Abstract: An automatic baking apparatus comprises a kneading case doubling as a baking die mounted removably in a heating chamber, an inlet and an outlet formed in the side wall of the heating chamber, a fan casing having the inlet and the outlet, a fan arranged in opposed relationship to the inlet of an air passage formed by the side wall of the heating chamber and the fan casing, a fan heater formed by being bent in the vicinity of the outlet, a motor for driving the fan, a dough temperature sensor arranged downward of the kneading case, a room temperature sensor for detecting the room temperature, a lower heater arranged downward of the kneading case, a blade drive in the kneading case, a motor for driving the blade, and a microcomputer. In accordance with the temperatures detected by the dough temperature sensor and the room temperature sensor, the motors and heaters are driven thereby to bake up the dough into bread within a predetermined length of time.

Abstract: A seal on a door for a microwave oven. The seal is a resonant cavity extending along the flange of the oven. The resonant cavity has an offset inlet facing the flange with a dimension less than 2/3 of the distance to the center of the cavity. The cavity is further interrupted at intervals less than 1/2 of the microwave wavelength. A dielectric cover fills the inlet and has projections into the cavity on either side of the inlet.

Abstract: Disclosed is a microwave heating apparatus which comprises a turntable for reducing the irregularity of heat with the rotation movement of a subject to be heated within a heat chamber, a bread casing used for automatically performing an entire process of kneading raw ingredients, fermentation, gas escape, baking and the like, a first driving shaft made of a metal pipe and provided to drive a kneading blade mounted within the bread casing, and a second driving shaft made of a microwave-permeable dielectric substance provided to drive the turntable, the second shaft being arranged to pierce a hollow portion of the first driving shaft. According to the aforementioned construction, the turntable and the kneading blade can be effectively driven by the respective optimum motors. A choke cavity and a disk shaped conductive plate prevent microwave energy from leaking out of the heat chamber along the respective driving shafts.

Abstract: There is disclosed a card type foodstuffs heating apparatus with a plurality of differnt heating modes in which at least one desired heating mode is selected from the plurality of heating modes by means of one card selected in use from a plurality of different cards.Each of the different cards carries main information for instructing the selection of at least one heating mode required for a desired cooking from the plurality of heating modes, and additional information for instructing at least one additional heating conditions determined dependent on the specified heating mode. The apparatus has setters for setting the additional heating conditions in accordance with the additional information carried by a selected card, and a heating operation controller for actuating the specified heating mode in accordance with the main information carried by the selected card so as to effect the heating operation under the set additional heating condition.

Abstract: A waveguide filter for use in a microwave oven having a plurality of metallic plates disposed in a waveguide in substantially parallel to side walls of the waveguide. The metallic plates are provided in the upper and lower edges thereof with a series of openings at a constant interval so as to provide a corrugated configuration. First members are disposed for providing a certain spacing between adjacent ones of the metallic plates and holding the metallic plates substantially in parallel to one another; and second members including metal members are disposed between the side walls of said waveguide and the ones of the metallic plates adjacent the waveguide side walls for creating a substantially uniform clearance between the upper and lower edges of the metallic plates and the upper and lower walls of the waveguide and for holding the metallic plates substantially in parallel to the waveguide side walls.

Abstract: A safety device for an open-type combustor such as a room-type oil stove which is capable of quickly extinguishing the flame of the combustor upon the occurrence of oxygen starvation but which does not operate unnecessarily during ordinary shut-off operations. A thermally deformable element is mounted in the vicinity of a wick guide cylinder or the like for detecting changes in temperature in case of abnormal combustion. An interlock body provided through an operating lever operates an automatic fire-extinguishing unit in response to the thermally deformable element. An engagement/locking portion is provided in the vicinity of the thermally deformable element for engaging and locking the interlock body.

Abstract: A luminous indicating device and comprising at least one luminous block adapted to be buried in a road surface so that a radiating surface thereof is flush with the road surface. The luminous block is formed of a composite material block and at least one luminous element which is formed of a transparent material block and a light source buried at one end portion of the block to radiate light from the other end surface of the block. The luminous block is buried in the composite material block so that the other end surface of said transparent material block is flush with a top surface of the composite material block.

Abstract: Many frozen foods are now sold on the market and also produced by household refrigerators, and most of these frozen foods are eaten after thawing or after cooking under heat subsequent to thawing. The importance of thawing is thus increasing more and more. This invention provides a heating apparatus of simple construction capable of effectively thawing a frozen food to meet the above demand. The heating apparatus of the present invention is based on the fact that the dielectric loss of a frozen food itself varies as the frozen food is progressively heated. In the heating apparatus, a signal wave is directed toward a frozen food, and the variation of the rate of absorption of the signal wave due to the dielectric loss of the food is measured, so as to automatically control the process of heating for thawing on the basis of the result of measurement.

