Patent Application
20150027320
The present invention relates to an improved method of cooking, and in particular to cookware heating source that are responsive to the cookware.
Prior methods of cooking deploy thermocouples or thermometers to measure either the temperature of the vessel, or the foodstuff therein to cook at a fixed temperature.
In some types of food preparation, it is desirable that the water be heated to a boil before the temperature is lowered. The detection of boiling, from a cooking perspective, is not simply the issue of water reaching the boiling temperature, but that the pot or vessel has received sufficient energy such that the quantity of steam bubbles produced in the water provides violent agitation, which is generally referred to as a rolling boil.
In addition, it is frequently desirable to reduce the heat applied after a rolling boil is obtained to simmer the foodstuffs in the pot, or after subsequent cooling from the addition of cool ingredients, to then return the contents to a boil.
Whistles are traditionally used to determine when water in a teapot has boiled. Whistles have also been deployed in the lids of cookware. Pressure cookers in fact produce an audible sound, not unlike a whistle, when steam escapes to control pressure.
Cook's frequently waste time waiting for water to boil in open vessel or pots, when they could be more productive using there time on other tasks, and are frequently need to interrupt these other tasks to check and see if indeed the water has boiled. This is fairly important in cooking rice and some noodles and pasta for example; as the temperature should be lowered after a boil is reached with the ingredients in the vessel.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a cooking device that provides the above benefits to the user.
Having a means for automated detection of water boiling in a cooking vessel, and the subsequent automated control of the cooking temperature would provide several advantages to cooks, such as the faster and improved preparation of pasta, rice as well as making it easier for a cook to multi-task in the kitchen.
In the present invention, the first object is achieved by a cooking system comprising a heat source powered via a controller, a cookware vessel having a tight fitting lid and a steam activated whistle in the lid, wherein the controller is operative to modulate the power to the heat source in response to the noise generated by the steam activated whistle.
A second aspect of the invention is characterized by an induction cooking system comprising an induction burner base having at least one coil powered via a controller, a cookware vessel having a tight fitting lid and a steam activated whistle in the lid wherein the controller is operative to modulate the power to the induction burner in response to the noise generated by the steam activated whistle.
The above and other objects, effects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
In accordance with the present invention, as illustrated in
The whistle 16 has a constricted exit orifice through which steam 2 escapes to the volume external to the vessel 10 and lid 11 (shown as 2′) wherein this flow of steam produces detectable sound. The sound quality is partly determined by deploying a cavity before the exit orifice, where the entrance of steam to this cavity is a first or entrance orifice.
Ideally the sound is also at a frequency and volume to be audible, but more significantly is readily discerned from kitchen background noises, such as speech, noise form fans and the motors of other electronic appliances, and the like.
Among the various benefits of the invention that particularly accrue when the heating source is an induction burner is the faster preparation of pasta, as water in the vessel will come to a boil very quickly at full power, due to the high efficiency of induction heating of the cookware, even before pasta is added. Traditionally, the pasta is only added after the water in the pot comes to a rolling boil. However, as the cool pasta usually causes the water to cease boiling, depending on the quantity of pasta to cease, a cook waits for the water to return to a second boil, before turning the power down so that the water simmers. Salt and oil are added by some cooks either before or after adding the pasta.
The quality and consistency of the cooked pasta can be improved, if the temperature can be reduced as soon as the water returns to a boil, and the total heating time can be tracked to avoid overcooked. This is particularly critical for ravioli or other stuffed or filled pasta, which can explode if the water is boiling to vigorously for an excessive amount of time. Hence, automated detective of a first and second boil can provide a more productive use of the cook's time than watching or waiting for water to boil or return to a boil and then having to reduce the heat to the cookware so the pasta or other food only simmers. Further, the automated control of power to the cooking vessel as described herein also makes it easier for a cook to multi-task in the kitchen.
More specifically, the means for electronically controlling the heat source 100 via whistle sound detection and subsequent power reduction first require the detection of the whistling sound based on an audible sensor detecting a noise meeting a threshold criterion of at least one of volume and frequency. Therefore a sound transducer 110, which can be a microphone, is deployed to pick up the sound to transform it into electrical signals for further processing, such as by a microprocessor device, or general purpose computing device that is programming or the specific purposes disclosed herein. A preamplifier and/or amplifier stage 120 with automatic gain control (AGC) is preferably deployed to pre-condition the signal to suitable level for recognition purposes.
Tone decoders 130 (such as an array of band pass filters) can then be used to categorize the sound detected into narrow frequency bands for comparison against known whistle sound pattern. Then a controller/microprocessor 140 is deployed to analyze the duration and/or frequency purity to discriminate the whistle sound against human speech, music, as well as other background noise that may be present in the environment, and may optionally determine and adjust for sampling errors and the like. The controller/microprocessor 140 may then optionally adjust the output power of the burner downward to confirm the whistle sound characteristics detected if required.
Another aspect of the invention is that the heater 100, such as an induction burner, has operating modes accessed by the same or a different controller/microprocessor 140 for cooking specific foods or cooking modes, in which operating/cooking modes can selected by the control panel 150.
An induction burner is a preferred heat element 100, that more preferably also includes at least one of IR sensors or thermocouples to also monitor the temperature of the cooking vessel 10 or the contents therein, and causes rather rapid and immediate change to the heat delivered to the cooking vessel 10.
It should be appreciated that the controller/microprocessor 140 is preferably programmed to differentiate the sound of the whistle sound from background noise, and that such programming may include also considering as background noise, all sounds that occur before the water could possibly reach the boiling point, such as when the temperature as measured by IR or other means is well below the boiling point, as well as a conditioning time between activating the heat sources 100 and powering the heating element 150.
Hence, it is also desirable that the controller/microprocessor is operative to develop a background noise profile used to discriminate the whistle sound from the background during a predetermined time period prior to the potential boiling of the fluid in the vessel. The time period may be predetermined from experience of prior heating cycles, or when the detected vessel temperature is approaching, but not close enough to the boiling point. By developing the background noise profile immediately before boiling is likely to be detected, it is also or the controller/microprocessor to determine that the current background noise is to large to accurately detect boiling by distinguishing the whistling characteristics, in which case it would be desirable if the system is operative to alert a user that the detected background noise is too large to be distinguished from a whistle sound, and that the system will not operate in the desired automated boil detection and control mode. In determining the duration of this background noise detection period, the temperature measurement can be made by a sensor immersed in the fluid/water contained in the vessel, or a thermal sensor built into the inner wall of the vessel. Such temperature measurements can also be used in any of the cooking modes described below, such as when the vessel is maintained at a lower predetermined temperature after boiling.
The heat source 100 can be any burner with its output power controlled electronically. An induction burner has an advantage that its power output can be switched on/off instantly for optimal control but gas burner (with electronically controlled valve and ignition system) offers similar performance.
It should be appreciated that the above aspects and features enable the following modes of cooking:
A. Pasta cooking, in which the water is brought to a boil, and the user is alerted so they can then add the pasta. Then after water cools from the pasta and comes to a 2nd boil, the temperature or power is reduced or the user is alerted to observe the effects of the power reduction, or to manually reduce the power as desired. The user optionally indicates when pasta is added so the power returns to high to reheat the water to boiling, as well as for signaling when the pasta is completed, such as by the user setting a timer or pasta type via the control panel. The independent temperature sensors can also be used to monitor the subsequent cooling from adding pasta, and the reheating.
B. Rice Cooking, in which the temperature is lowered after a simmer or boil is reached, and may optionally progress according to a predetermined time-temperature profile, such as to lower temperature keep the rice warm after cooking without drying, as well as provide an audible or/and or visual signal after cooking is complete
C. Boil, and then immediately turn off, (Auto Off);
D. Boil and then automatically simmer until manually shut off, or for a predetermined time programmed by the user.
E. Simmer until manually shut off, or for a predetermined time programmed by the user.
F. Any of the above modes A-E under either temperature monitored control, wherein the temperature is used to control the power level, such as under proportion-derivative-integral (PID) control to heat the contents to the predetermined or predetermined time temperature profile, or power mode, where the power is either constant or varies with time per a predetermined profile.
While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The present application claims the benefit of priority to the PCT application No. PCT/2013/027372, which was filed on 22 Feb. 2013, and which in turn claims the benefit of priority to the US patent application of the same title that was filed on 24 Feb. 2012, having application Ser. No. 61/602,961, and are both incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2013/027372 | 2/22/2013 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61602961 | Feb 2012 | US |
