CH712395A2 - Kombigargerät with control. - Google Patents

Abstract

A cooking appliance comprises on the one hand a microwave generator and on the other hand a hot air generator and / or a heating device for heating the cooking chamber and / or a steam generator for supplying steam into the cooking chamber. The combination of cooking technologies optimizes cooking time and cooking results. The cooking appliance has a time mode (Z4-Z7) in which a desired cooking time can be specified. If, for example, a short cooking time is desired, the proportion of microwave power is increased. On the other hand, the cooking appliance has a power mode (L4-L7) in which a desired microwave power can be preset. Depending on the microwave power, the cooking appliance can predict the cooking duration and display it via input / output means.

Description

Description Field of the Invention The invention relates to a cooking appliance having a microwave generator and a hot air generator and / or a heating device and / or a steam generator for cooking food.

BACKGROUND Cooking appliances are known from the prior art which optionally or in combination comprise a microwave generator, a hot air generator, a heating device for heating the cooking chamber and / or a steam generator for supplying steam into the cooking chamber. By combining multiple gardening technologies into a single device, space and cost can be saved. In such combination devices, a user may select a cooking technology or a simultaneous use of multiple cooking technologies at the beginning of the process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide a cooking appliance with improved operating comfort.

The object is achieved by a cooking appliance with the features of the independent claim. The cooking appliance has a cooking chamber for receiving food and a microwave generator for heating the food. Cooking in the context of this invention is intended to include all manners of heating food, such as heating, heating, but also thawing food, food, liquids, etc.

Furthermore, the cooking appliance comprises a hot air generator and / or a heating device for heating the cooking chamber and / or a steam generator for supplying steam into the cooking chamber. A heating device is to be understood as a resistive heater in the cooking chamber or on the wall of the cooking chamber, in particular a grill, a top heat and / or a bottom heat.

Likewise, the cooking appliance comprises a controller for controlling a cooking process, a memory with at least one cooking program and input / output means for inputting a process parameter. Preferably, the cooking program determines what the starting state of the food is (e.g., "frozen carrots" or "non-frozen veal fillet"), and in what final state (e.g., "firm" or "medium-rare") the food is to be transferred.

The controller has a time mode, wherein in the time mode of the process parameters to be entered is the desired cooking time and the controller is configured to select the amount of microwave power supplied in the cooking process depending on the desired cooking time such that the cooking process in the desired cooking time is completed.

Alternatively, or in addition to the time mode, the controller has a power mode, wherein in the power mode, the process parameter to be entered is the desired microwave power and the controller is configured to calculate the expected cooking time for the cooking process, depending on the process parameter, and the input / output -means to display.

Under a cooking process is to understand any period of time during which the cooking appliance is in operation. It does not necessarily have to be a complete cooking process. Because it is also possible that a user changes the cooking program or the mode during the cooking process and thus a new cooking process is started.

The cooking programs can be configured as desired. Thus, it may be possible in a cooking program that the user manually specifies all the information which defines the cooking program, while another cooking program can be set according to specification, e.g. the nature of the food to be cooked pre-programmed boundary conditions, e.g. regarding initial state and desired final state of the food, applies.

The desired value of the process parameter and the cooking program can be specified via the input / output means. It is also possible for the controller to specify a default value for the process parameter which is used if the user does not specify a desired value of the process parameter.

The time mode and the power mode are basically the same modes, except that the process parameters are chosen differently. The starting position is the cooking duration, the microwave power and the cooking program. While in the time mode, the microwave power is determined as a function of the desired cooking time and depending on the cooking program of the controller, the cooking time is determined in the power mode depending on the desired microwave power and depending on the cooking program.

Both the time mode and the power mode allow convenient operation of the cooking appliance by a further process value is determined automatically by the controller depending on the process parameter.

Advantageously, the input / output means for inputting the amount and / or type of the food are configured. The control is designed a) in the time mode: to determine the supplied microwave power depending on the amount entered and / or the type of food and / or b) in the power mode: to calculate the expected cooking time depending on the amount entered and / or the type of cooking product.

The amount and / or the type of food can be communicated to the cooking appliance, for example, by the user via the input / output means. It is also possible that the cooking appliance has devices, in particular a balance or means for optical detection of the food, with which the controller can determine the amount and / or the type of food itself. Furthermore, conclusions about the type and / or quantity of the food can also be drawn from the absorbed microwave power. Such devices, with which the cooking appliance itself determines the type and / or quantity of the food, are also to be understood as input / output means.

By this additional information, which parameterize the cooking program to be used more precisely, the controller can determine the microwave power specific to the cooking product to keep the quality of the cooking result as high as possible. The calculation of the cooking time can be made more precise due to the additionally available information on the amount and / or the type of food.

