Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6198080
-
Patent Number
6,198,080
-
Date Filed
Thursday, August 5, 199925 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 6, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Houser; H. Neil
- Rideout, Jr.; George L.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 219 501
- 219 494
- 219 508
- 219 506
- 219 509
- 219 448
- 219 505
- 219 445
- 219 453
- 307 117
- 307 118
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A control system for a glass touch cooktop includes a control panel including a plurality of touch control areas with touch toggle controls that correspond to a plurality of surface heater elements, and a toggle lock control that disables the touch controls areas when activated. The toggle lock control is separated from the touch control, identified with a conspicuous icon, and includes an integral indicator to readily alert a user that the system is locked. Graphical icons and integral indicators are incorporated into touch controls for user-friendly operation of the heating elements.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to controls for cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a touch control for electric range surface heating elements.
Electric ranges typically include a plurality of surface heating elements. Typically, a user controls the operation of these surface heating elements by mechanically selecting power settings for the surface heating elements via dials or knobs located on a panel near the surface heating elements. The dials or knobs are connected to mechanical switches that control the individual heating elements.
Glass touch control systems typically include a plurality of touch toggle control areas responsive to a touch by a user. Each touch control area electronically controls a corresponding surface heating element. Some touch control systems are confusing to new users, such as systems that incorporate a lock feature that disables the touch controls for safety. Often, it is neither apparent to the uninitiated whether the controls are locked nor evident how to unlock them to operate the range.
Moreover, user-friendly touch controls for combination heating elements, such as dual element burners and bridge heating elements, are needed.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a touch control system that designates the status of the system as locked or unlocked, attracts attention to the lock control, and facilitates the control of dual element burners and bridge elements.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a control system for a glass touch cooktop includes a control panel including a plurality of touch control areas with touch toggle controls that correspond to a plurality of surface heater elements, and a toggle lock control that disables the touch control areas when activated. The toggle lock control is separated from the touch control and is identified with a conspicuous icon for unlocking the touch controls. The toggle lock control further includes an integral indicator to readily alert a user that the system is locked.
Each control area includes on/off touch controls, up and down power controls, and power level displays for intuitive operation by a user. Further, touch controls with graphical icons and integral indicators are incorporated for user-friendly operation of a dual element burner and a bridge element. The indicators are lit in response to the energization of the elements so that a user may see at a glance the status of the elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a range;
FIG. 2
is a top plan view of a control panel; and
FIG. 3
is a schematic diagram of a control system for the control panel shown in FIG.
2
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a range
10
including a base
12
, a range surface
14
, and a control riser
16
. Base
12
includes a storage drawer
18
for the storage of pots, pans, broilers, etc, and an oven door
20
allowing access to an oven chamber (not shown). The oven chamber is positioned within base
12
and above storage drawer
18
.
Range surface
14
includes a left front burner
22
, a right front burner
24
, a left rear burner
26
, a right rear burner
28
, and center rear heating element
30
between left rear burner
26
and right rear burner
28
. Right front burner
24
is a dual element heater capable of heating in a 6 inch mode or 9 inch mode. Left rear burner
26
is a warming element. The remaining heating elements
22
,
28
,
30
are single element heaters. A bridge element (not shown) allows the combined operation of left
26
, center
30
, and right rear
28
burners. Of course, the number of heating elements, the type of heating elements (i.e., single or double element) and the arrangement of the elements may be varied on range surface
14
.
Control riser
16
extends upwardly from the rear end of range surface
14
and includes a surface heating element control panel
32
. Control riser
16
further includes oven controls (not shown) and other accessories such as clocks or timers (not shown). In an alternative embodiment, control panel
32
is located in front of and below range surface
14
. In a further alternative embodiment, control panel
32
is remotely located from range surface
14
as part of a cabinet structure or counter top.
FIG. 2
is a top plan view of control panel
32
including a plurality of touch control areas
34
that correspond to one of heating elements
22
,
24
,
26
,
28
and
30
of FIG.
1
. More specifically, control panel
32
includes a left rear element control area
36
corresponding to left rear burner
26
, a center rear element control area
38
corresponding to center rear burner
30
, a right rear element control area
40
corresponding to right rear burner
28
, a left front element control area
42
corresponding to left front burner
22
, and a right front element control area
44
corresponding to right front burner
24
. Each control area
34
includes on/off touch control pads
46
, power level up pads
48
, and power level down pads
50
.
