Cooking system

Abstract

To provide a cooking system accurately adjusting the roasted state of an object to be cooked.SOLUTION: A cooking system 1 includes: a heater 20 cooking an object to be cooked C; an image sensor 30 imaging the object to be cooked C during cooking by the heater 20 to obtain an image G5 during cooked; and a controller 40 setting an image G4 having target burnt deposit showing a target burnt state of the object to be cooked C. The image sensor 30 has four or more bands b as wavelength regions. The controller 40 controls the cooking of the object to be cooked C by the heater 20 on the basis of the difference X between the image G5 during cooking and the image G4 having the target burnt deposit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cooking system. [Background technology]

[0002] Various techniques have been disclosed for cooking systems.

[0003] The oven cooker disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a cooking control unit that controls the operation of the heating device, an operation unit for setting a target degree of browning of the food to be cooked, an image sensor that photographs the food to be cooked, an image processing unit that processes the photographed image, and an image display unit that displays the processed image. The image processing unit superimposes a browned image that visually represents the target degree of browning set by the operation unit onto an initial cooking image at the start of cooking to synthesize an image at the end of cooking. The cooking control unit generates browned data that represents the degree of browning of the food to be cooked based on the initial cooking image and the image during cooking, compares the browned data for the image during cooking with the browned data for the image at the end of cooking, and issues a command to end cooking.

[0004] This oven cooker is said to enable adjustment of the degree of browning of the food being cooked, and to enable visual confirmation of the degree of browning achieved by this adjustment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-272045 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In conventional cooking systems such as the oven cooker disclosed in Patent Document 1, the image sensor is usually configured with three wavelength bands, one each for the blue, green, and red regions.

[0007] Conventional cooking systems using three-band image sensors were unable to accurately determine the degree of browning of the food being cooked, and as a result were unable to accurately adjust the degree of doneness of the food.

[0008] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to accurately adjust the degree of doneness of an object to be cooked in a heat cooking system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The heating and cooking system of the present disclosure comprises a heater for heating and cooking an object to be cooked, an image sensor for capturing an image of the object to be cooked by the heater while it is being heated and cooked to obtain an image during cooking, and a control unit for setting a target browning image representing the desired degree of browning of the object to be cooked, wherein the image sensor has four or more bands in its wavelength range, and the control unit controls the heating and cooking of the object to be cooked by the heater based on the difference between the image during cooking and the target browning image. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, the degree of doneness of an object to be cooked can be adjusted with high precision in a heat cooking system. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a cooking system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows the spectrum obtained by the image sensor. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows the control flow by the controller. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows the imaging results when multiple objects to be cooked are imaged by the image sensor. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a cooking system according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description of the preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, its applications, or its uses.

[0013] First Embodiment A cooking system 1 according to a first embodiment will be described.

[0014] (Cooking system) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cooking system 1 according to a first embodiment. The cooking system 1 is applied to a food production line. The cooking system 1 cooks an object C to be cooked to a desired degree of browning. The object C is food. Specifically, the object C may be various items such as vegetables, meat, fish, bread, and confectionery.

[0015] The cooking system 1 includes a transport mechanism 10, a heater 20, an image sensor 30, a controller 40 as a control unit, and a display 50 as a display unit.

[0016] The transport mechanism 10 is composed of a belt conveyor mechanism. The transport mechanism 10 includes an endless belt 11 and a roller 12. The belt 11 is wound around the roller 12. The belt 11 extends in a transport direction H. The transport direction H is a horizontal direction. As the roller 12 rotates, the belt 11 moves in the transport direction H.

[0017] The objects to be cooked C are placed on the belt 11 of the conveying mechanism 10. A plurality of objects to be cooked C are arranged in a conveying direction H on the belt 11 of the conveying mechanism 10. The conveying mechanism 10 continuously conveys the plurality of objects to be cooked C from the upstream side H1 to the downstream side H2 in the conveying direction H.

[0018] The heaters 20 are arranged above the conveying mechanism 10. The heaters 20 face the food items C placed on the belt 11 of the conveying mechanism 10. The heaters 20 are electric heaters. A plurality of heaters 20 are arranged side by side in the conveying direction H. The heaters 20 heat and cook the food items C conveyed by the conveying mechanism 10. In other words, the conveying mechanism 10 conveys the food items C being heat-cooked by the heaters 20.

[0019] The image sensor 30 is disposed above the conveying mechanism 10. The image sensor 30 faces the food C placed on the belt 11 of the conveying mechanism 10. The image sensor 30 is disposed at a position where it does not interfere with the heater 20 in the conveying direction H.

[0020] As will be described in detail later, the image sensor 30 captures an image of the object C being cooked by the heater 20 (while being transported by the transport mechanism 10) to obtain an in-cooking image G5, which will be described later. As will be described in detail later, the image sensor 30 has four or more bands as wavelength ranges.

[0021] The controller 40 includes a microcomputer mounted on a control board and a memory device that stores software for operating the microcomputer. The controller 40 is connected to the conveying mechanism 10 (specifically, the rollers 12), the heater 20, the image sensor 30, and the display 50. As will be described in detail below, the controller 40 controls the heating and cooking of the object C by the heater 20 and the conveying of the object C by the conveying mechanism 10.

[0022] The controller 40 has a resolution capable of resolving four or more bands, corresponding to the image sensor 30 having four or more bands.

[0023] The display 50 displays a basic browned image G1, a cooking start image G2, a composite image G3, a target browned image G4, and a cooking in progress image G5, which will be described later.

[0024] (Image sensor) Figure 2 shows spectra obtained by an image sensor. The left side of Figure 2 shows spectrum S' obtained by a conventional image sensor 30'. The right side of Figure 2 shows spectrum S obtained by image sensor 30 according to this embodiment. In Figure 2, the horizontal axis represents wavelength λ (nm) and the vertical axis represents the amount of reflected light r.

[0025] This example shows the spectrum when the cooked object C is browned. The image of the cooked object C (with browned marks) obtained by a conventional image sensor 30' is shown in the upper left, and the image of the cooked object C (with browned marks) obtained by the image sensor 30 according to this embodiment is shown in the upper right. In this example, the cooked object C is a pumpkin (particularly the yellow part inside).

[0026] As shown on the left side of Figure 2, the conventional image sensor 30' has three wavelength bands b', each containing one blue (B), one green (G), and one red (R) band. Band b' has a predetermined width. In the image of the food item C obtained by the conventional image sensor 30', browning marks on the food item C cannot be visually identified.

[0027] As shown on the right side of FIG. 2, the image sensor 30 according to this embodiment has four or more bands b as wavelength ranges. In this example, the image sensor 30 includes at least one blue region B, one green region G, and one red region R. The bands b have a predetermined width. Specifically, the image sensor 30 includes two or more bands b in a yellow region Y. The yellow region Y is between the green region G and the red region R.

[0028] In this example, the yellow region Y also includes the yellow-green region and the orange region. For example, the yellow region (Y) is equal to or greater than 550 nm and equal to or less than 630 nm.

[0029] The image sensor 30 preferably includes three or more bands b, more preferably four or more bands b, and even more preferably five or more bands b in the yellow region Y. The image sensor 30 is a hyperspectral camera.

[0030] As shown on the right side of Figure 2, in the spectrum S obtained by the image sensor 30 according to this embodiment, the amount of reflected light r changes significantly when the wavelength λ is within the yellow region Y. The amount of reflected light r is the amount of light irradiated from the light source onto the object C, reflected from the object C, and captured by the image sensor 30. A known optical sensor can be used to measure the amount of reflected light r.

[0031] In the image of the object C obtained by the image sensor 30 according to this embodiment, browning marks D on the object C can be visually identified. The inventors have newly discovered that the browning marks D are clearly visible as a change in the intensity of the reflected light amount r in the yellow region Y.

