JP2006145142A - Microwave oven - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a microwave oven automatically setting a heating time ideal for an object to be heated without forcing a special operation to an operator. <P>SOLUTION: A hamburger 42 is wrapped in a wrapping bag 43 with a color that is different per type. A camera 51 takes an image of the hamburger 42 in a cooking chamber 31. A setting part 60 determines the color of the wrapping bag 43 on the basis of taken image data. A data table 70 indicating a heating time and an output wattage of an electromagnetic wave irradiating device 50 corresponding the color of the wrapping bag 43 is stored in a storage part 61. The setting part 60 refers to the data table 70 to set the heating time and the output wattage corresponding to the color of the wrapping bag 43. A control part 49 controls the electromagnetic wave irradiating device 50 on the basis of the set heating time and output wattage to cook the hamburger 42. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a microwave oven capable of automatically setting a heating time suitable for a body to be cooked when cooking the body to be cooked packaged by a package.

  Usually, when cooking with a microwave oven, the to-be-cooked body is packaged in a package. For example, frozen foods, retort foods, chilled foods, and the like are sold after being packaged in a predetermined package, and are often cooked while being packaged when heated in a microwave oven. In addition, in a store such as a convenience store, a to-be-cooked object packaged in a package, for example, a lunch box is cooked in a microwave oven as it is without being taken out of the package.

  On such a package, the heating time in a microwave oven and the like are displayed. For example, the indication “How many minutes is output at 500 W” is displayed on a sticker attached to the surface of the package. For this reason, if the output and the heating time are set by looking at this display, the object to be cooked can be heated with an appropriate output and heating time. However, there is a problem that such a display is small and reading is troublesome. Moreover, in a convenience store etc., there is a problem that it takes a long time to wait for a customer if it takes time to read the output and heating time displayed on the package or to set the heating time.

In order to solve such problems, a bar code version of the output and heating time of the microwave oven is provided on the surface of the package, and this information is read by the bar code reading means provided in the microwave oven. There is known a microwave oven in which an output and a heating time are automatically set based on (see, for example, Patent Document 1). There is also known a microwave oven that can register the output and heating time settings corresponding to the object to be cooked in advance by numbers at convenience stores, fast food stores, restaurants, and the like. In this microwave oven, for example, if the registration number of the inner lunch box of the curtain is “12”, when the start button is pressed after pressing the number “12”, the inner lunch box of the curtain is cooked with an appropriate output and heating time.
JP 2002-243161 A

  However, in the microwave oven described in Patent Document 1, when the barcode is read by the microwave oven, it is necessary to bring the barcode provided on the surface of the package closer to the reading means of the microwave oven, which takes time and effort. There's a problem. In addition, the above-described microwave ovens used in convenience stores also require the operator to press the registration number, resulting in problems such as time loss and mistakes such as incorrect number pressing. It was.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a microwave oven in which an optimum output and heating time are automatically set for an object to be cooked without forcing the operator to perform a special operation. With the goal.

  In order to solve the above problems, the microwave oven of the present invention includes electromagnetic wave irradiation means for irradiating an electromagnetic wave into a cooking chamber, and by this electromagnetic wave irradiation means, the object to be cooked wrapped by a package is irradiated with electromagnetic waves, A microwave oven for heating and cooking the object to be cooked, a storage for storing a data table indicating an imaging means for imaging the cooking chamber, a heating time corresponding to a color or pattern of the package, and an output of the electromagnetic wave irradiation means And a color or a pattern of the package based on the image data captured by the imaging unit, and the heating time and the output corresponding to the color or the pattern are set with reference to the data table Setting means, and the cooking object is heated and cooked with the heating time and the output set by the setting means.

  The data table indicates color information of the package, the heating time corresponding to the color information, and the output, and the setting means corresponds to the color corresponding to the package based on the image data. Information is determined, and the heating time and the output corresponding to the color information are set with reference to the data table.

  The data table shows reference image data indicating the color or pattern of the package, the heating time and the output corresponding to the reference image data, and the setting means includes the image data and the reference image. The reference image data corresponding to the image data is determined by collating with data, and the heating time and the output corresponding to the reference image data are set with reference to the data table. It is.

