EP3438544A1 - Cooking device - Google Patents
Cooking device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP3438544A1 EP3438544A1 EP17774855.5A EP17774855A EP3438544A1 EP 3438544 A1 EP3438544 A1 EP 3438544A1 EP 17774855 A EP17774855 A EP 17774855A EP 3438544 A1 EP3438544 A1 EP 3438544A1
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- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- lighting
- heating chamber
- food
- image
- cooking device
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- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
- F24C—DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES ; DETAILS OF DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
- F24C7/00—Stoves or ranges heated by electric energy
- F24C7/08—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
- F24C7/082—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices on ranges, e.g. control panels, illumination
- F24C7/085—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices on ranges, e.g. control panels, illumination on baking ovens
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
- F24C—DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES ; DETAILS OF DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
- F24C15/00—Details
- F24C15/008—Illumination for oven cavities
Definitions
- the present disclosure relates to a cooking device that cooks food and the like.
- Some conventional cooking devices including a heating chamber are provided with an image capturing unit that captures an image of an inside of the heating chamber such that a condition of food which is an object to be heated can be checked (see, for example, PTL 1).
- an image capturing unit that captures an image of an inside of the heating chamber such that a condition of food which is an object to be heated can be checked (see, for example, PTL 1).
- a degree of scorching of food which is a food condition during cooking, is recognized and checked through image processing based on an image captured by the image capturing unit.
- the lighting level controller can capture a plurality of images having different lighting levels from one another by the lighting level controller.
- the object to be heated can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference between the object to be heated and the background can be distinguished in many tones.
- a comparison of the plurality of images having different lighting levels in the image processor shows that, when the lighting level is changed, a position of the object to be heated in the image is unchanged, whereas a position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the image is changed. Therefore, through detection of the changes, the object to be heated can be separated from the background.
- the object to be heated can be captured with the lighting level being changed by the lighting level controller. Accordingly, it becomes easy, in the image processor, to separate the object to be heated from the background and to specify an image of the object to be heated, that is, to accurately detect the object to be heated and identify the contour of the object to be heated. Thus, the condition of the object to be heated can be accurately detected.
- the lighting level controller With this configuration, a plurality of images having different lighting levels from one another by the lighting level controller can be captured. Thus, even if food that is the object to be heated and a background near the object to be heated (nearby background) have a similar color, the object to be heated can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference between the object to be heated and the nearby background can be distinguished in many tones.
- a comparison of the plurality of images having different lighting levels in the image processor shows that, when the lighting level is changed, a position of the object to be heated in the image is unchanged, whereas a position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the image is changed. Therefore, through detection of the changes, the object to be heated can be separated from the background.
- a plurality of images having different lighting levels from one another by the lighting level controller can be captured.
- the object to be heated can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference between the object to be heated and the nearby background can be distinguished in many tones. Accordingly, it becomes easy, in the image processor, to separate the object to be heated from the background and to specify an image of the object to be heated, that is, to accurately detect the object to be heated and identify the contour of the object to be heated.
- the cooking device may include a lighting pattern storage unit that stores a plurality of lighting patterns.
- the lighting unit may be configured to emit light based on the plurality of lighting patterns.
- the lighting level controller may be configured to cause the lighting unit to execute at least two of the plurality of lighting patterns.
- the object to be heated and the nearby background have a similar color with low brightness
- the illuminance provided by the lighting unit is increased.
- halation occurs in a portion with high brightness other than the object to be heated and the nearby background in the image.
- the object to be heated and the nearby background which have a color with low brightness are captured such that the color difference between them can be distinguished in many tones. Accordingly, as in the former case, it becomes easy, in the image processor, to separate the object to be heated from the background and accurately detect the object to be heated.
- the cooking device may include a plurality of lighting units.
- the lighting level controller may be configured to change the lighting level by controlling on and off of the plurality of lighting units.
- a plurality of images having different lighting levels can be captured. Accordingly, a comparison of the plurality of images having different lighting levels shows that, when the lighting unit to be turned on is switched, a position of the object to be heated in the image is unchanged, whereas a position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the captured image is changed.
- the background can be detected and separated from the object to be heated, whereby the object to be heated can be accurately detected.
- the cooking device may include a plurality of the lighting units.
- the plurality of lighting units may be disposed on at least one of a wall surface and a top surface of the heating chamber.
- the plurality of lighting units may have at least one combination of lighting units which are distant from each other across the image capturing unit at 30 degrees or more based on the center of the heating chamber in a plan view of the heating chamber as viewed from top.
- the lighting unit may be configured to illuminate with a plurality of luminance values.
- the lighting level controller may be configured to change the lighting level by switching the plurality of luminance values of the lighting unit.
- the image capturing unit may be configured to capture an image of the inside of the heating chamber through a through-hole or a transparent member formed in at least one of a wall surface and a top surface of the heating chamber.
- the image capturing unit can be disposed on an outer side of the heating chamber, whereby unnecessary reflection and shadow of illumination light in the heating chamber by the image capturing unit can be prevented.
- this configuration can prevent the image capturing unit from interfering with the heating of the object to be heated in the heating chamber, and can easily address a temperature problem of the image capturing unit. Accordingly, malfunction of the image capturing unit due to a high temperature in the heating chamber can be prevented.
- the present disclosure is not limited to a configuration of a cooking device described in the following exemplary embodiments.
- FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a cooking device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2A is a view showing a schematic configuration of another lighting pattern of the cooking device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2B is a view showing a schematic configuration of still another lighting pattern of the cooking device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
- cooking device 11 includes heating chamber 13 that houses food 12 which is an object to be heated.
- Cooking device 11 is configured to cook the object to be heated with a heating source (not illustrated) such as a heater, a magnetron, or a steam generator.
- Heating chamber 13 has top surface 17, left wall surface 18, rear surface 19, right wall surface 20, and bottom surface 21 which are wall surfaces, and a door (not illustrated).
- heating chamber 13 has a substantially cuboid shape.
- Top surface 17, left wall surface 18, rear surface 19, and right wall surface 20 are formed from, for example, a material such as enamel steel sheet, a stainless steel sheet, or a coated steel sheet.
- heating chamber 13 has a width of 400 mm and a depth of 300 mm.
- Inclined surface 22 is formed between top surface 17 and left wall surface 18 of heating chamber 13.
- Inclined surface 22 is formed by drawing press, for example, and provided at a middle part of heating chamber 13 in the depth direction between top surface 17 and left wall surface 18. That is, inclined surface 22 is locally formed to extend in the depth direction with a position 150 mm away from rear surface 19 being defined as substantially a center, for example.
- Image capturing unit 23 is provided on an outer side (opposite to an inner side of heating chamber 13) of inclined surface 22. Specifically, image capturing unit 23 is fixed to heating chamber 13 so as to be displaced in a direction (along a normal of inclined surface 22 toward the outside of heating chamber 13 (in FIG. 1 , in an upper left direction)) in which image capturing unit 23 is away from the inside of heating chamber 13 further from inclined surface 22. Image capturing unit 23 is also configured to be capable of capturing an image of an inside of heating chamber 13 through through-hole 24 formed in inclined surface 22. An imaging center of image capturing unit 23 is directed downward at an angle of 30 degrees, for example, in relation to the horizontal direction such that food 12 mainly falls within the field of view.
- the imaging center of image capturing unit 23 may be directed downward at an angle of 0 degrees to about 50 degrees in relation to the horizontal direction, according to an angle of view of image capturing unit 23.
- angle of inclined surface 22 is set such that inclined surface 22 is perpendicular to a direction of the imaging center of image capturing unit 23, image capturing unit 23 is easily fixed.
- Lightings 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d serving as a plurality of lighting units include a light emitting diode (LED), for example.
- lightings 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d are respectively provided near four corners of top surface 17 of heating chamber 13, that is, at front sides and rear sides of upper parts of left and right wall surfaces 18 and 20 (see FIG. 1 ).
- lighting 25a is provided at the front side of left wall surface 18
- lighting 25b is provided near rear surface 19 at the rear side of left wall surface
- lighting 25c is provided near rear surface 19 at the rear side of right wall surface
- lighting 25d is provided at the front side of right wall surface 20.
- Lightings 25a to 25d are configured to be capable of emitting light toward the inside of heating chamber 13 from LEDs provided on an outer surface side of the wall surfaces.
- light source centers of lightings 25a and 25d are disposed respectively on left and right wall surfaces 18 and 20 at positions 250 mm away from rear surface 19 to the front.
- Light source centers of lightings 25b and 25c are disposed respectively on left and right wall surfaces 18 and 20 at positions 50 mm away from rear surface 19 to the front. Accordingly, in cooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment, lightings 25a and 25b are distant from each other in such a way that an angle between each of lightings 25a and 25b and a straight line connecting the center of the bottom surface of heating chamber 13 and image capturing unit 23 is about 26.5 degrees in a plan view of heating chamber 13 as viewed from top.
- two lightings 25a and 25b are distant from each other at an angle of about 53 degrees based on the center of the bottom surface of heating chamber 13.
- lightings 25c and 25d are distant from each other at an angle of about 53 degrees based on the center of the bottom surface of heating chamber 13.
- Controller 31 of cooking device 11 is configured with a microcomputer (not illustrated) that includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, and an input and output interface. Controller 31 includes inside image processor 32, lighting level controller 33, and lighting pattern storage unit (storage unit) 34. Image processor 32 is electrically connected to image capturing unit 23, and performs a process for specifying an image of food 12 in image data of the inside of heating chamber 13 which has been captured and acquired by image capturing unit 23.
- Lighting level controller 33 is electrically connected to lightings 25a to 25d, and changes lighting levels provided by lightings 25a to 25d based on lighting pattern data stored in lighting pattern storage unit 34.
- Heating chamber 13 of cooking device 11 The inside of heating chamber 13 is illuminated with lightings 25a to 25d, and therefore, illuminance enough to ensure visibility for image capturing unit 23 can be provided.
- lightings 25a to 25d are all turned on as a first pattern stored in lighting pattern storage unit 34, as illustrated in FIG. 1 .
- cooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment has lighting level controller 33 that can change the lighting level, and thus, as shown in FIG. 2A , only two lightings that are front left lighting 25a and rear right lighting 25c are turned on as a second pattern stored in lighting pattern storage unit 34.
- the illuminance in heating chamber 13 is substantially halved.
- the brightness of the image captured by image capturing unit 23 is reduced as a whole, which can prevent the amount of detected light from exceeding the range in a color tone with higher brightness, while a background image portion with low brightness other than food 12 and tableware 35 becomes solid in a dark color.
- similar whitish colors with higher brightness can be detected and captured in many tones by image capturing unit 23, whereby tones can be appropriately distinguished by image processor 32.
- image processor 32 can easily separate food 12 from tableware 35 that is a nearby background and specify the image of food 12. That is, image processor 32 can easily detect food 12 with high accuracy and identify the contour of food 12.
- shadow 36a of food 12 is generated by lighting 25a
- shadow 36c is generated by lighting 25c on the opposite side across food 12.
- lighting level controller 33 changes the lighting level by turning on only two lightings that are rear left lighting 25b and front right lighting 25d as a third pattern stored in lighting pattern storage unit 34.
- a position of local high illuminance generated in the image captured by image capturing unit 23 is changed.
- image processor 32 can distinguish a contour whose position is changed from a contour whose position is unchanged according to the lighting patterns through a comparison of images captured in the first pattern, the second pattern, and the third pattern stored in lighting pattern storage unit 34, determine the contour whose position is changed to be a local high illuminance portion, and separate the determined portion.
- image processor 32 can accurately detect food 12.
- shadow 36b of food 12 is generated by lighting 25b
- shadow 36d is generated by lighting 25d on the opposite side across food 12.
- Shadow 36b and shadow 36a generated in the second pattern are generated so as to be distant from each other at an angle determined by the installation angles of lightings 25a and 25b.
- lightings 25a and 25b are distant from each other at approximately 53 degrees. Therefore, if food 12 is placed at the center of heating chamber 13, shadow 36b and shadow 36a in the second pattern are generated to be distant from each other at approximately 53 degrees according to the installation angles of lightings 25a and 25b. Similarly, shadow 36d and shadow 36b in the second pattern are generated to be distant from each other at approximately 53 degrees.
- the position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the image can be changed according to the installation angles of the lightings 25a to 25d which are the lighting units.
- cooking device 11 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes lighting level controller 33 that can change the lighting level.
- lighting level controller 33 that can change the lighting level.
- the illuminance in heating chamber 13 increases, whereby deficiency in the amount of detected light in colors of low brightness can be prevented.
- halation occurs in the background image portion with high brightness other than food 12 and tableware 35.
- similar dark colors which are colors with lower brightness can be detected and captured in many tones by image capturing unit 23. Therefore, tones can be appropriately distinguished by image processor 32.
- image processor 32 can easily separate food 12 from the background and detect food 12 with high accuracy.
- the number of lighting units (lightings 25a to 25d) to be turned on is changed by controlling on and off of lightings 25a to 25d which are a plurality of lighting units as described above.
- the lighting level can be changed, and thus, the illuminance in heating chamber 13 is changed. Accordingly, a plurality of images having different illuminances can be captured.
- image processor 32 can easily separate food 12 from the background and detect food 12 with high accuracy.
- a plurality of images having different lighting levels can be captured. Therefore, a comparison of the plurality of images shows that, when the lighting unit to be turned on is switched, a position of food 12 in the plurality of images is unchanged, whereas a position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the plurality of images is changed. Accordingly, image processor 32 can separate food 12 from the background through detection of the positional change, thereby being capable of accurately detecting food 12.
- the method for changing the lighting level is not limited to the method for changing the number of lighting units (lightings 25a to 25d) to be turned on by controlling on and off of lightings 25a to 25d which are the plurality of lighting units.
- the lighting level may be changed by increasing or decreasing the luminance of lighting provided by lightings 25a to 25d which are the plurality of lighting units.
- a burnt color of food 12 which is the cooking condition of food 12 can be further easily recognized by image processor 32.
- baking of cookies will be given as an example.
- Cooking doughs (not shown) are arranged on a white parchment paper placed on an iron tray, and put into heating chamber 13.
- the contour of the cookie which is food 12 can be distinguished from the parchment paper which is the background, and accurately detected by image processor 32.
- the temperature inside heating chamber 13 is set to 170°C, for example, and the baking is started.
- the whitish cookie doughs turn into brown at about ten minutes after the start of the baking, whereas the parchment paper remains white.
- image processor 32 accurately recognizes the contour of the cookie doughs, that is, food 12. Therefore, it can be prevented that image processor 32 falsely recognizes that the cookie doughs have not yet turned into brown through detection of the white part of the parchment paper.
- the temperature in heating chamber 13 is very high (such as 170°C as described above), and significantly exceeds a heat proof temperature (for example, 70°C) of image capturing unit 23.
- through-hole 24 for image capturing unit 23 is formed in inclined surface 22 forming the wall surface of heating chamber 13 as described above.
- image capturing unit 23 is provided on an outer side of inclined surface 22 (opposite side from an internal side of heating chamber 13), and configured to capture the image of the inside of heating chamber 13 through through-hole 24.
- image capturing unit 23 With this configuration, the problem of image capturing unit 23 involved with a temperature can be easily addressed, and therefore, malfunction of image capturing unit 23 due to a high temperature can be prevented. Further, image capturing unit 23 is provided on an outer side of heating chamber 13, whereby at least one of unnecessary reflection and shadow of illumination light in heating chamber 13 by image capturing unit 23 can be prevented. In addition, it can be prevented that image capturing unit 23 interferes with heating of food in heating chamber 13.
- cooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment may be configured such that, if there is no component which becomes an obstacle at the outside of top surface 17, a through-hole is formed in top surface 17, and image capturing unit 23 is provided outside of the through-hole.
- a transparent member such as transparent glass may be provided on the front door of heating chamber 13, and image capturing unit 23 may be disposed to capture an image of food 12 which is the object to be heated through the transparent member.
- the present exemplary embodiment shows the configuration in which, in cooking device 11, two lighting units are provided on left wall surface 18, one at the front side and the other at the rear side, and two lighting units are provided on right wall surface 20, one at the front side and the other at the rear side.
- the lighting unit may be provided on top surface 17. In other words, an optimum number of lighting units may be provided at appropriate positions.
- Cooking device 11 according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will described below.
- Cooking device 11 in the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is largely different from cooking device 11 in the first exemplary embodiment in a configuration of lighting level controller 33 for changing the lighting level.
- cooking device 11 In the description below of cooking device 11 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, components that have the same function or configuration as components in the cooking device according to the first exemplary embodiment are denoted by the same reference marks, the detailed description of the components is omitted, and description in the first exemplary embodiment is applied.
- FIG. 3 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the cooking device according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
- lighting level controller 41 electrically connected to lightings 25a to 25d includes inside pulse width modulation controller 42 (it may be referred to as a PWM controller below).
- Pulse width modulation controller 42 drives LEDs constituting lightings 25a to 25d in pulses to change a pulse width for current flow, thereby changing the brightness, that is, the luminance of lightings 25a to 25d to a plurality of set values.
- heating chamber 13 If food 12 and tableware 35 placed into heating chamber 13 both have a whitish similar color with high brightness, illumination light in heating chamber 13 is reflected on food 12 and tableware 35, so that the illuminance is increased. Besides, in heating chamber 13, food 12 and each of lightings 25a to 25d are close to each other. Therefore, a portion detected as white by image capturing unit 23 due to concentration of emitted light is generated.
- cooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment has lighting level controller 41 for changing a lighting level. Therefore, cooking device 11 changes the pulse width such that the luminance of each of lightings 25a to 25d is set to a predetermined set value according to a lighting pattern stored in lighting pattern storage unit 34. For example, cooking device 11 according to the present exemplary embodiment changes the pulse width so as to lower the luminance of each of lightings 25a to 25d by lighting level controller 41. The illuminance in heating chamber 13 is then lowered, and the brightness as a whole is decreased. Thus, it can be prevented that the amount of detected light for colors with high brightness exceeds a range.
- the background image portion with low brightness other than food 12 and tableware 35 becomes solid in a dark color.
- similar whitish colors with higher brightness can be detected and captured in many tones by image capturing unit 23, whereby tones can be appropriately distinguished by image processor 32. Therefore, in cooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment, even if food 12 and tableware 35 both have a similar color, an image in which the color of food 12 and the color of tableware 35 are distinguished as different colors can be captured.
- image processor 32 can easily separate food 12 from tableware 35 that is a background near food 12 and specify the image of food 12. That is, image processor 32 can easily detect food 12 with high accuracy and identify the contour of food 12.
- the illuminance in heating chamber 13 can be changed by changing the luminance of each of lightings 25a to 25d to a plurality of different luminance values.
- a plurality of images having different illuminances can be captured. Accordingly, even if food 12 and the background near food 12 have a similar color, food 12 can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference between food 12 and the background can be distinguished in many tones.
- image processor 32 can easily separate food 12 from the background and detect food 12 with high accuracy.
- image processor 32 a plurality of images obtained by changing the luminance values of lightings 25a to 25d according to a plurality of lighting patterns stored in lighting pattern storage unit 34 is compared. A contour whose position is changed and a contour whose position is unchanged according to the lighting pattern are distinguished from each other. With this configuration, the contour whose position is changed can be determined to be a local high illuminance portion and separated, whereby food 12 can be accurately detected.
- the present exemplary embodiment shows the configuration in which, in cooking device 11, pulse width modulation controller 42 is used to change the luminance values of lightings 25a to 25d.
- cooking device 11 may be configured to change an amount of current to flow through the LEDs without changing the pulse width.
- switching patterns of a plurality of luminance values executed by lightings 25a to 25d may be stored in lighting pattern storage unit 34 as lighting pattern data, for example.
- the lighting level may be changed such that lighting level controller 33, 41 switches the plurality of luminance values of the lighting units based on the data of a plurality of lighting patterns stored in lighting pattern storage unit 34.
- the present disclosure provides a cooking device that can easily detect an object to be heated with high accuracy and identify the contour of the object to be heated, thereby being capable of accurately detect a condition of the object to be heated. Accordingly, the present disclosure is widely applicable to, for example, a cooking device that cooks food or the like.
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Abstract
Description
- The present disclosure relates to a cooking device that cooks food and the like.
- Some conventional cooking devices including a heating chamber are provided with an image capturing unit that captures an image of an inside of the heating chamber such that a condition of food which is an object to be heated can be checked (see, for example, PTL 1). In the conventional cooking device described above, a degree of scorching of food, which is a food condition during cooking, is recognized and checked through image processing based on an image captured by the image capturing unit.
- In the above-mentioned conventional cooking device provided with the image capturing unit, it is inevitable that food in the heating chamber surrounded by wall surfaces and a lighting are close to each other. Therefore, light emitted from a light source is locally too strong, and thus, a color of food detected by the image capturing unit may be whiter than the true color of the food, or a dark shadow may be generated on a rear surface side of the food in the heating chamber as viewed from the light source. When at least one of local high illuminance and shadow occurs, a scorched color cannot be accurately detected.
- Conventionally, in a cooking device of this type, food is generally heated while being placed on a placement tool such as tableware or a parchment paper in the heating chamber. In this case, to separate the food from the placement tool, such as tableware, which becomes a nearby background other than the food, in an image, edge tracking is performed to determine an area of the food.
- However, when local high illuminance or shadow occurs due to an effect of the lighting, the food condition cannot be accurately detected and is erroneously detected. Besides, an edge is absent from the captured image, and therefore, the edge cannot be extracted. Thus, the area of the food cannot be detected.
- In addition, if the food and the nearby background around the food have a similar color, it is difficult to separate the food from the background to accurately detect the food. Moreover, if the illuminance provided by the lighting is high with the brightness of the food and the nearby background being high and whitish, it is more difficult to identify the food.
- PTL 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No.
2001-272045 - The present disclosure is accomplished in view of the foregoing conventional problem, and aims to provide a cooking device including an image capturing unit and a lighting unit, the cooking device making it easy to separate an object to be heated, such as food, from a background and to specify an image of the object to be heated, that is, to accurately detect the object to be heated and identify a contour of the object to be heated, in order to recognize a condition of the object to be heated.
- Specifically, a cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an image capturing unit that captures an image of an inside of a heating chamber; a lighting unit that emits light to the inside of the heating chamber; a lighting level controller that changes a lighting level provided by the lighting unit; and an image processor that specifies an image of the object to be heated in the image captured by the image capturing unit.
- With this configuration, a plurality of images having different lighting levels from one another by the lighting level controller can be captured. Thus, even if the object to be heated and a background near the object to be heated have a similar color, the object to be heated can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference between the object to be heated and the background can be distinguished in many tones.
- Further, a comparison of the plurality of images having different lighting levels in the image processor shows that, when the lighting level is changed, a position of the object to be heated in the image is unchanged, whereas a position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the image is changed. Therefore, through detection of the changes, the object to be heated can be separated from the background.
- As described above, according to the cooking device in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the object to be heated can be captured with the lighting level being changed by the lighting level controller. Accordingly, it becomes easy, in the image processor, to separate the object to be heated from the background and to specify an image of the object to be heated, that is, to accurately detect the object to be heated and identify the contour of the object to be heated. Thus, the condition of the object to be heated can be accurately detected.
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FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a cooking device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2A is a view showing a schematic configuration of another lighting pattern of the cooking device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2B is a view showing a schematic configuration of still another lighting pattern of the cooking device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 3 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a cooking device according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. - A cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a heating chamber that houses an object to be heated; an image capturing unit that captures an image of an inside of the heating chamber; a lighting unit that emits light to the inside of the heating chamber; a lighting level controller that changes a lighting level provided by the lighting unit; and an image processor that specifies an image of the object to be heated in the image captured by the image capturing unit.
- With this configuration, a plurality of images having different lighting levels from one another by the lighting level controller can be captured. Thus, even if food that is the object to be heated and a background near the object to be heated (nearby background) have a similar color, the object to be heated can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference between the object to be heated and the nearby background can be distinguished in many tones.
- Further, a comparison of the plurality of images having different lighting levels in the image processor shows that, when the lighting level is changed, a position of the object to be heated in the image is unchanged, whereas a position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the image is changed. Therefore, through detection of the changes, the object to be heated can be separated from the background.
- Specifically, with this configuration, a plurality of images having different lighting levels from one another by the lighting level controller can be captured. Thus, even if the object to be heated and the nearby background have a similar color, the object to be heated can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference between the object to be heated and the nearby background can be distinguished in many tones. Accordingly, it becomes easy, in the image processor, to separate the object to be heated from the background and to specify an image of the object to be heated, that is, to accurately detect the object to be heated and identify the contour of the object to be heated.
- Further, the cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a lighting pattern storage unit that stores a plurality of lighting patterns. In this case, the lighting unit may be configured to emit light based on the plurality of lighting patterns. Further, in this case, in the cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the lighting level controller may be configured to cause the lighting unit to execute at least two of the plurality of lighting patterns.
- With this configuration, a plurality of images having different lighting levels from one another (a plurality of images captured with different lighting levels) can be captured using the plurality of lighting patterns stored in the lighting pattern storage unit. Accordingly, a comparison of the plurality of images having different lighting levels in the image processor shows that, when the lighting level is changed, a position of the object to be heated in the image is unchanged, whereas a position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the captured image is changed. Therefore, through detection of the changes, the object to be heated can be separated from the background. Thus, the object to be heated can be accurately detected.
- Further, in the cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the lighting level controller may be configured to change the lighting level provided by the lighting unit according to brightness of the image captured by the image capturing unit.
- With this configuration, when the object to be heated and the nearby background have a similar color with high brightness, the illuminance provided by the lighting unit is reduced. With this configuration, a portion with low brightness other than the object to be heated and the nearby background in the image becomes solid in a dark color. On the other hand, the object to be heated and the nearby background which have a color with high brightness can be captured such that the color difference between them can be distinguished in many tones. Accordingly, it becomes easy, in the image processor, to separate the object to be heated from the background and to specify an image of the object to be heated, that is, to accurately detect the object to be heated and identify the contour of the object to be heated.
- On the contrary, when the object to be heated and the nearby background have a similar color with low brightness, the illuminance provided by the lighting unit is increased. With this configuration, halation occurs in a portion with high brightness other than the object to be heated and the nearby background in the image. Meanwhile, the object to be heated and the nearby background which have a color with low brightness are captured such that the color difference between them can be distinguished in many tones. Accordingly, as in the former case, it becomes easy, in the image processor, to separate the object to be heated from the background and accurately detect the object to be heated.
- The cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a plurality of lighting units. In this case, in the cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the lighting level controller may be configured to change the lighting level by controlling on and off of the plurality of lighting units.
- With this configuration, a number of lighting units to be turned on is changed, by which the illuminance in the heating chamber is changed. As a result, a plurality of images having different illuminances can be captured. Accordingly, even if the object to be heated and the nearby background have a similar color, the object to be heated can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference between the object to be heated and the nearby background can be distinguished in many tones. Accordingly, it becomes easy, in the image processor, to separate the object to be heated from the background and accurately detect the object to be heated.
- Further, due to the lighting unit to be turned on being switched, a plurality of images having different lighting levels can be captured. Accordingly, a comparison of the plurality of images having different lighting levels shows that, when the lighting unit to be turned on is switched, a position of the object to be heated in the image is unchanged, whereas a position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the captured image is changed. Thus, the background can be detected and separated from the object to be heated, whereby the object to be heated can be accurately detected.
- In addition, the cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a plurality of the lighting units. In this case, the plurality of lighting units may be disposed on at least one of a wall surface and a top surface of the heating chamber. Moreover, in this case, the plurality of lighting units may have at least one combination of lighting units which are distant from each other across the image capturing unit at 30 degrees or more based on the center of the heating chamber in a plan view of the heating chamber as viewed from top.
- With this configuration, if the combination of the lighting units distant from each other at 30 degrees or more in a plan view of the heating chamber as viewed from top is used in the control for switching the lighting unit to be turned on, the position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the image can be changed according to the installation angles of the lighting units. Therefore, a comparison of the plurality of images shows that the position of at least one of the high illuminance portion and shadow is greatly changed. Accordingly, it becomes easier to detect the change and separate the object to be heated from the background, whereby the object to be heated can be accurately detected.
- Further, in the cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the lighting unit may be configured to illuminate with a plurality of luminance values. In this case, the lighting level controller may be configured to change the lighting level by switching the plurality of luminance values of the lighting unit.
- With this configuration, the illuminance in the heating chamber can be changed by switching the plurality of luminance values of the lighting unit, whereby a plurality of images having different illuminances can be captured. Therefore, even if the object to be heated and the nearby background have a similar color, the object to be heated can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference between the object to be heated and the nearby background can be distinguished in many tones. Accordingly, it becomes easy, in the image processor, to separate the object to be heated from the background and accurately detect the object to be heated.
- Further, in the cooking device according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the image capturing unit may be configured to capture an image of the inside of the heating chamber through a through-hole or a transparent member formed in at least one of a wall surface and a top surface of the heating chamber.
- With this configuration, the image capturing unit can be disposed on an outer side of the heating chamber, whereby unnecessary reflection and shadow of illumination light in the heating chamber by the image capturing unit can be prevented. In addition, this configuration can prevent the image capturing unit from interfering with the heating of the object to be heated in the heating chamber, and can easily address a temperature problem of the image capturing unit. Accordingly, malfunction of the image capturing unit due to a high temperature in the heating chamber can be prevented.
- Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.
- The present disclosure is not limited to a configuration of a cooking device described in the following exemplary embodiments.
-
FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a cooking device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 2A is a view showing a schematic configuration of another lighting pattern of the cooking device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 2B is a view showing a schematic configuration of still another lighting pattern of the cooking device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. - As shown in
FIGS. 1 ,2A, and 2B ,cooking device 11 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includesheating chamber 13 that housesfood 12 which is an object to be heated.Cooking device 11 is configured to cook the object to be heated with a heating source (not illustrated) such as a heater, a magnetron, or a steam generator. -
Heating chamber 13 hastop surface 17, leftwall surface 18,rear surface 19,right wall surface 20, andbottom surface 21 which are wall surfaces, and a door (not illustrated). In the present exemplary embodiment,heating chamber 13 has a substantially cuboid shape.Top surface 17, leftwall surface 18,rear surface 19, andright wall surface 20 are formed from, for example, a material such as enamel steel sheet, a stainless steel sheet, or a coated steel sheet. In the present exemplary embodiment,heating chamber 13 has a width of 400 mm and a depth of 300 mm. -
Inclined surface 22 is formed betweentop surface 17 and leftwall surface 18 ofheating chamber 13.Inclined surface 22 is formed by drawing press, for example, and provided at a middle part ofheating chamber 13 in the depth direction betweentop surface 17 and leftwall surface 18. That is, inclinedsurface 22 is locally formed to extend in the depth direction with a position 150 mm away fromrear surface 19 being defined as substantially a center, for example. -
Image capturing unit 23 is provided on an outer side (opposite to an inner side of heating chamber 13) ofinclined surface 22. Specifically,image capturing unit 23 is fixed toheating chamber 13 so as to be displaced in a direction (along a normal ofinclined surface 22 toward the outside of heating chamber 13 (inFIG. 1 , in an upper left direction)) in whichimage capturing unit 23 is away from the inside ofheating chamber 13 further frominclined surface 22.Image capturing unit 23 is also configured to be capable of capturing an image of an inside ofheating chamber 13 through through-hole 24 formed ininclined surface 22. An imaging center ofimage capturing unit 23 is directed downward at an angle of 30 degrees, for example, in relation to the horizontal direction such thatfood 12 mainly falls within the field of view. The imaging center ofimage capturing unit 23 may be directed downward at an angle of 0 degrees to about 50 degrees in relation to the horizontal direction, according to an angle of view ofimage capturing unit 23. When the angle ofinclined surface 22 is set such thatinclined surface 22 is perpendicular to a direction of the imaging center ofimage capturing unit 23,image capturing unit 23 is easily fixed. - Lightings 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d serving as a plurality of lighting units include a light emitting diode (LED), for example. In the present exemplary embodiment,
