition of the
controller. The control
knob may include an electronic display screen that is touch sensitive to
provide a graphic user
interface (GUI). In one example, the electronic display may be provided on a
face of the control
knob. In a further example, the electronic display has a shape corresponding
to a shape of the
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control knob. In an above or another example, the electronic display is
circular. A bezel may
surround the electronic display and be configured to rotate freely about the
electronic display. In
one example, a ring shaped bezel may be configured to rotate freely about a
circular electronic
display. The controller or control knob may be equipped with a sensor
configured to determine
the relative orientation a the bezel. A display controller may be provided and
be configured to be
in signal communication with the sensor to obtain the relative orientation of
the bezel and, in
response thereto, modulate the GUI. The GUI may be configured to display one
or more icons on
display screen. The one or more icons may be responsive to contact of a user
to select an operating
condition of the controller such that the heat source provides one of a
constant power output level
in which the relative orientation of the bezel is operative define the power
output parameter by
selecting an associated value of the constant power output with respect to the
operating condition,
or sufficient power to maintain a predetermined temperature in a cooking
vessel in a constant
temperature operating condition The bezel may be operable to modify a
parameter Of a selected
operating condition. The parameter or value thereof may be displayed on the
GUI. For example,
when the icon for the constant power level is selected, the GUI displays an
indication of the
potential constant power output value in response to the relative orientation
of the bezel set by the
user. When the icon for constant temperature is selected, the GUI displays an
indication of the
relative orientation of the bezel corresponding to a temperature value set by
the user associated
with the relative orientation of the bezel. Thus, the user may use the bezel
to define a parameter
associated with a selected operational condition by rotating the bezel to a
desired value for the
parameter.
[0012] A second aspect is characterized in that the GUI may further be
operative to alternate
between displaying a predetermined temperature and at least one of a word or
abbreviation for a
cooking phase associated with the predetermined temperature.
[0013] A further aspect to any of the above aspects is characterized irk that
the cooking vessel may
include a thermal sensor to measure temperature and a transmitter to transmit
a temperature
measured by the thermal sensor in which the controller has or is in signal
communication with a
receiver that receives the measured temperature from the transmitter. In a
further embodiment, the
controller analyzes the measured temperature and modulates the power output of
the heat source
to obtain or retain a desired or potential constant temperature selected by a
user via the bezel.
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[0014] In one aspect, a cooking appliance includes a heat source, controller,
control knob, and a
display controller. The heat source heat source may be configured to heat a
cooking vessel or
contents of a cooking vessel. The controller may be operable to control output
of the heat source
to conform the output to one or more operating conditions. The control knob is
operable to select
the operating condition of the controller. The control knob may include an
electronic display
screen. At least a portion of the electronic display screen may be touch
sensitive to provide a
graphic user interface (GUI) to interface a user with one or more of the
operations of the control
knob. The GUI may be configured to display one or more icons on the touch
sensitive portion of
the electronic display screen to be responsive to contact of the user.
Contacting one of the one or
more icons by the user selects one of the one or more operating conditions.
The control knob may
also include a bezel and a sensor. The bezel may be positioned around the
electronic display and
be configured to rotate relative to the electronic display when manipulated by
the user to control a
parameter of the selected operating condition. The sensor may be configured to
determine the
relative orientation of the bezel. The display controller may be in signal
communication with the
sensor to obtain the relative orientation of the bezel and modulate the GUI to
display a value for
the parameter of the selected operating condition that corresponds to the
relative orientation of the
bezel,
[0015] In one example, the one or more operating conditions comprise a
constant power output
level in which the controller controls the output of the heat source to output
a level of constant
power and the relative orientation of the bezel is operative to select a value
for the level of constant
power output,
[0016] In the above or another example, the one or more operating conditions
comprise sufficient
power to maintain a predetermined temperature in a cooking vessel positioned
to be heated by the
heat source, and the relative orientation of the bezel is operative to select
a value for the
predetermined temperature. In one configuration, the GUI is further operative
to alternate between
displaying the value for the predetermined temperature and at least one of a
word or abbreviation
for a cooking phase associated with the predetermined temperature. In a
further or another
configuration, the cooking appliance includes the cooking vessel and the
cooking vessel has a
thermal sensor to measure the temperature and a transmitter to transmit a
temperature measured
by the thermal sensor in which the controller has or is in signal
communication with a receiver that
receives the measured temperature from the transmitter.
