Abstract: A heating cooker includes a cooking chamber having a heater for heating food, a gas sensor for detecting the quantity of vapor evaporating from the food heated in the cooking chamber, a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature in the cooking chamber, and a controller for determined the kind of the food according to the quantity of vapor detected by the gas sensor, and for controlling the heating temperature and heating time of the heater according to the kind of food which has been determined.

Abstract: A washing machine which comprises a fixed outer tub, a washing or drying tub which is rotatably provided in the outer tub, a first electrode which is provided at the upper portion of the outer tub and connected to a high-frequency signal source, a second electrode which is provided at the upper portion of the washing or drying tub and forms an input condenser for high-frequency signal input together with the first electrode, a third electrode which is provided at the upper portion of the outer tub and connected to a high-frequency signal detecting circuit, a fourth electrode which is provided at the upper portion of the washing or drying tub and forms the output condenser for getting a high-frequency signal together with the third electrode, and water-level detecting means which is provided at a predetermined position of the washing or drying tub in electrical communication with the second and fourth electrodes so as to designate change of impedance defined between the second and fourth electrodes in accordan

Abstract: A canister vacuum cleaner capable of performing automatic control of rotary brush operation, locally within the power nozzle without communication between the power nozzle and the canister and of performing suction power control in accordance with the floor condition, without any extra electric connection between the power nozzle and the canister other than that for activating the rotary brush motor. The canister vacuum cleaner includes a power nozzle for cleaning floor by using the suction power including: a rotary brush for beating the floor; a rotary brush motor for activating the rotary brush; floor condition detector; and a device for controlling the rotary brush motor in accordance with the detected floor condition.

Abstract: A capacitance type sensitive element comprises a pair of electrode pairs formed on an insulating substrate and having opposite electrode faces perpendicular or slantingly formed with respect to a face of the insulating substrate; and a sensing material disposed between the opposite electrode faces of the electrodes and having electrical characteristics changed on the basis of the physical or chemical interaction between the sensing material and a substance to be detected.

Abstract: A temperature detecting device detects infrared rays from an object to be measured and determines the temperature of the object based on the detection result. To avoid the influence of contamination adhered to the infrared ray incident surface of an infrared ray detecting unit, a correction coefficient for the detection result of the infrared ray detecting unit is determined before actual temperature detecting starts. For this purpose, the infrared rays fed from the object into the infrared ray detecting unit are interrupted by a shutter device. The infrared ray detecting unit detects the infrared rays fed from the shutter device through the infrared ray incident surface, and it outputs a first detection value corresponding to the shutter temperature. A shutter temperature detecting element directly detects the actual temperature of the shutter device, and it outputs a second detection value corresponding to the actual temperature of the shutter device.

Abstract: In an air conditioning apparatus of the separate-type, an indoor unit is mounted on a wall of a room. The indoor unit is provided with an infrared ray detection unit which has an infrared ray sensor for sensing infrared rays, a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature in the detection unit, and a slit window for restricting a field of view of the detection unit. The detection unit is horizontally swung with a discharge opening of the indoor unit, from which warm or cold air is discharged, so that the room is swept by the field of view and the air. The room temperature distribution is obtained from the output signal from the detection unit and, the amount of the discharged air directed to the respective areas of the room is adjusted in accordance with the room temperature distribution.

Abstract: The microwave oven includes a heat chamber, an infrared detector for detecting infrared rays irradiated from an object to be heated in the heating chamber, a chopper for alternately interrupting the path of infrared rays to the detector, an oscillator for producing a reference signal used for driving the chopper, and a circuit for regulating the output of the detector and the phase of the reference signal. The infrared detector does not require any phase adjustment to accommodate frequency shifts due to fluctuations in the power frequency.

Abstract: A microwave oven is provided according to which food is cooked while a temperature sensor is inserted in the food and the heating of the food is interrupted in response to an output signal of the temperature sensor. The temperature sensor comprises a hollow skewer, a bellows which is attached to the skewer and in which is sealed a liquid of high coefficient of thermal expansion, and a sound generating body of a plate spring for generating a sound when the hollow skewer is heated by the food, the liquid is expanded, the bellows is stretched, and the force generated thereby overcomes the biasing force. The microwave oven stops heating and cooking when a sound is generated.

Abstract: A microwave oven comprising a magnetron for emitting microwaves; a heating chamber body for holding food being heated by microwaves from the magnetron; an infrared ray transmitting section provided in the top wall of the heating chamber body for transmitting infrared rays emitted from the food; an infrared ray detecting device disposed over the infrared ray transmitting section and comprising a horn member and an infrared ray detecting element, the horn member being made of material capable of cutting off microwaves and having a hollow extending toward the heating chamber body into which infrared rays are applied from the food and the infrared ray detecting element being so positioned as to detect infrared rays condensed by the hollow, the hollow having a diameter increasing toward the heating chamber body and a minimum opening size smaller than the wavelength of microwaves and having a spread angle so set that only infrared rays emitted from the food may be allowed to reach the infrared ray detecting element

Abstract: The apparatus for measuring the degree of rinsing for use in a washing machine is provided with a source of light, a first phototransistor disposed to receive light emitted by the light source for producing a reference signal, a second phototransistor disposed to receive the light from the light source for producing a measuring signal corresponding to the amount of light received and a calculating circuit for arithmetically operating the reference signal and the measuring signal for producing an output signal corresponding to the relative values of the reference signal and the measuring signal. A first optical path between the light source and the first phototransistor and a second optical path between the light source and the second phototransistor are both disposed in rinsing water and the length of the first optical path is set to be longer than the length of the second optical path.