An oven appliance may include a cabinet, a plurality of chamber walls, a cooking surface, a top heating element, a temperature sensor, and a controller. The cooking surface may be defined in a cooking chamber. The top heating element may be mounted above the cooking surface to heat the cooking chamber. The temperature sensor may be disposed within the cabinet. The controller may be configured to initiate a cooking operation that includes initiating preheat activation of the top heating element, receiving temperature signals from the temperature sensor during the preheat activation, determining a preheat threshold is met based on the received temperature signals, and initiating cooking activation of the top heating element based on a cooking cycle having a predetermined time interval subsequent to determining the preheat threshold is met. Initiating cooking activation may include directing the top heating element based on the cooking cycle for the predetermined time interval.

Provided is an infrared heating cooker enabling a user's desired second cooking pan to be mounted on an upper surface of a first cooking pan, such that food can be cooked on the second cooking pan. The infrared heating cooker includes: a lower body; an upper body; an upper heating element provided at the upper body; a first cooking pan provided on the upper surface of the lower body, including a separation prevention unit at predetermined intervals along the edge of the upper surface thereof, and capable of transferring heat obtained from the upper heating element to the upper side thereof; and a second cooking pan mounted on the upper surface of the first cooking pan while being detachably provided at the separation prevention unit of the first cooking pan, such that food can be cooked by receiving heat from the upper heating element provided inside the upper body.

A toaster oven includes a housing having an internal heating compartment, at least one heating element within the internal heating compartment, a vent associated with at least one wall of the internal heating compartment, the vent being moveable between an open position where air is permitted to pass into the internal heating compartment through the vent, and a closed position where passage of air into the internal heating compartment through the vent is inhibited. The vent is configured to move from the closed position to the open position in response to a biasing force exerted by a food support tray received within the internal heating compartment.

The present invention relates to a control unit for a household appliance, in particular for a cooking appliance (1). The control unit comprises at least one input/output device (UI) for the entry of control commands and for the visualisation of information, particularly status information, and at least one control element (S1, S2, S3, S4) comprising a plurality of touch-sensitive switching elements positioned in a straightlined arrangement. At least a part of the input/output device (UI) is touch-sensitive and/or formed as a touch screen. The control element (S1, S2, S3, S4) is adapted to assign a power level to an electrical load depending on the activated switching element. At least one first special function, in particular a first special operating program, is assignable to at least a first one of the plurality of switching elements. The input/output device (UI) further comprises at least one selection button (13, 15), which is adapted to provide the selection of the at least one first special function. The invention also relates to a cooking appliance comprising said control unit and a method for controlling a household appliance.

To eliminate various problems caused by a no-load operation. A heating cooking apparatus of the present invention, which is a heating cooking apparatus (1) that performs heating cooking of a food product (40) in accordance with an information code read from the food product (40), includes a light receiving element (32) provided at a position where the light receiving element cannot receive light when the food product (40) is present in the heating chamber (13) but can receive the light when no food product (40) is present and perform no heating cooking when the light receiving element (32) can receive the light.

A heating cooking apparatus (100) includes a heating cooking unit, a communication unit (40), a container portion (30), and a movable member (55). The heating cooking unit heats and cooks an object to be heated. The communication unit (40) wirelessly communicates with an external device. The container portion (30) contains the communication unit (40). The movable member (55) moves between a first position and a second position. The first position indicates a position of the movable member (55) when the movable member (55) is separated from the container portion (30). The second position indicates a position of the movable member (55) when the movable member (55) is closer to the container portion (30) than in the first position.

A heating cooking apparatus (100) includes a heating cooking unit, a communication unit (40), a container portion (30), and a movable member (55). The heating cooking unit heats and cooks an object to be heated. The communication unit (40) wirelessly communicates with an external device. The container portion (30) contains the communication unit (40). The movable member (55) moves between a first position and a second position. The first position indicates a position of the movable member (55) when the movable member (55) is separated from the container portion (30). The second position indicates a position of the movable member (55) when the movable member (55) is closer to the container portion (30) than in the first position.

An electric grill with a cooking surface for cooking food, which cooking surface has at least two adjacent heating zones is disclosed. Each heating zone of the grill is assigned a first electrical heating element 8 for heating the cooking surface in this heating zone, H.sub.1, H.sub.2. A second heating element 9 is arranged in a subset of the heating zones (H.sub.1) for increasing the heating power in this heating zone (H.sub.1) with a power input that at least matches that of a first heating element 8 of another heating zone (H.sub.2). The grill 1 has a heating element switchover feature, such that, when a second heating element 9 is switched on in a heating zone H.sub.1 with two heating elements 8, 9, a power corresponding to the power input of the second heating element 9 that is switched on or to be switched on is switched off on first heating elements 8 in one or more other heating zones H.sub.1, or switching on such power is blocked.

A cooking assistance method executed by a computer includes: causing an output device to display a first image relating to a first cooking process in which a cooking operation is performed using a cooking board; obtaining a load on the cooking board at a first temporal resolution while the first image is displayed; changing the first image displayed on the output device to a second image relating to a second cooking process in which a cooking operation different from the first cooking process is performed using the cooking board; changing the first temporal resolution used to obtain the load to a second temporal resolution different from the first temporal resolution, when the first image is changed to the second image; and obtaining a load on the cooking board at the second temporal resolution while the second image is displayed.

A method for operating a cooking system includes receiving information from a powered cooking accessory positioned within an interior cavity of an oven. The powered cooking accessory includes a body receivable within an interior of the oven, a first electronic device coupled with the body, and a device coupling extending from the body. The method further includes determining at least one characteristic of the powered cooking accessory and providing electrical power to the electronic device by an electrical coupling between the device coupling and a connection port within the interior cavity of the oven at a predetermined output level based on the at least one characteristic thereof.