A cooking apparatus and a control method thereof

Abstract

The application relates to a cooking device and a control method thereof, the cooking device comprising an oil extractor hood and a cooking stove located below the oil extractor hood, the oil extractor hood comprising a smoke collecting hood, an air inlet assembly constrained on the smoke collecting hood in a manner of ascending and descending relative to the smoke collecting hood, and a lifting module for driving the air inlet assembly to ascend and descend, and the cooking device further comprises a camera arranged on the front side of the smoke collecting hood, and a controller connected with the camera and the lifting module, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the distance between the top of a pot placed on the cooking stove and the bottom of the smoke collecting hood according to the image above the cooking stove taken by the camera in a zooming mode, and then control the lifting module to perform corresponding actions. The application has the advantages that the camera detection mode can adapt to various pots, the range is wider compared with a distance sensor, the situation that the air inlet assembly touches the pot when ascending and descending can be effectively avoided, and the user experience is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of kitchen appliance technology, and in particular to a cooking device and its control method. Background Technology

[0002] Range hoods are essential appliances for people to remove cooking fumes in their daily lives. Traditional range hoods usually provide users with a fixed air inlet height, but the fume extraction effect is difficult to match with the cookware.

[0003] To address the aforementioned issues, Chinese utility model patent ZL202322037858.2 (authorization announcement number CN220506839U) discloses a lift-type range hood. This lift-type range hood can adjust the height of the air inlet during operation to accommodate cookware of different heights and sizes. When the hood is close to the cookware, a lower setting is used to extract fumes, resulting in lower noise and better fume extraction. When the hood is at a higher position and further away from the cookware, a higher setting is used to increase the airflow and ensure effective fume extraction, at the expense of slightly reducing noise.

[0004] However, the aforementioned lift-type range hoods are prone to hitting cookware or lids during the lifting process. Current technology typically uses microwave distance sensors for cookware detection. However, microwave distance sensors are primarily for single-point distance detection. For concave cookware, the center may be concave, and the lid may become convex. Therefore, if a fixed distance sensor is placed in the center, it cannot detect the edge when the lid is off (where the edge is higher). Furthermore, when the distance sensor is placed at the edge to detect the edge of the cookware, the diameter of different cookware varies, and sometimes the lid is on (where the lid handle is higher in the center). Therefore, it is difficult to simultaneously detect different positions and adapt to cookware of different diameters, inevitably leading to situations where the lifting air inlet hits the cookware, causing damage or accidents. Therefore, further improvements to the existing technology are needed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The first technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a cooking device that can effectively prevent the air inlet assembly from touching the cookware when it rises and falls, in contrast to the above-mentioned prior art.

[0006] The second technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a control method for a cooking device as described above.

[0007] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the first technical problem mentioned above is as follows: a cooking device, including a range hood and a stove located below the range hood, the range hood including a smoke collection hood, an air inlet assembly constrained on the smoke collection hood in a manner that allows it to rise and fall relative to the smoke collection hood, and a lifting module for driving the air inlet assembly to rise and fall, characterized in that the cooking device further includes:

[0008] The camera is located on the front side of the smoke hood;

[0009] A controller, connected to a camera and a lifting module, is configured to calculate the distance between the top of a pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood based on an image of the stove taken by the camera at zoom level, and then control the lifting module to perform corresponding actions.

[0010] Preferably, the camera is tilted downwards at a certain angle to the horizontal direction.

[0011] Preferably, the camera is positioned near the bottom front side of the smoke hood.

[0012] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the second technical problem mentioned above is: a control method for the cooking device as described above, characterized by comprising the following steps:

[0013] Step 1: Turn on the camera;

[0014] Step 2: Take a clear image of the area above the stove using the camera;

[0015] Step 3: Adjust the focus and then take a blurry image of the area above the stove using the camera;

[0016] Step 4: Calculate the distance between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood based on the blurry image captured by the zoomed camera.