Left front control area
42
, right front control area
44
, right rear control area
40
, and center rear control area
38
include alphanumeric power level displays
52
that indicate power levels according to one of eleven settings from lowest power to highest power: L, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and H. Left rear control area
36
includes a bar graph power display
54
including nine horizontal bars
56
vertically stacked to indicate one of nine power levels, with the lowest bar indicating the lowest power setting and the highest bar indicating the highest power setting. Left rear element control area
36
further includes a “warmer” graphical icon
58
to indicate left rear burner
26
(shown in
FIG. 1
) as a warmer element with a reduced power range.
Right rear control area
40
has a single element control pad
60
with a graphical icon and an integral indicator
62
that is lit when the right rear burner is energized. Right rear control area
40
also includes a second combined bridge element control pad
64
with a graphical icon and multiple integral indicators
66
that are lit when left rear
26
burner (FIG.
1
), center rear burner
30
(
FIG. 1
) and right rear burner
28
(
FIG. 1
) are operated in combination.
Right front control area
44
includes a 9 inch burner touch control pad
68
with a graphical icon
70
and an integral indicator
72
that is lit when right front dual element burner
24
is operated in 9 inch mode. Right front control area
44
further includes a 6 inch burner touch control pad
74
with a graphical icon
76
and an integral indicator
78
that is lit when right front dual element burner
24
(
FIG. 1
) is operated in 6 inch mode.
A lock touch control area
80
is separated from touch control areas
36
,
38
,
40
,
42
, and
44
and includes a lock pad
82
with a graphical lock icon
84
and an integral indicator
86
that is lit when a lock feature is activated, as explained below.
FIG. 3
is a schematic diagram of control panel
32
in operational connection with heating elements
22
,
24
,
26
,
28
,
30
. Each touch control pad of each touch control area
36
,
38
,
40
,
42
, and
44
is connected to a control
88
. Control
88
includes a microprocessor (not shown) or other electronic elements for executing the functions described below.
Each indicator of each control area
36
,
38
,
40
,
42
, and
44
is connected to control
88
and is responsive thereto. Heating elements
22
,
24
,
26
,
28
and
30
are connected to control
88
and are operationally responsive through control
88
to inputs from a user via manipulation of control panel
32
. Operation of heating elements
22
,
24
,
26
,
28
and
30
in response to manipulation of control areas
36
,
38
,
40
,
42
, and
44
is subject to the following control scheme.
Power Up/Initialization
When power is first applied, or restored after a power outage, control panel
32
flashes “8” in all alphanumeric power level displays
52
for 4 seconds at a frequency of 1 Hz with a 50% duty cycle. Warming bar graph display
54
will also flash at the same frequency and duty cycle. Upon completion of the flashing sequence, control
88
will begin normal power operation as described below. If an on/off control pad
46
is touched during the power up sequence, the power up sequence will be terminated and touch control pads will be processed as set forth below.
Idle Mode
When control
88
is powered up and not in the locked mode, and no heating elements are being energized, the system is in the “idle mode.” In the idle mode, only the on/off control pads
46
for each control area
36
,
38
,
40
,
42
, and
44
and lock control area
80
are operable. All other touch control pads are unresponsive in the idle mode.
Lock Operation
To activate the lock feature, lock control pad
82
is touched and held for 2 seconds. After a 2 second touch, control
88
will beep once and illuminate LED
86
(shown in
FIG. 2
) behind lock pad icon
84
. LED
86
indicates that control panel
32
is in the locked mode. When control panel
32
is locked, all pads with the exception of lock pad
82
are unresponsive. If any heating elements are active when control panel
32
is locked, the elements are turned off as part of the locking process, and power will not be restored to any element as long as control panel
32
is locked.
Control panel
32
is unlocked by pressing and holding lock pad
82
for 2 seconds. Control
88
will beep twice, turn off LED
86
behind lock pad
82
and return to idle mode.
Power Control Operation
When a control area on/off touch pad
46
is touched and the corresponding heating element is not energized, control
88
will beep and flash “0” in the corresponding alphanumeric power display
52
and the corresponding power level up pad
48
and power level down pad
50
are activated. Heating mode is entered when a corresponding power up pad
48
or power down pad
50
is depressed. If power level up pad
48
is pressed within seven seconds of the on/off control pad
46
, control
88
will beep, energize the corresponding heating element at full power, and display an “H” in corresponding power level display
52
. If power level down control pad
50
is pressed within seven seconds of on/off touch control pad
46
, control
88
will beep, energize the corresponding heater at the lowest power setting, and display an “L” in corresponding power level display
52
. If neither power level up pad
48
or power level down pad
50
is pressed within seven seconds of control area on/off control pad
46
, corresponding power level display
52
is turned off and control
88
returns to the idle mode.
