Method for controlling an electric rice cooker, electric rice cooker and storage medium

Abstract

According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for controlling an electric rice cooker, an electric rice cooker, and a storage medium are provided. The cooking process of the electric rice cooker includes a temperature rising phase, a boiling maintaining phase, and a simmering phase. The method includes, in the temperature rising phase, receiving a voltage supplied to the electric rice cooker, determining a weight of a food material, determining a first temperature rising time required for the food material to rise from a first temperature to a boiling temperature based on the voltage and the weight of the food material, summing the first temperature rising time, a preset time corresponding to the boiling maintaining phase, and a preset time corresponding to the simmering phase to obtain a remaining cooking time, and outputting the remaining cooking time. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the electric rice cooker can display an accurate remaining cooking time to a user at a starting phase of cooking rice.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of this disclosure primarily relate to the field of household appliances, and more specifically, to a method for controlling a rice cooker, a rice cooker, and a storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] A rice cooker is a common household cooking appliance used to cook rice and porridge. Traditional rice cookers display a scrolling indicator on the screen as a transition when cooking begins, only showing the remaining cooking time when the rice is properly cooked and entering the "simmering" stage. Alternatively, the rice cooker may start a countdown from a fixed time and adjust the displayed time when the rice is properly cooked; for example, if the displayed time is longer than the designed simmering time, it will directly display the designed simmering time; if the actual cooking process has not reached the simmering stage, but the displayed time has reached the designed simmering time, the countdown will stop and resume only after the actual cooking process reaches the simmering stage.

[0003] Traditional rice cookers cannot quickly and accurately display the remaining cooking time, making it difficult for users to know the precise remaining cooking time. Therefore, there is a need for an improved rice cooker. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to an example embodiment of this disclosure, a solution for controlling a rice cooker is provided.

[0005] In a first aspect of this disclosure, a method for controlling a rice cooker is provided. The cooking process of the rice cooker includes a heating phase, a boiling maintenance phase, and a simmering phase. The method includes performing the following steps during the heating phase: receiving a voltage supplied to the rice cooker; determining the weight of the food; determining a first heating time required for the food to rise from a first temperature to a boiling temperature based on the voltage and the weight of the food; summing the first heating time, a preset time corresponding to the boiling maintenance phase, and a preset time corresponding to the simmering phase to obtain a remaining cooking time; and outputting the remaining cooking time.

[0006] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the rice cooker can display the remaining cooking time to the user at the beginning of the cooking process. Furthermore, embodiments of this disclosure can accurately determine the heating time based on voltage and food weight, thereby providing the user with an accurate remaining cooking time. This improves the user experience and enhances the intelligence of the rice cooker.

[0007] In some embodiments, determining the weight of the ingredients includes: determining the weight of the ingredients based on rice quantity information input by the user; or determining the weight of the ingredients based on weight information received from the weighing device of the rice cooker. According to embodiments of this disclosure, using voltage and rice quantity as parameters for determining the remaining cooking time can improve the accuracy of the remaining cooking time.

[0008] In some embodiments, determining the weight of the food includes: receiving temperature information of the food; determining a second heating time for the food to rise from an initial temperature to a first temperature; and determining the weight of the food based on the second heating time. Based on the second heating time, the method provided in this disclosure can intelligently determine the weight of the food, thereby enabling accurate calculation of the remaining cooking time.

[0009] In some embodiments, determining the weight of the food based on the second heating time includes: determining, based on the second heating time and the received voltage, the corresponding time required for the food to rise from an initial temperature to a first temperature under a rated voltage; and determining the weight of the food based on the corresponding time. By utilizing the voltage and the second heating time, embodiments of this disclosure can determine the corresponding time required for the food to rise to the same temperature under a rated voltage, and then accurately determine the weight of the food based on that corresponding time. This enables the rice cooker to have the function of determining the weight of food, improving the intelligence level of the rice cooker.

[0010] In some embodiments, determining the first heating time includes: determining a standard time required for the food to rise from a first temperature to a boiling temperature at a rated voltage, based on the weight of the food; and determining the first heating time based on the standard time and the received voltage. Using the determined standard time and the received voltage, embodiments of this disclosure can accurately determine the remaining time required for the food during the heating phase, thereby accurately determining the remaining cooking time of the rice cooker.

[0011] In some embodiments, the rice cooker cooking process also includes a rice soaking stage prior to the heating stage.

[0012] In a second aspect of this disclosure, a rice cooker is provided. The rice cooker includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing the at least one processor to perform the method according to the first aspect of this disclosure when executed by the at least one processor. Embodiments of this disclosure provide a rice cooker capable of providing a user with an accurate remaining cooking time.

