JP6050553B2 - Cooking equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooking device, and more particularly to a cooking device that acquires the difficulty level of chewing a user's food.

  With changes in people's tastes, various tastes or textures are required for ingredients. In response to this request, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-08989 (Patent Document 1), when cooking items of “home taste” when cooking rice, “hardness”, “stickiness”, “sweetness”, Each item of “Burn” can be set in 5 stages.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-93245 (Patent Document 2) discloses an electric rotary cooker and a cooking information system that enable an optimum granularity state for each chewing level. Recipe data is grouped according to mastication levels, and recipe data corresponding to the level is obtained by selecting a mastication level suitable for the user at the user terminal. The recipe data includes a mastication training program that is automatically updated to the next mastication level after a predetermined number of days.

JP 2002/08489 A JP 2003-93245 A

  Since the user usually does not understand his or her mastication level, the method in which the user selects the mastication level from the user terminal as in Patent Document 2 is suitable for the user himself / herself. It is difficult to select.

  Therefore, the objective of this invention is providing the cooking appliance which can acquire the difficulty of a user's own chewing.

  A cooking appliance according to an aspect of the present invention includes an operation unit that receives a user operation, an output unit that outputs information, a question unit that outputs a question including an ingredient name to the output unit, a control unit that controls the cooking appliance, Is provided. The control means outputs a question including the name of the food by the output means, counts a numerical value corresponding to the type of answer indicating the difficulty of chewing the food received by the operation means for each question, and chews from the counted value. The numerical value corresponding to the type of answer indicating the difficulty level of chewing to the food material received by the operating means for acquiring the difficulty level of the food is counted for each question, and the difficulty level of mastication is acquired from the counted value.

  Preferably, the cooking device further includes storage means for storing a choice for each answer type and a numerical value indicating the difficulty level of mastication for each choice for each food name. The control means further outputs the question including the ingredient name read from the storage means and the corresponding option by the output means, and accumulates a numerical value corresponding to the option selected by the user for each question output together with the option. Then, the difficulty level of mastication is acquired from the accumulated value.

  Preferably, the control unit reads the question and the corresponding option from the storage unit in accordance with a predetermined order, and outputs the read question and the corresponding option by the output unit.

Preferably, the predetermined order is variable.
Preferably, the control means changes a numerical value indicating the difficulty level of mastication according to a user's answer content indicating whether the acquired difficulty level of mastication is appropriate.

  Preferably, the cooking device includes a storage chamber for storing the cooking target, a pressure control unit for controlling the pressure in the storage chamber, a temperature control unit for controlling the temperature in the storage chamber, and the cooking chamber in the storage chamber. Cooking means for controlling the pressure control means or the temperature control means according to a control program for softening the object; A cooking appliance changes the control parameter which a control program uses according to the difficulty of the acquired chewing.

  Preferably, the cooking device further includes hardness detection means for detecting the hardness of the object to be cooked, and notification means for notifying the detected hardness.

  Preferably, the cooking device further includes notification means for reporting the acquired difficulty level of mastication. The notification means includes an operation unit operated by a user and a reaction unit that reacts in response to an operation of the operation unit. A control means changes the magnitude | size of the reaction operating force by the said reaction part according to the difficulty of the acquired chewing or the detected hardness.

  According to the present invention, the difficulty level of mastication suitable for the user can be acquired.

It is a block diagram of the control block of the cooking appliance which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a process flowchart for registering a mastication level for every user which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a process flowchart for registering a mastication level for every user which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an output which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the level determination table which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematically the structure which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematically the other structure which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematically the further another structure which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. (A) And (B) is a figure which shows schematically the further another structure which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the alerting | reporting part which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

  Here, the “mastication level” is information indicating the difficulty level of mastication indicating the difficulty of mastication with respect to a food material, and is indicated by a numerical value, for example. The “food” includes unprocessed foods, processed foods such as heat and softening treatment (for example, food), and the like.

[Embodiment 1]
In this Embodiment 1, it has the structure which acquires the difficulty level of a user's chewing in an interactive form with a user.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a control block of a cooking appliance according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The control unit 10 includes a display 20 corresponding to an output unit composed of a liquid crystal for outputting information to the outside, an operation unit 30 including buttons and switches for accepting user operations, and the hardness of the food to be cooked. Hardness detection unit 40 for detecting, voice, a notification unit 50 for reporting (outputting) various kinds of information with a lamp such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and a storage room for storing an object to be cooked such as food The cooking unit 80 including it is connected.

