EP3189279B1 - Operating a food treatment device and food treatment device - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for operating a food treatment device with a food treatment room. The invention also relates to a food treatment device with a food treatment room, the food treatment device being designed to carry out the method. The invention is particularly advantageously applicable to baking ovens, microwave devices and / or steam treatment devices.

DE 10 2006 020 883 A1 discloses a method for performing an at least partially automated cleaning process in an electrical household appliance, in particular in a household oven, in which the operator of the electrical household appliance starts the at least partially automated cleaning process via an input device connected to a machine control, with at least one piece of information about the machine control is output and displayed on a display device. In order to simplify the operation of the device when carrying out the cleaning process, it is provided that the method comprises the steps: a) An assistance function for carrying out the cleaning process carried out or automatically by the operator using the input device, as soon as the operator has automated the at least partially Cleaning process starts by means of the input device; b) The machine control system starts an interactive mode in which all information required to carry out the cleaning process is displayed on the display device and in which the operator is requested to enter information and / or confirm proposed measures via the input device; c) Starting the cleaning process in the electrical household appliance after the operator has entered all the required information.

DE 40 17 628 A1 discloses a stove with pyrolytic self-cleaning, the muffle of which can be operated by a heating element arranged in at least one wall area and optionally with additional circulating air heating, the muffle being ventilated by a circulating air fan and equipped with means for pyrolytic self-cleaning, with a The automatic pyrolysis system that detects pollution limit values controls the pyrolytic self-cleaning system, the automatic pollution limit value detection system comprising a limit value comparator and a pyrolysis control which are connected to one another.

DE 100 15 760 C2 discloses a method for operating a cooking oven, in which a cooking space can be heated by means of at least one heating device, the type of heating device used and / or the type of operating program selected being recorded as operating parameters in addition to the operating time of the heating device and the temperature each time the cooking device is operated , each parameter is assigned a specific characteristic value, the characteristic values are mathematically linked to determine at least one total value, and then, if the at least one total value is equal to or greater than at least one predetermined limit value, an acoustic and / or signal indicating the time of an oven cleaning to be carried out optical signal is given.

DE 10 2009 059 263 A1 discloses a device, in particular a beverage maker, steam cooker, laundry treatment device, oven, with a steam generator for generating steam from water and / or a hot water generator for generating hot water, with a water connection to a water supply device, with a device for decalcifying water-carrying or steam-carrying parts , in particular of the steam generator or the hot water generator and with a control device that is assigned to the device for descaling in order to automatically switch the device to a state of descaling operation during a break in operation, after switching off or during standby mode . In order to improve a device of the type mentioned above so that as many of the steam and water-carrying devices as possible can be decalcified, the device for decalcifying has the following means: a means for removing water from the water supply device via the water connection in order to To remove water from the water supply device during decalcification operation, a means for treating the water taken from the water supply device in order to lower the pH value of the water removed, and a means for supplying treated water to the water-carrying or steam-carrying parts, in particular the steam generator or of the hot water generator.

However, the above-mentioned methods for cleaning appliances are either not applicable or can only be used to a limited extent or can only be implemented with great effort.

DE 10 2008 048 960 A1 discloses a method for cleaning a food processing device and a food processing device therefor, which are based on the knowledge that parallel to the calculation of cleaning points and adding them up to a cleaning account, the switch-on time of a heating device, preferably without weighting, is added up to a heating time in order to obtain a cleaning point increase from the To obtain quotients of the cleaning points and the heating time. For this purpose, threshold values can be used, namely on the one hand for the cleaning points and on the other hand for the cleaning point increase. A first threshold value for the optimal point in time and a second threshold value for the optimal cleaning method are to be determined empirically.

