Patent Application
20190086097
The present disclosure generally relates to a cooking system and related methods, and more particularly relates to systems and methods for modeling a food load.
In at least one aspect, a cooking system is disclosed. The cooking system comprises a controller in communication with a heating apparatus and a user interface. The controller is configured to access a cooking model for a selected food. The cooking model comprises a first layer indicating a first heat absorption relationship and a second layer indicating a second heat absorption relationship. The controller is further configured to receive a first cooking parameter from the user interface for the first layer and a second cooking parameter from the user interface for the second layer. The controller may further calculate a heat exchange model based on the first heat absorption relationship and the second heat absorption relationship.
In at least another aspect, a method for heating a food load is disclosed. The method comprises receiving an indication of a selected food type and accessing a food load model for the selected food type. The model comprises a first layer indicating a first heat absorption relationship and a second layer indicating a second heat absorption relationship. The method may continue by receiving a first input indicating a first cooking parameter of the first layer and a second input indicating a second cooking parameter of the second layer. Based on the first heat absorption relationship and the second heat absorption relationship, the method may continue to calculate a heat exchange model. With the heat exchange model, the method may heat the food load by activating a plurality of heat sources. The heat sources are selectively activated to supply heat according to the heat exchange model thereby heating the food load such that the first layer conforms to the first cooking parameter and the second layer conforms to the second cooking parameter.
In at least another aspect, a cooking system configured heat each of a plurality of layers of a food load to a desired cooking parameter is disclosed. The system comprises a controller in communication with a heating apparatus and a user interface. The controller is configured to receive an indication of a selected food type from the user interface and access a food load model for the selected food type. The model comprises a first layer indicating a first heat absorption relationship, a second layer indicating a second heat absorption relationship, and a third layer indicating a third heat absorption relationship. The controller may further be configured to receive at least one cooking parameter for each of the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer and calculate a heat exchange model based on the cooking parameters. With the heat exchange model, the controller may calculate a cooking routine. The cooking routine may correspond to a control scheme indicating a selective activation of each of a plurality of heat sources to prepare the food load such that each of the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer conform to a corresponding cooking parameter.
These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present device will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
In the drawings:
For purposes of description herein the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the device as oriented in
Referring to
The representation or model 16 of the food load 12 may provide for the estimation of a temperature of each of the layers in response to heat generated by at least one heat source 30 of a heating apparatus 32 of the cooking system 10. In this configuration, the controller may calculate a control scheme for the at least one heat source 30 such that each of the layers 20 of the food load 12 may be prepared by the cooking system 10 to achieve a desired result. Such a result may be preconfigured by a variety of automated functions to control a variety of cooking characteristics of each of the layers 20. Additionally, in some embodiments, the system 10 may provide for a customized setting wherein an operator can select cooking characteristics for each of the layers 20.
The controller of the cooking system 10 may identify material and thermodynamic properties of each of the layers 20 of the food load 12 based on the user selection of the food type. The food type may correspond to a food category (e.g. meats, vegetables, grains, etc.), a food type (chicken, green beans, pasta, etc.), and/or a specific food portion (e.g. chicken breast, baked potato, pizza slice, etc.). Additionally, the controller may be configured to receive or identify a proportion of the food load 12 (e.g. weight, mass, volume, quantity, etc.) and various additional information to indicate a property of the food load 12 such as a starting temperature (e.g. frozen, chilled, room temperature, etc.). Though described as being input by a user, the information describing the food load 12 may also be identified by one or more sensors in communication with the controller (e.g. imagers, light sensors, scales, pressure sensors, and a variety of transducers).
Once the food type and proportion of the food load 12 are identified, the controller may access material properties for each of the layers 20 to simulate the food load 12 as the model 16. Additionally, the controller may scale the model 16 based on the proportion to improve accuracy of a preparation routine for the heat source(s) 30 of the heating apparatus 32. With the material properties of each of the layers 20 as defined by the model 16, the controller may calculate a cooking routine based on an automated program or user defined characteristics of each of the layers 20. The cooking routine may be based on a numerical model description of the food load 12. With the numerical model, the controller may generate and control an actuation strategy of the at least one heat source 30 to prepare each of the layers 20 of the food load to a desired result.
For example, the controller may access a database in a memory or remote server to retrieve the model 16 corresponding to the selected or identified food type. The model 16 may comprise various characteristics of each of the layers 20 of the food load 12. Such characteristics may include, but are not limited to a heat transfer coefficient, density, thermal capacity, thermal diffusivity as well as electromagnetic permittivity, reflection coefficient, IR absorption coefficient, and various additional properties and combinations thereof that may be applied to calculate a response of the food load to the at least one heat source 30 of the cooking device 20. The characteristics of the food load 12 may be included as a numerical model and scaled to describe the food load 12 as a simplified lumped-elements model (e.g. the model 16). Accordingly, the disclosure may provide for a cooking system 10 and related methods of controlling the at least one heat source 30 to prepare each layer 20 of the food load 12 to a desired characteristic, quality, and/or temperature by numerically modeling the layers 20 to account for various heat exchange relationships among the layers 20 and the heating apparatus 32.
The at least one heat source 30 may correspond to one or more of a microwave, convection heater, electrically resistive element, a gas heating element, inductive heating element, infrared element, etc. In operation, the controller of the cooking system 10 may control the at least one heating source 30 to achieve a user defined temperature and/or quality of each of the layers 22, 24, and 26. For example, an operator of the cooking system 10 may want to select specific finishing levels associated with each of the layers 22, 24, and 26. Such finishing levels may include different temperatures, moisture levels, browning levels, consistencies, and/or other various characteristics of each of the layers 20. The temperatures or finishing levels of the layers 20 may be input by an operator of the cooking device 20 via a user interface 14.
Referring now to
The external heat exchange relationships 42 may be referred to herein as a first external heat exchange relationship 42a, a second external heat exchange relationship 42b, and a third external heat exchange relationship 42c. The first external heat exchange relationship 42a may describe an interaction between the at least one heat source 30 and the first layer 22 of the model 16. The second external heat exchange relationship 42b may describe an interaction between the at least one heat source 30 and the second layer 24. The third external heat exchange relationship 42c may describe an interaction between the at least one heat source 30 and the third layer 26.
The conductive relationships 44 between the layers 20 may be described as a first conductive relationship 44a and second conductive relationship 44b. The first conductive relationship 44a may describe a conductive interaction between the first layer 22 and the second layer 24. The second conductive relationship 44b may describe a conductive relationship between the second layer 24 and the third layer 26. In this way, the controller of the cooking system 10 may utilize the model 16 to simulate the behavior of each of the layers 20 based on the external heat relationships 42 and the conductive relationships 44. Additionally, the controller may generate a control scheme for the at least one heat source 30 of the heating apparatus 32 in order to effectuate one or more heating inputs of the relationships 42 and 44.
In some embodiments, the external heat exchange relationships 42 utilized for the model 16 may utilize the first external heat exchange relationship 42a and the second external heat exchange relationship 42b without the third external heat exchange relationship 42c. For example, if the heat source 30 corresponds to a microwave heat source, the microwave energy may only penetrate to approximately less than 2 cm. In some embodiments, the microwave energy may only penetrate to approximately 1 cm. Under such circumstances, the heat generated by the heat source 30 may not penetrate into the third layer 26 and the heat delivered to the third layer may be modeled by the second conductive relationship 44b. However, for some processes (e.g. thawing of ice), the third external heat exchange relationship 42c may be utilized to model an increased penetration through ice of microwave energy through ice. Accordingly, the model 16 may be adjusted to omit the third external heat exchange relationship 42c for specific embodiments or applications of the cooking system 10.
In operation, a selection of a food type may be received by the cooking system 10 via the user interface 14. With the food type selected, the controller may access a specific model (e.g. the model 16) for the selected food type. The model 16 may include each of the layers 20 incorporated in a numeric model. The numeric model may include various food characteristics (e.g. thermal diffusivity, density, thermal capacity, etc.) of the food type. The numeric model therefore may represent each of the external heat exchange relationships 42 and a conductive relationship 44 for the separately modeled layers 20 based on the specific characteristics related to the selected food type. With this information, the controller may calculate a specific heating procedure or routine to selectively activate the at least one heat source 30 over time to reach a desired result as specified by a user or a preconfigured recipe for each of the layers 20.
In an exemplary embodiment, the controller of the cooking system 10 may prompt an operator via the user interface 14 to input one or more desired characteristics of each of the plurality of layers 20. For example, the controller may receive various selections via the user interface 14 to indicate an internal level of doneness or temperature, a level of moisture content or dehydration, a crusting or a brownness level, and/or various properties of each of the layers 20. The level of doneness may also be described utilizing typical cooking terms as they may apply to a selected food type. For example, for a steak the controller may cross-reference the meaning of particular terms (e.g. well done, medium, rare, etc.) for a particular type of meat (e.g. beef, pork, etc.) by cross-referencing the internal temperature for the particular type of meat to achieve the requested result. In this way, the controller may gather information describing a desired result for each of the layers 20 and incorporate the results into the numerical model.
The numerical model may correspond to a lumped sum elements model comprising each of the layers 20 modeled as non-overlapping elements. Thus, the numerical model may be generated based on the model 16 in order to generate the control scheme for the at least one heat source 30. The various embodiments of the cooking system 10 may utilize a numerical representation of the model 16 to control the at least one heat source 30 of the heating apparatus 32 to prepare the food load 12 to meet the desired quality results requested for each of the layers 20. In some embodiments, a plurality of heat sources may be independently activated by the controller to provide various intensities and methods of heat delivery to the food load 12 to provide the desired results for each of the layers 20.
Referring now to
With the model 16, the method 50 may continue by receiving a cooking parameter for an outer shell for the first layer 22 of the model 16 (58). The controller may also receive one or more cooking parameters for an intermediate layer for the second layer 24 of model 16 (60). Finally, the controller may receive one or more cooking parameters for an inner layer for the third layer 26 of the model 16 (62). Each of the cooking parameters may be receive via the user interface 14, which may comprise a screen configured to prompt an operator of the cooking system 10 to input the cooking parameters.
Once the one or more parameters are received for each of the layers 20, the controller may initiate an automated cooking process for the food load 12. The automated cooking process may comprise a control routine for the at least heat source 30 to achieve the desired results defined as the cooking parameters for each of the layers 20. Though specifically described as receiving the individual parameters for each of the plurality of layers 20, the cooking system 10 may similarly be configured to automatically provide recipes incorporating parameters for each of the plurality of layers 20. In this way, the cooking system 10 may provide for a balance of flexibility and ease of use to achieve a desired result for each of the layers 20.
Continuing now in reference to
Resolving the numerical representation of the model 16 may comprise simulating and generating a cooking routine configured to control the at least one heat source 30 to supply inputs to each of the external heat exchange relationships 42 and the resulting conductive relationships 44. In some embodiments, the at least one heat source 30 may comprise a plurality of heat sources, each of which may be configured to deliver heat energy to the food load 12 via different heat delivery methods. For example, the at least one heat source 30 may correspond to a plurality of heat sources including one or more of a gas burner, an electrically resistive heating element, and induction heating element, a browning or ferritic heating element, a microwave apparatus, or any other suitable heating device. Accordingly, the method 50 may continue to configure or optimize the heating routine utilizing one more heat delivery methods available by controlling the at least one heat source 30 (70). With the heating routine, the method 50 may then continue by controlling the heating apparatus 32 to achieve the heating routine thus providing for the desired results for the layers 20 (72).
During the heating routine, the controller may continue by monitoring the status of the heating apparatus 32 and recording a cooking time to identify cooking interruptions (74). An interruption may include opening a door or access hatch during the heating routine, pausing a cooking operation, etc. In step 76, if an interruption is detected, the method 50 may update a cooking time, cooking power, and various other characteristics of the heating routine (78). Following step 78, the method may return to step 70.
If in step 76 no interruption is detected, the controller may continue to monitor the heating routine to determine if the cooking process is complete (80). If the cooking process is not complete in step 80, the controller may return to step 74 to continue monitoring and recording the operation of the heating apparatus 32 for interruptions. Once the cooking process is identified as being complete, the controller may continue to finish the cooking process, which may include outputting a message or alert to communicate that the process is complete.
Referring now to
The controller 92 may be supplied electrical current by a power supply 98 and may further comprise a communication circuit 100. The communication circuit 100 may correspond to various wired and/or wireless communication devices through which the controller 92 may communicate and/or access information stored in a remote server or location. For example, the communication circuit 100 may correspond to a local area network interface and/or a wireless communication interface. The wireless communication interface may be configured to communicate through various communication protocols including but not limited to wireless 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi®, Wi-Max®, CDMA, GSM, and/or any suitable wireless communication protocol. In this configuration, the controller 92 of the cooking system 10 may be configured to access information (e.g. properties of the layers 20) for a wide variety of food types.
The heating apparatus 32 may comprise various forms of heat sources 30 including, but not limited to a browning or heating element 102, a microwave element 104, a convection fan 106, or any mechanism suitable to heat food as discussed herein. The browning or heating element 102 may correspond to a gas burner, an electrically resistive heating element, an induction heating element, a browning or ferritic heating element or any other suitable heating device. Depending on the specific parameters of the layers 20, the controller 92 may selectively and independently control one or more of the heat sources 30 such that each of the layers 20 of the food load 12 is prepared to a desired parameter.
It will be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that construction of the described device and other components is not limited to any specific material. Other exemplary embodiments of the device disclosed herein may be formed from a wide variety of materials, unless described otherwise herein.
For purposes of this disclosure, the term “coupled” (in all of its forms, couple, coupling, coupled, etc.) generally means the joining of two components (electrical or mechanical) directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary in nature or movable in nature. Such joining may be achieved with the two components (electrical or mechanical) and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two components. Such joining may be permanent in nature or may be removable or releasable in nature unless otherwise stated.
It is also important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the device as shown in the exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments of the present innovations have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements shown as multiple parts may be integrally formed, the operation of the interfaces may be reversed or otherwise varied, the length or width of the structures and/or members or connector or other elements of the system may be varied, the nature or number of adjustment positions provided between the elements may be varied. It should be noted that the elements and/or assemblies of the system may be constructed from any of a wide variety of materials that provide sufficient strength or durability, in any of a wide variety of colors, textures, and combinations. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present innovations. Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions, and arrangement of the desired and other exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present innovations.
It will be understood that any described processes or steps within described processes may be combined with other disclosed processes or steps to form structures within the scope of the present device. The exemplary structures and processes disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting.
It is also to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structures and methods without departing from the concepts of the present device, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
The above description is considered that of the illustrated embodiments only. Modifications of the device will occur to those skilled in the art and to those who make or use the device. Therefore, it is understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described above is merely for illustrative purposes and not intended to limit the scope of the device, which is defined by the following claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law, including the Doctrine of Equivalents.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2016/057721 | 10/19/2016 | WO | 00 |
