COOKING APPLIANCE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of International Application No. PCT/KR2025/015278, filed on September 29, 2025, which is based on and claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Number 10-2024-0159675, filed on November 11, 2024, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to a cooking appliance that may improve operational stability.

BACKGROUND ART

Cooking appliances are apparatuses for cooking food by heating, which provide various functions related to cooking, such as heating, thawing, drying, and sterilizing of an object to be cooked. The cooking appliances may include, for example, ovens such as gas ovens or electric ovens, microwave heating devices (also referred to as microwaves), gas stoves, electric stoves, over the ranges (OTRs), gas grills or electric grills.

An oven is an apparatus for cooking food by transferring heat directly to the food or by heating the inside of the cooking chamber by means of a heating source that produces heat, such as a heater. A microwave cooks food by frictional heat between molecules, which is produced by using high-frequency waves as a heating source to disturb molecular arrangement of the food.

A gas oven is a home appliance that heats and cooks food accommodated in a cooking chamber at a high temperature, and includes a cooking chamber for cooking food, a burner for burning gas fuel and air to generate heat, a gas supply path for supplying gas to the burner, and an ignition device for generating flames.

When using a cooking appliance, such as an oven, in an area with an unstable power supply, the cooking appliance may not function stably because it may deviate from the guaranteed voltage range.

Disclosure

Technical Problem

An aspect of the disclosure provides a cooking appliance that may ensure stable operation of the cooking appliance by detecting an applied voltage and, when the applied voltage is outside a voltage range for stable operation of the cooking appliance, reducing a current flowing to the cooking appliance using a separate resistor module or stopping the operation of the cooking appliance.

Technical aspects that can be achieved by the disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned aspects, and other technical aspects not mentioned will be clearly understood by one of ordinary skill in the technical art to which the disclosure belongs from the following description.

Aspects of embodiments of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a cooking appliance includes a cooking chamber; a burner including an ignition device configured to ignite gas fuel, the burner being configured to combust the ignited gas fuel to heat an inside of the cooking chamber; a voltage sensor configured to detect a voltage applied to the burner; a current limiting element configured to reduce a current flowing to the burner; a switching element configured to be switched to connect or disconnect the current limiting element from the burner; and a controller configured to, when the detected voltage is greater than a first voltage, control the switching element to connect the current limiting element to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the controller may be configured to, when the detected voltage is less than a second voltage that is lower than the first voltage, cut off the voltage applied to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the cooking appliance may further include communication circuitry configured to communicate with an external device. The controller may be configured to, when the detected voltage is less than the second voltage, transmit, to the external device via the communication circuitry, a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the cooking appliance may further include a display. The controller may be configured to, when the detected voltage is less than the second voltage, control the display to display a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the controller may be configured to, when the detected voltage is greater than the second voltage and less than the first voltage, control the switching element to disconnect the current limiting element from the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the controller may be configured to, when the detected voltage is greater than a third voltage that is higher than the first voltage, cut off the voltage applied to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the cooking appliance may further include communication circuitry configured to communicate with an external device. The controller may be configured to, when the detected voltage is greater than the third voltage, transmit, to the external device via the communication circuitry, a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the cooking appliance may further include a display. The controller may be configured to, when the detected voltage is greater than the third voltage, control the display to display a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the current limiting element may include at least one resistor.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, provided is a method of controlling a cooking appliance including a cooking chamber, a burner including an ignition device configured to ignite gas fuel, and the burner being configured to combust the ignited fuel to heat an inside of the cooking chamber, a voltage sensor configured to detect a voltage applied to the burner, a current limiting element configured to reduce a current flowing to the burner, and a switching element configured to be switched to connect or disconnect the current limiting element from the burner, the method including detecting the voltage applied to the burner; and, when the detected voltage is greater than or equal to a first voltage, controlling the switching element to connect the current limiting element to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further include, when the detected voltage is less than a second voltage that is lower than the first voltage, cutting off the voltage applied to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the cooking appliance may further include communication circuitry configured to communicate with an external device, and the method may further include, when the detected voltage is less than the second voltage, transmitting, to the external device via the communication circuitry, a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the cooking appliance may further include a display, and the method may further include, when the detected voltage is less than the second voltage, controlling the display to display a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further include, when the detected voltage is greater than the second voltage and less than the first voltage, controlling the switching element to disconnect the current limiting element from the burner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further include, when the detected voltage is greater than a third voltage that is higher than the first voltage, cutting off the voltage applied to the burner.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings listed below.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which a door of a cooking appliance is open according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial configuration including a burner accommodation room of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a burner accommodation room of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-B illustrate supply of gas to a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating switching of a switching element according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10 are flowcharts illustrating a method for controlling a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a notification provided according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates an operation according to a voltage applied to a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