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[0017] In any of the above or another example, the one or more operating
conditions comprise a
constant power output level and sufficient power to maintain a predetermined
temperature in a
cooking vessel positioned to be heated by the heat source. In one
configuration, when the icon
corresponding to the constant power output level is contacted, the relative
orientation of the bezel
is operative to select a value for the level of constant power output and the
GUI displays an
indication of the constant power output value in response to the relative
orientation of the bezel.
In the above or another configuration, when the icon corresponding to
sufficient power to maintain
a predetermined temperature is selected, the relative orientation of the bezel
is operative to select
a value for the predetermined temperature and the GUI displays an indication
of the predetermined
temperature value in response to the relative orientation of the bezel. The
GUI may be further
operable to alternate between displaying the value for the predetermined
temperature and at least
one of a word or abbreviation for a cooking phase associated with the
predetermined temperature.
The cooking vessel may have a thermal sensor to measure the temperature and a
transmitter to
transmit a temperature measured by the thermal sensor in which the controller
has or is in signal
communication with a receiver that receives the measured temperature from the
transmitter. When
the icon corresponding to the constant power output level is contacted, the
relative orientation of
the bezel may be operative to select a value for the level of constant power
output and the GUI
may display an indication of the constant power output value in response to
the relative orientation
of the bezel.
[0018] In any of the above or another example, the GUI further displays an
icon for deactivation
of the heat source, and contact with the deactivation icon causes the
controller to deactivate the
heat source.
[0019] In any of the above or another example, the GUI further displays an
icon for activation of
the heat source, and contact with the activation icon causes the controller to
activate the heat
source.
[0020] In any of the above or another example, the heat source comprises a gas
burner, and the
controller is operable to control the output of the heat source by controlling
a valve that modifies
gas flow to the gas burner.
[0021] In any of the above or another example, the heat source comprises a
heat, source powered
by electrical energy and the controller is operable to control the output of
the heat source by
modifying electrical current supplied to the heat source. The heat source
powered by electrical
Date Regue/Date Received 2021-09-15
energy may be selected from one or more of an induction coil, an infrared
light emitting lamp, or
a thermal resistance heating element.
[0022] According to another aspect, a control knob operable to select an
operating condition of a
controller configured to control an output of a heat source of a cooking
appliance includes an
electronic display screen, a bezel, a sensor, and a display controller. At
least a portion of the
electronic display screen may be touch sensitive to provide a graphic user
interface (GUI) to
interface a user with one or more of the operations of the control knob. The
GUI may be configured
to display one or more icons on the touch sensitive portion of the electronic
display screen to be
responsive to contact of the user. Contacting one of the one or more icons by
the user selects one
of the one or more operating conditions. The bezel may be positioned around
the electronic display
and be configured to rotate relative to the electronic display when
manipulated by the user to
control a parameter of the selected operating condition. The sensor may be
configured to determine
the relative orientation of the bezel. The display controller may be in signal
communication with
the sensor to obtain the relative orientation of the bezel and modulate the
GUI to display a value
for the parameter of the selected operating condition that corresponds to the
relative orientation of
the bezel. The one or more operating conditions may include a constant power
output level, and
sufficient power to maintain a predetermined temperature in a cooking vessel
positioned to be
heated by the heat source, When the icon corresponding to the constant power
output level is
contacted, the relative orientation of the bezel is operative to select a
value for the level of constant
power output and the GUI displays an indication of the constant power output
value in response
to the relative orientation of the bezel. When the icon cot-responding to
sufficient power to maintain
a predetermined temperature is selected, the relative orientation of the bezel
is operative to select
a value for the predetermined temperature and the GUI displays an indication
of the predetermined
temperature value in response to the relative orientation of the bezel.
[0023] The above and other objects, effects, features, and advantages of the
present disclosure will
become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments thereof
taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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[0024] PIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a cooking system that includes
the cooking
appliance.
[0025] FIG. 2A is a schematic front elevation view of the control knob showing
the GUI on the
electronic display in a first state.