[0013] In a third aspect of this disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions are used to cause a computer to perform a method according to a first aspect of this disclosure.

[0014] It should be understood that the description in the Summary of the Invention is not intended to limit the key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to restrict the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0015] The above and other features, advantages, and aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. In the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements, wherein:

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example environment in which several embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown;

[0017] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the cooking process of an exemplary rice cooker is shown;

[0018] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating the process of a method for controlling a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0019] Figure 4 A block diagram of a control device capable of implementing several embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0020] Embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While some embodiments of this disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that this disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of this disclosure. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings and embodiments of this disclosure are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0021] In the description of embodiments of this disclosure, the term "comprising" and similar terms should be understood as open-ended inclusion, i.e., "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "at least partially based on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc., may refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may also be included below.

[0022] As mentioned above, for rice cookers, the expectation is that the remaining cooking time can be provided as quickly and accurately as possible to improve the intelligence level of rice cookers and enhance the user experience.

[0023] Traditional rice cookers typically display a preset, fixed cooking time or only show the remaining cooking time to the user during the final simmering stage. This traditional method neither provides users with quick time information nor offers an accurate remaining cooking time.

[0024] According to embodiments of this disclosure, a scheme for controlling a rice cooker is proposed. In this scheme, the rice cooker can accurately determine the remaining time of the heating phase based on the weight of the ingredients and voltage information during the heating phase of cooking, and thus provide the user with an accurate remaining cooking time during the heating phase. Therefore, using the scheme of this disclosure, the remaining cooking time can be accurately and quickly determined, thereby improving the intelligence level of the rice cooker and enhancing the user experience.

[0025] The embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example environment 100 in which several embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown. In this example environment 100, a display 102 (e.g., the display of the rice cooker) is controlled by a rice cooker control device 101 (or a computing device) to display the remaining cooking time 103.

[0027] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the cooking process of an exemplary rice cooker is shown; as shown, the cooking process of the rice cooker includes a heating stage S1, a boiling stage S2, and a rice-simmering stage S3. In some embodiments, the cooking process of the rice cooker may also include a rice-soaking stage S0 before the heating stage.

[0028] The rice soaking stage S0 can be divided into soaking with heating and soaking without heating. For soaking with heating: the rice cooker can heat the ingredients to the soaking temperature and maintain the temperature there for the soaking stage; the rice cooker can also heat the ingredients only to the soaking temperature and then stop heating during the soaking stage.

[0029] It should be understood that Figure 2 The cooking process shown is merely exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. For example, a rice cooker may skip the rice soaking stage S0 and proceed directly to the heating stage S1.

[0030] In the context of this disclosure, the heating stage S1 of the rice cooker refers to the stage in which the food temperature rises from the current temperature TEM1 to the boiling temperature TEM2. For cooking processes without a soaking stage and cooking processes in which the rice is soaked at room temperature, the aforementioned current temperature TEM1 is room temperature.

[0031] For cooking processes involving a soaking and heating process, the aforementioned current temperature TEM1 refers to the temperature of the food at the end of the soaking stage. Figure 2 An exemplary cooking process is shown with a rice soaking stage S0 including a heating and soaking process. For example, in the rice soaking stage S0, the rice cooker may first heat the ingredients to a rice soaking temperature (e.g., 60°C) and maintain the ingredients at that temperature during the rice soaking stage S0.

[0032] It should be understood that the aforementioned values ​​regarding the soaking temperature of rice are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. For example, the soaking temperature may be higher or lower than the listed temperature values.

[0033] Combination Figure 2 As described above, the rice cooker or method provided in the embodiments of this disclosure can provide the user with the remaining cooking time at time T1, while traditional rice cookers can only provide a fixed remaining time at time T2, when the rice simmering stage begins. Furthermore, the embodiments of this disclosure utilize voltage and the weight of the ingredients to improve the accuracy of the determined remaining cooking time, thereby enhancing the intelligence level of the rice cooker.

[0034] To better understand the rice cooker control scheme provided by the embodiments of this disclosure, reference will be made to... Figure 3 The embodiments of this disclosure will be further described below. Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a method 300 for controlling a rice cooker according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Process 300 can be performed by… Figure 1 This is achieved through control device 101. For ease of discussion, it will be combined with... Figure 1 To describe process 300.

[0035] The control device 101 executes the steps of process 300 during the heating stage S1:

[0036] In block 302, control device 101 receives the voltage supplied to the rice cooker. In some embodiments, the voltage supplied to the rice cooker can be determined by detecting the voltage over a period of time, accumulating the detected voltages, and then calculating an average value.