EP 1 953 457 A1 discloses a method for cleaning a food processing device, comprising at least partial removal of dirt, lime and / or corrosion from at least one surface of at least one interior of the food processing device and / or from said interior, depending on a certain degree of cleaning, determined by means of a degree of soiling, Degree of calcification and / or degree of corrosion, from a first point in time t1, at which a first cleaning process of the food processing device is completed, to a second point in time t2 of the operation of the food processing device, the degree of cleaning of the same is determined via at least one first variable characteristic of the operation, and for second time t2, at least one second variable characteristic of a second cleaning method is automatically determined, the first variable being determined by a temperature profile at which each value of the temperature is selected lt from the temperature in the interior, the heating temperature of a heating device of the food processing device and / or the temperature of a fluid for loosening, dissolving and / or removing dirt, lime and / or corrosion, during the period between the first point in time t1 and the second point in time A certain number of cleaning points is assigned to t2, and in the case in which no second cleaning process is started at the second point in time t2, from the second point in time t2 the at least one characteristic first variable and the at least one characteristic second variable are updated, and either at a third point in time t3 after the second point in time t2 a third cleaning method, determined by at least one third variable, is automatically initiated or suggested to a user, or at a fourth point in time t4 after the second point in time t2 a fourth cleaning process, determined by at least a fourth variable, is automatically initiated or the food processing appliance is switched off, or when a fifth cleaning process is carried out from the second point in time t2, the fifth cleaning process being different from the second cleaning process, or from third point in time t3, the fifth cleaning method differing from the third cleaning method, the cleaning points being adapted to the fifth cleaning method; and a food processing apparatus for performing such a method.

DE 100 15 760 A1 discloses a method for operating a cooking oven in which a cooking chamber can be heated to a selectable temperature for any time by means of at least one heating device, the operating time of the heating device and the temperature being recorded as operating parameters each time the cooking oven is operated, each parameter a specific characteristic value is assigned, the characteristic values are arithmetically linked to determine at least one total value, and when the at least one total value is equal to or greater than at least a predetermined limit value, an acoustic and / or optical signal indicating the time of an oven cleaning to be carried out is given.

EP 2 623 868 A1 discloses a cooking appliance with a flexible sequence control for the automatic cleaning of a cooking chamber. It is possible to enter values for a combination of parameters of a cleaning system. These parameters can include the degree of soiling, the cleaning time, the energy consumption, the water consumption, the cleaning agent consumption, the detergent consumption and / or the total cleaning costs. The parameter sets can be entered, saved and called up or deleted. When setting the parameter values, undefined parameters are automatically changed accordingly in order to achieve an improved result. Inappropriate or impossible combinations of parameters are blocked. The parameters can be considered user friendly touch-sensitive bars are displayed. You can choose from several optimization options, such as: B. for cost optimization, time optimization, resource optimization and ecological optimization that reduces resource consumption.

It is the object of the present invention to at least partially overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and, in particular, to provide an easy to implement and also particularly user-friendly option for cleaning a food treatment room of a food treatment device.

This object is achieved according to the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments can be inferred in particular from the dependent claims.

The object is achieved by a method for operating a food treatment device with a food treatment room, a first number n1 of activated food treatment operating modes of a first type being counted which meet at least one first boundary condition, a second number n2 of activated food treatment operating modes of a second type is counted that meet at least one second boundary condition, which differs from the at least one first boundary condition, and then, when a quotient formation of the first number n1 and the second number n2 meets a predetermined criterion a predetermined criterion, at least one cleaning action by the food treatment device is triggered, wherein the food treatment operating modes counted by means of the first number n1 include soiling-promoting food treatment operating modes and the food treatment operating modes counted by means of the second number n2 include soiling-reducing food treatment s modes include. The more often the food treatment room has been used to carry out the food treatment operating modes of the first type, which are typically soiling, the sooner the at least one cleaning action is triggered. By counting the soiling-reducing food treatment modes, the effect of known (but not currently measured) soiling-reducing food treatments is taken into account, whereby the time until the at least one cleaning action is triggered can be extended.