MODES OF THE DISCLOSURE

Various embodiments and the terms used therein are not intended to limit the technology disclosed herein to specific forms, and the disclosure should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives to the corresponding embodiments.

In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used to designate similar constituent elements.

The terms used herein are used only to describe particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the disclosure. It is to be understood that the singular forms are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It will be understood that the terms "include" and "have," are intended to indicate the presence of the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof disclosed in the disclosure, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements.

When an element is referred to as being “coupled,” or “connected” to another element, the first element may be connected to the second element, directly, wirelessly, or through a third element.

It will be understood that, although the terms including ordinal numbers, such as "first", "second", etc., may be used herein to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. For example, a first component could be termed a second component, and, similarly, a second component could be termed a first component, without departing from the scope of the disclosure. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of associated listed items.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which a door of a cooking appliance is open according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, and FIG. 2, a cooking appliance 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure may be installed in a cabinet 2 to have a sense of unity with a kitchen space. In other words, the cooking appliance 1 may be installed in a built-in type.

The cabinet 2 may have an opening formed in at least a portion of the front, and the cooking appliance 1 may be installed through the opening of the cabinet 2. The cooking appliance 1 may be put into the cabinet 2 through the opening of the cabinet 2 and drawn out of the cabinet 2. For example, the cooking appliance 1 may be required to be drawn out of the cabinet 2 for repair or replacement of a part.

The cooking appliance 1 may include a cooking chamber 20, a main body 10 that defines the cooking chamber 20, and a door 30 provided to open or close the cooking chamber 20.

The main body 10 may include an inner case 12 that forms the cooking chamber 20 inside. The inner case 12 may be arranged within an outer case 11 of the main body 10 which will be described later.

The cooking chamber 20 may be formed to have an open front for putting in or taking out food. The inner case 12 may include a front opening 12a formed to be open to put in or take out food to or from the cooking chamber 20. The front may be defined to be a side of the main body 10 on which the front opening 12a is formed.

For example, the inner case 12 may be formed to have the shape of a box with substantially an open front.

Inner walls of the inner case 12 may be coated to prevent the inner walls of the inner case 12 from being corroded by condensate water produced in a vapor condensation process or by moisture contained in the food. The inner walls of the inner case 12 may be dried by heat generated in the process of cooking food.

The cooking appliance 1 may include an outer case 11 that defines an exterior of the cooking appliance 1. The inner case 12 may be arranged within the outer case 11. The outer case 11 may be provided to enclose top, bottom, back, left and right sides of the inner case 12 from outside.

The outer case 11 may include a front frame 11b. The front frame 11b may be arranged on the front of the main body 10. The front frame 11b may form at least a portion of the front of the main body 10. The front frame 11b may be covered by the door 30 when the door 30 is closed.

The front frame 11b may be formed to have an open front for putting in or taking food out of the cooking chamber 20. The front frame 11b may be formed in the shape of a frame with an opening. The opening of the front frame 11b may be formed to have a size corresponding to the front opening 12a. The front frame 11b may be formed along edges of the front opening 12a of the inner case 12.

For example, the inner case 12 may be coupled to the front frame 11b. A portion adjacent to the front opening 12a of the inner case 12 may be coupled to the front frame 11b.

The outer case 11 may include a base 11c that forms the bottom of the cooking appliance 1. The base 11c may support the other components of the cooking appliance 1 from below.

The outer case 11 may include a left panel 11d that defines the left side of the cooking appliance 1 and a right panel 11e that defines the right side of the cooking appliance 1.

The outer case 11 may include a rear panel 11f. The rear panel 11f may form at least a portion of the exterior of the rear surface of the cooking appliance 1.

