JP2019219096A - Cooking support system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cooking support system which has a function of warning a user instead of starting heating cooking in the case where heating cooking is about to start without putting water in food in a container and in the case where the water amount is extremely small, and urging the user to take a proper action.SOLUTION: A cooking support system includes: a temperature sensor for measuring at least the temperature of food in a container in cooking; a weight sensor for measuring at least the weight of the food in a container; and a calculation part for creating a control program of a microwave generator. This cooking support system stops cooking in the case where a user does not follow a proper procedure, urges the user to take the proper procedure, and in the case where the user is following the proper procedure, it can perform cooking by selecting an optimum condition automatically.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooking support system for cooking food in a container.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a microwave oven that detects a surface temperature of food using a temperature sensor such as an infrared sensor and controls heating conditions using microwaves based on the detected temperature.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, the temperature state of the food to be heated is detected not as a point by a plurality of image sensors but as a surface, and based on the obtained information, a heating pattern programmed in a microcomputer in advance is used. There is disclosed a technique in which the temperature state of a food is continuously grasped during cooking and the heating pattern is sequentially changed according to the state.

  On the other hand, Patent Literature 2 discloses a technique in which the temperature of food to be cooked is detected at regular intervals by an infrared sensor, and the cooking conditions are changed depending on the temperature state (rise, stagnation, and fall) of the food.

  Patent Literatures 3 and 4 disclose microwave ovens that read cooking information from a two-dimensional code attached to a food package or the like and control heating conditions based on the read information. Further, Document 1 discloses a microwave oven that corrects a heating condition by combining a temperature sensor with the microwave oven.

  Further, Patent Literatures 5 and 6 disclose cooking utensils that obtain information on models of foods and microwave ovens stored on a server using a network and select optimal cooking conditions.

JP-A-60-235388 JP-A-63-207921 JP 06-331148 A JP-A-07-293898 JP 2006-250510 A JP 2017-015383 A

  However, the microwave ovens disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 6 are based on the premise that a user acts according to an appropriate procedure for processes other than the heating and cooking. In other words, when water is not added to the food in the container or when the amount of water is extremely small, cooking cannot be performed correctly and there is a risk of fire.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and is intended to be used without starting cooking when heating is attempted without adding water to the food in a container or when the amount of water is extremely small. It is intended to provide a cooking support system having a function of giving a warning to a person and prompting an appropriate action.

That is, the present invention
A cooking support system for cooking food in containers,
An intake unit for acquiring specific information of the packaged food;
A recording unit for storing cooking information of the packaged food;
A microwave oscillator for cooking food in containers using microwaves,
A temperature sensor that measures at least the temperature of the food in the container during cooking,
A weight sensor for measuring the weight of at least the food in the container before cooking,
A calculation unit for creating a control program for the microwave oscillator,
The present invention relates to a cooking support system including:

  According to the cooking support system according to the present invention, if the user does not follow the proper procedure, the user stops cooking, and is encouraged to follow the proper procedure. Can be selected for cooking.

  Further, in the present invention, by providing a server for storing cooking information, it is possible to reflect past cooking conditions, user preferences, and the like.

  The term “food in a container” as used in the present invention refers to food that is cooked using a microwave oven after water is poured into the food in a container. Specific examples include instant cup noodles, instant soup, instant rice, and the like.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the cooking assistance system which concerns on this invention, if a user does not follow a proper procedure, it will stop cooking, and if it follows a proper procedure, it will select an optimal condition and perform cooking automatically. Is possible.

It is a figure showing composition of a cooking assistance system concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a flowchart regarding operation | movement of the cooking assistance system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure showing composition of a cooking assistance system concerning Embodiment 2 of the present invention. It is a flowchart regarding operation | movement of the cooking assistance system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are merely examples embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In the following description, the food in a container may be referred to as a “product”.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a cooking support system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The cooking support system shown in FIG. 1 includes a microwave oven 100, a server 110 connected to the microwave oven 100 via a network, and a capturing unit 120 directly connected to the microwave oven 100. The connection method between the microwave oven 100 and the server 110 and / or the capturing unit 120 is not particularly limited, and may be connected via a network or directly.

Microwave oven 100
The microwave oven 100 includes a microwave oscillator 101, a temperature sensor 102, a weight sensor 103, a calculation unit 104, a recording unit 105, a display unit 106, an operation unit 107, a cooking chamber 108, and a communication unit 109. The wave oscillator 101, the temperature sensor 102, the weight sensor 103, and the calculation unit 104 are essential components.

(Microwave oscillator 101)
The microwave oscillator 101 generates microwaves to heat the food placed in the cooking chamber. As the microwave oscillator 101, a known microwave oscillator can be used, and specific examples thereof include an electron tube such as a magnetron, a klystron, and a gyrotron, and a solid-state oscillator.

(Temperature sensor 102)
The temperature sensor 102 directly or indirectly measures the temperature of the content placed in the cooking chamber. As the temperature sensor 102, a contact temperature sensor such as an electric thermometer or a metal thermometer, a non-contact temperature sensor such as a thermography, or the like can be used.

