Control method, control device, controller of cooking appliance and cooking appliance

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of household appliances, in particular to a control method and control device of a cooking appliance, a controller and the cooking appliance. The present application aims to solve the technical problem that the existing cooking appliance has a large amount of accumulated water to soak the internal food materials in the reheating state. To this end, the control method of the cooking appliance provided by the present application comprises: obtaining a cooking program of the cooking appliance; if the cooking program comprises a reheating state, then controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state. The control method of the cooking appliance provided by the present application drains water before the cooking appliance enters the reheating state and / or during the reheating state, reduces the phenomenon that a large amount of accumulated water soaks the internal food materials in the reheating state, thereby reducing the phenomenon that the internal food materials absorb too much foam water to cause double gelatinization or even soft rice in the reheating process. The control method not only drains a part of the accumulated water in the cooking appliance, but also drains all the accumulated water in the cooking appliance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of household appliance technology, and more specifically to a control method, control device, controller, and cooking appliance for cooking. Background Technology

[0002] This section provides only background information relevant to this disclosure and is not necessarily prior art.

[0003] There are many low-sugar rice cookers on the market, most of which boil first and then steam. That is, they first boil water (some of which rinse repeatedly during the boiling stage to remove some of the reducing sugars and starches from the surface of the rice and other ingredients), and then separate the rice and water and steam it. Some rice cookers also have a reheating function. However, during the reheating process, there is still rice water in the inner pot. If it is heated to a boil, the rice water containing rice starch is prone to foaming and entering the rice and other ingredients, causing the rice and other ingredients to absorb water and become soft and mushy, resulting in a poor taste. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention aims to at least partially solve the technical problem of existing cooking utensils accumulating a large amount of water inside and soaking the food inside when they are reheated.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, a first aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling a cooking appliance, the method comprising: acquiring a cooking program of the cooking appliance; and, if the cooking program includes a reheating state, controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state.

[0006] The cooking appliance control method provided by this invention drains water from the cooking cavity before and / or during the reheating process, thereby reducing the phenomenon of excessive water soaking the food inside during reheating and minimizing the problem of the food absorbing too much water and causing the rice to become mushy. Specifically, the cooking appliance control method provided by this invention includes draining all or part of the water from the cooking appliance, the amount of water drained depending on the desired texture of the food and the selected cooking mode.

[0007] In addition, the control method for the cooking appliance described above according to the present invention may also have the following additional technical features:

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, if the cooking process includes a reheating state, controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before and / or during the reheating state specifically includes: obtaining the previous cooking state of the reheating state; if the previous cooking state of the reheating state is a cooling and regeneration state, then controlling the cooking appliance to drain water in the later stage after completing the cooling and regeneration state.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, if the cooking process includes a reheating state, controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state specifically includes: obtaining the previous cooking state of the cooling and regeneration state; if the previous cooking state of the cooling and regeneration state is a rice-cooking state, then controlling the cooking appliance to drain water in the later stage of completing the rice-cooking state and / or the early stage of the cooling and regeneration state.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, if the cooking process includes a reheating state, then controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or after draining water during the reheating state further includes: obtaining the boiling height of the accumulated water during the reheating state of the cooking appliance; and controlling the cooking appliance to drain water during the reheating state if the boiling height of the accumulated water exceeds a critical height.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, if the cooking process includes a reheating state, controlling the drainage of the cooking appliance before and / or during the reheating state specifically includes: obtaining the internal humidity value of the cooking appliance before entering the reheating state; and controlling the drainage amount of the cooking appliance before entering the reheating state based on the internal humidity value.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, if the cooking process includes a reheating state, then controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state further includes: according to the cooking appliance entering the reheating state, controlling the cooking appliance to heat the internal ingredients to a temperature above a preset temperature but below the boiling point temperature, wherein the preset temperature is less than the boiling point temperature.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control method further includes: controlling the air-cooling mechanism and / or water spray nozzle of the cooking appliance to cool the cooking appliance according to the cooking appliance being in a cooling recovery state.

[0014] A second aspect of the present invention also provides a control device for a cooking appliance, the control device being used to execute the control method for the cooking appliance of the first aspect of the present invention, the control device comprising: an acquisition module for acquiring a cooking program of the cooking appliance; and a control module for controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state, if the cooking program includes a reheating state.

[0015] A third aspect of the invention also provides a controller comprising a computer-readable storage medium and a control device for a cooking appliance according to a second aspect of the invention, the computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when the control device for the cooking appliance executes the instructions, implement the control method for the cooking appliance according to a first aspect of the invention.

[0016] A fourth aspect of the present invention also provides a cooking appliance, comprising: a main body having a cooking cavity formed inside the main body, and a drain valve communicating with the cooking cavity on the main body; a cover assembly having a water spray nozzle and a cooling mechanism on the cover assembly; and a controller electrically connected to the drain valve, the cooling mechanism and the water spray nozzle, wherein the controller is a controller according to a third aspect of the present invention. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, the same reference numerals denote the same parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 This is an isometric view of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a control method for a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a control method for a cooking appliance according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a control device for a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of a control method for a cooking appliance according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 8 This is a coordinate graph of cooking time versus cooking temperature for a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] The reference numerals in the attached figures are as follows:

[0027] 100. Cooking utensil; 101. Lid assembly; 102. Main body; 103. Inner pot; 104. Steamer basket; 105. Lid assembly; 106. Air cooling mechanism; 107. Air intake mechanism; 108. Detection element;

[0028] 10. Water storage device; 11. Power unit; 12. Water pipe;

[0029] 20. Spray nozzle;

[0030] 30. Drain valve;

[0031] 40. Controller; 410. Computer-readable storage medium; 420. Control device; 421. Acquisition module; 422. Control module. Detailed Implementation

[0032] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that although the present invention illustrates specific embodiments and technical effects of a cooking appliance control method using a rice cooker, the rice cooker is merely a preferred embodiment of the cooking appliance of the present invention and is not a limitation on the scope of protection of the cooking appliance of the present invention. For example, the cooking appliance of the present invention can also be a steam cooking device, etc., and such adjustments fall within the scope of protection of the cooking appliance of the present invention.

[0033] It should be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “described” as used herein may also mean including the plural forms. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are inclusive and therefore indicate the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0034] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature.

[0035] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set" and "connection" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0036] For ease of description, spatial relative terms may be used in the text to describe the relationship of one element or feature relative to another element or feature, as shown in the figure. These relative terms include, for example, "above," "circumferential," "peripheral," "outer," "bottom," "back to back," "top," "inner," etc. Such spatial relative terms are intended to include different orientations of the mechanism in use or operation, in addition to those depicted in the figure. For example, if the mechanism in the figure is flipped, then an element described as "below other elements or features" or "below other elements or features" will subsequently be oriented as "above other elements or features" or "above other elements or features." Therefore, the example term "below" can include both upper and lower orientations. The mechanism may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or in other directions), and the spatial relative descriptors used in the text will be interpreted accordingly.

[0037] It should be noted that the "retrogradation" mentioned in this application refers to the retrogradation of starch in food caused by the cooling or refrigeration steps during the cooking process. Specifically, during the high-temperature cooking process, the food will generate a straight-chain starch-lipid complex. During the cooling and retrogradation process, the straight-chain starch in the food will form a double helix structure, which will then arrange into a hexagonal network structure with digestibility.

[0038] A comparison of the in vitro digestibility rates of fresh rice, frozen rice (frozen for 60 days), and reheated rice revealed the following order: fresh rice > reheated rice > frozen rice. This is presumably because the gelatinized starch in rice undergoes retrogradation after freezing, causing amylose to form a three-dimensional network structure. This network structure exhibits strong resistance to amylase hydrolysis. The study also found that although reheated rice is easier to digest than frozen rice, its digestibility rate is still significantly lower than that of fresh rice. This may be related to the irreversible recrystallization of amylose after retrogradation. Upon reheating, some of the retrograded resistant starch components cannot be restored to their state as in fresh rice. Cooling and retrogradation treatment effectively reduces the starch digestibility of rice.

