Electric cooker with vision and taste recognition function and cooking method

Abstract

The invention discloses an electric cooker with visual and taste recognition functions and a cooking method.According to the cooking method of the electric cooker, the form and smell of food and the bottom surface temperature of an inner container in each cooking step are recognized, and if the form and smell of the food in a certain step or the bottom surface temperature of the inner container in the whole cooking process cannot reach the standard range, the cooking process is started; according to the electric cooker, the heating power and the cooking time of the electric cooker can be adjusted, it is guaranteed that food can reach the standard range in each step, the cooking effect of the food in the whole cooking process can be guaranteed, in addition, in the boiling step, water overflow can be avoided by adjusting the heating power of the electric cooker in real time, and safety accidents are avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of electric rice cookers, and in particular relates to an electric rice cooker with visual and taste recognition functions and a cooking method. Background Art

[0002] At present, the rice cooker cannot accurately match the amount of water to be added according to the type and weight of rice when it is working. At the same time, the rice cooker can only detect the temperature in the rice cooker according to the temperature sensor set at the bottom or top of the rice cooker when it is working, and then adjust the heating power and heating time of the heater. Since the process of rice turning into cooked rice cannot be directly detected, it is impossible to cook the ideal food effect. Moreover, the boiling of the rice soup in the rice cooker cannot be directly observed when cooking, and it is easy to overflow during the cooking process, which leads to poor user experience and personal or property loss accidents. Summary of the invention

[0003] (I) Purpose of the invention

[0004] In order to overcome the above shortcomings, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an electric rice cooker and a cooking method with visual and taste recognition functions, so as to solve the technical problems that the existing electric rice cookers cannot automatically adjust the power according to the current state of food, cannot cook the ideal food effect, and the water is easy to boil out during the cooking process of food, resulting in safety accidents.

[0005] (II) Technical solution

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solutions provided by this application are as follows:

[0007] An electric rice cooker with visual and taste recognition functions, comprising: a shell, a heater arranged in the shell, an inner pot arranged in the shell and with the bottom surface abutting against the heater, a visual recognition device arranged on the top of the shell for identifying the shape of food in the inner pot, a taste sensor for identifying the smell of food emitted into the inner pot, and a temperature sensor arranged in the shell and abutting against the bottom surface of the inner pot, for detecting the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot;

[0008] By arranging a visual recognition device, a taste sensor and a temperature sensor on the rice cooker, the shape, smell and current temperature of the bottom of the inner pot of the food in the rice cooker can be identified in real time, and the heating power and cooking time of each step of the rice cooker can be adjusted in time to ensure that the food can reach the standard cooking state in each step, thereby ensuring the cooking effect of the food throughout the cooking process.

[0009] In some embodiments, it also includes: a sealing ring arranged on the top opening of the shell, through which the visual detection device is inserted, and the lower end of which extends out of the sealing ring and extends above the inner tank body, and a driving component connected to the upper end of the visual detection device and capable of driving the visual detection device to rotate circumferentially in the sealing ring, wherein the driving component includes: a motor, a turntable arranged on the motor, and an eccentric shaft arranged at an eccentric position of the turntable, and also includes: a first connecting rod with one end hinged to the visual detection device and the other end rotatably connected to the eccentric shaft;

[0010] Driven by the driving component, the visual detection device rotates to scan the food in the cooking utensil, identifies the changes in the shape of the food, and then accurately controls the heating temperature according to the changes in the shape of the food to improve the cooking effect.

[0011] In some embodiments, the outer wall of the sealing ring forms a sawtooth structure that abuts against the inner edge of the top opening of the housing;

[0012] By providing a serrated structure on the outer side wall of the sealing ring, the serrated structure can increase the friction between the sealing ring and the inner edge of the opening of the cooking utensil and the pressure of the interference fit, so that the sealing ring and the opening of the cooking utensil fit tightly, thereby preventing the visual inspection device from causing the sealing ring to loosen when rotating, resulting in steam leakage.