Furthermore, the controller may be configured to provide a selection of cooking times and / or, in the power mode, a selection of microwave powers via the input / output means depending on the input of the amount and / or type of food in the time mode, i. limit the possible input range of the process parameter.

As a result, the controller makes a pre-selection of possible microwave powers and cooking times, so that the user can not choose the values of the process parameters such that a poor cooking result would be achieved.

Advantageously, at least three different desired cooking times can be entered via the input / output means in the time mode and / or in the power mode at least three different desired microwave powers.

It can thus beispielswiese not only be selected between the activation and deactivation of microwave power, but it is a graduated setting possible, which can be made more precise, the more different desired cooking times and / or microwave power can be entered.

The control can be advantageously designed to set the microwave power in the time mode such that a comparison with a cooking process without switching the microwave generator constant cooking result can be achieved.

This is for example possible by the controller depending on the entered cooking time just enough microwave power that at the end of the cooking time the same cooking result is achieved as if the cooking process would have been performed without microwave addition with maximum cooking time.

Further, it is also conceivable that the control limits the microwave power and dictates more or less microwave power depending on the time of cooking. For example, the highest possible microwave power can be selected if a food item from the refrigerator is to be heated to room temperature. Towards the end of a cooking process u.U. depending on the food only low microwave power possible to achieve a consistent cooking result.

Should the cooking time desired in the time mode be too low, the controller could correct the selection or suggest possible cooking times.

Whether two cooking results are equal, can be determined for example by means of a texture analysis to assess the mechanical and physical properties of the food after cooking.

Advantageously, the cooking appliance can have a memory in which model parameters for determining the microwave power to be applied in the time mode are stored as a function of the amount and / or the type of food to be cooked and depending on the desired cooking time.

Likewise, model parameters for determining the cooking time to be calculated in the power mode can be stored in the store as a function of the amount and / or the type of food to be cooked and in dependence on the desired microwave power.

The term model parameter means any information which the controller can use to calculate the microwave power and / or the cooking duration depending on the entered process parameter and the selected cooking program. These may, for example, be tabular values or parameters of functions. Furthermore, it is also possible for the cooking appliance to record data itself during operation and thereby optimize the model parameters stored in the device.

In a particular embodiment, the controller is designed to calculate in the power mode, how much shorter the cooking time for the cooking process fails with the desired microwave power compared to the cooking duration of the cooking process without microwave power.

By means of an indication of the cooking duration reduction, the user can be shown the time saving by the application of the desired microwave power in the power mode. This allows the user, while choosing the microwave power, to decide whether he is willing to accept additional microwave power for faster cooking.

Furthermore, the controller may be configured to take into account the magnetron temperature for determining the microwave power and / or for calculating the cooking time, preferably the current magnetron temperature at the time of entering the desired microwave power or the desired cooking time.

This can be achieved, for example, by measuring the temperature of the magnetron at the time of input in order to make a prediction as to whether the magnetron can give only limited power during the cooking process because of the high temperature and the cooking time therefore lengthens.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further embodiments, advantages and applications of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims and from the following description with reference to the figures. Showing:

1 is a flowchart of a method for operating the cooking appliance, and

Fig. 2 is a diagram of the dependence of cooking time and microwave power for a specific food.

The cooking appliance described here has, as mentioned, a cooking space in which the food can be heated in a manner known per se with a microwave generator and another heat source. The "other heat source" is advantageously a resistive heating device which is arranged on a wall of the cooking chamber, and / or a steam generator which introduces hot steam into the cooking chamber.

The device is equipped with a controller and with input / output means.

The controller provides the user with a plurality of cooking programs, one of which may select one of the input / output means. Some of these cooking programs may be conventional, e.g. However, at least a part of the cooking programs are designed as automatic programs in which the controller, as explained below, takes on an additional measure of control.

These cooking programs of interest here (hereinafter generally referred to as "cooking program" or "cooking programs") are intended to automatically convert a food to be cooked under control of the control from a defined initial state to a defined final state.

Preferably, a cooking program of this type defined by characteristic sizes, which should have the food at the beginning and at the end of the cooking process.

As characteristic quantities at the beginning of the cooking process, e.g. one or more of the following sizes: - type of food (eg meat and / or meat type, vegetables and / or vegetables) - quantity of the food (eg weight, volume, thickness etc.) - temperature or phase state of the food (eg starting temperature and / or indication of whether the food is frozen or not frozen).

As characteristic quantities at the end of the cooking process, e.g. one or more of the following sizes: - degree of fermentation (eg for meat an indication of whether the meat should be "well done", "medium" or "rare" or for vegetables an indication of whether it should be crisp or soft) - End temperature (eg in the form of a desired core and / or surface temperature) of the food.

The selection of the cooking program can be done completely manually, or (via suitable sensors) partially or completely automatically.