[0039] In addition, the specific storage temperature and time during the cooling and retrogradation process can have a significant impact on the degree of retrogradation and digestibility of starch in rice. The retrogradation of rice starch is usually studied under isothermal storage conditions (-20, 4, 25 or 30°C) or temperature cycling between 4°C and 25°C (or 30°C).

[0040] like Figure 1 Hezhi Figure 6As shown, the first aspect of the present invention provides a control method for a cooking appliance 100, the second aspect provides a control device 420 for a cooking appliance 100, the third aspect provides a controller 40 for a cooking appliance 100, and the fourth aspect provides a cooking appliance 100. To clearly describe the control method, control device 420, controller 40, and cooking appliance 100 provided by the present invention, the following will first describe in detail the cooking appliance 100 provided by the fourth aspect of the present invention. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, according to an embodiment of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the cooking appliance 100 mainly includes a support frame composed of a lid assembly 101, a main body 102, an inner pot 103, and a steamer basket 104. A cooking cavity is formed inside the main body 102, and a drain valve 30 communicating with the cooking cavity is provided on the main body. The cooking appliance 100 also includes a temperature control device (not shown in the figure), which includes a heating module, comprising a hot plate heating module with a heating element and an electromagnetic heating module, etc. The cooking appliance 100 also has functions such as hydration, blood sugar reduction and cooling. The cooking appliance 100 sprays water onto the food in the steamer through the water storage device 10, power device 11, water pipe 12 and spray nozzle 20. The spray nozzle 20 is exposed to the outside of the cover assembly 101 and located inside the cooking cavity. The cover plate assembly 105 of the cover assembly 101 is also provided with structures such as air cooling mechanism 106 and air intake mechanism 107. The air pressure and temperature inside the cooking cavity are controlled by the air cooling mechanism 106 and the air intake mechanism 107.

[0041] The cooking appliance 100 also includes a controller 40 according to a third aspect of the present invention. The controller 40 is used to control the working mode of the cooking appliance 100. The controller 40 includes a computer-readable storage medium 410 and a control device 420. The computer-readable storage medium 410 stores instructions. When the control device 420 executes the instructions, it can realize the control method of the cooking appliance 100 as described in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0042] Specifically, during the operation of the cooking appliance 100, the controller 40 controls the cooking appliance 100 to first steam rice and other ingredients at high power, then simmer at low power until the rice and other internal ingredients are cooked (80% or more, preferably 90% or more), and then cool down to allow the rice and other ingredients to reheat. During the cooling process, the spray nozzle 20 sprays cold water or ice water to cool the rice and other internal ingredients, thereby increasing the resistant starch content in the rice and other internal ingredients. Then, the water in the inner pot 103 is heated to reheat the rice and other ingredients. During the boiling stage, simmering stage, cooling and reheating stage, and reheating stage, the cooking appliance 100 controls the air pressure and temperature in the cooking cavity through the air cooling mechanism 106 and the air intake mechanism 107, thereby achieving the purpose of cooking rice and other internal ingredients at an appropriate temperature under high or negative pressure.

[0043] During the operation of the cooking appliance 100, after the rice and other internal ingredients are cooled and reheated by spraying cold or ice water through the spray nozzle 20, rice water formed by spraying the rice with cooling water will be deposited at the bottom of the cooking cavity. If the rice water in the inner pot 103 is heated to boiling during the reheating process of the cooking appliance 100, a large amount of rice water containing rice starch will easily foam and enter the rice and other internal ingredients, causing the rice and other internal ingredients to absorb water and become soft and mushy, resulting in a poor taste.

[0044] In order to reduce the phenomenon that rice water easily foams and enters the rice and other internal ingredients during the reheating process of the cooking appliance 100, the embodiments of this application propose to first drain all or part of the water in the cooking cavity before entering the reheating state. This reduces the phenomenon of a large amount of water soaking the internal ingredients during the reheating state, and reduces the phenomenon of the internal ingredients absorbing too much foam water during the reheating process, resulting in double gelatinization or even the rice becoming soft and mushy.

[0045] Specifically, the control method for the cooking appliance 100 provided by this invention includes both draining a portion of the water inside the cooking appliance 100 and draining all the water inside the cooking appliance 100. If the user wants to eat firmer, lower-sugar rice, all the water in the cooking cavity can be drained before reheating. If the user wants to eat softer, lower-sugar rice, only a portion of the water in the cooking cavity can be drained before reheating. Another portion of water remains in the cooking cavity of the cooking appliance 100. When the rice in the cooking appliance 100 enters the reheating state, some of the water boils and evaporates, thereby increasing the moisture content of the rice and allowing the user to eat softer rice. Furthermore, to reduce the phenomenon of excessive water accumulation or rice water rising and soaking the rice and other internal ingredients, it is also proposed to reduce the heating power of the cooking appliance 100 during the reheating process, making the internal temperature of the cooking appliance 100 rise more slowly and extending the cooking time of the cooking appliance 100.

[0046] Furthermore, the cooking appliance of the present invention includes two structures: one with a steamer basket 104 and the other without. When the cooking appliance 100 is equipped with a steamer basket 104, during the reheating process of the food inside the cooking appliance 100, the rice water / soup under the steamer basket 104 boils and rises to the steamer basket 104, causing the rice and other food to absorb too much rice water or water, resulting in the rice and other food becoming soft and mushy. When the cooking appliance 100 is without a steamer basket 104 and has a cooling and reheating stage, the rice comes into contact with too much water due to the water spraying during the cooling and reheating stage. During the reheating process of the food inside the cooking appliance 100, the rice water / soup boils and soaks the rice and other food, resulting in the rice and other food becoming soft and mushy.

[0047] When the cooking appliance 100 has a steamer basket 104, before and / or during the reheating process of the food inside the cooking appliance 100, the cooking appliance 100 controls the drain valve 30 to control the amount of water in the cooking cavity below the steamer basket 104 or to drain all the water in the cooking cavity. When the amount of water in the cooking cavity is controlled below the steamer basket 104, some of the water boils and evaporates during the reheating process of the food inside, thereby increasing the moisture of the rice and obtaining softer rice. When all the water in the cooking cavity is drained, firmer rice is obtained after the reheating process of the food inside is completed. Specifically, the cooking appliance 100 is equipped with a rice quantity selection button, a soft rice button, and a firm rice button. When using the cooking appliance 100, the user can select the rice quantity, soft rice, or firm rice. The cooking appliance 100 reasonably controls the amount of water inside the cooking appliance 100 according to the rice quantity, soft rice, or firm rice selection, thereby obtaining rice with the desired texture.

[0048] When the cooking appliance 100 does not have a steamer basket 104, before the food inside the cooking appliance 100 enters the reheating state, the water inside is already soaking the rice and other food. Therefore, the cooking appliance 100 preferably drains all the water inside the cooking cavity before and / or during the reheating process. During the reheating of the rice and other food, the water that has not been drained from the cooking cavity and is attached to the rice and other food combines with the rice and other food to obtain the desired texture of rice. Furthermore, the cooking appliance 100 can also drain part of the water inside the cooking cavity. During the reheating of the rice and other food, some of the water boils and evaporates, thereby increasing the moisture content of the rice and obtaining softer rice. Specifically, the cooking appliance 100 is equipped with a rice quantity selection button, a soft rice button, and a hard rice button. When using the cooking appliance 100, the user can select the rice quantity, soft rice, or hard rice. The cooking appliance 100 reasonably controls the water inside the cooking appliance 100 according to the rice quantity, soft rice, or hard rice indication, thereby obtaining the rice with the desired texture.

[0049] The instructions stored in the memory are described in detail below through a control method of a cooking appliance 100 according to the first aspect of the present invention.

[0050] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the first aspect of the present invention provides a control method for a cooking appliance 100, the control method comprising: S310, acquiring a cooking program of the cooking appliance 100; S312, controlling the cooking appliance 100 to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state, based on the cooking program including a reheating state.

