In order to provide an induction heating cooking device in which a supporting configuration of a heating coil unit is simple and can be easily assembled, and which can accurately and constantly maintain a distance between a top plate and heating coils, opposite side surfaces of a framework laid out below the top plate are configured to have first vertical parts, first horizontal parts, and second vertical parts. A heating coil supporting member that supports the heating coils is disposed to be bridged between the first horizontal parts of the opposite side surfaces of the framework, and the heating coil unit having the heating coil is configured to be securely supported by the first horizontal parts.

An induction cooking apparatus that includes a plate that is configured to accommodate a cooking vessel; a first coil that is located under the plate; a second coil that is located under the plate and adjacent to the first coil; and a temperature detector that is located on the plate and that includes: a resistor element having a resistance value that is changed based on a temperature of the cooking vessel that is inductively heated by the second coil is disclosed.

A multi-sensored smart cooking apparatus includes a setting module for setting at least one of a cooking time and a cooking temperature, a sensing module comprising at least one of a temperature sensor, a weight sensor, and a water level sensor, a controller coupled to the setting module and the sensing module, a cooking module coupled to the sensing module and the controller, where the controller is configured to adjust at least one of the cooking time and the cooking temperature in response to one or more sensed signals from the sensing module. The multi-sensored smart cooking apparatus is configured to turn off, when a sensed temperature of the cooking module is above a temperature threshold, when a sensed weight on the cooking module is below a weight threshold, or when a sensed water level is below a water level threshold.

An automated cooking system is disclosed which includes a wok for receiving food and heat, a stirrer capable of making swing and rotating motions in the wok, a sensor placed in the wok for measuring ambient data, a base unit housing a heating element for heating up the wok, the base unit also housing a controller for operating the heating element, the stirrer's swing and rotating motions and the sensor, and a computing device physically separated from the base unit yet signally coupled to the controller, the computing device storing a recipe which instructs the computing device to obtain the ambient data from and send operating commands to the controller.

An induction heating apparatus includes a coil driver configured to have a plurality of selectable resonant frequencies, and a controller configured to control the coil driver. The coil driver drives a coil according to a control signal from the controller.

A burner element for a cooktop includes a heat source for providing heat to a cooking zone positioned above the heat source and an automatic thermostat switch in communication with the cooking zone and the heat source. The automatic thermostat switch senses an actual temperature of the cooking zone, and when the actual temperature reaches a predetermined maximum temperature the automatic thermostat switch moves to an open position defined by the automatic thermostat switch at least partially impeding the heat source. The open position of the automatic thermostat switch is further defined by a decrease in the actual temperature of the cooking zone from approximately the predetermined maximum temperature to a control temperature. When the actual temperature of the cooking zone reaches the control temperature the automatic thermostat switch defines a closed position, wherein the automatic thermostat switch is substantially free of impeding the heat source.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, a wireless communication used in a kitchen environment can be supervised and improved as a consequence of the supervision and indication. A sensor device (350) that communicates with a household appliance e.g. a kitchen hob (300) via a wireless communication line (360) can be used for automated cooking processes, and the kitchen hob (100) comprises an indicator (480) to indicate the received signal strength of a wireless signal. A receiver (485) can be used to generate signal strength information for the indicator (480). A user is readily informed and can take corrective measures, once no proper wireless signal is available. Also, a feedback to a user can be given at the sensor device (350) by light or vibrating signals in order to take corrective measures.

There is provided a placement position determining part that calculates a rising gradient of an output value of the infrared sensor every after passage of a first predetermined time and performs a placement position determining operation of determining that a placement position of a cooking vessel is improper when the rising gradient is smaller than a first threshold value, and the placement position determining part performs the placement position determining operation after a lapse of a second predetermined time from the start of heating, thereby accurately determining that the cooking vessel is improperly placed on a top plate and preventing overheating of the cooking vessel.

A device for heating an object adapted to be heated by magnetic induction and comprising a thermally insulating spacer to be placed between the heat-retaining object and a support. The device also includes a control and induction heating unit, which includes an inductor, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the support, and an inductor control unit connected to the temperature sensor for controlling the inductor, such that the electromagnetic field is induced according to the readings from the sensor. The inductor control unit limits the magnitude of the electromagnetic field when the detected temperature reaches a predetermined threshold lower than a degradation temperature of the support.

A method for controlling an induction heating apparatus comprises receiving a power level for a heating region, supplying a switching signal to an inverter circuit based on a predetermined reference frequency, measuring an output current value of the inverter circuit, measuring a DC link voltage value, calculating an output power value of the working coil based on the output current value of the inverter circuit and the DC link voltage value, determining a heating frequency of the inverter circuit based the result of comparison by comparing the output power value of the working coil with a required power value, and supplying a switching signal to the inverter circuit based on the heating frequency.