Once a control area
34
enters the heating mode, on/off control pad
46
, and power level up and down control pads
48
,
50
are active. If on/off pad
46
is touched, control
88
will beep, turn the corresponding heater element off, and turn power level display
52
off. Touch control area
34
will then return to the idle mode.
Eleven power settings (L, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and H) are available for each heating element
22
,
24
,
26
,
28
and
30
. If power level up control pad
48
is touched while corresponding control area
34
is in the active heating mode, control
88
will beep and, if the power level is below the highest power setting “H,” the power level will be increased one power level. If a power up pad
48
is touched and held for one second or longer while a control area
34
is in heating mode, the power to the corresponding heating element will be increased at a rate of three power levels per second.
If a down control pad
50
is touched while a control area
34
is in the active heating mode, control
88
will beep and, if the power level is not already at the lowest power setting “L,” the power level will be decreased by one power setting. If a power level down control pad
50
is touched and held for one second or longer, the power will be decreased at a rate of three power levels per second.
Dual Ring Element Operation
Right front burner dual heating element
24
is operable in 6 inch mode or 9 inch mode using the 6 inch touch control pad
74
or 9 inch touch control pad
68
. The 6 inch and 9 inch control pads
74
,
68
are inactive until dual element on/off control
46
is touched. Once dual element on/off control
46
is touched, the system defaults to 9 inch mode, and LED
72
(shown in
FIG. 2
) behind 9 inch icon
70
(shown in
FIG. 2
) is illuminated. The 6 inch mode may be selected by pressing 6 inch touch control pad
74
. Dual heating element
24
will not be energized, however, unless either right front power up pad
48
or power down pad
50
is depressed. Once dual heating element
24
is energized, the 6 or 9 inch mode may be changed by pressing the appropriate touch control pad
74
,
68
, and the power level in the new mode will remain at the same level before the heating mode was changed.
Bridge Element Operation
Right rear control area
40
has two additional controls for selecting either the right rear burner
28
, or the combination of the right rear burner
28
, left rear burner
26
, and center rear burner
30
via the bridge element. Right rear element icon
60
has an icon with LED
62
(shown in
FIG. 2
) to indicate that only right rear burner
28
is energized. Combined control pad
64
has an icon and three LEDs
66
(shown in
FIG. 2
) to indicate the operation of rear burners
26
,
28
,
30
in combination.
When right rear on/off control pad
46
is turned on, control defaults to right rear element
28
only and right rear control area
40
functions as any other control area.
If combined bridge element control pad
64
is touched, right rear LED
62
is turned off and combined LEDs
66
are turned on. Center rear control area
38
is disabled. Center segment of alphanumeric power display
52
, i.e., a dash, is displayed in center rear power display (as illustrated in
FIG. 2
) and power level up and down control pads
48
,
50
of center rear control area
38
are disabled. Center rear on/off control pad
46
turns combined elements
26
,
28
,
30
off if touched. Once combined element mode is selected, right rear control
40
functions as a normal element control for combined elements
26
,
28
,
30
. Right rear on/off pad
46
is utilized to turn elements
26
,
28
,
30
off when elements
26
,
28
,
30
are in the combined element mode.
If right rear touch control pad
60
is depressed during the combined element mode, left rear element
26
and center rear element
30
will be turned off, and right rear element
28
continues to be energized at the same power level that element
26
,
28
,
30
were energized prior to right rear control pad
60
being touched. If combined bridge element control pad
64
is touched again, all three elements
26
,
28
,
30
are turned on at the selected power level. If center rear element
30
is operating when combined element control pad
64
is depressed, center rear element
30
will not be returned to its prior operating state when combined element mode is terminated. Rather, center rear heating element
30
will be turned off when combined element mode is turned off.
Warming Element Operation
Left rear warming element control area
36
operation is similar to the power operation described above with the following notable differences. Nine power levels are available for the warming element rather than the
11
power levels for the other burners. The warming element power display
54
is a nine level bar graph rather than an alphanumeric display
52
, and all nine segments of the bar graph display will flash after the on/off control
46
is depressed until either control up control
48
or down control
50
is depressed.