[0051] In this embodiment, to reduce the likelihood of large amounts of rice water foaming and entering the rice and other internal ingredients during the reheating process of the cooking appliance 100, the present application proposes draining water before and / or during the reheating process. This reduces the phenomenon of internal water soaking the rice and other internal ingredients during reheating, and reduces the possibility of the rice and other internal ingredients absorbing too much foamy water during reheating, leading to double gelatinization or even mushy rice. Furthermore, the control method for the cooking appliance 100 provided by the present invention includes both draining a portion of the water inside the cooking appliance 100 and draining all the water inside the cooking appliance 100.

[0052] Furthermore, during the reheating process of the cooking appliance 100, in order to reduce the phenomenon of a large amount of water or rice water rising and soaking the rice and other internal ingredients, it is proposed to reduce the heating power of the cooking appliance during the reheating process, so that the internal temperature of the cooking appliance rises more slowly, thereby reducing the boiling amount and boiling height of the water or rice water, and reducing the phenomenon of a large amount of boiling water or rice water soaking the rice and other internal ingredients.

[0053] It should be noted that the above embodiments of the present invention do not limit the specific time before entering the reheating state, because the specific time before entering the reheating state needs to be flexibly set according to the cooking state before the reheating state. Similarly, the above embodiments do not limit the specific time during the reheating process, because the specific time during the reheating process needs to be flexibly set according to the boiling height of the accumulated water during the reheating process. In this application's embodiments, it is preferable to drain the accumulated water inside the cooking appliance 100 at the initial stage of entering the reheating state, thereby reducing the phenomenon of the rice becoming mushy after the accumulated water boils and soaks the rice.

[0054] For example, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4As shown, the control method of the cooking appliance 100 specifically includes step S302, obtaining the cooking program of the cooking appliance 100; step S304, according to the cooking program including a rice-cooking state, controlling the cooking appliance 100 to drain water in the later stage of the rice-cooking state; step S306, according to the next cooking state of the rice-cooking state being a cooling and regeneration state, controlling the cooking appliance 100 to drain water during the cooling and regeneration state; and step S308, according to the next cooking state of the cooling and regeneration state being a reheating state, controlling the cooking appliance 100 to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state.

[0055] In this embodiment, the cooking state before the food inside the cooking appliance 100 enters the reheating state is the cooling and recuperation state. During the cooling and recuperation state, a large amount of cooling water needs to be sprayed into the cooking cavity by the spray nozzle 20. The cooling water accumulates in the cooking cavity, which is not only not conducive to the heating of the food inside, but also affects the cooking taste of the food inside. Therefore, the cooking appliance 100 drains water in the later stage of the cooling and recuperation state to reduce the amount of water accumulated in the cooking cavity.

[0056] When the food inside the cooking appliance 100 is in a steaming state before entering the cooling and reheating state, the cooking appliance 100 is controlled to drain water in the later stage of the steaming state and / or the early stage of the cooling and reheating state. Most of the water accumulated in the cooking appliance 100 after the steaming state is completed is rice water. Draining the rice water can save internal space in the cooking cavity, and the drained rice water can also be consumed. In other words, the cooking appliance 100 can drain water once or multiple times before entering the reheating state, thereby reducing the internal moisture of the rice and other food ingredients and lowering the sugar content of the rice and other food ingredients.

[0057] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the drainage capacity of the cooking appliance 100 is also determined by the internal humidity of the cooking appliance 100 and the amount of water accumulated in the cooking cavity. When the internal humidity of the cooking appliance 100 is high and / or the user selects the hard rice mode, all the water in the cooking cavity can be drained before the cooking appliance 100 enters the reheating state. When the internal humidity of the cooking appliance 100 is low and / or the user selects the soft rice mode, some of the water in the cooking cavity can be drained before the cooking appliance 100 enters the reheating state. After the cooking appliance 100 enters the reheating state, the remaining water that is heated evaporates into water vapor and comes into contact with the rice and other ingredients, thereby achieving a softer and more moist texture. Specifically, a humidity sensor is provided on the cover assembly 105 of the cooking appliance 100, and the cooking appliance 100 detects the internal humidity value in the cooking cavity through the humidity sensor.

