Heating cooking system

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of improving convenience of a heating cooking system.SOLUTION: A heating cooking system includes: a mounting part on which a cooking container can be mounted; a heating part which heats the cooking container mounted on the mounting part; a size detection part which detects a size of the cooking container mounted on the mounting part; an operation part which receives output adjustment operation from a user; and a control part. The control part is so constituted as to execute manual adjustment processing of adjusting an output of the heating part based on the output adjustment operation applied to the operation part, and automatic adjustment processing of adjusting an output of the heating part based on the size of the cooking container detected by the size detection part, while heating is performed by the heating part. The heating cooking system can be switched between an automatic adjustment allowable state in which execution of the automatic adjustment processing is allowed, and an automatic adjustment inhibition state in which execution of the automatic adjustment processing is inhibited.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a cooking system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a cooking system including a placement section on which a cooking container can be placed, a heating section that heats the cooking container placed on the placement section, a size detection section that detects the size of the cooking container placed on the placement section, an operation section that accepts output adjustment operations from a user, and a control section. The control section is configured to be able to execute a manual adjustment process that adjusts the output of the heating section based on the output adjustment operation performed on the operation section while heating is being performed by the heating section, and an automatic adjustment process that adjusts the output of the heating section based on the size of the cooking container detected by the size detection section. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-76303 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the cooking system of Patent Document 1, the automatic adjustment process is executed during cooking, which may change the output of the heating unit against the user's will. For example, immediately after the user performs an output adjustment operation to increase (or decrease) the output of the heating unit, the automatic adjustment process may decrease (or increase) the output of the heating unit. If the output of the heating unit changes against the user's will in this way, the user may find the cooking system inconvenient. This specification provides technology that can improve the convenience of the cooking system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect of the present technology, a cooking system includes a placement section on which a cooking container can be placed, a heating section that heats the cooking container placed on the placement section, a size detection section that detects the size of the cooking container placed on the placement section, an operation section that accepts an output adjustment operation from a user, and a control section. The control section is configured to be able to execute a manual adjustment process that adjusts the output of the heating section based on the output adjustment operation performed on the operation section while heating is being performed by the heating section, and an automatic adjustment process that adjusts the output of the heating section based on the size of the cooking container detected by the size detection section. The cooking system is switchable between an automatic adjustment permitted state in which execution of the automatic adjustment process is permitted and an automatic adjustment prohibited state in which execution of the automatic adjustment process is prohibited.

[0006] According to the above configuration, in a situation where it is foreseeable that the automatic adjustment process will be performed against the user's will, the cooking system can be switched to the automatic adjustment prohibited state to prohibit the execution of the automatic adjustment process. This makes it possible to prevent the output of the heating unit from changing against the user's will, thereby improving the convenience of the cooking system.

[0007] In a second aspect of the present technology, in the first aspect, the cooking system may be in the automatic adjustment prohibited state until a predetermined time has elapsed since heating by the heating unit is started.

[0008] Immediately after heating by the heating unit begins, the user is likely to perform an output adjustment operation. If the automatic adjustment process is executed in this case, the output of the heating unit may change against the user's will. With the above configuration, the automatic adjustment process is prohibited from being executed immediately after heating by the heating unit begins. This makes it possible to prevent the output of the heating unit from changing against the user's will immediately after heating by the heating unit begins.

[0009] In a third aspect of the present technology, in the first or second aspect described above, when the output adjustment operation is performed on the operating unit while heating is being performed by the heating unit, the heating cooking system may be in the automatic adjustment prohibited state until heating by the heating unit is completed.