  It is preferable to provide a mesh-shaped shielding member that shields electromagnetic waves in front of the imaging means. The storage means stores background image data obtained by imaging the cooking chamber in a state where the object to be cooked is not in the cooking chamber, and the setting means is an image obtained by removing the background image data from the image data. It is preferable to determine the color or pattern of the package based on the data.

  A door for opening and closing the cooking chamber; and a detecting means for detecting opening and closing of the door. When the opening of the door is detected by the detecting means, the heating time and the output are set by the setting means. It is preferable that cooking is started when the detecting means detects that the door is closed.

  It is preferable that illumination means for illuminating the cooking chamber is provided in the vicinity of the imaging means. Moreover, it is preferable to further comprise display means for displaying the heating time and the output set by the setting means. Furthermore, it is preferable that the storage means is a rewritable memory, and the data table is updatable.

  According to the microwave oven of the present invention, when cooking the object to be cooked, the heating time corresponding to the object to be cooked and the output of the electromagnetic wave irradiation means are automatically set without forcing the user to perform a special operation. , It is possible to prevent user operation errors. Further, since the user's operation can be simplified, the operation time can be shortened.

  Since the shielding member that shields the electromagnetic wave is provided in front of the imaging unit, it is possible to prevent the imaging unit from being irradiated with the electromagnetic wave. Further, since the color or pattern of the package is determined based on the image data obtained by removing the background image data stored in the storage unit in advance from the image data captured by the imaging unit, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination. Can do.

  The heating time and output are set when the door is opened, and the cooking of the object to be cooked is automatically started when the door is closed, so that the user's operation can be further simplified. In addition, since the data table can be updated, the microwave oven can be set to a setting suitable for the use condition of the user by appropriately updating according to the use condition of the user.

  FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration of a microwave oven 10 of the present invention. The microwave oven 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a door 11 is provided on the front surface thereof. A display unit 12 and an operation unit 13 including a plurality of buttons are provided above the door 11. As shown in FIG. 2, two USB terminals 15 and 16 and a LAN terminal 17 are provided on the side surface of the microwave oven 10.

  The display unit 12 is a liquid crystal display panel on which various information, a menu screen, and the like are displayed. The operation unit 13 includes a power switch 21, a menu button 22, a lower button 23, an upper button 24, a registration mode button 25, and a start / stop button 26. The power switch 21 is pressed when the power of the microwave oven 10 is turned on or off. The menu button 22 is pressed when performing various settings, and a menu screen is displayed on the display unit 12. The lower button 23 and the upper button 24 are pressed when the cursor is moved in the menu screen or when the set value is increased or decreased. The registration mode button 25 is pressed when switching to the registration mode or when ending the registration mode. The start / stop button 26 is pressed to start or stop cooking.

  The door 11 opens and closes between an open position (position shown in FIG. 2) that exposes the cooking chamber 31 formed inside the microwave oven 10 and a closed position (position shown in FIG. 1) that covers the front surface of the cooking chamber 31. It is made free. The door 11 is provided with a grip portion 32, and the user opens and closes the door 11 by gripping the grip portion 32. Furthermore, the window 11 is provided in the door 11, and the inside of the cooking chamber 31 can be observed.

  A shield mesh 34 that is a shielding member that shields electromagnetic waves is provided on the back surface of the window 33. The shield mesh 34 is, for example, a nylon sheet coated with silver, and is a mesh sheet in which a plurality of openings are formed. The shield mesh 34 shields the electromagnetic wave (decreases the intensity of the electromagnetic wave) and prevents the electromagnetic wave from leaking from the window 33 to the outside of the microwave oven 10.

  Further, two hooks 36 are provided on the back surface of the door 11, and these hooks 36 engage with the engaging portion 37 when the door 11 is closed. As shown in FIG. 3, an opening / closing detection switch 38, which is detection means for detecting opening / closing of the door 11, is provided on the bottom surface of the engaging portion 37. The open / close detection switch 38 includes a main body 38a and a protrusion 38b. When the door 11 is opened, the protrusion 38b is in a position protruding from the main body 38a as shown in FIG. 3A, and when the door 11 is in the closed position, as shown in FIG. 3B. The protrusion 38b is pushed into the main body 38a by the hook 36. The open / close detection switch 38 outputs a detection signal when the protrusion 38b is pushed into the main body 38a. The open / close detection switch 38 may be provided on one of the two engaging portions 37.