  The control unit 10 has a microprocessor configuration. Specifically, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a memory unit 12 corresponding to a storage unit including various volatile and non-volatile memories, a timer 13 for timing, and between the CPU 11 and an external circuit unit It has an input / output I / F (abbreviation of interface) 14 for inputting and outputting signals and data.

  The memory unit 12 stores various programs including a control program of the cooking unit 80 and various data including a cooking condition table TB1, a level determination table TB2, and a user information table TB3. Here, the user ID and the mastication level are stored in the user information table TB3 in association with each user. Details of the level determination table TB2 will be described later.

(Configuration of cooking unit 80)
In the present embodiment, cooking unit 80 has a function of cooking food using the acquired chewing level. For example, the cooking unit 80 has a configuration in which food is softened (modified) by enzymatic action. Specifically, the storage chamber for storing the food, the pressure control unit 81 such as a vacuum pump for controlling the pressure in the storage chamber, the temperature control unit 82 such as the heater for controlling the temperature in the storage chamber, and the food are softened. An enzyme container that is a container containing a powdered enzyme, an enzyme aqueous solution generator that receives the enzyme delivered from the enzyme container and generates an aqueous solution containing the enzyme while stirring, and the enzyme produced An enzyme introduction unit including a nozzle or the like for introducing the aqueous solution into the accommodation chamber.

  The CPU 11 searches the cooking condition table TB1 in the memory unit 12 based on the type and amount of food input by the user via the operation unit 30 and the mastication level of the user determined as described later, and determines the type of enzyme and Get (read) the amount as well as the amount of water. That is, the cooking condition is determined (acquired), and the cooking unit 80 is controlled based on the value indicated by the determined cooking condition. Specifically, the enzyme powder container is controlled so as to change the amount and type of enzyme to be delivered. In addition, the amount of water supplied to the enzyme aqueous solution generator is controlled. These controls can be realized by, for example, opening / closing control of an electromagnetic valve provided on the side of the enzyme powder container or the water container that is supplied to the enzyme aqueous solution generator. The enzyme powder container has a solenoid valve whose degree of opening and closing is freely controlled on the bottom surface in order to deliver the stored enzyme. Moreover, it has a mechanism which stops by opening / closing of valve | bulb-> measurement-> quantitative using the measuring machine for measuring the amount of powder discharged from this solenoid valve. This mechanism may use a rotor or a screw feeder.

  The cooking condition table TB1 includes a plurality of sets of food types, amounts, and chewing levels, and parameters for controlling the cooking unit 80 in association with each of the sets (conditions such as heating temperature, heating time, and pressure). ) Is registered. The memory unit 12 stores a control program for the cooking unit 80, and the CPU 11 executes the control program using the control parameter value of the cooking condition read from the cooking condition table TB1. As a result, the type or value of the control parameter is variably controlled such as the energization amount to the heater of the temperature control unit 82, the energization time of the heater, the operation time of the vacuum pump of the pressure control unit 81, the opening of the electromagnetic valve, and the like.

  Moreover, the cooking part 80 is not limited to the above-mentioned structure. For example, the electric rotary cooker disclosed in Patent Document 2 may be applied. In that case, the cooking condition table TB1 is associated with a plurality of sets of food types, amounts, and chewing levels, and the control parameters (cooking time, etc.) of the electric rotary cooker that are cooking conditions in association with each of the groups. ) Is registered.

The data of the cooking condition table TB1 can be acquired in advance by experiments or the like.
(Outline processing and level determination table)
2 and 3 are process flowcharts for registering the mastication level for each user according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A program according to this process flowchart is stored in the memory unit 12 in advance, and the CPU 11 reads the program from the memory unit 12 and executes the program, thereby realizing the process. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an output example. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the level determination table TB2 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 5, level determination table TB2 includes questions indicating names of foods having different softness (hardness), a plurality of options for answering corresponding to each question, and corresponding to each option. And the assigned point value. The answer options are the options presented to the user. If the corresponding food is chewed, it can be chewed easily, can be chewed without difficulty, and the chew is not possible. Show. In addition, the foodstuff corresponding to a question may be a foodstuff or a dish. Further, the number of types of options is not limited to this.

  The score corresponding to each option is counted by repeating the question and is used to determine (acquire) the mastication level from the counted value. Includes point values. As shown in the figure, “Easy” or “Do not overdo” options that indicate the difficulty level of chewing for each question are mainly assigned point values in Category 1 or Category 2, For the “unreasonable” option, a point value of Category 3 or Category 4 is mainly assigned. Note that the number of sections is not limited to four.

