1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic controlled heat cooking apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic controlled heat cooking apparatus such as a microwave oven which employs a microprocessor for controlling a heat cooking.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Of late a microprocessor has been utilized in a heat cooking apparatus such as a microwave oven, in the light of the advantage that a variety of cooking modes can be performed with a relatively simple structure. In case of such an electronic controlled heat cooking apparatus employing a microprocessor, it is necessary to enter information for control to the microprocessor. It has been common that entry means of the so-called ten-key type has been employed as such information entry means. Accordingly, even in entering a timer time period for the purpose of a timer operation mode, for example, the ten-key type entry means had to be operated; however, it was not easy to operate such entry means for setting the above described timer time period to an operator not familiar with an arrangement of keys in the ten-key type entry means.
Although a conventional cooking apparatus is structured to display by a display means at the beginning the timer time period entered by the above described cooking input operation, the display means was merely adapted to indicate only the left time period after once a heating operation is initiated. Accordingly, it was impossible to confirm the timer time period originally entered after the heat operation is completed, even when it is desired to confirm such timer time period.
For example, in the case where the cooking operation is made first with a strong intensity, which is then to be followed automatically by the cooking operation with a weak intensity, a keying input operation must be made for each of the mode setting, i.e. the setting of the first heating mode and the following heating mode, and in total two times, with the result that a keying input operation becomes complicated. Furthermore, according to the conventional approach, in performing two heating modes in succession in the above described manner, a timer time period in the second heating mode is not displayed by a display means after the heating operation is initiated until after the second heating mode is completed and the timer time period of the following heating mode was not able to be confirmed at all.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds