WO2019159518A1

WO2019159518A1 - Heating cooker and heating cooking system

Info

Publication number: WO2019159518A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/045669
Authority: WO
Inventors: 巌徹松井; 今井　博久; 直哉谷口
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2018-02-15
Filing date: 2018-12-12
Publication date: 2019-08-22
Also published as: JPWO2019159518A1

Abstract

This heating cooker is provided with a heating chamber, a heating unit, a control unit, an image capturing unit, a recognition processing unit, a recognition form storage unit, and a recognition form determination unit. The heating chamber receives an object to be heated. The heating unit heats the object to be heated in the heating chamber. The control unit controls the heating unit according to heating control information for heating the object to be heated. The image capturing unit captures an image of the inside of the heating chamber. The recognition processing unit detects a control information area from the image and extracts a recognition target included in the control information area. The recognition form storage unit stores threshold information related to the control information area in association with a recognition form for analyzing the recognition target. The recognition form determination determines the recognition form on the basis of feature information extracted from the control information area and the threshold information. The recognition processing unit analyzes the recognition target and acquires heating control information on the basis of the recognition form determined by the recognition form determination unit.

Description

Cooking device and cooking system

The present disclosure relates to a heating cooker and a heating cooking system that heat food based on an image photographed by a camera provided in the heating cooker.

In a microwave oven that is an example of a heating cooker, heating is performed when a user inputs a heating time and presses a button for starting heating. In a store such as a convenience store or a supermarket, a store clerk sometimes provides a lunch purchased by a customer by heating it with a microwave oven.

Generally, the optimal heating time by a microwave oven is written on a lunch box container sold in a store. A store clerk who is a user refers to the description and operates a numeric key or the like provided on the operation unit of the microwave to set the heating time.

The user may set a heating time suitable for food by operating a plurality of operation buttons that are provided in the operation unit of the microwave oven and are assigned different heating times.

However, such a heating time input operation is troublesome for the user. For this reason, a technique for automatically setting a heating time or the like in a microwave oven has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In the technique described in Patent Document 1, an object to be cooked before cooking is photographed by a camera mounted on a heating cooker. By extracting necessary information from the photographed image, an optimal cooking method is selected.

JP 2016-166724 A

However, it is difficult to automatically set the heating control information such as the amount of the object to be heated and the heating time for various sizes of containers and foods with different heating conditions in the above-described conventional technology.

In order to solve the above conventional problems, a heating cooker according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a heating chamber, a heating unit, a control unit, a photographing unit, a recognition processing unit, a recognition format storage unit, and a recognition format. A determination unit.

The heating cabinet accommodates the object to be heated. The heating unit heats the object to be heated in the heating chamber. The control unit controls the heating unit according to heating control information for heating the object to be heated.

The shooting unit takes images in the heating chamber. The recognition processing unit detects a control information area from the image and extracts a recognition target included in the control information area. The recognition format storage unit stores the threshold information related to the control information area and the recognition format for analyzing the recognition target in association with each other.

The recognition format determination unit determines the recognition format based on the feature information and threshold information extracted from the control information area. The recognition processing unit analyzes the recognition target based on the recognition format determined by the recognition format determination unit, and acquires heating control information.

According to this aspect, it is possible to read the heating control information corresponding to various recognition formats and automatically set the heating conditions such as the heating time. Since it is possible to deal with food in a container with a small area for writing letters, it is possible to obtain a cooking device that can automatically heat food regardless of the type and size of the food. it can.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a heating cooker according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the heating cooker according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of a food to be heated and a label attached to the food. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating another example of a food to be heated and a label attached to the food. FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating another example of a food to be heated and a label attached to the food. FIG. 3D is a diagram illustrating another example of a food to be heated and a label attached to the food. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a control information area in the first embodiment. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing another example of the control information area in the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 4C is a diagram showing another example of the control information area in the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 4D is a diagram illustrating another example of the control information area in the first embodiment. FIG. 4E is a diagram illustrating another example of the control information area in the first embodiment. FIG. 4F is a diagram illustrating an example of a control information area in the image recognition process in the cooking device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4G is a diagram showing another example of the control information area in the image recognition processing in the heating cooker according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4H is a diagram showing another example of the control information area in the image recognition process in the heating cooker according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a recognition format table in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of image recognition processing in the heating cooker according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the heating cooker according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a deformed control information area in a captured image. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a recognition format table in the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of image recognition processing in the heating cooker according to the second embodiment.