[0010] While the heating unit is performing heating, the likelihood that the user's attention is directed to the heating unit is relatively low until an output adjustment operation is performed on the operation unit. In this case, automatically adjusting the output of the heating unit is considered not to be against the user's will. On the other hand, after an output adjustment operation is performed on the operation unit, the likelihood that the user's attention is directed to the heating unit is relatively high. In this case, automatically adjusting the output of the heating unit may be against the user's will. According to the above configuration, if an output adjustment operation is performed on the operation unit while the heating unit is performing heating, the execution of the automatic adjustment process is prohibited thereafter. This makes it possible to prevent the output of the heating unit from being changed against the user's will.

[0011] In a fourth aspect of the present technology, in any one of the first to third aspects, the control unit may further execute a degree of certainty determination process to determine a degree of certainty regarding the detection of the size of the cooking container. The cooking system may enter the automatic adjustment prohibited state when the degree of certainty parameter determined by the degree of certainty determination process is below a certain degree of certainty threshold.

[0012] If the output of the heating unit is automatically adjusted based on the size of the cooking container despite low accuracy in size detection, the output of the heating unit may be lower or higher than the size of the cooking container. As a result, the food may be underheated or overheated, resulting in improper cooking. According to the above configuration, when the accuracy parameter is below a specific accuracy threshold (i.e., when the accuracy in size detection is low), automatic adjustment of the output of the heating unit based on the size of the cooking container is prohibited. This prevents the output of the heating unit from being lower or higher than the size of the cooking container. As a result, underheating or overheating of food can be prevented, allowing cooking to proceed smoothly.

[0013] In a fifth aspect of the present technology, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the size detection unit may be provided with a first imaging device that captures a visible light image, and the size of the cooking container may be detected based on the visible light image captured by the first imaging device.

[0014] According to the above configuration, various sizes (for example, diameter, contour, area, depth, etc.) of the cooking vessel can be detected from the visible light image by using image processing.

[0015] In a sixth aspect of the present technology, in any one of the first to fifth aspects above, the size detection unit may be provided with a second imaging device that captures an infrared image, and the size of the cooking container may be detected based on the infrared image captured by the second imaging device.

[0016] According to the above configuration, the temperature distribution in and around the cooking container can be identified from the infrared image, and the size of the cooking container can be detected from the identified temperature distribution. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1]1 is an overall perspective view of a cooking system 1 according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooking system 1 according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a top view of a cooking device 2 of a cooking system 1 according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart of a process executed by control units 70 and 110 of the cooking system 1 according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a first estimated contour EC1 of a cooking container P (container portion P1) estimated from a visible light image by a control unit 110 of a cooking system 1 according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the first estimated contour EC1 of the cooking container P (container portion P1) estimated from the visible light image by the control unit 110 of the cooking system 1 according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an estimated area EA and a second estimated contour EC2 of a cooking container P (container portion P1) estimated from an infrared image by a control unit 110 of a cooking system 1 according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram schematically showing a size-heating power table 114 stored in a control unit 110 of a cooking system 1 according to the embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] (Example: Heating and cooking system 1) As shown in Fig. 1, the cooking system 1 includes a cooker 2 and a monitoring device 102. The cooker 2 is a gas-fired built-in stove that is incorporated into a system kitchen (not shown). The monitoring device 102 is provided in a range hood 100 of the system kitchen. The cooker 2 and the monitoring device 102 are capable of bidirectional communication, enabling them to cooperate with each other.

[0019] In this specification, the direction from back to front as seen by a user standing in the system kitchen is defined as the front direction, the direction from front to back as seen by the user is defined as the rear direction, the direction from right to left as seen by the user is defined as the right direction, and the direction from left to right as seen by the user is defined as the left direction. However, the up and down directions are the same as the up and down directions as seen by the user (i.e., the vertical up and down directions).