[0032] (Control Flow) 3 shows a control flow by the controller 40. Starting from the start, in a first step T1, a basic brown image G1 is input to the controller 40 by the user. The basic brown image G1 has browned marks D on a plain background. Various variations of the basic brown image G1 may be preset in the controller 40.

[0033] In a second step T2, the object C to be cooked at the start of cooking using the heater 20 is imaged by the image sensor 30 to obtain a start-of-cooking image G2. The image sensor 30 used to capture the start-of-cooking image G2 may be the image sensor 30 shown in FIG. 1 or another image sensor 30. In the start-of-cooking image G2, the object C has not been browned D.

[0034] "At the start of cooking" includes the period from before the heater 20 starts cooking the food C to immediately after the heater 20 starts cooking the food C. The first step T1 and the second step T2 may be performed in reverse.

[0035] In the third step T3, the controller 40 superimposes the basic burnt image G1 input to the controller 40 and the start-of-cooking image G2 obtained by capturing an image of the object C to be cooked by the image sensor 30 at the start of cooking to generate a composite image G3.

[0036] In a fourth step T4, the controller 40 sets a target browned image G4 based on the composite image G3. Specifically, in the fourth step T4, the controller 40 reduces the amount of reflected light r in the composite image G3 to generate the target browned image G4.

[0037] The target browning image G4 represents the target browning degree of the food item C. In this manner, in the fourth step T4, the controller 40 sets the target browning image G4 representing the target browning degree of the food item C.

[0038] In a fifth step T5, the image sensor 30 captures an image of the object C being cooked by the heater 20 (while being transported by the transport mechanism 10) to obtain an image G5 during cooking.

[0039] In sixth step T6 to eighth step T8, controller 40 controls the heating and cooking of object C by heater 20 based on difference X between in-cooking image G5 and target browned image G4. Furthermore, in sixth step T6 to eighth step T8, controller 40 controls the transport of object C by transport mechanism 10 based on difference X between in-cooking image G5 and target browned image G4.

[0040] The difference X between the image G5 during cooking and the target browned image G4 is obtained, for example, by the difference (brightness difference) between the luminance of the image G5 during cooking and the luminance of the target browned image G4.

[0041] In sixth step T6 to eighth step T8, the controller 40 adjusts (reduces or increases) the heating temperature or heating time of the object C to be cooked by the heater 20, using the cooking image G5 captured by the image sensor 30. For example, the controller 40 adjusts (reduces or increases) the heating temperature of the object C to be cooked by changing (reduces or increases) the set temperature of the heater 20.

[0042] The controller 40 also adjusts the heating time for the object C by changing the transport speed V of the object C by the transport mechanism 10. Specifically, the controller 40 reduces the heating time for the object C by increasing the transport speed V of the object C by the transport mechanism 10. The controller 40 increases the heating time for the object C by decreasing the transport speed V of the object C by the transport mechanism 10.

[0043] Specifically, in a sixth step T6, the controller 40 compares the image G5 during cooking with the target browned image G4 to obtain a difference X between the image G5 during cooking and the target browned image G4.

[0044] Specifically, in seventh step T7, controller 40 determines whether or not the difference X between the target browned image G4 and the in-cooking image G5 is within a predetermined range Q. The predetermined range Q may be pre-stored in controller 40. The predetermined range Q is, for example, the range of the difference (brightness difference) between the luminance of the in-cooking image G5 and the luminance of the target browned image G4.

[0045] If the difference X is within the predetermined range Q, proceed to the eighth step T8. If the difference X is outside the predetermined range Q, return to the fifth step T5.

[0046] In an eighth step T8, the controller 40 inhibits the heater 20 from cooking the object C to be cooked.

[0047] Specifically, in eighth step T8, the controller 40 reduces the heating temperature of the object C by the heater 20. Alternatively, in eighth step T8, the controller 40 increases the transport speed V of the object C by the transport mechanism 10, thereby reducing the heating time of the object C by the heater 20.

