Microwave oven and related method

1. A method of operating a microwave oven comprising:

operating a magnetron to provide microwave power for heating a load disposed in the microwave oven; and

providing microwave power, during a time period when there is no microwave output from the magnetron, with a solid-state microwave generator for sensing a presence or determining a nature of the load in the microwave oven; and

synchronizing a duration of pulses of microwave power provided by the solid-state microwave generator with time periods during which there is no microwave output from the magnetron.

2. The method according to claim 1 , comprising the steps of:

operating the solid-state microwave generator to provide microwave power into a cavity of the microwave oven;

measuring microwave power reflected from the cavity or a resulting microwave field inside the cavity during operation of the solid-state microwave generator to obtain a measurement signal;

comparing the measurement signal with a load reference signal data set to produce a comparison result; and

producing an indication of the presence or the nature of the load in the cavity based on the comparison result.

3. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising obtaining a plurality of measurement signals for different frequency settings of the solid-state microwave generator, and comparing the measurement signals to a frequency dependent load reference signal data set.

4. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising comparing a measurement signal obtained by operation of the solid-state microwave generator with an earlier measurement signal for determining the nature of the load.

5. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising adjusting one or more of a set of parameters for controlling operation of the magnetron based on an indication of the presence or the nature of the load.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:

receiving user input of one or more parameters for controlling operation of the microwave oven;

operating the solid-state microwave generator to provide microwave power into a cavity of the microwave oven;

measuring microwave power reflected from the cavity or a resulting microwave field inside the cavity during operation of the solid-state microwave generator to obtain a measurement signal;

associating the measurement signal with said one or more parameters to establish an associated measurement signal; and

storing said one or more parameters and the associated measurement signal in a load reference signal data set.

7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising operating the solid-state microwave generator as an initial step in a heating cycle of the microwave oven.

8. A method of operating a microwave oven comprising:

operating a magnetron to provide microwave power for heating a load disposed in the microwave oven; and

providing microwave power with a solid-state microwave generator for sensing a presence or determining a nature of the load in a microwave oven during a half mains period when there is no current through the magnetron and during a time period when there is no microwave output from the magnetron.

9. The method according to claim 8 , comprising the steps of:

operating the solid-state microwave generator to provide microwave power into a cavity of the microwave oven;

measuring microwave power reflected from the cavity or a resulting microwave field inside the cavity during operation of the solid-state microwave generator to obtain a measurement signal;

comparing the measurement signal with a load reference signal data set to produce a comparison result; and

producing an indication of the presence or the nature of the load in the cavity based on the comparison result.

10. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising obtaining a plurality of measurement signals for different frequency settings of the solid-state microwave generator, and comparing the measurement signals to a frequency dependent load reference signal data set.

11. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising comparing a measurement signal obtained by operation of the solid-state microwave generator with an earlier measurement signal for determining the nature of the load.

12. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising adjusting one or more of a set of parameters for controlling operation of the magnetron based on an indication of the presence or the nature of the load.

13. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising the steps of:

receiving user input of one or more parameters for controlling operation of the microwave oven;

operating the solid-state microwave generator to provide microwave power into a cavity of the microwave oven;

measuring microwave power reflected from the cavity or a resulting microwave field inside the cavity during operation of the solid-state microwave generator to obtain a measurement signal;

associating the measurement signal with said one or more parameters to establish an associated measurement signal; and

storing said one or more parameters and the associated measurement signal in a load reference signal data set.

14. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising operating the solid-state microwave generator as an initial step in a heating cycle of the microwave oven.

15. A microwave oven, comprising:

a magnetron for providing microwave power to heat a load disposed in the microwave oven, and

a solid-state microwave generator for providing microwave power to sense a presence or determine a nature of the load in the microwave oven wherein the solid-state microwave generator is configured to provide microwave power during a time period when there is no microwave output from the magnetron and such that a duration of pulses of the microwave power is synchronized with time periods during which there is no microwave output from the magnetron.

16. The microwave oven according to claim 15 , further comprising

a measuring unit;

a processing unit; and

a cavity in which the load can be received;

the solid-state microwave generator being configured to provide microwave power into the cavity;

the measuring unit being configured to measure microwave power reflected from the cavity or a resulting microwave field inside the cavity to produce a measurement signal; and

the processing unit being configured to compare the measurement signal with a load reference signal data set and produce an indication of the presence or the nature of the load.

17. The microwave oven according to claim 16 , further comprising a control unit configured to adjust one or more of a set of parameters for controlling operation of the magnetron based on the indication of the presence or the nature of the load.

18. A microwave oven, comprising:

a magnetron for providing microwave power to heat a load disposed in the microwave oven, and

a solid-state microwave generator for providing microwave power to sense a presence or determine a nature of the load in the microwave oven, wherein the solid-state microwave generator is configured to provide microwave power during a half mains period during which there is no current through the magnetron and during a time period when there is no microwave output from the magnetron.

19. The microwave oven according to claim 18 , further comprising

a measuring unit;

a processing unit; and

a cavity in which the load can be received;

the solid-state microwave generator being configured to provide microwave power into the cavity;

the measuring unit being configured to measure microwave power reflected from the cavity or a resulting microwave field inside the cavity to produce a measurement signal; and

the processing unit being configured to compare the measurement signal with a load reference signal data set and produce an indication of the presence or the nature of the load.

20. The microwave oven according to claim 19 , further comprising a control unit configured to adjust one or more of a set of parameters for controlling operation of the magnetron based on the indication of the presence or the nature of the load.