  The point values of Category 1 to Category 4 indicate values according to the hardness category of the corresponding foodstuff. Specifically, when the corresponding food is harder than the other foods, the point value of the category 1 or 2 is larger than that of the other foods 1 or 2. For example, when comparing “Do not overdo”, the value of Category 1 and 2 of “rice” is larger than the value of Category 1 and 2 of “Okayu” (the value of Category 1 and 2 of “Purine”) Is even larger). On the contrary, when the corresponding food is softer than the other foods, the point value of the category 1 or 2 is smaller than that of the other foods category 1 or 2. Note that the number of sections is not limited to four.

  The acquisition of the mastication level by the interactive format according to the process of FIG. 2 will be described. First, a user ID is registered (step S9). Specifically, the user operates the operation unit 30 to input a user ID that is personal identification information (name, etc.). The CPU 11 stores the input user ID in the user information table TB3.

  Moreover, CPU11 acquires a user's mastication level. Specifically, the question means or option question means of the CPU 11 reads the question and option from the head of the level determination table TB2 and displays them on the display 20 (step S10). FIG. 4 shows a display example of an image based on a question including a cooking target name (rice porridge) for confirming masticatory power and options for answering.

  When the user operates the operation unit 30 to select and answer one of the options (step S11), the “acquiring means” or the accumulating acquisition means of the CPU 11 is classified into category 1 corresponding to the input answer option. Points are added (accumulated) for each of ˜4 (step S13). For example, in the case where “Erase without Eating” in the arrow of FIG. 4 is input, according to the level determination table TB2, section 1 = 0.5 points, section 2 = 1 point, section 3 = 0.5 The point and the division 4 = 0 points are calculated.

  The CPU 11 determines whether or not the accumulated value for each category satisfies a predetermined end condition (step S17). The end condition is stored in the memory unit 12. For example, it is determined whether or not to end depending on whether or not the cumulative value of the specific category exceeds a predetermined value. Alternatively, the determination is made based on whether or not the score 1 is continuously added a predetermined number of times for the specific category (for example, 1 is added twice to the category 2).

  If it is determined to end (YES in step S17), the “acquiring means” or the accumulation acquiring means determines the mastication level based on a predetermined condition (step S19). For example, regarding the accumulated value for each category, if the accumulated value of (Category 1) is greater than or equal to a predetermined value and is determined to be the maximum value among the four categories, the mastication level is “highest” For example, “1” is assigned. In addition, regarding the accumulated value for each category, when it is determined that the accumulated value of (category 2) is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and is the maximum value among the four categories, the mastication level is “high”. For example, “2” is assigned. In addition, when it is determined that the accumulated value of (Category 4) is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and is the maximum value among the four categories, the mastication level is “low” and assigned to “4”. . An example of assignment based on such conditions is merely an example and is not limited.

  The CPU 11 associates the determined mastication level with the user ID of the user and stores it in the user information table TB3, and outputs / notifies the mastication level from the display 20 or the notification unit 50 (step S21).

  Returning to step S17, when it is not determined that the process is finished (NO in step S17), the next question is searched from the level determination table TB2 based on the accumulated value of the score for each section at that time (step S18). For example, when the score is accumulated for category 3 or category 4 from the user's answer to the previous question, a question about softer ingredients registered in the next rank is searched, but the score for category 1 or category 2 is accumulated. When calculated, search for questions of harder ingredients registered in the next rank. That is, when the current question is “Okayu” as shown in FIG. 4, the softer food registered in the next rank indicates “boiled fish” in the level determination table TB2, and the harder food registered in the second rank. Ingredients indicate “rice”. Thereby, an appropriate mastication level can be determined with a small number of questions.

  Thereafter, the process returns to step S10, and the next question and options are output. Thereafter, the same processing is repeated.

  Here, the question starts from the top of the level determination table TB2 (that is, from the hard food), but conversely, the question starts from the end of the level determination table TB2 (that is, from the soft food). Alternatively, it may start from a question (scrambled egg) located in the middle of the level determination table TB2, and the order of the questions is variable. In addition, when it starts from the question of an intermediate position, the number of questions which a user should answer can be decreased.