This method has the advantage that to determine when a cleaning process of the food treatment room should be carried out, no operating time since the last cleaning is used, but values of various parameters and states can be used as the first boundary conditions, whose fulfillment individually or in combination only the minimum trigger a cleaning action. In particular, such a cleaning time may be triggered later, which saves costs and effort for a user. In addition, this method can be used to ensure with simple means that the at least one cleaning action is triggered in good time so that no functional impairment or even damage due to contamination occurs on the food treatment device. In addition, the method can be carried out using conventional components of food processing devices, which saves equipment costs. The soiling of a food treatment room actually produced by a food treatment sequence that has been carried out does not need to be determined; It is thus achieved that the triggering of the at least one cleaning action can be triggered in a particularly precisely coordinated manner with soiling of the food treatment room, and that even without having to measure the soiling of the food treatment room. Rather, it is sufficient that the food treatment sequence belongs to the food treatment operating mode of the first type or the second type and that fulfills at least one first or second boundary condition, for which case a typical contribution to soiling or soiling of the food treatment room is known.

As an indicator for the expected contamination of the food treatment device and thus for a time interval between two cleaning processes, the food treatment device can in particular generally evaluate which functions and operating modes and how often the functions and operating modes have been selected or activated by an operator.

The food treatment device may in particular be a cooking device. The cooking appliance may for example have an oven function, a microwave function and / or a steam treatment function. The food treatment device is in particular a household device. In particular, it is an electrically operated device. The food treatment device may be a large household device or a compact device. A food treatment operating mode is understood to mean, in particular, a specific operating mode of the food treatment device which is provided and set up to treat food accommodated in the food treatment room. The treatment of the food may include, for example, a specific cooking of the food. A cooking mode may include, for example, an upper heat, a lower heat or a hot air mode. A food treatment operating mode may also be microwave treatment and / or steam cooking.

No food treatment mode may be, for example, a cleaning mode such as pyrolysis or ecolysis. A keeping warm mode may not be viewed as a food treatment mode either.

Food treatment operating modes of a first type are understood to mean, in particular, a first set or group of predetermined food treatment operating modes. This first set or group may only comprise a single food treatment mode. The food treatment operating mode (s) of the first type can, in one variant, comprise all the food treatment operating modes of the food treatment device.

A food treatment operating mode of the first type is therefore added to the first number n1 if at least one first boundary condition is or is fulfilled during its activation. The addition can e.g. by simple increment n1 (new): = n1 (old) + 1. The first boundary condition may also include the activation of the food treatment operating mode as such.

The fact that the first number n1 fulfills a predetermined criterion may include, for example, that the first number n1 reaches, falls below or exceeds a comparison value. This is equivalent to the statement that the number n1 of the food treatment operating modes of the first type which meet the at least one boundary condition has reached, fallen below or exceeded a comparison value. The fall below may also include remaining below the comparison value. Reaching, exceeding and / or falling below at least one comparison value may also include entering and / or remaining in a predefined value band around the comparison value. That the first number n1 is a predetermined criterion fulfilled, may also include that a function value f (n1) calculated on the basis of the first number n1 fulfills a predetermined criterion.

The at least one cleaning action may e.g. comprise outputting a cleaning instruction to a user. The cleaning instruction may e.g. are output as text or symbols on a display unit of the food treatment device. The at least one cleaning action may additionally or alternatively be an acoustic and / or visual signal, e.g. as a flashing signal. The acoustic signal may e.g. be a sound signal or a voice output. A notice may also be a message via a network to a computer, smartphone or the like. of the user. The at least one cleaning action may also include a cleaning sequence for the food preparation device, e.g. as part of automatic self-cleaning.

It is a development that all of the food treatment operating modes of the first type counted by means of the first number are typically soiling. The triggering of the at least one cleaning action can thus be determined particularly easily.

It is a further development that the food treatment operating modes counted by means of the first number n1 are to be weighted or given weighting factors W. For example, a certain food treatment operating mode of the first type may be counted twice or three times as much as another food treatment operating mode of the first type. The weighting factors W can, for example, depict a typical degree of soiling. So n1 (new): = n1 (old) + 1 · W may apply, where W can be selected as a function of typical contamination.

It is a further development that all of the food treatment operating modes counted by means of the second number are typically pollution-reducing. The triggering of the at least one cleaning action can thus be determined particularly easily.

It is a further development that all of the food treatment operating modes counted by means of the second number n2 are typically either polluting or pollution-reducing. For a soiling of the food treatment room, neutral or inconspicuous food treatment modes are not counted. In this way, too, the triggering of the at least one cleaning action can be determined particularly easily, e.g. by forming the quotient of the first number n1 with the second number n2 (i.e. e.g. by n1 / n2, n2 / n1 or a function thereof) and by comparing the quotient with a predetermined comparison value.

It is still a further development that the food treatment operating modes counted by means of the second number are weighted or given weighting factors V. Thus, a certain food treatment mode of operation of the second type may be counted twice or three times as high as another food treatment mode of operation of the second type. The weighting factors V can, for example, depict a typical degree of pollution reduction. So n2 (new): = n2 (old) + 1 · V may apply, where V can be selected depending on a typical pollution-reducing effect.

It is a further development that at least one food treatment operating mode of the first type corresponds to a food treatment operating mode of the second type, for example hot air operation. Whether this food treatment operating mode is counted by means of the first number n1 and / or the second number n2 may then depend on whether the at least one first boundary condition and / or whether the at least one second boundary condition is met.

It is a further development that at least one food treatment operating mode is only counted by means of the first number n1 or is only counted by means of the second number n2. Thus, at least one food treatment mode of operation may be taken into account, which potentially only has a pollution-promoting, but not pollution-reducing effect, or vice versa.

It is a further embodiment that at least one boundary condition includes reaching, exceeding and / or falling below at least one predetermined temperature value as the comparison value. This configuration has the advantage that it has been shown that the temperature has a significant influence on the pollution effect. E.g. When the first temperature value is reached, a considerable amount of oils and fats are released, which can contaminate the food treatment room. The fall below may also include remaining below a temperature value. Reaching, exceeding and / or falling below at least one temperature value may also include entering and / or remaining in a predetermined temperature range.

The first number n1 and / or the second number n2 may therefore be increased, for example, if a first type or the second type (e.g. in an oven operation such as a hot air operation or in a top heat operation or grill operation) or a second temperature value is reached, exceeded or fallen below or remains. The first and second temperature values may be the same or different. The first temperature value may in particular be higher than the second temperature value. For example, the first number n1 may be increased if the current temperature reaches or exceeds a first temperature value of 230 ° C., for example, during operation of the oven. The second number n2 may be increased, for example, when the current temperature reaches or exceeds a second temperature value of 100 ° C. when the oven is in operation, but does not reach or exceed a further second temperature value of 180 ° C. for at least two minutes. In other food treatment modes of the first type, for example a combined one Baking / steaming operation, the same or different temperature values may serve as comparison values.

In general, a boundary condition can be time-dependent or time-independent. In the case of a time-dependent boundary condition, for example, this may only be fulfilled (and e.g. an associated number counted) if it is fulfilled for a predetermined, in particular uninterrupted, period of time. In other words, a boundary condition may be met if it is also met for at least a predetermined period of time. For example, a first boundary condition may include reaching or exceeding a predetermined temperature value, but a first number is only counted if the predetermined temperature value has been reached or exceeded for at least fifteen minutes (interrupted or uninterrupted). In the case of a time-independent boundary condition, this is in particular independent of the duration of its fulfillment. Time-dependent and time-independent boundary conditions can also be used together, e.g. a time-dependent first constraint and a time-independent second constraint.

The temperature value may be a temperature setpoint. This may e.g. have been set by a user. The temperature value may alternatively or - e.g. as part of a further first and / or second boundary condition - additionally be an actual temperature value. The actual temperature value may be a temperature value applied to or measured by a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor may e.g. be a temperature sensor built into the food treatment device, in particular in its food treatment room. For example, the temperature sensor may be a temperature sensor installed on a ceiling of the food treatment room for regulating the temperature of the food treatment room. The temperature it senses is also referred to as the "controller temperature". The temperature sensor may, however, also be a stand-alone sensor, e.g. a core temperature probe.

It is still another embodiment that at least one boundary condition comprises reaching, exceeding and / or falling below at least one sensor measured value. The sensor (which in particular is not a temperature sensor) may be, for example, a gas sensor, in particular an oxygen sensor. A certain oxygen content or range of an oxygen content, in particular a low oxygen content, indicate food treatment that is conducive to contamination. The falling below may also include remaining below a sensor measured value. Reaching, exceeding and / or falling below at least one sensor measured value may also include entering and / or remaining in a predetermined value band. The sensor measured value may be a directly measured value or a value derived therefrom, for example a gas concentration gradient over time.

It is still another embodiment that at least one boundary condition comprises activating at least one food treatment function. As a result, the effect of a pollution-promoting or pollution-reducing effect of a specific food treatment function may also be taken into account.

The device function may also be a specific cooking program (e.g. "roast pork" or "French fries") or a specific setting for a cooking program (e.g. "crispy") if the food treatment device is equipped with an automatic program. If, for example, a cooking program is activated for a roast pork, at least the first number n1 may be increased.

A cooking program may include one or more food treatment operating modes as respective partial steps. These can be the same and / or different. A cooking program may thus include one or more hot air cooking steps and / or one or more top heat or grill cooking steps. In order to carry out the method, it is a further development that each of the food treatment operating modes or partial steps can be counted individually. Another development is that the cooking program is counted analogously to a food treatment operating mode if the at least one associated food treatment operating mode fulfills a predetermined boundary condition.

It is also an embodiment that at least one further boundary condition comprises reaching, exceeding and / or falling below at least one function value specific to the at least one cooking device function, e.g. a steam strength.

It is also an embodiment that the at least one cleaning action is triggered when at least a third number of similar food treatment operating modes the first type is activated in sequence. As a result, the effect of a sequence of (in particular particularly) soiling-promoting food treatment operating modes can be taken into account. For example, at least one cleaning action may be triggered if an oven operating mode with a temperature of more than 230 ° C. has been activated three times in a row (ie without an interposed, soiling-reducing food treatment operating mode). This may take place, for example, within a cooking program, with the food treatment operating modes being able to represent partial steps of the cooking program.

It is also an embodiment that the at least one cleaning action is triggered when at least a fourth number of food treatment modes of the first type within a fifth number of food treatment modes are activated, e.g. an oven operating mode three times with a temperature of more than 230 ° C within five food treatment operating modes. This can also take place, for example, within a cooking program, with the food treatment operating modes being able to represent partial steps of the cooking program.

If a cleaning process is carried out, the at least one number determined by the method (e.g. the first number n1, the second number n2, etc.) is preferably reset to zero. It is a further development that premature termination of the cleaning process does not result in the at least one number n1, n2, etc. being reset.

The food treatment device may offer different cleaning processes (e.g. depending on the degree of soiling determined or the desired energy consumption), such as an energy-saving cleaning process and an intensive cleaning process or a cleaning process with different cleaning intensities, e.g. easy, medium or strong.

If no cleaning process is activated after the first number n1 has reached the criterion, the counting continues. If a cleaning process is subsequently activated, this can be adapted to a number of activations of food treatment operating modes of the first type, which meet at least one first boundary condition, beyond the first number n1 after the cleaning instruction has been output. For example, the cleaning process can be carried out with a higher cleaning intensity (e.g. 'medium' instead of 'light' or 'strong' instead of 'medium') if a number of food treatment modes of the first type, which meet at least one first boundary condition, after serving of the cleaning instruction reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

If no cleaning process is activated after a cleaning instruction has been issued, the food treatment device or individual functions thereof may be blocked and only released again after a cleaning process has been carried out. The blocking may be triggered, for example, if a number of activations of food treatment operating modes of the first type, which meet at least one first boundary condition, exceeds a predetermined threshold value beyond the first number after the cleaning instruction has been issued.