lightings top surface 17 ofheating chamber 13, that is, at front sides and rear sides of upper parts of left and right wall surfaces 18 and 20 (seeFIG. 1 ). In the present exemplary embodiment,lighting 25a is provided at the front side ofleft wall surface 18,lighting 25b is provided nearrear surface 19 at the rear side ofleft wall surface 18,lighting 25c is provided nearrear surface 19 at the rear side ofright wall surface 20, andlighting 25d is provided at the front side ofright wall surface 20. Lightings 25a to 25d are configured to be capable of emitting light toward the inside ofheating chamber 13 from LEDs provided on an outer surface side of the wall surfaces. - Further, in
cooking device 11 according to the present exemplary embodiment, light source centers oflightings rear surface 19 to the front. Light source centers oflightings rear surface 19 to the front. Accordingly, incooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment,lightings lightings heating chamber 13 andimage capturing unit 23 is about 26.5 degrees in a plan view ofheating chamber 13 as viewed from top. That is, twolightings heating chamber 13. Similarly, lightings 25c and 25d are distant from each other at an angle of about 53 degrees based on the center of the bottom surface ofheating chamber 13. -
Controller 31 ofcooking device 11 is configured with a microcomputer (not illustrated) that includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, and an input and output interface.Controller 31 includes insideimage processor 32, lighting level controller 33, and lighting pattern storage unit (storage unit) 34.Image processor 32 is electrically connected to image capturingunit 23, and performs a process for specifying an image offood 12 in image data of the inside ofheating chamber 13 which has been captured and acquired byimage capturing unit 23. Lighting level controller 33 is electrically connected to lightings 25a to 25d, and changes lighting levels provided bylightings 25a to 25d based on lighting pattern data stored in lightingpattern storage unit 34. - The operation and effect of
cooking device 11 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described below. -
Food 12 placed ontableware 35 which is a placement tool is put intoheating chamber 13 ofcooking device 11 by a user. The inside ofheating chamber 13 is illuminated withlightings 25a to 25d, and therefore, illuminance enough to ensure visibility forimage capturing unit 23 can be provided. Incooking device 11 according to the present exemplary embodiment, fourlightings 25a to 25d are all turned on as a first pattern stored in lightingpattern storage unit 34, as illustrated inFIG. 1 . - While
cooking device 11 is operated, a cooking condition offood 12 is recognized and checked incooking device 11 as well as the inside ofheating chamber 13 is captured byimage capturing unit 23 and the captured image is displayed. In this case, iffood 12 andtableware 35 both have a similar whitish color with high brightness, illumination light emitted from lightings 25a to 25d is reflected onfood 12 andtableware 35, so that the illuminance insideheating chamber 13 increases. Besides, the distance betweenfood 12 and each oflightings 25a to 25d provided on left and right wall surfaces 18 and 20 is generally about 100 mm to 500 mm in this type of the cooking device, that is, the light source andfood 12 are close to each other. Therefore, light emitted from lightings 25a to 25d is too strong, resulting in that the brightness offood 12 to be detected byimage capturing unit 23 is significantly increased. Accordingly, an amount of detected light exceeds a range and a portion recognized to be white may be generated. - However,
cooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment has lighting level controller 33 that can change the lighting level, and thus, as shown inFIG. 2A , only two lightings that are frontleft lighting 25a and rearright lighting 25c are turned on as a second pattern stored in lightingpattern storage unit 34. With this configuration, the illuminance inheating chamber 13 is substantially halved. Thus, the brightness of the image captured byimage capturing unit 23 is reduced as a whole, which can prevent the amount of detected light from exceeding the range in a color tone with higher brightness, while a background image portion with low brightness other thanfood 12 andtableware 35 becomes solid in a dark color. Thus, similar whitish colors with higher brightness can be detected and captured in many tones byimage capturing unit 23, whereby tones can be appropriately distinguished byimage processor 32. - Therefore, even if
food 12 andtableware 35 both have a similar whitish color with high brightness, an image in which the color offood 12 and the color oftableware 35 can be distinguished as different colors can be captured. Thus,image processor 32 can easily separatefood 12 fromtableware 35 that is a nearby background and specify the image offood 12. That is,image processor 32 can easily detectfood 12 with high accuracy and identify the contour offood 12. - When only two lightings that are front
left lighting 25a and rearright lighting 25c are turned on,shadow 36a offood 12 is generated bylighting 25a, andshadow 36c is generated bylighting 25c on the opposite side acrossfood 12. - Then, as shown in
FIG. 2B , lighting level controller 33 changes the lighting level by turning on only two lightings that are rearleft lighting 25b and frontright lighting 25d as a third pattern stored in lightingpattern storage unit 34. With this configuration, a position of local high illuminance generated in the image captured byimage capturing unit 23 is changed. Accordingly,image processor 32 can distinguish a contour whose position is changed from a contour whose position is unchanged according to the lighting patterns through a comparison of images captured in the first pattern, the second pattern, and the third pattern stored in lightingpattern storage unit 34, determine the contour whose position is changed to be a local high illuminance portion, and separate the determined portion. Thus,image processor 32 can accurately detectfood 12. - In this case,
shadow 36b offood 12 is generated bylighting 25b, andshadow 36d is generated bylighting 25d on the opposite side acrossfood 12.Shadow 36b andshadow 36a generated in the second pattern are generated so as to be distant from each other at an angle determined by the installation angles oflightings lightings food 12 is placed at the center ofheating chamber 13,shadow 36b andshadow 36a in the second pattern are generated to be distant from each other at approximately 53 degrees according to the installation angles oflightings shadow 36d andshadow 36b in the second pattern are generated to be distant from each other at approximately 53 degrees. Therefore, whenshadows image capturing unit 23 vary greatly. - In this way, if the combination of the lighting units (lightings 25a to 25d) distant from each other at 30 degrees or more in a plan view of
heating chamber 13 as viewed from top is used, the position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the image can be changed according to the installation angles of thelightings 25a to 25d which are the lighting units. With this configuration, through a comparison of a plurality of images, it is found that the position of at least one of high illuminance and shadow is greatly changed, and thus,image processor 32 can more easilyseparate food 12 fromtableware 35 through detection of the change, thereby being capable of accurately detectingfood 12. - On the other hand, when only two lightings are turned on as in the second pattern and the third pattern in lighting
pattern storage unit 34 as shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B in the case wherefood 12 andtableware 35 both have a similar dark color with low brightness, illumination light emitted from the lighting units is less reflected onfood 12 andtableware 35, and therefore, the illuminance inheating chamber 13 becomes low. - However,
cooking device 11 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes lighting level controller 33 that can change the lighting level. Incooking device 11 according to the present exemplary embodiment, when four lightings which are lightings 25a to 25d are turned on as the first pattern stored in lightingpattern storage unit 34 shown inFIG. 1 , the illuminance inheating chamber 13 increases, whereby deficiency in the amount of detected light in colors of low brightness can be prevented. On the other hand, halation occurs in the background image portion with high brightness other thanfood 12 andtableware 35. Thus, similar dark colors which are colors with lower brightness can be detected and captured in many tones byimage capturing unit 23. Therefore, tones can be appropriately distinguished byimage processor 32. - As described above, the lighting level is changed by lighting level controller 33 according to the brightness of the captured image. With this configuration, when