The heating cooker according to the first aspect of the present disclosure includes a heating chamber, a heating unit, a control unit, a photographing unit, a recognition processing unit, a recognition format storage unit, and a recognition format determination unit.

In the cooking device according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, in addition to the first aspect, the recognition format storage unit stores information based on the shape of the control information area as threshold information. The recognition format determination unit determines the recognition format using information based on the shape of the control information area extracted from the image as feature information.

In the heating cooker according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, in addition to the second aspect, the recognition format determination unit recognizes the aspect ratio of the control information area having a rectangular shape extracted from the image as the feature information. Determine the format.

In the heating cooker according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, in addition to the third aspect, the recognition processing unit corrects the shape of the control information area according to the position of the control information area in the image.

In the cooking device of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, in addition to the third aspect, the recognition format storage unit further stores the dimensions of the control information area as threshold information. The recognition format determination unit determines the recognition format using the aspect ratio and the dimensions as feature information.

The heating cooking system according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure includes a heating chamber, a heating unit, a control unit, a photographing unit, a recognition processing unit, a recognition format storage unit, and a recognition format determination unit.

The heating chamber, the heating unit, the control unit, and the photographing unit are arranged in the casing of the heating cooker. At least one of the recognition processing unit, the recognition format storage unit, and the recognition format determination unit is arranged outside the casing of the heating cooker.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a heating cooker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the heating cooker 100 includes a heating chamber 104 that is provided in a housing 111 and stores food that is an object to be heated, and a door 101 that covers a front opening of the heating chamber 104. A display unit 102 and a selection unit 103 are arranged on the top of the housing 111.

As will be described later, the heating cooker 100 reads the heating time suitable for the food from the description on the label attached to the food, and heats the food during the heating time. The display unit 102 displays the read heating time.

For example, when the heating time is not read, the selection unit 103 includes a menu button for selecting a menu suitable for food and a numeric button for manually setting the heating time. The selection unit 103 further includes a heating start button for starting heating and a heating stop button for stopping heating.

On the side surface of the heating chamber 104, an illumination unit 105 for illuminating the interior of the chamber is disposed. On the ceiling of the heating cabinet 104, a camera 106 for photographing the interior is arranged. The camera 106 is controlled by a control circuit (not shown).

The cooking device 100 is configured to photograph the food 107 stored in the heating chamber 104 using the camera 106 and read the heating control information related to the food 107 from the photographed image. The heating control information is information such as a heating amount and a heating time necessary for heating the food 107.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the heating cooker 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the heating cooker 100 includes a heating unit 201, an operation unit 202, an imaging unit 203, a control unit 204, and a recognition processing unit 205 as functional configurations arranged in the casing 111. A storage unit 206, a recognition format storage unit 207, a recognition format determination unit 208, and a display unit 209.

The heating unit 201 is composed of, for example, a magnetron, and heats the food by supplying high frequency to the food placed in the heating chamber 104.

The operation unit 202 includes, for example, a touch panel and a plurality of keys, and is used for setting a heating time, starting heating, and the like.

The imaging unit 203 includes a camera 106 and a control circuit, and images the inside of the heating chamber 104. The camera 106 is composed of, for example, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor.

The recognition processing unit 205 detects a control information area from the image captured by the image capturing unit 203 and extracts character information included in the control information area. The recognition processing unit 205 determines whether the character information is heating control information. The control information area is, for example, a rectangular area provided in a label affixed to the food and in which the heating control information is described.

As a label character recognition method, for example, a method of extracting character information surrounded by a frame in the label or a method of detecting the outline of the label is used. The character information may include not only the heating control information but also image information of the whole food, the type of food, the shape of the food, and the expiration date.

The storage unit 206 is configured by a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and stores a recognition format related to the control information area, heating control information, and the like. The recognition format storage unit 207 stores the threshold information and the recognition format in association with each other. In the present embodiment, the threshold information is the aspect ratio of the control information area. The recognition format will be described later.

The heating control information includes a heating amount (wattage) and a heating time for the heating amount. The information stored in the storage unit 206 may include information related to the shape of the food, the setting information of the heating cooker 100, the setting information of the camera 106, and the heating control and operation, in addition to the heating control information.