[0058] Furthermore, when the water level in the cooking cavity is high and exceeds the critical height (the critical height is between the lowest and highest heights of the food inside the cooking appliance 100), causing the water level to be sufficient to soak the rice or other food before entering the reheating state, some of the water in the cooking cavity is drained before the cooking appliance 100 enters the reheating state, so that the water level in the cooking cavity is lower than the food inside the cooking appliance 100. When the water level in the cooking cavity is low and below the minimum height (this water level can reduce the occurrence of dry pot in the inner pot), it is not necessary to drain the water in the cooking cavity before the cooking appliance 100 enters the reheating state. Specifically, the cover assembly 105 of the cooking appliance 100 is equipped with a height sensor, such as a pulse or ultrasonic sensor, to detect the water level in the cooking cavity.

[0059] According to an embodiment of the present invention, after step S312, the method further includes: obtaining the boiling height of the water in the cooking cavity during the process of the cooking appliance 100 entering the reheating state, based on the fact that only a portion of the water in the cooking cavity is drained before the cooking appliance 100 enters the reheating state; and controlling the cooking appliance 100 to drain water during the reheating state if the boiling height of the water exceeds a critical height.

[0060] In this embodiment, when the amount of water in the cooking cavity is lower than the minimum height of the food inside, and the user selects a softer, lower-sugar rice, it means that the water in the cooking cavity will not soak the rice or other food during the reheating process. In this case, there is no need to drain the water from the cooking cavity. When the humidity inside the cooking cavity is low, the water in the cooking cavity can also adjust the texture of the rice or other food by evaporation.

[0061] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the critical height is not higher than the highest height of the internal food ingredients. The critical height can be selected as being between the lowest and highest heights of the internal food ingredients in the cooking appliance 100, preferably the lowest height that can contact the food ingredients, so that a certain amount of water in the cooking cavity can be used to adjust the moisture and taste of rice and other ingredients through evaporation and wetting.

[0062] Furthermore, to reduce the phenomenon of rice and other food items soaking due to boiling water during the reheating process of the cooking appliance 100, embodiments of the present invention propose monitoring the boiling height of the water during the reheating process of the cooking appliance 100. When the boiling water soaks the rice and other internal food items, the drain valve 30 of the cooking appliance 100 is opened to drain the water from the cooking cavity, thereby reducing the boiling height of the water and minimizing the soaking of the rice and other internal food items. Specifically, obtaining the boiling height of the water during the reheating process of the cooking appliance 100 includes: obtaining the height of bubbles generated by the boiling of the internal food items in the cooking appliance 100, and determining the boiling height of the water based on the bubble height.

[0063] In summary, the control method of the cooking appliance 100 provided by the embodiments of the present invention is mainly used for cooking low-sugar rice. The working process logic of cooking low-sugar rice is as Figure 7 shown: After washing the rice, put it into a cooking appliance 100 such as a rice cooker, then select the low-sugar rice function, and the cooking appliance 100 starts to work. The detection system of the cooking appliance 100 detects the cooking state of the internal ingredients and continues to heat the internal ingredients to boiling, maintaining the boiling time t1 (5 - 20 minutes) at a high power W1, preferably 7 - 12 minutes; the controller 40 controls the water spray nozzle 20 to spray water at least once to clean the附着物 on the water spray nozzle 20; the cooking appliance 100 enters the rice simmering stage, heating at a low power W2 or stopping heating to maintain the temperature of the inner pot 103 at 80°C or above (to prevent the rice soup from entering the rice and making the rice mushy), maintaining for a time t2 (3 - 15 minutes), preferably 3 - 8 minutes, which can fully gelatinize the rice core inside the rice but not absorb too much water; the water spray system adds the medium of cold water / ice water for cooling; it can also be to first add cold water / frozen water and then use the air exchange system to replace the hot air in the inner pot 103 to cool down, cooling the rice to a temperature T1 (T1 < boiling temperature, further, 30°C < T1 < 80°C, and further, 40°C < T < 60°C), making the rice cool and retrograde, converting the starch in the rice grains into resistant starch, thereby achieving the low-sugar effect; entering the reheating stage, the heating module heats the rice temperature back to above 80 degrees and below the boiling point, and finally cooks the low-sugar rice required by the user and keeps it warm.

