Program, heating method and apparatus for the object to be heated, and electromagnetic wave emission device.

Abstract

Depending on the type, shape, size, volume, or quantity of the object to be irradiated, or the desired or optimal electromagnetic wave irradiation state of the object to be irradiated, microwaves or other electromagnetic waves are irradiated. [Solution] A program comprising: a parameter acquisition instruction step of instructing a first device to acquire at least one of the following: an acquisition of at least a first parameter from a storage medium or cloud, acquisition via a network or the Internet, or acquisition by numerical calculation, in order to set an electromagnetic wave emission condition, which is the condition for emitting electromagnetic waves to at least a part of an object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves, or for emitting electromagnetic waves into the inside of a housing in which the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves is located; and an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting step of setting the electromagnetic wave emission condition using at least a first value of the first parameter obtained by the parameter acquisition instruction step.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Some aspects of the present invention relate to a program, a heating method for a heated object, an apparatus, and an electromagnetic wave emitting apparatus. [Background Art]

[0002] Conventionally, a microwave heating apparatus that accommodates an object to be heated such as food in a heating chamber and supplies microwaves into the heating chamber to heat and cook the object to be heated has been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The microwave heating apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes a microwave generating section that generates microwaves, and a microwave radiating section that radiates the microwaves generated by the microwave generating section into the heating chamber. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2014-229532 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] Some aspects of the present invention have an object of irradiating an electromagnetic wave such as a microwave in accordance with the type, shape, size, volume, and amount of an electromagnetic wave irradiated object, or a desired or optimal electromagnetic wave irradiation state of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0005] A program according to some aspects of the present invention includes a parameter acquisition instruction step that instructs a first device to acquire at least one of the following: an acquisition of at least a first parameter from a storage medium or cloud, acquisition via a network or the Internet, or acquisition by numerical calculation, in order to set an electromagnetic wave emission condition, which is the condition for emitting electromagnetic waves to at least a part of an object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves, or for emitting electromagnetic waves into the inside of a housing in which the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves is located; and an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting step that sets the electromagnetic wave emission condition using at least a first value of the first parameter obtained by the parameter acquisition instruction step. The first device is, for example, an electromagnetic wave irradiation device or a heating device, which will be described later.

[0006] By using the above program, for example, the user can easily set the electromagnetic wave emission conditions without having to manually set the conditions for irradiating an object with electromagnetic waves.

[0007] Examples of the electromagnetic waves mentioned above include light, infrared rays, microwaves, submillimeter waves, millimeter waves, and high frequencies. For example, by using infrared rays, microwaves, submillimeter waves, millimeter waves, and high frequencies, the object to be irradiated with the electromagnetic waves can be heated efficiently.

[0008] In the above program, it is preferable to further include an image acquisition instruction step that instructs the first or second device or the first element to acquire an image of at least a part of the electromagnetically irradiated object. The first element is, for example, an image sensor, which will be described later.

[0009] By using the program that performs the image acquisition instruction step described above, it becomes possible to acquire image data of at least a portion of the object irradiated with electromagnetic waves, and to automatically set the irradiation conditions for the electromagnetic wave irradiated object based on the image data.

[0010] It is preferable to use machine learning to identify the type, size, quantity, and thickness of the constituent materials of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object based on the above image data.

[0011] Physical constants of the above-mentioned constituent materials, such as dielectric constant, dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent, dielectric loss, dipole moment, polarizability, thermal conductivity, viscosity, electrical conductivity, permeability, relative permeability, volume resistivity, and electromagnetic wave penetration depth, particularly microwaves, are obtained, for example, by machine learning, storage media, cloud, network, or computation.

[0012] If the physical constants described above cannot be directly obtained for the substance or mixture itself, they may be estimated using machine learning or other methods based on the physical constants of substances with similar properties.

[0013] Alternatively, electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions or microwave irradiation conditions may be set based on the aforementioned physical constants of the substance related to the substance in question, a similar substance, or a substance contained in the mixture. Electromagnetic wave irradiation or microwave irradiation may then be performed, and the physical or chemical state of the irradiated object, such as changes in viscosity, hardness, dryness, material properties, and temperature, may be monitored, and the electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions may be adjusted again.

[0014] In this way, even if, for example, the precise physical constants of the object being irradiated are not available and it is not possible to initially set the precise electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions for the object being irradiated, appropriate electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions can be set.