(Weight sensor 103)
The weight sensor 103 measures the weight of the product placed in the cooking chamber after water injection. As the weight sensor 103, a balance scale, a spring scale, or the like can be used.

  In the present invention, the product weight after water injection recommended by the manufacturer (the total amount of the product weight before water injection and the water injection amount recommended by the manufacturer) can be acquired from the server 110 and / or the intake unit 120. For this reason, by measuring the product weight after water injection using the weight sensor 103, the actual measured value of the water injection amount can be accurately grasped. Then, by comparing the water injection amount recommended by the manufacturer, it can be used as a material for determining whether or not cooking is possible.

(Calculation unit 104)
The calculation unit 104 controls the microwave oscillator 101 based on the food information obtained from the recording unit 105 and / or the capturing unit 120 and the immediate information obtained from the temperature sensor 102 and the weight sensor 103. Further, if necessary, operation information obtained from the operation unit 107 is also used for controlling the microwave oscillator 101.

  The information handled by the calculation unit 104 can be divided into immediate information, operation information, and food information, and the food information is further subdivided into specific information and cooking information.

  Here, the immediate information is information on the temperature obtained from the temperature sensor 102 and information on the weight obtained from the weight sensor 103. The operation information is information generated by the operation unit 107 when the user himself wants to control the output and time of the microwave oscillator 101.

  The specific information is information necessary for specifying a product, and specifically includes a product name, a product number, an appearance, a hue, and the like. Although the specific information is not directly involved in cooking, it is used to specify a product to be heated and cooked and to extract the cooking information from the recording unit 105.

  Cooking information is information required for cooking a product. Specific examples include a control program for the microwave oscillator, a water injection amount recommended by the manufacturer, an upper temperature limit during cooking, a product weight before water injection, a manufacturing date, a cooking history, and the like. By associating the specific information with the cooking information in, for example, a table format, the cooking information can be obtained based on the specific information.

  In the following description, a collection of information arranged so that cooking information can be obtained based on specific information is referred to as a “database”.

(Recording unit 105)
The recording unit 105 stores a database including specific information and cooking information. In the first embodiment, since the database is transmitted from the server 110 in advance, the user (microwave oven 100) does not need to perform any operation.

(Display unit 106)
The display unit 106 transmits specific information, cooking information, and the like to the user. Although the details will be described later, when the heating and cooking are stopped due to a shortage of the water injection amount, a warning is issued to the user through the display unit 106. A display, a speaker, or the like can be used as the display unit.

(Operation unit 107)
The operation unit 107 generates operation information and transmits the operation information to the calculation unit 104. The operation unit 107 is used when the user himself controls the output and time of the microwave oscillator 101.

(Cooking room 108)
The cooking chamber 108 is a space for placing foods to be heated.

(Communication unit 109)
The communication unit 109 receives the database from the server 110 and transmits the information to the recording unit 105. Further, in the first embodiment, the communication unit 109 and the communication unit 111 (server side) are connected via a network. At the time of microwave cooking, there is a risk of communication failure due to electromagnetic waves. For this reason, in the present invention, it is preferable to connect to the network using a wired line, or to connect to the network during a time when cooking is not performed (such as at midnight) when using a wireless line.

Server 110
The server 110 includes a communication unit 111 and a recording unit 112.

(Communication unit 111)
The communication unit 111 transmits the food information stored in the recording unit 112 to the microwave oven 100. Unlike the case of the communication unit 109, the possibility of a communication failure occurring on the server side is low, and there is no particular limitation on the method of connecting to the network.

(Recording unit 112)
The recording unit 112 stores a database including the specific information and the cooking information. It is not necessary that the database stored in the recording unit 112 and the database stored in the recording unit 105 match. For example, the recording unit 112 may store information on a new product before the start of sales, and update the database of the recording unit 105 when a new product is released.

Intake unit 120
The capturing unit 120 acquires at least the specific information. Specific examples of the capturing unit 120 include a two-dimensional scanner and a camera. For example, a two-dimensional code such as a barcode attached to a product is read by a scanner, and the read two-dimensional code information is acquired as specific information. In addition, the product is photographed with a camera, and specific information (product name, barcode information) attached to the product is obtained. FIG. 1 discloses an example in which the capturing unit 120 is directly connected to the microwave oven 100.

  The capturing unit 120 may acquire not only the specific information but also cooking information (output of the microwave oven, cooking time, and the like). The cooking information acquired by the capturing unit 120 is used for controlling the microwave oscillator 101 as needed.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart relating to the operation of the cooking support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Steps S1-1 and S1-2 are steps performed before the start of cooking, and steps S1-3 to S1-6 are steps performed after the start of cooking.

  First, in step S1-1, the database is transmitted from the server 110 to the microwave oven 100. In the case where wireless communication is used, it is preferable to transmit the database at midnight, taking into account the stability of the network.

  Next, in step S1-2, the database of the microwave oven 100 is updated. Here, from the viewpoint of reducing the load of data communication, it is preferable to update only the difference between the database stored in the server 110 and the database stored in the microwave oven 100.

