METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING AN OVEN, AND OVEN FOR HEATING FOOD ITEMS

Abstract

The present invention relates to a computer-implemented method of controlling an oven comprising a heating chamber that spans a 3D-volume for accommodating therein one or more food items to be, respectively, heated in one of a plurality of 3D coordinate positions by a heating system, the heating system comprising multiple heating elements arranged and configured to feed, via corresponding emission areas, at least one of radiant heat, heated air, and laser radiation into the 3D-volume, wherein at least two heating elements, differ from each other in at least one of orientation and location of the emission area relative to a 3D-volume reference, the method comprising calculating an operating parameter settings for operating the oven according to a locally-based heating scheme based on a 3D coordinate location of a food item located in the heating chamber.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of controlling an oven comprising a heating chamber that spans a 3D-volume for accommodating therein one or more food items to be, respectively, heated in one of a plurality of 3D coordinate positions by a heating system, the heating system comprising multiple heating elements arranged and configured to feed, via corresponding emission areas, at least one of radiant heat, heated air, or laser radiation into the 3D-volume, wherein at least two of said heating elements differ from each other in at least one of orientation and location of their corresponding emission areas relative to a 3D-volume reference, the method comprising: receiving, at a processing unit, from one or more sensor units one or more sensor signal packages, each sensor signal package comprising sensor data associated with a 3D coordinate location information of at least one food item placed within the 3D-volume; by the processing unit, calculating from the 3D coordinate location information a 3D coordinate location of the at least one food item, by the processing unit, determining, based at least in part on the 3D coordinate location information, at least one set of operating parameter settings for operating at least one of the multiple heating elements in accordance with a locally-based heating scheme in which the at least one heating element is controlled in dependence of the calculated 3D coordinate location; and by the processing unit, providing the operating parameter settings for execution of the locally-based heating scheme by a control unit of the oven.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more sensor signal packages comprise at least one electronic image data package comprising electronic image data of the at least one food item located within the 3D-volume, the electronic image data being captured by one or more camera units comprised by the one or more sensor units, wherein the electronic image data comprises as 3D coordinate location information first image data of at least a section of the at least one food item, and second image data of at least one reference associated with the heating chamber, wherein the processing unit calculates the 3D coordinate location at least in part based on the first image data and the second image data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic image data comprises multiple images captured from different perspectives, wherein each said image includes image data of the at least one food item and at least one said image includes at least one of the at least one reference.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more sensor signal packages comprises, in addition to the sensor data, metadata information comprising at least one of: the type of oven, the type of one or more sensors used for recording the sensor signals, recording details for recording the sensor data, the type of sensor signals, a kind of food, a type of food, process information for heating the at least one food item, and wherein the processing unit extracts one or more of the metadata for calculating the 3D coordinate information and/or or for calculating the at least one set of operating parameter settings.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is coupled, for data transmission, to a wire-less or wire-bound data transmission network and/or data bus, and wherein the processing unit receives one or more of the one or more sensor signal packages via the data transmission network and/or data bus from respective one or more sensor units.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein: at least one of the one or more sensor signal packages is associated with information on at least one of a shape, a volume, a surface pattern, and a temperature pattern of the food item, the processing unit calculates from the information of the at least one signal package, at least one of a type, kind, sort, size, volume, and 3D-subvolume of the at least one food item within the 3D-volume, and the processing unit calculates the at least one set of operating parameter settings, in addition to the calculated 3D coordinate location, based on at least one of the calculated type, kind, sort, size, volume, and 3D-subvolume.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of receiving sensor signal packages and determining the sensor signal packages, the at least one set of operating parameter settings is carried out several times in sequence during a heating process for heating the at least one food item, and wherein the processing unit provides, for at least one of the several times, an updated set of operating parameter settings for execution by the control unit based on a sensor signal package associated with said at least one of the several times.