[0013] On the other hand, the present application provides a cooking method of an electric rice cooker with visual and taste recognition functions, comprising:

[0014] The visual recognition device identifies the type of food;

[0015] Starting a corresponding cooking program based on the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction;

[0016] During the cooking process, the heating power of the rice cooker is adjusted based on the food shape identified by the visual recognition device, the food smell identified by the taste sensor, and the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot detected by the temperature sensor;

[0017] The electric rice cooker cooking method of the present application identifies the shape, smell and bottom temperature of the food in each cooking step. If the shape, smell or bottom temperature of the food in a certain step fails to reach the standard range during the entire cooking process, the heating power and cooking time of the electric rice cooker can be adjusted to ensure that the food can reach the standard range in each step. In this way, the cooking effect of the food in the entire cooking process can be guaranteed. In addition, in the boiling step, the heating power of the electric rice cooker can be adjusted in real time to avoid rice soup overflow and avoid safety accidents.

[0018] In some embodiments, starting a corresponding cooking program based on the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction includes: if the identified food type is rice, issuing an instruction to the user to cook rice or porridge;

[0019] Since rice can be cooked in a variety of ways, when the visual recognition device recognizes that it is rice, it will issue an instruction to the user to cook rice or porridge. The user can choose to cook rice or porridge by himself to avoid mistakes in the cooking process.

[0020] In some embodiments, after the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction and before starting the corresponding cooking program, it also includes: injecting a predetermined amount of water into the pot according to the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction;

[0021] The standard amount of water is automatically injected for different types of food and different cooking methods. Users do not need to add water manually, resulting in differences in the amount of water added and affecting the cooking effect.

[0022] In some embodiments, after the food type is identified and / or the user input instruction is obtained and before a predetermined amount of water is injected into the pot according to the food type identified and / or the user input instruction is obtained, the method further includes:

[0023] The weight sensor detects the weight of the current food;

[0024] Injecting a predetermined amount of water into the inner pot according to the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction includes: adjusting the amount of water injected into the rice cooker according to the current weight of the food.

[0025] In some embodiments, the visual recognition device identifies the type of food including: if the food is identified as rice, continue to identify the current variety of rice;

[0026] Injecting a predetermined amount of water into the inner pot according to the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction includes: adjusting the amount of water injected into the rice cooker according to the current rice variety;

[0027] Since different varieties of rice absorb different amounts of water, the rice varieties can be further classified through a visual recognition device, which can more accurately determine the amount of water to be injected, further ensuring the cooking effect.

[0028] In some embodiments, if the food is identified as rice, adjusting the heating power of the rice cooker based on the food shape identified by the visual recognition device, the food smell identified by the taste sensor, and the temperature of the bottom of the inner pot detected by the temperature sensor during the cooking process includes:

[0029] In the low-temperature water absorption stage, the heater generates heat according to the first heating power, and the visual recognition device identifies the expansion coefficient of the rice within a predetermined time. If the expansion coefficient of the rice is identified to reach the first threshold value within the predetermined time, the temperature rise stage is entered; otherwise, the heater generates heat according to the current first heating power and the low-temperature water absorption stage time is extended until the visual recognition device detects that the expansion coefficient of the rice reaches the first threshold value;

[0030] In the heating stage, the heater generates heat at a second heating power, which is greater than the first heating power. The temperature sensor detects the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot within a predetermined time. If the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot reaches a second threshold value within the predetermined time, the high-temperature heating stage is entered. Otherwise, the heater increases the heating power until the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot reaches the second threshold value.