[0026] FIG. 213 is a schematic side elevation view of the control knob.
[0027] FIG. 2C is a schematic front elevation view of the control knob showing
the GUI on the
electronic display in another state.
[0028] FIG. 2D is a schematic front elevation view of the control knob showing
the GUI on the
electronic display in another state.
[0029] FIG. 3A is a schematic front elevation view of the control knob showing
the GUI on the
electronic display in another state.
[0030] FIG. 3B is a schematic front elevation view of the control knob showing
the GUI on the
electronic display in an alternative to the state in FIG, 3A.
[0031] FIG. 3C is a schematic front elevation view of the control knob showing
the GUI on the
electronic display in another state.
[0032] FIG. 30 is a schematic front elevation view of the control knob showing
the GUI on the
electronic display in an alternative to the state in FIG. 3C.
DESCRIPTION
[0033] Referring to FIGS. I-3D, wherein like reference numerals refer to like
components in the
various views, there is illustrated therein a new and improved Cooking
Appliance and Control
Knob with Integrated Display, generally denominated 100 herein.
[0034] In accordance with the present disclosure, the cooking appliance 1000
deploys a control
knob 100 that comprises a bezel 110 and an electronic display 120,
[00351 The cooking appliance 1000 also has a platform 112 for supporting a
cooking vessel,
neither which is illustrated other than symbolically in FIG. 1. The platform
112 will typically be
horizontal. Further, in some embodiments, the cooking appliance 1000 may be
equipped with a
heat source 105, such as a gas burner, that provides the cooking heat, and
which is typically
disposed beneath the platform 112. In some embodiments, the cooking appliance
1000 may include
additional or other heat sources 105 in addition to or instead of a gas
burner, For example, the beat
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source 105 may be via electrical energy, such as induction coils, an infrared
light emitting lamp,
or a thermal resistance heating element that provides heating output to the
vessel, which may be
direct by applying heat to or generating heat in the vessel or its contents or
indirect by applying
heat to or generating heat in the platform 112. . The cooking appliance may
also include a
controller 140. The controller 140 may be in signal communication with the
heat source 105 and
be operable to regulate the amount of heating power, e.g., fuel or electric
current, supplied to the
heat source or otherwise modulate the heating output of the heat source. For
example, the controller
140 may be configured to regulation the amount of gas supplied to a gas burner
heat source 105,
or in the case of electronic or electric heat sources 105, the amount of
electrical current supplied
to the heat source 105.
[0036] The control knob 100 may be operable to inteiface the user with the
operating conditions
of the controller 140, which may include parameters or values of such
parameter with respect to
the operating conditions. For example, the control knob 100 may be configured
to allow users to
select the operating conditions of the controller 140 and define one or more
parameters associated
with the operating condition.
[0037] In certain embodiments, described further below, the control knob 100
may be configured
to allow the user to energize the heat source 105 to provide a constant level
of power for cooking
according to a selected operational condition. In some embodiments, control
knob 100 may be
further operable to allow the user to control the power level parameter of the
operating condition
by setting a value for the desired power level.
[0038] In the case of using cookware vessels that can measure the temperature
of either the food
in the vessel or the interior cooking surface, the controller 140 may be
configured to be operative
to regulate the heating power to the heat source 105 to obtain a predetermined
and desired
temperature value. In some embodiments, control knob 100 may be further
operable to allow the
user to control a temperature parameter of the operating condition by setting
a value for the
predetermined or desired temperature,
[0039] As shown in FIG. I, such a vessel may also have a thermal sensor or
probe for inserting in
the vessel content, which is connected to a transmitter (Tx) that sends the
measured temperature
to a receiver (Rx) that is in signal communication with the controller 140. In
some embodiments,
the controller 140 may be (or may include or may utilize) a proportional-
integral-derivative (ND)
controller to control cooking temperatures. Examples of such a PID controller
are described in
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Date Regue/Date Received 2021-09-15
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0070756 entitled "Adaptive
Thermal Control For a
Cooking System".