[0020] (Configuration of Cooker 2) The cooking appliance 2 includes a main body 4, the front surface 4a of which is exposed to the front of the kitchen system, and a top plate 6 located on top of the main body 4 and exposed to the countertop of the kitchen system. The top plate 6 is provided with three trivets 8a, 8b, and 8c on which cooking vessels P (see FIG. 3) such as pots and frying pans are placed to be heated, three stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c corresponding to the trivets 8a, 8b, and 8c, respectively, for heating the cooking vessels P supported by the trivets 8a, 8b, and 8c, and stove temperature sensors 12a, 12b, and 12c corresponding to the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c, respectively. The stove temperature sensors 12a, 12b, and 12c come into contact with the bottom surface of the cooking vessel P supported by the trivets 8a, 8b, and 8c to detect the presence of the cooking vessel P and the temperature of the bottom surface of the cooking vessel P.

[0021] The main body 4 is provided with: a grill compartment 20 that is provided inside the main body 4 and can accommodate foodstuffs and the like that are to be heated; a grill door 22 that is located on the front surface 4a of the main body 4 and that opens and closes the grill compartment 20; a stove operation unit 24 that is provided on the left side of the grill door 22 on the front surface 4a of the main body 4; and a grill operation unit 26 that is provided on the right side of the grill door 22 on the front surface 4a of the main body 4. Also provided inside the grill compartment 20 are a grill burner 10d (see FIG. 2) that heats foodstuffs and the like that are accommodated in the grill compartment 20; and a grill temperature sensor 12d (see FIG. 2) that detects the temperature inside the grill compartment 20.

[0022] The stove operation unit 24 includes a power switch 40 for the cooking appliance 2, three stove power operation units 42a, 42b, and 42c, and a panel operation unit 44. The stove power operation units 42a, 42b, and 42c are alternate switches that turn on and off the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c, respectively, and adjust the power of the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c. The power of the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c can be adjusted in 11 steps, for example, "1 (minimum power)," "2," "3," "4," "5," "6," "7," "8," "9," "10," and "11 (maximum power)." When the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c are ignited, the power of the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c is set to a predetermined power (for example, "6").

[0023] The panel operation unit 44 includes a stove display unit 46 and stove setting operation units 48a, 48b, and 48c. The stove display unit 46 displays the operating status of each stove burner 10a, 10b, and 10c. The stove setting operation units 48a, 48b, and 48c can be used to set various instructions corresponding to the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c, respectively.

[0024] Grill operation unit 26 includes a grill heat power operation unit 60 and a panel operation unit 62. Panel operation unit 62 includes a grill display unit 64 and a grill setting operation unit 66. Grill heat power operation unit 60 and panel operation unit 62 have the same functions as stove heat power operation unit 42a and panel operation unit 44, except that they are operation units corresponding to grill burner 10d (see FIG. 2).

[0025] (Configuration of monitoring device 102) In this embodiment, the monitoring device 102 is configured so that its power is turned on / off in conjunction with the power of the cooking appliance 2. The monitoring device 102 also includes a visible light camera 104 and an infrared camera 106. The visible light camera 104 and the infrared camera 106 are aligned in the left-right direction. The visible light camera 104 and the infrared camera 106 are each positioned so that they can capture an image of the entire top plate 6 from above the cooking appliance 2. The infrared camera 106 can identify the temperature distribution in the infrared image by identifying the temperature for each pixel in the captured infrared image. Therefore, the infrared camera 106 also functions as a temperature sensor that detects the temperature in the imaging range.

[0026] FIG. 3 shows monitoring areas 108a, 108b, and 108c monitored by the monitoring device 102. The monitoring areas 108a, 108b, and 108c correspond to the trivets 8a, 8b, and 8c. The monitoring areas 108a, 108b, and 108c are rectangular areas that encompass the trivets 8a, 8b, and 8c and the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c, respectively. In another example, the monitoring areas 108a, 108b, and 108c may be areas of a shape other than rectangular (for example, circular). In the example shown in FIG. 3, a cooking container P is placed on the trivet 8a. The cooking container P includes a circular container portion P1 and a handle portion P2.