[0015] A program according to some aspects of the present invention includes: an image acquisition instruction step of instructing a first device or a second device or a first element to acquire an image including at least a part of an object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves; and an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting step of setting electromagnetic wave emission conditions, which are conditions for emitting electromagnetic waves to the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves or emitting electromagnetic waves into the interior of a housing in which the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves is located, based on image data of at least a part of the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves acquired by the image acquisition instruction step.

[0016] By using the above program, for example, it is possible to set appropriate electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions for the object being irradiated by electromagnetic waves by acquiring an image of at least a portion of the object.

[0017] Preferably, any of the above programs further includes an electromagnetic wave irradiation step instructing the first device, the third device, or the second element to emit the electromagnetic waves to at least a portion of the object to be irradiated or into the interior of the housing in which the object to be irradiated is located, under the electromagnetic wave emission conditions.

[0018] Preferably, any of the above programs further includes a temperature measurement step in which the temperature of at least a portion of the electromagnetically irradiated object is instructed to the first device, the third device, or the fourth device, or the second element or the third element.

[0019] By using the above program, for example, it becomes possible to review the initially set electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions by actually monitoring the temperature change of the object being irradiated with electromagnetic waves, thereby enabling the setting of more appropriate electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions.

[0020] Preferably, in any of the above programs, if the temperature of at least a part of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object falls outside a predetermined range after a first time has elapsed, if the time profile of the temperature differs from a predetermined time profile, or if the temperature reaches or exceeds the first temperature during the first period, the first device is instructed to retrieve at least one of the first parameters from a storage medium or cloud, retrieve via a network or the Internet, and retrieve by numerical calculation; and the electromagnetic wave emission condition reset step is to reset the electromagnetic wave emission conditions based on at least the second value of the first parameter obtained by the parameter retrieval instruction.

[0021] By using the above program, for example, even when the temperature of an electromagnetic wave irradiated object deviates from a target range due to the electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions that have been set once, the electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions can be reset.

[0022] In any of the above programs, the numerical calculation is preferably performed based on a material constituting the electromagnetic wave irradiated object or a type of the material.

[0023] By using the above program, for example, electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions can be set more accurately by performing numerical calculation based on a material constituting the electromagnetic wave irradiated object or a type of the material.

[0024] In any of the above programs, the program preferably further comprises an electromagnetic wave emission condition resetting step of resetting the electromagnetic wave emission conditions through retraining when the temperature of at least a part of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object falls outside a predetermined range after a first time has elapsed, or when the time profile of the temperature is different from a predetermined time profile.

[0025] By using the above program, for example, even when the temperature of an electromagnetic wave irradiated object deviates from a target range due to the electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions that have been set once, the electromagnetic wave irradiation conditions can be reset.

[0026] In any of the above programs, the program preferably further comprises a constituent material specifying step of specifying at least one of a constituent material which is a material constituting said at least a part, a type of the constituent material, a size, and an amount of the constituent material, based on image data of at least a part of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object.

[0027] By using the above program, for example, it becomes possible to specify the constituent material, the type of the constituent material, the amount of the constituent material, the size, the volume, or the like of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object only by acquiring an image of at least a part of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object.

[0028] Preferably, one of the above programs further includes an image acquisition instruction step that instructs the first or second device or the first element to acquire an image including at least a part of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object, and the image data is obtained by the image acquisition instruction step.

[0029] By using the program described above, for example, image data of an object irradiated with electromagnetic waves can be easily acquired.

[0030] In any of the above programs, the electromagnetic wave is preferably a microwave.

[0031] By using the above program, for example, microwaves can be used to easily heat the object being irradiated with electromagnetic waves.

[0032] In any of the above programs, it is preferable that the second value is stored in a storage medium or the cloud, or used as training data for machine learning.

[0033] By using the above program, for example, it becomes possible to easily reset the first parameter.

[0034] An apparatus according to some aspects of the present invention stores one of the above programs.

[0035] A heating method for an object to be heated according to some aspects of the present invention includes a parameter acquisition instruction step of instructing a first device to acquire at least one of the following: acquisition of at least a first parameter from a storage medium or cloud, acquisition via a network or the Internet, or acquisition by numerical calculation, in order to set microwave or millimeter wave emission conditions, which are conditions for emitting microwaves or millimeter waves to at least a portion of the object to be heated that is irradiated with microwaves or millimeter waves, or for emitting microwaves or millimeter waves into the interior of a housing in which the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves is located; and an emission condition setting step of setting the emission conditions using at least a first value of the first parameter obtained by the parameter acquisition instruction step.