[0040] To interface the operations of the controller 140 to the user via the
control knob 100, the
control knob 100 may include various user interface features. For example, the
control knob 100
may include one or more user interface features integrated or associated with
a graphical display
120 to provide a graphical user interface. In some embodiments, a user
interface may incorporate
tactile or haptic interfacing elements, such as a selectable or otherwise
interactive button, icon, or
indicator, such as a tactile switch, rotatable bezel, wheel, or toggle, or a
touch screen or touch
sensitive technology such as capacitance sensors, presence sensors, pressure
sensors, optical
sensors, or vibration sensors, which the user may touch and/or actuate to
provide control
instructions to the controller 140 via interaction with the control knob 100.
For example, the
control knob 100 may include a user interface incorporating a physical or
virtual bezel around the
control knob 100 that a user may touch or turn to provide control instructions
to the controller 140
via interaction with the control knob 100. A display for a graphical user
interface may be located
along one or more surfaces or areas of the control knob 100. For example, a
display may be
provided around or along a perimeter or face of the control knob 100. The
display may be shaped
to correspond to a shape or profile of the control knob 100, or may have a
different shape. Icons
may be displayed on the display and a user may touch or interact with the icon
to provide control
instructions.
[0041] In the illustrated embodiment, the control knob 100 includes multiple
user interface
elements to assist the user in providing control instructions. The control
knob 100 includes an
electronic display screen 120 that is touch sensitive to provide a graphic
user interface (GUI) 121.
The electronic display screen 120 is shown in the center of the control knob
100 in the illustrated
embodiment and has a circular shape, which corresponds to the profile of the
control knob 100. A
bezel 110 surrounds the circular electronic display 120 and is configured to
rotate freely about the
electronic display 120 in response to interaction by a user. The control knob
100 also comprises a
sensor 150 that determines the relative rotational position of the bezel 110.
The sensor 150 is
optionally a rotary encoder.
[0042] The sensor 150 in turn is in signal communication with a display
controller 160. The
display controller 160 may use memory or a logic device, such as a
microprocessor, to determine
what information should be displayed on the electronic display 120, and the
area on the display
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that when contacted by the user provides characteristic signal for setting
other display conditions
or operating characteristics of the appliance 1000. Hence, the display
controller 160 may also
receive input from a capacitive touchscreen or resistive touchscreen of the
electronic display 120.
The inputs to the display controller 160 may be provided when a user contacts
specific icons,
identified generally as icons 170, that are displayed on the GUI 121 of the
electronic display 120.
In various embodiments, an icon may be selected to select an operational
condition and the bezel
110 may be manipulated to define an associated parameter or value thereof for
the selected
operational condition. Accordingly, in operation, the display controller 160
is in signal
communication with the sensor 150 to obtain the relative orientation of the
bezel 110 and,
depending on the mode selected by the touch screen of the display 120,
provides a different mode
to modifying the heat source 105 output.
[0043] In response to the rotational position of the bezel 110, the display
controller 160 is
configured to modulate the GUI 121, in which the GUI 121 is capable of
displaying one or more
icons 170 on the GUI 121 wherein the one or more icons 170 are responsive to
contact of a user
to select an operating condition of the display controller 160. The display
controller 160 may store
the icon configuration and logic in a memory that is part of or in
communication with a
microprocessor of the controller 160. It is to be appreciated modifying,
changing, or reassigning
the operations of the icons and bezel are within the scope of the present
disclosure.
[0044] The operating conditions of the display controller 160 are optionally
for the heat source
105 to be operated at a constant power output level in which the relative
orientation of the bezel
120 is operative to define the constant power output parameter by selecting a
desired value of the
constant power output. In an alternative operating mode of the controller 140,
the heat source 105
is supplied with sufficient power to maintain a predetermined temperature in
the cooking vessel
that is disposed on the support platform 112. In this mode, the relative
orientation of the bezel 110
is operative to select the predetermined temperature by the user rotating the
bezel 100 while the
temperature associated with the current orientation is displayed on the
electronic display 120.