  Further, a locking member 39 that locks the tip of the hook 36 is provided on the wall surface of the engaging portion 37, and this locking member 39 is biased toward the inside of the engaging portion 37 by a spring 40. ing. When the door 11 is closed, the locking member 39 is pressed by the tip of the hook 36 and moves into the wall surface against the force of the spring 40. Thereafter, when the tip of the hook 36 reaches the bottom surface of the engaging portion 37, the locking member 39 returns to the original position by the force of the spring 40, and the tip of the hook 36 is moved as shown in FIG. Lock.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a rotating dish 41 that is rotatably supported is provided at the center of the cooking chamber 31. An object to be cooked is placed on the rotating dish 41 and is driven to rotate during cooking. Thus, by rotating the rotating dish 41, electromagnetic waves are uniformly irradiated to the object to be cooked. The to-be-cooked body is, for example, a hamburger 42, and the hamburger 42 is placed on the rotating dish 41 in a state of being packaged by a packaging bag 43 that is a package.

  Further, an electromagnetic wave irradiation port 45 and a photographing opening 46 are formed on one side wall surface 31a of the cooking chamber 31, and the electromagnetic wave irradiation port 45 and the photographing opening 46 are shields that are shielding members for shielding electromagnetic waves. A mesh 47 is provided. The shield mesh 47 is the same as the shield mesh 34 described above, and prevents electromagnetic waves from leaking out of the cooking chamber 31 from the electromagnetic wave irradiation port 45 and the photographing opening 46. As will be described later, an electromagnetic wave irradiation device is provided behind the electromagnetic wave irradiation port 45, and an illumination device and a camera are provided behind the imaging opening 46. Since these are made of metal, there is a danger that a large amount of current flows when they are exposed to electromagnetic waves, but they are protected by this shield mesh 47.

  In addition, a reflection plate 48 is provided on the other side wall surface 31 b of the cooking chamber 31. This reflector 48 reflects the electromagnetic wave irradiated into the cooking chamber 31 from the electromagnetic wave irradiation port 45, and efficiently irradiates the object to be cooked with the electromagnetic wave.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the microwave oven 10 will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the microwave oven 10. The microwave oven 10 is provided with a control unit 49 which is a control means for controlling the entire range. The control unit 49 includes a memory 49a in which a control program, various control data, and the like are stored, and controls each unit based on the control program and various control data.

  An electromagnetic wave irradiation device 50 arranged behind the electromagnetic wave irradiation port 45 is connected to the control unit 49. The electromagnetic wave irradiation device 50 is an electromagnetic wave irradiation means for irradiating the cooking chamber 31 with electromagnetic waves (microwaves), and includes a magnetron or the like. When the control unit 49 controls the electromagnetic wave irradiation device 50, electromagnetic waves (microwaves) are irradiated to the object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 31, and the object to be cooked is cooked. Further, as described above, the shield mesh 47 is provided in front of the electromagnetic wave irradiation device 50.

  Further, behind the photographing opening 46, a camera 51 and an illumination device 52 which are imaging means are provided. The camera 51 includes a photographing lens 53 and a CCD image sensor 54. As the photographing lens 53, an ultra-wide-angle lens, that is, a fisheye lens is used. The CCD image sensor 54 captures the subject image formed by the photographing lens 53.

  The illumination device 52 is illumination means for illuminating the inside of the cooking chamber 31, and is disposed in the vicinity of the camera 51. As the lighting device 52, a lamp or a strobe device is used. As described above, the shield mesh 47 is provided in front of the camera 51 and the illumination device 52.

The CCD image sensor 54 and the illumination device 52 are connected to a power supply unit 56 via a power cable 55, and power is supplied from the power supply unit 56. The power supply unit 56 is connected to each unit other than the CCD image sensor 54 and the illumination device 52 by a cable (not shown), and supplies power to each unit.

  The CCD image sensor 54 is connected to the control unit 49 via a CCD driver 57. The control unit 49 controls the CCD driver 57 to drive the CCD image sensor 54 to acquire image data obtained by converting the subject image into an electrical signal by photoelectric conversion. The CCD image sensor 54 outputs the acquired image data to the A / D converter 58. The A / D converter 58 converts image data that is an analog signal into a digital signal, and outputs the image data to the image signal processing unit 59.

The image signal processing unit 59 is connected to the control unit 49. When the control unit 49 controls the image signal processing unit 59, various types of image processing such as gradation conversion and color conversion are performed on the image data. , Hypertone processing, hyper sharpness processing, and the like.

Image data that has undergone various types of image processing is output from the image signal processing unit 59 to the setting unit 60. The setting unit 60 is a setting unit that sets the heating time and the output wattage of the electromagnetic wave irradiation device 50. A storage unit 61 that is a storage unit is connected to the setting unit 60. The storage unit 61 is a flash memory (FLASH ROM) capable of rewriting data.

In the storage unit 61, the data table 70 indicating the heating time and output wattage corresponding to the color of the package, and the inside of the cooking chamber 31 through the shield mesh 47 in a state where nothing is placed on the rotating dish 41. The photographed background image data 65 is stored in advance.

The setting unit 60 acquires image data captured by the camera 51 from the image signal processing unit 59, and determines the color or pattern of the package based on the image data. Furthermore, the setting unit 60 refers to the data table, sets the heating time and output wattage values corresponding to the determined color or pattern, and outputs these set values to the control unit 49. The controller 49 controls the electromagnetic wave irradiation device 50 based on these set values, thereby cooking the object to be cooked with the set heating time and output wattage.

The control unit 49 includes an open / close detection switch 38, two USB terminals 15 and 16, a LAN terminal 17, a display unit 12, an operation unit 13, a motor 63 that rotationally drives the rotating plate 41, and a buzzer. 64 is connected. The control unit 49 acquires a detection signal from the open / close detection switch 38 when the door 11 is closed. The control unit 49 acquires an operation signal when the operation unit 13 is operated by the user, and controls each unit based on the operation signal.

Below, the effect | action of the microwave oven 10 of the said structure is demonstrated. As described above, the data table 70 and the background image data 65 are stored in the storage unit 61 in advance. The registration process of these data will be described.

When registering data, the user operates the registration mode button 25 to set the registration mode. This registration mode includes a background image registration mode and a data table registration mode, which can be selected by the user operating the down button 23 or the up button 24 to move the cursor within the display screen of the display unit 12. Has been.

First, the background image registration process in the background image registration mode will be described with reference to FIG. In this background image registration mode, background image data 65 obtained by imaging the inside of the cooking chamber 31 via the shield mesh 47 in a state where nothing is put in the cooking chamber 31, that is, the object to be cooked is not in the cooking chamber 31. Is stored in the storage unit 61.

When the background image registration mode is set, the control unit 49 determines whether a detection signal is acquired from the open / close detection switch 38. When it is determined that the detection signal is not acquired, it is determined that the door 11 is closed, and the standby state is maintained until the detection signal is acquired. When it is determined that the detection signal has been acquired, the control unit 49 determines that the door 11 is open and drives the CCD image sensor 54 to acquire the background image data 65. The background image data 65 is output to the image signal processing unit 59 via the A / D converter 58. The control unit 49 controls the image signal processing unit 59 to perform various kinds of image processing on the background image data 65, and then stores the background image data in the storage unit 61 and registers it.

Thereafter, the control unit 49 controls the display unit 12 to display a message “registration is complete” and ends the background image registration process. In addition, when registration fails, for example, when the control part 49 determines with the thing in the cooking chamber 31 based on background image data, the message "Registration failed." Is displayed on the display part. 12 may be displayed.

Next, a data table registration process in the data table registration mode will be described with reference to FIG. In this data table registration mode, a plurality of types of packages having different colors and set values of heating time and output wattage corresponding to each color are registered. In the description of the present embodiment, an example is described in which a packaging table 43 of a different color is packaged for each type of hamburger 42 and a data table 70 indicating the heating time and output wattage corresponding to each color is registered. To do.

When the data table registration mode is set, the control unit 49 drives the CCD image sensor 54 to acquire image data. This image data is output to the setting unit 60 via the A / D converter 58 and the image processing unit 59. The setting unit 60 compares the image data with the background image data stored in the storage unit 61, and determines whether or not there is a hamburger 42 as an object to be cooked in the cooking chamber 31. That is, when there is a color difference between the two image data, it is determined that there is a hamburger 42 in the cooking chamber 31, and when there is no color difference between the two image data, there is no hamburger 42 in the cooking chamber 31. judge.

When it is determined that there is no hamburger 42 in the cooking chamber 31, it is repeatedly determined whether or not there is a hamburger 42 until a predetermined time elapses. When a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 49 controls the display unit 12 to display an error message “Please enter what you want to register.” And again determine whether there is an object to be cooked.

When it is determined that there is a hamburger 42 in the cooking chamber 31, the control unit 49 controls the display unit 12 to display a message "Please input the heating time and output wattage." To the user. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the control unit 49 determines whether or not the heating time and the output wattage are input by the operation unit 13.

When it is determined that the heating time and the output wattage are not input, the control unit 49 controls the display unit 12 to display a message “registration failure” for a certain period of time. Please enter the number "message and prompt the user to enter the set value again.

When it is determined that the heating time and the output wattage are input, the control unit 49 controls the display unit 12 to display a message “registration is completed”. Further, the control unit 49 extracts image data obtained by removing background image data from the image data (image data corresponding to the packaging bag 43), that is, image data of a hatched portion in the image 72 shown in FIG. Based on the image data, the color of the packaging bag 43 is decomposed into RGB and digitized. Thereafter, the digitized color information and the heating time and output wattage data corresponding to this color information (type of hamburger 42) are stored in the storage unit 61 in association with each other. Instead of digitizing the color information of the packaging bag 43, the image data may be used as reference image data, and the reference image data, the heating time, and the output wattage may be associated with each other and stored in the storage unit 61. In this case, only image data obtained by removing the background image data 65 from the reference image data, that is, data corresponding to the packaging bag 43 may be extracted and stored.

Thereafter, the control unit 49 determines whether the registration of the data table is completed. This determination is made based on, for example, whether or not the user has changed the registration mode button 25 to another mode. If it is determined that the registration of the data table has not ended, the process returns to the determination process for determining whether or not the hamburger 42 is present in the cooking chamber 31.

If it is determined that the data registration has been completed, the data table registration process is terminated. When the registration process of the data table is completed, the data table illustrated in FIG. 8 is stored in the storage unit 61, for example. Colors 1 to 9 as color information are each composed of three parameters for each of RGB colors. Further, when the image data is stored as the reference image data in the storage unit 61 without digitizing the color information of the packaging bag 43, the data table shown in FIG. 9 is stored.

In the description of the registration process of this database, the data table 70 indicating the heating time and the output wattage corresponding to the color of the packaging bag 43 is stored in the storage unit 61, and the type of the hamburger 42 is identified by the color of the packaging bag 43 However, when the type of the hamburger 42 is identified by the pattern of the packaging bag 43, a data table indicating the heating time and the output wattage corresponding to the pattern of the packaging bag 43 may be stored in the storage unit 61. In this case, the image data of the packaging bag 43 having a different pattern is used as the reference image data, and the same data table as the data table 71 shown in FIG. 9 is stored by associating the reference image data with the heating time and the output wattage. What is necessary is just to memorize | store in the part 61. FIG.

Next, the heat cooking process will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 49 determines whether or not the detection signal of the open / close detection switch 38 has been acquired. When it is determined that the detection signal is not acquired, the standby state is maintained until the detection signal is acquired. When the detection signal is acquired, it is determined that the door 11 is opened, and detection processing for determining whether or not there is a hamburger (cooked object) 42 in the cooking chamber 31 is started. This detection process is performed by the setting unit 60, and the image data captured by the camera 51 is compared with the background image data 65 stored in the storage unit 61 to determine whether there is a difference in color between the two image data. Depending on what you do. That is, when there is a color difference between the two images, it is determined that there is a hamburger 42 in the cooking chamber 31, and when there is no color difference between the two images, it is determined that there is no hamburger 42.