  Note that the types and options of the questions are not limited to the form of the level determination table TB2, and the question may be selected from YES / NO as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, user registration is performed in the same manner as described above (step S <b> 1), and whether or not a question about different ingredients can be chewed and eaten is selected (steps S <b> 3, S <b> 5, S <b> 7). When the user selects “eatable” for all questions (food ingredients), the softness of the food according to the chewing level is “1”, that is, “hard”, and the chewing level is “highest”. Is determined to be “1” (step S8). Also in this case, the CPU 11 stores the determined mastication level in the user information table TB3 in association with the user ID of the user, and outputs / notifies the mastication level. Instead of the two alternatives, three alternatives of “applicable”, “neither”, and “not applicable” may be used.

  When the user who has tried the food cooked by the cooking unit 80 under the cooking conditions based on the mastication level determined from the level determination table TB2 determines that the user does not match his / her mastication level, the user's operation unit 30 CPU11 may change the mastication level corresponding to the said user of user information table TB3 by input operation. Alternatively, the point value for each section of the level determination table TB2 may be changed.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the user's mastication level, in other words, the degree of softness (hardness) of the chewable food material can be acquired in an interactive manner. And the cooking conditions of the cooking part 80 can be changed from the acquired level, and a foodstuff can be cooked to the softness according to a user's chewing level.

[Embodiment 2]
In the second embodiment, a method for acquiring the softness (degree of softening) of ingredients being cooked by the cooking unit 80 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The food placed in the storage chamber 1 that stores the food of the cooking unit 80 is sensed by a hardness sensor (non-contact) 41 provided inside the storage chamber 1 and the hardness thereof is detected. Various non-contact hardness sensors can be applied. For example, the hardness sensor (non-contact) 41 includes an injection unit and a measurement unit. An injection part injects compressed air to the foodstuff which is a target object, and a measurement part measures the vibration of the foodstuff surface by the pressure of this injected compressed air. The CPU 11 inputs the vibration measurement value from the hardness sensor 41, calculates the hardness according to a predetermined arithmetic expression, and acquires (determines) the hardness.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing another configuration according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the ingredients to be cooked are put in a part 1A in the food storage chamber of the cooking unit 80, the hardest part of the ingredients is put in the other part 1B, and the hard part is sensed by the hardness sensor 41, Detect the hardness of the ingredients to be cooked.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing still another configuration according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 6 and 7, the non-contact type hardness sensor 41 is used. However, as shown in FIG. 8, a contact type hardness sensor 42 may be used. Referring to FIG. 8, a pressing operation by a hardness sensor (contact type) 42 provided on the upper surface in storage chamber 1 is applied to the hardest portion of the food stored in part 1 </ b> B in storage chamber 1. Done. The repulsive force from a part of the food material by pressing is measured by a pressure sensor or a load cell. The CPU 11 inputs the measured pressure value from the hardness sensor 42, calculates the hardness according to a predetermined arithmetic expression, and acquires (determines) the hardness. The hardness sensor 42 is not limited to the type using this pressure sensor. The hardness sensors 41 and 42 correspond to the hardness detector 40 of FIG.

  6 to 8, the contact / non-contact type hardness sensor 41/42 is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIGS. 9 (A) and 9 (B), the user moves the push-down bar 60 up and down by hand to press a part of the food in the storage chamber 1 and confirms the softness by the repulsive force. It may be. In FIG. 9, a crushing rod 60 is provided so that a part of the food material (the hardest material) is put in a part of the storage chamber 1 and the softness of the food material can be physically checked in that part. The crushing bar 60 is movable in the vertical direction of the drawing as shown by the arrows in FIG. 10, and a part of the food placed in the storage chamber 8 is pressed against the crushing bar 60 at the tip. By pressing (or crushing) with the unit 61, the user can check the softness of the ingredients during cooking from the feel transmitted from the crushing bar 60.

  Further, the crushing bar 60 is movably inserted into a transparent or translucent viewing window 70 provided on the upper surface of the storage chamber 1, and the user moves up and down from the outside of the crushing bar 60, It is possible to check the state of ingredients in the storage chamber 1 during cooking.

  In the present embodiment, the degree of softening of the food to be cooked can be confirmed during cooking (processing) without taking out the food, which is preferable from the viewpoint of hygiene. Further, according to the degree of hardness detected by the hardness detection unit 40, the CPU 11 controls the control parameters such as the energization amount to the heater, the energization time, the operation time of the vacuum pump, the opening time of the electromagnetic valve, etc. The type or value may be changed.