Hence, the user may simply rotate the bezel 110 until the display 120 provides
the desired
temperature. Various icons 170 that are part of the graphic user interface
121, such as icons 171-
173, may be selected by the user to alternate between these modes of
operation, or when the
desired temperature is selected by the rotation of the bezel 110, to energize
the heat source 105 so
that the internal temperature of a food item cooked or the cookware vessel
itself reaches this
Date Regue/Date Received 2021-09-15
temperature. If the user desires to operate at a constant power output level,
they may first preselect
the appropriate icon 172 (the outline of a flame) on the display 120, at which
point the display 120
may transition to indicate a power level between, for example, 0 and 10 to
represent no power and
hundred percent of the available power. The user may then rotate the bezel 110
until the display
120 changes to the desired power level, say, for example, a power level of
seven. The user may
then activate another icon 170 to energize the heat source 105 via the
controller 140 to provide this
level of power. The icon to energize the power source may be a power icon 170,
such as a circle
or X icon that is used for deactivation in the illustrated example, or may be
similar or the same to
the flame icon 172 representing constant power. In some instances, the icon
170 used to select the
mode may be presented for activating heating power before or after setting a
desired parameter,
such as temperature or constant power. The GUI 120 may modify the icon 170
appearance to
indicate heating power is activated or not activated, such as by illuminating
one or more portions
of the icon 170, modifying illumination areas or colors of the icon 170, or
addition or removal of
elements of the icon 170. When the icon 170 for the controller 140 to maintain
a predetermined
temperature is selected, such as icon 171, the GUI 121 displays an indication
of the value for the
potential constant temperature parameter in response to the relative
orientation of the bezel 110.
[0045] In preferred embodiments the cooking vessel may have a thermal sensor
to measure the
temperature and a transmitter to transmit a temperature measured by the
thermal sensor to the
controller 140 via the receiver. Examples of cooking vessels and devices that
include thermal
sensors and transmitters are described in U.S. Patent No. 10,499,759 entitled
"Cooking Vessel
with a Thermal Sensor", U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0238751
entitled
"Wirelessly Controlled Cooking System", U.S. Patent Application Publication
No. 2018/0242772
entitled "Cooking System with Error Detection", and U.S. Patent Application
Publication No.
2019/0125120 entitled "Cooking System for Tracking a Cooking Device".
[0046] FIGS. 2A - 2D illustrate the control knob 100 in different views to
show the bezel 110 and
various icons 170 -173 that may be illustrated for different modes of
operation on the display 120.
In FIG. 2A the display 120 has a GUI icon 173 "X" to allow user to de-energize
the heat source
105 of the cooking appliance 1000, as well as another icon 171 of a
thermometer allowing the user
to select the constant temperature mode. The third icon 172 is a flame to
select the constant power
mode. In FIG. 2C the display 120 has changed state to provide only the flame
icon 172 and the
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"X" icon 173 to allow the user to de-energize the heat source 105, such as by
restricting the flow
of gas to a burner. In FIG. 2D there is an arc -shaped bar graph 180 as well
as a numerical
representation 181 of the temperature (which can be selected to be in
Centigrade ur Fahrenheit)
that is selectable by the bezel 110 orientation. The bar graph 180 may change
gradually from one
side to the other wherein the angular position from the left or right
corresponds with temperature,
or it may simply change color to represent when the setpoint temperature
selected with the bezel
110 has been reached.
[0047) FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate alternative settings or information conveyed by
the display 120 in
the temperature control mode. An optional mode of operation is when, for
example, the bezel 110
position has been selected to achieve a temperature of 400 F the display 120
may alternate
between the graphical user interface 121 shown in FIG. 3B where temperature
value "400' .F" is
displayed, versus the display mode in FIG. 3A where the word "SEAR" is
displayed in region 182.
Displaying the word "SEAR" is to remind the user that at 400 F, foods are
being seared such as to
develop a brown crust. FIG. 3C and FIG. 3D illustrate an alternative example,
when the display
120 can be configured to alternate between the words "SIMMR", to remind the
user the current
temperature setting will result in the food simmering, at 200 F, that is
being maintained at a
temperature just below the boiling point. The alternative display modes allow
a user to follow
cooking recipes and instructions that do not provide specific temperature, or
cook from knowledge
of past experience where they understand intuitively the type of food
transformation process they
are achieving, but not an optimum temperature for it.
[0048] While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred
embodiment, it is
not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set
forth, but on the contrary,
it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as
may be within the spirit
and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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