Various components equipped in the cooking appliance 1, such as a convection fan 80, at least a portion of a printed circuit board (not shown) that constitutes a control device, a gas guide device 300, etc., may be mounted on the rear panel 11f.

An insulation (not shown) may be arranged between the inner case 12 and the outer case 11 to prevent all the heat in the cooking chamber 20 from being released intact out of the main body 10.

The main body 10 may include a rear cover 13 for covering at least a portion of the rear panel 11f. The rear cover 13 may cover the at least a portion of the rear panel 11f from behind. The rear cover 13 may form at least a portion of the exterior of the rear surface of the cooking appliance 1. The rear cover 13 may be coupled to the back of the rear panel 11f.

The rear cover 13 may include a heat radiation hole formed to radiate heat produced by operation of the convection fan 80, the printed circuit board (not shown), a valve device 340 or the like, which is mounted on the rear panel 11f, to the outside.

The door 30 of the cooking appliance 1 may be rotationally coupled to the main body 10 to open and close the cooking chamber 20. For example, the door 30 may be rotationally coupled to a lower portion of the main body 10, and provided to be rotated on a rotation axis located in the lower portion of the cooking appliance 1. For example, as shown in the drawings, the rotation axis of the door 30 may extend in the left-right direction of the cooking appliance 1, which is the Y direction.

The cooking appliance 1 may include hinges 40 that connect the main body 10 to the door 30. The door 30 may be provided to be rotated against the main body 10 by the hinges 40.

For example, the hinges 40 may include a pair of hinges 40.

The door 30 may include a transparent portion 31 formed to allow the user to look inside of the cooking chamber 20 while the cooking chamber 20 is closed by the door 30. The transparent portion 31 may include various transparent materials such as glass. For example, the transparent portion 31 may be formed of a plurality of glass plates spaced apart from each other and forming insulation space between them to prevent the heat inside the cooking chamber 20 from being transferred to the outside of the door 30 through the transparent portion 31.

The door 30 may include a handle 32 arranged for the user to manually open or close the door 30. In order for the user to easily open or close the door 30, the handle 32 may be provided to be adjacent to a portion opposite to the rotation axis of the door 30. Although the handle 32 is shown as being arranged on the front side of the door 30 in the embodiment of FIG. 1, it is not limited thereto. The front side of the door 30 as herein used refers to a side facing forward in the X direction when the cooking chamber 20 is closed by the door 30.

The cooking appliance 1 may include a burner 200 provided to heat the inside of the cooking chamber 20. The burner 200 may be provided to heat the inside of the cooking chamber 20 by burning gas fuel. That is, the burner 200 may be configured as a gas burner. The burner 200 may be arranged inside the main body 10.

The burner 200 may heat the inside of the cooking chamber 20 by burning the ignited gas fuel when an ignition device 201 included in the burner 200 ignites the gas fuel.

The burner 200 may include a plurality of burners 210 and 220.

For example, the burner 200 may include a first burner 210 arranged in the cooking chamber 20. The first burner 210 may be arranged in an upper portion of the cooking chamber 20. The first burner 210 may be mounted on the upper inner wall of the inner case 12.

The first burner 210 may be provided to be exposed to the top of the cooking chamber 20. The first burner 210 may be provided to directly heat an object to be cooked (hereinafter also referred to as ‘cooking object’) in the cooking chamber 20 with flames generated by burning the gas fuel. Specifically, the cooking object may be directly heated by radiant heat generated by the flames of the first burner 210. That is, the first burner 210 may be a broil burner.

Furthermore, for example, the burner 200 may include a second burner 220 arranged outside the cooking chamber 20. The second burner 220 may be arranged in a burner accommodation room 16 (see FIG. 3). The second burner 220 may be arranged outside and under the cooking chamber 20.

The second burner 220 may be provided to indirectly heat the cooking object in the cooking chamber 20. Specifically, the second burner 220 may heat air inside the burner accommodation room 16, and the heated air inside the burner accommodation room 16 may flow into the cooking room 20 by natural convection and heat up the cooking object in the cooking room 20. That is, the second burner 220 may be a bake burner.

The second burner 220 may include a pipe that forms a gas path through which the gas fuel passes, and a plurality of holes may be formed on the pipe of the second burner 220 to spray flames generated by burning the gas fuel (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4).