[0027] (Control configuration of cooking system 1) As shown in FIG. 2, the cooking appliance 2 further includes a control unit 70 and a communication interface 72. The control unit 70 is composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc. The control unit 70 controls the cooking appliance 2 by having the CPU execute processing based on information stored in the ROM and RAM. For example, the control unit 70 can execute processing (manual adjustment processing) to adjust the heat power of the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) based on a heat power adjustment operation performed on the stove heat power operation unit 42a (see FIG. 1). The monitoring device 102 further includes a control unit 110 and a communication interface 112. The control unit 110 is composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc. The control unit 110 controls the monitoring device 102 by having the CPU execute processing based on information stored in the ROM and RAM. The cooking appliance 2 and the monitoring device 102 can communicate bidirectionally via the communication interfaces 72, 112 that they each include. Between the cooking appliance 2 and the monitoring device 102, communication conforming to the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standard or the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard can be performed, for example.

[0028] While the power of the cooking appliance 2 is ON, the control unit 70 of the cooking appliance 2 and the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 cooperate with each other to repeatedly execute the process shown in Fig. 4. The process shown in Fig. 4 is a process related to automatic adjustment of the heat power of the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c (see Fig. 1). The control units 70 and 110 execute the process shown in Fig. 4 for each of the stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c. Below, the process for the stove burner 10a will be described, but it should be noted that similar processes are also performed for the stove burners 10b and 10c.

[0029] In S2, the control unit 70 of the cooking appliance 2 determines whether the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) has been ignited. If the stove burner 10a has not been ignited (NO), the process repeats S2. If the stove burner 10a has been ignited (YES), the process proceeds to S4.

[0030] In S4, the control unit 70 of the cooking appliance 2 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., 3 seconds) has elapsed since the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) was ignited. Specifically, the control unit 70 determines whether the predetermined time has elapsed since the determination in S2 was YES. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the stove burner 10a was ignited (if NO), the process repeats S4. If the predetermined time has elapsed since the stove burner 10a was ignited (if YES), the process proceeds to S6.

[0031] In S6, the control unit 70 of the cooking appliance 2 determines whether or not a heat adjustment operation for adjusting the heat of the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) has been performed on the stove heat operation unit 42a (see FIG. 1) after igniting the stove burner 10a. Specifically, the control unit 70 determines whether or not a heat adjustment operation has been performed on the stove heat operation unit 42a after determining YES in S2. If a heat adjustment operation has not been performed after igniting the stove burner 10a (if NO), the process proceeds to S8.

[0032] In S8, the control unit 70 of the cooking appliance 2 determines whether or not the cooking container P is placed on the trivet 8a (see FIG. 1) based on the stove temperature sensor 12a (see FIG. 1). If the cooking container P is placed on the trivet 8a (YES), the control unit 70 transmits optimal heating power request information requesting optimal heating power (details will be described later) for the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) to the monitoring device 102. When the monitoring device 102 receives the optimal heating power request information, the process proceeds to S10.

[0033] In S10, the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 estimates the contour of the cooking container P (in this embodiment, the container portion P1) from the visible light image of the monitoring area 108a captured by the visible light camera 104 (see FIG. 1). Specifically, the control unit 110 performs a process (so-called edge processing) to extract, as edges, portions of the visible light image where specific parameters (e.g., luminance, chromaticity) change suddenly. The control unit 110 then estimates the contour of the cooking container P (container portion P1) based on the extracted edges. However, in edge processing, only a portion of the contour of the cooking container P (container portion P1) may be extracted as an edge. In this case, the control unit 110 estimates the entire contour of the cooking container P (container portion P1) from the portion of the contour of the cooking container P (container portion P1) extracted as an edge. For example, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, when an arc-shaped edge E1 is extracted from the visible light image, the control unit 110 estimates a circle concentric with the edge E1 as the contour EC1 of the cooking container P (container portion P1). In this embodiment, the contour EC1 of the cooking container P (container portion P1) estimated in S10 is also referred to as the "first estimated contour EC1." Note that in the examples of Figures 5 and 6, the edge E1 is shown with a solid line, and the portion of the first estimated contour EC1 excluding the edge E1 (also referred to as the estimated portion E2) is shown with a dotted line. After S10 in Figure 4, the process proceeds to S12.

