Method and Apparatus for Dynamic Combination of Heating Element with Object Presence Sensor

Abstract

The present invention presents a method and apparatus for the dynamic combination of a heating element and an object presence sensor for the purpose of creating a control loop in which a heating element responds to the detection of any desired material within a measurable range from the heating element. The system described in the previous sentence will be referred to as cell for the remainder of this patent. One application of this invention is in cooktops that could dynamically create cooking regions from an array of these cells, allowing users to place pots or pans anywhere on the surface of the cooktop. The ability to create a dynamic grid which only heats up areas which are covered either directly by food or by an intermediate cooking vessel results in a state of the art cooking surface improving upon both the performance and efficiency of its predecessors.

Claims

1. A system for detecting the proximity of materials and applying heat to the same object, said system comprising an integrated unit that comprises: (a) at least one object presence sensor, (b) at least one heating element, (c) the circuitry required to control the output of the heating element and (d) a computing unit to implement the control system. The system shall be referred to as a cell.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the object detection sensor is capable of sensing both conductive and non-conductive materials.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the object detection sensor is monitored by circuitry and a computing unit to detect the presence of objects and trigger an event when objects come within a predetermined distance of the sensor.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the heating element is automatically turned on when the object presence sensor triggers an event.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the user feedback is used to manually turn on the heating element when the user is made aware of the detection event indicated by the object presence sensor.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the heating element can be control by appropriate circuitry and a computing unit to provide at least 2 different power output levels.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the object presence sensor is physically separated from the object being detected.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the object being heated is not in direct contact with the heating element.

9. A system comprised of an array of 2 or more cells (the system of claim 1) that function collectively to detect objects and heat the same object.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein all of the object presence sensors of each cell is isolated from the rest.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the heating elements can be controlled independently of the object presence sensors by a user interface.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein each heating elements power output can be individually controlled.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein the object presence sensor data from multiple object presence sensors is used to determine whether or not a sensing event should be triggered for a single cell.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein the heating elements and object presence sensors do not need to exist in a one to one ratio.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein an object can be tracked in software as it moves across multiple cells of the array.

16. The system of claim 9 wherein a subset of cells of array can be controlled by a computing unit capable of coordinating with other at least one or more other computing units that similarly control other subsets of the population of cells.

17. The system of claim 9 wherein a central computing unit can oversee multiple local computing units which can each control multiple cells.

18. The system of claim 9 wherein objects can be tracked as they move over the array of cells.

19. The system of claim 9 wherein at least two or more objects can be detected and heated in parallel.

20. The system of claim 9 wherein at least two or more objects on the array of cells can be heated to different temperatures.

21. The system of claim 9 incorporated into a cooktop.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0022] FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional view of a cell.

[0023] FIG. 1b provides a top view of a cell.

[0024] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a plurality of cells and the accompanying electronics required to form a cooktop.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of this invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the figures and specific terminology will be used to describe these embodiments. It will be nonetheless understood that no limitation on the invention's scope is intended.

[0026] The invention combining at least one object detection sensor and a heating element in its singular form will be referred to as a cell. Each cell can range is shape and size, thus the cell shown in FIG. 1 one of many possible embodiments.

[0027] The object detection sensor of the cell can be implemented using optical, electrical, mechanical, chemical sensors, or a combination of the aforementioned sensing methods.

[0028] In FIG. 1, the cell's object detection sensor is implemented using an electrically conductive metallic capacitive sensing node 101. Capacitive sensing makes it possible to detect the presence of both conductive and non-conductive materials within 1 meter of the sensor, using circuits and signal processing algorithms known in the arts. The potting material 102 is used to electrically insulate the capacitive sensing node from all other conductors in the environment.

[0029] In the event that an object is detected by the object detection sensor of the cell, the system either automatically engages the heating element or alerts users through a user interface, allowing them to manually engage the heating element.

[0030] The heating element can be implemented using electrical, mechanical or chemical heat producing sources.

[0031] In FIG. 1, the heating element of the cell is implement using a radiant heating coil 103. The operation of radiant heating coils is known in the arts.

[0032] The cell's control system can be implemented using a computer capable of monitoring the capacitance of the capacitance sensing node 101 and controlling the power dissipated by the radiant heating coil 103 of the cell. The computer as well as appropriate sensing and control circuits are connected to the cell via the shown connections, 1 for the capacitance sensing nodes 101 and 2 for the power source for the radiant heating coil 103.

[0033] The cell is contained by a metallic shell 104.

[0034] A plurality of these cells can be arranged in a two-dimensional array to form a continuous cooktop that is capable of dynamically heating independent areas where objects are detected on its cooking surface. The cells are combined in a structured format so that their operation is coordinated. To do so a more sophisticated control system is required. The architecture discussed in this section is not meant to be limiting but is used the provide an understand as to how these cells can be combined effectively.

[0035] FIG. 2 illustrates the system's architecture that includes Local Control Units (LCUs) 201, a Central Control Unit (CCU) 202, a communication link 203, a touchscreen 204 and a power supply 205 that combine to control the array of cells 206 that heat the cooking surface 207.

[0036] The LCUs 201 are comprised of a single micro-computer and the circuits responsible for monitoring the object detection sensors and controlling the power output to the heating elements for a sub-group of population of cells. In the presented embodiment, each LCU is responsible for controlling the operation of 8 cells.

[0037] The CCU 202 is a more powerful general-purpose computer that communicates with all the LCUs 201 of the system, via the communication link 203, to effectively control the entire array of cells 206.

[0038] The LCUs 201 send object detection data from the cells to the CCU 202. The cumulative data from all of the object detection sensors allows for both spatial and time-based algorithms to be implemented for object detection and tracking. Machine learning algorithms can be implemented to further predict the various characteristics of objects placed on the cooking surface 207 based on data acquired by the cells.

[0039] The CCU 202 also services the inputs and outputs from the touchscreen 204, that acts as the user's interface for this embodiment. The touchscreen 204 provides users with complete control over the system and can be customized to include a wide variety of software application for cooking. The touchscreen 204 allows users to adjust temperatures of the detected cooking regions and also form custom shaped and sized cooking regions independently of the object detection portion of the system.

[0040] With the data from the object detection sensors and the user interface the CCU 202 determines the states of the outputs and communicates the desired heating element outputs to each of the LCUs 201, that in turn control the heating elements of the individual cells. This provides the system with high resolution control over the cooking areas that can be created on its cooking surface 207.

[0041] The array of cells 206 illustrated in FIG. 2 is comprised of 2-dimensional arrangement of individual cells. This embodiment provides further justification thermally isolated by their metallic shells 104. The potting material 102 provides both electrical insulation, to isolate the capacitance sensing nodes 101 so they each operate independently and thermal insulation to mitigate heat dissipation in the direction of the system's sensitive electronics. The shape and size of this array of cells 206 can be customized as a result of the modular design and flexible control algorithms.

[0042] The power supply 205 is responsible for supplying all voltage levels required to power the array of cells 206, LCUs 201, CCU 202 and the communication link 203.

[0043] The cooking surface 207 is constructed from a thermally and biologically suitable material for cooking.