However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the burner according to an embodiment of the disclosure may be configured as only one type (e.g., bake burner 220) of the aforementioned burners 210 and 220.

A configuration and operation of the burner 200 will be described below in detail.

The cooking appliance 1 may include the convection fan 80. The convection fan 80 may be rotated by receiving rotational force from a fan motor, which may circulate the air in the cooking chamber 20. Specifically, the convection fan 80 may be mounted in a rear portion of the inner case 12, and may rotate to blow air toward the front of the cooking chamber 20. The air blown by the convection fan 80 toward the front of the cooking chamber 20 may be circulated in the cooking chamber 20 and may then return to the convection fan 80. With the operation, the convection fan 80 may efficiently convect the air in the cooking chamber 20. As the air in the cooking chamber 20 is circulated by the convection fan 80, the inside of the cooking chamber 20 may have a uniform temperature distribution.

Although the cooking appliance 1 is shown in FIG. 2 as including only a single convection fan 80, it is not limited thereto, and a cooking appliance according to an embodiment may include a plurality of convection fans.

The cooking appliance 1 may include a display 52 for displaying operation information of the cooking appliance 1. For example, the display 52 may be arranged in an upper portion of the cooking appliance 1.

The main body 10 may include a display case 15 that supports the display 52. For example, the display case 15 may be arranged in the upper portion of the cooking appliance 1. The display case 15 may accommodate various components that constitute a user interface 50 (see FIG. 11) such as the display 52.

The cooking appliance 1 as described above with reference to FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is merely an example of a cooking appliance according to the disclosure, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Furthermore, unlike what is shown in FIG. 1, the cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure may not be the built-in type cooking appliance installed in a cabinet.

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial configuration including a burner accommodation room of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a burner accommodation room of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the cooking appliance 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include the burner accommodation room 16 arranged in the main body 10. The second burner 220 may be arranged in the burner accommodation room 16. The burner accommodation room 16 may be arranged outside the cooking chamber 20, and may be formed to be divided from the cooking chamber 20.

For example, the burner accommodation room 16 may be located under the cooking chamber 20. The burner accommodation room 16 may be located under the inner case 12. The second burner 220 may be arranged under the cooking chamber 20.

The burner accommodation room 16 may be provided to connect to the cooking chamber 20. Specifically, the inner case 12 may include a bottom opening 12b formed such that a portion of the bottom wall is open. The bottom opening 12b may be located between the interior of the burner accommodation room 16 and the interior of the cooking chamber 20 to connect the bottom opening 12b and the burner accommodation room 16 to each other.

The cooking appliance 1 may include a bottom plate 17 that separates the cooking chamber 20 from the burner accommodation room 16. For example, the bottom plate 17 may be coupled to the bottom wall of the inner case 12. Specifically, the bottom plate 17 may be coupled to edges of the bottom opening 12b. The bottom plate 17 may separate the cooking chamber 20 from the burner accommodation room 16 by covering the bottom opening 12b.

At least a portion of the bottom plate 17 may be located in the cooking chamber 20. The bottom plate 17 may be provided to have a cooking container with food placed thereon.

The bottom plate 17 may include a heat outlet 17a provided to supply heat generated by the second burner 220 into the cooking chamber 20. The heat generated by the second burner 220 may flow from the burner accommodation room 16 to the cooking chamber 20 through the heat outlet 17a. The heat outlet 17a may connect the burner accommodation room 16 to the cooking chamber 20. The heat outlet 17a may be formed to have a shape that penetrates the bottom plate 17 (e.g., a shape that penetrates the bottom plate 17 in substantially the vertical direction Z).

For example, the heat outlet 17a may be provided in the plural to be adjacent to the left and right inner walls of the cooking chamber 20.

For example, the plurality of heat outlets 17a may be shaped like slits that extend long in substantially the front-back direction (X direction).

The cooking appliance 1 may include a supporting plate 18. The supporting plate 18 may be arranged under the bottom plate 17. The supporting plate 18 may be coupled to the inner case 12. Specifically, the supporting plate 18 may be coupled to at least a portion of the edges of the bottom opening 12b of the inner case 12. The supporting plate 18 may cover a portion of the bottom opening 12b of the cooking chamber 20.

