A method and device for the targeted conveying of information to individuals using cooking appliances and/or to at least one cooking appliance. The method includes determining usage behavior of the customer(s) or operating behavior of the cooking appliance(s), transferring the usage behavior or the operating behavior to the cooking appliance manufacturer, saving the usage behavior or the operating behavior, receiving information sent by cooperation partners of the cooking appliance manufacturer or receiving information established internally at the manufacturer, evaluating the received information taking into consideration the saved usage or operating behavior, determining which received information or information established internally at the manufacturer could be of interest for customers or for the cooking appliance, and conveying the determined information of interest to the customer or to the cooking appliance. The device includes a user interface, a determination unit, a transmission unit, and a control unit.

The microwave heating apparatus (100) includes a cavity (101) arranged to receive a load (102A, 102B), at least two patch antennas (103A, 103B) coupled to the at least one microwave generator (104), and a control unit (105). Each of the at least two patch antennas (103A, 103B) is configured to radiate microwaves into a predefined direct heating zone (108A, 108B) within the cavity proximate the respective patch antenna (103A, 103B). The control unit (105) is configured to select energy levels for each of the at least two patch antennas (103A, 103B) as if the load (102A, 102B) were static and as if there not interference between the at least two patch antennas (103A, 103B).

A microphone within a microwave oven detects acoustic activity, and controls the generation of microwaves based on the acoustic activity. A popping rate of popcorn is determined based on acoustic activity. Sounds above a certain amplitude with a duration below a certain value are treated as a pop of a corn kernel. In embodiments, a noise cancellation process is employed to reduce background noise from sources such as fans and turntable motors. When multiple corn kernels pop within a predetermined duration, the multiple pop events can appear as a single pulse of increased amplitude in acquired audio data. By identifying the audio pulses of increased amplitude and treating those pulses as counting for more than one corn kernel pop, a more accurate popping rate may be determined, leading to more accurate microwave oven operation for producing popped corn from corn kernels.

In certain examples, a food processing machine for processing a food product includes a housing defining a cavity, a conveyor with a belt comprising metal for conveying the food product through the cavity in a longitudinal direction, and a convection heating system for heating air in the cavity such that heated air heats the food product as the food product is conveyed through the cavity. A microwave launch box system is configured to emit microwave energy into the cavity in a lateral direction transverse to the longitudinal direction to thereby further heat the food product as the food product is conveyed through the cavity.

A heating cooker that adjusts cooking operations according to detected cooking states of a food ingredient, and a method thereof are disclosed. The heating cooker includes a heater that heats an inside of a heating chamber in which a food ingredient is placed, and at least one processor that controls the heater to perform a protein denaturation operation, in which a rate of internal temperature rise of the food ingredient is equal to or greater than a reference rate, based on the internal temperature of the food ingredient in a range of from a first reference temperature to a second reference temperature.

A heating cooking apparatus includes a microwave supply unit, an image capturing unit, a communication unit, and a controller. The microwave supply unit supplies microwaves to an object to be heated and heats the object to be heated. The image capturing unit captures an image of the object to be heated. The communication unit transmits an image capturing result generated by the image capturing unit to a server. The controller controls the microwave supply unit such that an intensity of microwaves is reduced to be less than an intensity of microwaves before the communication unit transmits the image capturing result while the communication unit transmits the image capturing result to the server. After the communication unit transmits the image capturing result, the controller controls the microwave supply unit such that at least one of an intensity of microwaves or a supply time period of the microwaves is increased.

A cooking appliance having a casing with a cavity formed therein, a first heat source module arranged at a side surface of the casing to emit microwaves to the cavity, a second heat source module arranged at a bottom surface of the casing to emit magnetic fields to the cavity, and a third heat source module is arranged at an upper portion of the casing to emit radiant heat to the cavity, whereby the second heat source module in an induction heating manner rapidly heats a bottom surface of a bowl thereby improving cooking speed of the cooking appliance together with other heat sources.

Systems and methods include a cooking appliance comprising a heating element disposed within a cooking chamber and operable to selectively emit waves at any of a plurality of powers and/or peak wavelengths, a camera operable to capture an image of the cooking chamber, and a computing device operable to supply power to the heating element to vary the power and/or peak wavelength of the emitted waves and generate heat within the cooking chamber, and instruct the camera to capture the image when the heating element is emitting at a stabilized power and/or peak wavelength. The computing device is operable to generate an adjusted captured image by adjusting the captured image with respect to the stabilized power and/or peak wavelength. The computing device comprises feedback components operable to receive the adjusted captured image, extract features, and analyze the one or more features to determine an event, property, measurement and/or status.

In a microwave treatment device according to the present disclosure, a controller selects a plurality of frequencies in a predetermined frequency band and causes a microwave generator to generate microwaves of a selected frequency. The controller causes the amplifier to change the output power level of the microwaves and to thereby supply the microwaves of one of a plurality of output power levels to the heating chamber. The controller measures a reflected wave frequency characteristic based on a radiated power and a reflected power. The controller calculates a linear component and a non-linear component of a power loss consumed by the heating chamber based on the reflected wave frequency characteristic. The controller estimates an amount of absorption power absorbed by a heating target based on the power loss obtained by combining the linear component and the non-linear component.

The invention relates to a system for the preparation of at least one food product (2) as well as a method for the same, wherein the system (1, 50) comprises a cooking chamber (3), in which the food product (2) can be prepared.