DE102019130443A1 - Method and system for representing a cooking process carried out in a cooking appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for displaying a cooking process carried out in a cooking device (5) on a display (33), the cooking device (5) having a cooking space (9), at least one heating device (11, 13) for heating the cooking space ( 9), and is equipped with an operating device (18) for the selection of cooking programs, and with a camera (21) taking pictures from the cooking space (9). In order to make the viewing of cooking processes more appealing, it is provided that a control device ( 27) collects images recorded by the camera (21) and assembles the collected images into a time-lumped representation of the cooking process on the display (33), optionally with the generation and addition of intermediate images that represent the transitions of two consecutive images collected in time also relates to a system (1) which includes a cooking appliance (5), a camera (21), a display (33), an operating device (18) and a control unit einrichtung (27) comprises and is suitable and designed for carrying out the method.

Description

The invention relates to a method for displaying a cooking process carried out in a cooking device on a display, the cooking device being equipped with a cooking space, at least one heating device for heating the cooking space, and with an operating device for selecting cooking programs, and with a camera taking pictures from the The cooking space. The invention also relates to a system for carrying out such a method.

The use of cameras in cooking appliances is known from the patent literature. Cameras are used, for example, to transfer recordings from the cooking chamber to a mobile device ( WO 2017/092690 A1 ). In addition, the recordings made with the camera are used to recognize the food itself, markings on the food or certain states of the food, see DE 20 2011 002 570 U1 , EP 1 742 513 A2 , DE 10 2007 048 834 A1 . From the US 2017/0176019 A1 it is known to record a video of the cooking process with the camera in order to share it with others on social media, for example. Since cooking processes can take up to several hours, viewing such a video is often very time-consuming. In the case of a long cooking process in particular, this can mean that the user has to watch a video lasting several hours.

The invention thus has the problem of disclosing a method and a system with which the viewing of cooking processes is more appealing.

According to the invention, this problem is solved by a method with the features of claim 1 and by a system with the features of claim 8. Advantageous refinements and developments of the invention emerge from the respective subsequent subclaims.

The advantages that can be achieved with the invention result from a method for displaying a cooking process carried out in a cooking device on a display, the cooking device being equipped with a cooking space, at least one heating device for heating the cooking space, and with an operating device for selecting cooking programs, and whereby a camera takes pictures from the cooking chamber. A control device collects images recorded by the camera and combines the collected images into a time-accumulated representation of the cooking process on the display, possibly with the generation and addition of intermediate images that represent the transitions of two consecutive images collected. In this way, a documentation of the cooking process can be generated that shows all the important phases in this process in a very appealing and concise manner. The images are collected in a suitable storage medium, which can be part of the cooking appliance, but also an external storage medium, for example a cloud. The storage medium can, however, also be assigned to an external device, for example a mobile device, that has a display for displaying the film produced, for example a smartphone or a tablet. The control device can also be part of the cooking appliance, an external computer or part of the smartphone or tablet. It is possible to collect all the captured images and use them to create the film, but it may also be practical to either collect only a portion of the captured images or to use only a portion of the collected images to create the film. Corresponding algorithms must then be processed in the control device for this purpose. The number of images generated and collected depends in particular on the data rate at which the images recorded can be transferred to the storage medium. For short cooking processes and / or at low data rates, it can therefore be advantageous if the control device generates and inserts one or more intermediate images, which represent the transition between these images, between two consecutive images collected.

• - Entscheiden durch die Steuereinrichtung auf der Basis der Anzahl der gesammelten Bilder, ob die Anzahl einen Minimalwert unterschreitet, einen Maximalwert überschreitet oder zwischen dem Minimalwert und dem Maximalwert liegt;
• - abhängig von der Entscheidung der Steuereinrichtung:
  1. a) Darstellen eines Bildes auf dem Display, wenn die Anzahl einen Minimalwert unterschreitet;
  2. b) Zusammensetzen der gesammelten Bilder unter Erzeugung und Hinzufügung von Zwischenbildern zu einer zeitgerafften Darstellung des Garprozesses auf dem Display, wenn die Anzahl zwischen dem Minimalwert und dem Maximalwert liegt;
  3. c) Zusammensetzen gesammelter Bilder zu einer zeitgerafften Darstellung des Garprozesses auf dem Display, wenn die Anzahl den Maximalwert überschreitet.