[0037] In frame 304, control device 101 determines the weight of the ingredients. In the context of this disclosure, ingredients refer to rice and water, that is, rice and water added to the pot of a rice cooker.

[0038] In some embodiments, the control device 101 can determine the weight of the food based on the rice quantity information input by the user. For example, the user can transmit the rice quantity information to the control device 101 via a handheld mobile device or via the rice cooker's interface, and the control device 101 can then determine the weight of the food based on the rice quantity and the empirical ratio between the rice quantity and the water quantity.

[0039] In some embodiments, the rice cooker may have a weighing device. The control device 101 may receive weight information of the food sensed by the weighing device and determine the weight of the food based on the received weight information.

[0040] In some embodiments, the rice cooker can also automatically determine the weight of the ingredients. Specifically, the control device 101 can first receive the temperature information of the ingredients. For example, the control device 101 can receive temperature information sensed by the temperature sensor at the bottom of the rice cooker, and / or receive temperature information sensed by the temperature sensor at the lid of the rice cooker.

[0041] Then, the control device 101 can determine the heating time D2 required for the food to rise from the initial temperature to the first temperature TEM3 based on the received temperature information of the food. The initial temperature can be room temperature, or the temperature of the food at the end of the soaking stage if the soaking stage S0 is present.

[0042] In some examples, the first temperature TEM3 can be a preset temperature (e.g., 80°C); in other examples, the first temperature TEM3 can be the temperature obtained by adding a fixed value to an initial temperature. It should be understood that the foregoing numerical values ​​regarding temperature are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. For example, the preset first temperature TEM3 can be higher or lower than the listed temperature values.

[0043] Based on the heating time D2, the control device 101 can determine the weight of the food. The basic principle is that the heavier the food, the longer the required heating time D2, and vice versa. Therefore, the functional relationship between the weight of the food and the heating time D2 can be stored in advance, and the control device 101 can calculate the weight of the food based on this functional relationship.

[0044] In some embodiments, the control device 101 can determine the weight of the food based on the heating time D2. Specifically, the control device 101 can determine the rated voltage V based on the heating time D2 and the received voltage. 额 The corresponding time required for the food to rise from its initial temperature to the first temperature TEM3.

[0045] Assuming that the resistance of the rice cooker is R under two voltage conditions, V1 and V2 respectively, and the heat required to cook the food is Q, and the heating time required under voltage V1 is t1 and the heating time required under voltage V2 is t2, then according to formula (1):

[0046]

[0047] Formula (2) can be obtained:

[0048]

[0049] If the current power supply to the rice cooker is V x Furthermore, the heating time D2 required for the food to rise from its initial temperature to the first temperature has been determined to be t. x Then, according to formula (2), the food ingredients at the rated voltage V can be obtained. 额 Response time required at 220V

[0050] The control device 101 can then be based on the corresponding time t 额 To determine the weight of the ingredients. As an example, this can be achieved experimentally at a rated voltage V. 额 Table 1 shows the mapping relationship between the time required for the food to rise from its initial temperature to the first temperature TEM3 under different weights of food in a 220V, specific power rice cooker.

[0051] Table 1

[0052] Response time (seconds) <120 120-179 180-239 240-359 Ingredient weight (unit) 5 6 7 8 Response time (seconds) 360-419 420-479 480-539 >＝540

[0053] It should be understood that the mapping relationships and specific values ​​in Table 1 are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0054] Based on the calculated corresponding time t 额 The control device 101 can query Table 1 to obtain the corresponding food weight information.

[0055] In box 306, control device 101 will determine the heating time D1 required for the food to rise from the first temperature TEM3 to the boiling temperature TEM2 based on the voltage and the weight of the food.

[0056] In some embodiments, the functional relationship between voltage, the weight of the food, and the heating time D1 can be pre-stored, and the control device 101 can calculate the heating time D1 based on the functional relationship.

[0057] In other embodiments, the control device 101 may determine the standard time required for the food to rise from a first temperature TEM3 to a boiling temperature TEM2 at a rated voltage, based on the weight of the food.

[0058] As an example, it can be obtained experimentally at the rated voltage V 额 Table 2 shows the mapping relationship between the standard time required for the ingredients to rise from their initial temperature to boiling temperature under different weights in a 220V, specific power rice cooker.

[0059] Table 2

[0060] Standard time (seconds) 160 200 240 280 Ingredient weight (unit) 5 6 7 8 Standard time (seconds) 320 360 400 440

[0061] It should be understood that the mapping relationships and specific values ​​in Table 2 are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0062] The control device 101 can determine the rated voltage V by looking up the value in Table 2 based on the weight of the ingredients. 额 =The standard time t required for food to rise from the first temperature TEM3 to the boiling temperature TEM2 at 220V 标 .