The object is also achieved by a food treatment device with a food treatment room, the food treatment device being designed as described above for carrying out the method. The food treatment device may be designed analogously to the method and results in the same advantages.

It is an embodiment that the food treatment device has a self-cleaning function. In particular, the self-cleaning function can reduce device defects such as Avoid damage to enamel or damage to a microwave antenna from heavy soiling. Heavy soiling is prevented because the food preparation device is cleaned sufficiently early.

It is a further development that the self-cleaning function comprises a liquid-based cleaning, e.g. by means of a spray head protruding into the food treatment room. The liquid-based cleaning may e.g. the action of water with or without cleaning additive or the action of only a cleaning agent.

It is still a further development that the self-cleaning function comprises a pyrolysis process, that is to say the food treatment device is a pyrolysis device. When pyrolysis is the oven interior is heated to around 500 ° C; Existing contaminants decompose at these temperatures.

Another development is that the self-cleaning function comprises an ecolysis process, that is to say the food treatment device is an ecolysis device. Ecolysis is a further development of pyrolysis. With Ecolysis, temperatures of around 270 ° C are sufficient to remove impurities in the oven thanks to the optimized surface of the food treatment room, which due to its coarse structure contains numerous oxygen stores. An Ecolysis surface may be present in particular on the rear wall, on the side walls and on the ceiling of the food treatment room. With the Ecolyse, an automatic self-cleaning system can also be offered for inexpensive food preparation devices. A timely triggering of the at least one cleaning action achieved by means of the method can in particular maintain the functionality of the cleaning-active Ecolysis surface. If cleaning is done too late, there is a risk of irreversible damage to the Ecolyse surface, so that the surface can no longer be cleaned and the surface becomes sooty. Soiled surfaces are clogged and darker in color than Ecolysis-active surfaces, so that sooting also leads to aesthetic disadvantages.

The food treatment device may in particular have a control device on which the method can be carried out. The control device may have a corresponding evaluation function for this purpose. The control device may have a memory unit or be coupled to one, wherein the memory unit can store the number (s) determined in the course of the method and / or the number of cleaning processes. It is a further development that the control device is set up to adapt at least one criterion for triggering the at least one cleaning process. Thus, a user may adapt at least one criterion individually to their own usage behavior or to individual preferences, or may even suppress the triggering of the at least one cleaning action entirely.

A number of cleaning processes that have already been carried out may also be stored in the memory.

The storage unit may in particular be an erasable, non-volatile memory, e.g. an EEPROM. The memory contents are still available even after a power failure.

The properties, features and advantages of this invention described above and the manner in which they are achieved will become clearer and more clearly understood in connection with the following schematic description of an exemplary embodiment which is explained in more detail in connection with the drawings.

The single figure shows a possible sequence of the method for a food treatment device in the form of a baking oven B. The food treatment device is thus a cooking device. It is also a household appliance.

In a first method step S1, a user activates a cooking mode, namely in the following, without restricting the generality, an overheating or grill mode.

In a second method step S2 it is checked whether there is a food treatment operating mode of a second type which fulfills at least one second boundary condition. It is assumed here that the grill mode is a food treatment mode of both a first type and a second type. The second boundary condition is considered to be fulfilled if a cooking space temperature (e.g. in the form of a controller temperature) exceeds 120 ° C, as indicated by the branch "J". The grill mode is then regarded as "relevant to soiling" and added to the number n2. For this purpose, in a third method step S3, the number n2 of soiling-relevant food treatment operating modes that have been activated (since a last cleaning sequence) stored in a memory of the baking oven B is incremented, i.e. according to n2: = n2 + 1 counted up.

