Cooking hob having a cooking surface and method for configura tion and/or adjustment of a cooking zone

The present invention relates to a cooking hob having a cooking surface with at least two cooking zones according to the pream ble of claim 1. The present invention further relates to a method for configuration and/or adjustment of a cooking zone ar- ranged on a cooking hob which comprises at least two cooking zones according to the preamble of claim 12.

Cooking hobs, in particular cooking hobs for domestic use, with at least two cooking zones are commonly controlled by an indi- vidual configuration and/or adjustment according to a selection which at least enables setting of a power level for the respec tive cooking zone. Each cooking zone can be configured and/or adjusted by means of an allocated control means which may be a control knob or a touch sensitive input means or the like. In order to identify the control means for the respective cooking zone, markings or other optical allocation indicators are known.

Nowadays, more and more cooking hobs are configurable and/or ad justable by way of remote control means including voice control means and/or gesture control means. In particular when the user is distant from the cooking hob, a control of the cooking zone which shall be configured and/or adjusted is cumbersome, mainly in relation to the addressing of the specific cooking zone. This is even more cumbersome with cooking hobs without fixed cooking zones, also known as "cook anywhere" induction hobs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooking hob of the introductorily described nature as well as a method for a configuration and/or adjustment of a cooking zone arranged on a cooking hob as initially described, which allow a simple addressing or selection of a specific cooking zone for its con figuration and/or adjustment also from a remote position. The object is achieved for a cooking hob according to the pream ble of claim 1 by the features of the characterizing part of claim 1.

According to the present invention, a cooking hob comprises at least two cooking zones on which cookware is placeable. Each of the cooking zones is individually configurable and/or adjustable according to a selection mode. The selection mode comprises at least a selection and/or a configuration of a power level for the cooking zone. Another example for a parameter and/or a value selectable within the framework of the selection mode may be a selection or configuration of a preset time for a cooking zone. According to the invention, a code word and/or an identifier is allocatable to each cooking zone. Such a code word and/or iden tifier enables a controlling and/or addressing or selection of a specific one of the cooking zones without circumstances. By providing a cooking zone with a specific code word and/or iden tifier, a simple control, in particular a simple addressing, of a cooking zone even from a remote position is provided. Particularly, each cooking zone is configurable and/or adjusta ble by way of identifying and/or addressing the respective cook ing zone using the allocated code word and/or identifier. With such a specific code word and/or identifier a cumbersome ad dressing of a cooking zone using its position like "cooking zone front left" is avoided. This is even more helpful when the exact position is not easily expressable, what may occur in case of the above-mentioned "cook anywhere" induction hobs. In a specific embodiment at least one signalling device or dis play means, particularly a light source, e. g. an LED lamp, or an indicator light, is comprised. The signalling device or dis play means may be related to a cooking zone for providing infor- mation to a user of the cooking hob about the allocated code word and/or identifier for the related cooking zone. The infor mation providing may be a visualization of the code word and/or the identifier to the user. The signalling device or display means, in particular the light source or indicator light, may be arranged or arrangeable in such a way that the actual or the relative position of the re lated cooking zone is reflected and/or indicated. Specifically, the signalling device or display means, in partic ular the light source or indicator light, is arranged or ar rangeable on a display and/or control unit and the relative po sition of the cooking zone on the cooking surface is reproduced on the display and/or control unit. Alternatively, the signal- ling device or display means may be arranged or arrangeable next to or close to the cooking zone on the cooking surface.