food 12 and the background nearfood 12 have a similar color with high brightness, the illuminance provided bylightings 25a to 25d is reduced, whereby the color difference betweenfood 12 and the background nearfood 12 can be captured in many tones. Thus,image processor 32 can easily separatefood 12 which is the object to be heated from the background and specify the image offood 12. That is,image processor 32 can easily detectfood 12 with high accuracy and identify the contour offood 12. - On the contrary, when
food 12 and the background nearfood 12 have a similar color with low brightness, the illuminance provided bylightings 25a to 25d is increased, whereby the color difference betweenfood 12 and the background nearfood 12 can be captured in many tones. Accordingly, as in the former case,image processor 32 can easily separatefood 12 from the background and detectfood 12 with high accuracy. - Further, the number of lighting units (lightings 25a to 25d) to be turned on is changed by controlling on and off of
lightings 25a to 25d which are a plurality of lighting units as described above. With this configuration, the lighting level can be changed, and thus, the illuminance inheating chamber 13 is changed. Accordingly, a plurality of images having different illuminances can be captured. Thus, even iffood 12 and the nearby background have a similar color,food 12 which is the object to be heated can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference betweenfood 12 and the background can be distinguished in many tones. Accordingly,image processor 32 can easily separatefood 12 from the background and detectfood 12 with high accuracy. - Further, due to the lighting unit (lightings 25a to 25d) to be turned on being switched, a plurality of images having different lighting levels can be captured. Therefore, a comparison of the plurality of images shows that, when the lighting unit to be turned on is switched, a position of
food 12 in the plurality of images is unchanged, whereas a position of at least one of local high illuminance and shadow generated in the plurality of images is changed. Accordingly,image processor 32 can separatefood 12 from the background through detection of the positional change, thereby being capable of accurately detectingfood 12. - Notably, the method for changing the lighting level is not limited to the method for changing the number of lighting units (lightings 25a to 25d) to be turned on by controlling on and off of
lightings 25a to 25d which are the plurality of lighting units. For example, the lighting level may be changed by increasing or decreasing the luminance of lighting provided bylightings 25a to 25d which are the plurality of lighting units. - When the contour of
food 12 can be identified as described above, a burnt color offood 12 which is the cooking condition offood 12 can be further easily recognized byimage processor 32. Specifically, baking of cookies will be given as an example. Cooking doughs (not shown) are arranged on a white parchment paper placed on an iron tray, and put intoheating chamber 13. In this case, the contour of the cookie which isfood 12 can be distinguished from the parchment paper which is the background, and accurately detected byimage processor 32. - Then, the temperature inside
heating chamber 13 is set to 170°C, for example, and the baking is started. The whitish cookie doughs turn into brown at about ten minutes after the start of the baking, whereas the parchment paper remains white. At that time,image processor 32 accurately recognizes the contour of the cookie doughs, that is,food 12. Therefore, it can be prevented thatimage processor 32 falsely recognizes that the cookie doughs have not yet turned into brown through detection of the white part of the parchment paper. - When
food 12 which is the object to be heated is captured byimage capturing unit 23 during cooking as described above, the temperature inheating chamber 13 is very high (such as 170°C as described above), and significantly exceeds a heat proof temperature (for example, 70°C) ofimage capturing unit 23. However, incooking device 11 according to the present exemplary embodiment, through-hole 24 forimage capturing unit 23 is formed ininclined surface 22 forming the wall surface ofheating chamber 13 as described above. Further, incooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment,image capturing unit 23 is provided on an outer side of inclined surface 22 (opposite side from an internal side of heating chamber 13), and configured to capture the image of the inside ofheating chamber 13 through through-hole 24. - With this configuration, the problem of
image capturing unit 23 involved with a temperature can be easily addressed, and therefore, malfunction ofimage capturing unit 23 due to a high temperature can be prevented. Further,image capturing unit 23 is provided on an outer side ofheating chamber 13, whereby at least one of unnecessary reflection and shadow of illumination light inheating chamber 13 byimage capturing unit 23 can be prevented. In addition, it can be prevented thatimage capturing unit 23 interferes with heating of food inheating chamber 13. - The present exemplary embodiment shows the configuration in which, in
cooking device 11,image capturing unit 23 is provided on an outer side ofinclined surface 22 betweentop surface 17 and leftwall surface 18. However, a through-hole may be formed inleft wall surface 18 without providinginclined surface 22. In addition,cooking device 11 according to the present exemplary embodiment may be configured such that the inclined surface is formed betweentop surface 17 andright wall surface 20 or betweentop surface 17 andrear surface 19, a through-hole is formed in the inclined surface, andimage capturing unit 23 is provided. - Further,
cooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment may be configured such that, if there is no component which becomes an obstacle at the outside oftop surface 17, a through-hole is formed intop surface 17, andimage capturing unit 23 is provided outside of the through-hole. Alternatively, incooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment, a transparent member such as transparent glass may be provided on the front door ofheating chamber 13, andimage capturing unit 23 may be disposed to capture an image offood 12 which is the object to be heated through the transparent member. With this configuration, operation and effect similar to the operation and effect described above can also be obtained. - The present exemplary embodiment shows the configuration in which, in
cooking device 11, two lighting units are provided onleft wall surface 18, one at the front side and the other at the rear side, and two lighting units are provided onright wall surface 20, one at the front side and the other at the rear side. However, the lighting unit may be provided ontop surface 17. In other words, an optimum number of lighting units may be provided at appropriate positions. -
Cooking device 11 according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will described below.Cooking device 11 in the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is largely different from cookingdevice 11 in the first exemplary embodiment in a configuration of lighting level controller 33 for changing the lighting level. - In the description below of
cooking device 11 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, components that have the same function or configuration as components in the cooking device according to the first exemplary embodiment are denoted by the same reference marks, the detailed description of the components is omitted, and description in the first exemplary embodiment is applied. -
FIG. 3 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the cooking device according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 3 , incooking device 11 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure,lighting level controller 41 electrically connected to lightings 25a to 25d includes inside pulse width modulation controller 42 (it may be referred to as a PWM controller below). Pulsewidth modulation controller 42 drives LEDs constituting lightings 25a to 25d in pulses to change a pulse width for current flow, thereby changing the brightness, that is, the luminance oflightings 25a to 25d to a plurality of set values. - In the above configuration, when the cooking condition of
