A hob device includes a power supply unit, a receiving unit configured to receive an item of information, and a control unit configured to control the power supply unit in an operating state and to access the receiving unit. The control unit is configured to deactivate the power supply unit in the operating state for an inactivity time interval and to access the receiving unit during the inactivity time interval.

The present invention relates to an induction cooking hob (10) including at least one cooking area (12), wherein the cooking area (12) comprises at least three induction coils (14). The induction coils (14) of at least one cooking area (12) are arranged side-by-side and in series. Each induction coil (14) of at least one cooking area (12) has an elongated shape. The longitudinal axes of the induction coils (14) within one cooking area (12) are arranged in parallel. Each induction coil (14) of the cooking area (12) is associated with a dedicated induction generator (16). The induction generators (16) are connected or connectable to at least one current line (18). The induction generators (16) are connected to and controlled or controllable by at least one control unit (20). Requested powers (rP) for each used induction generator (16) are adjusted or adjustable independent from each other by a user interface (22). Instant powers (iP) of the induction generators (16) within a cycle pattern (T1, T2, . . . , T11) are controlled or controllable independent from each other by the control unit (20). Further, the present invention relates to a method for controlling a cooking area.

The invention relates to a method for operating an induction hob (1), the induction hob (1) comprising a power circuit portion (2) with at least one switching element adapted to provide pulsed electric power to an induction coil (3) and a control entity (4) for controlling operating parameters of the switching element, the method comprising the steps of: performing a control loop with control cycles in order to detect coupling changes between the induction coil (3) and a piece of cookware, said control cycles comprising the steps of: o receiving frequency information (f.sub.curr) and power information (P.sub.curr) at said control entity (4); o calculating at least one relation coefficient (Ds′, Ds″) based on said frequency information (f.sub.curr) and said power information (P.sub.curr); and o comparing said relation coefficient (Ds′, Ds″) with a relation coefficient boundary, thereby de-riving a comparison result; deciding, based on the comparison result, whether to: o perform a new control cycle of said control loop or whether to o stop said control loop and said provision of pulsed electric power to the induction coil (3) and re-start said control loop after updating an operating parameter of the switching element.

An induction cooker according to the present invention includes: a plurality of heating coils aligned in one row on a same plane; and a controller. The controller is configured to, when a heating target is placed over adjacent two or more of the plurality of heating coils, supply electric power to at least one, but not all, of the two or more adjacent ones of the plurality of heating coils and change, over time, the heating coils to which the power is supplied.

A cooking apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, technology for determining the type of vessel placed in the cooking apparatus and controlling power in response to a state change of the placed vessel or a temperature change of a coil. In accordance with one aspect, a cooking apparatus includes: a coil on which a vessel is placed, configured to form a magnetic field upon application of a current; a detection sensor configured to detect a magnitude of an input current applied differently according to a type of the vessel and a magnitude of an input voltage of the cooking apparatus; and a controller configured to determine a type of the placed vessel according to a power value calculated based on the detected input current and input voltage, and to determine a heating mode of the cooking apparatus based on the determined type of vessel.

The present invention relates to an induction cooking hob (10) including at least one cooking area (12), wherein the cooking area (12) comprises at least three induction coils (14). The induction coils (14) of at least one cooking area (12) are arranged side-by-side and in series. Each induction coil (14) of at least one cooking area (12) has an elongated shape. The longitudinal axes of the induction coils (14) within one cooking area (12) are arranged in parallel. Each induction coil (14) of 10 the cooking area (12) is associated with a dedicated induction generator (16). The induction generators (16) are connected or connectable to at least one current line (18). The induction generators (16) are connected to and controlled or controllable by at least one control unit (20). Requested powers (rP) for each used induction generator (16) are adjusted or adjustable independent from each other by a user interface (22). Instant powers (iP) of the induction generators (16) within a cycle pattern (T1, T2, . . . , T11) are controlled or controllable independent from each other by the control unit (20). Further, the present invention relates to a method for controlling a cooking area.

The invention relates to a cooking hob comprising at least one heating power transferring element (2) including multiple concentrically arranged windings (2.1-2.n), one or more heating power energy units (3.1-3.n) for powering said windings (2.1-2.n) of the heating power transferring element (2) and a control unit (4) configured to control said one or more heating power energy units (3.1-3.n), wherein the cooking hob (1) comprises detection means configured to determine the coverage of the windings (2.1-2.n) of the heating power transferring element (1) by a cookware item (5), wherein the control unit (4) is configured to balance the heat provided to the cookware item (5) by determining a rescaled electric power for the windings (2.1-2.n) of the heating power transferring element (2) based on power requests and information regarding the coverage of the windings (2.1-2.n) and to establish an operating cycle by determining a duty cycle for one or more windings (2.1-2.n) of the heating power transferring element (2), said duty cycle defining the activation time of the respective winding (2.1-2.n), wherein the duty cycle is chosen such that the mean electric power provided to the respective winding (2.1-2.n) within the operating cycle is equal or essentially equal to the rescaled electric power associated with said winding (2.1-2.n).

A stovetop assembly where on/off status of a burner is controlled, at least in part, based upon whether the body of a cookware vessel is: (i) placed on a burner to complete an electrical circuit (for example direct current conductive circuit) or magnetic circuit; or (ii) removed from the burner to break the electrical or magnetic circuit. Also, a control box with a tether line extending therefrom that controls on/off status of a burner based, at least in part, upon whether a clip at a distal end of the tether line is mechanically connected to a cookware vessel.

In an induction cooker according to the present invention, when a heating target placed above a first coil is formed of a magnetic material, a heating target placed above a second coil is formed of a magnetic material or a composite containing a magnetic material and a non-magnetic material, and a heating target placed above a third coil is formed of a non-magnetic material, an operation of a first inverter circuit is stopped, a second inverter circuit and a third inverter circuit are caused to operate, and a frequency of a third high-frequency current is set to be higher than a frequency of a second high-frequency current.

An induction heating cooking apparatus includes a plurality of heating coils aligned in at least one row on a flat surface, a plurality of inverter circuits each configured to supply a high-frequency current to the corresponding one of the plurality of heating coils, and a controller configured to control driving of the plurality of inverter circuits. The plurality of heating coils include a first heating coil and a second heating coil that are adjacent to each other. The controller is configured to, when a material forming a heating target loaded on an upper part of the first heating coil is a magnetic material, and a material forming the heating target loaded on an upper part of the second heating coil at least includes a nonmagnetic material, set a frequency of the high-frequency current supplied to the second heating coil higher than a frequency of the high-frequency current supplied to the first heating coil.