[0063] Control device 101 then follows formula (2) and is based on standard time t. 标 and the received voltage V x Determine the heating time

[0064] In block 308, the control device 101 sums the heating time D1, the preset time corresponding to the boiling stage S2, and the preset time corresponding to the simmering stage S3 to obtain the remaining cooking time. In some embodiments, the preset time corresponding to the boiling stage S2 and the preset time corresponding to the simmering stage S3 can each be a fixed time length.

[0065] In block 310, control device 101 outputs the remaining cooking time. In some embodiments, control device 101 may control the rice cooker's display 102 to show the accurate remaining cooking time. Additionally or alternatively, control device 101 may transmit the determined remaining cooking time to a user's handheld mobile device to inform the user of the remaining cooking time.

[0066] Figure 4 A schematic block diagram of an example device 400 that can be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Device 400 can be used to implement... Figure 1 The control device 101 is shown in the figure. The device 400 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 401, which can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to computer program instructions stored in read-only memory (ROM) 402 or loaded from storage unit 408 into random access memory (RAM) 403. The RAM 403 can also store various programs and data required for the operation of the device 400. The CPU 401, ROM 402, and RAM 403 are interconnected via bus 404. An input / output (I / O) interface 405 is also connected to bus 404.

[0067] Multiple components in device 400 are connected to I / O interface 405, including: input unit 406, such as keyboard, mouse, etc.; output unit 407, such as various types of monitors, speakers, etc.; storage unit 408, such as disk, optical disk, etc.; and communication unit 409, such as network card, modem, wireless transceiver, etc. Communication unit 409 allows device 400 to exchange information / data with other devices through computer networks such as the Internet and / or various telecommunications networks.

[0068] Processing unit 401 executes the various methods and processes described above, such as process 300. For example, in some embodiments, process 300 may be implemented as a computer software program tangibly contained in a machine-readable medium, such as storage unit 408. In some embodiments, part or all of the computer program may be loaded and / or installed on device 400 via ROM 402 and / or communication unit 409. When the computer program is loaded into RAM 403 and executed by CPU 401, one or more steps of process 300 described above may be performed. Alternatively, in other embodiments, CPU 401 may be configured to execute process 300 by any other suitable means (e.g., by means of firmware).

[0069] The functions described above in this document can be performed at least in part by one or more hardware logic components. For example, exemplary types of hardware logic components that can be used, without limitation, include: field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specific standard products (ASSPs), systems-on-a-chip (SoCs), payload programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and so on.

[0070] The program code used to implement the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. This program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a standalone software package partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0071] In the context of this disclosure, a machine-readable medium can be a tangible medium that may contain or store a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A machine-readable medium can be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium can be, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media include electrical connections based on one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0072] Furthermore, although the operations are described in a specific order, this should be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the specific order shown or in sequential order, or requiring that all illustrated operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In certain environments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. Certain features described in the context of individual embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple implementations.

[0073] Although the subject matter has been described using language specific to structural features and / or methodological logic, it should be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are merely illustrative examples of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a rice cooker, the rice cooker's cooking process including a heating phase, a boiling phase, and a simmering phase, the method comprising performing the following steps during the heating phase: Receive the voltage supplied to the rice cooker; Determine the weight of the ingredients; Based on the voltage and the weight of the food, determine the first heating time required for the food to rise from the first temperature to the boiling temperature; The remaining cooking time is obtained by summing the first heating time, the preset time corresponding to the boiling stage, and the preset time corresponding to the simmering stage. as well as Output the remaining cooking time; Determining the first heating time includes: Based on the weight of the food, determine the standard time required for the food to rise from the first temperature to the boiling temperature under the rated voltage; as well as The first heating time is determined based on the standard time and the received voltage.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the weight of the food ingredient comprises: The weight of the ingredients is determined based on the amount of rice input by the user. or The weight of the ingredients is determined based on the weight information received from the weighing device of the rice cooker.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the weight of the food ingredient comprises: Receive the temperature information of the food ingredients; Determine the second heating time required for the food ingredient to rise from the initial temperature to the first temperature; The weight of the food ingredient is determined based on the second heating time.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein determining the weight of the food ingredient based on the second heating time comprises: Based on the second heating time and the received voltage, determine the corresponding time required for the food to rise from the initial temperature to the first temperature under the rated voltage; The weight of the food ingredient is determined based on the corresponding time.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cooking process of the rice cooker further includes a rice soaking stage prior to the heating stage.

6. An electric rice cooker, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein, The computer instructions are used to cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-5.

Images