The method described above is advantageously implemented by the following method steps:

• The control device decides on the basis of the number of images collected whether the number falls below a minimum value, exceeds a maximum value or lies between the minimum value and the maximum value;
• - depending on the decision of the control device:
  1. a) showing an image on the display when the number falls below a minimum value;
  2. b) Composition of the collected images with generation and addition of intermediate images to a time-lumped representation of the cooking process on the display, if the number is between the minimum value and the maximum value;
  3. c) Composition of collected images to form a time-lumped representation of the cooking process on the display when the number exceeds the maximum value.

The control device decides whether there is a sufficient number of images in order to to be able to produce a film either with intermediate images (alternative b) or even without intermediate images (alternative c). It is particularly advantageous if the number of images makes it possible to produce a film according to the PAL standard, ie with at least 25 images per second. If this is not possible, only a single image is shown instead of a film, for example the last one recorded.

It is particularly advantageous if the control device defines a maximum duration for the time-lumped display of the cooking process, and if, depending on the number of images collected, the maximum duration is either not reached or, if necessary, adhered to by increasing a frame rate R or omitting collected images. This means that the films with the time-lapse images do not become excessively long during long cooking processes. The maximum duration is advantageously between 5 and 10 seconds, in particular around 6 seconds. If the cooking process is short and / or the data rate is low, then a movie is produced that is shorter than the maximum duration. It is advantageous if the duration does not fall below a minimum of 2 seconds.

The maximum duration can be set in the control device, but it can also be selected by a user input. The user input can be made on the operating device, directly on the control device, on the camera or on the display.

In one possible embodiment of the method according to the invention, the control device collects images at equidistant points in time of the cooking process. This can take place either in that the camera records images at equidistant points in time or in that the control device only collects images from an abundance of images from previously determined equidistant points in time.

However, it can also be advantageous if, as a function of the selected cooking program, the control device calculates times in the cooking process at which the camera records images or at which the control device collects recorded images. In the case of longer cooking processes in particular, the influence on the food to be cooked is relatively small at the beginning, so it can be more interesting to use more images from the end of the cooking process to create the film. Alternatively, the recorded images could also be evaluated and only those images in which the rate of change exceeds a predetermined amount can be used for the creation of the film. To do this, however, there would have to be more images than are needed to create the film.

It is particularly advantageous if the control device optimizes the recorded or collected images for the time-gathered display before they are used. The optimization can contain a lens correction (correcting lens distortions) and / or a gamma correction (brightness and contrast) and / or a re-sharpening. This improves the quality of the film.

The advantages that can be achieved with the invention also result from a system which comprises a cooking appliance, a camera, a display, an operating device and a control device and which is suitable and designed for carrying out a method according to at least one of the preceding claims.

The display can be an integral part of the cooking appliance, for example in a control panel, but also as part of the appliance door. However, it can also advantageously be part of an external device (smartphone, tablet, laptop, PC, TV device) to which the control device sends the time-gathered representation of the cooking process.

In such a system, the camera can also be permanently installed in the cooking device, but it can also be designed separately as an external camera or it can be part of a mobile device (tablet, smartphone) that is either placed in the cooking space (very high requirements would have to be met here to the heat resistance) or take photos from the outside through a transparent window, for example in the door of the device. In this case, the camera can either be part of the device in which the display is arranged, but it can also be designed as a third, separate device or module. In all of the aforementioned cases, the term camera is to be interpreted broadly; the camera can comprise one or more image capturing devices; it can be suitable for capturing images in the visible range, but also in the IR range or in combinations thereof. The part of the control device that carries out the image optimization described above can also be fully or partially integrated into the camera.