Thus, a user friendly touch control system is provided that allows a user to see the status of all heating elements at a glance. Integral indicators and graphical icons clearly indicate the locked/unlocked status of the controls, and facilitate operation of dual burner elements and bridge burners.
While the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.
Claims
- 1. A control system for a glass touch cooktop, the cooktop including at least one heating element, said control system comprising:a control panel comprising at least one touch control area corresponding to the at least one heating element, the heating element operatively responsive to an input from said touch control area; and a touch toggle lock control operatively connected to the at least one operant touch control area, said lock control disabling operation of said control areas when activated, said lock control having an integral indicator to indicate activation of said lock control.
- 2. A control system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said at least one control area comprises:a touch toggle power switch operatively connected to said heating element for activation thereof; and at least one power level touch toggle switch operatively connected to said heating element for adjusting the energization of said heating element.
- 3. A control system in accordance with claim 2 wherein said at least one touch control area further comprises a power level display.
- 4. A control system in accordance with claim 3 wherein said power level display comprises a numerical display.
- 5. A control system in accordance with claim 3 wherein said power level display comprises a bar graph.
- 6. A control system in accordance with claim 3 wherein said at least one touch control area operatively connects a plurality of heating elements, said touch control area further comprising at least one graphical icon, said icon including an indicator to indicate the energization of at least one of said heating elements.
- 7. A control system in accordance with claim 6 wherein said touch control area is connected to a dual ring burner.
- 8. A control system in accordance with claim 6 wherein said plurality of heating elements includes a bridge element.
- 9. A control system for a glass touch cooktop, the cooktop including at least a first heating element, a second heating element, and a bridge heating element, the bridge heating element positioned between the first and second heating elements and operatively connected thereto, said control system comprising:a control pad comprising a plurality of touch control areas corresponding to the first, second and bridge heating elements, one of said touch control areas comprising a graphical icon and a plurality of indicators to indicate the energization of the first, second and bridge heating elements.
- 10. A control system in accordance with claim 9 wherein one of said touch control areas comprises a bar graph display.
- 11. A control system in accordance with claim 10 wherein each of the touch control areas comprise:a touch toggle power switch operatively connected to said heating element for activation thereof; and at least one power level touch toggle switch operatively connected to said heating element for adjusting the energizing of said heating element.
- 12. A control system in accordance with claim 11 wherein one of said touch control areas comprises a numerical power level display.
- 13. A control system in accordance with claim 12 wherein the control panel further comprises a touch toggle lock control operatively connected to said touch control areas, said lock control disabling operation of said control areas when activated, said lock control including an integral indicator to indicate activation of said lock control.
- 14. A control system in accordance with claim 9 wherein the cooktop further includes a dual ring heating element control area, said dual ring heating element control area comprising at least one graphical icon, said icon including an indicator to indicate energization of the first heating element and the second heating element.
- 15. A method for controlling a glass touch cooktop, the cooktop including a controller, a control panel, and a plurality of heating elements operatively connected thereto, the control panel including a plurality of control areas operatively connected to a corresponding heating element, each of the control areas including a touch toggle power switch, up and down power level switches and a power level display, said method comprising the steps of:prompting a power level setting upon activation of the power toggle switch by displaying a flashing zero in the power level display; enabling the power level switches for a preset period of time; energizing the corresponding heating element at full power and indicating the full power energization of the heating element in the power level display in response to activation of the up switch; and energizing the heating element at low power and displaying the low power energization of the heating element in the power level display in response to activation of the down switch.
- 16. A method in accordance with claim 15 further comprising the step of disabling the power level switches and turning off the power level display if neither power level switch is activated within a preset time from activation of the power switch.
- 17. A method in accordance with claim 15 wherein said heater has a high power level, a low power level and nine power levels therebetween, said method comprising the step of changing the power level by one level increments in response to touch activation of the power level switches.
- 18. A method in accordance with claim 17 further comprising the step of changing the power level by three level increments upon continuous touch activation of power level switches for a predetermined time.
- 19. A method in accordance with claim 18 wherein the control panel further includes a lock control touch toggle area including an integral indicator, said method further comprising the steps of:disabling the control areas of the control panel upon continuous activation of the lock switch for a predetermined period of time; and energizing the indicator.
- 20. A method in accordance with claim 19 further comprising the step of enabling the control areas upon continuous activation of the lock switch for a predetermined period of time.
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Date |
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Aug 1976 |
|
4511781 |
Tucker et al. |
Apr 1985 |
|
5717189 |
Goetz et al. |
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|