The supporting plate 18 may support an upper portion of the second burner 220. As shown in FIG. 4, the heat generated by the second burner 220 may move along a sloping surface of the supporting plate 18 to the heat outlet 17a. In other words, the supporting plate 18 may guide movement of the heat generated by the second burner 220.

The aforementioned configuration of the second burner 220 and the burner accommodation room 16 to accommodate the second burner 220 are merely an example of the configuration of the burner and burner accommodation room arranged in the cooking appliance according to the disclosure, and the disclosure is not limited thereto.

FIGS. 5A-B illustrate supply of gas to a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 5A, when no power is applied to the cooking appliance 1, a low current flows through the cooking appliance 1, and thus a bimetal coil 350 included in the cooking appliance 1 does not bend and a bimetal arm 360 connected to the bimetal coil 350 blocks a gas outlet. Accordingly, gas may not be supplied to the burner 200.

However, as shown in FIG. 5B, when power is applied to the cooking appliance 1, a high current flows through the cooking appliance 1, causing the bimetal coil 350 to bend. Accordingly, the bimetal arm 360 connected to the bimetal coil 350 bends and no longer blocks the gas outlet, and thus gas may be supplied to the burner 200.

Due to the structure where gas may be automatically supplied/blocked as power is applied without control of a separate gas valve, stable power supply to the cooking appliance 1 is required.

Hereinafter, various operations according to the power applied to the cooking appliance 1 are described.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating switching of a switching element according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The cooking appliance 1 may further include the user interface 50, a voltage sensor 400, a switching element 500, communication circuitry 70, and a controller 100, in addition to the aforementioned burner 200 and ignition device 201. The controller 100 may include at least one processor 101 and memory 102.

The user interface 50 may include an input device 51 for receiving a user input. The input device 51 may receive setting values related to the operation of the cooking appliance 1 or various control commands from the user.

The input device 51 may receive various types of user inputs, including settings related to turning the power of the cooking appliance 1 on/off, executing/operating a cooking operation, setting a cooking time, changing a cooking temperature, and selecting a cooking method (e.g., baking or broiling).

The input device 51 may include various types of input devices such as a tact switch, a push switch, a slide switch, a toggle switch, a micro switch, or a touch switch.

The input device 51 may receive a user input and output an electrical signal (voltage or current) corresponding to the user input to the controller 100. The controller 100 may receive the user input based on an output signal of the input device 51.

The user interface 50 may include a display 52 for displaying information related to the operation or state of the cooking appliance 1.

The display 52 may display operation information or state information of the cooking appliance 1, including cooking temperature, cooking method, current temperature inside the cooking chamber 20, progress of the cooking operation, remaining cooking time, information about errors (e.g., a fire warning), and the like.

The display 52 may include a light emitting diode (LED) panel, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel, or a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel to provide information to the user.

The display 52 may also include a touch screen including a touch pad for detecting a user's touch. The touch screen may display setting values or control commands that may be selected by the user, and may receive setting values or control commands according to the user's touch input.

However, the configuration of the user interface arranged on the cooking appliance according to the disclosure is not limited thereto, and various types of user interfaces may be provided.

The voltage sensor 400 may detect the voltage applied to the burner 200. That is, the voltage sensor 400 may detect the voltage applied to the burner 200 of the cooking appliance 1 from an external power source.

In addition, the cooking appliance 1 may include the communication circuitry 70 for communicating with an external device by wire and/or wirelessly.

The communication circuitry 70 may include at least one of a short-range wireless communication module or a long-range wireless communication module.

The communication circuitry 70 may transmit data to an external device (e.g., a server, a user device, and/or a home appliance) or receive data from the external device. For example, the communication circuitry may establish communication with a server and/or a user device and/or a home appliance and transmit/receive various data.

To this end, the communication circuitry 70 may support the establishment of a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between external devices, and the performance of communication through the established communication channel. According to an embodiment, the communication circuitry may include a wireless communication module (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module (e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module, or a power line communication module). The corresponding communication module among these communication modules may communicate with an external device through a first network (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network such as Bluetooth, wireless fidelity (WiFi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or a second network (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network such as a legacy cellular network, a 5G network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., LAN or WAN)). These various types of communication modules may be integrated into a single component (e.g., a single chip) or may be implemented as a plurality of separate components (e.g., a plurality of chips).