The recognition format determination unit 208 determines the recognition format for the extracted character information based on the information stored in the recognition format storage unit 207. The control unit 204 controls the heating unit 201 according to the heating control information obtained by the recognition processing unit 205.

FIG. 3A shows an example of a food 301 heated by the heating cooker 100 and a label attached to the food 301. As shown in FIG. 3A, the food 301 is a lunch box. A label 302 on which the name, price, and heating control information of the food is written is attached to the food 301.

The heating control information is information necessary for heating the food 301, and specifically, a heating amount (wattage) and a heating time (minute, second). The heating control information may be described in a form that can be recognized by the user, or may be described in a barcode or a two-dimensional code.

The control information area 303 is an area where heating control information is written on the label 302. The control information area 303 may be an area having the same size as the label 302 or may be a partial area within the label 302. The label 302 may be a sticker affixed to the food 301 or may be formed integrally with the packaging of the food 301.

In the example shown in FIG. 3A, in the control information area 303, heating control information (heating amount, heating time) for a household microwave oven and heating control information (heating amount, heating time) for a commercial microwave oven are displayed. ).

Specifically, the heating control information for a household microwave oven is “500W for 2 minutes 30 seconds of heating”, and the heating control information for a commercial microwave oven is “1500W for 0 minutes 45 minutes”. Second heating ". In this case, the control information area 303 describes “500 W 2 minutes 30 seconds 1500 W 0 minutes 45 seconds”.

That is, the heating control information includes the first character string “500” representing the heating amount, the second character string “W” representing the unit of the heating amount, and the third character string “W” representing the heating time at the heating amount. 2 ”and the fifth character string“ 30 ”, and a fourth character string“ minute ”and a sixth character string“ second ”representing the unit of the heating time.

Furthermore, the heating control information includes a seventh character string “1500” that represents the heating amount, an eighth character string “W” that represents the unit of the heating amount, and a ninth character string that represents the heating time at the heating amount. 0 ”and the eleventh character string“ 45 ”, and a tenth character string“ minute ”and a twelfth character string“ second ”representing the unit of the heating time.

In the present embodiment, “W (Watt)”, which is an SI unit representing the amount of heat, is described in the second and eighth character strings. However, other units may be used as long as they represent the heating amount. “Minute” is described in the fourth and tenth character strings, and “second” is described in the sixth and twelfth character strings. However, other units may be used as long as they represent time.

In FIG. 3A, two sets of heating control information are described in the control information area 303. However, in the control information area 303, only one set of heating control information may be described, or three or more sets of heating control information may be described.

3A and 3C also show examples of the food 301 heated by the heating cooker 100 and labels attached to the food 301, as in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3D shows an example of the food 307 heated by the heating cooker 100 and a label attached to the food 307.

In the example shown in FIG. 3B, a part of the label 304 attached to the food 301 is a control information area 401 in which heating control information is described. In the example shown in FIG. 3C, the entire area of the label 305 affixed to the food 301 is a control information area 401 in which heating control information is described. In the example shown in FIG. 3D, the entire area of the label 306 affixed to the food 307 is a control information area 402 in which encoded heating control information is described.

In these drawings, in order to facilitate detection by the recognition processing unit 205, the boundaries of the

control information areas

401 and 402 are surrounded by an explicit frame. The detection of the control information area will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D, the heating control information can be expressed in a plurality of formats. Thereby, it becomes easy to describe heating control information in foods or containers of different sizes. Also, different heating conditions can be easily distinguished using multiple formats.

FIG. 4A shows a control information area 401 surrounded by a rectangular frame having a vertical width D1 and a horizontal width W1. In the control information area 401, heating control information is described in a format in which a plurality of sets of heating amounts and heating times are described side by side.

Specifically, two sets of heating control information are described in the control information area 401. In the first heating control information, the heating amount is “500 W”, and the heating time is “2 minutes 30 seconds”. In the second heating control information, the heating amount is “1500 W” and the heating time is “0 minute 45 seconds”. Based on this description, the heating cooker 100 selects one of a plurality of heating control information according to its own maximum heating capacity, and performs heating according to the selected heating control information.

FIG. 4B shows a control information area 402 surrounded by a rectangular frame having a vertical width D2 and a horizontal width W2. In the control information area 402, the heating control information is described in the format of encoded number information. This number information represents a combination of the heating amount and the heating time by a combination of alphanumeric characters and symbols.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4B, four alphanumeric characters “324P” are written in the control information area 402. In this example, the first “3” corresponds to the heating amount. The subsequent “24” corresponds to the heating time. The last “P” is a check character indicating whether these three numbers are correct.

