Combination Oven Control Interface

The present invention generally relates to control interfaces for combination ovens that use several cooking technologies (for example, convection and steam or convection, steam and microwave) to transfer heat to food products, and more particularly, a combination oven that eliminates the need for a user to set a humidity setting and the cooking mode.

Food products are traditionally cooked by applying heat energy for a given time. In conventional ovens, food is cooked by heat radiated by the walls of the oven cavity or by a heat source near the surface of the food, or by natural convection. In convection ovens, heat energy is transferred to the surface of the food by convection from the heated air that moves through the oven cavity and over the surface of the food. In microwave ovens, heat is transferred by absorbing energy from the microwaves directly into the mass of the food. In steam ovens, heat is transferred by the condensation of the steam on the surface of the food.

In combination ovens, more than one heat transfer process is used to reduce cooking time or improve the taste, texture, water content or visual appearance of the cooked food. In a combined steam and convection mode, moisture is delivered in the oven during cooking. Typical combination ovens have complex controls that require the user to choose between preset “Convection”, “Mixed” and “Steam” cooking modes, as well as to manually set the desired humidity level, either directly or as part of a cooking program (for example, a recipe). Users, some of whom have only used household or convection ovens, where only the temperature needs to be set, tend to avoid complex controls and do not understand the complexity of the humidity level, natural or forced, in such a cooking chamber. As a result, many combination ovens are not optimally used and are simply used like basic ovens, manually, without taking advantage of the automation capabilities provided by modern controls and sensors.

It would thus be advantageous to obtain a control interface that allows users to easily take advantage of the temperature-only setting in order to make the oven as easy as possible to use.

On the basis of the aforementioned problems, the present invention relates to a combination oven control interface comprising:

* means for an operator to select a setpoint temperature;

* means for automatically selecting at least one humidity information representative of a setpoint humidity level and of a cooking mode, said automatic selection taking into account the selected setpoint temperature.

For the avoidance of doubt, all the features described herein also apply to any aspect of the invention.

Preferentially, the means for selecting a setpoint temperature comprise, for example, a field in which the user can enter the desired setpoint temperature.

Preferentially, the means for automatically selecting at least one humidity information representative of a setpoint humidity level and of a cooking mode comprise an electronic program, for example, a computer program that is previously stored in a memory of a microprocessor present in the combination oven. For example, the electronic program selects or determines, based on the setpoint temperature selected, a humidity information representative of a setpoint humidity level and a cooking mode. For example, the computer program then displays the selected or determined humidity information and the selected or determined cooking mode for the operator on the control interface.

Thus, according to the invention, with the selection of a setpoint temperature, the operator automatically receives a suggestion from the combination oven not only of humidity information but also of a cooking mode. Therefore, it is easier for the operator to obtain a predefined humidity information (for example, a setpoint humidity level) for a particular selected setpoint temperature that is, for example, a setpoint humidity level preferably for that setpoint temperature (for example, from experience, it is known that at a temperature of close to 100° C., it is highly likely that the operator will want to initiate a steam cooking operation. Moreover, at a very high temperature, for example 250° C., it is very likely that the operator would like to start a dry cooking operation). Moreover, the combination oven suggests to the operator a cooking mode obtained by the combination oven from the setpoint temperature selected by the operator. According to one embodiment of the invention, the combination oven suggests to the operator a cooking mode obtained by the combination oven from the setpoint temperature selected by the operator and from the setpoint humidity level selected by the combination oven. This makes it much easier for the operator to control the combination oven, as the operator no longer has to worry about the correspondence between the humidity information or the setpoint humidity level (which is selected by the oven) and the type of cooking (and especially the cooking mode) that the operator wants to start. Thus, the invention makes it possible to reduce the complexity of the information to be managed or taken into account by the operator, due to the automatic selection by the control interface of the humidity information (for example, the setpoint humidity level) and the cooking mode. Since a given combination oven will typically be operated by many operators with differing technical knowledge, this simplification, by the invention, of the information to be managed is of great value for the operability of the combination oven.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the combination oven control interface comprises means of displaying the setpoint temperature, humidity information and cooking mode.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the combination oven control interface comprises means of displaying a measured value of the temperature in the oven and/or of a calculated value of a setpoint humidity level in the oven.