[0064] In the cooking process of the low-sugar rice cooker according to the embodiments of the present invention, compared with ordinary rice, there are additional rice simmering state, cooling and retrograding state, and reheating state. The control method is that in the rice simmering state, the heating module of the low-sugar rice cooker does not heat or heats at a low power (at this time, the rice soup does not wash the rice), so that the rice is not washed by the rice water, shortening the time for the rice to absorb water, achieving the effect of draining the water of the rice, and thus ensuring that the taste of the rice is not mushy; in addition, it relies on the heat in the pot to further promote the gelatinization of the rice, so that even with short-term flushing, the rice can be ensured not to be undercooked and not mushy, improving the taste of the rice; in the cooling and retrograding state, the heating module of the low-sugar rice cooker does not heat. At this time, the air-cooling mechanism 106 and the water spray nozzle 20 are controlled to cool the rice respectively, or only the air-cooling mechanism 106 is controlled to cool the rice, or only the water spray nozzle 20 is controlled to cool the rice, and it is cooled to a suitable temperature (the general temperature range is 20°C - 70°C) to obtain retrograded rice, thereby increasing the resistant starch content of the rice; in the reheating stage, the heating module of the low-sugar rice cooker starts to heat the rice, making the whole rice reach the temperature suitable for the user (the general temperature range is 60°C - 100°C), so as to obtain low-sugar rice with excellent taste and increased resistant starch content. In addition, heating to the suitable temperature can play a role in sterilization and disinfection, providing the user with safe, healthy and reassuring low-sugar rice.

[0065] As Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 6 As shown, the second aspect of the present invention also provides a control device 420 for a cooking appliance 100 corresponding to the first aspect of the present invention. The control device 420 is used to execute the control method of the cooking appliance 100 of the first aspect of the present invention. The control device 420 includes: an acquisition module 421 for acquiring the cooking program of the cooking appliance 100; and a control module 422 for controlling the cooking appliance 100 to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state, depending on whether the cooking program includes a reheating state.

[0066] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the acquisition module 421 is further configured to: acquire the previous cooking state of the reheating state; the control module 422 is further configured to: control the cooking appliance 100 to drain water in the later stage of completing the cooling and regeneration state, based on the previous cooking state of the reheating state being a cooling and regeneration state.

[0067] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the acquisition module 421 is further configured to: acquire the previous cooking state of the cooling and regeneration state; the control module 422 is further configured to: control the cooking appliance 100 to drain water in the later stage of the cooking state and / or the early stage of the cooling and regeneration state, based on the previous cooking state of the cooling and regeneration state being the rice-cooking state.

[0068] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the acquisition module 421 is further configured to: acquire the boiling height of the water accumulated during the process of the cooking appliance 100 entering the reheating state; the control module 422 is further configured to: control the cooking appliance 100 to drain water during the reheating state if the boiling height of the water exceeds a critical height.

[0069] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the acquisition module 421 is further configured to: acquire the internal humidity value of the cooking appliance 100 before entering the reheating state; the control module 422 is further configured to: control the drainage amount of the cooking appliance 100 before entering the reheating state based on the internal humidity value.

[0070] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control module 422 is further configured to: control the cooking appliance 100 to heat the internal ingredients to a temperature above the preset temperature but below the boiling point temperature, wherein the preset temperature is less than the boiling point temperature, based on the cooking appliance 100 entering the reheating state.

[0071] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control module 422 is further configured to: control the air cooling mechanism and / or water spray nozzle of the cooking appliance 100 to cool the cooking appliance 100 when the cooking appliance 100 is in a cooling recovery state.

[0072] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, a fourth aspect of the present invention also provides a cooking appliance 100, comprising: a main body 102, the interior of which forms a cooking cavity, and a drain valve 30 disposed on the main body 102 and communicating with the cooking cavity, the drain valve 30 preferably being disposed at the bottom of the cooking cavity; a cover assembly 101 disposed on the main body 102 and covering the cooking cavity, the cover assembly 101 being provided with a spray nozzle 20, a cooling mechanism 106, and a detection element 108; and a controller 40 electrically connected to the drain valve 30, the cooling mechanism 106, and the spray nozzle 20, the controller controlling the state of the drain valve 30, the cooling mechanism 106, and the spray nozzle 20 according to the cooking state of the cooking appliance 100, the controller 40 being a controller 40 according to the third aspect of the present invention.