[0017] Step 5: Calculate the distance △d between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the top of the pot placed on the stove. Based on the distance △d, determine whether the pot placed on the stove will collide with the bottom of the air inlet assembly. If so, control the air inlet assembly to rise. Based on the distance between the bottom of the risen air inlet assembly and the top of the pot placed on the stove, control the range hood fan to adjust to the corresponding working level. End. If not, proceed to step 6.

[0018] Step 6: Determine if the air inlet assembly has been lowered to the lowest position. If so, control the lifting module to stop operating, switch the range hood fan to a lower setting, and end the process. If not, control the lifting module to continue operating so that the air inlet assembly continues to descend, and proceed to Step 3.

[0019] Specifically, the steps for calculating the distance between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the fume hood in step 4 are as follows:

[0020] Step 4-1: Obtain the radius R of the light spot formed by the camera lens image on the defocus plane through the blurred image;

[0021] Step 4-2: Use the following formula to obtain the depth d1 between the top of the pot placed above the stove and the camera lens. The formula is:

[0022]

[0023] Where C is the diameter of the camera lens, V0 is the distance between the defocus plane and the camera lens, and f is the focal length; C, v0, and f are all known values.

[0024] Step 4-3: Measure the height H2 between the preset module below the range hood and the bottom of the smoke collection hood, and obtain the depth d2 between the preset module below the range hood and the camera lens using the same calculation formula as in Step 4-2. The formula is used to calculate the height H1 between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood.

[0025] Preferably, in step 4-3, the preset module below the range hood is an air inlet assembly that is at least partially exposed to the smoke collection hood. H2 is the height between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the bottom of the smoke collection hood, and d2 is the depth between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the lens of the camera.

[0026] Furthermore, in step 5, the distance Δd between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the top of the pot placed on the stove is H2-H1. If Δd > 0, it means that the pot placed on the stove will collide with the bottom of the air inlet assembly; if Δd < 0, it means that the pot placed on the stove will not collide with the bottom of the air inlet assembly.

[0027] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are as follows: By setting up a camera and a controller, with the controller connected to the camera and the lifting module, the distance between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood is calculated based on the image above the stove captured by the zoomed camera. The controller can then control the lifting module to perform corresponding actions. Therefore, this cooking device can intelligently detect whether the air inlet component in the space between the range hood and the stove countertop will collide with the pot during its lifting movement, and adjust the height of the air inlet component in a timely manner. Furthermore, the camera detection method can adapt to various types of pots, offering a wider range of applications compared to distance sensors, effectively preventing the air inlet component from touching the pot during lifting and lowering, thus improving the user experience. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cooking device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Side view;

[0030] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The air inlet assembly is lowered, exposing part of the air inlet in the side view of the smoke hood;

[0031] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Side view of the center air intake assembly continuing to descend;

[0032] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of camera zoom imaging in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the height between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke collection hood in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of the control method for the cooking device in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0036] like Figure 1 As shown, the cooking device in this embodiment includes a range hood 1 and a stove 2 located below the range hood 1. The range hood 1 includes a smoke collection hood 11, an air inlet assembly 12 constrained on the smoke collection hood 11 in a manner that allows it to rise and fall relative to the smoke collection hood 11, and a lifting module for driving the air inlet assembly 12 to rise and fall. A fan frame 13 is also provided above the smoke collection hood 11, and a fan is provided inside the fan frame 13. The structure of the fan is prior art and will not be described in detail here. The air inlet assembly 12 and the lifting module in this embodiment can be referred to the content disclosed in the applicant's prior application of Chinese utility model patent No. ZL202322037858.2 (authorization announcement No. CN220506839U), entitled "A Lifting Range Hood", and will not be described in detail here. The specific state of the air inlet assembly 12 is as follows. Figures 2-4 As shown.

[0037] The cooking device in this embodiment also includes a camera 3 and a controller, with the camera 3 located on the front side of the fume hood 11; as shown Figure 2 As shown, the camera 3 is tilted downward at a certain angle to the horizontal direction; and the camera 3 is located near the bottom of the front side of the smoke hood 11; the controller is connected to the camera 3 and the lifting module, and the controller is configured to: calculate the distance between the top of the pot 21 placed on the stove 2 and the bottom of the smoke hood 11 based on the image above the stove 2 captured by the zoom of the camera 3, and then control the lifting module to perform corresponding actions.