[0048] Thus, in seventh step T7 and eighth step T8, controller 40 suppresses heating and cooking of object C by heater 20 when difference X between target browned image G4 and in-cooking image G5 is within predetermined range Q. In seventh step T7 and eighth step T8, controller 40 may completely stop heating and cooking of object C by heater 20 when difference X between target browned image G4 and in-cooking image G5 is within predetermined range Q.

[0049] And then we reach the end.

[0050] (Image results) FIG. 4 shows the imaging results when multiple objects C are imaged using an image sensor. The upper part of FIG. 4 shows the spectrum of the imaging result I' of multiple objects C obtained using a conventional image sensor 30'. The lower part of FIG. 4 shows the spectrum of the imaging result I of the objects C obtained using the image sensor 30 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis represents the wavelength λ (nm) and the vertical axis represents the amount of reflected light r. In this example, the objects C are the insides of a pumpkin (yellow part).

[0051] Ten cooked objects C were prepared, and each cooked object C was browned to a different degree. In Figure 4, as the amount of reflected light r increases (as the curve moves upward on the vertical axis), the amount of browning on the cooked object C decreases, and as the amount of reflected light r decreases (as the curve moves downward on the vertical axis), the amount of browning on the cooked object C increases.

[0052] As shown at the top of Figure 4, when a conventional image sensor 30' is used, the ten curves corresponding to the ten cooked objects C (each browned to a different degree) all have similar trends (slope, magnitude, etc.), making them difficult to visually distinguish from one another.

[0053] On the other hand, as shown in the bottom of Figure 4, when the image sensor 30 of this embodiment is used, the 10 curves corresponding to the 10 cooked objects C (each browned to a different degree) have different trends in the yellow area Y, making them easy to visually distinguish from one another.

[0054] (Action and effect) According to the cooking system 1 of this embodiment, the image sensor 30 has four or more bands b as wavelength ranges.

[0055] According to the heating and cooking system 1 of this embodiment, by setting band b in the image sensor 30 to 4 or more, it is possible to visually and accurately recognize the degree of browning D on the object to be cooked C, and as a result, the degree of doneness of the object to be cooked C can be accurately adjusted.

[0056] In particular, in the cooking system 1 according to this embodiment, the image sensor 30 includes two or more bands b in the yellow region Y. As a result, as shown on the right side of Fig. 2, in the spectrum S obtained by imaging an object C with browned marks D using the image sensor 30, when the wavelength λ is within the range of the yellow region Y, the change in the amount of reflected light r becomes significant. It can be seen that the browned marks D appear prominently as a change in the amount of reflected light r in the yellow region Y.

[0057] Therefore, browning marks D on the object C can be visually identified with greater accuracy in the image of the object C obtained by the image sensor 30. As a result, the degree of doneness of the object C can be adjusted with greater accuracy.

[0058] Since the objects C being cooked by the heater 20 are continuously transported by the transport mechanism 10, the objects C can be continuously cooked and mass-produced.

[0059] The controller 40 controls the transport of the object C by the transport mechanism 10 based on the difference X between the in-cooking image G5 and the target browned image G4. This makes it easier to adjust the degree of doneness of the object C compared to when the controller 40 controls only the heater 20.

[0060] The controller 40 can easily adjust the heating time of the object C by the heater 20 by changing the transport speed V of the object C by the transport mechanism 10.

[0061] When the difference X between the target browned image G4 and the cooking-in-progress image G5 is within a predetermined range Q, the controller 40 suppresses the heating of the object C by the heater 20. This can prevent the object C from being accidentally overcooked.

[0062] The controller 40 superimposes the basic browned image G1 and the cooking start image G2 to generate a composite image G3, and sets the target browned image G4 based on the composite image G3, thereby easily setting the target browned image G4.

[0063] In particular, the controller 40 generates the target scorched image G4 by reducing the amount of reflected light r in the composite image G3, thereby more appropriately setting the target scorched image G4.

