JPH09229373A - Cooking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a desired cooking with a cooking device of a simple construction without requiring a plurality of sensors and various adjustments. SOLUTION: A cooking device comprises heating means 6 for heating food, an imaging device 8 for picking up an image of the food, an image display device 2 for displaying the image picked up by the imaging device 8, an operation input device 3 for imputting a cooking menu, and a central data processing unit 4 for processing the image obtained from the imaging device 8. In operation, the imaging device 8 picks up the image of food before heating. The central data processing unit 4 estimates the image of food after cooking based on the image of food before cooking and displays the estimated image of food after cooking on the image display device 2. Furthermore, the imaging device 8 picks up the image of food during cooking of the food. Such an image of food during cooking is compared with the estimated image of food after cooking and heating is stopped when these images agree with each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooking apparatus such as a microwave oven, and more particularly to a cooking apparatus which processes an image of an object to be cooked and uses it for heating control.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional cooking device (oven, microwave oven, etc.), when a microcomputer is used for automatic cooking, the method of detecting the finish is the temperature in the cooking cabinet or the steam generated from the food to be cooked. , Gas, infrared rays, etc. are detected by various sensors, and when the detection level matches the data measured in the laboratory stored in the non-volatile memory, it is judged that the microcomputer is finished and the heating is finished. Was. Further, as a simpler method than this, a heating menu in which the heating time and the heating intensity are uniquely determined according to the number and weight of the food to be cooked has been executed.

Further, instead of the above-mentioned various sensors,
A cooking device using an imaging means is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-257756.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-2003-242, which will be described with reference to FIG.

The cooking apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is provided with a monitor camera 102 for detecting the shape and cooking state of the object to be cooked, and the image information from the monitor camera 102 is used to form the shape of the object to be cooked 100 in the image data processing section. The size, size, surface temperature distribution and color, the degree of burning, etc.
According to the analysis data of 0, the electromagnetic wave irradiation port 107 and the reflector 1
08, by driving the support base 109, the cooking target 1
The electromagnetic wave distribution is controlled so that the heating state of each part of No. 00 is almost uniform.

A neural network control unit and a fuzzy control unit are prepared in the video data processing unit. Data of various cooking ingredients are stored in the neural network control section, and the image information of the cooking target 100 in the refrigerator captured by the monitor camera 102 is input to the neural network control section, and the cooking ingredients are automatically selected. Specified. Furthermore, after the cooking target 100 is specified,
The fuzzy controller selects and executes an appropriate heating time and heating method.

[0006]

Since the conventional cooking device is configured as described above, it is necessary to determine the conditions for determining the detection level and the like determined in the laboratory and the conditions for the detection level for home use. It was a premise that the items to be cooked were finished as intended. However, there are differences between the detection level in the laboratory and the detection level in the home because of differences in power supply conditions, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, the state of the food to be cooked, its weight, the temperature of the food to be cooked, and so on. It was necessary to artificially match the conditions using the means. However, when one of the many conditions is not satisfied or a correction failure occurs, the desired finish cannot be obtained.

[0007] In the cooking apparatuses up to now, efforts have been made to fill in the lack of many conditions described above, and various correction methods have been performed using a plurality of sensors. However, a plurality of sensors and various corrections have been performed. Since it was necessary, it was raising the production cost.

In addition, whichever method is used, it is not possible to know the finished state of the object to be cooked after the cooking is completed, and the user may not be able to reliably perform the intended cooking.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooking apparatus that can perform necessary cooking with a simple structure without using a plurality of sensors and without performing various corrections.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the cooking device of the present invention has a heating means for heating an object to be cooked, and an imaging device for picking up an image of the object to be cooked. Means, a display means for displaying an image captured by the image capturing means, an input means for inputting a cooking menu, and a processing means for processing the image obtained by the image capturing means, wherein the image capturing means includes the cooking target before heating. The object is imaged, the image after heating is estimated from the image before heating captured by the processing means, and the image is displayed on the display means.

In addition to the invention according to claim 1, the invention according to claim 2 is such that the image pickup means images the food to be cooked during heating, and at the same time, the display means displays the imaged image. It is a thing.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1.
In addition to the described invention, the image capturing means captures an image during heating of the food to be cooked, and the processing means compares the image during heating and the estimated image after heating, and the two match. In some cases, heating is terminated.

The invention according to claim 4 is the first invention.
In addition to the described invention, the display means displays a plurality of cooking states on one cooking menu by means of the display means and executes cooking selected from the displayed plurality of cooking states. .

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in addition to the second aspect of the invention, the display means can change the display direction.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments using a microwave oven as a cooking apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the cooking apparatus of the present invention is constructed as shown in FIGS. In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a food to be cooked, 2 is an image display device as a display means, 3 is an operation input device having a plurality of input keys, and 6 is a magnetron or a heater. Heating means, 7 is a heating power source control device for controlling the heating means, and 8 is a solid-state image sensor (CC
It is an imaging device which is D). As the image display device, a liquid crystal display device or the like capable of color display may be used, and the image display device may be pivotally supported so that the display direction can be changed vertically and horizontally.