The control device itself can also be integrated into the cooking device, but it can also be completely or partially outsourced from the device, for example in a cloud or an external control computer, or even in the external device in which the display and / or the camera are located is located.

The same applies to the operating device, which can also be permanently installed in the cooking device, for example in a control panel located above a device door, but also in the door itself. The operating device can of course also be part of the external device in which the display and / or the camera is located. Or it can represent another external device or be part of the same.

In any case, it is advantageous if the control device comprises a control computer and a communication device for transmitting data within the control device and / or between the control device and the operating device and / or the camera and / or the display. The control computer can be part of the cooking appliance or it can be an external device. However, it can be partially integrated into the cooking appliance and form the device control there and partially outsourced to an external device, for example in a cloud or in an external control computer. It can even be wholly or partially a component of the external device in which the display and / or the camera are located. The communication device must be suitable for the transmission of data between parts of the control computer and / or between the control computer and the operating device and / or the camera and / or the display; it can be wired and / or radio, telecommunications, Bluetooth, NFC , Use WLAN or LAN. There is also the possibility that the type of data transmission between the individual components of the system is different.

An embodiment of the invention is shown purely schematically in a drawing and is described in more detail below. The figure shows a system according to the invention 1 with an external monitoring device in the form of a mobile terminal 3rd , a cooking device in the form of an oven 5 and a central computer unit 7th provided by the manufacturer of the oven 5 is operated in the manner of a cloud system.

The oven 5 has a cooking space 9 on, in the heating devices, here two top heat radiators 11 and a ring heater 13th are arranged with a circulating air fan. This can be used in the oven 9 Food brought in, hereinafter referred to as food 15th denotes, warmed or heated and thereby at least partially cooked. In the following, this warming / heating process is referred to as the cooking process. The oven 5 can of course also be equipped with other heating devices, not shown, such as radiant heaters, bottom heaters, microwave sources, steam sources or the like. In the oven 9 there is also a food rack 17th on which the food 15th can be positioned to carry out the cooking process.

The oven 5 is with a control device 18th in the form of a control panel 19th equipped, which is in 1 is indicated by the dashed rectangle. With the control panel 19th different cooking processes can be selected, which usually differ in terms of parameters such as the duration, the type of heating, the calorific values provided for the respective heating device and, if necessary, additional functions such as steaming, flavoring and much more. On the one hand, a specific program can then be set in which the aforementioned parameters, with the exception of the duration, are fixed. The duration must either be set additionally, or the user simply ends the cooking process by switching off the power supply to the heating devices. However, so-called automatic programs can also be selected, in which the user then only provides information about the nature of the food and, if necessary, additional information about the desired target state. The device control then automatically selects the aforementioned parameters and controls the cooking process, possibly taking into account sensor-recorded data from the process. Of course there are also control panels 19th , in which mixed forms of these two operating principles can be found. Appropriate control panels 19th are sufficiently known from the prior art and are therefore not shown in more detail in the figures.

In addition or as an alternative, it is now used in ovens 5 Also state of the art, operation via an app on the mobile device 3rd to enable. With this the program can be set and then started or just one on the oven 5 with the control panel 19th preset program can be started remotely. With such systems 1 it is then often provided that this app is used by the oven 5 Information about the cooking process on the mobile device 3rd are sent and displayed there. Of course it is also possible that the oven 5 is operated by means of a first mobile terminal and the information about the cooking process is sent to one or more other mobile terminals.