[0036] By using the above heating method for the object to be heated, for example, the user can easily set the electromagnetic wave emission conditions without having to set the conditions for irradiating the object to be electromagnetically irradiated in detail themselves.

[0037] A heating method for an object to be heated according to some aspects of the present invention includes: an image acquisition instruction step of instructing a first or second device or a first element to acquire an image including at least a part of the object to be heated; and an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting step of setting emission conditions, which are conditions for emitting microwaves or millimeter waves to the object to be heated or emitting microwaves or millimeter waves into the interior of a housing in which the object to be heated is arranged, based on image data of at least a part of the object to be heated acquired by the imaging instruction step.

[0038] By using the above heating method for the object to be heated, for example, the heating state of the object to be heated can be set based on an image of at least a part of the object to be heated.

[0039] An electromagnetic wave emission device according to some aspects of the present invention includes a parameter acquisition unit that performs at least one of the following: acquisition of at least a first parameter from a storage medium or cloud, acquisition via a network or the Internet, or acquisition by numerical calculation, in order to set an electromagnetic wave emission condition, which is the condition for emitting electromagnetic waves to at least a part of an object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves or for emitting electromagnetic waves into the inside of a housing in which the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves is located; and an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting unit that sets the electromagnetic wave emission condition using at least a first value of the first parameter obtained by the parameter acquisition unit.

[0040] By using the electromagnetic wave emission device described above, for example, the user can easily set the electromagnetic wave emission conditions without having to set the conditions for irradiating an object to be electromagnetically irradiated in detail themselves.

[0041] An electromagnetic wave emission device according to some aspects of the present invention includes an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of at least a portion of an object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves, and an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting unit that sets electromagnetic wave emission conditions, which are conditions for emitting electromagnetic waves to the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves or emitting the electromagnetic waves into the housing in which the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves is located, based on the image data of at least a portion of the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves acquired by the image acquisition unit.

[0042] By using the electromagnetic wave emission device described above, for example, by acquiring an image of at least a portion of the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves, the electromagnetic wave emission conditions for irradiating the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves can be easily set. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0043] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the flow of a heating process according to several embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the flow of a heating process according to several embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 3]Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a heating device according to several embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a heating device according to several embodiments of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0044] Hereinafter, embodiments relating to several aspects of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Note that these drawings illustrate specific examples of these embodiments, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0045] Figure 1 shows a flowchart of a program according to several embodiments of the present invention. In this embodiment, since microwaves are used as electromagnetic waves, the object to which the electromagnetic waves are irradiated is the object to be heated.

[0046] First, the image sensor or device is instructed to acquire an image that includes the object to be irradiated with microwaves, and an image that includes at least a portion of the object is acquired.

[0047] Object detection is performed from the image above. In this object detection, for example, at least one of the following methods may be used: machine learning, deep learning, and image processing.

[0048] Next, the types of constituent materials of the object and the quantity, size, or volume of those constituent materials are identified. For example, at least one of the following methods may be used to identify the types of constituent materials of the object and the quantity, size, or volume of those constituent materials: machine learning, deep learning, and image processing.

[0049] The physical constants of the identified constituent materials are determined. For determining the physical constants of the identified constituent materials, at least one of the following methods may be used, for example, machine learning, deep learning, and image processing. Examples of physical constants include dielectric constant, dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent, dielectric loss, dipole moment, polarizability, thermal conductivity, viscosity, electrical conductivity, permeability, relative permeability, volume resistivity, and penetration depth of electromagnetic waves, especially microwaves.

[0050] Next, the quantity or volume of the object in question is identified. Based on the quantity or volume of the object and the physical constants mentioned above, the heating conditions are set.

[0051] Heating of the object is initiated based on the heating conditions set above.

[0052] Figure 2 shows the next steps, including identifying the quantity or volume of the object, setting the heating conditions, and a flowchart of the subsequent steps.

[0053] After starting heating of the object based on the above-set heating conditions, the system monitors for abnormal heating by detecting the object's temperature, etc. Whether or not abnormal heating has occurred may be determined, for example, by checking whether the object's temperature is within a temperature set in advance by the user or within a temperature range obtained through machine learning or data stored in the heating device or its control unit as the target heating temperature.

[0054] If abnormal heating is detected, the above physical constants and other parameters will be modified again, and new heating conditions will be set.