Abstract: A novel high frequency heating apparatus for detecting the internal temperature of an object contained in a heating chamber and controlling the heating thereof is disclosed, in which the temperature change of the object is picked up as a change of the resistance value of a thermistor. The resistance change is converted into a change of the oscillation frequency of an oscillator and transmitted with the ultrasonic wave as a medium. The power supply for the transmitter circuit is provided in such a manner that the high frequency filled in the heating chamber for heating the object is received by an antenna and rectified by a diode. At the receiving end, this ultrasonic wave is picked up as a temperature signal of the object, and processed by a microcomputer, so that the temperature of the object is detected for heating control.

Abstract: A high-frequency heating apparatus including a heating chamber accommodating an object to be heated and a high-frequency oscillator supplying its high-frequency output into the heating chamber to heat the object by the high-frequency energy. The high-frequency heating apparatus comprises an output change-over device for changing over the level of the high-frequency output of the high-frequency oscillator and a temperature sensing device for sensing the temperature of the object being heated. The output change-over device is actuated to reduce the power level of the high-frequency output of the high-frequency oscillator when the level of the output signal of the temperature sensing device attains a predetermined temperature setting, and thereafter, the high-frequency oscillator supplying the high-frequency output of reduced power level is turned on-off a plurality of times depending on the level of the output signal of the temperature sensing device relative to the temperature setting.

Abstract: A microwave heating apparatus having a door equipped with a microwave attenuating cavity constituted by a fundamental wave choke channel and a second higher harmonic choke channel opposing thereto back to back. A wall surface defining the second higher harmonic choke channel has a periodic structure provided with a plurality of trapezoidal metal pieces a tip of each of which is bent inwards. The periodic structure efficiently guides leakage microwave energy into the microwave attenuating cavity and promotes microwave energy leakage preventive effect. The door is suitable for reduction in size and thickness and permits a microwave heating apparatus of improved space factor to be provided.

Abstract: In a foodstuffs heating apparatus wherein a plurality of different heating function modes are selectively effected and heating temperature and heating time are settable, when an oven heating function is selected from the plurality of function modes by a selected cooking card, the function of selector switches adapted to select heating function modes other than the oven heating function may be changed from the heating function mode selection to the heating temperature setting, so that the setting of heating temperature may automatically be effected by utilizing the cooking card.

Abstract: Disclosed is a heating apparatus which is capable of heating an object to be heated placed in its heating chamber until the color of the surface of the object changes to a given extent, and in which the wavelength of light of visible spectrum range which is emitted from a light source to illuminate the surface of the object placed in the heating chamber and reflected therefrom is sensed by a color sensor to judge the degree of change in the hue of the surface of the object on the basis of the wavelength sensed by the color sensor to thereby control the heating operation on the basis of the result of judgement.

Abstract: A heating apparatus in which an object to be heated placed in its heating chamber can be heated until the surface of the object is charred as desired by the user. A first photo sensor senses the intensity of light of visible spectrum range directed toward and reflected from the surface of the object being heated, and a second photo sensor senses the light intensity related to the light reflected from the surface of the object, that is, at least one of the intensity of illuminating light emitted from a light source and the intensity of illuminating light coming from the exterior of the heating chamber. The degree of charring of the surface of the object is judged on the basis of the output signals from the first and second photo sensors, and the heating operation is controlled on the basis of the result of judgement.

Abstract: A cooking appliance including both a resistive heating element and a high-frequency wave source such as a microwave generator in which a metal skewer is easily insertable through a front opening in a heating chamber and in which changes in dimensions in supporting members for the skewer are absorbed totally. A ceramic coupling member extends between a polygonally-shaped rotary shaft end and the metal skewer with a coupling hole in the coupling member being detachably insertable over the polygonally-shaped rotary shaft end. The skewer extends into a through-hole in the coupling member which has a shape similar to that of the skewer. A spring is provided to urge the coupling member outwardly into engagement with the rotary shaft end.

Abstract: A cooking apparatus provided with a card type switch actuator including a card holder having at least an openable cover member and a bottom wall disposed in opposition to the cover member in its closed state, a plurality of push-button switches mounted on the bottom wall of the card holder, a plurality of cards of a substantially same size prepared for various control purposes, respectively, and a chamber provided in the card holder for accommodating a selected one of the cards at a predetermined position. Each of the push-button switches has a push-button head projecting in the chamber from the bottom wall, and each of the cards is provided with through-holes of a size slightly greater than that of the push-button head at locations corresponding to the positions of those push-button switches which are not to be actuated depending on the control purpose assigned to the card.

Abstract: A cooking heating apparatus is provided in which an object to be heated is subject to char cooking, the apparatus having a detector circuit for detecting the charred condition by detecting the intensity of reflected visible light from the surface of the object and a heating device for burning and removing foreign materials created upon heating the object and deposited on a transparent glass which is provided for preventing the foreign materials from reaching a light source which provides the visible light and a photosensor which detects the reflected visible light. The apparatus may further comprise means for forcing off the foreign materials burnt by the burning and removing elements by means of a forced air flow and/or a device for scattering the foreign materials given off from the object upon heating to prevent the foreign materials from reaching the transparent glass.