The short-range wireless communication module may include a Bluetooth communication module, a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication module, a near field communication module, a WLAN (Wi-Fi) communication module, a Zigbee communication module, an infrared data association (IrDA) communication module, a Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) communication module, an ultrawideband (UWB) communication module, an Ant+ communication module, a microwave (uWave) communication module, etc., but is not limited thereto.

The long-range wireless communication module may include communication circuitry that performs various types of long-range wireless communication, and may include a mobile communication module. The mobile communication module transmits and receives radio signals with at least one of a base station, an external terminal, or a server on a mobile communication network.

The controller 100 may include a memory 102 that stores a control program and control data for controlling the burner 200 and the switching element 500, and at least one processor 101 that generates a control signal according to the control program and control data stored in the memory 102. The memory 102 and the processor 101 may be provided integrally or separately.

The memory 102 may store programs and data for controlling the burner 200 and the switching element 500.

The memory 102 may include a volatile memory such as static random access memory (S-RAM) or dynamic random access memory (D-RAM) for temporarily storing data. In addition, the memory 102 may include a non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) for long-term data storage.

The processor 101 may include various logic circuits and arithmetic circuits, and may process data according to a program provided from the memory 102, and generate a control signal according to the processing result.

In a case where a method according to at least one embodiment of the disclosure includes a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations may be performed by a single processor 101 or by a plurality of processors 101. For example, when a first operation, a second operation, and a third operation are performed by a method according to at least one embodiment, all of the first, second, and third operations may be performed by the first processor 101. Alternatively, the first and second operations may be performed by the first processor 101 (e.g., a general-purpose processor), and the third operation may be performed by the second processor 101 (e.g., an artificial intelligence (AI)-specific processor 101).

The controller 100 may be electrically connected to the user interface 50, the voltage sensor 400, the burner 200, the switching element 500, and/or the communication circuitry 70.

The switching element 500 may be switched such that a current limiting element 600 is connected to or disconnected from the burner 200, as shown in FIG. 7.

The current limiting element 600 is an element for reducing the current flowing to the burner 200, and may include at least one resistor.

The controller 100 may control the switching element 500 to connect the burner 200 to the current limiting element 600 under a predetermined condition. Accordingly, the current flowing to the burner 200 may be reduced. In addition, the controller 100 may control the switching element 500 to disconnect the burner 200 from the current limiting element 600, which indicates that the cooking appliance 1 operates normally by forming a current circuit with an existing power source. A detailed description thereof will be provided below.

FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10 are flowcharts illustrating a method for controlling a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure, FIG. 11 illustrates a notification provided according to an embodiment of the disclosure, and FIG. 12 illustrates an operation according to a voltage applied to a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The voltage sensor 400 may detect a voltage applied to the burner 200 of the cooking appliance 1. The burner 200 of the cooking appliance 1 operates according to a user input, and the like (801). In a case where the voltage detected by the voltage sensor 400 is greater than or equal to a first voltage (Yes in operation 803), the controller 100 may control the switching element to connect the current limiting element 600 to the burner 200 (807).

Here, the first voltage may be an upper limit voltage of an applied voltage range for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1. For example, in a case where the applied voltage range for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1 is 102 V to 132 V, the first voltage may refer to 132 V.

In a case where the applied voltage exceeds 132 V, a voltage higher than the voltage for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1 is applied, which may cause damage to the bimetal coil 350 or the bimetal arm 360, resulting in an error such as gas leakage.

Accordingly, the switching element 500 may be controlled to include the current limiting element 600 in series in the current circuit, thereby reducing the current flowing through the cooking appliance 1. Accordingly, the cooking appliance 1 may operate normally even when a high voltage is applied.

Hereinafter, the following describes a case in which the applied voltage is significantly low.

In a case where the voltage detected by the voltage sensor 400 is less than a second voltage which is lower than the first voltage (No in operation 901), the controller 100 may cut off the voltage applied to the cooking appliance 1. That is, the voltage applied to the burner 200 of the cooking appliance 1 may be cut off by controlling a power relay 150 included in the power circuit (903).

Here, the second voltage may be a lower limit voltage of the applied voltage range for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1. For example, in a case where the applied voltage range for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1 is 102 V to 132 V, the second voltage may refer to 102 V.