8. The method according claim 1, wherein at least one of the sensor signal packages is associated with doneness information, and the processing unit calculates, based on the at least one of the sensor signal packages and the doneness information, at least one doneness value representative of a degree of doneness of the food item, wherein the processing unit calculates in dependence of the at least one doneness value one or more operating parameter updates, and provides the one or more operating parameter updates for execution by the control unit of the oven.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the processing unit compares the calculated at least one doneness value with a predetermined doneness threshold, and determines, based on the comparison, whether the at least one doneness value sufficiently corresponds to the predetermined doneness threshold, wherein, if the determination yields that the at least one doneness value sufficiently corresponds to the predetermined doneness threshold, the processing unit determines an operating stop or finishing parameter setting for stopping or finishing the locally-based heating scheme, and provides the operating stop or finishing parameter setting for execution by the control unit of the oven.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensor signal packages are associated with multiple food items of the at least one food item, and wherein the method further comprises, by the processing unit: Calculating for two or more of the multiple food items, two or more associated 3D coordinate locations, and, determining, based at least in part on the calculated two or more associated 3D coordinate locations, for each of the associated 3D coordinate locations a corresponding operating parameter setting for controlling at least one of the heating elements to carry out a locally-based heating scheme that is, respectively, specific for the associated 3D coordinate, and providing the determined corresponding operating parameter settings for execution by the control unit of the oven to carry out, by the at least one heating element, the locally-based heating schemes for each of the associated 3D coordinate locations and related food items.

11. A system for operating an oven, the oven comprising a heating chamber that spans a 3D-volume for accommodating therein one or more food items to be heated, the system comprising at least one of: a processing unit that is programmed to carry out, when operated, the method of claim 1, a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to carry out said method, a computer-program product comprising computer-readable instructions that, when loaded into the memory of a processing unit cause the processing unit to carry out the method according to claim 1, and a computer-readable signal sequence that is able, when loaded into the memory of a processing unit to cause the processing unit to carry out the method according to claim 1.

12. The system according to claim 11, further comprising said heating system, the multiple heating elements thereof differing from each other in at least one of orientation and location of the corresponding emission areas, wherein the oven comprises at least one of: said processing unit as an internal processing unit communicatively coupled to said control unit for controlling the multiple heating elements to execute said locally-based heating scheme; and said computer-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to an internal processing unit such that the computer readable instructions of the storage medium can be loaded into the memory of the processing unit for execution.

13. The system according to claim 11, further comprising said one or more sensor units for generating the sensor signal packages, wherein at least one of the one or more sensor units is configured such that if one or more said food items are placed in the 3D volume, the sensor signal packages comprise sensor data associated with a 3D coordinate location information of at least one of the one or more food items, wherein the one or more sensor units comprises, for generating the sensor data, at least one of: one or more position sensors; one or more proximity sensors; one or more light barrier sensors; one or more reflex light barrier sensors; one or more cameras, respectively adapted and configured for scanning the 3D volume and/or an opening of the heating chamber to obtain the 3D location information.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein: said at least one of the one or more sensor is implemented as an internal sensor unit of the oven, or said at least one of the one or more sensor units is implemented as an external sensor unit, wherein the external sensor unit is implemented in connection with one of a stationary sensor device, a mobile sensor device or a mobile handheld sensor device.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the at least one of the one or more sensor units is configured for being communicatively coupled to said processing unit which is implemented as an internal processing unit of the oven, or the at least one of the one or more sensor units is configured for being communicatively coupled with said processing unit which is implemented as an external processing unit of the oven, wherein the external processing unit is implemented as a server device with regard to sensor signals provided by the at least one of the one or more sensor units acting as a client device.

16. Oven comprising a heating chamber that spans a 3D-volume for accommodating therein one or more food items to be, respectively, heated in one of a plurality of 3D coordinate positions by a heating system, the heating system comprising multiple heating elements arranged and configured to feed, via corresponding emission areas, at least one of radiant heat, heated air, or laser radiation into the 3D-volume, wherein at least two of said heating elements differ from each other in at least one of orientation and location of their corresponding emission areas relative to a 3D-volume reference; one or more sensor units configured for generating sensor signal packages, each sensor signal package comprising sensor data associated with a 3D coordinate location information of at least one food item placed within the 3D-volume; a processing unit communicatively coupled to the one or more sensor units for receiving the sensor signal packages and configured to determine based at least in part on 3D coordinate location information associated with said sensor signal packages at least one set of operating parameter settings for operating at least one of the multiple heating elements in accordance with a locally-based heating scheme in which at least one of said heating elements is controlled in dependence of the calculated 3D coordinate location information; and a control unit configured to control the oven according to the operating parameter settings for execution of said locally-based heating scheme that are determined by the processing unit.

17. Oven according to claim 16 further comprising at least one reference point or area suitable for aligning the 3D volume and a 3D coordinate system for describing the 3D volume, wherein the reference point or area is provided at least one of on or at an inner wall of the heating chamber and an outer wall of the oven, and wherein the reference point or area includes at least one of a structural element of the oven, a notch, a groove, an imprint, a label, a smart label or smart tag, and a label, imprint or tag respectively including information on at least one of oven type, spatial relationships to other reference points or areas or elements of the oven.

18. A method of cooking food in an oven appliance, the oven appliance comprising an oven cavity defining a 3D volume and a plurality of heating elements adapted to supply heat to the oven cavity, said heating elements differing from one another in location, orientation, mode of heating, and/or their respective heat-flux profiles relative to said 3D volume, the method comprising with respect to a first food item to be cooked within the oven cavity: (a) obtaining a first set of a first plurality of sensor signal packages, the first plurality of sensor signal packages collectively comprising first 3D location data from different perspectives relating to a location of the first food item within said 3D volume; (b) calculating from said first 3D location data a first 3D coordinate location of the first food item in said 3D volume; (c) based on said first 3D coordinate location, determining a first set of operational parameter settings for operating at one of said plurality of heating elements to cook said first food item according to a first locally-based heating scheme tailored to the first 3D coordinate location within said 3D volume; and (d) operating said oven appliance to cook said first food item according to said first locally-based heating scheme.

19. The method according to claim 18, said first 3D location data further comprising metadata that comprises a doneness value that relates to a degree of doneness of the first, the method further comprising comparing said doneness value to a predetermined doneness threshold, and: (e) when the doneness value fails to at least meet the predetermined doneness threshold, obtaining from said first and second sensors a subsequent set of the first plurality of sensor signal packages at a subsequent point in time from the preceding set thereof, and re-comparing the doneness value from said subsequent set to the predetermined doneness threshold; (f) when the doneness value meets or exceeds the predetermined doneness threshold, determining a stop or finishing parameter setting and implementing the same as part of the first locally-based heating scheme; and (g) repeating steps (e) at successive time intervals until the doneness value meets or exceeds the predetermined doneness threshold.

20. The method according to claim 18, further comprising with respect to a second food item to be cooked within the oven cavity: (a.1) obtaining from said first and second sensors a second plurality of sensor signal packages collectively comprising second 3D location data from said different perspectives relating to a location of the second food item within said 3D volume; (b.1) calculating from said second 3D location data a second 3D coordinate location of the second food item in said 3D volume; (c.1) based on said second 3D coordinate location, determining a second set of operational parameter settings for operating at least one of said plurality of heating elements to cook said second food item according to a second locally-based heating scheme tailored to the second 3D coordinate location within said 3D volume; and (d.1) operating said oven appliance to cook said second food item according to said second locally-based heating scheme; wherein the first and second locally-based heating schemes are executed concurrently, to concurrently cook both the first and second food items within the oven cavity according to their respective heating schemes; and wherein the first and second food items are different from one another.

21. The method according to claim 18, said first plurality of sensor signal packages comprising images obtained from a camera external to said oven appliance, each said image capturing the first food item as well as a coordinate reference within said oven cavity, wherein said first 3D coordinate location is calculated by comparing relative positions of the first food item and the coordinate reference among different ones of said images.

Description

[0068] The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings, in which

[0069] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic process diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the invention;

[0070] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic configuration of a cooking oven based on an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

[0071] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic configuration of a system based on an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and

[0072] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic operational diagram of one exemplary embodiment.

[0073] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic process diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the invention.

[0074] In a first step 101, a processing unit, for example of an oven or of entity external to the oven, receives one or more sensor signal packages. Each of the sensor signal packages comprises sensor data associated with a 3D coordinate location information of at least one food item placed within a 3D-volume of a baking or cooking oven cavity.

[0075] In a subsequent step 102, the processing unit calculates a 3D coordinate location of the food item from the 3D coordinate location information. The 3D coordinate location corresponds, in the given example, to a particular 3D position of the at least one food item in a heating chamber of the oven spanning a 3D volume.

[0076] In a further subsequent step, the processing unit determines from the 3D coordinate location information at least one set of operating parameter settings for operating one or more heating elements of the oven in accordance with a locally-based heating scheme.

[0077] In a yet further operational step, the calculated operating parameter settings is provided for access, e.g. download or data transfer, such that a control unit of the oven is able, by implementing the operating parameter settings, to execute the locally-based heating scheme, i.e. to heat the one or more food items in dependency of their position within the 3D volume.

[0078] This in particular means that the processing unit is able to determine a suitable locally-based heating scheme, suitable for being applied to the food item positioned in the determined 3D location. Such a locally-based heating scheme may improve the overall heating, e.g. baking or cooking, process for a food item.

[0079] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic configuration of a baking oven 201 based on an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The cooking (baking) oven comprises a baking chamber 202 spanning a 3D volume in a 3D space including an x, y, and a z coordinate system relative to a coordinate reference 203.

[0080] In the baking chamber 202, there are two food items, a first food item 204 and a second food item 205. One of the food items 204 is a single food item of a particular type, and the other food 205 item comprises a plurality of food items of a different type.

[0081] The first food item is located in a first 3D location (x1, y1, z1), and the second food items are located in a second 3D location (x2, y2, z2).

[0082] A processing unit 206 and a control unit 207 are arranged in an upper control section of the baking oven 201, wherein the processing unit 206 is configured for determining the operating parameter settings for execution by the control unit to perform the locally-based heating scheme for each of the 3D coordinate locations 204, 205.

[0083] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, two heating elements 208 and 209 are provided and configured for applying locally-based heat radiation 210 to a respective food item 211, 212 arranged nearby.

[0084] The baking oven 201 comprises, as an example, two cameras 213 as sensor units for capturing images of different viewing angles 214 of the food items 211, 212 located in the baking chamber 202.

[0085] As discussed in connection with FIG. 1, the images captured by the cameras 213 may be processed, and a 3D location for each of the food items 211, 212 may be determined (calculated) by the processing unit 206. The processing unit 206 may receive respective image data from the cameras 213 via a data communication bus (not shown), or a wire-bound or wireless data communication (not shown).

[0086] Based on the images, the processing unit 206 determines an operating parameter set to be provided to the control unit 207 communicatively coupled to the heating elements 208 and 209 for executing the operating parameter set for executing the locally-based baking scheme for each of the food items 211 and 212. The heating elements may for example comprise single heaters, such as solid state heaters, hot air outlets, infra-red heaters, laser emitters, gas burners, or, the heating elements or at least one of the heating elements may comprise an array of heaters as mentioned beforehand, wherein the array may include heaters of same or different type.

[0087] In the given exemplary embodiment, all components, in particular for controlling the baking oven 201 are internal components of the baking oven 201. FIG. 3, however, shows an exemplary embodiment with a scheme for implementing corresponding components in a distributed device and communication arrangement. In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic configuration of a system based on an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0088] FIG. 3 illustrates a baking oven 201 comprising a baking chamber 202 with first and second food items 211 and 212 arranged in the baking chamber 202. The baking oven 201 comprises a control unit, which is schematically illustrated and depicted with reference sign 301.

[0089] FIG. 3 schematically further illustrates a camera device 302 and a processing unit 303. The baking oven 201, in particular the control unit 301, the camera device 302, and the processing unit 303 are, with regard to electronic data communication, communicatively coupled via network 304.

[0090] In operation, which is schematically illustrated in the diagram of FIG. 4, if, for example a user, inserts the food items 211, 212 into the baking chamber 202, for example placed on a baking tray, and wants to start a cooking process, the initialization and start-up procedure for the cooking process may involve the following.

[0091] The camera 302, which may for example be implemented in a handheld device, such as a smartphone or tablet, may be operated to capture 305 two or more images from the food items 211 and 212 located in the baking chamber 202. The camera 302 may for example operated by the user, or automatically from an external position. The images are captured such that they include 3D location information of the food items 211, 212 relative to the baking chamber 202. Such a 3D location information may for example be obtained by capturing an image from the food items 211, 212 such that the image also includes sections of the baking oven 201, specifically of the inner walls of the baking chamber 202, as well as a coordinate reference 203 such as a marker, tag and the like. As a coordinate reference, a grid of a fan or similar elements within the baking chamber 202 may be used.

[0092] The camera 302, or associated device, may then transmit 306 the images 306 via network 304 to the processing unit 303. The processing unit 303 then receives 307 the images and carries out a method as described in connection with FIG. 1, in which the images are analysed and an operating parameter settings for executing a locally-based heating scheme for execution by the control unit 301 is calculated 308. After calculating 308 the operational parameter setting, the operational parameter settings is transferred 309 via the network 304 to the control unit 301. The control unit 301 receives 310 the operational parameter settings (abbreviated by “parameters” in FIG. 4 for better readability), and executes a locally-based heating scheme, in which the food items 211, 212 are locally heated by one of the heating elements, such that the local temperature obtained during heating corresponds to a temperature specific for the respective food item.

[0093] As has been noted, the data transmissions between the components may be carried out over a network. However, if one or more of the components, e.g. the camera(s) and the processing unit(s) are integrated in the baking oven, data transmission may be carried out via data transmission lines.

[0094] The scheme as illustrated in FIG. 4 may be carried out several times during a heating procedure, wherein a subsequent calculated operating parameter settings may be used for updating a previously received operating parameter settings. Further, subsequent images may be used to determine a level of doneness, and if it is determined that the level of doneness substantially corresponds to the desired level of doneness, the processing unit may generate operating parameter settings for stopping or finishing the heating procedure.

[0095] Within this scheme, the processing unit 303 may for example send a request to the camera 302 to capture one or more images associated or including 3D coordinate location information on the food item(s) placed in the cooking chamber 202. In an alterna-tive embodiment, the images (and other sensor signals) may be captured automatically, for example during, upon, or after closing the oven door (not shown in the figures), or upon receiving an activation signal, for example from the user pressing a “start” button.

[0096] After receiving the image(s) and before calculating the operating parameter settings, the processing unit 303 may determine whether or not the received image(s) are suitable for determining a 3D coordinate location of the food item(s) included in the images. Such a check may be carried out also in case of using other parameters. For example, the processing unit may check whether a sufficiently large area of the baking chamber is included, and/or whether or not a coordinate reference 203 is included. The processing unit 303 in particular may also check whether or not a food item can be identified. If one or more of such preliminary checks fail, the processing unit 303 may send a further request to the camera to provide further images (or in case of using other sensors, further sensor data). The processing unit may also send a request to the user to provide a selection of a kind of food etc. Such information, and other information, may be added to an image as metadata as described further above. However, such information may also be transmitted separately from the images.

[0097] In case of a successful determination of a locally-based heating scheme, the processing unit may transmit or transfer 309 corresponding operating parameter settings to the control unit 301 for execution. Before executing the locally-based heating scheme, or before transmitting the scheme to the control unit 301, a plausibility check may be carried out. For example, the control unit 301 or the processing unit 303 may send a confirmation request to a user interface (not shown), and in case of receiving a positive confirmation, the scheme may be transmitted for execution and/or executed. In case of a negative confirmation, the scheme as illustrated in FIG. 4 (or parts thereof) may be carried out anew, wherein the processing unit 303 of the control unit 301, may, before carrying out the scheme as illustrated in FIG. 4 (or parts thereof), send a confirmation request to a user interface. In case of receiving a positive or negative confirmation, the scheme of FIG. 4 (or parts thereof) may or may not be carried out anew.

[0098] Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the ap-pended claims. In particular, features described in connection with specific embodiments described in connection with the figures may be applied to and combined with any other embodiment described herein, and vice versa.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0099] 101-104 operational steps [0100] 201 baking oven [0101] 202 baking chamber [0102] 203 coordinate reference [0103] 204, 205 first and second food items [0104] 206 processing unit [0105] 207 control unit [0106] 208, 209 heating element [0107] 210 heat radiation [0108] 211, 212 food items [0109] 213 camera [0110] 214 viewing angle [0111] 301 control unit [0112] 302 camera device [0113] 303 processing unit [0114] 304 network [0115] 305 capture images [0116] 306 transmit images via network [0117] 307 receive images from network [0118] 308 calculate operating parameter settings [0119] 309 transfer parameters [0120] 310 receive parameters [0121] 311 execute locally-based heating scheme [0122] X, y, z 3D coordinate location