[0055] Based on these new heating conditions, heating is initiated, and the object being heated is monitored for abnormal heating. If abnormal heating occurs, the physical constants mentioned above are modified again, new heating conditions are set, and the heating process is repeated. This makes it possible to obtain appropriate heating conditions and accurate physical constants.

[0056] If no abnormal heating is detected during monitoring, heating will continue under the specified conditions and then terminate. The heating time may be set to a time predetermined by the user or to an appropriate time obtained from machine learning or data stored in the heating device or its control device as the heating time for the object in question.

[0057] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a microwave heating system. The heating device consists of a housing 40 in which the object to be heated A is placed on stage B, and the housing 40 is equipped with a polarizing camera 1, a monochrome camera 10, lighting 20, a window 60 for introducing microwaves from a microwave generator 50 into the housing 40, and a thermometer 70.

[0058] The heating system further includes a camera controller that controls 3D cameras 1 and 10.

[0059] The heating system further includes a control device 80 that controls the microwave generator 50.

[0060] The control device 80 acquires images including the heated object A using the 3D camera 1 and the conventional camera 10.

[0061] First, at least one of the following is performed on the image captured by the standard camera 10: object detection and / or region detection.

[0062] Based on the results of object detection and / or region detection, the detected objects or regions are classified into pre-learned categories, and the type or properties of the constituent materials of the detected objects or regions are identified based on the classified categories.

[0063] Next, the thickness in the depth direction of the constituent material identified in the above step is determined from the image information obtained by the 3D camera, and the amount, size, or volume of the constituent material is determined.

[0064] Based on the above information, the heating conditions for the object to be heated A are set and heating is started. The temperature of the object to be heated A is measured using the thermometer 70 to check for any abnormal heating. Thereafter, heating of the object to be heated A is carried out according to the flowchart shown in Figure 2, for example.

[0065] For example, the camera 10 may be used to acquire information such as the heating method for the object to be heated A, precautions or prohibited actions during heating, and the heating conditions may be set accordingly.

[0066] For example, the heating conditions may be set after the camera 10 recognizes a barcode or a matrix-type two-dimensional code.

[0067] The heating conditions described above may include, for example, setting the position of the object to be heated A on stage B, in addition to conditions such as microwave irradiation intensity and duration.

[0068] The above heating conditions may include not only conditions such as microwave irradiation intensity and duration, but also the use of other heating methods, such as an oven or steam.

[0069] For example, the material, volume, or thickness of the container or packaging containing the object to be heated A may be identified using cameras 1 and 10, and then the heating conditions may be set.

[0070] For example, if the camera 10 places the object to be heated A or an equivalent or similar object inside the housing 40 more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time, an alarm may be issued. This makes it possible, for example, to send an alarm to the person or related parties if a dementia patient or an elderly person living alone heats a large number of foods in a short period of time.

[0071] Figure 4 shows the front panel portion of the microwave heating system shown in Figure 3. The front panel 90 has a recognition unit such as a barcode reader or a matrix type two-dimensional code reader 100, and the user can set the heating conditions in the same manner as described above by holding the recognition unit such as a barcode reader or matrix type two-dimensional code reader 100 attached to the object to be heated A or its packaging or container over it. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1...3D camera, 10...camera, 20...lighting, 30...camera controller, 40...enclosure, 50...microwave generator, 60...window, 70...thermometer, 80...control device, 90...front panel, 100...barcode reader or matrix type 2D code reader, A...heated object, B...stage, C...control signal, N...network space, I...information acquisition, T...temperature information

Claims

1. A parameter acquisition instruction step instructs the first device to acquire at least one of the following: acquisition of at least a first parameter from a storage medium or cloud, acquisition via a network or the internet, or acquisition by numerical calculation, in order to set electromagnetic wave emission conditions, which are conditions for emitting electromagnetic waves to at least a part of an object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves or for emitting electromagnetic waves into the inside of a housing in which the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves is located. The system includes an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting step which sets the electromagnetic wave emission conditions using at least the first value of the first parameter obtained in the parameter acquisition instruction step, program.

2. moreover, The system includes an image acquisition instruction step that instructs the first or second device or the first element to acquire an image including at least a portion of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object. program.

3. An image acquisition instruction step instructing the first device or the second device or the first element to acquire an image including at least a part of the object irradiated with electromagnetic waves, The system includes an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting step, which sets electromagnetic wave emission conditions, which are conditions for emitting electromagnetic waves to the electromagnetic wave irradiated object or emitting electromagnetic waves into the housing in which the electromagnetic wave irradiated object is located, based on image data of at least a portion of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object acquired by the image instruction step. program.