[0031] In the high-temperature heating stage, the heater generates heat at a third heating power, which is greater than the second heating power. The visual recognition device detects the distance between the rice soup or bubbles in the electric rice cooker and the rice soup or bubbles within a predetermined time. If it is detected that the distance between the rice soup or bubbles is less than the third threshold, the heating power of the heater is reduced to 30%-70% of the third heating power, or the heater stops generating heat until the visual recognition device detects that the distance between the rice soup or bubbles is greater than the third threshold, and then continues to generate heat at the third heating power. If the visual recognition device detects that the distance between the rice soup or bubbles is continuously equal to or greater than the third threshold and the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot is greater than the second threshold, the first rice stewing stage is entered, wherein the rice is cooked to form cooked rice after the high-temperature heating stage.

[0032] In the first rice-cooking stage, the heater generates heat at a fourth heating power, which is less than the third heating power, and the taste sensor detects the concentration of the first type of odor emitted by the rice into the rice cooker within a predetermined time. If the concentration of the first type of odor in the rice cooker is equal to or greater than a fourth threshold value within the predetermined time, the second rice-cooking stage is entered. Otherwise, the heater continues to generate heat at the fourth heating power until the concentration of the first type of odor emitted by the rice into the rice cooker is equal to or greater than the fourth threshold value.

[0033] In the second rice-simmering stage, the heater generates heat at a fifth heating power which is less than the fourth heating power. The visual recognition device identifies the color and gloss of the rice within a predetermined time. If it is detected within the predetermined time that the color and gloss of the rice match a pre-stored image to a degree equal to or greater than a fifth threshold, the heat-keeping stage is entered. Otherwise, the heater continues to generate heat at the fifth heating power until the color and gloss of the rice match a pre-stored image to a degree equal to or greater than the fifth threshold.

[0034] In some embodiments, the incubation phase includes:

[0035] In the first heat preservation stage, the heater generates heat at a sixth heating power which is less than the fifth heating power, and the visual recognition device continuously recognizes the color and gloss of the rice. If the matching degree between the recognized color and gloss of the rice and the pre-stored image is less than a fifth threshold, a water replenishment reminder is issued and heating is stopped.

[0036] If the color and gloss of the rice in the heat preservation stage match the pre-stored image less than the fifth threshold, it means that a large amount of water in the rice cooker has evaporated and the rice has become dry and hard. At this time, a water replenishment prompt is issued to the user to add water to prevent the rice from burning and the heating is stopped. After the visual recognition device recognizes that water is added to the inner pot, the heater heats again at the sixth heating power;

[0037] In the second heat preservation stage, the taste sensor continuously detects the concentration of the second type of odor emitted by the rice into the rice cooker. If the concentration of the second type of odor emitted by the rice into the rice cooker is equal to or greater than the sixth threshold, the heater stops heating and issues an alarm.

[0038] If rice is left in the rice cooker for a long time, it will deteriorate and emit a chemical odor. By detecting the smell of the rice with a taste sensor, it can be determined whether the rice is currently deteriorating, thereby preventing the user from accidentally eating the deteriorated rice. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of an electric rice cooker with visual and taste recognition functions and a cooking method;

[0040] Figure 2 The invention is a diagram of the continuous recognition process of the visual recognition device, the taste sensor and the temperature sensor during the whole cooking process of the electric rice cooker with the visual and taste recognition functions. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these descriptions are only exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In addition, in the following description, the description of well-known structures and technologies is omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concept of the present invention.

[0042] The present invention provides an electric rice cooker with visual and taste recognition functions, comprising: an outer shell, a heater arranged in the outer shell, an inner pot arranged in the outer shell and with the bottom surface abutting against the heater, a visual recognition device arranged on the top of the outer shell for identifying the shape of food in the inner pot, a taste sensor for identifying the smell emitted by the food into the inner pot, and a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot.

[0043] Specifically, the rice cooker is provided with a main control board, and a visual recognition device, a taste sensor and a temperature sensor are all connected to the main control board for communication. The visual recognition device, the taste sensor and the temperature sensor send sensed signals to the main control board, and the main control board determines whether to increase or decrease the heating power, and whether to increase or decrease the heating time based on the sent signals, so as to ensure the cooking effect.

