The invention relates to an induction hob comprising: a hob plate (2); two or more induction coils (3) arranged below the hob plate in order to form heating zones (4) at the hob plate (2); one or more pot detection sensors (5), the pot detection sensors (5) being at least partially placed between a pair of adjacent induction coils (3); wherein the pot detection sensor (5) is a strip-shaped sensor extending in a space between said pair of adjacent induction coils (3) and the pot detection sensor (5) is coupled with an evaluation unit (8) adapted to determine information regarding the coverage of the pot detection sensor (5).

An induction heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present specification comprises a main control circuit for adjusting the capacitance of the variable capacitor circuit according to a driving mode of the inverter circuit determined on the basis of a load resistance value of a container placed on the working coil and adjusting the magnitude of the direct current link voltage according to a final voltage value calculated on the basis of an equivalent resistance value of the container and the working coil and a required power value for the working coil.

A temperature-regulating unit includes a base, a thermal element, a contactless sensing assembly, and a controller. The base is configured to support at least one of a pan or a food product. The thermal element is positioned to thermally regulate the at least one of the pan or the food product. The contactless sensing assembly is positioned to acquire sensor data regarding the at least one of the pan or the food product. The controller is configured to receive the sensor data from the contactless sensing assembly and adaptively control the thermal element based on the sensor data.

A cooktop appliance includes a cooktop panel defining a cooktop surface and an aperture defined through the cooktop surface. A heating element is positioned below the cooktop panel for selectively heating a cooking utensil placed on the cooktop surface and a temperature sensing assembly is configured for monitoring the temperature of the cooking utensil, e.g., to facilitate a closed loop cooking process. The temperature sensing assembly includes a temperature sensor slidably mounted within the aperture of the cooktop panel and a drive member operably coupled to the temperature sensor for selectively moving the temperature sensor between the extended position and the retracted position.

A method for communication between a cooking utensil and an induction cooktop, includes: a step of arrangement of a cooking utensil on an element of the induction cooktop, a step of generation of a magnetic flux by the element on which the cooking utensil is arranged, a pairing request step including a sending of at least one pairing request frame by the communication module of the cooking utensil or the sending of at least one corresponding pairing request frame by the communication device of the induction cooktop, a step of listening by the communication device of the induction cooktop or, if applicable, by the communication module of the cooking utensil, the listening step including reception of the at least one pairing request frame or, if applicable, of the at least one corresponding pairing request frame, a pairing step between the cooking utensil and the induction cooktop including an exchange of information.

A method for estimating a temperature measurement of an item of cookware being heated is provided. The method includes (1) placing a cookware item containing water, on a cooking plate; (2) powering an electric heating circuit with a first power for a first time interval to heat the cookware item as far as the water contained therein boils, wherein said first time interval is determined so as said temperature sensor senses a first steady state temperature value; (3) powering said electric heating circuit with a second power for a second time interval to heat the cookware item to keep boiling the water contained therein, wherein said second time interval is determined so as said temperature sensor attains a second steady state temperature value; and (4) determining, as a function of said first steady state temperature value and of said second steady state temperature value, an induction cooktop gain.

An induction well includes a tank configured to store a substance, a first induction coil positioned around a first portion of the tank, a second induction coil positioned around a second portion of the tank, and a single power inverter coupled in parallel with the first induction coil and the second induction coil.

An induction cooktop includes a ceramic cooking surface in connection with a housing. A plurality of inductors is disposed in the housing and each of the inductors is in communication with a controller. The controller is configured to selectively activate each of the inductors in response to an input received at the user interface identifying an active inductor of the plurality of inductors to activate. The controller is further configured to detect a presence of a pan proximate the active inductor in response to a detection signal and identify a small pan condition in response to a phase angle detected for the active inductor of the plurality of inductors.

A method for operating a cooking system includes: providing at least one cooking hob device, at least one kitchen utensil, and at least one evaluation device, the cooking hob device including at least one placement surface on which to place kitchen utensils and at least one generator device having at least two induction devices for heating the kitchen utensil placed on the placement surface, and the kitchen utensil being heatable by at least one induction device; assigning at least one transmitting device to each of the at least two induction devices of the cooking hob device, the kitchen utensil including at least one receiving device, each transmitting device of the at least one transmitting device emitting at least one electromagnetic signal, at least intermittently, which signal is received by the receiving device of the kitchen utensil when the kitchen utensil is heated by the corresponding induction device.

An induction heating device includes an induction heating circuit, a sensor configured to measure current applied to the induction heating circuit, and a controller. The controller includes: a switch driving unit configured to control operation of an inverter unit and to allow a resonance of the current, a container sensing unit, and a control unit. The container sensing unit is configured to: convert a first current value before the resonance into a first voltage value; control the switch driving unit to charge a working coil; compare the first voltage value with a resonance reference value; convert a second current value after the resonance into a second voltage value; generate one or more output pulses; and compare the second voltage value with a count reference value. The control unit is configured to determine whether an object is present on the working coil based on the one or more output pulses.