When it is determined that there is no hamburger 42 in the cooking chamber 31, the control unit 49 determines whether or not a certain time has elapsed since the door 11 was opened. When it is determined that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the detection process for determining whether or not the hamburger 42 is present in the cooking chamber 31 is repeated. When it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, the control unit 49 controls the display unit to display a message “Please put in something to cook”.

When it is determined that the hamburger 42 is present in the cooking chamber 31, the image signal processing unit 59 acquires the background image data 65 from the storage unit 61, and removes the background image data 65 from the image data to correspond to the packaging bag 43. The image data of the hatched portion is extracted from the image data to be processed, that is, the image 72 shown in FIG. 11, and the color of the packaging bag 43 is decomposed into RGB based on this image data and digitized.

The digitized color information is output from the image signal processing unit 59 to the setting unit 60. The setting unit 60 refers to the data table 70 stored in the storage unit 61 and determines whether color information corresponding to this color information is registered. This determination is performed by detecting whether there is a color value that matches or has a similar value.

When it is determined that the color of the packaging bag 43 is not registered, the control unit 49 controls the display unit 12 to display an error message “Not registered”. When it is determined that the color of the packaging bag 43 is registered, the setting unit 60 refers to the data table 71. If the color information determined to be coincident or close is, for example, color 1, the color information Set the heating time and output wattage (60 seconds, 500 W) corresponding to 1.

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the hamburger 42 is in the cooking chamber 31. When it is determined that there is no hamburger 42, the control unit 49 controls the display unit 12 to display a message “Please put something to be heated.” Thereafter, the process returns to the above-described detection determination process.

When it is determined that the hamburger 42 is present, the control unit 49 heats the hamburger 42 by controlling the electromagnetic wave irradiation device 50 based on the set heating time and output wattage (60 seconds, 500 W). At this time, the control unit 49 controls the motor 63 to rotate the rotating dish 41. Thereafter, the control unit 49 determines whether or not the heating time (60 seconds) has ended. When it is determined that the heating time (60 seconds) has not ended, the cooking is continued. When it is determined that the heating time (60 seconds) has ended, the control unit 49 controls the buzzer 64 to notify the user that the heating time has ended with a buzzer sound.

In the description of the above operation, the case where the heating time and the output wattage are set with reference to the data table 70 indicating the heating time and the output wattage corresponding to the color of the packaging bag 43 has been described as an example. The data is packaged in a packaging bag 43 printed with different patterns (striped patterns, color combinations, etc.) for each type, and referring to the data table 71 indicating the heating time and output wattage corresponding to the pattern of the packaging bag 43 The heating time and the output wattage may be set. In this case, it may be determined that the pattern matches when the image data acquired by the camera 51 and the reference image data match or become close to each other.

In the above description of the operation, the case where the data tables 70 and 71 are registered by manual operation has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the microwave oven 10 is used in a fast food store, FIG. As shown, the head office server 79 and the computer 81 of each store may be connected via the Internet 80, and the data table may be downloaded from the head office server 79 to the computer 81 of each store via the Internet 80. In this case, the USB flash memory 82 is connected to the USB terminal of the computer, the data table is stored in the USB flash memory 82, and then the USB flash memory 82 is connected to the USB terminal 15 or the USB terminal 16 of the microwave oven 10. Then, it may be stored in the storage unit 61.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the LAN terminal of the computer 81 and the LAN terminal 17 of the microwave oven 10 are connected by a LAN cable, and the data table is transferred from the computer 81 to the microwave oven 10 and stored in the storage unit 61. The data table may be stored, or the data table may be transferred from the computer 81 to the microwave oven 10 by wireless LAN and stored in the storage unit 61.

