Patent 8074637 was granted and assigned to Panasonic on December, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A high frequency heating apparatus with a range hood, which has an opening for exhausting air and a cover for closing the opening, includes a microcomputer control unit for controlling an automatic opening/closing operation of the cover, a control panel for setting an operation of the apparatus, a display unit for displaying the control status, and a detecting unit for detecting an exhaust direction of a blower. The exhaust direction of the blower can alternate between indoor circulation and outdoor ventilation and the control unit opens the cover only when the detected exhaust direction of the blower is the indoor circulation and the cooling unit is stopped, and the control unit closes the cover when the detected exhaust direction of the blower is the outdoor ventilation or the cooling unit operates.