[0038] like Figure 7 As shown, the control method of the cooking device described above in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0039] Step 1: Turn on the camera;

[0040] Step 2: Take a clear image of the area above the stove using the camera;

[0041] Step 3: Adjust the focus and then take a blurry image of the area above the stove using the camera;

[0042] Step 4: Calculate the distance between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood based on the blurry image captured by the zoomed camera.

[0043] In this embodiment, the specific steps for calculating the distance between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the fume hood are as follows:

[0044] Step 4-1: Obtain the radius R of the light spot formed by the camera lens image on the defocus plane through the blurred image;

[0045] Step 4-2: Use the following formula to obtain the depth d1 between the top of the pot placed above the stove and the camera lens. The formula is:

[0046]

[0047] Where C is the diameter of the camera lens, V0 is the distance between the defocus plane and the camera lens, and f is the focal length; C, V0, and f are all known values.

[0048] Step 4-3: Measure the height H2 between the preset module below the range hood and the bottom of the smoke collection hood, and obtain the depth d2 between the preset module below the range hood and the camera lens using the same calculation formula as in Step 4-2. The formula is used to calculate the height H1 between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood;

[0049] In this embodiment, the preset module below the range hood is an air inlet assembly that is at least partially exposed to the smoke collection hood. H2 is the height between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the bottom of the smoke collection hood, and d2 is the depth between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the lens of the camera.

[0050] Step 5: Calculate the distance △d between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the top of the pot placed on the stove. Based on the distance △d, determine whether the pot placed on the stove will collide with the bottom of the air inlet assembly. If so, control the air inlet assembly to rise. Based on the distance between the bottom of the risen air inlet assembly and the top of the pot placed on the stove, control the range hood fan to adjust to the corresponding working level. End. If not, proceed to step 6.

[0051] In this embodiment, the distance △dd between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the top of the pot placed on the stove is H2-H1. If △d>0, it means that the pot placed on the stove will collide with the bottom of the air inlet assembly; if △d<0, it means that the pot placed on the stove will not collide with the bottom of the air inlet assembly.

[0052] Step 6: Determine if the air inlet assembly has been lowered to the lowest position. If so, control the lifting module to stop operating, switch the range hood fan to a lower setting, and end the process. If not, control the lifting module to continue operating so that the air inlet assembly continues to descend, and proceed to Step 3.

[0053] The specific method for obtaining the calculation formula in step 4-2 above is as follows:

[0054] like Figure 5 As shown, let 1c be the plane where the camera lens is located, 1b be the defocused plane, and 1a be the focusing plane when the camera is diagonally in focus. The distance between the focusing plane when the camera is diagonally in focus and the camera lens is V. When the camera lens focuses on a point on the object, an image is formed on the focusing plane. According to the imaging principle of cameras in physics, the mathematical relationship between the focal length f, object distance d, and image distance V is as follows:

[0055]

[0056] When the focal length is adjusted so that the image is on the defocus plane (when the defocus plane does not coincide with the focusing plane), the light emitted from the object point is no longer formed as a point on the defocus plane after passing through the camera lens, but as a blurred circle with a radius of R and a diameter of 2R.

[0057] According to the geometric similarity law of triangles, we can obtain:

[0058]

[0059] Therefore, by combining the two calculation formulas above, we can obtain...

[0060]

[0061] Other examples Figure 6 As shown, an X-axis is established in the horizontal direction, and a Y-axis is established in the vertical direction. The location of the camera is as follows. Figure 6 Point N (the origin of the coordinate axis) is defined as point N. Point B is the vertex of the pot placed on the stove, and point D is the bottom of the air inlet assembly. Points A and C are both points on the bottom of the smoke hood. The line segment formed by points A and B represents the height H1 between the top of the pot on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood; the line segment formed by points C and D represents the height H2 between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the bottom of the smoke hood. Therefore, according to the similarity law, we can obtain: Since H2 can be measured and obtained in advance, this embodiment can be based on... The calculation formula is used to obtain the height H1 between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood.