In addition to this selection of the cooking program, the user can select a process parameter of the cooking program. This can be the desired cooking time t or the desired microwave power P. This process parameter can be selected by the user e.g. explicitly (eg in minutes for t or as a percentage of maximum power or in watts for P) or implicitly («long», «medium» or «short» for t or «no microwave», «medium microwave» or « maximum microwave »for P).

The control of the device then controls the cooking process depending on the selected cooking program G and the specified process parameters t and P. For this purpose, it uses a numerical model, which combines the sizes G, t and P together. The model is stored in the controller so that it can calculate the microwave power P from the given values of G and t, or the cooking time t from the given values G and P. To this end, the controller may be able to evaluate one or both of the following functions f () of g (): t = f (G, P) (i) P = 9 (9. T) (2) Functions f () and / or g () can be used by the device manufacturer eg be determined in the context of tests and stored in the form of numerical parameters in the controller.

Fig. 2 shows an example of the relationship between microwave power P (Y-axis) and cooking time t (X-axis) for a particular cooking program.

As can be seen, the microwave power P decreases monotonously with increasing cooking time t in the rule.

A curve CI of the type shown in Fig. 2, the parameters of which are stored in the controller, can be used both to calculate equation 1 (given microwave power P) and to calculate equation 2 (given cooking time t) ,

For example, a specific cooking program can be cooked with a microwave power P of 300W in a time t300, at the microwave power P = 100 W, however, a time t100> t300 is needed.

As mentioned, corresponding data for several different cooking programs are stored in the control, which differ by characteristic sizes of the food at the beginning of the cooking process and / or at the end of the cooking process. For each cooking program model parameters are stored in the memory, which allow the microwave power P depending on the desired cooking time t and / or the expected cooking time t calculated from the desired microwave power. This is illustrated in Fig. 2 by the further indicated curves C2, C3, which define the relationship P (t) for e.g. specify different types of food or food to be cooked.

Thus, e.g. Curves for several different quantities of food to be stored. Now, if a cooking program is selected for a specific amount of food, the controller can use interpolation to predict a precise cooking time or optimally adjust the microwave output.

In addition, e.g. Curves can be stored for a different degree of cooking, for example for "bite-proof", "soft-boiled", "for puree", etc.)

Sequence: FIG. 1 shows a flow chart for a method according to which the cooking appliance can be operated.

In step SO, a user turns on the cooking appliance via the input / output means. The control proposes a default cooking program to the user. This may, for example, be a conventional cooking program, e.g. Oven operation at 190 ° C circulating air or a cooking program with microwaves, or to one of the above-mentioned automatic programs. The user can then accept this suggestion or select another cooking program. For example, he can select a cooking program from the «Entrecote», «Filet», «Vegetable», «Pizza» programs and, if necessary, further refine this selection by specifying characteristic quantities for the initial and / or final state of the food. For the given example, the user selects the cooking program «Entrecote», with the addition that the entrecote should be cooked at the end of the cooking process «medium».

In step S1, it is checked whether further information on the cooking program is needed or known, e.g. in the sense of the mentioned characteristic quantities about the initial and final state, in order to specify the cooking program more precisely.

To determine the amount of food to be cooked, e.g. a balance are available, and / or a Gargutsensor, which can be inserted by the user in the food, the start-core temperature of the food can be determined. Alternatively, the user can also enter corresponding values via the input / output means.

In step S3, it is checked whether the user has activated the time mode or the power mode via the input / output means. These two modes are described in more detail below.

If the user has decided on the time mode, he must specify in a next step on the input / output means the desired cooking time t, in which the cooking process must be completed. For this purpose, the controller calculates in step Z4 depending on the available data possible cooking times, from which the user can select one. The higher, e.g. the measured weight and the lower the starting core temperature measured by the food sensor, the greater will be the minimum cooking time that the controller can still suggest to the user to choose from.

In the calculation of the possible cooking times, the magnetron temperature of the microwave generator can also be included. If the magnetron temperature is already at a high value at the time of entering the desired process duration and / or microwave power, the controller, for the calculation of the cooking time, takes into account that the cooking process can not be run through with full microwave power. The minimum possible cooking time will lengthen accordingly.

In step Z5, the user selects the desired cooking time t from the possible cooking times.

In step Z6, the controller adjusts the course of the cooking program according to the cooking time selected by the user. For this purpose, it calculates, in the simplest case, the microwave power P according to the above formula (2).

If the user has decided, for example, for a long cooking time, then in the cooking program «entrecote» the food can be cooked down at a low oven temperature and without microwave power. If the user has decided, for example, to have the cooking time as short as possible, the cooking program starts with a maximum microwave power in order to raise the food to a specific temperature value from the starting temperature. In order to prevent a poor cooking result, the controller can also reduce the microwave power with increasing cooking core temperature, i. the microwave power P does not necessarily have to be constant throughout the cooking process. However, it is in any case dependent on the desired cooking time t and the selected cooking program G.

In principle, then the cooking process can be run through with the microwave power P thus determined and automatically terminated at the end of the cooking time t.

A somewhat modified variant is shown in Fig. 1, in which the controller monitors the condition of the food, e.g. by means of a core temperature sensor. Then, the controller checks during cooking in a step ZI repeatedly, whether under the current conditions, the desired cooking time t can be met. For example, if the core temperature of the food increases less rapidly than anticipated, the controller may increase the microwave power or oven temperature or reduce the microwave power at a later time to maintain the desired cooking time t. At the same time, the controller also checks the magnetron temperature. If a critical temperature value is exceeded, the controller reduces the microwave power and, if necessary, increases the cooking chamber temperature in order to be able to maintain the desired cooking time t.

In step S3, if the user has activated the power mode via the input / output means, then in step L4 the controller computes a possible selection of microwave powers which are proposed to the user via the input / output means and from which he can select one , To determine the possible microwave powers, the control, as in the time mode, takes into account the information resulting from the characteristic variables of the cooking program, e.g. the information known to the food. Is e.g. the cooking program "Entrecote" selected and the food is already at room temperature, for example, so the controller proposes the user no high microwave power, otherwise an unsatisfactory cooking result could be expected.

In step L5, the user selects one of the possible microwave powers as the desired microwave power P. The controller then calculates the estimated cooking time t according to the above formula (1) in step L6.

The thus determined cooking time t can then indicate the control to the user via the input / output means, for example as an absolute value or as a deviation from the cooking process without microwave power. This facilitates the user's choice of the desired microwave power, because he is always made aware of the rest of the cooking time by the controller.

In principle, the controller can now start the cooking process and time-controlled, terminate after the expiry of the determined cooking time t.

As in the time mode, the controller may repeatedly check during cooking in step L7 whether the cooking process is proceeding as predicted. In the event of deviations, the controller can recalculate the cooking time and display it to the user.

Comments: While preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the present application, it should be clearly understood that the invention is not limited thereto and may be embodied otherwise within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (10)

claims 1. Cooking appliance for cooking food, comprising - a cooking chamber for receiving the food, - a microwave generator for heating the food, - a hot air generator and / or a heater for heating the cooking chamber and / or a steam generator for supplying steam into the cooking chamber, a controller for controlling a cooking process, a memory with at least one cooking program, input / output means for inputting a process parameter and at least one cooking program, characterized in that the controller has a time mode (Z4-Z7), wherein in the time mode (Z4 -Z7) the process parameter is a desired cooking duration and the controller is configured to select an amount of microwave power supplied in the cooking process depending on the desired cooking time such that the cooking process is completed in the desired cooking time, and / or the controller has a power mode ( L4-L7), wherein in the power mode (L4-L7) the process parameter is a desired te microwave power is and the controller is designed to calculate depending on the process parameters an expected cooking time for the cooking process and display on the input / output means. 2. cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the input / output means for inputting a quantity and / or kind of the food are configured and the controller is formed a) in the time mode (Z4-Z7) for determining the supplied microwave power depending on the input quantity and / or the type of food and / or b) in the power mode (L4-L7) to calculate the expected cooking time depending on the amount entered and / or the type of food to be cooked. 3. Cooking appliance according to claim 2, wherein the controller is formed, depending on the input of the amount and / or type of food in the time mode (Z4-Z7) a selection of cooking times and / or in the power mode (L4-L7) a selection of microwave power to suggest about the input / output means. 4. Cooking appliance according to one of the preceding claims, wherein on the input / output means in the time mode (Z4-Z7) at least three different desired cooking times are entered. 5. Cooking appliance according to one of the preceding claims, wherein on the input / output means in the power mode (L4-L7) at least three different desired microwave powers can be entered. 6. Cooking appliance according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is adapted to set in the time mode (Z4-Z7) the microwave power such that a comparison with a cooking process without switching the microwave generator constant cooking result can be achieved. 7. cooking appliance according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cooking appliance has a memory - in which model parameters for determining the time in the mode (Z4-Z7) to be applied microwave power as a function of the amount and / or the type of food and in dependence of the desired Are stored, and / or - in which model parameters for determining the to be calculated in the power mode (L4-L7) cooking time depending on the amount and / or the type of food and stored in dependence on the desired microwave power. 8. Cooking appliance according to claim 7, wherein the controller has a plurality of cooking programs, which differ by characteristic sizes of the food at the beginning of the cooking process and / or at the end of the cooking process, wherein the model parameters for the plurality of cooking programs are stored in memory. 9. Cooking appliance according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is designed to calculate in the power mode, a reduction of the cooking time for the cooking process with the desired microwave power compared to the cooking time of the cooking process without microwave power. 10. Cooking appliance according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is adapted to take into account for determining the microwave power and / or for calculating the cooking time a magnetron temperature.