In FIG. 3, the image picked up by the image pickup device 8 is inputted to the central information processing device 4 which is a processing means and subjected to image processing and then stored in the information storage device 5 or the image display device 2. indicate. A signal from the operation input device 3 is input to the central information processing device 4,
Sends a control signal to the heating power supply controller 7, and the heating power supply controller 7 controls the operation of the heating means 6 in accordance with this control signal.

The cooking operation of the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step S1, the food 1 is put into the cooking cabinet, and the operation input device 3 sets a desired heating menu, such as steak, from the menus presented in advance. Next, in step S2, the food 1 is picked up by the imaging device 8.
The initial image before heating is captured. Then, step S3
In, the initial image of the food 1 is processed by the central information processing device 4 into a finished image by image processing.

In the image processing here, since the heating menu is selected, for example, the grill 1 is added to the surface of the food 1 in the case of grill heating, or the food 1 is added in the case of oven heating. It means to inflate. If the steak is grilled, add a brown color. Note that specific image processing will be described later. Then, the process proceeds to step S4, and the processed image is displayed on the image display device 2
Display with.

Further, in step S5, it is determined whether or not the start key on the operation input device 3 is pressed. If it is determined that the start key is pressed, the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if the start key has not been pressed, the process returns to step S5. In step S6, the currently displayed finished image is stored in the information storage device 5.

Then, in step S7, the heating power supply controller 7 controls the heating means 6 in accordance with a command from the central information processing unit 4 to perform heating. Further, when heating is performed, an image of the food 1 is captured by the image capturing device 8 in step S8. Then, the process proceeds to step S9, and the image captured in step S8 is compared with the image stored in the information storage device 5. In step S10, it is determined whether or not they match. If they match, the process proceeds to step S11. If they do not match,
The process returns to step S8 and imaging is continued. Then, the heating output is stopped in step S12, and the cooking is ended in step S12.

Further, the above image processing will be described below. First, in the case where the food 1 (steak) is to be grilled, the image of the food 1 is not stored in the information storage device 5 in advance by the signal of the image pickup device 8. The information storage device 5 stores a video image of the food 1 taken before the food is cooked by means of 8. Then, the central information processing device 4 compares the image of the state in which the food 1 is not placed with the image of the state in which the food 1 is imaged before cooking, and extracts only the food 1. Furthermore, by adding a burnt color to the extracted image of the food 1, an image of the state after cooking is obtained and displayed on the image display device 2.

On the other hand, when the food 1 (bread dough or rice cake) is heated in the oven, the image of the food 1 is not stored in the information storage device 5 in advance by the signal of the image pickup device 8. Further, the information storage device 5 stores a video image of the food 1 taken by the imaging device 8 before cooking. Then, the central information processing device 4 compares the image of the state in which the food 1 is not placed with the image of the state in which the food 1 is imaged before cooking, and extracts only the food 1. Further, after the extracted image of the food 1 is inflated, the image of the state after cooking is obtained by adding a charred color and displayed on the image display device 2.

Further, the determination as to whether or not they match in step S10 will be described below. First, the central information processing device 4 extracts the burnt color from the image of the food 1 captured in step S9 and integrates it, and also extracts and integrates the burnt color of the image of the food 1 estimated before cooking. Then, by comparing the burnt colors accumulated by the two, it is determined whether or not the burned states of the two match. Further, the food 1 being cooked is extracted, its size is determined, and the size of the food 1 (bread dough or rice cake) is swelled by comparing this with the size of the food 1 before cooking,
You may judge the end of cooking.

[Second Embodiment] A second embodiment of the cooking apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The description of the same parts as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

The cooking operation of the second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step T1, the food 1 is put into the cooking chamber and the desired heating menu is set by the operation input device 3. Next, in step T2, the image capturing device 8 captures an initial image of the food 1 before heating. Here, in step T3, the operation input device 3
Selects one of the finishing levels indicated by a plurality of steps. Then, in step T4, the initial image of the food 1 is processed by the central information processing device 4 into an image after finishing corresponding to the finishing degree selected in step T3.

In the image processing here, since the heating menu is selected, for example, in the case of grill type heating, a brown color is added to the surface of the food 1, or in the case of oven heating, the food 1 is added. It means to inflate. If the steak is grilled, add a brown color. It should be noted that the specific processing of the image will be described later. Then, in step T5, the processed image is displayed on the image processing device 2.

Further, in step T6, it is determined whether or not the start key on the operation input device 3 is pressed. If it is determined that the start key is pressed, the process proceeds to step T7. On the other hand, if the start key has not been pressed, the process returns to step T6. Note that step T
In step 6, when the desired finish state is displayed, the start key is pressed to perform step T7.
Move to On the other hand, when the displayed finish is different from the desired finish, if the start key is not pressed for a predetermined time, the process returns to step T3, and the finished state can be selected again. Then, in step T7, the finished image currently displayed is stored in the information storage device 5.