food 12 is recognized based on an image captured byimage capturing unit 23, fourlightings 25a to 25d are all turned on as shown inFIG. 3 . - If
food 12 andtableware 35 placed intoheating chamber 13 both have a whitish similar color with high brightness, illumination light inheating chamber 13 is reflected onfood 12 andtableware 35, so that the illuminance is increased. Besides, inheating chamber 13,food 12 and each oflightings 25a to 25d are close to each other. Therefore, a portion detected as white byimage capturing unit 23 due to concentration of emitted light is generated. - However,
cooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment haslighting level controller 41 for changing a lighting level. Therefore,cooking device 11 changes the pulse width such that the luminance of each oflightings 25a to 25d is set to a predetermined set value according to a lighting pattern stored in lightingpattern storage unit 34. For example,cooking device 11 according to the present exemplary embodiment changes the pulse width so as to lower the luminance of each oflightings 25a to 25d bylighting level controller 41. The illuminance inheating chamber 13 is then lowered, and the brightness as a whole is decreased. Thus, it can be prevented that the amount of detected light for colors with high brightness exceeds a range. - On the other hand, the background image portion with low brightness other than
food 12 andtableware 35 becomes solid in a dark color. Thus, similar whitish colors with higher brightness can be detected and captured in many tones byimage capturing unit 23, whereby tones can be appropriately distinguished byimage processor 32. Therefore, incooking device 11 in the present exemplary embodiment, even iffood 12 andtableware 35 both have a similar color, an image in which the color offood 12 and the color oftableware 35 are distinguished as different colors can be captured. Thus,image processor 32 can easily separatefood 12 fromtableware 35 that is a background nearfood 12 and specify the image offood 12. That is,image processor 32 can easily detectfood 12 with high accuracy and identify the contour offood 12. - Further, the illuminance in
heating chamber 13 can be changed by changing the luminance of each oflightings 25a to 25d to a plurality of different luminance values. With this configuration, a plurality of images having different illuminances can be captured. Accordingly, even iffood 12 and the background nearfood 12 have a similar color,food 12 can be captured with a lighting level being set such that a color difference betweenfood 12 and the background can be distinguished in many tones. Thus,image processor 32 can easily separatefood 12 from the background and detectfood 12 with high accuracy. - In addition, in
image processor 32, a plurality of images obtained by changing the luminance values oflightings 25a to 25d according to a plurality of lighting patterns stored in lightingpattern storage unit 34 is compared. A contour whose position is changed and a contour whose position is unchanged according to the lighting pattern are distinguished from each other. With this configuration, the contour whose position is changed can be determined to be a local high illuminance portion and separated, wherebyfood 12 can be accurately detected. - The present exemplary embodiment shows the configuration in which, in
cooking device 11, pulsewidth modulation controller 42 is used to change the luminance values oflightings 25a to 25d. However,cooking device 11 may be configured to change an amount of current to flow through the LEDs without changing the pulse width. - It is to be noted that, in the present disclosure, switching patterns of a plurality of luminance values executed by lightings 25a to 25d may be stored in lighting
pattern storage unit 34 as lighting pattern data, for example. The lighting level may be changed such thatlighting level controller 33, 41 switches the plurality of luminance values of the lighting units based on the data of a plurality of lighting patterns stored in lightingpattern storage unit 34. - The present disclosure provides a cooking device that can easily detect an object to be heated with high accuracy and identify the contour of the object to be heated, thereby being capable of accurately detect a condition of the object to be heated. Accordingly, the present disclosure is widely applicable to, for example, a cooking device that cooks food or the like.
-
- 11: cooking device
- 12: food (object to be heated)
- 13: heating chamber
- 17: top surface
- 18: left wall surface (wall surface)
- 19: rear surface (wall surface)
- 20: right wall surface (wall surface)
- 23: image capturing unit
- 24: through-hole
- 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d: lighting (lighting unit)
- 32: image processor
- 33, 41: lighting level controller
- 34: lighting pattern storage unit (storage unit)
- 35: tableware (nearby background)
- 42: pulse width modulation controller (PWM controller)
Claims (7)
- A cooking device comprising:a heating chamber that houses an object to be heated;an image capturing unit that captures an image of an inside of the heating chamber;a lighting unit that emits light to the inside of the heating chamber;a lighting level controller that changes a lighting level provided by the lighting unit; andan image processor that specifies an image of the object to be heated in the image captured by the image capturing unit.
- The cooking device according to claim 1, further comprising a lighting pattern storage unit that stores a plurality of lighting patterns, wherein
the lighting unit is configured to emit the light based on the plurality of lighting patterns, and
the lighting level controller is configured to cause the lighting unit to execute at least two of the plurality of lighting patterns. - The cooking device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lighting level controller is configured to change the lighting level provided by the lighting unit, according to brightness of the image captured by the image capturing unit.
- The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a plurality of the lighting units,
wherein the lighting level controller is configured to change the lighting level by controlling on and off of the plurality of the lighting units. - The cooking device according to claim 4, wherein
the plurality of the lighting units is disposed on at least one of a wall surface and a top surface of the heating chamber, and
the plurality of the lighting units has at least one combination of lighting units which are distant from each other across the image capturing unit at 30 degrees or more based on a center of the heating chamber in a plan view of the heating chamber as viewed from top. - The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
the lighting unit has a plurality of luminance values, and
the lighting level controller is configured to change the lighting level by switching the luminance values of the lighting unit. - The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the image capturing unit is configured to capture an image of the inside of the heating chamber through a through-hole or a transparent member formed in at least one of the wall surface and the top surface of the heating chamber.
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BR112015012978B1 (en) * | 2012-12-04 | 2021-03-30 | Ingo Stork (Genannt) Wersborg | SYSTEM FOR MONITORING A HEAT TREATMENT |
WO2014136389A1 (en) * | 2013-03-07 | 2014-09-12 | パナソニック株式会社 | Heating cooking device |
DE102014210672A1 (en) * | 2014-06-05 | 2015-12-17 | BSH Hausgeräte GmbH | Cooking device with light pattern projector and camera |
CN205026746U (en) * | 2015-08-22 | 2016-02-10 | 天津有序环境科技发展有限公司 | Video monitoring remote control microwave oven |
-
2017
- 2017-03-27 JP JP2018509299A patent/JPWO2017170318A1/en active Pending
- 2017-03-27 EP EP17774855.5A patent/EP3438544A4/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2017-03-27 CN CN201780020664.6A patent/CN109073231A/en active Pending
- 2017-03-27 WO PCT/JP2017/012234 patent/WO2017170318A1/en active Application Filing
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP3604931A4 (en) * | 2017-03-23 | 2020-03-18 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Heating cooking device |
WO2020120028A1 (en) * | 2018-12-13 | 2020-06-18 | Arcelik Anonim Sirketi | A cooking device comprising an imaging system |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2017170318A1 (en) | 2017-10-05 |
JPWO2017170318A1 (en) | 2019-02-14 |
EP3438544A4 (en) | 2019-04-17 |
CN109073231A (en) | 2018-12-21 |
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