HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE HAVING A TEMPERATURE DETECTOR

Abstract

A household appliance includes a circuit component, a temperature detector embodied as an IR detector and configured to sense a temperature of the circuit component, and a control facility coupled to the temperature detector and configured to actuate the circuit component and to actuate the household appliance on the basis of temperature measurement data measured by the temperature detector.

Claims

1-16. (canceled)

17. A household appliance, comprising: a circuit component; a temperature detector embodied as an IR detector and configured to sense a temperature of the circuit component; and a control facility coupled to the temperature detector and configured to actuate the circuit component and to actuate the household appliance on the basis of temperature measurement data measured by the temperature detector.

18. The household appliance of claim 17, wherein the control facility is configured to trigger an action in response to an occurrence of an event as determined by the temperature measurement data.

19. The household appliance of claim 17, wherein the circuit component is an HF component which is detectable by the IR detector.

20. The household appliance of claim 19, constructed in the form of a microwave appliance, said HF component being embodied as a microwave component.

21. The household appliance of claim 17, wherein the IR detector includes an IR sensor, which is oriented toward the circuit component.

22. The household appliance of claim 17, wherein the IR detector is spaced apart from the circuit component.

23. The household appliance of claim 17, wherein the IR detector includes an IR sensor and an IR light waveguide, said circuit component emitting IR light which passes through the IR light waveguide and falls on the IR sensor.

24. The household appliance of claim 23, wherein the IR light waveguide touches the circuit component, with the IR sensor sensing the circuit component.

25. The household appliance of claim 18, wherein the action comprises a reduction of a power fed to the circuit component.

26. The household appliance of claim 18, wherein the action comprises a change in at least one HF parameter.

27. The household appliance of claim 18, wherein the control facility is configured to identify as the occurrence of the event a temperature-critical operation of the circuit component so as to trigger the action.

28. The household appliance of claim 27, wherein the temperature-critical operation comprises a predefined threshold value being reached or exceeded by a temporal temperature gradient.

29. The household appliance of claim 27, wherein the temperature-critical operation comprises a predefined threshold value being reached or exceeded by a temperature.

30. The household appliance of claim 17, constructed in the form of a microwave cooking appliance, which comprises a solid-state amplifier with an HF transistor which forms the circuit component, said control facility being configured to trigger in response to an occurrence of an event as determined by the measured temperature measurement data an action which leads to a reduction of a temperature at the HF transistor.

31. The household appliance of claim 30, constructed such as to be without a circulator, without an end load, without a measuring facility for measuring a reflected microwave radiation and/or without a feedthrough network.

32. A method for operating a household appliance, comprising: sensing a temperature of a circuit component of the household appliance by an IR detector; and actuating by a control facility the household appliance in response to the temperature as sensed by the IR detector and transferred by the IR detector to the control facility.

Description

[0045] The above-described properties, features and advantages of this invention and the manner in which these are achieved, will become clearer and more readily understandable in connection with the following schematic description of an exemplary embodiment, which will be described in further detail making reference to the drawings.

[0046] FIG. 1 shows, as a sectional representation in side view, a cutout of an outline of a microwave cooking appliance according to the invention in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment, and;

[0047] FIG. 2 shows, as a sectional representation in side view, a cutout of an outline of a microwave cooking appliance according to the invention in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment.

[0048] FIG. 1 shows a cutout of a household appliance in the form of a microwave cooking appliance 1. The microwave cooking appliance 1 has a cooking compartment 2, which is enclosed by a cooking compartment wall 3. Arranged outside the cooking compartment wall 3here, above a ceiling of the cooking compartment wall 3is a housing 4, which encloses an HF region 5 in a shielding manner. Accommodated in the HF region 5 is a circuit component in the form of an HF transistor 6, which comprises a part of an amplifier circuit for introducing microwaves into the cooking compartment 2.

[0049] An IR detector 7 is arranged on an outer side of the housing 4. The IR detector 7 is directed, through a window 14 in the housing 4, directly onto the HF transistor 6 and is able to sense or measure the temperature of the HF transistor 6. The IR detector 7 is thus spaced apart from the HF transistor 6. The IR detector 7 may have at least one IR sensor 8.

[0050] The IR detector 7 is coupled to a control facility 9, by means of which it is possible to actuate the amplifier circuit, possibly also the HF transistor 6, directly. The coupling may take place via a data cable 10. By way of the data cable 10, for example, temperature measurement data is transferred from the IR detector 7 to the control facility 9. The control facility 9 is configured to actuate the microwave cooking appliance 1 on the basis of the temperature measurement data measured by the IR detector 7. Specifically, the control facility 9 is configured to trigger at least one action on the basis of an occurrence of an event which can be determined by the temperature measurement data.

[0051] The at least one action may comprise a reduction of a power fed to the HF transistor 6. The power may be understood in particular to mean the microwave power reflected back from the cooking compartment 2. As an alternative, or additionally, the at least one action may comprise a change in at least one microwave parameter (such as an amplitude, a frequency and/or a phase shift of the microwaves irradiated into the cooking compartment 2), which influences the power reflected back.

[0052] The occurring event may comprise an identification of a temperature-critical operation of at least one circuit component. The temperature-critical operation may, for example, comprise a predefined threshold value being reached or exceeded by a temporal temperature gradient and/or a predefined threshold value being reached or exceeded by an (instantaneous) temperature.

[0053] In particular, the control facility 9 is configured to trigger, on the basis of an occurrence of an event which can be determined by the temperature measurement data sensed by the HF transistor 6, at least one action which leads to a reduction of the temperature at the HF transistor 6. The microwave cooking appliance 1 is thus able to rapidly respond to an impending or occurring overheating of the HF transistor 6 and implement corresponding countermeasures. This means that the amplifier circuit of the microwave cooking appliance 1 is optionally able to dispense with a circulator, an end load, a measuring facility for measuring the reflected microwave radiation or even with a feedthrough network altogether.

[0054] FIG. 2 shows, as a sectional representation in side view, a cutout of an outline of a microwave cooking appliance 11 according to the invention in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment. The microwave cooking appliance 11 is embodied similarly to the microwave cooking appliance 1, yet only one IR detector 12 has at least one IR sensor 8 and at least one IR light waveguide 13. The IR light waveguide 13 protrudes through the window 14 into the HF region 5.

[0055] The end face of the IR light waveguide 13 which couples in IR light touches the HF transistor 6 (or at least has just a very small gap in relation thereto). For this reason, IR light emitted by the HF transistor 6 is conducted through the IR light waveguide 13 to the at least one IR sensor 8. This exemplary embodiment has the advantage of only very low measurement interference due to other heat sources.

[0056] Although the IR light waveguide 13 is indicated as a straight line here, in principle it may also run at a curve. The IR sensor 8 then does not need to be oriented toward the HF sensor 6, but it may be. This enables a particularly varied positioning of the IR sensor 8.

[0057] Naturally, the present invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiment disclosed.

[0058] In general, a, an, etc. can be understood as singular or plural, in particular in the sense of at least one or one or more, etc., provided this is not explicitly excluded, e.g. by the expression exactly one, etc.

[0059] A numerical value can also include the given value as a typical tolerance range, provided this is not explicitly excluded.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

[0060] 1 Microwave cooking appliance [0061] 2 Cooking compartment [0062] 3 Cooking compartment wall [0063] 4 Housing [0064] 5 HF region [0065] 6 HF transistor [0066] 7 IR detector [0067] 8 IR sensor [0068] 9 Control facility [0069] 10 Data cable [0070] 11 Microwave cooking appliance [0071] 12 IR detector [0072] 13 IR light waveguide [0073] 14 Window