[0044] Preferably, the present application opens a plurality of holes on the top of the shell, and respectively installs a visual recognition device, a taste sensor, and a temperature sensor on the bottom surface of the shell inner tank. Specifically, a sealing ring is inserted into the opening corresponding to the visual recognition device, and the visual detection device is passed through the sealing ring, and the lower end extends out of the sealing ring and extends above the inner tank body. The upper end of the visual recognition device is connected to a driving component, and the driving component can drive the visual detection device to rotate circumferentially in the sealing ring. Specifically, the driving component includes: a motor, a turntable arranged on the motor, and an eccentric shaft arranged at an eccentric position of the turntable, and also includes: a first connecting rod with one end hinged to the visual detection device and the other end rotationally connected to the eccentric shaft.

[0045] Preferably, the present application forms a serrated structure on the outer wall of the sealing ring that abuts against the inner edge of the opening at the top of the shell, so that the sealing ring and the opening of the cooking utensil fit tightly together, avoiding the visual detection device causing the sealing ring to loosen when rotating, resulting in steam leakage.

[0046] Preferably, a water injection pipe is also provided on the outer shell, and the water injection pipe is connected to an external water storage container, so that water can be injected into the inner tank through a water pump.

[0047] Preferably, a weight sensor is also provided on the bottom surface of the inner pot in the outer shell, and the weight sensor is communicatively connected with the main control board. When food is placed in the inner pot, the weight sensor can weigh the weight of the food, thereby controlling the amount of water injected into the inner pot.

[0048] On the other hand, the present application provides an electric rice cooker and a cooking method with visual and taste recognition functions, characterized in that it comprises:

[0049] The visual recognition device identifies the type of food;

[0050] Starting a corresponding cooking program based on the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction;

[0051] During the cooking process, the heating power of the rice cooker is adjusted based on the food shape recognized by the visual recognition device, the food smell recognized by the taste sensor, and the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot detected by the temperature sensor.

[0052] Specifically, a variety of different types of food pictures are pre-stored in the rice cooker. The visual recognition device includes a camera arranged at the end and a visual sensor connected to the camera. When the visual recognition device identifies the type of food, the camera takes a picture of the food in the inner pot, and then compares it with the pre-stored food pictures one by one, and then determines the type of the current food.

[0053] Specifically, after identifying the type of food, the rice cooker will select the corresponding cooking program according to the type of food, determine the heating power, and automatically cook the food.

[0054] Specifically, the user can also manually input instructions to start the corresponding cooking program.

[0055] Specifically, when the identified food type is rice, the rice cooker will send an instruction to the user to choose whether to cook rice or porridge. The user inputs the corresponding instruction, and the rice cooker can cook the rice or porridge according to the user's input instruction.

[0056] Preferably, a water injection pipe is provided on the outer shell and connected to an external water source. After the visual sensor identifies the type of food, before starting the corresponding cooking program, the rice cooker will inject a predetermined amount of water into the pot according to the identified type of food and / or the user input instructions obtained.

[0057] Specifically, the rice cooker can also adjust the amount of water injected according to the user's input instructions. For example, when the visual sensor recognizes that the food type is rice, the rice cooker will send an instruction to the user to choose whether to cook rice or porridge. When the user inputs the corresponding instruction, the rice cooker can inject different amounts of water according to whether the user is cooking rice or porridge.

[0058] A weight sensor is provided in the rice cooker. The weight sensor is located below the inner pot and abuts against the inner pot, so as to weigh the weight of the food.

[0059] Preferably, in addition to adjusting the water injection amount according to the food type and the user input instruction, the rice cooker can also adjust the amount of water injected into the rice cooker according to the weight of the current food after identifying the food type or obtaining the corresponding user input instruction. When the food weight is large, the water injection amount is increased, and when the food weight is small, the water injection amount is reduced.