In a case where the applied voltage is less than 102 V, a voltage lower than the voltage for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1 is applied, which may prevent the bimetal coil 350 or the bimetal arm 360 from bending sufficiently. As a result, gas may not be supplied properly, and an error such as ignition failure may occur due to the small amount of gas ejected.

Accordingly, the controller 100 may control the power relay 150 to cut off the power applied to the cooking appliance 1 to prevent malfunction.

When cutting off the voltage applied to the burner 200 as described above, the controller 100 may transmit a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner 200 to an external device via the communication circuitry 70 (905). That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the controller 100 may transmit a notification about the voltage cutoff to an external device such as a user terminal.

A phrase such as "The operation has stopped due to low power supply" may be displayed on the user terminal to notify the user that the cooking appliance 1 stopped operating.

In addition, the controller 100 may control the display 52 to display a notification that the voltage applied to the burner 200 is cut off.

In this case, a phrase such as "The operation has stopped due to low power supply" may be displayed on the display 52 of the cooking appliance 1 to notify the user that the cooking appliance 1 stopped operating.

In a case where the voltage detected by the voltage sensor 400 is less than the first voltage and greater than or equal to the second voltage (Yes in operation 901), i.e., when a voltage within the voltage range for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1 is applied, the controller 100 may control the switching element 500 to disconnect the current limiting element 600 from the burner 200 (907). That is, as described above, the cooking appliance 1 may perform normal operation by forming an existing power circuit that does not include the current limiting element 600.

Hereinafter, the following describes a case in which the applied voltage is significantly high.

In a case where the voltage detected by the voltage sensor 400 is greater than or equal to a third voltage which is higher than the first voltage (Yes in operation 805), the controller 100 may cut off the voltage applied to the cooking appliance 1. That is, the power relay 150 included in the power circuit may be controlled to cut off the voltage applied to the burner 200 of the cooking appliance 1 (1001).

Here, the third voltage may be a voltage higher than the upper limit voltage of the applied voltage range for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1. For example, in a case where the applied voltage range for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1 is 102 V to 132 V, the third voltage may refer to approximately 150 V.

In a case where the applied voltage is 150 V or more, which is much higher than a voltage for normal operation of the cooking appliance 1, an excessively high current may flow even when the current flowing through the current limiting element 600 is reduced.

Accordingly, the controller 100 may prevent malfunction by controlling the power relay 150 to cut off the power applied to the cooking appliance 1.

When cutting off the voltage applied to the burner 200 as described above, the controller 100 may transmit a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner 200 to an external device via the communication circuitry 70 (1003).

A phrase such as "The operation has stopped due to high power supply" may be displayed on the user terminal to notify the user that the cooking appliance 1 stopped operating.

In addition, the controller 100 may control the display 52 to display a notification that the voltage applied to the burner 200 is cut off.

In this case, a phrase such as "The operation has stopped due to high power supply" may be displayed on the display 52 included in the cooking appliance 1 to notify the user that the cooking appliance 1 stopped operating.

In summary, in a case where the voltage detected by the voltage sensor 400 is less than the second voltage, which is the lower limit voltage for normal operation, the controller 100 may cut off the voltage applied to the burner 200 and provide a related notification.

In a case where the voltage detected by the voltage sensor 400 is greater than or equal to the second voltage, which is the lower limit voltage for normal operation, and less than the first voltage, which is the upper limit voltage for normal operation, the controller 100 may control the switching element 500 to disconnect the current limiting element 600 from the burner 200 so that the cooking appliance 1 operates normally.

In a case where the voltage detected by the voltage sensor 400 is greater than or equal to the first voltage, which is the upper limit voltage for normal operation, the controller 100 may control the switching element 500 to connect the current limiting element 600 to the burner 200, thereby allowing the cooking appliance 1 to operate normally.

In a case where the voltage detected by the voltage sensor 400 is greater than or equal to a third voltage that exceeds the upper limit voltage for normal operation, the controller 100 may cut off the voltage applied to the burner 200 and provide a related notification.