Also, when cooking lunches at convenience stores, the packaging containers for lunch boxes vary in color depending on the manufacturer, and we handle lunch boxes from multiple manufacturers, so set the heating time and output wattage corresponding to each color of the packaging container. Difficult to do. For this reason, when using the microwave oven 10 of this invention in a convenience store, as shown in FIG. 14, the sticker 92 of a different color is affixed on the surface of the packaging container 91 as shown in FIG. In this case, a data table indicating the heating time and the output wattage corresponding to the color of the seal 92 is stored in the storage unit 61, the color of the seal 92 is determined based on the captured image, and the determined color is supported. What is necessary is just to set the heating time and output wattage to perform.

In addition to discriminating by the color of the seal 92, when cooking, the lunch box is placed on a predetermined packaging container (for example, a dish), the color of the packaging container is judged, and the heating time and output wattage are set. May be.

In the above-described embodiment, the microwave oven 10 that can change the output wattage of the electromagnetic wave irradiation device 50 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to a device that cannot change the output wattage. Can do. In this case, a data table indicating the heating time corresponding to the color or pattern of the package may be stored in the storage unit, and only the heating time may be set based on the color or pattern of the package.

It is a front view which shows the structure of a microwave oven. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a microwave oven. It is sectional drawing explaining operation | movement of an open / close detection switch. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a cooking chamber. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a microwave oven. It is a flowchart explaining the registration process of a background image. It is a flowchart explaining the registration process of a data table. It is explanatory drawing which shows a data table. It is explanatory drawing which shows a data table. It is a flowchart explaining a heat cooking process. It is explanatory drawing which shows a captured image. It is explanatory drawing explaining the update of a data table. It is explanatory drawing explaining the update of a data table. It is a perspective view which shows a lunch box.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Microwave oven 11 Door 12 Display part 13 Operation part 31 Cooking room 38 Opening / closing detection switch 42 Hamburger 43 Packaging bag 47 Shield mesh 49 Control part 50 Electromagnetic wave irradiation apparatus 51 Camera 52 Illumination apparatus 54 CCD image sensor 60 Setting part 61 Storage part 70, 71 Data table 91 Packaging container 92 Seal

Claims (9)

In a microwave oven comprising an electromagnetic wave irradiation means for irradiating an electromagnetic wave into a cooking chamber, and by applying the electromagnetic wave to the object to be cooked wrapped by a package by this electromagnetic wave irradiation means, the food to be cooked is heated.
Imaging means for imaging the cooking chamber;
Storage means for storing a data table indicating the heating time corresponding to the color or pattern of the package and the output of the electromagnetic wave irradiation means;
Setting means for determining the color or pattern of the package based on the image data captured by the imaging means, and setting the heating time and the output corresponding to the color or the pattern with reference to the data table; With
A microwave oven for cooking the object to be cooked with the heating time and the output set by the setting means.   The data table indicates color information of the package, the heating time corresponding to the color information, and the output, and the setting means corresponds to the color corresponding to the package based on the image data. 2. The microwave oven according to claim 1, wherein information is determined and the heating time and the output corresponding to the color information are set with reference to the data table.   The data table shows reference image data indicating the color or pattern of the package, the heating time and the output corresponding to the reference image data, and the setting means includes the image data and the reference image. The data is collated to determine the reference image data corresponding to the image data, and the heating time and the output corresponding to the reference image data are set with reference to the data table. Item 1. A microwave oven according to item 1.   The microwave oven according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a mesh-shaped shielding member that shields electromagnetic waves is provided in front of the imaging means.   The storage means stores background image data obtained by imaging the cooking chamber in a state where the object to be cooked is not in the cooking chamber, and the setting means is an image obtained by removing the background image data from the image data. The microwave oven according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a color or a pattern of the package is determined based on data.   A door for opening and closing the cooking chamber; and a detecting means for detecting opening and closing of the door. When the opening of the door is detected by the detecting means, the heating time and the output are set by the setting means. 6. A microwave oven according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein cooking is started when the detecting means detects that the door is closed.   The microwave oven according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein illumination means for illuminating the cooking chamber is provided in the vicinity of the imaging means.   The microwave oven according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising display means for displaying the heating time and the output set by the setting means. 9. The microwave oven according to claim 1, wherein the storage means is a rewritable memory, and the data table is updateable.

Images