A preferred embodiment is characterized by an identifier for at least one cooking zone which is a colour identifier. In that way, the cooking zone is identifiable or addressable by a col our, e. g. "yellow". With such colour identifier, the user may select the respective by just addressing this cooking zone with this simple word for this colour. The cooking zone may be associated with a light source or indi cator light, in particular an LED, which is illuminatable with a variable colour. The selection and/or addressing of a cooking zone with the code word or the identifier may be even simpler in case of a cooking zone which further comprises a voice control means for the con figuration and/or adjustment of the cooking zone or zones by means of vocal commands and/or vocal information transfer or in put. The cooking zone in that case is configurable and/or ad justable by vocally addressing it by way of the allocated code word and/or identifier. The cooking hob particularly further comprises a user interface with display and/or control elements which may be arranged for displaying a power level and/or a timer and/or input means. Such input means may be touch sensitive control elements. Preferably, a display and/or control element allocated to a cooking zone is illuminatable by a colour which is at least leaned on the colour identifier of the respective cooking zone.

The code word or identifier may be allocated or allocatable to at least two cooking zones for their joint configuration and/or adjustment. The individual cooking zones may at first be identi fiable by different code words and/or identifiers and upon the user's choice, the at least two cooking zones may be combined and the joint code word and/or identifier may be selectable and allocatable .

A specifically preferred embodiment of the invention is a cook ing hob which is an induction cooking hob and the code word or identifier is allocatable or allocated to a cooking zone by a control unit of the cooking hob after identification of the cooking zone by means of a pot detection unit. That means, a cooking zone is only defined at that moment when a cooking pot has been placed on the cooking surface and the pot detection unit of the induction hob has defined the location of placement as being the respective cooking zone. With the definition of the cooking zone a respective code word and/or identifier for the defined cooking zone is allocated or allocatable.

The code word and/or the identifier may be selected and/or allo- cated by a control unit of the cooking hob, in particular using predefined code words or identifiers from a storage unit of the cooking hob. Advantageously, however, the code word and/or iden tifier is selectable by the user of the cooking hob. The object is achieved for a method according to the preamble of claim 12 by the features of the characterizing part of claim 12.

According to such method, a cooking zone is arranged on a cook ing hob which comprises at least two cooking zones and the cook- ing zone is configurable and/or adjustable according to a selec tion mode. The selection mode provides at least a basis for a selection and/or configuration of a power level for the cooking zone. According to the invention, the cooking zone is selected and/or addressed by identification of the cooking zone with a code word or identifier allocated to the cooking zone.

Preferably, the cooking hob comprises input means for vocal com mands and the cooking zone is configured and/or adjusted by a user providing vocal commands and/or vocal information transfer. The vocal command and/or vocal information transfer may comprise the code word and/or identifier for addressing the respective cooking zone. The vocal command and/or vocal information trans fer particularly further comprises at least one control parame ter and/or control value. The control parameter and/or control value may be a power level and/or a preset time for the cooking zone .

According to an embodiment, at least two cooking zones are com bined with each other for a joint operation, in particular by a vocal command and/or vocal information transfer comprising the allocated code words and/or identifiers of the respective cook ing zones. Preferably, a joint code word and/or a joint identi fier is selected for addressing the combination of the combined cooking zones.

Novel and inventive features of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawing, in which

FIG 1 illustrates a cooking hob according to first embodiment of the invention;

FIG 2 illustrates a cooking hob according to second embodi- ment of the invention; and

FIG 3 illustrates a cooking hob according to a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG 1 illustrates a top view on a cooking hob 1 comprising four fixedly arranged cooking zones 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d which are located on a glass plate 5 forming a cooking surface and supporting cookware 21 to be placed thereon. The cooking zones 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d are indicated on the glass plate 5 by circles imprinted on the glass plate 5 and may be heated by radiation heating ele ments (not shown) located beneath the glass plate 5. Alterna tively, the cooking zones 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d may be induction cook- ing areas, wherein heating power is supplied by means of induc tion coils which also may be located beneath the glass plate 5, respectively . The glass plate 5 further comprises a touch sensitive command input and display area 7 forming a user interface for the cook ing hob 1. By means of said user interface, control commands, e.g. a power level setting, can be provided to a control unit (not shown) of the cooking hob 1, which control unit then con trols the heating elements accordingly. The user interface com prises an ON/OFF switch 9, a touch slider 11 enabling a setting of power levels between 0 and 9 as well as a boost level B, a cooking zone connection switch 13, a timer symbol 15 for input of a preset time and a squarish selection array 17 for the se lection of a specific one of the cooking zones 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d.