However, if the second boundary condition is not (possibly yet) fulfilled in method step S2, as indicated by branch "N", its fulfillment is checked until the end of the grill operating mode. If, for example, the grill mode is deactivated again before the oven temperature of 120 ° C has been reached, no counting is carried out, since the grill mode is not relevant for soiling up to this oven temperature.

In a method step S4 following method step S3, it is checked whether the grill operating mode (which, as assumed above, is also a food processing operating mode of the first type) fulfills a first boundary condition. The second boundary condition is considered to be fulfilled when the cooking space temperature exceeds 230 ° C., as indicated by the branch "J". The grill operating mode is then regarded as "polluting" and added to the number n1. For this purpose, in a fifth method step S5, the number n1, which is also stored in the memory of the oven B, of soiling-promoting food treatment operating modes activated (since a last cleaning sequence) is incremented, i.e. according to n1: = n1 + 1 counted up.

However, if the first boundary condition in method step S4 is not (possibly yet) fulfilled, as indicated by branch "N", its fulfillment is checked until the end of the grill operating mode. If the grill mode is deactivated again before the oven temperature of 230 ° C has been reached, n1 is not incremented.

Thus, while n1 represents a number of food treatment operating modes (under the corresponding first boundary conditions) that promote soiling, n2 represents a number of (under the corresponding second boundary conditions) food treatment operating modes that are relevant (i.e., soiling-promoting and / or soiling-reducing), a difference may be n2 - n1 consequently correlate with the number of pollution-reducing food treatment modes.

In a subsequent method step S6, it is checked whether the number n1 has reached or exceeded a predetermined comparison value Na as a criterion, that is to say whether n1> = Na applies.

If this is the case (branch "J"), at least one cleaning action could already be triggered in a variant not shown. In the embodiment shown, however, in a further method step S7, a comparison follows as a criterion as to whether a ratio of the number n1 to the number n2, for example expressed by Q = n1 / n2, has reached or exceeded a further specified comparison value Nb, i.e. whether Q > = Nb applies. In terms of content, this corresponds to the comparison of whether a proportion of activated soiling-promoting food treatment modes in relation to all Contamination-relevant food treatment operating modes has reached or exceeded the threshold value Nb. In a simplified way, this can also be expressed in such a way that it is evaluated whether a “comparatively large number” of soiling-relevant food treatment operating modes have been activated. Alternatively, the ratio n1 / (n2-n1) could also be used for this comparison. Method step S7 thus also takes into account the presence of activated, contamination-reducing food treatment operating modes. The more soiling-reducing food treatment operating modes that have been activated, the longer the triggering of the at least one cleaning action can be postponed.

If the criterion Q> = Nb is met in method step S7 (branch "Y"), at least one cleaning action is triggered in method step S8, e.g. a notice is issued to a user.

If, on the other hand, the criterion Q> = Nb is not met in method step S7 (branch "N"), the comparison value Na is increased in method step S9, e.g. according to Na (old): = Na (new) + p with p> 0, e.g. 25. This prevents method step S7 from automatically following method step S6 from the occurrence of n1> = Na with each subsequent activated food treatment operating mode (until a cleaning sequence is carried out). Rather, at least p further food treatment operating modes can now be activated before method step S7 is carried out again.

If the number n1 has not yet reached the specified comparison value Na in method step S6 and thus n1 <Na applies, a method step S10 first checks whether at least a third number n3 (e.g. n3 = 3) of soiling-promoting food treatment modes has been activated one after the other is. If this is the case (indicated as “Y”), the process proceeds to step S8 and at least one cleaning action is triggered. However, if this is not the case (indicated as "N"), a method step S11 checks whether at least a fourth number n4 (e.g. n4 = 5) of soiling-promoting food treatment modes within a fifth number n5 (e.g. n5 = 10) of soiling-relevant food treatment operating modes activated one after the other has been activated. If so (as "J" indicated), the procedure is transferred to step S8 and at least one cleaning action is triggered. However, if this is not the case (indicated as "N"), the method is concluded and a further activation of a further food treatment operating mode is awaited in method step S1.