[0060] Furthermore, since different varieties of rice absorb different amounts of water during the cooking process, after the visual sensor identifies the type of food, it can also identify the type of food. For example, if the identified food is rice, the visual sensor will continue to identify the current variety of rice, and the rice cooker will adjust the amount of water injected into the rice cooker according to the current variety of rice. If the rice variety absorbs more water, the amount of water injected will be increased, otherwise, the amount of water injected will be reduced. Specifically, since different varieties of rice have different shapes, the visual sensor can identify the variety of rice by photographing the appearance of the rice and comparing it with pre-stored pictures of different varieties of rice, thereby identifying different varieties of rice.

[0061] Preferably, before cooking, the visual recognition device, the taste sensor and the temperature sensor respectively identify whether the shape and smell of the current food and the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot of the rice cooker are within the normal range. If one or more of the shape, smell and temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot of the rice cooker are within the abnormal range, cooking is stopped. For example, if it is detected in the early stage of cooking that the temperature of the inner pot is too high and exceeds the normal range, such as the visual recognition device recognizes that the color of the rice exceeds the normal range (discoloration and burnt), and the smell sensor recognizes that the rice has become sour and emits a foul smell beyond the normal range, cooking is stopped directly, so as to eliminate spoiled food from the source, abnormal operation of the heater, and ensure the cooking effect. Specifically, the value of the normal range is pre-set.

[0062] See also Figure 2 ,The following is a detailed description of the rice cooking process of the rice cooker, which includes 6 stages in total: low-temperature water absorption stage, heating stage, high-temperature heating stage, first rice stewing stage, second rice stewing stage, and heat preservation stage. Each sensor has multiple different discrimination indicators. The preferred level column selects the corresponding discrimination indicator as the judgment parameter for each step. During the entire cooking process, the visual recognition device, taste sensor, and temperature sensor continue to monitor and identify the ingredients. However, some parameters only exist in the previous steps or the content is too small to be detected. They can only be detected and identified in the predetermined steps. The parameters that have not been detected and identified in the table are indicated by a horizontal line (-).

[0063] Cooking process:

[0064] In the low-temperature water absorption stage, the heater generates heat at a first heating power and is controlled by a power-on ratio of 24 / 32 (with 32s as a cycle, power is turned off after continuous power-on for 24s). The preferred level of this stage is the expansion coefficient, that is, only the expansion coefficient is used as the judgment parameter of this stage. The expansion coefficient can be obtained by comparing the volume of rice photographed by the visual recognition device before and after. In the low-temperature water absorption stage, the visual recognition device continuously identifies the expansion coefficient of rice within a predetermined time (at least 10 minutes). In this stage, the rice continuously absorbs water and expands. If the expansion coefficient of the rice is detected to reach a first threshold value within the predetermined time, it means that the rice has fully absorbed water, and the main control board will control the rice cooker to enter the heating stage. Otherwise, the heater is heated at the current heating power until the expansion coefficient of the rice detected by the visual recognition device reaches the first threshold value. In the low-temperature water absorption stage, the temperature is not easy to be too high, otherwise it will affect the taste of the rice. In this stage, it can be ensured that the rice fully absorbs water and the taste of the rice is ensured;

[0065] In the heating stage, the heater generates heat at the second heating power. In this stage, the heater is controlled by a power-on ratio of 26 / 32 (32 seconds as a cycle, power is turned off after continuous power-on for 26 seconds). The second heating power is greater than the first heating power. The preferred level of this stage is the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot, that is, only the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot is used as the judgment parameter of this stage. The bottom temperature sensor detects whether the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot reaches the second threshold value (125±5°C) within a predetermined time (determined by the amount of rice). If the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot is detected to reach the second threshold value within the predetermined time, the high-temperature heating stage is entered. Otherwise, the heating power is increased (the power-on ratio is increased, and the specific power-on ratio is determined by the amount of rice), and heating is performed according to the increased heating power until the temperature sensor of the bottom surface of the inner pot detects that the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot reaches the second threshold value. In this stage, the temperature of the inner pot can be ensured to reach the standard temperature to prevent the rice from being cooked due to too low temperature.