[0064] Second Embodiment A cooking system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same components as those in the above embodiment will be given the same reference numerals, and detailed description may be omitted. Figure 5 schematically shows the cooking system 1 according to the second embodiment.

[0065] The image sensor 30 includes a first image sensor 31 and a second image sensor 32. The first image sensor 31 and the second image sensor 32 are arranged at an interval from each other in the conveying direction H of the conveying mechanism 10. The first image sensor 31 is arranged on the upstream side H1 of the second image sensor 32 in the conveying direction H of the conveying mechanism 10. The second image sensor 32 is arranged on the downstream side H2 of the first image sensor 31 in the conveying direction H of the conveying mechanism 10.

[0066] The controller 40 adjusts the heating temperature or heating time for the object C to be cooked using the cooking image G5 captured by the first image sensor 31 or the second image sensor 32.

[0067] The controller 40 adjusts the heating temperature or heating time of the object C to be cooked by the heater 20 from the time the object C passes the first image sensor 31 until it reaches the second image sensor 32 based on the difference X between the target burnt image G4 and the image G5 during cooking captured by the first image sensor 31.

[0068] Specifically, the controller 40 adjusts the heating temperature of the object C by the heater 20 between the first image sensor 31 and the second image sensor 32 (downstream H2 of the first image sensor 31 in the conveying direction H and upstream H1 of the second image sensor 32 in the conveying direction H) by changing the set temperature of the heater 20. In addition, the controller 40 adjusts the heating time of the object C by the heater 20 between the first image sensor 31 and the second image sensor 32 by changing the conveying speed V of the object C by the conveying mechanism 10.

[0069] The controller 40 estimates an estimated end-of-cooking image G6, which represents the degree of browning of the food item C at the end of cooking by the heater 20, from the cooking in-progress image G5 captured by the second image sensor 32. Based on the difference Z between the target browned image G4 and the estimated end-of-cooking image G6, the controller 40 adjusts the heating temperature or heating time of the food item C by the heater 20 after the food item C has passed the second image sensor 32. The end of cooking refers to the point in time when cooking of the food item C by the heater 20 is stopped.

[0070] Specifically, the controller 40 adjusts the heating temperature of the object C by the heater 20 in the estimated section F downstream H2 of the second image sensor 32 in the conveying direction H by changing the set temperature of the heater 20. The controller 40 also adjusts the heating time of the object C by the heater 20 in the estimated section F downstream H2 of the second image sensor 32 in the conveying direction H by changing the conveying speed V of the object C by the conveying mechanism 10.

[0071] By using two image sensors 30, the first image sensor 31 and the second image sensor 32 (arranged at an interval in the conveying direction H of the conveying mechanism 10), it is possible to visually recognize with greater accuracy the degree of browning D of the object C being cooked by the heater 20 (while being conveyed by the conveying mechanism 10) compared to when only one image sensor 30 is used. As a result, it becomes possible to adjust the degree of doneness of the object C with greater accuracy.

[0072] Between the time when the food item C passes the first image sensor 31 and the time when it reaches the second image sensor 32, the controller 40 adjusts the heating temperature or heating time of the food item C by the heater 20 based on the difference X between the target browned image G4 and the cooking-in-progress image G5. This allows fine adjustment of the degree of doneness of the food item C between the first image sensor 31 and the second image sensor 32.

[0073] In the estimated section F after the food item C has passed the second image sensor 32, the controller 40 adjusts the heating temperature or heating time of the food item C by the heater 20 based on the difference Z between the target browned image G4 and the estimated image at the end of cooking G6. This allows fine adjustment of the degree of doneness of the food item C in the estimated section F after the food item C has passed the second image sensor 32.

[0074] <Other embodiments> Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, such description is not limiting, and it goes without saying that various modifications, substitutions, or combinations are possible.

[0075] Cooking system 1 does not necessarily have to include conveying mechanism 10. Cooking system 1 does not necessarily have to be applied to a food production line. Cooking system 1 may be applied to, for example, a home oven cooker.

