Method and apparatus for detecting metal placed within a microwave oven

1. A computer implemented method in a data processing system, for detecting metal objects placed in a microwave cooking unit, the computer implemented method comprising:

activating a metal detection unit to scan for a presence of a metal object placed into a cooking area associated with the microwave cooking unit wherein the metal detection unit is activated to scan for a presence of a metal object entering the cooking area of the microwave cooking unit;

scanning a plane of an opening to the cooking area for the presence of the metal object; and

responsive to receiving an indicator of the presence of a metal object from the metal detection unit, generating an alert indicating the presence of the metal object.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying a type of metal associated with the metal object.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein the alert indicating the presence of the metal object is sent if the type of metal associated with the metal object is a harmful metal.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

de-activating a microwave cooking function of the microwave cooking unit responsive to detecting a presence of a metal object.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 4 further comprising:

re-activating the microwave cooking function upon receiving an indicator of the removal of the metal object from the cooking area.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 4 further comprising:

re-activating the microwave cooking function of the microwave cooking unit upon receiving an override signal.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the metal detection unit is located in a face of the microwave cooking unit and wherein the activating step further comprises:

detecting, by the metal detection unit, any metal object that passes through a scan zone at the opening of the microwave cooking unit.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the activating step further comprises:

triggering activation of the metal detection unit, wherein activation is triggered by opening a door of the microwave cooking device.

9. A computer implemented method, in a data processing system, for detecting metal objects placed in a microwave cooking unit, the computer implemented method comprising:

generating a first magnetic field in a scan zone of a metal object detector associated with the microwave cooking unit;

detecting a magnetic field associated with the metal object in the scan zone;

identifying a metal type of the metal object based on the magnetic field generated by the metal object, wherein the metal type is one of a harmful metal type and a harmless metal type;

responsive to determining that the metal type is the harmful metal type, sending an indicator of the presence of the metal object to a microwave controller; and

responsive to receiving the indicator of the presence of the metal object by the microwave controller, deactivating the microwave cooking feature of the microwave oven, wherein deactivating renders the microwave oven incapable of operating.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9 further comprising:

providing an alert indicator of the presence of the metal object in the cooking area, using a display coupled to the microwave cooking unit.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 9 further comprising:

responsive to determining an override has been received, sending an indicator of the absence of the metal object from the cooking area, reactivating the microwave cooking feature of the microwave oven.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 9 further comprising:

responsive to sending the indicator of the absence of the metal object from the cooking area, reactivating the microwave cooking feature of the microwave oven.