Indeed, according to one embodiment of the invention, from the operator's selection of a setpoint temperature, the control interface can calculate or determine, for example, by a linear (for example, a rule of three) or non-linear approximation, a calculated value of a setpoint humidity level in the oven.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the display means comprise a display screen and preferentially a touch screen.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the display means make it possible to display the following information on the display screen in a representative arrangement in the following order: the setpoint temperature, then the humidity information and/or the cooking mode.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the display means make it possible to display the following information on the display screen from the top to the bottom of the display screen: the setpoint temperature, then the humidity information and/or the cooking mode.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the display means make it possible to display the following information on the display screen from the top to the bottom of the display screen: the setpoint temperature, then the humidity information, then the cooking mode.

Thus, due to such an organization of the display from the top to the bottom of the display screen, a display screen that is higher than it is wide can be used. In addition, such an arrangement of the display from the top to the bottom of the display screen corresponds to an optimal use of the space on the interface display screen. Lastly, such a top-down display arrangement on the display screen corresponds to the natural tendency of the user or the operator of the oven or of the interface to read from the top to the bottom. Thus, the interface display is arranged according to the user's preference: the user first thinks about the setpoint temperature to be entered, the humidity information and the cooking mode whose values are selected by the interface are displayed below and therefore subsequently in the user's reading direction.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the display means make it possible to display information indicating that the automatic selection means are activated, hereafter “automatic selection information”. Thus, for example, the display means enable a logo to be displayed on the display screen bearing, for example, the letter A (for automatic) which allows the user to clearly see that the oven is in an operating mode corresponding to the activation of the automatic selection means (operating mode which can be called automatic or normal operation mode).

According to one embodiment of the invention, the cooking mode is at least one of the following cooking modes:

* a first convection cooking mode (CONVECTION) corresponding to a setpoint humidity level (H%) defined by a first value range: 0%≤H%≤A%;

* a second cooking mode (COMBI) corresponding to a setpoint humidity level (H%) defined by a second value range: A%<H% 23 B%;

* a third steam cooking mode (STEAM) corresponding to a setpoint humidity level (H%) defined by a third value range: H%>B%, and in that A<B.

According to one embodiment of the invention, A is comprised between 30% and 60% and B is comprised between 80% and 99%.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the automatic selection means take into account a pre-established correspondence between setpoint temperature values and setpoint humidity level values and one or more cooking modes.

According to one embodiment of the invention, said pre-established correspondence is saved in an electronic memory. According to one embodiment of the invention, said electronic memory is comprised in the combination oven. According to another embodiment of the invention, said electronic memory is comprised in the control interface.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the control interface comprises means for switching the interface to a first forced mode of operation in which the user can choose a forced humidity level value.

According to one embodiment of the invention, if the value of the forced humidity level corresponds to the third cooking mode (STEAM), then the setpoint temperature is forced by the control interface to a saturated steam temperature.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the control interface comprises means for switching the interface to a second forced mode of operation in which the user can choose a forced cooking mode.

According to one embodiment of the invention, if the value of the forced cooking mode corresponds to the third cooking mode (STEAM), then the setpoint temperature is forced by the control interface to a saturated steam temperature.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the control interface comprises reset means for switching from one of said forced operating modes to a normal operating mode in which the automatic selection means is activated.

The invention also relates to a combination oven comprising a control interface as described above.

The invention also relates to a method for controlling a combination oven comprising the following steps:

* selection, by an operator, of a setpoint temperature

* automatic selection of at least one humidity information representative of a setpoint humidity level and of a cooking mode, said automatic selection taking into account the selected setpoint temperature.