• Der Film soll nicht weniger als eine Mindestdauer Tmin und nicht mehr als eine Höchstdauer T_max besitzen. Es werden Einzelbilder mit einer Bildrate R zusammengesetzt. Die Einzelbilder können die optimierten Bilder sein, es können aber auch Zwischenbilder sein, die die Computereinheit 7 aus zwei aufeinanderfolgenden optimierten Bildern berechnet und die den Übergang zwischen zwei solchen optimierten Bildern darstellen. Dabei können zwischen zwei optimierten Bildern mehrere Zwischenbilder den Übergang darstellen. Pro Sekunde Film soll mindestens eine Bildanzahl A von optimierten Bildern verwendet werden.

In the embodiment of the invention is the oven 5 with a camera 21st equipped, the pictures from the oven 9 can accommodate. In particular, the camera is 21st so in the oven 21st directed that with her the food to be cooked 15th is detected when it is on the food support 17th is positioned. The device control 23 of the oven 5 is part of a tax computer 25th the control device 27 who, in addition to their usual tasks, ie controlling the cooking process based on the selected program, also use the camera here 21st controls and causes them to take pictures from the cooking space 9 and thus of the food 15th to record. The images of a cooking process are transmitted via a communication module 29 , which is part of a communication facility 31 is to the central computer unit 7th sent, which is also part of the control computer 25th and thus part of the control device 27 is. This is done via an initial internet connection 32 that the communication facility 31 from the device control 23 to the central computer unit 7th manufactures. In the central computer unit 7th the recorded images are collected and initially optimized by various correction methods such as lens correction and / or gamma correction and / or re-sharpening. Then the computer unit continues 7th the collected and optimized images to a film with a time-lumped representation of the cooking process, possibly with the creation and addition of intermediate images. The following assumptions and requirements apply:

• The film should have no less than a minimum duration Tmin and no more than a maximum duration T _max . Individual images with a frame rate R are put together. The individual images can be the optimized images, but they can also be intermediate images that the computer unit 7th calculated from two successive optimized images and which represent the transition between two such optimized images. Several intermediate images can represent the transition between two optimized images. At least one image number A of optimized images should be used per second of film.

All of the aforementioned parameters such as minimum duration Tmin, maximum duration T _max , frame rate R and number of frames A can be configured in the control computer 25th However, there is also the option of letting the user freely select individual or even all parameters. For the frame rate R, a value of at least 25 frames per second according to the PAL standard is recommended, the number of frames A should be around five or not fall below this value. The minimum duration T _min should not be less than two seconds, the maximum duration not more than ten seconds, six seconds can be assumed here as an advantageous value.

von der Kamera 21 aufgenommene und optimierte Bilder vorliegen. Maximal werden $${\text{T}}_{\text{max}}*\text{A}={\text{Z}}_{\text{max}}$$

von der Kamera 21 aufgenommene und optimierte Bilder benötigt.So that the computer unit 7th can make a film of the minimum duration, so must $${\text{T}}_{\text{min}}*\text{A.}={\text{Z}}_{\text{min}}$$

from the camera 21st recorded and optimized images are available. Be maximum $${\text{T}}_{\text{Max}}*\text{A.}={\text{Z}}_{\text{Max}}$$

from the camera 21st recorded and optimized images required.

If there are less optimized images than Zmin, the computer unit 7th instead of a film, only produce a single image, for example the last optimized image. If there are at least Zmax or even more than Zmax optimized images, the computer unit sets 7th produced a film with a timely representation of the cooking process, which only consists of optimized images. If there are more images than Zmax, either the frame rate R is increased or individual optimized images up to a number Zmax are selected from the total set. If there is a number of optimized images between Zmin and Zmax, the computer unit provides 7th Intermediate images. In addition, if the number of optimized images is not sufficient for a film with the maximum length - the number is then less than T _max * A - the duration of the film can be reduced and thus the maximum duration can be undershot.