[0066] In the high-temperature heating stage, the preferred level of this stage is the distance from the rice soup or bubbles to the sensor, that is, in this stage, only the distance from the rice soup or bubbles to the sensor is used as a judgment parameter. In this stage, the heater generates heat according to the third heating power, and the third heating power is greater than the second heating power. In this stage, the power-on ratio is controlled by 32 / 32 (32 seconds as a cycle, continuous power-on for 32 seconds). The visual recognition device detects the distance between the rice soup or bubbles in the rice cooker and the sensor within a predetermined time (determined by the amount of rice). If it is detected that the distance between the rice soup or bubbles and the sensor is less than the third threshold, the heating power of the heater is reduced to the third heating power. 30%-70% to prevent the rice soup from overflowing, or the heater stops heating until the visual recognition device detects that the distance between the rice soup or bubbles and the rice soup is greater than the third threshold value, and then continues to heat at the third heating power, and then starts heating after the rice soup or bubbles drop; if the visual recognition device detects that the distance between the rice soup or bubbles and the rice soup is continuously equal to or greater than the third threshold value and the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot is greater than the second threshold value, it means that the rice has been cooked and will not boil again, and the rice cooker enters the first stewing stage. The purpose of this stage is to ensure that the rice soup will not overflow when the rice cooker boils. Specifically, the rice is cooked to form rice after the high-temperature heating stage;

[0067] In the first rice-cooking stage, the heater generates heat at a fourth heating power, which is less than the third heating power. In this stage, the heater is controlled by a power-on ratio of 8 / 32 (32 seconds as a cycle, and continuous power-on for 8 seconds). The preferred level of this stage is smell. The nutritional value of rice can be brought into play through rice-cooking, and a special flavor can be brought to the food. Since the rice will emit a large amount of the first type of smell (indole, 4-vinylphenol, and the content of different rice varieties is different) in the first rice-cooking stage, the concentration of the first type of smell emitted by the rice into the rice cooker can be detected by the taste sensor within a predetermined time (determined by the amount of rice, but it needs to be 5 minutes after entering the first rice-cooking stage to ensure that there is a sufficient concentration of smell). If the concentration of the first type of smell in the rice cooker is equal to or greater than the fourth threshold value within the predetermined time, it means that the first rice-cooking stage of the rice is completed and the second rice-cooking stage is entered. Otherwise, the heater continues to generate heat at the fourth heating power until the concentration of the first type of smell emitted by the rice into the rice cooker is equal to or greater than the fourth threshold value.

[0068] In the second rice-cooking stage, the heater generates heat at a fifth heating power, which is less than the fourth heating power. In this stage, the heater is controlled by a power-on ratio of 8 / 32 (32 seconds as a cycle, and continuous power-on for 8 seconds). The preferred level in this stage is the color and gloss of the rice, that is, only the color and gloss of the rice are used as judgment parameters. The visual recognition device identifies the color and gloss of the rice within a predetermined time (determined by the amount of rice, but 5 minutes after entering the second rice-cooking stage). If the color and gloss of the rice are detected within the predetermined time and the match degree of the pre-stored image is equal to or greater than the fifth threshold, it indicates that the second rice-cooking stage is completed and enters the insulation stage. Otherwise, the heat is continuously generated at the fifth heating power until the color and gloss of the rice match the pre-stored image to a degree equal to or greater than the fifth threshold.

[0069] Specifically, in the heat preservation stage, the heater generates heat at the sixth heating power, which is less than the fifth heating power. In this stage, the heating power of the rice cooker is reduced by controlling the power-on ratio of 4 / 32 (32 seconds as a cycle, and continuous power-on for 4 seconds). In the heat preservation stage, the moisture in the rice cooker will gradually be evaporated.