[0073] It should be noted that the above embodiments and figures are described based on a rice cooker. However, the rice cooker is only a preferred embodiment of the cooking appliance 100 of the present invention and is not a limitation on the protection scope of the cooking appliance 100 of the present invention. For example, the cooking appliance 100 of the present invention can also be a steam cooking device, and such adjustment falls within the protection scope of the cooking appliance 100 of the present invention.

[0074] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. To avoid unnecessary repetition, the embodiments of the present invention will not describe the various possible combinations separately.

[0075] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps in the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing related hardware. This program is stored in a memory and includes several instructions to cause a device (which may be a microcontroller, chip, etc.) or control device 420 (such as a processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned memory includes various media capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a portable hard drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0076] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a cooking utensil, characterized in that, The control method includes: Obtain the cooking program of the cooking appliance; If the cooking program includes a reheating state, then the cooking appliance is controlled to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state. The statement that, according to the cooking procedure including a reheating state, controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before and / or during the reheating state specifically includes: Obtain the internal humidity value of the cooking appliance before it enters the reheating state; The amount of water drained from the cooking appliance before it enters the reheating state is controlled based on the internal humidity value. The control method includes both draining a portion of the water inside the cooking appliance and draining all the water inside the cooking appliance. The method of controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state, according to the cooking procedure including a reheating state, further includes: The boiling height of the water accumulated in the cooking appliance during the reheating process is obtained; If the boiling height of the accumulated water exceeds a critical height, the cooking appliance is controlled to drain water during the reheating process. During the reheating process, the heating power of the cooking appliance is reduced, so that the internal temperature of the cooking appliance rises more slowly.

2. The control method for cooking appliances according to claim 1, characterized in that, The statement that, according to the cooking procedure including a reheating state, controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before and / or during the reheating state specifically includes: Obtain the previous cooking state of the reheating state; If the previous cooking state before the reheating state is the cooling and regeneration state, then the cooking appliance is controlled to drain water in the later stage of the cooling and regeneration state.

3. The control method for cooking appliances according to claim 2, characterized in that, The statement that, according to the cooking procedure including a reheating state, controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before and / or during the reheating state specifically includes: Obtain the previous cooking state of the cooled regeneration state; If the previous cooking state before the cooling and regeneration state is the rice-cooking state, then the cooking appliance is controlled to drain water in the later stage of the rice-cooking state and / or the early stage of the cooling and regeneration state.

4. The control method for cooking appliances according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method of controlling the cooking appliance to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state, according to the cooking procedure including a reheating state, further includes: Based on the cooking appliance entering the reheating state, the cooking appliance is controlled to heat the internal ingredients to a temperature above the preset temperature but below the boiling point. The preset temperature is lower than the boiling point temperature.

5. The control method for cooking appliances according to claim 2, characterized in that, The control method further includes: Based on the cooking appliance being in the cooling recovery state, the air-cooling mechanism and / or water spray nozzle of the cooking appliance are controlled to cool the cooking appliance.

6. A control device for a cooking utensil, characterized in that, The control device is used to execute the control method for the cooking appliance according to claim 1, and the control device includes: An acquisition module is used to acquire the cooking program of the cooking appliance; A control module is configured to control the cooking appliance to drain water before entering the reheating state and / or during the reheating state, if the cooking program includes a reheating state.

7. A controller, characterized in that, The controller includes a computer-readable storage medium and a control device for the cooking appliance according to claim 6, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by the control device for the cooking appliance, implement the control method for the cooking appliance according to claim 1.

8. A cooking utensil, characterized in that, The cooking appliance includes: The main body has a cooking cavity inside, and a drain valve communicating with the cooking cavity is provided on the main body; A cover assembly, which is disposed on the main body and covers the cooking cavity, and is provided with a water spray nozzle and a cooling mechanism; A controller, which is electrically connected to the drain valve, the air-cooling mechanism and the spray nozzle, is the controller according to claim 7.

Images