  Next, in step S1-3, the capturing unit 120 acquires the specific information, and the sensor immediately acquires the information. At this stage, it is not necessary to obtain immediate information on the temperature, but only the immediate information on the product weight is sufficient.

  Next, in step S1-4, the calculation unit 104 acquires the corresponding cooking information based on the specific information. There is no particular limitation on the operation when the corresponding cooking information cannot be obtained, but “operation for inquiring the cooking information to the server 110”, “operation for displaying a warning on the display unit 106”, and the like are conceivable.

The calculation unit 104 selects or creates a control program based on the cooking information and the immediate information, thereby preventing a human error of the user and realizing appropriate cooking.

  Next, in step S1-6, the microwave oscillator 101 cooks according to the control program. At this time, the temperature sensor 102 plays a role of a safety device. That is, when the product temperature rises and the possibility of bumping increases, the heating / cooking is stopped or suppressed via the calculation unit 104 to prevent a problem such as bumping.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a cooking support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The cooking support system shown in FIG. 3 includes a microwave oven 200, and a recording unit 210 and a capturing unit 220 directly connected to the microwave oven 200.

  Further, the microwave oven 200 includes a microwave oscillator 201, a temperature sensor 202, a weight sensor 203, a calculation unit 204, a display unit 206, an operation unit 207, and a cooking chamber 208.

  Here, the microwave oscillator 201, the temperature sensor 202, the weight sensor 203, the calculation unit 204, the display unit 206, the operation unit 207, the cooking chamber 208, the recording unit 210, and the capture unit 220 in the second embodiment are respectively implemented. This corresponds to the microwave oscillator 101, the temperature sensor 102, the weight sensor 103, the calculation unit 104, the display unit 106, the operation unit 107, the cooking chamber 108, the recording unit 105, and the capture unit 120 in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the description of the second embodiment, the presence or absence of a server, which is a difference from the first embodiment, will be described.

  As described above, the cooking support system according to the second embodiment is not connected to the server, and all information is recorded in the recording unit 210. By providing the recording unit only inside the microwave oven, there is no need to transmit a database from the server, and it is possible to always respond to the request of the calculation unit 204. Further, since there is no need to provide a communication unit or a server, the system can be simplified.

  In the second embodiment, since the microwave oven is not connected to the server, it is necessary to fetch food information from the fetch unit 220 and update the database. Specifically, an operation is performed in which specific information and cooking information on a specific product are extracted from the two-dimensional code, and the information is added to a database.

  Disadvantages of the second embodiment include that the recording capacity of the recording unit 210 is limited, and that correction becomes complicated when the database is missing.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart relating to the operation of the cooking support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  Step S2-3, step S2-4, step S2-5, and step S2-6 in the second embodiment correspond to step S1-3, step S1-4, step S1-5, and step S1- in the first embodiment, respectively. Corresponds to 6.

  In the second embodiment, steps S1-1 and S1-2 related to information transmission / reception do not exist. This also indicates that the second embodiment has excellent responsiveness. If the specific information and the cooking information are not recorded in the database, the specific information and the cooking information are added to the database in step S2-7.

100, 200 Microwave oven 101, 201 Microwave oscillator 102, 202 Temperature sensor 103, 203 Weight sensor 104, 204 Calculation unit 105, 210 Recording unit (microwave oven)
106, 206 Display unit 107, 207 Operation unit 108, 208 Cooking room 109 Communication unit (microwave oven side)
110 server 111 communication unit (server side)
112 Recording unit (server side)
120, 220 intake unit

S1-1 Database transmission process
S1-2 Database update process
S1-3 Acquisition process of specific / immediate information
S1-4 Acquisition of cooking information
S1-5 Control program selection process
S1-6 Cooking process

S2-3 Acquisition process of specific / immediate information
S2-4 Cooking information acquisition process
S2-5 Control program selection process
S2-6 Cooking process
S2-7 Cooking information recording process

Claims (6)

A cooking support system for cooking food in containers,
An intake unit for acquiring specific information of the packaged food;
A recording unit for recording cooking information of the packaged food;
A microwave oscillator for cooking food in containers using microwaves,
A temperature sensor that measures at least the temperature of the food in the container during cooking,
A weight sensor for measuring the weight of at least the food in the container before cooking,
A calculation unit for creating a control program for the microwave oscillator,
A cooking support system comprising: The cooking assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the microwave oscillator, the temperature sensor, the weight sensor, and the calculation unit are integrally formed.   3. The cooking support system according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit and / or the capturing unit and the calculating unit are connected via a network. A cooking support system for cooking food in containers,
A microwave oven for cooking food in containers,
A server for recording cooking information of the packaged food;
An intake unit for acquiring specific information of the packaged food;
A cooking support system comprising:   5. The cooking assistance system according to claim 4, wherein the microwave oven includes a weight sensor, a temperature sensor, and a calculation unit. 6. The cooking support system according to claim 4, wherein the recording unit and / or the capturing unit are connected to a microwave oven via a network.

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