The computer unit 7th can collect and use images from equidistant points in time for the film, then the film correlates in time with the cooking process. Alternatively, however, there is also the possibility that, depending on the selected cooking program, special times of the cooking process at which the camera is to be selected 21st Takes pictures. Or the computer unit 7th selects from the total number of collected or already optimized images only or in a larger number those from special points in time of the cooking process. Such special points in time of the cooking process can consist of time periods in which change processes in the food 15th are larger, or they can be images in which the rate of change is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

The film with the timely representation of the cooking process or the single image (if the value falls below Zmin) is then on a display 33 representable. This display 33 can, as in the illustrated embodiment, be part of the mobile terminal 3rd be. The communication between the computer unit and the mobile device 3rd then takes place via a further part of the communication device 3rd , namely via a second Internet connection 35 . The representation on the display 33 and the establishment of the second Internet connection 35 between computer unit 7th and mobile device 3rd can be part of the app mentioned above or a separate app. Of course it is also possible that the display 33 Part of the oven 5 is and is permanently installed in this (not shown).

List of reference symbols

1

system

3

mobile device

5

oven

7th

central computer unit

9

Cooking space

11

Top heat radiator

13th

Ring heater with circulating air fan

15th

Food

17th

Food carrier

18th

Control device

19th

Control panel

21st

camera

23

Device control

25th

Tax calculator

27

Control device

29

Communication module

31

Communication facility

32

first internet connection

33

Display

35

second internet connection

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• WO 2017/092690 A1 [0002]
• DE 202011002570 U1 [0002]
• EP 1742513 A2 [0002]
• DE 102007048834 A1 [0002]
• US 2017/0176019 A1 [0002]

Claims (15)

Method for displaying a cooking process carried out in a cooking device (5) on a display (33), the cooking device (5) having a cooking space (9), at least one heating device (11, 13) for heating the cooking space (9), and with an operating device (18) is equipped for the selection of cooking programs, and wherein a camera (21) records images from the cooking space (9), characterized in that a control device (27) collects and collects images recorded by the camera (21) a time-lumped representation of the cooking process on the display (33), optionally with the generation and addition of intermediate images, which represent the transitions of two consecutive images collected. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized by the following method steps: - Deciding by the control device (27) on the basis of the number of images collected whether the number falls below a minimum value, exceeds a maximum value or lies between the minimum value and the maximum value; - Depending on the decision of the control device (27): a) presentation of an image on the display (33) if the number falls below a minimum value; b) assembling the collected images with generation and addition of intermediate images to a time-lumped representation of the cooking process on the display (33), if the number is between the minimum value and the maximum value; c) Composition of collected images to form a time-lumped representation of the cooking process on the display (33) if the number exceeds the maximum value. Method according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (27) defines a maximum duration for the time-lumped display of the cooking process, and that depending on the number of images collected, the maximum duration is either not reached or, if necessary, by increasing a frame rate R or omitting it is adhered to by collected images. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the maximum duration can be selected by a user input. Method according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (27) collects images at equidistant points in time of the cooking process. Method according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (27) calculates, depending on the selected cooking program, times of the cooking process at which the camera (21) takes pictures or at which the control device (27) collects recorded pictures. Method according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (27) optimizes the recorded or the collected images before they are used for the time-lapped display. System (1) which comprises a cooking appliance (5), a camera (21), a display (33), an operating device (18) and a control device (27), characterized in that the system (1) for carrying out a method is suitable and designed according to at least one of the preceding claims. System (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the display (33) is part of the cooking device (5). System (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the display (33) is part of an external monitoring device (3) not belonging to the cooking appliance (5). System (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the camera (21) is part of the cooking appliance (5). System (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the camera is part of an external monitoring device (3) not belonging to the cooking appliance. System (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the operating device (18) is part of the cooking appliance (5). System (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the operating device (18) is part of an external monitoring device (3) not belonging to the cooking appliance (5). System (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (27) has a control computer (25) and a communication device (31) for transmitting data within the control device (27) and / or between the control device (27) and the operating device (18) and / or the camera (21) and / or the display (33).

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