The selection array 17 is subdivided into four smaller squares 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, each one representing and being allocated to one of the four cooking zones 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d. The allocation of square 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d to respective cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d is following the arrangement of the cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d on the glass plate 5. In order to provide a setting to a spe cific cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, the respective square has to be touched by the user at first. After selecting the cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d which shall be set that way, a selection of the desired power level is possible by touching the touch slider 11 at the position representing the desired power level. Due to the initial selection of the cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d by means of the allocated square 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, only one touch slider 11 is needed.

Besides the possibility to provide inputs to the cooking 1 hob via the command input and display area 7, the cooking hob 1 fur- ther comprises a voice control means (not shown) for performing the respective control commands or information transfer vocally. A vocal command usually comprises an identification of the cook ing zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d which shall be set or adjusted, as well as the control parameter or control value, e. g. the power level. Such a vocal command may be "front left seven" which will cause the control unit of the cooking hob 1 to set or adjust the cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d on the front left position to power level "7".

However, in order to make the selection and identification of the cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d to be adjusted simpler, there is no need to identify and mention the position of this cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d. Rather, specific identifiers are allocated to all four cooking zones 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, which identifiers are characterized by a colour. That way, the cooking zone 3a is des ignated by "yellow", the cooking zone 3b is designated by "red", the cooking zone 3c is designated by "green" and the cooking zone 3d is designated by "blue". Respectively, the allocated squares 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d on the command input and display area 7 are pigmented by yellow, red, green or blue colours, respec tively. With such colour information on the command input and display area 7, the user is made aware of the identifier of the cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d which shall be set or adjusted. Con- sequently, the above-mentioned vocal command "front left seven" is modified by "blue seven". In order to also visualize the se lection of a cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d by touch input, also the touch slider 11 is also illustrated in the respective colour after touching the allocated square 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d.

The cooking hob 1 according to Fig. 2 differs from the cooking hob 1 according to Fig. 1 in that the four cooking zones 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d are represented by three-spike symbols, whereas the length of the spikes representing the dimension of the cooking zone. Each three-spike symbol is illuminated in a specific col our indicating the allocated identifier, similarly to the iden tifier of the cooking zones 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d in Fig. 1. A further difference is the provision of four touch sliders 11a, lib, 11c, lid, so that each cooking zone 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d is allocated to a specific touch slider 11a, lib, 11c, lid. Although the colour indication is already realized by the above-described colour il lumination of the spikes, also the touch sliders 11a, lib, 11c, lid are illuminated the same way.

Fig. 3 illustrates an induction cooking hob 1 without fixed cooking zones. Rather, the cookware 21 can be placed anywhere on the cooking surface, i. e. on the glass plate 5. The cookware positions are reproduced on a command input and display area 7 by pot position symbols 23a, 23b, 23c. Also in this example em bodiment the cooking zones are capable of being differentiated by means of a colour identifier and the pot position symbols 23a, 23b, 23c are respectively illuminated in different colours. Accordingly, vocal control commands can be given in the same way as described above for the cooking hob 1 of Fig. 1. The command input and display area 7 further indicates the set power level by means of respective numerals 25a, 25b, 25c as well as a pre set time value 27 for pot position 23 c.

Although an illustrative embodiment of the present invention has been described herein with reference to the accompanying draw ing, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to that precise embodiment, and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the in vention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the ap pended claims. List of reference numerals

1 cooking hob

3a, 3b, 3c, 3d cooking zones

5 glass plate

7 command input and display area 9 ON/OFF switch

11, 11a, lib,

11c lid touch slider

13 cooking zone connection switch

15 timer symbol

17 selection array

19a, 19b,

19c, 19d squares

21 cookware

23a, 23b, 23c pot position symbols

25a, 25b, 25c power level numerals

27 preset time value