[0070] Preferably, the heat preservation stage is divided into two small stages, a first heat preservation stage and a second heat preservation stage. In the first heat preservation stage, the heater is in a heating state and is controlled by a power-on ratio of 4 / 32 (32 seconds as a cycle, and continuous power-on for 4 seconds). The visual recognition device continuously identifies the color and gloss of the rice. If the color and gloss of the rice are identified and the matching degree with the pre-stored image is less than the fifth threshold, it indicates that the rice has a tendency to burn. The heater stops heating and issues a water replenishment prompt. After detecting that the user has added water, the visual recognition device continues to control the heating by a power-on ratio of 4 / 32 (32 seconds as a cycle, and continuous power-on for 4 seconds). Specifically, the rice will emit a large amount of the second type of odor (amine) after it deteriorates. Preferably, in the second heat preservation stage, the taste sensor continuously detects the concentration of the second type of odor (amine content) emitted by the rice into the rice cooker. If it is detected that the concentration of the second type of odor emitted by the rice into the rice cooker is equal to or greater than the sixth threshold, it can be judged that the heat preservation time is too long and the rice has deteriorated. At this time, the heater stops heating and an alarm is issued.

[0071] It should be understood that the above specific embodiments of the present invention are only used to illustrate or explain the principles of the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. Therefore, any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. In addition, the appended claims of the present invention are intended to cover all changes and modifications that fall within the scope and boundaries of the appended claims, or the equivalent forms of such scope and boundaries.

Claims

1. An electric rice cooker with visual and taste recognition functions, characterized in that: The invention comprises: an outer shell, a heater arranged in the outer shell, an inner pot arranged in the outer shell and with its bottom surface abutting against the heater, a visual recognition device arranged on the top of the outer shell for identifying the shape of food in the inner pot, a taste sensor for identifying the smell emitted by the food into the inner pot, and a temperature sensor arranged in the outer shell and abutting against the bottom surface of the inner pot, for detecting the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot.

2. The electric rice cooker with visual and taste recognition functions according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A sealing ring is arranged on the top opening of the outer shell, for the visual detection device to pass through, and the lower end extends out of the sealing ring to the top of the inner liner, and is connected to the upper end of the visual detection device to drive the visual detection device to rotate circumferentially in the sealing ring. The driving component includes: a motor, a turntable arranged on the motor, and an eccentric shaft arranged at an eccentric position of the turntable, and also includes: a first connecting rod with one end hinged to the visual detection device and the other end rotationally connected to the eccentric shaft.

3. The electric rice cooker with visual and taste recognition functions according to claim 2, characterized in that: The outer wall of the sealing ring forms a sawtooth structure (801) that abuts against the inner edge of the opening at the top of the shell.

4. An electric rice cooker with visual and taste recognition functions and a cooking method, characterized in that: include: The visual recognition device identifies the type of food; Starting a corresponding cooking program based on the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction; During the cooking process, the heating power of the rice cooker is adjusted based on the food shape recognized by the visual recognition device, the food smell recognized by the taste sensor, and the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot detected by the temperature sensor.

5. The electric rice cooker cooking method with visual and taste recognition functions according to claim 4, characterized in that: The starting of the corresponding cooking program based on the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction includes: if the identified food type is rice, issuing an instruction to cook rice or porridge to the user.

6. The electric rice cooker cooking method with visual and taste recognition functions according to claim 4, characterized in that: After the method based on the identified food type and / or the obtained user input instruction and before starting the corresponding cooking program, it also includes: injecting a predetermined amount of water into the pot according to the identified food type and / or the obtained user input instruction.

7. The electric rice cooker cooking method with visual and taste recognition functions according to claim 6, characterized in that: After the food type is identified and / or the user input instruction is obtained and before a predetermined amount of water is injected into the pot according to the food type identified and / or the user input instruction is obtained, the method further includes: The weight sensor detects the weight of the current food; Injecting a predetermined amount of water into the inner pot according to the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction includes: adjusting the amount of water injected into the rice cooker according to the current weight of the food.