4. moreover, The electromagnetic wave irradiation step includes instructing the first device, the third device, or the second element to emit the electromagnetic waves onto at least a part of the object to be irradiated or into the interior of the housing in which the object to be irradiated is located, under the aforementioned electromagnetic wave emission conditions. The program according to claim 1 or 3.

5. moreover, The system includes a temperature measurement step that instructs the first device, the third device, or the fourth device, or the second element or the third element, to measure the temperature of at least a portion of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object. The program according to claim 4.

6. moreover, If the temperature of at least a part of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object falls outside a predetermined range after a first time has elapsed, if the time profile of the temperature differs from a predetermined time profile, or if the temperature reaches or exceeds the first temperature during the first period, the parameter retrieval instruction step instructs the first device to retrieve at least one of the following: retrieve the first parameters from a storage medium or cloud, retrieve them via a network or the internet, and retrieve them by numerical calculation. The system includes an electromagnetic wave emission condition reset step, which resets the electromagnetic wave emission conditions based at least on a second value of the first parameter obtained by the parameter reacquisition instruction, The program according to claim 1.

7. The numerical calculation is performed based on the material or type of material constituting the electromagnetic wave irradiated object. The program according to claim 1.

8. moreover, If the temperature of at least a portion of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object falls outside a predetermined range after a first time has elapsed, and the time profile of the temperature differs from the predetermined time profile, the system includes an electromagnetic wave emission condition reset step in which the electromagnetic wave emission conditions are reset by relearning. The program according to claim 3.

9. moreover, The process includes a component material identification step, which identifies at least one of the constituent materials, the type of the constituent material, the quantity and size of the constituent material, and the volume of the constituent material, based on image data of at least a portion of the electromagnetic wave-irradiated object. The program according to claim 1.

10. moreover, The system includes an image acquisition instruction step that instructs the first or second device or the first element to acquire an image including at least a part of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object, The image data mentioned above was obtained by the image acquisition instruction step. The program according to claim 1 or 3.

11. The electromagnetic wave in question is a microwave. The program according to claim 1 or 3.

12. The second value is stored on a storage medium or in the cloud, or used as training data for machine learning. The program according to claim 6.

13. A device that stores the program described in claim 1 or claim 3.

14. In order to set microwave or millimeter wave emission conditions, which are the conditions for emitting microwaves or millimeter waves to at least a portion of a heated object that is irradiated with microwaves or millimeter waves, or for emitting microwaves or millimeter waves into the interior of a housing in which the electromagnetic wave irradiated object is located, a parameter acquisition instruction step is given to instruct the first device to acquire at least one of the following: acquiring at least a first parameter from a storage medium or cloud, acquiring it via a network or the internet, or acquiring it by numerical calculation. The system includes a launch condition setting step which sets the launch condition using at least the first value of the first parameter obtained in the parameter acquisition instruction step, A method for heating an object to be heated.

15. An image acquisition instruction step instructs the first or second device or the first element to acquire an image including at least a part of the object to be heated, The system includes an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting step, which sets emission conditions that are conditions for emitting microwaves or millimeter waves to the heated object or emitting microwaves or millimeter waves into the housing in which the heated object is located, based on image data of at least a portion of the heated object acquired in the image acquisition instruction step. A method for heating an object to be heated.

16. A parameter acquisition unit that sets electromagnetic wave emission conditions, which are the conditions for emitting electromagnetic waves to at least a part of an object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves or for emitting electromagnetic waves into the interior of a housing in which the object to be irradiated with electromagnetic waves is located, by acquiring at least one of the following: acquiring at least a first parameter from a storage medium or cloud, acquiring via a network or the internet, or acquiring by numerical calculation, The system includes an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting unit that sets the electromagnetic wave emission conditions using at least the first value of the first parameter obtained by the parameter acquisition unit, Electromagnetic wave emission device.

17. An image acquisition unit that acquires an image including at least a part of the object irradiated with electromagnetic waves, The system includes an electromagnetic wave emission condition setting unit that sets electromagnetic wave emission conditions, which are the conditions for emitting electromagnetic waves to the electromagnetic wave irradiated object or emitting electromagnetic waves into the housing in which the electromagnetic wave irradiated object is located, based on image data of at least a portion of the electromagnetic wave irradiated object acquired by the image acquisition unit, Electromagnetic wave emission device.

Images