Cooktop

1. A cooktop appliance apparatus having a cooking surface for use in cooking, the apparatus including:

a heating subsystem associated with the cooking surface;

a controller for controlling operation of the heating subsystem;

a hardware-implemented safety module comprising two or more electronic safety circuits, each safety circuit having:

a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature associated with the heating subsystem, and

a comparator adapted to compare the sensed temperature with a threshold safety temperature, and

an electronic switch for activating operation of the heating sub-system;

wherein temperature sensors of the respective safety circuits are located beneath a sensor cap that is biased into a raised position above the cooking surface;

wherein electronic switches of the respective safety circuits together effect operation of the heating sub-system only when at least two safety circuits determine that the sensed temperature is below a predetermined threshold safety temperature.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the safety module is electrically isolated from circuitry driving the heating subsystem.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensors provide temperature measurements to the controller for used in controlling the heating subsystem.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , the apparatus further including:

a user interface adapted to receive a user input with respect to operating parameters of the heating system, the user input including a set temperature;

wherein the controller controls operation of the heating system based on the user selected set temperature and on a heating control mode.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the controller selects the heating control mode from one or more predetermined heating control modes based on the user selected set temperature.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the heating control mode defines a power level associated with the operation of the heating subsystem.

7. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the heating control mode defines a heating rate effected by the heating subsystem.

8. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the user selects the heating control mode from one or more predetermined heating control modes, and each of the one or more predetermined heating control modes is indicative of a respective heating rate.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein each of the one or more predetermined heating control modes is further associated with a respective temperature overshoot.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein:

the one or more predetermined heating control modes are configured to be separately associated with a selectable temperature range; and

the one or more predetermined heating control modes are configured to be separately associated with a selectable power range.

11. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein: the user selected set temperature determines a user selected temperature range, and the selected heating control mode is configured for the user selected temperature range.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein configuration of the selected heating control mode determines a maximum applied power that is a fraction of any predetermined power limit.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the selected heating control mode is a default setting.

14. The apparatus according to claim 4 , the apparatus further including an external probe temperature sensor coupled to the controller.

15. The application according to claim 1 , the apparatus further including:

a fan system for cooling one or more electronic circuitry subsystems; and

a fan controller for controlling operation of the fan system;

wherein the fan controller controls the fan system based on an average power level supplied to the heating system, and based on a temperature measure associated with the one or more subsystems;

a range of the average power level supplied to the heating system is mapped to a first range of fan speeds according to a first mapping, and a range of appliance subsystem temperatures is mapped to a second range of fan speeds according to a second mapping;

the controller controls the fan system by selecting a highest fan speed resulting from both the first mapping and the second mapping.