[0062] Should Figure 7 The system also includes determining whether to activate the intelligent operation mode of the air inlet component. In this embodiment, the range hood can be manually operated to raise and lower the air inlet component, in which case the camera in this embodiment is not needed. Of course, in order to achieve intelligent control, it is necessary to capture images through the camera, so as to intelligently detect whether the air inlet component will collide with the pot when it moves up and down in the space between the range hood and the stove surface, and stop or adjust the height of the air inlet component in time. Then, it automatically adjusts the fan speed according to the height of the air inlet component to meet the user's experience in terms of smoke extraction and noise.

[0063] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the technical principles of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a cooking apparatus, the cooking apparatus comprising a range hood (1) and a cooktop (2) located below the range hood (1), the range hood (1) comprising a smoke collection hood (11), an air inlet assembly (12) constrained on the smoke collection hood (11) in a manner that allows it to move up and down relative to the smoke collection hood (11), and a lifting module for driving the air inlet assembly (12) to move up and down, characterized in that... The cooking device also includes: A camera (3) is located on the front side of the smoke collection hood (11); The controller is connected to the camera (3) and the lifting module. The controller is configured to calculate the distance between the top of the pot (21) placed on the stove (2) and the bottom of the smoke hood (11) based on the image above the stove (2) captured by the zoom of the camera (3), and then control the lifting module to perform the corresponding action. The control method for the cooking device includes the following steps: Step 1: Turn on the camera; Step 2: Take a clear image of the area above the stove using the camera; Step 3: Adjust the focus and then take a blurry image of the area above the stove using the camera; Step 4: Calculate the distance between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood based on the blurry image captured by the zoomed camera. The specific steps for calculating the distance between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the fume hood in step 4 are as follows: Step 4-1: Obtain the radius R of the light spot formed by the camera lens image on the defocus plane through the blurred image; Step 4-2: Use the following formula to obtain the depth d1 between the top of the pot placed above the stove and the camera lens. The formula is: Where C is the diameter of the camera lens, V0 is the distance between the defocus plane and the camera lens, and f is the focal length; C, V0, and f are all known values. Step 4-3: Measure the height H2 between the preset module below the range hood and the bottom of the smoke collection hood, and obtain the depth d2 between the preset module below the range hood and the camera lens using the same calculation formula as in Step 4-2. The formula is used to calculate the height H1 between the top of the pot placed on the stove and the bottom of the smoke hood; Step 5: Calculate the distance △d between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the top of the pot placed on the stove. Based on the distance △d, determine whether the pot placed on the stove will collide with the bottom of the air inlet assembly. If so, control the air inlet assembly to rise. Based on the distance between the bottom of the risen air inlet assembly and the top of the pot placed on the stove, control the range hood fan to adjust to the corresponding working level. End. If not, proceed to step 6. Step 6: Determine if the air inlet assembly has been lowered to the lowest position. If so, control the lifting module to stop operating, switch the range hood fan to a lower setting, and end the process. If not, control the lifting module to continue operating so that the air inlet assembly continues to descend, and proceed to Step 3.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The camera (3) is tilted downward at a certain angle to the horizontal direction.

3. The control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The camera (3) is located near the bottom front side of the smoke hood (11).

4. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 4-3, the preset module below the range hood is an air inlet assembly that is at least partially exposed to the smoke collection hood. H2 is the height between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the bottom of the smoke collection hood, and d2 is the depth between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the lens of the camera.

5. The control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: In step 5, the distance Δd between the bottom of the air inlet assembly and the top of the pot placed on the stove is H2-H1. If Δd>0, it means that the pot placed on the stove will collide with the bottom of the air inlet assembly; if Δd<0, it means that the pot placed on the stove will not collide with the bottom of the air inlet assembly.

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