In this example, the heating control information is expressed using four alphanumeric characters. However, the heating control information may be expressed using one number corresponding to the number described on the operation panel. The heating control information may be expressed in a format that is easy for the user to understand, including the upper two digits of the heating amount and the numerical value of the heating time converted into seconds. Thus, by expressing the heating control information with encoded number information, a large amount of information can be written in a small display area.

FIG. 4C shows a control information area 403 surrounded by a rectangular frame having a vertical width D3 and a horizontal width W3. In the control information area 403, heating control information is described in a format in which a plurality of sets of heating amounts and heating times are arranged vertically.

Specifically, in the control information area 403, three sets of heating control information are described. In the first heating control information, the heating amount is “500 W”, and the heating time is “2 minutes 30 seconds”. In the second heating control information, the heating amount is “1500 W” and the heating time is “0 minute 45 seconds”. In the third heating control information, the heating amount is “300 W” and the heating time is “25 seconds”.

The cooking device 100 performs stepwise heating by sequentially referring to the first to third heating control information.

FIG. 4D shows a control information area 404 surrounded by a rectangular frame having a vertical width D4 and a horizontal width W4. In the control information area 404, the heating control information is described in a plurality of encoded number information formats.

Specifically, in the control information area 404, three pieces of number information “324P”, “156S”, and “676V” are described. Thus, by expressing a plurality of heating control information with a plurality of encoded number information, the heating control information for performing a complicated sequence can be described in a small display area.

FIG. 4E shows a control information area 405 surrounded by a rectangular frame having a vertical width D5 and a horizontal width W5. In the control information area 403 shown in FIG. 4C, the boundary of the area is surrounded by a thick frame, whereas in the control information area 405 shown in FIG. 4E, the boundary of the area is surrounded by a double line. As described above, the control information area may have a shape that can be easily detected by the recognition processing unit 205.

FIG. 4F shows a control information area 406 surrounded by an elliptical frame having a vertical width D6 and a horizontal width W6. That is, the major axis of the control information area 406 is the horizontal width W6, and the minor axis of the control information area 406 is the vertical width D6.

FIG. 4G shows a control information area 407 surrounded by a virtual rectangular frame having a vertical width D7 and a horizontal width W7. As shown in FIG. 4G, the control information area 407 is a rectangular area virtually indicated by two markers indicating the upper left corner and the lower right corner.

FIG. 4H shows a control information area 408 having a rectangular shape having a vertical width D8 and a horizontal width W8. In the control information area 408, the heating control information is described in the format of encoded number information. In the control information area 408, the character has a light color (for example, white) and the character background has a dark color (for example, black). As described above, the control information area may include color information that can be easily detected by the recognition processing unit 205.

FIG. 5 shows a recognition format table 501 in the present embodiment. The recognition format table 501 is stored in the recognition format storage unit 207.

As shown in FIG. 5, the recognition format table 501 describes the aspect ratio, which is the ratio of the vertical width to the horizontal width of the rectangular control information area, as threshold information based on the shape of the control information area.

In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the aspect ratio of the control information area 401 is a value obtained by dividing the horizontal width W1 by the vertical width D1. In the example shown in FIG. 4B, the aspect ratio of the control information area 402 is a value obtained by dividing the horizontal width W2 by the vertical width D2. The vertical width and the horizontal width are measured by the number of pixels in the image captured by the imaging unit 203.

The recognition format is information indicating the format in which the heating control information is expressed in the control information area. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4A, the recognition format is “one-line character format”. In the control information area 401, heating control information is described according to this recognition format.

As shown in FIG. 5, the recognition format table 501 includes an identification ID, threshold information for the aspect ratio of the control information area (hereinafter referred to as an aspect ratio threshold), and a recognition format.

In the case of the identification ID “L0001” where the aspect ratio of the control information area is in the range of 1.0 to 1.2, the corresponding recognition format is “number format”. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 4B, heating control information is described in the control information area 402 as number information such as “324P”.

In the case of the identification ID “L0002” in which the aspect ratio of the control information area is in the range of 4.0 to 6.0, the corresponding recognition format is “one-line character format”. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4A, heating control information such as “500 W 2 minutes 30 seconds 1500 W 0 minutes 45 seconds” is described in the control information area 401.

When determining the corresponding recognition format using the recognition format table 501, if there is no corresponding recognition format, error processing may be performed. If there is no corresponding recognition format, for example, the user may be notified that the food is not heated. In this way, by comparing the feature of the shape of the control information area with the threshold value, it is possible not only to determine the corresponding format but also to detect an error.

Next, the image recognition process in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of image recognition processing in the heating cooker 100. As shown in FIG. 6, in step S <b> 601, the imaging unit 203 captures an image in the heating chamber 104 on which the food 301 is placed.

In step S602, the recognition processing unit 205 detects the control information area from the label of the food 301 in the image captured by the imaging unit 203. Specifically, the recognition processing unit 205 detects an area surrounded by a frame having a predetermined shape as shown in FIG. 4A as a control information area. At this time, the recognition processing unit 205 may determine that the filled area (see FIG. 4H) is not a detection target.

The recognition processing unit 205 extracts one or more recognition targets from the detected control information area. The recognition target is a character string included in the control information area.

In step S603, the recognition processing unit 205 determines whether the extracted recognition target is a regular recognition target that conforms to the standard.

Specifically, the recognition processing unit 205 determines whether the extracted recognition target is a regular recognition target based on, for example, whether the area of the control information region is a predetermined size or more. The recognition processing unit 205 determines whether the extracted recognition target is a regular recognition target based on whether the detected control information area has a predetermined color or a predetermined pattern. May be.

If the extracted recognition target is a regular recognition target (in this embodiment, for example, the control information areas 401 and 402), the process proceeds to step S604. In step S604, the recognition processing unit 205 calculates the aspect ratio of the detected control information area using the detected vertical and horizontal widths of the control information area. In the present embodiment, the aspect ratio of the detected control information area is the characteristic information of the detected control information area.

In step S605, the recognition format determination unit 208 compares the aspect ratio calculated in step S604 with the aspect ratio threshold described in the recognition format table 501. Thereby, the recognition format determination unit 208 determines the recognition format for the extracted recognition target.

In step S606, the recognition processing unit 205 analyzes the recognition target based on the recognition format determined by the recognition format determination unit 208, and acquires heating control information.

The control unit 204 controls the heating unit 201 based on the heating amount and the heating time included in the heating control information. Thereby, the heating cooker 100 heats the food 301.

In step S603, when it is determined that the extracted recognition target is not a regular recognition target, or when analysis of all the recognition targets included in the control information area is completed, the image recognition process ends.

Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to read heating control information corresponding to various recognition formats and automatically set heating conditions such as heating time. Since it is possible to deal with food in a container with a small area for writing letters, it is possible to obtain a cooking device that can automatically heat food regardless of the type and size of the food. it can.

According to this embodiment, since a plurality of heating conditions can be identified, food by various heating methods can be provided. Since a complicated heating sequence can be described in a small area, heating suitable for each food can be performed.

Since the recognition format is determined before the characters of the heating control information are recognized, the heating control information can be recognized quickly and accurately. By comparing the feature information related to the shape of the control information area with a plurality of threshold information, the recognition format can be determined with high accuracy, and the non-standard control information area can be accurately excluded.

(Embodiment 2)
Hereinafter, the heating cooker 700 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the present embodiment, description of the same structure, functional configuration, and control method as in Embodiment 1 will be omitted.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the heating cooker 700. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the cooking device 700 includes a heating unit 701, an operation unit 702, an imaging unit 703, a control unit 704, and a recognition processing unit 705 as functional configurations arranged in the casing 111. A storage unit 706, a recognition format storage unit 707, a recognition format determination unit 708, a display unit 709, and an image correction unit 710.

The recognition processing unit 705 detects a control information area from the image captured by the imaging unit 703, and extracts character information included in the control information area. The recognition processing unit 705 determines whether the character information is heating control information.

The image correction unit 710 performs image processing according to the position of the detected control information area in the image. Specifically, when the control information area in the image is deformed or the image is unclear due to the position and orientation of the camera 106, the illuminance in the heating chamber 104, the image correction unit 710 Correct the defect.

The storage unit 706 is configured by a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, and stores a recognition format related to the control information area, heating control information, and the like. The recognition format storage unit 707 stores the threshold information and the recognition format in association with each other. In the present embodiment, the threshold information is the aspect ratio and size of the control information area.