As such, stable operation of the cooking appliance may be achieved by detecting the applied voltage, and reducing the current flowing to the cooking appliance using a separate resistor module, and the like, or stopping the operation of the cooking appliance, in a case where the applied voltage is outside the voltage range for stable operation of the cooking appliance.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a cooking appliance may include: a cooking chamber; a burner including an ignition device configured to ignite gas fuel, and configured to heat an inside of the cooking chamber by combusting the ignited gas fuel; a voltage sensor configured to detect a voltage applied to the burner; a current limiting element configured to reduce a current flowing to the burner; a switching element configured to be switched to connect or disconnect the current limiting element from the burner; and a controller configured to control the switching element to connect the current limiting element to the burner, in response to the voltage detected by the voltage sensor being greater than or equal to a first voltage.

According to the disclosure, stable operation of the cooking appliance may be ensured by detecting an applied voltage and, when the applied voltage is outside a voltage range for stable operation of the cooking appliance, reducing a current flowing to the cooking appliance using a separate resistor module or stopping the operation of the cooking appliance.

The controller may be configured to cut off the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the voltage detected by the voltage sensor being less than a second voltage lower than the first voltage.

The cooking appliance may further include communication circuitry configured to communicate with an external device, and the controller may be configured to transmit, to the external device, a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner via the communication circuitry, in response to the voltage detected by the voltage sensor being less than the second voltage.

The cooking appliance may further include a display, and the controller may be configured to control the display to display a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the voltage detected by the voltage sensor being less than the second voltage.

The controller may be configured to control the switching element to disconnect the current limiting element from the burner, in response to the voltage detected by the voltage sensor being greater than or equal to the second voltage and less than or equal to the first voltage.

The controller may be configured to cut off the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the voltage detected by the voltage sensor being greater than or equal to a third voltage higher than the first voltage.

The cooking appliance may further include communication circuitry configured to communicate with an external device, and the controller may be configured to transmit, to the external device, a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner via the communication circuitry, in response to the voltage detected by the voltage sensor being greater than or equal to the third voltage.

The cooking appliance may further include a display, and the controller may be configured to control the display to display a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the voltage detected by the voltage sensor being greater than or equal to the third voltage.

The current limiting element may include at least one resistor.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, in a method for controlling a cooking appliance including a cooking chamber, and a burner including an ignition device configured to ignite gas fuel and configured to heat an inside of the cooking chamber by combusting the ignited gas fuel, the method may include: detecting a voltage applied to the burner; and in response to the detected voltage being greater than or equal to a first voltage, controlling a switching element to connect a current limiting element configured to reduce a current flowing to the burner to the burner.

The method may further include cutting off the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the detected voltage being less than a second voltage lower than the first voltage.

The method may further include communicating with an external device; and transmitting, to the external device, a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the detected voltage being less than the second voltage.

The cooking appliance further may include a display, and the method further may include controlling the display to display a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the detected voltage being less than the second voltage.

The method may further include controlling the switching element to disconnect the current limiting element from the burner, in response to the detected voltage being greater than or equal to the second voltage and less than or equal to the first voltage.

The method may further include cutting off the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the detected voltage being greater than or equal to a third voltage higher than the first voltage.

The method may further include communicating with an external device; and transmitting, to the external device, a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the detected voltage being greater than or equal to the third voltage.

The cooking appliance further may include a display, and the method further may include controlling the display to display a notification about the cutoff of the voltage applied to the burner, in response to the detected voltage being greater than or equal to the third voltage.

The current limiting element may include at least one resistor.

According to the disclosure, stable operation of the cooking appliance may be ensured by detecting an applied voltage and, when the applied voltage is outside a voltage range for stable operation of the cooking appliance, reducing a current flowing to the cooking appliance using a separate resistor module or stopping the operation of the cooking appliance.

Meanwhile, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in the form of a recording medium that stores instructions executable by a computer. The instructions may be stored in the form of program codes, and when executed by a processor, the instructions may create a program module to perform operations of the disclosed embodiments. The recording medium may be implemented as a computer-readable recording medium.

The computer-readable recording medium may include all kinds of recording media storing instructions that can be interpreted by a computer. For example, the computer-readable recording medium may be read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a magnetic tape, a magnetic disc, a flash memory, an optical data storage device, etc.

Although embodiments of the disclosure have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, a person having ordinary skilled in the art will appreciate that other specific modifications may be easily made without departing from the technical spirit or essential features of the disclosure. Therefore, the foregoing embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting in all aspects.