A hob apparatus includes a sensor unit configured to detect a sensor signal, an electronic signal processing unit configured to further process and/or analyze the sensor signal, and a printed circuit board, on which the sensor unit and the signal processing unit are arranged together.

A method for automatically correlating at least one cooktop utensil with at least one cooking zone of an inductive cooktop having a plurality of cooking zones which are inductively heated by at least one respective heating coil, includes: providing the cooktop with a cooktop controller configured to drive the heating coils with a correlation signal; providing the at least one cooktop utensil with an induction coil inductively couplable with the heating coils of the cooktop and a transmitter unit; supplying the transmitter unit with an operation power when a voltage is induced by at least one of the heating coils into the induction coil of the cooktop utensil that is placed on the cooking zone associated with this heating coil; transmitting, by the transmitter unit of the cooktop utensil, by the operating power, a response signal that identifies the cooktop utensil and correlates with the induced correlation signal.

A method for calibrating an induction cooking device includes capturing image data representing a cooking vessel and processing the image data to identify one or more features. The method further includes comparing the image data representing the cooking vessel to a library of stored image data of calibrated cookware. In response to identifying stored image data in the library that matches the one or more features, the method accesses preconfigured calibration data and configures the operation of the induction cooking device based on the preconfigured calibration data.

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.

An induction cooktop that includes a first main switch and a second main switch configured to be operated by a control unit to selectively connect a first induction heater and a second induction heater, to a switching converter for selectively energizing the first induction heater and/or the second induction heater; wherein the control unit is configured (i) to sense an electric parameter regarding the first induction heater in a first resonant circuit, when the first induction heater is not fed from the switching converter and a first auxiliary switch closes the first resonant circuit in such a way that the at least resonant capacitor assembly is connected to the first induction heater by means of the first auxiliary switch and a damped oscillation occurs between them; (ii) to sense an electric parameter regarding the second induction heater in a second resonant circuit when the second induction heater is not fed from the switching converter and the second auxiliary switch closes the second resonant circuit in such a way that the at least resonant capacitor assembly is connected to the second induction heater by means of the second auxiliary switch and a damped oscillation occurs between them; and (iii) to detect the presence of a pan on the cooktop on the basis of the sensed electric parameter.

In a method for a cooktop, in particular for producing and/or operating the cooktop, which has at least one variable cooking surface, the cooking surface is partitioned in an operating mode along a partitioning direction into a plurality of heating zones to which at least one heating parameter is assigned in each case in a location-dependent manner in order to heat a cooking utensil that is deposited on the heating zone. In order to ensure flexible production and/or flexible operation of the cooktop, during partitioning of the cooking surface into the heating zones in at least one peripheral region of the cooking surface, at least one cooking utensil characteristic is taken into account.

A heating device includes a resonant circuit, a detection unit and a control unit. The resonant circuit includes an inverter circuit and a resonant tank. The inverter circuit provides a resonant tank current and a resonant tank voltage. The resonant tank includes a heating coil, a resonant tank capacitor, a resonant tank equivalent inductor and a resonant tank equivalent impedance. The detection unit detects the resonant tank current and the resonant tank voltage to acquire associated parameters. The detection unit calculates an inductance of the resonant tank equivalent inductor according to a capacitance of the resonant tank capacitor, a resonant period and a first expression. The detection unit calculates an impedance value of the resonant tank equivalent impedance according to the inductance of the resonant tank equivalent inductor, a time difference, the resonant period, a reference current value, a negative peak current value and a second expression.

An induction heating device according to an embodiment includes a rectifying circuit configured to rectify an AC voltage supplied from a power supply, a smoothing circuit configured to smooth a voltage output from the rectifying circuit, an inverter comprising a plurality of switches and configured to supply current to a working coil, a shunt resistor coupled between the smoothing circuit and the inverter, a drive circuit configured to supply switching signals to the plurality of switches provided in the inverter, respectively, and a controller configured to determine a driving frequency of the inverter and drive the working coil by supplying a control signal based on the driving frequency to the driving circuit.

An induction heating device according to an embodiment includes an inverter configured to supply an AC current to a working coil and includes a plurality of switches; a drive circuit configured to supply a switching signal for a switching operation of the plurality of switches to the inverter; and a controller configured to control driving of the working coil by supplying a control signal corresponding to a required power value of the working coil to the drive circuit. The controller may drive the working coil based on the required power value, receive a resonance current value of the working coil when the working coil is driven, calculate a container efficiency index based on an output power value of the working coil, the required power value, the resonance current value and a preset limit current value, and control the driving of the working coil based on the container efficiency index.

In order to detect on an induction cooktop whether a cooking vessel with an integrated controller or smart functionality is arranged over an induction heating coil, the induction heating coils emit a short individual code. The latter can be detected and evaluated by the cooking vessel such that the cooking vessel emits a signal corresponding to this code which is received by an external operating means or the induction cooktop to locally associate this cooking vessel with this induction heating coil. Transmission or transfer of energy as a code proceeds at a frequency of at least 50 kHz, wherein a code has a plurality of pulse sequences, each of which has at least two pulses.