Next, in step T8, the heating power supply controller 7 controls the heating means 6 in accordance with a command from the central information processing unit 4 to perform heating. Further, in step T9, the image of the food 1 is captured by the image capturing device 8 while heating is performed. Then, the process proceeds to step T10, and the image captured in step T9 is compared with the image stored in the information processing device 5. In step T11,
The central information processing device 4 determines whether the two match,
When it is determined that they match, the process proceeds to step T12, and when it is determined that they do not match, the process returns to step T9 and imaging is continued. Then, the heating output is stopped in step T12, and the cooking is ended in step T13.

Further, the above image processing will be described below. First, in the case where the food 1 (steak) is to be grilled, the image of the food 1 is not stored in the information storage device 5 in advance by the signal of the image pickup device 8. The information storage device 5 stores a video image of the food 1 taken before the food is cooked by means of 8. Then, the central information processing device 4 compares the image of the state in which the food 1 is not placed with the image of the state in which the food 1 is imaged before cooking, and extracts only the food 1. In addition, a burnt color is added to the image of the extracted food 1 corresponding to the degree of finish selected in step T3. Specifically, in the case of cooking steak, in accordance with any baking condition selected in step T3 such as rare, medium, and welldane, in the case of rare, an image with less brown marks is obtained, In the case of medium, an image with a medium brown color is obtained, and in the case of well-done, an image with many brown eyes is obtained and displayed on the image display device 2.

On the other hand, when the food 1 (bread dough or rice cake) is subjected to oven heating, an image of the state in which the food 1 is not placed is stored in the information storage device 5 in advance by a signal from the image pickup device 8. Further, the information storage device 5 stores a video image of the food 1 taken by the imaging device 8 before cooking. Then, the central information processing device 4 compares the image of the state in which the food 1 is not placed with the image of the state in which the food 1 is imaged before cooking, and extracts only the food 1. Further, after the extracted image of the food 1 is inflated, the image of the state after cooking is obtained by adding a charred color and displayed on the image display device 2.

Further, the judgment in step T11 as to whether or not they match each other will be described below. First, the central information processing device 4 extracts the burnt color from the image of the food 1 taken in step T9 and integrates it, and also extracts and integrates the burnt color of the image of the food 1 estimated before cooking. Then, by comparing the burnt colors accumulated by the two, it is determined whether or not the burned states of the two match. Further, the food 1 being cooked is extracted, its size is determined, and the size of the food 1 (bread dough or rice cake) is swelled by comparing this with the size of the food 1 before cooking,
You may judge the end of cooking.

[0033]

As described above, the present invention has the above-mentioned structure.
According to the invention described, a heating means for heating the food,
And an image pickup unit for picking up the food to be cooked, a display unit for displaying an image picked up by the image pickup unit, an input unit for inputting a cooking menu, and a processing unit for processing an image obtained by the image pickup unit. The image pickup means images the food to be cooked before heating, and the image after heating is estimated from the image before heating imaged by the processing means and displayed on the display means,
Since the state of the object to be cooked after cooking can be known before cooking, it is possible to surely perform the desired cooking.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image pickup means picks up the food to be cooked during heating, and at the same time, the display means displays the picked-up image, thereby constantly monitoring the cooking state. You can cook while you cook.

Further, according to the invention as set forth in claim 3, the image pickup means picks up an image during the heating of the object to be cooked, and compares the image being heated by the processing means with the image after heating estimated. Then, when the two coincide with each other, the heating can be ended, so that the cooking can be surely completed without using various sensors. Therefore, the desired finish cannot be obtained due to variations in various heating conditions as in the related art, and the finish desired by the user can be easily obtained.

According to the invention of claim 4, the display means displays a plurality of cooking states on one cooking menu by the display means and selects from the displayed plurality of cooking states. Since cooking is performed, various cooking can be easily performed.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the display means can change the display direction, so that the state of the food being cooked can be displayed without the user being positioned in front of the cooking device. You can check.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of a heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the heating device of FIG.

3 is a block diagram of the heating device of FIG. 1. FIG.

4 is a flow chart of the heating device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the inside of a conventional heating device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Food (food to be cooked) 2 Image display device 3 Operation input device 4 Central information processing device 5 Information storage device 6 Heating means 8 Imaging device

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A heating means for heating an object to be cooked, an image pickup means for picking up an image of the object to be cooked, a display means for displaying an image picked up by the image pickup means, an input means for inputting a cooking menu, and an image pickup. Processing means for processing an image obtained from the means, the imaging means images the food to be cooked before heating, and the image after heating is inferred from the image before heating imaged by the processing means to display the display means. Cooking device characterized by displaying in. 2. The cooking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup means picks up an image of the food to be cooked while heating, and at the same time, the display means displays the picked-up image. 3. The image pickup means performs image pickup during heating of the food to be cooked, and the processing means compares the image during heating with the image after heating estimated before heating, and the two match. The cooking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating is terminated when the cooking is performed. 4. The display means displays a plurality of cooking states for one cooking menu, respectively.
The cooking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooking apparatus executes cooking selected from a plurality of displayed cooking states. 5. The cooking apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display means is capable of changing the display direction.