[Embodiment 3]
In the third embodiment, the mastication level determined in the first embodiment (or the softness of the food suitable for the mastication level) or the softness of the food measured by the hardness sensor 41 or 42 of the second embodiment is notified. The mode to perform will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of notification unit 50 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The notification unit 50 in FIG. 10 includes a plurality of buttons (corresponding to an operation unit) that can be pressed. Here, it is assumed that the mastication level detected in Embodiment 1 or 2 or the softness (hardness) of the food is classified into five stages, and the detected level is notified by the five buttons in FIG. Each button incorporates an air bag (corresponding to a reaction part) having the same volume as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) (not shown). Each button is made of a light transmitting member. Moreover, the volume of the fluid (for example, air) enclosed in the airbag of each button is different.

  CPU11 lights LED provided in the button corresponding to a detection result among the buttons of the alerting | reporting part 50. FIG. When the user presses the lit button, the user feels the magnitude of the repulsive force that is a reaction from the airbag, and can intuitively grasp the detected chewing level or the softness (hardness) of the food.

  Further, the number of buttons of the notification unit 50 may be one instead of the above five. That is, the CPU 11 controls the lighting of the LED (7-segment LED) of the button, notifies the detected mastication level or the softness (hardness) of the food with information such as numerical values (characters), and detects the mastication level. Or based on the softness (hardness) of a foodstuff, the volume of the fluid enclosed with the airbag of the said button is changed with a pump. Thereby, the user can grasp | ascertain intuitively the detected mastication level or the softness (hardness) of a foodstuff from the magnitude | size of the repulsive force at the time of button press.

  In addition, as long as the detected mastication level or the softness (hardness) of the food can be reproduced, the present invention is not limited to those relying on the button pressing operation. For example, a slide mechanism that can be operated by the user may be provided together with the button of FIG. 10 or instead of the button.

  The slide mechanism includes a fixed portion that is a slide bar, a slider (corresponding to an operation portion) that can slide on the slide bar, and a spring portion (corresponding to a reaction portion) made of a resin material incorporated therein. The slide bar is provided with LEDs on each scale indicating the mastication level or the softness (hardness) of the food in five stages. CPU11 lights LED of the scale corresponding to the detected chewing level or the softness (hardness) of a foodstuff. When the user slides the slider to the scale position of the lit LED, the user can feel the repulsive force of the spring (which is a force to move away from the scale position and corresponds to the reaction force). The user can intuitively grasp the detected mastication level or the softness (hardness) of the food from the magnitude of the repulsive force.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Control part, 12 Memory part, 13 Timer, 20 Display, 30 Operation part, 40 Hardness detection part, 41,42 Hardness sensor, 50 Notification part, 60 Bar, 70 Viewing window, 80 Cooking part, TB1 Cooking condition table, TB2 level determination table, TB3 user information table.

Claims (8)

An operation means for accepting a user operation;
An output means for outputting information;
Control means for controlling the cooking equipment,
The control means outputs a question including the name of the food by the output means, and counts a numerical value corresponding to the type of answer indicating the difficulty of mastication for the food received by the operation means for each question. Cooking equipment that obtains the chewing difficulty from the value. For each food name, further comprises a storage means for storing a choice for each type of answer and a numerical value representing the difficulty level of chewing for each choice,
The control means further includes
The output means outputs the question including the ingredient name read from the storage means and the corresponding option, and accumulates the numerical value corresponding to the option selected by the user for each question output together with the option. The cooking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the degree of chewing difficulty is acquired from the accumulated value. The control means includes
The cooking apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the question and the corresponding option are read from the storage unit according to a predetermined order, and the read question and the corresponding option are output by the output unit. .   The cooking apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined order is variable. The control means includes
The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a numerical value indicating the difficulty level of the chewing is changed according to a user's answer content indicating whether the acquired difficulty level of the chewing is appropriate. A storage room for storing the cooking object;
Pressure control means for controlling the pressure in the storage chamber;
Temperature control means for controlling the temperature in the storage chamber;
Cooking means for controlling the pressure control means or the temperature control means in accordance with a control program for softening and cooking the object to be cooked in the storage chamber,
The said cooking appliance is a cooking appliance of any one of Claim 1 to 5 which changes the control parameter which a control program uses according to the acquired difficulty level of mastication. Hardness detection means for detecting the hardness of the object to be cooked;
The cooking appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an informing means for informing the detected hardness. Informing means for informing the difficulty level of the acquired chewing, further comprising:
Informing means for informing the difficulty level is:
An operation unit operated by a user;
A reaction unit that reacts in response to an operation of the operation unit, and
The control means includes
The cooking device according to claim 7, wherein the magnitude of the reaction operation force by the reaction unit is changed according to the acquired difficulty level of chewing or the detected hardness.

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