[0034] In S12, the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 determines whether the accuracy of the first estimated contour EC1 estimated in S10 is high. The control unit 110 calculates the ratio of the edges E1 to the entire first estimated contour EC1 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) as an edge ratio. If the calculated edge ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio threshold (e.g., 30%), the control unit 110 determines that the accuracy of the first estimated contour EC1 is high (YES). If the calculated edge ratio is below the ratio threshold, the control unit 110 determines that the accuracy of the first estimated contour EC1 is low (NO). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the edge ratio is calculated to be 80%, and the accuracy of the first estimated contour EC1 is determined to be high (YES). On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the edge ratio is calculated to be 25%, and the accuracy of the first estimated contour EC1 is determined to be low (NO). If the accuracy of the first estimated contour EC1 is determined to be low (NO) in S12 of FIG. 4, the process proceeds to S14.

[0035] In S14, the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 estimates the area of ​​the cooking container P (container portion P1) from the infrared image of the monitoring area 108a captured by the infrared camera 106 (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 3, the cooking container P (container portion P1) is located directly above the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1). Therefore, when the stove burner 10a is burning, the cooking container P (container portion P1) heats up faster than surrounding objects (e.g., the top plate 6). Therefore, when the stove burner 10a is burning, the area of ​​the cooking container P (container portion P1) in the monitoring area 108a may become relatively hot, while the area around the cooking container P (container portion P1) may become relatively cold. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 110 of this embodiment distinguishes between a high-temperature area HA (e.g., an area above 50°C) and a low-temperature area LA (e.g., an area below 50°C) in the infrared image of the monitoring area 108a. 7, the low-temperature area LA is shown as a gray area, and the high-temperature area HA is shown as a white area. Then, the control unit 110 estimates the high-temperature area HA in the infrared image of the monitoring area 108a as the area (estimated area EA) of the cooking container P (container portion P1). After S14 in FIG. 4, the process proceeds to S16.

[0036] In S16, the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 determines whether the accuracy of the estimated area EA estimated in S14 is high. Specifically, the control unit 110 determines that the accuracy of the estimated area EA is high (YES) if the area (e.g., pixels) of the estimated area EA (see FIG. 7) is equal to or greater than a specific area threshold (e.g., 1000 px). The control unit 110 determines that the accuracy of the estimated area EA is low (NO) if the area of ​​the estimated area EA is below the area threshold. The area threshold may be changed depending on the distance between the top plate 6 (see FIG. 1) and the infrared camera 106 (see FIG. 1) and the resolution of the infrared camera 106. For example, if the cooking container P (container portion P1) is heated for a long period of time, there may be no difference between the temperature of the cooking container P (container portion P1) and the temperature around the cooking container P (container portion P1). In this case, the control unit 110 may not be able to estimate the area where the cooking container P (container portion P1) actually exists as the area of ​​the cooking container P (container portion P1). As a result, the area of ​​the estimated area EA estimated in S14 may be excessively small. In this case, the control unit 110 of this embodiment determines that the accuracy of the estimated area EA is low (NO). On the other hand, if the control unit 110 can accurately estimate the estimated area EA, the area of ​​the estimated area EA will be relatively large. In this case, the control unit 110 of this embodiment determines that the accuracy of the estimated area EA is high (YES). If it is determined in S16 that the accuracy of the estimated area EA is high (YES), the process proceeds to S18.

[0037] In S18, the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 estimates the contour of the cooking container P (container portion P1) based on the estimated area EA estimated in S14. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 110 smoothes the contour of the estimated area EA to a typical cooking container shape (e.g., circular), and estimates this as the contour EC2 of the cooking container P (container portion P1). In this embodiment, the contour EC2 of the cooking container P (container portion P1) estimated in S18 is also referred to as the "second estimated contour EC2."

