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.

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.

A cooking appliance may include a holder disposed in an induction heating element provided below a cover plate, and a supporter disposed inside the holder that supports a sensor inserted into the holder to contact the sensor to the cover plate.

Temperature measurement systems (20) include a temperature sensor (22) and an electronic signal interrogator (24). The temperature sensor (22) has a transponder (26) equipped with an antenna (28), and a separate parasitic antenna (32) with a temperature-sensitive transducer (34, 68-74, 78a-84a), while the interrogator (24) has a transmitter (42) and antenna (40). The sensor (22) is designed to be placed in thermal contact with an object to be temperature-measured, with the interrogator (24) placed in proximity to the object. The systems (20) may be used with food servingware domes (88, 114), which can be preheated and placed over a food-bearing plate to maintain the temperature of the food.

A hob device, in particular an induction hob device, includes a variable cooking surface, a user interface and a control unit which in the presence of a heating type divides the cooking surface into a plurality of heating zones in at least one dividing direction, associates heating parameter to each of the heating zones, in a manner dependent on location, for heating at least one cooking pot placed on the heating zone, and forms a cooking zone that is associated with the cooking pot and is heated using the heating parameter. In the event of a request of the heating type for the cooking pot, the control unit is provided to wait for at least one operating action by a user by way of the user interface.

A heating cooker includes a top plate on which a container that accommodates an object to be heated is placed, a heater that heats the container placed on the top plate from below, and a projector that is at least partly disposed below the top plate and that projects an image diagonally upward.