[0076] In the above embodiment, the process of obtaining the target browned image G4 involves a compositing step of superimposing the basic browned image G1 and the start-of-cooking image G2 to form a composite image G3, and a generating step of reducing the amount of reflected light r in the composite image G3 to generate the target browned image G4. However, these compositing and generating steps may be omitted. For example, the target browned image G4 may be stored in advance in the controller 40 as is.

[0077] There may be three or more image sensors 30. In this case, two image sensors 30 are arbitrarily selected from the three or more image sensors 30, and the one of the two image sensors 30 arranged on the upstream side H1 in the conveying direction H is designated as the first image sensor 31, and the one of the two image sensors 30 arranged on the downstream side H2 in the conveying direction H is designated as the second image sensor 32.

[0078] It is not necessary to include one each of the blue region B, green region G, and red region R. [Industrial Applicability]

[0079] The present disclosure is applicable to cooking systems and is therefore extremely useful and has high industrial applicability. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] H Conveying direction H1 Upstream H2 downstream side S spectrum S' spectrum I Imaging results I' Imaging result λ wavelength B Blue area G green area R red area Y yellow area b-band b' band C Cooked object D. Browned G1 Basic Burnt Image G2 Image at the start of cooking G3 composite image G4 Target Burnt Image G5 Cooking image G6 Estimated image at the end of cooking X difference Z difference r Reflected light amount Q specified range V Conveying speed F Estimated Interval 1. Heating and cooking system 10. Conveying mechanism 11 Belt 12 Laura 20 Heater 30 Image Sensor 30' Image Sensor 31 First image sensor 32 Second image sensor 40 Controller (control unit) 50 Display (display unit)

Claims

1. a heater for heating and cooking an object to be cooked; an image sensor that captures an image of the object being cooked by the heater to obtain an image during cooking; A control unit that sets a target browning image representing a target browning degree of the object to be cooked, the image sensor has four or more bands as a wavelength range, The control unit controls the heating and cooking of the object to be cooked by the heater based on the difference between the image during cooking and the target browned image.

2. The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein the image sensor includes two or more bands in the yellow region.

3. A conveying mechanism is provided for conveying the object being cooked by the heater, The heat cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit controls the conveyance of the object by the conveyance mechanism based on a difference between the in-cooking image and the target browned image.

4. the image sensor includes a first image sensor and a second image sensor spaced apart from each other in a conveying direction of the conveying mechanism; the second image sensor is disposed downstream of the first image sensor in the conveying direction; The heating and cooking system according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit adjusts a heating temperature or a heating time for the object to be cooked using the image during cooking captured by the image sensor.

5. The heating and cooking system of claim 4, wherein the control unit adjusts the heating temperature or the heating time for the object to be cooked from the time the object passes the first image sensor to the time it reaches the second image sensor based on the difference between the target browning image and the image during cooking captured by the first image sensor.

6. the control unit estimates an estimated image at the end of cooking, which represents a degree of browning at the end of cooking, from the image during cooking captured by the second image sensor; The heating and cooking system of claim 4, wherein the control unit adjusts the heating temperature or the heating time for the object to be cooked after the object has passed the second image sensor based on the difference between the target browning image and the estimated image at the end of cooking.

7. The heating and cooking system according to claim 4 , wherein the control unit adjusts the heating time by changing a transport speed of the object to be cooked by the transport mechanism.

8. The cooking system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit suppresses cooking of the object by the heater when a difference between the target browning image and the cooking-in-progress image is within a predetermined range.

9. The control unit superimposes the basic burnt image input to the control unit and the image at the start of cooking obtained by capturing an image of the object to be cooked by the image sensor at the start of cooking to synthesize a composite image, The cooking system according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit sets the target browned image based on the composite image.

10. The cooking system according to claim 9 , wherein the control unit generates the target browned image by reducing an amount of reflected light in the composite image.

Images