[0038] If the accuracy of the first estimated contour EC1 is determined to be high (YES) in S12 of FIG. 4, or after S18, the process proceeds to S20. In S20, the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 determines the size of the cooking container P (container portion P1) based on the first estimated contour EC1 estimated in S10 (see FIG. 5) or the second estimated contour EC2 estimated in S18 (see FIG. 7). Specifically, the control unit 110 determines the size of the cooking container P (container portion P1) as "XS," "S," "M," "L," or "XL" depending on the diameter of the first estimated contour EC1 or the second estimated contour EC2. Note that if the first estimated contour EC1 or the second estimated contour EC2 has a shape other than a circle (e.g., a rectangle), the size of the cooking container P is determined based on the diameter of the inscribed circle of the first estimated contour EC1 or the second estimated contour EC2. The control unit 110 then refers to a size-heating power table 114 shown in FIG. 8 to determine the optimal heating power of the burner 10a (see FIG. 1) corresponding to the size of the cooking container P (container portion P1). The size-heating power table 114 is information stored in the ROM (not shown) of the control unit 110. The size-heating power table 114 describes the relationship between the size of the cooking container P (container portion P1) and the optimal heating power of the burner 10a. The optimal heating power here refers to the maximum possible heating power that does not cause the flame generated by the burner 10a to extend beyond the bottom surface of the cooking container P (container portion P1). For example, if the size of the cooking container P (container portion P1) is "S," the optimal heating power of the burner 10a is determined to be "5." The control unit 110 then transmits the determined optimal heating power of the burner 10a to the cooking appliance 2. After S20 in FIG. 4, when the cooking appliance 2 receives the optimum heating power of the stove burner 10a, the process proceeds to S22.

[0039] In S22, the control unit 70 of the cooking appliance 2 automatically adjusts the heating power of the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) to the optimum heating power transmitted from the monitoring device 102.

[0040] If it is determined in S16 that the accuracy of the estimated area EA is low (NO), the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 transmits to the cooking appliance 2 cancellation information indicating that the identification of the optimum heating power has been cancelled.

[0041] If a heat adjustment operation is performed after the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) is ignited in S6 (if YES), if the cooking container P is not placed on the trivet 8a (see FIG. 1) in S8 (if NO), if the cooking appliance 2 receives the cancellation information sent by the monitoring device 102 (if NO in S16), or after S22, the process proceeds to S24. In S24, the control unit 70 of the cooking appliance 2 determines whether the stove burner 10a has been extinguished. If the stove burner 10a has not been extinguished (if NO), the process returns to S6. If the stove burner 10a has been extinguished (if YES), the process shown in FIG. 4 ends. Note that the process shown in FIG. 4 also ends if the stove burner 10a is extinguished while a process other than S24 is being executed.

[0042] (Advantages of the process shown in Figure 4) According to the process shown in Fig. 4, if a predetermined time has not elapsed since the stove burner 10a (see Fig. 1) was ignited (NO in S4), the automatic adjustment process (processing in S22) for automatically adjusting the flame power is prohibited. Therefore, automatic adjustment of the flame power is prohibited immediately after the stove burner 10a is ignited, when the user is likely to perform a flame power adjustment operation. This makes it possible to prevent the flame power of the stove burner 10a from changing against the user's will.

[0043] Furthermore, if a flame power adjustment operation is performed after the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) is ignited (YES in S6), the automatic adjustment process (the process of S22) is prohibited from being executed until the stove burner 10a is subsequently extinguished (YES in S24). Therefore, automatic adjustment of the flame power is prohibited in a situation where there is a high probability that the user's attention is directed to the stove burner 10a after the user performs a flame power adjustment operation. This makes it possible to prevent the flame power of the stove burner 10a from being changed against the user's will.

