A food preparation appliance includes a processing mechanism, a thermal element, a sensor positioned to acquire identifying data regarding identifying characteristics of a food product to be processed by the food preparation appliance, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive the identifying data from the sensor, identify a type of the food product based on the identifying data, and automatically set a predefined operating parameter of at least one of the processing mechanism and the thermal element to provide target processing of the food product based on the type and the identifying characteristics.

Household appliance (1) for cooking and/or baking food stuffs or bakery ware (2) comprising a heatable cavity (3) for placing the food stuffs or bakery ware (2), an access door (4) for accessing the cavity (3), a compartment (5) located exterior of said cavity (3), said compartment being in fluid communication with said cavity (3) by at least one duct (6), a control unit (10), at least one first sensor (8) located in the compartment (5) and being connected to the control unit (10), and wherein the at least one first sensor (8) is capable of measuring a first input value in said compartment (5), and at least one second sensor (9) capable of measuring a second input value, wherein said second input value is a temperature value wherein said control unit comprises a matrix of humidity index values, said matrix being deposited in said control unit (10), and wherein said control unit (10) is capable of correlating said input value of said at least one first sensor (8) to a humidity index value from said matrix.

In a heating cooking device, a machine chamber is provided adjacent to a heating chamber for housing a food product. An air supply port is provided in a partition wall that separates the heating chamber and the machine chamber. An air supply fan is provided in the machine chamber, for supplying air to the heating chamber through the air supply port. An air supply damper is provided in the machine chamber, for opening and closing the air supply port. A control unit drives the air supply fan and brings the air supply damper into an open state during high-frequency heating of the food product. The control unit brings the air supply damper into a closed state simultaneously with completion of high-frequency heating of the food product or immediately before or immediately after the completion.

Disclosed herein is a cooking apparatus including a heating unit configured to heat an ingredient contained in a cooking chamber, a gas sensor configured to detect a gas inside the cooking chamber, a communication unit configured to communicate with an external apparatus, and a control unit configured to determine a cooking progress state of the ingredient based on the type and concentration of the gas detected by the gas sensor and to transmit information on the cooking progress state to the external apparatus through the communication unit to inform a user of the cooking progress state.

An over-the-range microwave oven that includes a duct unit configured to direct air from the back of the oven to the front and further includes an integrated duct module. The duct unit includes: a first panel at the bottom, a pair of second panels forming both lateral side surfaces of the duct unit. The integrated duct module is disposed on the first panel and integrates a plurality of electrical components, such as a power source unit, a running capacitor, a noise filter and a fuse.

A food preparation appliance includes a housing, a conveyor, a thermal element, a first sensor, a second sensor, and a third sensor. The housing defines an inlet, an outlet, and a processing zone between the inlet and the outlet. The conveyor is configured to move a food product from the inlet, through the processing zone, and to the outlet. The thermal element is positioned within the processing zone. The first sensor is positioned proximate the inlet of the housing and along a lateral side of the conveyor or along a first cantilever arm extending laterally across the conveyor. The second sensor is positioned within the processing zone. The third sensor is positioned proximate the outlet of the housing and along a lateral side of the conveyor or along a second cantilever arm extending laterally across the conveyor.

A cooking appliance includes a cooking chamber wall delimiting a cooking chamber and including an opening, and a motor-movable changing device arranged outside the cooking chamber and including at least two sensor units for detecting a property of the cooking chamber. The changing device can be set in such a way by motorized movement that one of the at least two sensor units can be positioned in front of the opening at a time for detecting the property of the cooking chamber through the opening.

A food recognition system includes a sensor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The sensor is configured to acquire data regarding (i) a respective type of each of multiple food products and (ii) a positioning of the multiple food products relative to one another spaced along a single conveyor. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to control the single conveyor and a heating element to facilitate providing independent zone processing based on the data such that the multiple food products spaced along the single conveyor can be processed with different operating parameters as the single conveyor moves the multiple food products simultaneously through a processing zone of the food preparation appliance to achieve target processing for each of the multiple food products.

Apparatuses and methods are provided for a processing apparatus configured to authenticate an item based on at least one optical indicium associated with the item before processing the item. An interface may be configured to receive processing information from a machine readable element associated with an item to be processed. An image acquisition device may be configured to acquire image information relating to at least one optical indicium associated with an item. At least one processor may be configured to verify authentication of the item based upon the image information acquired by the image sensor unit. The processor may be further configured to receive processing information from the interface and to determine one or more instructions for processing the item based on the processing information. The apparatus may be further configured to processing the item in accordance with the instructions after the item has been verified as authentic.

A low-oxygen atmosphere apparatus including a chamber which houses an object to be processed, microwave generators, and waveguides through which a microwave generated in the microwave generators is transmitted, and further including, in the chamber and/or the waveguides, oxygen-reducing materials to lower the oxygen concentration of the atmosphere in the chamber, which generates heat by the microwave in order to accelerate a reducing reaction of oxygen, thereby lowering the oxygen concentration of the atmosphere in the chamber.