8. The electric rice cooker cooking method with visual and taste recognition functions according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The visual recognition device identifies the type of food including: if the food is identified as rice, continuing to identify the current rice variety; The injecting a predetermined amount of water into the inner pot according to the identified food type and / or the acquired user input instruction includes: adjusting the amount of water injected into the rice cooker according to the current variety of rice.

9. The electric rice cooker cooking method with visual and taste recognition functions according to claim 4, characterized in that: If the food is identified as rice, adjusting the heating power of the rice cooker based on the food shape identified by the visual recognition device, the food smell identified by the taste sensor, and the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot detected by the temperature sensor during the cooking process includes: In the low-temperature water absorption stage, the heater generates heat at a first heating power, and the visual recognition device identifies the expansion coefficient of the rice within a predetermined time. If the expansion coefficient of the rice is identified to reach a first threshold value within the predetermined time, the temperature rise stage is entered; otherwise, the heater generates heat at the current first heating power and the low-temperature water absorption stage time is extended until the visual recognition device detects that the expansion coefficient of the rice reaches the first threshold value; In the heating stage, the heater generates heat at a second heating power, which is greater than the first heating power. The temperature sensor detects the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot within a predetermined time. If the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot reaches a second threshold value within the predetermined time, the high-temperature heating stage is entered. Otherwise, the heater increases the heating power until the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot reaches the second threshold value. In the high-temperature heating stage, the heater generates heat at a third heating power, the third heating power being greater than the second heating power, and the visual recognition device detects the distance between the rice soup or bubbles in the electric rice cooker and the rice soup or bubbles within a predetermined time. If it is detected that the distance between the rice soup or bubbles and the rice soup or bubbles is less than a third threshold, the heating power of the heater is reduced to 30%-70% of the third heating power, or the heater stops generating heat until the visual recognition device detects that the distance between the rice soup or bubbles and the rice soup or bubbles is greater than the third threshold, and then continues to generate heat at the third heating power; if the visual recognition device detects that the distance between the rice soup or bubbles and the rice soup or bubbles is continuously equal to or greater than the third threshold and the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner pot is greater than the second threshold, the first rice stewing stage is entered, wherein the rice is cooked to form cooked rice after the high-temperature heating stage; In the first rice-cooking stage, the heater generates heat at a fourth heating power, the fourth heating power being less than the third heating power, the taste sensor detects the concentration of the first type of odor emitted by the rice into the electric rice cooker within a predetermined time, and if the concentration of the first type of odor detected in the electric rice cooker is equal to or greater than a fourth threshold value within the predetermined time, the second rice-cooking stage is entered, otherwise, the heater continues to generate heat at the fourth heating power until the concentration of the first type of odor emitted by the rice into the electric rice cooker is equal to or greater than the fourth threshold value; In the second rice-simmering stage, the heater generates heat at a fifth heating power, which is less than the fourth heating power. The visual recognition device identifies the color and gloss of the rice within a predetermined time. If it is detected within the predetermined time that the color and gloss of the rice match the pre-stored image to a degree equal to or greater than the fifth threshold, the heat preservation stage is entered. Otherwise, the heater continues to generate heat at the fifth heating power until the color and gloss of the rice match the pre-stored image to a degree equal to or greater than the fifth threshold.

10. The electric rice cooker cooking method with visual and taste recognition functions according to claim 9, characterized in that: The insulation stage includes: In the first heat preservation stage, the heater generates heat at a sixth heating power, which is less than the fifth heating power. The visual recognition device continuously identifies the color and gloss of the rice. If the matching degree between the identified color and gloss of the rice and the pre-stored image is less than a fifth threshold, a water replenishment prompt is issued and heating is stopped. After the visual recognition device identifies that water is added to the inner pot, the heater generates heat again at the sixth heating power. In the second keeping warm stage, the taste sensor continuously detects the concentration of the second type of odor emitted by the rice into the rice cooker. If it is detected that the concentration of the second type of odor emitted by the rice into the rice cooker is equal to or greater than the sixth threshold, the heater stops heating and sounds an alarm.

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