[0044] Furthermore, if the accuracy of the first estimated contour EC1 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) estimated from the visible light image is low (NO in S12) and the accuracy of the estimated area EA (see FIG. 7) estimated from the infrared image is low (NO in S16), the automatic adjustment process (processing in S22) is prohibited. That is, if the accuracy of the size of the cooking container P (container portion P1) estimated based on the visible light image and the infrared image is expected to be low, automatic adjustment of the heat power is prohibited. This prevents the heat power of the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) from being too low or too high relative to the size of the cooking container P (container portion P1). As a result, underheating or overheating of food is prevented, allowing for smooth cooking.

[0045] (Variation) The cooking appliance 2 may include an induction cooktop instead of (or in addition to) the trivets 8a, 8b, and 8c, the cooktop burners 10a, 10b, and 10c, and the cooktop temperature sensors 12a, 12b, and 12c. The induction cooktop may be configured to inductively heat a cooking container placed on the top plate 6.

[0046] The cooking appliance 2 may be capable of communicating with an external communication terminal (for example, a mobile terminal owned by the user). In this case, the communication terminal may receive a heating power adjustment operation from the user.

[0047] The monitoring device 102 may be installed in a location other than the range hood (for example, the top plate 6 of the cooking appliance 2, or a wall surface of a system kitchen). In this case, the visible light camera 104 and the infrared camera 106 may be positioned to capture images of the cooking container P placed on the trivets 8a, 8b, and 8c from the side or below.

[0048] The monitoring device 102 may further include a distance measurement sensor. In this case, the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 may use the distance from the distance measurement sensor to the top plate 6 as a distance threshold, and identify an area where the distance detected by the distance measurement sensor is smaller than the distance threshold (i.e., an area that protrudes above the top plate 6) as the area of ​​the cooking container P. Then, the control unit 110 may identify the size of the cooking container P as one of "XS," "S," "M," "L," and "XL" based on the size of the identified area of ​​the cooking container P.

[0049] 4, if the determination in S2 is YES, S4 may be omitted and S6 may be executed. That is, even immediately after the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) is ignited, the automatic adjustment process (the process of S22) may be executed.

[0050] 4, if the determination in S4 is YES, S6 may be omitted and S8 may be executed. That is, even if the heat power adjustment operation is performed after the stove burner 10a (see FIG. 1) is ignited, the automatic adjustment process (the process of S22) may be executed thereafter.

[0051] 4, after S10, S12 may be omitted and S20 may be executed. That is, when the first estimated contour EC1 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) is estimated from the visible light image, the automatic adjustment process (the process of S22) may be executed regardless of the accuracy of the first estimated contour EC1.

[0052] 4, after S14, S16 may be omitted and S18 may be executed. That is, when the estimated area EA (see FIG. 7) is estimated from the infrared image, the automatic adjustment process (the process of S22) may be executed regardless of the accuracy of the estimated area EA.

[0053] The monitoring device 102 may not be equipped with the infrared camera 106. In this case, in the process of Fig. 4, the series of processes (S14-S16) for identifying the outline of the cooking container P (container portion P1) based on the infrared image may be omitted.

[0054] The monitoring device 102 does not need to be equipped with the visible light camera 104. In this case, in the process of Fig. 4, the series of processes (S10, S12) for identifying the outline of the cooking container P (container portion P1) based on the visible light image may be omitted.

[0055] 4, the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 may determine that the accuracy of the estimated area EA is high (YES) when the temporal change of the estimated area EA estimated from the infrared image (for example, the temporal change of the area of ​​the estimated area EA) is small (i.e., steady).The control unit 110 may also determine that the accuracy of the estimated area EA is low (NO) when the temporal change of the estimated area EA is large (transient).

[0056] (Correspondence) In the above embodiment, the cooking container P (container portion P1) is an example of a "cooking container." The trivets 8a, 8b, and 8c are an example of a "mounting portion." The stove burners 10a, 10b, and 10c are an example of a "heating portion." The monitoring device 102 is an example of a "size detection portion." The visible light camera 104 is an example of a "first imaging device." The infrared camera 106 is an example of a "second imaging device." The stove operation unit 24 (stove heat power operation units 42a, 42b, and 42c) is an example of an "operation portion." The control unit 70 of the cooking appliance 2 and the control unit 110 of the monitoring device 102 are examples of a "control unit." The heat power adjustment operation performed on the stove heat power operation units 42a, 42b, and 42c is an example of an "output adjustment operation." The edge ratio and / or the area of ​​the estimated area EA are examples of a "confidence parameter." The ratio threshold and / or area threshold are examples of a "confidence threshold."

[0057] The technical elements described in this specification or drawings exhibit technical utility either alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations set forth in the claims at the time of filing. Furthermore, the technologies illustrated in this specification or drawings can achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of those objectives is itself technically useful. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1: cooking system, 2: cooking appliance, 4: main body, 4a: front, 6: top plate, 8a: trivet, 8b: trivet, 8c: trivet, 10a: stove burner, 10b: stove burner, 10c: stove burner, 10d: grill burner, 12a: stove temperature sensor, 12b: stove temperature sensor, 12c: stove temperature sensor, 12d: grill temperature sensor, 20: grill compartment, 22: grill door, 24: stove operation unit, 26: grill operation unit, 40: power switch, 42a: stove heat power operation unit, 42b: stove heat power operation unit, 42c: stove heat power operation unit, 44: panel operation unit, 46: stove display unit, 48a: stove setting operation unit, 48b: stove setting constant operation unit, 48c: stove setting operation unit, 60: grill heat power operation unit, 62: panel operation unit, 64: grill display unit, 66: grill setting operation unit, 70: control unit, 72: communication interface, 100: range hood, 102: monitoring device, 104: visible light camera, 106: infrared camera, 108a: monitoring area, 108b: monitoring area, 108c: monitoring area, 110: control unit, 112: communication interface, 114: heat power table, P: cooking container, P1: container part, P2: handle part, E1: edge, E2: estimated part, EC1: first estimated contour, HA: low temperature area, LA: high temperature area, EA: estimated area, EC2: second estimated contour

Claims

1. a placing portion on which a cooking container can be placed; a heating unit that heats the cooking container placed on the placement unit; a size detection unit that detects the size of the cooking container placed on the placement unit; an operation unit that accepts an output adjustment operation from a user; a control unit; and The control unit, while the heating unit is performing heating, a manual adjustment process for adjusting the output of the heating unit based on the output adjustment operation performed on the operation unit; an automatic adjustment process for adjusting the output of the heating unit based on the size of the cooking container detected by the size detection unit, The cooking system is switchable between an automatic adjustment permitted state in which execution of the automatic adjustment process is permitted and an automatic adjustment prohibited state in which execution of the automatic adjustment process is prohibited.

2. The heating and cooking system according to claim 1 , wherein the automatic adjustment is inhibited until a predetermined time has elapsed since the heating unit started heating.

3. 3. The heating and cooking system according to claim 1, wherein when the output adjustment operation is performed on the operation unit while the heating unit is performing heating, the automatic adjustment is prohibited until the heating unit finishes heating.

4. The control unit is further capable of executing a probability determination process to determine a probability parameter indicating a probability regarding detection of the size of the cooking container, The cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the automatic adjustment is prohibited when the certainty parameter determined by the certainty determination process is below a certain certainty threshold.

5. The cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the size detection unit includes a first imaging device that captures a visible light image, and detects the size of the cooking container based on the visible light image captured by the first imaging device.

6. The cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the size detection unit includes a second imaging device that captures an infrared image, and detects the size of the cooking vessel based on the infrared image captured by the second imaging device.

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