The recognition format determination unit 708 determines the recognition format for the extracted character information based on the information stored in the recognition format storage unit 707. The control unit 704 controls the heating unit 701 according to the heating control information obtained by the recognition processing unit 705.

FIG. 8 shows a deformed control information area in a photographed image. An image 801 illustrated in FIG. 8 is an image captured by the imaging unit 703. In the image 801, a food 802 as a lunch box is photographed. A label 803 is attached to the food 802. The label 803 includes a rectangular control information area 804.

In this example, the food 802 is located in the upper left of the image 801. Therefore, the captured control information area 804 has a trapezoidal shape depending on the position and orientation of the camera 106. In this case, the image correction unit 710 corrects the trapezoidal shape to a rectangular shape using the trapezoidal correction in the image processing.

FIG. 9 shows a recognition format table 901 in the present embodiment. The recognition format table 901 is stored in the recognition format storage unit 707.

As shown in FIG. 9, the recognition format table 901 describes the aspect ratio and the dimensions of the control information area in the image (the width in this example) as threshold information based on the shape of the control information area.

In the case of the identification ID “L1001” in which the aspect ratio of the control information area is in the range of 1.0 to 1.2 and the width of the control information area in the image is in the range of 20 to 40 pixels, the corresponding recognition The format is “number format”. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 4B, heating control information is described in the control information area 402 as number information such as “324P”.

In the case of the identification ID “L1002” in which the aspect ratio of the control information area is in the range of 4.0 to 6.0 and the width of the control information area in the image is in the range of 50 to 90 pixels, the corresponding recognition The format is “one-line character format”. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 4A, heating control information is described in the control information area 401 in a format such as “500 W 2 minutes 30 seconds 1500 W 0 minutes 45 seconds”.

According to the present embodiment, by adding the size of the control information area in the image to the recognition format discrimination condition, it is possible to omit the discrimination process of the area that is difficult to discriminate only by the aspect ratio. As a result, the discrimination process can be performed at high speed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of image recognition processing in the heating cooker 700. As shown in FIG. 10, in step S <b> 1001, the imaging unit 703 captures an image in the heating chamber 104 on which the food 802 is placed.

In step S1002, the recognition processing unit 705 detects a control information area from the label 803 of the food 802 in the image photographed by the imaging unit 703. The recognition processing unit 705 extracts one or more recognition targets from the detected control information area.

If the control information area is deformed and photographed, in step S1003, the image correction unit 710 corrects the deformed control information area.

In step S1004, the recognition processing unit 705 determines whether the extracted recognition target is a regular recognition target that conforms to the standard.

Specifically, the recognition processing unit 705 determines whether the extracted recognition target is a regular recognition target based on, for example, whether the area of the control information area is equal to or larger than a predetermined size. The recognition processing unit 705 determines whether the extracted recognition target is a regular recognition target based on whether the detected control information area has a predetermined color or a predetermined pattern. May be.

If the extracted recognition target is a regular recognition target (in this embodiment, for example, the control information areas 401 and 402), the process proceeds to step S1005. In step S1005, the recognition processing unit 705 calculates the aspect ratio of the control information area by using the vertical width and horizontal width of the control information area, and acquires the dimensions of the control information area in the image.

In the present embodiment, the aspect ratio of the detected control information area and the size of the control information area in the image are the characteristic information of the detected control information area.

In step S1006, the recognition format storage unit 707 compares the aspect ratio calculated in step S1005 with the aspect ratio threshold described in the recognition format table 901. Further, the recognition format storage unit 707 determines whether or not the size of the control information area in the image is within a predetermined range. Accordingly, the recognition format determination unit 708 determines a recognition format for the extracted recognition target.

In step S1007, the recognition processing unit 705 analyzes the recognition target based on the recognition format determined by the recognition format determination unit 708, and acquires heating control information.

The control unit 704 controls the heating unit 701 based on the heating amount and the heating time included in the heating control information. Thereby, the heating cooker 700 heats the food 802.

In step S1004, when it is determined that the extracted recognition target is not a regular recognition target, or when analysis of all the recognition targets included in the control information area is completed, the image recognition process ends.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to read heating control information corresponding to various formats and automatically set heating conditions such as heating time. Since the recognition format is determined based on the aspect ratio and dimensions of the control information area, the heating control information can be recognized quickly and accurately.

(Other embodiments)
In the first embodiment, the aspect ratio of the control information area is used as information based on the shape of the control information area for determining the recognition format. However, the information based on the shape of the control information area for determining the recognition format may be the area of the control information area, the ratio of the thicknesses of the two sides of the control information area, or the radius of curvature at the corner of the control information area. .

That is, the information based on the shape of the control information area may be information that can be easily extracted by the recognition processing unit 205.

In Embodiment 1, the heating cooker 100 includes a recognition processing unit 205, a storage unit 206, and a recognition format determination unit 208 in a casing 111. However, at least one of the recognition processing unit 205, the storage unit 206, and the recognition format determination unit 208 may be disposed outside the casing 111 of the heating cooker 100.

This configuration constitutes a cooking system including a cooking device. For example, in a cooking system in which the recognition processing unit 205, the storage unit 206, and the recognition format determination unit 208 are arranged outside the casing 111 of the heating cooker 100, the control unit 204 and elements arranged outside the casing 111 ( Information is transmitted / received to / from the recognition processing unit 205, the storage unit 206, and the recognition format determination unit 208).

According to the present disclosure, the heating control information can be obtained from an image taken by the camera. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a heating cooker and a heating cooking system that can easily heat various foods without requiring a troublesome input operation. Therefore, this indication is applicable to cooking-by-heating machines, such as a microwave oven and an induction heating cooking appliance.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100,700 Heating cooker 101 Door 102 Display part 103 Selection part 104 Heating chamber 105 Illumination part 106 Camera 107 Food 111 Case 201,701 Heating part 202,702 Operation part 203,703 Imaging part 204,704 Control part 205,705

Recognition processing unit

206, 706

Storage unit

207, 707 Recognition

format storage unit

208, 708 Recognition

format determination unit

209, 709

Display unit

301, 307, 802

Food

302, 304, 305, 306, 803

Label

303, 401, 402, 403 , 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 804

Control information area

501, 901 Recognition format table 710 Image correction unit 801 Image

Claims

A heating cabinet configured to accommodate an object to be heated;
A heating unit configured to heat the object to be heated in the heating chamber;
A control unit configured to control the heating unit according to heating control information for heating the object to be heated;
An imaging unit configured to capture an image in the heating chamber;
A recognition processing unit configured to detect a control information area from the image and to extract a recognition target included in the control information area;
A recognition format storage unit that stores threshold information related to the control information area and a recognition format for analyzing the recognition target in association with each other;
A recognition format determination unit that determines the recognition format based on the feature information extracted from the control information region and the threshold information,
The recognition processing unit is a heating cooker configured to analyze the recognition target and acquire the heating control information based on the recognition format determined by the recognition format determination unit.
The recognition format storage unit stores information based on the shape of the control information area as the threshold information,
The cooking according to claim 1, wherein the recognition format determination unit is configured to determine the recognition format using information based on a shape of the control information region extracted from the image as the feature information. vessel.
The said recognition format determination part is comprised so that the said recognition format may be determined using the aspect ratio of the said control information area | region which has a rectangular shape extracted from the said image as said characteristic information. Cooking cooker.
The cooking device according to claim 3, wherein the recognition processing unit is configured to correct a shape of the control information area according to a position of the control information area in the image.
The recognition format storage unit further stores the size of the control information area as the threshold information,
The cooking device according to claim 3, wherein the recognition format determination unit is configured to determine the recognition format using the aspect ratio and the dimensions as the feature information.
A heating cabinet configured to accommodate the article to be heated;
A heating unit configured to heat the object to be heated in the heating chamber;
A control unit configured to control the heating unit according to heating control information for heating the object to be heated;
An imaging unit configured to capture an image in the heating chamber;
A recognition processing unit configured to detect a control information area from the image and to extract a recognition target included in the control information area;
A recognition format storage unit that stores threshold information related to the control information area and a recognition format for analyzing the recognition target in association with each other;
A recognition format determination unit that determines the recognition format based on the feature information extracted from the control information region and the threshold information,
The recognition processing unit is configured to analyze the recognition target and acquire the heating control information based on the recognition format determined by the recognition format determination unit. The heating chamber, the heating unit, and the control unit And the photographing unit are arranged in a casing of the heating cooker,
At least one of the recognition processing unit, the recognition format storage unit, and the recognition format determination unit is a heating cooking system arranged outside the casing of the cooking device.