The numbers n1 to n5 can be reset to the value "zero" when a cleaning sequence is carried out. The cleaning process may e.g. include an ecolysis, if the oven B is an ecolysis device. If a cleaning process is only carried out when the number n1 has significantly exceeded the comparative value Na (e.g. because a user is behind schedule), a particularly intensive cleaning process may be carried out in order to achieve thorough cleaning.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown.

Thus, in a particularly simple variant of the method, method steps S2, S3, S7, S9, S10 and S11 can be dispensed with. It is also only possible to dispense with S2, S3, S7 and S9, possibly also one of the steps S10 or S11.

In general, “a”, “a” etc. can be understood as a singular or a plurality, in particular in the sense of “at least one” or “one or more” etc., as long as this is not explicitly excluded, for example by the expression “exactly” a "etc.

List of reference symbols

B.

oven

n1-n5

First through fifth numbers

N / A

Comparison value

Nb

Comparison value

p

Incremental value

S1-S11

Procedural steps

T

Controller temperature

Claims (11)

1. Method (S1-S11) for operating a food treatment device (B) having a food treatment chamber, wherein

   - a first number (n1) of activated food treatment modes of a first type is counted (S5), said modes satisfying at least one first boundary condition (S4),

   - a second number (n2) of activated food treatment modes of a second type is counted (S3), said modes satisfying at least one second boundary condition which differs from the at least one first boundary condition (S2), and

   - whenever a formation of quotients of the first number (n1) and the second number (n2) satisfies a predetermined criterion (S6, S7) at least one cleaning action is triggered (S8) by the food treatment device (B) and
   wherein

   - the food treatment modes counted by means of the first number (n1) comprise soiling-promoting food treatment modes and

   - the food treatment modes counted by means of the second number (n2) comprise soiling-reducing food treatment modes.
2. Method (S1-S11) according to claim 1, wherein the food treatment modes counted by means of the first number (n1) are soiling-promoting under the at least one first boundary condition and the food treatment modes counted by means of the second number (n2) are soiling-reducing under the at least one second boundary condition.
3. Method (S1-S11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one cleaning action is triggered (S8) when at least a third number (n3) of similar food treatment modes of the first type is activated in succession (S10).
4. Method (S1-S11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one cleaning action is triggered (S8) when at least a fourth number (n4) of food treatment modes of the first type is activated (S11) within a fifth number (n5) of food treatment modes.
5. Method (S1-S11) according to claim 4, wherein the fourth number (n4) is the number of partial steps running within an automatic program with respective food treatment modes of the first type and the fifth number (n5) is the number of partial steps with respective food treatment modes of the second type.
6. Method (S1-S11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one boundary condition comprises reaching, exceeding and/or falling below at least one predefined temperature value (S2, S4).
7. Method (S1-S11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one boundary condition comprises reaching, exceeding and/or falling below at least one sensor measured value.
8. Method (S1-S11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one boundary condition comprises activating at least one cooking appliance function.
9. Method (S1-S11) according to claim 8, wherein at least one further boundary condition comprises reaching, exceeding and/or falling below at least one function value specific to the at least one cooking device function.
10. Food treatment device (B) having a food treatment chamber, characterised in that the food treatment device (B) is designed to carry out the method (S1-S11) according to one of the preceding claims.
11. Food treatment device (B) according to claim 10, characterised in that the food treatment device (B) is a pyrolysis device or an ecolysis device, wherein ecolysis is a form of the development of pyrolysis, wherein a surface of the treatment chamber is coarsely structured and as a result contains oxygen stores, as a result of which cleaning already takes place at approximately 270°C.

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