As part of this application, it is expressly provided that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives disclosed in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken separately or in any combination. In other words, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment may be combined in any way, unless these features are incompatible.

For the avoidance of doubt, the terms “can”, “and/or”, “for example”, and any other similar term used herein must be interpreted as not limiting, such that any feature described herein is not necessarily required to be present. Indeed, any combination of optional features is expressly foreseen without departing from the scope of the invention, whether or not they are expressly claimed. The applicant reserves the right to amend any claim originally filed or to file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any claim originally filed to depend on and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim, though it is not originally claimed in this manner.

Different aspects of different embodiments according to the invention are described in more detail below, in reference to the accompanying drawings.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the words “comprise” and “contain” and their variations mean “including but not limited to” and are not intended for (and do not exclude) other parts, additives, components, integers or steps. Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the singular includes the plural, unless the context requires otherwise. In particular, when the indefinite article is used, the description should be understood to include the plural as well as the singular, unless the context requires otherwise.

In relation to, we will now describe an embodiment of a combination oven control interface according to the invention.

schematically shows a combination oven as described in relation to FIG. 1 of patent document WO2012162072. Referring to, a schematic representation of a basic combination oven constructionis shown, comprising a housingdefining a cooking cavitythat is accessible by an oven doorthat can be moved between open and closed positions. A convection cooking systemmay be formed by one or more heating elementsarranged around or along a circulation fan. The elementsmay, for example, be resistive heating elements or heat exchange tubes through which the hot combustion gases flow. Although in the illustrated embodiment the heating elements and the fan are located along a rear wall of the oven cavity, it is acknowledged that variations are possible. For example, the heating elements and the fan could be located along a top, bottom or side wall, one or both heating elements and/or the fan could be located outside the cooking cavity itself (with airflow pathways to deliver air into and out of the cavity from the location of the fan and/or the heating elements) or the heating elements could be arranged in front of or behind the fan. U.S. Pat. No. 7,875,834, also discloses various other potential embodiments for convection cooking systems in an oven.

shows a schematic representation of a control interfaceof a combination oven according to one embodiment of the present invention. The control interfacecan be incorporated into the combination oven.

illustrates a graph showing a temperature-humidity-cooking mode-type profile enabling the automatic selection of a humidity level (H%) and of a cooking mode (M).

Humidity (H%) is a complex concept for the user to grasp, as humidity can change with temperature. The humidity level can be artificially applied by adding steam to the oven (for example in “Combi” mode and in “Steam” mode as described hereafter.) Humidity can also be naturally generated by products. Also, setting a humidity setpoint may cause the equipment to perform a humidification or dehumidification function.

According to the present invention, and as further described hereafter, it is proposed that the user could have a better grasp of the notion of humidity, for example, by means of a display screen on a control interface. Thus, the display screen may comprise user-comprehensive zones that may, for example, be a dry zone and a wet zone. It may also allow the user to better associate a setpoint humidity level value with a cooking mode (as explained below) by implementing a simple setting on a scale (), for example comprising positions ranging from −5 to +5. For example, such positions correspond to setpoint humidity levels and suggest that the user increase or decrease the humidity.

Of course, for experienced experts or users, the setting can be proposed in % of setpoint humidity, between a minimum attainable humidity and a maximum attainable humidity, for example 5% to 100%.

This scale () is separated into a so-called dry zone corresponding to a setpoint humidity level (H%) of 0% to a substantially median value, for example 45%, and a so-called wet zone corresponding to a setpoint humidity level (H%) of this median value 45% to a maximum value, for example a setpoint humidity level (H%) of 100%.

It should be noted that this scale is supplemented by “Dry” position preceding the dry zone. This manually accessible dry zone, in which the setpoint humidity level H% is no longer taken into account, enables continuous dehumidification to be activated in order to dry out the atmosphere and the product.

As shown in, the present invention relates to a control interfacefor a combination ovencomprising: